January 28, 2024

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 28, 2023, Dullsville, Florida.
Five years ago today: January 28, 2019, 745 miles.
Nine years ago today: January 28, 2015, why we never run out.
Random years ago today: January 28, 2001, from renting washing machines!

           Here’s a tidbit for those who still have nothing to hide. The security agencies are buying browsing records from the tech companies. Yep, Josh & Tyler, everthing you did on-line is there, and you have lived most of your life on-line. But keep laughing because nothing has happened to you yet. However, hopefully you realize once they own the records, they won’t need a search warrant to use them. Remember when Scientific American used to be a respectable publication? Now they are so desperate they published an article claiming the fall of the Roman Empire has been linked to plagues caused by climate change. I don’t know if mankind is doomed, but Scientific American is on its deathbed.

           The guitar player was supposed to contact us for rehearsal, he has not. Last week was so unproductive even mild-mannered Prez says we are not getting anything out of it. I had to work on the shed all morning and I’m covered in dust, so we canceled our own meet. Starting next Sunday, I propose we go back to what we know is good, productive time at his garage. Wow, the wind is blasting up to 25 mph so something is heading this way. But it isn’t cold yet and I have the second oil heater on the bench. It’s a race against the clock, folks.

           This picture shows a new chain holding up the feeder branch. Over time, the squirrels slowing bend it down far enough to leap onto the feeder from the window sill. It took me a while to get to this since I had to set up the big ladder. Okay squirrels, I win this round. I also put a larger “Chinese hat” baffle on the squirrel-proof feeder because it is not squirrel-proof. The just hand down from the chain and snack away. With the baffle, they have to jump at the feeder and then it works. But the metal of the baffle slowly cuts the hanging wire, so here is the rubber grommet I installed. Anti-squirrel measures today took up nearly an hour. This is the blog that dares to feature a chain and a grommet.

           Taking timed coffee breaks, which around here are at least a half-hour long, I did some tinkering with my small motor project. There is a chill already and I need time to warm back up, for I’ve learned I cannot work on any electronics unless at idea room temperature and in short sleeves. I know that some day this will affect my bass playing, so have that extra coffee and get warmed.

           What’s this, American soldiers killed in Jordan? What the? Jordan??? These people are no longer heroes, they are cannon fodder and fighting the wrong enemy. Seems the ether is flooded by viral deep fakes of Taylor doing porn. I tried to find them purely for research purposes, but no luck. I remember hearing how she bought up all the common porn web addresses knowing this would eventually happen. Have you heard of “Nightshade”, the anti-scraping tool? At least I think that’s what it says, the reports are horrible full of jargon. It tricks A.I. into misinterpreting images, the concept is to protect the work of creators. Big corporations who can afford high-quality A.I. programs often train it to emulate talent without paying the artists. I wanted to discover how it works, and got nowhere. A.I. is still at the phase where they are selling to the nincompoops, showing little tricks and foibles. As with most "Internet" programs, they will wait for a general level of public acceptance before turning it on the people. That critical mass is when enough people think it is neat and "nothing has happened to them yet."
Picture of the day.
Yes, Miramar has a welfare office.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Remember the old robot club footstools? A handy place to sit while working on anything at ground level. This is the last chapter for the original, shown here the wood itself has deteriorated. It’s gone, even the bracing added last year can pull the screw heads through. Since this regularly gets stood on, I could not take a chance. The wood is in the fire barrel, but I salvaged as much hardware as possible. The next photo shows at least 30 screws, at least the reusable ones. That was one long-lived little bench. For those who rememer it, the slot is the carry handle and the holes drilled on the edges are for hold screwdrivers. Memories.

           By late afternoon, the biting northern wind started moving in. My workshed gets cod and stays cold if you button it up. I added yet another ledge making to today mostly logistics. I finally got the van interior tidied up, it tends to stay in the condition it is when I get back from Tennessee, doggie fur and all. I mean, why not? I think a second person has rode in my passenger seat maybe six times in six years.

           I watched a documentary on the bridge at Remagen and answered a long-standing question. Why did the bridge not collapse when dynamited? The Germans were experts at demolition. Examination of the structure later showed two things that went wrong. A thousand pounds of explosive did not detonate, and footage of the explosion suggests the bridge, by strange coincidence, blew straight up in the air, then fell back down intact. You can see as the air clears the bridge still sitting there, pretty amazing. And bad luck, since the Germans did not have major forces in the area to plug the gap.

           The Germans did try to shell and bomb the bridge, but their own excellent engineering meant nothing worked. The bombing failed for two reasons. The high cliffs on the banks meant the had to approach along the valley and the US had placed the largest number of anti-aircraft guns in the war at that crossing. I believe it was 671 flak guns, so many that American troops were killed by their own shells falling back to Earth.
           How could the Americans put so many AA guns in one spot, plus all the crews and ammunition? Simple, there was nothing else for them to shoot at. German airplanes were not designed to bomb cities and were meant to destory airfields. And, as the old saying goes, by 1945 the only thing left flying Germany was bitter recriminations.

ADDENDUM
Here’s a Reddit a about signs that people are rich. I need to read this. Um, not because I’m rich, but to make sure nobody mistakes me for it.           

1) when they wear black, all the black’s match
2) for them summer is not a noun, but a verb
3) rich people don’t put their couch against the wall
4) all their bills are on auto-pay 5) the top-hat and monocle
6) low digital footprint
7) they stay out of money conversations
8) their time is more valuable than money
9) separate soap and shampoo
10) when they talk, their bottom jaw doesn’t move

           Well, I guess I’m okay for the most part. I’m not rich, but nor do I lick the lid of a yogurt cup.

Last Laugh