November 11, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: November 11, 2024, woke is one-way.
Five years ago today: November 11, 2020, this perfect Nashville evening.
Nine years ago today: November 11, 2016, free Whoopi jokes.
Random years ago today: November 11, 2013, I crossed the Mojave.

           Trivia. Did know there are more giant redwood trees in England than in California? Yep, 500,000 vs 80,000. They were planted as ornaments to Queen Victoria. This emphasizes the need for firewood this morning, it is 1°F below freezing. I’m debating to walk through the kitchen for coffee from the cozy back room. The $2,000 Trump stimulus may be a reality. Because this time he does not need Congress to approve anything.

           Let’s do some surfing, which is rare around here, but so is 30°F weather. In the news is Bonnie Blue, the lady who slept with 1,057. My status as a half-redneck is revealed by my opinion on that. Half-redneck? Yes, like the way I would not give a penny to welfare (but charity is fine), I would NEVER stop anybody else from giving their OWN money. So it is with Bonnie Blue. I have always dislike females like that, but would not stop her.
           However, it also means if she fails, I would not help her. If she gets hungry, she can starve, if she gets sick, she’s on her own. And if she was on fire, I would not piss on her. When her past catches up with her, she can turn for help to her own kind. (Or start charging them at least $20 each.) She is blogged here because during her interviews, she actually seems like an otherwise intelligent, reasonable woman. And a large part of my objection (and rejection) of such women is based on a stubborn fact—the extremely low quality of the men such activity entails. Socially anyways, I am convinced by experience that most women only meet 4 or 5 good men in their lives. From number 6 onwards, no thank you ma’am.

           This photo is not quite accurate. The low temp was 33°F, but I had to wait until it was light enough for the picture. That in turn shows the clock froze just before 2:00AM, as it was still working when I looked out the window an hour earlier. The traditionally coldest (or warmest) room in the cabin is the crapper, and we have a temperature trap there. It says inside the coldest overnight temp was 67°F. I’m installing the best of the old radiator heaters in there this week.
           Something has happened with the shutdown, but I tend to follow events more than personalities, where I either like or dislike the person. It seems 8 or so Democrats voted for the deal, which shows a real crack in the armor and party hard-liners are hardly going to like that. Later, there could be a check in the mail. But I have an even better idea for Trumpie. Double the dividend, but only to American citizens who pay taxes. Or triple it for only American citizens who paid more than $2,000 in taxes. Nothing for welfare cases, HBs, visas, government employees, illegals, illegals, landed immigrants, or non-working spouses.

           Many years ago, there was a movement for the Pacific northwest to break away and form the new nation/state of Columbia. That died away when the dregs of California took over the coastal cities thanks to local complacency. However, the inland parts were barely affected. Now the eastern half of Oregon as voted for the preliminary steps to form Greater Idaho and they are not kidding. There are several problems, but top of the list is such secession would require the approval of the existing state, dominated by Democrats in Portland. A similar law exists in Idaho, but they have already given the okay. Federal law says no State can break away and become a new State, but I don’t know if that applies, since there is no new State being created.

Picture of the day.
Pellworm Island.
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           She’s not warming up and I’m past that age where the weather doesn’t matter. I suppose I should have grabbed the remote and sat down. Except, I don’t have a remote. Or a TV. I made up a big batch of, well, it’s a dish of my own, but common, grits. Like for grits casserole without the baking dish. Yeah, with extra onions. It was Seattle weather, cold with a gusty wind that bites and I’ve never done well with cold hands and feet. I ran the chicken heater full blast and stayed at my computer desk. And hot grits thaws you out real fast.

           Here’s today’s progress, this is an attempt at copying some hinge cuts I saw last week at the Lobby. You can see the hinge is set flat with the full folded depth into the lid, rather than half depth in four cuts. I see right off I’ll put the cuts (mortises) in the box next time, not the lid.
           I need a brainstorm to cut these notches with a router. There has to be a better way than the jigs I’ve already made. The jigs are okay, but the smallest router is too powerful. I could make the cuts right across the wood. It’s tacky. I have the spare parts to make a 4” table saw, just not right now.

           Don’t be waiting for things to pick up. I got the outdoor clock working and did the laundry and kept an ear for Taylor at the doorbell. What she’s waiting for, I dunno, she’s getting up there, you know. When libraries give out older magazine issues, I often browse the rack for interesting articles I’d otherwise miss. But watch out. Formerly good bets like National Geographic and Smithsonian have gone utterly downhill. I thought I’d get an article about the Mongol fleet swamped by the Divine Wind (Kamikaze) and it was 90% about how much trouble it was for the author to dig in the mud.
           xDid you know I have one of the worst electric blankets ever made? It’s from Wal*mart and it works 100%. The deal is, the material is a clothe that, once folded up for storage, cannot be unfolded by grabbing a corner and shaking it out like a sheet. It has to be unfolded one layer at a time and it is a big blanket. The other thing ih nobody has ever invented a power cable for these things that can be conveniently folded up witnout tangling. It took ten minutes, but I’m ready for however long it takes to warm up again. Usually a day or two this time of year.

           As soon as the sun lowered a bit, the afternoon turned biting cold, an unusual “icy” feel and complete silence when I went to fill the dryer. It seems the whole town is shut inside. So silent I could hear a faint noise. Remember the frozen clock? I had set it inside by the door and I could hear that already muffled ticking across the kitchen, down the hall, and through the closed door. Right after dark, down to 50°F. The interior walls have begun to radiate “cold”, like winter in Idaho. Time to curl up with a good book, but first check the news.
           China’s big fancy new bridge has collapsed. The roadway was cut into the surrounding hills and one of the hills had a landslide. Nothing else to report, so I read a couple short documentaries on the WWII battle of Leyte Gult. It’s not that interesting once you realize the Japanese didn’t really stand a chance. They got a few lucky hits. Much is made of the numbers of ships and planes where you cannot see the massive support network of the Americans. That was Japan’s real downfall, thinking only of the spearheads.
           xThey were aware of the shift to air power but thought the battleships could still be effective enough to send them against carrier fleets. In result, their biggest ship gets hit by 21 torpedoes in the first attack. It’s like people starting a business in America these days. They have no idea of the odds stacked against them. Even if you came up with a good idea, there are squads of lawyers and old money ready to pounce. If it was a good startup idea, I’d steal it myself and build it in my shed and let somebody go bankrupt trying to sue me. Welcome to Americanized capitalism.

Last Laugh