Durables Tuesday, Housing to Come, Using AI for Foraging

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Bet you don’t know when the World’s first Tuesday was, do you?

The world’s “first Tuesday” showed up long before Alexa ansd Siri, though nobody called it that yet. The Romans carved the week into seven slices and pinned each one to a god or planet, handing Mars his own day—dies Martis. When the northern tribes borrowed the Roman calendar, they swapped Mars for their own war god, Tiw, and so “Tiw’s Day” was born. That linguistic shuffle, sometime in the dark between Rome’s fall and Europe’s rise, gave us the very Tuesdays we still bitch about. In other words, mankind has been blaming the second day of the workweek on the gods of war for at least fifteen hundred years, which might explain why it never quite feels friendly.  Eventually they’ll be right.

Tuesdays are useful.  At least if you need a day to release economic data on.  Two for Tuesday – the Durable Goods and Housing (which will be it’s own super short post when it drops shortly).  How “Durable” is Tuesday?

Durable? Not So Much…

“New orders for manufactured durable goods in July, down three of the last four months, decreased $8.8 billion or 2.8 percent to $302.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed a 9.4 percent June decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.1 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 2.5 percent. Transportation equipment, also down three of the last four months, drove the decrease, $10.9 billion or 9.7 percent to $101.7 billion.

Previous month was revised to -9.4 percent, huh?  Markets still weak after data. The good news, if you squint hard enough? Builds the case to lower rates at the FOMC in a couple of weeks.  We’ll get to how that’s COOKing in a second…

News-Objects

We notice that several interesting “Trump Health” stories have come – and gone.  Say, you don’t think the MSM has been told to dummy-up, do you?

Meantime, the Trump searches turn up: Trump ‘very angry’ with Putin as Russia’s strikes on Ukraine continue despite peace push.

Then there’s the Let’s Make a Deal department:‘Substituting’ Iran’s influence: US offers Lebanon incentives as part of plan to disarm Hezbollah.

Mortgage Fraud seems to be making the rounds as Trump removes Fed Governor Lisa Cook ‘effective immediately’. She thinks otherwise – cue the Redenbacher and watch.

My consigliere says to keep an eye on the Letitia James mortgage docs case, too. Letitia James pressure campaign by Trump’s DOJ intensifies .  There are two ways to flop on this.  The Bash du Orang view seems ‘Pattern of lawfare’: Trump is targeting opponents with mortgage fraud claims. Although at least equally is “turn-about is fair play, no?”

Blow City blow back? Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Explodes Over Trump’s Chicago Plan – Admits He’s “Taking Names” of Supporters Like a Tyrant (Video)

Bitcoin is turning into a “crapper tapper” sliding under $110,000  Bitcoin May Face Further Downside After $2.7B Whale Sell-Off as Technical Indicators Signal Weakness, We look at this as a possible market sentiment precursor, too.  Gold and silver also weak – is inflation leaching?

Gruesome: People are voting with their feet: The Gavin Newsom Effect: More People are Moving from California U-Haul Reports.

Around the Ranch:  Ai ~ for Foraging

This is an oddly sort of column, this ‘un.  Got onto this in a circuitous way. My pal (The Major, father of the LtC) is an Apple user.  Mrs. Major, formerly captain, and top neonatal doc, LOVES to garden. They raise all kinds of things for the backyard wildlife.

So one day, they find this app – record on their phones – and then laugh and point at us because we have no idea what’s really out in our woods.  So… here’s the dope you need to slip further into using Ai as a human mind (and in this case ear) amplifier:

  • Merlin Bird ID (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) has a Sound ID feature that listens in real-time or from recordings. You can leave it running for ~15 minutes, and it will continuously identify each new bird sound. It works offline if you download the regional bird pack. Covers 700+ North American species. Free app.

  • BirdNET also from Cornell research, analyzes uploaded audio clips and gives species probabilities. It’s more segmented (analyzes clips instead of continuous listening). Covers ~3,000 species worldwide but usually needs an internet connection.

  • Other options exist (e.g., Smart Bird ID, Haikubox), but Merlin is the most widely used and designed specifically for casual backyard use.

Honestly, I have little interest in birds. Except the ones that weigh 14 pounds, have a pop-up thermometer, and take about 3 1/2 hours in the roaster.

BUT I’m all about thievery of thinking templates which can be applied to other areas of life where I  have an extreme interest.   Catalog it right now:  “Input–>Feed Ai–>Get Useful Output as your thought.template.object to remember, got it?

Now, let’s solve a ham radio problem with the template…

Dangerous Knowledge: Field Guide to What’s Growing Around My Coax

“What is this shit suddenly coming up around my ham radio ground system and antenna distribution center outside the office window?”

IF the coffee has kicked in, you will see the Beverage receiving antenna custom transformer box and coax cables on the left. I snapped the photo, planning to spend hours pawing through Google images.  Then I remembered The Major and his wife’s birds…

“Hey, Electric George, gimme a hand!”  [Two snaps were piped into GPT,  In mere seconds?]

“Here’s my hard-earned “field guide” for radio ranchers:

  • If it’s thorny and tastes good in cobbler? Leave a row or two. That’s wild blackberry, and it’s nature’s way of apologizing for scratches.  (Pic 1)

  • If it shoots up three feet a summer and invites purple-bombing birds? That’s mulberry, and it’ll eat your feedpoint if you don’t pull it. Yanking early saves cussing later. (Pic 2)

  • If you can’t ID it but it’s climbing your coax? Call it “invasive,” mow first, and ask questions later. That’s the only safe policy when the antenna farm’s on the line.”

That’s my new dangerous knowledge in a nutshell—just enough botany to keep the electrons flowing.

And the ideas.  Because with a long weekend looming, fresh stores of gas and diesel landing, and several passes down the home shooting range (100 meters, down hill, into a 10-foot high earthen berm) here’s my next…

AI “Range-scaping Plan”

No feeding the squirrels from a backyard garden here – but shouldn’t hurt the odd wild turkey roosting out near the range…

My first few rounds fired, age 10, or so, was shooting at some friends’ ranch just over the Blue Mountains north of the Hanford Atomic Works in the 1950’s. Downhill from Royal City, not far from Smyrna. Up the road from Berverly.  My pal Archie and I we shooting anything that moved plus empty cases of beer bottles that didn’t move so much.

A single-shot Marlin but we got good enough that by Day #2 we were getting the occasional marmot. from 150-feet, peep sight.

Fast-forward 65 years and the rounds are larger (7.62 x 39 is the house round) and the iron sights are standing or benched down a measured 100-meters that telephoto’s like so:

Sharp eyes will reveal: The target board is toast. The heavy steel plate on the ground.

Once upon a time – there was a very nice 4X4 post frame that G2 put up.  He’s more of an AR and .223 with a $2K aimpoint kind of son…and tossing in his 33rd degree and he’s almost a grown-up…but kids aren’t really grown ups” until after the first divorce, are they?

(When you get old enough, your parents will turn out to have been right about most everything…including one or two bad spouse candidates.)

With G2 out plying server farm build industrial medicine, it falls on the tool-savvy grownup to update the range.

The hardest decision is?  More 4X4’s or tee-posts and drag the genset downrange.  The Chinese “stick gun” welder keeps the Lincoln MIG rig in the shop and with enough rod and gen fuel, I can make anything.

BUT What to make is the problem. Cue the Ai Range-scape advisor:

“Option 1: T-posts and angle iron.
The upside is it’s quick and light. Drive a couple of T-posts in with the manual pounder, drop an angle iron crossbar across, and be shooting. Easy to move, easy to reset, and cheap enough if going with multiple lanes. The downside is the weight of that plate will flex the posts over time, and if the ground’s wet they’ll start leaning. It works, but it always feels a little temporary — more farm hack than permanent range build.

Option 2: 4×4 posts with chain.
This one’s rock solid. Sink a pair of treated 4x4s in the ground, run a crossbar or just hang chain straight between them, and the target isn’t going anywhere. It’ll carry the weight, stay put, and look like it belongs there. The only hitch is it’s heavier work up front — digging, setting, leveling. And eventually wood does take splatter damage after so many rounds off-center. Still, for a permanent shooting lane, it’s the most dependable.

Option 3: Middle ground.
Drive T-posts, but hang a stout 4×4 or angle iron crossbar across them. That way the posts give  portability, the crossbar spreads the load, and if the bar gets chewed up just swap it out.”

Having done the odd corner fence T-posts I like the all-metal angle. Drive one or more  in on a 45-degree angle and finish by welding to the vertical post. I’m known for making the ugliest gob-of-shit balls of 6013 rod you ever laid eyes on.  But they do hold up…

Range-scaping with AI sounds fancy, but it still comes down to whether the post-hole digger or T-post hits rock or not.

Ai’s advice?

“For me, if I’m building a forever lane, the 4×4 posts with chain are the way to go. If I want to move things around and experiment, the T-post rigs are fast and cheap. The choice is whether I want “quick and flexible” or “set it and forget it.”

Honestly, this leaves me in something of a pickle.  Likely to dry, unless we get a LOT more rain to head into deep woods with the spark welder.  But the 4X4 is so….plain! We don’t do plain out here. If there’s no hidden compartments, radical design, or improbable eye candy? We’ll pass.

While I wait for the weather to cool and dampen, the coming weekend will be mostly on ham radio with the lawn work done for the week.  With my jardinero tasks off the table, maybe I should focus on the mountain of ham radio projects including chasing the mulberry bush to somewhere beyond 20-meters…

Now Let’s Talk Foraging

There’s a point to the ramble this morning and it comes down to this.

Before the world blows up this fall, take a camera out and get a ton of pictures with the digital Brownie.  Log into your fave AI.  

Upload and query:  “Do you see anything in this picture that is human-edible?  Do you see anything that has a human medical application?  Do you see anything that could be easily used to construct an emergency shelter in a hurry?  Anything that would make good fire source?”

The idea distilled comes down to “Using Ai as your Foraging and Wild Land Survival Instructor.”

Thanks to Mrs. (the) Major for spotting the app, the Major for giving us the bird (inventory) and as you can see, another template to file alongside our Road to Omniscience!

A lot of my friends worry about Ai getting sentient, and maybe foraging advisor is a start, But here’s the Truth: They call it Artificial Intelligence, but I’ve met plenty of natural ones that don’t stack up either. Difference is you get in trouble if you unplug a “natural.”

The Devil Made Me Do It?

Oh yeah – If ChatGPT or Grok hiccup this weekend, don’t be shocked. Be advised I’m going to be uploading pictures of poison sumac and poison ivy.  Just to see what happens, know what I mean? I’m just itching to get started.

Ahead? 

Peoplenomics tomorrow is a long one – all about explorations and concepts to pursue Co-Dreaming and Co-Dying with a loved one.

ShopTalk Sunday may, or may not, finally get the classic Johnson Ranger and the SX-32 unboxed and assessments made.  (Though a 3-watt resistor assortment to replace R3 in the Ranger VFO is coming – that’s called the “Chernobyl resistor” which has a habit of blowing up over time…)

Monday – don’t miss the column.  I put together a collection of American Labor Songs – which will slosh nicely with a cold one (if you wait till after the sun’s over the yard arm.)

And be sure and read the latest from reader Stiks who checks in from his sailboat somewhere in the South Pacific (where we’d all rather be…).

Back in a few minutes with the Housing rap from Case-Shiller/S&P.

It’s only Tuesday and all, but do write when the beer shipment comes in,

George@Ure.net

30 thoughts on “Durables Tuesday, Housing to Come, Using AI for Foraging”

  1. WOW A mammoth post yesterday George.
    Must of been some stimulants in your pain meds.

    Myself, 7 decades in and I take no prescription drugs.
    No complaints, no medical war stories.
    Everything still works, still have full mobility.
    No pain, except for one in the ass when dealing with the other talking monkeys.

    Here’s a tale, to take your mind off your ailments.
    ————-

    “You should give her a call” said my mom.

    The “her” in this case was my cousin, my mom’s sisters daughter. She’s virtually the same age as me, down to within a couple weeks. Seems my cousin had a rough year. First a divorce, then powerful hurricane Andrew had slammed into south Florida at the end of the now previous summer.

    I’d called my parents in California asking if they’d fire up my VW van they graciously allowed me to park off to the side of their driveway while I was away working.
    There were a few days to kill before heading to technical school on the Florida panhandle coast. A 6 week course on maintenance & repair of marine radars & collision avoidance systems. I had just flown into Miami after a 5 month work stint on a tanker carrying grain to the Red Sea coast of Yemen.

    It might seem odd that an oil tanker could carry grain, but it is in fact doable. Apparently crude oil has a natural waxiness to it and the sides of a tank can be firehose washed with detergent and gotten clean enough to meet certification (don’t ask what becomes of the residue water). Let’s just say the cleaning operation takes place several hundred miles off the coast.

    The small shipping company I worked for had a fleet of three tankers that time chartered to the oil majors. In our case BP (British Petroleum). During lapses in oil charters, the company would take on U.S. government paid food aid charters carrying grain to the armpits of the world. That would keep the ship in motion, far better than temporarily laying it up then breaking it out (ships and men rot in port).

    During my commerical seagoing years as a Radio Officer I’d been in the Indian Ocean a number of times. 3 separate voyages carrying grain from Portland Oregon to east africa/mid east countries, then entering the Persian Gulf to load up with crude. Also 3 other trips on freighters carrying supplies to the U.S. base on Diego Garcia.

    Diego Garcia would make an excellent resort destination if it wasn’t devoted to the U.S. Military. Splendid climate, too close to the equator to be troubled by cyclones, a beautiful lagoon. It’s an atoll, approximately 8 miles long N to S and 3-5 miles E to W. The U.S. keeps a small fleet of commerical ships on station there (at least 30 some years ago they did). Those ships have supplies for a battalion of Marines in the event it’s necessary to quickly deploy them to places in the Mid-East. Marines from where ever fly in and supply ships arrive a week later.

    The Military base there is a slice of Americana, you’d think you were in south florida or thereabouts. Neat & tidy, the atmosphere more like a small U.S. town than a military base. A town without kids that is. Buildings are single story, well air-conditioned. Besides the working elements of the place, there’s a PX (post exchange i.e. a small supermarket), gym, outdoor movie theater, mini golf, medical/dental clinic, library, cafeteria.

    And of course, there’s a bar. A well visited, well ventilated place.
    Frequented by civilian seamen from the ships anchored in the lagoon, military,
    & assorted Brit ex-pat contractors who had managed to make Gilligan’s Island their home. The brits leased it to the yanks for 1 dollar a year.
    Not a bad place to settle I imagine (as long as you don’t get nuked).

    I never saw any bar fights, but it definitely was a lively & at times boisterous bar. Like something out of an adult orientated old Disney movie with an eclectic cast of characters.

    Seamen would catch the shore boat in at sundown and head for the bar.
    Drink prices were ridiculously low, obviously some subsidy was in place.
    In fact, everything was very afforable. Food at the PX, various personal supplies & services. One could rent a bicycle and bike 7 miles down (pass the super long runway) to the expansive antenna farm at the south end of the island (looked like a mix of high and low frequency). You could even rent a catalina 22 sailboat and cruise the lagoon.

    One vivid memory I have was from a return trip to my ship one night. The tradewinds were blowing briskly, the lagoon had a 2 to 3 ft chop. The shore boat would make the rounds amoung the fleet, delivering crew back. We pulled alongside a very high Roll-on Roll-off ship (visualize a car carrier). Those ships must have a 50 foot freeboard. All ships utilized a rope ladder (ropes with wooden steps between). The ladder was unattached at the bottom just above the water. Procedure was for the shore boat to pull up alongside, into the wind & seas, then one by one, those departing would walk up to the foredeck, time things such as to leap from boat to rope ladder just as the shoreboat lifted on a swell.

    The RoRo ship had a small detachment of Marines (must of been carrying armaments) in addition to civie crew. There were two 20-ish Marines to deliver. One was passed out drunk, so his buddy slung him over his shoulder and climbed the ladder. This at midnight, in 25 knot trades, climbing 50 feet up a swinging rope ladder in the dark.
    Damn, That was impressive! No man left behind.

    Getting back to south Florida.
    I’d been wanting to check out Biscayne bay ever since I watched a Frank Sinatra movie
    as a kid. In the movie, Sinatra plays Tony Rome, a savvy ex-cop turned private investigator who lives on his powerboat in a then (1967) unpretentious section of Biscayne Bay over near Marine Stadium. B bay lies south of downtown Miami and it’s northwestern edge is a ritzy suburb. There’s Coconut Grove and adjacent Coral Gables; bucolic, high-end neighborhoods.

    My cousin offered to show me around and we planned several days of activities; renting a small sailboat for a few hours, beach going on the eastern ocean side, a powerboat excursion with a friend, an overnight trip down to Key Largo for scuba diving (with a short pass thru devastated city of Homestead, flattened by the hurricane’s epicenter). We bar hopped in art-deco South Beach. Even an overnight trip up to Fort Lauderdale ostensibly to vist my Aunt & Uncle/her parents, though the day was mostly spent taking the intracoastal water taxi and bar-hopping waterfront establishments (a favorite pass-time there).

    That first afternoon we got caught up after a decade of little contact. She related her hurricane experience. How her near bayfront high rise condo building had it’s lobby flooded when the water level rose 6 ft. Alot for flat florida.
    At some point during the conversation (and a bottle of wine), I mentioned that the National Hurricane Center was located right there in Coral Gables. This now being the cool season, we wondered what those people do during slack times. My cavalier guess was that they sit around drinking beer and playing cards. Anyway, out came the phone book and with little delay my cousin was on the phone listening to whomever answered.
    For 5 minutes she said little except for “Oh, yes, I see, um-hum”.
    At the end of that, she thanked the man, hung up, looked at me and simply said “basically they collate data and improve their weather models”.

    Isn’t it odd that of all the experiences I had during that visit, all the years that have since passed, the one thing on my mind at this point in life is that term: “collate data”. Even as I work about the boat, I find myself reviewing life experiences, lessons learned, reviewing mistakes (both mine and close others).

    All the hours reading on the Internet since it’s inception.
    I’ve always been a voracious reader. Even before the Internet, I recall a deck hand once remarking that research had shown Seamen read more than the general population. When web browsers were introduced in the mid/late ’90s,
    I immediately realized the power of hyperlinks, the ability to go off chasing tangents.

    After the banking bailouts of 2008, my focus turned to financial history.
    Rethinking history in terms of concurrent money flows. Follow the money.
    As our host George has stated multiple times “everything is a business model”.

    Just the other day I was reading about financial analyst Ed Dowd’s report that in the U.S. disability claims with the government are increasing, now at approximately 250,000 to 300K new claims per month. Disability is a precursor to death (https://substack.com/profile/37258171-mark-crispin-miller)

    Think not only of social security not having to be paid, but also about all those juicy individual retirement funds being subject to estate taxes. The “bright” side of depopulation. “Everything is a business model”.
    By the George, does your financial analysis take a declining population into account?

    I take knowledge & experience and string them together into pearls of wisdom.
    So …. knowledge + experience reflected upon (collating data) turned into wisdom. Hopefully, enough wisdom will result in enlightenment.

    Ah, but what exactly is enlightenment? That’s what I ponder these days.
    That’s a question I throw out to you, dear readers.
    When I “read the room” here at George’s site, my estimation of the demographic is older, mostly male, well versed in life.
    Surely a body of knowledge to tap into.

    To me, is seems that enlightenment is more an endstate rather than a process.
    There could be varying degrees of it.
    But is it just sitting in a lotus position, meditating, taking joy in the beauty of source like a Buddist monk? That seems rather static, boring even after a while.
    Heck, I can find a serene waterfront vantage point and smoke a big doobie.
    That will put me in a pleasant state of being. That’s not enlightenment.

    And so I throw the question out to all.
    Thoughts?

    • I have to flag this as a must-read for Andy. I picture him baking on a Ro-Ro at Diego waiting for End Times and stacking cash. What is life? If six figures ain’t enlightment, maybe someone has rewritten the script?

    • From martial arts/Qigong advisor:

      ” Our ancestor explored the most fundamental, macroscopic, and global probabilities.They found out that “Shen” is the will of all. When one fits the will of all, one would be as if containing Shen”, being Shen” and complying with Shen”. And one would be “in correspondence with the universe”.
      This is actually very simple as long as your heart-mind is always bright and open, kind and honest, emphasizing de, and following broad and long-term ideals. Chinese Qigong pioneers in remote antiquity already recognized that for real happiness, the inner heart-mind must be in a boundlessly bright and open state, in friendly mood towards everyone and everything in the world at all times. In summary, simultaneous training of the heart-mind and body is very important in qigong. Heart-Mind adjustment is a technique. Always adjust our heart-mind-state to connect, respond, and unite with everything in the universe, by using this standard technique.

      1)Shen – in Chinese, the meaning of the word shen is profound and cover variuos aspects. It often means someone or something very capable, extroidinary and powerful: someone or something producing miraculous benefitsto individuals and/or people. Shen may considered miraculous, wonderful, effective, mysterious, ect. In ancient stories, a shen figure was often considered immortal. A shen figure was NOT considered as a God, he/she/it did wonderful things but could not do everything. Shen helped people but did not control destiny of individual and the world.
      2) de = roughly equals Virtue

      • Hey Hawaii Hank, any more fountains from the local volcano? My kids are on Kaua’i and, if on high, could Mt. Doom be seen? I’m wild arse guessing it’s 50 miles +/- hope this finds you well, E

        • LOL! It’s probably 300+ miles from Kauai to the volcano. Opposite ends of the island chain. We’re not THAT small!
          Volcano has been spurting every 10-14 days. High fountains have blown out. Last eruption was smallish, 50 ft fountains. Volcanologists look at terrain tilt meters in caldera to see pressure rising cycle and know within a day when it is ready to erupt again. 31 cycles of this eruptive phase so far.

  2. Since the Democrats believe that a member of the Federal Reserve Board, (Lisa Cook) a State Attorney General (Laticia James, NY), and a US Senator (Adam Schiff, CA) can LIE on their Mortgage Applications with no repercussions why shouldn’t EVERY AMERICAN also be able LIE on their Mortgage Application?

    If LYING on a Mortgage Application is A-OK aren’t most other government documents that deal with money OK to LIE on? (tax forms?)

    Let’s see … II think I need to buy a couple of houses in the next week, a few days apart of course, that I will declare will be my Full Time Principal Residence even though I have no intention of physically moving out of my existing house.

    (maybe one in Hawaii and one in Colorado since I love to visit those places and do spend some time there, at least once every few years)

    • Yo S2,

      Mai Tai’s at BennyHana’s – Hilton Hawaiian Village . check

      Mai Tais’ at Royal Hawaiian for Thanksgiving Dinner. check

      No more checks Hawaii, as dont want dox myself too badly. I do have a Makapu Surf point t-shirt(illegal/offlimits), Royal Hawaiian t-shirt with flouresent hot pink RH logo, amongst many other “classics’. Marine Corp has dandy Sniper Course out there.

      No Worries Taxes on real Money (BTC) – its made up numbers, they cant Tax made up numbers. Be like trying to Tax unrealized, future gains – they dont exist ..yet.

      No Lies – the geniuses on here at Urban have determined Bitcoin is fake, made up, hot air, digital tulips – Cant TAX that, what ever It is.

      Since they dont exist – Gains from Buying and Selling BTC are NON-Existent as well.

      GREAT ! – Glad we could clear that up. thx.

        • Unfortunately not.
          Do have a couple of old restaurant t-shirts..been 40+years since.

          They still have the Sunday Bikini Contest at The Reef ?

          I’m living vicariously in Hawaii thru koa (cobra) rothman/youtube nowadays.

          Last time anywhere near big island, was shot at from ground- checking out a huge grow area.
          In the 70’s, older kid lived behind -next door used to pay me in Weed to cut his grass. His old man was prolly paying him $15-$20 to cut it..$10 bucks in Weed to younger kid next door.
          Anyway this guy went on to Hawaii and built a significant RE and Restaurant business. He ended up dating/being very good friends with one of my class and team mates older Sisters.

          A very small world indeed..

        • Things have calmed down significantly since Hawaii passed “Medical Marijuana” law. Anyone who wants with a good excuse can get a Doctor’s card. State has sanctioned grower/dispensary outlets if you have a card. No more Federal ‘green harvests’. Not supposed to smoke in public, but cops have said they don’t enforce it.

      • BCP : for the record, especially due to (electronic) paper trail, I’m highly confident an average sleuth can identify the basis of the holder and sale price of crypto (if ever, it being cultish). For starters, anyone who neglected to answer truthfully re holdings, if any, has already committed fraud. The ability to track funds will get vastly better over time. Me, wouldn’t consider it … E

        • I feel for ya E -dog, I really do.

          Pay Attention – Coinwasher.
          – Ure Coins go In, then some other Coins come out.

          Its like the Steelhead Trout up around Lake Erie ways. You bring Ure catch into the “Smokers”, they weigh it, and hand you back that weight in already Smoked trout.

          There is no There there, when you conduct business in BTC, like Solar project in Belize.

          Not sure what Influences you might be under, but AGAIN , Coins in cold storage Do Not Exist.
          Sure they come “alive” again when back On Chain, the intrepid can id age range and source/wallet, but for what purpose ? It is a lot of hard, very tedious work, hardly worth the effort for one or two coins.

          Like Insider trading – was taught & trained to keep it conservative..Never needed to draw attention to myself, in fact quite the opposite.

          ? Ever Pay Tax on any Currency gains ever ? Used to play Conversion game on currencies with the big bank, as they paid a better rate than any of the Brokers on either side of border.

          Willing to Pay a premium in UST for any BTC – you name the strike, duration and yield – IDFC – SOLD!

    • Second – ‘Picture This’, I use it extensively in Belize.

      It loads and store your inquiries till you get back into Wifi coverage.

      Also use Merlin Bird ID, from Cornell U. bird lab, extensively in the Belize.

      Set it on record as you walk/watch for Birds. Once it id’s a new Birds’ sound/call, you know what and where to look..to score Ure proof/picture and add to Ure Life List (s).
      Same deal as above with field work and wifi. Cellular cant handle the all the data.. both apps need wifi.

  4. George
    While foraging with AI, ask it to ID potential protein sources among the bird you see.
    The old Nursery rhyme “4 and 20 blackbirds, baked in a pie” is an indication that some species we don’t use now were edible at one time.
    I have heard blackbirds, crows, robins, and others make a good meal in a pinch. Pies, or confederate stew would be a way to consume them.
    This would be done with your childhood .22, using shorts or CB caps, or better the mexican Agila brand Colibri or Super Colibri. These are no-powder loads that mimic low and high power air rifles. Or if you have one, and accurate Air Rifle. The Daisy 880 sold at the big box store both accurate and powerful enough if used with pellets, not BBs. I have read several articles in sporting mags describing the 880 used by pest control companies to take out birds in the rafters of big box stores without shooting though the ceiling.
    And Don’t forget the doves and Pidgeon’s (Squab) roosting on the popwer lines.

  5. It appeared to be a full house Monday in the blue lit Mystetskyi Arsenal art and culture complex of Kyiv. Repurposed after spending intermediary time as cannon storage, the site apparently once housed a convent whose patroness was none other than the mother of 18th century Ukrainian heroic leader Hetman Mazepa. It seems the Servant’s Administration has promoted the Hetman via Lord Byron’s 1819 homage, “Mazepa”, in which the Russian Empire defeated the Hetman at the Battle of Poltova in 1709.

    The president’s webpage links to a 10+ minute video about yesterday’s event at the Mystetskyi complex regarding the Second Annual National Prayer Breakfast with special guest, the Prime Minister of Norway. Germany too answered the call sending their Vice-Chancellor holding title as Finance Minister with tidings of new German Iris-T SAMs. Perhaps some scrap value can be applied against the €150 million (?) msrp from the Iris-T unit allegedly removed from service last week in Odesa by a ($3 million?) Russian missile.

    Additionally the Pope’s message gained entry into the prayer proceedings. His Eminence wished Ukraine well in its “daily Golgatha”.

  6. For Bic:

    Sorry I missed that you were undergoing Knee Replacement Surgery, glad the actual surgery went well.

    Knowing a LOT of people who have undergone that surgery (many friends were aggressive skiers and their skiing finally caught up with them), as well as many who have now had Hip Replacement Surgery just a bit of advice, which I am sure you have heard from others.

    For Hip Replacement Surgery the after surgery Physical Therapy is necessary but not too hard and most recover just fine even if they are somewhat sloppy with their PT.

    For Knee Replacement Surgery though the PT is CRITICAL. If you do not do it completely, try to ignore a bit of it since it can HURT LIKE HELL, well the final outcome is generally not that good.

    My skier friends who have gone through the Knee Replacement Surgery (about 15 now) were religious about their PT and not bothered by the pain, other than it was painful, and EVERY ONE one has had a very Good Final Outcome. (of course all were in decent physical shape going into surgery)

    On the other hand I have SEVERAL: acquaintances who were not skiers who did not want to do all the PT required for the Knee Replacement Surgery, particularly that PT which was painful, and every one of those who shortchanged their PT has had from a just So So to BAD final outcome.

    Knee Replacement Surgery, in order to have a good final outcome, is going to REQUIRE SOME VERY PAINFUL PT sessions … but if you want a good final outcome YOU HAVE TO DO THEM! ALL of them! FULLY!! Skipping PT sessions or not pushing yourself hard doing them will greatly lessen your opportunity to have a great final outcome.

    Several of my skier friends who went through the surgery went back skiing, not just cruising skiing but back to skiing aggressively though not as aggressively as they did before … but then again PAIN during recovery and PT did not bother them in the least. Their goal was well established in their minds … they wanted a complete recovery and if PAIN was needed to get there then By God they would work through the pain.

    Good luck with your recovery!!

    (I am sure you have already heard all of the above, so this is just a reminder)

  7. Before I make any further ‘comments’., stories., market news/opinions.., etc.., I would like to say just how damn lucky I am. I am. I shouldn’t even be here. But I am. I am still movin’-n-grovin’.., still planting and planning.., still willing to step forward. Kind of amazes me.
    Some of my ‘mistakes’ are starting to wear at me. I seem to walk with a slight limp now.., lots of permanent aches and pains., but it’s no big deal – I can manage it. I am lucky to be ‘able’ to manage it.
    I do one thing every morning.., without failure. It’s kind of a ritual now . When I slip my legs out from under the covers and put my feet on the floor., I stop and smile. Yep. A small, semi-sadistic.., smile. “I’m still here!.., you bastards!”

    After reading all the other posts about medical ailments, treatments and disasters from the members here.., I have to admit that I am damn lucky. I’ve had a lot of injuries -even managed to get myself blown-up once – with a week in the ICU.., but all of those broken bones, bruises, knife wounds and gun shots [one NDE ] were – temporary, they were “way back then”]., and though some have caused long lasting effects.., ache and pains [ and my current small, limp.] – none of them caused the kind of pain and suffering some of you have listed/mentioned., and live with. I don’t have any. Not like that.

    The fact that I am still here and still relatively healthy is nothing more than sheer luck and smidgen of great genetics. With maybe just a ‘touch’ of skill. And a whole lot of determination.

  8. “Beware the Military Industrial Complex.” I believe it was Eisenhower that first made use of that term and his ominous warning.

    – Trump Administration is now looking into investing the government into defense corporation stocks.

    – .., damn !

  9. I have a Ruger 10/22.., – fully customized., with a can. Using sub-sonic you literally can not hear it beyond twenty feet. There is one problem with using subsonic with a can in an autoloader. It will not produced enough pressure to cycle the bolt to the next round- basically turning it into a single shot. [ which requires a fair amount of diligence ! ]

    For birds mainly.., as we have one hell of a lot of quail in this area. A lot. And I spread bird seed out back to attract them.., for possible future dietary requirements.

    • dLynn : though well armed my biggest ammo stock is a smorgasbord of game loads. Sub sonic fired from a single shot bolt action 22 is a goto round for small birds. Goose? [sorry Canada] Switch to bird shot and a 12 Guage. I try to avoid shooting in anger. But, if wanting red meat to alternate with pan fish? Let’s eat! Or, the best from LOtR : meats back 9n the menu boys! ~ E

  11. “Dangerous Knowledge: Field Guide to What’s Growing Around My Coax”

    Pl@ntnet + lens | grok =

    You could build a catalog of all the flora on Rancho del Ure with this. In fact, using a drone and piping it’s camera view through Pl@ntnet before piping it to Grok might build that catalog in just a few minutes. Why would you want to? Is God growing edible or medicinal plants on your property? ‘Might be worth knowing…

  12. lets zap them weeds,,,
    “The
    @carbon_robotics
    Nvidia powered LaserWeeder G2 600 can kill 450,000 weeds/hour with sub-millimeter precision.

    It is end of days for chemical herbicides.”
    https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/1960453707826651216

    can I get a handheld unit for self guided yard management? beside a magnifing glass and endless hrs out on the lwan and garden.

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