ShopTalk Sunday: Prenukuall Hand Tools, Detection Tech

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A wee bit of focus now on “last minute checklists” before the world, um….well, we hope not….

While we have been buying the usual (solar panels, reach out of touch someone rounds, and a bit of chow…) our thinking this week somehow got over into the hand tools for use if (or when) the grid is attacked.

At times of exceptional risk – now through the end of the year? – we are on “firehouse readiness” levels.  Which means batteries even on the drills and battery circ saws are all fully charged.  There’s alway a hot battery for the 60-volt chainsaw, and trips to town this coming week will top up a few other supplies.

To mentally transition to uncertain future, I went through the hand tool inventory this week because of a few projects ongoing.

Proper Screwing

A last-minute addition to the (tube type) ham radio gear – an electronic Morse code keyer after the classic W9TO design that Hallicrafters turned into “The T.O. Keyer” – showed up.  But it needs some attention to detail.

After the ultra tough black satin paint dried (blazing Sun helps)it was time to put the screws back in. which, of course, never line up.  So, a trick is to use a soft-jawed squeeze clamp to hold things in place while the low (and in this case, inept) human can get all the screws started…

This was one of those occasions where having just the right clamp paid off.  Straight pressure, one way or the other, wouldn’t do the trick.  But this worked perfectly.

Don’t worry if you don’t (yet) have a collection of 8 (or more) squeeze clamps.  If you have a “young helper” this is a dandy time to teach them about the importance of proper alignment during assembly.  “Hold that still, now, son…”

Prepping for 1890

I don’t like talking about the End of the World.  Except when it comes to tools.  Because when it gets here (for real) it will mean the sunset of the Golden Age of Power.  You’ll need hand-powered everything.

In the shop, I did the “drilling and screwing” by hand inventory this week.  Here’s the gaps that were filled:

What was called “and eggbeater drill” when I was being the shop helper is now about $15 bucks at Amazon.  Though as you go up in price, the quality of the drill chuck will improve (generally).  The one that came on this drill was not suitable for anything less than about a 1/16th, but after that it was OK.

There’s actually a use-case for such a drill, even if you have power and a charged-up battery drill/driver.  Take in the shop where I need to put some shelf brackets up:  Hold the bracket screw hole on the “eggbeater drill” and when it’s where you like it, hold the bit firmly in place and 3-turns (assuming soft wood or sharp drill (they are never sighted near one another) and in go the screws with the power tool.

This will also give you an excuse to refill the inventory on standard shank drills.  Which (who uses them anymore?) have been mostly replaced with impact-driver-friendly shanked bits.

Bigger is Better

The next size up in hand tools for drilling might be a “brace and bits.”  The Brace is an old-school carpentry tool and looks like this.  Leaving a $20-25 hole in your credit card.

I should explain that the picture (right) also shows a colored assortment of Torx bits for the impact drivers.  It will be used as one more “repair-oriented” tool because there will be plenty of things needing repair when the world blows up.

It is very easy to spend upwards of $100 onb a good brace, if you are young, maybe a $50 unight (or higher quality) could be argued because again, the chuck on these cheapies aren’t good for anything small.  But, all according to age and outlook, right?

Next thing you will need will be a modest assortment of bits.

This $20 class of bits is being left in the shipping plastics because it reduces the summertime rust everything in sight trends in Texas.

Again, you can spend more, but remember that unless you have laid in a good supply of fasteners (screws, say…) about the most common use for this kind of drill is to dowel-fasten projects.  If you have a gallon of TiteBondIII on hand, even you and I can get things into working condition if made of wood.

Oh – long as we are on Hot humid Texas summers:  Run out to your shop and (after making sure your compressor doesn’t have any pressure in it, open the little valve on the bottom of the air tank.

I learned long ago (everything is when you’re 76…) that it’s easy to have a full quart of humidity driven condensation in the tank.  And it comes out roughly the same color as the stuff into the toilet after too much red wine the previous evening.

“Huh?”

Oh – don’t mind me – just drain the tank outside where you can get a hose after it and get rid of the muck-n-yuck, got it?

One more tool to consider – as there was one of these carving sets on sale – I think this one came in at like $25 on sale.

First time I ever really got an appreciation for the fine art of wood carving, was in Cusco, Peru.

We’d flown in, back in my airline days, jump seats on a 737-100.  Cusco is a one-way airport.  Once you commit, you are going to land because the air is so thin there’s not a practical “go around” for the low performance 737-100s… at least there wasn’t at the time mid 1980s.

Well, anyway there’s this one landmark church in the middle of Cusco and if you ever go, make sure to inspect the chairs.  Incredibly intyricate hand carving on all of them and it tells a story.

Second place I saw really good relief carving was aboard a friend’s Tayana 37 sail boat.  For some reason, their Asian yards do incredible teak reliefs on many of the Taiwan small boat yard products.

Last Chance to Fill Gaps?

We won’t direct you to the live coverage news stations this evening, but…

In the meantime, let’s all refresh on shop basics.

  • There are only Four Shop Operations
    1. Measure and mark
    2. Cut
    3. Join
    4. Finish
  • For each of these operations, you need:
    1. Power tools
    2. Hand tools
  • And you need these for every type of material you could be working on.
    1. Wood
    2. Plastics
    3. Metals
    4. Masonry
  • And in 3 sizes:
    1. Small
    2. Medium
    3. and Large

Where you will run into trouble with certain shop operations unless you plan far, far ahead.  For example, Measure and Cut metal might be done with a hacksaw, but my, ain’t a Sawz-All better?  And for joining?  Hand drill and bolts through 1/4″ plate?  No, this is why we keep an oxyacetylene rig around even though it’s a PITA.

More Organized & Motivated ShopThink

I have a hard time getting started on boring projects  (like clearing the workbench…) So I put it to the A.I. stack “Gimme some easy to remember tricks to keep me in Ultra Work Mode when the sweat’s pouring off…”

Since this may be a little too distilled for you, try this:

  • Reframe as Missions: Reframing tasks as missions boosts motivation by giving them a sense of purpose and adventure.
  • Timebox Sprints: Setting focused time intervals for tasks enhances concentration and helps limit procrastination effectively.
  • Audio Pairing: Combining work with audio turns it into a learning experience, making the process more engaging.
  • Energy ROI Triage: Prioritizing tasks based on energy return on investment ensures high-visibility tasks are completed efficiently.
  • 2 Small Wins Daily: Achieving two small wins daily builds a streak and reduces overwhelm, fostering a sense of progress.
  • Zones & Paths: Organizing tasks into zones and paths adds routine and prevents chaos in daily planning.
  • Weekly Ritual: Establishing a weekly ritual helps prevent backlog by maintaining consistent progress.
  • Automate/Delegate: Automating or delegating tasks conserves cognitive fuel, allowing focus on more critical activities.

There – so armed, get out there and get the miserable stuff done.  (Um…maybe I’ll just…uh…)

Plugolla

We did our annual insurance on the old place in the sticks this week.  And come to find out, our insurance agent’s hubby is into metal detecting!!!  So here’s a shout out to Chris Roger’s work.  And yep, he’s working with one of the manufactures on new technology which here in red dirt country can be a real software artform.

 

The kind of soil in East Texas is a tough nut for detectors because there’s a lot of iron in the soil.

Anyone hoping for success metal detecting will need the right mix of electronics and source material if you’re doing anything more saerious than sniping playgrounds and beaches.  A perfect mission for A.I.!

“Since you’re in Palestine, Texas (75803), there are a few intriguing treasure legends worth exploring with a metal detector, though they remain unconfirmed. One notable story involves a letter found in 1897 by W. S. Glenn, describing a cache of twelve jack loads of silver and thirty mule loads of Spanish gold buried in 1813 near a clear-running stream with a waterfall and high ridge east of the Neches River—possibly on his grandfather’s farm east of Palestine, where an old mill pond still stands. Another possibility is the broader East Texas lore of outlaw caches, like those potentially hidden by figures such as Sam Bass, who roamed the region, though specific sites near Palestine lack solid evidence. Always seek landowner permission and check local regulations before detecting, as these tales are speculative and require careful research to pinpoint.”

But in terms of really going deep (which human eyes can do on the LOC.gov site in old newspapers, for example) we are still waiting for A.I. to get better:

“Since no specific articles are identifiable from the digitized collections based on the current data, no list can be provided. For a comprehensive search, I recommend visiting the Chronicling America site (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) or the Portal to Texas History (texashistory.unt.edu) and using keywords like “East Texas treasure” or “Palestine treasure” to explore unindexed content, or contacting the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (ref@tsl.texas.gov) for assistance with physical archives. Always verify permissions and local laws before pursuing any treasure-hunting…”

Wait!  Did someone just say “That’s what God made nightvision for!”???”  What am I going to do with you? But, since you’re at it, got a ground-penetrating radar we could get airborne?

(I won’t mention the Polish Seer (Jackowski) has “flash bombs” coming by Wed night?  A likely [our thoughts] embodiment of the idea of sequentially detonating conventional explosives where timing is used for  both amplification and steering of over pressure areas?New kind of bombs emitting flashes of light…)

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

89 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Prenukuall Hand Tools, Detection Tech”

  1. “This is what we’ve waited for, this is it boys, this is war!”

    Nena – 99 Red Baloons

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ1TQYjCwYc

    Ninety-nine red balloons
    Floating in the summer sky
    Panic bells, it’s red alert
    There’s something here from somewhere else
    The war machine springs to life
    Opens up one eager eye
    Focusing it on the sky
    Where ninety-nine red balloons go by

    Ninety-nine Decision Street
    Ninety-nine ministers meet
    To worry, worry, super scurry
    Call the troops out in a hurry
    This is what we’ve waited for
    This is it, boys, this is war
    The president is on the line
    As ninety-nine red balloons go by

  4. Hand tools are great. Zero battery operated tools, either hand, air, or 110VAC. Mostly new old school American made. Been acquiring for over 50 years.
    For big stuff the air compressor runs a lot of different tools.
    Don’t forget hand powered metal working tools, large, and I mean large tin snips plus a couple of well built hacksaws with lots of spare carbide blades. Metal brakes are nice. Large old vise with a variety of heavy hammers. Don’t forget ear protection. Great exercise. Also remember those old gasoline fueled blow torches and extra brazing rods. Have plenty of rivets, both steel and Aluminum.

  5. Seems the only folks who are happily excited about the US attack on Iran are Israel and the conservative couch generals in the comment section of social media.

    Watching Trumps speaking last night, he seemed very nervous. Not the same character we’re used to seeing after a Trump strike. – Then chanel surfing, I couldn’t help but notice all the media commentators were also nervous and fumbling for words. As if trying to rationalize it so the sheep follow. But they didn’t seem to be very positive about it.

    Now Iran is calling for Russia and China to enter the war arena. – and I’m wondering who might have come across the border here, during the Biden Administration.

    I think somebody bit off more than they can chew, ya could say.

    I don’t like it when somebody’s plan for peace put my life in potential danger. There’s just something not right about that.

    • Putin after Trump said he was going to deep bunker busters warned.. if we got involved.. Russia …ten minutes later backed off saying we wouldn’t ..then there was an escalation by Israel.. Trump was basically forced to get involved..
      so now we see this..
      https://www.youtube.com/live/5_4Nsw9T-nE?si=cQLLnLM5Z932i7UD
      Now I have always considered that it would be NK to be the one to tip it.. give the lets go..
      https://youtu.be/dj2tFk_K7-c?si=v0zowRjHPnph65eq
      Then china..
      https://youtu.be/1h1iSrtI40k?si=RSCE6MAmuVrL28YL

      I still don’t see any issues for attacking the usa before fall..the army that was brought over with the open borders transported to the interior of the country by secret flights by the last administration.. then escalate it allow the hidden cells do what they have said they would do..attack from inside the borders..take down the fragile grid and let mother nature become a weapon.

  6. Meatloaf.

    Yes, meatloaf.

    In these perilous-seeming times, what could be more important to balance and serenity that a moment’s pause to consider something as simple, good, delicious, and nearly universally loved as meatloaf.

    Meatloaf is best made by women, and mostly for husbands and family. Yes, men – even famous Big-Name male chefs – have tried: but with little true success. They usually go too far and attempt a Food Stunt, not a simple weekday meal. Put simply, they try too hard, and “get fancy,” missing the main point of meatloaf: its simplicity. They use exotic weird meats or odd and rare spices.

    No woman makes meatloaf the same. The best ones follow no recipe: they just Make.
    I suspect the secret formula is installed in hypnotic covert sessions in high school Home Economics. (While the boys in Shop are being told Secret Boy Stuff, like how ½ inch and 13mm socket wrenches are really ‘close enough.”)

    Back to meatloaf.

    No woman’s meatloaf is quite like any other’s – and — and – EVERY meatloaf is better than all that have gone before. Each iteration is The Best Ever. This is a great but counterintuitive mystifying truth.

    Kathy, my wife of over 40 years, made hundreds of meatloaves over those years, and each one was The Very Best Yet. There was no cookbook, no notes, no references; she just made it. Eda, my second wife of about eight years, was the same. They just have some deep inner knowledge of how to do it. Neither one was “better.” They were BOTH “better” than each other – every single time. Each one better than ALL that had gone before, no matter who the Author was.

    Kathy started with 80/20 cheap burger; only. Eda started with “meatloaf mix,” but then they were genius-soloing a bit buzzed at 3am on the tenor saxophone in a smoky bar — improvising in The Zone.

    Sometimes eggs were used: other times not. Sometimes bread crumbs were vital, other times it was finely chopped red onion, or maybe some minced garlic, or other mysterious spices or even crumbed crispy (real) bacon bits.

    Never twice the same, and EVERY one The Best Yet. The Best Ever.

    I made one, once. It was… …OK. Not like theirs. There was some ineffable missing “soul factor.” I concluded my purity of motive was spoiled by my trying too hard to make a point – rather than just a meatloaf.

  7. “1890”

    ” long as we are on Hot humid Texas summers:”

    Yep, a lot of folks will be stroking out. Dead bodies will be piling. Who will hand dig during the heatwaves? That’s the Daily Double. Then come the flies and rodents. A Trifecta. Those Ayatollahs have it in for us.

  8. You need a Stanley 45….
    a hand drill press and a chest drill.. a treadle lathe … two man saw.. the Stanley is nice so is the chest drill..
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/167501631977?
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/266023588680
    https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/barnes-4-1-2-metal-lathe-as-a-foot-powered-wood-lathe.20819/

    I am shocked at just how arrogant our leaders are..while they were playing with the business model they failed to contemplate the long game. set on temporary greed fulfilment.
    we are addicted to power!!! we increasingly continue to seek more advanced products that all require great need for energy.The addiction to centralized power isn’t just about electricity; it’s about control, short-term gains, and failing to prioritize long-term sustainability. We should also Integrate alcohol stoves and biodiesel micro-generators into the system as auxiliary energy sources. Think of energy like nutrition: solar is the staple, biofuels are the supplements, and wind/geothermal are the wildcards. now most prep with the idea everything will remain the same..a chain saw a truck etc.. and not once wonder..what if..can you make fuel .. what is it we need..water.. clean healthy.. food.. instead of being smart we choose temporary finances of the business plan.. my grad daughters husband was talking about his noisy dehumidifier last night..lately the kids produces about ten gallons a day from the humidity..I’ve been dumping the kids three times a day.. I laughed and told the grandon..make an air well.. huh..then I said yours has the pump.. Add a five gallon dispenser and a filter..we sat on the kids porch and I explained the desert regions of old had used them for thousands of years.. draining into aquifers..we use energy..and seem to have forgotten the basic needs.. urban expansion ..so I think he’s going to make one..he had never heard of such a thing..Of course greenscaping the cities bio diesel oil from algae..converting spun oil waste back to oil..plastics foams etc.we throw out an average of seven pounds of spun oil per person a week.there’s a literal island of floating plastic the size of Texas in the ocean..clean it up recovery it back to oil and or use it to manufacture new products rather than destroy the planet for a number..crazy huh..But then that’s the business model..

    • Backup Power

      Recently went to my college reunion (size is up from when I went there, now about 20,000 students) which is located in a semi rural (farming area) vs a city and in taking a tour of the new parts of the campus one lecture was about their move to be more energy efficient.

      Part of that was to buy TWO huge cruise ship generators (powered by natural gas) and install those in one of their old coal powered heating plants. Voila … no more longish power outages for the entire campus when their grid connection goes down anymore. 14 Gigawatts of self generated electrical power available to run the campus with about a 10 minute ramp up /switch over time (total peak need for the entire campus, dorms /cafeterias etc included, is about 17 gigawatts, normal usage for the entire is under their 14 GW internal generation capacity).

      Since they buy their power on the spot 15 minute market they can also switch to their natural gas internally generated power when the spot electrical power prices go above their internally generated power costs in high electrical grid demand times and then switch back to the grid when grid prices come back down.

      What was even more interesting than making their entire campus “electrical grid independent” if the need /or costs require it is their change over of their systems or heating /cooling of nearly 20 million square feet of space. They are moving the entire 20,000,000 sf to an underground heat exchanger system for heating and cooling needs.

      Their underground ground geo-thermal system involves drilling down about 600 feet, then lateral drilling for two to three hundred feet, and then bringing the liquid back to the surface via a return pipe which then goes into a heat/cooling exchanger system. HUNDREDS of wells will eventually be involved. Actually a few hundreds are already drilled and piped (wouldn’t you like to be the driller that got that multi year, hundreds of wells, contract?)

      Already up and running for 1/3 of the campus, another 1/3 to come on line next year, they have already cut their overall energy consumption for the entire campus by 50% compared to 10 years ago while increasing their square footage of buildings by over 15%.

      That industrial size geo-heat exchange system is such new technology, it had never done before, for full size testing they had to send the various systems competing to get the contract to South Korea for testing because in the US Patent Protection issues meant that their engineers couldn’t test each system and then open them up to look inside, but in South Korea they could (South Korea does NOT have the same level of Patent Protection the US does). After the Korean testing on each competing system was done that massively sized equipment was then shipped back to the US and they then returned all of the systems to their respective manufacturer and gave the contract to the “Winner”

      Even with the system they thought was best and chose, the first ever industrial size system of it’s type ever installed in the US or in the world for that matter, the Manufacture had to design and build new refrigerator size electrical motors to run the system after the first stage was installed and running – takes multiple motors … the original ones were NOT up to the task.

      OH …. and they, like George, are adding massive amounts of solar to reduce their grid needs even more only instead of using batteries to store any excess energy they use multi million gallon water tanks tied into their new heat exchanger system.

      Talk about an entire small city of 20,000 going Electrical Grid Independent, though they still need natural gas for their generators, it was an amazing system to see in actual operation. (about 1/3 built out, another 1/3 to come online next year, and then the last 1/3 over the following 4 years – about a 10 year build out from beginning to end)

      Yep … industrial sized energy change overs take TIME, particularly when it involves new technology that nobody has ever done before.

      • Our esteemed colleague I’m sure meant MW not GW since Individual generators: The power rating for individual diesel generators on a cruise ship typically falls between 9 to 15 MW. This is significantly more powerful than the generators found on typical cargo vessels.
        Total power output: A large cruise ship may require a total installed power of 60 to 76 MW or even higher. For example, the Harmony of the Seas is equipped with 6 alternators capable of delivering a total of 100 MW.
        Power usage: A large cruise ship is likely to draw at least 5MW, perhaps approaching 10MW. When connected to shore power, a large cruise ship can consume up to 12 MW.
        (1 GW is 1,0090 MW)

      • correction … NOT Gigawatts but Megawatts when it comes to the generating capacity of those cruise ship size generators. Apparently I was having a brain fart when I wrote the above

      • Around the wastelands.. the power company coop was encouraging everyone of their members to get solar and put in a backup generator…yet instead of building solar towers or handing out solar grid tie systems..they invested in huge wind turbines positioning them at the furthest point than their members..I believe that took real deep thinking lol.
        putting all their eggs in one basket type thinking.. while the native American tribes are positioning their reservations to maintain power sources in the event of a collapse of the grid..

  9. Flipping thru the channels, the liberal media is apoplectic, claiming Trump violated the Constitution by committing U.S. forces without notifying Congress. They tangentially refer to the War Powers Act, which actually states the following: “The War Powers Act, formally known as the War Powers Resolution, is a federal law passed by the US Congress in 1973 to limit the President’s power to commit the US armed forces to military action without the consent of Congress. It requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops and to withdraw them within 60 to 90 days unless Congress authorizes the action.”

    The B-2’s were only airborne for 18 hours, so they do not exceed the 48 hour congressional notification requirement. And since the U.S. has zero deployed forces exclusively intended for this operation (not a war), the 60-90 day withdrawal requirement is n/a.

    • That’s how the Werewolf Game works. Dig in!

      Trump’s the good guy for bombing Iran. If the world says Trump was wrong, that means he was right. And who are they to tell Americans anything? Not to mention saving God’s chosen since 1941. They’d be speaking Iranian by now if it wasn’t for….

      • Who would have thought:

        “Australia backs US strike on Iran to prevent nukes”

        They don’t call Five Eyes for nothing.

    • you posted a small excerpt and a summary. the law says a potus in every possible instance “shall” consult with congress prior to taking such action.
      https://psc.uncg.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/War-Powers-Act.pdf

      s. 1(2)(c) “The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”

      s. 3 “The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and after every such introduction shall consult regularly
      with the Congress until United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations.”

      s. 4 “(a) In the absence of a declaration of war, in any case in which United States Armed Forces are introduced–
      (1) into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances;
      (2) into the territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation, while equipped for combat, except for deployments which relate solely to supply, replacement, repair, or training of such forces; or
      (3) in numbers which substantially enlarge United States Armed Forces equipped for combat already located in a foreign nation;
      the president shall submit within 48 hours to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate a report, in writing, setting forth–
      (A) the circumstances necessitating the introduction of United States Armed Forces;
      (B) the constitutional and legislative authority under which such introduction took place; and
      (C) the estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or involvement.
      (b) The President shall provide such other information as the Congress may request in the
      fulfillment of its constitutional responsibilities with respect to committing the Nation to war and to the
      use of United States Armed Forces abroad
      (c) Whenever United States Armed Forces are introduced into hostilities or into any situation
      described in subsection (a) of this section, the President shall, so long as such armed forces
      continue to be engaged in such hostilities or situation, report to the Congress periodically on the
      status of such hostilities or situation as well as on the scope and duration of such hostilities or
      situation, but in no event shall he report to the Congress less often than once every six months.

      • Who is to say that Trump did not consult with congress, particularly the GOP leadership? Many pieces are in play for this chess match.

      • The Democrats have individuals in Congress that I seriously doubt could pass a background check for a firearm purchase, let alone handle classified knowledge of an impending attack without tipping off the enemy. Trump consulted with the adult congressional supervision.

        • and yet in the real world there is only one convicted felon in elected government, trump. who you voted for? trump would never qualify for a security clearance between his debt, foreign business interests, felony convictions and retention of classified documents. grow up and think! think!

  10. Furthermore, Trump did not declare war against Iran. It was what is officially known as ‘an armed intervention.’

      • JC,
        Yesterday the Ukrainian President dropped video of his warm greetings of welcome to the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, a wealthy heiress of an American beer distributor, Mrs. McCain (née Hensley). A coinkydoink of history alleges that Dr. Jill Biden sparked some decades ago the now Executive Director’s first tête-a-tête with a then already married and Presidential candidate-of-the future, the late John McCain.

      • Cept for the Presidential palace…it be GONE this AM!

        One wonders if the “Princess” got any sleep last night ?

        Kinda doubt it, as the Russian Iskanders’ wait for no one.

        Its Nutz, Hazelnutz!

    • i bet there’s some iranians who disagree with you, especially the dead ones. nice enabling and rationalization though! i do appreciate knowing that you’re in favor of this. now the fallout falls squarely on your shoulders.

    • Japan didn’t declare War on the United State before bombing Pearl Harbor … or immediately after. Also like the US at present, as stated by President Trump and several in his government over the last 48 hours, Japan had no interest in “Regime Change” of those running the US Government when it engaged in a bombing campaign against military assets in Hawaii which it felt were a threat to it.

      I guess that means, using the same logic coming out of DC over the last 48 hours, that Japan was NOT at War with the US at the conclusion of it’s attacks come noon Hawaii time on December 7 1941!!

      Sheesh …

      By ANY academic or legal definition the US engaged in an act of War against another nation with it’s air attack on Iran, which was NOT threatening the US directly in any way (yes it’s proxies may have been but sheesh our CIA proxies have done that to MANY other countries over the course of the last 75 years)

      I fully understand Trump’s wanting to do the attack … but Trump UNILATERALLY made the decision for the US to GO TO WAR against a Sovereign State ON HIS OWN withOUT Congressional Approval or even Congressional Consultation. That is something our forefathers were totally against which is why the US Constitution PROHIBITS IT.

      I suppose Iran could just walk away from the Act of War implemented against it by a bombing campaign on Sunday June 20 2025 … just like FDR walked away from the Act of War implemented against the US by a Japanese bombing campaign on Dec 7, 1941.

  11. AI the Great Castration of actual thought – there is no panacea in AI. Ethical Skeptic who is a rather smart fellow and an intriguing follow when querying I believe it was ChatGPT and GROK found repeatedly fails the Turing Test.

  12. Wheres the pictures ?

    All them planes equipped with Camera’s – wheres the video ?

    Where the hell is the mythical 15-Tone bunker buster bomb ?

    Shouldnt there be video of lite footed lindsey graham in pink cowboy boots and hat riding one of those 15 tonners down into Fordo ?

    Popcorns and Cold ones as sit back and watch Second Order Effects come into play..Carriers, Bases..Oh my!

    We are all in Lucifers’ Court now.
    *This is the part where the children of abraham get theirs, and there is nothing anyone can about it, cept stay out of it and put Ure faith in Her..just like the Cathars did.”

      • So you remember the Peoplenomics modeling? B2s and the bunker busrters fail, Israel gpes in with nukes to finish it off and 3 lights off?

        • That is roughly the good ET’s plan of action or inaction as it were.

          The 3 days of “darkness” is when global information control network IS DOWN!

          This will be the Time (Opportunity) for what christian crazies call an “ascension” – the opportunity to see things, like TIME, more clearly.

          * Reach out and talk to something/one new, personally prefer squeezing someone new, but hey cant really tell till I set my peepers on an ET Female… https://youtu.be/MzQ4qdlhurc?si=qAKzwOHTR_UmaOlr

        • Israel will only go with the nuke option if their national survival is at stake. The mere threat of a nuke response from Israel (yes, they have nukes, and have had them since the ‘70s) to that of the U.S. of A. against the ayatollahs should suffice. Even if Russia or the PRC ‘donate’ a few nuke warheads to Iran, the Islamic Republic would end up in ashes.
          Israel’s nuke capability combined with that of the. U.S. should lead the Islamic fascist mullahs in Tehran to read and heed the tea leaves and settle down. That, or else they’ll elect to meet Mohammed in the post-nuclear afterlife.

      • If RT is right on this, we may be able to weasel our way out of this. We need to isolate our interests from those of Israel and proclaim neutrality. I don’t see a valid reason for this incursion at all – given each country’s sovereign rights. I have a bad feeling about this. Trump likes brinksmanship in negotiations, but I fail to see how this can possibly help American interests. Had we totally destroyed the Iranian nuclear program, I could see this incident escalating to a full-on assymetric war.

        If Israel escalates to nuclear weapons, God help us all!

        Then again, I’m no geopolitical expert.

      • Newsweek published a satellite picture of Fordow from June 19.
        https://www.newsweek.com/iran-nuclear-strikes-us-donald-trump-fordow-satellite-imagery-unusual-activity-2088918

        According to the International Atomic Energy Agency report of 5/17/25 Iran held maybe 20,000 pounds of enriched uranium of which maybe 600 pounds was near weapons-grade (60%) purity.

        Look at the photo. I see around 20 trucks lined up. How many trucks does it take to carry 10 tons of uranium? My guess–all of the uranium and many of the centrifuges left before the B2s arrived.

        Does anyone else remember the “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003?

  13. It’s been rumored., now it was said out-loud. Russian Foreign Minister announced at a news conference after the U.S. hit Iran’s nuclear program. “There are now countries willing to give Iran nuclear weapons.”
    .
    Iran has ordered the Strait of Hormuz to be closed. Effectively cutting off roughly 20% of the world’s oil. [ Which will hurt them more then it will the world., but will jack our inflation rate. ]
    .
    Trump has ‘promised’ further military action if Iran doesn’t sue for peace. Iran has ignored this and has already fired upon Israel and the entire U.K. is on terror alert. As Iran has promised “massive” retaliation. “You have started this and we will finish it.” Ayatollah.
    .
    This is just getting started. The question we need to ask? Which country gets stupid first?
    .
    “War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, not the arrow for its swiftness, not the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

  14. 55 gallon barrel chlorine batch shock for emergency water treatment:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESkpWviLvQ0&t=657s

    -Calcium Hypochlorite:

    https://www.amazon.com/DryTec-Hypochlorite-Chlorinating-Treatment-Swimming/dp/B009S85LEA?th=1

    1/8 teaspoon for clean water. 1/4 teaspoon for a dirty barrel. Watch the video above for more detailed instructions.

    I am working on increasing my barrel capacity to two (2), so that I can pull from one barrel, while I batch shock a second. I will try the farm supply I got my first barrel from, before I mail order. Shipping runs up the cost considerably, and leaves a paper trail.

    Don’t forget a measuring spoon:

    https://www.amazon.com/BERYLER%C2%AE-Teaspoon-Measuring-Individual-Stainless/dp/B0C4GJXRRK?th=1

    I have two manual potable barrel pumps. I also have a 12VDC 3 gpm pump with accumulator sand bagged, and enough parts and pieces to assemble.

    -Dolly for water barrel.
    There are cheaper dollies. I have a lighter duty steel one which has worked for years, and appears to still be in good shape, but I am going to try a super heavy-duty steel one:

    https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Capacity-Heavy-Duty-Warehouse-Handling/dp/B0DWMF5G86?th=1

    I figure the castors will go before the painted steel.

    I have Culligan filters and housings for two stage filtration. I will do solids filtration of raw water into a gathering bladder, then carbon filtering out of the storage drum, after batch shocking.

    I don’t normally post recommendations for equipment and chemicals I haven’t used extensively, so these are examples, not things I have used day-in and day-out for any length of time. We are moving into a very high risk operating environment.

    BIC: Please feel free to comment or correct.

    I would also mention that unless you have a well with a solar pump in your yard, you need to have a supply of back-up fuel, with water gathering equipment including a large raw water bladder, and some way to get water into and out of it.
    I will be able to gather water from multiple sources with this 50 gallon bladder on the front end loader of my diesel tractor:

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SFKJLBM?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

    I have another larger back-up bladder I bought some years back, but it is rather frail, comparatively. I have maybe six 5 gallon water jugs, but I meant to use them for carrying treated water, not hauling raw filtered water.

    My goal is to be able to gather, treat and store up to 100 gallons of potable water on a weekly basis. If tensions escalate, I will use a food grade hose to fill a drum off of the utility district water this week.

    In the event of longer term issues, I will next go for water gathering off the roof ($$$$), which is what my grandfather did at the same site for the last thirty years of his life. There is one spot with a seep which is candidate for a shallow ag well, but no one digs those for hire anymore. About 30 years ago one of my cousins dug a well about 30 feet deep by hand, out of sheer desperation, and it worked pretty well. I never went down that hole. And I’m not that desperate, yet.

    • I had some pool shock in my garage for a pool we never bought. It corroded all the metal in the garage. My handyman had some in his bathroom and he had to replace all the metal parts there. Be careful.

      • A 1 lb bag of 68% calcium hypochlorite will treat 10,000 gallons or or about two years worth of manually batch treated potable water. It will go in sealed enclosure in a plastic tote off the floor to discourage condensation. It only becomes a problem if it is exposed to moisture.
        People buy enormous bags and 6 gallon enclosures of this chemical for their swimming pool, then don’t seal it up air tight, and things get ugly. Thank you for the reminder; I will take extra care in handling, Eleanor.

        • Even dry, it tends to degrade polyethylene that cracks in time. Ask me how I know. Research some harder ‘chlorine resistant’ plastic containers. PET lasts a little longer.

        • Put up a small wood garden shed away from the house and store it there!! MUCH Cheaper than fixing LOTS of metal things around the house later.

    • You are on top of it n_____ I would just confirm the comments from Eleanor and Hank. I had a couple of bad investigations into Calcium hypochlorite in my work days. Garage burned to the ground, people seriously injured.

      It will corrode metal and degrade plastic. Just store the minimum amount for your needs. A 50 pound container sitting in a garage or other storage area close to living facilities is an accident waiting to happen.

      As you stated. “People buy enormous bags and 6 gallon enclosures of this chemical for their swimming pool, then don’t seal it up air tight, and things get ugly.”

      • Thank you BIC. I’m going to try storing 1 lb in a gasketed PP bottle, and put it in the tool shed. I have some wasps there that deserve to be chlorinated.

  15. My mistake.
    the Strait of Hormuz – A third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait.
    Iran has ordered it closed.

  16. Gretta dutch c02 activist happy . Brics dead. One bomb into china oil reserve and china gone

  18. BOHICA becomes BOAKYAG.

    FYI you can do good drilling underwater with my at least 100 year old heavy duty ‘egg beater’ drill with shoulder brace. Just rinse and spray with CRC when done and it’s ready to go again.

    Rained a lot last night. Twenty gallons of good water without spending a calorie.

    We’re hoping getting food doesn’t become problematic if oil goes nuts. Then we might have to dip in the long term stuff, which is edible, nutritious and boring but still better than nothing. And the moon is right for catching the big jacks hunting in the light cast by the mast head anchor warning. Delicious white meat.

    And it finally feels like winter… down to the high 70’s by day and need a sheet over at 3 A.M. to sleep comfy.

    We don’t get the ‘target’ feeling here, thank God for that.

    Stiks

  19. It is a strange and weird world, folks
    .
    Pakistan has just nominated President Trump for the Noble Peace Prize.

    Now, I realize that this nothing more than a globally announced suck-up to the President.., but it is funny as hell.
    [ Ohh.., President Kick-Ass.., please don’t bomb us…, Please!! We’ll nominate you…, promise…,]
    Didn’t Trump say something about the Noble’s.., just recently?

    • The vast majority of regional players are celebrating Mr. Trump’s bombing run. Most of the grownup national leaders worldwide are celebrating it also. Iran is an unsupervised 3yo with a lightened SIG and a full mag, sitting in a crowded mall on Black Friday.

      I have heard or read of leaders from nearly a dozen countries, most of them in Ureup, mention “Trump” and “Nobel” in the same sentence, in the past 40 hours, or so.

      Nobody in their right mind is going to give an Ayatollah-controlled Iran, nukes. That includes the young Un. His sister would, but not Un.

      I suggest foreign and nonbiased, or nontrad [but not conspiranut] news sites…

  20. “Furthermore, Trump did not declare war against Iran”

    Try telling that to the Russian Generals.

    Same response will be given when you tell that to the Chykneeze Generals.

    * Stick a fork in the stroked out moron in chief, his days are now numbered.

    On a more conspiratal note – whispers of soft coup in Chynah, Xi “put on ice”, they be going back to Deng days/ways..

  21. “CNN” published an image at 3:33 this morning. It depicted a red-tied President Trump dropping bombshells at the mike. A pair of minions to his near left attired in red ties stared at the floor. To his distant right, VP Vance (“of the Marsh”) in purple tie looked askance at #47.

    Separately, as chance would have it, the “BBC” is reporting that Pakistan will be nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. According to Google’s AI, the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize went to US Secretary of State Kellogg for his part in the Briand-Kellogg Pact. The Pact argued against waging war to settle disputes.

    • May I offer a speculation concerning the pictured arrival of the Iranian Foreign Minister to Moscow. The Hebrew script beside his plane door appears to translate as “The Hall is Arabic” (or “The Beginning”?). Perhaps this is in reference to the 6th century Christian cathedral Hagia Sophia in modern day Istanbul which was later turned into a mosque? Above the script is the Arabic number 301. “Ar Rum” (The Romans) opens chapter 30 of “The Holy Qur’an” with a line 1 of Allah – subtle, glorious King. The chapter apparently goes on to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem by the Sasanids (Persians) in 614ad.

    • postscript to 190.92.156.129 –

      The script beside the Iranian FM’s plane door offers an Arabic translation of “mobile internet”. Perhaps status code “301” references a resource being requested has been moved to a permanent new location?

  22. this is just the sequel. more republican WMD. it’ll be more enabling by republicans. more republicans will cheer from their la z boys as we bomb another country. democrats will try to prevent another war. then republicans will blame democrats for the republican war. we’ve been here before.

    you all voted for this.

    • NERP – Did not Vote last “election” – much to the dismay of fam.

      tRUMP was a terrible choice, as was Camela..TERRIBLE.

      Go ahead and tell this casual observer we (USA) are a NOT Captured & Enslaved Peoples..

      NOT conservative vs liberal, repugnican versus demonrat, but US (Humanity) versus “Them” and their directs.

      Soonly, when the darkness (EMP- no internetz) falls – the time to open Ure Eyes and listen will be at hand.
      Not much of a solution, as many enslaved Peoples when offered Freedom, refuse new way of Life, and desire to return to old ways of enslavement for daily scraps.

      *Who controls Ure daily Scraps ? Answer that honestly and you will have UNDERSTANDING .
      **Same folks spraying Chemies overhead..2 generations it will take, but already seeing detrimental effects/results.

  23. based on chapter 45, 47 is the last person in the world i would want in charge during a crisis. no knowledge of history, the constitution, american government, the military or geopolitics.

    let’s golf! and sell some cell phones.

  24. My Second Job
    – Part One

    It was a month after my first job., I had walked down to the Hippie Soup Shoppe for lunch.., as I was walking down the ramp at the marina on my way back to the house boat, Montgomery was just starting to walk up.
    “Been waiting for you.” He smiled. “I’d like to talk with you for a few minutes.”
    I stopped and just starred at him. .., something was coming.
    “Well.., let’s go have a cold beer.” and smiled at him. He didn’t smile back.
    Once out on the deck with a cold Guinness Stout I lead him into what he had come for.
    “I have to assume this visit is serious?” I took a sip of the stout and watched his eyes. They didn’t change., he didn’t blink. Yep – serious.
    “Did you enjoy what you did? Regarding the bikers? His tone was rather flat – Too much lawyer.
    “Enjoy? Odd choice of words.” Took another sip. “Sounds a bit like the Criminal Psychology class we took together.” I grinned. “But I will admit it was fun. Brought back old memories. Point being?”
    He nodded. “Another favor. For Em, actually.”
    That just made it serious.., as far as he was concerned.
    “I’m ready – fire away.”
    He set his beer on the table and placed his hands in his lap. ‘Presentation is about to begin’.
    “My wife’s sister fell in love with a guy at college.., married and moved to his very small town in Iowa. He has a small, but profitable farm and ranch. Nice guy. They love and like each other a lot.” He picked up his beer to take a sip – but didn’t and sat it back down.
    “The town is very small., around 800 people. All farmers, ranchers or shop owners. They barely make enough revenue to keep the schools going. And the next closest high school is a 70 minute commute. Two hours, if there is snow” He looked me in the eye, then to his beer., which he picked up and this time took a sip.
    ” The town is being terrorized by five vicious gang members. No one saying where they get their money from, but it is rumored that they are extorting the store owners – protection racket. Once in a while they beat the hell out of some poor guy – just for fun..,”
    “There is not five of them.., only one.” I said.
    Montgomery stared at me., questioning….,
    “There is only one leader.., and maybe another who wants to be – but all the rest are just followers. There is only one…, target.” ., and picked up my beer. “No one has stood up to them?” I asked, kind of shocked.
    “Yes. One guy did. Beat one of them right into the hospital. His house burned to the ground a couple of weeks later. No one else wants to take that chance again. Seems everyone is really afraid of them. Four of them are rather large. ”
    “That doesn’t matter..,”
    “I knew you would say that.., does anything intimidate you ?? – they don’t have anyone like you.”
    “Police?”
    “The town has a police chief and one deputy. As Em’s sister puts it..,” He sat back and looked at the sky.., The chief is a coward and won’t confront anybody and the deputy is a Barney Fife. Both useless.”
    “That’s not good. ” I took a big sip, sat my bottle on the table and looked at him. He was staring at his bottle. Lost in thought.
    “Iowa? I’ve never been to Iowa.”
    Montgomery raised his head and looked at me.
    “You do realize that since these punks have already shown they are not averse to violence – that violence may be required to – alleviate the problem? How would your sister in law and her husband react to that?”
    “No problem there. They would more than likely welcome it. Even help.” He glanced at me.., “Phil, her husband is not a coward., but he has never been in a fight., not in his whole life. He simply doesn’t know what to do – or how to do it.”
    “I would not want their help. Keep them completely out of the picture. Em?”
    “Em?” he echoed.
    “With violence.”
    “Yeah., she’s a bit of a pacifist.”
    “All moms are a bit of a pacifist.., until someone messes with their babies.”. and I smiled.
    “Ohh, lord. You aren’t just going to go shoot them.., are you???” He sounded worried.
    ” No. That would be too easy.., and not much fun. They are white-boy trash mafia., shouldn’t be too hard to mess with their egos to set them up.” I finished my beer.
    “So., you’ll help.., again?”
    “Yes.., but don’t tell your sister in law. Don’t want it to slip. I’ll call her when I get there and she can then call Em, or you for confirmation. OK?”
    “I now owe you two. ” ., and took a big gulp of beer.
    “Only one. You paid for the first one., remember?”
    Montgomery smiled, faintly. “I am not sure I like ‘hiring’ you…,kind of a organized crime feeling.” He glanced at me. “What if something goes wrong? ”
    “No problem. I know a lawyer !” and grinned. Montgomery hung his head.., “Oh, lord…,”

    He was always so serious.

    My Second Job
    – Part Two

    Flew out three days later into Omaha.., crossed the border in a rented pick-up [ try finding a pick-up at Avis at San Francisco International., gotta love the Fly-Over States. ] over to Council Bluffs Iowa and headed north to Sioux City, half way up took a right and headed towards Fort Dodge.
    Virtually no traffic – even felt quiet. Blew right past my turn-off and had to make a one-eighty.., Rolled into the no stop-light town just as it was getting dark. There was a blinking yellow light at the main cross streets in the middle of town., and on the corner was a bar. It looked opened. Everything else looked closed-up for the night.
    I have learned that going into a small town bar can be a little dicey., there are rules to follow.., but I was hungry and thirsty. Pulled into a parking spot behind another pick-up and went in.
    Bartender was a combo. Beer man, short-order cook and sometime bouncer. Four people in the bar. I ignored them and sat at the bar., right in the middle.
    “Good evening.., ” I said. His eyes were questioning me..,
    “How ya doing..,?” and he stepped up. “What will it be…,?”
    “Cold draft and is the grill still open?”
    “Draft I can do.., grill closed an hour ago.” He grabbed a glass and filled it with Bud. I can’t stand Budweiser., but I doubt he has ever heard of the word ‘ale’.
    I dropped a couple of dollars on the bar and slugged down half the beer. “Ahh.., thanks..,”
    He nodded and took one of the dollars.
    “Anything open where I can get something to eat?” I asked him. Someone moved behind me.
    “Not around here.” A male voice slurred from behind me. “Not for the likes of you.”
    ‘..,a small town bar can be a little dicey’.., I finished my beer., slid off the stool and turned to face the guy talking at my back. 250 pound of ugly.
    “I take it you were talking to me…”
    “Boy.., he’s really sharp isn’t he..??” and he turned and smiled at the other bar rats. I knew what was coming. I didn’t wait for it. When he turned back I punched him, hard, in the throat and quickly grab him under the jaw line, holding him up and kneed him, viciously in the groan., then stomped on the instep of his right foot with the heel of my cowboy boot – thought I hear a small ‘crack’.., then dropped him to the floor. He was trying to gasp and curled-up into the fetal position holding his crotch with both hands.
    “Wow !” The bartender leaned over the bar and looked down. “That’s a first..,” Then looked at me.
    I smiled., “Some place to eat?” I ask politely.
    “Ahh., Annie’s is still open.,” He looked at his watch. “For another hour.” He looked down again. The heap on the floor hadn’t moved., and was still trying to gasp for air. ” Two blocks down the street.” and pointed in the general direction of west. “He has friends.., they will be looking for you now.”
    “Punks like this usually do.”
    “Yeah.., four more., just like him. One is a real ass hole.”
    “Maybe you should call this ‘ass hole’ and have him come pick-up his little boy. Seems he got hurt playing with the adults.” .., and I walked to the door., turned around and pointed down the street.., “Annie’s ..??”
    The bartender nodded., with an odd expression on his face.

    I believe I had just found the problem I came to eliminate.., or – they found me.

    I decided to drive the two blocks down the street to Annie’s., which was not much more than a small diner., with old worn-out and cracked red tables and chairs. But she whipped me up a great cheeseburger with a fried egg and grilled onions on top, a cholesterol masterpiece and fries.., and then talked me into adding a double chocolate shake., which was so thick I could barely suck it through the straw. Great.
    When I was finishing she brought over the check and slid it towards my plate. “There’s a couple of guys waiting for you outside.”., She nearly whispered. And nodded toward the window.
    “I kind of expected that. Just two?”
    “That’s all I can see? Leaning up against your truck. Staring at you. The big blonde guy is really nasty.”
    I put a twenty on the cracked red plastic counter-top.., “Keep the change.., great burger ” ., and smiled.
    “You can go out the back way if you want….,” She motioned with her eyes.
    “No need. Thanks again.” slid off the stool and headed for the door.

    As I stepped out the door the “Blond Nasty Guy” standing in back said to his 280 pound minion.., “Well., get him.” ., and pointed at me.
    I stepped forward quickly and as the big-fat turned to face me I rammed my thumb in his right eye. He screamed, stumbled and dropped to his knees. I went around him, fast and stepped into the “Blond Nasty Guy” – he was the ‘target’., he was the one I wanted.
    He was looking down at his buddy when I started my move., he looked up at me, locked eyes.., he expression was one of shock., mouth wide open. I followed through.., I stomped just above his right knee with all my weight and strength. Literally inverting his knee. The multiple pops and cracks dropped him to the sidewalk. He screamed.., then passed out from the pain.
    He will never be the same. There is no cure., no repair., no fix for that. He will have half a dozen surgeries just to straighten it all back out. Spend the rest of his life on crutches, walkers or wheel chair. He will probably never drive a car again. Addicted to alcohol, pain meds and knee braces he will never have another good nights sleep. He was done. For life.
    I turned to leave and glanced at the large diner window.., Annie was standing there, eyes wide with a look of utter astonishment.., staring at me through her name painted on the large bay window. Slowly she brought her hands up to her open mouth. I bowed like D’artagnan and looked down. Big-Fat was on his knees still muttering and screeching, both hand covering his eye.., I shove him down to the side walk with my boot between his shoulder blades – he didn’t react.., I was about the step around “Blond Nasty Guy”., their fearless leader, when I spotted my mistake. [“There’s always one..,”] Laying flat out on the sidewalk his jacket had flipped open and tucked inside his waist band was the grip of a revolver sticking out. I reached down and pulled it out. Smith and Wesson 38 Police Special. Old and worn., but still serviceable., still deadly. I swung the cylinder out and dumped the shells onto the chest of “Blond Nasty Guy”.., and tossed the pistol up onto Annie’s roof. Be a few years before anyone finds it up there. Annie watched the pistol fly up onto her roof., then smiled at me.
    I got in my truck and slowly drove away. As I went under the amber flashing light I could see the police station down about half a block on my left.. Parked out front was a old model, four door black & white police car. Looked like an early sixties Ford. One light on in the building. No one had called the police, as yet.

    • That knee-stomp is nasty. You can drove a person’s kneecap clean into their ankle, if’fn they’re not careful…

      Good story…

  25. My Second Job
    – Part Three
    I stopped only once., for gas and a cup of really bad gas station coffee., and kept going until I pulled into Avis at the airport in Omaha. There were no flights to San Francisco for hours., but there was one for Portland in about 90 minutes. I bought the ticket. I would soon be out of the “Heart Land” and on my way home.
    Perfect.., so far.

    I finally made it home and was sitting on my deck., with a fresh cup of really ‘good’ coffee when someone knocked at my door. .., damn.

    I went and opened the door…,
    “When the ‘hell’ are you going to get a phone!?”
    I just about told Montgomery that I had one., but decided to have that conversation another time. He walked past me.., I closed the door., and took a deep breath.
    “I had to cancel an appointment to come talk with you.” He sounded a little flustered.
    “Care for a cup of coffee?” I smiled.
    ” No thanks.., wait.., yes.” And walked into the kitchen, saw my coffee makings sitting on the counter and started making his own cup. I stood back and watched and waited.
    “I don’t know what you did., or why you did it that way., but it absolutely worked.” He glanced at me., then back to the coffee. ” Em was on the phone for an hour with her sister. I didn’t hear the conversation., just the ‘wows’ and a couple ‘holy crap!’. ” He finished the setup and was waiting for the water to boil. “You need to tell me what happened. Em is going to have another phone call with her sister tonight and I would like to know what happened before they talk.”
    I smiled and went out on the deck and sat down in the sun.., a couple of minutes later Montgomery followed carrying a full coffee mug.
    “Minute by minute.., or just a synopsis?” I asked. He glared. No sense of humor.
    I explained what happened and what I did. ., and most importantly., why. He listened, fine-tuned like a lawyer and army intelligence officer.., nodded a couple of times.., winched when I described taking-out “Blond Nasty Guy”..,
    “Well., when word spread the next morning that Jerome was hauled-off by ambulance to Fort Dodge., then transferred to Des Moines, because no one in Fort Dodge was qualified to work on such a damaged knee., someone went out and burned his house down. The fire truck and volunteer firemen couldn’t get the fire truck out of the station – someone had blocked the doors with a disabled city garbage truck. The guy you left lying on the floor in the bar.., was taken by ambulance to Fort Dodge., needed surgery on his throat and foot.” He took a sip of his coffee. Smiled.., “Good coffee.” The one you call Fat Guy, who is now probably blind in one eye, was not found., no one has seen him. Just after lunch, their time, two cowboys from a local ranch ran across one of the other gang members and beat him so bad and left him laying on main street that he had to be taken to the hospital – also in Ft Dodge. The fifth and final member has disappeared also. Didn’t show up to work and has vanished.” .., and he look at me with a questioning expression.
    “No. I did not plan it that way. I was in town maybe twenty minutes looking for something to eat when one of them tried to pick a fight – the guy in the bar.” Picked up my coffee mug. “I had a couple of ideas to try on them., but never got the chance. They took control., so I just went with it.., violence was not part of the plan – except maybe their leader.”
    “You never contacted Em’s sister?”
    “No. Never had the chance and when it was over and ‘Blond Nasty Guy’, Jerome, was passed-out on the sidewalk I figured there was no point in her getting involved at all.” Took a sip. “So I just motored on out of there.., no point in waiting for the police to show up.”
    “According to Em.., Annie told her sister that the police never did show up.., just the ambulance and no one knows who made that call.”
    “Annie is a good person. Worth knowing.”
    “Yeah.., she was going to tell ’em that she never saw anything., that she was in the back when it happened and when she came out, there they were, laying on the sidewalk.”
    “Em?” I asked
    “Em?” He echoed – again.
    “With the violence. It wasn’t my idea. Don’t want her mad at me.”
    “She is fine with it.., just surprised that it happened so fast.”
    “Her sister?”
    “I would say – ecstatic.., is the proper word. She really wanted to thank you..,”
    “Em didn’t tell her who I was., did she?”
    “No. She didn’t. I don’t think she even knows your last name. I will make a point in asking her not too.., before their next phone call. OK?”
    “Thanks. Do you have my name written down anywhere?”
    Montgomery thought about that for a minute. “No. I don’t believe I do. I will check though.”

    Montgomery sat back with his coffee mug and didn’t say anything for ten minutes. I could see that he was going over the details and info.
    “Why did you fly into Omaha and not Des Moines ?.., Oh.., never mind. Kind of obvious once you say it out loud.”.. and went back sipping his coffee and staring out over the bay.
    He didn’t say much after that. Finished his coffee and walked inside to the kitchen. “Good coffee.” and sat his mug in the sink., turned and went to the door. He stopped, turned back and looked at me.., nodded his head a couple of times., small smile and left without saying anything else.

    I walked over and put my mug in the sink also and reached over to get the ceramic coffee filter and saw a brown leather pouch sitting on the counter – there was a hand written note laying next to it.
    “From Em.” Under that Montgomery added, “.., and her sister.”
    I pulled the leather ties loose and looked inside. There was a small wad of Benjamins and thirty South African Krugerrands. I had no idea what they were worth., but I did know that there was talk of banning them in the U.S. as part of ban on South Africa’s apartheid government. [ which they finally did in the mid 80’s] A couple of days later I found out that they were worth between $45 and $50 each.

    Note:
    53 years this month. I still have that worn, brown leather pouch and all the Krugerrands.
    I can still remember what I had for lunch at Hippie Soup Shoppe – home made chili in a large, hollowed-out fresh baked bread bowl [ one of their specialties ] and a large, near frozen, glass of vanilla kefir.
    I was wearing a new, white, high quality cotton Van Heusen dress shirt [ they made some great shirts back in the day] shrink-to-fit 501 jeans and my black steel toe cowboy boots. Closing my eyes, getting quiet and drifting back I can see this job very plainly., even after so long. Don’t know why. Nothing really special about it if compared to all the others. But it has stuck with me all these years. – For many years whenever I BBQed a hamburger I always grilled some onions and fried an egg.

    Perfect.., so far.

    • Alice’s Restaurant, now has a new twist, Annie’s Cafe, a case of blind justice,,, I didn’t see anything
      dLynn, it is kind of ironic , in that someone else’s pain, is heartfelt warming for the former victims.
      Like a B2 bomber, you were in and out before they realized they were the target, as they jumped at the chance to victimize a stranger in town,
      BOOM

      Thanks ,,, excellent

  26. To maintain tactical surprise, a decoy group flew west over the Pacific to Guam, while the main strike group headed east with minimal communications during an 18-hour flight.

    At 5pm EST (1:30am local time and 21:00 GMT), a US submarine in the region launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, striking surface infrastructure targets in Isfahan.

    At 6:40pm EST (2:10am Iran time and 22:40 GMT), the lead B-2 dropped two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) on Fordow, followed by a total of 14 MOPs dropped across Fordow and Natanz.

    All three nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—were hit between 6:40pm and 7:05pm EST (1:30am-2:10am local time; 22:40-23:10 GMT). The final wave of Tomahawk missiles struck Isfahan last to preserve surprise.

    In total, more than 125 US aircraft participated, including stealth bombers, fighter jets, dozens of tankers, surveillance aircraft, and support crews.

  27. I faced a problem last night when the Stew Perry 160m CW contest began. My FTDX10 would not transmit and a light was blinking on it! Couldn’t figure why.

    So I turned on the Tentec Omni VII. It wouldn’t transmit either! What??? Went thru menus finally disabled keying loop, worked.

    But then I went to youtube about the Yaesu and found a video which said disconnect everything, wait, then start it up again, that worked.

    So used Yaesu as it has the 2nd best RX in the world…

    Only worked 20 some people at night and a bit in the morning, but fun. Last guy this morning around 4AM was in Calgary, Alberta! I had to send my grid square literally 25 times b4 he copied it. Weak signals, used OCFD.

    So it was almost as rough as dLynn ‘s story…

  28. Gin & tonic requires great tonic which should not be excessively sweet. Only one we like is Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water, which is only 20 calories (4 grams sugar) in the the 150 ml cans (5.07 fl oz). It is also available in 200 ml and 500 ml bottles.
    The brand is known to most people because Costco carries their ginger beer. I watch for the tonic in local stores, especially on sale.
    Amazon:
    https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1936812926393823523
    Review:
    https://www.thespruceeats.com/fever-tree-sodas-review-760309
    For the best gin, rely on Colorado’s Leopold Brothers for their four different distinct gins to meet your needs:
    https://www.leopoldbros.com/spirits
    Enjoy your G&T and watch the show.

  29. Charge the batteries. Check.
    Buy fresh D cells for the civil defense era radiation detector.
    Zero the dosimeters. (Baseline now is essentially radiation free.)
    Now, about those hand tools.
    If it cuts, (and drills points are also cutting tools) it will need to be sharpened. Several diamond stones of various grit is a good start. But you’ll also need oil stones and perhaps water stones. A hard Arkansas in super fine grain will help keep things that should be razor sharp, razor sharp. Stones and diamond stones basically don’t wear out. But…
    Files do. You’ll need some nice, new triangular files to sharpen those western style (cut on push stroke) saws. Some nice new mill bastard (single cut) and double cut mill saws, to remove a bunch of metal. Get a new file card (used to clean junk out of the file teeth) while you’re at the hardware store – they eventually wear out, and are not something easy to make at home. Emery cloth is useful, in several grits. So is steel wool. Scrapers will replace sandpaper for most uses, but you’ll need a file and a burring steel to keep them working well. You’ll need a selection of star drills, used with a hand sledge, to drill concrete or stone without a power hammer drill. (John Henry used one, and he was a steel driving man…) The long slide down will mean maintaining hand tools, and sharp, new files are highly recommended. If you’ve had your files for years or decades, odds are they are no longer all that sharp. Cheap insurance?

    • One of their ‘specialties’ was the daily baked bread bowls. All the soups and stews were served in them. The smell, just walking in, made you hungry.
      To this day I can not remember the name. It was Something Soup Shoppe. I can see the sign, but can’t read the first word., it started with an ‘S’.., but the word itself has slipped out the memory gate.

  31. Rumor has it Trump is building a golf course in Iran.
    He already has the first three holes.

  33. Odd reaction this morning in the stock markets. All the major indexes are up., just slightly., but still positive. Oil has leveled off and is now steady., no huge gain there. .., and there is more talk and blabber about Tesla RoboTaxi’s debut in Austin and Trump Media stock by-back.
    Odd feeling about this, virtually no reaction to an act of war.

    “What do ya say – we bomb the hell out ’em and then go for pizza? Sound good, guys?”

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