ShopTalk Sunday: Recovery-Oriented Shop (Prepping)

by

Our current ShopTalk project is coming along just great.  It’s the 10 X 20-foot vegetable garden add-on to the side of the recording studio.

This week, I got serious about the “finishing touches” and – if you worry about radioactive leftovers – here are some of the design parameters that have fallen into place.

  • Although it is not large, the room is loosely based on Square Foot Gardening.  Although we’ve done hydroponics in the past, going “natural” and moving toward composting looked like a better long-term plan.
  • The room will be lightly positively pressured.  The inflow is down low, and a MERV 8 filter, one foot by 30 inches, will pre-clean incoming air.  If you don’t know the MERV filter rating system, supply chain outfit Grainger.com has a great discussion here.  Grainger also has other worthy content, as well. MERV 8 ought to take out a lot of hot dust- if not most- of the airborne issues.  It’s a fine enough filter to take out mold spores which are a bane to greenhouse users.
  • The trusty high output ozone machine is run about once a week until the seedlings pop up more.
  • There are two swamp coolers (Hessaire MC37M‘s). One we bought new about 3 or 4 years ago, when it was half today’s price.  The other is a recent used cooler in good condition.  Spares may be an issue.  So, consider the pump ($27) and fan motor (don’t remember the price – around $50?).
  • The final piece of the puzzle will be a low friction-loss water filter to stick between the rainwater collection system and the inside water distro systems. Garden hose connections in and out (GHT is what garden thread hoses are abbreviated on Zon.

Although we didn’t put too much emphasis on making this a “radiation grow room” (which sounds a lot less dumb than it did back in October when we started twiddling on this design), it’s not too hard to cobble something up.

Just make sure your solar (and wind if you live near a capitol where the hot air currents run wild) are installed with transient voltage protection (TVS) for EMP.  (Source TVS at Mouser.com) This may, not only will you be able to keep everything running skookum when the sun’s out, but you will be able to get rechargeable batteries for your night vision scopes.  People being the biggest risk in war with a few geographical exceptions.

George II – Small Motor Genius

A week or so back, I wandered into the shop, hot, sweaty, and breathing hard looking for some cranky tiller motor starting help from my son. “Dad, what are you doing – you look like shit…”

OK, I was huffing and puffing and sweating, but that goes with life  at 73 in the Outback. “You would too if you cranked a tiller 28 times with no joy.”

“Dad, chill dude – I got this…”

Whereupon he grabbed one of the variable speed, battery-powered drills, off the rack, loaded a fresh battery and selected one of those “fits all sizes” pin-based wrenches.  Like this one.

Arriving at the tiller, he gave the starter a 2-inch pull to observe the direction of rotation.  Next, he simply unscrewed the recoil starter mechanism, removed it, and chucked up the all-size wrench.

This was placed on the starter-end nut.  Then, while holding the drill tightly, he began turning over the motor with the drill.  After a minute, or so, fiddling with the gas feed, choke, and throttle settings, the tiller roared to life.  No sign of sweat.

“Want me to leave the recoil off so you can electric start it?”

“Naw – fat old guy like me needs some exercise.”

“Suit Ure self.”

A few days later, one of the generators on a fire truck up at the fire station wouldn’t start.  Taking the drill and socket, he did the same thing.  A fellow firefighter wandered by and remarked (in typical East Texas style) “Why that’s one of the most intelligent things I’ve seen a Yankee do in a long time…”

Besides moving here?

Tool Slut Bingo

Two recent additions to the tool collection here may be useful to consider.  When you get old enough to actually have a little “unallocated time” in your life.

One is a 4-inch Dremel Table Saw.  Model 580.  It was in pretty good condition and simply turning the slipping belt over (to the rough side) made it “right as rain.”  The not-smooth turning knurled nut on the mini rip fence has a doctor’s appointment, too.

A couple of points if you find a micro saw screaming “Buy me!“:  First, I picked up a 24-tooth carbide blade for it.  Sure, the steel blade on it works fine.  Machine appears only to have a hour – if that – on it.  Pristine. But carbide does a better job of “making sawdust.”  *(This is an easy way to compare efficiency between saw blades.  Make a standard depth cut with each of two blades.  The messier one is doing more cutting.)

Another thing is to order the right belt and keep at least one spare on hand.   Belts for power tools are a real choke point for disaster recovery in event of flashington mushrooms of Xi simply gets pist, but I digress.  Using the rough side of the belt (which by now is 40-years old) means it won’t last forever.

Second tool find this week was what?  Well, somehow, I have taken an ADHD craftsman’s detour into the making of “smaller things.”  Might have been touched-off by reading “Box Making Basics.”  Monkey read, monkey do.

Anyway, there was a Dremel Lathe – superb condition and complete with the small turning tools – for all of $100 bucks including the shipping.  Who could resist?

Then a Yaw-sawg

(Which if you aren’t old enough, is an old-time term meaning twist-and turn, this way and that…)

That led me to wondering if maybe I shouldn’t set up a “small things” area in my shop.

As you may remember, there’s a “file-by-pile” with workstations for:

  • Wood turning small, and woodturning complex.
  • Drilling (general).
  • Sanding station.
  • Big work and assembly bench.
  • Specific stand-alone machines (table saw, band saw, mortising machine, dadoing table saw, wood shaper, jointer…)
  • Grinders and sharpening station.
  • Then on the metal side, there’s a milling machine next to a 9X20 gear-head lathe.
  • Somehow (or other) gas, MIG, and stick welders plus a plasma cutter are shoehorned in.  These usually get dragged outside due to fire dangers.
  • A 3D printing area.
  • And adjoining that is the CNC space.

See the problem?

There’s no “one place to sit and work with small power tools.”

Which has become this week’s Holy Grail project.  You see, if I put “small power tools” in one place, then the Taig lathe, the Dremel mini, the mini Dremel table saw, and the Dremel (drill stand, plunge router, etc.) could all be right within reach.  One chair.  One desk.

Then I Got SERIOUSLY Off Track

ADHD is a blessing and a curse.  You make connections between concepts and ideas almost too easily.

Because, while noodling the “perfection of a small (sit-down) wood and metal bench) I made the mistake of looking for outfits that (like Taig and Dremel) make kick-ass small project tools.

Find of the week to get lost in?  (Warning: Do not click this link if you are in a hurry or late for something!)  Byrnes Model Machines Home Page.  OMG!  Look at their table saw! It’s a freaking work of art.  Shames the cheap Dremel and the feature set is awesome.

Now,, look at their model thickness planer!  Why, match that up with the Box Making book and suddenly “What’s teevee?”

One thing leads to another, so it was while admiring the “taper jig” Byrnes  makes, that I was reminded I had a taper jig on my list of add-ons for my ugly old 10-inch table saw.

Fulton seems to make a reasonable one – less than $30 bucks at Amazon.  I would love to get one of the Byrne table saws, though.  They (brilliantly) have the option.  Never see that kind of thinking in Big Box land.

Byrne tools never seem to come up on the used market, though, Fact is, I can slide $100-ham radio do-dads, and super sales on 3D printing gear through the budget.  But $600 for a tiny table saw?  Not without a business plan and shop drawings to recoup a little something.

One Final Purchase

To make a note of:  Because the Vegetable Grow Room is black, and because I am caulking joints, I went looking for black high-expansion foam.

Turns out someone does make it.  Great Stuff.  Not sure if it will be any more UV resistant, but most of the “regular” high expansion foam turns a puke yellow in a year, or less, outside.

My $11 gamble is this new stuff will hold up a little better.  If you say something silly (“George, just cover the foam with paint, or a board…“) I’ll have to slap you…

Write when I get rich, (since at this  burn rate, ain’t never gonna happen! But, WTF – it’s my circus and my monkeys.)

George@Ure.net

44 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Recovery-Oriented Shop (Prepping)”

  1. The grow room looks great. Nice job. Like those planters too.

    The hoop house here will need the cover replaced this year. It’s 6 years old now, rated for 4 and the patch job right in the middle of one side where somebody stabbed it with a bale spike looks like hell. Went out to roll up the sides and it just fell apart so since it is empty right now Off it came and to the burn pit it went. Looked at Farmtek for pricing of a roll to cover this 16 X 32 house. Ouch!

    Stay safe. 73

      • Under the plastic on a sunny day is like a walk across the Sahara until you raise the sides. Hoop House farming will have to wait until late next fall. If we don’t get flashed.

  2. “OK, I was huffing and puffing and sweating, but that goes with life at 73 in the Outback. “You would too if you cranked a tiller 28 times with no joy.”

    LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL I can totally visualize that.. since I have been in the same position.. It doesn’t happen to be a DEER by chance LOL LOL biggist POS I ever had.. dumped a chunk of money in it to get it working each time .. its fixed.. I would go out start right up drive it down the road the just as we got out of site .. stop dead.. then cranking it till the battery died.. then by hand until you turn blue LOL LOL.. the kids wanted it to.. dam thing still sitting a lawn ornament LOL even the JDeer corporation couldn’t come up with any ideas LOL.. It should be advertised as an exercise machine LOL LOL..

  3. ” I have taken an ADHD craftsman’s detour into the making of “smaller things.” Might have been touched-off by reading “Box Making Basics.” Monkey read, monkey do.”

    My dream was to retire then make wood toys.. then give the toys to shelters etc.. I made a carousel for a guy I worked with for his niece.. he went to cali and called a week later and said you have to start making those.. hmm no.. I make stuff to give away .. if it is a business then its work.. LOL..

    https://youtu.be/lCSZTYrWgAI
    https://youtu.be/lrAmC0tbxkE

    Years and years ago.. the router workshop was on the public channel I believe the show was made in Canada…. loved it.. still love it.. I use to get a kick out of his measuring LOL you don’t need a tape measure LOL smack it here tap it there and wa-La you just built a table LOL LOL…

  4. Small engine misery, sometimes the seasonally used small engines get the carb. jet plugged up, even when Stabil is used. Remove carb fuel bowl and the jet is usually centered and vertical (mirror and flashlight territory) , clean the jet with your torch tip cleaner.
    https://www.amazon.com/Herain-Carburetor-Cleaning-Carburetors-Sprinklers/dp/B09B3T85BM/

    Yes, I know that was not ure problem this time, but handy to know stuff. ,,, spark and fuel mixture, the 2 main problems that occur

      • Timely.

        ATF is an old trick. and one I learned from my Dad when I was about 7yo — y’know, back when you could buy ethyl gasoline which was nearly pure refined octane. Using ATF to purge the junk out of a carb, before it becomes gunk, is a new one on me — me likee!!

        ATF is an extremely highly-refined, high-detergent, low-viscosity motor oil. Injecting it into an engine like this would lube the piston rings, as it would penetrate past the sealing rings and settle on the oil ring, thus providing startup lubrication to the pistons.

        (See essay, below…)

  5. Please allow me to draw your attention to:
    http://www.micromark.com

    You want — you NEED — their paper catalog.
    (Buy something, and you’ll get them forever.

    Small tools (Genius stuff!) and model-making
    supplies. (WONderful stuff)

    A lot of things you didn’t know existed, and you’ll wonder how you got through life to this point without.

    – 73 –
    3999 Day 7.295 Night– blah-blah-blah

  6. From the (still) frozen North (SW lower Michigan): today we will finally go above freezing. Possibly I will 4WD up the hill to pole barn to start spring master list. Not my list mind you. A list for the 30-something lad who swaps labor for cash (and sail racing tutorials, he being my Padawan).

    On moving out of the middle sized city in Indiana I brought 40 years of collecting tools to merge with my Dad’s (RIP) 70 year collection. In addition I saved the best 3-4% of the tools from our family Screw Machine bidness. I’m swimming in tools and very often hand off the 2nd or 3rd gen. to next gen., my son.

    ManCavePoleBarn to be: the metal working wall features a South Bend Lathe which was still working on jobs the day my electrician broke off the 3-phase connection. It has every chuck and collet made. I have another bench-top lathe for toy projects. Add in standing Drill Press (along with bench-top toy version).

    The wood side has two benches (stock supports with elbow room) divided by my trusty Radial Arm saw. If not cutting dimensional lumber via Radial Arm the benches are stations for a bench-top Band Saw / bench-top Sander. I have nearly every handheld woodworking tool made (if / when I can find them).

    The BIG save from our mfg. plant was the electric (6 golf cart, new) Cat fork lift. I am 67, have chronic back trouble, so a life saver. The Cat has allowed me to lift everything I shouldn’t. The number of large machinery tools I sold, scrapped or gave away would make any tool fanatic puke. So, I won’t list them here.

    Once the boats exit and I have footprint to move pole barn projects will transition to interior (heated) workshop. It’s 25F as I type. Solar panels here-abouts have -0- gain. I’m still working on alt. power. Saved for another day … my journey into solar support.

    Write when you get lucky,
    Egor

      • Ha, thanks George. The Cat has 3-4 SS pallet hooks at the ready. It’s vastly easier to slide weight than hoist it. I also retained a hand pump hand cart but … generally feel inclined to use the Cat :-)

        A solar tease: to my surprise Menards (which surround me) sell solar kits, ex:

        https://www.menards.com/main/electrical/solar-wind-power/solar-kit-direct-6000-watt-photvoltaic-solar-kit/6kwflushmount/p-1444442792468-c-6292.htm?tid=7222107472933695913&ipos=19

        $8,400 – 11% = $7,475 – 26% tx CR = $5,531 + install

        Originally I thought to “go small” in phase 1 then add on. Instead I’ll buy extra now and install in two phases (pun intended). That’s mostly related to re-roof prior to panel install …

        Until then, our porta Generac is freshly run, I have a new plug for it, and >60 gallons of fresh gasoline in the barn (bought for low 2-something). Should the grid go down I remain online.

        Fiber to the curb baby, served by power Coop.
        Write when you get energy,
        Egor

        • Pun police have been called at such rapacious pundancity

          Not withstanding, the gotcha is some grid tied will ONLY work connected to grid.

          You absolutely need to make sure when grid goes down your power remains on. If not? Off to Outback and Xantrex

      • @ egor

        “A solar tease: to my surprise Menards (which surround me) sell solar kits”

        Did not know THAT.

        Is there actually enough sun there for solar to be viable? I know somebody (I think it’s Western Michigan Electric Co-Op) has a huge (like 100+ acres) solar field on 31 a few miles southwest of Traverse City, but the times I’ve been there, even in summer, it’s been mostly overcast/rainy/bleak (except for one trip to Interlochen) and the locals have referred to the field as a “boondoggle…”

  7. Harvest Ketchup
    1 large onion.. chop it and sauté it.. till its soft..
    4 Quarts of tomatoes chopped and blanch them so the skin comes off.. then chop them..
    2 cups of sugar.. ( 1tbsp of brown sugar or to the 2 cups add one tbsp of molasis)
    2 Tbsp. Salt ( no iodine)
    1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
    1 Tbsp of pickling spice
    1/4 Tsp of red pepper
    1 Tsp of ginger
    4 cloves of garlic
    Mash the tomatoes.. or you can add two cups of tomato juice.. ( I like V8) depending on your taste you can add or subtract some of the spices like the sugar etc.. I also like to add just a hint of smoke flavoring.. you can do that by smoking in a cold smoker for an hour or two.. or just add a tbsp of smoke flavoring..
    Boil 1 hour then put in a blender or seive and puree it.. put it back in the pan take a half cup of tomato juice and 5 Tbsp. of corn or potato starch and mix add this to the mixture along with 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.. ( I love natural with the mother in it.. braggs is the best or you can make your own kind of like making soy sauce)
    Boil an additional ten minutes or just till the corn starch starts to thicken the mix.. depending on how thick you want it.. you can add one or two more tbsp of starch..
    bottle it and can it.. that should get you a years supply of ketchup..

  8. Great looking grow room! I like the Elaine touch – I’d have never thought beyond the functionality. I can appreciate beauty but don’t really see it before it exists. The acrylic panels would probably never last here – even Lexan fails in the sun. I’m guessing that the grow boxes are 2’x4’x18″ deep. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I could conjure up a cheap imitation.

    What is the floor? Ceramic tiles on the ground or on a concrete base? Whatever they are they will probably keep out most critters. I can replicate about half that space by modifying an enclosed porch that is currently unused space and adding controlled ventilation.

    I’m really glad you kept STS! It’s the fun read of the week.

    • Thanks Mike

      The verticals are black painted 2×4’s. I had them stained in redwood color penofin but management overruled me.

      The Lexan corrugated has lasted 15 years on the shop and still going strong. I have reasonable overhangs for summer, though.

      The planters are 24 x 48 and about 11 deep and at $70 a throw on Amazon, made from cedar they should last a few years. They are an inch or two shorter, due to Asian measuring ideas, but with 10 inches of soil a 7-inch carrot should work and the toms are 1 plant per s/f/ ditto the other big stuff. 9 romaines per s/f just followed the charts.

      Swamp cooler will keep plants “in bounds” temp-wise… more next weekend as this thing unfolds.

      • I ordered a couple of those, after designing indoor beds I’d consider “adequate” and having the materials list come in at a tick (and a couple fleas) below $300 each.

  9. Steak Sauce

    1/2 cup water
    1/4 cup golden raisins
    1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar
    1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
    1/4 cup ketchup
    1/4 cup dijon mustard
    1 pinch cayenne pepper
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    4 garlic cloves cut in half then minced
    2 tablespoons onion chopped
    1/2 teaspoon celery seed
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 orange cut into 2 pieces
    1 Tsp smoke flavoring.. ( optional)
    Add the ingredients (except for the orange juice) into a small saucepan.
    Squeeze the oranges into the pan, then drop in the rinds.
    On low heat, stirring occasionally, let it simmer for 15 minutes.
    Careful to keep the heat low allowing for a very low gentle heat, not a hard boil.
    To check doneness dip in a spoon and run your finger over the back, the line should stay clean.
    Turn off the heat and strain out the garlic and orange pieces.
    Let cool completely before serving.
    As with all of them.. you can add or subtract spices to suit your taste.. I like mine to have a smokey flavor..
    Worcestershire sauce recipe..
    ½ cup apple cider vinegar
    2 tablespoons water
    2 tablespoons soy sauce
    1 tablespoon brown sugar
    1 teaspoon mustard powder
    ¼ teaspoon onion powder
    ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    ground black pepper to taste
    Combine apple cider vinegar, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cinnamon, and black pepper together in a saucepan; bring to a boil and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Cool to room temperature. bottle and seal

    • I don’t like watching Clif’s videos but this article is great! I subscribed to his newsletter. Thanks for the link!

  11. OMG… sorry for this, but… It looks like a collection of FOOSBALL tables without the handles! Typical GU, though. Nice woodwork and legs for a grow box.

    My white pineapple was harvested and enjoyed. They are sweeter than the yellow common ones, and white does not ship well so nobody grows them for ‘export’ here. It’s a purely local special treat. Damn easy to grow in a tropical rainforest. Cut the top off a fruit and replant it and let the rain do it’s thing for a few months.

  12. “Dad, chill dude – I got this…”

    I’ve done this before, only not with a pin-socket. HF sells the hex to square socket drive bits for a couple bucks a set (I keep a set in every toolbox.)

    G2 has just impressed me, because I don’t expect whippersnappers to have this kind of common sense…

  13. And despite our relative isolation, you have managed to infected me with ‘tool slut-itis’. Now I want a Dremel table saw. Seems all I do is small stuff. Next problem is where to put it. Shed cleanup is first order of business.

    • With shipping times from howlieland? I’d get the Buy itr now $125 rig on eBay earlier.
      You will have lots of time waiting for shipping to get it there.

      • Multitasking at it’s finest: Waiting for shipping… and cleaning the shed for a place to put it. Ground-based (or ocean in my case) is generally about 30 days from the ‘mainland’ (we call it here). USPS does amazing first class deliveries here, beating out FedEx & UPS for price and speed.

  15. “Anyway, there was a Dremel Lathe – superb condition and complete with the small turning tools – for all of $100 bucks including the shipping. Who could resist?”

    Me, if I could find a Unimat for a reasonable price…

  16. ** Inspired by Bob’s link, above… **

    My 5 Minute Refinery Essay:

    If you think of a refinery as a still, you can then close your eyes and picture a barrel of crude oil being dumped in and cooked (not what happens, but the visual it gives you will help people understand the process.) The crude oil will separate into layers. The bottom layers are “bunker oil.” They are “sludge” — very black, very thick, and very high in potential energy. Ocean-going ships typically run on “bunker-B” and locomotive generators on “bunker-A.” Above the bottom layers are layers of butane, kerosene and fuel oils, gasoline, light gases, polymerizable hydrocarbons, layers which provide a base for cosmetics, medicines, and fertilizers — just all kinds of stuff.

    The middle of that crude “sediment stack” is where motor fuels come from. It can be (and is) manipulated, such that gasoline and fuel oil production is “adjusted:” The layers between the “gasoline” and “fuel oil” layers can be made into either gas or F.O., and are jacked with by the refiner, depending on whether it’s summer (more petrol – less fuel oil) or winter (more #2 – less gas.)

    “Gasoline” is like moonshine, in that it is run through the “refinery still” multiple times, to make it cleaner, more-pure, and (bad pun alert) more refined.

    Modern “gasoline” is gasohol. Pump gas that’s not “E-85” generally runs from 10% to 20% alcohol. Alcohol is a tremendous anti-knock compound. The addition of alcohol makes it possible for a refiner to “run the gasoline through the still fewer times,” thus saving considerable refinery cost. It also lessens the lubricity of the “gasoline,” which requires the refiner to dump more additives, including a lubricant, into the less-refined (crap) gas, to keep it from eating piston rings and oxygen sensors.

    Because it is less-refined and because it contains a significant amount of ethanol, gasohol both degenerates and decomposes rapidly. When gasohol evaporates, it deposits the chemicals in the gasoline’s “additive package” to everything that’s internal to the fuel delivery and combustion systems — jets and piston crowns, but also fuel lines, venturis, the near-microscopic passages that’re internal to the carburetor. The gunk gums up butterfly shafts, shut-off valves, and the screen in the gas tank’s fuel pickup. Once dry, these deposits become insoluble, even to the gasoline and alcohol in which they were initially dissolved.

    Avoiding this gunk is one of the reasons George periodically mentions “real gas” — unleaded gasoline without alcohol (sold as “off-road” or “marine” gas) and a preservative (I favor PRI-G, I believe George still prefers Sta-Bil.) I chuckle every time I’m watching a show where a long-dormant vehicle is revived, and the 20+yo “stinky” gasoline is poured-off and disposed of. That old gas is probably better quality petrol (and more-flammable) than new gas that’s 2-months old.

    This ATF “hack” sounds awesome because (at least in my head) the ATF’s detergent package should scrub out all the residual “gasoline” junk…

  17. All AVOW Members:
    Just thought I would share the results of our little informal poll of our Preparedness Community.

    62%, US / NATO will enter the war in Ukraine.
    38%, US / NATO will NOT enter the war in Ukraine.

    AVOW is a Mormon prepper/preparedness org.

    I hope Mormons are less wise than the Fools on the Hill…

  18. Ron DeSantis Isn’t Scared Of Mickey Mouse Or Any Corporate Interests Targeting Florida Parents

    Other GOP governors have compromised for corporate interests before but DeSantis refuses to hurt Floridians to appease CCP-friendly Disney.

    https://thefederalist.com/2022/03/11/ron-desantis-isnt-scared-of-mickey-mouse-or-any-corporate-interests-targeting-florida-parents
    __________

    Superintendents group blasts reversal of equity initiatives

    RICHMOND, Va. — A group that represents school superintendents in Virginia has condemned an interim report from Gov. Glenn Younkin’s administration that outlines the reversal of education equity initiatives that were implemented under Gov. Ralph Northam. WRIC reports that the policy changes stem from Youngkin’s executive order seeking to ban “divisive concepts” in public education.

    The group also said the report’s emphasis on “equal opportunity” as opposed to “equitable outcomes” could “set public education in Virginia back many years.”

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/mar/13/superintendents-group-blasts-reversal-of-equity-in/
    __________

    Biden’s budget bill funnels millions in pork to vulnerable Democrats

    President Biden’s $1.5 trillion government funding bill funnels millions of dollars in pork to vulnerable Democrats in November’s midterm elections while benefiting Republicans who helped secure its passage.

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/mar/13/bidens-15t-budget-bill-funnels-millions-pork-vulne/

  19. Jake Sullivan says ‘there will absolutely be consequences’ if China aids Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

    ‘We will not stand by and allow’ China to economically support Russia’s war, Sullivan says

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jake-sullivan-china-russias-invasion-ukraine

    Bwahahahahaha! Seriously? The only sanctions or consequences we will slap on China are the ones the Chinese give us permission to impose.
    __________

    BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: New York Times Denies Journalist Killed in Ukraine Was Working for the Newspaper at Time of His Death

    The “New York Times Journalist” reported killed this morning was reportedly not working for the NYT at the time of his death. This individual was likely some sort of US Intel collector.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/breaking-exclusive-new-york-times-denies-journalist-killed-ukraine-working-times-likely-us-intel-collector/
    __________

    US senators dismiss ‘World War III’ worries, say US forces would dominate Russian troops

    The U.S. shouldn’t fear World War III with Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces displayed an impressive level of “ineptness” in Ukraine, according to some U.S. senators. “I wouldn’t call it World War III,” Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said during “Fox News Sunday.” “I think … it would end pretty quickly because with the conventional forces that he’s had there, you know, we haven’t seen this kind of ineptness in a long, long time. So I’m not as concerned about that.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-senators-predict-forces-dominate-russian-troops

    This gives me visions of the Poles, who had the finest cavalry in the world, until they rode their horses into tank battles. I don’t even know who Risch is, but anyone who thinks Russia or China would fight a mid-20th-Century war in 2022 is so much of a f*cking idiot that (S)he should never be in a position of influence or authority.

    Russia’s standing army numbers over 900,000 regulars, and their reserves number in excess of 2mln. I don’t know who-all Putin has in Ukraine, but very few of the combatants are Russian regulars. The majority of our politicians are imbeciles and need to be retired and sent to nursing homes before they get us all dead.

    • Ray,
      American media and politicians seems to be doing a hard sell on going to war with Russia right now. They are constantly trying to make the public think it would be a slam dunk. Every news channels all have the same talking points about how inept and weak the Russians are. I think Putin is picking his targets exactly as he wants to and I believe he’s giving the civilians in Ukraine a chance to evacuate before he really drops the hammer. American politicians seem hell bent on seeing alot of us soldiers killed for yet another European family fued.
      I have a very bad feeling for what is going to happen in the next few months .

      • Yeah, I know. I’ve that same feeling. We are spoilt narcissists with no concept of cosmopolitan reality. The only consolation is the vast majority of the news-bastards are in D.C., New York, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, L.A., Frisco, and Seattle. Within one minute of a war breaking out between Russia and the U.S., the people in those cities will die, and so will all the societal poison being spit out by the people who live there.

        If I lived in Cali, I’d want to either be in the desert or NorCal and far inland, or at the base of the mountains with a supply of KI and a couple tons of lead foil.

        Putin is smart enough to realize Joe Dementia will eventually reach for the button, and he’s enough of a fighter to know the person who lands the first solid punch wins 98% of all fights. The subs are in place. Even if we know where they all are (we don’t — we know where some of them are), we won’t attack them before they can launch at least once, and probably twice.

        We haven’t fought a war in CONUS since the Indian Wars. The idiots in D.C. believe we’ll fight a “war” with Russia in Eastern Europe and Russia, using huge numbers of troops armed with our electronic toys, against Cossacks who’re carrying scimitars and Mosin-Nagants. None have read a history book to see how well M. Napoleon or Mr. Hitler, who each had (arguably) the best, finest military in the world at the time the Eastern Front went hot, fared. None recall that Mr. Biden gave the Russians and Chinese every single American electronic toy six months ago, along with the master keys for the drones, robots, comms, and 2ndID toys.

        By now, both Russia and China are our technological superiors, because they have all their toys, they have all our toys, and they have the answer key which lets them figure out everything there is to know about our stuff that they didn’t already know — and the Fools haven’t a f*cking clue we’ve been massively pwned.

        As I was typing this, that leftist, commie bastard neocon Senator from South Carolina was talking up no-fly and how the Russians would do nothing about it — because they couldn’t. The idiot on FOX was whining because those darn Russkies missile-bombed a facility six miles from the Polish border — really close to NATO. 25 years ago, one of our spooks told me: “We can put a nuke into seat 6-A-4 in a football stadium. The Russians can put one into the stadium. The net result is the same…”

        I don’t care if Graham wants to risk his life and livelihood, but I care a lot when he wants to risk mine. If things go hot for us, Putin won’t nuke Berlin or London or Warsaw, he’ll take us out. Oh, he’ll take out places like that dump in the North of the UK where the Brits think they’ve hidden their nukes, but we’re the gorilla, and Putin is a strategist…

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