Big week ahead: One week of cleaning before my pal of almost 75-years – the Major – shows up. Getting the shop presentable and lining up the ham radio antenna work plus the usuals this week (like a lube, oil, and filter at the cardiologist’s place for both of us this week…) well, you know the drill. October thinks Halloween is the scary time. But not really. The schedule around here is scarier. Yep, the schedule is King.
Motivation: Saturday’s epiphany was that “Any damn fool can be highly motivated.”
All it would take for me would be no food for two days, no water for one, loss of my clothing., being dumped above the tree line in the mountains with a dead cell phone, and a light snow beginning to fall at sunset. (Cue the wolves howling, too, for effect.)
Under those conditions, I decided, yes, even I could become motivated, yes sir.
However, at the very moment I was contemplating the “source of all motivation” it occurred to me that I was laying in the new leather recliner, electric headrest just-so, a bit of lumbar, and a green throw-fleece tossed over me by Elaine.
Still, it seemed a useful insight to pass along for Sam and others under 60. The worse the conditions the more motivation shows up. So – it logically followed – if you want to “get motivated” start with “getting uncomfortable.” Or put an outrageous reward out there half past your obstacle… Both work although I find high ETOH after is a useful compromise.
Work Duds: Somewhere – on the wrong side of the Productivity Barrier – it also occurred to me this week that in order to get more done, I needed to spend less time on prepping for work and more on doing the tasks.
This (somehow) led me to inspect the science of work vests. I am now the proud owner of:
- A “general tools” work vest. This is the “stuff around the house” vest with pockets for a few electrical connectors, measuring tape, markers, screwdrivers, T-25, Phillips #2, and other impact bits which (for reasons I’m not clear on) live in their own 20-inch, 3 drawer “drill and impact bits” toolbox on the main shop bench. I know there was a reason.
- An electrician’s vest. Obviously with solar galore, ham radio, and more home automation than is rational, this was an easy call. There’s a non-contact voltage probe, a Fluke meter, and both an LCR meter and a current clamp.
- Then I picked up a “cleaner’s apron.” A little self-analysis – (in the fabric recliner that seemed warmer at that moment) revealed that I am not lazy about cleaning. I just needed to make it more convenient.
That may sound absurd (Elaine wondered if I could get a tutu to go with it…) but the Windex or the 409 is always a Fantastik distance from where the Goo-Gone lives. Now, with a cleaning products carrying tray loaded to the gills with a roll of 4-gallon trash liners (*no tutu, though) and wearing my cleaning apron with sprayers galore, I am able to get seriously clean.
Or, more correctly, I will be once I get out of the recliner. Snoozing is more difficult, though, with wire strippers poking at your ribs. Time to invent a “memory foam snoozing vest.” Did I have a Tasmanian in my genetics somewhere?
Animal Management: People pay small fortunes to have their yards sprayed for insects. But here in the past few weeks, we’ve nailed the “secret sauce” behind this one.
It began a week, or so, back when my Postal carrier (Jed) dropped off a truck load of Amazon absurdities. “Mr. George, what’s your view on armadillos?” he cautiously began.
After explaining (“Well, Mr. Jed, you see…”) they are part of Earth balance, he let on, “Well, you’ve got a couple up at your front fenceline. My missus would have me after them in an instant.”
Fact is, 9-band armadillos eat most of the bad parts of living in rural East Texas. They love scorpions, fire ants, grubs, and most anything else that’s a bother. While some “slickers” who fancy themselves golf course groundskeepers decry them as pests, I can take a pitching wedge out front and land a hole-in-one anywhere now.
BTW – here’s a Marlin Perkins note for you: Armadillos can run just over 29 MPH. Who knew?
Radio Reporter: Been eyeing LOOB’s adventures with AliExpress and I picked up a Xiegu G90 ham radio rig for under $370 including delivery. A matching DE-19 data unit plus the PA100 linear amplifier are both enroute. It will give the Major and me yet-another radio to assess.
Well, coffee’s cooling and the gray matter needs another coat of sleep on it, so a quick spin of the all-snooze station:
News Compressor: ON
The most important change this morning is the growing operational importance of infrastructure control.
The Gulf conflict is increasingly about airports, pipelines, ports and shipping lanes. Ukraine’s war now includes the operational consequences of satellite-network restrictions. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities can force governments and businesses to suspend services even before the full extent of successful exploitation is known.
These developments are not independent proof of an approaching general collapse. They do, however, reveal a common vulnerability: modern systems are interconnected enough that losing access to one essential component can rapidly affect several others.
Final state: AMBER–RED. Gulf escalation continuing; Ukraine’s communications restored; domestic flood recovery incomplete; election litigation approaching a judicial decision.
That’s Sunday morning, and the world is running about as smoothly as a Chinese chainsaw with a missing carburetor screw.
Front Page
Saudi Arabia: Now Boarding, Please Duck. The Saudis reopened portions of Riyadh’s international airport Sunday while intercepting another collection of Houthi missiles and drones. Nothing says welcome aboard quite like air-defense batteries working overtime. With oil above $116 Friday, the Middle East continues demonstrating that blowing things up is easier than rebuilding them. Especially when somebody else pays the fuel bill.
Ukraine: Your War Has Been Throttled. The Starlink controversy exposed a remarkable modern military vulnerability: battlefield communications can depend on decisions made by a private technology company. Service restrictions, subsequent restoration, and conflicting explanations leave a delicious question: Who controls the battlefield when the communications system has a corporate owner? Somewhere, an old signal corps officer is hugging his field telephone.
Bet me Trump didn’t pick up the phone and call Elon? “I need you to….”
Four Corners: Waterfront Property, Unrequested. Flooding across Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah has driven evacuations, rescues, and utility disruptions. Water levels may be easing, but damaged infrastructure doesn’t magically repair itself when television crews leave. Nature remains unimpressed by federal budgets, emergency declarations, or your insurance deductible. See? Wet spots aren’t always a fun indicator…
Britain: OK, so it’s not The Rain in Spain… Another storm, more infrastructure damage. The weather has evidently declined to observe the government’s fiscal limitations.
California: Democracy Requires Administrator Privileges. Federal demands involving suspected noncitizen voters have collided with California election officials and the courts. Washington wants verification; California disputes the lists and procedures. With November 3 approaching, both sides are defending democracy so vigorously that voters may need protective equipment. PPV call it?
Inside Pages: The Rest of the Circus
Cybersecurity: Critical PHP vulnerabilities have website operators patching systems while attackers hunt openings. The internet remains a magnificent invention built largely on software somebody meant to update last Tuesday. Halloween nightmare? It all quits working. Everyone is broke. Then…
AI Infrastructure: Data centers are looking toward dedicated power generation because electrical grids can’t always accommodate their ambitions. Artificial intelligence may transform civilization, provided someone finds an extension cord. We’re buying more solar.
France: Hundreds of thousands protested living costs and public services. Apparently, the French have discovered that government promises don’t automatically come with financing. Payback from synthetic growth is an intergenerational bitch.
Brazil: Presidential runoff day. Democracy’s traditional choice: Which collection of broken campaign promises should we complain about next?
Sudan: Another reported mass-casualty attack compounds a humanitarian catastrophe. Sadly, human suffering doesn’t attract nearly the attention of a falling stock index.
North Korea: Kim visits China and celebrates improved connections. Nothing warms international relations like a new bridge between authoritarian neighbors.
Measles, spotted: Thousands of American cases this year. Medical history is apparently being offered as a continuing-education course.
There you have it! The obvious reasons to do more recliner testing. The World is just all tutu much without further rest.
Write when I wake up,
George@Ure.net
P.S. Oh, look! The AI Proofing Monster is up.
And apparently, he’s had his coffee.
The only creature on the ranch that can spot a misplaced comma at 50 yards while completely missing the joke it’s attached to.
Why just this morning it tried to get me to change laying in my recliner to lying. Whereupon I explained reporters are never found lying… that seemed to pacify it long enough to publish.
Please. Somebody get him a work vest. No, make it a tutu.
“All it would take for me would be no food for two days, no water for one, loss of my clothing., being dumped above the tree line in the mountains with a dead cell phone, and a light snow beginning to fall at sunset. (Cue the wolves howling, too, for effect.)
Under those conditions, I decided, yes, even I could become motivated, yes sir.”
George Rambo?
Rambo (1982)
Colonel Toutman: You don’t seem to want to accept the fact you’re dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who’s the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who’s been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In Vietnam his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by atrition. Well Rambo was the best.
JC : it’s frequently on my mind how buds in life walked point in Nam. A banjo player great friend (RIP) would hardly talk about his experience, though it seemed to me best he “unload” instead of keep it inside. He walked point for a platoon looking for guys hidden planning to do him in. Would unload both (taped together) banana clips then duck knowing the guy with an actual mchine gun would “have his back” spraying jungle ahead.
https://historynet.com/powerful-guns-of-the-grunts/american-soldier-in-vietnam/
I think of Mike, every time I walk point and, collect spider webs.
Go USA. We can do this (whatever). Bless our kids.
Guys tuning 12 gauge for deer here.
E (flat-lander) ______________________
(“JC : it’s frequently on my mind how buds in life walked point in Nam. A banjo player great friend (RIP) would hardly talk about his experience, though it seemed to me best he “unload” instead of keep it inside.”)
one of the first guys living in our spare bedroom…was a survivor of D day…crawled across Europe in the mud….he was there when little house on the purity was filming the first show..Landon came up and asked him why he was laughing so hard..he said..because you don’t know what your doing..he asked what do you know..well he farmed with the same equipment they were using in the show..so he taught him how to use them..( some of the props for the show was bought at an auction barn next door to me)
all he would talk about was how the French loved wine and cheese and loved to dance..when he finally vented we were watching a show on the prison camps and he said..they didn’t look like that..then he reminisced.. tried to get college kids writing papers to ask him..nope they weren’t interested at all on his life’s journey.he was over a hundred when he passed on..
nice guy.. a navy man that won the cmh we never knew..but was always curious why he wore slippers at work and chewed his pipe..we had a rare dress inspection and all that gold and brass..here I was worried cause I couldn’t make my shoes glisten like a mirror..after he told me his story..and how he met his wife..he deserved two of those medals..still visit with her and the kids..she became one of the two hundred most influential doctors in the who’s who book of female doctors..their year last year could have mirrored some if mine lol lol..
most people put on a public mask..they detest sharing because it points to their soft underbelly… thats why the 4th of July is one of the worst holidays.had one that hid in the bathtub some hid in closets or blocked off the doorways….
I still like the picnic but none of that other crap.. I don’t see a reason to celebrate death and destruction
My first tenor saxophone came from a guy who was point in the 1960s, and later worked with my father. Dad paid $75 for it. He told my father the average life expectancy for someone running point in a patrol was less than 5 days. He ran point for four months — Super nice, but super tough guy.
One of my best friends from HS got to run point in his Marine platoon until his second Purple. After recovery they shipped him Stateside and made him a cop. He served out his enlistment as an MP in SoCal. He sported, like, seven bullet scars. After he got out he returned to the Midwest and became one of the students I tutored through kollidge.
Neither one would talk much about their time in ‘Nam…
I worked with a Vietnamese soldier that came to the usa..when we pulled out they left him on a hilltop alone..he had several bullet scars..shoved into a prison camp shove in a pit where they dumped their daily sewage on top of him through bamboo bars….he escaped by getting out killing the guards..then traveled by night and hid under dead bodies by day in a burial pit..got out through cambodia..came here..he couldn’t have weighed seventy pounds..toughest little fella ever..we took breaks together while he shared his life story..
I openly share my life’s journey. Trust me, compared to the struggles of so many people I’ve encountered, my life has been a walk in the park. I won’t claim to have seen it all, but working in healthcare has given me the opportunity to meet people from just about every walk of life, from the wealthy and celebrities to those living in the deepest poverty….
There’s something I’ve come to understand through those experiences… we often see people at their most vulnerable, when life has stripped away much of the image they present to the world… because of my own life’s journey it pops out at me..I can see it.. ( we went out to eat..I knew the waitress knew us..she brought out three large glasses of water with lemon..I have to drink a lot of water I have a bad hiatle hernias where the stomach goes up so have to have it pushed back down..trust that sucks bug time..they do the balloon every year..one time with a new doctor that’s never experience something lime that..it came out with..she came in crying afterwards asking if I remembered any of it..no but I do remember what hapoened)
What we see isn’t the person behind the public mask, the struggles they rarely share, and the vulnerabilities they may find embarrassing to expose… the vast majority don’t want their vulnerable underbelly exposed….You point out your vulnerabilities and struggles and its usually held against you as a weapon..
Think about it. We see the celebrity, the wealth, the success, and the public image, but we don’t necessarily see the childhood hardships, the sacrifices, the fears, or the private battles that person carries. We see the image, but we don’t know the whole story…. its a one dimensional picture..
The same is true for the person struggling to make ends meet, the businessman trying to maintain his success, or the person who always appears strong and has everyone depending on them….
What we publicly see is an image. What lies beneath it is a human being with a lifetime of experiences we may know nothing about….
I’ve learned in my lives journey that you cannot measure a person’s struggles by their social standing, their wealth, or the image they project…. Everyone has a story, everyone has their struggles in life.. and sometimes the people who appear to have the most are carrying burdens the rest of us cannot see or contemplate…
A friend of mine years ago thought everyone was so much better off than him..I said no look at it..its a mask they show..they’re life has the same struggles you do..they are simply hiding theirs from public judgement..
Perhaps if everyone could see beyond the public image ( the mask we show) and understand the person beneath it, we’d be a little slower to judge and a little quicker to show compassion….
https://youtu.be/3GXSHRJYxTQ?si=gGONMP35MCQumReo
This is a better song instead of smiling faces..
https://youtu.be/P5AkNqLuVgY?si=w9UUePsA1jY0Yqbf
https://youtu.be/6Av8tnTacSI?si=PrsS56I8-D3eT3Y9
“it occurred to me that I was laying in the new leather recliner”
So you did some mechanic work? Put a rear end in a recliner?
(rim shot) (audience groans)
And off-stage someone softly says “Say goodnight Gracie” and lights a stogie.
And Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, where ever you are.
I want to share a gold mine of longevity science information.
Yesterday I watched live the whole six hours of a Michael Roizen longevity symposium at https://www.youtube.com/live/6LniCEsqMC8 Some parts were exciting; all of it appeared to be hard science i.e. not product hustlers or flakes. Some parts required a medical education or a doctorate in biochemistry to even begin to understand.
The good news: it’s will stay available on YouTube for you to peruse at your leisure. And, the slides are (or will be) available so that you can study them. Both Roizen sessions (first and last) and the second session (Srivastava) and the fifth (Colton) were relatively easy to understand.
I did not get what I was looking for most: a prescription for diet, lifestyle, and supplements prioritized according to potency of each intervention for longevity. However with a little study inferences can be made.
The most surprising facts:
1. I knew that the 10,000 steps a day so-called “gold standard” originated as a marketing ploy by a Japanese pedometer manufacturer, however there is substantial evidence that every step up to 10,000 correlates with reduced mortality. Beyond that there are small but not significant gains.
2. The infrared component of sunlight (and “red light therapy panels”) improves many chronic conditions. Minimum 17 minutes a day. 42 minutes of bright sun seems good. Use sunblock if you want–it’s the infrared, not the UV, that produces benefits.
3. Lots of info on Alzheimers. Most surprising was an AI study that looked at zillions of medical histories over several years and looked at the drugs that people had been taking and found that one diuretic (Bumetanide) was associated with a 70% reduced incidence of Alzheimers. There’s preliminary information that Viagra also may reduce risk. More potent treatments than monoclonal antibodies are now beginning human trials.
4. The closest thing to a prescriptive summary was included in Roizen’s second talk. I didn’t capture the slides but they should be available.
Roizen is coming out with a book in February 2027 that I will preorder. It looks like it will be the most up to date rigorous prescriptive information. Title is YOU GETTING OLDER: THE OWNER’S MANUAL FOR YOUR GOLDEN YEARS.
My next step will be to find or generate transcripts and ask AI to synopsize and explain,
Superb work! great find and three gold star s from the assembled multitude!
“Please. Somebody get him a work vest. No, make it a tutu.”
OK.
Klaus Nomi – Nomi Song 1982
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iNahvGXVWl0&list
our armadillo is an alien. it came out from a hole in the ground and set its appetite on the 3 year old lush…”i scream strawberry patch”!
there’s a box of wax worms and a pond full of tilapia on a temperature time bomb that needs more attention. priorities, i reckon.
The Pond at Broken Branch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEtzzORJHZw
20 + this summer…did not want to get out of bed last night to zero in on yet another. This season they can be seen in numbers scurrying on the county roads. The young ones die very easily, think soft shell crab.
I am still trying to fix the extensive damage they created. The Moles are Not helping.
It is Black Walnut Season…the bottom of my hands look like a beautiful piece of mid- century furniture.
(“Big week ahead: One week of cleaning ….All it would take for me would be no food for two days, no water for one, loss of my clothing., being dumped above the tree line in the mountains with a dead cell phone, and a light snow beginning to fall at sunset. (Cue the wolves howling, too, for effect.)
Under those conditions, I decided, yes, even I could become motivated, yes sir.”)
phew…..I hear ya on that one and right there with you on that one…….Now everyone here already knows that we had for almost twenty years opened our spare bedroom doors to others that didn’t have a place to lay their heads after going a year without an income and my inability to help due to major illness..( what made me sad was late at night my strong wife who had the stature of strength would break down in tears when she thought no was was looking..what I didn’t know was she had contemplated a darker event of committing suicide..she kept a journal about how to keep moving forward that she gave the grand daughter for inspiration)….( found out yesterday the last two We had opened our bedroom doors for had passed on..they were denied medical care due to their lack of income and sadly didn’t have anyone in another country to help them obtain the care that’s available to the average citizen there without financial means…( it is my pet peeve and rant ))
well … my grand daughter and her four kids..the father abandoned them years ago now had to move into housing in what could be described as a refugee poor neighborhood and trying to get an education..besides all the violence there against against her and the kids not understanding their countries traditions..she needed a place to live..I opened one of the bedroom doors..my first thought..where did all this Crap come from….having already been up almost twenty four hours working already it was time to go back to work again..found two places..one takes medical equipment and supplies..the if you have one leave one if you need one take one at no cost..oh my I fell in love..they started it when their son got extremely sick and found out what my pet peeve is..what they needed wasn’t available to them by design..if you don’t have the financial means and a simple citizen..the you can go to hell if you don’t live in mr. rogers neighborhood and need medical supplies ..So after their sons death because of his condition and their inability to afford what they needed to take care of him they decided to open their doors to others by collecting vital equipment essentials in needed medical supplies to give to others facing the same situation at zero cost to them ( one of my medications could be obtained in Canada at what 100,000% less and in Mexico even cheaper than the USA.. Mexico is the migration territory for the elderly here my doctors nurse at the VA just told me the other day that her family just got back from Mexico on a get what you need run.. lol lol lol ).. and could I help them you betcha.. I got supplies three trips so far more to come..
My epiphany.. was that at my age I’m no longer a gazelle… getting in and out of the beasts truck bed was a major chore..even hurt myself a little getting in it..lol lol..told the wife next time I go to do something stupid like climb in the truck. Remind me to bring the stepping stool…lol lol lol…
got one week to finish getting all the room empty..the other place I will be heading with donations that does the same thing have one leave one..need one take one….. they give furniture to those going through catastrophic events where they have lost all their belongings .. they started it in a similar situation where they faced a catastrophic event and didn’t have anyway to obtain essentials they needed..( if your faced with living in a cardboard box your view of life changes dramatically)..so I will be making a few trips there as well..just to make room for the move in of the grand daughter and four great grandkids..she can relax again and get the education she is trying to get to provide for the kids…
have fun on the big clean up and organize…and don’t feel like your the only one facing it this week…I’m doing the same thing here in the wastelands….
George,
An election day initial fractal crash nadir for all global composites: the Nikkei, STOXX 600, Shanghai Composite, NASDAQ, ACWI?
Oh..I got my little bottles..for those I call friends I want to give them a sample of the rarest wine ever….seen a cardboard box and though oh my..this could be special….
Recliners are nice. Unfortunately, for me spending more than a few minutes sitting results in every bone and joint in my body stiffening up. It’s like first getting up in the morning all over again.
It was a tough week for Diana with daily appointments. We may be getting a break next week with only one scheduled Monday. Yesterday, I hit it hard trying to get caught up taking care of the stock, Checking the greenhouse , and making food for the dogs. After an hour elbow deep deboning chicken quarters, I don’t think I’ll ever eat chicken stew again. The dogs kept her company sitting on the patio. DIana wanted me to sit with her for a while. When I sat in my recliner she decided to sit on my lap. We woke up 2 hours later. My right leg had gone to sleep.
Stay safe. 73
George,
There was a funny show on television back in the 1960’s called, I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, about two handy man guys always wearing their long work aprons festooned with many pockets. One had his pockets alphabetized. You could do that with your work vest, or you could organize the pockets according to tasks. Keep the tutu in the closet.
I miss Marlin Perkins, too.
Yeah – Perkins – He had him some mane, didn’t he?
Onio organization – I have always found that if you close your eyes and do everything by feel – the natural grab-for it spots rea;;uy are best – you can make your wearable space intuitive match to the outer world…
God Nancy That sure brought back memories of A little boy..my dad and mom loved that show..
https://youtu.be/0ZVkgQTixBY?si=xkrtocEfcDPdM10v
all are available to enjoy..shows back when quality television was around
Family of preppers in Florida went on vacation for 3 weeks, but they forgot to shut off the main water valve before they left, and when they returned the nightmare began… what a story, everything ruined, insurance companies a joke and more…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ8PTPZhoOM
Two of the girls are in insurance even though I believe its the biggest scam ever..the first thing they do is send out an adjuster to tell you how worthless your stuff is..
one of the guys living in our spare rooms brother was an adjuster for the govere..he drove across the country to tell a returning soldier his stuff wasn’t worth his time..I have some plastic rocking chairs on the patio that I love.. I paid just shy forty dollars apiece..we were sitting out on the veranda and he was bitching up a storm at why his sibling couldn’t obtain the medical care.. I said ..hmm…you an adjuster… its your job … I paid just shy forty bucks ten years ago for this chair…if there was a disaster and they sent you out..what’s it worth.. he looked and said ..oh five cents….theres your answer..theres a bean counter for everything and you just adjusted your brothers worth…
his value is what the bean counter says….even though he was once wealthy..today his value is five cents to them..that’s why he was living in the car..and if he hadn’t of had a heart attack he’d of been still living in his car..
Been there, done that, burned the Tee-shirt. Valve fitting under the sink in our guest bathroom flooded that end of the house while we were on vacation. Ended up moving everything out of the house, ripping out carpet and replacing with vinyl. Very expensive lesson!
we had a slab leak last summer..I built our home and even though the water pipes were run through a conduit..the earth shifting …eventually wore holes in the water pipe..
we had water coming out of the floor.. I was lucky though..my next door neighbor that was like a grandson had just moved in and is a journeyman plumber…
He was seeking an ancient Viking mead…. he had always wanted to try it..
2 gallons of water
Honey 3 lb
Dried elderberries 4 oz or roughly 1/2 a cup
Dried hibiscus flowers 1/2 ounce. or 1/4 cup
Dried lemongrass 1 tbsp or 1/2 cup
meadow sweet flowers 1/2 ounce again 1/2 cup..
Black tea 1 tea bag
yeast nutrients…fermaid k..( raisins …ancients used other methods )
and mead yeast
https://www.amazon.com/Mangrove-Jacks-Craft-Mead-Yeast/dp/B01B0LF8YU/ref=sr_1_8?
and materials..needless to say..he got the mead wanted to learn how so I gave him the starter equipment …
I forgot the 1/2 cup of juniper berries..
Lol lol…well grandson just got confirmed.. everyone asked smile grandpa..not going to happen..with two teeth totally black right dab center in my mouth lol lol lol lol…not going to happen.. so I smile real big and they said oh I know why now..really proud of him..he takes his faith pretty special..
oh that sounds wonderful.
i work hard because unlike most peope I like working hard. i like how it makes me feel. i do think it is important to rest and enjoy life. it feels better to rest after working hard. like it was earned and not just being lazy.
ya know the Alchmey Wizard brought up an interesting question to ponder yesterday.
The Alchmey Wizard, a few shaman and some others call me -> 0. aka zero. its been an identity of mine on line for a long while in certain venues.
He paused before he left and said Sooo Zero, have you considered the trip to Antartica? i said I have.
He said I imagin somewhere in the back of the minds of the Hopi Indians and all the rest of the world, including mine wonders what happens when True North find itself in Antartica?
i said True North? he said surely you have a compas. i said are we talking about me or shurley now.
he laughed and said have you decided. i smiled and said i did. im going to skip this trip. there wil be other trips available. im very happy where I am right now. life is good. im going to enjoy that for a while. its my right to do so.
he smiled said and the whole of the world exhales, life goes on for a while. because True North is going to The South Pole in Janruary.
i said you think im really that big of deal? he said it doesnt matter what i think. it matters only what THE DUDE Thinks and what HE has placed on the Value of your life. he did raise his fingers and say, west, east, south and north have a life of their own. same with the seasons. why wouldnt THE DUDE make an avatar of each in living form to dwell within HIS Creation. and you are the only zero i know in all my querys of the realms.
i had never considerd that True North is 0. degrees before that conversation over a smoke. and i never considered what would happen when i do go to Antartica at some point in the future. just not quite yet. at some point i will.
enjoy ure rest old dude, it is earned. i aint never heard a single person ever say, “That George sure is lazy.”
until we meet again old friend,
etc etc..etc
(“i work hard because unlike most peope I like working hard. i like how it makes me feel. i do think it is important to rest and enjoy life. it feels better to rest after working hard. like it was earned and not just being lazy.”)
I get you on that….its important to rest..I had to many medical expenses for family and low wage jobs..there wasn’t time to rest..my average was around a hundred hours a week..hell year was a hundred and forty plus a week ..I just didn’t have time and worked off the two bills..the good thing ..is I met the love of my life..she had been destroyed by catastrophic medical expenses from a stroke in her twenties..they took everything but five bucks every two weeks..she was my boss..( oh hell she’s still the boss lol lol ) when she heard me explain I was going to refinish a surgeons parking lot by hand in hundred degree weather and high humidity..she showed up with a jug of ice water sandwiches and in coveralls and said..where do we start…that made us friends..she had a toxic marriage like I did where her husband kept threatening to kill her and physically abusing her… her mother was the one that brought us together though..unknowingly I sat in the pew with this nice old couple.. one day she was out having lunch with her parents and her mom said you should come meet this guy that sits with us in church..she showed up and was shocked to see it was me….her husband started with keeping loaded gun and showing her where he was going to dump her body and..she ran..called me and I ran with her..
the down side was it effects your health to not take time for the body to recover…eventually my body started to attack itself and almost killed me..they wanted me in hospice..my wife said no..my memories of her dragging my fat ass through the mud to take me to the doctors daily…all while working twelve hour shifts..
she’s stubborn and hates that I’m always trying to help her now that she’s struggling with mobility..but he’ll there’s no way I’m letting her struggle.. I have the daughter and grand kids watch her while I work now..back up to fifty hours a week..
work is goid but take some time to relax
uhem, correction. *true north is not going to antactica in janruary.
i will travel there at some point in the future and i spose then all will see if anything happens. :)
time to carve pumpkins.
saw the new Ali G movie last night . only been open 3 days going to get banned here . tommorrow . do gooders left and right . it was so good , he is a genius and has exposed everything for what it is . loved it
Cute story..my grand daughter just had a baby a week ago…lol lol lol.. we were having cake at the after confirmation party and she had to run feed the baby..I asked her husband..go asker if shed like my ice cream recipe…lol lol lol
when her brother the one that was confirmed was born mom breast fed lol lol..I use to tease them about making butter etc from the milk in the freezer…. I baby sat them..
anyway one day the grocer had some cream he needed to get rid of and guess who got it..well I thought hey home made ice cream..so I whipped up a batch..eight kids all her siblings and their friends sitting around the table with good home made ice cream..when all of a sudden..she looks up and asks..grandpa..where did you get the milk…all of the kids quit eating instantly..they thought I made it out of breast milk lol lol….
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use more but that’s your choice)
Small pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg yolks
step one is Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons of cold water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to bloom….
step two…Mix the dry ingredients..In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch. Mixing these first helps prevent lumps…..
step three…Add the dairy…Gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring continuously.
Bring the mixture to approximately 175–185°F, allowing it to thicken gently. Avoid scorching the bottom…. almost to gravy consistency..
step four….Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly whisk in a little of the hot dairy mixture, then pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan….I usually do this in step three when the dairy is still cool..
step five…Stir in the bloomed gelatin until everything is completely dissolved. Add the vanilla and salt…
.
step six…Cool the mixture promptly, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours—overnight is even better…. The mixture should be thoroughly cold before churning…..oh cover it with saran wrap..or bowl cover..
step seven…Churn according to your machine’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream into a shallow, freezer-safe container and cover the surface tightly.
Freeze until firm.
step eight..eat and enjoy
After my hip replacement surgery, the hospital placed a recliner next to my hospital bed. I adopted it instantly as it was easier to fold the legs down to get out of to go to the bathroom. I slept in it. Much nicer than the bed. Unfortunately they would not let me take it home as a ‘medical device’. Just as well. If I had a recliner at home I might never get out of it.
Cardiac chairs are even nicer…..nice recliner or a bed.. flip that thing into so many positions..the ones I worked with were more comfortable than an expensive mattress..
use to put family members in them that the medical facilities acquired their homes..
had someone give me a lecture on making a bologna sandwich for someone in that position just two days ago..excuse me..we throw them out by the federal guidelines.. its the state laws..so next time I won’t tell them..the amount of food I toss out is a sin..
oh they got a new stove and dam if I didn’t want to try a new recipe so yesterday morning for breakfast.. they got my strawberry cream cheese tart..lol took all nigh making them..( the residents live it when I cook)
but I just had to break that new stove in..and it was amazing..
“A “general tools” work vest. ”
I’ve made overalls my daily work uniform for about 15 years now. Partly because they’re a “man’s Mu-mu” (no belt required, very comfortable), but mainly because of POCKETS! Over the years I’ve finalized the list of tools I need most often around the farm, and those that fit into pockets are in my overalls every day.
From Gerber multi-tool to 9mm Walther, it all travels with me wherever I go. Four types of markers; ballpoint pen, mechanical pencil, Sharpie and a soapstone holder, along with a single AA flashlight and my phone all fit into the upper pockets.
Left front pants pocket is for keys, change, spare 9mm mag and chapstick.
Right front carries the Walther in a leather pocket holster and a hanky.
Right rear pocket has a spring-assisted folding knife.
Right leg pockets carry sidecutters and the multi-tool.
The hammer loop on the left leg normally is vacant but handy if I need a hammer for a project. It has also been known to hold a hatchet.
Weighed separately, my overalls weigh 11 pounds. That may help keep my legs and back in shape.
“Saudi Arabia: Now Boarding, Please Duck. The Saudis reopened portions of Riyadh’s international airport Sunday while intercepting another collection of Houthi missiles and drones.”
I’m still waiting to see Turkey and Pakistan send military support and materiel to Arabia, to help defend their “ally” against Houthi attacks. I thought that was the purpose of mutual-aid treaties…?
“Measles, spotted: Thousands of American cases this year. Medical history is apparently being offered as a continuing-education course.”
There is no known medical history of the millions of Biden’s border crashers…
…But I’m sure none of them could have brought measles with them.
Lost three friends and coworkers due to catching things from refugees from other countries where they have diseases we haven’t developed immunity to..
one surgeon went to africa..didnt wash good enough in a hurry to get home..didnt change out of his scrubs..( theres a reason the physicians lounge and locker rooms have showers..bag the clothes shower and change) he got back to his wife..she caught what he had been exposed to..one of the nastiest things I ever seen someone suffer with..she knew what was happening to..the terror her husband felt so bad about what he had caused he couldn’t even see her without breaking down in tears..there was only three of us that would go in and debris the wounds….not as bad as the woman that acquired MRSA in surgery..shed rip her intestines out and throw them on the floor…sad..now with the drop and flop law ..you can’t restrain their hands from doing something like that or have guard rails so they don’t flop on the floor..
no..when we opened the gates..there were a lot of things we allowed to enter..
God help me… every time I see the word ‘armadillo’ I think ‘Arm-a-dildo’. The mental image just won’t die.