Home sweet home!!!

Posted on by July 17, 2023

Back safe, no hits, no runs, no errors, and NO TICKETS 1943 miles later!

Saw a ‘few’ weird things on the trips to and from Louisville…

This is actually a golf cart, redone with a Bronco body!

Pretty cute and expensive as hell, I’m sure!

The other oddity was an older Honda Civic in St. Louis with a ‘funky’ antenna sticking out the back door’s window. Got up next to it and realized it was an over the air TV antenna (normally seen in the home), attached to the top of the window. Got up next to the passenger’s side window and they’d ‘molded’ a little color TV into the middle of the dash, and were watching TV as they went down the road!

Needless to say, I got WELL clear of them as soon as I could!

And I hit some weather Sunday evening south of St. Louis going through the hills. I was tired and saw a semi going up the hill ahead of me ‘wiggle’… then disappear…

Me- “Huh, that’s…odd. I wonder… OH CHIT! RAIN!!! And WIND!!!

Managed to hit the brakes about the time the wind slapped me over a lane and the road ‘disappeared’! I could see maybe 100′, was doing about 40MPH and trying to figure out where I wanted to be, what was in front of me, and what was crawling up my butt that I couldn’t see.

Finally decided to stay where I was, stayed at about 40MPH and watched all three mirrors, the road, and the white stripe to stay in my lane all at the same time… After about 3 miles (guessing), it moderated to the point I could see a good bit, eased over in the right lane and stayed there until the rains stopped. Only saw one accident in that stretch, and I’m betting the semi hit the ditch to keep from hitting a car.

Oh yeah, and the books I wanted to take with me to Imaginarium got delivered on Saturday… sigh

But the proofs for Rimworld- Diversions showed up yesterday!

I’ll be sending copies to the editor and the artist for their approvals.

One wonders…

Posted on by July 15, 2023

‘Which’ population she wants to reduce…

Look, you can call it a mistake if you want — I have no doubt the fact-checkers are working overtime to make it clear it was a “gaffe” — but Kamala Harris did say it. I’m honestly not sure if it was a Freudian slip or just a case of saying the quiet part out loud. But during a speech on climate change on Friday, the nation’s historically unpopular vice president said we need to “reduce population.”

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.
I have a good idea that ‘most’ of us won’t like her answer…
Finishing up at Imaginarium in Louisville, KY, heading back for the homefront later today, so no post tomorrow. I ‘should’ be back in battery on Tuesday.
OBTW, yes, the rubber chicken at the banquet was ‘rubber’ chicken and ‘rubber’ vegetables… I know better… sigh… looking enviously at the kid’s pizza…
Many, many thanks to those who picked up Rimworld – Diversions and seemed to enjoy it! THANK YOU!!!
Now honest reviews are really appreciated too!!!

Book promo…

Posted on by July 13, 2023

It’s alive!!!

A month late, but it published yesterday evening! Rimworld- Diversions

The blurb-

Freighter captains are supposed to make the numbers, hit the routes on time, never deviate, don’t upset any passengers, and always do what the boss says.

Danny Ortega and his ship, the DSRV Ghost, fail every single one of those. No one in their right mind would hire him…

Which leaves the truly odd routes and cargos, and a rep as ‘hot shots’ that will carry special time sensitive loads anywhere, anytime.

As long as he can keep his ship, his marriage, and his crew together, Danny never worries about a fixed schedule. Pirates, plagues, enemies of his passengers trying to take them out, too little money, too much money, and getting trapped in alien mating rituals, sure, but any semblance of a schedule is merely an unanticipated cascade of opportunities.

Fortunately, his ship is full of surprises, and not all of his crew are who they appear to be…

Many thanks to the alpha and beta readers, my editor, Steph, and Joe for a great cover!

Next up is Michael Watson’s book, Hunting in the Shadows

The blurb-

This is a non-fiction book of history. The events described here took place in Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation in the latter half of 1964 and in the Republic of Vietnam during that country’s fight for its very existence throughout 1965-1968. Malaysia, with the assistance of its allies, prevailed in the Confrontation. Unfortunately the Republic of Vietnam, after being abandoned by its allies, succumbed to a full sale Communist armored and infantry invasion in April 1975.

This is the story of an Australian Army officer who was seconded to support the efforts of the Republic of Vietnam in their clandestine war against the National Liberation Front. The story is told precisely as events unfolded without efforts to minimize or maximize. It’s a story of a brutal civil war, of a proxy war, of love, death, and revenge in a wartorn setting. Both the government of the Republic of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front (Viet Kong) engaged in systematic assassination as a matter of policy. Reading this book requires that you lens it in the context of people and events as they took place.

Note- This book is NOT for the faint of heart. It is a bit repetitive at times, and doesn’t sugarcoat any of the brutality of war…  Just sayin…

What…

Posted on by July 12, 2023

I ‘really’ don’t understand this one, but…

It IS Michigan…

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) issued an executive order Wednesday that reorganizes the Michigan Department of Education and forms a new agency dedicated entirely to “lifelong learning.”

The newly established Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential will work with the Michigan Department of Education and state Board of Education and is charged with facilitating access to various programs, including child care, after-school programming, and “affordable education” for adults.

Full article, HERE from the Washington Examiner.

I guess she’s planning on expanding the bureaucracy to ‘lessen’ the impact of the failed MDoE policies, and kowtowing to the teachers union???

I don’t have a clue on this one…

I’m on the road today, so I won’t be on the net until much later today.

Challenge and response…

Posted on by July 10, 2023

Humorous to put it mildly…

A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Theresa May, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
And a friend’s response-
Dear Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom,
We are in receipt of your July 4, 2019 notification that you would like to seize the United States and make her citizens subjects of the United Kingdom (hereinafter “Notice”). Your ill-advised Notice hinges on a claim that you have a right to “revoke” American independence and you helpfully suggest that Americans look up the word. We have done so and note that the Oxford English Dictionary properly notes that revocation is the “taking back of what was granted.”
I think that, perhaps, you have been misled by your ministers and that, like many of your countrymen, you labor under the misimpression that the United States is an independent nation because your predecessors granted us our independence and, so, can take it back through a revocation. This is ahistorical and we strongly suspect that the misunderstanding rises from the madness of George III, King of the United Kingdom (hereinafter “George III”), who never did seem to entirely understand the concepts of revolution or freedom.
Prior to our declaration of independence on July 2, 1776, George III sought to levy ruinous taxes and then seize our weapons so that we could not defend ourselves against his tyranny. (We note, with wry amusement, that you feature both goals so prominently in your Notice.) This resulted in a conflict in which former subjects of George III renounced their allegiance to the United Kingdom. They ceased to be subjects of the United Kingdom and its monarchy at that moment and became Americans.
This is apparently a difficult concept for you and your ministers to grasp but our ancestors did not ask for permission to be independent of the United Kingdom. They claimed a right inherent in their humanity, a right given to them by God, to dissolve the relationship between themselves and a tyrannical government. Thus, since George III did not grant the United States her independence, no subsequent United Kingdom sovereign can revoke it.
I trust it is clear to you and your ministers that Americans reject the very premise that there is any grant of permission for you to revoke.
I note too that the United States has possession of a substantial part of North America by right of conquest as well. Plainly stated, we beat you… Twice. George III, not satisfied with having expended the lives and fortunes of his subjects in a ruinous assault on our liberty in the American Revolution, sought war a second time in 1812. Again, our ancestors beat yours and, so, secured for themselves possession of the territory which comprised The United States.
Since your country did not grant the United States her independence, there is nothing to revoke. Since Americans seized United Kingdom territory and have been able to hold it, we possess it by right of conquest. This leaves you and your ministers but one choice if you wish to become sovereign here and that is to take it.
I caution though that the combined might of the British Empire was insufficient to keep American territory in 1775 – 1783 or to take it back in 1812 – 1815. Indeed, the British Empire found World Wars I and II challenging enough to require substantial American aid just to remain an independent nation. Additionally, without U.S. support during the Cold War, it is doubtful that the United Kingdom could have retained its independence and form of government.
Are your ministers entirely certain that they are prepared to seize the United States? From where we stand, even without the world’s strongest standing military, the odds are quite good that the Americans you seek to seize firearms from would pose a substantial bar to accomplishing that end by a military force as small and ill-equipped as that of the United Kingdom.
Finally, your disdain for North Dakota is perplexing. It is, after all, part of the same geographic area as the Canadian provinces which border the state. One must wonder what your Canadian Commonwealth subjects think of your distaste for their country. Perhaps this should not surprise though; after all, George III had similar views of his subjects in North America, and I think you can see how that turned out.
Sincerely,
The United States
h/t Dave S for the humor!

Go for Stack…

Posted on by July 9, 2023

This could be interesting!

The Space Shuttle is going to look launch ready once again, although this time the retired spacecraft won’t be firing its engines.

The California Science Center is ready to kick off a six-month-long process to stack the components of the Space Shuttle into a vertical launchpad position such that it can go on display at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is currently under construction, the science center announced on Thursday. The museum’s Go for Stack process is set to begin on July 20, which marks Space Exploration Day.

Full article, HERE from Gizmodo.

I will be curious as to how they accomplish this, since this was normally done in the VAB with all the attendant pieces, parts, and expertise right there.

AND they weren’t worried about earthquakes, which are definitely an issue in SoCal.

If they can pull it off, it will definitely be an impressive feat, and people will be able to see the full stack up close! Of course, my second question is, who’s going to be ‘cleaning’ that monstrosity once they get it put together?

That’s always the sad part of any outdoor displays, and that is the bird crap, sun fading, and graffiti that ends up getting on them.

Sigh…

Posted on by July 8, 2023

This is getting ridiculous…

I’m sorry, but ‘patriarchal’ issues with the Bible? Really???

The archbishop of York has suggested that opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, recited by Christians all over the world for 2,000 years, may be “problematic” because of their patriarchal association.

In his opening address to a meeting of the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, Stephen Cottrell dwelt on the words “Our Father”, the start of the prayer based on Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4 in the New Testament.

Full article, HERE from the Guardian.
I know the C of E has always been a ‘bit’ different, but really? I know there are a lot of arguments over female preachers, but to me, this is just a ‘bit’ over the top.
There have been arguments over the ‘translations’ of the bible for generations, and there are untold numbers of ‘updated’ translations available (depending on your congregation and beliefs), but to change the basic meaning of the Lord’s Prayer because it is a prayer to a MAN just boggles my tiny mind.
FWIW, I grew up on the King James Version, and those are the copies I have at the house and use when I need to refer to the bible.
YMMV and all that…

Sigh…

Posted on by July 7, 2023

Once again the ‘blue’ cities death tolls rise and guess who the perps are…

If you think the skies were exploding over the long Independence Day weekend, wait until you hear what was going on in the mean streets of mostly blue cities nationwide.

The nation celebrated our freedom from British tyranny with 25 mass shootings from June 30 until the morning of July 5. One-hundred-sixty-one people were ventilated, and 25 gave up the ghost.

Chicago (of course) kicked off the summer’s July 4 “Festival of Lead” celebration with a good, old-fashioned drive-by mass shooting that left one dead and three injured. The Windy City had a similar shooting days later, leaving one dead and four wounded after roughly 100 rounds were fired at an Independence Day party. Chicago’s top police officer claimed that the cops should have “done more” and broken up the party before the shooting, relieving the “gun nuts” of responsibility for spreading mad brass around Chicago’s Southside.

Full article, HERE.

Ya know, you’d ‘think’ the left would take better care of their base, but that would mean they would actually have to make them obey the laws…

But since the left is all about laws are for thee and not for me, what can we expect?

Prayers for the families of the dead is all we can offer, and hope that sooner or later ‘somebody’ will step up and help stop the continued violence.