If this is true…

There are some SERIOUS issues in DC…

Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”

Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, said earlier on Sunday that it did not want a further escalation of tensions in the region.

Full article, HERE from the Jerusalem Post.

If Blinken passed this back and nobody notified Israel, then the gloves are going to come off sooner rather than later, and I would expect Israel to use ALL of their weapons to put an end to this crap, US desires be damned…

Wow…just…wow…

It’s getting ‘interesting’…

In the Middle East…

Iran, through its United Nations mission in New York, issued a statement that appeared to offer Israel a way to prevent further escalation if it considers the conflict “concluded.” 

“Conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defense, Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” the mission’s statement, posted on social media platform X, states. 

Full article, HERE.

If I had to bet, I’m betting the Iranians are counting on Xiden et al to control Netanyahu and Israel to prevent them from responding ‘in kind’.

However, I don’t think that dog is gonna hunt…

There are ‘other’ reports stating that US Navy ships shot down ‘numbers’ of drones/missiles in the attack waves yesterday, so that raises another set of issues within ROE.

Conversations with folks indicate the US ROE is so tight it squeaks, and I’ll just leave it at that… sigh

Working…

Smarter not harder… snerk…

A toothpaste factory had a problem. They sometimes shipped empty boxes without the tube inside. This challenged their perceived quality with the buyers and distributors.

Understanding how important the relationship with them was, the CEO of the company assembled his top people. They decided to hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem. The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, and third-parties selected.  Six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution – on time, on budget, and high quality. Everyone in the project was pleased.

They solved the problem by using a high-tech precision scale that would  sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box weighed less than it should. The line would stop, someone would walk over, remove the defective box, and then press another button to re-start the line. As a result of the new package monitoring process, no empty boxes were being shipped out of the factory.

With no more customer complaints, the CEO felt the $8 million was well spent. He then reviewed the line statistics report and discovered the number of empty boxes picked up by the scale in the first week was consistent with projections, however, the next three weeks were zero! The estimated rate should have been at least a dozen boxes a day. He had the engineers check the equipment, they verified the report as accurate.

Puzzled, the CEO traveled down to the factory, viewed the part of the line where the precision scale was installed, and observed just ahead of the new $8 million dollar solution sat a $20 desk fan blowing the empty boxes off the belt and into a bin. He asked the line supervisor what that was about.

“Oh, that,” the supervisor replied, “Bert, the kid from maintenance, put it there because he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang.”

And some groaners…

  1. King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites.  His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates , the most valuable diamond in the ancient world.

Desperate, he went to Croesus, the pawnbroker, to ask for a loan.

 Croesus said, “I’ll give you 100,000 dinars for it.”

“But I paid a million dinars for it,” the King protested. “Don’t you know who I am? I am the king!”

Croesus replied, “When you wish to pawn a Star, makes no difference who you are.”
———————
2.  Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers.  Unfortunately, all the Swiss League records were destroyed in a fire, …and so we’ll never know for whom the Tells bowled.
———————
3.  A man rushed into a busy doctor’s surgery and shouted, “Doctor! I think I’m shrinking!”

The doctor calmly responded, “Now, settle down. You’ll just have to be a little patient.”
———————
4.  An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long, thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling. The chief shrugged and said, “The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on.”
———————-
5.  A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official, who apologized profusely saying, “I must have taken Leif off my census.”
———————-
6.  There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin, one slept on an elk skin, and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three became pregnant. The first two each had a baby boy. The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This just goes to prove that… the squaw of the hippopotamus are equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides.
———————–
7.  A skeptical anthropologist was cataloguing South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal elder who indicated that the leaves of a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the elder looked him in the eye and said, “Let me tell you, with fronds like these, you don’t need enemas.

Interesting…

With the current ‘issues‘ with China, this is kinda surprising…

The aircraft carrier George Washington is slated to depart for South America in the coming months, marking the carrier’s first deployment in nearly a decade.

The Southern Seas 2024 deployment is the first for the carrier since it underwent its mid-life refueling and complex overhaul maintenance, or RCOH, starting in 2017 in Virginia.

Full article, HERE, from Navy Times.

Of course another ‘issue’ with the GW going west is the restrictions on the Panama Canal right now. Especially the ‘depth’ restrictions. GW would be within 3 feet of bottoming out, much less having to queue up for possibly days to make the passage.

I think both of those are contributory factors to the decision to go the ‘long’ way back. But I’m not sure I’d want to ride a small boy through Drake’s passage.

The liberty calls will be great though…

Stranger and stranger…

Seems like ‘some’ folks really don’t like the flag or any representation of it…

Members of a regional women’s country line dance team were reportedly kicked out of a Seattle dance convention after organizers claimed their American flag-themed shirts made some attendees feel “triggered and unsafe.”

Over the weekend at the Emerald City Hoedown in Seattle, the Borderline Dance team was set to perform, but were essentially told they weren’t welcome by organizer Rain Country Dance Association, an LGBTQ+ dance community, over their matching American flag themed shirts, Jason Rantz reported for 770 KTTH

Full article, HERE.

Funny how these ‘inclusive’ groups seem to be NOT so inclusive…

And I can’t help but wonder if they HAD changed shirts anything else would have changed.

Sigh…

SJL, Dunce, Houston, TX…

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, misinformed a group of high school students in Houston that the moon is a “planet” that is “made up mostly of gases.”

Jackson Lee, who once led the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee, made several false statements that stunned a crowd of teenagers at Booker T. Washington High School during Monday’s solar eclipse.

Full article, HERE.

Yet they keep electing her…

Because Houston is, just like Austin and Dallas, a deep blue enclave in red Texas.

And yes, we laugh at her too. It’s either that or cry…

Gah…

I missed this yesterday…

I used to be a dyed in the wool baseball fan, until the strike in 1994. I’ve watched ONE game since then.

This was a piece of history I got to watch on TV back in the day. If I remember correctly, we watched this at the EM Club at Barbers Point. My grandfather followed Milwaukee for years, then Atlanta when Aaron moved over there, which got me started following them. He had been a Dodgers fan until they left Brooklyn, and never watched/listened to another Dodgers game after that…

As the crowd gathered at Fulton County Stadium 50 years ago tonight, the fans anticipated that history would take place. For one night, Atlanta was the center of the baseball universe, and Atlanta Braves star Henry “Hank” Aaron didn’t disappoint.

The media anticipated the night’s excitement, too. NBC covered the game live, and entertainer Pearl Bailey sang the national anthem. Aaron’s parents were there, as were luminaries like Sammy Davis Jr.

The fateful moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning as Aaron faced off against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. The first pitch was a ball, but Aaron smashed the second pitch into the bullpen in left-center field, where Braves pitcher Tom House caught it.

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

Here is the video from Atlanta last night.

He and his family were threatened a lot, but they preserved, and he did break the record, as noted. It also prompted him to become a proponent of civil rights for the rest of his life.

May he rest in peace.

 

It’s MONDAY…

Sigh…

Go enjoy the eclipse if you’re in the area, otherwise, enjoy the jokes…

Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard when he lives in the jungle without a razor?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on ‘insufficient funds’ when they know we obviously don’t have the money to pay them?

Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Whose idea was it to put an ‘S’ in the word ‘lisp’?

What is the speed of darkness?

Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up every two hours?

If the temperature is zero outside today and it’s going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Did you ever stop and wonder…….

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, ‘I think I’ll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?’

Who was the first person to say, ‘See that chicken there… I’m gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it’s ass.’

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don’t point to their ass when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why does your Gynecologist leave the room when you get undressed when they know they are going to look up there anyway?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs !

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Stop singing and read on……

Do illiterate people really get to enjoy Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the first place?

Book promo…

First up is the book that John Ringo previewed on our YouTube on Thursday- Beyond the Ranges

As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

For Jason Graham, the world ends not with a bang, not even with much of a whimper.

One second, he’s sitting in a restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, chatting with a server, the next he finds himself in a strange room, rescued by mysterious alien benefactors. Seems the world did end, though how and why are something of a mystery.

Now, Jason—and five hundred million other humans—are in orbit around an Earthlike world that is abundant in natural resources and totally untamed. For the newly awakened humans, this is a chance to start society with a clean slate and a bright future. For Jason, who has knocked about aimlessly in several different careers in his Earth life, it’s an opportunity to unleash his creativity and ambition and see what he can really do.

Next up is the newest anthology from Raconteur Press- What! You Again?

The blurb-

The final episode of the Spurgle Chronicles as told by ten authors. Stories of malicious incompetence and how Spurgle gets his comeuppance. You’ll be laughing at each account of how the most hated man in fiction gets his. Heroics, humor, and how on earth did he manage to do that?

“So we bid au revoir to Andrew J. Spurgle—maybe to visit him again in the future, but ever eager to see what the literary world at large does with him.

Use him (albeit carefully, and seek medical attention if things start burning)! Abuse him—he is resilient!

He is our gift to the literary world. Have fun with him!”

Peter Nealen has a new book out in his Brannigan’s Blackhearts series- Legacy of Terror

The blurb-

A Military Junta Turns to Piracy

And the Blackhearts Get Called In for a Rescue

But There Are Other Threats Just Out of Sight…

When the repressive military government of the tiny country of Costa de las Joyas seizes a US-flagged cargo ship, a response is inevitable. However, given the small nation’s proximity to Venezuela and Colombia, the US government has decided that a subtle approach is called for.

Brannigan’s Blackhearts are called in, but not to retake the ship.

Regime change is the mission, but it will be regime change by proxy. The Blackhearts are hired to break out an imprisoned dissident, to act as a rallying point for the country’s rebels.

However, the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend…

As the picture becomes clearer, the Blackhearts must decide between the lesser of two evils.

Or neither.

You’ll love this thriller because the twists are as rapid as the gunfire!

Get it today.

Last but certainly not least, Kelly Grayson with a collection of his novellas and shorts- Random Synapses: Book 1 of Short Attention Span Theatre

 

The Blurb-

“Denny’s and IHOP are Waffle Houses for people who can’t fight.” ~ Kelly Grayson

Welcome to Random Synapses: Book 1 of Short Attention Span Theatre. This compilation of short stories and novellas is a gift to my loyal readers who have faithfully read everything I publish online, and for those few diehards who spurn e-readers and faithfully wait for publication of the print version.

In it, you’ll find the exploits of Sergeant Cecil Dundee the combat wombat and his comrades-in-arms, Aloysius Q. Fortenberry the Waffle Haus Sheriff and his fellow W.H.I.S.S.C. operatives, loving odes to Generation X in the cane fields of Cajun country, a few backstories in the Sumdood universe, and more. I hope you giggle as much in reading them as I did writing them.

Enjoy.

Also, John has a substack where he’s publishing a serial of a new set of writing, https://johnringoauthor.substack.com/

Go read it, it’s GOOD stuff!!!

Not something…

One sees every day!

1930 Model A Ford pickup!!!

Obviously still a work in progress, but it’s ALL METAL! There isn’t a single piece of plastic on this one!

The body is a ‘little rough’, but what do you expect for almost 100 years old? It looks like he’s got the first primer coat on, and just wanted to ‘enjoy’ driving it on one of the few nice days we’ve had lately!

I would have loved to see what motor he had in it, but…I couldn’t wait around to see who it belonged to.