Wow…

You have to be an old fart to remember most of these, but…

Corbijn’s documentary begins in black and white, with shots of a mysterious middle-aged man with shaved thinning hair and wearing expensive, fashionable black eyeglasses while carrying what looks like a very heavy, very large package on his back stenciled HIPGNOSIS. We hear his footprints as he shuffles past a cemetery and enters a building’s hallway and sits down. After the door closes, Pink Floyd’s elegiac “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” fades in. He then wanders to the end of the hallway where the word HIPGNOSIS has been splashed on the wall, graffiti-style.

Full article, HERE, from PJ Media

Hipgnosis was THE art house in the 70s for album covers, and this documentary brought back a lot of memories of the days when I could still ‘hear’ music…

Sigh…

A little humor…

Astrology to start your week…

ASTROLOGY FOR SOUTHERNERS WHAT’S Y’ALL’S SIGN?

Okra     Dec 22 – Jan 20

Although you appear crude, you are actually very slick on the inside. Okra have tremendous influence.  An older Okra can look back over his life and see the seeds of his influence everywhere. Stay away from Moon Pies

Chitlin     Jan 21 – Feb 19

Chitlins often come from humble backgrounds.  Many times they’re uncomfortable talking about just where they came from.  A chitlin, however, can make something of himself if he’s motivated and has plenty of seasoning.  When it comes to dealing with Chitlins, be very careful.  Chitlins can burn and then erupt like Vesuvius, and this can make for a really terrible mess.  Chitlins are best with Catfish and Okra. Remember that when marriage time rolls around. No, not with a Moon Pie.

Boll Weevil     Feb 20-Mar 20

You have an overwhelming curiosity.  You’re unsatisfied with the surface of things, and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of everything. Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner hunger.  Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, not even a Moon Pie, so don’t worry about it.

Moon Pie     Mar 21-April 20

You’re the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch.  It’s a cinch to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies. Big and round are the key words here.  You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested in the idea.  It’s not going to be easy. This might be the year to think about aerobics.  Maybe not.

Possum    APR 21 – May 21

When confronted with life’s difficulties, possums have a marked tendency to withdraw and develop a don’t-bother-me-about-it-attitude.  Sometimes you become so withdrawn, people actually think you’re dead. This strategy is probably not psychologically healthy, but seems to work for you.  One day, however, it won’t work and you may find your problems actually running you over. No room in your life for Moon Pies.

Crawfish     May 22 – June 21

Crawfish is a water sign.  If you work in an office, you’re always hanging around the water cooler.  Crawfish prefer the beach to the mountains, the pool to the golf course, the bathtub to the living room. You tend to be not particularly attractive physically, but you have very very good heads.  Keep a distance from Moon Pies.

Collards     June 22-July 23

Collards have a genius for communication.  They love to get in the”melting pot” of life and share their essence with the essence of those around them.  Collards make good social workers, psychologists, and baseball managers.  As far as your personal life goes, if you are Collards, stay away from Moon Pies. It just won’t work. Save yourself a lot of heartache.

Catfish     July 24 – Aug 23

Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the heart, although one: Whiskers, may cause problems for loved ones.  You catfish are never easy people to understand.  You prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life. Above all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.

Grits     Aug 24 – Sept 23

Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself.  You like to huddle together with a big crowd of other Grits.  You love to travel, though so maybe you should think about joining a club.  Where do you like to go? Anywhere they have cheese or gravy or bacon or butter or eggs.  If you can go somewhere where they have all these things, that serves you well.

Boiled Peanuts     Sept 24 – Oct 23

You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately, those who know you best-your friends and loved ones-may find that your personality is much too salty, and their criticism will probably affect you deeply because you are really much softer than you appear.   You should go right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours is a charmed life.  On the road of life, you can be sure that people will always pull over and stop for you.

Butter Bean     October 24 – Nov 22

Always invite a Butter Bean because Butter Beans get along well with everybody.  You, as a Butter Bean, should be proud.  You’ve grown on the vine of life and you feel at home no matter what the setting.  You can sit next to anybody.  However, you too, shouldn’t have anything to do with Moon Pies.

Armadillo     Nov 23 – Dec 21

You have a tendency to develop a tough exterior, but you are actually quite gentle.  A good evening for you?  Old friends, a fire, some roots, fruit, worms and insects.  You are a throwback.  You’re not concerned with today’s fashions and  trends.  You’re not concerned with anything about today.  You’re really almost prehistoric in your interests and behavior patterns. You probably want to marry another Armadillo, but Possum is another somewhat kinky, mating possibility. Stay away from Moon Pies.

+++++++++++

Another Horoscope

Capricorn (December 22 – January 20)

You will write some office email soon that positively sparkles with comic irony.  You’ll be asked to knock it off.

Aquarius (January 21 – February 18)

Later this week you’ll feel much like Scarlet O’Hara did, when she said, “I’ll never be hungry again!”

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

You’ll become part of the Formal Attire Resurgence movement. Be wary of the Casualist Party though – there’s someone out there just dying to spit on your spats.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Tomorrow when you wake up, you’ll make an unpleasant discovery. Sometime during the night, you’ll have been visited by the nostril hair fairy.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

You’re having trouble getting your elderly relatives to pay attention to you.  Have you tried talking with a Scandinavian accent and using a soap bubble machine?  That, and accordion music, always do the trick for me.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

It’s time for you to consider being kinder to your feet.  And stop taking them for granted!  For example, when’s the last time you sat down and had a nice friendly chat with them?  Do it today!

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

This might be a good time to decide what you want to be when you actually do grow up.  I’m guessing that you’d be best off as either a yodeling oceanographer, or possibly a bovine pathologist.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

Today will be especially trying, and if you’re not careful, you could end up in a pretty grumpy frame of mind.  Take precautions! Wear your E.T. underwear.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

This might be a good time to refer to your roommate as “Watson” and say things like “The game’s afoot!”.  Eventually, you’ll be able to reconstruct an entire evening’s events from a spilled drop of raspberry vinaigrette.

Libra (September 22 – October 22)

You’re about to spend a considerable amount of time with someone who personifies “dour”.  The kind of person who never once clapped for Tinkerbell, even as a child.  Just ignore them, if you can. If you can’t ignore them, pretend they are a duck.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

You’ve got to learn to slow down.  You’re driving yourself and everyone around you crazy.  Just pretend that your life is a Prince Valiant comic strip.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

Due to forces beyond comprehension, you will begin talking with a Texas accent.  Eventually, you’ll come out with audio tapes to teach this to others, which you will call “Bubba-Bonics”.

Y’all have a good week, ya hear?

Sigh…

Security, lack thereof, one each…

Marco De Vincenzi, a researcher at the Istituto di Informatica e Telematica (IIT) in Pisa, Italy, is trying to bring attention to this issue. He and his colleagues led a discussion on EV security and privacy vulnerabilities at the 2023 IEEE 97th Vehicular Technology Conference. The results of their presentation are highlighted in a subsequent conference paper.

De Vincenzi notes that when people plug their EVs into charging stations, it’s not just power flowing through those cables. “These charging stations handle all sorts of data, from how you pay to your exact location,” he explains. “But here’s the kicker: The rules to keep this info secure? They’re like a door with no lock.”

Full article, HERE from IEEE Spectrum.

It is things like this that just set my teeth on edge, because this is NOT the first time hacking of ECUs has been brought up!

If I remember correctly, the whole hacking issue was identified well over ten years ago, and discussed in a number of different online car forums and it’s STILL going on!

I guess once the hackers start causing wrecks/killing people they ‘might’ decide to look at it…

GRRRR…

 

A little humor…

If you grew up in the sixties and seventies…

You ‘might’ have indulged, maybe…

And sworn to NEVER EVER do that again…

(Not that ‘I’ know anything about that.)

What are we now???

Are we still a constitutional republic or not???

Lawfare is being practiced at an alarming rate to shut down dissent, opposition views, and any ‘facts’ that don’t fit the agendas…

The definition of lawfare-

Lawfare is the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or delegitimize an opponent, or to deter individual’s usage of their legal rights.

This is playing out at the highest levels right now, but there is NOTHING that is stopping those who don’t like us from taking this down to our level.

What happened to the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Do they still exist for us peons?

And of course ‘we’ are now the bad guys…

Fifty years ago, far-left movements posed the biggest domestic terrorism threat to the United States, with some environmental, communist and animal rights groups taking credit for bombings, arson and vandalism at businesses and federal buildings across the country.

Full article HERE from the Early Bird.

I’m not sure anymore… sigh…

At least in Russia, you know what you get if you’re on the wrong side- DEAD!

Your comments/thoughts appreciated.

TBT…

Aviation version…

There are things you just DON’T expect to see at little country airports…

These were spotted at Lampasas Airport in central Texas! Navions in the wild!!!

Two of these are being worked on, one getting a new engine, and one (the far one) being restored.

Thanks to Dot, it appears that Navion Customs has departed California for free America and settled in Texas!

And a little aviation humor…

  • Airspeed: Speed of an airplane. Deduct 25% when listening to a Navy pilot.
  • Bank: The folks who hold the lien on most pilots’ cars.
  • Cone of Confusion: An area about the size of New Jersey, located near the final approach beacon at an airport.
  • Crab: The squadron Ops Officer.
  • Dead Reckoning: You reckon correctly, or you are.
  • Engine Failure: A condition which occurs when all fuel tanks mysteriously become filled with air.
  • Firewall: Section of the aircraft specially designed to let heat and smoke enter the cockpit.
  • Glide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest emergency landing field.
  • Hydroplane: An airplane designed to land on a 20,000 foot long wet runway.
  • IFR: A method of flying by needle and ripcord.
  • Lean Mixture: Nonalcoholic beer
  • Nanosecond: Time delay built into the stall warning system.
  • Parasitic Drag: A pilot who bums a ride and complains about the service.
  • Range: Usually about 30 miles beyond the point where all fuel tanks fill with air.
  • Rich Mixture: What you order at the other guy’s promotion party.
  • Roger: Used when you’re not sure what else to say.
  • Service Ceiling: Altitude at which cabin crews can serve drinks.
  • Spoilers: The Federal Aviation Administration.
  • Stall – Technique used to explain to the bank why you car payment is late.
Posted in TBT

Anthology call!!!

Folks, we’re doing another benefit anthology for our little local library to help defray the costs of the children’s summer programs.

And we need stories…

The premise is 1890-1930, stories about the oil patch, preferably Texas, but we’ll take anything, 5-8000 words, but if you come up short or long, send it anyway, we’ll take a look at it.

This shot is Kilgore, Texas in the 1930s!

Of note, this does NOT limit the type of story, it can be fantasy, supernatural, horror, love story, lawyers, or actual drilling/working on a rig. The ONLY limit is that it should be a good story!

The close date is 31 August, but if we get enough stories, we’ll do two, just like we did for the Haunted Libraries anthologies.

Send your stories to me at oldnfo at gmail dot com. I’ll forward them to the librarian who is compiling the book(s).

As I said, this is a BENEFIT anthology, so the only thing you’ll get is ‘exposure’… sigh… The money from Amazon will go to the library.

Back in battery…

Welp, fun times are over, back to reality… sigh…

Four days of no internet, very little TV/news, decent food, and mainly hanging out.

Oh yeah…

And supporting other authors!

A bunch of us went down to San Antone to support Rob Hampson’s signing at B&N on Saturday, and Monalisa found that the B&N also had copies of Analog with her story, so a few of us got her to sign copies that we also bought.

Then we adjourned to a local restaurant and met up with a few more folks, ‘we’ sold a few books, ate, and had a good time (there were birthdays and cake).

Then it was back to the hotel, hanging out and just chatting into the night, then the same thing Sunday.

I got back yesterday, since I took a detour over to Austin to see some old friends, and then back to make a stop at Wenzel’s down in Hamilton for goodies…

It was great to see the folks that made it, and we really need to do that again!

And a good time…

Was had by all!!!

We’re down in San Antonio supporting Rob Hampson’s book signing, which went pretty well!

And we had a little get together after that at a local restaurant, where us peons that are Indies could try and sell a few books…

And it was also a birthday celebration for a couple of folks, too!

And about 30 folks decamped to the hotel and we continued the ‘discussions’ and stories until late in the night…

On the road…

Making a quick trip to San Antone to support Rob Hampson! Saturday at Barnes and Noble San Pedro/I-410 on Saturday Aug. 19 at 2pm! Book signing for The Moon and the Desert!

And a few of us will be doing an indie signing starting at 430… At a different location… 🙂

So if you’re down in the area, feel free to drop by and say hi (and you won’t hurt our feelings if you buy a book)! (Insert cheezy grin here)