Jim Morrison wrote some pretty good lines here and there. Just goes to show what the drama of youth and psychosis of drugs can do. But lots of people successfully achieved the psychosis of drugs part without ever being recognized for their brilliance or memorable lines. "But I Looked the part. It's just not fair."
That brings me to the giving of gifts by and to heads of state and other tyrants or wards of the people. I think whoever is advising Obama on these matters must have caught a sale at Target or raided the rooms of children. Ipods and DVDs. I guess the movies were made in America so it has something to do with the country being represented. I'd have given the queen an American made shotgun or a Milwaukee sander. It's at least designed in the US. I think the Ipod is as well. Both made in China I guess.
Other countries are always unloading really high maintenance stuff on us, like panda bears. And Arnold.
Surf boards are mostly made here. I'm trying to think what is made here without most of its components from everywhere. They can say a car is made here, but the reality is the car is made everywhere, if you consider the component parts. Yea, I think Obama needs to travel with an assortment of short and long boards. Give the short ones to the short people places and the long ones to the taller people places. It sends the message that he's sporty and bitchin.
I'd rather have the board than a bunch of old movies I could rent any time I wanted. If I already had an Ipod, I'd rather have a board. Even if I didn't I'd rather be given the board by some hotshot demagogue than a little Ipod.
Once again, no one asked me. I'll bet some Obama aide's kid is not happy about all his stuff going to Limeys and others. It would have been a real hit if he did the surfboard thing. He could then be clever and encourage those tyrants to "ride the wave" rather than "jump on the band wagon". It might have worked. The trinkets from the computer revolution aren't doing the trick as near as I can tell. They aren't giving much. They are fine with encouraging our global self flagellation. I want them to give us their money and armies. Sounds like they are not going to let us have use of either.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Good, Bad and Whatnot
Floods cannot be much fun, especially in freezing conditions. It was good to hear that the worst may be over in ND. It sounds as if the Fargo people are a hearty breed, the way they took matters into their own hands. Old school reality comes through at times, despite any spin fed to the masses. That is real emergency. It makes the kinds of crises and fears we've been throwing money at for the last six months, in particular, seem like a joke.
It is good to see the National Guard being used properly instead of sent overseas. A state militia is not for federal madness. Fargo has got the coolest accent in the USA. That may not do much for flooding but it is worth something.
Oh well, anything said often enough becomes believed as true, with or without solid reason or understanding. I wonder why that is.
It was a nice sight to arrive home from a good working Sunday, soon after sunset. I looked up the hill at thew bottom of Ballistic road and I I saw a cloud just behind it but in front of the peak behind. The cloud was just to the right of my place but at a slightly lower level. These are commonplace things but things I haven't experienced. Not at home, anyway.
The first time I discovered that clouds can lower that the peaks of mountains or tall hills, without being fog, was when I was maybe 9 years old. We were on a bus in Guatemala, traveling from Guatemala city to a place in the mountains called Antigua. There were indigenous people with chickens and all kinds of other things not usually found on public transportation. I'm not sure but it seems like some people rode on the roof. They had lots of bundles up there. That would have been my seat of choice.
The road was one of those edge of the cliff, winding things. I guess it would have been scary to those of little faith. What was scary was that town. So quiet, and the guy who brought tortillas to the room of the scary hotel looked like something from a movie where people get knifed by the quiet Guatemalan. If there is such a thing as energy in a place, that place freaked me out like nowhere I've ever been. Lots of ruins there. It was a strange thing. That place struck terror into my heart. Nothing I could do except ask if we could get out of there. My childhood was not one in which you made scenes and got away with it. Normally, I'd not have begged to leave, but I did. We looked at whatever the ruins were supposed to be. At that time it just looked like falling down buildings and chunks of rock.
Most ruins are fallen down buildings and chunks of rock, but I usually find them exciting and uplifting. At least the limited experience I've had with them has been such. I've not seen some of the Greek and Roman stuff, only the aqueduct in Spain, outside Segovia or somewhere.
I'd forgotten about Antigua until now. People always think about that Island Antigua and they say it "Anteega". This one was pronounced how it looks by everyone I remember.
If you think the Aztec nation was peaceful and fun loving, read the book. I sure hope they don't bring back all the sacrifices and rituals when la raza gets the Azteca nation rolling. Some features of the old days could be good.
There was a lot going on in North and Central America before and during the Aztec days. They weren't the big innovators and creators of everything, just the war power, at their peak. But, more than the Romans or Greeks or Vikings, I'd love to be able to go back in time and see the civilizations down there in action; Toltec, Mixtecs, and all the other tecs. At a safe distance, for sure. I'd not want to be sacrificed to whatever God needing a fresh heart.
It is good to see the National Guard being used properly instead of sent overseas. A state militia is not for federal madness. Fargo has got the coolest accent in the USA. That may not do much for flooding but it is worth something.
Oh well, anything said often enough becomes believed as true, with or without solid reason or understanding. I wonder why that is.
It was a nice sight to arrive home from a good working Sunday, soon after sunset. I looked up the hill at thew bottom of Ballistic road and I I saw a cloud just behind it but in front of the peak behind. The cloud was just to the right of my place but at a slightly lower level. These are commonplace things but things I haven't experienced. Not at home, anyway.
The first time I discovered that clouds can lower that the peaks of mountains or tall hills, without being fog, was when I was maybe 9 years old. We were on a bus in Guatemala, traveling from Guatemala city to a place in the mountains called Antigua. There were indigenous people with chickens and all kinds of other things not usually found on public transportation. I'm not sure but it seems like some people rode on the roof. They had lots of bundles up there. That would have been my seat of choice.
The road was one of those edge of the cliff, winding things. I guess it would have been scary to those of little faith. What was scary was that town. So quiet, and the guy who brought tortillas to the room of the scary hotel looked like something from a movie where people get knifed by the quiet Guatemalan. If there is such a thing as energy in a place, that place freaked me out like nowhere I've ever been. Lots of ruins there. It was a strange thing. That place struck terror into my heart. Nothing I could do except ask if we could get out of there. My childhood was not one in which you made scenes and got away with it. Normally, I'd not have begged to leave, but I did. We looked at whatever the ruins were supposed to be. At that time it just looked like falling down buildings and chunks of rock.
Most ruins are fallen down buildings and chunks of rock, but I usually find them exciting and uplifting. At least the limited experience I've had with them has been such. I've not seen some of the Greek and Roman stuff, only the aqueduct in Spain, outside Segovia or somewhere.
I'd forgotten about Antigua until now. People always think about that Island Antigua and they say it "Anteega". This one was pronounced how it looks by everyone I remember.
If you think the Aztec nation was peaceful and fun loving, read the book. I sure hope they don't bring back all the sacrifices and rituals when la raza gets the Azteca nation rolling. Some features of the old days could be good.
There was a lot going on in North and Central America before and during the Aztec days. They weren't the big innovators and creators of everything, just the war power, at their peak. But, more than the Romans or Greeks or Vikings, I'd love to be able to go back in time and see the civilizations down there in action; Toltec, Mixtecs, and all the other tecs. At a safe distance, for sure. I'd not want to be sacrificed to whatever God needing a fresh heart.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Second Thoughts and the Danger of Honest, Solitary Labor
I think I indicated that I despise misguided people. That is not really true. Most people are misguided. If they weren't we'd have minimal border issues, economic woes, and people could smoke in the park and others wouldn't have to pick up the butts left on the ground. If people weren't misguided, we'd have never heard of Barney Frank, either Bush, Bill or Hillary, and list goes on.
But, people are a bit easy to dupe when it comes to trade-offs and misperceived items of self interest. It happens. I can't be too upset by it because my most consistent career since slightly prior to adulthood has been that of self defeat. Even so, I see the big picture when it comes to the philosophy of power in civilization. I grasp the concept of liberty. Most of those who bandy the word about, do not.
They just don't, and I can't help that. It places one in the position of being uncool, uncomfortable, etc. At least that is what keeps most people in line; don't want to be the odd man out and not fit in. Maybe it is a blessing that not fitting in like that is what makes me lovable.
Alright, it may also be that only I realize I'm lovable, but that's the story I'm sticking to. Speaking of lovable, the manual labor all alone at the villa can be a little bizarre sometimes.
At any rate, many of my best friends and beloved family are misguided when it comes to the proper principles of state. Irrelevant, almost, but I feel free to now say, I never did like Arnold much. His inflated ego on long ago talk shows left me cold. he also is one of those who is smart enough to grasp certain things but not smart enough to realize that he is not really all that bright. He learned nothing from his roots.
Arnold would gladly be a fascist dictator, given the chance. Fascist does not necessarily mean cruel or unlikable. They always get in through some initial popularity and charm.
One service Ahnold has provided, and that is to clearly demonstrate that there is not a big difference between republican and democrat when it comes to respect for the individual. Look at the practice of both and listen to Arnold. He and Obama are on the same page.
OK. So I partially disassembled some chairs. One part is a wooden rod like a closet thing that hangers go on. Maybe it is a foot and a half or two feet long. So, it has to be sanded and I caught the shadow as I was performing this task. It was what one might call a Caddy Shack moment, if you remember the Bill Murray character. I hope they have video surveillance going on and caught the shadow on tape.
Not only that, which is childishly weird, but I found myself musing in a borderline (need to check with the Pope on this) impure manner about the assistant housekeeper. They stop by for some reason almost every day. The housekeeper (HK) and her sidekick (HKA) are very nice. HKA speaks almost no English to my knowledge. That can often be a plus. She could be Aztec. Maybe because I am re-reading that book, my thoughts go south in her case. Who knows. I just figure manual work, like the sea, does strange things to a man.
Look, it was just a fleeting thing and the absurdity of it amused me. Don't be so judgmental. At least not when it comes to me. When it comes to other things, go for it.
No traffic goods report today. All I heard was about a couple of roads closed in El Cajon because the cops shot a guy in the intersection who was running around with a big knife. The details are unclear. The first time I heard reports they said he was breaking windows and threatening people.
Now the news makes it sound like he was all but laying down and going to sleep. They have strange reactions when people shoot cops or do mischief. News people always want to know what, other than a person's aberrant nature, makes them rape and pillage, harm the innocent. Modern news delivery and the thought behind it is a sickness all its own.
Most likely a meth induced insanity influenced the knife crazy, or it could be he had some other issue. Maybe he was simply a very defective unit. I'm not sure it makes sense that they couldn't have pulled nightsticks and subdued him. Several cops and he was pretty well cornered. It was not like he was throwing the knife or had a civilian at risk by that time.
I won't second guess it. Lots of people would be better off and tax payer money saved if they offed more criminals. But then there are those that ought not even be in jail so the balance is all askew.
In the end, no couch or ladder in the road slowing traffic. Instead, the late knife man in the road and they closed it down.
Once again, I commend the engineers at Milwaukee tools. That orbital thing is the best. While I'm at it, I have to say my handy dandy Leatherman tool is as useful an item as I have ever owned.
It may be a clue regarding why I am not wealthy or important, but little things like that give me more than average happiness. Maybe it is a gift to be able to derive satisfaction from the minor things in life. I don't really consider them so minor. The Leatherman was a gift from someone who matters. I take gifts from friends very seriously. It means a lot that someone cares enough to offer a gift. When the spirit is pure, it is the thought that counts. When the item hits the spot it makes it double cool. I'll spare you my Christmas lecture about gift snobbery.
That brings me to K, the almost is my daughter girl. There's been some strangeness in that life and I had to do the "where the rabbit ate the cabbage" lecture. That means tough love; dose of reality. It's birthday time and I bet no one would guess what she got. Money is tight and doesn't go to best use anyway. I hear all the woes of the phone not being charged and other odd phone woes. A solar charger designed to power all kinds of phones, laptops and other stuff ought to fix that. Even that ingrate ought to see how cool a thing it is. If not I sure hope she gives it back. I want one.
But, people are a bit easy to dupe when it comes to trade-offs and misperceived items of self interest. It happens. I can't be too upset by it because my most consistent career since slightly prior to adulthood has been that of self defeat. Even so, I see the big picture when it comes to the philosophy of power in civilization. I grasp the concept of liberty. Most of those who bandy the word about, do not.
They just don't, and I can't help that. It places one in the position of being uncool, uncomfortable, etc. At least that is what keeps most people in line; don't want to be the odd man out and not fit in. Maybe it is a blessing that not fitting in like that is what makes me lovable.
Alright, it may also be that only I realize I'm lovable, but that's the story I'm sticking to. Speaking of lovable, the manual labor all alone at the villa can be a little bizarre sometimes.
At any rate, many of my best friends and beloved family are misguided when it comes to the proper principles of state. Irrelevant, almost, but I feel free to now say, I never did like Arnold much. His inflated ego on long ago talk shows left me cold. he also is one of those who is smart enough to grasp certain things but not smart enough to realize that he is not really all that bright. He learned nothing from his roots.
Arnold would gladly be a fascist dictator, given the chance. Fascist does not necessarily mean cruel or unlikable. They always get in through some initial popularity and charm.
One service Ahnold has provided, and that is to clearly demonstrate that there is not a big difference between republican and democrat when it comes to respect for the individual. Look at the practice of both and listen to Arnold. He and Obama are on the same page.
OK. So I partially disassembled some chairs. One part is a wooden rod like a closet thing that hangers go on. Maybe it is a foot and a half or two feet long. So, it has to be sanded and I caught the shadow as I was performing this task. It was what one might call a Caddy Shack moment, if you remember the Bill Murray character. I hope they have video surveillance going on and caught the shadow on tape.
Not only that, which is childishly weird, but I found myself musing in a borderline (need to check with the Pope on this) impure manner about the assistant housekeeper. They stop by for some reason almost every day. The housekeeper (HK) and her sidekick (HKA) are very nice. HKA speaks almost no English to my knowledge. That can often be a plus. She could be Aztec. Maybe because I am re-reading that book, my thoughts go south in her case. Who knows. I just figure manual work, like the sea, does strange things to a man.
Look, it was just a fleeting thing and the absurdity of it amused me. Don't be so judgmental. At least not when it comes to me. When it comes to other things, go for it.
No traffic goods report today. All I heard was about a couple of roads closed in El Cajon because the cops shot a guy in the intersection who was running around with a big knife. The details are unclear. The first time I heard reports they said he was breaking windows and threatening people.
Now the news makes it sound like he was all but laying down and going to sleep. They have strange reactions when people shoot cops or do mischief. News people always want to know what, other than a person's aberrant nature, makes them rape and pillage, harm the innocent. Modern news delivery and the thought behind it is a sickness all its own.
Most likely a meth induced insanity influenced the knife crazy, or it could be he had some other issue. Maybe he was simply a very defective unit. I'm not sure it makes sense that they couldn't have pulled nightsticks and subdued him. Several cops and he was pretty well cornered. It was not like he was throwing the knife or had a civilian at risk by that time.
I won't second guess it. Lots of people would be better off and tax payer money saved if they offed more criminals. But then there are those that ought not even be in jail so the balance is all askew.
In the end, no couch or ladder in the road slowing traffic. Instead, the late knife man in the road and they closed it down.
Once again, I commend the engineers at Milwaukee tools. That orbital thing is the best. While I'm at it, I have to say my handy dandy Leatherman tool is as useful an item as I have ever owned.
It may be a clue regarding why I am not wealthy or important, but little things like that give me more than average happiness. Maybe it is a gift to be able to derive satisfaction from the minor things in life. I don't really consider them so minor. The Leatherman was a gift from someone who matters. I take gifts from friends very seriously. It means a lot that someone cares enough to offer a gift. When the spirit is pure, it is the thought that counts. When the item hits the spot it makes it double cool. I'll spare you my Christmas lecture about gift snobbery.
That brings me to K, the almost is my daughter girl. There's been some strangeness in that life and I had to do the "where the rabbit ate the cabbage" lecture. That means tough love; dose of reality. It's birthday time and I bet no one would guess what she got. Money is tight and doesn't go to best use anyway. I hear all the woes of the phone not being charged and other odd phone woes. A solar charger designed to power all kinds of phones, laptops and other stuff ought to fix that. Even that ingrate ought to see how cool a thing it is. If not I sure hope she gives it back. I want one.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What Matters/ Sander Review / Hiway Update
Fortunately, I don't expect a lot of comments. One reason is that I rarely write short entries, and I hammer on the same theme repetitively. That theme, of course, is freedom, and my disdain for philosophies and people who push to limit that birthright of humanity.
To me everything that matters follows that right to live one's life as unfettered as possible. Our world has become very much like some classrooms I suffered through in public schools. Someone committed a crime; maybe it was theft of a test, minor vandalism, or an inappropriate snicker. If we don't know who did it, the whole class gets punished. Many of these cases involved culprits unknown to me. Not only was I oblivious to the crime but I had no idea who was the evil doer. Most of the others were as bewildered as I.
People tell me that our freedoms are restricted because people make trouble when they can. They abuse freedom so it gets taken away. I find that reasoning faulty. It is no one's job to steal your freedom in order to curb trouble. It is the job of assigned authorities to target the trouble makers for abridging the freedom of others. That is different. Because rights of individuals are not granted. Rights of the authority (government) are granted by the people and supposed to be limited. The document under which our society allegedly operates spells that out. I didn't make it up. Limit of authority was the big theme of thing.
That matters. Especially now, I would say, but that is not quite right. The distinction described above has been blurring for many decades. The understanding and teaching of the concept has flip flopped. People have come to believe that rights equal entitlements and that they are granted by some mysterious all powerful government. Now is just the logical conclusion of a lifetime of Animal Farm/ 1984/ Brave New World style rhetoric and behavior.
It could be that the majority of people never have been, and never will be, capable of living out from under the big boot. It's too bad. Some people cannot function under so much supervision and insanity. Term limits, salary curbs, removal of special retirement and all special health care benefits- all benefits that are now given elected officials--would go a long way toward improving this country.
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The sanders I already reviewed, Dewalt finish sander and Milwaukee random orbital got a good report. The Ryobi detail sander is better suited for brushing teeth. It is ineffective and doesn't even reach places that you'd expect. Thumbs down on that.
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The last two traffic reports I heard today included a cement block on the hiway, and a couch. One was on The 5 I'm pretty sure, and the other was on The 15 or 805, one of those. Couches really do lead the list of highway refuse. This takes littering to a new level. Maybe they just didn't talk about it in other cities I've called home. It seems to be epidemic out here. Probably some environmental issue with rope or tie downs. Whatever the case, lots of people just refuse to believe that anything could fall from their truck or off the roof of the car it seems.
To me everything that matters follows that right to live one's life as unfettered as possible. Our world has become very much like some classrooms I suffered through in public schools. Someone committed a crime; maybe it was theft of a test, minor vandalism, or an inappropriate snicker. If we don't know who did it, the whole class gets punished. Many of these cases involved culprits unknown to me. Not only was I oblivious to the crime but I had no idea who was the evil doer. Most of the others were as bewildered as I.
People tell me that our freedoms are restricted because people make trouble when they can. They abuse freedom so it gets taken away. I find that reasoning faulty. It is no one's job to steal your freedom in order to curb trouble. It is the job of assigned authorities to target the trouble makers for abridging the freedom of others. That is different. Because rights of individuals are not granted. Rights of the authority (government) are granted by the people and supposed to be limited. The document under which our society allegedly operates spells that out. I didn't make it up. Limit of authority was the big theme of thing.
That matters. Especially now, I would say, but that is not quite right. The distinction described above has been blurring for many decades. The understanding and teaching of the concept has flip flopped. People have come to believe that rights equal entitlements and that they are granted by some mysterious all powerful government. Now is just the logical conclusion of a lifetime of Animal Farm/ 1984/ Brave New World style rhetoric and behavior.
It could be that the majority of people never have been, and never will be, capable of living out from under the big boot. It's too bad. Some people cannot function under so much supervision and insanity. Term limits, salary curbs, removal of special retirement and all special health care benefits- all benefits that are now given elected officials--would go a long way toward improving this country.
--------
The sanders I already reviewed, Dewalt finish sander and Milwaukee random orbital got a good report. The Ryobi detail sander is better suited for brushing teeth. It is ineffective and doesn't even reach places that you'd expect. Thumbs down on that.
-------
The last two traffic reports I heard today included a cement block on the hiway, and a couch. One was on The 5 I'm pretty sure, and the other was on The 15 or 805, one of those. Couches really do lead the list of highway refuse. This takes littering to a new level. Maybe they just didn't talk about it in other cities I've called home. It seems to be epidemic out here. Probably some environmental issue with rope or tie downs. Whatever the case, lots of people just refuse to believe that anything could fall from their truck or off the roof of the car it seems.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Big Fun In the Daily Life
Once again I experienced the joys of the daily job, or as close as my work gets to being a daily job. I wonder if most people get as hung up on details as I do. Some don't, I know from experience. Plenty of others might. It is usually reserved for things like sanding teak for someone else. If it were mine I'd probably take a much easier route. When I do things someone else is paying for I try to cover any detail they may one day see.
What if they have a freak fall and land with their head stuck under the table looking up at just the right angle? I want them to look and say to themselves, "That crazy teak guy even took care of that impossible little triangle no one but the unlucky faller would ever see."
Just to give a flavor of my area in SoCal, the last two traffic reports I heard mentioned a mattress in the road on The 8, and shelves on The 5, and a ladder in on The 8. Interstates 8 and 5 are the top repositories for home furniture and extraneous construction items. If you had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, you could make a modest living off of road finds. In these allegedly depressed times, you have to keep the options open.
I realized today that I am as intensely concerned with this teak project as I would be if I were doing something that mattered to huge numbers of people and involved huge sums of money. I don't even know if this matters to the owner. Probably not a big deal. It will pay my rent and I find a degree of art in the deal so to me it is important. Making it into some kind of art, even if I am the only one that gets it, gives me some degree of satisfaction.
Mostly, since this is the way to put bread on the table for the moment, I do not want a mediocre result. That would mean that I am over-employed instead of under. It helps the ego to imagine one's self over qualified for whatever job is at hand. I prefer to consider myself an underachiever than over achiever although the truth is I do the best I can. This may be the best and most I'll ever do. I certainly like the freedom. I do have other things on the project list that do not involve teak but they may or may not ever be attacked and brought to life.
Once again, today I looked around and wondered how I got here. It is so much the right thing at this point in time. I am still grateful that I was able to make the change of everything, and that the idea to do it came to mind a couple of years ago. About 2, exactly, I think.
The Tour continues. When the time is right, well other aspects should appear. I am expecting it. I'm on thin ice in many ways, but if the ice doesn't break, that's as good as thick ice. It's a little dicier going, though.
What if they have a freak fall and land with their head stuck under the table looking up at just the right angle? I want them to look and say to themselves, "That crazy teak guy even took care of that impossible little triangle no one but the unlucky faller would ever see."
Just to give a flavor of my area in SoCal, the last two traffic reports I heard mentioned a mattress in the road on The 8, and shelves on The 5, and a ladder in on The 8. Interstates 8 and 5 are the top repositories for home furniture and extraneous construction items. If you had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, you could make a modest living off of road finds. In these allegedly depressed times, you have to keep the options open.
I realized today that I am as intensely concerned with this teak project as I would be if I were doing something that mattered to huge numbers of people and involved huge sums of money. I don't even know if this matters to the owner. Probably not a big deal. It will pay my rent and I find a degree of art in the deal so to me it is important. Making it into some kind of art, even if I am the only one that gets it, gives me some degree of satisfaction.
Mostly, since this is the way to put bread on the table for the moment, I do not want a mediocre result. That would mean that I am over-employed instead of under. It helps the ego to imagine one's self over qualified for whatever job is at hand. I prefer to consider myself an underachiever than over achiever although the truth is I do the best I can. This may be the best and most I'll ever do. I certainly like the freedom. I do have other things on the project list that do not involve teak but they may or may not ever be attacked and brought to life.
Once again, today I looked around and wondered how I got here. It is so much the right thing at this point in time. I am still grateful that I was able to make the change of everything, and that the idea to do it came to mind a couple of years ago. About 2, exactly, I think.
The Tour continues. When the time is right, well other aspects should appear. I am expecting it. I'm on thin ice in many ways, but if the ice doesn't break, that's as good as thick ice. It's a little dicier going, though.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Teak Tales and Folk-Country Music
I wonder if my neighbor musicians here on Ballistic Mountain think I'm a wacko. We had a little practice to better learn the songs we kind of faked at the recent gig. After awhile people were demonstrating some of their dark originals. Mine are the eeriest I think. I can't believe I let them hear the general idea of a couple. Being one who can't tell how people see me, I now wonder did they think they were gazing upon a lunatic. Maybe they liked it. I'm not used to sharing that much. Oh well.
Tomorrow may tell the tale of the first part of many in the teak saga of the Duke of Earl's(not real name) outdoor collection of tables and chairs. I picked one of the larger pieces to do in its entirety. Once it is done and I like it, I'll do the rest like an assembly line. Sand it all, sand it with a finer grit, clean it all, etc. Or most of it. I will do three groups of four or five pieces, depending on the group. They know who they are and where they fall in the mix. I've trained each piece to line up and count off on cue.
This is the best work I've done yet, but I wonder if it will show. To the touch it will. Prior to this, you'd never have known how pretty the wood actually is. It had some dull red stain on it. What were they thinking in Indonesia when they made this stuff? No doubt some insulting thoughts regarding the discernment of Yanks. But the Duke is Pom, a Limey. Boy did they screw up.
Anyway, I was worried that I wouldn't have any way to get it to this point because it looked so bad. Not any more. At least this big table is looking splendid and when it is done it will win the award for most improved trivial piece of furniture in all Caleeforneeyah.
Tomorrow may tell the tale of the first part of many in the teak saga of the Duke of Earl's(not real name) outdoor collection of tables and chairs. I picked one of the larger pieces to do in its entirety. Once it is done and I like it, I'll do the rest like an assembly line. Sand it all, sand it with a finer grit, clean it all, etc. Or most of it. I will do three groups of four or five pieces, depending on the group. They know who they are and where they fall in the mix. I've trained each piece to line up and count off on cue.
This is the best work I've done yet, but I wonder if it will show. To the touch it will. Prior to this, you'd never have known how pretty the wood actually is. It had some dull red stain on it. What were they thinking in Indonesia when they made this stuff? No doubt some insulting thoughts regarding the discernment of Yanks. But the Duke is Pom, a Limey. Boy did they screw up.
Anyway, I was worried that I wouldn't have any way to get it to this point because it looked so bad. Not any more. At least this big table is looking splendid and when it is done it will win the award for most improved trivial piece of furniture in all Caleeforneeyah.
Martial Law and Colonel Klink Revisited
It reminded me just how risky life in the people's republic of Caleeforneea, and elsewhere can be. I was minding my own business on THE 94, after missing turns and driving almost to Mexico on The 5. I'd turned around and made my way back so I was not near the border on 94. I was on my normal back way home near Target and the friendly Mobil station.
All of a sudden I find myself in a traffic jam. At least one lane was closed, red cones and cops everywhere. I thought maybe there had been a big wreck.
No wreck, a "sobriety check point" roadblock. It would have been a great time for someone to rob nearby stores or houses because the cops were all boxed in by their own design, and there were scores of them at the big party in the road, or so it seemed.
My first thought was, "I wonder if I am inadvertently committing a crime." Maybe it is illegal to have a notebook in the passenger seat. Maybe I should be wearing a helmet. Who knows? I'm trying to figure out if my credentials are in order. An inner voice with a German accent is taunting me, "So, ver harr your papahs?!!" Yikes. Where are my papers? Maybe in the glove box.
I'm sure I had the proper credentials somewhere, but I find it incredibly inappropriate that I should have to prove myself in a free country, with no probable cause to lead the authorities to suspect me of more than a burning resentment.
Because they figure they might find a drunk, which they could better do at any of a number of nearby bars, they punish everyone on the road by bringing traffic to a very slow crawl, with frequent dead stops, and flagging random vehicles for further interrogation. Lucky me, I was not flagged for the strip search. I was wearing clean underwear so I was prepared, I guess.
No, I did not "have anything to hide". I've heard that line that there is no need to worry if you have nothing to hide. I disagree. Any time the government can detain you without cause, there is plenty of reason to worry. It is a precedent that can be far reaching and effectively make any answering of the government to the people impossible. It has pretty much reached that point.
Many think that responses to their cries of "how are you going to help me?" are indications of accountability. They are so far from getting it that it is probably useless to try to explain the basic tenets of freedom and accountability.
Then I find out that in San Diego, or some local school system, you have to get so many hours of approved community service signed off before you can get your high school degree. Welcome to the USSR. Hola Habana.
What about a kid that works a lot when he isn't in school? That's what I did in high school. I did not always like it but I know I'd have liked it better than being under the thumb for community service. Since when is free time, doing something that may or may not be useful, better than just living a good life, being responsible and generally not making trouble? Very few great inventions or innovations which have saved lives and made living much easier and healthier have been born of mandatory community service. Or community service at all, according to how it is defined by these collectivist slave masters. Mass insanity.
I found both realizations troubling.
Before I left Memphis, Homeland security staged a joint exercise with more law enforcement agencies than I knew existed. They stopped people on highways gathered information and put it in their master data bank. It was nuts but it happened. They raided some businesses without explanation and even took computers. No charges filed but they cost these people a ton in lost time. They detained people who had done nothing and were in no way a threat to anyone. I wrote about it at the time. Major news did not. The local news initially carried the story including interviews with the victims of this aberrant jack boot action, but immediately, within hours had a watered down story and no interviews except with the gleeful power drunk sheriff and some evil Homeland security KGB wannabe.
I forget that people just go along and think this way of governing and protecting is good. It is pure tyranny. Totalitarian sickness.
Whatever people think, it turns my stomach and bothers me a great deal.
All of a sudden I find myself in a traffic jam. At least one lane was closed, red cones and cops everywhere. I thought maybe there had been a big wreck.
No wreck, a "sobriety check point" roadblock. It would have been a great time for someone to rob nearby stores or houses because the cops were all boxed in by their own design, and there were scores of them at the big party in the road, or so it seemed.
My first thought was, "I wonder if I am inadvertently committing a crime." Maybe it is illegal to have a notebook in the passenger seat. Maybe I should be wearing a helmet. Who knows? I'm trying to figure out if my credentials are in order. An inner voice with a German accent is taunting me, "So, ver harr your papahs?!!" Yikes. Where are my papers? Maybe in the glove box.
I'm sure I had the proper credentials somewhere, but I find it incredibly inappropriate that I should have to prove myself in a free country, with no probable cause to lead the authorities to suspect me of more than a burning resentment.
Because they figure they might find a drunk, which they could better do at any of a number of nearby bars, they punish everyone on the road by bringing traffic to a very slow crawl, with frequent dead stops, and flagging random vehicles for further interrogation. Lucky me, I was not flagged for the strip search. I was wearing clean underwear so I was prepared, I guess.
No, I did not "have anything to hide". I've heard that line that there is no need to worry if you have nothing to hide. I disagree. Any time the government can detain you without cause, there is plenty of reason to worry. It is a precedent that can be far reaching and effectively make any answering of the government to the people impossible. It has pretty much reached that point.
Many think that responses to their cries of "how are you going to help me?" are indications of accountability. They are so far from getting it that it is probably useless to try to explain the basic tenets of freedom and accountability.
Then I find out that in San Diego, or some local school system, you have to get so many hours of approved community service signed off before you can get your high school degree. Welcome to the USSR. Hola Habana.
What about a kid that works a lot when he isn't in school? That's what I did in high school. I did not always like it but I know I'd have liked it better than being under the thumb for community service. Since when is free time, doing something that may or may not be useful, better than just living a good life, being responsible and generally not making trouble? Very few great inventions or innovations which have saved lives and made living much easier and healthier have been born of mandatory community service. Or community service at all, according to how it is defined by these collectivist slave masters. Mass insanity.
I found both realizations troubling.
Before I left Memphis, Homeland security staged a joint exercise with more law enforcement agencies than I knew existed. They stopped people on highways gathered information and put it in their master data bank. It was nuts but it happened. They raided some businesses without explanation and even took computers. No charges filed but they cost these people a ton in lost time. They detained people who had done nothing and were in no way a threat to anyone. I wrote about it at the time. Major news did not. The local news initially carried the story including interviews with the victims of this aberrant jack boot action, but immediately, within hours had a watered down story and no interviews except with the gleeful power drunk sheriff and some evil Homeland security KGB wannabe.
I forget that people just go along and think this way of governing and protecting is good. It is pure tyranny. Totalitarian sickness.
Whatever people think, it turns my stomach and bothers me a great deal.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Go Memphis
That's right, I, the ultimate despiser of Memphis and the "Mid South", one for whom basketball normally holds no appeal whatsoever, am morally supporting Memphis to win the college hooplah madness. For one thing, Memphis is a school which doesn't have to cheat for their players academically. The other students are equally illiterate and dimwitted on average. Other schools have to pretend that their athletes are up to snuff academically. They are big cheaters. Not Memphis. They do it fair and square.
And their coach actually has some true affection and sense of caring. It means a lot to him that his players remain out of jail and don't commit or get caught committing any major crimes.
And their coach actually has some true affection and sense of caring. It means a lot to him that his players remain out of jail and don't commit or get caught committing any major crimes.
All Better
There is always that tendency to think if I just just find the missing piece of the puzzle, things would be all better. That is a mentality to be avoided. There is no all better. Things just are, and either some benefit can be seen in that or not.
I decided the rest was tediously expressed nonsense so I deleted it.
I decided the rest was tediously expressed nonsense so I deleted it.
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
