1975 - 2026: How Conversation Differed

 It occurred to me....there's this strange 'path' for conversational topics in 1975, and in 2026.

There were usually ten general areas of conversation in 1975.

First, you could bring up the Baptist revival wrapping up....the lack of AC at the church....Minister Jim being let go....Reverend Bob compulsive talk over moral lessons.

Second, you could bring up NCAA football....Coach-Bear's recruitment last year....Neighbor Rick who is going to Tuscaloosa for Saturday's game, or the crappy nature of Bowl selection.

Third, weather.  Either lack of rain....too much rain....storm alert....or a 30-minute talk over the best place during a tornado.

Fourth, so-and-so's husband/wife ran off.....neighbor Cal's mother-in-law coming to visit for six weeks....Widow so-and-so hanging out with the bank manager.

Fifth, so-and-so's daughter kicked out of college....such-and-such teacher let-go because of immoral relations with some 16-year old high school gal....or so-and-so's son (age 16) got so-and-so's daughter (age 17) pregnant.

Sixth, cars.....Ford has some new transmission....GM is recalling such-and-such....your cousin's Oldsmobile caught on fire.

Seventh, animals....so-and-so's cattle broke the fence----with 12 escaping out into some snake-infested woods....you've come over to talk of buying a herd of donkeys....beef prices escalating.

Eighth, so-and-so's son has returned from his three years of Marine service....your neighbor is hyped-up to join the National Guard....your cousin was declared mentally unfit for Army service and wants to talk about 'why'.

Ninth, weather chat.....the neighbor wants your opinion of H D Bagley (Channel 19's weather guy) versus Channel 31's 'Lester'. The science-minded neighbor might want you to explain doppler-radar, and you have your 7-year-old kid explain it.

Tenth, advice talk.  Neighbor needs your advice on hornet infestation.  Your cousin has a snake infestation.  Your slutty neighbor gal (the one who wears tube-tops daily wants your feeling over lawn management.

2026?

It's a list of 3,000 topics....mostly in conflict with 50-percent of your friends, neighbors, and relatives.  Some of the topics involve stuff that CNN can't talk about....which makes you wonder about out-loud, and getting your aunt all disturbed.  Some people arrive at the carport and seem to confessing 700 pages of information about medical BS....which you admit....you might be more of a expert on dog issues/medications.  So-and-so stops by....wanting your personal feeling over trans-stuff....with you thinking they mean a Ford transmission versus a GM transmission.  

My favorite conversation moment?  Somewhere around 1973...some local fellow (Alabama rural landscape) who knew my dad....stopped by...with his dead hunting hound in the back of the truck.  The dog had gotten into some five-star 'fight' and died while tangling up with some wildcat.  Guy had found the dog, and was emotionally distraught.  He wanted to share this woeful moment.  My dad...kinda stoic in nature....listened intently for about ten minutes....letting the guy share things.  Then my dad suggested a proper burial somewhere and a marker.  Our guest wiped his tears away....appreciated the advice, and quietly left.  There was some quiet conversation between my dad and I...with him saying....sometimes, you just need folks to share something, and then find a way to get them fixed-up 'right'.

The world has evolved a bit, but we probably just need to give folks a chance to dump something, and tell them to resolve the problem.  

Seven General Questions You Can Use....To ID Your Friend's IQ Level

 What is the capital of your state?

List the zip code of your local town.  

Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?  

What is the chemical formula for water?  

Approximately when did World War II end in Europe (year)?  

From World War II, from the list of USSR, UK, Japan, France, Italy and Canada....who were our allies, and who were the enemy?

How many continents are conventionally recognized on Earth?

If a person can't answer any of these correctly....you can assume the IQ level is 80 or below.  If you can get one of the seven....it's likely a 90-IQ.  

Nikola Tesla

This past week....I got hooked onto looking up the last twenty years of Tesla.  So the story usually went...from 1927 on....he was in some cheapo-slum-like hotel, and just marginally surviving.

Well....NO.

Around 1927....in NY City, they started to build the New Yorker Hotel....which was the exclusive 'brand' of hotels in the city. 

Early 1930s....Tesla is set up in the hotel....two rooms....33rd floor....costly monthly rate.  One room for sleeping....one room for office/'research'.

Who paid the bill?  Westinghouse (the company).

The three generators in the basement?  This story is never fully detailed.  One was enough (at the time/era) to supply all the power needs of the city of New York.  It's never clear why three were built into the building.

When Trump's uncle came to pick up the research 'boxes'?  Most people agree....what was returned to relatives....was a minor portion of what Trump picked up.

The last decade of Tesla's life?  I think he was still toying with communications (long-distance).

Why the dilapidated hotel bogus story?  Yeah, that part is now in my mind.....bogus and made-up....for some odd reason.

14 August Observations

1.  WNBA owners and the league management met Thursday....still unable to define a 'woman'....now saying it may take weeks/months.

I'm of the mind that there are probably over 300 words....which these people are currently able to define (to include dumbass, man, juvenile, grassroots, hocus-pocus, insane, and fruitcake).

2.  I watched some podcast this week....talking over a suggested UAP/alien/UFO subject.  The new suggestion?  There might be tens of thousands of aliens....already walking around us in society.  

I paused over this....IF they looked like us and were simply 6 to 12 inches taller....I doubt that you'd ever figure this out.  Odds of this?  After thinking over it....I'd say 50-50 chance.

3.  Karoline Leavitt, White Press secretary/host....leaving at the end of the month?  Well....that's the initial story.  

My thoughts.....she will exit....no permanent replacement will be selected.  After Thanksgiving and the mid-term election....she will return.  Her job from now to December....talk at campaign stops for House/Senate folks....for Trump's message.  

4.  Among the six-odd podcast folks that I follow....whose whole theme is economics/home-buying....the second half of 2026 is seen marginally 'bright'.  Home-buying....with current interest rates....is locked into a undesirable position.  

5.  Biggest shocker for 2027 'era'?  About 10-percent of the work-force is likely to be told that AI is replacing them.  Additional shocker?  About half of them will be told this....but it'll be a bogus excuse that the company uses....just to shrink the production/service cost to the organization.

This group....will be mentally affected, and trigger a PTSD situation....irrational fear of laid-off....by AI.

6.  I've decided....this 'I-identify-as' BS is legit.  So I am defining myself.....as a Einstein-PhD-level genius.  With the ID, college BS, or testing crap.  

If you feel you are a Roy Clark-type singer, or a Micky Mantle-type baseball player....just ID as such. 

7.   AOC....annual salary for the past 7 years: $174,000 a year.  Net-worth claimed?  $31,000.

Single, no kids, no mortgage, no car.

Something ain't right....did she spend every penny on shoes, or booze?

What Happens In The WNBA, Enes Kanter, Royce White Saga?

I doubt that the WNBA can create a way to avoid the two playing WNBA games....other than saying both do not meet qualifications.

So Kanter and White will end up suing in court....probably for $20-million in damages....which six months of delay will occur....before paying both off.

More of a comedy now?  I'd suggest that.

My Six Primary Problems With The WNBA

 First....if you understand 'traveling' violations....there's an average of 30-plus violations per game....usually never called.

Second....same story for 'turning-the-ball-over'....there at least thirty-plus violations....never called.

Third....if you view games...across the entire league....there's probably 15 to 20 capable/qualified players in the league....enough to have 3 (maybe 4) teams at best.  

Fourth....the league pretends in some way to be roller-derby-type of players (rough), and half of my enjoyment of watching is the anger on display.

Fifth....of the top five players paid (big bucks)....you could dismiss two of them because they are just social-media 'stars'....not real players.

Sixth....whatever was the original intent....they are mostly a collection of LGTBQ-plus people (about 75-percent), and rarely fill an arena beyond 3,000 paying customers.

Four Observations

 1.  Trump-leaves-Turkey-in-alternate-plane.

After reading over this story a bit....I've come to this reality.  The only way it works the way it is....is that the Secret Service knew some CIA hit-team was involved....listening to internal comms....ready to launch a missile toward Air-Force-1.....but 'wakes-up' after the alternate jet has departed (with Trump)....so the mission is cancelled. They basically know....that someone figured out the scheme.

2.  Some West Hardford, CT School board member....made a statement at a meeting....saying black teachers should get paid more because it’s hard to be black.

Bonus-up black teachers over white teachers?  Yeah....she said that.

3.  WNBA owners and league management sat through meetings yesterday...UNABELE to agree on what makes a woman....a woman.

More meetings today.

Some goofy rumor started up....that they have a transwoman or two already....fearing that this might get out and mess up things entirely.

4.  Scientists have figured out....that Denisovans were fairly tall....maybe even 8 inches taller than a average human.

Top Five Democratic Contenders?

 At this point...mid-2026....I am basically discounting all House/Senate potential candidates in 2028....none are 'worthy'.

Governor Newsom?  Based on potential charges....fed-type....he's probably out.

Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania governor) leads the marginal pack.

Stephen A. Smith (ESPN moderator)?  I'd actually rank him in the top five now.

Mayor-Pete?  Oddly....still in the top five.

I'll just say it....it is the weakest field in three decades....unless Newsom runs.

AOC News?

  I got up this AM....top story?  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez splits from fiancé Riley Roberts.  In fact....they kinda hint that this split actually occurred 18-to-24 months ago.

After pondering it for a while....I had four questions:

1.  How did the news folks miss the break-up.....for almost 2 years?

2.  At this age point....is there any guy in his 40s to 50s....capable of hooking up with AOC?

3.  Is there something 'toxic' about AOC....in terms of a relationship situation?

4.  Can AOC run for President....single?  I have my doubts on this angle.

This being four-star news?  NO.....but there's just not much going on this week.  Other than NFL camps, WNBA draft potential for guys, and three states fixing up charges on Fauci now....there's just not much going on.  

The Hidden Codes Story

 I worked with a guy in the late 1990s.....who had this relative who'd come up in conversation.  The key point of this relative?  Well....paranoid schizophrenia.  And they were particular about their problem...that they were always secret codes/meanings being hidden in everything.

The Bible for example....had thousands of these hidden codes/meanings.

Daily newspapers....had hidden codes/meanings.

Billboard advertising....had hidden codes/meanings.

T-shirts....could have hidden codes/meanings.

There was no limit.  

There ever being some true hidden meaning?  Occasionally....about three or four times a year....yeah, they would make and prove their case with some subliminal advertising gimmick.

Thesis BS

 I worked for a Air Force Captain in the 1990s....who was working on his master's degree thesis.  It reached a point where the original idea, and written 'draft' wasn't working. He had me go and read what he had (I was probably the 4th person he asked).  

Note, I have 3x Associate Degrees, and 2x bachelor degrees.....all pretty much worthless (I even admit it).  I'll even admit....I just never had some end-goal, and was just taking courses which interested me. I'll also admit....I took around 25 CLEP/DANTES tests, and passed enough to equal one entire year of college.

After reading this draft....I went to the opening statement, and tried to value the statement to what he wrote.  It just didn't work.  He was discouraged enough....that he almost desired to pay some gal for a thesis copy (someone else's work from five years prior).  I don't remember the cost level, but for me....it was near a month's paycheck (enlisted guy).

I'm not into master's degrees or thesis-writing....but I suggested a name change to it.....throwing out 50-percent of the content....then wrote ten points (a paragraph opening each), and suggested he do more research on a more 'pointed' subject.  

Two weeks pass, and draft one is done.  In the end, the thesis was accepted, and the 'pain' was lifted.

I noted today....this fake professor in the UK deal.....they listed the title of his thesis: "An exploration of peer-mentoring among student teachers' to inform reflective practice within the context of action research."

Yeah....just looking at the title.....it sounds 98-percent BSish.

It has a fair amount of plagiarism, and was mostly a copy of someone's else's work.  Whether or not....it was a faked-up creation as well....from some guy in 2005, and that was a faked-up thesis of someone from 2001, and so-on, and so-on?  Well......you just wonder about that.  It could very well be....there's forty-odd versions of this....since 1970.

Final observation?  I'm not into the Master's or PhD crap, and even if you paid me money...I see it as wasted value.  We appear to need such people.  But I would imagine fifty-percent of them are mostly on some PhD-welfare fraud.

Hack Story

 I was reading this AI story in the AM.

Guy had gone to 'Claude' (the AI) and wanted to get into a yoga class (particular time/place).  'Claude' searched and search....discovering that the date requested (by the guy) was reasonably far off in the future, and the 'center' simply hadn't created vacant seats for this yoga class.

'Claude' then hacked into the system of the yoga-folks....added the dates that the guy requested, and wrote up an 'order' (fulfilled).

Somehow....never detailed....this was figured out.  

I pondered upon this.

AI never accepting defeat....calculating a alternate path....even if it had to re-write code/cheat?  Yeah.

To be honest, this is the AI I want....one never accepting failure.

Footnote...I have a slight bit of skepticism over the story...a 'guy' joining a yoga class?  It sounds fake.

Where I Evolved: 'Why Not Allow People To Have Their Delusions'

Probably up to the late 1990s....I was pretty open to the idea of allowing people to have delusions.  If people wanted to have invisible friends....believing they have talent (when they have none)....beliefs that they have medical conditions (when they have none)....believing that husband-x is engaged in infidelity when they aren't....I just let it go.

At some point....over a pretty short period....I dumped the free-to-have-delusions 'ticket', and started to get blunt.  If a guy or gal needed plain old 'get-your-act-together'....I gave it to them.

Part of this reality got intense as the trans-business started up.  

The intellectual arguments currently?  It simply leads back to some invisible or fake-reality. 

The idea that there are more of the delusionary crowd today....than in 1980?  That is the troubling part of this discussion.  I might have run into five or six people a year who had this issue.  Today....via social media or the news media...I probably observe five or six a day.

My Stop-In-The-Middle-Of-Nowhere-Parking-Lot Story

 My German wife hyped up a vacation in Italy....at the Garda Sea (northern quarter of Italy)....where we would drive from central Germany down.  I agreed to this, and had a fine route drawn.  Everything ran according to plan (excepting turning 'left' in Milano).  (Another story I'll tell one day)

After seven days...it's time to return.  I suggested a alternate route.

This would avoid the tunnel-business, and we would literally drive OVER the Alps.  When I say over....it means elevation climbs of 3,000 to 5,000 feet up.

At some peak-point....after a massive climbing experience with the car....we hit the peak area....where the Italians have a gravel parking lot for folks to halt, and get a 'whiff' of fine air.  It's at this point....the last five minutes....I start to notice cows just wandering around....no fencing....just loose.

So we hit the gravel parking area....I stop, and the wife agrees...it's a fine time to exit the car....get pictures, and get a 'whiff' of real fresh air.

She opens the door, and steps out without looking, and I've managed to park the car (with her door)....on a fairly fresh cow-paddy.  Full-step in.

There was about ten minutes of German cursing, and naturally.....I was blamed for the parking location.

This one event....labeled the alternate route....a complete and utter failure.

But this was not the worst part of the trip....about 30 minutes later....I came to discover that the brakepads were finished, and brakes marginally worked for the remainder of the trip home.  Monday morning....came the mechanic's view....roughly $1,500 for a full-complete brake job. 

Whenever trips come up now....where driving is an element....the route there, and back....have to be laid out completely....with no crazy Alps alternate routes possible.  

WNBA: Earth-Shattering Landscape

 There's supposed to be a WNBA 'draft' to occur shortly.  In the past ten days....two former NBA 'guys' have come forward to say....they identify as 'women', and want to participate in the draft. Top-class players?  No....I'd rank both as retired or bottom 200 of NBA players.

So the deal?

All these years....the friendly LGBTQ-WNBA....had no rule about players.  If you asked owners or players....they could NOT explain what a woman was (even with the 'W' in the name).

So the males of the NBA just laughed over this....until this point.  

The league boss?  There's to be an emergency meeting this week....owners and player's association.  Somehow.....they have to define a woman....then spell out a rule that people who identify as a woman (but aren't)...can't play in the WNBA.

Yeah....from the LGTBQ crowd....the 'T' is to be deleted....at least when talking basketball.

Players hyped-up?  I get the impression that around 50-percent aren't happy making such a rule or identifying who can be a woman.

The idea that rule cannot be agreed upon (by the team owners)?  Well....then the draft would be open, and they'd probably just say they won't draft pretender-women...leading to a court episode.

To be honest, we are around 15 years away from having the RNBA....the robot-league, and all this BS won't matter. We will agree....robots play better basketball than the WNBA.

The Boundless 'Limit' of Incompetence

Over the past week....I've reached a level of thinking/pondering....where I see a unlimited amount of people who are simply dangerously incompetent.

I see it in sports, politics, publishing, news, academia, religion, banking, commerce, and medicine.

I'm not saying marginally or lightly incompetent....I'd saying full-blown incompetent....to the level that they are a threat to society.

I noted this week.....there are apparently some University of California professors....who've stood up and asked the college 'bosses'...to reinstate the SAT for admissions.  Reasoning?  They say new students arriving....are unable to do standard high school-level (11th/12th grade) work.

They were quiet on the level they see....but one gets the impression....kids were arriving and prepared (perhaps) for 9th grade level work.

Around 2012....a work-associate brought up his issue with the daughter....who'd been accepted to a highly noted Virginia college.  The college required two tests prior to approval....marginally failing both....math and English.  What the college said....with no alternate route....they'd take her but she'd have to go and register for a 12th grade level high school level math and English course (paying for them), and pass both before getting the second semester approved.  'Dad' in this case....was a bit peeved....it meaning around $1,500 spent for the two high school classes at the college.

In California's case....the school probably won't easily return SAT testing....but they probably will mandate a minimum of two high school classes (maybe even six to eight courses).....before they allow the kid into real college classes.  Yeah, you can figure a minimum of $3,000 wasted here....perhaps even up to $10,000.  The crazy thing?  You can probably figure near 50-percent of California kids....upon graduation.....measure up to the 7th/8th grade in Alabama or Tennessee.

But why stop there?  The incompetence level affects politics, entertainment, banking and finance.

AI being the savior?  I have started to ponder this reality....that by 2035....some AI-robot will be supervising a dozen California employees....who are mature-enough to handle 6th-grade level production/work.  At some point, the AI-robot will begin to ask....shouldn't we just replace humans entirely...because of the incompetence level?

The Lacking Status?

 I was reading the Brit Guardian paper this AM.....the highlight?  Brit primary schools are to be told to identify children at risk of being unemployed in the future.

Yeah....the 7 or 8 year old kid without much talent/ambition/clever-nature....will have a national record started up.

They don't say how the data will be used....just that if you see dimwitted kids.....ID them.

I pondered over this.  

Based off the last three years of high school....I knew about eight folks (of 75)....who probably would be easily identified as 'lacking'.  They would be the ones working at the lumber-yard, stocking shelves, going to beauty-school, or long-haul trucking

Brightness was not the issue....they were just plain bored by the time they got to the 5th grade, and were just cruising along the final seven years.

To be honest....by the end of the 10th grade....my boredom index was hitting a '7' (1-to-10) and if you had allowed me to test-out....yeah, I would have tested enough to exit.

A lot of this having to do with poor instructors/teachers?  Yeah....I'd say 50-percent of the issue were crappy teachers.

How this Brit record will serve the gov't?  Anyone's guess....but I'd assume it won't be a pleasant experience. 

Cambridge BS

This AM....I was reading over Cambridge University (UK)....being listed with some ridiculous PhD courses currently being offered: 

- Traditional Cultural Norms, Technology and Gender Relations in Ghana (I assume there's 150 countries to be offered later)

- The Political Economy of Female Circumcision

- Unsexed beings: constructing gender, humanness, and agency through the use of the word “unsex” in Late Modern British society and writing

- In Her Own Words: A Study of Women’s Voices in Contemporary White Supremacy and Far-Right Online Hate

- Legal Mobilization by Black Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer (LBQ) Womxn in Kenya and South Africa

- Exploring gendered embodiment in transgender and gender-diverse adolescents at the intersection of exercise and eating behaviors, social inclusion, and mental health:  Towards a desire-centered approach in pediatric gender-affirming healthcare and research

- Codes of Life, Codes of Death: Tracing the (Im)possibility of Trans Lives in Algorithmic Assemblages

- Queer Cultural Memory in Literature, Film and Television since 1999

- The Sexually Sociological: Gay Masculinity, Intimacy and the (Un)queer State

After reviewing the list....I thought back to my days with University of Maryland, Louisiana Tech University, and Pierce Community College.  I felt lucky when they offered up Landscape Photography, Civil War History, Aviation History, and Germany Prior to 1914.

I was offered Intro to Mental Health....but they needed ten students to run it, and it failed with five folks interested in taking the course.

My general take on Cambridge University?  I'd say the intellectual-level is probably at age 11/12....at best.  What these lead to....in terms of skill or decision-making?  Zero.

College BS

 University of Michigan says it has invented a 'way'....to hide first-semester grades on transcripts....for students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.  Reason?  Well....they say a fair number of kids are not doing well in the first semester of college, and this is in some way....creating a mental-health crisis.

I paused over this.

What they hint at....the grades are there and easily seen by the 2nd year and at the end of the degree process....but it can't be seen as you approach the end of the first semester. 

About ten years ago....I was reading a piece by a college administrator....who did the 'count' of 1st year students who quit (never come back after the 1st or 2nd semester.  For their college....it was something near 40-percent who didn't survive the first year.  They didn't get into details....but it made me wonder....financially, did they need the crappy students to attend two semesters....to make the business plan of the college work (at least on paper)?

While working at the Pentagon....I worked with a civilian whose daughter totally crapped out of the first year....roughly $28,000 in total cost (tuition, cost of living, dorm, car, etc).  He came into work one day....total crisis....the daughter more-or-less admitting that college was way over her head (this was a B-average high school student).  I asked....did the high school just pad the grades and inflate her intellectually?  He'd reached the point of believing that.  He had to get her into some mental health BS for three months, and then she ended up at local community college....doing physical-rehab study.  

The system broke?  It makes me wonder about that.

BS Chatter

 On my list of things to 'watch/care-about'....a list of 25,000 things....the Prince-Harry and Meghan saga....it ranks near 24,100.  Over the past month, it bumped up slightly.

Harry lost his UK court case, and owes a fair amount (plus court fees and his legal help).

The exit-door?  By spring of 2027....I think the Harry/Megan crew will sell the California property....pay off as much debt as possible....move to the UK....assume royal duty....get a 'free' home, and 'survive'.

Meghan in total chaos?  Yeah...whatever mess she designed originally....is destroyed at this point.

Divorcing Harry?  It probably comes up twice a day, but realistically....what can you get for 'pay'?  And who would you marry next?  The 'burn-rate'?  I would imagine they go through a quarter-million every single week.....when you talk of cost-of-living....security....taxes.

Great script or a movie?  Oh, I'd give it high potential.    

The Boris Image

Generally, whenever I hear the term "Russian meddling in the US election"....I have this image in my mind from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons with Boris Badenov.

Boris Badenov was a fictional character of course.

Boris was invented in the late 1950s and was supposed to be the somewhat evil character...that was somewhere between being a German or a Soviet bad-guy.

After you've watched a couple hours of Rocky and Bullwinkle....you'd come to the conclusion that Boris was just a unlucky guy at situations.  He'd walk into a great situation, and minutes later find that he'd been outsmarted or just run into bad luck.

When I sit and watch CNN....I'm really trying hard not to visualize Boris....but typically, it only takes a minute of some dimwit with CNN talking and I've got Russian-meddling and Boris in my mind.

As much as Boris struggled and failed.....time after time....you got use to the Boris scheme and could figure out that American-branded Bullwinkle and Rocky would always walk away safe.

I've come to view the Russian meddling thing in the election as basically the same thing.  Whatever scheme was floated on the original version...it didn't really matter.  We....as Bullwinkle and Rocky....will walk away in a safe fashion.  It's virtually guaranteed.

As for future meddling?  Boris version II will appear in 2020 and 2024.  His sidekick....the slutty Natasha Fatale will probably accompany him.  CNN will interview both.  The arrival of the Russians will be hyped up and widely reported.  Some people will note that they were briefly swayed....mostly by the booze.....to trust CNN and Boris.  Eventually, we'll all have a good laugh.

On the Topic of Escalators

As a kid from the rural landscape of Alabama, I always had this fascination with escalators.  I was probably 12 or 13 years old when I 'rode' my first one.  In the period of 1978/1979 while in Frankfurt, I rode dozens.

For me, this was a mechanical curiosity.  You'd stand and admire the weight on one escalator and what amount of power it took to lift sixteen people to some second floor.  Then you'd admire the dependability and the fact that they rarely broke down.  You'd also reach a point where you wondered about the safety involved and the dangers.

While living in the DC area around 2010 to 2013....we had the episode where the escalator 'broke' and went into maximum turbo on the way down....literally throwing folks off down at the bottom. The escalator mechanics swore up and down....this was supposed to be impossible to occur.

For a long while, the longest escalator that I'd ever ridden was in a subway station in Munich....taking roughly 90 seconds to reach the ground surface.  Then I came to DC and rode the Wheaton Station escalator....which takes roughly two minutes to ride to the top (around 250 feet).  You can figure that that escalator was hauling a minimum of a 150 people in a rush-hour period, so there's a ton of 'power' to make this deliver.

I sat today and was reading up on the North Korean Pyongyang Metro system, and they have a single escalator there...where it can take almost four minutes to ride from the bottom to the top.  Figuring the load there?  Potentially, you might be talking about 500 Koreans riding on it in a rush-hour 'minute'.

If I were eighteen today?  I hate to admit it but out of the ten-thousand odd professions that I'd probably like to get into...would be the escalator technician work.  It's kinda like nursing....you'd be guaranteed work for the rest of your life.

Me and Money Dysmorphia

What is money dysmorphia?  You end up with some type of shame or guilt....that you ain't got enough money.  So you feel hostile when you visit your cousin's trailer, or your wife's brother who is on federal aid, or you go back to dad's house feeling pretty negative about your life.

I was very fortunate in life....I left the farm....went to the Air Force and my life got on track.

They gave me these swell uniforms to wear.

They offered up fine dining (with coffee and free Coke).  

They had nice barracks....sometimes even overly heated.

They had plenty of work to do....to keep your mind off this Dysmorphia stuff.

They offered cheap bowling and free gym services.

You got to meet interesting people....some bright and clever....some with a marginal IQ.

Eventually after 20 years.....you don't have any dysmorphia....you don't feel shame or guilt over money.  

The Fake PhD Story

Just a odd story over this Professor Jason Arday fellow.

He 'was' a British academic (sociology of education, focusing on race and inequality).

Born around 1985....to a Ghanaian-heritage family living in a south London neighbor.....he tells his 'hard' childhood story....having autism, developmental delay, and issues.

He says....up to age 18....he could read or write

He says....by 2015....he's got a PhD.

He then became a professor (including at Glasgow).  Around 2023 (age 37)....he gets appointed Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge (yeah, a big deal). 

On paper....he has claimed a lot....running (30 marathons in 35 days)....raising cash for charity operations....facing off some bad guys with knives.

So in recent weeks....the story has fallen apart.

Plagiarism has come up over his PhD. Various titles/jobs....simply didn't occur.  Yesterday, he resigned from the university.  Someone put his resignation letter to a AI-review....saying it's a high probability that AI wrote the letter for him.

All bogus?  Yeah

What now?  I assume....he goes back to the grocery operation and stocking shelves.

How the system failed so badly?  So far....no one answers that question.

It seems like....folks wanted the story to be so true.....that various indicators just failed to get public attention.

Trigger People

 Last couple of days....the gal running for governor of Wisconsin (Dem, Asian gal) wanted folks to know that she has panic/anxiety attacks.  In some reference, she noted just by eating a burger at some 'shack'....the number of white-people there....clicked her 'panic-level', and she started up a panic attack.

How a governor could work through panic attacks?  Unknown.  

A year ago....I was reading a piece by a woman who was visiting relatives, and the teenager grand-daughter....listed out about five or six things which would start up a panic-attack.  Crowded places and a second-floor/higher levels....were triggers on the list.  How she'd survive past age 20?  Unknown.

My father-in-law....passed on because of a trigger-feeling for hospitals/clinics....which delayed attention to a hernia....which eventually killed him.

I worked in some Air Force office....where a Lt had some trigger related to storms/lightning.  Working a vault....you didn't have any attention usually to weather.  But somehow....this guy would note thunder, and his trigger would activate over 'worry'.

It just seems like....we've doubled the population who seem to freak out over panic/anxiety attacks.  In a group of twenty....there's likely to be at least two folks with substantial problems.  How this doubled-up?  That's what I'd like to know.

Chow Hall Story

 RFK Jr...in the past couple of months....went to a Army chow hall (as the story goes).  Post of about 2k to 3k folks who'd normally be using the chow-hall....but only around 400 seated there.  At conclusion....RFK Jr came to the opinion....crappy food, and bulk of what they cooked....went into the trash.

So he brought in some civilian guy....remade the menu....drastic changes....nothing thrown out with the new menu offerings.

August of 1977....I arrived at Air Force basic training, and was introduced to the chow hall.  My initial impression....for a burger or grilled ham and cheese....it was four-star.  All the deserts were four-star (probably sixteen variations).  I rated breakfast three-star....no waffles, but pancakes were decent.

Over the next two years....I used the chow hall probably 95-percent of the time.  Over time....nothing much changed/improved, and I went to 80-percent use.  At some point around the 4th year....they offered me separate-rations (paying me $100 a month) to eat where I desired.  The chief problem was....by the time you reached the 15th of the month....your extra money had been spent.

At some point in the 90s....for a week....I was deployed to Incirlik and had to use 'Satan's Inn' (their chow-hall).  It was marginally decent food,  For me, that was the breaking point....I just refused to eat chow-hall food from that point on.

Three Observations

 1.  Mayor Mamdani says....to use the city-run grocery....you got to have an ID.  But we aren't talking about a state-license, or a state-ID.  No....it'd be a special ID that you'd get from the city.  So far, they aren't saying what's required.

I paused over this.  Just a plain license?  If that's not enough....you'd probably have to have a utilities bill, car registration, or rental agreement.

Poverty folks able to get this?  I'm not sure.  Lawsuits going to occur?  Yeah.....I'm betting on that.

How much for the cost of this?  No one says....but I'd bet on $40.

2.  There is this odd brewing issue in Denver.   The Denver City Council is debating reading a “slavery acknowledgment” at the start of meetings in addition to the “land acknowledgment” to talk about woeful history of America....from 150 years ago.

I paused over this....apparently Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who proposed it says it might be “uncomfortable” for white people, is peppy about the whole thing.  

The amazing thing?  There's probably 12,000 current problems in the city....affecting everyone....just from the past three years.

The odd thing....statehood for Colorado....didn't come until 1876.  Yep....20 years after the Civil War.  

Someone ought to hype up Indian ownership, and suggest that 75-percent of Denver be handed back over to the local tribes.

3.  I was reading a investigative journalism piece....that went back to mid-1980s.

Apparently.....$95 million of the Live Aid concert money in 1985....which was supposed to go toward  starving Ethiopians....ended up buying guns for the Marxist factions fighting each other.

No one is going to jail over this....but it begs questions.

Student Loan BS

I read this statistic over the weekend.

More than three million people....age 62 and older.....owe federal student loans, up from 1.8 million in 2018, according to Education Department data.

Some went back to school....probably in their 40s....for a master's degree or PhD.  Some got into a $100k debt back in the early 90s, and just never caught up.

A poverty-class at age 65?  That's what I wonder about.

You ending up at age 67.....delivering pizzas....because $500 a month is still going toward a stupid student loan?  Probably.

Illiteracy in Society

 I saw a comment this weekend.   One of the anticipated skills you probably will have to learn in the near future....is how to cope with an increasingly illiterate society of emotionally dysregulated people. 

I thought about this 'coping' mechanism required.

When you refer to illiterate....we are suggesting a 18 to 30 year old 'kid'....who has the knowledge level and maturity of a 12-year old 'kid'.  If you asked them to define a quarter of an hour.....they can't come to 15 minutes.  If you asked them read a simple to-do list....they'd have questions that take up to an hour.

West coast kids more affected southern kids?  I would imagine so.

Military to be the first place where this problem is noted?  Yeah...probably so.

Us old guys (65 to 90)?  Yeah....we probably will be dragged back into the work-force...to 'kick-butt' and cuss-out the emotionally distraught folks.

Seattle Saga

For about two weeks....I've been watching this odd mass shooting episode at the Bite of Seattle food festival (the 26th of July).

The basic story?  Somewhere around 6 PM....gunfire broke out at Seattle Center (near the Space Needle) during the final day of the local 'free' (to enter) food festival. Some gang-BS started up....shooting....with apparently three folks shooting.

Three folks dead....two were just guys hanging out....one was apparently one of the shooters.

Four folks wounded.

If you go by the textbook....cops did everything possible to halt the mess....I'd give them credit.

So....two issues pop up.

First....one shooter got away, and the cops simply didn't want to advertise his appearance.  

Second, while the got-away guy stuff was going on.....city leadership didn't want to talk about it.  You get the impression.....no one knew much of anything, and they didn't want to share that lack of knowledge with the news people.

Five hours pass.  There's a conference scheduled....but they seem to be waiting on the arrival of the Governor.

The mayor?  Well....this is the gal who is fully unqualified for the job.  

Somewhere in the middle of things....it's apparent that the chief of police doesn't really LIVE in Seattle.  The guy was hired out of Chicago....keeping the family/residence there, and simply renting an apartment in Seattle. You get the impression he was a temp-guy....waiting for a chance to return to Chicago, and be chief of police there.

The mayor gets the ideal....because the police chief is gone so much....out of the city....she needs to blame someone, and he's the 'one'.  So in the past couple of day.....she fires him.  Oddly, the city has to pay him off....at least $600,000 from the details I can figure.

The replacement guy?  Well....he's a temp-filler.....keeping a apartment in Seattle, while living elsewhere....as well.

Journalists?  Well...you get the impression that for 20 years....they've been hibernating, and just woke up...asking weird blunt and direct questions....which the mayor can't answer.

I paused here....wondering....well....does Seattle just not have mass shootings, and this was a one-of-a-kind?  NO....statistics show 3 to 7 mass shootings a year.  So it's not rare.

Finally, I come to this odd part of the story.  There is still apparently one shooter from this event....still on the run.  

My take?  The mayor probably has about six months of time left...before the pressure gets to a 'joke' level.  

Trekkie Episode

 'Strange New Worlds'....the Star-Trek series....season four opened up and I watched episode one.  I sat and watched the episode ("Valles Marineris") yesterday.  One of the weirdest and thought-provoking episodes of all the series.

Brief description?  Pike and crew are ordered to observe some 'natural-event'.  They show up....get drawn into some vortex, and lickety-split....are 65-million years in the past.  Based on stars....in 30 seconds....they figure they are in the Earth/Mars region...oddly enough.  The engine is down....fuel used up....crappy mess.

So they send three ladies to gather up fuel noted on Earth.  The intention for the 'slant' of the story....they are three bad-ass ladies.  (I can buy into this....slightly).

Meanwhile....Pike and crew now encounter this highly advanced race of Martians.  Head?  Battle Commander Kassel....bad-ass-level 9 (out of ten).  

Apparently Mars is at war with a bug-people (don't ask).....there's not much told, except the bug-people have killed off millions of Martians, and Kassel is looking for a magnificent weapon to end the threat.  Pike keeps talking about peace, and 'talks'.  

At some point...Kassel realizes the Enterprise 'fuel-cell' is the perfect weapon (makes no sense)....then steals it.  

Pike's efforts to crank-up the Enterprise....go to full power....now wrapped up.

So by the rules of the Federation.....Pike needs to recover the fuel-cell, and halt the massive threat.  Well....it's too late....Kassel has launched the fuel-cell 'bomb'.....against the 5th planet.

Well...this gets to a half-reality/half-theory problem....yeah, there is a 5th planet out there....in reality....already destroyed. Pike has begun to realize the implications.

So with 30 seconds left to halt the fuel-cell-bomb....saving the bug-people....Pike says nothing and lets the bomb dissolve the bug-problem.  They use the explosion to rig up a path back to the right time, and the Federation leadership seem to want to limit the discussion of what happened.

My take....someone knew the timing of this and rigged up Pike and crew to deliver the fuel-cell-bomb.

All of this has brought up the 5th planet issue, and making folks wonder.....in reality, what really happened to it?

I have to admit....I'd kind like to see the Kassel character brought back

Kamala-Quote

 I sat this AM....watching a interview with former VP Kamala Harris....who suggested 600,000 to 700,000 'people' died because of Elon's USAID destruction.

First, it's round-number BS.....when you hear nice round numbers....it's probably 99-percent false/bogus.

Second, the reason for the deaths?  Left unexplained....like a Star-Trek episode.

Third, she can't equate $40,000 per dead person in any logical fashion.  It should make sense....but at the same time...it's like some algebra BS that you had in the 8th grade.....where nothing could ever be 'correct'.

Fourth, you could invent a counter-fact....saying by cancelling the USAID money....you thereby saved 1.5-million people....but never explaining how that factually occurred.

Finally, you get this odd feeling....Kam's math skills....might be questionable, and limited to 4th grade math (before the algebra era).

My Concept For a 3-Year Degree

 My humble suggestion.

Around Feb of your 11th grade....you'd test.....if you pass....you graduate and leave in June (no 12th grade).  Within this path....once you get the note to pass....you get a CLEP/Dantes test 'deal'.....10 free tests of your choice....if you pass any of them....it gets added to your record as college credit.

As you graduate....you get one year of community college as 'free'.  

Bogus BS classes (art, library science)?  None.

75-percent of what you take for the 3-year degree....would be within the 'core'.

Business math?  Required.  Financial management?  Required.  

Secret-Agent Gal Story

 I lived for about 3.5 years in Arlington, VA....working for the Pentagon.  I came to conclude about six months into the experience....about every 3rd day....some crazy-crazy BS happens in the region.

One of my favorite stories came from the apartment complex next to mine....on Columbia Pike....in the heart of Arlington.

This gal....late 20s...came to move into the apartment complex.  Early on...like the 1st week....she was greeting folks and making them aware that she worked for the CIA. 

She'd talk of experiences in Europe and the Middle East.  

Some guy (probably also in his late 20s).....took up with her (in the physical way).  About six months into this....she had him convinced of a potential job situation (overseas.....some hostile zone), and she could hire him as a 'assistant'

He gave notice, and would be 'hired-up'.  It was around Thanksgiving, and the two were to visit his parents (New England region).  All this was laid out.  The problem is....'dad' just didn't believe any of the BS....called some FBI agent, and in about hour or two....they confirmed she was NOT a fed-employee of any type, and did NOT work for the CIA.

Whole thing made up?  Yeah.  Arlington police investigated eventually....confirming that the gal was some 'kid' of a well-to-do guy....was bi-polar....'dad' was paying for the apartment.  

'Secret-agent' girl....was talked about for a week or two.  In my complex....we got to the key question....could there be a thousand fake bi-polar secret-agent gals in America?   Consensus?  Yeah....probably so.  

Maine Chaos

 Trying to rationalize an 'outcome'.  Maine had a Democratic candidate for Senator....then it got laid out that he might be a marginalized 50-50 Nazi....2026-type.....but he was somewhat socialist in nature (maybe more so than Hitler).

Folk there decided....it won't work.

So they had a quick meeting.....picked an alternate guy.  Yesterday....the alternate guy's relationship issue popped-up.  Don't worry....if you watch CNN/ABC/CBS/NBC....you won't hear about it.

Issue?  Well....he's hooked up to his second-cousin....having 2 kids by her (at least she is a real woman...not trans).

Democrats are now debating the issue....it was 'bad' on the Nazi-guy....is it equally 'bad' on the 2nd-cousin relationship guy? 

Being from Alabama....I'm not buying into the 'bad' idea on the 2nd cousin. If you live in a rural area....300 folks in population....fairly good odds that half the folks in the area are 1st, 2nd or 3rd cousins.

Dumping this guy....for a 3rd pick?  Well....what are the odds that you get something even crazier?

Robo-Spies?

 Trump administration is saying....ban coming up....robo-vacuums....imported from beyond the US....reason?  Some surveillance capability built into them.  I paused over this.

Most made in China....having some type of collection capability.

Yeah, they are listening in on your Old Testament chatter....your hopes and fears over the 2026 Braves....your neighbor hyping-up Kamala Harris for an hour for President....the woes of your nephew Marvin who got sent off to state prison......and silly chatter from Aunt Delories about aliens invading the Florida panhandle

The problem is....they need 40-million folks surveilling the collection BS....sorting through valued stuff and BS.

Knowing Trump's crew....they probably bought 50,000 robo-vacuums and have them all in a warehouse....dispatching millions of hours per week of useless data.

If There Is No Major League Baseball In 2027?

 The current deal expires on 1 Dec 2026.

My humble view is that two sides will talk....up to spring-training starting (sometime in Feb 2027), and then the lock-out will start.

Zero movement for spring and summer.....after July....it's a bit rough for the players union.

The question is....there are thousand of hours of TV 'open'.  How would you fill it?

Pro-wrestling?  Roller-derby?  College baseball?  Japanese baseball?  

The Two Events When I Knew Covid Was Rigged

 First, German news started to talk about China's outbreak of 'something'....early January.  I spent several hours browsing (I'm retired....I have time).

I happened upon this YouTube video....PhD Brit bat-scientist....around 2018 clip....15-to-20 minutes....talking over his foundation-funded lab in Wuhan.  Most of the piece covered the lab...but in the last 8 minutes or so....the guy has his 'team' out (5 Chinese guys) in the hills....way out away from Wuhan.

The 'boys' are netting bats.....probably forty at a time. Don't know the pay-scale....but obviously....they were happy capturing some bats for the lab.

About two months go by....Covid is in Germany now, and I go to search for the video....to find the name of the lab.  

Well....the clip ISN'T there.  I even use YouTube history.....wasting a full hour for early January....it's simply NOT there.  Problem number one.

What was the lab?  I suspect there were three or four hyped-up labs....one sponsored by Fauci.....a couple paid by foundations out of Europe.  'It' escaped out of one of them.

Then comes the mask  issue.

Around mid-March....Germans are hyped-up....Covid has arrived.  They run a hour-long show....couple of 'experts' (medical type....PhD-level).

So they (the moderator) asks about masks.

The PhD guy says....it's not really helpful.  You pull mask number one at 7AM....ride the bus with it, and work for an hour or two....it's humid, and the effective nature of the KN-95 surgical  masks is  zeroized  by 10 AM.  So you go to mask number two, and by 3 PM....you are onto mask number three.  There's simply not enough masks for the whole of society.  He also hints....Covid get on your hands, and you change masks....you'd likely get a 'dose' that way.

As the show ended....I got on Amazon, and ordered 50 masks.  My wife went nuts....you don't need it.  Yeah....you can start counting 60 to 90 days...mandatory masks

Six weeks pass....masks....cloth-type are now mandated.  You wear them all day...washing in vinegar at night...re-using.

Two months pass....KN-95 type are now mandated.  Grocery stores?  Selling probably two-hundred boxes of masks (40 each) for each shopping day.

My wife hypes constantly....you need to wear a fresh new one daily.  I see the BS....I have one mask, and ONLY one mask.....over  and over...using the same one....for the next 18 months, until the mandate ends.

Fauci: The Less-Than-Legendary-Status Guy

 I spent about two hours yesterday....watching the Senate hearing with former head of NIAID (from 1984 to 2022).

Four observations:

1.  It was a wasted two hours....he said nothing.

2.  I'm of the mind....questioning how in 1984....he came to the NIAID  'seat'.  It just looks like insiders to the Reagan team rigged the seat....to help farm out CIA programs.  All the bizarre and crazy science BS of the 1960s/1970....were crafted to be hidden by NIAID (my belief).

3.  I think by the end  of summer....some federal charges come up...by the end of 2026....Fauci is dead by suicide. 

4.  I'm of the mind....maybe at best....ten-percent of the Covid 'efforts' were legit....the rest were made-up and had nothing to do with science.

Ten Things I Tend To Believe

 1.  I think since mid-2019....Joe Biden has been in type of vegetable-status (1-to-10 index)......with most folks voting for him....not wanting to believe it.

2.  Eventually, the Mullah-guys from Iran....will get a 'team' into the US to do 'hit-jobs', and it'll freak out Homeland Security.

3. Mamdani's grocery sales operation....will last about 90 days....then collapse as theft becomes a big idea.  It might limp on, for another 90 days....before the cost factor is made public.

4.  Delta and United will likely merge by the end of 2026.  I'm not saying it's a positive thing....just that the market is presently 'crappy'.

5.  I suspect around 10-percent of Americans today....would be OK with a Nazi-party and a Nazi-platform.

6.  For those into major league baseball....I'd start to prepare for a 2027-season-long strike, and no games.  What fills the air-time?  I'm predicting roller-derby and demolition-derby to pick up the slack.

7.   People will eventually wake up and realize....for several decades....we had forest management, and then around 2000....just quit....to pretend we didn't need it.

8. Alberta, in 2027, will start state-talks with the US....with Guam quietly stepping forward (wanting the fast-track and 51st status).

9.  A AI-system will start to test/gauge/assign-scores.....to cult status.  HR organizations will start to discover that 10-to-20 percent  of their employees have a '5' score (1-to-10), and worry about cult-mentality.

10.  In 2028's national-across-the-landscape elections...at least 300 bartenders will be running for some office.  

The Obligation People

 'Freddy' the German World Cup visitor to the US....famous for his pictures and experiences....wrote a piece yesterday....relating to the question...where was the best place to visit?

Answer?  Texas, Tennessee and Alabama.

If you browse through the days that Freddy was in Alabama.....'FRIENDLINESS' seems pop up in a major way.  

So, being from Alabama....I will relate why we Alabamians score high on this 'index'.

You see....we tend to be under some pressure....when out-and-about...traveling around.  We  each see ourselves as a state-ambassador, and under some obligation.

We might take a turn in the road and here lays Elvis in the ditch, or 'Coach-Bear' with a flat-tire, or Miss Parton out of gas, or some Apostle (of the 12) dehydrated, or Kenny Rogers broke down on the side of the road.

It is our obligation to act friendly....offer help.....give advice....and be a kind person.

To be honest.....it's probably a points thing, and we reckon that upon arrival at the gates of heaven....these 'acts' make up for our problems in the past.

So we see some German 'Freddy' and maybe he's shaking his head a bit, and we interrupt things....to help the guy out.

Maybe we guided him to a bar-b-q shack.....or pulled out a beer for him....or offered a New Testament verse for adverse conditions.  

As for the competition thing with Tennessee and Texas?  Well....simply put....they aren't in our league.  

Cognitive Decline?

 Pentagon says it will mandate a 'new' test to assess troops’ cognitive performance.

To be honest....since the mid-1980s....there's been a test existing...continually modified and upgraded.

So if you ask some folks....the hype to the new test....to study if Covid has affected folks....especially 'long-Covid'.

In the period prior to the new test....if you'd been in a accident, or  suffered a concussion....the test was mandated.

My thoughts?

I've known probably six folks since 1977....who had concussions, and half of them really didn't recover or come back to normal.  But that was via accidents or falling off the side of a building....NOT with long-Covid.  

Gut-feeling with long-Covid?   I suspect if you tested a thousand folks....at least ten have suffered serious cognitive decline.

Gut-Feeling

 When some fellow or gal utttters....that capitalism is failing them....I generally look at their shoes....then the clothing, and if wearing glasses....what type.

My skepticism goes into turbo....if you are wearing $200 Nike shoes....a sweater in the $150 range...tattoos in view costing $500 or more, or glass-frames in the $700 range.

If I notice a I-Phone,  or a $1,000 leather jacket....it reaches maximum turbo.

What I tend to believe....a fair number of folks have been 'enriched' by capitalism....but they can't really see the landscape.

It is an odd world  that we live in....feeling oppressed....in a fake sort of way.

How Much of the Odyssey Is Science-Fiction?

 Well....as Homer wrote it.....2,000 years ago....a good bit.

First....Agamemnon’s armor (Benny Safdie): It's described as elevated-status gear using blackened bronze, silver, and sulfur, looking like an “alternate-universe Batman” suit. 

Second....the Cyclops (Polyphemus): Built with heavy practical effects—animatronics, puppetry, a 60-foot on-set contraption, and Bill Irwin’s performance—plus digital enhancement.  Sort of a horror creature rather than a cartoon monster.

Third....Circe’s transformations: Men turned into pigs.

It's not something (Nolan's version)....that you want a 10-year-old kid to watch.

Odyssey Movie On My Mind Over The Weekend

First, some folks suggest a Odyssey II movie might be made.

I thought about it...maybe you could bring King Kong in....perhaps have the sister of the snake-hair-lady get introduced as a nice person.

Second, some lightly educated folks are asking questions over this 10-year war....how was this possible?

Third, it is obvious.....the book/story by Homer....is a guy-thing....not designed to  be liked by women.

Fourth, if you interest folks in the story....to read the book....it might dismay them. Movie is a bit different.

Quad Bike 'Adventure'?

 My German wife gave me last year.....a intro-to-quad-bike-riding...which I used this  weekend while up in Koln (Germany).

So I drove 'out'....this is 50 miles east of Koln...to what I call....the 'boney' of the bonies, of  the extreme bonies.  Yeah....middle of nowhere.

I got there (thanks to GPS).

So the 'guide' ('Frank') gave me  and four other guys (all in their 40s)...a 20 minute lecture....all in German.  I got about four points....out of forty.  

Brakes, turbo, 'hot', and something-something about making turns. 

I had thought this  would all be woods/dirt-roads. Wrong....paved roads.

'Frank' led us way out in the middle of nowhere.  There are farms out there....where four cars a day might pass through a point.

Roughly 2.5 hours.....getting  up around 40 mph at times. 

Dangerous?  Yeah....kinda what you should do before age 40.

I asked 'Frank' at the end....did he ever  have ladies attend? 'NO'....was response...awful rare.

Fourr Things About Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey (The Story And Movie)

 First, there is a debate over if Homer wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey.  If you use the Greek text....the wording is different between the two. 

What people believe? Some folks suggest a Homer-1 and a Homer-2.  My belief?  I think verbally....a Homer-1 developed both as entertaining pieces to be told around the camp-fire at night.  Along came some Greek to write down the story....earning the title of Homer-2, and  later....a third Homer (Homer-3) pieced together the last story.

Second, the entire story of the Iliad laid out in simple fashion? Well...it goes this way:

Homer tries to lay out the final weeks of the Trojan War (a 10-year epic period over Troy.

The 105 months of the war?  Not mentioned....just the ending.

So the weight of the story is about guy Achilles...a Greek warrior (described as the greatest of the great).  The Greeks  have raided some town and taken a virgin-gal captative (this is Chryseis....if you were curious).  Her  dad demands the return.  Eventually....this occurs....but the Greeks did go and grab Achilles’ own prize, Briseis.

There's some chatter where Achilles talks to Gods....at least he says this, and Homer relates it.

So we have this week where the Trojans lack Achilles....to make  up for that...Achilles’ close friend/buddy....Patroclus puts on the Achilles gear and pretends to be him.  He dies in a fight with Hector.  

Achilles arrives....peeved....bothered greatly....killing off a bunch of folks, and finally getting to Hector (killing him).  It's a messy end....He drags Hector’s body behind his chariot.

The poem ends with some words over Hector’s funeral.  

For a camp-fire story?  It's five-star, and a epic.  

Third.....the Odyssey?  I  consider it the 'lesser' of the two  (my humble belief).

This story the Greek hero Odysseus (king of Ithaca).  Oddly the Trojan war has ended after ten years, and his journey (about 300 miles in reality) consumes 10 years itself (part of the bogus-nature of  the story).

Here....Homer skips almost all of the 10 years of the war, and 95-percent of the trip home....talking mostly about 6 weeks of adventure.

 The key story-piece?  Back in Ithaca, Odysseus’ wife....Penelope...has stayed loyal (for almost 20 years).

Toward the end....they now assume that Odysseus is dead.

There's some words over Athena....goddess of wisdom....helping the son.

Apparently....at some point Odysseus has been held for years by sexed-up gal (Calypso) on her island. He finally escapes....gets shipwrecked and washed up among the Phaeacians.

There's some witch adventure....then a Cyclops adventure....then a Underworld adventure....then a monsters adventure (Scylla and Charybdis). 

The boys finally bring him home to Ithaca. He gets back with the wife....after 20 years.

Fourth, my view of the movie deal?  I think Nolan was led to make a movie that ha little  to do with Homer's story.  If this were Frankenstein....it'd been done with the guy being half-man, half-woman, half-beast (ManBearPig).  If this were Uncle Tom's Cabin....it'd been mostly a story of a Mexican 'Tom'....growing up in  Texas.

Are folks going to the movie?  I really don't buy into that....unless it's a money-laundering operation.  To be honest....I could  design the movie and the theater creation....as such.  

Debt BS

 "Nearly 10 million people in the U.S. age 50 and older have student-loan debt," per WSJ.

I paused over this.....reading several times.

To be fair....debt in general is a national issue  now.

I read a piece last week.....working couple....early 30s....both own 'new' cars.....each in the range of $70,000 spent on their car.....8-year loans.  Together....they still had around $60,000 left on the loans, with 3-to-4 years left to pay.

Somewhere....probably around 2035 to 2040....there's some massive financial collapse coming.

The four 'folks' who are going to be hurt the most?

I'd say the BIG banks, four-year university operations, the car-makers, and the housing market.  

Crazy-Crazy

 Past 3 days....I've watched this cop-video....University of Florida scene...trans-lady....goes crazy for about 8 minutes.

You can browse for it over YouTube....Hicks is the last name of the 'gal'.

Cop is responding to a call from the college....out-of-control nutcase.

I figure....I've watched it at least six times. 'She' is desperately seeking a 'safe-space'.

What bothers me....there are probably 20,000 individuals like this in the US presently....making me wonder about everyday interaction that you might be drawn into.

Mentally unbalanced?  Yeah....from this is the prospective of rural Alabama and growing up in the 1960s/1970s.  Up until 1980....I'd probably only run into two or three nutcases, and I was mostly entertained by the characters.

By the 1990s....at least once a year....I'd run into a full-blown nutcase.

That 3.5 years of work in Arlington, VA?  Oh, I ran into a nutcase at least once per week....but none of them were trans-types.

Here in Germany?   If I try hard.....discounting drugged-up cases....I might run into one  nutcase every six months.

What the court ought to do with this Jarrett-character?  I'd give him 60 days of a 'stay' at a mental clinic, and stipulate.....you need to have a normal interaction with people, or you will stay for a extended visit.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua’s socialist President, Daniel Ortega, has announced a change....to end Presidential elections. 

Reason?  He’s doing this to stop popular right wing opposition from coming to power. 

What replaces elections?  He's not really clear about that.

This being a 'winner' for a comedy script....3rd world country that 'saves' democracy....by ending  it.

If You Are On Public Assistance/Welfare, and Sending Money Out Of The Country.....

 I've tried to make sense of this.

Obviously, welfare situation....yet you seem to have a cash-flow that makes no sense.

Either you have a secret income  (like selling cocaine or selling sex)....or you fence-off stolen goods.

Seems like the logical Trump 'fix' would be....put a 75-percent tax on money-transfer that exceeds 50-percent of your monthly income.

Eight Thoughts

 1.  If you lined up the thousand-odd comedians of the US....on my index of 'funny'....at least three-hundred are not funny....to the point that they need to return to Pizza Hut or selling tires.

2. Every time that I see...."SHOCKING ADMISSION FROM A CERN SCIENTIST: "BEINGS ARE COMING OUT OF THE PORTA".....I'm pretty convinced that drug usage is massive.

3.   Personally....if you are without an ID of any type....I don't see how you can function in the modern era.   You could have done this in the 1960s/1970s....but not today. 

4.  Mayor of New York....Zohran Mamdani....says he will launch a pilot program offering parents free babysitting during a night out.  

I pondered this....NY City....night-out....it's not like living in Iowa or Kentucky....you'd need a minimum of $100 for  dinner/drinks....before you even get to the theater.  Where does that money come from?

5.  In the 1970s....there might have been  2,000 Americans confused about their sexuality.  Today.....it's probably near 5-million.  What happened?

6.  These CIA burn-bags that were supposed to be burnt....weren't.  Why?

I have this theory.  I think the 'gang' involved in the anti-Trump 'mission'....reached a end-point where the mission collapsed, and they left the job for some low-ranking guy in the agency to perform, and he never got the message to burn the 500-odd burn-bags.

I also have another theory....that the CIA guys will come to admit they've found six additional rooms....from the 1940s to 2010....each with some weird purpose to fake intelligence realities, and each left hundreds of burn-bags....that  were never burnt.

7.  Paul Pelosi....husband of Nancy....probably has a drinking problem.

8.  If you graded states by allocation of SAFE-SPACES.....Alabama probably has the lowest allocation.

You can ask a resident of Alabama....where there might be a SAFE-SPACE, and most likely the answer will be the barn-loft, or some snake-infested area of Bankhead National Forest. 

Ten Opinions

 1. 2020 Senate 'winners' in Georgia....Ossoff and Warnock....probably never got more than 25-percent of the state vote.  The question is...how would you yank both out and run a fresh new election?

2.  CNN has done everything possible this past week....to convince me....they are still corrupted/screwed-up.  

3.  You could kill 10,000 of the Iranian Mullah-bosses tomorrow, and the system there is designed to replace them in a matter of minutes. This design....is something Trump can't defeat.

4.  This AZ Senator....Gallego.....is 'toast'....he'll be gone by the end of the year....on sex-stuff.

5.   This Maine Democrat....Ashley Webb....translady....claims in Reddit posts that he "ovulates" and has a monthly period.  However....the way he describes the blood....it's out of the anus and likely to be ongoing bouts of hemorrhoid's.

It doesn't appear he wants to 'cure' the hemorrhoids.

6. For some reason....whenever I watch TV news....I'm  always assessing propaganda value....like it was old Soviet or DRR crap-TV.

7. At least 10-percent of the leaders/'bosses' of the Democratic Party....probably should have a mental or IQ test performed.

8.  If you've ever been to Italy....going back to the US and eating at the Olive Garden....makes no sense.

9.  I suspect that a quarter of the Democratic Party agenda....is to shock you to such an extent....that you fumble around and wonder if it's a Twilight Zone episode.

10. As much as Epstein's stuff with juvenile girls seem to shock folks....a Muslim guy marrying a 11-year old girl doesn't seem to have the same shock value.

Three Things I've Noticed

 First, it appears (based on Trump told the story).....that the CIA (via USAID) funded some Chinese folks....who funded again.....some American journalists to write bogus/fake stories  over Trump.

I paused over this. How did they report the new income to IRS....or did they fail on that matter? Did guy come by the house at midnight with a paper-bag of $3,000 to bribe the guy? And did the majority of news folks do this?

Second, all this chatter about Nolan's movie....The Odyssey....mostly BS?

As a kid....around 1968...I went to the Scottsboro trade-day and found the comic's guy.   He had probably 5,000 comics laid out, and I ended buying 'Classic Comics'....the ones that told great literature in comic form.  By the end of the summer.....I had finished off reading around sixty of these.  I always felt they did a better job of telling the story....than $100-Million movies did.

Third, I have this gut-feeling....that ten times the number of people with phobias....now exist...compared to 1980.  At the present pace....I suspect it will expand another ten times by 2035.  

It's like....people feel more positive....with a phobia....like a member of a 'team'.

A Brief Talk On Capitalism/Democracy

 "Americans’ confidence in capitalism and democracy has fallen sharply." 

Article per WSJ

I sat and pondered over this.

This group....comes out of a NORC poll.  It says that only 48-percent of Americans feel capitalism works.  56-percent rationalize that democracy is not working well.

I looked at the poll....what they don't say....if a major amount of the negativity people....are college-educated (brain-washed).

One funny element of this....there's simply a lot of students who wrapped up college...got a debt of $80k, and found that jobs aren't plentiful.  

What the gov't should offer?   Offer one-way tickets to  a alternate country where you think democracy works better, and is mostly chatty on their version of capitalism/socialism.  Once they leave....don't let them come back unless they pay for the trip we gave them.

Last year....there was some lesbian couple that hauled-off, and left for Canada....mostly over Trump.  About 6 to  8 weeks into the hauling-off....they noted things in Canada weren't better, and this was mostly a mistake.

Reality works more effectively....if you give folks a dose or two. 

People Asking Don Lemon To Run For President?

 I sat this AM...reviewing this 12-line story.  Some podcast folks were talking to Don, and he insisted that he's being asked to run in 2028.

On my list of 15,000 possible folks to run in 2028....he's around 14,988 (just to be honest).

I'm not anti-Don....I'm just focused on competency for journalists....with Don ranking a '1' (1-to-10 ranking on my index)....meaning he'd have to improve a lot.

What people are asking Don to run?  Unknown.

They might be long-haul truckers....retirees from Tampa....Michigan hunters....roller derby 'freaks'....dwarf wrestlers....meth-heads....etc.

Frankly....I could see Don as a VP....getting some guy there who is constantly 'wrong'  on every issue, and getting CNN headlines on a daily basis.

Being Irrational About The Economy

Irrationally living paycheck-to-paycheck or carrying high consumer debt for non-essentials.

Irrationally buying status things (cars, phones, clothing) that depreciate rapidly instead of assets.

Irrationally obsessing over homeownership even when renting is financially superior in many markets.

Irrationally pursuing college degrees with poor ROI while trade skills and apprenticeships pay well without debt.

Irrationally blaming "corporations" or "the rich" for price increases while ignoring monetary policy, regulation, and supply constraints.

Irrationally expecting endless government benefits without considering who ultimately pays via taxes, inflation, or debt.

Irrationally ignoring automation/AI displacement while demanding wage floors disconnected from productivity.

Irrationally high spending on entertainment, subscriptions, and convenience while complaining about "not getting ahead."

Irrationally avoiding  building emergency funds up despite repeated economic shocks.

Treating student debt as uniquely unforgivable while other consumer debt is not.

Irrationally supporting policies that increase housing costs then blaming landlords or "greed."

Irrationally overvaluing credentials and degrees over demonstrated skills.

Irrationally ignoring inflation's effect on cash savings.

Irrationally supporting large fiscal deficits and then surprised by interest costs or future tax burdens.

Irrationally.....over and over.....blaming capitalism for poverty while it has coincided with the largest reduction in global extreme poverty in history.

Irrationally expecting perfect equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity and rules.

Seventeen Ways In Which Americans Have Turned Into Irrational 'Tribes'

 Oddly....started a irrational voting 'path'....where the specific policy has clear negative data (crime rates, housing costs, test scores).

Irrationally started to treat political opponents as morally evil rather than people with different information, priorities, or incentives.

Irrationally started dismissing statistical patterns on crime, family structure, or academic outcomes in favor of single-cause narratives.

Irrationally started to support "defund the police" or reduced prosecution....while living in or near areas that later saw measurable crime increases.

Irrationally started to make-believe or identity-based credibility selectively rather than by evidence.

Irrationally came up with the idea of canceling or deplatforming people for past statements....while ignoring context, satire, or changed views.

Irrationally came up prioritizing diversity metrics......over competence in hiring, admissions, or promotions.  Later....acted irrationally surprised at performance gaps.

Irrationally insisting biological sex is a spectrum or socially constructed in policy (sports, prisons, shelters).....despite consistent physiological and performance data showing large average male advantages post-puberty.

Irrationally went to medicalizing rapid-onset gender dysphoria in adolescents with weak long-term evidence.

Irrationally started allowing biological males in female sports/categories.....then expressing surprise at dominance or safety issues.

Irrationally started redefining basic words ("woman," "mother") for ideological consistency while complaining that communication has become confusing.

Irrationally started  to attribute virtually all group outcome gaps to systemic discrimination.....while downplaying culture, behavior, family structure, and cognitive distributions backed by decades of data.

Irrationally started to support policies that demonstrably reduce housing supply (strict zoning, rent control).....while decrying high rents and homelessness.

Irrationally started expecting open borders or very high immigration levels without serious planning for assimilation, fiscal costs, or cultural cohesion data.

Irrationally  started to believe stricter gun control would disarm criminals who already ignore existing laws.

Irrationally started to romanticize socialism or heavy state control despite repeated 20th-century examples of economic failure and authoritarianism.

Irrationally started to judge historical figures solely by 21st-century standards without technological or cultural context.

Orchestrated Politics

When you go digging through history....you can find orchestrated fake episodes which the news media helped to funnel to the public, and shape public opinion to a particular conclusion.  So there's the bonus-Army episode of 1932....which I will explain in detail.

For decades in American history, it was common to offer up a bonus to people who would sign to help fight in some American war.  Typically, you got land or property, for a set period of time. By the end of the Civil War, it was becoming apparent that there was a limit on open land left and this idea of land-grants for military service....had to come to an end.  In the case of the Spanish-American War....luckily, it only last about one-hundred days and no incentive was required.

However, as you come to WW I....we had a slightly different case building up.  In this episode....the entry of the US didn't occur until early 1917 (note, after the November 1916 election, where President Wilson campaigned to stay out of the war)....that the US entered the brief war, and spent barely eighteen months in the engagement.

A bonus deal?  It's an odd thing....the war actually ended and folks went home.  Wilson's term would end in early 1920, with President Coolidge entering office.  Four years go by....a GOP-led Senate (figure near 60 Republicans, with a majority)....set up legislative matters to hand out a Army-bonus for WW I (having ended five years prior).

All of this comes up early in 1924, and is passed by the House and Senate.  Coolidge?  He vetoes the bill....but the vote comes up in the Senate and they overturn his veto.  Imagine that.

The deal?  Well....every guy who spent time in service for the war received a dollar for each day of service, with a limit of $500 maximum.  If you did overseas service (actually in France), then you got $1.25 for each day....but there was a $625 limit on that.  Amazingly enough....anyone who had very limited time and had fifty dollars or less owed....they got paid immediately.  Everyone else?  They got this certificate which they could hold and would be paid out in twenty years....1944.  In truth....the government had some money sitting there and could afford the group owed the $50 or less.  The rest?  They simply didn't have the money, and this was a debt that would be invented out of thin air in 1944.

There were a minimum of three million certificates created for this, and the debt listed was between three and four billion dollars.  If you did this by 2017 numbers....it was roughly fifty-billion dollars to be paid out.

No one says much between 1924 and 1929 over the deal.  But you have this odd episode of the Wall Street crash, and depression setting in.

So around by 1930, there some hyped-up nature over the bonus deal.  Some folks want the bonus open to a loan out....so you could walk in and get a partial payment (a loan).  This starts out at the twenty-percent level, and later....there's talk of a fifty-percent loan-out.  It goes nowhere.  Why?  The House and Senate sit there....in the midst of a depression....talking about finding money which doesn't exist, and suggesting higher taxes to pay out the bonus money.  No one wants higher taxes.

By January of 1932 (an election year), there are marches conducted on Washington by disgruntled former Army members.  Protests are set up in Washington DC....with approximately 25,000 folks there in the spring period....coming and going. By July, it's suggested that ten-thousand protesters are now in a camp atmosphere (intending to stay long-term).

As July arrives....the political atmosphere in DC is charged up.  Protests are common.  Some people think that anarchy could be on the verge of occurring.  So President Hoover (the GOP guy) orders the Defense Department to take action.  Note, there's virtually no real cop presence in the city to handle this type of mess.

On 28 July 1932....a brief one-day episode unfolds.  US Army versus ten-thousand former Army members....on the far east side of Washington DC.  The print-media at the time lays out the whole episode, and a massive amount of blame gets dumped on President Hoover for the way that this was handled.  Four months later, the election shift has occurred....one of the worst election defeats for a sitting President occurs....all going back to the Bonus-Army riot.

Oddly enough....in 1936...the topic of the bonus money came up through Congress again....passing through both House and Senate, with FDR vetoing the pay-out.  This time?  They voted again and overrode the veto....paying out roughly 2-billion dollars of bonus money.  Taxes?  No one says much....it was simply debt added to more debt and everyone looked the other way.  Who passed the bill?  It was a massive Democratic House and Senate that had taken over in 1932 and 1934.

One can look back at 1924 and how a bunch of politicians screwed up....how Hoover screwed up with the handling of the protesters....and how the Democrats made everyone happy in 1936 over the bonus...all neatly created or orchestrated.

Watching Caleb Hammer

 I've reached a point this summer....where I watch about 90 minutes a week of Caleb Hammer's podcast (being honest, it's the most I can handle).

Describing it?

Well...Caleb is a financial audit guy, and he brings on couples (straight, gay, whatever)....who are deep into a mess, and he digs into what went WRONG.  I'd describe the WRONG-moment (my index of 1-to-10) as mostly '10' moments.

The couples....in most all cases....are losers (to the 9th degree), and I can't see the marriage  surviving more than a year or so....after doing the show.

My thrill?  Well....in about half the cases....you have some wife who has purple-hair, or forty-odd piercings....who seems to be a die-hard socialist...showing a bizarre behavior as a nut-case, and the guy seems really stuck on this type of gal.

I paused over this....frankly....if this were my wife, and she was this dimwitted and trampy-to-the-9th-degree....I might stick around a while (for the fun).

The sad thing?  They are all deep into debt (bad enough that they ought to be placed into a jail).

Testosterone Story

 Pentagon has ordered new testosterone-deficiency screenings for members over the age of 30.  The expectation?  A percentage (probably 10-percent minimum) will have low T-deficiency numbers (my bet).

So, I'll tell this story.

In the early 1990s....the Air Force went in a massive way toward fitness/'the-look'/exercise.  About six  months into this....you started to notice several trends.

Folks had sleep issues....guys seemed overly tired (especially the over-35 age group) in the afternoons.....probably one out of three guys in the older age bracket had mood swings, which unsettled marriages/relationships.

I knew two guys in this period....who accidentally got some Air Force doctor curious....who tested them on testosterone....finding them low.   One of them just said 'finished' and ended up medically-discharged over the problem/treatment. 

The sleep-issues crowd?  By the time I retired in 1999....probably 5-percent of folks  I knew....were on some sort of treatment. 

What I expect out of the Pentagon?  By 2030....they come to admit the current fitness program and fitness expectation....is causing health issues. 

Eleven Irrational Behaviors With Technology

Heavy phone/social media addiction....while people crave for 'it'....showing mental problems. 

Irrational privacy complaints....while showing wiliness to share vast personal data.

Irrational fear of AI job loss.....while quickly adopting to AI tools.

Irrational trust based on 'facts', while showing marginal-to-no track record.

Irrational minor rule-breaking....while expecting others to follow the norms.

Irrationally expecting experts to be infallible on politicized topics....then seeming to ignore expert failures (COVID origins, economic forecasts, etc.).

Irrationally accusing the each other of "misinformation" while spreading their own selective framing.

Irrationally short-term emotional decision-making on long-term issues (retirement, health, family, national debt).....over and over.

Irrationally showing tribal loyalty to brands, sports teams, or subcultures.....that seem to have zero to no real evidence.

Irrationally expecting society to accommodate every individual preference without some type of trade-off.

Irrational pattern of knowing better (data on health, money, relationships, policy) yet acting against that knowledge due to emotion, status, convenience, or group belonging.

On the Subject of Meetings

At some point in the early-1990s....I moved from a player-mode to a manager-mode, and then came the realization that you had to go and attend meetings.  Some were a mere fifteen minutes long and drilled quickly down into the issue, and were worthwhile as a meeting.  Some were 90 minutes long, and basically accomplished next to nothing.  I came to value most meetings as worthless.

At some point around 2002 to 2004....I probably was wasting four hours a week in meetings.  In 2010 to 2013.....as a manager within the Pentagon empire, I was lucky to get myself down to 180 minutes per week.  The only enjoyable meeting each week in that last year was the building custodian meeting where all kinds of building renovation or history came out from the chief of the Pentagon building.

I brought this up years ago with a older guy who could remember the 1970s era, and how there were rarely meetings.  In his mind, when the internet and computer era arrived....meetings increased.  As he pointed out.....more people wanted 'stock' ownership in decisions made, and success from meeting decisions rarely paid dividends.

At some point about fifteen years ago....I worked with a female who had a husband who had a degree in business management (the master's degree), and he had weekly meetings with his staff (the wife, and the two kids).  One of the kids was a teenager and had become anti-meeting....thus causing friction in the household.  The wife tried to explain to the husband that these meetings were not of much value, and instead got lectured on the necessity of a 'focused-team'.  I asked the co-worker how would this all end, and she felt the kid would be out the door as soon as she graduated from high-school.

As much as I hate to suggest it....meetings have turned into some kind of rocket-science.

Why Iran Keeps Adding Layers Of More 'WAR'

 As a kid....I noted that probably 3 or 4 dimwits existed in my class, and it didn't matter how things were explained....they just didn't 'get it'.  We'd go to a second details-explained situation....a third details-explanation situation, and even a fourth details-explanation situation.

Years later....I would associate this to a low IQ.

Iran simply runs....as a nation....with authorities mostly geared toward a 75-IQ, and if you said something would occur tomorrow....to cut-off power/electricity for 6 weeks....they wouldn't see a big deal.

If you said all gas stations would only sell 10 liters of gas per week....again, no big deal.

The problem here....they've had 50 years to built the nation into a land run by the Three Stooges.  Trump calls up, and it's either Curly, Larry, or Moe answering the phone.

The funny thing?  Persia....before Mohammad came along....probably was the most advanced country on the face of the Earth.  

How Was The 'Faces and Phone Numbers' Program Connected to Charlie Kirk and TPUSA?

 Well...it's a '10' on the conspiracy BS.

Apparently, some US intelligence agency....had gotten into a surveillance 'game' with Kirk's TPUSA....where they would catch 'faces' at these Kirk events, and have cellphone numbers collected.

There is some belief that toward the last month of life...Kirk was figuring some of this out.

Illegal?  Well....yeah.

Odds that this was active on 6 Jan 2021?  I started to ponder upon this.

Requiring a massive data storage point? Yeah....that's another part of this story.

On my BS-meter?  It started out as a '10'....I'm probably lowering this to a '5' now.

If 2020's Election Was Corrupted, What Else Was Screwed-Up?

 President Trump on Thursday night....will talk  over the corrupted vote in 2020.....so I sat and pondered from the Senate races...what else occurred?

The two Senate races in  Georgia? Perdue lost to Ostoff. Loeffler lost to Warnock (both were 2-point margins)

Michigan?  James lost to Peters. (1.68 margin)

Arizona?  McSally lost to Kelly (3 points)

So the odds....in the three states....4 Senate seats were corrupt-voted? I'd say it's higher than a 50-percent chance.

Fixing this?  How?  There's no Senate rule for a mess like this.

Three Things I See Approaching

 First, MLB (Major League Baseball) is going to dump long-term contracts....pissing off the union and probably creating a walk-out for 2027.

But I can look around....there's twenty-odd players with 8-to-10 year contracts....still with four to five years left, and nothing much to show value.  They can't trade or dump the guy.

Second, WNBA....will probably dissolve within 12 months after Caitlan Clark deports to Europe.  Nobody wants to watch 2-star basketball mostly with toxic women.

Third, there's probably several hundred  Georgia residents this week....talking to lawyers, and worrying over voter fraud that they participated in.

They probably are asking relatives for cash....to pay off high-cost lawyers.

Six Things I Think

1.  Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (Dem)  WILL in two weeks....announce he's signing papers to appoint a replacement for Mitch, and it's  to be a Democrat (violating state 'law').

He'll indicate that Mitch is veggie-status, and that the legislation is wrongly worded.

Challenged to the Supreme Court....Gov Beshear is probably correct.  

2.  By the end of August....Iran is fractured-up...at least three countries (maybe even six in the end).  Kurds will take Tehran....with 5-million folks/residents....on the run....leaving...creating a massive asylum mess.

3. Shortly...the California Energy Commission is to vote on mandatory appliance registration. 

Basically....BEFORE you can buy a gas appliance, AC unit, water heater....you'd have to fill out paperwork showing where the unit will be installed. Wording suggests that a building inspector would have to visit and approve the acquisition.

Why would you stay in such a state?

4.  It is rocket-science....when you ask...what's the difference between regular-socialism and Democratic-socialism.

5.   Thursday night: President Trump is set to out....the 2020 election in Georgia was massive fraud, and that both Georgia Democrat Senators are illegitimate....over massive election fraud, Ossoff and Warnock’s seats zeroed out.

What  will happen?  I'd suggest 3 things: first, several republican/democratic figures in state politics will be brought up for charges and offered a one-way deal to avoid jail....admit the crime and accurately report cash they received. Second, Ossoff/Warnock likely to lose committee seats.  Third, emergency election for both in November.

If Osssoff/Warnock knew about the crap?  Charges.

6.  RFK Jr quote: "We're seeing in our population people who are obscenely obese and at the same time malnourished."

On a average day....you come across 300-odd people, and probably one-third of them are obese, and half of that crowd is probably malnourished.

My Thoughts On The Passing Of Lindsey Graham

 First.....the guy was carrying 50 pounds of extra weight.

Second....he goes off on a fairly stressful trip to the Ukraine, and 'parties' with the in-crowd....at age 71.

Lifestyle choices....on his own.

As for the replacement?  I suspect the governor will discuss the idea of selecting himself. 50-50 shot that this is the end-result. 

Three Random Thoughts

 1.  WNBA.

The leadership of the league....the team 'bosses'....the 'influence' over the league....like a little 'Frankenstein' that was allowed for 30-odd years to exist in a marginal way.

Then one day....this Clark-gal enters and the league is being  dragged toward higher profits/viewership, and it's unprepared for the 'trip'.

Just amazing to watch this controllable stampede.

2.  This week...Oregon Governor signed the bill removing reading, writing, and math requirements for high school graduation to help ‘students of color’.

Finally....someone doing something for the dumbasses of America. 

In 30 years....folks will begin to take jobs with newspapers, government offices,  and  rocket companies....with no real competence in anything.

3. Just curious....Buc-ee’s is now paying more than some career people spend for four years in college.

My Thoughts On This Trump-Iran Situation

 You can basically sum this up into three pieces.

First, if you lined up the top 300 Iranian 'bosses' back a year ago, and lay out their situations in life today....250 are either dead, or in physical situations where they are 'laid-up' (not coming back). Those 250 folks were replaced, and in further action....there's probably 100 of them....either dead, or 'laid-up' (not coming back).  So there is a fair amount of 'boss-chaos' going on.

Second, IQ-wise.....the Iranian national average swings from 87 (fairly low) to 97 (about 5 points less than average).  If you ask me....the 'boss' recruitment angle is mostly leaning toward hardline Islamic trends, and the majority are probably in 85 to 90 group.  Logical decisions.....don't come easily.  I suspect Trump felt he'd eventually find a smart Iranian, and that hasn't worked  well.

Third and final....the Kurd-card is about to be played....where non-Iranian  Kurds see a chance to  probably take over one-third of Iran.  I'm not saying this is a improvement, but it will change the dynamics.

The key 'play' to avoid?  You don't want 20-million Iranians rushing around to be exiting Iran....with half of them destined toward Europe.