Joe’s Comment – Another “wasted” week. Along about this time of year the infinite engine that powers me runs out of a certain type of fuel.
I think my genetic sources came by the bear or squirrel family: I’m inclined to “hibernate” when the weather goes South.
That is to say, I am an outside kinda person who is disenchanted with freezing weather.
In cold times, I’m quite happy to read a book, listen to music, do research for the pleasure of it, dream my dreams, think my thinks, plan my plans, and if any time is left, actually do something.
When I look in the mirror, when I reflect, it hasn’t changed my mind for decades.
When I look in the mirror, it is a jolt of reality.
How in the name of Heaven did I get here?
Time for advanced reflection, I reckon…..
Kyle Rittenhouse
Joe and I have a few thoughts we’ve been fermenting about the tragedy that befell a 17 year old boy trying to do good.
Our Sunday Rant – 4120 expressed our feelings at the time.
We wonder what were his parents thinking, if they were thinking at all?
We wonder how young Kyle could be so ideological in our modern world and so naive at the same time?
Joe and I abhor crowds and mobs and people in large numbers.
After all, “free will” is a myth; we are nothing more than meat puppets at best.
Joe points out that there are some mighty fine meat puppets wandering around like they have free will. Life is a mystery…..
Our thoughts about the unfortunate events culminating in a not guilty verdict are as follows.
– Kyle Rittenhouse has every right in the world to defend himself
– There should not have been a trial
– The world will not miss the two men he killed in self defense
– The lawyers smell blood in the water, and will be circling, looking for a payday for years to come
– The MSM is an evil consortium of callow and vapid scum who feed off tragedy and deceit
– The jury did the right thing
– As Canadians, Joe and I admire the clarity and strength of the American Constitution.
There are a large number of memes and information circulating.
Here is some of it that we approve –
Joe’s Garage
Homemade Hydroxychloroquine
Joe and I are coming to a conclusion in our medical education that goes like this – simple solutions with a “natural” source are the Occam’s Razor equivalent of healing.
For instance, here’s how to build a COVID fighter, the HCQ mentioned as a successful prophylactic and treatment by doctors worldwide:
Flathead Follies
Today Joe and I unloaded two flathead Ford V8 engines in the shop that we got from Landon H. following a local auction a month ago.
The engines are in terrible shape, and we’re hoping the blocks will be able to be salvaged.
Vintage engines are a look into the past that always impresses us.
The original Ford V8 has a long and storied history – the first mass produced V8 engine block cast in one piece.
The following video demonstrates just how fast engines rotate. A visual demonstration of what happens inside an engine.
The flathead is idling with one cylinder head removed, and the speed the valves and pistons are moving is a visceral reminder of the ingenuity of human inventiveness:
Joe’s Comment – The hysteria of COVID and the so-called pandemic has passed into a state of reluctant revelation forced by fact and data.
Yet some folks have made decisions not based on scientific understanding, not on data or statistics; rather, their appetites or emotions have influenced their choices.
And so be it.
Adults come in all psychological shapes and sizes, all degrees of cognizance, all forms of motivation.
Children don’t come this way.
For the most part children’s lives are unwritten sagas: they are emotional and intellectual sponges.
The amount of damage this half-cocked scramble to vaccinate the young and very young is nothing short of child abuse.
The data is clear.
There is no need to vaccinate children against this trumped up (or is it Trumped up?) flu.
I yearn for sanity to return to the masses of misinformed and delusional.
My personal belief is government has NEVER been the best solution to ANY PROBLEM.
How many dead children is acceptable? I say not one…..
Note: Another incredibly busy week, taking advantage of the lateness of frost.
Joe and I don’t work well in sub zero temperatures. Not much time for aimlessly hitching around on the Internet Highway.
What you see is what you get.
Music
Thomas Jefferson This is copied in entirety from Woodsterman’s blog.
Thomas Jefferson was a giant (1743 – 1826). “His portrait is on the $2.00 Dollar Bill. Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped. At 5, began studying under his cousin’s tutor. At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. Also could write in Greek with one hand, while writing the same in Latin with the other. At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. At 31, wrote the widely circulated “Summary View of the Rights of British America,” and retired from his law practice. At 32, was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence. At 33, took three years to revise Virginia’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom. At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia, succeeding Patrick Henry. At 40, served in Congress for two years. At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams. At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington. At 53, served as Vice President and was elected President of the American Philosophical Society. At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of the Republican Party. At 57, was elected the third president of the United States. At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the nation’s size. At 61, was elected to a second term as President. At 65, retired to Monticello. At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine. At 81, almost single-handedly, created the University of Virginia and served as its’ first president. At 83, died on the 50th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, along with John Adams. Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied, the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, His laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff.. A voice from the past to lead us in the future: John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House, with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” “When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.” — Thomas Jefferson “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” — Thomas Jefferson “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its’ own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on, would save one-half the wars of the world.” — Thomas Jefferson “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them.” — Thomas Jefferson “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” — Thomas Jefferson “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Thomas Jefferson “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” — Thomas Jefferson “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” — Thomas Jefferson “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes, the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” — Thomas Jefferson Something every American ought to know.”
Term Limits
There are some things the Americans do that we Canadians should also do.
One of them is term limits for politicians.
Joe and I are only 72 years old – it might happen before we croak, da?
The following speech sums up the feeling of frustration and anger of more than 80% of the American people.
Yet Congress blithely continues to milk the horse.
How in the wide wide world of sports (Blazing Saddle reference) could a mediocre, degenerate, evil specimen like Joe Biden become the POTUS?
The answer is plain, simple, and incredibly ugly.
So much for virtue and honor and “love thy neighbor”:
COVID
Dr. David Martin
A short statement where Dr. Martin claims that “there is no novel virus, there is no test for a novel virus”.
This information has been repeated ad nausium by many qualified and expert people.
Here is another qualified expert person, saying the same things:
Sanity4Sweden
“Stefan” is working on his 7th week of tongue in cheek bamboozling Ub2b.
So far, he has created a list of near 30 names of people who are adamant in their protest against the COVID vaccinations.
So far, Ub2b hasn’t figured it out and shut him down.
Kudos Stefan!:
Joe’s Garage
The above quote is truth.
Yesterday, Joe decided to change out the lazy starter in a Chev 2500, 2wd, e/w 454 cu.in. engine and automatic transmission.
Not bragging, but Joe can change out a Ford starter in less than an hour, and that is taking our own sweet time.
It took us 3 ½ hours to wrestle that Chev starter out and replace it with new.
Joe cursed.
He screamed at the sky.
He foamed at the mouth.
What a cluster fuck.
When we were kids, Joe could change a Chev starter in apple quick time.
Those were different Chevs.
This was a nasty job.
If we had to do it again, we wouldn’t.
We don’t parler le Chevrolet.
All Terrain Cranes
Heavy lifting is something Joe and I don’t much contemplate.
In our yard, the heaviest items are in the 10 ton range.
That is a large motor home, diesel pusher type vehicle.
How about 2,000 tons?
That would be 2,000 x 2,000 pounds = 4,000,000 pounds.
We checked the math…. twice!
And used a calculator too.
This video shows five heavy lift self propelled roadworthy cranes.
The top dog is called a “Zoomlion QAY 2000”, 4 million pounds of lift.
The four runners-up are no slouches either:
Joe’s Comment – Three important ideas delivered by other mammalians. This entire concept of “vaccinating” the children for COVID is child abuse. The statistics, data, and science seem to have been sidetracked for some nebulous idea of who runs this world. In the West, the theory is the government is purposely elected to enact the will of WE THE PEOPLE. It is patently obvious that is not the case. The concept of “common good” is a farce. The idea of a country needs review. Let the children be children used to be common sense.
The usual reflective mode is to compare where you are now with where you were in the past. Humans have a tendency to compare their now to the now of others. Not a valid comparison. Unless you are masochistic.
The last image has words of wisdom from some chimp.
Take heed…..
NOTE: Another very busy week. The mild weather (for the season) has inspired Joe and I to work from dawn to dusk (our equivalent is noon to supper) getting outdoor work organized or started. The objective is to complete the work, but we are a realist. The very very least is fresh air and sunlight on our old man skin.
Nice!
Consequently, not too much Internet surfing. Lots of cartoons and memes.
Frankly (how else?) we are tired of everything political. We’re listening to more music. Watching more documentary / discovery / scientific and technological presentations. Here’s a bit of music that soothes the savage Droverian –
COVID Krap
Note: We’re about done with the hysteria. There seem to be two camps. Whatever. No more Mr. Nice Guy™. The government apparatchiks have been smoking opium. They are in some dream where they have power over We The People. A pipe dream, indeed.
Whoever is feeding this dream is delusional.
Next week we will publish Bernard Valter’s list with some links to pertinent presentations and/or discussions for each person on the list.
We will probably make it a permanent fixture in the Rant.
Mask Malarkey
We will be publishing this graphic or a similar graphic until the hysteria subsides
Joe’s Garage
Trucking
The fact is anything you own that you didn’t grow or harvest or mine in your back yard probably spent some time on its way to you on a truck.
If the anything you are thinking of is a bit exotic, it may also have spent time on a ship or a railway car, or on an airplane.
But most definitely it hitched a ride on a truck.
All of the others are limited in operational sphere.
A ship needs an ocean or lake or river: not much good ashore.
Locomotive transportation is great for hauling huge weights over long distances cheaper than any other method on land. Alas, it requires dedicated specialized and expensive infrastructure to operate: a rail track system.
Aircraft enjoy speed, but are hindered by cost per pound / volume limits, and have very expensive infrastructure to enable landing and taking off.
The truck has a reasonable payload – most “18 wheelers” are licenced for 20 tons of payload – much more with special configurations. Its cost per pound / volume is more than ships or rail (on average), but cheaper than aircraft. It is on average faster than shipping or rail. Where trucking shines is it can deliver its cargo anywhere on land there is a road.
As of 2020, there are 19,919 airports in the U.S. of A.
In contrast, there are 4.09 million miles of “navigable” road in the U.S. of A.
This doesn’t include “off road” trails, unmaintained roadways such as logging roads, roads on private property, and good old dirt without obstacles.
Joe maintains that a good 4 x 4 Ford (or equivalent) doesn’t need a road!
Compare this to approximately 140,000 miles of railway track.
The autonomy of trucks is a bonus.
The simple fact is if truckers stopped delivering goods, most major cities would suffer severe shortages of some items in less than 5 days.
No amount of shipping, rail, or aircraft could make up the deficit.
Not ever.
You have heard Joe and me go on ad nauseam on the subject.
This is all true, and you can prove it by doing some research. Heavy truck traffic in Los Angeles California for example.
High use trucking on Highway 701 sees over 42,000 truck trips daily, followed by Highway 60 with over 24,000 heavy trucks per day.
You would think that the use of infrastructure taxation would be to improve the ingress and egress of this huge volume of heavy truck traffic. It is the lifeblood of the city.
Alas, the wisest of the wise, the political class in California, the seers of the politically correct future have decided that the solution is NOT improved traffic flow of life-sustaining goods arriving from everywhere by truck.
What the politicians have decided to do is kill the trucking industry.
Recent bills passed by the California legislators in Sacramento have literally outlawed owner-drivers. The same bill has made illegal older trucks, and decreed an all electric heavy transport future.
Joe is speechless.
Anyone with two or more neurons in their cranal cavity know this is impossible in practice. Why? There isn’t enough money printed to cover the costs.
You can read an analysis by Daniel Greenfield titled “California Drove Truckers Out of Business. Now Store Shelves Are Empty“.
Unfortunately, California has shipping ports of entry that literally control the flow of Asian goods. We have all heard of the bottleneck in Los Angeles – 60+ ships waiting at anchor to be off loaded in the harbor. The bottleneck is complicated, but a simple fact to understand is if there are no trucks to take the port offloads to their destinations, the bottleneck cannot be relieved.
Because of climate and Interstate infrastructure, California controls a large part of the trade economy of the nation.
Their lunatic politics is bankrupting the entire country.
So much for movie stars and hippies.
The Arabia
Long ago a steamship named “The Arabia” struck a large tree trunk in the Missouri River and sank. It was September, 1856. The mighty Missouri changed course.
The Arabia was re-discovered 46 feet below a cornfield in Kansas.
An amazing story:
