PN:
Nostalgia As a Function of Winter
While surfing the web this week
a number of interesting items and pages gave me solace. And succor. Succour too. Of note is The Nostalgia Machine. Pick a year, any year, from now back to 1960. Pick a song (not any song: one that is listed). Enjoy while reminiscing. Or you might want to reminisce while enjoying. Your choice.
Websites like this are a wonderful offering. Someone built it for some reason; mineral, vegetable, animal, whatever. Websites of that sort are not simple to create. Joe and I enjoyed it, grew restless, and surfed on….. What a cornucopia! How about Wikipedia? And YouTube? And Facebook? Monster investments of time, intellectual capital, and hard cash. Some programs that are designed to provide a function also create a huge financial reward to the developer / owner / investor. Others provide a platform or medium for social interaction, teaching, demonstrating, selling, entertaining….. and provide returns to the investors. Still others exist for finely focused reasons, and are on the Internet not for financial gain but are the manifestation of personal expression, and cost the owners time and $$$ in upkeep and maintenance. So many websites; so little time…..
For all to see……
For whatever reason, it is the greatest assemblage of intellectual capital available to the mass of humanity. How can evil triumph over good with tools like the Internet at hand? Winter, the season of nostalgia, is almost done. A few more songs then on to Spring…. Meanwhile, back to the Internet to order some parts, find some music, learn a procedure, listen to a lecture, watch a movie, take a course, find a cartoon. Maybe even post something to Joe’s rant. What a treasure trove!
Cartoons With Panache
AUSTRALIA
Tony Abbott is the Prime Minister of Australia. He said “Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations”
That and other statements he has made, make him a world leader in my eyes. Joe wants to send him a bottle of High Test. Bravo Mr. Abbott! More here:
POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID
THE CULTURE (THERE IS ONLY ONE)
A success story. An old woman has her way against large over-whelming opposition. Edith Macefield lived in her home for more than 50 years before she died. The large development which consumed her neighbourhood was thwarted by her refusal to sell, even for the princely sum of one million U.S. dollars. A story well worth the time to read.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, SMART STUFF
Global Warming®, Global Cooling®, Climate Change® – all laid at the doorstep of little ole me. And the other millions of humankind who use energy to make life more than misery, more than tragic, more than bone numbing drudgery, more than a short violent painful existence. Energy makes life fun, exciting, promising, challenging, rewarding – worthwhile and pleasant. Joe says so what if human activity is the SOLE SOURCE OF CLIMATE VARIATION. So fucking what? We’ve gotta get off this rock in about 3 billion years because, contrary to all the greenies and enviro-wienies and conservationists, the earth is a constantly changing environment that will cease to exist when the sun runs out of hydrogen to burn and becomes a red giant. That is the end of earth. There is no “normal” or “natural” earth – it is constantly changing. Anyway, Joe’s ranting aside, here’s another article that reveals some not-so-sciencey climate bloviation. Who are the fools?
If only the people doing this research had a cork in their pie hole until they actually had some SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. You know, repeatable experiments, no anomalous outcomes, no guestimation. That might be too much to expect when fortunes can be had (a la Al Gore, David Suzuki) scaring the living shit out of children and other naive forms of humanity (than means lefties and progressives). When in doubt you must declare “I’m from Missouri. Show me!” And quit scaring the children. I didn’t like it when I was a child. They surely don’t like it now.
PHILOSOPHY, PHILOSOPHERS, SMART THINKING
GUNS, GUNNERS, GUNNERY
How many balloons does it take to stop a bullet. Not just any bullet. A bullet fired from a Smith and Wesson .44 magnum shooting a 250 grain cartridge. There are 10 balloons in the line. How many does it take to stop the bullet?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZRnpyZjBE
Staying fed on the hunt is not too difficult if you know how. M-16 bacon baker demonstration:
THE RELIGION OF PEACE (ON ALL OF US)
The instability in the middle east is the birth throes of Islamic “Reformation”, isn’t it? These monkeys have been banging this particular typewriter for centuries. Can Islam be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the modern (Western) world? Joe says don’t hold your breath. What ho, Joe? Joe says a history refresher is appropriate:
Joe says the second line of the Marine’s Hymn refers to the victory against the forces of Ottoman Tripolitania, led by 10 U.S. marines in the First Barbary War. Refresh yer noggin:
Joe also suggests (strongly) that the cultural differences (diversity) of that long ago time have not been resolved, that the core beliefs make such harmony improbable, even impossible, unless something changes. The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 turned the tide against the Islamic invaders when the Crusaders fought the Ottoman Turks for the possession of Cyprus. The power of the “Caliphate” shrunk. Fast forward to the 21st century. The cultural war has never stopped, only abated. As Dolly Parton says, “here you come again”.
The Western press only exacerbates the misunderstanding by “westernising” Islam for the masses, clouding understanding. Thank David Wood for clearing up the errors presented by Dianne Sawyer in her 20/20 “documentary” on Islam:
SUNDAY SERMON
Who better to identify where the bear shit in the buckwheat than Julia Sweeney? Who is Julia Sweeney? Does it matter? Julia will tell you how she “Let Go of God” if you have a couple of hours to listen.
WEATHER (OR NOT)
The Ides of March are upon us Vernonites. The forecast is for sub zero and rain / slush / you know what. Perfectly in time to challenge the daffodildoes (now 6 inches tall and forming buds) and the big old willow, always the first to turn green in the spring, and hurried along this year with the month long pumping of the dry well around its base. The birds have been yelling up a storm – robin red tits is home, the wooden peckers are beating hell out of the Lombardis and the B vent on the roof. The shop door is open because Joe and I are dismembering a ’90 Ford E350 Club Wagon which is too long to work on when fully in the shop. This will help heat up the north Okanagan because the heater will kick on until the valley warms up. Excellent. Brilliant. Hurry up Spring!
Joe (tee shirt) Mekanic
p.s. Ramirez is as good as Spring –
