Sunday Rant - 1723

PN:

Joe’s Comment – There is no understanding when or how the ideas of childhood give way to the realities of truth. I.e., truth = facts. Yet somehow, someday, you realize that your foundation beliefs have changed, without much argument or memory of debate.
The past week found me still in an incipient spin – sluggish and reluctant to pick up my cross and face my burden. All of my own making, of course.
I’ve gone full Yossarian, which means I’m going to live forever or die trying.
Now, somehow I must stop pouting and get on with doing the deeds ahead, whether I enjoy them or not. Forever seems ominous if you aren’t having fun.
It is a sub-set of what Mr. Winston Churchill called “great things” –
I have a duty to myself that I will honor.
The things I have pledged to complete somehow don’t mean as much as they did when I took them on. Is this smart, or the beginning of wise?
Truth is, I’m changing. What once worked, was satisfying and satisfactory, no longer appeals or inspires.
Time for a change, a new direction, a new motivation.
Something more cerebral, less physical?
The body is timing out.
If only my knees would get with the program……
This spotty barometric pressure bobbling weather makes me walk like a man on stilts. Going upstairs is fair to middlin’, but downstairs is one leg at a time.
Getting up from kneeling down is a bit tricky, too.
Yet, when the barometer soars the pain dissipates, and all is well.
I’m obsessing about the weather a lot lately.
Time for some research. I’ve got to find the perfect climate wherever on earth it is, that suits me. I’m looking for 80°+ F daily, rain only at night, sunny every day.
Anyone know where oh! where that may be?

Canadiana

Quick Dick McDick
Saskchewan’s and Canada’s agricultural and small town ambassador to The World™ once again shows the big city folk what they are missing.
Vintage snowmobile drag races on a cold but sunny Saskatchewan afternoon looks like a good time. QDMcD is racing his 1976 John Deere 440 Cyclone.
From our vantage point in Vernon BC where the trees, bushes, and flowers are all greening and budding, it looks likes a good chilly community time, not so clean (2 stroke smoke), but fun:

History

World War I
Joe and I have, since childhood, felt a great sadness and unease about the catastrophe called “The Great War”.
This was the war that bridged ox hauled canon with motorized field artillery. The war that introduced the machine gun with spectacularly bloody results.
Joe and I loved the aircraft – Sopwith Camel, Spad, Folker Triplane, biplanes mostly of space frames and doped canvas.
The war was a charnel house.
The tail-end of the Victorian Age supplied the strategies and tactics of War – the commanders and officers were schooled in horses and charges and swords and hand-to-hand combat.
Trench warfare killed men in multiple ways.
Killed them in hitherto unbelievable numbers, in so many ways.
Health problems, both physical and mental, the machinations of war such as heavy artillery, bombs, land mines, chemical means, the dread machine gun, and even bizarre anomalous events such as drowning and mud slides.
War is a failure of Humanity.
The machines of war are brilliant creations of human intelligence.
There is an irony somewhere nearby…..
The following is a comparison photo, the upper is an August 1914 original of the Cameron Highlands Battalion – 1000+ men strong and their officers. The lower is “photoshopped” from the above, to illustrate what remained of the battalion by Christmas the same year – 27 men, 1 officer.
To what avail?
For what purpose?
The atrocity of WWI was there for all to see (thank you Ms. E. Thrasher).
Yet few saw it, or perhaps the few who did see it were powerless to change public opinion, political will, or false patriotism, for a mere 21 years later, Europe was back at it again, soon to be joined 3 years later by Japan attacking Pearl Harbor.
World War II was more costly in human capital, human lives, human decency than any debacle recorded in the history of humanity.
Joe and I hope in vain that the slaughter of young men in the name of some noble cause or meritorious principle will someday cease.
We hope against reason, for still it continues.
The Russian – Ukrainian War of 2022 – ? is another in a tragically long line of bloodbaths pursued for nebulous goals.
Whatever for?
There are three great conflicts in life.
The conflict of man vs man is the most destructive and heart-wrenching.
It is enough of a challenge for Humanity to survive in an apparent infinite cold unreasoning universe without mindlessly slaughtering our fellow Man.
Perhaps man vs himself, another of the conflicts, the spectre of mental imbalance or unwellness is the root of all Evil?
Joe and I ponder what the future would look like without the malevolent spectre of War looming.
We think the Big Three Questions are way more important:
Who Are We?
Where Did We Come From?
Where Are We Going?
We don’t know if answering these questions is possible.
This is the third conflict – man vs nature, Nature being the Universe – past, present, future.
The pursuit of these answers is surely enough challenge for the entire Human species – no need to slaughter each other because the real questions are difficult…
Or go mad because resolution evades reason.

Health

The Big Fat Surprise
Nina Teicholz is one of our heroes. Or heroines. Whatever.
Her nutrition ground breaking expose book, “The Big Fat Surprise”, has led to questioning of the very foundations of government and medical nutrition mandates.
The following video serves two purposes for Joe and me. One, reiterate the basic discoveries Nina wrote about, and two, listen for new developments and progress the “Nutrition Coalition” has made in changing the government and medical community in respect to the “Food Pyramid”.
A good conversation, with Dr. David Perlmutter hosting:

Energy

“Fossil” Fuels
Joe put quotation marks around fossil.
He is no longer convinced that these fuels are the product of decaying biomass from uber milleniums ago.
In the following video, John Stossel plays devil’s advocate discussing the “morality”, or the moral case, of using so-called fossil fuel.
Joe is with Dr. Patrick Moore.
The supply of CO2 in the atmosphere was on an “end of life” trajectory, and was only supplemented by the Industrial Age beginning in Britain in the 1800’s.
In this video Alex Epstein does a yeoman’s job of making the case for so-called “fossil fuels”:

Joe’s Garage

Hyper Aircraft Engines
During World War II the competition for engine power between the Axis and Ally forces was ongoing and contentious.
The following video highlights some of the designs that didn’t make the grade.
The challenge was (and still is) a compromise of weight, volume (frontal area), total power output, fuel consumption, and ease of maintenance – all at competitive pricing.
Here are some amazing but flawed losers:

BobCat History
Joe and I have owned two.
Lyle N. bought them both from me.
They are super useful machines.
This video is an interview with the two brothers who invented BobCats.
Louis and Cyril Keller were born on a farm in Minnesota, and had 12 siblings.
Louis was mechanically gifted. Cyril came on board when Louis was overwhelmed with work at the Keller machine shop.
In November of 1956, Louis and Cyril had the idea of a three wheeled machine with a castoring third wheel that could forward or reverse either front wheel independently. Seeking financial backing from a friend, within 6 weeks they had a working model.
By September of 1959, the Kellers had made an arrangement with Melroe.
The rest is an American success story:

Holman-Moody
This is a video of a visit with Lee Holman of Holman-Moody fame.
This man is a legend in racing from the ’60s up to today!
The famous GT40 had a limited production back in the day.
Lee Holman had 13 original chassis that were built in the 90s, and are considered original. The few remaining are being built currently. At one million US dollars per each. An amazing man with a storied history of racing in America:

A Sweet Sickness
The venerable Ford flathead V8 engine was the origin of hotrodding in North America. There is no doubt or argument.
The following video produced by Brian Darwas is a testament to the flathead V8 and an acknowledgement to the hotrod movement.
The documentary is titled “A Sweet Sickness: The Flathead Movie”.
It features 11 men who still drive flathead Ford powered machines.
Some, like Mike Herman (H&H Flatheads), Ryan Cochran (Jalopy Journal), and Jack Carroll (Burbank Choppers) make a living in the customized vehicle industry.
Joe and I thoroughly enjoyed this modern view of ninety years of performance flathead Ford V8 history:

POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID

SUNDAY SERMON

This week, the conversation from the pulpit is about Artificial Intelligence.
Elon Musk sits down with Tucker Carlson and talks about AI and the future of the Human Species.
The video was available on Ub2b, but soon disappeared.
C’est domage. It was worth watching.
Joe and I thought the video might be on another website, and we were correct.
We found the two segments on Rumble.
If this one disappears, perhaps the conversation never occurred.
Maybe the conversation was all AI!
That would be a singularity of frightening import, we reckon:

WEATHER (OR NOT)

This week in Vernon BC the weather stunk.
Winter is passed, but the Okanagan Valley didn’t get the message.
We had a snow/sleet/icy/slush downfall that turned the ground white early in the week.
Not much sun. Too much cloud.
Rain at various gradients of intensity – spitting, wind driven, steady and light, intense.
Joe is grateful that below zero nights are now rare.
We both long for sunny cloudless days where the temperature threatens to make you sweat.
The sour weather seems to last longer every year.
We are too old to appreciate cold lifeless winters, short cold autumns, and long lingering wet springs.
In our old age the best for us is 80° Fahrenheit and above.
Anyone reading our Sunday Rant over the years might think we whine and complain way too much about bad weather.
Have you ever considered it might be the weather’s fault?
If it was warm, sunny, and pleasant every cotton pickin’ day, there wouldn’t be a Weather (or Not) segment.
It’s up to you Weather!