🌈😊 We made it there and back again. Thanks for checking in with me, Alan.
The drive to Maine was hard in driving rain and thick fog. The time there was wonderfully well spent. The trip back wasn't bad. Roads were good to about half way through Vermont. Then they got snow covered. There were maybe two corners that didn't feel comfortable, as the car wanted to slip a little. But it wasn't scary.
We came home to 4" of heavy snow and a plowed driveway. Two very happy cats here! 🐯🐱
Alan, you asked if maybe we should've stayed snug at home. Nah. We watched the forecast closely and saw a window for safe travel over. They got only rain in Maine (mainly on the plain). The mess up here happened while we were there, and we waited until the storm ended and the crews were able to clean up the roads before heading home. We could have stayed one more night if that were needed.
So, Friday night after we arrived, we visited a SIL who had just moved to the same town our kids live in. She will be living alone for the first time in her life, as her husband (Wil's brother) died 5 years ago (pancreatic cancer) and their son and his partner stayed with her until the house was renovated and sold. So now she's in a beautiful condo in a great town and it's only about 8 miles from where she grew up.
On Saturday morning, I met for breakfast with a woman I was spiritual guide for long ago here in Vermont. She then left for Texas, to go to seminary, then stayed there to serve. She returned to New England about a year ago, to Maine. We have been meeting by phone and Skype, and finally got a chance to see one another again. I thought it had been about 12 years, but it's been 18!! I really wanted to see her on this visit, as her husband was diagnosed with cancer last week.
THEN came the big reason we made the drive. Maine*Grandson's birthday party!! He turns 2 today (Sunday), but the party was today, as his cousins have to leave for Rhode Island for a gymnastics meet.
It was a LOT of fun!! We are so glad we made the trip. What's more, Root*Center*Son made the drive late Friday night, after work...in rain, fog AND darkness! We all got home safely today. Vermonters know how (and when) to drive in snow. It's good to know someone was thinking of us, though, just incase! ❄️
Good to hear from you, listener; I figured you would be more skilled by far than I at driving in such weather, but still--with the crazies and all--it sounded dangerous.
Here's hoping your friend's husband has a readily cured cancer. My new oncologist doesn't hesitate to say that I am cured; sees no more need for in-office visits, just some lab tests and infrequent colonoscopies (not my favorite activity), and one phone appointment a year.
And here are some oddments:
Understanding Kamala Harris [Click] Sounds about right, and provides more perspective than I had had before.
Alan, I keep a little notebook where I record political stuff; votes, addresses, etc. Here's what I've got on Kamala's page.......
*Objected to early release of prisoners because it reduces the labor pool for prisons *Against other opinions she refused to prosecute Steve Mnunchin (the Foreclosure King) * Steve Mnunchin donated to Kamala's campaign and no other *She was against body cams for cops *beholden to police (that's on my list but I can't confirm how or why that would/would not be true) *for arresting protestors *wanted to increase convictions for drug users. *protected a prosecutor who lied *insisted an innocent man had to stay in jail even though *proved* innocent *voted to confirm Mattis "Mad Dog" & "Chaos" *2015 expanded civil forfeiture *dropped her investigation against Exxon in re: climate change when running for Senate (needed their money)
That's all I have so far. But the Dems have been pushing her to the fore for many months now. Then they'll have a candidate they can scream "racist" and "misogynist" to people who don't support her if they gift her the nomination the way they did Hillary.
I don't trust her at all. Beautiful surface but empty interior. Hope they don't shove her down our throats. On the bright side I don't know who the Rs will run in 2020, but I believe DJT will be otherwise occupied.
Can't say as I am thrilled with Kamala Harris, but I note that she is a graduate of Hastings School of Law. I have encountered only one Hastings graduate who was not outstanding. If her questions made Sessions uneasy, that's good. The talk about running her for President is silly IMO, but at least she is not elderly. The Democratic caucus in the US Congress needs to be renovated.
Thanks, Susan! You are so organized! I knew there was something that seemed off about her, but couldn't put my finger on it. I'll get off her mailing list and make sure she isn't on my monthly recurring donation list on Act Blue.
Mom's been talking for a few months now about "them running her" which, as Alan says, is silly. Mom's analysis is a touch more colorful. Ahem. I think you're right, though. The establishment want to be able to scream racism as well as misogyny in the event of her losing rather than, God forbid, running someone who could win. After all, my personal, cynical view is and has always been that the party establishment never intended to beat Trump, that they ran HRC knowing she was the far weaker candidate, far easier for Trump to beat than Bernie. I mean, did it really never occur to them, as it never occurred to Clinton bots like my mother, that Fox News beat the drum of HRC's inevitability even harder and louder than MSNBC? Even as Bernie racked up the states, both were still calling him marginal. Twenty versus twenty-six is not my idea of marginal! So, call me a wild-eyed conspiracy theorist, but I can't shake the notion that the DNC colluded in Clinton's loss/Trump's win. And they want to do the same bloody thing in 2020. That's why the New Democrat, Clintonista establishment must be shaken up if not swept away and replaced by people who actually want to defeat Trump and rebuild our country.
I'm inclined to think that the New Dems don't have what it takes to run a conspiracy like that; they simply don't know how to be anything else. They are an evolutionary dead end, and can't adapt to new circumstances. It has been forty years since the New Dems were new, but we still use the name. Just as we call radicals conservatives, right of center types liberal, and the War Department the Department of Defense. Confucius was right--one of the first priorities for an effective government is the "rectification of names," i.e. going back to calling things by their proper names rather than using misleading euphemisms. And I am convinced that Marx was right too--each dominant group causes the rise of the new dominant group that will displace it.
Authoritarians are weak, cowardly no-talent people. They are authoritarians because they are not authors. They are fear-driven because they are incompetent and, among other things, thet don't know when to stop. The problem is letting noisy know-nothings take charge.
Granted that it is the exception that proves [tests] the rule; António de Oliveira Salazar was certainly an authoritarian and neither weak, cowardly, nor non-talent.
If memory serves, Salazar didn't start out to be a totalitarian dictator. He was very intelligent and thoughtful, and his country initially benefited from some of his ideas. None of the above can be said for Trump!
As a general rule, I agree with Hannah. Authoritarians (dictators) are much like bullies, cowardly, inadequate and insecure people who constantly have to boost themselves in their own eyes by putting others down, preferably with physical and emotional violence. Problem is, such people are very difficult to stop precisely because there is something missing in their makeup. They are not fully human, so the normal human appeals ton't reach them.
The tricky and spooky part is that it turns out being human is a diverse thing. I would like to imagine that all humans are compassionate. The trouble is, not all brains have a large enough amygdala. We need to look at that and see if it's always been this way (as I suspect) or is getting worse as the planet heats up (also possible). I suspect a both/and situation.
Am I getting cynical if I think somehow it was someone trying to make a statement of some kind? Maybe a worker trying to raise awareness of the felt missile threat. Any chance it was someone in DT's Admin trying to push for more military funding to counter North Korea?
Is it really true that it's this easy to make such a profound error? I'm not sure I buy that...!
I'd suggest that the problem is new technology that is less reliable than old technology. I remember seeing surplus WWII electronics at the war surplus stores. Critical switches had spring loaded covers on them that had to be purposely opened before the switch could be thrown. If one is set on using computers with modern user interfaces, at least clicking the radio button* for something so important should activate a "Do you REALLY want to broadcast this INCOMING MISSILE WARNING? If so, press buttons ABC; if not, select Esc.") message.
*(Hmmm...I am probably dating myself; a "radio button" is an image of a button on a computer screen.)
I know what a radio button is, both the kind on a computer and the kind on a, er, radio. Only ever saw those on car radios. Very handy for zapping right to the station you wanted.
The blurb on the BBC did indeed say someone pressed the wrong button. Like, holy shit, *that* is reassuring!
Let me just opine that the electron is an unreliable quantum and we are making a mistake not taking that into account.
Just one practical example. Because of the curvature of the earth, for satellite coverage to be more effective, the Pentagon wanted a downlink base in the Eastern hemisphere. First they picked Somalia, but Clinton high-tailed it out of there. Then they thought the "empty" deserts of Iraq would accommodate as many as 24bases. The shedherds and their million sheep objected. Then Afghanistan looked like a good centralized location. Not too many people either. But, in addition to the locals knowing the difference between traders and occupiers, it turned out the magnetic forces in the rock screw electronic signals up and that is why helicopters kept crashing into sides of mountains. The only way to provide surveillance is from hovering AWACS. Never mind that our planes built to evade electronic detection can only fly in good weather. So much aggression being initiated by impractical people!
Perhaps in my case it is more a matter of lack of evolution, at least in certain respects. Little if any influence of TV, talk radio, modern cable TV "news" (Oh, for a modern Walter Cronkite!), much less Facebook. Probably less testosterone poisoning than many, too.
I think so too, Susan! The funny thing is that this photo was taken last May and I didn't find out until last week that I am part Viking (therefore he likely is a little bit Viking as well)! 😆
Alan, the correlation between legalized medical marijuana and violent crime reduction is terrific! On the other hand, there may be unintended knock on effects:
Anecdotal evidence suggests the cartels are now trying to get into the legal marijuana business in California by opening their own farms. Others are turning to human trafficking and kidnapping to shore up their falling profits. There are also reports that some cartels are switching to new forms of drug cultivation by growing poppies in Mexico to produce their own heroin rather than importing it from Afghanistan.
I may be able to help you out a little there. Mostly it's you get what you pay for, but not completely.
Caran d'Ache is pricey and more like a watercolor pastel.
Primacolor is about half the price of d'Ache, but about half the quality.
You might want to try Faber-Castell. They make the best beeswax crayons (the ones the kids gravitate to) and don't seem to mind offering quality at an affordable price.
Enjoy! I've always felt that watercolour pencils were a little disappointing, but of course I paint.
I got a Faber Castell Albrect Duerer set; they come well recommended. I anticipate using watercolors and pen predominantly, but it can't hurt to give pencils a try to boot.
Frustrated with Facebook, as if that's anything new. This time: On my timeline (what used to be called more sensibly the profile page) is displayed a line that says, "Fifty friends posted on your timeline for your birthday." The only link available in that line is on the word 'timeline" and clicking it takes me back to the top of the page, displaying the most current post. Though my birthday was over a week ago, I missed some of the posts and would like to go back and reread through them all. Specifically, there's a notification that my friend Ted posted, but I don't remember seeing his. Well, apparently, Facebook has decided that it is not going to display all fifty posts...anywhere. Only a handful show up with no way of viewing them all. It's very frustrating!
🌈😊 We made it there and back again. Thanks for checking in with me, Alan.
ReplyDeleteThe drive to Maine was hard in driving rain and thick fog. The time there was wonderfully well spent. The trip back wasn't bad. Roads were good to about half way through Vermont. Then they got snow covered. There were maybe two corners that didn't feel comfortable, as the car wanted to slip a little. But it wasn't scary.
We came home to 4" of heavy snow and a plowed driveway. Two very happy cats here! 🐯🐱
Alan, you asked if maybe we should've stayed snug at home. Nah. We watched the forecast closely and saw a window for safe travel over. They got only rain in Maine (mainly on the plain). The mess up here happened while we were there, and we waited until the storm ended and the crews were able to clean up the roads before heading home. We could have stayed one more night if that were needed.
So, Friday night after we arrived, we visited a SIL who had just moved to the same town our kids live in. She will be living alone for the first time in her life, as her husband (Wil's brother) died 5 years ago (pancreatic cancer) and their son and his partner stayed with her until the house was renovated and sold. So now she's in a beautiful condo in a great town and it's only about 8 miles from where she grew up.
On Saturday morning, I met for breakfast with a woman I was spiritual guide for long ago here in Vermont. She then left for Texas, to go to seminary, then stayed there to serve. She returned to New England about a year ago, to Maine. We have been meeting by phone and Skype, and finally got a chance to see one another again. I thought it had been about 12 years, but it's been 18!! I really wanted to see her on this visit, as her husband was diagnosed with cancer last week.
THEN came the big reason we made the drive. Maine*Grandson's birthday party!! He turns 2 today (Sunday), but the party was today, as his cousins have to leave for Rhode Island for a gymnastics meet.
It was a LOT of fun!! We are so glad we made the trip. What's more, Root*Center*Son made the drive late Friday night, after work...in rain, fog AND darkness! We all got home safely today. Vermonters know how (and when) to drive in snow. It's good to know someone was thinking of us, though, just incase! ❄️
Good to hear from you, listener; I figured you would be more skilled by far than I at driving in such weather, but still--with the crazies and all--it sounded dangerous.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping your friend's husband has a readily cured cancer. My new oncologist doesn't hesitate to say that I am cured; sees no more need for in-office visits, just some lab tests and infrequent colonoscopies (not my favorite activity), and one phone appointment a year.
And here are some oddments:
Understanding Kamala Harris [Click] Sounds about right, and provides more perspective than I had had before.
The Republican Party Is in Full-On Panic Mode, and We Get to Watch [Click] "It’s almost good news that Republicans are acting this way. It means they realize their party is in existential trouble."
Legal marijuana cuts violence says US study, as medical-use laws see crime fall [Click]
--Alan
Saturday driving isn't fraught with propane trucks the way Friday driving is. Helped.
DeleteIt's liver cancer, located in the center. Early, but he's had liver disease in the past.
Alan, I keep a little notebook where I record political stuff; votes, addresses, etc. Here's what I've got on Kamala's page.......
Delete*Objected to early release of prisoners because it reduces the labor pool for prisons
*Against other opinions she refused to prosecute Steve Mnunchin (the Foreclosure King)
* Steve Mnunchin donated to Kamala's campaign and no other
*She was against body cams for cops
*beholden to police (that's on my list but I can't confirm how or why that would/would not be true)
*for arresting protestors
*wanted to increase convictions for drug users.
*protected a prosecutor who lied
*insisted an innocent man had to stay in jail even though *proved* innocent
*voted to confirm Mattis "Mad Dog" & "Chaos"
*2015 expanded civil forfeiture
*dropped her investigation against Exxon in re: climate change when running for Senate (needed their money)
That's all I have so far. But the Dems have been pushing her to the fore for many months now. Then they'll have a candidate they can scream "racist" and "misogynist" to people who don't support her if they gift her the nomination the way they did Hillary.
I don't trust her at all. Beautiful surface but empty interior. Hope they don't shove her down our throats. On the bright side I don't know who the Rs will run in 2020, but I believe DJT will be otherwise occupied.
Can't say as I am thrilled with Kamala Harris, but I note that she is a graduate of Hastings School of Law. I have encountered only one Hastings graduate who was not outstanding. If her questions made Sessions uneasy, that's good. The talk about running her for President is silly IMO, but at least she is not elderly. The Democratic caucus in the US Congress needs to be renovated.
DeleteAlan
Thanks, Susan! You are so organized! I knew there was something that seemed off about her, but couldn't put my finger on it. I'll get off her mailing list and make sure she isn't on my monthly recurring donation list on Act Blue.
DeleteMom's been talking for a few months now about "them running her" which, as Alan says, is silly. Mom's analysis is a touch more colorful. Ahem. I think you're right, though. The establishment want to be able to scream racism as well as misogyny in the event of her losing rather than, God forbid, running someone who could win. After all, my personal, cynical view is and has always been that the party establishment never intended to beat Trump, that they ran HRC knowing she was the far weaker candidate, far easier for Trump to beat than Bernie. I mean, did it really never occur to them, as it never occurred to Clinton bots like my mother, that Fox News beat the drum of HRC's inevitability even harder and louder than MSNBC? Even as Bernie racked up the states, both were still calling him marginal. Twenty versus twenty-six is not my idea of marginal! So, call me a wild-eyed conspiracy theorist, but I can't shake the notion that the DNC colluded in Clinton's loss/Trump's win. And they want to do the same bloody thing in 2020. That's why the New Democrat, Clintonista establishment must be shaken up if not swept away and replaced by people who actually want to defeat Trump and rebuild our country.
I'm inclined to think that the New Dems don't have what it takes to run a conspiracy like that; they simply don't know how to be anything else. They are an evolutionary dead end, and can't adapt to new circumstances. It has been forty years since the New Dems were new, but we still use the name. Just as we call radicals conservatives, right of center types liberal, and the War Department the Department of Defense. Confucius was right--one of the first priorities for an effective government is the "rectification of names," i.e. going back to calling things by their proper names rather than using misleading euphemisms. And I am convinced that Marx was right too--each dominant group causes the rise of the new dominant group that will displace it.
Delete--Alan
One more, and then to bed.--Alan
ReplyDeleteIf authoritarianism is looming in the US, how come Donald Trump looks so weak? [Click] "There’s little doubt that Trump’s regime is a cause for concern. But fears about authoritarianism in the US ignore political realities."
Authoritarians are weak, cowardly no-talent people. They are authoritarians because they are not authors. They are fear-driven because they are incompetent and, among other things, thet don't know when to stop. The problem is letting noisy know-nothings take charge.
DeleteGranted that it is the exception that proves [tests] the rule; António de Oliveira Salazar was certainly an authoritarian and neither weak, cowardly, nor non-talent.
DeleteAlan
If memory serves, Salazar didn't start out to be a totalitarian dictator. He was very intelligent and thoughtful, and his country initially benefited from some of his ideas. None of the above can be said for Trump!
DeleteAs a general rule, I agree with Hannah. Authoritarians (dictators) are much like bullies, cowardly, inadequate and insecure people who constantly have to boost themselves in their own eyes by putting others down, preferably with physical and emotional violence. Problem is, such people are very difficult to stop precisely because there is something missing in their makeup. They are not fully human, so the normal human appeals ton't reach them.
The tricky and spooky part is that it turns out being human is a diverse thing. I would like to imagine that all humans are compassionate. The trouble is, not all brains have a large enough amygdala. We need to look at that and see if it's always been this way (as I suspect) or is getting worse as the planet heats up (also possible). I suspect a both/and situation.
DeleteHawaii Missile Threat Alarm was a false alarm
ReplyDeleteWe are told it was human error.
Am I getting cynical if I think somehow it was someone trying to make a statement of some kind? Maybe a worker trying to raise awareness of the felt missile threat. Any chance it was someone in DT's Admin trying to push for more military funding to counter North Korea?
Is it really true that it's this easy to make such a profound error? I'm not sure I buy that...!
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/13/politics/hawaii-missile-threat-false-alarm/index.html?sr=fbCNN011318hawaii-missile-threat-false-alarm0151PMStory
I'd suggest that the problem is new technology that is less reliable than old technology. I remember seeing surplus WWII electronics at the war surplus stores. Critical switches had spring loaded covers on them that had to be purposely opened before the switch could be thrown. If one is set on using computers with modern user interfaces, at least clicking the radio button* for something so important should activate a "Do you REALLY want to broadcast this INCOMING MISSILE WARNING? If so, press buttons ABC; if not, select Esc.") message.
Delete*(Hmmm...I am probably dating myself; a "radio button" is an image of a button on a computer screen.)
--Alan
I know what a radio button is, both the kind on a computer and the kind on a, er, radio. Only ever saw those on car radios. Very handy for zapping right to the station you wanted.
DeleteThe blurb on the BBC did indeed say someone pressed the wrong button. Like, holy shit, *that* is reassuring!
Let me just opine that the electron is an unreliable quantum and we are making a mistake not taking that into account.
ReplyDeleteJust one practical example. Because of the curvature of the earth, for satellite coverage to be more effective, the Pentagon wanted a downlink base in the Eastern hemisphere. First they picked Somalia, but Clinton high-tailed it out of there. Then they thought the "empty" deserts of Iraq would accommodate as many as 24bases. The shedherds and their million sheep objected. Then Afghanistan looked like a good centralized location. Not too many people either. But, in addition to the locals knowing the difference between traders and occupiers, it turned out the magnetic forces in the rock screw electronic signals up and that is why helicopters kept crashing into sides of mountains. The only way to provide surveillance is from hovering AWACS.
Never mind that our planes built to evade electronic detection can only fly in good weather.
So much aggression being initiated by impractical people!
So much aggression being initiated by impractical people!
DeleteAmen to that, sister!
With apologies to intelligent, evolved men like our Alan, much of the blame for today's problems lies with little boys and their toys.
Perhaps in my case it is more a matter of lack of evolution, at least in certain respects. Little if any influence of TV, talk radio, modern cable TV "news" (Oh, for a modern Walter Cronkite!), much less Facebook. Probably less testosterone poisoning than many, too.
Delete--Alan
The closest we came to Walter Cronkite was Peter Jennings. And now, the radio version, Robert Siegel of NPR has just retired. Now who?
DeleteOh, and listener, your little Viking is just as cute as he can be!
ReplyDeleteI think so too, Susan!
DeleteThe funny thing is that this photo was taken last May and I didn't find out until last week that I am part Viking (therefore he likely is a little bit Viking as well)! 😆
Alan, the correlation between legalized medical marijuana and violent crime reduction is terrific! On the other hand, there may be unintended knock on effects:
ReplyDeleteAnecdotal evidence suggests the cartels are now trying to get into the legal marijuana business in California by opening their own farms. Others are turning to human trafficking and kidnapping to shore up their falling profits. There are also reports that some cartels are switching to new forms of drug cultivation by growing poppies in Mexico to produce their own heroin rather than importing it from Afghanistan.
One step forward, two steps back? *sigh*
Illicit fentanyl, often in fake oxycodone or hydrocodone tablets, is WAY more profitable and easier to distribute than heroin, as I understand.
Delete--Alan
And now for some experimentation with watercolor pencils; I only recently discovered that there was such a thing.
ReplyDeleteAlan
I may be able to help you out a little there. Mostly it's you get what you pay for, but not completely.
DeleteCaran d'Ache is pricey and more like a watercolor pastel.
Primacolor is about half the price of d'Ache, but about half the quality.
You might want to try Faber-Castell. They make the best beeswax crayons (the ones the kids gravitate to) and don't seem to mind offering quality at an affordable price.
Enjoy! I've always felt that watercolour pencils were a little disappointing, but of course I paint.
I got a Faber Castell Albrect Duerer set; they come well recommended. I anticipate using watercolors and pen predominantly, but it can't hurt to give pencils a try to boot.
DeleteAlan
And now, in MUELLER TIME:
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the transcript of Glen Simpson's testimony to Congress, which was released on Tuesday by Sen. Diane Feinstein. (Sen, Grassley has been refusing and she just went ahead and did it, God bless her!)
https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4345501-Glenn-Simpson-Testimony-Senate-Judiciary-In
Here's a commentary/summary. It's like a cheat sheet. I've read half the testimony so far (it's 312 pp), and this man's comments mesh with what I read.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/950884746082562048.html>https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/950884746082562048.html
Initial talks underway about Trump interview in Mueller Russia probe
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/initial-talks-underway-about-trump-interview-mueller-russia-probe-n835506
Republican Senator Jeff Flake expected to deliver floor speech comparing Trump's attacks on media to Stalin's
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2018/01/14/politics/jeff-flake-stalin-donald-trump/index.html
(Jeff Flake is one of the many not seeking reelection in 2018.)
ReplyDeleteFrustrated with Facebook, as if that's anything new. This time: On my timeline (what used to be called more sensibly the profile page) is displayed a line that says, "Fifty friends posted on your timeline for your birthday." The only link available in that line is on the word 'timeline" and clicking it takes me back to the top of the page, displaying the most current post. Though my birthday was over a week ago, I missed some of the posts and would like to go back and reread through them all. Specifically, there's a notification that my friend Ted posted, but I don't remember seeing his. Well, apparently, Facebook has decided that it is not going to display all fifty posts...anywhere. Only a handful show up with no way of viewing them all. It's very frustrating!
ReplyDeleteIndeed you ought to be frustrated.
DeleteAlan
There should be a "view more comments" down-arrow somewhere near the end of what they do show. It's fairly subtle (and I find it annoying too).
ReplyDelete