Then and Now

Blog Post

Caption Image: Consider water.

 

Bullet Points:

** Ebola is in the news in Africa. What are some simple steps you could take if you were there to keep from catching the disease? (1) Don’t eat raw bush meat — Dead humans who are potentially infected with the disease. Bush meat is a continuing dietary staple in much of Africa. (2) Don’t have sexual intercourse with a monkey (alive or dead) that is infected. Yes, that’s a thing in much of Africa too. These comments are not racist. My feelings about Kenyans who are protesting American aid in fighting Ebola is to let them die. Maybe Obama could go there and talk sense into them as a fellow Kenyan? He can take Big Mike with him.

** Why don’t liberal lesbians date trans women?

** Before excavation and restoration, the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan looked more like a natural hill than one of the largest pyramids in the ancient Americas. (left) What other architectural wonders lay beneath the sod somewhere? Built around 100โ€“200 CE, it rises about 66 m / 216 ft and dominates the Avenue of the Dead. Major restoration work took place between 1905 and 1910, revealing the monumental stepped form seen today. I have been there (maybe 10 years ago), and as I recall, it was not a tomb like the Egyptian pyramids. If it was, you’d need a BIG raid to take it on.

** If you won the lottery, what would you do?

** Have you thought of pursuing a career of fun and profit as an artist? I’ve seen a lot of people who have availed themselves of these sorts of services around and thought that, as a side gig, you know, I could start with stick figures too. It’s the thing now – hip. Fat lesbian twenty-something college women are the perfect canvas from what I’ve seen walking around. Big canvas. Lots of room for artistic experimentation.

** Brief tour of a village in Kazakhstan.

** A day at the beach – yeah, that’s where we are. (reality TV, not a political ad)

** ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‘๐ฎ๐›๐ข๐จ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐š๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐จ๐ง, ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž: โ€œ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ญ๐˜บ. ๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข. ๐˜ˆ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ. ๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต, ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ข ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข. ๐˜๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต, ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ช๐˜ต, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข.โ€

** If I say, “Polish saber,” what comes to mind?

** To the extent possible, watch the internal politics of Iran take shape in the power vacuum that formed after the snake’s head was cut off. That’s what USGOV is doing at the moment. More snake’s head chopping might be necessary as the hydra consolidates.

** Let’s take a closer look at Alberta’s geography.

** CDRSAL talks VLS here. More is better. Don’t forget the guns.

** Memories of SERE. You’re there to learn – and some people are treated more harshly than others. I’ll let you figure that one out. It’s a mind game.

** Is it obsolete? Take a look, think about it, and come to your own conclusion.

** The cost of drilling for four hours is roughly US$1 million. That changes slightly with location (more expensive at sea, for instance), but what happens if you hit a dry hole?

** The X-59 – what does it take to conceive, design, build, test, and fly something like that?

** SB4 ย is now fully legal and enforceable. Texas state troopers, sheriffs, and local police can arrest and deport anyone who crosses the border illegally. Republican nominee Brandon Herrera explained the common sense reality: โ€œThe average person would say, โ€˜Wait, we didnโ€™t already have that?โ€™ The biggest problem at the border has been that the rules arenโ€™t set up in a way that allows law enforcement to do the job they signed up for.โ€ He added: โ€œNow itโ€™s easier to deport illegals. Border crossings are near zero. And Texas has a federal government helping them out.โ€ Herrera emphasized: โ€œTexas has the right to repel an invasion in their state.โ€ This ends years of federal handcuffs on local law enforcement. Texas is finally empowered to secure its own border and protect its citizens

** Wind.

** Question of the Day: When I was a kid, my brother and I used to have taco eating contests at home. Looking back on it, I have no idea how I could have eaten so many. How many tacos could you eat when you were in high school?

 

VDH – Always Worth a Listen

Ryan on Tulsi

Note: President Donald Trump appointed Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (photo right), to serve as the acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. Pulte’s surprise appointment as the nation’s intelligence chief runs concurrently with his current role overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Prior to Pulte’s appointment, Trump had initially named Deputy Director Aaron Lukas to take over the role.

The DNI oversees 18 agencies; however, when specifically considering the DNI’s direct staffโ€”the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)โ€”the agency employs approximately 1,750 people. It’s an odd job. When James Clapper was DNI, he served as a kind of wingman to CIA Director Brennan. I’m not certain that he did much beyond that. Different DNIs have tried to carve out roles for themselves because theren’t much to do in the chair. My sense is that Pulte was not appointed because President Trump wanted a crusader as DNI.

It’s a wicked game, and I think that Gabbard was punching above her weight. Paul Lukas was best known as a policy wonk.

We will never know if or how much Tulsi took to go away quietly into the sunset. (direction of Hawaii)

 

No IDs today – but there will be tomorrow as we recall the Battle of Midway.

 

End

39 thoughts on “Then and Now

  1. Lottery
    I had a guy working for me in 1987 as a labourer who won $280 000 just 15 months before. He did buy a house. Then in rural town as he said he could have bought 4 or 5 houses or a farm. Fast cars mostly crashed and alcohol took care of $200k.

    Tacos
    Not a thing in my part of the world as a kid. Watermelon, bananas and occasionally pineapple were used for eating contests.

    1. Okay, I realize that my question was “tacoist” – and being from the Southwestern US, tacos were something that boys could crunch down quickly. Watermelon, too, was a contest item, but there is a big difference in sizes, as they’re not all created equal. Pies were also a contest thing, but only at events.

  2. Water trapped underground?
    Genesis 7:11
    In the six hundredth year of Noahโ€™s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

    1. America: The ocean is a desert with its life underground – And a perfect disguise above.

        1. โ€œโ€ฆUnder the cities lies a heart made of ground, But the humans will give no loveโ€
          Ainโ€™t that the truth.

  3. Closest I ever got to an eating contest was at an extended family gathering at the park. One cousin was a big guy who went on to play lineman for a college football team, and we had a contest to see who could eat the largest number of filled plates from all the home cooked food on the tables. We tied for plates of food, but I pulled ahead when we started on desserts.
    On occasion my young stomach has taken in five pre-shrinkage Big Macs, two fries, and two drinks; or two large pizzas and two 16 oz bottles of Coke without any discomfort. If I tried that now I think my stomach would go on strike.

    1. True – I’d die if I ate that much. I’m not sure what the “cause of death” would be listed as. Maybe – gluttony.

  4. While working offshore in a large gas field, a rig was brought in, drilled for weeks, and finally brought in a well, which blew out. It didn’t catch fire, and it was controlled after a few days, but the pressure was so high, special equipment was required. Every fitting had to work above 10,000 psi, and even a small tubing valve was a large expense in relation to the costs for the same type on the numerous producing wells in the field. The well was connected to the network of piping, placed on line, the pressure steadily dropped, and within three months the well was shut in forever. It’s fair to say it was a huge loss. The cost of drilling wasn’t recovered, the platform for the well was mothballed, and it became another navigation hazard to be maintained.

  5. My daughters were competitive swimmers. Year-round teams and high school. When my older daughter was in early high school, she and her female swim team buddies would go to Old Country Buffet and eat until the manager threw them out. I have no idea where all that bulk went, but my daughter was 120lbs soaking wet and had muscles that I envied. Fortunately, once she was done swimming, she dialed back on the food and is still 120lbs 20 years later. That’s a stark contrast to the average swim coach, who stops swimming, but keeps eating as if he were still swimming.

    1. True – you can’t eat like a couch potato what you did as an athlete and expect to remain svelte.

          1. Yes, Dietโ€ฆ.then again, Vitamin D or Whole milk was most often coming out of ones nose at the dinner table from something really funnyโ€ฆand you still had to eat your milk soaked peas after in order to get dessert.

    2. One of my friends was a bicycle racer. He was skinny as a rail, and ate three or four times as much as I did. Claimed his pro buddies were eating even more, as they could burn off thousands of calories just keeping up with their practice runs.

      1. Freshman year in college I knew a guy who had a TA-ship in Swimming (who knew there was such a thing). Apparently it was some kind of aqua-physical-therapy-for-disabled-people program. He spent 4-6h each day (MWF) basically towing people around the Olympic-sized pool. And there was whatever endurance sport he did for himself on weekends. The guy was ungodly fit and looked good (in a “no homo” way) too. Our dorm had an “all you can eat” meal policy. You see where this is going. Andrew ate 6 to 8 entrees, and several desserts, at each meal. I did a lot of cycling and running back then and had a BMI of 20.5 kg/m2 and 7% body fat by underwater weighing. I tried manfully to keep up with Andrew eating-wise (because everything is a competition when you’re young and fit and dumb), but could only manage 3-4 entrees. We both stayed skinny despite me eating 3000 to 4000 calories, and him 6000+, daily. These days I get a spare tire in 2 days if I don’t discipline myself about the snacks. Being sedentary in front of the dang computer doesn’t help, of course.

  6. Trying to remember how many tacos I could eat in high school, I don’t think tacos existed in Miami back then. I think the first time I heard the word taco I was in college, close to 1974. Miami was like a suburb of Havana, not Mexico.

    1. Maybe I should have said, “Grouper sandwiches,” though I recall Florida in that general timeframe and having fish tacos –

  7. My son used to go to a Waffle House close to where he lived. He would order the All-You-Can-Eat breakfast there. One day the management cut off his reordering and told him he could never order that again there.

    1. I had a guy working for me, a tall stringbean. We went out of state on a job and ended up at a farmers market that an an all you can eat buffet.
      He went back to get his fourth plate when I told the waitress to tell him that was all he could eat.
      It stunned him til I started laughing.

  8. Tacoโ€™s were never a thing in our area until college when a Chi Chiโ€™s opened up near the Oxford Valley Mall. Until about 30 I had what dad described as a hollow leg (aka high fuel model), seconds and thirds at Sunday dinner were typicalโ€ฆbut we were always outside doing something physical. After hitting the gym one night my buddy and I went into Chi Chiโ€™s for dinnerโ€ฆpretty sure I had about 15 tacos, but could have been more. Now, about 6 does it for meโ€ฆas we age Iโ€™m convinced we become more โ€˜fuel efficientโ€™ therefore fill up quickerโ€ฆand thatโ€™s without Gubmint CAFE standards or Diesel Extortion Fluid requirements.
    ***
    Have no desire to go to Africa so Iโ€™m safe, especially if I donโ€™t listen to the MSM Chicken Littleโ€™s.
    ***
    Gabbard was โ€˜for a timeโ€™ and exited to allow passing the baton to the anchor leg runner. I thought she did great, and her reasoning for exiting is sound and pray her husband gets great medical care and comes out on top. The Pulte hue and cry by The DemonRats has already started. Bunch of losers.
    ***
    Oil: One aspect of Landman I appreciated and respected (drama aside) was the level of dealing and business Sheridan included to give a glimpse into the boom-bust costs of doing that businessโ€ฆespecially the last few season episodes. Mind boggling, and I have no mind for that sort of deal-making at all, so even more astounding in the machinations.
    ***
    Sidebar: Bass โ€˜The Uselessโ€™ and Pratt go to a a November runoffโ€ฆastounding that people voted for that Lefty cretin for mayor when Pratt ran a brilliant campaign showcasing the damage the Democrats have doneโ€ฆyet, as Steve Hilton said after being on top after the โ€˜initialโ€™ votes were in โ€œthe vote tally will continue, may take months to complete, proving the Democrat Machine will cheat again to override a proper election.
    Here in Small Town Montana, walked into the Civic Center across from the IGA grocery, saw my neighbor ladyโ€™s at my precinct table, who happen to know me and MrsPaulM, showed my โ€˜harder to get than a Colorado drivers license, but worth the effort to verify Iโ€™m an actual American citizen and Montana residentโ€™โ€ฆsigned the box next to my name on the election tally sheet, got may paper ballot, voted, verified and put into the โ€˜voted boxโ€™ slot by another neighbor lady who verified back to the first neighbor lady that it was my ballot who check3d โ€˜votedโ€™ box on her official election tally sheetโ€ฆand chatted for a few minutes as there was no hours to voteโ€ฆand no idiot activists outside protesting about ICE or whatever. Oh, and got my โ€˜I Votedโ€™ sticker to boot. Done in ten minutes. State results were available by 10pm. No electronic booth, no โ€˜wait n seeโ€™ over a month election results, ten minutes and done.
    Gee, what a conceptโ€ฆand no ability to cheat by โ€˜those who we shall not nameโ€™โ€ฆunlike what WILL happen in Californiaโ€ฆI predict (as if that was hard to do).

  9. 1) โ€œWhy donโ€™t liberal lesbians date trans women?โ€
    Because thereโ€™s a difference between sin and insanity.

    2) Dunno about tacos but as a 13 year old I got into a contest with a friend: how many green grapes can you stuff into your mouth beforeโ€ฆ something happened? Luckily that something was a spectacular spew rather that a tracheal blockage. I still think a 3-second side-view video of that event would be hilarious.

    1. Trans women are on record (on media) as stating that they have difficulty making love connections due to prejudice.

        1. When the twisted get so twisted back on themselves they have come full circle and have no clue where they ended up. No fixing that without an exorcism.

  10. When Melie was elected in Argintina all votes were cast in one day counted overnite and announced as the sun rose. , they must be geniuses or something

    Kill enough of them and they stop fighting ,, Curtis LaMay ,,I believe . Does Trump know this ,or is he just unwilling to do what must be done ?
    Does he believe this bunch of Shiite 12ers negotiate like the Glaziers Union,, Iโ€™m afraid his mouth has overloaded his ass,,
    Hope Iโ€™m wrong.

    1. Hope you’re wrong, but doubt you are. I don’t know how “devout” the IRGC Twelvers are to anything beyond a bottle of Black Label and a young catamite.

          1. Gotta change out the flux capacitor once in a while. Only make errors on the iPadโ€ฆthe pick n tap is not a good typing technique, especially with dry hands from being outside workinโ€™ on โ€˜stuffโ€™.

        1. Bunch of shenanigans; one, to magically find enough votes to spin the election, and two, those four Rโ€™s need to check their principlesโ€ฆmostly symbolic but to wade in on this while dithering in everything else in order to unconstitutionally override Executive Branch military authority. More idiocy while PDJT is trying to get a bunch a 7th Century Sand Idiots to negotiate and knock it the hell offโ€ฆalmost like Congress is trying to subvert PDJT. Nah, that canโ€™t be it.

  11. War Powers act still has to pass senate and a veto ,,,maybe itโ€™s just Teevee.
    A cynical person might think if the house and senate pass it ,and then,,, the people have spoken and itโ€™s an excuse to pack up and leave ,and blame it on Congress . Glad there are no Cynics here.

  12. SERE – there was no Evade. They knew where you were and would come and get you when they felt like it.

    They beat the shit out of me. After the course was over they took 4 of us to the ER to get patched up. I had 4 loose teeth, a cracked jaw (from being slapped), cracked ribs (phone book), and broken nose from when I was face slammed into the ground. There was so much blood coming from my nose and mouth you couldn’t tell where it was coming from. My eyes were both black the next day and swollen shut with that being the last day of SERE. I got a month convalescence leave to heal.

  13. COVID killed off most of the all you can eat buffets in our area. There is a Golden Skillet in Loveland that is always packed and a Chinese theme nearby that is mediocre. My enjoyment of food in my earlier days still remains hanging over my belt even with only eating two small meals a day.
    Iran
    Run by religious fanatics who used children to clear mine fields. They are indifferent to death; martyrdom is a reward. The way to defeat them is to make them martyrs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<p class="wantispam-comment-form-privacy-notice" style="margin-top:10px;">This site uses Antispam to reduce spam. <a href="https://anti-spam.space/antispam-privacy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Learn how your comment data is processed</a>.</p>
Scroll to top