Cowboy Grave
My grandson and I put a geocache near a cowboy’s grave on BLM (public) land. N 34° 43.319 W 111° 03.818
This is a marked trail grave of Raymond Torrez, Ralph Gonzalez, and Daniel A. Torres. There is a cross, and its information is welded into steel plates (rusted). It’s on the south side of a powerline road, visible from the road. The cache container is a camouflaged capsule containing SWAG, a log, and a pen, hidden in a tree visible from the grave. It is on BLM land, there are gates, but it is open access (please make sure to close the gates). It’s about a mile south of State Route 87, which can be accessed by passenger car, though the road is unimproved.
If you’re driving down State Route 87 in Arizona and are interested in finding the cache and signing the log, you are more than welcome. Cattle graze the area seasonally. Please don’t disturb the cows (for instance, don’t tip them if they’re sleeping).
Wildlife: Deer (white tail and mule), elk, mountain lion, brown wolf, coyote, black bear, raccoon, bobcat, coati mundi, and pronghorn antelope frequent the area.
Bullet Points:
** Despite recent progress, the United States still faces a severe drug overdose crisis. Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, were detected in nearly 45,000 deaths in 2025 alone. Sustained, high-level diplomatic engagement with China is key to combating synthetic opioid trafficking. When overall diplomatic cooperation is poor, progress on counter-narcotics cooperation is limited. Although the war on drugs falls under the War Department now, there are many more options than existed under the Justice Department. The rules are different.
** Today, Ukrainian drones rain fire on Moscow and St Petersburg, and the country’s troops are gaining ground on the battlefield, in a deeply humiliating spectacle for Vladimir Putin. (more here) Some analysts believe that Ukraine’s recent string of successes will only cause Russia to escalate the war even further. The Kremlin is intensifying pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to expand Belarusian involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Lukashenko continues trying to resist the Kremlin’s demands while maintaining Russia’s friendship.
** Okay, one more time by popular demand.
** U.S. officials have acknowledged that China operates at least three intelligence facilities in Cuba. Based on official statements, construction patterns, and previous assessments, CSIS researchers believe Bejucal is likely one of those locations. However, the exact operational arrangements and level of foreign involvement remain undisclosed. Cuba has completed construction of a major signals intelligence antenna array at its Bejucal facility near Havana. It looks like a “Bullseye Site” to me; maybe it’s more than that. I can’t say.
** The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in United States v. Hemani (2026) that categorical bans don’t work. The government can’t strip constitutional rights based on presumption. It has to prove a person is actually dangerous. That’s due process. That’s the principle the entire Court—left to right—just affirmed. The government indicted Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), a federal law that makes it a crime for anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess a firearm. The government did not claim Hemani was intoxicated at the time he possessed the gun; the charge was based solely on his status as a habitual user. The Court rejected the government’s argument that habitual drug users are, by definition, too dangerous to own guns. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that historical gun restrictions on “habitual drunkards” applied to individuals who were completely incapacitated, not merely people who regularly but safely consumed a controlled substance.
**CDRSAL raises an issue that many of us have considered. “One little detail that keeps bugging me a bit. When you combine known phenomena with the rapidly expanding capabilities of quantum computing and … he11 … quantum sensing…we may wake up sometime soon and have to completely rethink undersea warfare. AI will change the landscape in underwater sneaking and peeking. It’s a brave new world. Will everyone’s submarines be obsolete?
** Red China pushes the envelope – again. They can’t help themselves. (h/t Claudio) “We reject any assertion by China of authority to interfere with freedoms of navigation or overflight, the freedom to lay cables, or other lawful uses of the sea,” the U.S. official said, adding that Beijing was undermining the peaceful resolution of issues that it claims to seek. The de facto British, French, and German embassies in Taipei said in a separate but rare joint statement that the Chinese activity was concerning. “These actions threaten regional stability and the freedom of navigation and safety of international shipping. We reiterate our opposition to any unilateral change to the status quo, particularly by threat or use of force or coercion,” they said. “It is fundamental that all navigational rights and freedoms and the safety of seafarers and vessels are guaranteed and respected.”
** Rep. Byron Donalds took the podium on Thursday, declaring that the Senate “sucks” and is the only “organization” refusing to act on passing the SAVE America Act. “So if you’re going to show up for President Obama’s library, you have to present a photo ID to gain access to that event, but to vote in our elections, you don’t have to do that? That makes no sense!”
** Kevin Sorbo tweeted, “A Muslim woman in a hijab just said that ‘America deserved 9/11’ and won her primary in NY. That’s what the Democrat Party has become.” Which is the bigger crime today: being patriotic or Islamophobic?
AI and Tradecraft
This commentary was originally published by The Cipher Brief on June 17, 2026.
An impending casualty of artificial intelligence, we are told, is the human spy. The conventional wisdom is that in our AI future, there’s little need to recruit agents, plan secret rendezvous, or conduct dead drops—the old-school tradecraft of espionage. “Human spies in the field will become rare,” wrote David Ignatius after surveying the growing field of AI intelligence startups. “The future of espionage is written in zeros and ones.”
Yes, AI will become an indispensable tool for case officers, agents, fabricators, counterintelligence services, and the rest of the intelligence world. But this will have the paradoxical effect of increasing the importance of old-fashioned human intelligence.
Economics tells us that the value of something is determined by the benefit it provides on the margin—not by its raw power or pervasiveness. We should expect AI to lower many barriers to the collection and analysis of technical intelligence. This has happened in other spheres: Open-source encryption put tools once reserved for states into everyone’s hands. Likewise, you no longer need a national space program—just a credit card—to order up high-resolution satellite photography and buy AI-powered software to analyze the results.
Human intelligence is scarcer and harder to replicate, and so its marginal value will rise. Vast amounts of data alone cannot reveal what a foreign leader intends to do, nor what is happening inside an “air-gapped” network. Human sources can.
A human agent can help cut through the deluge of disinformation—and help distinguish authentic source material from forgeries.
Human intelligence has always helped validate technical collection. That role will grow in importance as AI poisons the information environment. Electronic channels will be flooded with fabricated phone calls, forged documents, and other convincing synthetic media. Signals intercepts will be harder to trust on their own. A human agent can help cut through that deluge of disinformation—and help distinguish authentic source material from forgeries.
Finally, AI is making digital communications less trustworthy, as we already see with scammers using deepfake images, audio, and video calls for fraud. As deepfakes get harder to detect, the rational response will be to distrust electronic communications. The corollary? Secure, person-to-person communication will rise in value. Case officers have long relied on dead drops, brush passes, and brief meetings to communicate with their agents. In an AI-saturated world, these traditional techniques may be the most reliable methods of communication we have.
None of this means that technical intelligence will become unimportant. And AI will certainly transform human intelligence operations—for better and for worse. It will help case officers select operational sites, prepare for agent meetings, and improve their ability to persuade foreigners to commit espionage. At the same time, AI will supercharge surveillance, provide fabricators with an unlimited supply of plausible yet false information, and help counterintelligence services predict the activities of case officers operating within their countries.
Still, as AI makes technical collection cheaper, deception easier, and digital communication less trustworthy, the value of human sources will rise. And the case officer, working in the shadows of our artificial future, will matter more than ever.
Air Conditioning
About 90% of U.S. households have some form of air conditioning, with roughly two-thirds featuring central air. In contrast, only about 20% of European households are equipped with air conditioning. We take it for granted. The hovel I live in at the White Wolf Mine, where temps rarely top 85(F), has central air conditioning because why would I want it to get warmer than 73(F) inside? The Phoenix Valley and most of Arizona would be unlivable without air conditioning in every building.
Europe does not use forced-air heating with ducts and all, as the USA does; adding air conditioning would cost up to $40,000 (€34,000) per home. Some 120 years after Carrier invented American air conditioning, European engineers still haven’t invented a functional, less expensive European version. Instead of adapting to global warming, socialists claim we are enduring it; the European Union is spending €662 billion to prevent it. How is that working out?
Visitors to the US who are attending World Cup Soccer events are surprised at the presence of air conditioning – everywhere. 91% of Japanese households have AC. What should really embarrass Europeans is 60% to 77% of the homes in Red China are air-conditioned.
F-47
A prototype had been flying in secret since 2019, long before the public knew who built it. That aircraft was a demonstrator for the secret American program that became the Boeing F-47, which Boeing and the US Air Force billed as the world’s first sixth-generation fighter. Now, one of the engines that could power it has cleared an important milestone.
On May 11, 2026, GE Aerospace cleared the Assembly Readiness Review for its XA102 engine, confirming the design, manufacturing, and supply chain are ready to build a full-scale prototype. One clarification, though: GE hasn’t been chosen as the F-47’s engine. It’s cleared to build a prototype and keep competing.
The XA102’s edge is its adaptive-cycle design. A traditional fighter engine is built for either thrust or fuel efficiency, never both. The XA102 can switch between them in flight, routing air for maximum thrust when needed, or through a bypass stream for efficiency and cooling on longer missions. The result is a greater range, better cooling for advanced sensors and weapons, and a lower infrared signature. Industry reporting estimates it will produce 35,000 to 40,000 pounds of thrust.
GE isn’t alone. Its XA102 is competing with Pratt & Whitney’s XA103, which cleared the same review three days earlier, on May 8. Both companies hold contracts worth up to $3.5 billion through 2032, and the Air Force hasn’t picked a winner yet. Boeing was awarded the F-47 in March 2025 to replace the F-22 Raptor. Aerial testing is expected by 2028, though the first jets will fly with interim engines before the XA102 or XA103 enters service later in the decade.
Identify the Recon Aircraft
1
2
463 built
3
1,742 built
End
European Heat Wave: As seen elsewhere, the heat wave has gotten so bad that the French are seriously considering using deodorant.
No…oh, the horror. The next thing you’ll tell me is that the French women have decided to shave their underarms.
Identify the Recon Aircraft
1 – RAF Martin Maryland
2 – Japanese Nakajima C6N – Saiun
3 – USAAF captured Mitsubishi Ki-46-II – Dinah
Excellent
Identify the Recon Aircraft:
1. Martin Maryland
2. Nakajima C6N Saiun “Myrt”
3. Mitsubishi Ki-46 “Dinah”
Excellent
F-47 if it’s ever built in large numbers with its estimated 1,200 mile range will be a step change in the Pacific. Hopefully we don’t end up only buying ten then moving on to the next shiny thing.
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The Dinah in USAAF markings had me scratching my head. If you had not put the Salun in just prior to get me thinking Japan I’d still be confused.
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AI will change many things in the military. Some good, analysis of radar and sonar signatures for example, but likely will also lead to incredibly stupid outcomes, like run out of food as AI decided you should have had more casualties than you did so it didn’t order any food. Then just wait till AI at different companies starts arguing with itself, hallucinating, and cancels product orders.
The F-47 will not be the next Navy F/A aircraft. It will have a long range, but the drones accompanying it on missions will have a much longer one. I think it’s intended as a standoff platform, quite unlike the F-15 or F-35. I don’t know what the Navy’s F/AXX will look like, but my sense of things is that it will be more like a Vigilante – large aircraft, two engine, longer duration mission with stealth characteristics. I know that after the F-14, the Navy wanted to go smaller, but I don’t see that for the sixth-generation fighter/bomber aircraft. The same will be true of the follow-up to the E-2D. The tech gets smaller and more compact, but the missions are more complicated. And we can’t keep building larger aircraft carriers.
There are sea shanties, and then there are sea shanties about kitties sung by the Trailer Park Boys. THIS is that sea shanty. 🤣
It makes me want to weigh anchor and set sail today, EdB.
As a committed (or committable) cat guy, The Kittyman sea shanty is my anthem.
I mentioned yesterday (on another show) that Europeans have a bad view of America given to them by their government and media, much like the soviets did to their people.
European visitors discover air conditioning in a friendly America..
Boris Yeltsin at a Randall’s Grocery in Houston:
“If the people of the Soviet Union were aware of the quality of the average American grocery store, there would be a revolution.”
The FIFA crowds coming here visiting various places around the United States and seeing the clean abundance changed a lot of minds from their preconceived/taught perceptions. I liken it to a bad Yelp review…I never believe someone else’s downgrade or bad experience until visiting for myself…maybe the cook was sick and they had to get a fill in on short notice, or the waitress, struggling to make ends meet, has a sick child at home and is worried. I need to see a place firsthand because people are often fickle and selfish, or worse, have an agenda so push false propaganda. ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ comes first.
I look at an aggregation of reviews and how current they are.
Case in point. I just finished dinner at a restaurant we often frequent. If this were my first visit, I might not come back because of the long delay in getting our food. Long delay. Mistakes are made sometimes.
Fortunately, the onion rings are delicious.
Exactly.
AI -Ford earned the award for most vehicle recalls in one year after laying off a number of engineers and then discovering AI & automated systems couldn’t replace human judgment. Result,,,,rehire some of the laid-off engineers and new hires, to clean up the mess. “Long Live AI”.
There are tasks that AI is good at. Clearly there are just as many that it is not good at.
Opinion. The auto industry should stop using “consumers” in their focus group. Replace them with mechanics and salespeople. Corporate ‘suits’ asking opinions of ‘buyers’ is one big circle jerk. Ask a mechanic why the S-10 fender well needs to be removed to replace an alternator or starter. Ask a mechanic what bean counter infected engineer designed the front strut structure in a F-150 with a built in water catching future rust point, etc.
My first manager, Dangerous Dan Davis, said, “I don’t give a fuck what the customer wants. Find out what they will do”. Maybe AI can find a way around the only important questions, down payment and monthly payment. Yeah, but, you few with cash and 750+ credit score are just a blip on the monthly sales results.
Or the cars with the starter located inside the bell housing, or in the “Vee” of a V6/V8.
Does that mean that the car company shouldn’t kiss my “the customer is always right” ass? Wow.
Captain Obvious here. You need to cater to the market with what appeals to various customer. Some people are buying transportation, others lifestyle. 1990’s example; the Ford Tempo. Decent performance, stove bolt reliable, and a lower price. I sold several every month. Every month I would sell one or two Thunderbirds or 5.0 Mustangs. Truck buyers were different but some wanted basic and some wanted Lincoln amenities.
The problem with focus groups (and I sat mute in a few) is the company suits tended to fill them with people who are status seekers and encourage opinions that the group, in practice, were unlikely to afford. Circle jerk. The ‘suits’ biases were evident; they liked the shiny wow wow shit too!
An observation. Of all the company ‘suits’ I’ve met, only a handful would I have hired for my crew.
Right now there are new cars, focus group approved, that are sitting on dealer lots for 300+days.
Ford, and I think Stellantis and GM stopped selling “cars”.
Only SUVS, muscle cars and trucks.
I have a truck and my 2015 Taurus.
Drugs, and the ensuing Epidemic: Always follow the money…who profited from the massively failed 40+ years “War On Drugs” because all that spending of WTP’s confiscated taxes has done the exact opposite a sold? Same on Homelessness…errr…’unhoused’. Same problem, often joined at the hip.
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AirCon: $40k to retrofit? Nah…a dual one 45k BTU (‘British’ no less) a Mr. Cool ductless Mini-Split would cover most of those homes for $10k…precharged lines and DIY to boot so no need to hire out the install (assuming a Brit knows how to use a dill and screwdriver). Altho, come to think of it…considering the baloney on Clarkson’s Farm with farmers trying to grow food being clamped down and taxed to the hilt right put of business, local reg’s and some sort of envy tax might jump it to your $40k number.
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Geo Cache: ‘SWAG’ huh…what sort of swag? VM prizes and snacks?
Ahh…’dual zone’ (note to self…time for a new iPad)
…as for AI, would it have caught my typos, or maybe not make them in the first place? Oh well, to err is human I suppose.
dumb question of the day:
if we (Dept of Whatever) can take human lives when we take out the fast boats carrying the various problems (in this case: drugs) to our shores, what/where precisely is the problem of taking the human lives behind this criminal activity – when we locate them and find them unquestionably guilty, rather than supporting then for ? years on the peoples’ dime.
The prison system only limits their freedom of movement – it doesn’t appear to limit any other activities.
Nota dumb question to me…need to eventually cut off the head of snake otherwise it’s that one movie villain who doesn’t meet their immediate demise that continues to come back around. Need to be more like Bryan Mills in Taken, knew enough real world to employ ‘no hesitation when dealing with the bad guys….eliminates that single threat from ever being a problem. Turning fast drug boats into fish food is a step in the right direction, next step is to eliminate the primary threat(s).
I’d like to think of it as a snake (I really would) but every time I look at it I get the impression that someone dug up that head buried somewhere on the road between Lerna and Elaius.
Be interesting though for LL to write a novel/series demonstrating the various ways the drug trade (here in the USA) might be brought to a halt;
the Law of Diminishing Returns ie: making any and all “drugs” legal and easily obtainable has certain sociological downsides eliminating it from one of the choices
What is more astounding for MrsPaulM and I is the proliferation of intake among all classes of people here (versus say, Holland). All one has to do is watch an episode of a show with Border Patrol operations; airports, southern border, Caribbean boats…you name it and the amount of drugs of all sorts people have in their possession (yes, often to smuggle and sell) is unreal. Some guy explaining the 1000 fake Viagra’s are for his use, or “I have anxiety and depression so need 380 Xanex in my suitcase for a three day visit to Mexico.” Us, even married to a DVM with a DEA license never carried that much on the Vet Truck. The proliferation of Rec-Med shops everywhere so people can toke their lives away in a stupor is not something I guessed on my life game sheet. Guess people still need to ‘tune out’, but everyday? Life is to be lived best one can, not floated through stoned, wasting it away on some drug. Needs to end…and getting right with God and asking for strength only He can impart is a good start.
There’s a movie that just came out cold citizen vigilante. The guy is a mix between Batman and The Punisher.
It’s set in Europe and he’s taking out rapists and groomers.
There’s a long gratuitous porn scene in it and that caused me to turn it off. I got the gist after the first 15 minutes before that.
Too bad they didn’t stick to the basics and got stupid, maybe that is why I appreciated Denzel’s Equalizer movies…he struggled going back into that life as a promise to his diseased wife, but when one has those skills and the innocent or oppressed need help, who’s going to do it except someone like that? God’s Word does say it is a must to stop evil if you are able…yet only some can step up…but should when presented with that particular moral dilemma.
Same thing when out and about. If some punk with a gun, or psycho, threatens your life, is it wrong to protect you and yours if able? No. Not easy to live with after, but it is necessary, you are no good to anyone dead because some repeat criminal once again got let out of jail by some Lefty judge or idiot parole board only to wreak havoc on society…again.
‘dying/deceased wife’
EdB
I’ve read perhaps 8 reviews.
Not expecting much, I added it to my play list (currently #2 on said list).
You are the only one to mention anything at all like that scene. I shall remove it thanks to you sir.
I understand the gist without subjecting my self nd wife to that.
A heartfelt thanks sir.
🫡
Juan, I got called everything but a nice guy for a similar comment regarding that movie on Facebook.
Wounded in the house of my friends….
People like the message and are willing to overlook the presentation and attack anyone who doesn’t.
USA 250 lapel pin!
Perfect! (altho a Clif Bar would be nice)
Air conditioning and the complaints out of Europe. “Easy for you to say” The news reports I’ve glanced at sound like a mild day around here. The daytime temperature in the UK was in the mid-80s, when that’s ours for about the first two hours after sunrise. Latitude isn’t everything in setting your weather, but it’s a big chunk. We’re at the same latitude as the southern few miles of the Sinai peninsula. I think you couldn’t have a technologically advanced civilization without A/C.
“…applied to individuals who were completely incapacitated, not merely people who regularly but safely consumed a controlled substance.”
Now apply it to employment.
My brother has partaken of occasional pot smoking since retiring.
Now they’d like him to come back and consult.
Can’t pass the drug test.
Two days after a toke?
how about a couple days after a couple o’ shots of white lightning
same-same. no?
is MJ addictive, is mountain dew?
isn’t it addiction we’re trying to prevent or access to the addictive substance or exactly what is it we’re trying to do?
some people are addicted to tobacco: ask Altria.
Read somewhere the MJ today is like 10x more potent than the 70’s version, maybe that’s intentional (Warning, conspiracy theory ahead)…government sanctions this to have an even more compliant populace, who have little clue or care they are being subjugated while effectively losing all ability to think for themselves.
MJ today vs. the ’70s is only the difference between beer and gin. Is MJ, sans additives, addictive? Are Camels? Is Seagrams Extra Dry Gin?
Are we re-doing the 18th Amendment? There are probably as many alcoholics today as there were 1916/1926/1936 percentagewise.
Are we wasting resources? Are we training troops? Are we investigating/developing new scientific methodologies to learn how to “smell” certain organics at a distance, hidden, sealed in closed plastic bags?
Just WTH are we doing!
Yes, MJ is addictive, even the weak-ass weed of the 60’s and 70’s. Today’s weed is more like hashish and marijuana addiction is very much a thing. So is marijuana intoxication requiring hospitalization and even marijuana overdoses.
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Funny, that when you increase the THC levels radically then the side effects of THC are far more easier to see.
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And that’s the thing about medical MJ. The bennies are from the CBDs, not from the THCs. But what do you get at a ‘dispensary’? Higher and higher THC levels.
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Paranoia, severe physical side effects, severe mental side effects. But it’s good for you or something.
THC stays in your system for weeks, in detectable quantities.
– Kle.
Over in the investing world, I see people coming to much the same conclusion on using AI – that it will remove a lot of the intake and summarization time of reading 10-K’s and comparing year to year change on financials… but it makes the trained human able to look beyond the numbers on the screen and make a judgement call far more valuable, not less.
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Chat-GPT-4’s ability to summarize, draw out data, and predict is extremely unevenly applied – it’s well-trained on Apple, and extremely poor at microcap. The thinner the information available, the higher the return of confidently presented hallucinations. This parallels trusting it to predict what Chinese propoganda says is going on versus finding out where a terrorist who’s mostly staying off-grid and moving around will be…
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And that’s not counting when you need to get a Message To Garcia.
Can an android (find and) take a message to Garcia?
Probably about the same time we get one advanced enough they dream of electric sheep, yeah.
Then terminator machines…
Geocache; great activity with grand kids! I’ve been contemplating investing time in prospecting and rock hounding. On our recent move back to Oregon we stayed over at the Peacock Opal mines. It’s a pay to dig resort, but there’s plenty of BLM land around. All I know is hunting and fishing. Occasionally we enjoy a game of disc golf, another affordable recreation. Thanks for posting the silver graphic a while back.
Are you aware of this attack on your rights in Oregon?
https://oregonhunters.org/final_test/
No, and h/t. What kind of ludacrious totalitarian regulations will they ( the 503 area coders) think of next? Thanks for passing this on. I’ve been pretty busy and unplugged for a couple months. We come back up here to work and have most of our family here. Thankfully the deadline for their petition is July 2nd and their still short of getting it on the ballot.
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We weren’t able to recall unelected gov Brown during the scamdemic. We’ve so far been unable to petition for ending the mail in voting. I’m not giving up hope, even though it appears the light at the end of tunnel is presently off.
I like this, Spy Lounge.