h/t Frank
To the fashionably dressed negro lady in the black Mercedes who flipped me off when I honked yesterday afternoon leaving the Starbucks at 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251, I don’t think your purse is still on top of your car.
DEI Hydrogen Bomb
Bullet Points:
** I get flak from some people about Trump’s stylistic approach. He’s a New York Real Estate Developer by trade, and it carries over into how he carries himself, what he says, and how he says it. Some people find it off-putting, and I understand their reaction. He’s a populist, not a conservative, and arguably, he’s changed the Republican Party forever by re-crafting it as the party of the little guy – taking the political bandwidth that the Democrats abandoned. It begs the question of whether the permanent Washington DC establishment (the Swamp) was good for the nation or not. The truth is that the difference between institutional democrats and republicans was almost non-existent. If you lapped from the DC trough and wanted the status quo to continue, you likely harbor hard feelings toward Pres. Trump. America disagrees with you.
** Experimenting with DRJIM.
** I studied psychology and thought of being a psychiatrist, but I have more potential as a patient.
** Can money buy happiness? You be the judge.
** Idolizing a politician is like believing that the stripper likes you.
** How debased has society become when, arguably, the vilest of crimes are deemed less than maintaining a false narrative about an entire group of offenders? What do progressives gain from this blatant disregard for facts? Sadly, the answer appears to be nothing more than not wanting to be wrong.
** In The Old Dominion: Virginia Residents Left Without Water As Pro-DEI Water Manager Sits At The Helm.
** How many people did marauding Mongol warriors slaughter? This may provide a clue.
** As per government edicts, UFOs are now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Physicist Enrico Fermi introduced a new concept known as the Fermi Paradox- the idea that there’s a high likelihood of advanced extraterrestrial life, but there’s no conclusive evidence. We’re headed for Europa, where scientists say all the elements necessary for life are found beneath the ice. What happens when we arrive, drill through the ice, and there’s nothing under there but mineral soup?
** The Los Angeles Fire Department boasted that fourteen different genders were employed there, and the fire hydrants weren’t charged with water, but that didn’t matter to them.
** I first thought this was a hoax when you look at the guy reading the account. But it isn’t. Amazing.
** The Federalist reported, “Canadian Doctors Suggest Harvesting Organs From Euthanasia Patients Before They’re Dead.” Does anyone want Trudeau’s spine?
** “DeSantis urges new Trump administration to relocate NASA headquarters from D.C. to Florida.” (Tweet)
** A discussion of what it takes to pass the test to become a Roman citizen. SPQR, baby!
Fire & Prep.
The Great Los Angeles Fire is taking up a lot of bandwidth, which is significant at many levels, with a heavy dose of human misery thrown in. PaulM has weighed in with his preparations for that sort of disaster. My solution is to throw guns, ammo, clothes, and digital media (along with old photo albums) into a 12′ enclosed trailer and run. We’ve been staged for that in the pine forest where I live before. A lot depends on how much notice you have.
Adding prudent steps you’ve taken and plans you have in the comments below might be helpful to others. Los Angeles has floods, fires, and earthquakes (and riots). Where I live, isolated in a fortified location, it’s mainly fire. Your situation will still differ if you live in areas prone to flooding (such as NC) or areas protected by levees. Storing household food and water as a generic response is always good. How much? I think a month. Maybe that’s overkill. How much ammunition and what sort? That depends on your personal defensive and offensive needs. LSP and I chatted years ago when I was at his compound. A twelve-pound Napoleon gun (War of Northern Aggression Era) with shot and powder will take down most fortifications you’d live in (other than a deep cave). A medieval trebuchet will do the same thing. If somebody wants it bad enough…
THE INSURANCE CRISIS THAT WILL FOLLOW THE CALIFORNIA FIRES – New Yorker Article (excerpt)
For years, experts have warned that homeowner insurance in the state could easily collapse.
Last week, on the day before New Year’s Eve, California’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, announced what his office called “a landmark regulation” to improve access to coverage. The new rule, the commissioner declared, would address the problems that California homeowners were facing in the present and, at the same time, build “a resilient insurance market for the future.” Then, the Palisades Fire ignited, soon followed by the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Lidia Fire, and the Sunset Fire. With damages from these still mostly uncontrolled blazes now estimated at up to a hundred and fifty billion dollars, the future of California’s insurance market is looking a lot more rocky than resilient. As one L.A.-based insurance agent told the Wall Street Journal, “We are in uncharted territory.”
California’s Insurance Crisis
What is often called California’s “insurance crisis” has been years in the making. The devastating Camp Fire near Chico in 2018 caused an estimated sixteen and a half billion dollars worth of damage and led to a net loss for companies that had written fire policies in the state that year. In 2019, the number of homeowners’ policies in California that were not renewed jumped by more than thirty percent. In 2023, two giant insurers, State Farm and Allstate, announced they would stop writing new policies for various forms of property insurance in California. State Farm said the move came in response to inflation and “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.” Last summer, it canceled coverage for more than fifteen hundred homes in Pacific Palisades, the wealthy enclave where the first L.A. blazes began…
And if you think the two hundred billion in claims from the Great Los Angeles Fire won’t impact your rates wherever you live on top of the claims from the hurricane devastation in the southeast, I have swamp land to sell you.
Identify the Armor
1
2
Identify the Aircraft
3
Squadron Leader R R Stanford-Tuck, Commanding Officer of No 257 Squadron RAF
4
5
Identify the Soldier’s Nationality
6
Parting Shot
End
3 is a Hurricane. Book I was given as a teenager was Tuck’s biography. He survived several pre war collisions, shot down about 35 enemy and was later shot down in France by anti aircraft fire. After 3 years captivity ended up being “drafted” into the Russian army when he and another pilot escaped and headed west. Eventually escaped the Russians and got back to England as the war ended. Another life story that hollywood would reject as too unbelievable.
4 is a British Blenheim Mk IV
5 is probably Heinkel He 111 in North Africa.
6 looks to be Danish resistance
Well done RCC!
I have a feeling some areas will become uninsurable. They’ll be like the flood plains in many areas and the only way to get insurance is through special policies with a tremendous amount of recovery costs in each premium if you can get permits for building. Then again, it’s California and there’s no telling what kind of madness will materialize.
I suspect that people will become fed up with incompetent woke leadership and will demand change and accountability. But maybe not.
They’ll get free dope instead.
There are reports that fire crews from Oregon who have come to help are being held up for safety checks!
If there is any group more focused on safety, who are they?
Trump won, in a large part, because voters are fed up with DEI, LBQAlphabet, and corruption. What a gift for him as he takes office than the LA fires driving public opinion?
Once you handle the residual toxic material, scrape away the ash and build infrastructure the area will be rebuilt. The land is in a desirable location with a pleasant climate. For some people, money is no object.
#6 the arm band is that of the Danish resistance so I’m guessing he’s a Dane.
In case anyone is interested in a piece of history.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/205194195508
Told MrsPaulM that since I’m Danish by association that it’s already in my cart for purchase, a steal at $495 + $6 s&h. Problem is it’s Pasadena, will I ever get it?
Btw, very cool find Klaus.
Altadena (upper Pasadena) burned… So who knows?
Malibu is gone…..
It won’t be back in our lifetimes.
Every once in awhile a blind squirrel finds a nut.
Identify the Armor:
1. M4 Sherman
2. Tiger I
Identify the Aircraft:
3. Hawker Hurricane
4. Bristol Blenheim IV
5. Dornier Do 217
Identify the Soldier’s Nationality:
6. Danish Resistance
** When I was much younger (60 some-odd years ago), I studied the workings of the mind: how different people (including myself) found their (figurative) way from A to B.
I began to think about helping more find their own, but easier/simpler paths from A to B; though in order to do so, I would first have to look very closely into how they presently walked the tortuous path they had already made.
I then decided that I didn’t want to take a shower (cleanse myself if you will) ten times a day.
** Bureaucracy, in my mind (not to argue with “Dune”) is a matter of control, control, control!
A mini-mind (typically an IQ of 85 – on a good day) knows/feels that the best way to do A is … and writes a memo to that effect which then becomes enshrined in the company’s policies.
When B points out how much more efficient it would be to perform the task another way, B is usually shown the door.
If anyone would like to dispute this, please first take a job in a hospital or as a volunteer on a “Board” (I haven’t “worked” in “Government”, so I will offer no opinion on that).
I was struck by the fact that a friend of mine, an RN who was working at a state psychiatric hospital for prisoners, borrowed my copy of Microsoft Access and my tutorial.
He built a database for the prison he was in that the state then used and then fired him.
Under #6 “Identify the Soldier’s Nationality”, I belive he’s a Finnish soldier only because he and the other armed men in the photo are carrying the Suomi KP/-31
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomi_KP/-31
I survived the San Diego County Cedar Fire in October, 2003. I was put on stand by to evacuate twice due to the fire changing direct several times throughout the county.
I remember just loading everything in my truck that I thought was valuable and waiting
BRM has a post on his site about the Los Angeles fire.
Insurance Crisis;
” Natural disasters” overwhelming CO$T, and ripple effect on ” we the people”
Trump’s strong suit? Not Hearts or Spades. It’s diamonds = strong economy. Looks like “global warming ” now rebranded as ” Climate change”. Is the deep state making an offensive attack to cripple the economy of MAGA version 2.0 of the incoming administration?
IDA:
1. US Sherman M4A3
2. German Tiger 1B13
3. Hawker Hurricane Mk I
4. Bristol 149 Blenheim IV
5. Dornier Do 217
6. Danish resistance group “Holger Danske”
richmond= south africa light. the city has had a long line of corrupt democrat mayors and city council, one of which is our current us senator the carpetbagging little weasel tim kaine. only now the competent engineers, operators, etc have retired and their replacements were hired by color rather than competence. it will go thirsty and soon go dark….we have forest fires here occasionally. history has shown that marauders will also burn what they cannot steal, so fire is a concern. lots of large extinguishers. i have been cutting back the larger trees, housekillers i call them. i have sprinklers for the wood decks, have metal roofs, a backup pump system and 1200 gallons of water. supplies are staged by the basement door, enough to live several months. i think we can be gone in 15 or 20 minutes, if the cats cooperate. i need to find that bolthole to evac to though. never be a refugee.
>>Harvesting Organs From Euthanasia Patients Before They’re Dead.<>DeSantis urges new Trump administration to relocate NASA headquarters from D.C. to Florida.”<>A lot depends on how much notice you have.<<
Scan your old photo albums and keep that back up somewhere safe. My house burned down (Feb 12th, 2021) & I grabbed my laptop as I went out into the snow barefoot. Fires can be quick! My back up was in my desk in the house that went away…
~~~
What if the California fires are a deliberate action by Al Qaeda/Isis? Would that be an act of war? Does your home owners insurance cover war/terrorism?
Terrorism? If Sarah Adams is correct, the Al Qaeda teams are headed to or are already here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T50pRCNaQCA
~~~
-sigh- it seems using the symbol “>” to mark a quote is not a good idea.. Learn something new every day…
Was that a failed attempt at HTML quotes. I am worthless trying to HTML anything online.
Have you read “The Attack” by Kurt Schlichter?
In Texas the government owns 2% of the land and brush is cleared at the owner’s expense. Ca is 45% owned by the government. Maybe they should just sell it all. Tom
Disaster prep: If you suffer a devastating fire loss, your insurance adjuster will tell you to submit a list of every single item in the house. What you should do is open every cabinet and drawer in your house (and garage, shop etc) and walk around slowly and narrate a video to document your possessions. Back this up on multiple flash drives and leave them with trusted friends/relatives at widely dispersed locations.
X2
X3
X4…completed on the important things…all in a fire pouch to be taken with.
X5
.
Same here, thanks to SLW’s “persuasion”.
Why were you in Starbucks?
Does LL have the purse?
Do you want to buy a purse, PaulM? A real man is comfortable in his masculinity and should be able to carry a woman’s purse…
While wearing a periwinkle shirt and skinny jeans. I would buy it but only if it held an almost filled Starbucks rewards card for my double chai soy latte.
I think Paul M was referring to grandmas coin purse. This is a family blog Paul M. What’s next Fannie packs, Zuba stripes and a Mr. Peanut monocle? You’re better than this Paul M.
Hahahahah. Sorry. But hey, I remember those little molded vinyl coin holders grandma used to have in her mondo “purse” (gobag)…loved those things. Is it a “purse” if it fits in yer pocket?
Real men can and do carry purses. Call it a ‘Messenger Bag’ if you will. Goes ll the way back to the Roman times. The Medieval version of a messenger bag is called… a purse.
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Or a powder bag. Like you can buy from any Frontier or Rev War outfitter. A little smaller than a medieval purse, but still holds lots. Doesn’t have to be patches, balls and powder packets or even percussion caps.
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Sailors have them, too. Those ‘quaint’ canvas tote bags for carrying stuff, some come with a shoulder strap, too. Basically, for a man, a… purse.
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Useless handbags, on the other hand, carried by women with tyrannosaurus arms (useless arms carried with upper arm against the body and lower arm pointed out at an almost 90 degree from the body with weak useless hands hanging down, you know, like on a T-Rex but unable to lift and hold the 500lbs each that T-Rex’s ‘useless’ arms could manage) are… useless. Bleh.
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Then there are the cross-strapped bags that some bike messengers use. Definitely manly. Especially if one is carrying Alaska fashion.
“Can money buy happiness?”
Years ago, I was on a 747 headed to England.
A guy was sitting up front with his redheaded wife asleep next to him. He was taking her home to Ireland.
There were about 10 of us on the plane. He caught my eye and smiled.
I went up and sat next to him and we talked about our trips.
I asked what he did.
He said he was in groceries.
I asked if he was Abner A. Wolf.
He said no. Abner was his competition. :)
I said it must be nice to be successful. He asked me what I thought success was.
I said “having enough money to take your pretty wife to Ireland for a vacation”.
He asked if I had ever heard of REDACTED Frozen Foods.
I said yes, I used to stock them in the grocery I worked at in high school.
I always thought of them as an old New England fishing family.
Marketing.
He knew Redacted.
The guy had been a drunk shrimp boat captain who was going broke as a shrimper.
He met a buyer in a bar and the buyer offered him a great price per pound, but no one was bringing in more than enough to pay wages and fuel.
The next day he realized he was not getting quota and he got on the radio and told all his friends to bring their catch to a certain pier for a certain price.
He went into business with the buyer, they bought a warehouse and a freezer, and eventually bought out his partner.
I told my seatmate that that was a great success story.
He replied that Redacted was on his third marriage, seeing a shrink, and still an alcoholic.
“Is that success?”
“Can money buy happiness?”
That story had it’s intended effect on me.
Wow Ed…a cautionary tale for sure.
Money may not buy happiness, but it sure makes being miserable more comfortable.
–
Wife and I were having to budget to the penny before her pension came in. A measly $1,100 a month addition meant we stopped sliding backwards and could move forwards. We could now afford luxuries like red meat, eggs, a new mattress, a larger refrigerator to replace the rapidly dying POS that was furnished with the apartment. Allowed us to not suffer during the no-deductible and the donut-hole periods of paying for meds. Allow us to afford the gluten-free flours and stuff for the Wife. Allowed me a candy bar as a treat once a week when shopping. Not having to juggle bills to afford food or to afford bills or to afford meds or to afford gas or to afford…
–
All that has reduced stress on us and allowed us to smile more knowing that the wolves are farther down the street than before.
–
Wait. Maybe money CAN buy happiness. Maybe it depends on one’s definition of ‘happiness.’
“Adding prudent steps you’ve taken and plans you have”
A friend of mine hosts an afternoon drive time show and he asked that question.
One guy called in and said that he didn’t have a garden or food storage but that he had a lot of guns and made a deal to protect his neighbors that didn’t, if they fed him.
I later called in and said that I had a lot of guns and my neighbors didn’t…
He asked me to finish the statement and I told him I had.
I forget who it was who said, “Humor is the best medicine.” or was it ammunition?
:)
Re disaster prep, have your important papers in a firebox or easily grabbable distinctive bag. And IF you have time, video each room. One of the issues for the insurance industry in Cali is due to CA laws, they cannot lay off insurance on the secondary market, but are forced to carry the entire costs. Homeowners insurance is a risk/reward for secondary market, if nothing happens, they make money. If something happens, they lose. I talked to my insurance agent last week and he said State Farm was losing an ‘average’ of $0.09 per dollar in Cali, which is not sustainable for a major market, and that was BEFORE the LA fires.
California wildfires: The government both federal and state have restricted companies and homeowners that there is no way to avoid the huge fires and the destruction they cause. Insurance companies are being driven out because of the rules and regulations. My sister-in-law’s insurance was cancelled and she now has to have the California fire insurance that won’t come close to being able to rebuild her humble abode of less than 1,000 square feet. Apparently, some insurance companies will give a discount if your place is modified per the firewise program.
I have doubts that even with the tremendous loss of homes and the cost to rebuild that anything of note will change in California.
As a note, I had to laugh at a comment by a homeowner in Prunedale who was able to retain his fire insurance by having a roof sprinkler system and a 30,000 gallon water tank. That is amazing.
Trump: I think he is having fun trolling like mad. His latest string of posts are amazing and the memes from those posts are really funny. However, some of the dour Democrats in D.C. are taking him seriously and told the news they were preparing for bills to stop Trumps intended crazy purchases, such as Iceland, before they came to fruition.
Foam systems are handy to have, if we self insure I might get one, even if it helps stave off a fast running grass fire for a few hours (we have open pasture and trees and granite outcroppings, plus road breaks)…that and a generator running the well pump and hoses might do the trick for the immediate defensible areas. If it’s looking overwhelming, like massive crown fires, we’ll bug out beforehand…we’re no good dead.
Now I know what “Imperator! Ave Donaldus Maximus” (h/t MikeC) really means: “PDJT, The Human Molotov Cocktail We’ve All Been Waiting For”. Good to know. 8 days…still too much time for the cretins, cheats, and nimrods to muck up the works.
***
State Farm got back to me, re: 69% Homeowners rate hike from last year: a) The Marxist State of Colorado told insurance companies they have to raise Homeowners premiums 13% (huh?), b) the remainder was State Farm making up for losses and hedging their bets for their Board and Stockholders. Our rural area was reclassified for fire using SF’s new actuarial tables that jacked the rate 56%, despite solid defensible space, log home, metal roof, metal outbuildings, etc. The rate hike is unsustainable for many people…what’s stopping them from doing it again next year, or worse, dropping everyone altogether. It’s a clear grift. Our agent gal was furious as the “company man” she spoke with was unsympathetic, basically said “tough darts”. When I asked “can we forgo fire coverage” she said SF disallows that (double huh?). In other words they have a captive customer base by the short ones and don’t care about you (like the government). Their ads are propaganda.
–
This will occur all over the USA from every insurance company. I hope every major insurance company goes out of business once people wake up. We are thinking of self insuring, dropping the Homeowners altogether…if the place burns to the ground we won’t rebuild, we’ll sell the land.
***
Preps: Aside from the other stated precautions we too have an enclosed trailer (2 if you count the 3horse slant with tack area), plus the ‘56 Shasta camper, we can bug out and be just fine for a few weeks if need be. So far haven’t had a major wildfire within 50 miles in 25 years, small lightening strikes are handled “locally” when they are tiny and manageable. We all keep a watchful nose, usually woken up at 3am with any hint of smoke. Time for We The People to force the hand back to reasonable, assuming that’s possible.
Dropped State Farm when they started going DEI. Went with a large regional company that only operates east of the Mississippi. While I doubt the California DEI Flammenwerfer will affect my rates too much, I suspect that other financial fun-and-games will be dipping into my wallet.
Corporate insurance coupled to State-level “K-Street” types is a scam with the customer at the bottom of the pig pile getting suffocated. Sent SF a “Contact Us” request for “clarification from the corporate office”. Hit “Send Form”…got this: “We’re sorry, your request cannot be processed at this time.” Tried again, same “error message”. Cowards. Currently working on research to find some other firm that actually wants my business without strangling the patient gasping for air.
Wasn’t that Henkel in the Indiana Jones movie ,,where the big bald German was kickin indies ass till the prop caught him.
You’re thinking of the flying wing that was going to have the Ark of the Covenant loaded into the bomb bay. The plane was loosely based on some Arado designs that would have been about as good to fly as Northrop’s pre-modern flying wings. In other words, would have flown great until it didn’t and that ‘didn’t’ would have little margin for error.
–
The Germans really did love pushing the tech envelop. Sadly, that Germany seems to have died under the knife of the muslim guest workers.
A few quick comments on brush fires and homes to better prep.
*
The soffit facia vent into the attic is a very common fire entrance. The flames simply pour in heat or direct flame. That’s why don’t have shrubs or wood decks, wood porches, near the walls to provide more fuel under the soffit vent. Your sprinklers need to wet that area down. Even just the high heat up flowing and in is enough to lite off the attic inside.
*
Next incredibly is the fireplace chimney, sewer, and stove vents. The burning embers tumble in. Make them ember resistant with elbows or fire screens. Plastic pipes for vents melt quickly and touch off. Now you’ve fire inside attic or wall.
*
Third is the fire blows out a window or door. You’d be surprised how easy it is for fire to break a window. They make wind and heat resistant windows and doors.
*
Last was the actual exterior roof burning thru to inside.
Using less- and non-flammable sidings and roofing and eave materials helps, a lot, to cut down the fire risk of one’s property. Things like Hardy-board and other cement-based claddings, metal roofing (not all comes in long sheets, some is pressed into looking like shingles or other styles.)
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Just getting away from wood and asphalt will make your abode a heckuva lot safer.
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As to windows, metal ‘hurricane’ shutters, either panels or rolling style, will also help fight fires by protecting the window frames and keeping the glass from melting.
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And, yeah, clearing away brush and debris away from the abode, which apparently is against the law in Califrutopia, will greatly increase survival. Clearing away dead trees, having a ‘fish pond’ or a swimming pool as a water source (and the pump and hose to go with it…) helps, too.
>believing that the stripper likes you.
Well, to be fair, the stripper MAY actually like you. But it’s still a cash-transaction relationship.
—
> the vilest of crimes are deemed less [important] than maintaining a false narrative about an entire group
I’m assuming this refers to the Pakistani rape gangs in the UK. Fair enough. But we have multiple groups in the US in particular, and in the fallen West generally, who are protected from Noticing Out Loud. The mug shots of the Paki rapists look like they are dysgenic retards with IQ’s in the 80s or below, so they’ll never make it on their own without political top cover, but if they had triple digit IQs and a talent for manipulation of public opinion they could probably make themselves out to be the Real Victims.
—
Zuckerberg: So the guy was on Rogan. They’re going to replace politically biased fact checkers (he was shocked, simply shocked to find gambling at Rick’s) with community notes. Just like Elon. He wasn’t just taking leaves out of Elon’s book, he was copying the whole thing. He whined about how Facebook was pressured by the Biden administration (which he helped bigly in “electing”). He spent the entire interview acting as if stuff Just Happened to Meta (and to him personally), and he was some sort of innocent but paralyzed bystander, horrified at what was happening, but unable to do anything about it. Zuck was playing the innocent victim card awfully hard. How can a man like that be trusted? That was of course rhetorical. He cannot be trusted.
https://youtu.be/nONHwzt7fCk?si=3r2sgQY_JarkagGS
—
And what’s with the new look? He went from the cropped-hair lizard person look (no, not a coded Hate Term; with his long, pale, curiously expressionless face, he did appear curiously reptilian) to growing out his ‘fro and now with the gold necklace that supposedly has some Hebrew poem he used to read to his daughter on it? Is he angling for a role in some bad 1980’s teen schlock movie? Because he’s starting to look like the negative stereotype of the sleazy two-bit Hollywood producer. If he was a negro it’d be as if he had a Hendrix-fro and was dressed in a dashiki with fist in the air babbling about “Black Power, baby!” You know Zuckerberg has image consultants up the wazoo; this cannot be by accident. So what is he signaling? Is he warning the rest of us that he is of a special class and not to be touched? [1] Or is he pleading for help by telegraphing “Hey, I’m one of YOU!” It’s all very strange.
—
[1] [the Mouth of Sauron] quailed and gave back as if menaced with a blow. ‘I am a herald and ambassador, and may not be assailed!’ he cried.
The stripper or whore may actually like you. May even love you. But do you really want to be virally and genetically connected to dozens if not hundreds of other people?
I vastly enjoyed that visit and look forward to another; perhaps DLC Command will descend upon the Mogollon Rim unless, of course, it’s destroyed by fire. Speaking of which, how will anyone be able to rebuild in LA, unless they’re stratospherically wealthy. Perhaps that’s the point.
I did that when I was about 12 years old. I used the “Bangsite” (Calcium Carbide) from my Big Bang cannon to make acetylene, and YOW….it went BANG about as big as his did.
.
Oh, and I used about three feet of my fuse wick to set it off. I may have been reckless, but I wasn’t STOOPID!
.
I Fermi actually said “Where Are They?”, which became Fermi’s Paradox.
.
Trudeau has a spine? I thought he was 100% gall….
.
All Kali needs now is a 8.5 along the San Andreas….
DrJim as a kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8vHhgh6oM0
*I freely admit to setting the [unfinished] basement on fire from a knocked over Bunsen burner when trying a – not in the kid-level manual – “experiment” with my Sears Deluxe Chemistry Set, something about making…uhh…well…never mind. Mom opens the door, “I smell something, everything okay down there?”, Me: “Yup! Nothing to worry about.” Another time I popped the circuit breaker “doing an electrical thing”…Dad opens the basement door, “Your mother is making dinner up here and needs power, do I need to come down there?” Me: “No…I got it [flips breaker]. I was 8. Yeah, a precursor of things to come.
Some day I’ll tell the story of blowing out the basement window in the laundry room when I made Hydrogen…..
I made a pulse jet out of a 55 gallon drum.
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Fill it with a little gasoline.
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Open both bung holes on the top.
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Think, this is stupid, must not do, turn barrel on side, fill with a couple gallons of water.
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Think this is taking too long, toss in a burning match.
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Blast, intake, blast, intake, blast, intake, blast, intake…. and the 55 gallon barrel scoots about 4-5 inches per blast. Hey, now that I think of it it’s more like a gas-powered Orion Drive.
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11 at the time.
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Of course the reason for putting gas in a 55 gallon drum was to make it the secondary explosive to the home-made black powder me and the other kids were making (and, from the library, learned how to ‘corn’ black powder so it wouldn’t separate and to control the burn rate.)
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How I survived to adulthood is something that I wonder every day. But I wouldn’t have given up all that stupid carp as it gave me the foundation to be who I am today.
I have read all the excellent planning and preparation suggestions above, and I am grateful for the insights they provide. I would like to point out that if you closely examine the apocalyptic war zone-like images we have seen over the past week, you will notice that some mansions remain intact while everything around them is charred or burned to the ground. Some of these mansions share a few common features. They all have moats around them, like castles from medieval times. The moats serve as natural fire breaks and defense systems. Some mansions even have multiple moats or breaks that are spread apart like concentric circles around the perimeter of the property. Given the geographical environment these people chose to live in, it makes sense, and they still have a home to return to. This is just an observation. Oh, and there is this on X that was released about eight hours ago. It may have been taken down.
https://x.com/BeniOren1/status/1877090448876953904
The post is gone. However, yes, those facilities with land and possibly their own underground water storage tanks, sprinklers, metal roofs and preparations were more likely to survive. The homes that were close to each other were far less likely to make it. Defense in depth.
one old guy stayed back and saved his house and a couple of his closest neighbor’s homes with a garden hose. he said he watched the ones that burned start with just a little ember, not a wall of flame. he put all that he could reach out and saved the structures.