Caption: Artwork from Jules.
Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) Covers the Stones
Is Anybody Out There?
(Nautilus) The plus or minus values on the final product resulting from this formula are gigantic, and the “solution” to the Drake equation has been determined to be between 1,000 and 100,000,000 advanced civilizations in our galaxy (not 42, as Douglas Adams fans might have expected). While the size of this range is quite absurd, even the lower-end estimate of 1,000 suggests that we should have heard from someone by now. The fact that we haven’t encountered anyone is known as the “Fermi paradox.”
Bringing a geologic perspective to the problem, Stern and Gerya propose to resolve the paradox by adding two more factors to the already unwieldy Drake equation: the fraction of habitable planets with distinct continents and oceans; and the fraction of those planets with a plate tectonic system that has operated for at least 500 million years. The values of these terms are minimal, they argue, because the development of distinct landmasses and water bodies, and the tectonic habit of crustal recycling—characteristics of Earth that we take for granted—are unlikely outcomes in the evolution of rocky planets.
With these new factors, the number of advanced civilizations in our galaxy that might communicate with us falls to … almost zero.
Do you Hate Elon?
The Left’s hate for Elon Musk seems to be increasing rapidly every day. In Congress, certain Democrat politicians question Musk’s intentions since he is an immigrant. By usual leftist standards, that would make one “xenophobic” and “nativist” to think this way, but that logic doesn’t apply to Musk argues Victor Davis Hanson.
The Civil War in Sudan
Dubai
Dubai’s once-idyllic expat lifestyle has become unattainable for many as costs rise and salaries stagnate. An influx of more than 400,000 expats since the pandemic has made the labor market more competitive, dragging down wages and benefits even for top jobs, according to Bloomberg. Employers don’t expect to offer UAE workers a pay bump this year.
According to real estate consultancy JLL, villa rents have nearly doubled, while apartment prices have risen 66%. This has forced many to consider commuting from neighboring Sharjah or even Ras Al Khaimah, 120 kilometers away. Dubai is now the Middle East’s most expensive city for international employees, ranking 15th globally, according to consultancy Mercer.
The dream, however, is still alive for the rich. Around 800 millionaires left Britain for the UAE last year, drawn by low taxes and luxury lifestyles, while significant numbers of wealthy Germans are also considering the move. Real estate developers are struggling to meet demand for high-end homes, with $100 million listings rising.
Bullet Points:
** China recently boasted that it’s ready for war with the United States. The US said, “Bring it,” but are we prepared for nuclear combat with the Yellow Menace – because that’s what it would be. 60% of the aircraft in the USAF are ready to fly…
** Looking for American traitors – Recent U.S. intelligence indicates that foreign adversaries, including China and Russia, have accelerated efforts to recruit disgruntled federal workers in national security roles, CNN reported last week. Russia and China are directing their efforts toward recently dismissed employees with security clearances and probationary workers facing termination because of their potential access to sensitive information, sources told the outlet. At least two nations have already launched recruitment websites and are reaching out to federal employees on LinkedIn.
** 
Hunter Biden says his art sales plunged since dad left White House, bemoans LA wildfires — as he claims he’s broke in bombshell legal filing https://trib.al/4qXB88C So the big money that Hunter Biden racked up selling his artwork, was only a mechanism to bribe old Pedo Joe. Who would have thought that?
** Mexico has more serious problems than a tariff war with the United States. For their own sake, they need to get this cancer on their society under control and eradicated. I am sure we would be happy to help if they would let us. Mexico Vacation: The Antidote for Civilization… Of course, the drug cartels are the government of Mexico, so there you are.
** A man who doesn’t say a word after being disrespected is a man you should fear.
** Hunters – the best camouflage is “sit down and be quiet.” Remember that your grandpa hunted wearing a red plaid coat. Hunt deer where they are and not where you imagine them to be. – Fred Bear
I live at the White Wolf Mine in the Coconino National Forest. To the south of me is the Apache Sitgraves National Forest. This is where I live. A friend came up hunting elk and asked me where to hunt. I live here. I know where the best hunting is, but I didn’t send him there. I sent him to the second best place. I know where the elk are. They’re creatures of habit and there are hidden springs here in the mountains. They hang out at the springs (which is also a good place to look for gold). The springs are just that. The water comes out of the ground but doesn’t travel anywhere. Maybe you can call them seeps. He didn’t get an elk. I asked him where he went – he didn’t go where I told him to go. So I smiled. He stayed for a hot bowl of chili and a hot fresh scone.
Arizona Plant
Peyote, scientifically known as Lophophora williamsii, is a small, spineless cactus native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, revered for its psychoactive properties.
This unassuming cactus grows slowly, taking over 30 years to mature and flower, thriving in limestone soils and desert scrublands at altitudes between 100 to 1,500 meters. Its above-ground section, the “corona,” consists of disk-shaped buttons that contain mescaline, a compound responsible for its psychedelic effects. Peyote flowers, which bloom during the day, range in color from white and pink to yellowish and reddish, producing fleshy pink fruits that dry into a brownish-white hue, containing tiny black seeds.
Peyote’s psychoactive properties stem from mescaline, a compound chemically similar to dopamine. When ingested, mescaline interacts with 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, producing its renowned hallucinogenic effects, though its potency is less than that of LSD. A typical psychoactive dose is approximately 5 mg per kg of body weight, with each button containing about 45 mg of mescaline. Effects typically begin 30 minutes after oral ingestion, offering vivid visual and emotional experiences often described as transcendent.
Occasionally, these articles are featured on VM to engage you more closely with Arizona culture.
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Visits
Sometimes people visit me at the White Wolf Mine. Sometimes they don’t. I travel quite a bit so it can be like trying to hit a moving target. Occasionally they bring goodies. I have no idea why but they do and they’re always appreciated. A friend I haven’t seen for a long time came by on his way from here to there. He said that he was working for Geissele Automatics and brought me a Super Duty MOD1 SBR, 13.9″ (desert tan) 5.56MM – DDC. It was still in the box, still in plastic. He thought that it might be a nice addition to my collection. Since we hadn’t crossed paths since Navy days, I wondered how he could have been so prescient. He was absolutely correct. Would a thousand rounds of green tip be useful too? Why yes, they would be.
Now I must decide on a sight and a sling for the rifle. I thought I’d put the matter to you, dear readers. I’m thinking about the AimPoint Patrol Rifle Optic. Do you have any thoughts on that? What about sling options?
Some of you will recall that terrible boating accident that left me completely disarmed…
***
Are you Ready to Retire?
A lot depends on your standard of living and your dependants. The chart above is wildly inaccurate IMHO. Living on $32K annually in Arizona today would be nearly impossible. I know some people do it and may God bless and keep them, but no. Inflation would turn your nest egg into a sucking black hole over 32 years. I recall the day you’d strut if you had twenty dollars in your pocket. Now you can buy a burger combo and maybe add a gallon of gas with the change.
Identify the Aircraft
1
I know it’s too EZ but I like the photo.
2
Two Photos – four built
3
1180 built
End
Forget the Drake Equation.
Let’s generalize and extrapolate from human beings. (Because as movies and TV have taught us, 95% of aliens are built very much like us, except for different noses and eyebrows. Anyway…) We’ve been “detectable” for what, under 200 years? And we’re going to destroy ourselves (at least as a detectable technological civilization) in a few decades due to:
1. Nuclear war
2. The global warmening
3. Bioengineered infectious diseases
(A doomsday scenario for over 90% of people across political spectrum. The VM commentariat is nothing if not inclusive of diversity of opinion.)
—
TL;DR
Plenty of civilizations arise. But their temporal overlap is small, because any technologically advanced race rapidly returns itself to sticks and rocks. Or completely eradicates itself.
re Drake:
Also consider that a rotating molten/semimolten core that generates a radiation protecting field is needed.
But the biggest problem is that 2 intelligent societies must occur at the same moment in time and be close enough to each other. How long does a civilization exist that is capable of interstellar comms?
You need the rotating molten core and moon that’s large enough to keep it churned up – but not to large, tectonic plates to subduct carbon, the “right” distance from the star to provide heat, not so much junk in the solar system so you have a lot of impacts – large gas planets in the outer solar system to vacuum up comets and rocks, enough water, not too much dust in the path of the star that will block out its light or vary what strikes the planet too much, the star has to be third generation or older to have enough heavy elements to allow for a civilization to build things, and in our case, the planet must have aged to allow for petrochemicals to have formed. In our case, the presence of crude oil and natural gas has allowed us to make that hundred year leap from 1925 to 2025. Compare the world of 1825 to the world of 2025.
Pretty sure we’re it…despite it appearing to us “that’s a big waste of space”.
Drake Equation is GIGO.
*
We’ll have to actually get out there to have any reasonable data to input,
and there’s an excellent chance that’ll never happen.
– Kle.
Fine Tuned Universe.
The Privileged Planet.
But I always carry a towel. Just in case….
I have a towel signed by Douglas Adams.
Brought it to a book signing (where you were supposed to buy his latest book). The bookshop was not particularly amused, but Adams was delighted. This was, good gods, over 40 years ago. 😳
And that’s one reason to always carry a towel.
The B-52 is a BIG airplane! Have a good Friday.
Mexico is run by organized crime. I consider the country an enemy of the United States. My suggestion on how to deal with the problem is harsh, and without dealing with the problem, the United States is in more danger than most people are willing to consider. While the majority of the citizens of Mexico are good people, those in power are ruthless, dangerous, and have contaminated U.S. society with their operatives.
Guessing PDJT has a plan to do what you suggest, said as much by classifying Cartels as terrorist organizations. The man clanks when he walks. SISU MAGA in action.
1 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress as above
2 Sukhoi T-4
Yes
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Boeing B-52
2. Sukhoi T-4
3. Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer
Very good!
Your choice of optic is good. There is also the MRO.
I prefer the Blue Force Gear Vickers sling. It is a 2 point sling and has a quick sliding adjustment to change from tight fit to quickly loosen to get the rifle into action. I have used them in 3 gun matches for many years.
how are comments showing two days before the post?
Must be the miracle of Daylight Saving Time!
.
Sorry. Just kidding, I hadn’t even noticed the first couple of comments are dated Friday.
The NSA is messing with everyone.
Last FRIDAY, I was putting today’s blog together and inadvertently published the incomplete version – and people commented. I then unpublished and set it to publish on Sunday as originally planned. EdB called me on it yesterday – and I won’t get in the weeds on it. But that’s how it happened. Nothing mysterious besides my inept work.
While I was joking about the NSA, we the reader figured it was something goofy like that…but you”inept”? Nah, just a techno error. Heck, I sometimes need a sticky on the door to keep me from forgetting the thing I shouldn’t forget before walking out to the pickup. Lists and notes are my friend.
thought there was a glitch in the matrix. my bad. carry on.
RR…how would one know these days?
I wasn’t ready to retire, but the 3rd generation kiddies who run things now thought I was so here I am.
.
I’ve never run anything but a Blue Force Vickers sling and some form of Aimpoint on car-beans. The T-series are nice, but they’re roughly twice the cost of the Patrol optic. I was thinking about maybe one of the Meprolight products next time around, but don’t really know anything about them other than seeing some Israeli troops running them. May be this one, I dunno:
.
https://www.eurooptic.com/Meprolight-RDS-PRO-V2-Green-22-MOA-Bullseye-Military-Grade-Reflex-Sight-ML68503.aspx
+1 on the Blue Force Vickers. I’d avoid the Meprolight M21. While they’re rugged and reliable as well as battery free, they do tend to wash out when shooting from a dark area into a bright one.
West Virginians are not gonna like the map. Mike over at Outdoors With The Morgans (Butler, PA…yeah, he was there, 75 ft off the stage) has a recent video on said subject as their property started at $100/acre for his grandparents, went to $3k per acre 30 years back when they bought, and now – because of developers buying farms and land tracts – is now $20k per acre for undeveloped land, which is insane. Of course this causes the nebulous “valuations” at the local assessors office to increase accordingly…because they have given themselves authority to do so, which he said is causing harm to legacy property owners, some right out of their semi rural properties. The Morgan’s have a cabin on land in WV, a few hours away…and he speaks about how it is still affordable. How long will that last once the hoards “discover” WV, driving up prices?
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Surprised at Montana…but Colorado has to be fewer than shown with their latest enhanced takings tactics as defined by those who think we work for them. Worse is California… voters- who apparently enjoy self-flogging their dwindling on hand cash – passed another .5% increase in state income tax (now 10.5%). Can’t fix anything in a state run by [I’ll be nice since it’s Sunday] the self deluded who think giving more of their money to wasteful incompetents is a good idea.
***
Musk/Dems- Dems and their pals on The Left have no rudder, they are now saying and promoting the exact opposite from six months ago (if that). But it is [sorta] fun to watch them self-immolate realtime. The ones “retiring” after decades of spouting one thing or another, leaving while the gettin is good, showcase their fickle cowardice.
***
“A man who doesn’t say a word after being disrespected is a man you should fear.”: Rewatch “SISU”…you can see this axiom depicted in realtime, as we, the viewer, anticipate what might happen when someone with skills or enough angst is pushed too far.
What is with this metric stuff? You are forcing me to use tables and calculators. The only metric value I keep in my head is 100km=62mph. Canada, eh.
The military uses the metric system. Sometimes I revert. Mia culpa.
The metric equivalent I know best:
10mm socket = lost.
hahahahahahaha
But sometimes not always forever…cleaning the Shop and I found not one but TWO 10mm sockets. Shoulda played the lottery.
😂
Here’s an amazing device that fits both metric and S.A.E. (Society of Automotive Engineers).
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https://www.crescenttool.com/all-tools/construction-hand-tools/adjustable-wrenches
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Aka, the Tijuana Socket Set.
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Hiding under desk now.
As a Texas Native (TM) those are known as an Oklahoma Socket Set where I came from.
we call it a carolina speed wrench.
Do those wrenches come in both metric and SAE? Are Whitworth available?
Meters to yards, add 10% to be close. Multiply meters by 1.094 to be closer.
Thots. Obviously mine are based on me–my location, my age, my eyeballs.
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Geissele. That’s a very nice rig. Back when I was in the business, I installed a number of Geissele triggers for my customers. My two front line AR’s have Geissele SSA triggers. Geissele’s customer service and support for their products is second to none. I have a story about that for later.
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Optics. I have settled on an LPVO, the Burris RT-6. Set at 1X, there is a lot of cross over with a red dot sight. We live at the bottom end of a short cul-de-sac. My longest line of sight is about 130 yards. Still, I just feel sorta nekid without some sort of magnification ability. Also like the fact that the reticle is etched in the glass. At night for example, if I get blasted with car headlights, the reticle will be backlit, but I can still see it. Also have a set of Troy BUIS because I like the HK profile front sight.
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Sling. I went with the Magpul MS1. With it’s 1-1/4″ width and softer material, it is quite comfortable. I shied away from slings with sewn on adjustment loops/tabs. I was concerned about fumbling for the loop and/or it getting snagged on something. I know there are a lot of folks out there who run them just fine. I’ll allow that maybe I’m just getting fussy in my old age.
—
Another thing that bugged me with most other slings is that to loosen them, you pull towards your body, away from the gun. Not a big deal, but still an extra motion. With the Magpul sling, I discovered that I could re-thread it through the adjustment slider so that the loosening motion is reversed, towards the gun.
“thot” inner-city-ism for “that ho over there”. A promiscuous (or at least not very particular) woman.
I’m surprised it’s not “dhod” for “dat ho ober dere”.
I denounce myself :-(
Forgot to add–this video convinced me to use a 50/200 yard zero. Only thing not mentioned is what ammo he is using.
——
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFbpjNh4DBA
RHY447,
This video by Travis is an updated version of his take on zeroing.
https://youtu.be/bN3UTvR0lP0?si=RTF6UMpuVAcIfJhh
Good stuff. Thanks.
Sling-
If you’re going with an AR platform, I would go with the Vickers Combat Application Sling or (VCAS). The sling has a quick-adjuster, allowing you to quickly transition from carrying a slung rifle comfortably to a combat-ready position. I’ve’ used it with a variety of weapons, including AR-15s, SMGs, and other carbines. Last but not least I’ve used it in a variety of AOs, and it’s survived the rigors of combat and has never failed me. Hope this helps. Happy hunting and STA lethal!
https://www.blueforcegear.com/slings/weapon-slings.html
Since the gat was a gift i would up the anti on the Aimpoint and go with the Micro T2. I agree as above with the Vickers being gtg and will add Specter-gear as they make good 2 point quick adjust slings as well and they are made right in Visalia Cal. Just curious how long does take these days to get that SBR tax stamp( permission slip)?
I’m not a big fan of battery anything, so I’d go with an ACOG and a Vickers tactical two point sling. Re Mexico, turn the Mexican Marines loose and go behind them and take out the ‘dead’ trash.
I knew I liked you, Old+NFO! When all else fails (and it often does), there are always iron sights. Are you flying much these days?
While I’m normally a fan of PMJB, that one left me feeling as if they were trying too hard.
Peyote- Curious who in history thought “Gee, wonder what will happen if I munch on one of these weird looking cactus?” Not me. However, if it leads to further enlightenment peering past the veil maybe Colorado will sanction it as a legal herb that can be had at your local RecMed next to the MaryJane…and people will wake up from their slumber and see reality.
That part of the world, someone who was desperate enough for food that they went “No spines. If it doesn’t kill me, it’ll be easier to harvest than some of the other cactus…”
There had to be somebody who tried it first – and then took it back to the sweat lodge.
I’m with NFO, ACOG. Nice Julian watercolor.
The Drake Equation – ‘Proving’ that extra-terrestrial life exist because it must. And the people who believe this equation say that belief in Jesus Christ’s existence is stupid because fairy tail and such (even though there’s lots of evidence, from the time period, that Jesus did exist.)
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As to Life on Earth.
1. Right type of Sun.
2. Massive gas giants in the inner planetary band that clean out all the garbage.
3. Massive gas giants that move to the outer orbital bands and then serve as ‘incoming’ comet/rock interceptors.
4. A massive semi-planet-sized moon that affects the tides and tectonic activity.
5. A rocky planet with enough water to cover most of the surface.
6. A molten inner core that serves to make a radiation belt thus protecting the planet from harmful space rays.
7. A perfect gravity. Seriously, too heavy and it makes it hard for life-chemicals to mix and combine. Same with too light gravity. 1G is about perfect…
8. And on and on…
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The miracle is that life is found here on Earth.
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Find any solar system outside of this one that meets the requirements. The scientific probability is nigh unto zero.