In General, Dropping the Atom Bomb Was a Great Idea... It FIXED the Bad Attitude of the Japanese Emperor and Military... At The Beginning of World War Two they wanted to conquer the World and Crown Themselves The Ultimate King & His Samurai Warriors... after a Couple of Atom Bombs they decided to Make Great Cars, Motorcycles and Electronic Equipment Instead... AHH SO! MUCH GOODIE FOR YANKS! Freaking Fixed their Bad Attitude!
another Part of World War Two History that is Often Misinterpreted... NONE of the Japanese Americans that were relocated to Internment Camps ACTUALLY COMMITTED SABOTAGE... The Camps Worked! We Defended the USA from Attack! Would they have done Damage if left free to roam? We will never Know BUT... Locking 'em Up WORKED GREAT!
Physics has given us the #1 Stupidest Idea in the History of the Universe... and #2 and #3 as Well... Read More:
#1: The Atom Bomb... a Machine That Could End all life on Earth... Pretty Damn Idiotic... Maybe the 17 Year Cicadas would Survive... If the Earth has Nuclear Winter for a Hundred Thousand Years, and then Springtime... The Cicadas Could Come out... and It's Likely that they will Survive... a Pretty Bleak Future... Did you know that the USA Blew up over A HUNDRED ATOM BOMBS IN NEVADA and Two in Japan... and We Were NOT at War with Nevada... Crazy! and the Fallout Nuked the Entire Eastern Half of the USA...
#2: Atomic Power Plants... They Create Nuclear Waste that has to be Stored Safely for Thousands of Years AND Has to Be Guarded all that time to prevent Terrorists from Creating a Dirty Bomb. However, Every Year there are Fewer and Fewer Nuclear Power plants because the Engineers at Power Companies all say NO NUKES! Then Shut 'em Down and Refuse to Build New Ones... PG&E, SoCal Edison and SMUD Have All Gone Solar... And the Very Last Nuclear Power Plant in California is Scheduled to Be Closed... Diablo Canyon Goes BYE BYE!
#3: The Hydrogen Bomb... All the Insanity of the Atom Bomb but EVEN WORSE!
"Everybody" Says that Einstein was a Genius... However, His Great ideas all ended in Disaster! OOPS!
However, Physics also gave us Electricity... and That's Great! Tesla's Alternating Current is installed in Every Home Worldwide... except in the "Third World" - and We Are Glad...
I'm using AC Right Now!
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and Here is a Blog Post on a the same subject that I Wrote Years Ago...
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Top 10 Stupidest Ideas Ever...
and the 10 Greatest Ideas...
Top 10 Stupidest Ideas Ever... #1 Atomic Power, Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs #2 War in Vietnam #3 Prohibition of Marijuana #4 War in Iraq #5 War in Afghanistan #6 Electoral College #7 Slavery #8 Trickle Down Economics #9 Corporate Welfare Subsidies #10 Making gasoline out of OIL instead of Hemp
#11 NSA Spying on Americans #12 The Patriot Act #13 Hotels not having a thirteenth floor because it would be un-lucky... #14 Gas powered Leaf Blowers
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Top 10 Greatest Ideas EVER... #1 Fire #2 The Wheel #3 The Internet #4 Sex #5 Solar Power #6 Majority Rule #7 The Check #8 Anti-War Protest Marches #9 The number zero #10 Electricity
#11 Filming the Police and putting it on Youtube... #12 Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.net, Arcsoft Photostudio... and all those other photo programs... #13 WINPLOT, Google Sketchup... #14 The Telephone #15 The answering machine... for call screening... Caller ID. #16 Bubble-UP Economics
What IS "Bubble-UP Economics" and how does it work? Simply put, increase minimum wage and all those workers will have more money to spend at American Businesses. The increased sales will cause a need to hire more workers. The increased profits will cause more money to be paid in taxes and increased earnings by stockholders. Everyone WINS.
We have tried "Trickle Down Economics" for decades and it has clearly failed. Why not try something different? I have found that when I try something and it fails, and then I try the same thing and it fails again and the it continues to fail for the third, fourth and fifth time... It's time to notice the trend and try something different. DUH.
How to dispose of Atomic Waste:
Step 1: DO NOT MAKE ANY MORE...
Step 2: Encase in Lead and Glass
Step 3: Dump in the Ocean Far away from the shore.
Radioactive waste has to be stored Safely SOMEWHERE on Earth for 3 Billion Years.
It has to be far away from People, Animals, Fish and itself...
A Man Lived in a room that had a Coin Operated Heater. He Would Put a Shilling in the Machine, turn the handle and the heater would run for a few Hours... So... Since he Often Did Not Have Money... He made a coin shaped mold on the windowsill outdoors and filled it with water... When it Froze, he put the coin shaped ice into the machine and "bought" heat for a few hours... Then the Fake Coin melted removing all evidence of the Crime...
If you remember the name of this Famous Old Time Tale please Leave a Comment or email me at gregvan [at] yahoo [dot] com.
When walking down “Main Street” at the new Vigo County History Center, you will pass the Wabash Theater, Meis Department Store and a general store. Next you will notice a set of wrought iron stairs from Terre Haute Gas Company. The beauty you see sitting on the stairs is a gas meter, made by American Meter Company and “established” in 1834 in New York City. The company made its presence in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. This particular model seems to have been manufactured in Philly.
What makes this piece very interesting to us, is that it was coin-operated. Much like a jukebox or slot machine, you paid as you played.
I stayed for a week in a furnished London flat in 1995. It had a wall mounted combi gas boiler for DHW and central heat.
One morning we had no heat or hot water and could not light the boiler. My traveling companion was steaming and wanted to call the rental agent. I said “Wait a sec, let me check something”.
The gas meter, behind an access panel in the kitchen, had a mag stripe card slot. The LCD display read “£0.0”.
There was a new card sitting on top of the meter. I stuck it in, heard a click and the display read “£50.0”. Presto! Back in business.
Saved by the habit of reading old English novels. That’s where I found out about coin operated gas meters. Since the temperature there almost never drops below freezing, they don’t have to worry about frozen pipes.
SOG Said:
I actually used to have one on display in my office at the gas company. One of the interesting things about those meters they typically worked with nickels. So for those clever folks who wanted to steal gas they made them selves little trays the shape of nickels filled them with water and froze them. They then used the frozen nickel shaped fake coins to get the meters to work. The old timers would know the customers were stealing gas because instead of finding coins in the meter they found "WATER".
- Pogo Comic Strip
Deck us all with Boston Charlie
Walla walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!
Nora's freezin' on the trolley
Swaller dollar cauliflower alley'garoo!
Don't we know archaic barrel
Lullaby lilla boy, Louisville Lou?
Trolley Molly don't love Harold
Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo!
You know how I told all of you about the annual Christmas tradition at my house. The one where Gini asks me what I want for Christmas and I always answer "World Peace" and every year she gets me lots of nice presents, but as of yet no "World Peace"
Well I was thinking today and I figured something out.
My very sneaky wife has, with a group of very dedicated people been investing in a project to promote "World Peace". Everytime she and this dedicated group walk into their classrooms they invest their time and their knowledge to train the next generation to think,to care and to love. Love knowledge,love learning and especially to love one another. So I may not live to see world peace, but I can rest easier knowing that she has invested so wisely in my sincere Christmas wish.
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Remembering my childhood Christmas | The Merry Mantonian
Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Jumada Al-Akhirah, and Festivus — for the rest of us. Since we have been airing grievances all year, we can move right on to the feats of strength.
What – you’re not familiar with Festivus? It falls on Dec. 23 every year to “get a leg up on Christmas” according to its creator, Frank Costanza, played to perfection by Jerry Stiller on Seinfeld. Frank got fed up with the commercial and religious aspects of Christmas, so he made up an alternative.
There are many rituals to observe when celebrating Festivus. Instead of a glittering Christmas tree, a plain aluminum pole is erected. There are no presents. A clock is put in a bag and nailed to the wall. The traditional feast is meatloaf on a bed of lettuce. The airing of grievances involves telling everyone else at the table how they have disappointed you over the past year. The feats of strength occur during dinner, and Festivus is over when the head of the household is pinned.
Your family probably has its own holiday traditions, lovingly carried on and shared with the younger generations, who will in turn teach your descendants even though they gave you some serious eye rolls during the teen years.
Our family was no different. My dad’s side of the family was run by my grandmother and her three sisters, all of whom lived within a couple of miles of us in the Bronx. Two of the sisters had remained single and lived together, while Grandma and the other sister had husbands and adult-ish children, of whom my dad was the oldest.
The single gals, Great Aunts Willie and Corrie, were the best babysitters. Being childfree, they loved to spoil the kids and grandkids of their sisters. They owned a two-story duplex with an actual backyard – rare for the Bronx. There was an apartment-sized stand-alone freezer in the kitchen which was full of every frozen confection one could imagine and was always the first stop when we got to Willie and Corrie’s. There were also beautiful glass bowls of M&Ms and other candies adorning every surface in the house. It was awesome.
All four sisters were dancers and showgirls back in the roaring 20s, as were their mother and her sisters before them, but by the time I was born, they had settled into more grownup careers.
Aunt Corrie was the wardrobe mistress for George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and my big sister and I got to play in all the beaded and sequined tulle and velvet costumes backstage. Attending The Nutcracker every year at City Center and later at brand spanking new Lincoln Center is one of my best childhood Christmas memories.
On Christmas Day, we usually headed to Great Aunt Tina’s house. She and her husband Ray had a huge three-story house – also with a backyard – a few blocks from Willie and Corrie’s. The adults drank whiskey sours, and there was the most serious ping pong I have ever seen outside the Olympics in the basement. No kids were allowed during these games – too dangerous. Just sweaty men smoking cigars and whacking that little white ball so hard it’s amazing it remained spherical.
All ambulatory family members were encouraged to play a game called Fruit Basket, which I highly recommend you try this Christmas. Each player chooses a fruit name and an equal number of chairs – minus one – are arranged in a circle. The seatless person stands in the center and yells out two or more fruits. Those players have to scamper to another seat. The new seatless player goes to the center. Repeat. If the center person yells “fruit basket” everyone switches seats. The game is over when at least one child is crying and furniture is destroyed.
That whole side of the family were and are hilarious, smart-alecky jokers. Quick, funny, and cutting, while simultaneously loving, fiercely loyal and supportive of each other.
Mom’s side of the family was more cerebral and we usually drove out to Brooklyn and Queens the day after Christmas to see them. I remember driving through freezing temperatures with the car windows closed, but that wouldn’t stop Dad from smoking his cigar with us kids lying on the floor of the back seat trying to breathe. I think you can be arrested for that now.
Mom’s side of the family had a unique way of decorating the Christmas tree. While we were strictly limited to two or three strands of tinsel at a time, they would grab a wad and hurl it at the tree. Ultimately, the effect was not all that different from the painstaking approach in the Merry apartment.
3320 Reservoir Oval – Apt. 4E. Two bedrooms, one bath with three kids – how did they do it?
Mr. Standish and I need 2 bathrooms for just the two of us because we start drinking coffee every morning at the same time. Somehow my parents made it work.
Dad loved a ginormous Christmas tree, but we had eight-foot ceilings. He would usually bring the tree home after a martini or three and he’d have to take a couple of feet off the bottom. It would still hit the ceiling.
On Christmas morning, he would make pancakes and bacon. The Jewish kids in 5E would come down and sneak a little bacon into their kosher diet and help us try out our new toys. We would go upstairs and help light their menorah and play dreidel. That’s the best thing about growing up in a diverse city. Learning about cultures and traditions that others hold dear and how they bond families and people. One doesn’t have to share others’ beliefs to respect and admire them.
Whatever your traditions are, my wish is for you and your family to enjoy the peace and joy this season brings. I’m off to enjoy some leftover meatloaf with lettuce and bask in the glory of the Festivus pole.
Do you believe in Christmas Miracles? Some nice folks in Manton just experienced one, thanks to the Tehama County Planning Commission. Fred and Donna Boots, owners of Indian Peak Vineyards, have been living in an RV next to their winery for 17 years. There is no residence on the property, but it works for them. Unfortunately, Tehama County has an ordinance on the books that forbids living in a travel trailer on your own property. It was adopted in 2018 in a futile attempt to thwart illegal commercial cannabis growers from buying land and using it to grow. Back then, the same helicopters that were in low-flying neighborhoods like mine looking for pot plants were also tagging motorhomes. Nowadays, Code Enforcement is only after the big pot grows and small “nuisances” are complaint driven. So, there’s been progress. This past summer, the Boots were visited by Code Enforcement and told they could not live in their trailer. To reside on the property, they would need to have a permitted residence, which is too great a financial burden for the struggling business. The Boots tried hard to work with Code Enforcement, then were awarded one of those nifty $1,000 a day fines like we got for having 11 cannabis plants in our yard. The Boots appealed to the Planning Commission, which voted 4-1 in their favor. This sets a precedent that should thrill anyone who has been kicked off their property in the past for living in their RV. Does it mean churches and other organizations can let otherwise homeless people live in their motorhomes in the parking lot? Maybe. And feel free to put an RV in your yard to rent out as an Airbnb. Just keep it nice and clean and you should be golden. I am very happy for the Boots family – they are wonderful people – but this confirms the double standard that continues in Tehama County. Comparing the treatment, the Byrons are getting from the county and the wink and nod the Boots received shows how prevalent Reefer Madness still is here. Don’t get me wrong – I love wine. (Hang on a sec while I climb up on my soapbox.) Alcohol use kills 140,000 people a year in the US alone, while cannabis use has never killed a single person in the history of mankind. The rest of the state is embracing this new revenue stream – which goddess knows we need here desperately – while Tehama County is still spending tens of thousands to extort money from “dopers”, as Code Enforcement Officer Keith Curl called the Byrons. Such professional behavior. So Merry Christmas, Fred, and Donna. Your present came early and I know how grateful you are. And speaking of early Christmas presents, Tehama County is getting one on Dec. 20. Yes, this Tuesday will be the final meeting at which Bob “See You Next Tuesday” Williams and Dennis “I’m Tired of Listening to You People” Garton will serve as supervisors. They both lost their reelection bids back in the June primary but remain in office until the end of the year. Their leadership has proven to be disastrous for our county. It would take several columns to rehash everything they have done to us, so let’s just be grateful their reign of ignorance and cronyism is almost at an end. Incidentally, I am under no delusion that the new board will be able to wave a magic wand and fix everything. The doo doo we’re in is so deep it will take years to right the ship. Mistakes will be made. But the fact that the board will consist of 5 people willing to abandon the status quo and stride boldly forward is encouraging. Tuesday’s meeting will also be the final one over which District 2 Supervisor Candy Carlson will preside as Chair. Probably. The board voted this past Tuesday to make District 1’s Bill Moule the 2023 Chair. D5’s John Leach had inexplicably asked for an agenda item to choose the chair before the end of the year, apparently not realizing he was robbing the two new board members of their opportunity to choose who would lead them in their first year on the board. A number of citizens spoke against the current board voting, and Leach wisely withdrew. Carlson moved to table the vote until the first meeting of 2023 and Leach seconded that. Garton, Williams, and Moule voted no, so that motion failed. Williams then moved to make Moule the Chair for 2023. Seconded by Garton. Moule was elected 3 -0 -2. Carlson and Leach abstained, rightly believing the people who will actually serve on the board next year should be the ones voting. Moule will be fine as Chair – there are plenty of people to help him if he’s unclear on a procedure. He is intelligent and articulate and seemed a little hurt that his ability was questioned. Awww. He also defended the early vote, saying it had been done before and that he had been attending supes meetings for 35 years. Well, I’ve only been attending for 5 years and the first time I saw him in the room was when he was appointed to his seat in a smooth finesse by Carlson late last year. Must have been when T. Rex and V. Lociraptor were supes. There is no written policy for when the vote happens, so I assume if the new board isn’t happy with the old board’s choice, they can hold another vote. And should they choose Moule, terrific. But make no mistake – they should be the ones to decide. Not a couple of grouchy lame ducks on their way out to pasture. It was a slap in the face to Matt Hansen and Pati Nolen, who will be replacing Williams and Garton on the board. And a parting shot at Carlson just for kicks. It’s all good. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, “We didn’t know it, didn’t think it could be done. In the final end we won the war. After losing every battle.”
When we rebuild Paradise and Santa Rosa, California it might be an Opportunity to Use Smart Design Ideas. I remember going inside the Mission Santa Clara on a Hot Summer Day... Built over 200 years ago, it has withstood Earthquakes.
Solar Powered Street Lights Would Save a LOT of Electricity Currently Being Generated in Coal, Natural Gas and Atomic Power Plants and Distributed Using the Grid. WASTEFUL and DANGEROUS... POWER LINES CAUSE FOREST FIRES.
Nothing NEW Needs to Be Invented... We Ought to Simply Replace the Millions of Old Style Street Lights... With Solar Cells and LED Lamps... The Concept of Generating Power in One Central Location and Distributing it to the User is Quite Wasteful... Some Electricity JUST VANISHES over the Long Distance... and DANGEROUS because the Wires Start Forest Fires... PG&E Power Company Just Burned the Entire Town Of Paradise, CA... and It Caused the Company to Go Bankrupt. Distributing Power From a Central Generator is an Obsolete Idea. What if Every House had Solar Panels on the Roof That Provided Enough Electricity to UNPLUG FROM THE GRID...
Commercial Solar LED Street Lighting: THERE ARE MANY MANUFACTURERS... HERE IS ONE... https://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/solar-street-lighting and Here are another DOZEN... https://cleanenergysummit.org/best-solar-street-lights/ Lighting for Streets and Roadways Provided by Sustainable Solar Power... SEPCO’s solar powered street lighting systems are an efficient means to provide lighting without the need for standard utility power. Every system provides cost savings by eliminating the need to trench standard electric wires for installation and providing no electric bill for the life of the system. Solar street lights have been installed on highways, freeways, neighborhood streets, rural roads, etc. and provide security, sustainability and an overall green image.
A State of Emergency is in effect in Moore County, North Carolina after a massive power outage caused by damage to substations by firearms.
The Moore County Attack was VERY SIMILAR to a Fictional Plan Written by G. Gordon Liddy for OMNI Magazine in 1989...
Terrorists would hit power plants, rail lines, airports, and natural gas pipelines. Although Liddy's tale is pure speculation, it is based on technologies and tactics that are very real.
Knocking out these essential parts of a country's infrastructure is also a preferred way to wage a modern war, say proponents of a new, deadly strategy called low-intensity conflict.
"There are only about 500 EHV (extremely high voltage) transformers in the entire nation. Their locations are shown on a map available to the public. Most are protected by no more than a chain-link fence and warning signs that serve to confirm exactly what they are. EHV transformers are sophisticated pieces of equipment not manufactured in the United States. The lead time for delivery of a new one from abroad is 18 months. They can be put out of operation by a high-powered rifle."
Sheriff Fields said firearms were used to shoot and disable equipment at two substations in Moore County. Power could be out until Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office and Duke Energy officials.In the news conference, deputies said the FBI is assisting with the investigation, as well as the state Bureau of Investigation.
Giant Truck with a Crane for putting the Shingles on the NEW ROOF Effortlessly... Observe the Shadow of the Arm That's holding a Pallet full of Shingles... No need for a Construction worker climbing a ladder with a bag of shingles on his shoulder... Like they did in the olden days... there is a man wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt... standing near the rear of the truck... he looks tiny!
A View of the Front of the House thru the Palm Trees
Inside My Room Looking Out at the Parking Lot and The House Next door... and Our Palm Trees, The Redwoods...
I spend Most of My Life Observing this View Because I Rest the Laptop Computer on the Chair in the Foreground of this Picture. I'm on the Computer a LOT... and I Like to Listen to New Age Music on the TV. It Plays 24 Hours a Day and Blocks the Noise from the Rest of the House... TV Sets Blaring, Employees Talking on their Phones... Etc, Etc, Etc
One Step Out My Door - Trees, Lawn
In the Summer, there are Roses
and a Crepe Myrtle tree in Bloom.
Our Creek. Stagnant Water &
The Abandoned Vineyard...
It hasn't rained for two months but
the water is still there...
Breeding Mosquitoes...
I Squirted Some Liquid Hand Soap
on the water. That's supposed to prevent
Mosquito Larva from Hatching...
We Shall SEE!
Lawnmower Man:
Here He Comes...
There He Goes!
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Back Deck: I spend a lot of time observing nature here... That's one of the Great Advantages of Retirement... I Can sit here in the Sunshine and Listen to the Little Birds and the Children Playing far away... Not Reading a Book, Not Writing a Blog Post... Just Observing the Wonders of Nature...
Looking All the Way Left
Looking Middle Left
Looking Middle Right
Looking All the Way Right
Today I saw Seven Turkeys Walking across that Field.
We have a Creek & Abandoned Vineyard
Creek: All the Way Left
Creek: Middle Left
Creek: Middle Right
Creek: All the Way Right
The Neighbor's Back Yard
With Table and Chairs
Our Back Deck with Tables
and Chairs and Shadows.
Photos taken on March 4th When the Trees have No Leaves.
Palm Tree Out Front - Leaves All Year Round
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Remember: The GOP's Fake "Voter Fraud" is all about preventing Democrats from Voting... Because the Majority of Voters are Young, Women, Minorities or College Graduates and ALL Those Groups Vote Democratic.
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DEFUND tRUMP's SPACE FARCE. It's Really Unlikely that we will be Invaded by Aliens in Flying Saucers... and if we do, we ought to be friendly... because they would have better technology... better weapons! It's Obvious that tRUMP Started the Space Farce because he believed that Little Green Men from Uranus were Likely to Attack Him... Clinically, That's Paranoid Schizophrenia... Police Code 5150...
Moscow Mitch had a plan on a takeover of the U S Senate and House in the 2022 midterm elections just 8 months from now.
It was a simple plan and definitely the smartest route to take.
His plan was to say ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the Republican radical right agenda once the Republicans actually seized power.
But now his plan has been completely sabotaged by Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida.
Last week Rick Scott laid out a frightening, Orwellian 11 point agenda once Republicans regain power.
It is a comprehensive right wing wish list for a theocratic, kleptocratic, plutocratic, apartheid based United States where the poor are further impoverished and power and resources are concentrated even further into the hands of corporate elites.
The Rick Scott, Republican agenda proposes the following:
The total phase out of Social Security retirement benefits for ALL Americans!!
A declaration of war on the transgender community by claiming there are JUST two genders. This will enable Republicans to impose harsh punishments against transgender people.
Eliminating the federal Department of Education while introducing prayer in public schools. This has been a longtime desire by the theocratic right.
The mandatory phase out of ALL federal programs including every environmental protection law unless specifically reauthorized by a Republican controlled government.
A massive gutting of federal workers including regulators who protect our health, environment, food safety, and IRS workers so the richest non paying plutocrats and corporate criminals pay nothing in taxes.
And while the Rick Scott agenda says noting about the rich paying their fair share of taxes he goes out of his way to impose new taxes on the poorest people in this country. Or as Rick Scott phrased it "everyone should have skin in the game"
It does not matter to Rick Scott and Republicans how impoverished Americans are. They must pay taxes to allow billionaires and corporate criminals to pay none!
The Scott/Republican agenda calls for draconian nationwide voter ID laws to suppress minority and student voters and to lock in permanent Republican advantages in all elections.
The Scott/Republican agenda will spend billions of dollars to build the fantasy wall envisioned by Trump and to even name the wall after the TWICE impeached Trump.
The Scott/Republican agenda calls for a FIFTY STATE BAN on abortions. This plan would not just make abortion a state by state decision but would impose a national ban on abortions.
In some respects Democrats owe Rick Scott a huge thank you.
He has exposed the Republican agenda for the anti democratic, fascist roadmap that it is.
It is a plan that economist Paul Krugman has called "zombie economics".
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