One Day More...: October 2017

Friday, October 27, 2017

It’s All So Orwellian

George Orwell’s novel 1984, published in 1949, was required reading when I was in high school some fifty years ago. At that time the year 1984 seem light years away to me as a teenager. Little did I know that it would come back to haunt me in 2017.

Today my wife and I went in to have our photos taken to renew our passports. I went first. The lady taking the photo asked me if I had a letter from a doctor verifying that I had to wear eyeglasses. It went something like this:

Me: “Excuse me, why do I need a letter? I'm wearing them.”

Her: “Because it’s required by the government now.”

Me: “Seriously? I’ve worn glasses since I was eight years old.”

Her: But, you still need a doctor’s letter saying you have to wear glasses.”

Me: “What the hell does that have to do with a passport photo?”

Her: “If you don’t have a letter, you have to take off your glasses for the photo.”

Me: “But I WEAR glasses all day every day.”

Her: It’s what they now require so they can see your eyes in the photo.”

We were also told not to smile since that changes the facial features. My wife was also told to tuck her hair behind her ears so her ears show in the photo.

It all seemed a bit strange to me until I later thought, “AHA! Orwell’s 1984.” A future society where the totalitarian government rules with omnipresent surveillance and manipulation.

Big brother is watching!

Big brother will now have our photos to enter in a national data base to use for whatever purpose they can dream up. Without our consent, they can now use our faces to scan anytime and anywhere.

It’s all so Orwellian.

Just one day more…

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Hope This Works

I've been busy the past couple of weeks getting our truck camper in shape for our drive to Arizona. Since we leave our fifth wheel in Arizona the truck camper has been handy for the drive there and back, as well as side trips in the desert. And, isn't it nice to sleep in your own bed? I don't care much for motels, having spent many a night in them when I was working for a living, traveling six states.

The pickup camper came with a chintzy Interstate wet cell battery and it was evident during side trips to the desert that it and our 80 watt solar panel didn't do the best job keeping up.

We also have a 130 watt "suitcase" portable solar panel, however it is a bit cumbersome to carry around when space is limited. It does come in a nice hard sided aluminum carrying case, so I decided this year I would make room for it and leave the 80 watt at home.

It's been several years since it has been used and, wouldn't you know it, the charge controller was dead when I went to test it. I decided to replace the 10 amp controller with a 30 amp in the event I decided to chain the 80 watt and 130 together some day. Being electrically challenged, it took me a couple of days to change out the controller.

I thought what's the use of having a higher amp controller with the limp Interstate battery, so I also shelled out for a new AGM 100 amp hour battery.

There isn't enough room in the truck camper for two batteries or multiple solar panels, so this is as good as it gets without major changes. With what little I know about solar, I can only hope this works.

Just one day more...

Monday, October 9, 2017

Snow And Cold?

Department of Roads cameras captured photos of snow along Interstate 80 four miles west of Kimball, Nebraska and at Mile Marker 1 at the Wyoming border.

Yikes! We still have a little over three weeks before we head south for the winter. Hopefully it will stay out west.

Today we fired up the furnace.

Have I mentioned before how much I hate snow and cold?

Just one day more...

Friday, October 6, 2017

Splendid Chicken Dinners

Sometimes it is a tenuous balance between life and death for critters here on the farm. Our five chickens are slowly being picked away.

A transient hawk has decided the pickings are good and has set up a base camp here. So far it has snatched up two chickens and we saw it buzzing around this morning. With the exception of keeping the chickens locked up inside the coop all day, there isn't much we can do. The hawk is just simply too stealthy and too fast.

A domestic chicken doesn't stand a chance against a hawk and this one is certainly having splendid chicken dinners.

Just one day more...

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

We, The Innocents

Like it on not, the battle for reasonable gun regulations has been lost and the losers are we, the innocents.

We, the innocents, who can’t attend concerts without the fear of being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t send our children to school without fear of them being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t go to a nightclub without fear of being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t go out for a meal at a restaurant without fear of being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t go to a movie without fear of being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t go to work without fear of being shot.

We, the innocents, who can’t go on a college campus without fear of being shot.

The battle has been lost because the United States is the most armed nation on the planet. And not just pistols and rifles for hunting, target shooting or plinking. We are armed with the most deadly assault weapons of any nation. Assault weapons that are being pumped out by manufacturers in record numbers. Assault weapons that match those in the military.

The battle has been lost because we, the innocents, have been apathetic to the NRA while they took over our Congress. We have watched while they went from a “sporting” organization to an intractable organization of anything goes with guns.

The battle has been lost because getting an assault rifle is as easy as going to mainstream sporting goods stores and slapping down the cash.

Granted, there is a rudimentary background check, but after that nothing. Congress has refused to allow the ATF to maintain a database of gun sales.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wdbd9y/the-atfs-nonsensical-non-searchable-gun-databases-explained-392

The battle has been lost because no matter what laws are currently on the books, Congress does nothing to strengthen them and they are circumvented. Once you have a semi-automatic assault rifle, it is a simple matter to turn it into a fully automatic killing machine with a legal and inexpensive “bump stock.”

If the bump stock isn’t enough fire power, you can add a 100 round magazine. Now, all you have to do his pull the trigger and shoot in a sweeping motion for an extended mass kill. No need to aim, just mow them down.

Still not enough? Never fear. Were it not for the Las Vegas shooting, Congress was poised to make assault weapons even more prolific and deadly with two bills with ironic names.

The “Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Act” would force states to recognize other states' permits allowing residents to carry concealed weapons, loosen regulations on the sale of armor-piercing bullets, expand gun rights on public lands and shield people transporting guns across state lines from local laws.

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/silencers-armor-piercing-bullets-congress-looks-rollback-gun-laws-n806881.

Included in the “Sportsman Act” is the innocuous sounding provision called the “Hearing Protection Act,” which would make gun silencers legal. One can only imagine the number of dead if the Las Vegas shooter had one of these on his fully automatic assault rifle.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-10-02/house-poised-to-pass-law-easing-sale-of-gun-silencers-after-las-vegas-shooting

No doubt to let the Las Vegas shooting fade, NRA poster boy House Speaker Paul Ryan has delayed the gun silencer bill for now. Doesn’t that beg the question that if the legislation was so important before the Las Vegas massacre, why is it less important now?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/03/gun-silencer-bill-shelved-after-las-vegas-shooting-paul-ryan-says.html

Gun killings are now common place. Even in Lawrence, Kansas where three innocents were killed and two injured early Sunday morning, there is little coverage.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article176420606.html

We, the innocents, have lost the battle because of a spineless Congress and, like the old saying, the horse is already out of the barn.

Just one day more…

Monday, October 2, 2017

Again

Another day in the United States of the NRA.

Amerika. Again.

Just one day more..

Sunday, October 1, 2017

The Gratitude Would Follow

On Friday, Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico made an impassioned speech about the dire situation in Puerto Rico.

And what was the response of the U. S. government? Elaine Duke, acting director of Homeland Security, called the government response a "really good news story."

In keeping with his narcissistic self-promotion, not-my-president Trump blasted back at the mayor in no less than eighteen tweets, calling it fake news and implying the desperate people of Puerto Rico were too lazy to fend for themselves. For him it is less about the dire situation in Puerto Rico than about his own image.

"Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help," he said. "They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort."

What's the old saying about kicking a man (or woman) when he (or she) is down? And who among us wouldn't do anything -ANYTHING - to save or help a loved one?

If our government, and especially not-my-president Trump, would spend less time patting themselves on the back and more time coming to the aid of the people of Puerto Rico, the gratitude would follow.

Just one day more...