Peregrinating
2018

March

1 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Yesterday around noon we had what the Bulgarians say "слънце грее, дъжд вали, мечката се жени" or "The bears are getting married". This saying was taught to me by a couple of gymnasia (High School) students in Zlatograd, Bulgaria. We were on a hike in the mountains and were caught in a snow shower while in full sunshine. It did not last long there nor did it last long here.

The low this morning was either 26 or 29° depending on which weather reporting station I want to believe. The National Weather Service claims that the wind chill was 22° so that would be even lower if I believe the 26 low. There are better days coming IF the forecast is right.

I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon copying and formatting the next month's Will Rogers weekly articles. This short month always catches me with more to do than there are days remaining at the end of the month. But, I got 'er done.

This is not one of Beach's better books in my opinion. That opinion may be held by others because I could not find any customer reviews for it. The background setting is Cuba during the later years of the Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898). I think Beach wove his story around historical facts but the fiction did not seem to fit; a bit too romantic for my taste. Recommended IF you want to read all of his books that are available at Gutenberg.

A very good blog posting Moron Gun Control: Women and Children First by Doug “Uncola” Lynn. I have only quoted one small part of what he has to say about gun control. Recommended read!

"Some women, some children, and most liberals, can’t seem to identify evil through the fog of their good intentions. This explains why they fail to see the irony when they call for people with guns to come save them from people with guns. Except, for whatever reason, they profess to favor those traveling from a distance away to save them as opposed to someone in their immediate proximity.
Indeed, why do gun control advocates prefer those with badges, 20 minutes away, over those with a permit who could save their lives, and the lives of others, in that very moment?
Perhaps, because logic is not a strong suit in the minds of some women, some children, and most liberals."

"This week’s gun control argument in a nutshell: because government failed at every level, you need to have your rights curtailed…by the government that just failed at every level." - Jim Quinn.

2 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I had a Class "C" neighbor on my west side for the past week that blocked SOME of my Whetstone Mountain view. They left early yesterday and I thought I might have all of my view back. That is what I get for thinking! A big 5th wheel is now in that space and it blocks almost ALL of my view.

I got an update to Chrome 64 yesterday which is a good thing. With the short month I had plenty of Verizon data available. I was afraid that they would put off the update until my next billing cycle and then I would be pressed for data. I got Linux and Firefox updated on my old computer also during this billing cycle.

The expected high temperatures for today and tomorrow are to be in the 70s. It will then cool down to the upper 60s on Sunday and Monday with the rest of the 10 Day forecast in the 70s. The snowbirds that stuck it out during our week of winter are going to be rewarded.

The warmer prediction for tomorrow is very welcome. I'll be at the range again early so the quicker it warms up the better. The warmer weather will bring more shooters to the Match which will make for a long day but I can't have everything.

3 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I planned on having breakfast at Sunny D's this morning on my way to the Range. They were closed and the wall that it looked like someone had tried to drive through it was being repaired. So I went just down the road to Pualla's where I got their Spanish Omelet with rice and beans. I will probably stop there again for the great prices and generous servings.

The time at the Range was good and bad. The best thing was I thought I had found what caused me to have mechanical problems during the Workshop. I did not have it happen again and it was operator error which I think I have corrected.

The bad was my shooting. I'll get the scores in a day or two and see if I did a bad as I think I did compared to everyone else. A "snubby" is not an easy revolver to master even by good shooters so I guess I should not be too disappointed. We will see, I'm not ready to give up yet.

We had wind which is not unusual but it was not very cold. I had one other good thing come of being there at the Range, that was a chance to exercise my generator. I don't get many chances and when I do I tend not to remember to do it.

Picked up my order of Arbuckles Coffee at the UPS Store on the way back to the Park. Now need to get busy and put 'linner' together and do our afternoon walk.

4 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I think today is going to be a do nothing day. Patches feels much the same way. She ate breakfast after our walk and promptly went back to bed. She had a tough day yesterday waiting all morning for me.

I will do some more drawing on the latest cushion cover pixel art which is coming along slow but sure. I'm also about half way through Tocqueville's second best known book that was published only a few years before his death.

I'm still beating myself up mentally about how poorly I did at the range yesterday but getting over it. When the scores are released that may help or perhaps make worse.

5 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Well the Match scores were posted and I was dead last which I expected. I also did worse than I thought. Perhaps this is an endeavor that I simply can not accomplish.

It is shaping up to be another do nothing day. Sort of a repeat of yesterday.

"Capitals are necessities, but if the head grow too large, the body becomes apoplectic and wastes away. What will the consequence be if, by drawing all the talent of the kingdom to this metropolis, and leaving to the provincials no chance of reward or motive for ambition, the latter are placed in a sort of quasi dependence, and converted into an inferior class of citizens? - Marquis de Mirabeau
He adds that this process is effecting a silent revolution by depopulating the provinces of their notables, leading men, and men of ability." - Old Regime and the Revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville

A classic by James Howard Kunstler .
"The Times’s world-view begins to look like the script of a Batman sequel with Vlad Putin cast in The Joker role of the cackling psychopath who must be stopped at all costs! America’s generals have switched on the Batman signal beacon, but Donald Trump in the role of the Caped Crusader, merely dithers and broods in the splendid isolation of his 1600 Penn Avenue Bat Cave, suffering yet another of his endless bipolar identity crises. For God’s sake, The Times, shrieks, do something! The Russians are coming! (Gotham City’s Chief of Police Hillary said exactly that last week in a Tweet!)" - Light It Up

“In one job I had to manage a cutthroat cast of characters desperate for TV time, totally unprepared for their roles and their jobs, and each week afraid of having their asses fired. And the other job, I was the host of a smash television hit.” - President Trump @ Gridiron Dinner 2018

6 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Another spectacular sun rise this morning. It did not last long but there was cloud cover along the eastern Mule Mountain horizon which looked like they was on fire. The low temperature of 36° did not reach the expected 40s but the 10 Day forecast continues to show lows in the 40s. Morning walks should be great!

Went to town again and had breakfast at the O Lé Café. My new favorite there is their Chorizo Scramble which did not disappoint. Then a quick grocery gathering at Fry's and I was on my way back to the Park. Stopped at Chosin's to see if my ammo order had arrived - it had not. Done for the day.

"...the Christian faith was furiously assailed, but no attempt was made to raise up another religion on its ruins. Ardent efforts were made to eradicate from men’s souls the faith that was in them, and leave them empty. A multitude of men engaged warmly in this ungrateful work. Absolute infidelity, than which nothing is more repugnant to man’s natural instincts, or produces more discomfort of soul, appeared attractive to the masses. It had formerly given rise to a sickly languor: it now engendered fanaticism and propagandism...it seemed to the reformers absolutely necessary to destroy the religious institutions of the time in order to reach the civil institutions, which were constructed on their basis and model." - Old Regime and the Revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville

"I remember when Americans were free people. This is no longer the case. The prison in which Americans live is not a physical one with bars, although many Americans including innocent ones do live behind physical bars. It is an informational prison achieved by control over the explanations that Americans are given. Over my lifetime I have observed that official propaganda has become more successful with the passage of time. My generation was educated at a time when truth was still respected, when facts mattered, when integrity was valued, when “victim groups” had not been created and taught that they had a right to be shielded from “insensitive” words, concepts and facts, when “political correctness” and “Identity Politics” did not exist. Arguments and public debate could not be shut down with the charges that it was offensive, racist, sexist, homophobic, white supremacist. Dogmatism was not shielded by the claim that it is insensitive to cause a person in a protected category to confront the validity of their beliefs. In my generation’s day, the struggle was to expand free speech, not shut it down as has occurred today even in academic institutions. Indeed, Identity Politics is in the process of banning free speech as insensitive and as a means of white supremacist control." - All I Am Offering Is The Truth by Paul Craig Roberts.

7 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The only thing that I have on the agenda for today is to dump holding tanks and take on fresh water. I continue to think the water pump has seen better days even after the RV shop in Yuma said it was working fine. Every time the tank get to about the ½ full point the pressure goes down significantly and I get some pump running after water shut off.

I do have a pot of barley cooking. That will have some dry cherries and chopped dates added to give me more breakfast meals ready for reheating. I say again how much I like the hulled barley versus the hulless. Just too many hulls in the hulless.

Maybe finish "Old Regime" today but have already started another Wells book. I have finished reading the book but now going through the footnotes that I never bother trying to find as I'm reading the book text.

"Every one is dissatisfied with his condition, and seeks to change it. Reform is the cry on every side. But it is sought impatiently and angrily; men curse the past, and dream of a state of things opposite in every particular to that which they see before them. The spirit soon penetrates the government itself; transforms it inwardly without changing its outward form; leaves the laws as they were, but alters their administration...
Nations that have endured patiently and almost unconsciously the most overwhelming oppression, often burst into rebellion against the yoke the moment it begins to grow lighter. The regime which is destroyed by a revolution is almost always an improvement on its immediate predecessor, and experience teaches that the most critical moment for bad governments is the one which witnesses their first steps toward reform. A sovereign who seeks to relieve his subjects after a long period of oppression is lost, unless he be a man of great genius. Evils which are patiently endured when they seem inevitable, become intolerable when once the idea of escape from them is suggested. The very redress of grievances throws new light on those which are left untouched, and adds fresh poignancy to their smart: if the pain be less, the patient’s sensibility is greater." - Old Regime and the Revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville

8 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

This book is not as well known as his book about democracy in America but is equal to it. Suggested reading.

Book One of Alexis de Tocqueville’s work was published in 1856, Book Two shortly thereafter, and in this combined work the historian and political philosopher expounded his understanding of the nature of France before the Revolution in 1789, of the trajectory of the Revolution itself, and of the result over the decades subsequent to it. At the very beginning of the book Tocqueville stresses that his is not a history per se but rather an assessment and evaluation. His emphasis is always on continuity, and in his introductory remarks he states that “the roots of our modern society (are) deeply embedded in the old soil.” His goal is to explore how the society differed after the Revolution from what it had been before, what was gained and what was lost. He also attempts to generalize and to discover what characteristics and motives might apply to other societies, always exploring the differences between France and its neighbors in terms of unique and distinguishing characteristics. He stresses that a country and society will sink whenever equality and despotism are combined, which is what gradually happened during the Revolution.- Edited Customer Review @ goodreads.com

When I fired up my Verizon MIFI yesterday afternoon I saw that during a two hour period I had used over 1GB of data. I check all the usual suspects and found nothing so contacted Verizon. That took a bit of time; maybe a half hour before I finally got someone to Chat with. We then Chatted for another half hour. At the end (for now) of that Chat I was given 2GB of additional data usage which the Chat representative said was paid for.

This morning I received an email that thanked me for changing to a New Plan. So, I will see what happens with this billing cycle and then what my next billing cycle will be. I suspect what the representative did was change my Plan to the next higher cost level and paid for the first month. If that is so I will then have to jump through all their hoops to get back on my original Plan.

9 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Another day that I don't expect much to be happening. Maybe another great weather day. The past two days we have had high temperatures in the low 80s and the morning lows in the 40s. That will continue until the middle of the month when winter is forecast to return.

I'll be drawing again and think complete the latest cushion cover pixel art by Sunday at the latest. This one probably requires more pixels than any that I have drawn before; not much white space remaining.

I'll also be on the couch with Patches, my Paperwhite and the Wells novel. I may finish that by Sunday as well, it is a reasonably fast read.

10 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I went to town early this week. My usual shopping trip would have been next Monday but I had a package of GoPo® waiting for pickup at my UPS Store. I ordered this online from Jet and received it from The Vitamin Shoppe cheaper than if I had ordered it from The Vitamin Shoppe. Don't you just love how the Amazon and now Jet, a knock-off, business model works?

Since I was in town and had to wait for the UPS Store to open I went to Verizon. There is no Plan that I can get that will give me 8GB for a price less than the 6GB Plan that I now have.

One final stop was made at Chosin's to pick up ammo that I had ordered. He said he would get a friend to deliver it and save me from unhooking before my regular shopping day. That did not happen. This was the primary reason for my getting groceries early this week because he is not open on Monday.

A little cooler today with high thin cloud cover. It will still be in the 70s which is great and the mornings have been fine with the lows in the 40s. There are a few trees that have responded to this false Spring but they will be in for a rude awakening late next week.

This book was originally published as When the Sleeper Wakes in 1899 but Wells was dissatisfied with it when it appeared in serial form. He rewrote parts of it and the revised book, The Sleeper Awakes, was published in 1910. The original was written during the period when he wrote most of his "scientific romances", he did not like the term 'science fiction'. It is classic Wells - recommended.

This book was kind of all over the place in regards to a "science fiction" novel. Wells' descriptions of the futuristic world were sometimes vague and disorganized, which made it hard to envision what he was trying to depict. So relating to strict science fiction, there are better novels out there.
However, when you consider that Wells wrote this novel 4 years before the first flight (1899), and many years before other technological innovations, his foresight becomes very impressive. But the best parts of the book were those in which Wells describes human characteristics that are still relevant today, and most likely will be for a long time to come. - Customer Review @ goodreads.com

""The day of democracy is past," he said. "Past forever. That day began with the bowmen of Crecy, it ended when marching infantry, when common men in masses ceased to win the battles of the world, when costly cannon, great ironclads, and strategic railways became the means of power. To-day is the day of wealth. Wealth now is power as it never was power before—it commands earth and sea and sky. All power is for those who can handle wealth." - The Sleeper Awakes

11 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

This is the 4th two color cushion cover drawn as pixel art. No bucket fills of color when drawing this one. Lots of individual pixels added one at a time to cover most of this 203x203 drawing. It looks good at that size but looks great at 200% also. The next drawing will be another 3 color English Football Club logo which I hope looks as good as the first one turned out to be.

That cloud cover of yesterday morning was carrying some rain. We went out for our afternoon walk and had some of it fall on us. Not a lot, probably just a trace. Enough that Patches was shaking it off and I called a retreat so we did a long potty walk. The clouds are still with us this morning but it looks like they are moving eastward and it could clear.

Doing the usual. There is a salmon fillet in the Roaster with Patches and I on the couch with a Rex Beach book on the Paperwhite.

12 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

More clouds this morning which make for a marvelous sunrise. The clouds were on fire for a few minutes and then turned to pure gold. Great morning temperatures also which makes it so nice to be out on our walk while the sun comes up rather than in the dark. Patches doesn't care one way or the other she just wants to walk at 6:00. Almost all those clouds were gone by 8:30, it is going to be a bright and sunny day - maybe.

I will not be doing much of anything. The usual routine. Not even any future meal preparation. I'll get back to that tomorrow. The English Football Club Logo is beginning to look good with about ¼ of it drawn. The Beach book is a quick read that I may finish in a few more days with a lot of time available to devote to it.

13 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I had a visitor yesterday. kaBloonie, which I usually manage to cross trails with about once a year since we do similar annual circuits. A face to face visit is infrequent for me so it is nice when it happens.

One of Rex Beaches novels that has Alaska as the backdrop. But it is not gold or silver that he is mining, it is salmon. All of his books that I have read so far have a romantic interest as part of the plot. Some more so than others, this one was not too much for my taste. You would have to be naive and/or dumb to not know how that romantic interest is going to end but overall it is a good story.

Not a lot of customer reviews so it is not very popular today. It was popular enough for a silent film to be made based on the book in 1920 , as were many of his books. It was then made as a 'talkie' in 1930 so there was still interest at that time but it has not aged well.

Making up another batch of breakfast barley with dry fruit. This time I am using chopped mango and chopped dates. I did not care for the last batch that used dry cherries as much as some of the other combinations. Perhaps the best so far has been apricot and dates.

Another shooting, this time in California with some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. How could this happen? What new law must be passed so that "This never happens again"?

"The state’s gun controls include an “assault weapons” ban, universal background checks, firearm confiscation laws (Gun Violence Restraining Orders), firearm registration requirements, firearm owner safety certification requirements, a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases, and “good cause” limitations on the issuance of concealed carry licenses.
The state also has ammunition controls which require Californians to buy ammunition from state-approved vendors and bar residents from buying ammo out-of-state.
None of these gun controls prevented the attack on the Veterans Home of California in Yountville."

14 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The latest breakfast with mango, dates, barley, almond milk and ½-n-½ is good. Maybe not as good as with apricot but I have only had it for one day.

This novella by Beach was published in 1918 and made into a silent film the same year. Both were World War I domestic war propaganda to rally the home folks. Very short book that is a fun read.
The story is about Norman "Dimples" Dalrymple, a man of "ponderous weight and deliberate disposition" with an insatiable desire for cornstarch puddings. That Dalrymple is a Harvard man, and well-connected, does him little good at the recruitment office in Plattsburgh, N.Y. ("Two-eighty-five isn't a weight; it's a telephone number," exclaims the sergeant.) But our hero will not be kept from the battlefield. Dimples is eventually shipped to France with the YMCA, as entertainment for the troops.

Now reading another Wells and Beach book by switching back and forth. The Wells book is another history like his The Outline Of History but somewhat shorter. It has a lot of images that I did not include in the download that I got from Gutenberg because they appear so small on a Paperwhite. My opinion at this point is that this A Short History Of The World would be a good first read then tackle "Outline" for more in depth coverage.

Of the 27 Deadliest Mass Shooters, 26 of Them Had One Thing in Common by Mark Meckler is a good read about what makes for a mass shooter. The liberal lefties will continue to shout for gun confiscation but I am convinced that the 27 mass shooters would have killed even without a gun.

15 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The second 3 color English Football Club pixel drawing. Much easier to draw that the fist one with more opportunities for bucket dumps of color. I think I am also slowly learning some things that make it easier. I'll find out as I continue to add more color. Next up will be cushion cover #5 using only 2 colors but the added colors will come.

I'll be doing much the same thing today that I have been doing all week - not much. I have some busy weeks coming up but this one has not been that way.

If the KWR wall prototype is selected it will be a 'YUGE' economic stimulus for Sierra Vista.

"During his tour, Trump told reporters that he wanted a wall that had some “see-through capability” so that Border Patrol agents could see what, and who, was on the other side. “You have to know what’s on the other side of the wall. … You could be two feet away from a cartel, and you don’t even know they’re there,” he said. Three of the eight prototypes include some “see-through capability,” in the form of thick steel struts at ground level.
The president also said he preferred prototypes that had a rounded top, which would make scaling the wall with a rope or grappling hook more difficult. Four of the eight prototypes feature rounded tops. Only one of the eight, however, has both “see-through capability” and a rounded top.
That prototype was built by KWR Construction Inc., a company based in Sierra Vista, Arizona. It features metal columns supporting metal plates and a round metal top. " - President Trump Hints at Preferred Design for Border Wall by Joel B. Pollak

Congress has been pressured to "Do Something" after the school shooting. So they did something. What are the chances that this throwing money at the problem is going to help?

"By a vote of 407 to 10 the House passed HR 4909, the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018, as part of Congress's response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead. The bill would provide new grants to train law enforcement and school personnel on the warning signs for school violence and how to intervene to prevent that violence. It would also provide grants for anonymous alert systems as well as funding for advanced door locks, further cooperation between schools and local law enforcement, and funding for crisis intervention teams." - Stop School Violence Act Passes House With Near Unanimous Support by Stephen Gutowski

16 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Strong winds started to blow around 9:00 yesterday morning and did not die down until an hour after sundown. A steady 20-25 mph wind with gusts in the 30-40 mph range. So far it has remained calm this morning but colder than it has been, below 40 with a wind chill of 35.

The neighbor on my west side had his wife/significant other join him a few days after he got here and got set up. She parks behind their 5th wheel and thinks that my front yard is a driveway. She used it for that three times that I saw, how many other times I don't know.

A couple days ago I moved Desperado to the center of my space which reduced my front yard by about half. The day before yesterday I saw her start to pull through 'her driveway' again and then thought better of it - maybe just a little too narrow. Later in the day I saw her walk past in front of Desperado gave and my space a hard look.

I went to the Park office this morning and asked if I could move to a different space. The one that I wanted is just east of the space that I had for the prior two years and with the current neighbor on its west side affords me a much better view of the Whetstone Mountains. It is also doubtful that this neighbor will drive through my front yard. In my 7+ plus years of living in RV Parks I have never had that happen before.

"Forgive me for seeming callous, but it’s a little hard, in the first place, to give a fuck one way or the other about the poor Skripals. Being a double agent carries some serious occupational hazards. This is generally understood among observers older than age six. Mr. Skripal came to an unhappy fate, and his daughter is apparently what we like to call collateral damage — of the sort, say, when one of our drones in a foreign land blows up a wedding party by some targeting error. Whoops! Our bad. One lesson here is that people with ambitions in the intel sector should consider sticking with one side or the other.
Interestingly, and secondarily, the accusation itself is unaccompanied by evidence. The Brits will not release samples of this Novichok for analysis. But are we also to believe that the Brits (or one of their close allies, say) could not concoct a bit of this poison themselves in a lab? After all, when you’re in the world of double-agentry, you’re in a hall of mirrors, and who, really, is to be trusted? Least of all in a matter such as this, would you start banging war drums." - Drums Along the Potomac by James Howard Kunstler

Kunstler is not alone in saying what he does in his blog posting. Paul Craig Roberts has said the same thing in his posting Lies Can Lead To War as well as in his link to 'Moon Of Alabama'.

17 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

A busy shopping day. But, first there was breakfast at Café O Lé where the waitress now knows what I want before I order. Then went to the laundromat on Wilcox just a couple blocks from the restaurant. But I turned the wrong way on Wilcox so turned it into a trip.

Got the wash cycle and this posting for today started at the same time. Another display of my multitasking skills. I might even get this written and uploaded to my website host before the dryer has finished. I don't have much to say even though it is going to be a busy day.

After the laundry task has been completed I'll go get groceries. I'm a day early from my usual schedule but don't want to make another trip tomorrow and could not wait until Monday when I have a VA appointment.

The VA filled an ibuprofen prescription that I did not think they were going to do until next week. I usually get an email that notifies me that it has shipped but the only notice I received was from my UPS Store that a package had been received. I'll go get that when I leave Fry's.

A last stop on my way out of town at Apocalypse Arms to pick up a box of ammo that I ordered. This is more in my attempt to find some that has a power factor that I can handle.

Met my new neighbor on the west side yesterday; for the time being I have a vacant space on the east side. He will be leaving for a while then be back so I'll have that space open also. A very good move.

When I told the woman in the office that I wanted to move because the woman neighbor was driving thru my front yard she smiled and sort of nodded her head. She then told me that the woman was about a half bubble off plumb.

18 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Colder this morning but it stayed above 40 - just. It felt colder than that with the wind chill down to 30. Going to stay cold today with the forecast below 60 and below 40 tomorrow morning. Soon to be back in the 70s with the chance of low 80s by next Wednesday. The wind will continue to blow whatever the temperature might be.

The open space on my east side did not last long. I got a neighbor there yesterday afternoon but I doubt that they will be staying for very long. The snowbirds are starting their northern migration (a little early in my opinion). The Park is beginning to show to show a gap toothed smile. It was chock-a-block when I got here and will probably be less than half full by the time I leave.

The following quote is from a good article by Mr. Lind but what he says is true of the United States. It is certainly not true of women in the Israeli military or the Kurds or the Russians. I don't know about the Chinese women as a combat fighting force but they sure do look good when on parade.

"The presence of women throughout an armed service, women who are empowered over the men because if they charge a man with “sexual harassment” he is presumed guilty until proven innocent, destroy the masculine culture young men who want to fight are seeking. How can they validate their manhood if they must obey orders from women, gays, and the “transgendered”? And most of the women in the military are not there to fight. As many as twenty years ago a survey done by the U.S. Army found two-thirds of its women and one-third of its men disagreed with the statement, “The Army’s main purpose is to fight.” An Army of pussycats, indeed!" - The Lone Shooter and Fourth Generation War, William S. Lind

I also want to bring this article, The Novichok Story Is Indeed Another Iraqi WMD Scam, by Craig Murray to your attention. If the UK is prodding the Russian Bear into war for the United States they are making a big, big mistake. England will not last a day if the Bear decides to fight back. This current Russophobia, or Cold War II, is not going to end well. At the best I see another arms race that will bankrupt the West like Cold War I bankrupt the Soviet Union. At the worse the Cold War will go HOT.

19 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Colder this morning, either 35 or just below freezing depending on which reporting station you want to believe. Winds were calm so no wind chill to speak of. We might even get through the day with only breezes rather than the strong winds that have been blowing for the past few days.

Today is my VA appointment to get the hearing aids installed and find out if they make any difference. I will be leaving soon for Sierra Vista. Anticipating some increased volume and with any luck will be able to hear higher pitched sounds. Do not expect they will make much difference in the clarity of speech and I will still have difficulty understanding what people are saying. I'll soon find out.

The time spent doing that will be in what I consider the middle of my day and will completely upset my routine. We will still get our afternoon walk at the usual time but the rest of the day will be a mishmash.

20 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I am hearing sounds that I could not hear before so I guess the hearing aids are helping. The first sound that I heard that I did not know I was not hearing was the clicking of the turn signals that Desperado was producing. I had even forgotten that the turn signals made a sound.

I don't know what they are going to cost me but through the VA they will be something less than the $2,400 to $3,200 retail for a Starkey Muse i2400 ITE. That would be the device cost, what the testing would cost outside the VA is an unknown. What is also unknown at this time is the cost of replacement batteries which will require two about every week.

I talked with my westside neighbor after getting back to the Park and found out that his son had hearing aids from the time he was a young boy. He cautioned me about getting them wet which I knew and know that remembering to take them out before showing is going to be something difficult to remember. He also cautioned me about safely storing them away from Patches when I remove them. He said that she would smell the ear wax and try to eat them - not good.

When I got back to the Park yesterday the first order of business was to cook up some more barley. This time I added chopped dates and chopped figs. Had some of that this morning heated up in a little ½-n-½ and almond milk - good but not better than with apricot..

Do you think the CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a fake number just like the Unemployment Rate? I certainly do and have long heard of ShadowStats but just found The Chapwood Index. This index uses 500 items that real people buy in 50 major cities. It is no surprise that inflation for the past 5 years has averaged about 4X what the Social Security increases have been.

21 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Yesterday was the first day of Spring but I did not notice any big difference. A very pleasant 42° this morning and it is warming up quickly. We may reach the forecast 81°high for the day. Maybe Spring has sprung, just a day late.

The hearing aid adjusting/learning process is continuing. I am having some difficulty putting them in without touching a small knob that changes the volume. Once they are in place and the volume is correct they are working fine. I could hear birds singing this morning that I could not hear yesterday morning when I did not wear them. Or maybe they were not singing yesterday. HA

This is a rather good description of how the United States has been 'progressing' for the past 40-50 years. The new sort of religion is secular but has all the trappings of the old faith based religions and the orthodoxy.

"But the new sort of religions that had come into the world, and particularly Christianity, turned inward. These new faiths demanded not simply conformity but understanding belief...The world was confronted with a new word, Orthodoxy, and with a stern resolve to keep not only acts but speech and private thought within the limits of a set teaching. For to hold a wrong opinion, much more to convey it to other people, was no longer regarded as an intellectual defect but a moral fault that might condemn a soul to everlasting destruction." - A Short History of the World, H. G. Wells

“"The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.” - Robert E. Lee
In a country deeply at odds with itself the best course may be separation, first of laws, then of administration, and finally of sovereignty. It need not be an uneven fight. As Washington can withhold federal funds from the states, so can the states withhold taxes from the federals, as California has threatened.
America seems overlarge. Perhaps the parts should go their separate ways. If the federals had to pay for their own wars, there would be no wars. General Lee was right." - A Modest Proposal for Ending the United States by Fred Reed

The shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland proves a number of things that the gun confiscators do not want known.

First, with all the existing laws on the books how did a 17 year old obtain a handgun? What new law banning AR-15s would have kept him from getting it? For that matter, what law can possibly be enacted that would have kept him from getting it?

Second, a good guy/gal with a gun in the school prevented a mass shooting. Two student wounded and the shooter is dead. The shooter was stopped by a good guy (Blaine Gaskill) with a gun, that was well trained and immediately responded. The shooter was not stopped by signs that said the school was as Gun Free Zone or by an armed officer that 'called it in and secured the area'.

I expect the gun confiscators to try their best to destroy Deputy Gaskill and portray the shooter as a victim. The only thing that might save Deputy Gaskill is that the shooter was a white male. It is open season for white males so he may get a pass.

22 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The background noise that my feet make striking the ground while walking is not something that I have heard for some years. When my hearing was 'normal' my brain filtered out that noise but the hearing aids have made it VERY noticable. From what I have read my brain will once again filter out that noise but it may take some time, maybe months, which is not good.

That is probably my biggest complaint at this time. That and the little knobs that adjust the volume when I don't want it adjusted. I get some wind noise also but that is not very bothersome. It is going to take some time wearing them; one of the websites that I have read about adjusting to hearing aids says "Hearing aids are life-changing". I believe it!

"Often patients are surprised to hear the sound of their own footsteps, birds chirping in the morning, or the blinker in the car. Because loudness is a perception, these sounds seem significantly louder than they used to seem, and even louder than the new hearing aid user remembers. This perception that environmental sounds and voices sound different and louder than remembered will eventually moderate as the hearing aids continue to be worn and as the brain acclimatizes to the new sounds heard." - Adjusting to Wearing Hearing Aids – It takes You … and Your Brain, Meryl Miller

As I said in an earlier posting this is a good book to read before delving deeper into any period of history.

This is perhaps the most intelligent and the least biased account of world history, that one may find coming from a western writer. H.G Wells penned this in the 1920's, a time when the sun never set on the British empire. The confidence owing to his origin from an imperial culture at it's peak, is only crowned by the impartiality of his account. Wells probably authored this as a labor of love, which is why it is missing the usual western biases, shown by authors of a century later. He lacks the intellectual dishonesty of the western academics, which discredits Islamic contribution during the period termed as the Christian middle ages. Wells, too, does not give full credit and in places, seems heavily biased, but he does give some space to the Islamic world's intellectual, social and scientific contributions to the world. I found the book interesting on many levels. Students of comparative religion, would find his account of ancient history particularly engaging and even eye opening. His stance on Christianity, has a socialist and intellectual leaning, but nonetheless he is partial towards the Christian world, if not towards Christianity.- Edited Customer Review @ goodreads.com.

This struck me as a fair description of The Elites and how they view themselves and "The Deplorables". Not much has change in the past 100+ years has it.

"The most significant alteration, however, entirely escaped his notice. That alteration was one of outlook rather than of inlook. Bit by bit he had come to regard the general crowd—the miners, merchants, townspeople—as outsiders, and himself as an insider—one of the wise, clever, ease-loving class which subsisted without toil and for whom a freer code of morals existed. Those outsiders were stupid, hard-working; they were somehow inferior. He and his kind were of a higher, more advanced order of intelligence; moreover, they were bound together by the ties of a common purpose and understanding and therefore enjoyed privileges denied their less efficient brethren. If jackals were able to reason, doubtless they would justify their existence and prove their superiority to the common herd by some such fatuous argument." - The Winds of Chance, Rex Beach

23 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

Into Sierra Vista again this morning with my first stop at the VA for some bloodletting and pee in a cup. As soon as I got that taken care of I went to Denny's, almost next door, and got some breakfast. Then back to the VA Audiologist to see why my right ear hearing aid was not working.

The ear wax guard was plugged up. I was told on Monday that I would need to replace the guards but not very often - 4 days seems rather often to my way of thinking. While I was there I complained about how my footsteps sounded and the audio tec did some adjusting on his computer which fed the information to my aids. This world of computer and wireless tec is something else! I can still hear the footsteps but they are not like a beating drum as they were before.

Went to Fry's and got groceries and then to Chiricahua Community Health Center to see how I was coming along on their waiting list. Had a longer discussion with the receptionist and found that I could get on their re-call list for April 2019 which would 'almost' guarantee that I would have an appointment then. Did that!

The last stop of the day was at Kay Jewelry to see about my Bulova wrist watch. Bulova had sent them an cost estimate but they did not email me to say that they had received it. Not too expensive to fix - I did that also. I might get it back before I leave here, if not it is going to be a little difficult for the fixed watch to catch up with me. We will see how it works out.

This is one of Rex Beach's Alaska novels. I thought the first part of it was very good with his description of the Chilkoot Trail and on to Dawson. However, once he got there I did not like the rest of the story nearly as well. The book was published in 1918 and another silent film was made from the book in 1925. I think it was the films that made him some money rather than the sale of books. This one gets very few reviews and none of them are worth quoting.

When I got back to the Park I found that I had neighbors on boths sides. The one to the east came in yesterday afternoon. The one on the west early this morning while I was in town. That one I was hoping would stay open because of the Whetstone Mountain view but no luck.

24 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

This is cushion cover #5. The far left drawing used the colors specified by the cross stitch website converted to RGB code. The near left drawing is one shade darker in yarn color, also converted to RGB code, which appears much better using my Chrome browser. I think it it is true of all the browsers, the pastel colors just do not show up very well. The next pixel drawing that I will do will be another English Football Club Logo done in three colors which I don't think will include any pastels.

Stopped ar Sunny D's this morning and got the Chorizo Omelet. All the repairs have been completed and the exterior re-painted, looks better than it ever did.

I was on my way to the range for the monthly Pistol Workshop. Strong winds so there were only 5 of us that were silly enough to put up with it. That made for quick shooting and a lot of it.

We probably shot 75 round each. I shot the Federal Gold Medal Match 148 grain Wadcutter cartridges for my first 5 and they have significantly less perceived recoil than the Remington 130 grain that I used for the rest of the day. The Wadcutters would be great except for the cost and they are more difficult to load.

I did much better today than at the last Match but everything today was at 5 to 7 yards. The March stages have most of the targets set up at longer ranges than that. Be that as it may I'll give the next Match a go.

The excitement at the range happened after we were finished and getting ready to go to our respective homes. It was then that I discovered I had lost my right hearing aid. There were three of us then doing a search which lasted for about 5 minutes until it was found - Thank Goodness! Something else that I have to be aware of when taking off the required ear protection.

There is a Red Flag Wind Warning posted by the NWS for the rest of the day until sundown. We have already had gusts of 49 mph with the Alert forecasting them to reach only 45 mph. The storm is bring it a little rain also which may put a damper on our afternoon walk.

25 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents is a collection of fifteen fantasy and science fiction short stories written by the English author H. G. Wells between 1893 and 1895. It was first published by Methuen & Co. in 1895 and was Wells's first book of short stories. All of the stories had first been published in various weekly and monthly periodicals. I had read some of these stories in a previous Wells books but there were enjoyable re-reads.

I can not say the same thing for the second 'book'. It is not a book, it is a short story at best. This Misery of Boots is a 1907 political tract by Wells advocating socialism and published by the Fabian Society. It is the expansion of a 1905 essay with the same name that I had read before. I would suggest that this be given a miss.

The wind died down around sundown yesterday as expected but is starting to come back this morning with the sun rise. The weather gurus are usually right with their wind forecasts and think that today the gusts will reach only 29 mph.

That is good news. The other good news is that my west side neighbor has pulled out this morning. I can now only hope that the space remains open for the rest of the time that I am here. That is probably more than I can expect but I can hope.

Cooking up some potato and sardine patties this morning. I might put a salmon fillet in the Roaster before the end of today but more likely to do that tomorrow morning.

This is a good blog posting by Mr. Lind but his conclusion is too optimistic in my opinion.

"Why can’t existing European governments defend Europe? Because they have all either bought into the ideology of cultural Marxism or they are afraid to confront it. Cultural Marxism allies itself with anything that will help it destroy traditional Christian, western culture, including hordes of immigrants. The real reason we need genuine conservative governments here and in Europe is to remove the cultural Marxists from power. They should remain free to believe whatever idiot philosophy they want. But they should no longer be able to force it down society’s throat.
That’s the game, and it looks like the real Right is going to win it. Setting the Agenda, William S. Lind

26 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The weather forecast for today is cooler and breezy. That breeze started much earlier this morning than it usually does and it looked like it was blowing some rain clouds my way. There were some gusts of 38 mph during the time we were doing our walk but by 8:00 the winds had calmed. What they are going to do the rest of the day is an unknown but there is no rain in the forecast.

The technology that is crammed into these little hearing aids that fit inside my ears continues to amaze me. When the battery become too low the hearing aid says to me "Battery" and I replace it. I did that yesterday for both ears; the right one around 10:00 am the left on at 2:00 pm.

I noticed that the irritating thumping that I was hearing while walking was not there this morning. Either my brain is starting to filter that sound out or the new batteries have made the difference. I tend to think that it is the batteries. I do still hear my footsteps but it is a 'normal' footstep sound not the drum thumping sound that I was hearing.

Speaking of hearing aids. I tried to use my TracFone and had no more success with the aids than I have had without. I'll be stopping at Verizon and to see what they can do to get me connected to the telephone centric world that I am compelled to live in. I need to get some different hearing protection for the range also. The ear muffs that I have are not going to cut it if they cause me to lose hearing aids. The current muffs are also no good when I have to hear someone talking or the start beep signal to begin firing.

"For labor to be in demand and well paid, there must, then, be plenty of raw materials, implements and provisions - in other words, capital - in the country" - Property and Plunder, F. Bastiat. Is it any wonder that the United States has such a large number of people not in the Labor Force with wage growth flat while real inflation climbs at an annual rate of around 8%. Most of United States capital is 'invested' in implements such as homes, shopping malls, bridges, roads, vehicles and items to make war. The provisions at one time were monetary savings which have been replaced with debt. Guess what will happens when the consumer and the State can no longer borrow.

27 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

We did have what the weather guessers like to call breezy conditions yesterday but the clouds blew away for the most part and it was sunny. Colder this morning with a low of 40° and a wind chill of 34. It is staying cold as well with the expected high to be only 61 but will warm up to be in the 80s on Friday and thru the weekend. A typical Spring; switching back and forth between winter and summer.

I have been trying to find a place to stay for the months of Oct 2018 thru Jan 2019 during the past week. It is not just a RV Park that I need but a dental office also in December. I could go back to Southern Mesa RV Park in Yuma but did not like it much. Considering a couple of places in Arizona where I have not stayed before. I've got emails out and will see what turns up.

"When it was convenient to defeat a sitting Republican president in 1992, the media told voters not to care about sex. The media also told us not to care when Clinton had sex with a young intern in the Oval Office just a few rooms away from his wife and daughter.
But now that caring about these things could damage a sitting Republican president, the media demand that we care.
The problem for the media is this: Americans are not stupid, and the only part of this dumb spectacle we are pointing and laughing at is the spectacle of a disgraced media trying to put toothpaste back into a tube." - Stormy Daniels on ’60 Minutes’ Is the Al Capone’s Vault of Trump Scandals, John Nolte.

If you do nothing else open this article and look at the picture in the heading. These aircraft are in dead storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona and many have never seen any use whatever. They are 'defending' the United States although there are not enough pilots to fly them and most of them are obsolete.

"When the fur really starts to fly, it will be highly doubtful if the American taxpayer is able to pony up the further cost of a true world war, which would be far beyond what they’re shouldering at present.
And, since the loser in a war is almost always the country that runs out of money first, and the US is for all purposes broke, the outcome of such a war would not be in favour of the US." - Nothing Exceeds Like Excess, Jeff Thomas.

28 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I'll be doing household chores today and tomorrow. My regular routine of doing all of the bathroom plus the kitchen floor this morning. Maybe vacuum the living room. Then finish up doing the cab area and windows tomorrow.

The Spoilers was the first published novel by Rex Beach, based in Alaska and was one of the best selling novels of 1906. The book was quickly adapted into a play, and was later adapted to film five times, in 1914, 1923, 1930, 1942, and 1955. The leading man in the 1930 film was Gary Cooper. The 1942 version had John Wayne as the lead man, Marlene Dietrich the lead female and Randolph Scott in the villain role. Jeff Chandler was the leading man in 1955 with Rory Calhoun as the villain and Anne Baxter was the leading lady.The first two films were silent with the 1955 film being the only one in color.
The novel is based on a true story of corrupt government officials, such as Alexander McKenzie, seizing gold mines from prospectors, which Beach witnessed while he was prospecting in Nome, Alaska during the Nome Gold Rush. Not many readers if the number of reviews are any indication; probably more people watch the old movies than ever read the book.

Former president Obama was the best gun salesman that this country has had for years. Everytime he opened his mouth to condemn guns for mass shootings, rather than the shooters, the sale of guns went up. The Lame Stream Media's attack on the NRA is having a similar effect. The more they blame the NRA for mass shootings, rather than the shooters, the more contributions they receive to their NRA PAC and the faster their membership grows. BACKLASH: NRA’s Political Fund Donations SPIKE In Wake Of Parkland Shooting, Mac Slavo

A good posting More Lies from the Presstitutes by Paul Craig Roberts about the Media and their 'reporting' on gun deaths. One take away.

"What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:
-65% of those deaths are by suicide, which would never be prevented by gun laws.
-15% are by police.
-17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons.
-3% are accidental discharge deaths.
So technically, “gun violence” is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Now let's look at how those deaths spanned across the nation:
-480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago
-344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore
-333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit
-119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)
So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause...
So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns?
It’s pretty simple: Taking away guns gives control to governments."

29 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

I have started to read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books that are available at Gutenberg. I will not be adding any Customer Reviews and probably no plot summary. Selecting them alphabetically with The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans being the first and is one of 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories. It is also one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow, and is the second and final appearance of Mycroft Holmes. Doyle ranked The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans fourteenth in a list of his nineteen favourite Sherlock Holmes stories.

Warmer this morning no wind with the expected high to reach 75°. The same conditions are forecast for the next 5 days with the high temperatures in the low 80s. This may be the week of Spring that Cochise County gets every year, but I'm not counting winter out yet.

That is good. I'll be outside this morning after getting this posted to my website. Washing Patches slobber off the windows so she can start adding more during the next month. The rest of the day I will probably be on the couch with her and my Paperwhite. Or, in my chair working on the latest pixel art drawing.

30 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

This is the club logo for the Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed "the Red Devils", the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. The next pixel drawing will be the two color cushion cover #6.

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box is the second of the twelve Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in most British editions of the canon, and the second of the eight stories from His Last Bow in most American versions. The story was first published in "The Strand Magazine" in 1893. I read it as a stand alone book downloaded from Gutenberg.

Grocery shopping day plus some extra buying opportunities. But first there was a breakfast stop at The Landmark restaurant. I had their California Omelet which is simply a ham omelet with some avocado, it is the avocado that makes it a California I'm sure.

Groceries at Fry's and then a stop at my UPS Store where I mailed a reservation deposit to a Park for the period Oct 2018 thru Jan 2019. While there I picked up a Statement from Southern Mesa RV Park that wanted me to pay my final electric bill a second time. Sent them an email saying that I would not be doing that since the payment is shown on my VISA Statement as being paid on 30 January.

Also received my VA copay billing that included the charges for cleaning my ears and the audiologist hearing test. It is something I can afford, probably would not have been able to afford to have a private practice do it.

Then went to Verizon and got a LG Exalt® LTE flip phone that is hearing aid compatible. The very brief test of it in the store assured me that it was better than the cheap TracFone which I can use since I can not hear anything. It is going to take some time to adjust to it but I think I will be able to join in with American society - at least partially. Not having a telephone is much the same as not having a car in our culture - you are an outcast, even worse than a 'deplorable'.

No luck in getting new ear protection. I may gamble and order some from Amazon. I need a couple of other things so maybe I'll not pay any shipping.

31 March
Quail Ridge RV Resort
Huachuca City, AZ

The only things I have on the agenda for today are dumping holding tanks, taking on fresh water and getting next month's Will Rogers weekly articles set up. There will be the usual couch time with Patches and my Paperwhite and probably get started drawing cushion #6 as pixel art.

I think I now have all my dental and RV Park reservations in place for the rest of this year. One of the Parks that I was going to stay at responded to my second email but did not reply to a third. I fixed that by adding the time I was going to stay there to the Park that was to be my next stop, they were able and willing to correspond via emails.

The Adventure of the Dying Detective, in some editions simply titled "The Dying Detective" (first published 1913), is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Together with seven other stories, it is collected as His Last Bow (published 1917). I read it as a stand alone book downloaded from Gutenberg.

The high temperature yesterday was 85° which required some A/C when we finish our afternoon walk. The forecast for today is much the same after the low this morning af 50. I was almost overdressed with my wool shirt jacket and it was over 70 by 8:00 am so the high may even be greater than yesterday. I saw a few mesquite leaf buds yesterday so I think Spring has arrived and it will be Summer long before I leave.