February
1 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I have come to expect that finding a dentist office that will do a cleaning will be a trial but it still irritates me. I had a prompt reply from one office which said they would set an appointment IF I had x-rays. I sent them copies as an Attachment with my reply on the 29th then sent a second email on the 30th asking them 'did you get the x-rays'? Please provide the time and date of my appointment using email. I have not received an appointment or a reply.
I was a busy little homemaker yesterday. Cooked some garbonzos for future salads plus some hulled barley and oat groats for future breakfasts. Used my microfiber mop on the floor then the reverse side of the mop which was wet. A lot easier than the way I went about cleaning the old floor.
I got the bathroom cleaned up this morning. Maybe get Desperado's cab vacumed and the windows washed today or maybe not until next week. There is a two months accumulation of dust plus a lot of construction debris from the floor replacement.
Also finished taking down the valances and curtains in the bedroom and installed cardboard over the windows. Sometime this month I'm going to see if I can get a price quote for shutters. Won't buy them now but if the idea is not outrageously expensive I'll get them next year. I need to paint, or get someone to paint, the walls prior to installing the shutters.
Brexit leader Nigel Farage made his final speech to the European Parliament Wednesday where he expressed Brexit as a victory in the “historic battle going on across the west” against Globalism, but in which he had his microphone cut off by the Parliament’s chair during his final remarks.
So this is it, the final chapter, the end of the road. A 47-year political experiment that the British frankly have never been very happy with. My mother and father signed up to a common market, not to a political union, flags, anthems, presidents, and now you even want your own army.
For me, it has been 27 years of campaigning and over 20 years here in this parliament. I’m not particularly happy with the agreement we’re being asked to vote on tonight. But Boris has been remarkably bold in the last few months… he’s promised us there will be no level playing field, and on that basis, I wish him every success in the next round of negotiations, I really do.
What happens at 11pm this Friday the 31st of January 2020 marks the point of no return. Once we’ve left, we’re never coming back and the rest frankly is detail. We’re going, and we will be gone.
And that should be the summit of my own political ambitions. I walked in here, you all thought it was terribly funny but you stopped laughing in 2016. But my view of Europe has changed since I joined. In 2005, I saw the constitution that had been drafted… and saw it rejected by the French in a referendum. I saw it rejected by the Dutch in a referendum. And I saw you, in these institutions, ignore them.
[You brought it back] as the Lisbon treaty, and boast you could ram it through without there being referendums. Well, the Irish did have a vote and did say no, and were forced to vote again. You’re very good at making people to vote again, but what we’ve proved is the British are too big to bully, thank goodness.
So I became an outright opponent of the whole European project. I want Brexit to start a debate across the whole of Europe. What do we want from Europe? If we want trade, friendship cooperation, reciprocity. We don’t need a European Commission, we don’t need a European court. We don’t need these institutions and all of this power. And I can promise you, both in UKIP and in the Brexit party, we love Europe. We just hate the European Union.
I hope this begins the end of this project. It is a bad project. It isn’t just undemocratic, it is antidemocratic.
It puts in that front row, it gives people power without unaccountability. People who cannot be held to account by the electorate and that is an unacceptable structure.
There is a historic battle going on across the west, in Europe, America, and elsewhere. It is globalism against populism. And you may loathe populism, but I’ll tell you a funny thing. It is becoming very popular! And it has great benefits. No more financial contributions, no more European Courts of Justice. No more European Common Fisheries Policy, no more being talked down to. No more being bullied, no more Guy Verhofstadt! What’s not to like.
I know you’re going to miss us, I know you want to ban our national flags, but we’re going to wave you goodbye, and we’ll look forward in the future to working with you as a sovereign nation… [Farage is cut off by the chair] - Source
2 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Another shopping day that is a day earlier than my usual routine. Doing that because tomorrow is my day to go to the Tucson VA. I could go shopping tomorrow and still have time to drive to Tucson but the forecast is for winds so I want to get there early. Probably will fight winds getting back to the Park.
Went to the Landmark and had breakfast before going to Fry's to fill Desperado with gas and then a shopping cart with groceries. My UPS Store is now open on Sunday which is good but not until 9:00 am. Most people don't yet know that they are open so there was no waiting, I was the only one in the store with just one clerk. They had four packages for me. The most important one was the short runner that I wanted to put on the new floor between the cab seats.
Then went to my friend Steve's and picked up the settee/cabinet that he has been storing for me while all the re-do work was going on. We had a good visit while Patches had a playdate with Steve's bloodhound. She wanted to pick a fight while in the house but when put outside where they could do whatever they wanted they both just sat at the door wanting back in. I think Patches was just jealous.
The seagrass runner looks very good. The other things that I received were six spice jars that fit better and look better in my corner spice rack than the containers I picked up a few weeks ago at Fry's. Patches got more of her glucosamine from Chewy.com; I got more coffee filters and mustache wax.
3 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
There was wind blowing when we went for our morning walk which is always a bad start for the day, it will only get stronger. I left for Tucson soon after we finished our walk with a stop in Benson at the Horseshoe Café where I got their Hash Omelet. It was huge with a good serving of country potatoes that were a bit overdone.
The wind was blowing from the west southwest so it was a bother on AZ 90 but became a fight for part of the way on Interstate 10. I got off on Valencia and then drove west on Benson Hwy to Ajo Way to the VA. I had plenty of time and wanted to see that part of Tucson. Benson Hwy is the Old US 80 with many motels from the 40s- 60s.
Got into the VA's RV parking lot and backed into a space that should let me get out again. Put this post together and when it is finished Patches and I will do a tour of the VA. I know from the map where I need to go but will find a route to there while we are doing our walk.
Even with our walk I'll have a wait for my appointment but I would rather have the wait than have to fight even stronger winds. If they continue to blow from the same direction the return on the Interstate should not be too bad. When I turn south on AZ 90 however they are going to be a challenge.
4 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
The echocardiography was very similar to the EKG. Painless and took only a few minutes longer. The guy that did the testing saw nothing that would indicate a problem but the test results are to be sent to a cardiologist. The analysis will then be sent to my PA in Sierra Vista who will maybe tell me about the analysis and then maybe not until I ask during my annual checkup in April.
The winds had shifted to only slightly more to the south by the afternoon but that was enough to make the Interstate portion of the drive back to the Park about the same difficulty as in the morning. The side winds on AZ 90 were what I expected but not as strong as what the experts had forecast. They don't predict much of the weather correctly but they usually do a good job with the winds.
They expected it to be much colder this morning with the low below freezing and the high to only reach 47°. They got this morning wrong with the low down to only 35.4; there was cloud cover during the night. I hope they get tomorrow wrong also, the expected morning low is 22 and the high for the day to be 46. A couple of reminders that winter has not lost its grip.
The plan for today is to try to stay warm. Maybe finish the book that I have been reading on Kindle Fire and start thinking about what to read next.
5 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I was cold almost all day yesterday. Probably the warmest was when we did our afternoon walk. There was a cold wind blowing but I was dressed for it and the sun felt good. Desperado stays colder or hotter than the outside temperature because it has very little or no insulation. Today will be a repeat, if not worse, because there was no cloud cover last night.
Sure enough this morning the low was 15.1° somewhat lower than the forecast of 22. That did not surprise me and I was not too cold while walking, however very cold in Desperado. Patches is hogging the Wave 6 but when I sit in my recliner with the foot rest extended I can get my feet close to it - WARMTH! Still below 20 at 8:00 am, the weather gurus think the low tomorrow morning will be 25 so I expect that I'll have another one below 20°. Maybe warming up in the days to follow but still some days in the 50s/30s.
Homeward Bound published in 2004 is a science fiction and alternate history novel that is the eighth and final work in Turtledove's Worldwar series fictional universe. It follows the events of the Colonization trilogy and gives some closure to the storylines.Homeward Bound begins in 1972 and then flashes forward to 1977, 1982, 1984, 1994, 2012, and finally to 2031, when the American starship Admiral Peary arrives at Tau Ceti and Home, the homeworld of The Race. - Edited Wikipedia
I have quoted the closing of a good article about the Democratic presidential primary in Iowa. A suggested read.
The difference between a true totalitarian dictatorship and America is that the totalitarian dictatorship enforces one political belief system which supports the status quo, whereas in America you get the freedom of choice between two political belief systems which support the status quo. The entire system is stacked to ensure the continued rule of the oligarchs, spooks and warmongers who really run things behind the two-handed sock puppet show of the official elected government. The US doesn’t attack and undermine nations when they lack “freedom” or “democracy”, they attack and undermine them when they refuse to bow to the demands of the power establishment which controls the US government and its allies.
The sooner people wake up to this, the better. In Iowa, things couldn’t have gone worse for those responsible for keeping people asleep. - DNC Completely Loses Public Trust In Its Primary Process On Very First Day, Caitlin Johnstone
6 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
The forecast high today is to be MUCH WARMER, it is expected to reach 56°. The same thing can be said to tomorrow morning, it is expected to be at freezing (I think maybe around 27) compared to this morning's low of 19.6. The weather guessers are predicting a very warm weekend with the low temperature near 50 Monday morning (I wish).
After a week, five emails and two submissions of my x-rays I got an appointment with a dental office for a cleaning in December. That was with just the one office where I got the appointment.
I also sent four emails to three other offices and received only one reply from those. The reply indicated they were willing to help me 'If you'd prefer to call us'.
Once the dental appointment was made it was easy to get a RV Park reservation which is not always true.
A good article about the 'Iowa caucus scandal'. Caitlin does the work that the Lame Stream Media refuses to do and explains why.
I keep seeing the word “incompetence” thrown around. “Gosh these Democratic Party leaders are so incompetent!”, they say. “How can anyone be so bad at their job?”
Well, they are not bad at their job. They are very, very good at their job. It’s just that their job isn’t what most people assume it is...
The system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly the way it’s intended to work. It ain’t a bug, it’s a feature. And that feature will remain in operation until the entire sick system is torn down and replaced with something healthy. - The Myth Of Incompetence: DNC Scandals Are A Feature, Not A Bug, Caitlin Johnstone
There is a video circulating that shows Mz. Pelosi knew exactly what she was doing. Premeditated and ill advised.
It is a rare thing to witness a truly iconic moment happen on live television, but that is precisely what tens of millions of Americans had the opportunity to do on Tuesday night. At the conclusion of President Trump’s State of the Union address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped her copy of Trump’s speech in half in front of a nationwide audience. We have never seen anything like that before in the entire history of this country, but of course so many unprecedented things have taken place during Trump’s presidency. Pelosi is claiming that she did not plan in advance to rip the speech in half, and at that moment she probably wasn’t doing much thinking at all, but it is a moment that will live in all of our memories for the rest of our lives. Pelosi shocked the entire nation by tearing the speech in two, but more importantly I believe that her action was a perfect metaphor for what is about to happen to America. We are more deeply divided than we have ever been, and during this election season I believe that we will see very frightening eruptions of anger and frustration all across the United States...So even though Nancy Pelosi didn’t even realize what she was doing, I think that she perfectly foreshadowed what is about to happen. Very dark days are approaching, and the United States of America will never be the same again. - When Pelosi Ripped Trump’s Speech In Half, Was It A Harbinger Of What Is About To Happen To America During This Election?, Michael Snyder
7 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: February 7, 1932
The low this morning was 27.3°, right where I thought it would be. The forecast for tomorrow morning is 37 so my guess is that it will be a fraction below freezing. That will be good compared to the two mornings that were below 20. Sun-Tue mornings are all forecast to be over 40 - I don't think so. There is also rain in the forecast for Monday and Tesday - I hope not.
The leftist are upset that Rush Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the radio category. I'm happy to see that he received the award since I sent President Trump a message soon after he became president requesting that he do so. I'm also happy that the leftists are upset, they have been trying to destroy Rush for over 30 years. If he can beat them he should be able to beat cancer.
"When you strike at a king, you must kill him". - Ralph Waldo Emerson
This was true for the king of talk radio as well as for President Trump. The Establishment will continue to do all they can to prevent the reelection of president Trump but he now holds a trump hand (pun intended). Only the economy going over the cliff, or his agreeing to get us into another war, will hurt his chances now.
This book got high praise from Davidow and a high average rating at goodreads.com but I did not think it was Vern's better book. It was good but not that good.
Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar is a novel by Verne that was published in 1876. Critics, including Leonard S. Davidow, consider it one of Verne's best books. Davidow wrote, "Jules Verne has written no better book than this, in fact it is deservedly ranked as one of the most thrilling tales ever written." Unlike some of Verne's other novels, it is not science fiction, but a scientific phenomenon (Leidenfrost effect) is a plot device. - Edited Widipedia
8 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I have nothing planned for today. There will be a shopping excursion tomorrow but today will be just the routine.
I got an email yesterday from one of the co-organizers for the 60th High School Reunion of my class. I attended the 50th, the first one that I did attend, and I was planning on being close to Douglas, AZ in October when it is being held. So, sent an email to a RV Park there and if I get a reservation I'll be going to the 60th.
I like this closing to Kunstler's post but I seriously doubt that 'now they are going to be punished'.
The news media is saying that President Trump had “his best week ever.” My sense of him hasn’t changed: he remains the Golden Golem of Greatness, a kind of mystical and mystifying comic figure himself, but not of the 1930s slapstick sort, more like a character drawn from the neo-gothic Joker phase of American history — and, hey, he really did spring full-blown on the scene from our real-life Gotham City. I was impressed, during his Thursday post-acquittal White House gala, at the stunning incoherence of his remarks, his facility for leaving absolutely every thought hanging unfinished in mid-sentence as he turned to the next uncompleted thought. I can’t say for sure that this makes him an ineffective manager of the nation’s affairs, but it does leave you kind of wondering. The fact remains, though, that his antagonists have behaved much worse, and now they are going to be punished. - Slapstick Suicide James Howard Kunstler
Fred has much the same opinion of the election process as does Harry Turtledove in his novels where he calls them 'snout counting'. The sad thing is we in the US can not even count snouts without the rogues and rascals meddling with the count totals.
Lincoln said that you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. The American principle is that you can fool enough of the people enough of the time...
Elections, inevitable in democracies, are a terrible idea. An election is a competitive shooing of fools in directions profitable to those doing the shooing. Democracy is thus a mechanism for the promotion of rogues and rascals. It works. America now has a most wonderfully ineffectual and embarrassing government.
The holding of elections–these being combinations of raffles, vaudeville, and popularity contests–every two, four, or six years ensures that the beneficiaries will concentrate their thoughts more on shooing than doing. China and America: Scoping Out the Megacepts, Fred Reed
9 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
A trip into town that started with laundry followed by breakfast at Café Olé where I had the Mexican Scramble. Got it from my usual waitress that told me what I was going to have and all I had to do is say 'yes' to order. From there it was to Fry's for groceries and another Sunday crowd. I don't think early morning on Sunday is the time to go there.
Yesterday morning the low was 29.3° which did not feel too cold. By comparison this morning's low at 40.3 felt balmy. The weather experts expect rain tomorrow with the low at 46; I would enjoy that low if it were to happen but not the rain.
The more president Trump 'talks' about getting the US out of never ending war, while trying to start new ones, the more I think Caitlin is right.
Everyone with a brain knew Russiagate and Ukrainegate would fizzle, including leading Democrats. They only pushed them to distract from their own failures and scandals in 2016, and to avoid making any meaningful changes to their party or its policies. Trump supporters who claim it was a major Deep State coup attempt are premising that belief on the idea that the Deep State was capable of orchestrating a massive domestic regime change operation but was incapable of counting Senate seats. There was never any real establishment threat to Trump, because Trump is fully aligned with the establishment. - Big Buttigieg Bloviations: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix, Caitlin Johnstone
10 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
The expected low this morning was to be 46 per the experts. They missed their guess by even more than usual with the low being recorded as 38.7 by the local Weather Underground station. I'm not complaining, with the low temperatures that we have been having this morning felt great. The bad news is this was probably a one of occurance and there will be freezing, or below freezing, lows for the next couple ofweeks then maybe back up to near 40 again.
I have nothing planned for today other than the usual routine which is very nice.
I think Nancy Peloci has secured her place in history by tearing up president Trump's SOTU speech when he finished giving it. She will join Nikita Khrushchev in what most people consider churlish behavior. So far she has taken the same position as Khrushchev did, a shameful episode presented as an act of valor. May history rhyme with her removal as Speaker?
Nikita Khrushchev's shoe-banging incident occurred during the 902nd Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York City in 1960. During the session on 12 October, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, pounded his shoe on his delegate-desk in protest at a speech by Philippine delegate Lorenzo Sumulong...
Khrushchev was reported to be delighted with his performance, but other members of Communist delegations to the UN were embarrassed or displeased. Khrushchev was removed as leader in 1964, and he was criticized for the incident: "a shameful episode that he still presents as an act of valor". Source
11 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
The weather forecasters got it exactly right yesterday with their call for rain. They said there would be scattered showers starting at 3:00 in the afternoon and I got a shower just a few minutes before 3:00.
By the time for our afternoon walk it had quit and there was sunshine. We started the walk and within 10 minutes it had become dark again and there was heavy rain between me and the Huchuchas. Beat a hasty retreat to Desperado and got back just in time to stay dry with another shower passing through.
Total rain from the storm so far has been 0.22" with a 50% chance of more today. It is also expected to be cold with the high to reach only 49 and most of the mornings during the next 10 days to be in the 30s. I was overdressed this morning with the low at 36.9 but will wear the same things tomorrow morning which I expect to be below freezing.
I liked this article by Caitlin but think The Establishment's support for Pete will fade away once Bernie has been eliminated as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Progressives already got suckered into forfeiting their revolutionary spirit in exchange for flowery prose and empty rhetoric the last time they elected Pete Buttigieg for president, back when Pete Buttigieg was named Barack Obama. It was literally the exact same script they’re trying to recycle with Puppet Pete: a plucky young underdog with a knack for sparkly verbiage overcomes the frontrunner in Iowa in a stunning upset, then rides the momentum from that initial victory on to the Democratic nomination. - Puppet Pete Says Revolution And The Status Quo Aren’t Mutually Exclusive, Caitlin Johnstone
12 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
A trip into town that was not a shopping day although I spent just as much money. Stopped at Sunny D's on the way and had breakfast before going to Big O for an oil change and new air filter. From there I went to The Wash Works and made appointments for Desperado to get a bath in April and a wash-n-wax in November. It is best to make the appointments face to face, I don't have much luck using website Contact Forms or email. HA
The RV Park that I have tried to contact twice using their website Contact Form has yet to reply. I had a friend telephone them and asked them to confirm with an email to me; that has not happened either. An email to two different email addresses that I think belong to the Park have also gone unanswered.
Stopped at Wanderlust Koffee as I left town and got a latte. "Wanderlust Kaffee was opened to provide jobs and support the Jennifer house women’s transitional home here in Sierra Vista." All profits go to the Jennifer house! - Source. Then stopped at RV City and had Desperado's propane tanks filled. Have been using a lot of propane with this cold winter.
It was below freezing this morning at 31.1° but the experts are guessing that it will be much warmer today with the high at 55 vs yesterday's 47. There was a lot of snow on the Whetstones this morning that fell during the night. We had 0.31" more rain during the night but it looks like the storm has now passed. The 10 day forecast has a lot of days that are to be partly cloudy with cold mornings but not more rain.
13 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Another below freezing morning with the low at 28.4°. There are no low temperatures below freezing in the 10 day forecast but I expect to see some more. Tomorrow morning might be just above freezing and those days that are forecast to be 40 and above probably will not be freezing but i'm sure there will be some more.
After a week of repeated emails and filling out the Contact Form on a RV web page plus having a friend make a telephone call I received a confirmed reservation. This is for my stay in the Douglas, AZ area to attend my High School class 60th reunion.
I think one of the problems with RV Parks, and other businesses, is they 'buy' a web page(s) from some provider and someone with a little bit of knowhow makes it operational. But the people that actually use it are never trained in how to use it, this is particularly true of the Contact page where the Contact Forms appear.
Wanting things to go back to how they were before Trump is wanting things to go back to the conditions which gave rise to Trump. The belief that everything will be peachy keen once Trump is out of office is therefore more dangerous than Trump himself, because it guarantees more Trumps, and it guarantees that the underlying disease of which Trump is a symptom will remain uncured.
Treating a symptom doesn’t cure the disease. Believing that getting rid of Trump will fix America’s problems is like believing cough syrup cures tuberculosis...
If the narrative managers succeed in installing Pete Buttigieg or one of his ideological clones, the temptation for millions of Americans will be to go back to sleep. But America won’t be any healthier. The coughing will have stopped, but the tuberculosis will remain. The sociopathic imperialist oligarchy will continue along the exact same trajectory, but the symptom of an oafish, incompetent and ham-fisted president will have been eliminated. - The Belief That Everything Will Be Fine Once Trump’s Gone Is More Dangerous Than Trump, Caitlin Johnstone
14 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: February 14, 1932
Yesterday in my post I guessed that this morning's low would be just above freezing. I got it right with the low being recorded as being 32.5° which felt warmer but that is probably because I'm comparing it to the very cold mornings that we have had. Tomorrow morning should be the same. The daily high temperatures are forecast to be in the mid to upper 60s which is great if the wind is moderate.
I had a salmon fillet in the Roaster yesterday to give me some more 'linners'. This morning I have a pot of hulled barley and oat groats on the stove for future breakfasts.
That will be about all that I'll do today. There is a shopping trip tomorrow and maybe a couple of other stops. Rather routine which is nice and Patches is very happy that we are back to the routine.
I did not like this book as well as the first one, Arundel. It is good and I do recommend it as good historical fiction but not as good as his first one. The blog posting that I have quoted claims that both books have a 1933 publication date but I found Arundel to be published in 1929. That also made Rabble the third in his Arundel quadrilogy.Rabble In Arms is the second novel of a Revolutionary War trilogy by Kenneth Roberts, following Arundel. The two novels have the same publication date, but it's unclear whether they were written in the same year. They have very different first-person narrative styles. Steven Nason, the fictional woodsman of Arundel, has an archaic, plain-spoken manner meant to invoke that particular time and place. Nason returns as a character in Rabble In Arms but the narrator this time is another fictional resident of the little town of Arundel, Maine. Peter Merrill is the son of a shipbuilder and a fourth-generation native son. Peter uses none of the archaic terms, stilted speech and provincial attitudes of Steven Nason, making the Merrills seem both more contemporary and less authentic. Another returning character from Arundel is Nason's rough-and-ready friend Cap Huff, who has lost none of his fractured syntax, sideways reasoning and light-fingered ways. I did, however, miss Nason's commentary on his friend's idiosyncrasies. - Historical Fiction Blog
15 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I started my day in town with breakfast at the Landmark where I got their Spinach Omelet. Can't decide if I like it or their Popeye the best so switch back and forth. Always get the home fries, the best in Sierra Vista that I have had.
Then to Fry's for groceries which I changed slightly from my usual. From there to the dog groomer that I used last year. Wanted an appointment but the girl that opened was the only one there and she said she could not make grooming appointments. But she wrote down all the needed information and will give it to a groomer when they come in. Then someone will email me the appointment date and time - maybe?
The last stop was at my UPS Store where I picked up a package of prescriptions from the VA. In the package was a refill of the shampoo that has done the best job of controlling the psoriasis in my scalp and under my beard. Nothing prior to this has done nearly as good a job.
Low temperature this morning was 33.8° which felt warmer. The day is warming up very nicely as well. Clear sky and lots of sun. The snowbirds are all out in their gravity chairs enjoying all the great weather that is touted by the Chamber of Commerce. I'll stay inside Desperado and read. HA
16 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I have been reading The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up: A Breakthrough Medical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Steven Masley off and on as a break from my usual reading fare. His plan to prevent and reverse heart disease isn't really new and innovative or a breakthrough. He claims that his plan for watching what you eat, losing weight, exercising regularly is something 'new' but the only thing I found new were some of the tests that he recommends (very expensive). The recipes that he includes sound very good but contain far more ingredients than I'm willing to deal with. A suggested read but not highly recommended.
I have nothing on the agenda to do today. The high temperature is expected to be above 70 which IF it happens will be the first time since 8 February 2020 and only the 6th time since I arrived on 1 December 2019. That is the same number of days that were over 70 during the same period last year but sure has seemed to have been colder this year.
I have quoted the closing to a good article that will outrage most Trump supporters as well as some anti-Trump supporters. Therefore it must contain some truth.
Believing that a US president is going to save you is just as dumb as believing the FBI and CIA are going to save you. Republicans have been doing the former while Democrats have been doing the latter. Both have been duped by custom-made establishment propaganda into cheering for different aspects of the establishment, and the only one who wins is that very same establishment.
Stop getting duped into believing in America’s two-handed sock puppet show. It’s always fake, and it always ends the same: all your money goes to the performers, and you get screwed. Start seeing through the illusion.
- Trump Supporters Are George W Bush Supporters LARPing As Ron Paul Supporters, Caitlin Johnstone
17 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I don't have much happening here today, maybe nothing much for some time to come. The weather has become Chamber of Commerce perfect with a high temperature of 75° yesterday. There is little or no talk about the low temperatures but this morning it was 35.1 which I found very nice with my wool blanket capote and no thermals.
If the forecast proves to be correct we will have these great temperatures until the 25th of February then freezing again. That will cause all the fruit trees to start blooming and then get frozen and no fruit will form, the usual pattern for this area although pecans and pistachios do well due to a late bloom, the same as the mesquite.
The article below was posted on 16 February but Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE show 77 for Singapore, 66 for Japan and 58 for Hong Kong as of 17 February. What the article does not say is that there were 15 confirmed cases in the US. Is this a Black Swan that will be the harbinger to the Fourth Turning as foretold by Strauss–Howe?
There are now 75 confirmed cases in Singapore, 59 confirmed cases in Japan and 57 confirmed cases in Hong Kong. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep this virus contained, and we are rapidly approaching a major tipping point. - Japan’s GDP Is Collapsing, And Experts Are Warning That China Will Be Next, Michael Snyder
It is not so long ago that a member of the Diplomatic Body in London, who had spent some years of his service in China, told me that there was a Chinese curse which took the form of saying, ‘May you live in interesting times.’ There is no doubt that the curse has fallen on us.”
“We move from one crisis to another. We suffer one disturbance and shock after another.” - Source
18 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I finally did what I have been putting off for almost three months. When I drove from Casa Grande to here the clothes closet rod collapsed. This left the clothes in a pile at the bottom of the closet on top of 'stuff' that I have not seen in years (much of it for 10 years).
This morning I dug everything out and sorted through it. Made two piles and put almost everything back in the closet. Found a new place for a few things that were on top of the mess that I have used recently. The two piles were 'keepers' and 'give away'. I'll see if I can get the closet rod fixed this summer. The host at my scheduled camp is a carpenter so it should not be much of a challenge for him.
Yesterday I did a bit of cooking. There was a pot of garbonzos for salads and then about a half pound of fresh green beans. I have been buying frozen vegetables but thought I would try getting more from the produce aisle. There probably isn't any nutritional difference with the frozen being better if the 'fresh' produce is very old. Just wanting something a little different in my rather simple meals.
I think I have now done enough. I'll see if I can finish the book on my Kindle Fire and think about what I read next.
19 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Idon't have the data for shoes that I bought prior to 13 June 2017 when I got a pair of Keen Men's Voyageur Hiking Shoe, Midnight Navy/Gargoyle. Those shoes lasted for 1,267 miles before I replaced them on 19 April 2018 with Keen Men's Voyageur Trail Shoe, Black Olive/Inca Gold. Those lasted 985 miles until I replaced them on 2 December 2018 with another pair of Keen Men's Voyageur Trail Shoe, Black Olive/ Inca Gold. On 10 October 2019 I replaced those after 1,344 miles with some Rockport Postals from Famous Footwear.
I did not like them very much when I got them and like them even less now after four months and 592 miles. So I have been shoe shopping for the past three days and placed an order yesterday for some Chippewa boots. They are 6" boots rather than the 5" chukka or ankle boot style that I would have prefered but I could not find any that were constructed with a Goodyear welt that I could afford. These I can resole which may be cheaper, or maybe not, than buying the 'walking shoes' that I have been buying. We will see.
I had some boots from Peter Limmer and Sons, not their custom boot, but their in-house stock boot which was expensive but nothing like their custom boots. I used those as my walking shoes for a lot of years and think I had them resoled twice.
Two of the selling points for these boots were 1) Made in the USA with Global Parts 2) Style 20065 [what I ordered] cannot be shipped to California. Chippewa has elected to not sell this boot in California versus adding the label required by that state's Proposition 65. "Labels warning that a product contains chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm are now required on many household items sold in California." As one wag said "Boots aren't meant for eating. Clearly, these boots were made for walking.". If they cannot be shipped to California then I really, really want them. HA
Speaking of California, there are the same problems in Oregon. There is a movement to fix those problems, a couple of movements in fact. There is Jefferson State which has been active for many years and more recently Greater Idaho has been formed. I don't see much chance for either of them to happen until the economy goes to hell and parts of states can spin off like what happened when the USSR collapsed.
20 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
A follow up to my posting about Prop 65 and Chippewa Boots. It is not just Chippawa but all boot and leather product sellers. I think Chippawa only recently quit selling their boots that use Apache leather in California. This is the reason:
Since April 2019, Center for Environmental Health (CEH), an activist group long known for using Proposition 65 litigation to run through entire industries to affect change, began to issue Proposition 65 notices alleging the presence of CR6 in consumer products made with leather materials. These Notices follow the European Union's adoption of regulations limiting the amount of hexavalent chromium in leather articles that contact the skin to 3 mg/kg, based on studies finding that hexavalent chromium causes dermatitis in humans at concentrations exceeding that level. Previously, hexavalent chromium was primarily a concern for environmental exposures through inhalation, but Prop 65 plaintiffs are now relying on the EU studies, as well as reports indicating that Chromium III can be transformed into and emit CR6, to target leather consumer products based on dermal exposure.
Chromium III containing substances are used as a tanning agent in 80-95% of worldwide leather production. Tanning with Chromium III is preferred over vegetable tanning because it can be accomplished more quickly and cheaply, and also the resulting leather can be thinner and more supple than leather tanned using vegetable tannins. Under certain conditions, Chromium III can transform to hexavalent chromium, a chemical that requires a Proposition 65 warning. - Source
Scouring the web and reading 'stuff' that does not fit into the media narrative was on the agenda more than usual these past few days. I'll be doing more of that, reading a new book on Kindle Fire and maybe doing some Will Rogers weekly article preparation.
Not much going on.
This continues to be a good series. A lot more blood, which Uhtred as portrayed by Cornwell enjoys letting. A much different world than the one that is shown in the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auelis.Death of Kings, published in 2011, is the sixth novel of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales series. It continues the story of Saxon warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg who keeps fighting against a new Danish invasion of Wessex and Mercia. - Wikipedia
This quote is from an article that is well worth reading if you are following the media's Coronavirus® reports.
It appears Coronavirus® has all the makings of a media event; a post-impeachment just-in-time delivery to the people. Because, Dear Reader, we are hamsters in a cage and electronic media is the wheel.
Coronavirus® is about establishing control.
In the opinion of this blogger, propagandized pandemics are meant to prompt quarantine and vaccinations.
And healthy immune systems have a better chance at fighting off any virus than perhaps people do surviving the likely depopulating measures of quarantines and vaccinations.
Fear engenders control and it seems hysteria has a higher transmission rate and longer sustainability in brain tissue, than coronaviruses...
Is Coronavirus® the real deal? A made-for-TV psyop? A marketing gimmick? A man-made bio weapon or a Biblical plague?
At this point, what difference does it make? - The Pluses and Minuses of Perceived Slyness, Stuffed Sinuses, and Coronaviruses, Doug “Uncola” Lynn
21 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: February 21, 1932
Into town for my regular shopping plus some other running around. The breakfast stop was at Sunny D's for Chorizo n Eggs. Then a tour through Fry's. I only changed 3-4 things from my routine but probably covered twice the ground looking for those new things.
Then went to Tail Topia, the groomer where I stopped last Saturday, to see why I had not received an email confirming my appointment. The girl that took all my information last week said she would give it to the groomer and she would make the appointment and then send me an email. What the girl did not say was that the groomer was on an extended vacation. She may not be back on the date that I wanted.
Went to Anasazi, another pet groomer, that was close by which I had driven by a number of times. Got an appointment for later in the day than I would like but at least I have an appointment for Patches to get her semi-annual bath. Then drove to Budget Blinds on my way out of town to get an 'in home consultation' for shutters. The guy there didn't need to go into my home. When he found out that I wanted shutters in an RV he said 'no way' they had a hard and fast rule to not do it. So I need to think some more about the window treatment for Desperado's bedroom.
High clouds this morning with a 10% chance of rain and a lot colder than the past couple of days that have had the high temperatures in the 70s. There is an increasing chance of rain tonight which is fine but the chance continues into tomorrow so we could get wet during our morning walk.
22 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
We didn't have to wait until this morning to get wet, we did that yesterday afternoon. When we stepped out to do our walk there were a few sprinkles but within minutes they became more numerous. When Patches started shaking off the rain I knew it was time to get back to Desperado. It was raining harder south of us and coming our way.
That is not to say that we did not get wet this morning. We went out into a light mist that became a heavy mist then a light rain. Patches was shaking it off by the time we finished our regular walk. Only 0.11" total rain fall from this storm so far but it looks like we could have more all day today. The Sonora, green desert, plants are going to do well with this added moisture after a reasonably wet winter.
Sent off an email to a company that offers shutters for RVs asking for information. Maybe they will respond and maybe not, I have very little confidence in web page Contact Forms. I think less than half the web pages that have them ever look at the messages that are entered on them. We will see.
There are a lot of websites that offer shutters but I can not find many that claim to offer them for RVs. I also don't find any RVers talking about how they have replaced their window coverings with shutters. Maybe it is not a good idea?
23 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Yesterday afternoon was a repeat of the day before. We went out into some sprinkles to do our walk and it became rain. We got a little bit wet but would have got much wetter if we had stayed out there.
The online sutter company replied yesterday which surprised me. They wanted some pictures so I sent them the best that I could do. I am not much of a photographer and need to be retrained every time I want to use the cheap digital camera that I have. Maybe they are good enough and they will get back to me with suggested shutters and a price.
With nothing else to do today I may finish the latest book on my Kindle Fire. I have another one on the Paperwhite but only reading it off and on. Thinking about what I will read next.
Nothing has changed in Washington since Will's days and I have little hope that the election this year is going to break that string.
And the more men that have anything to do with trying to right a thing why the worse off it is. If every man was left absolutely to his own method of righting his own affairs why a big majority would get it done. But he can’t do that.
The Government has not only hundreds but literally thousands in Washington to see that no man can personally tend to his own business. They go there to do it for him, and a mob always gets panicky quicker than an individual. They hear so much of how bad things are, and that something should be done, and they immediately feel that it’s up to them to do it, so they just get up in the morning determined to pass some bills that day that will attempt to do something. They don’t know if they will or not, but they were sent there to pass bills, so they get to passing them. - Will Rogers
24 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I received a quote from the shutter company that I contacted - on Sunday. If their products are as good as their willingness to spend the time replying to email information requests then this is the place to buy shutters - Kirtz Shutters.
The guy that responded has the same worries about condensation as I do. He suggested using plastic shutters but if I were to go that route I would probably go with blinds. A lot cheaper and a lot of places offer RV blinds. I may elect to replace the Wave 6 with an electric ceramic heater. However, the Wave 6 is marginal in heat output when it gets below freezing the electric heaters have lower BTU output. Maybe a dehumidifier, at this point I just don't know.
Speaking of freezing mornings, the one today was not quite freezing at 32.9°. We are not yet past the time that we will not get more, the next 4 days may have more than one that is freezing or below. I will keep my basement heater plugged in.
I liked Androids Dream and The Edge was not too bad but this book carried scifi to a level that I did not like very much. The last third of the book was much better than all that preceded it, I will give it that. I'll read the third book in Jeter's Blade Runner series and hope for the best. Then maybe try some of his other books that are in various series.Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night is a science fiction novel by American writer K. W. Jeter published in 1996. It is a continuation of Jeter's novel Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human, which was itself a sequel to both the film Blade Runner and the novel upon which the film was based, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Wikipedia
25 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I have requested samples of Affordable Faux Wood in a couple of colors from theshutterstore.com. Their website says "Made from polyvinyl with an aluminum core, these shutters are robust, durable and easy to maintain so they’re ideal for any room in your home, including bathrooms and kitchens. Our waterproof Faux Wood shutters will not peel, warp, or fade, and come with The Shutter Store price promise too." I think this is what the guy at Kirtz Shutters was recommending.
When I last reported on the coronavirus there were 66 confirmed cases in Japan and 15 cases in the United States. As of today Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE was reporting 160 cases in Japan and 53 in the United States.
With the sanctuary city policies in the United States I expect to see the confirmed cases in the United States to exceed those in Japan by the end of March. Both countries will be higher than now by some multiple but the US will be in panic mode by then. Hope that I am wrong. See what Paul Craig Roberts has to say in Coronavirus Could Be on the Verge of Worldwide Breakout
This is a perfect example of how to put the spin on polls results. HA
OBAMA RATED 5th BEST PRESIDENT IN US HISTORY
From a total of 45 US Presidents: Obama is rated as the 5th best. The Polling Public Relations Office released this statement "After 8 years in office, Americans have rated President Obama the 5th best President ever."
These are the details:
1. Reagan, Lincoln and Trump tied for first.
2. Twenty three presidents tied for second.
3. Seventeen other presidents tied for third.
4. Jimmy Carter came in fourth
5. Obama came in fifth.
This article by Caitlin Johnstone writing an op-ed under the byline of Snooty McCentrist of the National News Conglomerate makes some good points while providing a good laugh - Op-Ed: Stop Revolting, You Insolent Peons.
26 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
The morning low temperatures were above freezing from 16th to the 25th but down to 26.8° this morning. The 10 day forecast expect most mornings to be above freezing but not tomorrow, I expect about half of them to be below.
I have a question. Why are there no confirmed cases of Coronavirus® in Mexico, any country in Central America or South America? The United States is now reporting 57 and Canada 11. President Trump is claiming that the United States is doing a great containment job but not so good compared to our neighbors to the south.
There is not much happening here and I don't have anything planned for today. The only thing I accomplished yesterday was to cook some more hulled barley and oat groats. A couple days ago I cooked a pound of navy beans and then mashed them up with my mortar and pestle. I have been adding some of that each day to my 'linner'. Probably didn't need to mash them but wanted to see how I could use them. When they are mashed they do not hold together very well when reheated; I need to do some more experimenting.
27 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Real cold this morning (22.5°), very lucky that there was no wind to make it even worse. It has warmed up quickly and may reach the forecast 68 for the high. Tomorrow morning is forecast to be near 40 with Saturday and Sunday mornings near the mid 40s then probably some more freezing mornings to begin the month of March.
Went to town after our morning walk in the cold with a stop at the Landmark which was packed with troops from Ft Huachuca. The waitress warned me that it could be a 15-20 minute wait to get my order but she was back with it in less than 10. I got their Popeye with home fries again which has always been good.
Picked up groceries at Fry's and then had about a 30 minute wait at my UPS Store before they opened. There I got my Chippewa boots which I took out of the box at Tony's Shoe Repair. I wanted his opinion as to how long the soles were going to last but could not pin him down to saying that I would get 1,400 miles from them. He can resole them with another Vibram sole which he says is a very good material. I'll just have to see how long this original sole will last.
Stopped at the Wanderlust Koffee and picked up a latte before leaving town. When I got back to the Park I found that the RV directly across the street from me had left which made it much easier for me to get back into my space. My recent neighbor on the west side has been encroaching onto my lot making it a tight squeeze getting out and even worse to get back in. With the space open across the street it was not so bad.
28 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: February 28, 1932
The Chippewa boots now have just a little less than 5 mile on them. When I first tried to put them on while wearing my usual socks they were very tight. So, I put on a thin sock and put them on for 3-4 hours then was able to get them on wearing my walking socks. They fit like a glove but a new glove. They will take some breaking in but so far so good.
The Chippewa boots came with a tag attached that said:
California Proposition 65 Warning:
Warning: This product contains chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
This was the standard warning required per Prop 65 prior to August 2018. Since then "the new warnings for consumer products now say the product 'can expose you to' a Proposition 65 chemical rather than saying the product 'contains' the chemical. They also include:
1) The name of at least one listed chemical that prompted the warning
2) The Internet address for OEHHA’s new Proposition 65 warnings website, www.P65Warnings.ca.gov, which includes additional information on the health effects of listed chemicals and ways to reduce or eliminate exposure to them
3) A triangular yellow warning symbol ⚠ on most warnings
Example:
⚠ Warning: This product can expose you to chemicals including arsenic, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Chippewa Boots continues to include the old warning but has elected to not ship to California versus complying with the new requirements.
29 February
Quail Ridge
Huachuca City, AZ
I started another psoriasis flare yesterday. This is good. The reason I say that is because I have a Telehealth appointment next week at the VA Clinic in Sierra Vista that will be connected to the Dermatology department in the Tucson VA hospital.
Perhaps they will get some pictures of the flare in process and I will not have to try and explain what it looks like when it happens. I also started a 10 day regimen of Ibuprofen that has been effective in the past to arrest the arthritic psoriasis attacks on my tendons. We will see how both of those work out.
I'll be doing my monthly Suzy Homemaker duties later this morning with the intent of getting the bathroom, kitchen and living room cleaned up. Tomorrow Desperado's cab to be on the To Do list.
Much warmer this morning with the low temperature at 39°. Not up to the above 40 that was in the forecast. While we were doing our walk it was above 40 with that low temperature coming after we had finished. It was about 44 when we went out at 6:00 and dropped to 41 by the time we finished then continued to go down as the sun came up.
Here is an explanation:
Because of radiational cooling, on clear nights the ground gets much colder than the air just a few feet above it. Since thermometers are placed about five feet above the ground, it will show a warmer temperature than the air touching the ground. Once the sun comes up, the sunlight excites the cold air in the first foot or so above the ground (which can be 10 or more degrees colder), which causes it to move around and mix into the next several feet of air. That “mixing upward” drops the temperature of the air at thermometer level. Source
I am not posting this to suggest that Coronaviris® is not a health issue but at this time I think it has been completely overblown in the media (If it bleeds, it leads). It is not the first time that the media has done this; read this article that I have sourced to see the many time it has happened before.
Although most of us hadn't heard of the coronavirus before this month, the media coverage probably seemed familiar. It's the latest public health scare that has captured worldwide attention, bringing questions, predictions and anxiety—much like bird flu and mad cow disease before it. We looked back at the biggest health scares of all time. Some were devastating, some were hype or outright hoaxes. Some just faded away; others changed medicine and public health forever. Source