Peregrinating
2016

January

1 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

There were only 18 messages waiting for me this morning which was surprising. I did some more testing and found that although I have user control over how many messages appear on a page I can not control the total that are stored. That number seems to be 20, when the 21st message is added #1 drops off.

I have taken the Shoutbox down for today as another test. May put it back up again tomorrow or it may be history. If you the reader can not post a Shout without it being pushed off into the dust bin, so to speak, then there is no reason for me to have it on my web page.

As you can see I have a replacement for the Shoutbox today. This area will continue to show my attempts to draw using Canvas. One of the images that I want to draw is a marker for my maps that I can not find anyplace on the web. All the other icons/markers that I have used were either defaults from Google Map API or I was able to get them from the web as free downloads.

Can not find what I want so I will draw them myself. I then need to save the drawing as a .png image which I can use as markers when generating the maps that now have red push pins. Those push pins are better than the defaults and better than the numbered markers that I have used but I have an idea that requires a 'different' marker.

2 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

My Shoutbox test yesterday has proved to me that the attack is directed against moi and not at Yellbox. I have had the Shoutbox coding removed from my Home Page for over 24 hours and there has not been one Spam message show up in my account with Yellbox.

Why me? I have no idea. Someone somewhere, probably in Ukraine or Russia, found my web page and thought it would be great fun to tell all their friends and friends of friends to take the Shoutbox down. I have banned 200 of them and they keep coming so it is going to stay down for some time.

I will miss the Shoutbox but I lived for a long time without it. If there is something that you really, really want to tell me there is always email. I tell you everything I know, which is not a lot, everyday in my postings.

I had great success yesterday and this morning with my drawing. The Smiley that you now see with the one green eye and one red was easier to do that I thought it would be. I copied the code for the basic Smiley but was then able to change the color and fill each eye with a different color. Not "one giant leap for mankind" but certainly one small step for this man.

It put me on the path to making the marker that I was talking about. In fact I was able to make one, convert it to a .png image and use it on my maps. I was disappointed! The markers still stacked because of how Google Map API automatically zooms when the map opens.

The zoom level is controlled by the lat/lng of all the markers. The farther apart they are on the map the more the map must be zoomed out and the markers stack. However, on the All Camps map for those that are stacked just two zooms down provide enough separation that the individual titles show. That was a problem with the larger push pin markers. I may leave my new markers on that map and see if it 'grows' on me.

I learned a lot by doing this. "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." - Thomas Edison

The only other thing that I accomplished was my laundry. I didn't learn anything.

3 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The marker that I made didn't 'grow' on me so I went in search of something else on-line. What building the one I did taught me was that I needed markers that are 16x16 pixels in size. This allows the titles to appear when the mouse pointer is placed on them with only two zooms down on the All Camps map. I like what I have there now much better than the red stickpin or the one I made.

The low temperature got up above 40°, just, this morning with the forecast being that it will stay there. The 90% chance of rain tomorrow has been reduced to a 40% chance with a slight chance through Friday. There are some scattered clouds today but nothing that looks like they would be carrying rain.

I do have something else drawn, other than the Smiley, but continue to tweak it. I give you a Smiley with two green eye today. That was a VERY quick and easy change compared to what I am trying to do with the new drawings.

The only thing that I did, other than dink around with my drawing project, was to dump holding tanks and take on water. The fresh water idiot light has been on for a few days and yesterday I noticed a drop in the water pressure. It has been over two weeks since this chore was last done so it was time.

4 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I have put up a new drawing for you today. The complete picture is not quite ready for prime time. It is still being tested by quality control but I hope to present it to you very soon. These drawing may not seem like much but every artist had to start somewhere. Although it is doubtful that I will ever supplant Grandma Moses this is great fun.

We woke up to some of that 40% chance of rain this morning. Sounded like it was coming down harder than I wanted to be in but slacked off to a light rain when we did go out. That light rain increased a little and Patches was doing the dog shaking dance and I just got wet on our shorter potty walk in the Park. The chance of rain tomorrow has been increased to 60% but then clearing.

A rather dreary day for Yuma where they claim 313 days with sun. This may end up being counted as one of their Partly Sunny Days but not looking good as I post this. Getting more rain and the wind is starting to kick up. Tomorrow, I'll probably tell you about how the afternoon shaped up.

5 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Yuma will not get to claim yesterday as one of the days that there was sun during 2016. I thought there was a chance for Partially Sunny but the clouds never lifted. When we did out afternoon walk I could see that Sheep Peak (3,156'), to the south, and the peak with all the radio towers (1,608'), to the north, in the Gila Mountains were both cloud covered.

More rain during the night. Only heavy cloud cover this morning until noon with a forecast 60% chance of rain. Clear tomorrow and then a 70% chance on Thursday. The Left Coast is getting the rain that they wanted and now are complaining that they got it.

I spent most of my day yesterday trying to learn Javascript. I have used it - a lot - to build all the maps that I have put together. However, almost all that coding was copied and changed through trial and error to make the maps look the way I wanted. What I have an idea to do now I can not find any available coding to copy. So, it is do it the hard way - learn how code in Javascript.

Late in getting this posting written. We did a usual morning walk but then went to Valvoline Instant Oil Change on 24th St near old town. They have three bays that can take RVs, or semi-tractors like the one next to me, with stairs leading down to the pits. There they have all the supplies that they need for the oil changes. Meanwhile a second person on top is adding the new oil, checking the air filter, checking the transmission oil etc. I was in and out in 20 minutes.

That was just right for me to go almost around the corner to Bubba's for breakfast. I had their Chorizo Skillet which was not bad but not the best choice. I'll probably go back but not for that menu item.

Arrived at Sprague's only a few minutes before they opened. Gathered up my new gun and went to their indoor firing range. More paperwork had to be filled out first and I needed to buy some ammo and hearing protection. I also had a quick lesson in how to load the .45 ACP ammo into full-moon clips , and take out the spent shells (it required pliers).

I shot six time right handed and then six times left handed using the iron sights and did rather well I thought. I was on a silhouette target with all 12 shots at 30'. My first 6 shots right handed with the laser sight were on target but not as good and my left hand laser shooting needs a LOT of work. Left handed I have trouble activating the laser for some reason and then keeping it activated while on target.

Did our weekly Fry's shopping and done for the day. I'll be back to learning Javascript and HTML Canvas later today. Maybe the break has let some of what I have been reading sink in my thick head.

6 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Before I traded for this new gun I had read a lot of reviews and had read this but it did not make that much of an impression on my mind. "A .45 ACP Governor without a moon clip is a Scandium-Aluminum cudgel. The Governor's full-moon clips provide the quickest reloads of any Judge-type revolver, but they're a minor hassle to load with fresh rounds. When it's time to remove the empties using only your fingers they can be a real bee-hotch."

That is until yesterday - it came back into my mind and I had to go look it up. I found removing the empties using my fingers to be - impossible! Pliers will now also be a part of my shooting equipment along with the hearing muffs.

I have added a new drawing today. I think it is actually the same drawing that I have just added onto. I don't know for sure. That is part of my problem at this time, I don't know what I am doing. I look at what shows up on the screen and think I have 6 individual die and then added 2 but I'm now starting to think that what I have is ONE image of 6 that I added to.

I'm back to the drawing board today to see if this new idea is really what is happening. If it isn't then I'm even more confused. However, today's drawing has an interesting twist. Click on the Reload Page button and watch what happens to the two dice that I have added. Good stuff, but not good enough.

We had some more rain in the early hours of today but it was clear when we went out for our walk. Saw the moon and stars again for the first time in three days. The weather guys are sticking with their forecast for it to be clear today but a 60% chance of more rain tomorrow. Then the rest of the 10 day forecast is for highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s and clear - that is great IF it happens.

I have only one comment on President Obama's lachrymose plea for more gun control. Have Social Security recipients been involved in ANY of the mass shootings that have occurred since Obama has been president? I can not think of one.

But to make it look like President Obama is doing something the Social Security Administration (SSA) has indicated that it will begin the rulemaking process to ensure that appropriate information in its records is reported to National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS). What the President Executive Order does is make gun control a campaign issue for the Democrats in 2016 and does virtually nothing to make you or I any safer.

7 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The weather wizards called this storm and rain correctly for a change. There has to be a lot of mutual backslapping going on in meteorological circles at this time. Now I hope they get the next 10 day forecast correct also. It predicts clear, highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s- perfect.

There was not a lot of rain through the night and into our morning walking time. There was enough that I thought it best to do an in the Park potty walk and we got a little wet. Our regular walk would have had us get very wet.

I was right yesterday when I said that the drawing I had put up with 8 die was only one image. I spent most of yesterday afternoon learning why I had made it only one image rather than 8 separate ones. I did then make images of each die and saved them as individual .pgn images. Was then able to 'draw' one of them back onto a canvas but only one, I need more schooling to get the second, third etc to 'draw' on the canvas.

A year ago President Obama said in his State of the Union speech "Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over." I'm sure this year he will be claiming victory in every other country where his "leading from behind" has the US embroiled. The Ministry of Propaganda has stayed mute about the deaths while Obama has been president. This table shows their numbers for each year and the President that was responsible.

The left believes – wrongly, as it turns out – that Americans, having been crafted by a philosophy prizing individual freedom and a Judeo-Christian ethos, are inherently evil, and that their social ties reinforce that evil. And so they set out to destroy them. The left sees government as an ultimate good and sees that social institutions pose a threat to the dominance of the government. If you care more about your family than about the collective, that threatens the collective’s ability to extort wealth from your family. If you care more about your religious group than about the priorities of those who oppose your religious principles, that threatens the collective’s ability to redraw boundaries in its own favor against religion.
The only safe space – the only thing we all share, as the Democratic National Convention said in 2012 — is the government, according to the left. That’s why leftists openly call for the abolition of non-profit status for religious institutions, with Mark Openheimer, “Beliefs” columnist for The New York Times, explaining, “We’d have fewer church soup kitchens — but countries that truly care about poverty don’t rely on churches to run soup kitchens.”

8 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The weather guys are trying their best to put a happy face on the low temperatures. They keep their forecast in the low 40s but if this morning is any indication of what the reality is going to be the lows will be in the mid to high 30s. It was 37° this morning and felt even colder. It is clear and sunny however and if you are in the sun it feels great, in the shade it is a little cool.

I made some progress with my drawing project yesterday - but not much. What little bit I do accomplish is by accident. I read, read and read some more. Then try what I have read about and fail more often than succeed and in neither case do I understand why.

This first quote is from President Obama's performance at the Anderson Cooper CNN Anti-Gun Infomercial.

I’m sorry, Cooper, yes it is fair to call it a conspiracy. What are you saying? Are you suggesting that the notion that we are creating a plot to take everybody’s guns away so that we can impose martial law is a conspiracy? Yes, that is a conspiracy. I would hope that you would agree with that. Is that controversial except on some websites around the country?"

I know, Hussein knows, we all know, that outlawing guns means disarming whites. Nobody is going to go into the depths of darkest Chicago and try to de-gun the occupants. As the looting and burning and destruction grow, as the looters and burners realize that no one is going to stop them, wise people want guns, for when. This will not have a happy ending.

You’ve been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately so you hire a guy. A pro. You don’t care if the guy smells, you need those raccoons gone pronto and he’s the guy to do it! You don’t care if the guy swears, you don’t care if he’s an alcoholic, you don’t care how many times he’s been married, you don’t care if he voted for Obama, you don’t care if he has plumber’s crack…you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He’s the guy. He’s the best. Period.
That’s why Trump. Yes he’s a bit of an ass, yes he’s an egomaniac, but you don’t care. The country is a mess because politicians suck, the Republican Party is two-faced & gutless, illegal’s are everywhere. You want it all fixed! You don’t care that Trump is crude, you don’t care that he insults people, you don’t care that he had been friendly with Hillary, you don’t care that he has changed positions, you don’t care that he’s been married 3 times, you don’t care that he fights with Megyn Kelly and Rosie O’Donnell, you don’t care that he doesn’t know the name of some Muslin terrorist,…this country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being invaded by illegal’s, we are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo and Hamid is a special group with special rights to a point where we don’t even recognize the country we were born and raised in; “AND WE JUST WANT IT FIXED” and Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what the people want. You’re sick of politicians, sick of the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and sick of illegal’s. You just want this thing fixed. Trump may not be a saint, but doesn’t have lobbyist money holding him, he doesn’t have political correctness restraining him, all you know is that he has been very successful, a good negotiator, he has built a lot of things, and he’s also not a politician, he’s not a cowardly politician. And he says he’ll fix it.
You don’t care if the guy has bad hair.
You just want those raccoons gone.
Out of your house.
NOW!!!!

9 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I have put the Yellbox Shoutbox back up. This is a "Whack The Mole" experiment to see how many spammers I get with it back up. It is not going to be as much fun for them this time - maybe. It will also drive my visitor count up - a lot if December was any indication.

I'll only show 5 messages per page. When the spammers add their -1s, name or message that will push any other messages onto the second, third and 4th pages. They will have to open those 2nd, 3rd and 4th pages to see IF they have removed all my test messages. I will not remove any of theirs until all my test messages have been pushed off and will then add a new set.

While this is happening I'll be banning every one of the IP addresses that are used to post the spams. It should be fun. I'm doing this as entertainment since I have failed to do the drawing that I had in mind. I need a rest from it and need to go back and do more elementary work in Javascript. What I have been trying to do is beyond my level at this point and I'm just spinning my wheels.

The Bureau of Labor released their non-farm job numbers for December yesterday that showed an increase of 292,000 jobs. I read through the News yesterday but did not find many headlines by the Ministry of Propaganda. I think the jobs report is going to remain a non-issue for the media until after the presidential nominations are settled.

The CES Birth/Death Model subtracted 23,000 this month which is the pattern for December (last year it was 15,000). If you look at the Household Data the number of Employed increased by 485,000 which makes that three increases in a row which I will now call a good trend.

The Unemployed went down by 20,000 and the Not in the Labor Force went down by 277,000. This was not good enough to change the Unemployment Rate which remained at 5.0% but that is what the Federal Reserve considers full employment.

The Participation Rate went up by another 0.1% to 62.6% but continues to be the lowest it has been since 1977. While the Not in the Labor Force now stands at 94,103,000 down from the all time record set in September this year.

The average earnings lost 1¢ to $25.24 an hour while the average workweek remained unchanged at 34.5 hours. This jobs report should have been shouted from the roof tops by the Ministry of Propaganda with the huge number of jobs 'created' but they have grown surprisingly quiet these past couple of months. I don't know what to make of that other than they have been told to cool it with the hype because tough times are coming. We will see - soon I think.

10 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I had a brain storm of sorts yesterday afternoon. There was one bit of Javascript that I was hung up on and could not make any progress until I got it working. What I had been doing was trying to add the code to what I had previously written.

The brain storm was to write the code which was a problem until it worked. I then started adding the other coding to it and soon had a working drawing. Not exactly what I wanted but something that I could then improve upon. I made great progress before going to bed. It is not ready for public viewing but it is GOOD for having been done by a 'Ol Man!

Overcast and dreary this morning. The low was 45° but it has stayed low. The expected high for the day is thought to be only 60° with the next couple of morning lows being revised down to the 30s. Not too bad an much better than what a lot of the country is experiencing.

The Shoutbox has been up for about 24 hours now and there has been only one spammer. He laid into the spammers that caused me to take the Shoutbox down for a few days. Thanks Steve!

I offer up the heading and opening paragraph to the "Fact Sheet" given to the Ministry of Propaganda for them to disseminate. Many of them have quoted some of this gobbledygook and presented it as News.

"In the year 1984 there was not as yet anyone who used Newspeak as his sole means of communication, either in speech or writing. The leading articles of the Times were written in it, but this was a tour de force which could only be carried out by a specialist, It was expected that Newspeak would have finally superseded Oldspeak (or standard English, as we should call it) by about the year 2050. Meanwhile, it gained ground steadily, all party members tending to use Newspeak words and grammatical constructions more and more in their everyday speech. " - The Principles of Newspeak" An appendix to 1984 by : George Orwell . Need I say more?

Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 8, 2016

The State Department is revamping its counter-violent-extremist communications efforts through a new Global Engagement Center. This center will more effectively coordinate, integrate and synchronize messaging to foreign audiences that undermines the disinformation espoused by violent extremist groups, including ISIL and al-Qaeda, and that offers positive alternatives. The center will focus more on empowering and enabling partners, governmental and non-governmental, who are able to speak out against these groups and provide an alternative to ISIL’s nihilistic vision. To that end, the center will offer services ranging from planning thematic social media campaigns to providing factual information that counters-disinformation to building capacity for third parties to effectively utilize social media to research and evaluation.

11 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Today was shopping day again. We did our usual morning walk and I then went to Los Manjares de Pepe again for breakfast. I would probably have ordered it from the menu but got lucky by them having Huevos con Chorizo as their Special today.

A quick in and out at Fry's this morning. I know where all the things are that I buy almost every week so it doesn't take long any more. I need to move just to put some excitement back into my weekly shopping trips.

The last place to visit was the Post Office. There I mailed off the oil sample that I captured last week when I had the oil change done. I use Mobile 1 synthetic which is good for 7,500 miles and I only put about 5,000 on it before changing. However, I run it for a long time - a year. So, I like to test it when I change the oil to make sure that something is not going bad.

I made some progress on my Drawing Project yesterday but not much. I get over one hurdle and then face another. I'm stuck again - for now. Back to school again today.

12 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The Shoutbox has not been attacked since I put it back up. However, starting last week I began to get Spam in my email account. I put the first three on my Spam filter list using their IP addresses and then saw a pattern. Since then I have been able to Junk another 6 with a filter that targets the subject line while Web Hosting Hub has filtered out 5.

These do not bother me at all, there were days before these recent Spams that I would only check my Junk folder every few days. I have found that anyone trying to send me email using their iPhones will get stuck in Junk so I do check it. Finding the Spam in there just makes my day since I think it is the same person/people that attacked the Shoutbox.

We did a slightly shorter morning walk , maybe a long potty walk, because I didn't feel like walking. There was also the looming chores that needed to be done. Soon after breakfast I got started on them by cleaning the toilet, sink and bathroom floor.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Or, in this case the woman - Valerie Jarrett . She was on MSNBC Sunday night doing a promo spot for President Obama's State of the Union speech that she most likely wrote and he will deliver tonight. She said this:

It's not going to be the traditional state of the union where he talks through all of the accomplishments of the prior year, and the challenges of the year ahead, so it will be much more visionary.

13 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I was up an hour after my bed time last night doing bench tests on my new 'action drawing'. I have it out for Beta Testing today and may have it posted on the Home Page tomorrow. I'll also have an explanation of how I drew it, why and where I go from here.

To celebrate that achievement I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts this morning and had a latte with bagel and cream cheese. Patches loves bagel with cream cheese but there is nothing I have found yet that she does not love.

I got the kitchen floor washed and the living room vacuumed yesterday afternoon. This morning I dumped holding tanks and took on fresh water. The dash and cab area may get cleaned this afternoon but they do not look too bad so maybe not. My Arbuckles' coffee order has been delivered so I think I'm all set for my last month in Yuma.

14 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

All I can say about President Obama's last (I hope) State of the Union speech is contained in two numbers. The number of people that watched him was down 7-8% from last year which was down from the year before. 'Investors' were listening to him spin his bed time story about how great the economy is doing and took the DOW Index down another 365 points yesterday.

The No Craps Craps 'action drawing' is now posted. As I said yesterday the how, why and where will be talked about today.

The how is very simple IF you know what you are doing. There are probably even easier ways to do it than what I finally got to work but that is not too important for me.

I was able to draw the 6 individual die faces and save them as .png images in a folder at Web Hosting Hub just like any other pictures that I have. The die faces used rectangles and arcs which are the two primary drawing tools. So I can draw and I have leaned how to access those pictures and 'draw' them back onto a HTML Canvas. This may be something that I'll want to do again or 'draw' other pictures onto a Canvas.

I then learned how to move images around on the Canvas. Or, make them appear and disappear. A couple more important tools. Learned how to use two Canvas on the same web page. This drawing shows the dice faces on one Canvas and the 'dealer' calls appear as Text in the second canvas. This gave me some experience in using text within a Canvas. Something else that may come in handy.

The logic behind the game is all Javascript "if statements" as well as the selection and placement of the dice. I still do not know much about Javascript but know a lot more now than I did.

The other reason for using this dice game as a learning tool was - it is fun. Because it is fun I kept at it until I had something that worked as I had imagined it. The game goes back to the early 1980s when my ex-wife to be and I went to Las Vegas for the first time in response to a direct mailer for the "Vegas Vacation Club" at Vegas World.

That was Bob Stupak's casino before he built Stratosphere Las Vegas but he had already invented No Craps Craps. The web will claim that he invented it as part of the Stratosphere but he had it in place while the casino was still Vegas World. I spent a lot of time after that visit determining that he had changed the game to make it even more advantages for the 'house'. In spite of that it is a good game.

Where do I go next? Probably to static images. Something more complicated than a Smiley Face or dice faces. I have a couple ideas that I'm going to start on and see which one catches my attention the most. What ever pictures I draw will be sized to fit in the left margin of the Home Page so they will be relatively small. That should give me some good practice for larger efforts.

15 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Nothing much happening with me. I have been making appointments for myself and Patches while in Sierra Vista and think I now have them all lined up. It is uncanny how the VA manages to set appointments for the same day that I picked for a dental appointment almost a year ago. I got the dental one changed; it is easier than trying to get the VA to change.

I have started drawing some more images using HTML Canvas. They may be of more interest than the Smiley or the dice faces that I drew before or maybe not. I find that this is great for exercising my visual-spatial ability to mentally manipulate 2-dimensional figures. There are claims that I will be more efficient than others at information search and information retrieval as a result. HA

The Left’s Endgame Hits the Wall by Dan Gorski is a good article. I have quoted his best lines and recommend reading it. The Establishment does not understand what he is saying - but they will.

The genie is out of the bottle now and even if Trump falters there will be another to take his place. He or she will have to be irrevocably committed to turning this country inside out and not be squeamish about how it is done, starting at the school board and ending at the White House.

Recounting in detail the numerous struggles and tribulations of the past seven years, an impassioned President Obama loftily praised his own strength and resilience in the face of adversity Tuesday evening during his final State of the Union address. “In my two terms in office, this country has faced unprecedented challenges both at home and abroad, but if there is one constant amid this turmoil, if there’s one truth we can all hold onto, it’s that through it all I have remained steadfast and resolute—my perseverance never ceases to amaze me,” said Obama, his voice swelling with pride and conviction as he noted how, time and again, he has withstood every attack or heartache that has befallen him. “From the BP oil spill, to gun violence, to ISIS—I have met every hardship with the deepest resolve. Consider how truly inspiring that is. It is a testament to my incredible determination. My fellow Americans, these are trying times, but knowing what I know about me, about the type of good person I am, there is no doubt in my mind that I will get through whatever I encounter and emerge stronger on the other side.” Obama added that it was precisely this indomitable spirit that made America great.

16 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The wind was not that strong yesterday afternoon but the dust was thick. More of California blowing into Yuma. I did not feel much like walking so the blowing dust gave me a good excuse to take Patches for a potty walk in the Park. Stopped at the Park office mail room and picked up my electric bill so stepped next door and paid that.

There was a high overcast this morning that looks like it will stay for the day. Not much wind so the dust has settled. The forecast is clear and warmer for next week with highs in the mid to upper 70s with a possible 80°. All the Canadians (there are a lot of them) are sitting outside in shorts even in the blowing dust. They must have that tan for when they get back up north.

I have been drawing some more HTML Canvas pictures and will start posting them in a day or two. All of them are static, no animation, which is not something that I can find many examples of on the web. There are some amazing animated Canvas which is far more exciting and much more difficult to draw. I may get there but that is not a primary goal at this time.

17 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The Weather Underground reporting station that I refer to had the low at 43° this morning. It felt a lot warmer than that. The 10 Day forecast now is expecting all of the high temperatures to be in the mid to upper 70s and the lows in the upper 40s and low 50s. Why am I even thinking about moving?

Went to Foothill Eatery right after finishing our walk this morning. Had their Spinach Omelet and did not like it much, I'll have another of their Greek Omelets or Corned Beef Hash and Eggs next time.

In and out of Fry's quickly again this morning. My shopping list was slightly shorter and I have the location of my 'stuff' well committed to memory now. I was backed into my space, hooked up and a cup of coffee made by 9:00 - about what I consider mid-day.

The Ascendance of Sociopaths in U.S. Governance by Doug Casey is an article that President Obama would point to as evidence of conspiracy thinking. I think Casey makes some good points and if I were younger I would be an International Man.

I tried to become one in my mid-40s and found that it required more effort than I was willing to expend; now too old to expend it. But my current lifestyle does allow me to duck and dodge some of what he is warning about while still living in the good 'ol US of A. I have selected only one quote from the article which is a very good read.

In this article, I’m going to argue that the U.S. government, in particular, has been overrun by the wrong kind of person. It’s a trend that’s been in motion for many years but has now reached a point of no return. In other words, a type of moral rot has become so prevalent that it’s institutional in nature. There is not going to be, therefore, any serious change in the direction in which the U.S. is headed until a genuine crisis topples the existing order. Until then, the trend will accelerate.

18 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

My shopping at Fry's yesterday did present one small problem. They were out of Greek God Honey & Vanilla in the diary case. Right next to where it should have been was some Honey and I have a bottle of vanilla for just such emergencies so not a big issue. But, right next to that was some Greek God Back Cherry which I don't remember ever seeing before.

Well, I like Black Cherry and I like Greek God Yogurt so how could I go wrong. I picked up a package of frozen dark cherries that was added with some black walnut pieces to the yogurt and OH MY GOD. Now that is a good dessert!

The low was 42° this morning but it happened in the wee hours rather than the usual time when we do our walk. It was in the mid 50s when we did that this morning - balmy. The expected 70s did not happen yesterday afternoon but the 69° was close enough that I was out there in a t-shirt. Now is the time to be here in Yuma and the Park shows it - we are packed.

I have posted (Note: I was posting these in the web page margin and subsequently quit doing that) the first drawing that will be a Series of 9 Patch Blocks. They are drawn from web pictures of quilt blocks. This first one was so simple that I jazzed it up a bit with the tic-tac-doe drawings in 4 of the patches.

These blocks have given me very good practice in drawing squares, triangles or lines and placing them to make the drawing appear. It has also given me good practice in applying color. The color placement depends on how I write the code so it has been a learning experience.

There must be dozens of web sites that provide the same basic information about HTML Canvas; how to draw a rectangle, or a triangle an arc and how to fill the shape with color. None of them provide the basic information about how to combine those shapes into a simple 9 patch quilt block. I hope you like them, they have been fun to draw.

James Howard Kunstler has done it again - wrote an article that I agree with. Worse Than 1860 is the article and I have copied the opening paragraph as encouragement for you to read it all.

The lost story-line amid the food-fights and boasting contests that the “debates” have turned into is the destruction being wreaked on the two major parties themselves. I don’t see how either the Republicans or Democrats get out of this thing alive. The primary season now upon us is the event horizon that sucks these two purposeless clubs into the bottomless hole of historical bad memories. Both parties have failed so fundamentally to represent or even apprehend the interests of the nation that they are now merely obstacles to any sort of plausible future, two infernal machines blocking the road, shaking themselves to death.

19 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Another day for not doing much. Lazy, so I did a slightly shorter morning walk but not so short that I would call it a long potty walk.

Still drawing 9 Patch quilt squares. This Series of 9 Patch is 9 blocks which I'll finish soon. The online web site where I found them has a lot of other patterns which I'll then start picking and choosing from.

The Establishment appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place. That would be The Donald and The Cruz. They don't like The Trump and want him gone but they hate The Cruz and the only way to get rid of him is to support The Donald.

They really, really want both of them to just go away but nothing they have done so far has made that happen. Iowa and then New Hampshire are going to be a couple of interesting primaries!

20 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I am getting into a 'do nothing' rut. Although I did spend most of the morning reading about tiling. Or, "a type of topologically discrete group of isometries of the Euclidean plane that contains two linearly independent translations", what is called a wallpaper group mathematically. Or, what we simply call wallpaper.

Repetitive designs that I am looking to do as part of my continued Drawing Project. IF I knew enough about mathematics and then knew how to write the coding I could let the computer do the drawing. I will think about that while I do some the old fashioned way - drawing one line at a time.

I have also been reading some of the comments that are being made about the "Market" made mostly by independent analyst. The Ministry of Propaganda has remained rather quiet during this most recent stock market plunge. I guess even they understand how foolish President Obama's State of the Union economic pep-rally now looks. That has not kept the Too Big To Fail bank analyst quiet however, they continue their hype and will go down with the ship. Why not? They expect to offload any losses on the taxpayers once again and have a President that is more than willing to do so.

21 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I am making progress on moving my banking relationship from Ally to Wells Fargo. My Social Security Direct Deposit was made to the Wells account which is a good sign.

I wrote about why I have decided to make this move. The original impetus was the inability to get cash to pay for having Desperado painted plus no face-to-face contact with anyone at Ally.

There is another reason for making the move and that is the relative strength of the two banks. Ally has loaded up their balance sheet with auto loans, many of them sub-prime, which are going to pop like the home loans did as the economy goes back into 'official' recession.

This does not mean that Wells Fargo does not have problems of their own. They have a big, nasty exposure in oil industry loans. But, they are part of the Too Big To Fail Club. Ally on the other hand had government support through GM during the last crash, they no longer have that in my opinion and will be left hanging along with all the other small banks.

The headline on Bloomberg Business yesterday after the stock market closed "U.S. Stocks Close Lower After Late-Day Rally" would have you think it was just another ho-hum trading day. The Dow Index closed down 249 points which has been reported as a big loss in the past but I guess they wanted to spin the days trading because it was down 565 points intraday.

The 25 Best Jobs in America, According to Glassdoor is one of those 'filler' articles that you find on Financial web sites.

I wanted to know what the Best Jobs were so I read the article and found that 1) I did not know what more than half of the jobs did 2) From what I could tell by the job title more than half of them provide no 'value'. It seems that the Best Jobs involve symbolism over substance and very little that can be sold outside the good 'Ol US of A as an export.

22 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I advanced my shopping day by one and went this morning. But first went to Los Manjares de Pepe where I had their Huevos a la Mexicana. Just as good as the first time and my pick for a Mexican breakfast in Yuma.

It was easy shopping in Fry's again with only one thing on my list that I usually do not pick up every week or every few weeks. I was close to finding that before I asked for some help from a stocker. With that in hand I was out of there.

No rush needed however. The reason for my advanced shopping was I wanted to go to Sprague's indoor range again. Tried to poke holes in a slightly smaller target at what I estimated to be 21-22 feet.

Shot right and left handed but no laser sight today. Can't say that I improved a lot since my first attempt with this Governor but I don't claim to be much of a handgun marksman. I am just as good, or bad, with either hand if that means anything. More practice!

This is the second time that I have read this George book. The first time was 24 November 2012, before I started showing the book covers and reviews. It is the fourth book or hers that I have read (#11 in the Inspector Lynley Series) and the second one that I have read twice. The only other book that I have shown the cover and reviewed was Deception on His Mind (#9) 26 Oct 2013 where I incorrectly said that I had read this book on 18 August 2012.

This is a massive tome at 1006 pages that has taken me longer than usual to read because I have been involved with learning how to draw on HTML5 Canvas. The Weekly gets it right when they say that the plot development is confusing due to the book's non-linear style and I found that to be true more often than occasionally. There is not much mystery involved but a lot of character sketches. Most of the characters are dysfunctional in one way or another with Havers and Libby (the Valley Girl) being the only two that I thought to be 'normal'.

Classical music, cybersex and vehicular homicide figure prominently in this sprawling epic, the latest in the bestselling Thomas Lynley series that has won George an enviable following on both sides of the Atlantic. This can only add to her growing reputation as doyenne of English mystery novelists. When Eugenie Davies is killed on a London street struck by a car, then viciously mangled as the driver backs over her Detective Inspector Lynley investigates. The suspects include J.W. Pichley, aka TongueMan, a cyber-roue with a penchant for older women; Katja Wolff, convicted murderess of Davies's infant daughter; and Major Ted Wiley, a bookstore proprietor in love with Davies. Inevitably, the trail leads to the dead woman's son, Gideon, a former child prodigy on the violin, now a renowned virtuoso suddenly and inexplicably unable to play a single note. Lynley and his longtime partners, Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata, unravel the mystery in their inimitable fashion, as the narrative turns backward, ever backward, in search of clues. Although some plot developments are initially confusing due to the book's occasionally non-linear style, the author's handling of narrative is consistently inventive. There are some amusing character sketches (including the skewering of an American Valley Girl to whom classical music is as foreign as Sanskrit) and some particularly moving moments. Faithful readers of George's previous mysteries should find this the most ambitious of the lot. - Publishers Weekly

What Happens if Hillary Isn't Indicted? by Roger L Simon asks an important question and offer up his answer.

The most obvious part is that the rule of law will have, for all intents and purposes, ended in the United States. Equal justice flew out the window. How does the public react to that?...Left-wing rebellion in our culture has always been dependent on the center holding; it's a kind of play rebellion, college kids taking over a park while daddy pays their allowance. But suppose daddy started to rebel?

23 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Taking a slight break from drawing quilt blocks on HTML5 Canvas today. Need a break and also need to get the Will Rogers weekly articles ready for another month. That does not mean I will not do any drawing it just means that I'll be doing something to break up that effort.

I have also spent more time on the couch with Patches and my new book. I think she is pleased that I'm back and the new book has some action in it that the last one was lacking. Makes me want to see what is going to happen next whereas the last one left me with a I don't much care what happens feeling.

Is the Spectre of Trump Haunting Davos? by Patrick J. Buchanan is a recommended article. I quote from the article where Buchanan quotes Sam Francis. This is the heart of the article with Buchanan making the same point that others have make; The Trump, or others like him, are not going to go away.

[S]ooner or later, as the globalist elites seek to drag the country into conflicts and global commitments, preside over the economic pastoralization of the United States, manage the delegitimization of our own culture, and the dispossession of our people, and disregard or diminish our national interest and national sovereignty, a nationalist reaction is almost inevitable and will probably assume populist form when it arrives. The sooner it comes, the better.

24 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I got about half of the Will Rogers weekly articles for the month copied and formatted yesterday. Then caught up to current reading my Monthly blogs and still had some time to do a little Canvas drawing. It helped a lot that I selected an easy quilt block pattern this time or I'm getting better. HA

Finished the rest of the Will Rogers preparation this morning. That, cooking and reading some News headlines and Daily blogs is about all I did. I will put in some more couch time this afternoon with my book and Patches. Then, maybe a little Canvas drawing before going to bed. Not much happening here.

25 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I continue to do not much. Moving on to quilt block patterns that are a bit more difficult to draw that the simple 9 Patch that I have been doing.

Enjoying the new book and the time with Patches on the couch. Those exciting activities and my twice daily walks with her make up my day.

Nothing much happening in the News. The Ministry squeezed all they could out of the East Coast snow storm. Washington D. C. still shut down today but since the Republicans can not be blamed there is not much said.

They are still trying their best too keep a lid on the possible indictment of The Hillary. It is going to look bad to have a presidential nominee candidate seeking the office while under a criminal indictment. I don't think that could happen IF the candidate were a Republican but it will not surprise me if she becomes Madam President.

You are not going to see this picture 'above the fold' in any of the Ministry of Propaganda newspapers nor on any of their TV News programs. If you do they will be reporting that The Trump slapped a disable veteran.

The Establishment doesn't know us….They don’t get who we are….They don’t get it… In my opinion that picture explains why The Trump has support. Take a look at the other pictures that accompany this one in the article They Still Don’t Know – They Just Don’t Know – They Don’t See It… by sundance for more explanation.

26 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I did something constructive this morning - laundry. I got there at 7:00 and there were two geezers there already that had taken most of the washers. A little later and I may have had a wait. When I went back to get a dryer there were only a few remaining and one of the geezers was trying his best to fill them all but I snagged one.

The place was packed when I went back to get stuff out of the dryer with almost no room to do any folding. I think this was the last time I'll be using the laundry here, it is way to small for the number of people in the Park.

Then came the wrestling match with my cab-over mattress. I was able to win this mornings match in two straight falls but I will know that it is time to hang up the RV keys when I start to lose.

Last Friday, 22 January, the Dow Index stopped its downward trend by moving up a little over 200 points. This was Headline News at Bloomberg Business. Yesterday, the Dow opened down and stayed that way to close down a little over 200 points. Bloomberg Business had virtually nothing to say and what it did was certainly not in the Headlines.

The Clinton E-Mail Scandal And How It Will End by Rob Miller, author of the JoshuaPundit blog, has written an article that the Ministry would not publish. The quotes that I have pulled explain very well the rock and a hard place that President Obama finds himself between. Read the article to see how the author thinks it will end. I agree!

I expect The Hillary to withdraw her presidential candidacy soon after next weeks IA caucus. Her most recent coughing attack that caused her to cut short a campaign speech will be pointed to as evidence that she must withdraw for health reasons. Her staff is starting to drop hints to the media followers that The Hillary is 'tired' which I read as another sign that The End Is Nigh.

While President Barack Hussein Obama has no love for the Clintons and would undoubtedly giggle uncontrollably at the idea of one or both Clintons doing the perp walk, he likewise has problems with the scenario of her being prosecuted. Can you imagine what could happen if Mrs. Clinton were indicted and decided to trade immunity for everything she knows about Fast and Furious, Benghazi and numerous other scandals she has to have been privy to?...
But if he allows her to be prosecuted, he's playing with dynamite that could explode in his face painfully as she deals for her freedom. Not only that, but he has to deal with Bernie Sanders as the nominee, who isn't under his control at this point and who would likely get slaughtered in the general election.

27 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I am back to doing very little again today. I did get the holding tanks dumped again and added fresh water. That is the only constructive thing that I did.

I have another project on my list however. My watch stopped yesterday and I'm hoping it is the battery. I spent some time Google searching for someplace to get it replaced and only found a couple jewelry stores near 'downtown' Yuma. Went to the Park office and made inquiry and was told that there is a 'open-air shop' in the parking lot near Wells Fargo that opens tomorrow through the weekend that can replace a watch battery. We will see - tomorrow.

The Empire Has No Clothes by Monty Pelerin is another recommended article. He makes a good point that this election cycle is only the beginning of a long process. The Establishment is not going to give up their power and slink away into the night.

Donald Trump is not a politician although he is likely to be elected. Voting for Donald Trump (or Bernie Sanders) is a protest vote against government. It is the nation’s Howard Beale moment: ...It will be the first shot fired against the Empire. It will be ineffective but will be the first signal that the process of citizens taking back their country has begun.
Donald Trump (or Bernie) is a sign of how frustrated the electorate has become. Voters don’t know how to stop what is happening to them and their country but they are mad as hell and are not going to take this anymore. The upcoming election will change nothing. The best that the public can hope for is to elect a wrecking ball that will dent or damage some of the government apparatus. That is probably a foolish hope, almost certainly one that will not be fulfilled.

28 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

The best that I can tell from reading what the Ministry of Propaganda has released White Lives Don't Matter. Or maybe it is Old Men With Conservative Beliefs Don't Matter. The murder of Finicum is being applauded by some of the more tolerant liberals but generally it has been treated with silence. No protests, no looting and Burns, OR was not burned down. Just another Old White Man killed, nothing to see here - move along now.

I have been doing a little more HTML5 Canvas quilt block drawing. Starting to do some that are a bit more complicated and more of a challenge. It is not just a spatial exercise now but I also need to know where in space I want to place the vertices. I have had to get a calculator involved to do some simple math that I could not do in my head.

That plus reading my latest book is about all I have managed.

Trump Changes the Game of Debates by Stephen L. Carter is an article that others are also now writing but I think he says it best. We will see if he is right when all the 'talking heads' get together on TV tomorrow.

So it turns out that the presidential debates are a noncooperative game. There are advantages to a strategy of cooperating with others, but if you see a way to improve your position by defecting, nobody can force you back in. Maybe Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Republicans’ final televised debate before next week’s Iowa caucuses will even improve his standing in the polls. After all, it’s not like the news media will be talking about some other Republican candidate over the next few days. And if, as the months go by, other candidates follow Trump’s lead, we’ll likely see the end of the cattle-call-style debates that so depressingly saturate the electoral landscape. Good riddance.

29 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

I had a busy morning. The usual walk but then unhooked and went to Foothill Eatery for breakfast. I had their Greek Omelet again and this one was even better than the first one I got there. That is what to have when, not if, you go there. Everything I had was good but that was the best.

Then it was a quick shopping stop at Fry's for next week's groceries. Right next door was a Cost Cutters where I planned on getting my hair cut. The receptionist, after a LOT of searching on the appointment book, said that I could get a hair cut at 10:40. I declined. This is the first time that I can remember that I went to a Cost Cutter that even took appointments and I never remember having more than a few minutes wait.

Next on the list was get some Earthborn Meadow Feast for Patches and some pants for me at Tractor Supply. They had only one large bag of the Meadow Feast but could order some for me. I had much better luck in getting some new pants that were labeled one size smaller in the waist than those that I was wearing. That does not mean a lot because every manufacture seems put a different size label on pants that are the same size when I try them on. I can only hope that I really have lost some weight.

Went to Paws and Tails where I had inquired about Earthborn when I first arrived in Yuma. They had two of the large bags on the shelf. I was never been able to buy Canidae off the shelf and have now done it twice with Earthborn. That was as big of a selling factor as the slight difference in price for my changing and since Patches likes it that is the way we are going to go until something changes my mind.

I took my watch to the recommended 'in-door', rather than out-door, mini-mart yesterday for the battery change. The woman had some difficulty getting the new battery to start the watch but then had even more of a problem getting the back of the watch case to snap into place. She asked me to come back and I did that this morning also after getting a hair cut next door. Watch is back together appears to be right on time and it cost me $4 - HUH.

The last bit of activity came about an hour after I got back in my space at the Park. The brown UPS truck stopped and delivered a big, heavy package. This is an order that a blogging friend asked me to accept for him. Knowing how problematic getting mail and UPS deliveries are when living full time in an RV I was happy to do it. Just glad that it worked out and I was at 'home'; the driver would have been really confused with no RV at the address that he had.

30 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

A very nice 45° this morning which felt much warmer than that. Warm enough for me to sit outside at Dunkin' Donuts with a latte and an apple fritter. Patches does love apple fritters but I ate most of it. The high yesterday was 75 with an expected high today of 82 then some cooler 60s thru Thursday. Pretty nice!

After that busy morning yesterday I'm back to doing not much.

The co-authorship of this book is as obvious as is the fact that it was written for the big or small screen rather than as a novel. The Weekly points to the overabundance of characters as being a problem but the 'scenes alternate quickly' is what put me off. This may be great for the movie but I do not like it when reading a book. I liked more of the characters than just Joe Glass as the Weekly contends. Lots of action which makes for a good movie plot in our culture now but makes for a weak novel. Entertaining - but I will not be searching for another by these two authors.

The movie rights to this complex submarine thriller have already been sold - no surprise; the plot unfolds like a summer blockbuster. Initially, though, Wallace and Keith (the duo behind Final Bearing) take their time immersing readers in a not-so-distant future balanced precariously between the Cold War and World War III. Rogue Russian Admiral Alexander Durov conspires to restore Russia to its Soviet Union-era ranking as the world's most potent military force. His mission: detonate explosives secretly placed onboard one of the country's submarines while it cruises deep beneath the ice-covered Barents Sea, and then blame the aggression on the United States. Meanwhile on land, the Russian mafia seeks to disrupt and destroy the U.S. stock market so as to divert attention from Durov's attempted coup. By the book's halfway point, scenes alternate quickly between above and below sea level, as the financial cabal unravels and an untested American submarine crew led by Joe Glass (one of the book's few truly likeable characters) battles the rogue Russians. Following a frigid showdown in the Arctic Circle, Wallace (a former U.S. Navy commander with 22 years of experience on nuclear subs) and Keith quickly tie up loose ends, but the book's length and an overabundance of characters - many with complicated Russian names - may frustrate readers. - Publishers Weekly

A comment on how the Ministry of Propaganda is spinning the Trump 'no-debate' debate. The Weekly Standard is an Establishment publication with a heavy neoconservatism bias that the liberals love to point to as representing ALL Conservatives. This is what they reported in their article Debate Without Trump Gets Better Ratings Than Last Debate with Trump.

Thursday's debate ended up getting higher ratings than the last debate in which Trump participated. "Fox's Trump-less debate had an 8.4 household rating, according to early Nielsen data from so-called metered markets," reports CNN's Stelter. "The most recent GOP debate, televised two weeks ago on the Fox Business Network, had a household rating of 7.4." It's possible that Thursday's debate had up to 2 million more viewers than the January 15 debate that included Trump.

31 January
Shangri-La RV Resort
Yuma, AZ

Cooler today after the 82° high yesterday. The wind has been picking up and is forecast to be gusty by later this afternoon. The experts think there is a 40% chance of rain coming in with that wind but it certainly does not look like it this morning. Not a cloud in sight.

I made delivery of the package that I accepted from UPS. When I say I made delivery what happened was the other RVer came and picked it up. Even came a day earlier that originally thought. I think he needed it!

More of the same. The HTML5 Canvas drawing that I am now doing, and have been for a couple of days, is much more complicated than what I have been doing. It is a challenge but I think I'm making progress - maybe.

I know I'm having better success with the new novel that I'm reading. Not as much action and excitement as the last one. It is more interesting however and the story follows a fairly straight line not a lot of jumping back and forth.