Peregrinating
2016

August

1 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

The excitement for today all happened soon after I had breakfast and was washing the dishes. I could tell that the fresh water level must be getting low and sure enough the idiot light said I was down to 1/4 of a tank full. Filled the tank. My usual routine of dumping holding tanks and filling with fresh water on the same day has been disrupted since being here and probably will be so at my next camp.

Started to draw a Tenfold Star in a Rectangle design which is the last lesson in the Geometric Design series. It looks like it could be a bit of a problem but I have only just started so do not know how much of one it will be yet.

This is the third drawing of a 2-uniform tiling that includes a hexagon. It has the same number and shapes as the last one that I posted but this one places them at different vertex and is colored differently which gives the appearance of being totally different. It was much harder for me to draw than the two previous ones, will see what the next one is like in a few days.

2 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

The right side neighbors left but were replaced by a pop-up pick-up camper within a couple hours. He took the camper off the pick-up yesterday and then parked where I had to go ask him to move because I needed more room to get out this morning. No problem nor was it any problem for my left side neighbor to move while I backed in upon returning. Generally speaking RV Park neighbors are easy to get along with.

I was going to have breakfast at the Ponderosa but when I got there the parking lot was full. I had walked past there within the last 15 minutes and the lot was almost empty so I knew that it was some group and the waitress would be swamped. Went to Jack and Janelle's in Cortez and had their Border Skillet which is THE thing to get from them.

Then went to AutoMaster to check on the RV generator status. They took it to Farmington, NM last week and were told that it was fixed on Friday. I now have an appointment for next Monday to get it put back into Desperado. The problem was a broken ground wire, not rat chewed, that led to the control panel.

The other good news was from my now new broker. I got an email that said they would accept the address of my Executor as a physical address for me. I was also able to see on-line that my old broker account is showing -0- and the balance is in the new account.

I hope I am not jinxing myself when I say that it looks like things are getting better. I don't have the bill for the generator yet which will dampen my exuberance but you do what you have to do. I'll have the same reaction to the bill when I see a dentist in a couple of weeks - but you do what you have to do.

The high yesterday was 86° with a forecast MUCH COOLER 79° today. Then it may become almost cold if the 71 with a 90% chance of rain happens on Friday. I am ready, it has been a hot summer for me.

I think this second installment of an alternative WWII was better than the first book in The War That Came Early Series. Maybe I have reached the point where I am no longer thinking about the 'real' history and just enjoying the story. There are six books in this series so I have a lot of war remaining. The Weekly got part of it wrong again in their review - Chaim Weinberg was an American communist who volunteered to fight on the side of the Republican forces of the Spanish Civil War NOT a soviet soldier. The Sierra Vista library does not have the last volume in their collection so I have recommended that they get it. Maybe they will before I am ready to read it. HA

Having laid out the course of "the war that came early" in 2009's Hitler's War, Turtledove focuses on turning his characters from stock military figures into specialists. In this version of WWII, the Nazis fail to take Paris. The German war machine, apparently fed by infinite soldiers, turns not only to the western and eastern fronts but also north to Denmark. The novel most fully shines when the characters are allowed to strive for their full potential: Czech sniper Vaclav Jezek adopts an antitank rifle as his favorite weapon; German pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel ingeniously modifies his aircraft; Soviet soldier Chaim Weinberg becomes a Party propagandist; and the Goldman family tries to achieve a semblance of normal life in Nazi-ruled Munster. The war is always present, though, and there's plenty to satisfy fans of military strategy, tactics, and armaments. - Publishers Weekly

3 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

Well, I did jinx the new broker account. The "ID Team" claims that they can not verify the address that I gave for my Executor. They think that they can not because it is a business address and they want his 'home' address. I wrote back that the federal law allowed for the use of a 'business address for an other contact' and I would not ask my Executor for his home address.

I then went on to say that I was going to go to option #3, the worse of those that I offered. I got a 'letter of residency' from the RV Park owner and mailed that to my Tucson contact. I tried again to FAX it but received the same 'line problem' message. We will see what this does to the ID Team. I also told my Tucson contact that I would no longer be at this residency as of 14 August 2016 and asked what hoops or dog and pony tricks I needed to do after I moved.

Not much else going on here. I did make some significant progress with the latest drawing from the Geometric Design lesson. I was stuck for a couple of days trying to determine measurement relationships but finally solved those and then the coding was relatively easy. But, I am hung up again with another piece of the drawing so it is going to take some more time.

I also downloaded another H. G. Wells book from Gutenberg Project and have now read about a third of it. It is not a very long book so I will probably finish it before the weekend.

4 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

More rain last night soon after I went to bed. I cut my afternoon walk a little short because of the humidity, near 50%, and it felt like it would rain. This morning the humidity was even worse but it was cooler and with the mostly cloudy sky it looked like it could rain again today. The weather guessers give it a 60% chance.

Much cooler. A good day to be on the couch and finish the Gutenberg download. Then maybe get the next book in the WWII series by Harry Turtledove.

I took a break from drawing this Tenfold Design and while doing so the solution to my problem came to my mind. It was not they way that I had been trying to do the drawing but it worked and I was able to finish it yesterday.



This was the last lesson in the Geometric Design Series so now I must select designs and create my own 'grids'. Not that I draw over the top of the grid as can be done using paper and pen but the grids have provided me with the mathematical relationships that exist in the designs. I also have more 2-uniform tile to draw and will do another one of those before looking for a different drawing challenge.

5 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I got wet yesterday afternoon. It was not t-shirt wringing-out wet but enough that I had water dripping off my glasses. Then last night it started at about the same time as the day before and rained fairly hard - 0.31" officially. The high temperature was 72° so I had windows open almost all day and had no A/C on for the first time in a long time. The weather guessers think that today will be COOLER with a high of 71° with a 80% chance for more rain. Why not MUCH COOLER?

I finished another 2-uniform tile drawing which I'll post tomorrow. Now working on a very simple stained glass pattern. The most difficult things so far are the coloring, the elliptical frame that I added and how to give it the appearance of being a stained glass window.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is amazing how much Wells got right in spite of how much he got wrong in this 'scientific romance'. There were only a few of Well's socialism views that crept into this book and you had to be aware of them to notice. Maybe not one of his better known sci-fi books but a good read. C. S. Lewis explicitly stated that his science fiction books were both inspired by and written as an antithesis to those of H. G. Wells. Specifically, he acknowledged The First Men in The Moon to be "the best of the sort [of science fiction] I have read....". I may have look up C. S. Lewis.

The First Men in the Moon is a scientific romance published in 1901 by the English author H. G. Wells, who called it one of his "fantastic stories". The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon undertaken by the two protagonists, a businessman narrator, Mr. Bedford, and an eccentric scientist, Mr. Cavor. Bedford and Cavor discover that the moon is inhabited by a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization of insect-like creatures they call "Selenites". - Wikipedia

6 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I received this reply from my new broker in Tucson late yesterday. "We received the document you sent to us in the mail confirming the RV Park address. I submitted that to my ID verification team and they approved it. Your account is all set now. I also saw that the cost/basis information is updated on the account as well." So maybe that saga has been put to rest - for now.

More rain during the day yesterday but only light, brief showers. The bulk of the 0.66" for the day came last night between 8:00 and midnight. Was raining quite hard as I drifted off to sleep while worrying about a roof leak. That has not happened - yet!

This is the fourth drawing of a 2-uniform tiling that includes a hexagon. It was so much easier to draw that the last one. I was able to do it in one day with very few troublesome coding problems. This one made me think I really know what I am doing. HA


The Bureau of Labor released their non-farm job numbers for July yesterday that showed an increase of 255,000 jobs . Only slightly less than June and all the expert analysts' estimates of 180,000 were blown away - once more. Wow, Happy Days Are Here Again!

I read through the News and did not find a lot of headlines by the Ministry of Propaganda. Most of the Ministry of Propaganda attention is now on what can they do to get rid of The Donald, they do not care what the employment situation is in the United States. That will become an issue only if The Donald makes it one.

The CES Birth/Death Model added 122,000 this month which is 3,000 less than the adjustment made for July 2015. It is amazing how closely the adjustment in 2016 follows what it was in 2015; it is like nothing has changed in the past year. If you look at the Household Data the number of Employed increased by 420,000 which is added evidence that that the economy is really booming.

The Unemployed decreased by 13,000 and the Not in the Labor Force decreased by 184,000. More evidence that the economy is really, really booming but this was not enough to change the Unemployment Rate which remained at 4.9%.

It was enough to raise the Participation Rate by another 0.1% to 62.8% which was ignored by the media or the most part. The Not in the Labor Force now stands at 94,333,000, down from the all time record of 94,708,000 that was set in May 2016.

The average earnings increased by 8¢ to $25.69 an hour while the average workweek gained 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours. Everything is Great! I think this report was tailored to fit the Federal Reserve narrative that it is now time to raise rates again before the economy over-heats. They also need to do that soon or they will be accused of trying to effect the November election.

That may make no difference since I do believe the 'Fix' is in and The Hill will become Madam President. "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." - Vladimir Lenin

However, things can go wrong and President Obama has stated unequivocally that The Donald is unfit to serve. IF he were to win the election and it can not be taken from him in the Electoral College then President Obama may be forced to implement Executive Order 13603 of March 16, 2012 .

This would make him Supreme Leader in the ranks of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei of Iran and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Or, simply Dictator of the United States of America joining Raúl Castro of Cuba and José Daniel Ortega Saavedra of Nicaragua in North America and Nicolás Maduro Moros of Venezuela in South America.

While I am speaking of the unfit, I might add that The Hillary does not seem to be physically fit to serve. IF she does win, which I believe she will, then I do not think she will live to complete her four year term. She is ill and the Presidency takes a toll on healthy individuals it could easily kill a sick one. Therefore, I think there will be a President Tim Kaine in office before the election of 2020.

7 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I have a follow up to my comments about The Hill's health. Unwell Hillary Clinton needs help up stairs is a brief story with photos that the Ministry of Propaganda is NOT going to be using. The campaign may be too much for her; she may not last long enough to be elected or sworn in.

This is my first drawing from just one page of free stained glass patterns that I found on the web. There are 18 patterns on this page and I selected a relatively simple one #3 to get started. None of the patterns are shown with a frame but I am going to frame them as if they are in a window. This adds some complexity but not a lot.



I am now trying to draw #1 which is much more complex and I have no 'grid' to help me with measurements. The Geometric Design lessons all used circles drawn with a compass. This pattern appears to me to require cubic Bezier curves but there are circles also. Perhaps I could do it with just circles but I want to learn how to use cubic Bezier curves so now is a good time. If they do not work then I'll see what I can do with circles.

Mommy and Daddy by Robert Gore is an excellent article that I have not quoted. I just strongly recommend that you read it!

Losing to Russia in Syria, Washington Bombs Libya by Finian Cunningham is a good article that I have pulled the closing paragraphs as a quote. It also is worth a read.

Russia’s success in Syria has seriously undermined Washington’s claims of waging a war on terror. The last stand of the terror groups in Aleppo – including militia supported by Washington and its allies – represents an incriminating moment of truth.
Hence, as the net tightens on Syria’s Aleppo, Washington’s hand was forced to lash out in Libya, in an attempt to burnish its tarnished claim that it is fighting against Islamist terrorism.
In truth, however, the bigger net seems to be tightening on Washington. World public opinion increasingly understands that terrorism is closely correlated with everywhere Washington engages. The terrorism spawned in Afghanistan and Iraq under US occupation, was grafted onto Libya during NATO’s regime-change bombing operation in 2011, which in turn contaminated Syria as part of another regime-change campaign under Obama and his then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
For Obama to now revisit Libya with further air strikes due to failure of a criminal policy in Syria – a failure resulting from Russia’s principled intervention – is simply plumbing the depths of American degeneracy. And the rest of the world can see it.

8 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I think today was my last trip to Cortez during this stop at Dolores. Before going there I had breakfast at the Ponderosa where the Green Chili Omelet was good but the coffee was weak. I did get a free cup; no not a re-fill I got to keep the cup that the coffee was poured into. A decent ceramic cup with advertising all over it including "Stolen from Ponderosa Restaurant".

Went straight from there to AutoMaster where the mechanic got started by 8:00 and by 9:00 was able to tell me that the generator was not running very well; smoking, stuttering, the smell of gas. So the owner was called and while he was on his way in I went to City Market.

While I was doing my shopping I left the generator running and it was still doing so when I came out. That was a good sign although it did sound rough and I could smell gas. When I got back to AutoMaster the owner tweaked the altitude adjustment from sea level to 5,000' and that smoothed it out a lot and no more gas smell.

I was running it under load when I got back to the shop and the adjustments were made while under load. When I shut the A/C off it smoothed out even more and sounded really good. Like what the owner had heard when he picked it up in Farmington. So, I am going to say the generator is now fixed as well as the seat belt. It cost me! But, probably less than it would have at many other auto repair places - I recommend AutMaster in Cortez, CO if you are unfortunate and need a mechanic.

Before I tried to get back in my space at the Park I dumped holding tanks. That is the first chore on the list to get done this week. Then I will be heading for my next camp, a dental appointment and probably much more expense to fix me than the generator cost.

I have almost got the second stained glass pattern drawing finished and will be showing it tomorrow.

9 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

Did the second thing on my chore list. I thought I had done my last laundry here at this Park but looking at the pile of clean versus dirty clothes I decided that I best do it again here and now. I prefer to use the laundry across the street from the market at my next camp but that would have been after the point where I would have been looking for the cleanest underwear in the dirty pile.

That is about all I did today other than I'll be on the couch doing some reading this afternoon. Maybe start another 2-uniform tile drawing.

This is the second drawing from the page with 18 stained glass patterns. This is #1 which I was afraid to try as my first effort. It has curves that I had never done before and I didn't have anyone holding my hand to provide measurements. So I selected a frame size and the tried to reproduce what saw on the computer screen - sort of like what an artist does.



I said a few days ago that the pattern appeared to require cubic Bezier curves and there is JavaScript coding that will draw them. However, I had never tried to use the coding before, although I have used the quadratic Bezier curve sparingly. In both cases you must select control points, either one or two, and Canvas will then render a curve. I can not find anyplace that tells me in simple language where to place those control point(s) Therefore, I pick a point(s) and see what the curve looks like and then move the point until I get the shape that I want.

The left and right outline of the large red shape were done with cubic Bezier curves as were the four curved lines that bracket the black shapes in the center. The two black paisley were drawn using circles as I learned from the Geometric Design lesson. They could also be drawn using cubic Bezier curves but the circle method is easier for me at this level of knowledge. I like the pattern, I learned a lot and I think it looks GOOD!

This photo was taken during The Hill's four block march on 26 June 2016 in the NYC Pride parade. That is Gov. Cuomo on the left and the African-American/Black/Negro on her right is probably a special medically trained Secret Service agent that is now almost always by her side in pictures. He was the one that got her back on track when she froze while giving a campaign speech in Las Vegas on 4 August 2016 when an animal rights protester shouted at her. There were a LOT of photos of her when on the Pride march but the Lame Stream Media did not use this one.

I will let you judge but do ask this question 'Does the woman in this photo match the description provided in her doctor's health Summary dated 28 July 2015'?

In summary, Mrs. Clinton is a healthy female with hypothyroidism and seasonal allergies, on long-term anticoagulation. She participates in a healthy lifestyle and has had a full medical evaluation, which reveals no evidence of additional medical issues or cardiovascular disease. Her cancer screening evaluations are all negative. She is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

10 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

A little more rain during the early hours this morning. A few sprinkles when I stepped out for my walk but felt nothing after a block or two. Very cloudy sky but only a 20% chance of rain in the forecast. My next camp is showing much the same with more days having some chance of rain. I think the monsoon is fading.

Started on my household chores this morning by getting the bathroom cleaned. That included the bathroom and kitchen floors. That is enough for today, I have plenty of time and don't want to overdo. There is also a Paperwhite book that needs to be read.

I did spend some time making up my 3x5 route card complete with directions to a potential breakfast stop. I have also made direction notes to find a Wells Fargo ATM, Giant gas station and a Tractor Supply in Pagosa Springs; all planned stops along the way. I will also stop and pick up my weekly groceries before reaching my new camp so a lot of stops will make for a long day on the road. Prepared the route map that I will include in the travel day posting although it may need to be revised when the traveling has been completed.

This is a Google translation from a Swedish article We live in an increasingly dangerous world by Lars J Eriksson published in Svenska Dagbladet a newspaper that adheres to the liberal conservatism of the Moderate Party. This would place it on the left in US of A political circles but is considered conservative in Sweden. Europe's romance with Obama has soured and The Hill is not going to get a lot of support from 'across the pond', this is just the beginning of sour notes in my opinion. You will NOT see this reprinted by the US media! The New York Times has admitted that it is their responsibility to destroy The Donald because he is so dangerous, The Hill will benefit but they do not claim to support her.

"Normally, my sympathies lie with the Democratic presidential candidates. The reason is that they care more about the welfare system than the Republican Party. But there are also things that normally weigh over to Republican advantage.
Republican presidents have been less likely to engage in war than the Democratic presidents.
For that reason, I think the Republican line-up for this year's presidential election was more hopeful than the democratic where Hillary Clinton from the start was the likely winner.
In the late 1990s, there was reason to be optimistic right on the world's future development. The Soviet collapse of communism in Eastern Europe was democratic countries. After the chaos of pure predatory capitalism in Russia, the country strong and purposeful president in the form of Vladimir Putin, who bet hard on economic growth and peaceful coexistence. For this bright future is today mostly rubble remained. President George W. Bush occupied Afghanistan as well as Iraq without having a well thought out idea on the war would end in a peaceful way. Many thought Barack Obama would be a president of peace, but rather, the world situation has deteriorated during his years in power. During four of those years also the United States had an unpleasant warmongering foreign minister in the form of State Hillary Clinton has a huge joint responsibility for the continuing chaos in Iraq, the disintegration of Libya, the civil war in Syria and the refugee disaster that followed in the wake. To top it all, there are now overwhelming evidence of how the United States contributed to the emergence of the IS.
Not only Donald Trump without John Kasich and Ted Cruz was a sharp critic of Obama's and Clinton's dangerous foreign policy. Now seems to jump out of a more peaceful development after Donald Trump all gaffes since he won the nomination of his party. Instead, it looks like Hillary Clinton, known both for his choleric temper - get Nixon to appear as Mahatma Gandhi as a former co-worker found - which, to be the Americans call "trigger happy."
We are balancing on the verge of large-scale disasters. Recently, there was an attempted military coup in Turkey against the elected president. Thankfully failed coup. Otherwise we would have had a civil war in this country in Europe close to 75 million inhabitants, which would have entailed massive refugee flows.
For it is the US and EU attempts to destabilize Russia after the coup in Ukraine when the democratically elected president was forced to flee. It is playing with fire, an almost bizarre policy that is being orchestrated from Washington where you also recent months for nuclear weapons on the Russian border and shown complete lomhördhet for almost twenty years after Russia warned to speed up the spiral arms. A Russia that can not keep up - the country has more than 140 million inhabitants - also poses a threat of massive refugee flows.
Being in the position to get a warmongering president in the form of State Hillary Clinton, one that also seems completely devoid of self-criticism, is a very daunting prospect. No wonder the military-industrial complex in the United States gives her such a massive support."

If Obama cancels the presidential election, who will stop him? by Lloyd Marcus asks the question and then goes on to answer it. I will not quote from it and will save you the trouble of reading the article - the answer is "No One!".

11 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I now have all the household chores done except for Desperado's cab area and the side windows. That can wait until tomorrow. Did some advance work for the location maps. Since I was adding another marker to the same location because of repeat visits I tighten up how close together they now shown. A tedious job.

This is the fifth drawing of seven that use a hexagon as the primary shape in the 2-uniform tile. It is very similar to the previous one that I drew but did require some work although was still relatively easy to draw.


I am now starting another drawing from the stained glass patterns. This one will also require the use of cubic Bezier curves, I think. That is the way that I am going to try to do it and if that does not work then I'll try something else.

I am seeing more and more articles in the alternative media that point the war monger finger at The Hill while the Ministry of Propaganda tries their best to portray The Donald as being dangerous. SHTF Arrives Early, Now What? is a blog posting that is one said alternative.

Historically, countries start wars with other countries when the financial collapse is about to occur. The logic is quite simple, really; it’s easy to rally the citizens against “the enemy.” And if the bankrupt country wins, they can divide the spoils and the citizens feel proud of their ‘victory.’ If the bankrupt country loses, the leaders will be dead. But if the country goes bankrupt under the leaders’ watch, they’re still dead, so they have nothing to lose…
The elites are pushing for war between the USA and either Russia or China… or both. Because a complete financial collapse means they’re history, and might very well end up getting the Marie Antoinette treatment.

12 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

I knew that I needed to add water to my fresh water tank before I left here but thought I could do that tomorrow. This morning when I was starting to wash my breakfast dishes I noticed that the water pressure was down and the pump was running longer than usual. Time to add water.

That and wiping down Desperado's dash and cab has completed my household chores. I am ready to get on the road after settling my electric bill here. It has remained hot with a lot of A/C so that bill will be higher than usual. Not this morning however, it felt almost cold with the low back down in the 40s. There was snow on the higher peaks of Colorado last night so Fall is trying to sneak in and send Summer packing.

This is my third drawing from the stained glass patterns although it is #2 on the page. It has shapes that appeared to require cubic Bezier curves and I knew nothing about how to use them until I did the #1 pattern which gave me confidence to try this one also.



I was able to get the left side of the first petal looking about right but had a lot of difficulty getting a mirror image on the right side. Took a break and thought about it for some time and when I came back to it I was able to solve the control point problems rather quickly. Then because I had written the code for that first petal as a function() with variable values for all of its positions it was almost too easy to draw the remaining 4 petals.

13 August
Cozy Comfort RV Park
Dolores, CO

Today is a not doing much day prior to moving day tomorrow. I also have a lot of stops planned along the way tomorrow so it will not only be a moving day but a busy one. I know I'll be making my posting late in the day but will have something up before I go to bed.

This is the sixth drawing of seven in the 2-uniform tile group that use a hexagon as the primary shape. I have drawn it out of the order in which they are presented on the page where I have found them because in my mind the next one is the alternative to this one.


Yes, the System Is Rigged by Patrick J. Buchanan is an article well worth reading. I quote his closing paragraph. The Establishment may take The Donald down in 2016 but his supporters are not going to just fade away. The Hill, or most likely Tim Kaine, is going to have a VERY rough time as President.

But if Hillary Clinton takes power, and continues America on her present course, which a majority of Americans rejected in the primaries, there is going to a bad moon rising. And the new protesters in the streets will not be overprivileged children from Ivy League campuses.

14 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

As I predicted, today was a long day. It was all the stops that made it so. There was breakfast at Chavolos Taqueria in Pagosa Springs where I had the best Huevos con Chorizo since I left Silver City. Then I stopped at a Wells Fargo ATM to get some cash. I don't use much; what I got just before leaving Yuma lasted until now.

Filled up with gas and made the last stop in Pagosa Springs at Tractor Supply. They only had one of what I was looking for but that will do me until I can order some. Stopped at the top of Wolf Creek Pass and straddled the Continental Divide while reading all about it and the Pass.

Before leaving there I took my blood pressure which is always high when I take it during a travel day but at 10,857' and driving 125 miles it was no worse than many times in the doctors office - 130/79 with no meds. I have had it far worse while taking blood pressure meds.

The last stop before getting into my new 'home' space was at Smith's here in Taos. Got almost every thing that I wanted but had to reach deep in the dairy case to come up with that second container of Greek God Honey Vanilla. It seems that Large Curd cottage cheese is also something that they never order enough of. I can live with the small curd but want the Large.

Total miles today were 287 on this route: CO145, CO184, US160, US160/US285, US285, US64, NM68 & Este Es Rd. I have not included the side detours that I took while in Pagosa Springs however the map does show Chavolos and how I got to it.

I looks like there could be some monsoon rain fall on me later this afternoon. The weather guessers don't give it that much of a chance but the weather radar is showing a lot of yellow heading this way. If I go out for a walk I think I'll stay close to some shelter. Don't feel much like walking so rain could be a very good excuse.

15 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

The rain did not reach me yesterday afternoon but I did only a short walk just in case. I was not up to doing much more after the long busy day - that is long and busy by my standards. I made up for some of it this morning by doing a longer walk. That is one of the things that keeps me coming back to Taos - the number of different walking route that are available from this RV Park.

I'll not be doing much today other than my walks and reading another short book by H. G Wells. I'll check at a car wash when I go out this afternoon and see if they will wash and wax Desperado. I should also be able to pick up my Arbuckles coffee order if the USPS Tracking is correct.

I didn't really, really need to order anymore quite yet but they offered a 20% discount if ordered before 14 August. So last Friday I placed the order. BUT, when I applied the discount it brought the total down below their Free Shipping level so it was cheaper to pay the regular price with free shipping. I went ahead and placed the order, I would have needed to do that in another couple of weeks.

I'm almost out of barley and need to order some more of that also. I might find some on the shelf here at Smith's but then again maybe not. Since I have found an online supplier it is so easy to place an order and have it delivered. The 'have it delivered' is the most tricky part since all RV Parks do not receive packages or if they do it sometimes is complex. The Park here is one of the good ones - another reason I like it here.

The Weekly has got it right when they say "at last the alternate history has begun to diverge". The first two books and most of this third one in the Series have followed the historical record. But the alternate history is taking over. The same main characters are playing their part but are doing so in a fictional history now which allows them to do alternate things. I'm enjoying each book in this Series more than the one before it and look forward to the next one.

Hugo-winner Turtledove slowly reaches the midpoint of the five-book War that Came Early series, in which numerous countries fight an alternate WWII and Spanish Civil War. Viewpoint characters in Spain, France, Poland, and the U.S.S.R. are joined by Philadelphian Peggy Druce, who seeks to influence the U.S. to fight against the Nazis; soldier Pete McGill in Manila, recuperating from injuries suffered in Shanghai; and detainees in Manchukuo, making the full global scope of the war more evident. An unexpected death changes everything as alliances are re-examined and reworked, and finally a Japanese attack on American territories draws the U.S. into the war. There are obvious similarities to our own world's time line, but at last the alternate history has begun to diverge. - Publishers Weekly

16 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

If there is any truth to "Trouble comes in threes " then my A/C is the third. I have noticed all this spring and summer that it did not sound 'right'. Yesterday it kept tripping my surge protector and when plugged straight into power it seemed to work then cut off then work again. I think I'll get it replaced in Sierra Vista in February, I just need it to hold together well enough to get me through the rest of August.

The other thing that may have been happening yesterday with my A/C would be low voltage because everyone was running their A/C full blast. The high temperature was 94° with a low in the morning of 45 so almost a 50 degree swing during the day.

This is not unknown but not all that common either. It also just happened that 15 August was the hottest day during the month in 2015 although that is not true this year, there have been much hotter days before I got here. I hope the weather gurus have it right in their forecast that the next 9 days will be in the 70s.

These are two very short books that describe child/parent play that has long disappeared from most homes in our more progressive times. The Little Wars was played by mature men that simply thought they were boys again playing war. That game was a lot like Kriegspiel but played on a room floor or out on the lawn with homemade props to create the "Country" where the battle is fought. Two very different books from an author that everyone associates with science fiction.

Floor Games is a book published in 1911 by H. G. Wells. This light-hearted volume argues in a humorously dictatorial tone that "The jolliest indoor games for boys and girls demand a floor." Illustrated with photographs and drawings, it briefly describes a number of games that can be played on "well lit and airy" floors with "four main groups" of toys: soldiers about two inches high (Wells regrets the "curse of militarism" that makes civilians hard to find), largish wooden bricks, boards and planks, and electric railway rolling stock and rails. Various remarks show that the book is based on Wells's experience of playing such games with his two sons.
Little Wars included fairly simple rules for infantry, cavalry, and naval artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to its being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war. - Wikipedia

I have become a political cynic beyond a doubt and do not believe this 2016 presidential election is going to change my beliefs much. I am in good company however, there were others before me.

I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never. ― John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams

The Secret Service source reached out to Infowars reporter Joe Biggs during the recent Republican National Convention in Cleveland and confirmed the following information;
– Hillary has a very serious neurological degeneration which could be Parkinson’s disease;
– Around half a million dollars has been spent to specially adapt three SUVs in which Hillary travels to provide lowered floors and disabled access to prevent Hillary from tripping.
– Hillary’s staff is so intent on keeping reporters away from Clinton because she is at risk of petit mal seizures that can be triggered by camera flashes;
– Hillary has major problems with balance, difficulties with walking and keeps falling down;
– Hillary’s campaign will be forced into making a big announcement soon regarding her medical condition;
– The source told us that this information was relayed to the press by others, but they were too afraid to run it, so Infowars was reached out to directly by the Secret Service in Cleveland three weeks ago because they trusted us to run this news unfiltered.

17 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

We got a good old fashioned thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. One of those Thor rains where he is striking with his hammer, making lightning and thunder. That was preceded by strong winds and then some heavy rain for about a half hour. It continued to threaten more rain and the wind was blowing well after my usual walking time so I decided that it best to call it rest time. I did go out briefly later in the day for a short walk around the Park.

Officially there was only 0.09" of rain in that storm but it acted like a lot more the way it was carrying on. The weather guys are giving it some % chance of rain for everyday in the 10 Day forecast so maybe we get more. They got the high temperature for today wrong it was already 81° by 10:30. They did change their guess to 80 for tomorrow and the remainder of the 10 Day forecast will be in the 70s. That would be good!

Was up and out walking in the dark this morning, it is staying dark later so Fall must be on the move. When I finished I unhooked from electric and drove to Taos Java for a bagel and latte. Took as much time as I could but still arrive at my dental appointment over 30 minutes early.

The dentist took a look, took some pictures - new to me devise/camera that takes a picture and shows it on a monitor - then gave me the good and bad news. The good news was I have not broken the tooth and he does not see the bad non-repairable spot that my Sierra Vista dentist said I have.

The bad news was that I have lost a filling and that is why I feel all the roughness that I am feeling. The appointment to fix that has been made for 29 August. Bad news but not as bad as it could have been; fillings are not cheap but less expensive than crowns.

While reading the Little Wars it brought to my mind The Art Of War which I have read many quotes from it but had never read the book. Thought that now was a good time to correct that oversight.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu – "Master Sun", the text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of China's Seven Military Classics upon the collection's creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and has long been the most influential strategy text in East Asia.It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond. - Wikipedia

18 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

The weather wizards continue to forecast high temperatures in the 70s and the reality is we continue to get highs in the 80s. It reached 87° yesterday but it did that around noon and then became cooler in the afternoon. It was a very nice 74° when I went for my walk. Then a brisk 45 this morning with a slight wind that made me wish for something warmer than my windbreaker.

I am still having a problem with my Surge Guard shutting down with the A/C running. I don't know if it is an A/C problem, a Surge Guard problem or a Park power problem. I talked to the Park office about the problems I am having and it could be a Park problem. If it continues they will move me next Monday.

I have no summary nor review nor book cover picture for A Disquisition on Government by John C. Calhoun. I found it very interesting reading and knowing that Calhoun was a staunch supporter of states' rights' not surprising. The interesting thing is that here 168 years after he wrote this the issue is alive and well.

There are six States and three regions (crossing State borders) that have active succession movements at this time and more will be signing on when the Federal government goes bankrupt. I have downloaded the next Harry Turtledove book in The War That Came Early Series so will be immersed in fiction again and can forget the reality around me.

19 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

Does anyone remember the hell George W. caught when he did a fly over of the flooding that Katrina brought to New Orleans? The Donald is going to Louisiana today to visit with the survivors of the worse flooding since hurricane Sandy. Where is President Obama? Oh, he is on vacation. Where is The Hill? Oh, she is resting. Why is the media giving them a pass and venting their spleen against The Donald?

We finally got a cooler day yesterday with the high temperature at 78°. The expected high today is set to be 74° which will be very nice but there is also a 50% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I did a longer walk this morning in what I consider perfect conditions; no wind and the temperature about 47.

Nothing much happening. The Taos County Fair is this weekend and within walking distance, I went past there yesterday afternoon. I probably will not go to see it, too many people and it is not like I have never been to a county fair before.

This is my fourth drawing from the stained glass patterns as well as #4 on the page. It required a lot of cubic Bezier curves and the #5 pattern is fifteen butterfly or moths - I will not be drawing that pattern. This dragonfly is probably the one and only insect that I will attempt to draw. I think I reproduced what is shown on the web page except for the veins in the wings although my effort looks pretty good.



The next pattern that I will try is #6 which looks like it will also require cubic Bezier curves but hopefully not as many as this dragonfly did. The more of them that I draw they easier they will become but for now they are still very much a trial and error, lots of errors, effort.

20 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

Another very nice morning for a walk. There were some scattered clouds which is probably what kept the low temperature up at 52°. The high yesterday was 75° with 0.09" of rain coming in the early afternoon which provided me that wonderful wet sage smell when I walked after it had finished. If we get lucky, and the wizards of weather are right, we will have three more days of the same.

When I was in Dolores I was dumping holding tanks on the way back into the Park every second shopping day. While I am here I will be doing that chore as I leave as I did this morning. A quick shopping excursion at Smith's where I got everything that I wanted except lemon juice. I could have got that also but they had only the small bottles and I did not want it that bad, I can wait until next week and see if they have the big bottles.

Then stopped at a store to see what their hours of operation were and did the same at a barber shop. The store opens at mid-day, 9:00 am, the barber does not have any hours posted.

Breakfast stop at El Taoseno Restaurant where I had their El Taoseno Omelet and was disappointed. I think this is the third time that I have eaten there and been disappointed all three times. The hash browns were good is the only positive thing I can say for the dish. The coffee was hot is the best I can say for it. I probably will not go back while I am here. There are not a lot of breakfast places in Taos that I remember as being up to my standards so that is not a definite never return.

This is number seven and the last one in the 2-uniform tile group that was built around a hexagon. It required no additional drawing from the previous one just change the color of one square and positioned what I had drawn before at a different vertex.


I have six more tilings to draw in the 2-uniform group with the next two looking to be difficult then the last 4 relatively easy. When I look at them and make that determination I'm right about half the time. We will see how these next six work out.

Why Defeating Trump Won’t Make Trump Go Away by Michael Krieger is an article that says what I have said also. The Establishment is caught in a bind where The Donald wins even if he looses. They may keep him from becoming President but they can not destroy all of his supporters. They will still be around for 2020 even if he is not, so killing him will not be a solution either. Oh what to do, what to do?

Indeed, a Donald Trump loss is likely to fan the flames of populist angst further, particularly if Hillary Clinton continues along with status quo business as usual as if nothing ever happened, which she undoubtably will. Ironically, many of these delusional “lesser of two evils” Hillary supporters may be unpleasantly surprised to discover that media mogul Trump could even more formidable (and dangerous) than President Trump. Which is precisely why merely fighting against symptoms of a rigged and unethical system solves absolutely nothing, and ultimately makes the underlying problem worse. The bottom line. It doesn’t matter what happens in this election, Trump isn’t going anywhere because his supporters aren’t going anywhere.

21 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

We had a rip roaring thunderstorm yesterday without much lightning and thunder. What we got was 0.23" of rain with 0.13" of it coming in 15 minutes. Mixed in with that heavy downfall was enough hail to almost cover the ground. Fortunately it was small hail and didn't do much damage here but it would have played havoc with anywhere that had crops.

The weather guys think we have less chance of more rain until Wed-Fri when the chances are 50-60% and the high temperatures will be 70°. They think it will be 71° today which I doubt but they may be right later in the week. I hope they are right because that could keep the A/C from running. I have decided that it is my Surge Protector that is the fault but will not know until I can try it at a different pedestal or different Park.

This is the fifth drawing, a Deco pattern, that I have now done from the stained glass web page. It is #6 on the page but as I said the fifth pattern was a bunch of butterflies and moths and I have done that, don't need to do any more. I thought that this pattern would require cubic Bezier curves but I tried to draw it using them and could not do it. I think it can be done just not by me at this time. I was able to draw it using the circle approach that I learned in the Geometric Design lessons. The only cubic Bezier curves that I did use were for the 'acorn' at the bottom of the pattern.



I am now working on a 2-uniform tile design but have also started another stained glass pattern. This one will be all straight lines and angles. The hard part in getting started has been I have no measurements so I need to experiment with size to make everything fit as shown on the web page. It is going to be a bit of a challenge!

When I Win In November, African-American Families Will Win Too by Donald J. Trump is not an article/speech that the Lame Stream Media is NOT going to acknowledge. It does not fit the Narrative that they have decided to use against him so do not expect to find this anyplace other than in Alternative News sites.

22 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

The believers in anthropogenic global warming know for a certainty that their high priest computer models can forecast what the climate will be like in 50-100 years. At the same time the National Weather Service computer models can not tell us what the weather will be like tomorrow.

Those weather guessers had forecast a 20% chance of rain yesterday and we got another 0.03" (I think it was more) I got a little damp just as I finished my walk. Then with a 20% chance today I awoke to more rain this morning. Another 0.03" so far and it looked like there would be more so I did a short walk inside the Park.

There are a lot of reasons that I like Taos and this Park. Not the cost but the very nice staff and most importantly the space between spaces. My closest neighbor was on my west side and he appears to have left this morning so I and a van camper (4 spaces west of me) are the only ones along the south side of the Park.

Even if my neighbor had stayed there was room enough that some Parks would have added another space there. That was one of the reasons that I did not like Dolores that well - very tight.

This pattern from the 2-uniform tile group was the first of two out of six remaining that I thought would be difficult. It turned out to be relatively easy.


The new pattern from the stained glass page that I'm trying to draw has not proved to be as easy. I have made two poor starts on it so far and have accomplished nothing. I'll be back at it later today and maybe will have a breakthrough.

Dark Dynamics by James Howard Kunstler is another of his blog postings that could have been written by a right-winger. He does take a jab or two at The Donald but it is this paragraph about The Hill that I thought was on the mark.

Hillary represents the forces in our national life that want to pretend that nothing is wrong, that all the splendid rackets of the day — Federal Reserve interventions, corporate debt-fueled stock buybacks, military log-rolling, medical racketeering, the college loan Ponzi, pension fund levitation, primary dealer bank interest rate arbitrage, agribiz Frankenfood proliferation — can just grind along like some old riverboat banger engine keeping the garbage barge of American life afloat. Thus, Hillary is shaping up to be the patsy of the century, likely to preside, if elected, over the biggest blowup of established arrangements that world has ever seen.

23 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

It remained cloudy all day yesterday with scattered light showers. It looked like it was clearing in the late afternoon so I went for my walk and did most of it in a very light shower or heavy sprinkle; not sure what to call it but I got just a little wet. Then more rain around sundown which has been the usual time for it to start but you never know.

The Lame Stream Media is obsessed with the Ryan Steven Lochte story. An Olympic medal winner that got drunk in Rio and then lied about what happened when confronted by a security guard. The Hill and President Obama have built careers based on lies and that same Media applaud them. What the hell is going on? I bet you did not see this story.

The Unknown Olympic Champion was a Wall Street Journal Opinion article that was reproduced as a .jpg image at an Alternate New site where I picked it up and have retyped it.

"How do you manage to win a medal at six straight Olympics and remain more or less unknown? The answer: win by shooting a gun. American skeet-shooter Kim Rhode last week became the first athlete, male or female, to win a medal at six summer games and the first on five continents, but don’t look for her on a box of Wheaties.
Mrs. Rhode, who won a bronze medal in Rio, has received little media attention despite her historic achievement. The 37 year-old lacks a single major corporate sponsor, though her ammunition and expenses are offset with sponsorship and donations from such firearms companies as Beretta and Otis Technology.
Her agent told Bloomberg he had pitched the sharp-shooter to more than 20 companies, with no luck. Our guess is they don't want to risk a backlash from the progressive antigun culture. It probably doesn't help that Mrs. Rhode is an outspoken critic of gun-control laws and a Donald Trump supporter.
Even when the press has reported on her achievement, the tone has often been dismissive. An NBC story noted that her medal record is arguably "far less impressive than, say, a gymnast or swimmer" because shooting "requires fewer physical attributes". Sure, all it takes is remarkable hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, steady nerves and dedication over 20 years.
Mrs. Rhode has succeeded even as countries like China and Russia train younger athletes who can rack up medals in less prominent sports for the greater national glory. Mrs. Rhode has had to do it largely on her own.
Shooting will never be as TV friendly as swimming or beach volleyball, but trap or skeet shooting is a pastime for tens of thousands of Americans outside the main media corridors. Congratulations to Mrs. Rhode on her under appreciated achievement."

This is #7 on the stained glass pattern web page. I am calling it the Pentagon Puzzle Palace because it starts with the pentagon outline and then is a puzzle to fill with the lines as shown. The hardest part of doing this drawing was to determine the length of lines and the angles. When I finally saw the solution the coding took no more than an hour or two.



Tomorrow I will show you a colorized version. This line drawing is as shown on the web page which does not have any of the patterns colored.

24 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

I did a 5 mile walking day yesterday for the first time since 8 January 2016 and there were very few before that in 2015. There was a time when I was getting breakfast at a restaurant every morning that I was doing 6 mile days but I quit doing that in late 2011.

I may do a few more while I am here. The Taos Java, where I plan on getting a latte once a week, is almost exactly a 3 mile round trip. Then if the afternoon weather is like it was yesterday my usual 2 miles makes it a 5 mile day.

After writing about the south side of the Park being almost empty it filled up last night. This morning the closest neighbor on my west side has left but it looks like the one on to the east is going to stay. They do not bother me.

What did bother me was a 40' plus Class A diesel pusher that parked directly in from of my space and sat at idle for over 5 minutes. That was when I had enough and went out and asked him what in the Hell he was doing. He said he was looking for his space - I told him to GO!

This is the colorized version of the Pentagon Puzzle Palace. Please note the arrangement/order of the colors. I am rather proud that I was able to write the code to fill the spaces as they appear.



I am having a lot of trouble drawing #8 pattern on the stained glass page. Maybe take a break and go do another 2-uniform tile pattern or read more from my Paperwhite. I am making some progress but it is real slow and I'm not sure that I'm even on the right track. I have thrown away a couple attempts so far that were not looking right.

"Since this is an era when many people are concerned about 'fairness' and 'social justice,' what is your 'fair share' of what someone else has worked for?" - Thomas Sowell

25 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

Thunderstorms in every direction that I looked yesterday afternoon. A short light shower just as I was getting ready to go walk changed my mind. I did go out later but stayed close to Desperado in case I had to dash for shelter. I would guess that the monsoon is going to be with me for a least another week.

I made a lot of progress on pattern # 8 yesterday and finished it by staying up a little later than usual. I have been drawing it in such a way that I can fill with color which is harder and takes me longer but I can then show it as a line drawing or filled as I chose. I need to play with colors and will show it tomorrow.

Received my barley order from Nuts.com. Perfect timing on my part in placing the order and the companies response. I will be needing some in 2-3 days since I used the last had a couple days ago. Their first 5 pounds was received in late May or early June so it has provided me with all I need for about 3 months.

On the way back from the Park office after picking it up I stepped on something that I thought was a rock between my foot and sandal. It continued to hurt and when I looked at my foot there seems to have been something sting me. I have a bump with red inflammation and some continued pain that would not have been caused by a rock. Strange.

Ripple. I bet some of you thought I was going to be writing about that cheap fortified wine that competes with Thunderbird and Night Train. Well, this article Barack Obama may have finally destroyed America’s #1 advantage by Simon Black is about a different Ripple - Real-Time Cross Border Transactions (the acronym does not quit match but what the hell). It is another blow against the American Dollar as the dominant reserve currency which is going to shock, really shock, Americans when it no longer holds that position.

Ripple, a blockchain-style protocol that’s funded by Google Ventures (among others), is now being utilized by international banks to send and receive transactions directly.
The way international bank transfers work now relies exclusively on the US financial system.
Large foreign banks have what’s called a “correspondent account”, typically at a major US bank like JP Morgan, Citibank, etc.
A correspondent account is essentially a bank account for other banks. Our company holds funds at a bank in Singapore, for example, whose US dollar correspondent account is at Bank of New York Mellon.
Foreign banks’ US dollar correspondent accounts are typically at major Wall Street banks because that’s the epicenter of US dollar transactions.
So when a bank in Australia sends US dollars to a bank in South Africa, that payment actually flows from the Australian bank’s correspondent account in the US to the South African bank’s correspondent account in the US.
The entire transaction effectively takes place using the US banking system.
Again, this gives the US government enormous power over foreign banks. Any foreign bank that doesn’t do what Uncle Sam commands can be excommunicated from the US banking system.
And without access to the US banking system, a foreign bank will be unable to transact in US dollars, and hence unable to conduct any global business.
This is a death sentence for a bank. The US government knows this and has been blackmailing global banks for years.
But now technology is providing another option.
Banks don’t have to use the US banking system anymore; they can send real-time payments internationally using the Ripple protocol.

All we know about Trump is that the oligarchs, who sent America’s jobs overseas, who flooded the country with difficult-to-assimilate immigrants, who destroyed public education, who bailed out Wall Street and the “banks too big to fail,” who sacrificed American homeowners and retirees living on a fixed income, who intend to privatize both Social Security and Medicare, who have given the public killer cops, relentless violations of privacy, the largest prison population in the world, and destroyed the US Constitution in order to increase executive power over the American people, are violently opposed to Trump. This opposition should tell us that Trump is the person we want in the Oval Office.

26 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

I woke up sometime in the early morning and heard it raining again. When I went for my walk it was mostly cloudy and now looks like it is going to stay that way. Got a very light rain for a few minutes as I was leaving Torbios South Restaurant where I had Huevos a la Mexicana for breakfast. It was very good, a big serving, two medium flour tortillas and some so-so coffee. I'll go back.

I was there after doing my weekly shopping at Smith's. Then went to the store that I knew would not open until 9:00 and sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes or so. That gave me a chance to get this posting started. When they opened I placed an order that I'll pick up next week. Then from that same parking lot I went to a barber shop that I had been to once before. I didn't remember that he was so expensive but I got my hair cut and feel SO much better.

My foot was still paining me when I went to bed last night so I took a couple acetaminophen. Slept through most of the night, except for the rain wake up, and got up this morning with no pain in the foot that was not there before the sting. RVSue though it might have been a scorpion but it happened in broad day light in a gravel driveway. I think I would have seen a scorpion, plus I was stung in the side arc of my foot as if I had picked up a rock between foot and sandal.

I am now thinking that I may have been stung by a Mutillidae commonly called a 'cow killer ant'. They are neither a cow killer, however their sting is enough to kill a cow, nor are they an ant but are a wasp that looks like an ant. If that is what got me it would have been small enough (about .5") that it could have got between foot and sandal. When I shook my foot to get rid of what I thought was a rock the 'cow killer' would have easily disappeared in the gravel.

Well, this is #8 on the stained glass page and what I am calling Knot #1 because there are more on this page and even more on other pages at the site. I find that drawing a knot is hard but maybe with practice it will get easier. This required a lot of quadratic Bezier curves, which is a curve from one point to another whereas the cubic Bezier has two curves between the two points. These are easier but I am not very good at finding the right place for the control point so there is a lot of trial and error.



The next pattern will be #9 or Knot #2 but I am going to do a 2-uniform tile pattern first. I found a web page "Interlacing Without Erasing" that explains how to draw a knot using a 'dot' grid system and I can see that it would work well using paper and pen. It also helped me a lot to draw this one but it is still a pain when using JavaScript that needs the x,y coordinates for each 'dot' that is placed on the paper/canvas. I am pondering on what I can do to make that easier.

27 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

The temperature was only a degree or two lower this morning versus yesterday but felt much colder. I think the slight wind may have made the difference. The forecast has the monsoon sticking around through the end of this month then maybe I can quit dodging afternoon showers although yesterday it threatened rain all day - not monsoon behavior.

I made a good start on a 2-uniform tile drawing. Also got started on Knot #2 using dots for a grid and put some x and y labels along the frame border to help me get the x,y coordinates for the Javascript coding. I tried using circles for the curves in Knot #1 and could not find where to place the center nor what the radius needed to be. I have tried again with Knot #2 and am having about as much success as I did with quadratic Bezier curves. What I have done with the circles I think is better but I am also now trying cubic Bezier curves.

Fred Reed has written many articles on the topic of African-American/black/Nego non-assimilation but Milwaukee is one of his better ones. This paragraph that he rightfully describes as an 'obvious truth that one must not utter' provides a fine sample.

Further, those in the ghettos show little disposition either to study or to work. This also is an obvious truth that one must not utter. A Mexican woman will work as a maid until she figures out something better; a black woman will not. A young Salvadoran man will make his way up Central America, through Mexican police likely to beat him, ride the Train of Death to the US border, and sneak into a country whose language he does not understand to work construction and send money back to his family. A black in Chicago won’t buy a Greyhound ticket to the same job. Yes, there are reasons. A condition does not go way merely because there is a reason for it.

28 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

Not much going on here with me. Gearing up for my dental appointment tomorrow which may cause the posting tomorrow to be a little later than usual.

Transcript of Hillary's Reno Speech - The Hill's speech (25 August 2016) on the Trump campaign and the mainstreaming of white supremacists hate groups into the GOP may be one of the more important speeches of the election cycle. Or, In Iowa, Donald Trump Offers Vision Of Hope For The Powerless And Disenfranchised The Donald's speech (27 August 2016) perhaps could be. My only comment is read through what they both have to say - the 'tone' of the two speeches could not be more different.

This pattern from the 2-uniform tile group is the second of those two out of six remaining that I thought would be difficult. It was also relatively easy but required a lot of changes from the previous one although it is considered an alternative to it. I don't see it with all the changes in coloring and the movement to different vertex but that is what the 'math people claim'.


It will be a few days until I finish Knot #2. There is a dental appointment, monthly Will Rogers weekly article preparation and beginning of the month web site work that needs to be done. Then there is also the problem that I have with drawing knots. HA

29 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

I got lucky this morning when I walked to Java Taos for my weekly latte. Only had a couple of water drops from the sky fall on me. Got back to Desperado and before I could unhook from electric it started a light shower and continued to do so for a couple of hours.

Most of that time I was at the dentist getting a filling replaced. I lost part of it a little over a month ago while I was in Dolores. I had made a cleaning appointment so it worked out reasonably well that I could get the filling fixed here also. I was very much afraid that it would be another crown which about half of my remaining teeth have on them. I inherited my fathers gums and my mothers teeth; between them they are costing me a fortune to say nothing of the pain getting them fixed.

With the gloomy weather that we have today I think I'll finish Knot #2. Maybe do some work on the Will Rogers weekly article preparation for next month and read the new download on my Paperwhite. The dentist was my excitement for today.

It is telling that I could not find a Publishers Weekly review for this book. They will not issue a "bad" review that just don't do one. This customer review that I have quoted expresses my feelings about #4 in The War That Came Early Series. This review was one of the more charitable ones. Certainly not his best work! I will read #5 and the #6 in the series when I can find it.

This series about World War 2 getting off to an early start showed a lot of promise at the start. Now, well, all I will do is wring my hands and sigh. Harry Turtledove has written several outstanding books. This one isn't one of them. The novel opens with Germany, France and Britain fighting together deep inside Russia. Things are looking bleak for Stalin. Well, in England the military establishment is upset by the recent assassination of Winston Churchill, who did not endear himself to the present regime since he was vocal in his opposition to the treaty with Germany. America does not enter the war in Europe as Germany has left them alone.
This book is named Coup d'Etat because one does take place in the United Kingdom. However, it is really just glossed over. The reader does not get to experience it. One moment the British are allies with Germany, the next moment they are not. Why name the book for a coup that really is important to the story line and not let the reader experience it directly? That would have made the book. There hasn't been a coup in England since Cromwell. As it is it is just presented as a done deal, with military bureaucrats mincing around, hoping the citizens don't get too upset by the removal of civil authority. Instead of an awesome book we have here a book that doesn't go anywhere remarkable. A sad reflection on a truly great writer. - Customer Review at goodreads.com

30 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

It is sure good to have the ability to chew again. My left side molars are almost all gone so I now do 3/4 of my chewing on the right side where the missing filling happened to be. I am looking at some really big expense when those right side molars fail. With all the bone loss that I have had due to periodontal problems I don't know if implants are in my future or not but I hate to think about it.

Got next months Will Rogers weekly articles copied and formatted yesterday so have struck that off my list. Today or tomorrow I'll get my monthly posting page set up and update all the links to the Archives. This is not very hard to do just remembering where all the links are is the hard part.

I am now reading As We Go Marching by John T. Flynn published in 1944 it discusses how wartime planning brought fascism to America. "His analysis of fascism is incisive and devastating. Though American conservatives (and liberals) have ignored this book and its lessons, it speaks of truths for the ages. His comparisons of the Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin regimes with what was taking place in the United States are truly unforgettable." - Book Jacket promo

I have read only some 25% of the book but find it chockablock with some of those 'truths for the ages' that are quotable. I have selected just this one for now that I found to fit our current politics like a glove.

He had made one important discovery —a principle that most successful politicians in a parliamentary state understand and that is perceived by few of their intellectual critics. It is that parliamentary societies are not governed by majorities but by combinations of minorities. “Majorities are inert,” Mussolini said to his faithful Boswella, Signora Sarfatti, “but minorities are dynamic.” He had perceived that society is composed of groups profoundly concerned about their several group interests. They are all minorities. Each minority is far more interested in its special minority objective than in those vague, general subjects that concern the state as a whole. It comes about, therefore, that two seemingly hostile minorities can be induced to unite upon a third proposal of a general nature provided they are each rewarded with a promise of fulfillment of their own special desires. Mussolini climbed into power, as all such men climb into power, not by having a hard-and-fast program, not by becoming “prisoners of theories,” but by locating the streams of intention and thought and desire running strong among the masses and moving with each of these streams. I have failed signally in what I set out to do if I have not made clear that for many years certain deeply fissured streams of thought and desire and demand were running among the people; that these streams of thoughts represented the efforts of powerful minorities to serve some important end of their several class purposes and interests; that Minister after Minister had perceived these currents and had run with them, that Italy had descended with a kind of doom-like inevitability into social and economic bankruptcy and that Mussolini, filled with a passion for power, coming on the scene in a moment of despair and chaos, perceiving obscurely the intentions and desires of the people, quickly enough located them, rose to power, and then proceeded to put into effect a program not conforming to his own opinions, as he set out to do, but conforming to the opinions of these controlling groups among the Italian people.

31 August
Taos Valley RV Park
Taos, NM

Nothing much happening with me. A couple of News items. The end of another month with the promise of some better weather.

Six Years After Obamacare, 11 Percent Remain Uninsured by Brittany M. Hughes is an article that you will only find in Alternative News it dos not fit the narrative for the Main Stream.

According to a new Gallup poll, 10.8 Americans are still living without health insurance in 2016, more than half a decade after the president’s health-insurance-for-all program was passed and two years after the law’s individual mandate went into effect...The percentage of people without health insurance in 2008 – two years before Obamacare was passed – was about 14.8 percent. Additionally, 15.5 percent of respondents to the poll said that they had lacked the ability to pay for their health insurance or necessary medications at some point in 2016, a drop of only three percent since Gallup asked the same question in 2010...The data shows that President Obama’s costly health insurance law – which has been plagued with a botched multi-million-dollar rollout, pricey penalties, costly legal battles, underestimated Medicaid expenses, ever-rising insurance premiums, deceptive marketplace costs and devastating financial impacts on some of the nation’s largest insurers – has so far failed to cut the number of Americans without health insurance in half in six years.
But it’s still the greatest federal program in the history of ever, because President Obama says so.

"There's nothing in the Constitution which requires a popular election for the electors serving in the Electoral College," says John Nagle, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, meaning the body that officially elects presidents could convene without the general public voting.
"It's up to each state legislature to decide how they want to choose the state's electors," Nagle says. "It may be a situation in which the fact that we have an Electoral College, rather than direct voting for presidential candidates, may prove to be helpful."