Peregrinating
2017

July

1 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

Another pixel art flower that was easier than the prior one because I could do some 'bucket fill' of color on this one. There is one more flower, in one color, that I will draw and 4-5 other subjects that have only one color. I'll then be moving on to smaller pictures again but with two colors. But first I'll draw Panel #36 and Type #4 pentagonals.

My right side neighbor was replaced with what looks like a brand new Entegra Capstone Class 'A' sporting retired Marine license plates from Florida. There are two of Entegra in the Park now, I didn't check to see what model the other one was that has Texas plates. This 45' Capstone model starts at a MSRP of $692,646 before any options are added. They must have a toad of course but they economized by getting a Jeep rather than a Mercedes-Benz G550 or Land Rover Range Rover.

I don't know what this long 4th of July weekend is going to be like but the Park is almost full. I think there were two spaces still open this morning when we went out for our walk. That was on a new route that goes up hill to a collection of McMansions. There were three under construction near the road that we walked, maybe more where the majority of them are.

Some of them have a great view of Pocatello stretching up and down the valley. There are a few more homes even higher up that overlook this subdivision but I'm not so sure that they have as good a view of the valley floor. I could see one monster of a place at the very foot of the mountains that would have a good view but again probably not the valley floor.

I knew that the time was coming. Yesterday was that time to dump holding tanks. When I backed into the space after shopping on Tuesday I made sure that Desperado was lined up with the dump outlet so I was prepared. Maybe only dump once more while I'm here but that will have me traveling with partial full tanks. We will see.

"I have confirmed that 30% of the public can’t identify a joke without the help of a service animal." - Scott Adams aka Dilbert

2 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I checked to see what the other Entegra Class 'A' model was that has been here since I arrived. It is an Aspire which has a MSRP that starts at $404,790 before options. There were a couple Class 'A' Tiffin Phaeton's roll in yesterday afternoon. Theses are considered to be high class but the starting prices for a comparable 44-45' coach would be about $390,000 but some model can be had for just over $300,000.

The center part of the RV Park is mostly for overnighters with pull-thrus IF you happen to get lucky. I said that it was almost full yesterday morning and it was almost full again this morning. It was a whole new group; that section was almost empty by noon yesterday.

I thought my Class 'A' neighbor was going to be here for a while, he didn't elect to move yesterday when he had a chance but this morning he left. My neighbor and his sister on the left pulled out about an hour earlier this morning. That leaves me with an open space on both sides which I doubt will last through today.

This is Panel 36 which at first glance I thought was the same as #35. It was easily drawn because I could use all the measurements from #35. Somewhat tedious work changing all the 'x' coordinates to move everything over to the right but easily done. Then change the colors, add what I call decorative lines on each side of the panels that were drawn in #35 and presto chango there is Panel 36.

Panel 36

3 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I had a new Class 'A' neighbor by noon yesterday. This is an older coach that is beginning to show some age and is probably 8-10' shorter than the Entegra. It fits into the space a lot better and fits into the neighborhood better also. I didn't notice the state but the toad is sporting retired Marine plates also. The two different Class 'A's probably serve to show the difference between an NCO and someone with a lot of 'scrambled eggs' on their cap visor.

It was a good day to go shopping. There was even less traffic early in the morning than usual although the police car was in his favored spot on 5th Ave as I went past - right at the speed limit. Breakfast was at Butterburr's again where there not many people. The same was true at Albertson's where I got everything that I wanted even some salmon. They might have had some last week also but I didn't see the second freezer where I found some today.

Went to Tractor Supply and found the cupboard to be bare. Last week the clerk told me that they would be getting in a shipment last Thursday. Today the clerk said that they will be getting a shipment in tomorrow. Maybe they will have more Earthborn Meadow Feast the next time I stop by and then again they may not. I don't think the individual stores ever know what or when they are going to receive any particular item. There is some bean counter at the corporate office that is making those decisions and the local store does their best to sell what they are given.

This is Type 4 Pentagonal tile and Primitive Unit. On the left is a single tile with the angles and sides identified. The 'rules' for this Type are about as restrictive as those were for the Type 3. Although the 90° requirements actually made it easier to draw both the single tile as well as the Unit. I'll now see if I can do the tiling and the coloring that I have in mind.

It has been getting hotter with a high of 92.5° yesterday and a forecast of over 90 for every day in the 10 Day forecast. I am a little skeptical of the reported readings however since the June 27th high was shown to be 139.8°. If the table of temperature readings is brought up for that day the highest shown is 81.9° so there is something wrong with Weather Underground versus the reporting station.

The morning lows are still delightful although they too have moved up into the lower 60s. My next camp is showing almost the same high and low temperatures in the 10 Day forecast so the chances of me moving into cooler temperatures does not look very promising.

4 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

A lot more empty spaces in the Park this morning than there have been these past couple of days. The space on my left remained vacant but I still have the right side neighbor although I have not seen him or them since they got set up.

Patches does not like these hot afternoon walks and I'm not real excited about getting out there with her. So, we will be doing some longer morning walks, she had approving things to say about our walk this morning. Shorter afternoon walks - potty walk length.

The high yesterday was 93.2° with a forecast of NEARLY THE SAME for today. The forecast for tomorrow is 99 with every day this next week above 95. It is staying hot later into the night also and usually any wind/breeze goes down with the sun. The mornings are great until around 10:00 but it is already 75 at 7:00 today - I'm thinking it will be over 95° today.

Another of Well's novels that includes a lot of his New Republican Man philosophy. Not many reviews of this book and what few there are have very little to say. Perhaps not many people have read it or are like myself - what can you say. Not one of his better works would be a kind assessment . There is a lot of autobiography included in this book however, presented in a fictional framework.

A successful author and Liberal MP with a loving and benevolent wife, Richard Remington appears to be a man to envy. But underneath his superficial contentment, he is far from happy with either his marriage or the politics of his party. The New Machiavelli describes the disarray into which his life is thrown, when he meets the young and beautiful Isabel Rivers and becomes tormented by desire. At first, he struggles to resist and remain focused upon his familiar political, personal and social life. But as he soon learns, it is harder than he could have imagined to turn his back on love. - Publisher book promo

Our Dumb Media and Trump’s Twitter Traps by Lawrence Person, a science fiction writer and political commentator, with an interesting blog makes a great point. Suggested reading - this is his closing paragraph.

The media keeps falling into Trump’s Twitter traps because their delusional self-love keeps leading them straight in. “Why surely fiend Trump’s latest attack on America’s sacred media outlets will finally rouse the populace to outrage!” Like Margaret Dumont’s characters, the media’s moral outrage never lets them realize they’re the butt of the joke. Which, of course, always makes the joke that much funnier.

5 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

This is the Type 4 Pentagonal tiling that was done much like what I did for the Type 2. The center diagonal, from lower left to upper right, was pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. From that I was able to determine the x,y coordinate relationship and the other diagonals were drawn much easier. The other complication was the pattern colors which required some 'experimentation'. I think this tiling is striking; can you imagine a floor done with this pattern?

Our afternoon walk yesterday was done during that time of the day when it reached its high of 96.6°. We did a shorter walk however and stopped midway for a rest in the shade. Patches thinks that this new routine is fine and seems to like the longer mornings. This morning we did our longest single walk of the year at just short of 3 miles. With the forecast at 99 I'm looking to do only about a mile this afternoon and expect it to be over 100 although it is a little cooler this morning. I should be back in Tyrone. HA

I contacted a local coffee roaster and after two emails they responded. Said that they would be getting back to me yesterday to tell me when I could stop at their place of business (perhaps their home) and they would grind the Arbuckle whole beans that I have. As of this morning I have not heard anything more from them. I'm getting the impression that their coffee roasting is a 'hobby business' so may have to look for help some other place.

Meanwhile, I ground some beans this morning using my pestle and mortar. Doing it this way I see at least three benefits 1)I'll drink less coffee 2)The beans that I have will last me MUCH longer 3)It is great exercise for my arthritic hands. This first effort resulted in a uneven medium grind but it made a good cup of coffee using my AeroPress.

Pat Buchanan had a very good posting for this July 4th asking a very good question Is America Still a Nation?. He quotes how Ernest Renan defined a nation to make his point in asking the question. I in turn quote Ernest Renan and based on his definition answer in the negative.

A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things … constitute this soul, this spiritual principle. One is the past, the other is the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present consent, the desire to live together, the desire to continue to invest in the heritage that we have jointly received.
Of all cults, that of the ancestors is the most legitimate: our ancestors have made us what we are. A heroic past with great men and glory … is the social capital upon which the national idea rests. These are the essential conditions of being a people: having common glories in the past and a will to continue them in the present; having made great things together and wishing to make them again.

6 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

Yesterday around noon I got an email from Leapknot Coffee that he could grind my beans if I brought them up to his 'store' at 1:00. It was HOT, about 96°, here and only a degree or two cooler at his higher elevation. But you do what you have to do. I gave my generator another workout, this time with the A/C as a load and it worked great.

It took almost no time at all to grind the #5 of beans. I visited for probably 15 minutes and was back in my space within an hour. No more pestle and mortar coffee grinding although I did get a better grind for my second cup yesterday.

I called the high temperature correct, it was 100.8° near the Park around the time we did our short afternoon walk. The A/C probably did not cycle off from the time I plugged back into power at the Park until the outside temperature got down close to 95. It seems to run continuously when over 95 and I'm trying to keep the inside temperature at 80.

I know I'm 'poking the tiger' but since last Friday 30 June when I changed my Spam filter I have not receive any Spam. NONE in my Inbox, NONE in Junk. I'm not sure what is going on, I expected to see some in Junk.

I downloaded this book because it was in the H. G. Wells queue but found that he had only written the introduction. After reading that it seemed the book was probably worth reading and I may have found another early 20th Century author to read. I have no criticism of the book length, I like long books; nor did I dislike the authors long involved descriptions that some readers describe as being overly wordy. But then again I liked James Michener's long descriptions of the geology of the places in his stories. If you are looking for an action thriller this is not the book.

Two sisters find their monotonous lives are changed in a single night.
Emmy, the elder sister, keeps house for her father, who is partially paralysed and can no longer work. She is petty-minded, resentful and unattractive, but dreams of keeping house for her sister's brick-like boyfriend, Alf, instead. When her sister discovers this longing, she manipulates Alf into a night out with Emmy.
Jenny, the younger sister, works as a milliner but dreams of independence, adventure and an adventurous sailor, Keith. She is quick-witted, but plagued by self-doubt. While Emmy is out with Alf, Jenny gets a letter from Keith.
Will either or both sisters find love and will their dreams come true? What will happen to poor old Dad?
This is a good book and I enjoyed it, but as another reviewer has remarked, it could have been cut down to a short story. - Customer Review at goodreads.com

7 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

Yesterday morning as we went out for our walk I noticed that the overnight section of the Park was only about ½ full. It was even less than ½ by noon but I got a new neighbor on my left side nonetheless. I'm not complaining however because the neighbor two spaces over on that side had spread out somewhat to entertain guest during the 4th of July weekend.

They were reasonably quiet as a group, even the urchins were not completely amok and the dogs running loose did not upset Patches very much. It is better now with a sedentary couple from WI to act as a buffer. I did notice this morning that the Park office had their No Vacancy sign out but I bet the overnight section will be only ½ full again by noon.

The June Jobs Report claimed there were 222,000 new jobs which was more than the expert analysts had forecast. The media is trumpeting that as good news, the bad news is that ALL those jobs were due to the 'fake jobs' added by the Birth/Death Model. This is the third consecutive month that 'real jobs' have declined. President Trump is just begging to have this blow up in his face and Tweets are not going to help him.

I am somewhat surprised how quickly the Trump-Russian narrative has been dropped by the Ministry of Propaganda. That was narrative #1 for over 6 months and suddenly the importance has shifted to who has, or has not, shaken President Trump's hand. What The Hell has this hand shaking narrative to do with anything and why should we care?

I have been in contact with a RV Park for my next camp but can not get them to give me a confirmed reservation. Not a lot of choices in the area and I have a dentist appointment scheduled there that I can not change at this late date. Sent an email today to an alternative Park that does not look all that good but seems a better choice than alternative #3. I have 10 days remaining here to find something so maybe between these two I'll have a place to stay.

8 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

For the past few days I have been drawing Panel #37 in the morning and the last single color pixel art flower in the afternoon. Making slow but sure progress on both of them but they are soporific, requiring very little thought. A little bit more exciting than watching paint dry but at about that same level.

There was to be a Fun Run today that was going to be using part of the trails that I walk. I was out on them even earlier than usual and saw nothing but signs and a water stop that had been set up. I don't know what time this will happen but reasonably sure they will be done by the time we do our afternoon walk.

I received a reply from RV Park #2 at my hoped to be next camp that said they are full in anticipation of the solar eclipse. I don't understand. I thought the solar eclipse was going to cover the entire United States. Why would a nondescript RV Park be filled by people wanting to see it. Be that as it may I sent an email to choice #3. If I do not hear anything positive from them or get a confirmation from choice #1 I'm going to scrub this location.

The problem with doing that is I have a dental appointment there. I'll cancel that which is easily done but the harder thing will be to get an appointment at some other location. I usually make these appointments 4 months in advance because getting one as a new patient can be problematic. I'll deal with it if I must but don't like the thought of doing so.

9 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I found a map that shows the path of the eclipse across the United States and sure enough the "total" eclipse will pass over my hoped for next camp. But, I am asking for a month stay starting 18 July and the eclipse will happen on 21 August so I'm still not sure about what Park #2 was telling me. I also don't know why I can not get a confirm from Park #1 nor a reply to my emails from Park #3.

I had not contacted the Park that I had in mind for a month stay starting 19 August but it is in Idaho also directly in the eclipse path. I have killed that idea. I have been looking at month stay alternatives for both 18 July and August which all have me moving back south too early but I will most likely end up where it is HOT but maybe not any worse than it has been here. Still in the 90s until I leave if the forecast is correct.

Our new walking routine has gone from 2+2 miles morning and afternoon to 3+1. This morning I did another new route that included both hills north of Red Hill and we ended up at exactly 3.00 miles. The other two routes have been close but this one was right on.

Breakfast was at Jumbo's again this morning where I could park in the school administrative parking that is across the street. Probably could do that early in the morning during the week also but I didn't want to take a chance whereas on the weekend it appeared to be safe parking.

Then a stop at Albertson's where I got everything except barley. I still have some but it is time that I started looking for more. A stop at the Wells Fargo ATM for some cash which I will not miss when the government compels us to be cashless. That had me arriving at Tractor Supply about 30 minutes before they opened.

Last week the clerk said he would set aside a bag of Earthborn for me, took my name and wrote it in a little book. Today he looked at me like he had never seen me before in his life and knew nothing about any Earthborn being set aside. They did have two bags on the shelf and I took one of them so all is well. Do NOT expect Tractor Supply to hold products for you - this is the second store that said they would but have not.

10 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I discovered why I was not seeing any SPAM in my Junk folder. I didn't have the filter set up correctly. It was simply discarding any SPAM that it detected. I changed that yesterday afternoon so maybe I start seeing some that are caught and put in Junk. I think the filter was working fine because I have not had any SPAM in my Inbox since 30 June when I set it up. Caught my first one in the Junk folder this morning! HA

This is Panel 37 which is shown on the web page that I use for inspiration as lines only. I have reproduced that line pattern reasonably faithfully and without to much difficulty. Applying the colors added some difficulty but not much. A rather tedious drawing but I think it looks pretty good, much better with some color.

Panel 37

I have tried to let it become apparent that while I do firmly believe not only in the splendour and nobility of the Socialist dream but in its ultimate practicality, I do also recognize quite clearly that with people just as they are now, with their prejudices, their ignorances, their misapprehensions, their unchecked vanities and greeds and jealousies, their crude and misguided instincts, their irrational traditions, no Socialist State can exist, no better State can exist, than the one we have now with all its squalor and cruelty. Every change in human institutions must happen concurrently with a change of ideas. Upon this plastic, uncertain, teachable thing Human Nature, within us and without, we have, if we really contemplate Socialism as our achievement, to impose guiding ideas and guiding habits, we have to co-ordinate all the Good Will that is active or latent in our world in one constructive plan.

11 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

It was a little cooler yesterday with a high of 92.3°, the first time it has been less than 95 since 2 July. The weather gurus have forecast today to reach only 89 which will be the first time it will be less than 90 this month - IF it happens.

I'm having a tough time finding a town that has both a RV Park and a dentist that will respond to emails. I have sent out a bunch of them to two different towns, a couple different RV Parks in each and a couple dentist. Have received a reply from one of the dentist but they are just asking questions. I wrote back this morning answering their second question and then said 'Just tell me, will you or will you not do a cleaning?"

I always show the RV Park and town where I have stayed. This is mostly for my own benefit making it easy to go back and read what I had to say about being there. Not a RV review as much as a memory jogger. Since I canceled my planned stop I will not have that. So I'm going to add some names that I can use to refresh my memory. The planned stop was Baker City, OR, Park #1 - Mt View, Park #2 - Baker City Motel & RV Park, Park #3 - A Frame RV Park (good price).

Yesterday morning I received a reply from Park #3 which wanted to know what year my RV was and if older than 2000 to see a picture. They and RV Park #2 both wanted pictures. What is it with them, the town is not a resort destination? I wrote back that they were too late I had canceled all my reasons for needing a space at their Park but attached a picture to see if my RV was acceptable. They wrote back that it is!

I got 4 SPAMs in my Junk folder yesterday so the change worked. I think the one that was flooding me has quit because I was getting 10-15 a day from them for a few weeks. They probably have a way to detect what I am doing with their SPAMs and decided it was a waste of time and effort.

Social-Democracy may conceivably become a force that in the sheer power of untutored faith may destroy government and not replace it. I do not know how far that is not already the case in Russia. I do not know how far this may not ultimately be the case in the United States of America. - New Worlds For Old: A Plain Account of Modern Socialism, H. G. Wells

12 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I have a dental appointment. That is the good news, the bad news is I'm still having a difficult time finding a RV space in the same area as the dentist office. There is still hope but that is all I have at the moment.

Not doing much of anything except trying to find a place to live for the month of August. I have also sent out a request for information at a possible stop in September. Sent an email requesting a dental appointment for December and have received a confirmation for my 'winter over' camp starting in November.

This is not a recommended book - unless you are reading everything the Wells wrote there is not much chance that you will find it on any suggested reading list. The Customer Review that I copied from goodreads.com is the ONLY review that I could find. As he says Wells does a good job of explaining the difference between what he calls "Modern Socialism" and Communism which he opposed as much or more than Capitalism. The quotes that I have posted these past couple days gives you a sampling. This last one is what was all important for Wells and he can be well satisfied that public education has done all that it can to teach his beliefs. However, public education has not proved to be invincible - homeschooling and charter schools are fighting the good fight.

While over a hundred years old, a great overview of Socialism apart from the Marxist tradition and the (then future) results of Russian and Chinese so-called Marxism. Wells offers a very well articulated distinction along the lines of Fabian Society ideology, yet well aware of the short comings of that and similar societies. Probably more relevant in our age than his, he fleshes out the misconceptions of Socialism apart from the mass of propaganda and mis-information present in our (then as in now) Plutocracy.
A must read for anyone who doesn't know the difference between Socialism and Communism, Marx and Kropotkin; for anyone with a superficial, ill-informed concept of Socialism in their Capitalist/Libertarian rhetoric. Not that it will change your mind and win you over, but that at least you will be fairly educated in your dialectic to move beyond a straw-man attack. - Customer Review at goodreads.com

...until at last it had to undertake a complete system of organized free public primary education. There the moving finger of change halts not a moment; already it is going on to secondary education, to schemes for a complete public educational organization from reformatory school up to professorial chair. The practical logic of the case is invincible.

13 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

This is the last single color pixel art flower - I think. There are some other subjects in one color that I will be drawing then I'll be moving on to smaller pictures again but with two colors. But there is the Type #5 pentagonal to be done next.

Do you want evidence of how screwed up the medical system is in the United States. On 10 July I filled out a web page Contact Form but saw no evidence that it was sent so I also sent an email. Received a reply late that day in the form of a question - Was I a prior patient? Answered in the negative and promptly received a second question - When did have my last periodontal exam and x-rays? Answered that early the morning of 11 July and asked if they were going to do the cleaning or not, please advise. Have not heard from them since.

Compare and contrast. I sent an email to the Guadalajara Dental Clinic in Los Algodones, MX at 8:46 yesterday asking for a cleaning appointment and an exam by Dr. Navarro (daughter of the Navarro that painted Desperado) in December. Received a reply with a time and date (first appointment of the day as I had asked for) but did not confirm that the appointment was with Dr. Navarro. I asked for confirmation that the appointment was with her and received said confirm at 9:55. Done!

To be fair, ALL US dentist offices are not like the one described above. The one that I now have an August appointment with responded in the same manner and almost as quickly as the Mexico office. I can not say the say the same about RV Parks. Most of them are VERY slow in responding or never reply when I fill out their web page Connect Form and the response rate to emails is almost as bad.

When I said I caught 4 SPAMs on Monday I was not looking at all the pages in the folder. There were 9 on Monday, 14 on Tuesday and 10 yesterday. So the heavy hitter does not know what is going on or does not care. The new filter is doing a great job and I no longer add each ISP to make it work.

Yesterday afternoon soon after we finished our walk I checked email and had one from a Park that said they were full during the week of 17 July. The message was that they had a space available and did I want it. YES! I am almost 30 miles from the dentist office but only need to make the trip once so that is not too bad, about the same distance that I had to drive when near Carlsbad, NM. YAY!!

14 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I went to work on my household chores soon after finishing breakfast. I'll have most of them done today with Desperado's cab and windows probably delayed until Sunday. Tomorrow is shopping day and I don't want to overdo it.

I drew a decorative pixel art capital letter yesterday with the idea that it would replace the raised capital letter that begins each of my posting. I did not like the way it looked at all and threw it away. I would like some good looking drop caps but have not found any.

Then started another pixel art drawing that is going to be much more difficult than all those that I have done previously. That is what is seems like based on the very little that I was able to get drawn yesterday. I need to get pentagonal #5 started to give me break.

Speaking of breaks we had one in the weather yesterday afternoon. There was a little rain, 0.01" officially, but it cooled down a lot for our afternoon walk. It would have been nice to have done a longer one in those cool conditions but the lightning was flashing, thunder was thundering and it looked like we could get wet. My next camp is predicting near 100° highs for the first week that I will be there - I need a break.

15 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

My right side neighbor left yesterday a little after 11:00 but he also left his motorcycle and a red cone in the space so he will be back. I have a feeling that he went someplace cooler for the weekend. If I had the money that is what I would be doing also but you do what you can and what you have to do.

No SPAM yesterday which now has me wondering what is going on. Maybe it has taken a few days for them to catch on that everything is going to Junk. They don't seem to work weekends so I won't know what might be happening until next week.

Shopping day. Stopped and got Desperado filled will gas then went to Butterburr's again for breakfast. The same huge omelet and a platter full of hash browns. The first time I stopped here the waitress was rather 'cold', the second time a different waitress was very cheery and today a different waitress yet verged on being surly. Great breakfasts at a great price but it is the luck of the draw as to what the mood of the waitress might be.

I made good progress on pentagonal #5 yesterday and should have the single tile and the unit finished by tomorrow. I think this one is going to make a very good looking tiling if I can put it together in the way that I have in mind.

I have finally received replies to all the emails that I sent out OR no longer care if I get a reply. I have not yet tried to get a reservation starting in mid-August but have a Park in mind where I probably do not need one. I have made an availability and price inquiry for the mid-September camp. I'll most likely stay for less than a month in October at The Pahrump Escapee Park which does not take reservations, so I take my chances. My winter over arrangements for camp and dentist are confirmed.

It is going to be a hot summer and probably a hot fall for me this year but it is the best I can do now that I'm here. Yesterday the high was 95.4° with today expected to be the same. My next camp is showing a forecast that is about 3° higher than here for every day next week. It may cool down some but I am probably going to be in the 90s and high 80s for quite some time.

16 July
Cowboy RV PARK
Pocatello, ID

I went outside around noon yesterday for only a few minutes while cleaning windows and it was scorching but not yet as hot as it was going to get. It got up to 99.3° before cooling down rapidly to only 82 when a rain squall passed through. We went out for our walk soon after it quit and with the humidity it was miserable. During our 30 minute walk the temperature went back up 6 degrees and we could see the pavement drying as we walked.

Got back inside where the A/C was running continuously to keep it at 80 while I did some 'linner' cooking. Made up some more sardine and potato patties and baked some salmon. Then this morning I made up a big batch of my breakfast meals.

Soon after breakfast this morning I dumped holding tanks and took on fresh water. The water idiot light claimed I had a full tank but I knew that was not correct. As I was filling the tank the light changed its mind and showed that I had ¼ of a tank. That completed all my household chores except wiping down the counters and stove top after I eat 'linner' today. On the road again early tomorrow.

This is Type #5 Pentagonal tile and Primitive Unit. On the left is a single tile with the angles and sides identified. The 'rules' for this Type are about about the same as those were for the Type 4 which made it easier to draw than types #2 & #3. The tiling for this type will probably be done like a jigsaw puzzle until I can find some pattern in the x,y coordinate locations.

The hits just keep coming! Former Haitian government Klaus Eberwein was found dead in a motel room earlier this week from a gunshot wound to the head. The Miami-Dade medical examiner is ruling it a suicide. Eberwein was scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Haitian Senate’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and possibly give testimony to Clinton Foundation corruption in Haiti.

This was just another in a string of coincidences where people die just before they are scheduled to testify. Like former UN official John Ashe who “accidentally” crushed his own throat, on June 22, 2016, and died a week before he was scheduled to testify against the Clintons and Democrat Party.

Or Peter Smith (another suicide) that was working with Russian hackers to find the 30,000 missing Clinton emails. He had also been a long time investigator of the Clinton Foundation. Or Shawn Lucas (accidental overdose) and Seth Conrad Rich ( gunned down on the street), both connected to the Democrat Party's stealing the nomination from Bernie.

17 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

The streak for having to stop for road construction remains unbroken since I left Tyrone, NM. All the others required a pilot car but today the single lane traffic was controlled by those portable traffic lights. This one cycled every few minutes and I'm guessing there were 50-60 cars in front of me when I got there. Sat through 4 light changes before crossing the bridge on ID50 that crosses the Snake River just south of Interstate 84.

The Snake goes through a canyon there that is very much like the Rio Grande near Taos, NM. The biggest difference is the lack of tourist gawking at this one. You almost have to fight for a place at the rail on the bridge over the Rio Grande. At this one there was one car in the observation view point parking lot.

Stopped for breakfast at Charlie's Café and got a so so Huevos con Chorizo with good hash browns and refried beans. The price was good, the service was good but the place looks like a dump. Definitely a farmer's restaurant in a farm community.

I saw a lot of grain crops, hay, sugar beets and Idaho Famous potatoes along the way today. All this part of ID has much more agriculture than what I expected. The route was only 176 miles with more Interstate driving than I usually do: Barton Rd, 5th Ave/US30/US91, US30, I-86, I-84 (68 miles), US30, Rock Creek Rd (in Hansen), ID50, I-84 (61 miles), Frontage Rd/Old US30 & Bannock Rd.

The space that I have here is very tight with the spaces angled in strange ways. My left side neighbor angles toward the front of Desperado as does the right side neighbor. I have some grass on my right side and a good size tree which was a problem.

I had both the husband and wife owners spotting me as I backed into this space that is about 15' wide between the front of the Class 'A" on the left and that tree on the right. Then there is a tree branch that the owner said he would cut off that I cleared by inches.

The closest Weather Underground station that I see is in Bliss, ID. This is not too far away and at about the same elevation which is good and bad because the forecast high temperatures at Bliss during this next 10 days are to be just under and just over 100°. I don't think that big tree is going to help very much but having the shade makes me feel cooler.

18 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

We did a morning walk that was a little less than 3 miles and saw ALL of downtown Glenns Ferry. I think I will be able to find enough different routes that I will not get too bored, Patches can always find something interesting on the same route. Such as the loose dog that came running at us yesterday afternoon. Patches was ready to defend me as the owner came running to get her dog that was about to commit suicide.

We walked past the fairgrounds this morning which we drove past coming in yesterday. I did not remember that the carnival was set up then but it was all in place this morning. The fair begins tomorrow with a rodeo during the weekend. This is a big deal for such a small town and was the reason that this RV Park originally said they were full. Maybe I'll get some elbow room next week?

It was cooler this morning than the forecast so with any luck the high for the day will also be a little cooler. It will still be hot but maybe not as hot as forecast and maybe less than the 98.1° that we had yesterday.

I make myself feel better by comparing the temperatures that I have had for the past month with what I would have had in Quail Ridge at Huachuca City where 27 of the past 31 days have been over 100°. However, I would have had cooler temperatures in Tyrone after a five day hot period in June soon after I left.

Unlike the Customer reviewer I was not surprised that I had never heard of this book but I was surprised that it was considered by Lincoln to be one the three most influential books in his life. I read the OCR edition that is available at archives.org which is VERY poor compared to what Gutenberg offers however not this title. If you want to read this on a Kindle the $0.99 spent for the Amazon edition may be money well spent. It is a very interesting book on many levels not the least of which is the language of a reasonably educated man, for his time, rather than the language of the 'writers' of the early 19th century. Recommended.

I was surprised I'd never heard of this book, supposedly one of the books Abraham Lincoln considered influential. It is the true story of an American sea captain who is shipwrecked and taken prisoner, then enslaved, by Arabs. Through his ingenious bargaining and a leap of faith, he convinces and Arab trader to trade all of his goods for the captain and some companions from his ship. He convinces the trader to take them across the Sahara, which means not only braving heat, hunger and thirst, but fighting off would be thieves as well.
The captain promises that there is a reward, that there is someone willing to pay a ransom when they get across the Sahara. The problem is, this isn't true - the Captain knows no one in the city they are headed to. The Captain and trader have made a deal that if the ransom isn't paid, the crewman will be sold as slaves and the Captain will be killed. The Captain is a linguist and learns enough Arabic to converse and to learn. He relates the tale of what happened, which is a true page turner, and the stories he hears from the Arabs. While this is an old book with a few old expressions and some racial terms no longer in use, I think it's clear that the Captain is not at heart a racist; he saw people of all colors as people. While he didn't like slavery, it was the way things were, and he accepted his fate as a slave without railing against the institution itself. Rather, he documents what happens, and makes some observations. Overall, it's a very interesting read. - Customer Review at Amazon

19 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

This is the Type #5 Pentagonal tiling drawn somewhat like what is shown on the Wikipedia web page. What is shown there is an activated image that keeps changing shapes. What I am showing is the primary unit tiled using translational symmetry or simply moving a unit a certain distance from each other one and changing the color for an interesting appearance. I am working slowly on the pixel art drawing and will begin stained glass panel #38 to provide a break from it.

The high temperature yesterday was 103.5° which happened after we did our afternoon walk when it was ONLY around 95°. The weather haruspices see COOLER today (97°) which will be good news IF it happens. As hot as it was my A/C was actually cycling off which many times it has not when temperatures were being reported at 95 and above.

We did a leisurely 3 mile walk this morning in perfect 58° temperatures. Went to the Snake River overlook near Three Island State Park and read all the Oregon Trail historic information. Then stopped for a few minutes to chat with a woman on her way to work that had time to devote to Patches. What a flirt - Patches, not the woman.

Not much of anything else happening. I have started another H. G. Wells book that is a tome that is going to require considerable time to read. It is 1,171 pages as hardback book and over 30,000 locations on Kundel. Now is the perfect time to be reading it, hot with A/C.

20 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

This was my first effort to download and edit a picture from my camera using GIMP. I have always used Picasa in the past. It was not all that different and it has been so long since I have downloaded anything from my camera I would probably have had just as much trouble with Picasa.

I also had trouble with coding the picture to appear as a smaller size and then show as a bigger size when clicked. I have not done that in a long time either and had to go back and find where I had done it before but I have found that what I did before is no longer working in Chrome. I don't know if it is working in other browsers or not but the text is not wrapping around the image in Chrome until you click on the image and the return to the web page. Something else to keep me busy.

This is the tight space that I have under a very nice tree that has helped a lot to keep me cool(er). The picture does not show how close I am to that tree trunk and the Class 'A'. I measured from my mirror to the trunk and it was 34". Didn't measure to the Class 'A' but it is about the same. That lower large limb is also much closer than it appears. The plan is that it will be cut off tomorrow which will make it a little easier to back into the space but it is still going to take me some GOALs. That is Get Out And Look!

Upon reading the news yesterday that Senator McCain was diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma I promptly filled out his web site contact form asking him to resign his seat for the good of the state of Arizona and for the country. I then went to Governor Ducey's web site and asked him to use what influence he might have to convince Senator McCain to resign. Furthermore, I offered a name to be considered as an appointment to complete his term when he resigns or failing that when he dies.

I had friend that I graduated with from high school and was a roommate for part of my university years that had the same diagnosis - it is a death sentence, the only question is how long will it take to kill McCain. My friend lived longer than the 14 months that they are giving McCain but he was not a functioning human during that time.

This is Panel 38 which is also shown on the web page that I use for inspiration as lines only - lots of lines. It does not appeal to me without some color added. To do that required a coding technique that I don't think I have tried before but it worked well.

Panel 38

21 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

I spent about an hour yesterday determining what was wrong with my coding - it was not Chrome. Then devoted about 3 hours to going through all my Peregrinating Archive pages and fixing those photos that were coded wrong. Maybe I will now remember what I have to do when posting a picture from my camera or a web photo that I 'borrow' and want to show at a larger size when the picture is clicked.

I didn't have the courage yesterday to go and look at all the other pictures that I have posted with all my trips to see if they are coded wrong also. I'll go look but just not yet!

When we did our afternoon walk yesterday there was breeze blowing and although the sun felt hot I was comfortable. Found out after we got back to Desperado that it was about 92°. I am either getting use to the hot temperatures or it has cooked my brain. This is turning out to be a better camp than I expected and the weather guesser even think it will get a little cooler during some days in the 10 Day forecast. Please let them be right for a change!

We did a slightly shorter morning walk today and then got on the road to Albertsons in Mountain Home. Picked up almost everything that I wanted or an acceptable substitute. I had planned on going to El Herradero for breakfast which is just across the street from Albertsons. Google shows that they open at 7:00 am which would have been perfect but they certainly were not open and when I asked about them I was told they open at 9:00.

Two people told me that the place to go for breakfast was the Manhattan Café. It was on my way to the dentist office and had good RV parking. They have a somewhat limit menu but I got a decent Denver omelet, fair hash browns and good coffee. Their sourdough toast has a lot to be desired, I'll go with whole wheat when I stop again.

The plan for the dental office was first find it - which was easy. I was then going to fill out all the paperwork today rather than the day of my appointment. Closed at 9:00 because it is Friday and they are not open on Friday. So, I accomplished ½ of the plan.

Upon arriving back at the Park I started to get backed into my space and the owner's father, also my left side neighbor, came out to help. I don't really like any help other than stand behind me and make sure I don't run over anything. Help for me is someone to yell - STOP! Any other directions either verbal or the waving of hands in spastic motions is not helping. Got-er-done! The missing tree limb makes it much less daunting.

22 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

Glenns Ferry is a tourist town due to it being at the Oregon Trail Three Island Crossing. There are a few of the usual tourist shops but for the most part it is a farming community. There have been big trucks coming and going almost nonstop since I have been here and I had to know why.

The Park owner did not know and has very little interest in knowing from the way he talked. He has a little container garden here at the Park but has virtually no interest in the agriculture that support the town. He makes his living from tourist and people like me.

To get my answer I went where the trucks were going. That was to a grain elevator just south of the town public pool and park. There I asked one of the drivers what he was hauling. It is wheat which I had guessed but wanted to know. While he was unloading from the field there were other trucks being filled which was to be transported to Boise(?). I could not understand him very well due to my hearing, his accent and the noise of trucks or grain elevator.

This morning our walk was to the west on Old US30 that I drove yesterday. It was an out and back route and at the turn around I was able to get into a field and see some sugar beets up close and personal. That is the first time that I have seen them other than driving past. I think there is a potato field that I went past that I want to check out also before I leave here.

Neither of those crops are ready for harvest yet. They will start digging potatoes in September and then beets in October; there is some overlap when both are being harvested. That the Park owner knew something about because he rents spaces to the truck drivers during the potato and beet harvest.

There are also a lot of alfalfa hay fields in this area. They are cutting and baling that now also. I saw bales being loaded in a field that I drove past yesterday and have seen a few loaded trucks on the Interstate while I'm out walking in the afternoons. There is also some barley grown in this area and it is harvest time for it but I don't think I have seen any fields of it.

So, that is your Glenns Ferry agriculture lesson for today. I'll be returning to regular programming tomorrow unless something else strikes my fancy.

23 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

The high temperature yesterday was 102.2° with today's forecast for it to be COOLER at 99°. We were out there for our afternoon walk but it was only about 94. The hottest time of the day here is around 5 or 6 so we are usually out and back while it is hot but not at its hottest.

As soon as we finished our morning walk today I did laundry. That will probably be the only thing that I do today. Other than draw some more on my latest pixel art. This one that I'm doing now is the most difficult one that I have attempted so far. It will probably take another week to finish because I need to take a break from it every few days.

The latest H. G. Wells book that I am reading is like that also. I have read enough of this one now that I would have finished one of his other books but not ¼ of the way through this one. It is nothing like his other books and surprisingly has not included any of his socialism proselytizing - so far.

I finally got a response from the RV Park that I had selected for my next camp. Therefor, all my camps have been selected and I have confirmations about availability and prices from now until next May. Except for a period of time during October when I plan on staying at the Pahrump Escapee park which does not take reservations. I'm set unless another eclipse disrupts all those well made plans. HA

24 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

A new Weather Underground station came online yesterday that is closer to Glenns Ferry than the one I have been referring to. They both are reporting the high temperature yesterday to have been 105.6° and both recorded that high around 6:00pm. We were out there from 3:30 to about 3:50 and it was ONLY about 100°. I thought at the time that it was hotter than the previous day but did not know how much hotter.

The weather guessers got it completely wrong but that does not mean they are giving up. They again are predicting that today will be COOLER with the high to be 102°. They then forecast Tuesday thru Thursday will be just under 100 but the rest of the 10 Day forecast will all be over 100.

The worse prediction of them all is the 105 that they think it will be on 1 August, the day of my dental appointment when I need to leave Patches in Desperado that will not be connected to shore power. I'll be looking closely at the temperatures that morning and if they expect the 9:00am temperatures to be near 80 I'll be running the generator and the A/C for her.

I'll not be doing much today. I did get some 'linners' cooked this morning while it was still reasonably cool. Need to do some more but will put it off until tomorrow morning during the cool part of the day.

"Public space was never designed into the automobile suburbs, and the sad remnants of it were replaced by ersatz substitutes, like the now-dying malls. Everything else of a public and human associational nature has been shoved into some kind of computerized box with a screen on it." - James Howard Kunstler, The Value of Everything

"Those of us who are well fed, well garmented and well ordered, ought not to forget that necessity makes frequently the root of crime. It is well for us to recollect that even in our own law-abiding, not to say virtuous cases, the only barrier between us and anarchy is the last nine meals we’ve had. It may be taken as axiomatic that a starving man is never a good citizen...There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy." - Alfred Henry Lewis

25 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

Good news on the weather front (pun intended) with a high of 98.8° yesterday versus the expected 102. That was caused by a high thin cloud cover. The bad news is they put a lid on that heat during the night. My A/C cycled all through the night until about 9:00am when we finally reached a low of 71. Had a few sprinkles during our morning walk but there is no rain in the forecast with the expected high of 96.

Got more sardine and potato patties cooked up this morning. Those and the cod that I baked yesterday will provide 'linners' for almost a week.

I'll be shopping at the small market here in Glenns ferry this week and have no idea what may be available that is on my usual shopping list. Is they have a decent produce section and have Greek Gods yogurt I should survive until I get back to Albertsons when I go to my dental appointment.

That is it for today from me in the Snake River trench.

26 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

This is the most difficult pixel art that I have drawn so far because of all the background color that shows through the hair and beard. It is only one color but drawing it required doing the same things that I would have done with two colors. I am guessing that in this 118x161 picture there are 14-15,000 black pixels that I placed to create the image. Very satisfied with how it looks.

I'll now be starting stained glass panel #39 which does not look very difficult if I were to do just a line drawing. I am looking at increasing that difficulty somewhat by adding color. Will see how it goes.

The weather guessers got their 102° yesterday that they had predicted would happen the day before. They still think it is going to be COOLER today, but at 97 that is hotter than what they thought yesterday was going to be. We were out there in the afternoon when it was 100 and with almost no breeze it seemed even hotter. The 10 Day forecast is NOT predicting that there will be any relief with 100 or more on tap starting Friday.

I think we need to reduce our afternoon walks even more. We have been doing about a mile in the afternoon heat but it is getting to be to much for man (that is me) and beast (that is Patches). Maybe go back to doing a mile IF the high temperatures ever drop back down into the lower 90s these 100s are just too much.

"When Trump nominated Sessions, the Democrats and the presstitutes went berserk. Sessions was “unqualified,” a “racist,” blah-blah. But now Sessions is the hero of the presstitutes and Democrats. They love him, because he has sold out Trump on the question of the justification for an investigation of Trump as a suspect “Russian agent” by an independent prosecutor who happens to be a member of the anti-Trump ruling establishment." - Paul Craig Roberts, Trump Is Being Moved Aside So That Conflict with Russia Can Proceed

27 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

My left side neighbor had his toad parked very close to what would have been my line of egress this morning. I waited until early evening yesterday for him to move it and when that did not happen I went over and asked him to pull forward a foot or two. That it was best that I asked him the day before rather than this morning at 6:30.

He is a 'talker', ask him what time it is and he will go on and on about how to build a watch. It the course of his garrulous discussion on various topics he said that he was happy to move the car now because he always gets up late since he retired. I said that I would probably be gone and back in my space before he got up.

This is what happened. I first went to Southside Market thinking they opened at 7:00. When I found they were not open I went to Hanson's Café for breakfast where I inquired about the market's hours and the waitress told me 8:00. Finished eating and went back to the market and they were open a few minutes before 8:00 and I found out that they open at 7:30.

I got most of the things that wanted but had to make some substitutions in the produce department and forgo mushrooms. I was very surprised that they had large curd cottage cheese but it was in the ½ size and quite expensive. Even more surprised to find Greek God Honey and Vanilla, the only flavor that they had.

Back into my space at the Park with no 'assistance' where I stopped a bit short of where I usually want to be so I could dump holding tanks. Took on fresh water also since I now can not rely on the idiot light I don't know how much I have remaining in the tank. Then backup a little more, hooked up to electric and was sitting down with a cup of coffee at 9:00. I don't think my neighbor was up yet. HA

"What injury did the Assad regime, in power for half a century and having never attacked us, inflict to justify what we have helped to do to that country? Is this war moral by our own standards
We overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003 and Moammar Gadhafi in 2012. Yet, the fighting, killing and dying in both countries have not ceased. Estimates of the Iraq civilian and military dead run into the hundreds of thousands." - Patrick J. Buchanan, Are America’s Wars Just and Moral?.

"It is barely a matter of seventy generations between ourselves and Alexander [the Great]; and between ourselves and the savage hunters our ancestors, who charred their food in the embers or ate it raw, intervene some four or five hundred generations. There is not much scope for the modification of a species in four or five hundred generations." - H. G. Wells, The Outline of History

28 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

I have been two days trying to draw pentagonal Type #6 with angles other than 120° but have failed repeatedly. I'll be going with what I can draw but it will continue to haunt me. The single tile and 4-tile unit will be finished tomorrow - maybe. I'll get them posted whenever.

Nothing happening here other than weather - hot. Although it was only 97.3° yesterday. The forecast is now for it to be 100 today and for the rest of the 10 days with Tuesday slightly lower than previously but Wednesday and Thursday both expected to be 107.

This is Panel 39 which was rather simple to draw until I started adding colors. I have not done enough liner color gradients to know what I am doing so this provided an opportunity to experiment and learn what I should be doing. I now realize that some of past efforts were done wrong. So be it, that is what this is all about - learning!

Panel 39

29 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

I have been buying Charles E. Schmidt canvas utility jeans from Tractor Supply as the pants that I wear on our walks and most of my out-n-abouts. I never wear them out but I do wear holes on the inside of the legs where they rub together when walking. I saw that was happening and needed a new pair but no Tractor Supply in Mountain Home.

I could have bought them online from Tractor but checked to see what Amazon offered and found a Washed Duck Work Dungaree by Carhartt. They are similar but lighter weight (probably will not last as long), without a watch pocket (I miss that because that was were I carried my flashlight) but with a second small narrow pocket along the left leg. I received them yesterday in time to do an afternoon walk and then the walk this morning. I do like the lighter weight and they seem to offer more room in the legs when bending down.

The only thing that did different today, although I do it frequently, was to cook up a batch of my breakfast meals. Not a lot of cooking involved only the barley that is pre-cooked and then portions are heated up every morning for breakfast.

This is a Type 6 Pentagonal tile and Primitive Unit. On the left is a single tile with the angles and sides identified. I wanted to make angle B=30° with angle E=60° and the other angles to be 150 but try as I might I could not find the correct side lengths to make that happen. What you see on the left with 120° angles was easily done with a,d & e equal to 1/2 of b & c. The 4-tile unit was a bit more difficult than I remember the prior 5 types to have been. The first 5 types were discovered in 1918, it then took 50 years before Kershner found the next three and incorrectly proclaimed that was all there were. I think the tiling of these units will be relatively easy or at least I hope so.

30 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

I do not pay a lot of attention to the visitor count statistics that I get for my site but do check where they are coming from. I get the occasional foreign visitors mostly China and European countries. Yesterday I had a visit from Victoria, Beau Vallon, Seychelles which I think was a first to the best of my recollection.

I don't pay a lot of attention to my walk times although I do keep a good record of distance. The Garmin watch that bought at the beginning of this year keeps track of my record distance for a single walk and my record 5K time without a rest stop (pauses are included). We set a new record for both of those this morning with the 5K time being set by how many pauses Patches takes along the way.

I sent my congresswoman an email yesterday that included this quote "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." - George S Patton. I had more to say as is my wont but the point of my email was that she and 418 of her comrades in the House of Representatives voted for more sanctions against Russia. What were you thinking? They obviously did not give a passing thought to what the outcome was to the economic sanctions imposed on Japan prior to WWII.

"The near unanimous votes for the sanctions legislation in Congress represent the strong will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States. We hope that there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues and these sanctions will no longer be necessary," - Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State. I have two things to say about the Secretary's statement 1) I do not believe the actions of Congress represent the strong will of the American people. 2) This has to be diplomatic speak for "The beatings will continue until morale improves”.

This is a Type 6 Pentagonal tiling which was as easy to do as the Type 1. I colored it differently than the unit that I showed yesterday simply because I can plus I think it looks better. I was going to show it in red and white like the Type 1 but did not like the look. I have a pixel art drawing underway which should be finished in a few days. Need to do another month of Will Rogers weekly article copying and formatting today.

The heat just keeps on keepin on. I was hoping that the 105.6° high that we had last Sunday was going to be the highest while I was here . The 104.9° on Friday kept my hopes alive although I don't want many days like that either. Then yesterday we got a 107.1° with the forecast for another 107 today and 102 to 105 through next Saturday. I know the farmers all now have air conditioned tractors but I am sure glad that I'm not out there in the field!

31 July
Trail Break RV PARK
Glenns Ferry, ID

I got the Will Rogers weekly articles formatted again yesterday and discovered that I had messed up the archives. I was still linking to them for my postings correctly but the individual weeks were not in the files that my scheme of things required. I spent some time fixing that and now I think all is well.

This was a Miami Herald headline "Miami hotter than Phoenix?" a few days ago and was picked up by Drudge. I know Glenns Ferry is no Miami but I would like to point out that the high temperature in Phoenix, AZ yesterday was 100.8° whereas here we had a high of 106.3° which was lower that the day before. The forecast for today is NEARLY THE SAME as is tomorrow and the next day with slightly cooler (under 100) days expected next week.

Although President Trump has not signed the bill into law that increases sanctions on Russia everyone anticipates that he will. When I say everyone that includes the Russians. The Russian foreign ministry soon after the House voted 419 to 3 to pass the law demanded Washington cut its diplomatic presence in Russia by September to 455 -- the same number Moscow has in the US. That means 755 people must stop their activities in Russia. What in the hell are 1,210 'diplomats' doing in Russia? You talk about draining the swamp - Putin is draining the one in Russia that is for sure.

John McCain: The Least Moral Man in Congress by Michael J. Hurd expresses the same opinion of my senator, the prisoner of war hero, as I have. Dr. Hurd says "We’re supposed to withhold criticism of John McCain’s brutalizing hypocrisy because he was once a POW in the Vietnam War." That is the horse that McCain rode to get elected to the Senate and has been riding ever since. Now that he is going to die he will rely upon that to give him free rein to preach to us "deplorables' from his Congressional bully pulpit.

"Our world to-day is still far from solving the problem of representation and from producing a public assembly which will really summarize, crystallize, and express the thought and will of the community; our elections are still largely an ingenious mockery of the common voter who finds himself helpless in the face of party organizations which reduce his free choice of a representative to the less unpalatable of two political hacks,.." - H. G. Wells, The Outline of History