Author: David

Over-educated Curmudgeon, Bit-Bucket Tuner and Budding Brewmeister.
Posted on

All Good Things. . .

. . .must come to an end, I suppose. But good endings of good things are a good thing to shoot for.

Back about 10 months ago, I found a pretty nice rice cooker at my fav “fell off the back of a truck” store *wink-wink-nudge-nudge* (really just cheap stuff, returns, and salvage, etc.) for a dirt cheap price–less than a fourth of the price I found the same item for at Amazon. The return notice on it said it didn’t work, so I got a promise I could return it of it dod not. Took it home, set it up, and. . . it didn’t work.

Hmmm. One of “Pournelle’s Laws” states that 80% of computer problems are bad connections (paraphrasing), and I’ve found that applies pretty well with just about anything electrical, so. . . I went to one of my tubs of cables and cords (yes, ONE of them) and selected a known-good cord of the same kind as came with the unit, and the thing has worked well for the past 10 months.

But. The pot started flaking bits of the PTFE coating. Bad pot. Bad, bad pot! I used parchment paper to line the bottom and continued using it for a little while, but I just haven’t felt all that good about it. Now, do note that I rarely used it for cooking rice. I mostly just used it as a sort of “instapot” to cook all kinds of meals, so. . .

Replaced it today with a “pressure air fryer” that has auto settings for rice, chicken, beef, fish, stew, sauteeing, air frying, steaming, slow cooking, yogurt making, and sous vide cooking. Between this thing, the induction plates I really enjoy using, and our lil countertop convection oven, I may need our range/oven only once a year, assuming I actually decide I want to cook a turkey for a holiday meal.

First time: tonight’s meal is around some “air fried” hamburgers. Simple. Worked a charm.

Posted on

No, Cupcake, You Are NOT “Smarter Than a Fifth Grader”

*sigh* I see things like this all the time, mostly in social media, “news” articles from established Hivemind outlets, and more and more in published works whether from traditional “gatekeeping” publishers or self-pubs: the inexcusable abuse of the simple past tense when past perfect is dictated by the sense of the statement, as in: “14 Zip [XYZ] Hacks You’ll Wish You Knew Earlier.” No, “You’ll (you will) wish you HAD KNOWN earlier.” Often it is in the same work where the writer (and any “professional” editorial/proofreading eye) also has no clue about forming conditional statements, especially past [unreal] conditionals, for example, “If I WOULD HAVE owned a car, I would have driven to work.” No, cupcake. “If I HAD owned a car, I would have driven to work.”

These are all too typical, “You are NOT smarter than a fifth grader” literacy issues.

Posted on

Sometimes, It’s Just a Matter of Living Long Enough (and not losing all memory of earlier years *heh*)

Interesting premise for a novel, and pretty well-written. Because of the premise (1930s alternate universe where magic and 1930s tech similar to our own coexist), many things are just easily taken as given, such as money values, clothing styles, etc., but when a guy uses a dime to pay for a coin-operated phone call, I was momentarily taken aback, since I can recall placing calls as a kid in the late 1950s using a nickel.

Of course, different “universe”/timeline, but still it did give me momentary pause.

Posted on

Systemic Injustice

Yet another example of “The Law is for (the oppression of) the little people.”

The INjustice system once again demonstrates that Article 1 paragraphs 9 & 10 are easily circumvented and effectively made into dead letter law by the simple means of bestowing all the benefits (and none of the responsibilities) of “nobility” without a label that can be called a “title of nobility.” Thus, those who deem themselves our “betters” can have all the privileges and powers and immunities from consequences they can buy (or use influence, political/status rewards, etc.) without overtly violating fundamental, constitutional law. . . just thumbing a collective nose at it.

It is the ultimate reward for scoundrels, monsters, and other political animals resulting from a policy of fostering anarcho-tyranny (the policy< of rewarding evil and punishing good/em>).

Ah, but

“. . .As it was in the beginning
Is to-day official sinning,
And shall be for evermore!”

Posted on

About That HIvemind Myth of Rampant “Gun Violence”

Yes, I said “myth.” In fact, in 2013, gun violence was at its lowest point–in a steadily decreasing occurrence–since 1993, and the trend has continued even as gun ownership has increased. That is not to say that gun violence has abated uniformly across the country. No, some of locales with the most restrictive gun laws are also where the most gun violence occurs.

In fact, one can almost take all the “anti-gun” talking points and directly refute them with facts, readily available to ordinary people. So, why do the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind and various anti-gun groups and individuals promote more restrictive policies that have no rational basis? Well, many are just (self-made) useful idiots adopting irrational ideas based on fiction as an emotional response to Hivemind media and political manipulation. But why the manipulation via lies and purely emotional appeals to begin with? To any thinking person, the answer is obvious: because the ends of the manipulators cannot be served by truth and reason.

Here Are 8 Stubborn Facts on Gun Violence in America Here are the bullet points, but do read the whole thing:

  1. Violent crime is down and has been on the decline for decades.
  2. The principal public safety concerns with respect to guns are suicides and illegally owned handguns, not mass shootings.
  3. A small number of factors significantly increase the likelihood that a person will be a victim of a gun-related homicide.
  4. Gun-related murders are carried out by a predictable pool of people.
  5. Higher rates of gun ownership are not associated with higher rates of violent crime.
  6. There is no clear relationship between strict gun control legislation and homicide or violent crime rates.
  7. Legally owned firearms are used for lawful purposes much more often than they are used to commit crimes or suicide.
  8. Concealed carry permit holders are not the problem, but they may be part of the solution.

(Further development and links to sources at the article)

The crux of the matter is that those advancing the myths about “gun violence” need scared people reacting irrationally to false facts in order to advance more and more government control over individuals’ lives. “Gun violence” scare tactics serve the same purpose as whatever drug du jour scare tactics to: calls for more government intervention. (Yeh, the “opiod crisis” is another manufactured crisis intended to keep pumping up fear and calls for more control, and so far the “war on opiods” seems to do more harm than good, making it increasingly difficult for doctors to prescribe pain meds that are legitimately needed.)

Just always keep in mind: any government action that does not protect actual individual rights is almost assuredly an illegitimate power grab and a violation of individual rights. Period.

Posted on

“Pro” Tip

If you live in a jurisdiction where “one party” recording rules apply, whenever interacting with any “authority figure,” record the interaction. If the interaction is with a LEO, record it no matter what (1st Amendment and due process protections should apply, at least according to some recent federal court decisions). Just in case, ya know.

Oh, and having one’s own dash cam? Great idea. I got lucky once, about 30 years ago, and had a judge who was very familiar with a particular stop sign (it was in his neighborhood and he stopped at it all the time) and KNEW the LEO could NOT have seen what he testified he saw.

Posted on

An Anti-Gunner Asked a Stupid Question and. . .

Stupid question on Quora: Would a gun amnesty work in America?

I would be perfectly willing to support an “amnesty” for all law enFARCEment personnel and organizations to turn in all assault rifles, flashbangs, etc. (including any and all “military grade” *heh* weaponry and equipment) to appropriate military authority (or even to ad hoc citizen militias).
Such things in the hands of civil government agencies and disallowed to citizens is just flat out wrong.

After all, the very first case challenging the 1934 NFA that came before the SCOTUS resulted in a decision against the (deceased and unrepresented before the court) citizen for having a weapon that was not one in use by the military. Thus, according to that SCOTUS opinion, supposedly only “military grade” firearms are protected by the Second Amendment prohibition against federal infringement. *heh*

Posted on

Tuna “Spoodles Tetrazzini”

“Tetrazzini” sorta, kinda, almost.

Equipment:

  • Some sort of spiralizer
  • Typical chef’s knife
  • Peeler
  • Microwave-safe dishes
  • Mixing bowl
  • 9×9 baking dish

Ingredients:

  • A medium to large sweet potato
  • Small to medium yellow onion
  • Glove of garlic
  • 4 celery stalks, cleaned and de-stringed
  • Freshly ground black pepper (you know your own taste level)
  • 12-oz bag of frozen green peas
  • 1/2-to 1 cup of your choice of shredded cheese
  • 2 cans of white albacore tuna
  • 1 can cream of celery soup
  • A bit of ghee
  • A few splashes of olive oil

Directions:

  1. Peel and spiralize the sweet potato. I have found that typical spaghetti size works well.
  2. Chop the cleaned and de-stringed celery stalks into medium to small pieces. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and
  3. drizzle with olive oil.
  4. Chop the onion into medium to small pieces, and mince the garlic. Combine with the celery and toss.
  5. Cover the celery/onion/garlic/olive oil mixture with an appropriate-sized microwave safe plate or saucer and cook on high for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, drain the cans of tuna and combine the tuna with the can of celery soup and frozen peas.
  7. Grease the 9×9 baking dish with ghee (or butter if you don’t have ghee handy)
  8. Place the “spoodles” (sweet potato “noodles”) in the baking dish.
  9. When the celery mixture is finished in the microwave, combine it with the tuna mix and pour onto “spoodles.”
  10. Top with cheese and bake at 350° F for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy.

Posted on

Right to Bear Arms?

Tell me again that an ad hoc militia composed of armed citizens is of no use whatsoever. . .

One of the clearest examples of a case where the Second Amendment prohibition against infringing on citizens’ right to bear arms directly enabled a just overthrow of corrupt government is The Battle of Athens, TN.

WWII veterans and others in the community armed themselves and laid seige on the town jail in direct response to corrupt government practices, including blatant (and violent, even murderous) cheating at the polls. The end result was a housecleaning of local government. Unfortunately, the “housecleaning” was not violent enough (I am quite serious here). . . “Clean” government only lasted a couple of years.