Category: FYI

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Filed Under “Things I Do NOT Want to Do”

I don’t like to travel out of the county, much. Oh, if “out of the county” is no more than 30 miles or so (INCLUDING miles in-county), I can manage it, and have as chauffeur for Son&Heir’s recent back injury (compression fracture of T-12 vertebra), but I do not like it. I consider an arduous trek to WallyWorld (15 miles away from TWC Central) to be far enough, most times, now.

Some of the places I like to visit are as far away as the mid-20s in miles from TWC Central (A.K.A. “Ye Olde Homestead”), so there’s that. But. *profound sigh* My sisters are trying to promote a family get-together next fall in Branson for a “gospel music extravaganza” type thing. *sigh*

#1 I HUGELY dislike Branson, “The Vegas of the Ozarks.” Even w/o the gambling and the other “Sin City” activities (at least in the open; there’s plenty of sin anywhere one goes, even if it’s just to the kitchen and back *heh*), Branson is just. . . tacky, IMO.

#2. Crowds. For me a crowd is more than somewhere between 2-5 people (and my sisters and their spouses, let alone brother and his spouse, not to mention children and grandchildren) exceed my capacity by themselves, and that’s before Branson-level crowds. (Didn’t use to be like this; being in/performing for large crowds used to be enjoyable. Touchy old bear, now.)

#3. The activities they are touting are NOT my cuppa, not in any way, shape, fashion, or form. I like real gospel music well enough, but done for a performance? No. Just no.

#4. And then there’s all that travel to get there. Must be 80 miles or more! *heh* (Yeh, yeh: all of them would be coming from out of state, but they LIKE travel and do it a lot.)

*shrugs* Happy to offer a cookout for ’em on their way through, though. Limited crowd exposure (time and numbers); no glitz and faux “gospel” singing. If they wanna see me, they can look at my profile pic. Visit? Sure. Drop on by, one (or two)-on-one, or use email or phone. Mass get-togethers? Please, no. Last one was Mother’s funeral, and while the funeral service itself was a blessing (apart from being forced to lead the congregational singing–multiple reasons that was a bad idea at the time), the travel and “family meal” afterwards was not. I took my fellow travelers and di-di-maued as expeditiously as possible.

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Success!

She’s baaaaack! *heh*

Well, despite occasional game cam and live trap failures, my Wonder Woman’s cat is finally back. Haven’t checked the game cam again, yet, but somewhere between 1630 and 1810 this afternoon/early evening, the live trap finally, urm, trapped her. Surprisingly, for all that she’s not come when called, and has run off on the one other occasion when spotted, she seemed enormously happy to be back inside, found pleasure in pets (of both kinds: her comrades–well, the dog, at least–and being petted and cuddled), and, of course, some nice, fresh canned cat food.

Now, I’m not going to set the live trap back out for the opossum. Nope. Glad to have one (and where’s there’s one, there are likely to be more) around. Great for pest control.

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Not Quite Deerslayer Mode

So, my Wonder Woman’s cat, who is a completely lifelong inside cat, got out a week and a half ago, and we’ve not actually seen hide nor hair of her since, except for the game cam Son&Heir installed under the deck where I have been leaving food and water since the second day. The photos show her in seemingly good health, so that’s good, but syncing up her schedule and ours has not happened. Yet.

So, bought a live trap. It just came, and I assembled and tested it, then put it, unarmed under the deck with her food just inside the trap, to accustom her to it. I’ll move the food and water further back over the next few days (with the trigger set, but the trap disabled by tie-downs) until we have evidence (disappeared food AND photos of her inside the trap) she will take the food past the trigger. Hopefully, this will work.

One hitch: yesterday AM, about 0100 hrs, an opossum showed up on the pics, nosing around the empty food bowls (Catrina–my Wonder Woman’s cat–had emptied the food about an hour earlier). That could pose a problem. Battery was low on the camera, so nothing was caught last night, though the food bowl was cleaned, as always.

Hopefully, the opossum hasn’t run her off.

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Literary Influences

I relearned how to walk (well, learned how to wak under some circumstances) from Natty Bumpo and Hawk-Eye when I was nine.

Thank you James Fenimore Cooper.

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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.

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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!”

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“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.

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I Believe This View Has Some Merit

Note again: I do not like TRump and would not invite him for dinner or even want to be invited to dinner with him. I don’t need to like him to note that he has done more good for common Americans than the last three or four presidents combined. Hate to admit it, but still, facts are facts. The post linked below was written almost nine months ago. I just saw it the other day, and I’ve taken a couple of days to digest it.

“Everyone Is Smart, Except Donald Trump:” Rabbi Dov Fischer

Read the whole thing.

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Baltimore *munches popcorn-sips beer*

Sequence:

Trump verbally “trashes” Baltimore.

Loony Left Moonbat heads explode in rage.

Video after video after video emerges of past comments (over just the last few years) from Loony Left politicians confirming Trump’s remarks and some going even further.

Loony Left Moonbats: “Unfair!”

Hivemind “reporting”: largely *crickets* or simply attempts to bolster Loony Left Moonbat outrage.

Reporter gathering “[homeless] man on the street” remarks to bolster the “unfairness” of Trump’s original comment has rat photobomb her “report.”

Meanwhile, wwhile politicians and governments are sitting on their hands and pointing fingers at one another (and isn’t THAT a pleasant picture? Ewww. . . ):

Trump supporter organizes Trash Cleanup Day to support Baltimore< /a>

Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind: *crickets*

Folks, entertainment just doesn’t get more amusingly farcical than this. *munches popcorn-sips beer*