"The Oligarchy"

"The Oligarchy"

Screen grab from the movie "The Death of Stalin"

The Democratic Socialists love to blather about "The Oligarchy" which implies that they believe that society is run by a handful of men who make all of the decisions in a smoke filled room, decisions which are then carried out by legions of stooges and fall-guys.

Their reasoning is that the complex and sometimes convoluted modern economies don't look like a series of simple, individual decisions. They also like blaming their failures on "evil villains" rather than acknowledging those failures are due to laziness, stupid decisions and random chance.

These are the same "smartest people in the room" who insist that oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and pinches of of trace elements self-organized into creatures ranging from the influenza virus to Elon Musk and Blue Whales.

VO2MAX

Data for men

VO2MAX can be improved but it improves slowly. How slowly? Three ml/kg/minute of improvement in a year of steady PT is a typical number. If you are starting at 22, then a year of 3x or 4x a week work-outs is likely to increase your VO2MAX by 15%. The GREAT news is that it isn't going down as you age. 

If you are average and start a regular work-out program at age 65 (lower red dot) and stay with it, in less than four years you will intersect the 95th percentile 70 year-old. (upper red dot).

Another perspective: An average 69 year-old finishing four years of physical conditioning training peeled 25 years off of his VO2MAX's decline and now has the cardio-vascular capacity he had when he was 40 years-old. 

If you completely tune your work-out routines specifically to improve VO2MAX, you might get five ml/kg/minute improvement but there is a very high risk of burn-out and then you will achieve zero improvement. Source.

Dog-chain

A neighbor gave me a gift of some dog-chain. I am pondering how to best use it.

My current thinking is to use it to suspend a feedlot panel from the ceiling of the overhang. I can then use the panel to hang tools and buckets. I saw the idea used in a tiny kitchen where it was used to store pots, pans and cooking utensils near the stove.

Some random pictures

Locust borer

Moth

 

Chestnut tree

"...non-practicing White" and other stupidity

My IQ dropped ten points in the first 10 seconds

I clicked on a link that another blogger had posted and it took me to a Progressive talking about the Lindsay Clancy trial. The Progressive identifies as "a non-practicing White".

Sharia Law enclaves in Michigan

I am willing to consider the possibility. Presumably, that means that victims (or their families) can amputate the right hand of shop-lifters from those communities and castrate rapists. 

Q: What do you call a first-offender from Dearborn? 
A: "Lefty".

Q: What about a rapist from Hamtramck? 
A: "Squeal O'Neil" or "Squeaky" or "Mickey Mouse", your choice.

Jonesing for a 6.5mm Creedmoor

I don't need another firearm.

I do have the dies to reload this caliber.

One of the Creedmoor's selling points is its mild recoil. The Ammo.com comparison claims that the .308 Win generates 50% more recoil energy than the Creedmoor. Lower recoil from "factory ammo" is a major selling point when introducing kids to shooting.

Maybe I can talk Handsome Hombre into buying one. 

Inflation 

Another consideration is that firearms hold value better than most other items I could purchase. Inflation driven by fuel prices is accelerating. And it isn't just at the fuel-pump. Many of our gadgets come from eastern Asia and they are being slammed by oil availability MUCH more severely than we are. Low availability drives up price of production and it will get passed along.

Hold onto your shorts, we are likely to be in for a wild ride. 

 

Walk-about AAR

 

I left the house at 9:40 AM. 6mph wind out of the NNE. Occasional raindrop hitting my bare arms.

My backpack weighed 9.5 pounds at the start of the trip and contained 100 ounces of liquid. I drank 20 ounces at 1:10, 2:20 and 3:30 which left me with 40 ounces extra.

I took two acetaminophen at about the 3:00 mark. My left shin was hurting. 

Provisions were two packages of Great Value Mountain trail Mix (240 Calories each) and 12 Triscuits (another 240 Calories) and an apple. That was exactly the right amount.

 

Most of the road was a series of gently undulating hills of approximately 20 feet, about four per mile.

I wonder if they realize that they will be able to sell this truck more quickly if they included their phone number somewhere.

 

The turn-around point. Yes, I slapped the sign.

This keys-out as Blue-stemmed Goldenrod, Solidago caesia

The flower clusters sprout out at every leaf all the way down the stem and it was growing in dry soil in full shade beneath Northern Red Oaks.

It was an uneventful, 13 mile walk. I saw 12 motor-vehicles in the first 6.5 miles and didn't bother to count them on the way back. I was also passed by a guy riding a bicycle.

Today's Walk-about is still a "GO"

The plan to go on a walk-about is still a "GO"

There is a 50% chance of rain by 5 PM. Temperatures will hover in the upper-60s (F).

I drove the route yesterday. There are seven corn fields scattered along the 6.5 mile route. Five of the 13 miles will be paved and the rest will be on dirt roads. I will cross two, sort-of-busy, paved roads in each direction.

I will wear my everyday clothing with the exception of compression shorts (underwear) and compression socks beneath my regular socks. I will also smear SPF on the exposed parts of my face and ears even though the cloud cover will be almost 100%.

Applesauce

I got another 16 quarts canned yesterday.

I think we are at our target number in the pantry. 

I was very sedentary yesterday and ate poorly, so it is good that I will be moving today.

Pictures

Stylin', country-girl style. I did a double-take when I saw her "bracelets". Quicksilver on the way to play-date sporting some "drip". 

Winter squash curing on top of the woodpile. The stems, aka "handles", have to dry out and the shells have to harden.

Real Men protect their women from all hazards. To protect my woman, I ate this before she even knew it was in the house.

Cutting it close. I cook up enough apples to make 7 quarts of apple sauce per batch. A little bit over is OK. This is how much that was left after the first batch of 7.

One minor complication is that the stem broke off of the chute of Mrs ERJ's SqueezO-II strainer. She has owned it longer than she has known me. I riveted it back together and it should be good for another 40 years.

I did not have the correct length of pop-rivets in stock. The ones I had were too long. I cut them to the correct length with a hacksaw but could not use the pop-rivet tool. I clamped a maul in my vice to use as an anvil and tapped the other end with a hammer. The mandrel fell out and left a hole. I plugged the holes with a bit of wooden match.

Improvise, adapt, overcome. 

Bonus Dad-joke

Frogs never weld metal together. They prefer "Rivet"s 

Tuesday grab-bag

Coffee emergency

The coffee grinder at Southern Belle's house broke down. I had some ground coffee in the freezer. I expect a report from her with regard to whether it was still drinkable.

Handsome Hombre was born in Central America and coffee in the morning is mandatory.

Applesauce

God willing, today will be another applesauce day. Maybe I will even get some potatoes dug.

Winter Squash

We had a night when the temperature dropped below 50F. This is probably a good time to start harvesting the winter squash. 

Rumblings

Exotic materials have exotic failure modes. They also have pedestrian failure modes. Availability of the elements required to make those exotic alloys is one of those pedestrian failure modes.

The magical materials that allow Mach 3 SAMs to swat hypersonic missiles out of the sky require elements that are currently Unobtainum. Slow-and-stupid wins when there are enough slow-and-stupid weapons/targets. The assumption that nobody could ever launch a strike on US refineries and our power-grid because "we have the best defensive weapons" is no longer a great assumption.

Shopping list 

Reminder to self: Buy a manual meat grinder, ginseng seeds, Pheasant Eye Narcissis, coffee and vinegar.

In a Captain Obvious moment, it occurred to me that the primary value of sugar is that it is far more compact to store than vinegar but it can be converted to 5% concentration at a 10:1 ratio. That is, one pound of sugar can be converted to 10 pounds of 5% acetic acid vinegar. In turn, that amount of vinegar is sufficient to pickle about 30 pounds of cucumbers or other vegetables. 

A modest proposal: The new "Picture of your medicine cabinet"

There is a meme that says:

"Don't send me any pictures of your body parts. I already know what boobs look like."

"Send me pictures of the medicine bottles in your bathroom cabinet. I need to see the kind-of-crazy I am getting into" 

In all fairness, it seems like a man or a woman ought to be able to scrape the last three months of their new romance interest's social media history "...to see the kind of crazy they are getting into".

Not only that, but they ought to be able to read the posting history of the three content creators who get her highest "engagement". That is, the content creators that she comments on the most frequently. 

 

It is the equivalent of "meeting her family". You aren't just dating her. You are also dating her on-line tribe. You could be dating an entire coven of harpies or they might be the sweetest people imaginable. She might play her cards close to her chest or she turn out to be a cyber blabber-mouth after downing a couple of Long Island Iced Teas.

Better to get a handle on the-kind-of-crazy before you become emotionally invested in her.

Fine Art Tuesday

 

Girl pealing a potato. Yes, I find this painting "appealing".

Albert Anker was born in 1831 in Ins, Switzerland and died in 1910. Ins is in the northwest corner of Switzerland and is in a fertile, valley between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Bie.

He is famous for painting people, often pre-teen girls, doing the everyday chores of living.

Grandfather with two children

Girl holding kittens

Older girl knitting

A very young child, knitting

Board-and-batten construction behind the young lady

Mending or altering a coat

Tea

Girl braiding her hair

 

Girl caring for a younger sibling. She appears to be less-than-thrilled.

Bernie Sanders directing other children at play

Titled "The Quack". No plaster in that room. It is a fire trap.

A still life. No oranges, figs, grapes or vino. Just coffee, bread, salt and potatoes.

Second-hand chicken

 

Quicksilver expressed an interest in eating raccoon meat.

Her flock of chickens suffered at the hands of them and her Papa catches and kills them. They are down to their last chicken. To date, they haven't eaten one. That would be "one chicken" or "one raccoon".

It seems only fair to eat the raccoons. Quicksilver, Southern Belle and Handsome Hombre can still eat their chickens but it will be second-hand chicken.

So...we looked for videos on catching and preparing raccoons for the table. The video at the top isn't about that but it is still interesting in the sense that the parents of this young family are very focused and intentional in how they are raising their children.

This video is a short tutorial on how to find and remove the scent glands from a raccoon before cooking it.

He is adamant about removing as much fat as possible but in a grid-down situation you will want every calorie you can find. Fat is flavor and according to Rod Couling of Dansville, Michigan, nothing makes better meat-loaf than a fat, young raccoon.