Leigh, heads-up! Cleaning a traditional, masonry stove

Cleaning a masonry stove (Russia)

Leigh, this post is for you. I have no expectations that you will DO this, but it is informative to see how other people solve universal problems.

There is very little dialog explaining what is going on.

Based on the vegetation (Populus nigra, Acer platanoidies), available fish species (including Scomber scombrus) and the displays in the WWII memorial parks, think this is in Russia on the east side of the Baltic Sea.

It looks as if the exhaust from the fire is drawn through a labyrinth (to the left of the fire) to transfer the heat to the bricks.

The grandmother scrapes off the plaster in a few places and "knocks-out" some plugs and cleans the passage ways of soot and masonry dandruff.

At the ten-minute mark, she mixes up mortar (perhaps as simple as sand and a bit of flour to bind it).

The mortar is mixed "soupy" or wet.

A person experienced in drywall repair would have figured out a way to secure the block being mortared into place with florist wire and a dowel so the mortar could have been aggressively troweled into place without pushing it into the space behind it.
 

Election Integrity

It is my opinion that at this time, there is no issue more important than "election integrity". Everything else in the political sphere is a distraction.

Election integrity is critical because the 10% who believe that the end always justifies the means are driving the nation off a cliff. Zealots are dangerous and they are able to illegitimately grab the reins of power through corrupt elections.

We can recover from an economic collapse. We always have. We can recover from bad policies and bad adjudication. We cannot recover from "Kings" or mandarins and the systemic corruption that results.

Look at Israel in the Old Testament. They survived 120 years from the coronation of Saul (the first King) to the end of Solomon's rein. Then the kingdom shattered into chaos. Absolute power corrupts at an absolute level.

The two sides (D. and R.) are going to quibble about which side "wants to be king". But how do

• One citizen, one (and only one) vote
• Vote in person
• No vote without picture ID from an authoritative source 
• Real-time reconciliation of voter to the rolls 

...result in "Kings"?

The argument that "it will suppress the vote" tells me that there are legions of would-be voters who simply don't care enough to go to the polling place and to vote in person...and yet, miraculously, their votes get cast. If they don't care, then "their vote" should not count.

The cynics will undoubtedly start commenting that "voting doesn't matter". If that is true, then the cynics would also have to support the contention that there would have been no difference between a Donald Trump administration and a Kamala Harris administration. I don't know anybody who would support that position. 

Palate cleanser

The background music was very easy to listen to.

Large, young family in Russia Ukraine harvesting root vegetables. "Work must be organized!"

I used a link instead of an icon to pop you into the video because I want you to start at a certain place. The girl (maybe seven years-old) is SKIPPING as she works. You can go back to the beginning if you want or you can continue to watch from where I ported you in.

Turn on "Subtitles" (which will be in Russian). Then turn on auto-translate and select English.

Why, yes my child. We found you beneath a radish leaf.

Muscles hurt, some people carping about everything

I did almost nothing yesterday. My muscles ached. Mrs ERJ was OK with my playing hooky.

Mostly my traps and delts

I did order some grapevines for this spring. I picture an arbor for Southern Belle. The exact location is not nailed down but good nurseries run out of choice selections quickly.

Fishing (Jonesing for springtime) 

Source

I was watching a bunch of fishing videos on Youtube. It never really registered for me, but carp must go into a feeding frenzy before the spring spawn. 

The guy in the video is fishing April 21, 2025 and the bank vegetation looks like he is at a latitude similar to southern Michigan or perhaps a little farther north.

There can be a lot of gardening "dead time" after a heavy rain. The soil is too wet to work without destroying its structure (especially if it has a high clay content).

Carp are bottom-feeders and eat a lot of dead material that is carried by the current. They also live a long time. That means that they are at risk of carrying higher loading of mercury and PBC-alphabet soup chemicals than sunfish.

I have one river drainage system in my operating area that is still listed as "clean". The hardest part of fishing it is to find a safe place to park the truck while fishing. The roads are narrow and the river is surrounded by private property.

Maybe I will be able to talk my Polish neighbor into going with me and we can work as a team.

If I get time, I might replace the line on my spinning reels today. There! Saying it makes it more likely to happen. 

Bull cookies?

AI generated content

The average U.S. citizen manages about 168 personal passwords, while for work-related accounts, the average is around 87, bringing the total to approximately 255 passwords. This number has increased significantly due to the rise in digital services and online accounts.

Our dentist is transitioning from humans to software. We are being pressured to funnel all of our transactions and communications with his office through "the portal".

Our dentist is in Ingham county, in the city of Lansing.

I like my dentist a lot. I understand about cost pressure. I also know that businesses that put the customer/client/patient third-in-line are walking the plank toward insolvency.

At some point my dentist will retire. Maybe it makes sense to make the jump BEFORE driving to Lansing becomes totally intolerable. 

Who said 3 year-olds don't have a sense of humor

Actually, before we had kids, Mrs ERJ said that.

"Row, row, row your boat..."

Quicksilver surprised me by asking to play "Row, row, row your boat..." where I sing the song and she sits on my knees facing me. She holds my thumbs and I make rowing motions.

I was confused as she melted into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter near the end of every stanza. She shrieked with delight and gabbled away in the blurred enunciation of a three year-old (+ 8 months).

Finally it dawned on me.

"Row, row row your boat,
gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily
life is butt a dream." 

Yes, gentle readers. She was melting into uncontrollable laughter because she had tricked "Grandpa" into saying the forbidden word "Butt" (British interpretation "Arse" or "Buttocks") 

Bonus image

I got even when she was looking for her stuffed bunny. 

Bonus lyrics

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don't forget to scream

Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream.
Ha, ha, fooled you
I'm a submarine. 

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Grab an oar, jokes on you,
I'm out of gasoline 

I am always looking to expand my repertoire. Any other G-rated lyrics will be appreciated.

Not unexpected

Minneapolis

The housing market has become an unexpected casualty of Minneapolis’s political turmoil. 

Home sales in the city plunged nearly 20 percent in January - the sharpest drop of any major US metro outside the ultra-expensive Bay Area - as buyers and sellers alike pulled back amid mounting political unrest.

(ERJ notes: Markets freezing up before prices drops. Sellers are reluctant to drop prices while buyers stop looking. Oddly enough, some sellers RAISE their asking price so they can "offer the buyer a discount") 

At the same time, home prices have fallen by more than $20,000 since summer, wiping out equity and raising fears that the city’s housing slowdown is only just beginning.       Source

 

Portland

 

Twenty most expensive downtown properties.    Source

Seattle

Rents are at the same rate as 2019 which represents at least a 23% decline when inflation is factored in.

There are rumblings of Amazon and Microsoft pulling their Headquarters out of Seattle. "Impossible!" you declare?  Bezos yanked the rug out from the Washington Post after losing money too many years in a row. He may be a progressive, but a dollar is a dollar and Seattle sees Amazon as a tax-donkey.