Thinking

I'm a little mixed about the bombings in Iran. On one hand, I see a terrible threat to the world is being removed. On the other, I see some huge economic changes that sometimes have unintended consequences. How it plays out will be seen, but the power play is enormous, and the stakes are high. 

Voting is a precious right too often abused. Why some feel demanding identification is a bad thing, it doesn't really make sense, unless you are only in power due to fraud, and know you'll never win another election without illegal voting. President Trump stated the Democratic Party is now the worst enemy of the United States. I agree. He only stated what the majority of citizens believe. 

In spite of all the hype, the economy is far from being close to what is healthy. The national debt continues to climb, the dollar continues to have less value, and people are struggling to keep even the basics within their budget. 

Another ignorant restaurant owner decided their politics are more important than their customers. I don't think their effort will turn out well, and telling their employees the doors will close is in their near future. 

Locally, the thugs seem to be increasing in the nearest large community. City leaders are pontificating, people are complaining, and in one situation, a judge threw the book at a young man that decided violence is the best method of functioning in society. He'll have time to think about his errors, be exposed to the rest of his kind, and probably not do much better in a few dozen years. At least he won't be roaming the streets, and maybe he'll be joined by more of the critters that roam the nearest large local community.

I'm waiting to see what automobile manufacturers do with the lowering of regulations. They need to find ways to make vehicles more affordable, easier to work on, and avoid doing stupid things like losing huge amounts of money on electric cars. 

Corruption abounds in just about every government entity that exists, and the worst of corruption eats up the money confiscated for taxes. The past shows this doesn't end well. 

There are more things that keep me in a sour mood. Hopefully, things  change rapidly for the better. 

Thinking About Self-driving Cars

I don't think I'm alone in my wariness of any car that is driven by a computer, and GPS. I'm guessing it's a natural reaction after watching "2001 A Space Odyssey". There's that suspicion the computer will go rogue, lock the doors, and take me down a boat ramp because I called it a dumbass. That, and seeing how much my insurance premiums would go up after an accident that happened when I was eating my hamburger picked up in a drive-through after I said I was hungry. 

Health Paradox

From what I've read, the manipulation of time to satisfy a multitude of obscure reasons isn't good for your health. Our health is important. If you don't believe it, look at the billions spent on advertising health products, government printings for your health, gymnasiums in just about every town, health food stores, health products online, insurance wellness demands for your health, and research on health. Health is important, unless it involve Daylight Saving Time. If it disturbs your sleep pattern, causes lethargy during the day, upsets you schedule, gives you heartburn, and causes irritability, then you just have to nut up and deal with it. Your health isn't that important, unless it involves anything other than when your clock tells you what time the sun rises. 

Lightning Is Not Your Friend

We had a front creep through, some thunderstorms, but nothing severe. As the storms subsided, and the rain let up, lightning struck close enough where the flash, and sound, were simultaneous. A step out on the porch showed the security light was out. The television, which will sometime turn off when lightning strikes close went off. The lights didn't flicker. 

My nephew lives across the road, and he soon drove up with his wife to check on me and my wife. He stated they saw sparks falling after the strike, and thought our house was hit. I noticed something in the yard under the security light, and went to investigate. 

Apparently, lightning struck the fixture, and the high current blew the top cover off the fixture when the insides instantly blew apart. Examination of the roof, around the yard, and the service drop didn't show any damage, which gave me some relief. I was concerned lightning struck the roof, and there was fire in the overhead. 

 

When the lightning struck, we were watching a DVD, so when we turned the television back on, everything was working. That was a relief, but examining the bedrooms showed the televisions would not turn on. To make things worse, when we switched to satellite to watch, it's out too.  

The security light is on a service pole is less than twenty feet from my house, so the strike was as close as it can get without striking the house. Too close for me, but far enough I thank God it didn't hit the house. That, and the lightning went to ground through the provider's grounding system instead of through the wiring in my house. 

So, tomorrow will require a call to the satellite provider, a trip to the box store for two televisions, and the hope none of it will cost too much. My feeling is that the damage will be below my deductible, and calling the insurance company a waste of time. 

Spring has Sprung

 As I was checking my phone this morning, while sitting on the porch, I noticed a fine coating of pollen on the screen. The longer I sat, the more accumulated. According to the weather folks, tree pollen is heavy today, and I can testify they're correct. My sinuses agree. Right now, it's mostly oak pollen. The pine pollen will soon appear, and the pond will have a thin coat of yellow on the surface.