In Case You've Wondered

My blog is where my wandering thoughts are interspersed with stuff I made up. So, if while reading you find yourself confused about the context, don't feel alone. I get confused, too.

If you're here for the stories, I started another blog: scratchingforchange.blogspot.com

One other thing: sometimes I write words you refuse to use in front of children, or polite company, unless you have a flat tire, or hit your thumb with a hammer.

I don't use them to offend; I use them to embellish.

jescordwaineratgmail.com

Sunday, September 26, 2021

On Their Way

 

We put up four hummingbird feeders last week. After watching them at the in-laws, we decided to hang ours up for the little critters. It's been interesting.

We had one that decided one of the feeders was hers. She wouldn't venture far, perch on the top, and chase off any that decided to stop. She did this for days, and finally left. Her perching was only interrupted by feeding, and leaving for the night. 

Another one was on the chubby side. The small feeder on the porch was her favorite. Between sitting on the fence, or on the hanger bracket, she did little except feed. She left, and I'm assuming she was an older bird, knew about the trip south, and getting ready. 

The birds come and go all day long. At times, none are to be found. At others, there are dozens flitting around for a chance to feed at the full feeders. All, from what I've seen, are ruby-throated hummingbirds, and of all ages. Whether they're mostly the same birds all day is hard to tell. Some, seem to be in known groups that will chases away a straggler. Others seem to like to feed alone and chase away any coming to the feeder they're on. 

I've heard two sides of when to remove the feeders. One advice is to remove them in October to allow them to leave the area. Another is to leave it up until the really cold days. This allows the stragglers a meal, or the old to survive until Winter finally ends their days. 

All, in all, they're fun to watch. Their loud buzzing is pleasant to hear while enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning. It adds to the peaceful experience, and clears my mind from anything but watching their antics. 

Friday, September 24, 2021

Some Thoughts

 The U.S. has more jobs than workers, those that want to work are having dealing with jab mandates, government officials are demanding unreasonable restrictions, and hundreds of thousands of illegals are flooding across the border. To exacerbate these conditions, these same illegals are free from any Covid mandates.  What does logic dictate about this? My logic says there's a strong effort to change the U.S. to less educated workers that will be more easily controlled and willing to accept servitude for supposed safety. A less polite society would be hanging traitors daily.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Late One Evening.

I hadn't reached 20 years of age, was working offshore, and could help my brother get to work at the shipyard on my days off. My schedule was in the day mode, and in a few days, I would switch back to nights on the offshore platform His car was in the shop, and would soon be out. He was working the three to eleven shift, which was better in the cold months. In the summer, the heat became oppressive at 3:00 pm and was only bearable at 11:00 pm. His work as a welder was to fill in his college schedule, which he never finished, but his later successful career in electronics pretty well showed it was wasted money. It's strange how thing never turned out as planned.

It was cold. Not the cold of up North, but the cold we get. The temperature was in the low forties, and the damp chill was almost overbearing. My '63 pickup was modified, since I had to retrofit a radiator to fit the frame. The added cooling, and lack of thermostat, pretty well insured any heat was minimal. 

I parked in the parking lot, sat, and waited for the shift whistle to blow. Out in the shipyard the push was to complete the drilling rigs scheduled for drilling in the near future. Huge sections were visible. The quiet was broken by the loud crackling of arc-gougers and the banging of ship fitting. 

Soon, the whistle blew, and the workers started to come through the gate. Over time, my brother appeared, found my truck, and I asked if he felt like driving. I was tired, and would rather be a passenger, so I could nap. 

I sat,  watched my brother shift through the three-on-the-column gears, felt satisfied, and leaned back in the seat. I knew I could catch a short nap on the thirty minute trip home, but was soon faced with a predicament. 

It was cold. The hole in the floorboard on the passenger side was allowing a huge amount of air to blow through the floorboard. What little heat from the heater wasn't nearly sufficient to break the chill, and I was soon shivering. 

I realized the driver side was a much better place to be, how uncomfortable the passenger side was, and was regretting my decision to let my brother drive. I soon had a "fix".

There was a small piece of cardboard from a brake shoe package on the floorboard, which I placed over the hole, and place my foot on to keep it from being displaced. It helped, but it was still cold. The heater was nearly useless, and my ignorance didn't allow me the sure fix of placing a new thermostat. I endured, although it was far from comfortable.

We got him home, I switched to the driver seat, and was soon home. A hot bath broke the chill, and I was rewarded with a good night's sleep. 

Time reveals many memories, and sitting on the porch brought back a cold evening over forty years ago. I guess that's our destiny. We shuttle the current moments away, when the rich memories of the past appear. 

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

All In

 Bluffing, and going all in, is risky, but the reward is great...unless you're called, and your hand is a low pair. That's where the seditionists are at this point. They think their bluff is working, since it worked in the past. Unfortunately, the past is only a reference, and reality is they've pissed off the majority of those unwilling to trade their liberty for supposed safety. To make their predicament worse, all their efforts to remove self-defense from citizens failed, and if they weren't so desperate, they'd know the upsurge in self-defense sales are not only to prevent a petty crime.

Too much of the media is complicit in the sedition, but considering those that are involved, the years of corrupt colleges created their irrational perspective. They think they're doing the right thing, while never considering a tyrannical government doesn't need many of their kind; and if they become unruly, they'll be the first to be removed. After all, they can't produce anything but truth, or propaganda. Neither is important to those willing to sacrifice millions for their power. 

People are pushing back. It's starting by refusing illegal mandates, and relocation. How it ends is yet be seen, but the signs of the government beginning to crack are appearing. Some things that aren't being hid any longer:

- Russia Gate was a setup, and rogue government officials were involved.

- Voting is not sacred, and the fraud is not only apparent, those involved are open with their crimes.

- The judicial system is in terrible disarray, and the solution is harsher penalties for criminals. 

- Immigration needs to be stopped until it can be placed under control. 

- The Covid scare was an effort to subjugate, and destroy the U.S. economy. To make things worse, the supposed vaccination is not only killing people, millions will be dependent on injections sold by manufacturers that have no liability.

- The military higher brass is filled with traitors. 

- The President is not only unable to lead, he's a puppet, and terribly demented. 

There's more, but it doesn't take much effort to find the things too much of the media is trying to hide. People are pushing back, and those who are called "common folks" are realizing they have the winning hand. The bluff will probably not work, and if those in charge are wise, they'll start doing what's right.

Monday, September 20, 2021

Watching the Start of Fall

Over that last few weeks, early morning revealed Orion higher in the sky. It started as right above the horizon, to where it is now: about 40 degrees above the horizon. Sirius, which was only visible right at sunrise, is now high above the horizon. Regardless of how hot it's been, Fall is arriving. 

The hummingbirds are thick. The feeders stay full, and the constant buzz of those waiting to feed fills the air. The sultry uncomfortable evenings are almost gone, and sitting on the porch allows the wafting of cooler air that drifts from the surrounding woods. While most of the trees haven't turned, it won't be long until the leaves accumulate, and will be found swirling in the darkened shadows of late evening. 

The weather wizards are forecasting what we call  the "first real front" on Wednesday. There's not a high forecast of rain, but the mid-fifties at the end of the week may demand turning on the heater for a few minutes too break the morning chill. 

This is my favorite time of year. While those that may soon deal with the ravages of Winter have a different opinion, to me, it's the first relief from our brutal Summer. The hot, humid 80 degree sunrises are replaced by temperatures below what the air conditioner can provide, and evenings will yield a chilled breeze full of the aroma of burning leaves. 

The bacon is ready, coffee is brewed, and the porch is calling me to greet the sunrise. I'll sit until the early light chases away the deep shadows.

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Joe's at the Beach

 Biden is at the beach. Meanwhile, Milley is still a traitor, we are being invaded, and Pfizer is pulling its vaccine due to a cancer risk. When you add the fact the feckless military leaders bombed a civilian, instead of terrorists, it doesn't take any keen thought to know the United States is a ship without a rudder on a stormy sea. 

The protest over the political prisoners held by the jackboots of the Biden Gestapo is not showing many protesters. Why? Those that know the government is trying to complete tyranny, and will round up dissenters to destroy their lives. The absence of people is a clear sign to the government thugs they're on the losing side, and if they're smart, they'll abandon their masters and do what's right.

Thursday, September 16, 2021

What Would They Have to Say?

My only exposure to members of the military was through mostly former enlisted personnel, and lower ranking officers. My brother served for over twenty years, and his good commanding officers wouldn't get in his way, since they had enough sense to know all the spit and polish wouldn't get things done. Sometimes it's best to leave someone alone; especially when your career is on the line when that person allows you to do something really stupid.

I haven't seen anything from former military folks under the command of Mark Milley. How did they perceive his command abilities? Was he liked, or was he a yes man with the ability to feather his cap and advance through ass kissing? Was he an officer that was promoted to avoid having to fill out a huge amount of paperwork explaining why he should be demoted to private? It would be interesting to find out, since it appears he's the pivot man in a circle jerk that needs to be court martialed. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

All Are Different

 I've endured a few hurricanes, and tropical storms. Bonnie was my first. The storm developed rapidly, came ashore overnight, and tracked to the north during the day. By that evening, the winds were over, and I had to tarp my roof. 

Another storm, which I don't remember the name, went ashore to the near west, brought a lot of wind, but little rain. The aftermath was a short period of time without electricity, and a plethora of the huge mosquitoes that live in the saltwater marshes to the south. While priming my well, after the electricity was returned, I literally had to rake them off my arms and face to finish my project. 

The many tropical storms were usually periods of high wind, torrential rains, maybe a brief time without electricity, and only some leaf raking. Flooding was usually the lower areas, and soon drained. 

Rita was the first major hurricane. I ran from that one. I ended up in Northeast Texas in a small motel. It was agonizing to deal with, but the storm traveled rapidly to the north, and I went home within two days. The damage was terrible, since my area hadn't had a major hurricane in decades. People forget, the older building codes didn't cover many of the structures, trees were allowed to grow near power lines, and hurricane force winds piled the entire mess up. I was on the west side of the storm, so the surge didn't affect my area. Other than a few missing roof shingles, and a large broken branch, the only damage was my health, since the intense heat, and long work hours, were exhausting. 

Ike was the next major hurricane. I stayed for that one, and soon found out my plan B to leave if the storm seemed too intense was not a working plan. You can't venture out in hurricane force winds, and watching horizontal winds send large debris whipping across what little was visible in the night without electricity guaranteed I wouldn't make that mistake. The deep train engine rumble of passing tornadoes was something to hear. If I hadn't known better, I could have assumed I lived near a railroad track. Since I was on the east side of the storm, the surge damage was something to behold. Ditches 30 miles from the coast were polluted with salt water. The majority of the nearby Bolivar Peninsula was reduced to a large expanse of mostly empty sand. Structures that had been there for decades were piled across Galveston Bay among the large trees denuded by the wind. 

We soon had Humberto, which formed quickly, and came ashore in the early morning. I was on the fringe, but was reminded of the power of even a small storm, when first rain band reached my house. It was as though something large slapped the side of the house, which startled me. The storm moved quickly, so the next round of storms passed to the east. I had no damage, but there was plenty only about five miles to the east. 

Harvey was officially a tropical storm, when the worst of the rains fell, which lasted for days. A strong hurricane at landfall, and without any steering currents, it slowly worked up the coast and inundated all of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana.  I had 42 inches of rain, and in a nearby city, the total was at 60 inches. Most roads were impassable for days, and even anticipating electricity was a waste of thought. It took days for the water to drain, and some never recovered. I had no damage, but was trapped by flood waters for four days.

Imelda followed the next year and the torrential rains inundated many of the areas harmed by Harvey. I had moved, but a former neighbor told me the water was 18 inches higher than Harvey.  The road where I live flooded, but the worst of the rain bands never made it to my house. That was luck. If they had, some of the locals would have had to deal with flood damaged homes like after Harvey.

Last year's storm Laura was one I watched closely. I would have left, if the track had bobbled. I had tropical force wind, but nothing near hurricane force. About 40 miles to the east was a different story. At the edge of the worst of winds, the town of the home of office of the company I worked for lost some roofs on the storage areas. We spent time cleaning up that mess, and those of our customers. The work at that time reinforced my plan to retire. I'd cleaned up enough of the damage of others, and the thought of doing it again wasn't pleasant. The sodden, stinking piles of moldering debris is bad enough, without adding heat and humidity. I would have seriously considered retiring even earlier if we had faced the same damage of those eighty miles to the east.

Nicholas has been a different critter. The spaghetti models were accurate to landfall, but from then they don't seem to have any consensus. The center of circulation has slowly worked up the coast, and from my perspective, the current trajectory doesn't match the current anticipated trajectory. From what I'm seeing, the storm isn't moving north at all, and is slowly working its way down the coast. Since it's so near the Gulf, I wouldn't be surprised if it move offshore, and gets stronger again. 

Right now, satellite shows the surface circulation has decoupled from the upper atmosphere. There are no strong bands of convection, and the only rain is light, but easily shown as light green on the radar. Still the wind is steady around 20 mph where I live, and nearer the center, it's reported at 40 mph.

I've only been catnapping over the last 36 hours, and will probably do so, until I'm 100% sure this storm won't do something unexpected. They all can, and will. Letting down your guard might have unexpected consequences.

Monday, September 13, 2021

Cutting the Mike

Somebody keeps cutting the microphone on Biden. Who is doing this? What is their official position? And the biggest thing to think of: Why is this tolerated? I want to know who has more power than the President of the United States, and have them explain who elected them to that position. 

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Over The Next Two Days

Over the last few years, we've had two significant rain events. One was during the slow motion of hurricane Harvey. Harvey dumped up to 60 inches of rain. My area at the time was lucky, since we only received about 42 inches. The flood didn't bring water in my house, but it did isolate me for a few days. The aftermath was terrible to see, since the flood waters caused considerable damage. Some areas never really recovered, and many just gave up and left. 

Imelda was next. The rainfall amount wasn't as much, but faster. A large band of rain basically set still for hours, and the fast accumulation of water flooded many of the areas flooded by Harvey. I was isolated for awhile in my new home by flooded roads. Again, the devastation was more than some could handle. Abandoned houses can still be found from this event, and Harvey. 

 Southwest of us is Nicholas. It's forecast to be a strong tropical storm at landfall in the middle Texas coast tomorrow. That's when it becomes interesting. Forecasters aren't really sure about the amount of rain, but the forecast is for up to 15 inches of rain in some areas, and my home is in one of those areas. 

I filled up the gas cans today. We already have our hurricane supplies on hand, so now we wait. It's another weather event we're prepared to deal with, and all hope it won't be as severe as in the near past. We'll know over the next two days. 


Friday, September 10, 2021

Ignorance Is Not Pleasant

When I was young, a trip to the beach was rare, and the possible severe sunburn just as rare...but with consequences. At that time, I don't think many thought of the long-term effects. Even worse, it was acceptable for a "loving" sibling, or friend, to slap you on the back to enjoy the reaction of the pain. 

I remember one long day at the beach, the severe sunburn, the lack of relief from Noxema, and the huge water blisters that formed everywhere except the area covered by my swimsuit. After the blisters dried, I looked like a big, shedding lizard, which only added to the discomfort from the event. I thought little of it at the time, but a trip to the dermatologist this week reminded me of the consequences. 

As with a previous visit, a biopsy was performed on some suspected spots, and the rest were treated with what is called cryosurgery. For those that don't what that is, a device that looks like an oil can is used to pour measured amounts of liquid nitrogen on areas of the skin. It's not pleasant to have this done, especially after a few dozen areas are treated. The burns it leaves soon blister, and like all burns, the pain lasts. 

So, now I'm scheduled for some more treatments in about two months, and will be informed if any of the biopsied areas require treatment for cancer. It's the result of ignorance, and a warning to those that willingly bare their skin to the sun. Ultraviolet radiation is an ionizing radiation, even though it doesn't penetrate deep into the skin. Cellular damage is severe, and like all ionizing radiation, ultraviolet radiation can cause damage to DNA. This can, and will, lead to dangerous cellular mutations.

Monday, September 6, 2021

The Problem is Obvious

 Read the article at this link, and the title of this post becomes clear. Equal Opportunity means ignorance, and incompetence become more important than knowledge, and skill.

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Sinus Confounder

 This link shows what gives me some problems during the year. The Saharan dust comes and goes, but when it's here, my sinuses react. Sometimes it's minor, but other times leads to some antihistamines, and annoying sinus problems. During the times with lots of pollens, it only makes things worse. 

The bright side of having the dust is it can weaken, or prevent the formation of a hurricane. From my perspective, it's a good trade.

Saturday, September 4, 2021

They're Back

 I was down at the in-laws, and was a little surprised at the number of hummingbirds already here. At least thirty were hovering, or in the landing pattern around their feeders, and being the usual turds they can be. All think it's theirs alone, chase off the others for a short time, and then are overwhelmed by the numbers. 

Fall is approaching, which can be a slow process in my neck of the woods. Temps are still in the mid nineties, and the humidity will drown a house fly. Still, it won't be long until we get a front, and the relief of cooler weather will arrive.

Friday, September 3, 2021

Scuttlebutt?

I was listening to a conversation, and the conversation was about the Three Gorges Dam in China. One individual said it had collapsed, which I think would become a huge news item. 

I went to Google Earth, typed in the search requirements, and was rewarded with a satellite photo of the dam taken in March this year. As I zoomed in, something odd about the dam caught my attention. I looked at the surrounding area, which showed the usual, although fuzzy images of objects, such as trees, or small buildings. The damn looks like a 3D cad drawing. 

Go look for yourself. I find it interesting, and wonder why the photo has a computer generated dam. Security? Or is it really gone?

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Hurricane Ignorance

Hurricane Ida, like all hurricanes of that magnitude, caused substantial damage, and the ignorance abounds after the event. Comments on news reports are full of the usual anger about government rebuilding with public money, and the damning of the individuals that live in in hurricane prone areas. 

Government assistance ends after one claim. Help from FEMA, which doesn't allow enough money to rebuild, requires those that were helped to acquire insurance, or take the chance they won't have damage in the future. Otherwise, since there have been enough major hurricanes along the Gulf Coast over the last twenty years, the rebuilding costs are mostly covered by insurance. The same goes for flood prone areas. The result of this is either relocation by individuals, or the demand new buildings follow strict building codes, and hefty insurance costs. 

In the end, damage from hurricanes leads to higher real estate values. If there is a known economic advantage to rebuilding, it will happen. Property that is no longer viable for development is abandoned. This can lead to pricey vacation property, and the cottage industries that supply those with enough money to invest in the real estate. Businesses in these areas already know the stakes, and stay because the demand for their services outweighs the risks. The costs to stay are included in the prices. 

Another thing: People stay where they know the area, or cherish their hometown. Generations of families may continue their heritage, or keep a family business thriving for those that either enjoy a hurricane prone area, or have work that demands the proximity to the coast. Usually, these types of people are more self-sufficient, have strong family roots, and really don't care what anyone else thinks. They don't ask for any special favors, and can take care of their own. Belittling them shows ignorance, and a lack of character.