Obligatory, 5.26.18

Posting is lite because I am working.

Maybe tomorrow I will be back home.  My plan is to stay out here until I earn enough bucks.  What's enough?   More than I can easily make in one day.

Did some news scanning and here's some comments:

Just saw online where a retired school teacher said that one of Trump's letters could barely get a passing grade.

Yeah?  So, what?  The story is out there, and it is the same story for every GOP president.  That story is that the GOP is always stupid.  Well, if you can't beat stupid, what does that make YOU?

The leftists love to lie.  Clapper is lying about the Russian collusion investigation.  Obama says he had no scandals.  Hillary blames everybody but herself for losing.  But of course, the biggest lie of all is James Comey pretending to be Mr. Integrity.  That's a whopper for the ages.

There is an argument about what the word "spy" means.  Seems to follow a pattern.  Clinton liked to say that he never had sex with Monica Lewinski even though his semen was on her dress.  It all depends upon what the meaning of "is" is, don't you know?

Working is more fun than the news, and it pays better.  Time to go back to making some bucks.  Later.

Panic?

James Comey admits to helping Hillary win in 2016.  So, even though this looks like a reasonable tweet from Comey, is it really?

But panic?

There is probably an explanation for what is going on here, but panic probably isn't it.  I'm thinking the dude is disconnected from reality, even though he may feel that he is fully connected with it.

James Comey In Panic Mode https://t.co/1XjrkxrETR via @powerlineUS

— Greg Meadows (@BootsandOilBlog) May 25, 2018

Obligatory, 5.25.18

The data blitz continued yesterday, so I stood down for another day.  This morning,
I am going to watch carefully to see where and when the data surge occurs.  Maybe
I can figure out where and why it is happening.

The last time was one of these blog posts.  The previous blog post resulted in
a massive 300 megabyte surge in my data usage.  It is hard to believe that blogger
uses all that much data, so this is a bit puzzling.

So, after I make this post, I will stand down for a little while, and watch and
see if that data spikes again.  If so, then I may have an idea of where to go
next.

Moving on to the next topic:

Yesterday, I made a trip to the local liberry and checked out the joint.  If this
data service is on the blink for awhile, I may as well use the free facilities
there for my information needs.

I noted in the Austin American Statesman that there was a bill which partially
rolls back the Dodd-Frank bank bill.  I tell you that this gives me something
of a sick feeling, as this is the kind of thing that could lead to another
financial disaster.

One thing that you don't want to fool with is the money and banking segment of
the economy.  If there is one thing that is justified with strong regulations, it
is the banking industry.  If you mix a lot of risk taking with that, you also
risk bringing down the entire economy.  That is one that they should definitely
not mess with.

On the brighter side, it doesn't look like they did much.  But they shouldn't
have done a thing.

Finally, this am, when I first cranked up the internet, I noticed something on
the weather page.  The weather page is my startup page, you see.

It has the record temperatures for each date, plus the averages.

As I mentioned before in my AGW discussions, a lot of confusion exists about
the statistical meanings of averages.  At the risk of adding some additional
confusion, let me comment upon what I saw.

The averages shown can give you an idea of what is "normal" and what is shall we
say, "extraordinary".

In statistical terminology, a "normal" temperature follows a "bell curve"
distribution plot.  That is to say, the temperatures, if plotted on a graph, will
show a bill curve plot around the average temperature.

Virtually all observations will fall within plus or minus three standard deviations
from the "mean".  The mean is the statistical average.  A standard deviation is
the average deviation from the mean.  Got it?

So, the average high and average low for May for this area is 85 and 63.  The
record high and record low for May is 100 and 39.

Let's guesstimate the standard deviation, then:  take 100 and subtract 85 from
it.  You get 15 as the result.  Divide by 3 gives 5.  That is the (guesstimated ) standard
deviation for the high.  By the way, this is not how it is calculated.  This
is only a wild guess.  So, a typical day in this area will have a high anywhere
between 80 and 90.  Two thirds will fall between two standard deviations, so
an "abnormally hot" day will be between 90 and 95.  A really hot day is over
95, and a new record is over a hundred.

See how it works?

It works the same way when you do the lows.  I won't do the math here.

From this little discussion, you should only pay attention to "abnormal" weather claims
when there are a lot of new records being set.

That is all...

Obligatory, 5.24.18

Another data spike, and another day to stand down.  So, yesterday was an off day,
and I didn't post.  I try to put up something every day, but that wasn't in the
cards yesterday.

Even today, I have to be careful with the usage, or I could be back in the dog
house.

It seems that I haven't been posting on the off-grid project lately.  Most of
my interest is in getting my financial house in order.  It is a big problem.

So, I spend some time working for money each week.  But the amounts are not that
impressive, and besides, I am constrained.  That said, I will need a lot of time
to get this massive bill paid down.

There are options, which I won't go into here.  Let's just say that I have been
spending a lot of time thinking about this.  No solution is in sight, but not
all hope is lost as far as the off-grid project is concerned.

Nope, to the contrary.  I feel a second wind coming on.  So, the ideas continue
to percolate.  Maybe a bit more slowly than I would like, but it is still alive.

The egg cooker is a neat little device.  Yesterday, I cooked some ground pork
with it.  A great deal of care needs to be taken with meat, as must get fully
cooked, and the clean up afterwards is one thing that I am trying to avoid.

Veggies could be steamed with this thing.  Haven't tried it yet, but there is
no doubt to me that it could be done.  So, eggs aren't the only game in town
for this little gizmo.  I am starting to really like it.

This could be useful in the off-grid application.  It doesn't use that much power,
and could be used with a solar panel.  Make that solar panel do some real work
for a change!  Durn straight.

BTW, I got some pointers on how to build a sound structure awhile back.  His
ideas aren't necessarily what I will do, however.  The main idea is to use
footer foundations.  But I want to make it into 8 foot sections instead of the
bigger ones he suggested.  That way, I won't have to do a lot of cutting.

Indeed, I decided to make 8x8 foot sections, and connect them together.  If you
do three of these, you get an 8x24 foot structure.  Tie three of these together,
and you have a 24x24 foot structure, and then you are talking business.

The 24x24 would be a bit ambitious, though.  I could make the overhangs as
four foot extensions instead of eight.  Those two would flank each side of
the structure.  Maybe more on the south side than the north, however.  That
could make it a 12x24 foot structure.  Think of the south side as a deck or
a porch.  It could be screened in, in order to protect from the insects.

A glass roof extension could be made to make it a 16x24 foot structure.  The
glass would be the side furtherest south, so as to allow sunshine in during
the winter months.  The other four feet would be the overhang, which would keep
the sun off in the summer.  The screen would allow wind to blow through, which
would keep the thing from getting too hot.

I'd like to cogitate further on that, but this is what I have at the moment.

The actual building will take place next year at the earliest.  I might consider
moving to an apartment in El Paso for six months in order to get located closer,
but not actually on the property while I build the thing out.

The cost of living in El Paso is lower than Austin, so this might be feasible.

Anyway, the project is not dead by any means.  Still thinking it through.

That is all.

Section 702

There has been a lot of talk about these 702 database queries, so I did some digging.  What exactly are these things, and how can they have been abused?

It looks like the law is carefully written, so how specifically has this database been abused?  It is alleged by some that this has definitely been abused.  I have seen this in several places, yet I do not understand what is meant by this abuse, and how did it occur?

There is a lot of fog out there.  By the time it gets sorted out, it won't matter anymore.

There has been nearly two years of this garbage, and yet there is no evidence of wrongdoing.  This is what I look at.  You can play around with the law all you want, but until you come up with something real, it is all smoke and mirrors.

Nobody, including Trump, has challenged the authority to hire Mueller in the first place.  Always the premises.  The premise here is that Trump violated the law.  If you cannot name the law, or place a date, a time, and a specific act, then it is all academic.  Certainly not worth the taxpayer's dime, nor the voter's time.  That is why Trump should fire Mueller, but he does not do that.

It is beginning to appear to be nothing but political theater.

Update later today @ 5:30 pm:

Of course I have been reading the Conservative Treehouse, and considerable discussion has taken place there.  But, the reason I am puzzled is because of how this access was ever allowed in the first place.  It is not clear to me how this all began.  I am positive now that this didn't begin just because Trump got the GOP nomination in 2016.  Stuff has been going on for a long time.

In particular, I am puzzled that US persons became embroiled in this, since 702 data is on foreign persons.

Here is another attempt at explaining this, which I am reading now.  It is very lengthy and complicated, which may explain part of the puzzlement.  Ah, here it is.  There is a section of 702 regulations about US persons.  It is called "about queries".   It is "item 17" of 702 regs.

There appears to have been a willful violation of the regulations.  This is for political purposes.

It is still rather fuzzy to me how all this could happen, but it does appear to be the case that the law was being subverted.

further update @ 6:10 pm:

To summarize, the allegation is that the "about queries" helped to put together the Steele Dossier.  The Steele Dossier was needed in order to obtain the FISA wiretapping authority on Carter Page.

What a joke.  Carter Page is a nobody.  Pappa Dop is a nobody.

Rosenstein signed off this bullcrap? People are still trying to call him a good guy.

No guns, no peace

Know guns, know peace.  Bwah, hah, hah!

Hmm.  AR-15 or AK-47?

What’s Wrong With Those Texans? https://t.co/wKSQ9s398C via @powerlineUS

— Greg Meadows (@BootsandOilBlog) May 22, 2018

Today is the day...

Updated,

5.22.18:

Kinda figured I was approaching the anniversary of the completion of proton therapy.  After one year, it seems to be about the same as before, in terms of symptoms.  A couple of MRI's have confirmed that the treatment has stopped the growth of the tumor, but it isn't going away anytime soon.

The next MRI is slated for sometime in the summer.

Just glad to be alive and doing better than I was doing before.



Originally posted on 5.22.17, starts below:


 ... of the last treatment for this chondroid chordoma.  It didn't metastize, according to the doctors, and so the odds are in my favor.  However, it won't be possible to know the effectiveness of this treatment ( proton therapy ) for another three months.  At that time, it is likely that I will come back here to Irving, Texas for a follow up examination.

Until that time, I can focus in other things.  Like this blog.  Bet you are excited about that, eh?  Can bots get excited?  heh, heh

There is work to do at the trailer, which is where I now reside.  It is in the Texas Hill Country, about an hour's drive from Austin.

Hopefully, nature didn't take over the trailer while I was gone.  Another reason not to go tonight, as I don't want to sleep with the bugs when I get back.

If I left immediately, it would take nearly midnight to get back.  Don't want to try to deal with problems at that hour.  So, I will wait.

Update(s) 11:35:  

Got my to-do list made up.  It is prioritized and everything.  Now all I am doing is dreaming about things.  Now, ain't that a big waste of time?

20:52:

When you finish your therapy, you get to bang a gong.  So, I did it.  Before doing my bang-a-gong, I asked how hard can I hit it?  "As hard as you want", said the Doc.   So, I hit it really hard, but aside from making a lot of noise, it didn't break.

Buh-bye!

Unlimited Power

You know who the traitor is in this movie.  But try to put yourself in this position here, as in the movie let's say, and then ask yourself if you would know who the traitor really was.  Anakin Skywalker, the character in the movie, cannot tell who the traitor really was.  His own perception of need clouded his judgment, and he choose the emperor.

Segue into real life then...

Is there treason afoot here in America?  Some of what you read would seem to indicate that there is at least the accusation floating out there.

Yet at the same time, there are those who seem to want "unlimited power".  Who are the guilty ones?

It should be obvious, but for some reason, it doesn't appear to be obvious to many people.  Like in the movie, they have to choose, but will it be the right choice?

How to play CCR's "Suzy Q"

It has been more than once that I said that I would surely have loved having YouTube when I was a kid, and trying to learn to play gee tar.

Well, I didn't, and I don't play, so doggone it.

Anyway, this is a neat tune to learn for you rock and roll gee tar heroes out there.  Enjoy!





Now for the real thing.

Sharyl Attkisson's Timeline of "Collusion against Trump"

It has a lot of info that is old news, but a few tidbits that were new to me.  Haven't finished it yet, though.

Note:  There is a tremendous amount of information in this timeline.  A lot of this has been in the news at one time or another.  Some of it may not have been.  It is not my intention to repeat old news here.  I am trying to add my take to this timeline, not to rehash old news.

• 
  

One tidbit was that the DNC computers were hacked in the year prior to the election.  This is well before Trump was nominated.  Indeed, this was before there were any debates or primaries.  A question not answered by the timeline is this:  since the DNC refused access to the FBI on the subsequent claim of hacking, did they also deny access on this alleged hacking?  If so, then why did they refuse on the second hacking?  If not, then why refer to the "hacking" as anything but a claim of hacking, not a proven attempt at hacking?  The subsequent hacking claim was said to have been verified by a DNC-paid-for gunslinger, and the FBI and CIA accepted this gunslinger's "evidence" as proof, when it is nothing more than hearsay.

• 
  

Another tidbit in the timeline was Anthony Weiner's computers having the emails on them.  This happened after Comey cleared Hillary, and these emails were not acted upon with any sense of urgency.  You can say that McCabe sat on them, and their existence wasn't made known to Comey for a month.  When it was, Comey re-opened the investigation, which was another sham investigation, and then closed it again while clearing Hillary once again.   Now the thing about this that should be questioned is whether or not these emails were seized, or were turned over voluntarily by Weiner's attorney.  Conservative Treehouse's Sundance says that the emails were turned in voluntarily.  This is in conflict with this timeline, which says it was seized.  Big difference.

• 
  

Here's something amusing:  a quote from Obama:

Oct. 18, 2016: President Obama advises Trump to “stop whining” after Trump tweeted the election could be rigged. “There is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even — you could even rig America’s elections,” said Obama. 

The Democrats have been in "whining" mode for a lot longer time than the election lasted, and there is no evidence yet that they plan to stop whining about losing it.

• 
  

Another aside here:  there is a report out there that is an attempt to smear Trump again with a sexual charge.  I see a pattern.  This is a preemptive smear, which is an attempt to lessen the impact of an upcoming revelation against prominent Democrats.  I suspect that there may be some very bad stuff on those Anthony Weiner emails that were said to have been "seized", but may not have been actually "seized", but turned over by Weiner's attorney.  That stuff could include sexual deviancy by the Clintons.  Weiner may have turned over the emails as a kind of blackmail in order to get more lenient treatment for his sentencing, which had yet to be concluded as of that time.


Finally, I will stop reading this at this time.  I will update later, but there are other things to attend to.  This is taking a long time.

Update:

Nothing further to add.

The talk today is about a "mole" within the Trump campaign.  The big question going forward is what to do about this.

Sic Temper Tyrannis

"Thus always to tyrants."  It is a phrase that has a long history that may have
begun with the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Unfortunately for those conspirators, the assassination did not save the Roman
Republic.

John Wilkes Booth was said to have uttered it when he assassinated Abraham Lincoln
in Ford's Theater.  The assassination did not restore the South, which had to endure
Reconstruction.

If you are to deal with a tyrant, you had better find something that can work.  The
good 'old USA managed to use the idea in the Revolutionary War and its aftermath.

A few of the states have used it as a motto.

The fight against tyranny is an old one indeed.  It has yet to be decided for all
time.  Indeed, one would wonder if tyranny is to be the permanent lot of human
beings.

No form of government is immune to this failing.  The Romans had a good system,
but it failed.  Indeed, the phrase itself had its genesis with the ancient virtue
of killing off tyrants.  It wasn't considered a crime.

Our own system in the good 'ol USA appears to be at risk, if one may be so bold
to claim.  It too has been a good system, with free speech, a federal government, and
a Bill of Rights which has fended off despotism so far.  Virtues which seem to be
under stress at this moment in time.

A government that criminalizes dissent isn't fit to govern a free people.  For
if a government is allowed to do so without accountability, the people are in danger
from an aspiring dictator.  The current drama before the public with respect to
the Trump administration and his opponents may seem like a replay of the Roman
spectacle with regards to Caesar.

There are those who cry wolf who may be sorry when the real wolf appears.  There
does appear to be too much crying of wolf.  Trump has governed with restraint.

So has his predecessors.  But there may come a day when this will no longer be
the case. 

The use of government resources to criminalize political opposition must stop.

Eventually it will stop, but when it does, we may be sorry to find that the result
will be a loss of freedom to the dictator who can manipulate this to his advantage.

Getting away doesn't make it go away

Been away from the computer since I "ran out of data".  That made me mad at first, because I didn't believe that I used as much data as Verizon said that I did.

As I noted before, I felt a whole lot better once I got away from the crap in the media and such.

Now that I am back, I note the news, and note also that--- even though I feel better, nothing has changed.  Things are not going well.

On the other hand, there is the battle.  Truth is emerging from the fog of lies that the media spews forth every day.

As Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds link here shows-- the significance of Trump is that this corruption is being made known.  Now we have to see if there is anyone left who gives a hoop in hell about it.

You see, even though he tweets it, and he makes the media acknowledge it, it ( meaning the truth ) has to be taken to heart, and that the people who hear it must do something to correct it.

You can lead the horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.

Updated, 11:45 am:

For clarification porpoises, I was referring to corruption.  Banana republics do stuff like this.  Is that where the country is now?  Or do we have even worse aspirations?