A couple music links

 

Crystal Blue Persuasion

This song gets a post because it was mentioned in a conversation recently. The way it got into the conversation is what's meaningful in a way. Here's how it happened: A fellow in the area brought in a early sixties model Ford Falcon. It seemed to be in pretty good shape, and that got my attention. The reason for my attention was that the family car was one a lot like this one. ( Not to be confused with the '65 Falcon Ranchero blogged about before. This one is a different body style altogether.) So I talked about the car to the owner, and he mentioned the orginal color was called Crystal Blue. This jogged my memory, and I mentioned this song's name. The guy said that he loved that song back when it came out. ( He's about my age.) His Dad was based in San Diego at the time. He was a Navy man. Ah, memories.

It's funny the things you remember. I remembered this song. My reaction wasn't quite like his. The song is rather dreamy in an utopian fashion. The author of the song said it was based upon Scriptures. Yeah, sure it was. Those people in the sixties never really grew up. Rush Limbaugh would say that about the generation that the Clintons brought into the White House back in the time. How does that utopian vision match the modern condition? Maybe the order is a bit off. The utopian vision didn't have the tribulation first. We could be heading towards the big Trib. For awhile, there won't be "peace and good and brotherhood" like the song says. It will be quite different, and in a not so good way.

So much for that...

Led Zepellin greatest blues song

The next song is said to have been a great blues song. I forgot what I wanted to write about this one. (I saved these links for awhile. Getting rid of them, so I can make space. A kind of housekeeping thing.)

This song was on one of Led Zepellin's early albums. I forget which one. There was a video which talks up this song like it is the greatest blues song in rock history or something.

It definitely has a haunting feel to it. You can feel the pain in the performance. It is kind of a "drag" after all when your old lady leaves for another guy. Bummer.

There was a black dude back in the day, who told me about a blues concert he went to. Those kind of blues, as he described at the time, also had a kind of lightness about it. But this song is just about pain, pain, pain. The impact is more serious. Are the "blues" really this "bluesy"?

Anyway, that is all for now. Cleared some space on my device, and now I can link to other things in the future. It's ideas I had for posts, but somehow didn't get around to posting.

If I can remember, I may do this more often.

The race to stop Las Vegas from running dry

Update:

Water levels are still falling.  Scary fast, says this guy.

Jun 29, 2014

telegraph uk

Amid a brutal drought the reservoir that supplies 90 per cent of Las Vegas’s water is fast disappearing and desperate attempts to save Sin City are under way

Save Sin City?  Hmm.  How do you do that?

The growth of the city is outstripping it's ability to sustain itself.  Yet, it is no different than a lot big cities, like Los Angeles, which also uses water from Lake Mead, which is running dry.  It is a metaphor for this country, that doesn't seem to get it that it's in big trouble.  The story goes on to say that the city may have to depopulate itself if a solution isn't found.  Yet they are still building.

A solution is possible, but they will never do it because it would make too much sense.  Molten salt reactors could supply them with water and electricity.

But should you "save" a city that refers to itself as "Sin City"?

If Sin City and LA go under, what do you think is going to happen to the economy?  Another big economic crash because that may be all it takes to take an over-leveraged economy over the brink.

Update:

Another signal failure?  You had better read the article that's linked above.  The failure is all but guaranteed now.  You must prepare yourself because a very troubling event will occur.  It would be on par with Katrina, but this time, there's a Democrat in the White House.  Never fear, they'll somehow blame anybody but themselves for this.  Yet, the GOP isn't blameless.  They should be acting now, but aren't.  They are just junior partners in this arrangement, not a true opposition party.

Maybe the sunrise was fake

There's something odd going on with the weather forecasts around here. Forecasts have lately predicted temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees Farenheit, but the highs each day don't reach those numbers. It has been consistently overblown.

You might attribute this to natural error. But these errors are typically on the high side. In other words, I think they are padding the forecasts to show hotter weather than what actually transpires.

You cannot attribute this to random error. If it were random, there would be lower than actual forecasts. For example, instead of predicting a 105 degree high, the prediction could be a 95 degree high. The actual one that could come in, per example, a little bit higher. Let's say a 100 degrees. But no. Today's forecast was on the high side. Every day, it is predicted well over 100 degrees. But when I look, it is nearly always under 100. Today's was 97. They say it got 99 today, but I've checked several times, and was not that high. I think they're fibbing.

So much fakery. Even the friggin' weather forecasts.

If it gets cold, like that time in early 2021, they are accurate. Nobody's predicting an Ice Age. But some folks believe in the AGW hoax. Just more fakery, that all it is. Give me the real news, not this fake crap.

These people have no credibility as far as I'm concerned. Don't know why anybody believes them at all.

Axioms

If the mind tends towards philosophy, the need for axioms are apparent. Let's say that's an opinion. There is one axiom that I'd like to discuss here, for anybody's who may be interested. It is a philosophy of the way I aim to live my life. Maybe you can call it an ideal, because there may be exceptions where the axiom doesn't get adhered to. Call it what you want. Principles, axioms, or what have you. This axiom relates to freedom. I think it has general applications.

With freedom comes responsibility. Those with the least freedom have the least responsibility. If you are in jail, your decisions are made for you. The axiom shows that those who put you in jail have determined that you cannot behave yourself according to the laws of society. As a consequence, your freedom is taken away, and decisions about your life are now in the hands of others. You are not free. You are told what to do, and what not to do. You are watched constantly. You won't even have any decent standard of privacy. A baby is like this too. A baby has an excuse. A baby is helpless. A full- grown human being has gained some powers over the years. Those powers can be used with responsibility or irresponsibilty. An irresponsible person can revert to the status of a mere child when freedom is taken away. Still more dangerous because of his/her powers.

Adherence to this axiom will improve the chances of staying out of "jail". A jail doesn't have to be a physical jail. It could be limitations placed upon your powers that limit your freedom. These can be self-imposed restraints. If you cannot trust yourself to act responsibly, the best thing to do would be to do nothing. Most of the time, you won't be blamed for what you didn't do. Action that is called for, and not taken, can get you into trouble too. But for the sake of discussion, only actions within the powers of your own will are considered.

An example is the abuse of alcohol. This type of action is under the power of your will. There may be people who will criticize you if you don't drink. Generally speaking though, responsible behavior involves not drinking when drinking is not called for. I am referring to driving while drunk. DWI may get you into serious trouble. Yes, and you may go to a real jail for it. As it relates to the axiom, you have the power to drink or not drink. If you don't drink, you can never be a drunk driver. ( That assumes somebody didn't spike the punch bowl.) The abuse of your power to decide can lead you to losing your freedoms. That would be the privilege to drive, or even to loss of all of your freedom.

There are other examples, but the above will do. You can extrapolate that to an entire syndrome of behaviors. That syndrome of behaviors can be said to be the behavior of a responsible adult. The inverse also applies. If the syndrome leads a person to do a series of irresponsble things, then how can this person be considered to be reliable and trustworthy? It might be best to avoid such people if at all possible.

The point of this is the axiom involved. You have the power to decide. It can be for behavior that will keep you free, or behavior that will get you jailed, or worse.

The axiom can be applied "across the board". If you want to be free of disease, then don't do irresponsble behaviors that will lead to sickness. And so on and so forth.

I would say that this axiom, if applied to one's life, can be said to be a positive attitude with respect to life. The opposite is a negative attitude. This may get arguments, I suppose. Not everybody will agree on all things. But I try to live by this axiom. If I screw up, I try to "own" it. I think that that is the responsible thing, as to the tendency to blame someone else for one's own's failures.

In the larger picture, it would seem that a society full of responsible adults, will have a large measure of freedom. A society full of overgrown children won't have much freedom. There are societies that are run like gigantic jail cells. I sure wouldn't want to live in such a society. They have plenty of rules in jails, but that doesn't make for much safety. Jails can be very dangerous places. Powers without rules can lead to the law of the jungle no matter where you are. Civilized people, generally speaking, do not end up in jails. The inside of jails aren't civilized. It makes sense because people who end up in jails aren't civilized enough themselves.

A general broadbrush application there. There may be disagreement on it, but I'll hold to it. All of this assumes that the society hasn't devolved into the jungle already. In such a society, it is the law of the powerful over the weak. In other words, there is no law. If a society is heading in the direction of the jungle, it may behoove people to observe that fact, and then do something. A responsible person would. That's because a responsible person is not the kind that ends up in a jail. A jungle is also a jail, in which nobody can feel safe. In an unsafe jungle, freedom of movement is not there anymore. Think about it.

Off-grid post, 6-7-22

 

The last order in this group of orders arrived today via Fedex. Now to attach the bms, the controller, and finally the panel I installed about a week ago.

With some luck, this project may get done quickly. Otherwise, I could get stuck with messing with it a lot like the last one. That one is still not working right.

But with two batteries, I can shift between them, as needed. The new one may have a built in switch. It may be operated by a relay. According the literature, it does. From what a video says, all I have to do is put 12 volts on it, and it will turn it on. By the way, I have the option to do it another way. But I like the switch option. There's a switch on the first one, so if it conks out, then flick the switch off there. Then turn the switch on on the second one, and keep on keeping on.

There's still the possibility of figuring out what's wrong with the first. Assuming all goes well, I can turn it off, and run the second one while working on the first.

This may be a bit crazy, but the idea of getting another one like this has occurred to me. Add four more panels, and attach them to this new "beast" battery. That one could run other devices. Or two more beasts, and split the panels like this other two. It's not the most efficient path, but it is a path that is feasible.

It was another scorcher here today. The additional shade doesn't keep it cool inside by any means. I was hoping to minimize the a/c, but that really isn't working out like I'd hoped. It pulls way too much current. A little more work is possible, but it probably won't change things all that much.

That's all for now, and now it is time to shut down for the night.

Waste of time

Today was spent waiting for a delivery that didn't come. Fedex is delivering my new battery. Tracking said that the delivery was due today, but it didn't get here.

Today was also the hottest day of the year, according to the forecasts. The computer says 104. It did feel pretty hot. Anyway, I had to spend some time outside of the comforts of home waiting for this thing, and it didn't arrive. Well, just buckle up the chin-strap and go after it again tomorrow. Fedex needs to get their act together.

So, the lack of posts has an excuse. At least this time. Fact is, I just don't know what the point is anymore.

Politics is a waste of time too. So many are anticipating a "red-wave" that might not come. The point of the GOP seems to be to fool people into thinking that they are an opposition party. The point of the Democrats seems to be to fool people into believing that they really aren't doing what they really ARE doing. It's all a scam.

One good thing that is going on is SpaceX. The government will do its best to insure that this will be twice as hard as it should have been, and will cost far more than what it should. That's if they let SpaceX go forward at all.

The average schmuck cannot believe their own eyes, so when the politicians say to disregard what your own eyes tell you, you people will fall right into line. Trying to convince the average schmuck anything is also a waste of time.

So why bother? Maybe one chance in a million that enough of the schmucks get tired of being schmucks, and wake the hell up. Maybe then something might be done to stop the schmucks from becoming roadkill for the powerful.

But that might be asking too much. Going to keep wasting the time writing posts like this. Perhaps a twisted soul or two might find it entertaining. But I doubt it.

Apache by the Shadows --- video link

UPDATE:

Answer to trivia questions in post below:

Drum roll please.... And the answers are....

Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallach, Montgomery Clift in

The Misfits

How I got to this video, I don't recall. When I first saw it, I didn't recognize any of the actors until I saw Clark Gable. Really... I didn't recognize Marilyn Monroe.

Maybe it was because it was a different kind of role than the one I saw her play in another movie or two. In my opinion, she played the role well. Up until the time I saw the video, I never saw this film. I watched it out of curiosity. It was Clark Gable's last film, as he had a heart attack soon after filming was completed. Monroe's last flick as well. She was said to have committed suicide soon afterward. ( Sotto voce: I now have doubts about that.) Montgomery Clift died in 1966. Wallach starred next to Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

As for the movie, it was a bit slow in developing, but it wasn't bad. I'd say it is watchable with the caveat that you are patient in letting it develop.

Apache by the Shadows

This one comes with a trivia question. The question is: Who are the actors in the part of the video with the mustangs being lassoed? There are four of them, two are in the back of the truck, and two are in the front. One woman and 3 men. The movie was made in the early sixties. Bonus question: What movie was this?

Answers to the questions in the update...