All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
Due to an error by the webmaster (me), TomD’s latest post on military aircraft “Tom’s World – 10OCT2024 – Museum Aircraft – 5” was not published this morning as it should have been.
Instead it will appear tomorrow at 9am eastern time.
Please excuse this lapse. I’ve been juggling a few too many chainsaws of late and it’s beginning to take its toll.
photog
All my best wishes for you folks down in Florida. I’ve spoken to my friends and family down there and surprisingly, they don’t seem overly concerned for whatever reason. Maybe this one will be less than feared rather than more.
Wow, was I in a black mood yesterday. I shouldn’t dwell on the motives and the just desserts that our insect overlords have and deserve respectively. It’s not good for my soul.
So today Camera Girl and I were walking around the yards looking at what Fall has done to the place and we saw some interesting stuff. We checked out the garden and there were some ripe raspberries left on the plants.
So we ate them as we walked.
We picked three butternut squashes that were still on the vine, even thought their color wasn’t very hopeful looking. But the vine leaves were dying so it made sense to pick them.
I snapped a few foliage shots
I checked the Montauk daisies and they had bloomed.
I went over and checked the wolfbane and sure enough it was opening.
Then we went by the wall and I took a shot of the opened seed pods of the milkweed
And then on a whim Camera Girl checked under one of our reptile and amphibian tins and even though almost nothing showed up there all year except for crickets she found this.
That’s the only spotted salamander I can remembering finding all year. She really has a knack for finding good stuff out of nowhere. In May I will have known Camera Girl for fifty years. And our association has been very satisfactory. I applaud her parents for raising such an excellent daughter. I hazard to say that she is one in many millions in term of her qualities. And not just at finding spotted salamanders!
So today was much better than yesterday and my mood is much improved. Insect overlords, do your worst!
Oh and here’s a song I found.
I was talking to a very smart guy recently about where we are now. He was of the opinion that the American Empire was a natural consequence of America taking up the global mantle from Britain after the First World War and we had no choice but to let the federal government grow into the monster it has become to prevent any other emerging power like China from overtaking us in any of the various arenas that we compete in; military power, technological prominence and financial and monetary control. And I sort of see what he means.
But I also know that what America has become is only a good thing for a miniscule fraction of Americans and I can’t imagine how most people wouldn’t be horrified to see the world become the reductionist inhuman dystopia that the people in charge more and more openly espouse. To see the grandchildren of the men who fought World War II programmed by their teachers to think that their duty was to die childless while living in a cubicle sized enclosure while eating dried crickets and watching their phones, is a sickening spectacle. This is just the replay of the Roman Republic collapsing into an empire where the patricians buy up all the land using the spoils created by the plebian legions and then flooding Italy with slaves from these same wars to bankrupt the last of the small farmers and turn them into paupers that could only become soldiers to survive.
You know, I don’t think I care if the dollar loses its reserve currency status and all the masters of the universe have to give way to Beijing. In fact, maybe I would prefer it. If all the American and European billionaires were suddenly impoverished and became just plain old millionaires and suddenly none of us could afford the newest smart-phone made in China or whatever the latest status symbol was, I don’t think I’d be sad at all. If all the guys working for the big investment banks, hedge funds and pharma companies suddenly had to lose one or two zeros from the end of their paychecks, I think it would make me smile. I really wish someone like Donald Trump really would raise enormous tariffs against the foreign manufactured products that all those American companies sell to us. Hell, I’d even buy lousy American cars if they would benefit Americans working in those lousy plants.
And to be honest, I’m not even mad at the Chinese workers or the Mexican workers or even the Vietnamese workers who presently make all the stuff we have to buy. I’m mad at the American globalists who set up this zero-sum game that basically sucks up all the middle-class prosperity that was built up in this country over the course of hundreds of years and transfers it to an oligarchy that figured out how to monetize that middle-class right out of existence.
Even the commissars in the old Soviet Union didn’t want to eliminate the Russian people. They still wanted them to survive and have children. But our modern overlords have a new model where their human serfs are replaced to as great an extent as is technologically possible with computers, robots and drones. Only a small cadre of actual humans will be needed and even this residue will be reduced from iteration to iteration of the plan.
Populism is now the name of what we must espouse. Expansion of the middle class should be the goal of any politician that wants our loyalty. And busting up monopolies now sounds like a wonderful idea. And the first company I would bust up into a thousand pieces is Google. The second would be Amazon. And after taking on the Silicon Valley billionaires I would want to see the FBI shut down permanently. And the CIA would be put under a very tight control and if they interfered with American citizens the perpetrator should be punishable up to the death penalty.
Now all of this is just pipe-dreaming. We are about to find out if we are now permanently out-voted by the new serfs that the overlords imported. If so, the only thing we can do is look for some local infestation of populism that some renegade leader cobbles together and rush to it and hope for the best. Or just wait for the World War III that the neo-cons are pushing for and hope your location on the targeting grid gets missed by enough to allow survival. Then in the post-apocalyptic nightmare that will ensue we might eke out an existence that might at least be free. Ending bitter rant.
Update:
War Pig commented:
Teddy Roosevelt was shot on the campaign trail. He got elected then became the Trust Buster. When the Arabs kidnapped an American widow and her children, he basically invaded the nation and got them back. He built the Panama Canal and used the Great White Fleet as gunboat diplomacy. He was Trump before Trump. I agree, we should give the internet lords the Ma Bell treatment. Increase competition and keep costs down. You and I can remember when Bell ruled communication. We remember usurious long distance tariffs on calls. We also remember the initial wobbles as the baby Bells got their footing, but eventually came into their strides and began exploring new technologies. Competition is everything. It is what drives humans to excel, to innovate. We need more of it, to include taking away unconstitutional powers the feds have siezed and let private industry show how most government agencies are inefficient and rampant with graft and political favoritism.
Somewhat more than thirty years ago I worked as an engineer for a company that was very important in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. They had an enormous amount of experience, technology and patents for extracting oil and gas from the earth and turning it into everything from gasoline to plastics to primary organic feed stocks. They were heavy hitters. Unsurprisingly they were very well represented in Venezuela. They worked extensively with the companies that produced oil in that country. And equally unsurprising they often employed Venezuelans on many different projects both in Venezuela and elsewhere. But what was surprising to me was how many of these “Venezuelans” were Germans. Apparently, at that time, there was a sizable ex-pat community of Germans living in Venezuela permanently and working in the petroleum industries.
I became friendly with one of them. A younger guy named Karl who looked extremely German but who spoke English with a very odd accent. It had hints of Spanish, German and British English. I asked him about this and learned that he had been educated in an International German school in Venezuela. I got the distinct impression that Karl considered himself a German not a Venezuelan. But at the same time, he had never spent any considerable time in Europe in his life. He was a cultural German who lived in South America. And he was fairly well travelled in the various countries of South America and had very definite opinions about these countries. In particular Karl was very vocal about the attractiveness of the women living in these various countries. He seemed to favor the Argentinians most highly, liked the Venezuelans and was most uncomplimentary about the girls from Brazil.
At the time I thought all of this very odd but I assumed it had to do with the lack of opportunities in Germany after the war. But now that I reflect on it maybe it’s more of a cosmopolitan strategy to avoid being at the whim of the economy of just one country. After all, maybe Germany has always produced more chemists and engineers than it can employ locally and so emigration may be a common choice for Germans.
I haven’t thought about Karl for at least thirty years but I was thinking about what it would be like to live in America after the addition of a hundred million third world immigrants. How would people whose families have lived here for generations and grew up as Americans cope with an “America” that more resembled Brazil or South Africa?
Well, maybe the strategy to consider is creating the equivalent of ex-pat communities in this country. We could build enclaves where we speak standard English and the kids go to “American” school and are taught our history and culture and cultural events are planned and there would be churches and cultural organizations that catered to the ex-pat population exclusively. And a network could be built between these communities across the country and they would serve as a larger community to help preserve the American culture and way of life.
It seems a little sad and pathetic. Being a stranger in your own land. But maybe it’s better than the alternative. Currently the public schools in all the big cities and lots of smaller places are becoming useless as far as the education they provide. In fact, many of them are now dangerous for non-immigrants who are victimized because of the popular culture stigmatizing them as racists. And the culture that will emerge in these “melting pots” will be antithetical and hostile to the culture we recognize. Unless you want your children indoctrinated into this third world ghetto culture you will be forced to send them to private school.
So that’s my thought. We will live in this country because we were born here. But if we want to keep our culture and identity, we might have to build ex-pat enclaves and be strangers in our own land.
Update
War Pig commented:
Given the democrats’ inclination to oppose school choice, they will go after such schools. They want all youth indoctrinated by their lackeys in teacher’s unions. A no-politics school opened in Colorado after lots of fights in the courts. The school is now producing test scores outstripping public schools by a wide margin. Don’t think the left is done with them, either. ANY resistance to Marxism must be crushed. No school which opposes leftist ideology can be allowed to flourish and embarrass Karl’s teachings.
Last month I whined about an insanely expensive critical repair project going on at the Compound. Well, my contractor performed flawlessly and after a month or so of staged demolition and construction we ended up with the end of the house restored to its former functionality only with the ground floor consisting of a poured slab instead of a pier supported wooden floor. The only hitch was that the slab needed to cure another two weeks before staining it. And since this contractor has moved onto his next big project, getting him back to stain the floor isn’t possible. No problem, I promised Camera Girl that I would take care of the painting myself after the requisite two-week delay.
Well, last night she reminded me of my lightly given promise and that by her reckoning Friday was the end of the two weeks. Like a trapped creature I looked around for a sliver of daylight that I could run through. But as I’ve said, the middle of October will be a tragically busy time for me when I won’t be able to do anything significant like painting rooms and moving furniture. Checkmate.
So early today (11am) we went to the big box store and I bought the stain and all the accoutrements. And after lunch (the condemned man had a hearty meal) I performed the ritual first coat. Tomorrow, I’ll purchase a paint brush (I thought I had one lying around), do the detail work in the tight spots and put on the final coat. Then, Sunday I’ll be toting barges and lifting bales for several hours restoring the contents of the room to their original positions and thereby fulfilling my promise to Camera Girl. Such is the life of a modern husband. When his wife has the effrontery of quoting his own words back at him, wife beating is no longer a convenient option. In fact, it’s positively frowned on in some circles. O tempora, O mores. I really need to bring Camera Girl to a showing of Shakespeare’s, “The Taming of the Shrew.” Kate saw the light. Camera Girl should follow her good example.
But when all was said and done, I rather enjoyed the event. Well, all except taping the moldings. That really should be done by someone young and spry. But rolling on the stain was fun. Painting a floor is easier than painting walls and a lot easier than ceilings. No drop cloths, no crick in the neck. So, I acquiesced semi-gracefully and pretended that I was completely on board with finishing the room this weekend. Mental agility (or self-deception) is an important survival trait.
I was thinking today about the kind of world that the information age is creating. Specifically, with the monopoly of advertising being in the hands of Amazon and Google, there is an incredible need (opportunity) for alternate information flow paths. Google has been declared a monopoly by the federal government but no action seems in the offing. Since that is the case, it seems more important than ever that some private resource step in and provide an alternative. Elon Musk has hinted that X is that alternative. But will it be? Does he have the vision to provide an unfettered electronic agora where both commerce and information can flow unimpeded by ideology? So far, I haven’t seen that realized. Maybe he’s waiting to see if Trump wins the election. After all the federal government is the biggest customer for his batteries and his rocket ships. If the Democrats are ensconced in power maybe he’ll just give up his free speech and populist efforts and concentrate on making money.
So much seems to depend on an election that probably won’t be honest. Maybe I’m the one who is looking at everything all wrong. Possibly the important lesson to be learned is not how to have free speech but rather how to have hidden speech. Now that’s a thought.
I was happy to hear that JD Vance had a very successful debate against Tim Walz. That is all to the good since Vance will be on the short list of real leaders for conservatives going forward. And by that term “conservative” I mean anyone who is against the Leftist project. I know that conservative has become a dirty word for the new right but honestly, I can’t keep up with the nomenclature so I’ll just use the old-fashioned meanings of words. So, for me a conservative is someone who believes in the things that have been true about human nature for untold thousands of years.
But regardless of what JD Vance did or didn’t accomplish last night, life goes on here in Dunwich. I have photos and quotes to select. I have posts to write. I have work of all sorts that must be done, both at home and at the office and I have Camera Girl, the dogs and all the other life forms that she keeps to deal with. I have now lugged several hundred pounds of potted plants up two stories to her plant windows. And this is a very important task because of the threat of frost. One year I played fast and loose with the early frost date and an eight-foot-tall ponytail palm bit the dust. I was greatly reviled for that faux pas.
We turned on the heat last week but for the last three or four days we’ve set the thermostats below the point where it will demand heat. It’s just too warm out to need it on. It was just one of those little cold snaps a week ago that demanded a shot of heat to rally us through. But soon enough we’ll need it. My guess is October 21st.
I enjoyed that fresh-eyes approach to viewing Dracula. These classic movies have become the equivalent of museum pieces and it makes sense to try and strip them of the baggage they’ve accumulated through overexposure in the popular culture. They deserve to be looked at from the perspective of art that was a product of its time. It’s like reading Shakespeare. You have to hear the famous monologues with fresh ears. You have to meet them halfway. I think I’ll do something heretical and instead of watching Frankenstein next, I’ll skip to the Mummy.
I’ve begun the re-framing of my American Archipelago “world.” I realized that I had not done enough outlining of the larger story ahead of time. I was in danger of painting myself into a corner and cutting off a lot of other stories that I will want to write later. After all I’m not the Marvel Comic Universe. I can’t invoke the multiverse to bring back the characters that I stupidly kill off. And I need a road map ahead of time so I don’t wander too far off into left field. I think what I’ll do is have my heroes threaten Washington into allowing a “free zone” to exist in a large chunk of the middle of the country where a border won’t be enforced but federal rule will not exist. My plan is to allow a gradual expansion of this zone until it becomes the majority of the land mass. I assume I’ll have the requisite number of crises and resolutions before the new state swallows the United States (and maybe Canada). Making this sound reasonable and figuring out how to make my Connors character a worthy prince (or CEO) is the trick. Of course I could just model him on me. Then he would be a veritable Pericles in all respects.
On the political front, if Harris is installed, the quadrillion dollar question is just how bad will the economy get? Will they keep printing money until hyperinflation kicks in? Will they let Americans starve to death because a loaf of bread costs a thousand dollars? Well, I guess we’ll find out. Barack Obama à Joe Biden à Kamala Harris à ? How much stupider can presidents get? Will Harris be followed by a potted plant? We’re going to learn so much. And I assume it will be incredibly painful. But that is truly the only way that stupid people learn anything. And apparently this country has a very large number of stupid people.
I’m trying to figure out if we can have Americans without an America. Can we celebrate things like the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving if we no longer have the America that birthed those holidays. After all, how can we have an Independence Day when we’re no longer a free people? And if we’re no longer free then what are we giving thanks for? That we’re still breathing? Well, I still like a July barbecue and I still like a turkey dinner so maybe I can keep the celebrations but change their significance. They can become the Summer and Winter Solstice celebrations (with a little fudging of the dates). Oh well.
So regardless of the Apocalypse I’m busy, busy, busy. But once the election is over, I intend to re-order my priorities to use my time more appropriately. Under a Harris administration I don’t see the need to provide daily updates on the disintegration of the American republic. I will probably concentrate on entertainment and public service messages about useful things for folks on our side of the political spectrum. So, send in the clowns.
Since I was too lazy to watch last night’s debate I settled for reading the ZMan’s review. It was funny and if accurate means Walz is a hopeless weirdo-loser. But we already knew that so hopefully America was paying attention.
A beautiful early autumn day. The sky is blue, the clouds are light and the air is crisp. The last few butterflies rest on the ground on top of dry leaves that are strewn everywhere. They lie in the sun until they have enough heat to fly.
But they merely bide their time until they exit this world very soon. A few dragonflies still make their sentry rounds along the perimeter searching for whatever flying insect life remains. 
I see honey bees on the golden rod and a few hover flies here and there. The wolfbane is ready to burst open any day.
The trees are shedding their leaves everywhere you look. Sometimes they stream down in showers and sometimes one by one. While I was taking a few photos, I felt them dropping on my head and shoulders.
A beautiful day, a golden day that very soon will be just a memory as October marches toward Halloween and the days shorten toward winter. And these are a reminder that it’s time to finish all the yard chores before the cold weather sets in. All the furniture, hoses, tools, and gardening equipment need to be gathered and stored away. Fences needed to be strengthened, holes filled and damage repaired all along the length of the buildings.
Luckily for me Camera Girl has provided a list of all my chores! Lucky me.
But this has been a good year for setting things right. Major repairs were successfully completed in time for winter and just a few finishing strokes are needed to return everything to normal. The next forty days will be very busy with annoying responsibilities that will be … very annoying. But once that is over, I will be in a much better place schedule wise and every otherwise. And coincidentally we will all be past the milestone of Election Day. All of the excitement and uncertainty will be over once and for all. I can stop thinking about all this political claptrap once and for all. This election is a complete acid test. If a Kamala Harris can be installed in the White House under the circumstances that have prevailed for the last four years, then there is absolutely no reason to think that my point of view has any relation to who is made president.
At that point I will order my life according to the laws of cause and effect as they are demonstrated not by what is said but by what is done. I will take it as my responsibility to protect my family as best I can from the predatory elements that have been unleashed by the people in charge and teach them to read the signs in order to do the same for their families. I will look for like minded people to gather with and enjoy the good things that this world provides. And I will look for any leaders who might appear who show they can handle themselves and provide a refuge for those who aren’t deluded by the toxic nonsense that the regime teaches to the weak minded and the gullible.
So here we are. October will come and go quickly. And after that unpleasantness in early November the holidays will be upon us. I’m looking forward to gathering with friends and family and go over all the milestones that have happened this year. And plan for next year’s. I’m looking forward to eating too much of the rich food that Camera Girl is famous for. And spending hours shooting the breeze with family that I don’t see often enough. And we’ll perform all the typical rituals and congratulate each other for surviving another year.
Yes, it was a beautiful day and a good day to get things done.
Tyler went to see Matt Walsh’s undercover expose of the anti-racism grift and gives his review. If you are thinking of going to see the film a reasonably neutral review might be useful to you.