Category: Chemist

Guest Contributor – Chemist

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 02JUN2026 – Adios John Cornyn

photog 5 Comments Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors , , , ,

I’m a Texan.
I was unhappy about John Cornyn’s love for amnesty but let it slide because “he was the one who could win in the general”.
Then Cornyn stabbed us in the back on gun control. That was a bridge too far. I swore then that I would vote for a democrat for US senate before I would vote for Cornyn again. My reasoning was that we would have to put up with the dem for 6 years and then we could replace him with a real conservative but that Cornyn was there until he died.
Apparently, I was not alone in this and John picked up on it announcing that this would be his last term in the senate.
Didn’t care. Didn’t trust John to keep his word anyway.
(BTW, John was warned. He was warned by constituents such as myself and by organizations like GOA and NRA that if he supported Biden’s gun control he would face an expensive and grueling primary. He did not care.)
Then along came Ken Paxton. Fresh off 4 years of suing the Biden administration to a standstill, Ken was the guy who could beat John.
I sent Ken money in the primary and in the runoff and I will again for the general.
We are sick to death of RINOs pissing on us and telling us it is raining.
I am very happy to see John Cornyn in the rear view mirror.
Don’t go away mad, John. Just go away.

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 24SEP2024 – Death of SF Magazines

photog Book Reviews, Chemist, Guest Contributors, Reviews, Science Fiction / Fantasy, SF&F Book Reviews , ,

I have always enjoyed the shot story format. For a while, in the 60s & 70s, some of the big name authors were competing with each other to write a complete story on the back of a picture postcard. Some of these were amazingly good!
As for Analog, I gave up on it a long time ago (30 years?). Their Science Fact articles were all doom and gloom:
“We are all going to die and thee is nothing you can do about it!”
Or:
“Here is why FTL travel, Nuclear fusion, laser defenses, etc. won’t work and cannot work.”

And, to me, the Fiction was woke before woke was a thing. So I stopped buying after I realized I had a years worth of issues that I had not read and could not motivate myself to read.
I suspect that Analog (and maybe the others) got infected by the same liberal women who took over the NY publishing houses.

Another datapoint: I recall talking to a successful SciFi author in the 80s who switched from writing short stories to novels. When asked why, he said: “Its just as hard to sell a short story as a novel, but novels pay a hell of a lot better.”

BTW, Photog, another non-woke publishing house is Chris Kennedy Publishing.
You might consider sending him a copy of your novel.
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/

I Have My Priorities

photog ArthurinCali, Chemist, Ed Brault, Life in Dunwich, Mr. Coffee, Neil Dunn, NostraDumbass, photog's Corner, Photography, pigpen51, Science, SubVet , , ,

So today was an early day because I had to head to the office.  I was already running late when Camera Girl walked out of the kitchen and said, “Don’t react or the dogs will start barking but there are a couple of momma turkeys at my bird feeder with about eight young.  Go take a look.”

So, they were under the bird feeders looking for seeds on the ground that the normal birds spilled out of the feeders.  But eventually they weren’t satisfied so they headed out into the fields.  Camera Girl saw them heading for the gardens and said, “They’re headed for the raspberry patch.  Do you think they’ll eat any of the berries.”  I answered knowledgably, “No they only eat bugs and small critters.”  Of course, they immediately attack the patch and clearly start picking ripe berries off the canes.  I didn’t look back at her but I think there was a look.  And I think there might have been a derisive sound.  I came back with her own famous statement, “Well, everybody’s gotta eat, right?”  So, I announced that I had to leave for work and made a show of ignoring the prehistoric creatures that had invaded my domain.

When I got home, I got the update.  They had not only picked all the ripe raspberries but they then cleaned up the ripe blueberries too.  Then they went down by the swamp and annoyed Moe and the rest of Camera Girl’s murder of crows that hang out there during the morning.  Finally, they walked the perimeter of the fields until they ended up near the road and then made a nuisance of themselves for the motorists until they finally crossed the road and headed for the next swamp in their path.

I’ve always been interested in the turkey population because they provide an opportunity for interesting photographs.  But here they were adding insult to injury.  They not only didn’t eat any of the copious beetles that are afflicting my vegetables and flowers but they went out of their way to pillage my favorite summer fruit crops.  This is the thanks I get for never hunting them or setting the dogs on them or even making fun of their homely appearance, clumsy walking style or spastic flying abilities.

Well, truth be told they’re still in my top five species of birds I like to see around the place.  I like seeing the vultures (turkey and black) in the trees.  I like to try and get a shot of a Great Blue Heron fishing in the swamp and I also hope one day to lure some of the local ravens into a closer arrangement.  I’ve always thought they were fascinating creatures.

But there’s something appealing about a flock of turkey hens with their young walking around in Dunwich in the summer acting like they own the place and livening things up.

Yep, that’s true.  However, if they come near the berries again, I may just get some rocks and help them to move along at high speed.  At this time of year, I have my priorities.

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 18JUL2025 – Reason 2,412; Make Coke Great Again

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors, Trump

Reason 2,412: Coke is bringing cane sugar back to Coca Cola!

Not to hijack your thread, but this is HUGE!
https://nypost.com/2025/07/16/us-news/trump-says-coca-cola-agrees-to-use-real-cane-sugar-in-us-drinks-its-just-better/
Monsanto hardest hit.

The taste difference between high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar is significant.
Here in Texas, I can buy “Mexican Coke”. It comes in a glass bottle and has cane sugar.
I buy it as a treat, not as my regular beverage because it is expensive (Glass costs a lot to ship) and inconvenient. (Glass breaks.)
But a cane sugar Coke in a can! Man, I’m lovin’ it!

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 17JUL2025 – Grocery Wars

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors , ,

So Mandani wants to have city run grocery stores.
Let’s say he gets his wish.
Grocery stores run about a 3% profit margin. This is for the big boys: Kroger, Safeway, HEB, etc.
The smaller chains have less buying power and can’t get the gross margins the big guys can so they run 1 to 2% profits. I don’t think NYC is going to get the same gross margin as Kroger.
Chain grocery stores employ a lot of younger, minimum wage people.
NYC stores will have to employ NYC city civil servants with all the benefits attached to being a city employee: Higher wages, gold plated health care, pensions, etc.
Pretty sure the 1% profit margin just left the building right there.
Then there is spoilage – because those folks living in the “Food deserts” aren’t going to be buying fresh stuff no matter how much the mayor says it is good for them.
Finally, as with anything related to NYC, there will also be a ton of graft and outright theft.
I predict the stores will run 20-30% in the red
This will be a HUGE debacle. But it might be fun to watch.

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 05JUN2025 – The BBB

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors, Trump , ,

Actually, based on the title, I thought this would be a political post.
I’m referring to Elon’s opposition to the BBB.
Is it perfect? No.
Will we get a better package with a razor thin majority in the house and the RINOs and squishes we currently have in the GOP?
Also no.
The BBB is just a stepping stone and will give team MAGA breathing room to win the midterms and, maybe, get rid of a few RINOs. Here in Texas, we are going to primary John Cornyn and replace him with a real conservative.
Trump needs time to show his economic policies are working and to get the right people in congress.
Baby steps, Elon. Baby steps.

And, yes. I would love to see a moon base. But its Elon’s money and if he wants to spend it on a symbolic trip to Mars, I won’t stop him.

Guest Contributor -Chemist – 28APR2025 – Military Women

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors , ,

I have had two friends with daughters who went into the military.
(Small sample size, I know.)
Both young women were stronger than I am and may well have been physically stronger and in better health than I was at 18.
Neither woman saw combat.
Both washed out within a year of graduating basic training for “Medical” reasons.
Whatever medical issue they had was not obvious nor did it affect their ability to work post service. Both were able to carry to term and deliver healthy baby’s. They both get full VA benefits.

IMHO, for these women, military service was a scam to get benefits that will last them the rest of their lives without really earning them.

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 13FEB2025 – $1T

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors, Trump , , ,

 

Talcove from LexisNexis Special Services testifying before the DOGE committee yesterday:

“What amount of fraud can be prevented in the entitlements programs and how?”

“By putting identity confirmation requirements in at the front end of payment systems, eliminating self-certification, and monitoring the back end – $1T.”

A trillion dollars sounds like a good start on cutting the budget.

 

 

Update:

Comment by TomD

Yeah, 1 $trillion as in 10^12th power, is a start. You want to see the logical conclusion of this process?

This is the largest real bill printed in the history of man. When I got the bill, the value was approx. 1/10th the value of the paper that it is printed on. Ironically, due to now scarcity, the bills are selling for well over $100 on ebay. I’m pissed, I bought 20 of them for $1 each and was giving them away as jokes/object lessons.

100-trillion-zimbabwe-front

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 04FEB2025 – Reasons for Hope

photog Chemist, Current Events, Guest Contributors , , ,

Points of optimism for you:
You say the Left controls most of the institutions; the schools, the universities, the Media, Hollywood, the book publishers and most of Silicon Valley.
Our schools are failing and school choice is getting bigger every day. Trump may well end the Dept of Education.
The Universities are losing students and power – that means influence as well.
The old media is dying. The new media (Twitter, podcasts, etc) is ascendant.
Hollywood is burning and will probably disperse into other states as CA is too expensive.
The legacy book publishers are becoming more irrelevant every day and will probably go through a period of consolidation and reduction. New publishers are emerging every day and self publishing is a viable option for eBooks.
The Tech Bros of silicon valley are coming over to our side.

Sometimes, all it takes is a leader. Like Trump.