Category: Photography
Tom’s World – 25JAN2025 – I Get Around
That Valiant had a 170 CI slant 6 rated at 101 HP, that was the only motor available, and the 3 speed pushbutton transmission. But the time I got the car, it probably made around 50 HP. But the drive train was close to unkillable.
The tires at the time were definitely killable though. A new set could be worn down in less that 10K miles and I couldn’t afford anything like new tires. When the cord started showing, I would buy one used tire for around $5.
At the time, I was dating a girl (whom I later married) whose family had bought her a new VW. That helped a bunch.
My Dad had a 72 Impala with a 454 police interceptor package. That was something.
Below: my Kawasaki 500. This was followed by a Suzuki 1000 GS and later by a Suzuki 1100. Before I gave my last bike away in the early 2000’s I had around 200,000+ total miles riding experience.
A year or two ago, I was within a gnats whisker of buying a Honda 750 triple. The only thing that stopped me is that model was out of stock and nobody knew when they would have more. My wife was freaking out. Look at the picture below and you can see the appeal.
The last time I was active with motorcycles, I was in my 50’s, now I’m in my mid-70’s. I wonder what’s happened to my balance and reflexes since. I still have a motorcycle endorsement on my license though.
My old Kawasaki 500. This thing was a beast, it had about 25 HP at 5000 RPM and around 70 at 5500, with the front tire pointing at the moon. Talk about a hand full.
Times that Try Men’s Souls
One step forward two steps back. Ah, the slings and arrows or outrageous fortune. Last week the mainframe that I keep my photos and editing software on died a terrible death. I had hoped at first that maybe the power supply had given out. I sent it off to the local computer geeks with this dream of a call back the next day about how a wire had come loose or a fuse had blown and all was well. Yeah. Not so much.
I received the dreaded news that, “The motherboard is fried and all you can reuse is the case, drives and the fans.”
The horror.
Well, at least my photos didn’t go up the chimney so that’s good. But this has put a kink in my photo-editing schedule. For the last week I’ve been scouring my camera memory card for stuff to post and I’m reaching the bottom of the barrel. I’ll need some more stuff really soon. Plus, I can’t use my favorite editing software or the big monitors I usually use. Well maybe I can, but I’d have to fiddle around with the wires and I’m too lazy to do it as a one-off. But I must be stoic. As the bard reminds us, “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport.”
Or something like that.
But not everything was bad this week. I decided on a path forward for my story. If you remember in the last installment, I had my good guys strike back at the vicious President of the United States who had hurled a 10-megaton nuke into their underground retreat. As a counter attack they undermined the White House, the US Capitol, the Pentagon and a few other key federal buildings and sent them hurtling hundreds of feet into the underground abyss. This effectively decapitated the United States federal government. Specifically, the president, vice president, the congress and the cabinet secretaries are all dead.
What I’ve decided to do is arrange for the only honest man in the FBI to be selected to succeed the president. And this is the guy who I’ve been using to track down my protagonist and his sponsors.
So, the antagonist I have who has been hunting for the sniper is selected for succession to the presidency. In part he is selected for the knowledge he’s gained hunting the sniper and the organization supporting him. But because the head of the FBI had been assassinated earlier, he was also the acting head of the bureau. Of course, that isn’t technically in the line of succession for the presidency but with all the legitimate successors dead, the military and the supreme court put their heads together and after doing an inventory of who was left and who was willing, they chose my guy.
Now this is an outrageous scenario. And so, it’s really a lot of fun to poke around with. And because it’s so outlandish I can do more or less whatever seems like fun with it. I have the poor schnook summoned to a military base and he’s thinking that he’s about to be blamed for the catastrophic failure of the manhunt for the sniper and instead he’s being asked if he will accept the presidency. That’s a pretty great scene. I think I’m going to have him ask if he can work remote from home. That would be a nice touch. I think that’s what I would ask for.
So anyway, the story is moving forward. So that’s good.
Camera Girl laid down the law today and had me put the weatherstripping around the basement door. She found where I had hidden the supplies and brought them out to me. So, I grumbled and dragged myself over to the door and did it. And you know, it really made a big difference. But I really did a lousy job installing it and I’m planning to redo it and add a sweep to the bottom of the door. Funny how these home improvement projects can grow on you.
And looking around at the Trump juggernaut I see he’s making headway in all directions. He’s travelling to North Carolina and Los Angeles to get involved with the hurricane and fire victims. And tonight, JD Vance was the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Collins, Murkowski and good old Mitch McConnell were the holdouts that made Vance’s vote necessary. Well, that’s why we needed the other Senate pickups last November. But things are looking up everywhere in Trump world.
So that’s my post, a little this and little that.
25JAN2025 – Photo of the Day
24JAN2025 Photo of the Day
23JAN2025 Photo of the Day
22JAN2025 Photo of the Day
The Time for Speeches
We got the promised four inches of snow last night so I had to clear it this morning. I didn’t get out there until ten-thirty so I was busy when Trump was sworn in. After a shower and lunch, I put on the video and listened.
Well, Donald Trump did his thing. He gave a half hour address and he surely went to town. I think he touched almost all the bases. He left out the J6 pardons which did surprise me. But other than that (and I guess Greenland) he went through the litany of actions and policies that he promised during the campaign. And I gotta tell ya, it was pretty great.
Now I have to be honest, I do get tired of all the pauses for applause. They’re not really necessary. But some of them were justified. When he said he was going to end government racial and sexual interference in people’s lives I’m pretty sure I gave off a whoop. And when he said that he was going to restore freedom of speech by putting a stop to all government interference with speech I smiled. And when he said that there are officially two genders (he meant sexes) recognized by the United States government I think I may have clapped.
He said the government would put an end to the sexual struggle sessions in the military. And he said he would be declaring a national emergency at the southern border. He said he will be reinstating the stay in Mexico policy for people seeking asylum. He said he’s taking the Panama Canal back and he said he’s declaring the cartels terrorist organizations. He said he’s ending the Green New Deal and the Electric Car subsidies. He said he’s going to “drill baby drill.” He said he’s going to restore impartial justice and end lawfare. And he said that God saved his life to give him the chance to restore America to greatness.
He said everything. He didn’t take a swing at Joe Biden but nobody’s perfect.
Alright, good. He got his say and all those applause lines and he criticized his opponents and their awful policies. Splendid.
But Inauguration Day is one day. Tomorrow, I want to hear what you’ve done for me lately. We all went to a lot of trouble to drag our butts down to the Middle School cafeteria to vote for you. We did that even though we believed there was a better than even chance that the Democrats would steal this election too. So, we’ve gone out on a limb to look like saps for you Mr. President, so it’s time for you to have your minions sweep up the confetti and busted balloons and roll up their sleeves and actually check off one or two items off of that list of promises you made today.
And how about starting with the J6 pardons? That’s the one that is most urgent. These people have been shut away for years for misdemeanors or for nothing in some cases. Setting them free is the right thing to do and it’s the smart thing to do too. He shouldn’t wait. He owes them that.
After that, shut down the FBI. That’s a no-brainer. After that just start putting the wheels in motion for all of the stuff that takes time to get moving. Call up the yahoos in the Senate and get your appointees confirmed and let’s get this show on the road. The time for speeches is over.
Update:
I saw last night that he did sign pardons for about 1,500 J6 prisoners. Good.
21JAN2025 Photo of the Day
We’re All Rooting for You
The snow is falling pretty fast here in Dunwich. It’s starting to cover the ice over the swamp and pretty soon it will force the lycanthropes back into their caves along the bases of the hills. And that will quiet the howling that kept me up last week. It’s always annoying when the moon is full. Between the howling and the scratching at the door and the screaming of the stranded motorists who get eaten alive while walking down the road for help it’s a real pain. I mean come on, have some consideration for other people. Either be eaten alive in stoic silence or bring a revolver loaded with silver bullets. It’s not that complicated. Read the town ordinances. Your survivors are going to be fined for the after-hours noise violation so use your head.
Trump says he is going to un-classify and reveal the remaining records from the Kennedy (JFK and RFK) and King assassinations. Now that’s pretty great. People have been teasing these things for scores of years. Of course, I’m not assuming that the records are the truth. Probably they don’t say anything definitive about anything. But the veil of secrecy has been used like some magic spell to keep us wondering what the people in the know don’t want us to know since we were kids. At this point I doubt we’ll ever know what actually happened but at least they can stop acting like we’re peons who can’t be trusted with the higher mysteries of the cult. But right now, I am excited to hope maybe there are names like Castro or Khruschev or the CIA or the Mob. That would be like a Tom Clancey novel instead of that nit-wit Oswald.
It’s funny. A month ago, if you asked me whether I thought I’d be excited about Trump’s inauguration I’d’ve said absolutely not. But I’m surprised to say that’s not the case. I am looking forward to it and excited about the prospect of someone on my side taking over and beginning the daunting task of chopping away at the roots of the monster that ate the United States. I just read today that this year Argentina had its first budget surplus in fourteen years. Wouldn’t it be a miracle if Trump could make that happen in 2026?
And maybe tomorrow he’ll hand out pardons to the J6 prisoners. That would breathe life into the base and bring tears to the eyes of Garland and his stooges. And while he’s at it he should use an executive order to provide recompense and apologies to anyone the US government punished for not getting a COVID shot. Now that’s overdue.
But before anything else, give Kash Patel the keys to the J Edgar Hoover Building and have him begin the process of emptying the offices of all the creeps and thugs that the FBI employed over the last twenty-five years to spy on and persecute American citizens. And he should quickly cancel all their passwords and clearance ratings so that they can never again cause us harm. And while he’s at it put a blanket hold on FISA warrant requests and stop spying on Americans altogether. That would really start the new administration on a patriotic foot. That would really be a change for the better.
And if he really wants to release records that need de-classifying let him de-classify the records of the operations that targeted Americans; including the Russia collusion hoax. Name names and appoint special counsels. Put those guys in jail. If need be, have the trials far away from Washington. Maybe a small town in Florida or Texas. They’re Americans too, I think. They can provide the jury of twelve men and true, I believe.
Well, I’m letting myself run away with things but as I said I’m more excited about all this than I thought I’d be. Good luck Donald Trump. We’re all rooting for you.