My last day of the contract on Friday went very well, and although I am glad to be getting some time off I also felt some regret in having to go out. I chatted with some other managers there and was told by all of them that they want to see me back next year when things ramp up. It will be something of a drain financially but it won't break us as that I've had two years worth of house payments in the bank for the last several years just in case. As stated last time, I will be keeping in touch with my boss, and if there's an indication that the up and coming project slips or gets cancelled (which I doubt that it will be) then yes, I might have to do some serious looking.
In the meantime, I have been resuming my radio hobby, and picking up where I started some 40+ years ago in high school, and that is, tuning in distant radio stations on the AM broadcast band and identifying them. I can't recall if I ever told the story of how I got into this, and if I don't see where I have told the story then I'll have to address that in a near-future post. With winter approaching, the "season" for medium-wave (AM broadcast band) DXing (long distance listening) is starting to kick into gear, and I've already logged some good catches.
So far the easternmost station I've gotten is KFAB out of Omaha. I remember getting WWL out of New Orleans when I was in San Jose but I haven't gotten them here yet, but I think I will before too long. Another one I'd like to get here is KMOX, which I heard when I was in high school back in New Jersey, and getting them again would bring back some memories. One station that I was pleased to get was KLPZ out of Parker, AZ, which runs only 58 watts at night. They came in one night last week but the conditions must have been unusual as that I haven't gotten them since, though I think it was KHEY out of El Paso that I was getting last night on the same frequency.
Some lower power stations out of Oklahoma and Texas have also been logged, as well as a high power border blaster out of Ciudad Acuña Mexico. I'm fairly certain that I've also gotten with regularity XEP out of Ciudad Juaréz on 1300, but I'll have to listen to their internet stream to make sure it's really them (though who else could it be?).
I'll be taking the radio with me when I'm on the road next week. Maybe in San Jose I'll be able to log stations out of British Columbia, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. I may also tune the shortwave bands some, but I haven't heard very much here aside from time signals and the rantings of Brother Stair, who is as of today conveniently forgetting about his rapture predictions he recently made about it happening this weekend.
On the coin collection front, I've done some organizing and sorting, and I plan on returning some rolled coin from my box searches to the bank in drips and drabs as that I think it might be bad form to drop them all off at once. Well, I'm not taking them back to the source bank, but I do take them back to three other branches. I try to use only one or two banks as a "source" and two others as a "sink".
Sheila has tomorrow off, and we'll be spending some time together before I leave Tuesday morning. Regrettably she doesn't have vacation time on the books to come with me, and I'm not sure how long I will be gone. I'm thinking of two more trips to San Jose this year after this one. On the way back from this one there might be a detour to Las Vegas to visit with some friends I have there, though to be honest I might want to get home sooner to be with Sheila.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Another Transition for Me
My contract with my current employer ends on Friday. The project I was assigned to officially ends that day, and product launch I'm told is already happening. There is a lull in projects so I am officially out of work when I go home on Friday.
The good news is that I've been assured that there will be more work for me early next year, and that I'll get a phone call offering another contract position. My boss and I had a good talk about this, and we'll be in touch every other week or so to see what's in his crystal ball.
As for me, there is a rationale for taking a three to four month sabbatical. I could certainly use a sabbatical right now, but not one that long, of course. The agency that placed me has already started a search on my behalf, and I've already been in some conversations with recruiters. It's prudent to cover all bases and to learn what else is out there. What I really want to do here is leverage my recent experience into my next position, though I could do the same with my experience in a private spaceflight company.
That industry is kicking into gear, but it is not without its complications, as SpaceX showed us in a pad test a few weeks back. SpaceX won't quit; we'll be hearing plenty more from them. We'll also hear from Blue Origin.
So, what am I going to do?
I'm going to look at what else is out there, but not before I spend some time with my parents in San Jose. It's long past time for me to get up there and I figure on two more trips up there before the end of the year, if I decide on the sabbatical option. My present boss is extremely credible and if he says he'll have more work for me next year then I'll believe him. Another manager there told me he'd hire me on the spot if he had anything for me.
Yet I am one of those who feels the need (most of the time) to have something to do. I've been re-kindling my interest in the radio hobby and I'm thinking once again of purchasing a new shortwave receiver.
I could also go back into songwriting, but I don't have anything to write about, unless I decide to do something with the lyrics I wrote some time back about Jackrabbit Road, which if it exists, I'm not sure where.
Anyway........that's what it is.
Love, peace, and chicken grease!
The good news is that I've been assured that there will be more work for me early next year, and that I'll get a phone call offering another contract position. My boss and I had a good talk about this, and we'll be in touch every other week or so to see what's in his crystal ball.
As for me, there is a rationale for taking a three to four month sabbatical. I could certainly use a sabbatical right now, but not one that long, of course. The agency that placed me has already started a search on my behalf, and I've already been in some conversations with recruiters. It's prudent to cover all bases and to learn what else is out there. What I really want to do here is leverage my recent experience into my next position, though I could do the same with my experience in a private spaceflight company.
That industry is kicking into gear, but it is not without its complications, as SpaceX showed us in a pad test a few weeks back. SpaceX won't quit; we'll be hearing plenty more from them. We'll also hear from Blue Origin.
So, what am I going to do?
I'm going to look at what else is out there, but not before I spend some time with my parents in San Jose. It's long past time for me to get up there and I figure on two more trips up there before the end of the year, if I decide on the sabbatical option. My present boss is extremely credible and if he says he'll have more work for me next year then I'll believe him. Another manager there told me he'd hire me on the spot if he had anything for me.
Yet I am one of those who feels the need (most of the time) to have something to do. I've been re-kindling my interest in the radio hobby and I'm thinking once again of purchasing a new shortwave receiver.
I could also go back into songwriting, but I don't have anything to write about, unless I decide to do something with the lyrics I wrote some time back about Jackrabbit Road, which if it exists, I'm not sure where.
Anyway........that's what it is.
Love, peace, and chicken grease!
Monday, September 5, 2016
Searching Thru Boxes of Coins
As of late I have resumed an activity that's part of my coin collecting hobby. I've purchased rolls of coins at banks before and gone through them when I've gotten home. The goodies are cherry-picked out and the rest find their way back to circulation. I've also acquired coins to look thru by paying for my cash purchases in whole dollar increments, though when there's been a lot of roll hunting and purchasing then it's time to win the "War on Change", meaning that I pay in exact change until the amount of change on hand has been drawn down to my liking. But when you do something different, like what I have resumed, coins are now bought by the box.
Let me explain that some.
A roll of cents contains 50 coins. I have bought $3 or $5 worth of cent rolls to look thru. I've also roll-searched nickels and half dollars. But upon reading the posts in the Coin Community Forum, I learned that there were avid box searchers out there. I've read about guys buying $2000 worth of half dollars from the bank to look for silver halves. I know of people searching through boxes of nickels and cents, looking for rarities. Yes, there are dime box searchers looking for that silver dime or two that has somehow escaped capture. I don't read very much about box searchers getting quarters, but it does happen. I'm sure that somewhere out there, there are a few who search through boxes of small dollar coins, looking for NIFC (Not Intended for Circulation) coins, and yes, there are plenty of those to be had with smalll dollars and half dollars as well.
Well as I am writing this I am presently going through a box of cents. This isn't, in my mind, your ordinary box of cents. I traded for this with a friend in Massachusetts. I have noticed that in previous visits to the northeast, that your chances of scoring wheat cents is better than here in the southwest, but that's not all. You get more Canadian cents than you do here, and I save most of them that I find as that they're not being made any more. But the real reason for going through an East Coast box is that coins minted out of Philadelphia are the dominant mint encountered, and the Philly mint throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s produced some cents with a rare die variety that wasn't produced out west on the Denver cents. You'll have to google "WAM" and Lincoln cents if you wish to know more about this.
The box I'm working on now is my fourth from the East Coast, and I think I may have finally scored one of these varieties. I now need to get over to my local favorite coin shop for an evaluation, and if they concur then I might sell the coin. I can't find anything (yet) on eBay on 1998 WAM cents, and research thus far suggests that the variety for this year is not as rare as it is for other years.
As for other denominations of boxes, I've done them for all except the small dollar coins, and I've kept records on a spreadsheet as to what I have found.
My intention is to report these in future posts.
Let me explain that some.
A roll of cents contains 50 coins. I have bought $3 or $5 worth of cent rolls to look thru. I've also roll-searched nickels and half dollars. But upon reading the posts in the Coin Community Forum, I learned that there were avid box searchers out there. I've read about guys buying $2000 worth of half dollars from the bank to look for silver halves. I know of people searching through boxes of nickels and cents, looking for rarities. Yes, there are dime box searchers looking for that silver dime or two that has somehow escaped capture. I don't read very much about box searchers getting quarters, but it does happen. I'm sure that somewhere out there, there are a few who search through boxes of small dollar coins, looking for NIFC (Not Intended for Circulation) coins, and yes, there are plenty of those to be had with smalll dollars and half dollars as well.
Well as I am writing this I am presently going through a box of cents. This isn't, in my mind, your ordinary box of cents. I traded for this with a friend in Massachusetts. I have noticed that in previous visits to the northeast, that your chances of scoring wheat cents is better than here in the southwest, but that's not all. You get more Canadian cents than you do here, and I save most of them that I find as that they're not being made any more. But the real reason for going through an East Coast box is that coins minted out of Philadelphia are the dominant mint encountered, and the Philly mint throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s produced some cents with a rare die variety that wasn't produced out west on the Denver cents. You'll have to google "WAM" and Lincoln cents if you wish to know more about this.
The box I'm working on now is my fourth from the East Coast, and I think I may have finally scored one of these varieties. I now need to get over to my local favorite coin shop for an evaluation, and if they concur then I might sell the coin. I can't find anything (yet) on eBay on 1998 WAM cents, and research thus far suggests that the variety for this year is not as rare as it is for other years.
As for other denominations of boxes, I've done them for all except the small dollar coins, and I've kept records on a spreadsheet as to what I have found.
My intention is to report these in future posts.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
To New Mexico and Back
On Friday, 7/29/16, Sheila and I did something that we haven't done for a long time. We went on a road trip. We had been kicking it around a few weeks before it happened because we weren't sure that it would happen at all. Life complications have been rising up it seems, like it's some sort of whack-a-mole game, except that the moles were popping up just as a weekend was about to get underway.
There was something that needed taking care of that morning, and we knew that was coming so our appointment to take care of that was at 9:00 AM. Once that was done, we packed for a long weekend, and then it was off to Deming, New Mexico.
One reason why we went there was because it was Sheila's choice. Another was that we hadn't yet gone out that way together. And one reason why I was pleased with the choice was that it was a chance to see if that New Mexico style of cuisine was the same as what I can get here in Tucson at Poco & Mom's.
Our intention going out there was to stay in Deming for one night, and make it up as we went along from there. I wanted to fit in City of Rocks State Park and Silver City, but Silver City was at first uncertain since they were getting slammed by afternoon thunderstorms; courtesy of the 2016 Monsoon Season. We rolled into Deming on Friday afternoon, and after a one hour rest we walked over to a Mexican restaurant that was nearby.
The food there was good, but the booth was a little on the cramped side. We both ordered a combo plate, and true to New Mexico style, we were asked the State Question, which is "red or green?" That's referring to the color of salsa that you want. I think they consider one of them to be "mild" (I can't remember which one) and the other to be "hot". I think most folks not familiar with New Mexico style would consider one to be "hot" and the other to be "rocket fuel". I went green for my choice as did Sheila.
The next morning we had the lodging-provided complimentary breakfast, after which we checked out and then pointed my truck in the direction of Silver City. We knew that City of Rocks State Park would be on the way via a ten mile detour down a state highway, and when we found that road we turned.
I had known of City of Rocks via a friend of mine who once camped there. I had seen some pictures of it, but with a place like that the pictures don't do it justice. It's best appreciated by being there and wandering around. We were there for an hour or so before we left for Silver City, passing throuh Hurley and Bayard on the way.
We arrived around lunchtime, and per a recommendation from a co-worker we looked for Jalisco's Cafe and found it downtown. Again, it was that New Mexico style, which is my favorite, and this time I had the meat enchilada plate. Per local custom enchiladas in New Mexico are served with a fried egg on top of them and it's over easy unless you tell them you want it scrambled or you don't want it at all. I personally think eggs are best scrambled, which is how I make mine when I make them, but quando in Roma you do what the Romans do and I had it over easy.
The food at this place was absolutely delicious, and better than what we had in Deming. I came away glad that Poco & Mom's here in Tucson was equal to Jalisco's. After lunch we walked around downtown Silver City, which is a neat place to walk around in, and after that we searched for lodging.
Had we done our due diligence we would have stayed downtown. I instead checked out the places we saw on our way in, and as the saying goes, they were very proud of their lodging. Both places, owned by the same outfit and next to each other, had some remodeling going on, and if anything they should have not allowed themselves to suffer from the amount of greed that they do. As it was, a nasty thunderstorm was on the way, and I figured we would drive down to Lordsburg and spend the night there.
Now if you go back and read my previous posts, you'll know that Lordsburg has come up before here. I've done lots of fireworks runs to that place over the years, and I even dream about the place on occasion. I wouldn't call it the crown jewel of New Mexico but I wouldn't call it an armpit or a trashcan either. The town has been losing people over the decades. That said, you won't see any grafitti there, and you can walk around to your heart's content and not be hassled by panhandlers.
After a night there, we drove around it some, and again, if I had done my due diligence, I would have had us eat at this place called Ramona's Cafe which along the old US 70 when it was the main drag. What used to be the main drag of Lordsburg fell into abandonment long ago, when I-10 was built roughly a mile south of where US 70 used to be.
We left Lordsburg in midmorning and took I-10 on the way home, though maybe next time we'll take that active part of US 70 on up to Safford and then US 191 back to I-10. Who knows, we tend to make up our trips as we go along, since it's more fun doing it that way.
As for The Land of Enchantment, Sheila wants to go back in a few weeks. I'm game, but there's possible overtime at work for the next few weeks so I don't know if I'll have my off Fridays off. Perhaps the next visit to our neighboring state will take us to Las Cruces, or Hatch.
We'll figure something out the next time we're there.
There was something that needed taking care of that morning, and we knew that was coming so our appointment to take care of that was at 9:00 AM. Once that was done, we packed for a long weekend, and then it was off to Deming, New Mexico.
One reason why we went there was because it was Sheila's choice. Another was that we hadn't yet gone out that way together. And one reason why I was pleased with the choice was that it was a chance to see if that New Mexico style of cuisine was the same as what I can get here in Tucson at Poco & Mom's.
Our intention going out there was to stay in Deming for one night, and make it up as we went along from there. I wanted to fit in City of Rocks State Park and Silver City, but Silver City was at first uncertain since they were getting slammed by afternoon thunderstorms; courtesy of the 2016 Monsoon Season. We rolled into Deming on Friday afternoon, and after a one hour rest we walked over to a Mexican restaurant that was nearby.
The food there was good, but the booth was a little on the cramped side. We both ordered a combo plate, and true to New Mexico style, we were asked the State Question, which is "red or green?" That's referring to the color of salsa that you want. I think they consider one of them to be "mild" (I can't remember which one) and the other to be "hot". I think most folks not familiar with New Mexico style would consider one to be "hot" and the other to be "rocket fuel". I went green for my choice as did Sheila.
The next morning we had the lodging-provided complimentary breakfast, after which we checked out and then pointed my truck in the direction of Silver City. We knew that City of Rocks State Park would be on the way via a ten mile detour down a state highway, and when we found that road we turned.
I had known of City of Rocks via a friend of mine who once camped there. I had seen some pictures of it, but with a place like that the pictures don't do it justice. It's best appreciated by being there and wandering around. We were there for an hour or so before we left for Silver City, passing throuh Hurley and Bayard on the way.
We arrived around lunchtime, and per a recommendation from a co-worker we looked for Jalisco's Cafe and found it downtown. Again, it was that New Mexico style, which is my favorite, and this time I had the meat enchilada plate. Per local custom enchiladas in New Mexico are served with a fried egg on top of them and it's over easy unless you tell them you want it scrambled or you don't want it at all. I personally think eggs are best scrambled, which is how I make mine when I make them, but quando in Roma you do what the Romans do and I had it over easy.
The food at this place was absolutely delicious, and better than what we had in Deming. I came away glad that Poco & Mom's here in Tucson was equal to Jalisco's. After lunch we walked around downtown Silver City, which is a neat place to walk around in, and after that we searched for lodging.
Had we done our due diligence we would have stayed downtown. I instead checked out the places we saw on our way in, and as the saying goes, they were very proud of their lodging. Both places, owned by the same outfit and next to each other, had some remodeling going on, and if anything they should have not allowed themselves to suffer from the amount of greed that they do. As it was, a nasty thunderstorm was on the way, and I figured we would drive down to Lordsburg and spend the night there.
Now if you go back and read my previous posts, you'll know that Lordsburg has come up before here. I've done lots of fireworks runs to that place over the years, and I even dream about the place on occasion. I wouldn't call it the crown jewel of New Mexico but I wouldn't call it an armpit or a trashcan either. The town has been losing people over the decades. That said, you won't see any grafitti there, and you can walk around to your heart's content and not be hassled by panhandlers.
After a night there, we drove around it some, and again, if I had done my due diligence, I would have had us eat at this place called Ramona's Cafe which along the old US 70 when it was the main drag. What used to be the main drag of Lordsburg fell into abandonment long ago, when I-10 was built roughly a mile south of where US 70 used to be.
We left Lordsburg in midmorning and took I-10 on the way home, though maybe next time we'll take that active part of US 70 on up to Safford and then US 191 back to I-10. Who knows, we tend to make up our trips as we go along, since it's more fun doing it that way.
As for The Land of Enchantment, Sheila wants to go back in a few weeks. I'm game, but there's possible overtime at work for the next few weeks so I don't know if I'll have my off Fridays off. Perhaps the next visit to our neighboring state will take us to Las Cruces, or Hatch.
We'll figure something out the next time we're there.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Remembering Jeff Handt
Jeff Handt is likely someone that you never heard of. Knowing him as well as I did, he likely would have wanted it that way. I had known him for several years, although it wasn't until 2012 that I began to develop a friendship with him.
Jeff was a regular at my church. He sang in the choir, he helped the church out with helping to get it ready to be closed after the Sunday service. He did a lot of volunteer work for the City of Tucson and he did a lot of other things that were behind the scenes. That was the way that he wanted it. He wanted no special recognition of his contributions.
As I said, we began to develop a close friendship with him. He told me that he was dying and that the doctors couldn't tell him how long he had. He had several medical issues which he related to me. I began visiting him frequently, where we would bear each other's burdens. By observing him adhering to the faith in the adverse circumstances that he faced, he bolstered my faith. The guy just wouldn't quit. He related a lot of stories to me about how, through his circumstances, he made a powerful statement to those medical professionals who cared for his needs.
Without having met Sheila at the time, he told me after the first time seeing her with me in church, that I needed to get down on my knee and propose marriage to Sheila. At that time he saw something in her that some other close friends of mine saw, who also told me that it would be good for me to make Sheila my wife, which I later on did.
When circumstances forced me into a temporary relocation to Las Vegas, I wasn't able to keep up the frequent visits with him. I know that he had a close friendship with someone else who I also became close with during that terrible summer of 2014. That friendship with that individual went back to 1968. Jeff was one to wisely maintain his friendships, something which I haven't been the greatest at doing sometimes. When I was back in Tucson, I visited him as time allowed, and my plans for this afternoon were to visit him again, upon learning that he was being transferred from hospice to an assisted living facility.
At church this morning, it was announced in prayer that he passed away this past Monday. It was all I could do to not break down in an uncontrollable release of emotion when I heard that. I did not take that very well, and I still am in a funk over this, but I know that he is in a better place right now.
Jeff Handt taught me some important things about life. No matter how bad it gets, to hang on to your faith, and keep going. He said I needed to abandon the word "hate" in my vocabulary, as that I told him I hated living in Las Vegas and that I hated that place with a passion. He didn't tell me to stop referring to it as "Trashcan", but he wanted to see me to not stated that I hated Las Vegas with a passion. He said the word "hate" is wrong, and I knew he was right, and so I try to describe my experience there as something that I disliked intensely.
He also knew about life, and what it was really all about, although his quality of life was nowhere near what most of the rest of us are accustomed to. I have become aware that the simple pleasures are important, (I learned that from one of my cats believe it or not), and he was able to enjoy those. He introduced me to the books written by Louis L'Amour, loaning me some novels, which I returned, and thus exposing me to the Western genre of novels that I came to enjoy.
With all the crap that is going on in the world......and I could write plenty about that.........the disintegration is happening all around us............I feel the need to reflect on what he taught me.
As sad as I am that I didn't get to have that one last visit with him, I have comfort in knowing that he's in a much better spot.
Until I see him again there, I'm going to miss him from time to time.
Jeff was a regular at my church. He sang in the choir, he helped the church out with helping to get it ready to be closed after the Sunday service. He did a lot of volunteer work for the City of Tucson and he did a lot of other things that were behind the scenes. That was the way that he wanted it. He wanted no special recognition of his contributions.
As I said, we began to develop a close friendship with him. He told me that he was dying and that the doctors couldn't tell him how long he had. He had several medical issues which he related to me. I began visiting him frequently, where we would bear each other's burdens. By observing him adhering to the faith in the adverse circumstances that he faced, he bolstered my faith. The guy just wouldn't quit. He related a lot of stories to me about how, through his circumstances, he made a powerful statement to those medical professionals who cared for his needs.
Without having met Sheila at the time, he told me after the first time seeing her with me in church, that I needed to get down on my knee and propose marriage to Sheila. At that time he saw something in her that some other close friends of mine saw, who also told me that it would be good for me to make Sheila my wife, which I later on did.
When circumstances forced me into a temporary relocation to Las Vegas, I wasn't able to keep up the frequent visits with him. I know that he had a close friendship with someone else who I also became close with during that terrible summer of 2014. That friendship with that individual went back to 1968. Jeff was one to wisely maintain his friendships, something which I haven't been the greatest at doing sometimes. When I was back in Tucson, I visited him as time allowed, and my plans for this afternoon were to visit him again, upon learning that he was being transferred from hospice to an assisted living facility.
At church this morning, it was announced in prayer that he passed away this past Monday. It was all I could do to not break down in an uncontrollable release of emotion when I heard that. I did not take that very well, and I still am in a funk over this, but I know that he is in a better place right now.
Jeff Handt taught me some important things about life. No matter how bad it gets, to hang on to your faith, and keep going. He said I needed to abandon the word "hate" in my vocabulary, as that I told him I hated living in Las Vegas and that I hated that place with a passion. He didn't tell me to stop referring to it as "Trashcan", but he wanted to see me to not stated that I hated Las Vegas with a passion. He said the word "hate" is wrong, and I knew he was right, and so I try to describe my experience there as something that I disliked intensely.
He also knew about life, and what it was really all about, although his quality of life was nowhere near what most of the rest of us are accustomed to. I have become aware that the simple pleasures are important, (I learned that from one of my cats believe it or not), and he was able to enjoy those. He introduced me to the books written by Louis L'Amour, loaning me some novels, which I returned, and thus exposing me to the Western genre of novels that I came to enjoy.
With all the crap that is going on in the world......and I could write plenty about that.........the disintegration is happening all around us............I feel the need to reflect on what he taught me.
As sad as I am that I didn't get to have that one last visit with him, I have comfort in knowing that he's in a much better spot.
Until I see him again there, I'm going to miss him from time to time.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
I Didn't Think They'd Do It.......But They Did!
For the past week or so I've been following British politics with respect to the "Brexit" referendum. The so-called pundits and eck-spurts weren't taking the "Leave" campaign seriously, suggesting that the voters wouldn't dare vote for this, and afterwards this would all be settled and the European Union would continue on as before. I'll be honest and state that I didn't think that they'd actually do it either, even though I wanted to see the "Leave" folks win this one.
No one of course, asks me for advice in these sorts of things, and I likely wouldn't have given it anyway as that I'm a citizen of the U.S. and not of the U.K., and therefore it's not like I have a place to tell them how they should run their country. But if pressed, I might have told them to go ahead and vote "Leave" anyway while they had this chance, because their fatass politicians likely would not allow them this kind of vote in the future.
It should of course, go without saying, that the bureaucrats in the EU aren't happy about this. They have spent decades building their own empire, starting out as a trade union and marching slowly towards the creation of a European superstate bent on tearing down borders and sovereignty of the member states. A trade union makes sense to me, but that wasn't what the fatass politicians running it wanted. Their actions and attitude lent credence to the conspiracy theorists claiming that the end goal was one big giant world government. If that was what was really their goal, their march toward that goal line has ended as that the ball has been fumbled and now the other side has it.
In the aftermath, we now have momentum going to other movements over there who want their countries back. There are Dutch, French and Germans who no longer wish to carry the water for the Greeks, Portuguese and Italians, and they are understandably frustrated at why this Union has been shoved down their throats. They too want to vote on this, and the fatass politicians have to be greatly concerned about this.
As for where Europe goes from here, I think we'll see a shrunken European Union before the elites start building it back up again. The European Parliament will try to sneak in binding legislation that will prohibit future referenda as they build it back up again.
I don't personally think the elites want the EU to become the World Government, but I do see them wanting to become a de facto United States of Europe, and they'd be OK with the U.S.E. being one of six or seven superstates that has long been the goal of communitarians worldwide.
Stay tuned, folks. The fatass politicians aren't going to graciously accept this.
No one of course, asks me for advice in these sorts of things, and I likely wouldn't have given it anyway as that I'm a citizen of the U.S. and not of the U.K., and therefore it's not like I have a place to tell them how they should run their country. But if pressed, I might have told them to go ahead and vote "Leave" anyway while they had this chance, because their fatass politicians likely would not allow them this kind of vote in the future.
It should of course, go without saying, that the bureaucrats in the EU aren't happy about this. They have spent decades building their own empire, starting out as a trade union and marching slowly towards the creation of a European superstate bent on tearing down borders and sovereignty of the member states. A trade union makes sense to me, but that wasn't what the fatass politicians running it wanted. Their actions and attitude lent credence to the conspiracy theorists claiming that the end goal was one big giant world government. If that was what was really their goal, their march toward that goal line has ended as that the ball has been fumbled and now the other side has it.
In the aftermath, we now have momentum going to other movements over there who want their countries back. There are Dutch, French and Germans who no longer wish to carry the water for the Greeks, Portuguese and Italians, and they are understandably frustrated at why this Union has been shoved down their throats. They too want to vote on this, and the fatass politicians have to be greatly concerned about this.
As for where Europe goes from here, I think we'll see a shrunken European Union before the elites start building it back up again. The European Parliament will try to sneak in binding legislation that will prohibit future referenda as they build it back up again.
I don't personally think the elites want the EU to become the World Government, but I do see them wanting to become a de facto United States of Europe, and they'd be OK with the U.S.E. being one of six or seven superstates that has long been the goal of communitarians worldwide.
Stay tuned, folks. The fatass politicians aren't going to graciously accept this.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Benchmark Hunting
Some of you may know what a benchmark is. Others of you may not. Some might think of a benchmark in terms of a software reference, while others might think of it in terms of a survey marker. The latter is what I think of when I think of the term "benchmark".
I first heard of benchmarks back when I was a junior in high school, back at Randolph High School. I'm very sure that this came up in a geology class, when we were watching a film that spent a few moments on benchmarks. I thought that they were cool, but I wouldn't be seeing any as that you had to know where one was in order to go look at one, and plus I was thinking they were all way out west somewhere, a region of the country that I would not get to for some time.
As it was, I ended up out west sooner than I would have thought, when my dad accepted a transfer to California. I was into ham radio by then, and I wanted to upgrade from the Novice class license that I held. In those days if you wanted to upgrade, you had to go to the nearest FCC field office, which in my case was at the U.S. Customhouse in San Francisco on Battery Street.
My dad drove me up there for this, and after we had parked we walked over to find the Customhouse. It was an easy find, a huge gray building, multistory, and from its looks it was built in the 1930s or so. I happened to notice a disk on the corner of the building at the base, and it was a benchmark! I thought that was pretty cool, seeing that there. I pointed it out to my dad. From that film I thought benchmarks were all out where wild animals lived and that you weren't going to find any in a city. We then entered the building, I took the test that I studied very hard for, passed it, and got my upgraded license some six weeks later.
There were future visits to the Customhouse as I upgraded my license, working my up to the General Class, then Advanced, and then the Extra Class in June 1983. I had forgotten about that benchmark as that I was more concentrated on passing those tests so that I could make the top of the line as far as ham radio was concerned, as that I wanted to talk to other hams in places like Tokyo and Blagoveshchensk.
Fast forward now to 2000. Or maybe 2001. In those days I made several drives up to what is now the Ironwood Forest National Monument. I knew the owners of a property up there and had permission to be on their land for hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing as long as I left the place just as clean or cleaner than before getting there. (I know that I did at least two camping trips there). This was up on Silverbell Road, somewhere between Marana and the old Silverbell Mine. A lot of it was BLM land before it became a national monument (aside from the properties that some folks had) and it was a really great place to take some pictures.
One day on one of those excursions, I would notice these manmade concrete squares every other mile or so. They were roughly fifteen inch squares, and I either pulled over to look at one of them, or maybe it was a relief stop. When I got up to take a closer look, it was a benchmark! It told me the elevation like the one in San Francisco did, and it too was placed there by the U.S. Geological Survey. I saw several more of them up and down Silverbell Road, all of them being these concrete settings with the disk embedded in the top.
I didn't think about benchmarks for years after that, until day at work during my lunch break, I thought of them for some reason and went online to learn more about them. I learned that they're scattered all over the country, and that there were a few between where I worked then and home, and one day a few weeks later I stopped off to look at one.
I started thinking about them a month or so ago. I mean, they're out there in some interesting places, and seeing as how I like the outdoors they were giving me one more excuse to get out there, along with the hiking, hunting and fishing. I learned where the ones on my side of town were by going online, and when Sheila wanted to go for a walk in Udall Park, I remembered that there was one there. I printed out its data sheet, and after an early evening meal we went over to the park. There was enough daylight, and it was a nice walk trying to find the thing. A handheld GPS receiver would have sped up the search, but from taking readings from an app on my phone I was able to locate it.
We took some pictures of it, thought it was cool, and then went home.
I have since spent more time online researching them. Last night I created an account on Geocaching.com and I logged my find. I spent today's lunch break looking at GPS receiver reviews, and I'm thinking about getting one in the near future. I know, I've said before that a handheld police scanner was going to be my next toy, and I haven't forgotten that. That said, if I take up deer hunting again I am really going to want a GPS receiver out there with me so I will know where I am. (I'm also interested in knowing just how far above sea level I'm at.)
I plan to spend some more time researching GPS receivers, as that I'd like to get out and find some more benchmarks. I don't see myself taking up geocache hunting, though I might see what it's all about. A good friend of mine here is into it, and I'll have to pick his brain about GPS handhelds.
In the meantime, here is a closeup shot of Saturday's find. I should have taken a few of the monument itself, but I didn't.
Oh well.
Next time.
I first heard of benchmarks back when I was a junior in high school, back at Randolph High School. I'm very sure that this came up in a geology class, when we were watching a film that spent a few moments on benchmarks. I thought that they were cool, but I wouldn't be seeing any as that you had to know where one was in order to go look at one, and plus I was thinking they were all way out west somewhere, a region of the country that I would not get to for some time.
As it was, I ended up out west sooner than I would have thought, when my dad accepted a transfer to California. I was into ham radio by then, and I wanted to upgrade from the Novice class license that I held. In those days if you wanted to upgrade, you had to go to the nearest FCC field office, which in my case was at the U.S. Customhouse in San Francisco on Battery Street.
My dad drove me up there for this, and after we had parked we walked over to find the Customhouse. It was an easy find, a huge gray building, multistory, and from its looks it was built in the 1930s or so. I happened to notice a disk on the corner of the building at the base, and it was a benchmark! I thought that was pretty cool, seeing that there. I pointed it out to my dad. From that film I thought benchmarks were all out where wild animals lived and that you weren't going to find any in a city. We then entered the building, I took the test that I studied very hard for, passed it, and got my upgraded license some six weeks later.
There were future visits to the Customhouse as I upgraded my license, working my up to the General Class, then Advanced, and then the Extra Class in June 1983. I had forgotten about that benchmark as that I was more concentrated on passing those tests so that I could make the top of the line as far as ham radio was concerned, as that I wanted to talk to other hams in places like Tokyo and Blagoveshchensk.
Fast forward now to 2000. Or maybe 2001. In those days I made several drives up to what is now the Ironwood Forest National Monument. I knew the owners of a property up there and had permission to be on their land for hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing as long as I left the place just as clean or cleaner than before getting there. (I know that I did at least two camping trips there). This was up on Silverbell Road, somewhere between Marana and the old Silverbell Mine. A lot of it was BLM land before it became a national monument (aside from the properties that some folks had) and it was a really great place to take some pictures.
One day on one of those excursions, I would notice these manmade concrete squares every other mile or so. They were roughly fifteen inch squares, and I either pulled over to look at one of them, or maybe it was a relief stop. When I got up to take a closer look, it was a benchmark! It told me the elevation like the one in San Francisco did, and it too was placed there by the U.S. Geological Survey. I saw several more of them up and down Silverbell Road, all of them being these concrete settings with the disk embedded in the top.
I didn't think about benchmarks for years after that, until day at work during my lunch break, I thought of them for some reason and went online to learn more about them. I learned that they're scattered all over the country, and that there were a few between where I worked then and home, and one day a few weeks later I stopped off to look at one.
I started thinking about them a month or so ago. I mean, they're out there in some interesting places, and seeing as how I like the outdoors they were giving me one more excuse to get out there, along with the hiking, hunting and fishing. I learned where the ones on my side of town were by going online, and when Sheila wanted to go for a walk in Udall Park, I remembered that there was one there. I printed out its data sheet, and after an early evening meal we went over to the park. There was enough daylight, and it was a nice walk trying to find the thing. A handheld GPS receiver would have sped up the search, but from taking readings from an app on my phone I was able to locate it.
We took some pictures of it, thought it was cool, and then went home.
I have since spent more time online researching them. Last night I created an account on Geocaching.com and I logged my find. I spent today's lunch break looking at GPS receiver reviews, and I'm thinking about getting one in the near future. I know, I've said before that a handheld police scanner was going to be my next toy, and I haven't forgotten that. That said, if I take up deer hunting again I am really going to want a GPS receiver out there with me so I will know where I am. (I'm also interested in knowing just how far above sea level I'm at.)
I plan to spend some more time researching GPS receivers, as that I'd like to get out and find some more benchmarks. I don't see myself taking up geocache hunting, though I might see what it's all about. A good friend of mine here is into it, and I'll have to pick his brain about GPS handhelds.
In the meantime, here is a closeup shot of Saturday's find. I should have taken a few of the monument itself, but I didn't.
Oh well.
Next time.
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