71F and wet this morning. This has been a very wet year in Houston.
Yesterday we learned of the passing of a friend of the blog, Dave Hardy, known here also as OFD (O being ‘Old” and D being ‘Dave’, you can choose the middle.) Although no one here ever met Dave in person, we all knew that part of himself that he shared, and we DID think of him as “Friend.”
This is the amazing thing that the internet has enabled. Communities of the mind and spirit, that could not have existed before. Oh, there were correspondences, and if you were in the same area you could meet at a coffee house, or a university or college, but where and when else could an ex-soldier, someone who fought through substance abuse problems, who lived in a small rural town, be celebrated and valued for his esoteric knowledge and his thoughts?
It’s a marvelous thing to find peers, companions on the journey, and it’s a tragedy to lose them.
Rest in peace Dave, you’ve more than earned it.
nick
World’s still going to hell in a handbasket guys, so get busy….
http://www.woodpilereport.com/
(if you aren’t reading Woodpile Report, you’re not getting some of the best summary and confirmation bias on the web… the little tiny arrow symbols in the text are links to the source material.)
n
FEMA daily update has some summary info in it today.
It’s probably worth noting that of the 3000 plus “temporary housing units” that FEMA is paying for, over 2000 are families here in Texas ONE YEAR LATER.
They are still showing Louisiana with over 400 families TWO years later.
The rescheduled test of the Emergency Alert system is tomorrow, at 2:18 EDT and 2:20 EDT. Pass the word so the normies don’t freak.
n
The best prepping you can do is to get your personal life in order. That is the foundation to build the rest on.
OFD and I grew up separated by about 2 dozen miles and a dozen years. From the exchanges on this forum I learned we had similar childhoods, we both came from old old New England families, and we both shook our heads as we watched others undo what our ancestors had done.
He presented himself as a deep thinking man who loved the English language and cared greatly for his fellow veterans. I have missed his comments over the last year and am saddened at the knowledge that only silence will come from his keyboard now.
Pax vobiscum, OFD.
Obituary
Today starts dark and blustery, just how I feel. I am glad that my friend Dave is at peace and stirring the pot in Heaven.
Too often we appreciate a person for what they were after they have departed. We saw a side of Dave that many who met him in person did not see. I am three years older than Dave but considered him a wise seer.
I hate reading the paper because when I get to the obituaries I see too many people I worked with, and many are younger than me. My health is okay, but my mobility is very restricted. Next weekend is my high school’s 50th reunion. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend, but it has put me in contact with so many friends from back then and sadly to see that way too many of passed away.
Hug your real friends and cherish every day.
I am going to add my real name to my “screen name,” just so you know. Some time back RBT had those of us who wanted to come out of the shadows send him some personal information and pictures if we wanted. Maybe Nick can dig it up for old times sake.
Peace
Most of my wife’s family lived in the same places as OFD at the same times… they don’t recall ever knowing him, and for OPSEC reasons I never asked him if he recognized any of their names. I am used to thinking of the world as a small place because of the bizarre coincidences that are commonplace, but even a small town was a big place in many ways.
n
Damn. It seemed unlikely he would recover but he was so stubborn I held a glimmer of hope.
I looked forward to his posts. His insights and gift of language helped make this place a unique forum. He has certainly be missed and I’m awfully sorry to hear he has died.
Damn.
If you can, make a post on OFD’s obit page. For Liz.
Front page of Drudge: “Another Trillion In Debt”
Yawn. The end of the FUSA could be closer than we think.
My condolence from yesterday had not shown up, so I did another. THEN I saw the note that they are all reviewed before posting and it can take up to 24hours.
We’ve been saying the end is nigh for a while, since ’16 in fact. I still believe it. You CAN’T beat the system and all the things that were wrong last time are more wrong now.
They’ve held it together longer than I thought, but that doesn’t mean they can continue. This is not ‘the end of history.’ As soon as you hear people saying stuff like that, you know it’s coming.
This was pretty interesting, coming from the guy who created the meme. I can’t believe it’s been that long since he did it.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-01/i-created-bernank-youtube-and-i-was-mostly-wrong
I still remember watching the vid…
n
I’m sorry to hear that OFD is gone. May he rest in peace.
I have always posted with my real name, nearly anywhere online, which acts as a reminder to think before I post. I run with the theory that what you write will come back to haunt you. I can stand by what I write should the haunting happen.
I have tried to explain to family and friends the vibe of OFD’s posts over the years. I could never do it justice. His voice and perspective will be missed.
“I can stand by what I write ”
-I can too, but should my kids have to? What about in 10 years? Serious question, and not personal, it needs thought. The internet IS forever, is easily searchable, and attitudes change over time.
In the past, you could move away from your problems and reputation and start fresh. That’s not so anymore. Kids today that are bullied or abused at their school will soon be known to the kids at their new school. The little stazi google each other and find out WHY they are starting at a new school.
The spoor you leave online is going to become more necessary, and at the same time more weaponized as time goes by. Imagine a spy today. What sort of cover needs to be created for them? WAY more than a credit and work history. The flip side, imagine trying to start fresh somewhere, for whatever reason. You have NO social media presence. No online friends, no real world friends, NO ONE is going to accept that.
China is already implementing a social score based on your online persona.
Science fiction generally armwaves this problem with a city being destroyed, and “lots of people seem to be from Berlin these days” nod and wink…. but those stories were written before information was so widely dispersed. Outside of a truly world wide catastrophe, a real TEOTWAWKI event, data will survive, and so will your online presence.
The only thing I can see happening is some sort of legal statute of limitations on considering peoples’ social media for serious interactions. People being what they are, that won’t help with the personal side of it though.
n
Nick, I was typing this before you posted….
I woke this morning mulling over the news and modern technology.
Imagine what big data and device-tracking would have meant to the recent SCOTUS bovem stercore had smart phones, GPS in cars, and internet connected devices existed in the early ’80’s.
Consider Google, Facebook, Twitter, calendaring, navigation, GPS, and all the other features on modern devices. The recorded history of location and online information make a person’s memory merely a means of reference. Furthermore, big data, maybe with a subpoena or warrant, make it possible to identify new witnesses, bystanders by happenstance, beyond those that actually state their presence. Our perpetually recorded history creates timelines and information that can be cross-referenced and corroborated.
This technology could end word-against-word testimony.
Or make it much worse.
Data is owned, manipulated, and controlled, by persons and parties on every side. Imagine what a nefarious actor could perpetrate if manipulated data is presented showing incompatible timelines, the presence of a previously unknown witness, or proximity and duration between the accused and accuser.
Having no presence in the digital world may not be helpful. This just creates an absence of information which fuels the one-word-against-another accusation.
So, I guess I woke this morning to a nightmare.
There may be a happy medium between “ignorance is bliss” and “despair is a sin”. Any thoughts?
Kill everyone who is inclined to weaponize big data.
(Note that “Kill everyone” is my go-to advice. Before you dismiss it out of hand, though, you should give some thought to how it would in fact solve a lot of problems and has very few downsides.)
@SteveF
Heads on pikes, sir. Heads on pikes.
It’s the only way to be sure.
Nope. I’m glad every time I see some new scandal de jure that everyone didn’t have a camera while I was young. We got away with stuff that would put a modern kid in jail. Of course at the time it was considered ‘youthful hijinks’ or ‘youthful indiscretion’ or just foolin’ around.
I’d love to see the pendulum swing back toward freedom, personal responsibility, and the sort of environment I grew up in, but I think that even as the pendulum swings, there will be more nanny state, nanny neighbors, and the stazi will look like a bunch of pikers in comparison.
The amount of data recorded is simply stunning and the sources (things you THINK you own but really just use under license) are working for others and not you. The simple fact I can’t delete apps from my phone says “it’s not really mine.” Same goes for TVs, pc, even the music you “buy” online is really just licensed.
I think you need to take steps to minimize the collection of data, and be mindful of the big picture. Use cash. Buy in the secondary market. Leave your phone at home some times (or bag it in RF shield.) Drive older cars without all the tattletales. Stop using your kids names online. Use a pseudonym online. It won’t hold up against state actors, but it makes it harder for ANTIFA to dox you. Teach your kids to curate the info they share.
It may be possible to ‘turn the crank farther’ so to speak and use it to your advantage… make sure your trackable purchases improve your standing in the algorithms. There WILL be a way to “improve your credit score” with your online profile.
For the more radical, start your own data collection and “accountability file.” A lappy running iSpy with the license plate module and a camera in the car and you can get everyone at the ANTIFA meeting. Add a bluetooth module to the lappy, a high gain antenna, and get unique identifiers as they exit the meeting, or record the bluetooth id of everyone that drives past your house. Set your lappy to alert when new IDs show up, or when the same one goes by many times…. I think I’ll begin capturing all the bluetooth outside my house. I wish I had it for the punk that robbed my neighbor. He was on his phone outside the house. Most newer cars have bluetooth too. Wouldn’t it be nice to get an alarm when a new bluetooth device appears in your yard at 3am??
In other words, use the tech for your own ends too. Use the system to position yourself favorably.
Not sure HOW to do that, but it’s worth thinking about.
n
Last Jedi reviews trolled by Russians…
No, just…no. The movie sucked dead bunnies. No Russian influence needed. Is this really what our society has devolved to?
We’re glad you’re home, the Russians pooped in the hallway.
http://www.strike-the-root.com/sites/default/files/russians_pooped.jpg
n
yes, the suckage was super strong with that one. especially the gratuitous milking scene…
Drive older cars without all the tattletales.
CA and OR were looking at surcharging tags on vehicles more than 20 years old which are driven daily. Dunno what became of that.
Keep an eye on Oregon this fall. They are applying to toll all of the Interstate from the bridges running down to Wilsonville, starting with pilot projects on overloaded segments of I-5 and 205 near downtown and the Stafford-Tualatin valley.
The tolls aren’t the problem as much as the LPR on all the plazas. Even tag-based systems collect the plate numbers anymore.
Those of you living in Puget Sound — my employer’s latest equipment just got installed on the new viaduct replacement tunnel and tolled sections of SR167. The replacement floating bridge from downtown to BillG’s house has our slightly older (but still effective) tech.
The ravioli casserole I made the other day? It was good.
Two quart Corning-ware. Dump in a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli. Add a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese, a layer of pepperoni slices, another hand of cheese…. (here’s where I also added a bunch of Kraft Parmesan. And another can of ravioli. Into a 350F oven for half an hour or so until bubbling.
It smelled great. Penny was very interested. She usually ignores what I’m cooking.
I’ll skip the Parmesan next time. It seemed to make it salty.
I had a bit of leftovers. Last night was a frozen pepperoni pizza. Lazy. Well, I always have to re-arrange the pepperonis so I add some. And a few home canned nacho slices. I had five ravioli…. It was good. Not “do this again soon” good, but quite tasty.
Canned ravioli seems bland. But on a pizza? Very interesting flavor…. a burst of basil and I can’t quite figure the rest. I liked it.
HCTRA the local toll road authority uses bluetooth readers to get the traffic speed data. I’m seeing the readers in more and more places too, like normal streets.
The airport parking garages use LPR, and in many cities, so do the meter maids. Axon has facial and LPR in their police body cams. That’s how they are selling them to reluctant (read- bad) cops, as an aid to enforcement and as a safety measure. You get an alert when the cam spots a felon forex….
n
Just and update on an old post…
If I had purchased some armor when Armor500 had their BOGO sale, I’d likely say “JEEZ those steel plates weigh a TON.” The soft IIIa is not too heavy, but the carrier is poly (cordura) and padded, and doesn’t breathe. There’s also less room on the molle for stuff than you might think. IF you bought some….
n
I mowed the bedroom side of the house today. And part of the front of the house. The humidity is “steamy shower”. No breeze. So, that was almost three hours of wasting perfectly good cow food. I’m sore for some reason.
Yep, gotta get a cow and young steer or…. feed him out and take him to be “processed”. And have the vet make the cow pregnant. And repeat. Or just buy a steer calf and a few months later buy another….stagger the ages. We have the trailer now. That’s always been the official hold up.
I don’t know what the hold up is now. Waiting for Spring? I’m just watching.
Supper tonight is going to be Layer Stuff. My Mom has called it that since I was seven or eight.
Get your 4 to 6 quart pot. Brown a pound of hamburger. Salt and pepper as desired. Drain the grease as needed. Stir in a tablespoon or so of dried onion flakes.
Mom fried the heck outta that hamburger, to the point that the meat at Taco Bell looks sorta raw. She seared the heck out of it.
Now here is where it gets sketchy. Depending on how many you are feeding….
A bag of egg noodles. You can use macaroni but it’s not the same at all. Maybe not the whole bag of noodles. Two handfuls per adult, one per kid, and a oh, hell, dump the entire bag in to feed Mom and Dad and four kids. Spread the noodles over the meat.
Canned tomatoes. I use a 28oz can. Whole? Squish them a bit. Diced? Either way, dump the can of tomatoes and the juice on top of the noodles. Fill the can about a third full with water to rinse the can and pour that into the pot. Sprinkle on some salt because the noodles need salt. Same for pepper.
Allow for whiny picky kids that don’t like onions. 🙂
Cover and put the pot on low heat. It simmers along, the noodles do a boil and steam thing. It’s ready when the noodles are done. It takes about an hour. If it’s too wet, tip the lid to let the steam out. If you have it’ some grated cheddar cheese, adding that a few minutes before supper time is really really good.
We didn’t get the cheese very often.
Anyway, if you get it right, you can use a spatula and cut down and scoop out a wedge/square of supper and it’s all in a layers.
Dad was a Marine and back from ‘Nam and with a house payment in Oceanside and a car payment and four kids and a wife… way back in ’66 or so. I don’t recall ever going hungry unless supper was super icky. Usually because Dad cooked it.
Oh. Wow. CBS news is on. Kav is a rapist. Because she says so 35 years later. Some cop is a racist for shooting some black guy coming at him with a knife… four years ago. And OMG!!!!!! Phoenix is flooding after TWO INCHES of rain.
Crazy.
@paul, one pot meals, with canned food and pasta are great, thanks for sharing.
I like a cookbook called “A Man, A Can, and A Plan” which is filled with recipes that all start out with cans. It’s about the polar opposite of the Williams Sonoma cookbooks.
When my dad was out of the house at dinner time, mom would cook “hillbilly” food for us kids. Beans over cornbread with chopped onions and vinegar as condiments was a classic…
Last night I did steaks on the grill ($4.74 on sale, usda select!), pasta, canned corn kernels, and baked beans. Everything but the steak from the medium-term storage food. I did a pie for desert, one can of carmel apple pie filling (from storage), one graham cracker crust from the fridge, and some butter blended with graham cracker for the top crust. 2 minutes work and pretty tasty. About $15 for 2 adults and 2 kids with half a pie left over. That’s half of what Mcdonalds costs us for dinner, and STEAK vs mystery meat.
n
Paul, pretty close to what mom would cook but more like this.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/19347/slumgullion/
yes there are dozens of variants for slumgullion. Mom pre-cooked her macaroni but not really necessary, just add water like you do. She used fresh onions and a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid. And she called it slumgullion. I think today that might be hamburger helper but I never understood why you would use that crap when do-it-yourself versions are so much better.
Kind of late, but I am sorry to hear the news re Mr. OFD.
Much like RBT and others, he will.. and is.. missed.
RIP Dave..
I have posted on the obit page..
Just a reminder – for anyone that doesn’t remember the noise last month. Today (Wednesday) at 2:18 pm will begin a test of the emergency alert system.
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test
This will be a “Presidential Alert” – an unfortunate name in our rather overly-partisan times. What it means is that it is the one type of alert that users cannot opt out of.
I’ll be interested to see which devices are affected. I have a couple of off-contract devices that may (or may not) alert. It will be good to know which work.