Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Democracy vs the Republic

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It is a shame but the vast populace of the US get the two terms confused. You don’t need to take my word for it, but they are not the same. You can look it up. Moreover, though the Democrats would like us to believe we live in a democracy we don’t and never did.

The fact is that we live in a representative republic. No sane person who knows and understands what a democracy is would want to live in a true democracy. Let’s consider a home owner’s association run totally by democracy. Let’s also assume that there are 100 members in the association.

At this point, 51 people would control all 100. If 51 people decided that the other 49 needed to pay 55% of the cost of the operating costs, guess what? 51 people would pay 55% of the operating costs. 49 people would pay only 45 % of the operating costs.

“Unfair!” you say. And it is. It is the weakness of the democracy. The minority would always be at the mercy of the majority. It is why, when they wrote the Constitution, they decided on a representative republic. The same problem, to some degree still exits, however, there are some advantages in the republic in that there are protections in the system for the minority. The majority has some limitations over minority.

We do not vote on the laws. We vote for people who write and vote on the laws. As such, the majority has it’s limits. There were many things in the constitution that keep the majority from rough-riding over a small group, or even an individual. Certainly, The Ten Amendments are a big part of it. By them, individuals and groups are protected from the government, which represents the majority.

Theoretically, before a man can be imprisoned, he must be convicted of a crime. Moreover, there is great care to make sure that many rights must be observed. Laws and procedures must be followed. Moreover, there are higher courts to make sure of this.

The democrats don’t like these procedures. President Trump was convicted outside a proper trial system. It will very likely at some point be overturned. Nonetheless, it shows what happens when the mass takes control, a true democracy. Virtually all of Trumps rights have been sidestepped by a biased system. The whole court system, even the jury was strongly biased. They needed no proof. The prosecutor could have stood before them and said he’s guilty and they would have returned a guilty verdict on the spot.

No one, but not one person should be glad at what happened. It is the 51% ruling over 49% regardless of the evidence. AND it can happen to all of us. If it can happen to a multi-billionaire, it most certainly can happen to a penniless man in the slums, no matter what color his skin is.

One of the most important and overlooked amendments is the tenth, in which all authority which is not explicitly given to the federal government is supposed to be reserved to the states and the people. Nowadays, it is mostly ignore. Some laugh at the few important words. If it were properly observed, there would be no department of education. There would be no FEMA. It was a good thing that the north won the Civil War. However, the the 10th Amendment was one of the casualties of the war. Since the war ended, not many pay attention to it. And we truly suffer because of it.

I have a question concerning this. Do we really want to put the national government in charge of deciding what we teach and and how we teach our kids. It is how Hitler took over in Germany, through the schools, and quickly. Better that schools be controlled as local as possible.

When The Constitution was first ratified, senators were selected by the state assemblies. The idea was, the people selected the representatives and the states select the senators. A constitutional amendment ended that, as well as all representation of the states. It was a horrible blow to the concept of a republic.

Now, another aspect of the republic is apparently sitting on the chopping block. If it falls, it will be devastating. The majority will have their rule. The president will be selected by the majority and the communists will take over. Maybe not immediately, but soon.

Believe it or not, their is a purpose to the Electoral College. I suppose if we do away with it, we’ll find out about it. Maybe a little late.

Heat and Mileage

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I have always known that the heat will effect mileage of electric cars, or any car with air conditioning really. However, as usual, experience is a good teacher. Now that it has been hitting 95 degrees daily lately it is becoming a great deal more obvious. For this reason, the wife and I have started waiting longer before we go out.

At the end of each trip, my EV Nissan gives me a report on how many miles per KW hour I had. It is pretty normal to score anywhere from 3.0 to 3.8. However, here lately, I have been getting reports around 2.3 and 2.4. It is somewhat logical as it takes half the 5 mile ride to cool the car down.

On rare occasions, when driving at night, I get reports close to 5.0. Then the other day, in the evening, I needed very little air conditioning. It wasn’t so hot and my trip was about half in the shade. When I pulled into the drive and turned off the car, I was surprised with a 6.1 miles per KW Hour.

That tells me, I would get much better mileage if I could do all my driving in a climate of 72 degrees where the sun is not heating the cabin through the windows.

Well, I have also drawn a few more conclusions. I could drastically increase my mileage if I could always park my car with the windows wide open. If I could leave the air conditioning off, I just might be able to double my range.

I can’t imagine that others are not completely aware of what I am saying. Moreover, air conditioning does create a load on internal combustion engines, too, likely more than we want to admit. Might it be possible that AC might cost as much as 5 or 6 miles per gallon. This is particularly true when a car must be parked in the sun, pushing the cabin heat to 130, maybe 140 degrees. Likely that compressor in any car is kept running the first 3 or 4 miles.

In the old days, we just rolled the windows down which helped a lot. We just can’t do that anymore. Weather aside, too many thieves. Too much of a temptation. The cost of insurance is high enough. However, If the cost of fuel keeps going up, we might need to roll the windows down anyway and make sure we leave nothing in the car we don’t want to lose.

There are other solutions of course. I did many years ago cover my car with a reflective cover. It worked okay, but by the time I took it off the car, the sun already heated the car. Besides, someone took the cover.

My wife is always tell me, I think to much. I guess that’s true. I did consider just a couple of 4 x 8 pieces of plywood with aluminum foil. I almost did it a time or two. I also wondered if I might be able to mount the things on the car while driving. I am sure it would drive the cost of AC down, but I’m not sure it would be legal.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a piece of foam that would fit over the car and hang over the windows a little. That would not only protect from the heat but it would also prolong the life of the interior, maybe a little. The foam could be rolled up while not in use and put in the trunk. I kind of like this idea the most, if I could find a piece of foam. It would not help while driving. However, it would not take as long to cool the cabin.

My car, I guess as most cars with AC allow the driver to select to recirculate the interior air or pull in fresh air and cool it. Many overlook it. When the cabin is 120 degrees, it is better to draw 95 degree air in and cool it instead of the hot interior air, while forcing the 120 degree air out.

On the other hand, once the interior of the car has cooled blow the 95 degree outdoor temperature, it is far better to cool the interior air than the the hotter outside temperature.

My car has all kinds of automation, but I must do this manually. Moreover, I must only guess. I have no interior temperature indication, other than guess. With all the push to go green, why is this so. Nonetheless, I do my part. When I get in my car, I select outdoor. After about 5 minutes, I switch to recirculate. My guess, I’m probably off some.

Another more recent Idea I had is to get one of these battery powered leaf blowers. Roughly five minutes before going anywhere, I can roll down the front windows and point the leaf blower in one window and blow 95 degree in one window forcing he 120 degree air out the other window. I haven’t done it yet, but it does seem that it would work.

Then the blower would go in the trunk for just before I start home.

If anyone has any other ideas, I have my ears on. If the engineers don’t want to solve this problem, let’s do it for them. Incidentally, Old Joe is going to make sure we are all going to go to electric cars. Y’ll are going to be facing these problems one of these days.

Keeping Cool

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Unlike most folks, I have really taken a liking to window ACs. When I had central air, I spent over a grand a year to keep it running. Considering the increase in prices these days, I would not be at all surprised if it’s pushing 2 grand a year.

Roughly 5 years ago, I bought a 12 thousand BTU unit that lasted 5 year. I pulled it out and put it at the curb. My guess is that someone cleaned it up and now has a perfectly good unit that will last another 4 or 5 years.

Those window units are really built well. Some just might last forever but for the dust.

I put a new 8 thousand BTU unit in for about 5 hundred. I was

afraid it wouldn’t carry the load, but, with my age, 12 thousand BTU units are just too heavy for me.

So now the unit is being tested as the temp is hitting 95 daily. I am impressed. During the heat of the day, it runs about 75% of the time and keeps us comfortable.

My guess is that it also uses about a quarter the power of a 2 ton central unit.

There is a side benefit. When I finish working in the yard and come in really hot, I sit in front of the AC 15 minutes and I’m recovered. Can’t do that with central air.

Maybe one of these years, they will start making central units as reliable as window units. However, I’m not going to count on it.

As Most I’m Told, Waiting

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I guess it is likely the biggest advantage of being a multi-millionaire. Can you imagine Elon Musk waiting in line for a hair cut. How many seconds do you suppose Bill Gates has to wait for anything? I probably spent more time waiting for stuff when I was in boot camp than all the Kennedys together in all their lives. I wonder if any of Rockefeller’s children ever had to wait for a school bus.

The other day, coming home from dinner, I waited on a road close to half an hour to get through one traffic light. That’s right, we have traffic jams in Desoto County, almost daily. It’s all those folks in Memphis coming down here, “forgetting” to signal a lane change as the force their way into another lane. Believe me. We have experienced them enough to know to expect them, especially on Goodman Road near I-55.

When I first moved down here, Goodman was 2 lanes, one each way. Now the bridge going over I-55 has 7 lanes and it’s still not enough. Hence, those of us who mush cross I-55 know what it means to wait.

I suppose those who go through drive-throughs know about waiting too. I wouldn’t know. I refuse to use them. Nonetheless, McDonald’s has taught me a thing or two about waiting. It used to be that when they saw me coming, they made me wait intentionally. They don’t do that anymore. I don’t go there. I go to places like Abbay’s where they have my hot food ready for me before I can get my drinks from the fountain.

I don’t waste much time waiting in gas stations anymore. I filled my gas powered car twice in six months since I got my electric car. As near as I can tell, I pay about the same for the electric. I can remember the lines in California in the 70’s when the Arabs decided to shut things down on us for a while. Gas went from thirty cents a gallon to eighty in a few weeks. That was when you could find it. Wasted a lot of time waiting in line for an open gas pump back then and I was not the only one.

Then, of course the really neat part about that, they post the sign “Out of Gas,” when I’m next in line. Then, of course, I had to find another line to wait in and hope and pray the gas lasts until I get my share of gas before I run out.

Somehow, I don’t think the millionaires had to wait for gas. I really don’t think they had to look for it either. If they did have to wait a time or two, the problem would have been fixed immediately, if not sooner.

The thing is, most of us from the time we start school learn how to wait in some way, shape or other. Well, most of us learn. When you get out on the road around here, you can quickly pick out those who have learned and those who haven’t.

Daily writing prompt
How do you waste the most time every day?
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Done All the Visiting I Want

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Well, maybe Israel. How-some-ever, I’ve been to Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Australia is kind of nice, but I need not go back to any of them. I certainly don’t have any reason to go where they drive on the wrong side of the street. I did that in Osaka, Japan and it scared the daylights out of me. Moreover, not a fan of flying these days. If I can’t drive there in a reasonable time, I have no reason that important to be there. Certainly not until they start putting the priority back on safety rather than diversity.

Daily writing prompt
What countries do you want to visit?
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Blaise Pascal’s Wager

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Among other things, Pascal has lent his name to perhaps the best high level programming language ever. I have become pretty good at it, which is easy. It is so similar to English that it is easy to pick up in an afternoon.

Moreover, it is very modular. I can write a module for one program and use it with any other program it is useful for. It sort of means I don’t have to keep re-inventing the wheel every time I write a program. Another benefit is that the programs can be very easy to read and or modify. That becomes important when modifications need to be made 3 or 4 years later, after the guy who wrote it has moved out of the state.

If I had to say it lacked one thing, it is an interface to audio, especially text-to-speech and speech-to-text. That aspect of it did cause me a little frustration. It would have been nice to write programs that would be able respond to voice commands and or provide audio alerts.

I am sure there are such interfaces that are available for a price. Given I am living on Social Security, I figured I’d not have the asking price. Still, it would have been nice to make a spreadsheet that would not require a mouse or keyboard.

Actually, I started this post completely on a rabbit trail. I didn’t get off on one. What I wanted to write about is something called Pascal’s Wager.

First, a short word about Pascal. He was a mathematician and theologian who lived during the 1600s. Also, he was a pretty a confirmed Catholic, and pretty much believed that Catholicism was the one true way to God, which is one of the things he and I would have disagreed with, should we speak face-to-face.

Nonetheless, he did come up with an interesting concept, which is called Pascal’s Wager. Hopefully, at the least will cause the atheist to reconsider his position a little. It is a very long article and it is worth a person’s time to take a look at it. However, I will attempt to give you the short version with some of my own personal views.

Let’s consider the flip of a coin. When it comes down, it will either land on heads or tails. I have heard of cases where they come down on their edge but let’s ignore that. Before the coin is flipped, we have three choices, heads, tails or no choice at all. We have the option of not participating.

Let’s change the rules. You must participate. We have just taken that choice away from you. You must chose heads or tails. If you are right, you live forever. If you’re wrong you die, though maybe not immediately.

Such is the way it is in real life, with a few variations. The Christian has chosen the one way. By choice or by default, the atheist has chosen, no God. The choices are exclusive. At least one of the choices has to be wrong. If there is no God, the Christian is wrong. If there is a God, the atheist must be wrong.

So, it would appear we are looking at the proverbial coin toss, right. Wrong. According to Blaise Pascal, the Christian has the least to lose. He will have given up smoking drinking and wild women. He might even lose that fortune that he gave to that church. Then look at all the time and work he provided for the church. Nonetheless, it is finite. The losses are tolerable.

On the other hand, if the atheist is wrong, he will lose everything, throughout infinity. There would be no do overs, no Mulligans. Invariably, there would be pleas for a second chance but there would be none. The punishment for not accepting Jesus doesn’t last just a lifetime, but forever.

So, that is the thumb-nail sketch of Pascal’s wager, based loosely on the toss of a coin. I’m just trying to get you to think about it. We are talking eternity here, not just flip of a coin. As I’ve said many times. I cannot ever make the decision for anyone. All I can present is the truth. Everyone must make their own choice.

I’d like to add just one more little thing. Maybe Bill Cosby has fallen from the graces of most, but he did say something that is very likely true, though it is not exactly biblical. The Bible does say that when Jesus returns, every eye will see Him and every knee shall bow. (Philippians 2:10)

Bill Cosby said there ain’t no such thing as an atheist. On my copy of the routine, he repeated it 4 or 5 times, each time more emphatically. Then, finally he said, “The difference between the Christian and the so-called atheist is that the atheist will be the first ones on their knees when Jesus returns.”

I think maybe Mr. Cosby is right.

Going to Get a Raise

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I think evidence is pretty strong, I am going to get another raise again this year. My principal income is Social Security. The increases are based on increases in the cost of living.

Most everyone knows there has been plenty of that. The hitch, it costs more to live.

Gun Lessons

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I thought I would go off on a little different trail tonight. I am not a weapons expert. I was in the Marines and I did fire a number of different weapons. However, I know very little about other weapons but I am learning. The first weapon I bought was a nine mm by Smith & Wesson called an Easy. That was good because at my age, I can definitely benefit from easy.

A lot can be said about the gun. It is easy in many ways, including racking, that is pulling he slide back. Wanting the gun for self-defense that is important. I don’t like walking around with a fully locked and loaded gun unless I expect danger. By waiting to have my weapon fully ready, it does give me just one more chance to reconsider. Also, it is very easy to put 8 rounds each in the magazines. It takes me roughly 20 seconds. I suppose if I were pushing it, I could do better. The followers has levers, so to speak that allow me to push them down and I virtually drop the bullets in.

However, there is no way to access the hammer. It is internal. When I bought the weapon, I thought little of it but found my self wanting to access the hammer a number of times. It was a little frustrating and I had to come up with work-arounds.

Also, I was surprised how heavy it is. Being as I carried a .45 around on my hip for a few years, I didn’t think much of it until I bought this one. The gun itself is not that bad, but when you add 8 rounds of 9 mm ammo, it really pulls at my belt and I start having a fear of walking out of my trousers.

So… I bought a .380 SDS Faith. A .380 is about half the defense of a 9 mm, but I suspect it will get the job done. Besides, I quite likely will never need it for anything other than poking holes in targets. The nice thing about the new gun is that the hammer is external. I’m not going to go through all the advantages of that but it sure is nice.

On the negative side, it is much more difficult to break down and reassemble, with the emphasis on reassemble. It is a good idea to break down a new gun, clean and oil it before firing it. Not exactly sure why, but it’s what the manufacturers say. Needless to say, the fist thing I did with it when I got home was to break it down and clean it. I must say, that part went well.

When assembling it, I couldn’t get the slide back on right. Worse yet, I couldn’t get it back off.

When things like that happened in the marines, I took it to the armorer. He was good at that stuff, really good. Me. Not so much.

I guess for close to two hours I wrestled with that little thing. I started wishing I bought a .45. They have external hammers and other that they are big and heavy, they are really good weapons. Not only that, I can break them down and put them back together in my sleep.

Well, I was just about to give up. I pulled back on the slide and accidentally let it slip from my finger and thumb. Next thing I knew, I had the gun body in my left hand and the slide was about two feet off to my right.

Might I mention, this gun has a very strong spring. Fortunately, I had figured out how I messed up and I had the gun back together in less than a minute.

Now let me tell you something about my M-14. I used to fill the magazines by pushing the bullets through what was called a charger. It took a few seconds to load a magazine with 20 rounds. I wonder if anyone has ever experimented with something like that for a handgun. It is about all I can do to load these little .380s. The mags hold 13. I can only put five in them. I guess they have strong springs too.

Watch, No Prison Time For Hunter

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Remember, Hunter knows where all the skeletons are. He knows where all the bodies are buried. Behind the scenes, all the pressures are being applied. If it all fails, Old Joe will have to come through or Hunter will write a tell all book. When that happens, Old Joe will be but one of many to suffer.

How-some-ever, Hunter should pay the price. After all, it is the dems who have fought and are fighting for gun laws, such as the those that Hunter broke. Aren’t they trying to take guns away from drug users and mentally ill? Indeed, it is possible that Hunter might have used the gun while under the influence if he had kept it. It is the reason for the law.

If ANY LAW is not enforced, why have the law? if it is not enforced for Hunter, why for anyone? If Hunter is let off, others who are convicted will point the finger and ask, why do I go to prison and he got off Scott free? And they will have a point. They will be able to say he was not punished because of who he knows, especially should he be pardoned or sentence commuted.

One more thing. Hunter had a chance at making a deal and he didn’t. It sort of says, he still thinks he got away with it. He likely will. Old Joe said he did nothing wrong. Maybe its time he admit to Americans Hunter did do something wrong. Perhaps, now Old Joe will admit it to himself.

As an aside. Trump was convicted of a crime invented by the dems, by a dem prosecutor, with a highly biased dem judge, in a city of almost totally dems… and will likely be overturned. It might be overturned even before it reaches The Supreme Court.

Hunter, on the other hand was convicted of a well established law by political friendlies, that is to say, those in the jury likely were not republican. The only appeal likely will be to dear Ol Dad.

Let’s see if knowing the pres. will help him.