Ant Odometer

Not much to report on daily existence this week---My JoJo will be planting sweet potatoes this weekend--much to her little southern girl's heart's content....Good laughs at the Euro-zone, our politics and our stock market this week---like anybody cares anymore....Southern New Mexico weather has returned to a daily 100 degree's and 40 mph constant winds...my new hat however works excellent against the sun and the wind---and I am very pleased with it....I am going to cut my ponytail off this weekend---2 years worth----I'll bury it to prevent anyone from doing JuJu on me with it----(laugh if you will)---but it's down below my shoulder blades now and i need a break so I'll cut it off and start growing it again. Memorial day weekend is a good marker for this.

Currently reading The Drowned Cities, by Paolo Bacigalupi---122 pages in and it is an excellent, post cyberpunk, loose me in this horrible future-----reading that i love.

Memorial Day weekend here in New Mexico means thousands of accountants fire up their big Harley's and go to these motorcycle rallies around the state.  Republican riders or Ride for Jesus or thousands of wanna be's--- all wear their expensive "bad boy" attire--with the required bandanna's tied around their average white man haircut---load Suzie, the former cheerleader, now Sunday school teacher and mom of 3, on the back of their HOG, and pretend to be outlaws--ooooh! They actually fly colors---but you know--only for Jesus or some other stupid shit.....

See, I am old enough to have known real motorcycle clubs, gangs whatever you wanted to call them.  Real Bikers, real 1%er's, real outlaws---with real, completely, totally nasty old lady's on the back of their, built from nothing but stolen parts chopper--flying colors they would die to defend...and they were like Nitro, you never knew what might make them explode and stomp your ass into a puddle...Commuting home this evening being passed by mobs of Buffy's and Bif's-- riding for Jesus on their perfect Harley, on the righteous Republican highway, to the motorcycle rally and antique show---

I wondered, No actually I said it out loud

just how the fuck did this happen?

I also pondered, what any of the remaining true, real 1%er's think about Bambi and Herman wearing the tribal signs they invented to separate themselves from exactly these type of white bread people who now without fear have taken their symbols, their Harley's, leather---boots--and even riding with their own lame-ass colors flying. I understand there are advantages, that it probably makes it easier for their criminal system to work being lost in a crowd of these born to raise Heck Harley Dentists. But Damn man, just Damn..............

I deserved a reward this week---the why part---- you don't want to know------ I ordered a Therias & L 'Econome Vendetta style folding knife featuring a 4.25 inch traditional vendetta style, non locking blade and faux ivory slabs. Therias & L 'Econome claim to have been manufacturing knives in France since 1819.  This is a new version of a Corsican style knife produced for easily over 300 years. This will be my third French folding knife----I enjoy their quality, simplicity, beauty and history. 

http://www.therias.com/

This is a rather long knife at 5 inches closed so to carry on my belt I also ordered an A.G. Russell leather pouch at 5 and 3/4 inches in length--this pouch also appealed to me with it resemblance to a Mauser rifle cartridge pouch.....I may find that i have room enough in the pouch for both knife and perhaps a sharpening stick? I'll have to work this out once the orders arrive....

The newly elected French President has announced their intention to pull all combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2012.  This is the action of a mature society.  Afghanistan is going nowhere, but to total collapse once American forces leave...the Afghan phony President will probably wind up driving a cab in NYC if the locals do not catch him first and use his head playing polo.

We Americans, of course, are planning on remaining for another 2 years in a combat role..and supposedly to an unknown date beyond as "trainers".  In the No Shit Sherlock link below Obama addresses the fact that the American public have lost their support for operations in  Afghanistan. Really?---Get us out. Get us out before another 3000 lives are lost. How stupid can we possibly be?  If we continually have to do this kind of stupid shit it would be better for all concerned to wipe out a town of 3-4,000 Americans and then pile up a Trillion dollars on the now deserted main street and burn it!  Because that's what we have always, always, wound up doing for my whole life, every time we get involved with these countries.

French out by the end of 2012

no shit sherlock

It appears as if the newly re-hearted Dick Cheney will be doing a fund raiser for Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney...Romney even advises that he will be looking for a man with the Cheney qualities...as a running mate. Yeah, that's what he said---just what we'd need to hurry the Apocalypse along, Someone exactly like Cheney again..........

cheney & Romney in love

"Perhaps you and Larry will join us for the consumption

 of mass quantities this weekend...

We will ignite our new flame pit and char mammal flesh for you?"

Beldar Conehead

Prince Rupert's Problem

I have been developing a standard protocol for dealing with the outside world and under testing it worked well this week...I climb Mount Stupid at work, every day, only to repeat the identical process the next---but the new protocols held.

We found Monster dog a new home

 but we miss him. 

Republican attempts to regulate everything from vagina usage to that by law, off-duty military personnel must board commercial airline flights first, I do not know if i should laugh or cry.  Stupidity enhances persistence...

backed by the Religious right, and insane Billionaires, the Republican's have a great deal of persistence. All this will probably end up, with me, in a Republican Party re-education camp. 

My segment of New Mexico is in the direct path of this Sunday's 05/20/21 eclipse. We are going to attempt to view it if i can find some sort of suitable safety lenses---although I have never actually seen or read of a person who did go blind just by taking a quick look up at something like this?  It may the same urban legend thing your mother would say when you were a kid. My Mother would constantly tell me, that just about anything that was cool to play with, would put my eye out? I wondered what happened to all the one eyed kids there should have been in school and around the neighborhood? Did they all get locked up like Boo Radley?

Boo Radley if you need it

The Euro-zone is heading down the toilet--as we all know--- but now---maybe this discussion is no longer the sole zone of we crackpot's and doomsayers...funny how that happens---the first believers, the truth tellers...always suffer---When suddenly everyone jumps on a concept and overnight it becomes the truth and not tin foil hat craziness.....No one knows the true extent of money our country has involved in French snail farms or Italian loan derivatives?  Perhaps in the next couple of weeks we'll find out how stupid our 1% really are---be prepared--- keep cash on hand and the gas tank full for the next few weeks..... 

Facebook another American company that produces nothing--Giving Americans the chance to tell each about themselves and to like each other--- the baby eating, wall street bankers, had to buy up the very Facebook stock that they were offering today---- to keep the stock above the asking price on it's opening day???  If the wall street bankers hadn't done this buying--- the true price/value of this company might have been exposed. All the standard paper trading back and forth of nothing which makes the 1% rich would not have happened....Perhaps  America has been fooled enough by Silicon Valley hucksters backed by New York Gordon Gecko's....but then again we are a nation of suckers. 

"Who died and made you fucking king of the Zombies?"

from Shaun of the dead

Menger Sponge

I had the Prius through it's 90,000 mile service this week. MPG for the week averaged 50.6..I call the Prius the 'death car'  I intend to conduct by the book maintenance and keep this car for 300,000 miles or death, whichever comes first. I did order one of those car gizmo things, you see all the time,--a dash top cell phone holder.
I call my wife every morning and evening on the way to and from work..and I prefer to use a plug in earpiece..deaf you know, as well as a bit safer i suppose....but the phone winds up in the old crotch or on the floor boards so I am going to try putting the phone in this on the dash..usually these kinds of car accessory things never work---but the fact that they don't, doesn't make us give up trying?

Francophile

I admit--- I am becoming a Francophile. It has been a process over a period of time...Starting with words and phrases the French have to describe elements--feelings--things--- that English ignores...for example:


Attaque au Fer...to pressure, to beat upon, as in a blade duel..


One thing leads to another...I am even attempting that common stupidity of attempting to learn French...by cassette tape... during the commute...of course me being me i am using, what is now considered an antique, Marantz, portable, cassette player/recorder and a used $2.00 set of French tapes.....
seems fitting...

Incoming are the books-- Conquest of the Sahara by Douglas Porch

Life in the Legion by Frederic Martyn. These continue my research and fascination with the Legion in Morocco 1890-1930. Life in the Legion is a memoir and Conquest of the Sahara a study.     

My fascination with the Old Legion is based on several factors. The first being the self-sufficiency the Old Legion was known for..their ability to create a home for themselves in the most desolate, dangerous locations. The men created their own gardens, workshops, roads, built their own fortifications-- The second consideration is that the Legion of 1900 to 1930 was the last time there were map less, unconquered places and peoples---I am attempting to apply a 'lessons learned' technique to the information i am obtaining from Legion history--towards our own uncertain future.

As promised several true photographs of the new garden boxes. We have attempted to adapt to the change in New Mexico climate with the PVC tube hoops to hold shade cloth against the hotter temperatures and more powerful sun...

Each box has it's own timer operated, slow drip irrigation system..and believe me these are a pure bitch to install--the process strips the hide off your hands and I have about 3 more sections to do--the full yard length boxes pictured below are also framed, with drip irrigation and covered with full length shade cloth. The plastic mesh allows the plants to climb, while allowing recovery of produce from both sides of the plant--My JoJo was the designer--of all these boxes and the watering/shade system...i am just the lug that hangs around----

Bear in mind the intent is the production of vegetables in a logical fashion..and we are hoping that the physical changes we have made in the method of planting will produce a greater number of produce this year.

RCIR--Ration de Combat Individuelle Rechauffable---        

I would like to expand our food storage section by acquiring several French RCIR's. The RCIR contains double the calories of an MRE--3200 and rather than containing only one meal as the MRE does, the RCIR contains a full days worth of food and is less weight. I have to keep an eye out at gun shows and so forth since i imagine the shipping costs from Europe would be just untenable...and I am working on translating the menus---since canned rabbit, and boar pate' i would prefer to pass on. However you cannot argue with the combat zone black market mentioned in the link below---French meals cost much more in Nato occupied area(s)on the black market as compared to American meals.

French Combat meals are better

where to find them

"You no trouble. Me...Fifth element...

supreme being....

me, protect you....Hmm?"