tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46004295668753411222024-03-18T16:05:25.204-06:00Occupation of IndependenceEarly retirement, mainstream-media-free, bicycling, classic books & history, RV camping, and dogs.kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.comBlogger1938125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-82571045536602486362024-03-18T07:47:00.003-06:002024-03-18T09:53:13.064-06:00Getting Flushed Down the Drain Might Not be Permanent<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Most people expect a Biden and Trump rematch this November. One way to look at this is to back off from the partisan arguments and look at the big picture. How could America have come to such a low state as to come up with candidates like this -- twice?!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is this the same America that settled a wilderness in the new hemisphere; fought off the claims of French, Spanish, and Russians in North America; formed a government on a written Constitution; survived a bloody Civil War; grew into the industrial powerhouse of planet Earth; and brought electrical and automotive inventions to within reach of the masses? There have indeed been many accomplishments that Americans can be proud of.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And now look at us! It is tempting to say that the current situation is unbelievable, but actually, it is quite believable. Let's make a short list out of spectacular "come downs" that have happened to other countries.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">1. Ancient Greece in 450 B.C. versus 150 B.C., that is, Greece after its own civil war, the Peloponessian War, and its conquest by Rome.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">2. The culture and mindset of the late Roman Empire, say, 300 AD, with that of the Roman Republic circa 200 B.C.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">3. The culture of Islam in 1000 AD compared to a couple hundred years later, after Baghdad had been sacked by the Mongols, and most of Spain and Portugal had been lost to Islam. Worse yet, the 'Closing of the Muslim Mind' started happening near 1000 AD.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">4. The Portuguese and Spanish era of Discovery, circa 1520 AD and the age of Magellan, versus the loss of their empire in the New World 300 years later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">5. Britain at the peak of the Victorian Age versus 1950.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">6. Germany in 1895 compared to a mere 50 years later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The genetic material of the countries had not changed much in these examples. What causes people to be so confident and <i>ascendant </i>for a couple generations, and then spiral down into a collapse?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">My favorite in this list is #4. Who changed the world more fundamentally than the sailors and discoverers of that era? I don't think that bookish intellectuals could ever have brought Europe out of a thousand years of Christian superstition. They would have kept rehashing the same old books, and languished in a permanent inferiority complex with regard to the Ancients.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The good news is that there is no universal law that says that a Decline is permanent. Look at all the ups and downs China and Persia have gone through.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-63192458961623465682024-03-15T07:23:00.001-06:002024-03-15T08:24:36.312-06:00Horizontal Gravity Ain't All Bad<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is easier to get interested in where you are camped if you can visualize motion. High winds in Nevada certainly got that ball rolling, yesterday. It was cold, too. What little moisture there was in the air condensed into thick clouds that hugged and obscured the mountains. </span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">At times, the clouds looked like thick fog that wanted to slowly creep down from the mountains, like an airborne glacier, or better yet, like the thousand-foot-thick ramp of gravel that had crept down from the mountains. The geologists call them 'alluvial fans', and I was camped on one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Away from the mountains, the high winds were blowing the clouds into lenticular clouds. They are fun to look at. (Lenticular, the bean lentil, and a glass lens are all cognate.)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh466D1gQyjoivAZ-iIR578ZYEh5cM4d6aS7tD0jtWkgJ0O54nGvkCW-y7beeM2OnLnuRpGOt-P5Cyg6jRtBNgCZmATmIM97IDghiWeeLTX-0-Kf1xD-MGZf-JdpOQ2HBh7z41CyLLNBQdepqARxIgSPFzd4ikrdZFsCvxerKwxbUDhGfBQ1sEmM8nP2Jo/s640/lenticular%20cloud.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh466D1gQyjoivAZ-iIR578ZYEh5cM4d6aS7tD0jtWkgJ0O54nGvkCW-y7beeM2OnLnuRpGOt-P5Cyg6jRtBNgCZmATmIM97IDghiWeeLTX-0-Kf1xD-MGZf-JdpOQ2HBh7z41CyLLNBQdepqARxIgSPFzd4ikrdZFsCvxerKwxbUDhGfBQ1sEmM8nP2Jo/w640-h480/lenticular%20cloud.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The gravel was small and rounded where I am camped. You notice things like that when you identify as a mountain bike tire or dog paw. Since I am camped closer to the bottom than the top of the alluvial ramp, it probably makes sense that the gravel would be small and rounded. We'll see if the gravel becomes larger and sharper if I ride uphill a few miles.</span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-61260056932111317702024-03-11T07:23:00.001-06:002024-03-11T07:23:26.284-06:00Beating the System, Regarding Time Changes<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Perhaps my last post was less gracious than it could have been towards the state of Arizona. Allow me to make amends.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I woke up Sunday morning, still just barely in the state of Arizona, and therefore unbothered by Daily Savings Time. The rest of the country debauches itself with Daily Savings Time, but Arizona stays with God's Time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisJjRstKHddC4LNk80Z4wXd-wlI2Z9DbEAANq69eKeQ_3k5b9YkkRlVTMYQeN6hSAR8smaGmm1vVR-AJPcN3W54d-EBAPRLs_mtkHqu0kmup6i-VxwB882-HsefuH35A-bFitgvSBuqnSBf05ZU3b--8i9AfyQJ8eWCB_8Af9pv4OLi8L3iwYnFQcVCFw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisJjRstKHddC4LNk80Z4wXd-wlI2Z9DbEAANq69eKeQ_3k5b9YkkRlVTMYQeN6hSAR8smaGmm1vVR-AJPcN3W54d-EBAPRLs_mtkHqu0kmup6i-VxwB882-HsefuH35A-bFitgvSBuqnSBf05ZU3b--8i9AfyQJ8eWCB_8Af9pv4OLi8L3iwYnFQcVCFw=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from artpal.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Soon I crossed over into a Pacific Time Zone state, but instead of subtracting one hour, the o'clock stayed the same since that state uses Daily Savings Time, beginning today. Then I crossed into another such state. And then back to the first one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I go north for many hundreds of miles, it will stay the same. (until I hit southern Idaho or extreme southeastern Oregon.) Actually I could choose locations that get me out of a time change the entire summer. What bliss!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give Arizona credit for this, and I am grateful.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-38251331758238865132024-03-09T04:55:00.010-07:002024-03-09T15:20:53.966-07:00"Success" For a Winter Traveler<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the great under-rated pleasures outdoors is a broken and stormy sky. I experienced that yesterday as I fled Arizona. Other things worked OK: </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">gasoline prices weren't so bad, and</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I had </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">only two</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> encounters with rude and reckless drivers, who love being disrespectful of winter visitors. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The spring solstice isn't even here yet. But I have already left AZ. (Actually I'm still in the northwestern part of the state, 15 miles from the Colorado River.) One way to gauge your success as a camper and traveler is to see how little time you spend in Arizona.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">During mid-winter we are all climate refugees. I truly love low temperatures in the 30s F and highs around 65 F. But once mid-winter is over, you can find adequate temperatures around the edges of AZ, and perhaps escape over-crowding, generators, motorsport yahoos, target practice litter bugs, cholla, and un-earthly rubble.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-66575978443642440032024-03-07T06:21:00.002-07:002024-03-07T06:24:03.087-07:00An Unusual Spring Migration<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is easy to get nervous as we near the spring solstice. But this is the time of year when a camper has the greatest opportunity to improve their life. Extend. Extend the bug-free season, extend good sleeping, extend sweat-free outdoor exercise.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is what I was thinking the other morning when I had a freshly-laundered poodle under the sleeping bag with me. My little dog smelled like lavender-rosemary doggie shampoo. There is a primal satisfaction to burrowing deeper and deeper underneath the sleeping bag, and seeing how few square inches of skin need to be exposed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spring migrations are easier than autumn migrations because the sun is at your back most of the way. I really look forward to that. For the first time in years I will migrate through Nevada. Let's hope I can find a grocery store or two.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have never done my spring migration by going northwest immediately and staying close to the Colorado River. It is counter-intuitive to return that way, since I migrated downstream along the Colorado River in autumn. Why repeat the route so quickly? And I am not in love with the rubble.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But this is the best way I can get to western Idaho/eastern Oregon without going so far east and then backtracking to the west. More importantly, the high altitudes of NM and UT keep a person too far south too late into spring. Then, when you finally realize that it is getting warm, you have already missed <i>early summer in the Northwest. </i>Early summer is the time to be there. Late summer is the wildfire season.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-22074739705247939622024-03-01T05:45:00.003-07:002024-03-01T06:38:04.203-07:00Better Food Preservation<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Recently I have gotten interested in food preservation. The higher costs of food and transportation have to be fought, somehow. This is especially true for somebody who has to drive over miles of bumpy dirt roads to a not-so-great, high-priced, small town grocery store. Perhaps it was the better containers available at Walmart that made me get interested in this topic. They are rectangular boxes with O-rings in the lid, and snaps to hold the lid down tight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You Tube has a lot of videos on this topic. Have you seen those <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxN6F56huUo&t=366s" target="_blank">vacuum sealers for storing</a> food in Mason jars? But the videos don't explain the principles of food preservation very well. After all, it is all about water vapor, oxygen, and ethylene.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can't look into this topic very long before you get pulled off into the world of off-grid homes, preppers, Greenies, etc. I used to have a negative stereotype of these people. But they are a customer base for useful products.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I sometimes wonder if, during my 'next life', I will be an off-grid home guy instead of an RVer. Perhaps I would, except for one fundamental fact: the 23.4 degree tilt in the earth's axis. There are other reasons like land use restrictions, neighbors, and high real estate prices. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Still, I have this fantasy of a rural property where I breed miniature poodles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-11584460604704315652024-02-26T11:09:00.004-07:002024-02-27T04:32:17.989-07:00He Was Probably an Anti-Semite<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">If your news-intake is limited to the legacy media, you might not yet have heard of a young Air Force guy named Aaron Bushnell burning himself in protest in front of the Israeli embassy. He died.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Perhaps the legacy media will accuse Mr. Bushnell of being anti-semitic. Or they might claim that setting yourself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy is an example of hate-speech.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">At least a hero of the Deep State was there to hold a gun on the burning and nearly dead body of Mr. Bushnell. Gosh, wouldn't you love to have a chance to personally 'thank the cop for his service.'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am being satiric of course. It is better than lashing out with anger. Anger burns itself out. Mockery is a better long-term approach. There is no way to "over-mock" American foreign policy, the Biden administration, the War industries, or the Israel Lobby.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKh8khryA-mJnVyGb3UZ31RUKRUoD-SF6E8Gpi7rhlA_2z7AEKQfbssHVcdw8xu29EhkCVzzzd-PJaIaokDECq4KDEq8aUnmWelD5UstENyp5i8ggxwu8LhuM4zijryYyEPE06CFdrJbfur8cR6VFN6HWSWohpqL-C6_ahNv6GRrAel_v1eupVyHifCY4/s751/Aaron%20Bushnell%20suicide%20protest.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="751" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKh8khryA-mJnVyGb3UZ31RUKRUoD-SF6E8Gpi7rhlA_2z7AEKQfbssHVcdw8xu29EhkCVzzzd-PJaIaokDECq4KDEq8aUnmWelD5UstENyp5i8ggxwu8LhuM4zijryYyEPE06CFdrJbfur8cR6VFN6HWSWohpqL-C6_ahNv6GRrAel_v1eupVyHifCY4/w640-h502/Aaron%20Bushnell%20suicide%20protest.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From bitchute.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-56632500847230131592024-02-22T04:25:00.001-07:002024-02-22T08:13:59.799-07:00The Un-Arizona Part of Arizona<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Every year at this time of year I feel relief at having escaped the cholla of southwestern Arizona and moved into southeastern Arizona, a land of dry grass, mesquite trees, and oaks. A local person told me how, in a good monsoonal summer, the grass grows green and reaches up to the belly of a cow. It would be fun to see that -- you would only have to tolerate a lot of 95 F heat. Even <i>that</i> is too much for me.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This part of Arizona is not all that popular with standard snowbirds, looking for iconic Arizona desert scenery. It won't be all that colorful here like it will be in southwestern Arizona when the cacti bloom. It is surprising that I have learned to appreciate the austere tawny beauty of a spring morning in southeastern Arizona.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKG1Nc6VjQzTrU6b-_Cz20p-fAQry9jNLHzIl9BpS1-S8IwVKT8_STa6RdWy2s8hmlDuNNOZLi2ZHpz438puDJ9JzU3QfHOjNjnSVbbRGuW-9eOUhdqrofGOim89Tk4gVCyjSYjs_d3SBUewQJc_w5AeXxFj-61lTf24qUtjDGuLdQuBsJNTdmNS7cXs/s576/IMG_1239.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="576" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKG1Nc6VjQzTrU6b-_Cz20p-fAQry9jNLHzIl9BpS1-S8IwVKT8_STa6RdWy2s8hmlDuNNOZLi2ZHpz438puDJ9JzU3QfHOjNjnSVbbRGuW-9eOUhdqrofGOim89Tk4gVCyjSYjs_d3SBUewQJc_w5AeXxFj-61lTf24qUtjDGuLdQuBsJNTdmNS7cXs/w640-h458/IMG_1239.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Of course a person can also learn to appreciate the opening of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG4lr8UjSF0" target="_blank">Brahms Piano Concerto #2.</a></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today I will drive with my friend to the semi-metropolis of the area. It is only a month from the solstice, so I suppose the sun already has enough strength to kill my dog in a parked car. I am ahead of the game in my spring chores, so it is time to fantasize an early escape from Arizona, perhaps via a new escape route.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-80868229363334059442024-02-20T18:29:00.002-07:002024-02-21T03:15:00.025-07:00A Protest Vote 'At the Movies'<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I had a second surprising piece of luck in my first foray into buying DVD disks at a thrift store. Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" was available in perfect condition. I remember watching it years ago. It was excellent. I especially liked the Chopin music.</span></p><p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">But I didn't use the disk. It will be given back to the thrift store.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I simply don't have an appetite for any book or movie about the crimes commited against European Jews in World War II. It's not that those crimes have become any less criminal. But I have gotten sick and tired of the crimes against Jews <i>80 years ago </i>-- mostly by German Nazis -- being used as a blank check for covering the slaughter of <i>Gazans</i> being commited <i>today.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So there you have it: my puny little protest vote. This is the best example I can think of of the old saying 'It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness.' My own insignificance is astonishing.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt4VSeWiHmzf3u5U1_uhporvai9NIQParr8RBFhbmL86XNrf0nkNgoBqN5f7OAG40QnNqKMoXuM9eO1QpotVdGU9foRh_ibN5QlWpYZtp77T0D49vvoAZ4Nan-7o7HJNS5xYRSOAopi2Zw602-VGjWIfLlID4GAgbsBXuV1IAz1eEMR-PTJ_F05iulRw/s667/Gaza%20girl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="667" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt4VSeWiHmzf3u5U1_uhporvai9NIQParr8RBFhbmL86XNrf0nkNgoBqN5f7OAG40QnNqKMoXuM9eO1QpotVdGU9foRh_ibN5QlWpYZtp77T0D49vvoAZ4Nan-7o7HJNS5xYRSOAopi2Zw602-VGjWIfLlID4GAgbsBXuV1IAz1eEMR-PTJ_F05iulRw/w640-h496/Gaza%20girl.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-36173766484245536882024-02-18T08:44:00.001-07:002024-02-18T18:02:08.129-07:00An Authentic Natural Experience<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was hoping to see more DVD and Blu-Ray disks showing up at thrift stores, and that it would be an interesting hobby to look for them. After all, a traveler has a chance to visit many thrift stores, strewn across several states.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The other day I actually put that idea into practice. After ripping my box of scratched DVD disks to my computer, it made a real impression on me to find a disk in the thrift store in <i>perfect</i> condition.</span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">The thrift store charged only one dollar for it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And what a lucky choice: "Tosca" by Puccini, performed by top-rated people. I felt like a prospector in the Old West who got lucky.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRqXzO5S2T-_amGDcA-lQVvmuadi10ai1-1d4iDndmzN6Ko8_etIU8eZ1k3TTlWMavL-p-KlcgzZ9BvyrSRv2RAFQJ_3kh_cTXnNo3Ke7pGhEI_CYRKbiVybheA-Kvsi3c7GjMyJBuMgdKGoNllAL60cD9vGlRuAlppELI8ByuFKLn0v-tGoNeP2cVDg/s640/thrift%20store%20disk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRqXzO5S2T-_amGDcA-lQVvmuadi10ai1-1d4iDndmzN6Ko8_etIU8eZ1k3TTlWMavL-p-KlcgzZ9BvyrSRv2RAFQJ_3kh_cTXnNo3Ke7pGhEI_CYRKbiVybheA-Kvsi3c7GjMyJBuMgdKGoNllAL60cD9vGlRuAlppELI8ByuFKLn0v-tGoNeP2cVDg/w640-h480/thrift%20store%20disk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let's hope this serves as a real inspiration. Previously I had disliked the loosely organized clutter of thrift stores. Here is a chance to see practical life on the broad canvas of human history: the frugal habits of our Depression-era parents, free range grazing in the American West, and the craze that followed chance discoveries of gold.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Even more broadly, shopping in a thrift store carries on the timeless tradition of being a human hunter and gatherer. Let me come out of the thrift store, clutching my bargains, and with a lean and predatory look on my face.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-18889632119878178622024-02-16T05:28:00.001-07:002024-02-16T05:34:44.331-07:00No More Remote Controls <p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">People have quite a bit of consumer electronics lying around in their house. How many remote controls do they have? I'll bet it isn't their favorite gadget. For one thing you can never find the damn thing when you need it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I used to think that the remote control was just to save the couch potato from having to walk three steps. But actually remote controls eliminated the need to build all those buttons into the side of the TV or other electrical appliance. And then, when the button failed, you would have had to throw the TV out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now that I have eliminated my Blu-Ray player and monitor screen by ripping my DVDs onto the computer, I looked over at the remote control of the Blu-Ray player and felt delighted that I could get rid of it!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7Gi5rvOcpaXrsZZt5hpm1hhqU-TH9_CII8DT4ZQ9VpZvLjJXcyH3F4U32d50wXyVUQK9iowx2zrLhb-VCSon_xwkhHzgXizjNU1ff_3Xyz-2ymwkCBvMIuCe0FHr0FM1MDVW17NWXi34up0LjlprB00T98FjPieiRX-INz2u1-nru6pinQJm4yQwV-U/s560/remote%20control_copy_420x560.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="420" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7Gi5rvOcpaXrsZZt5hpm1hhqU-TH9_CII8DT4ZQ9VpZvLjJXcyH3F4U32d50wXyVUQK9iowx2zrLhb-VCSon_xwkhHzgXizjNU1ff_3Xyz-2ymwkCBvMIuCe0FHr0FM1MDVW17NWXi34up0LjlprB00T98FjPieiRX-INz2u1-nru6pinQJm4yQwV-U/w300-h400/remote%20control_copy_420x560.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I fantasized a slow and solemn ritual of execution for my last remaining remote control -- something like the public hangings in old movie westerns. But that would just have been litter. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Free at last, free at last!</span><p></p></div>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-25955822609019772872024-02-12T10:52:00.003-07:002024-02-12T11:47:27.265-07:00Pity the People Who Make an Honest Living<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I am entitled to a rant: I did my taxes as 5:00 am. Afterwards I celebrated by driving to town and getting an especially good breakfast burrito at a gas station. These days eating at the gas station is as close as many of us get to 'fine dining.'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">How hard those women work to make the best and most affordable food in town. They must be Mexican </span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">seƱoras</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Perhaps their children will be assimilated into the American mainstream instead of doing hard work in a tire shop. They will go to college and aspire to a white collar career as some kind of cubicle rat, say, at Intuit (TurboTax) in San Diego. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Imagine what a step-up that will be! What an easy busy model tax-software-companies have. Their customers are afraid of the IRS so they lock onto a tax software product as an insurance product. Every year they can take advantage of the customers' fear to upsell them to the 'Premium' package, or whatever word gets used. I didn't owe any taxes this year. But in reaching a "null result" Intuit earned an easy $80. It took me two hours of fumbling with their crap to reach that null result.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Better yet, the customer has no real right to complain about TurboTax's product. It is the IRS and Congress that are responsible for the absurdity of our tax system, not TurboTax.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I believe Intuit's headquarters is in San Diego. Considering real estate prices there, it is a good thing San Diego people get jobs at Intuit instead of making breakfast burritos.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth6gNywjsxZPScdSSV5ReJqkgcVakUeIh9XVmd-IXTCiJHzGvJoEkz5jD7GRoAekti6iPUJC8ycnhgWA_GT283aTQZnzEUH3iyQTER5qgzGp7ydqDZsK3P-ov4lFi_AcuUd41WIJJzXbKy0XI_MT4b_upROw62yrAG1LWBSaf1rmFjpl6d8BeNtk1OY4/s500/pickpocket.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="500" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth6gNywjsxZPScdSSV5ReJqkgcVakUeIh9XVmd-IXTCiJHzGvJoEkz5jD7GRoAekti6iPUJC8ycnhgWA_GT283aTQZnzEUH3iyQTER5qgzGp7ydqDZsK3P-ov4lFi_AcuUd41WIJJzXbKy0XI_MT4b_upROw62yrAG1LWBSaf1rmFjpl6d8BeNtk1OY4/w640-h638/pickpocket.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">from traveloffpath.com<br /></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-28051483751696642172024-02-09T03:41:00.003-07:002024-02-09T04:28:21.832-07:00A New Media Era Has Snuck Up on Me<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The art of living outside the rat race is mostly about getting up in the morning and finding something to be interested in, without the 'System' keeping you endlessly and uselessly busy. And that is the focus of this blog. I don't like to get down 'into the weeds' of microscopic 'how to' details.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nevertheless I should have used the word 'rip' to describe the process of transcribing data from a DVD disk to the computer's hard drive (or extended memory such as cloud, flash drives, or SSD.)</span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">In doing so, a camper/traveler eliminates a box of disks, inevitable scratches, and cheapie plastic DVD player parts. The resulting media data on your computer can be played on the computer itself or transferred to your phone for easier playback in bed on those long winter nights.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This experience was interesting to me because it was a chance to reflect how many times this type of transition has happened. No, Reader, I can't quite remember the original cylinders of Thomas Edison.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH-QjxFPPFASdVdStJxlPC4w8K5_TwLhm1FvQMxR4_gLXvfHSjHSkjTAIqm5S7NJzOLYciCUophwC2JEgsnXGRtJEiJT2IFGB9uSV8c3DHl950w2WwfN8LEgBN4CjUw8CdDmuzoeFKiLx5LwLIfGls_Wiz3Lf7tJDg8fSKYo9fPdIMgDHvEKHyqQphyphenhyphenI/s500/cylindrical%20phonograph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="500" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH-QjxFPPFASdVdStJxlPC4w8K5_TwLhm1FvQMxR4_gLXvfHSjHSkjTAIqm5S7NJzOLYciCUophwC2JEgsnXGRtJEiJT2IFGB9uSV8c3DHl950w2WwfN8LEgBN4CjUw8CdDmuzoeFKiLx5LwLIfGls_Wiz3Lf7tJDg8fSKYo9fPdIMgDHvEKHyqQphyphenhyphenI/w640-h582/cylindrical%20phonograph.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">How big were people's media library back then? Ten cylinders?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What a revolutionary improvement it must have been to change the shape to a flat disk, for easy storage. Vinyl 'records' still have a cult following, don't they? Personally I don't remember them fondly. Even when the vinyl disks were new, the music sounded scratchy. And it was so easy for the needle to 'jump the track.' Ahh, sigh... but many people have fond memories of the record jackets and their interesting graphics.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I remember how astonished I was to ride in a friend's car and listen to eight-track tapes for the first time. They weren't so compact but they seemed pretty durable, and it was easy to access the music track you desired.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then the industry took a wrong turn by going to audio cassette tapes. It took so long to rewind them. In your car, the heat would kill them. And there was no graphics whatsoever to enjoy!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I completely missed the video version of tape, the VCR. Libraries and thrift stores still have some of these silly things on the shelves!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then came the DVD and Blu Ray disk era. I liked them, and still do. Just think how many millions of DVD disks are lying around, under-employed. Let's hope they make it to the thrift shops. Shopping for them could make for a pleasant activity on a windy day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-61675309593164163272024-02-07T04:13:00.000-07:002024-02-07T04:13:05.408-07:00The End of the Physical Media Era?<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, I've finally finished a big project: digitizing a box-full of Blu-Ray disks. A couple weeks ago my picture and sound-maker died. (aka, monitor, TV screen) It took the signal from a Blu Ray player.</span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Typically I used these less for entertainment than for a sleeping pill at night, or for the last hour of the evening when my eyes don't feel like reading. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was quite a shock to learn how badly I had gotten out-of-date. The kid at Best Buy told me, "Nobody sells DVD players anymore!" Just imagine what the kid was thinking! His Yuma customers were so old and, <i>like</i>, out-of-it. He would be so <i>stoked</i> if he had, <i>like,</i> younger customers, <i>bro.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, nobody seems to sell small monitors (with speakers) that are compatible with Dolby Digital sound coming from most Blu Ray players, either. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Everything is supposed to be "streamed" these days, and paid for with a monthly fee, tied to your credit card. That makes it easy for the bastards to renew your subscription <i>automatically</i> annually and sneak up the "rent." (Think Amazon Prime.) I am the kind of consumer who prefers deliberate and occasional purchases of something that he will <i>own</i>. And its job is to function for quite a few years. (I can just see that kid at Best Buy rolling his eyes over that one!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Besides, it isn't practical for a traveler and camper to depend on good internet connections everywhere. Offline entertainment is important.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Actually I haven't rejected the Blu Ray disk so much as I've bowed to the reality of dust and vibration's effect on plastic. Look at this disk box:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoeCPy5l3_ATYDDchIcZyJRHirfErUsytEaviI3vog-qtax-zO5mcfiLosYXi6vL30C_KYiOYh4bnJj3mOeZHT3KSHiFUs3mRxD5IBSi8jCToX6TswUohf8BSL7CFyYPSL-4TRZkz6lx0BEGnbaauMPvyOPyZdc1brpsyc066aKXIQ8HIlgq6_9K-P5Y/s800/scratched%20DVD%20box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoeCPy5l3_ATYDDchIcZyJRHirfErUsytEaviI3vog-qtax-zO5mcfiLosYXi6vL30C_KYiOYh4bnJj3mOeZHT3KSHiFUs3mRxD5IBSi8jCToX6TswUohf8BSL7CFyYPSL-4TRZkz6lx0BEGnbaauMPvyOPyZdc1brpsyc066aKXIQ8HIlgq6_9K-P5Y/w640-h480/scratched%20DVD%20box.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is what bumpy roads and dust can do to a storage box. The disks themselves are not the problem -- but they are typically housed in poorly designed plastic boxes. And a box of disks takes up quite a bit of space!</span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-13143267482111559262024-02-05T04:29:00.002-07:002024-02-05T04:40:12.728-07:00Another Group of Heroes to Admire<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am a broken man. The world has become so hopeless that I desperately reach out in any direction to find somebody or something to admire. Lately I have been admiring the farmer-protests in Europe. Do you think these even get reported in the state-affiliated news programs in Europe?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is not impossible that the protests could lead to a slight decrease in environmental regulations. Then, once the furor has died down, and Jean-Jacques Rosseaus's General Will has supposedly been heeded by the great democracy of Europe, the European Union desk jockeys will go back to creating more and more regulations. </span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kVyd6SwUAmWy8i5SPeZ0rBXsBu3bjZt7WBTkXM5psauB-0secgMV4a_-tkT0w1TIlaIXqEXn7M-LiyVzMqA1QVbI0MyC5JJo0W9IridvolLk3dxWR2_psx0PXzPPy5m0FjG8aqQNcNvwg-AQ8QoCxY7wZpQHYSarqCxsW1OzLr0LMTONVkMIX1HHhGE/s500/farmer%20protests.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kVyd6SwUAmWy8i5SPeZ0rBXsBu3bjZt7WBTkXM5psauB-0secgMV4a_-tkT0w1TIlaIXqEXn7M-LiyVzMqA1QVbI0MyC5JJo0W9IridvolLk3dxWR2_psx0PXzPPy5m0FjG8aqQNcNvwg-AQ8QoCxY7wZpQHYSarqCxsW1OzLr0LMTONVkMIX1HHhGE/w640-h426/farmer%20protests.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-57089412007085876882024-02-02T05:24:00.002-07:002024-02-02T07:05:20.054-07:00Pain, Mercy, and Beauty in the Desert<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">My little dog came running back to me with a big cholla segment on her cheek, next to her mouth. A friend held her head and neck while I flicked the cholla off, with a comb. It was not in deep. But a hemostat (resembling a pliers) finished the job on a couple needles that <i>were</i> in the skin. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">She squealed of course. It <i>wounds</i> me to hear my little darlin' squeal. So please consider that a certain amount of righteous anger is justified. Anger at what?: at how the beauty of the desert is portrayed by tourists and snowbirds!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This morning there was 1.25" of rain in the pan I put out last night before the rain started. Glorious! This is the<i> true </i>beauty of the desert. It is important to yell out about that, because the usual portrayal of the 'beauty of the desert' by snowbirds is -- not wrong -- but distorted by them being climate refugees from the north. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> "Beauty" is a word that should be reserved for things that make life and survival possible, and water is at the top of the list. Red sunsets, blue skies, and wearing shorts in January are </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">not</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> necessary for survival.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I want to genuinely emote over the rain but since I buy water from machines in town, it is a little hard to <i>really feel</i> relief from the rain. Believe it or not, the ritual of putting out a pan for measuring rain helped me to appreciate the rain.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOD7kBGI2wI3aM2teZJVqqrIKMu3lHRsSpNyBurvQtwVwCt7LdjI3_C2XWwfZzPWAw2tGBVQ9Q0j1Yfn7P-4Q3dgAmHb_so5U7gtqCZx-nsO-FEKtaxIXSwdNCFDh-afWuW1DX7wSKq1JQugcI6cTRqDP-52pEhTisgWaf-cX7UAFm6pCQokLemSG5OFo/s640/IMG_3571.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="640" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOD7kBGI2wI3aM2teZJVqqrIKMu3lHRsSpNyBurvQtwVwCt7LdjI3_C2XWwfZzPWAw2tGBVQ9Q0j1Yfn7P-4Q3dgAmHb_so5U7gtqCZx-nsO-FEKtaxIXSwdNCFDh-afWuW1DX7wSKq1JQugcI6cTRqDP-52pEhTisgWaf-cX7UAFm6pCQokLemSG5OFo/w640-h482/IMG_3571.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eg-uqffwRfRhXhOmLKFde-npdXhgBc2yGFp5gO5EfemlSMAbzMPAGqjG5-KlXyMV8XaCihjafERQD4cBoyA9CjHCB9ix1RqTH4eW1bOuSPDUZbBHHUkTEihqqbVIYKTOXXrujZVUqDE-AV8gW-lzZDTG3QqVM2HDgYh3_HMwZIPC2cJ3ViPGfUBMHR4/s989/1-IMG_3567.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="989" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eg-uqffwRfRhXhOmLKFde-npdXhgBc2yGFp5gO5EfemlSMAbzMPAGqjG5-KlXyMV8XaCihjafERQD4cBoyA9CjHCB9ix1RqTH4eW1bOuSPDUZbBHHUkTEihqqbVIYKTOXXrujZVUqDE-AV8gW-lzZDTG3QqVM2HDgYh3_HMwZIPC2cJ3ViPGfUBMHR4/w640-h480/1-IMG_3567.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-3765245336340395452024-01-27T07:21:00.007-07:002024-01-28T05:54:51.851-07:00Balancing Serious News With Some Needed Relief<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I insist on staying interested in geopolitical events in the world. Even if I am right about that, some allowance must be made to human nature. A human can only look at ultra-serious, grim news so much before they need some psychological relief.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I got some relief by reading a book about the Battle of Midway, when America was on the way up in the world. (The Battle of Midway, by Craig Symonds.) </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Battle of Midway occurred early in the Pacific war of World War II, and turned the tide of war in America's favor. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It offered me some relief to think that most Americans believed the newspapers, in that era. They thought their institutions were basically sound and non-corrupt most of the time. Americans had a bright future!</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJeJTdh6hj-ZxQwoRhYHNp_IoSd_a-t7LSS5xUnrI16_j7aRh5iKwffN6u0yQAQ7l67SAmCDT5GtTh4pwY6xdK_Bz2xyFyk1S9PpEJJrAOR9V_bP3HVXf9am8dHu-2zgr_4PHDtwFzMlduT7gzGQchO-8mmM8Ra0YU1Zruq8hvwMR_xktCl1XbS4ExQo/s329/Legendary_kiss_V%E2%80%93J_day_in_Times_Square_Alfred_Eisenstaedt.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="220" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJeJTdh6hj-ZxQwoRhYHNp_IoSd_a-t7LSS5xUnrI16_j7aRh5iKwffN6u0yQAQ7l67SAmCDT5GtTh4pwY6xdK_Bz2xyFyk1S9PpEJJrAOR9V_bP3HVXf9am8dHu-2zgr_4PHDtwFzMlduT7gzGQchO-8mmM8Ra0YU1Zruq8hvwMR_xktCl1XbS4ExQo/w428-h640/Legendary_kiss_V%E2%80%93J_day_in_Times_Square_Alfred_Eisenstaedt.jpg" width="428" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is especially fun for a baby boomer to think back to what America was in 1945.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">More recent histories of World War II do a better job, I think, at emphasizing the decoding of messages. Americans had a great advantage in knowing what Japan was up to, prior to the battle. Of course Hollywood movies made in the 1940s and 50s didn't want to focus on math nerds working on codes in a basement. They wanted to focus on tall, good-looking heroes, flyboys, and admirals. So I really appreciated the book correcting Hollywood's myth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is ironic to be reading about the US's greatest naval victory at a time when a small backward nation like Yemen has the nerve to take on the once mighty US Navy near the strait at the south end of the Red Sea. Will the Houthis of Yemen humiliate the US Navy?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the book did its purpose. It refreshed me to think about what America used to be. I now have a little more courage to face what it is becoming.</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-41953735672877371402024-01-24T07:11:00.004-07:002024-01-24T08:49:49.066-07:00TRUE Paradise in the Desert<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you want to get out of bed in morning and feel that all is right with the world, a nice rain shower at night is the way to do it. There is supposed to be a secondary rainy season in the Sonoran Desert in mid-winter. Some years it is a dud. But this year the rains are glorious.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But don't say that out loud to your camping neighbors if they are northern snowbirds. They think, "I didn't drive all the way here just to look at clouds and to feel cold. I demand that it be warm and sunny everyday. I dream of playing golf in shorts in January."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, that is their problem. They probably think that the following photo shows the "beauty of the desert."</span></p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ncO8FX_rtx2bING4E1gIBhYVG0DMBfL4mSB43kVvGKGGd3WujJHXCNyvQnpZBKkSTvEMj_7KwMvwGW7x01EV8fgpe2ZqQ2EdpX3Gh9xDqBHwNxwPoKzuB9EFbPnc7uYDXxCrTcp_CYMqWwvbmPwcFpG8lG6vWWjlSme_SxBdGpXTyZs-10-Fai45KdQ/s700/teddy%20bear%20cholla.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="700" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ncO8FX_rtx2bING4E1gIBhYVG0DMBfL4mSB43kVvGKGGd3WujJHXCNyvQnpZBKkSTvEMj_7KwMvwGW7x01EV8fgpe2ZqQ2EdpX3Gh9xDqBHwNxwPoKzuB9EFbPnc7uYDXxCrTcp_CYMqWwvbmPwcFpG8lG6vWWjlSme_SxBdGpXTyZs-10-Fai45KdQ/w640-h384/teddy%20bear%20cholla.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ghastly! Teddy Bear chollas are the apotheosis of Evil. The northern snowbirds probably think the non-blue sky is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But let's wallow in paradise while it lasts!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_XKNlREibX4Lk-mFwF-FXsoR_0UWLq2RikWK_ERb_gEj5lJk8CqryI1dPYAVn4pm7p8UEzJJUCk9s13ZyaP-7QT7flZ6I6FP7d_oOhH-6a5tUO_AgvtNXEvvR8RehYgKKARZs_3LdKxiWrYjEw8yJmlphmwoRU8UELYRvGvO9ULjhWyJ_7vsF-PEF9I/s720/fog%20cloud%20rain%20ajo%20desert.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_XKNlREibX4Lk-mFwF-FXsoR_0UWLq2RikWK_ERb_gEj5lJk8CqryI1dPYAVn4pm7p8UEzJJUCk9s13ZyaP-7QT7flZ6I6FP7d_oOhH-6a5tUO_AgvtNXEvvR8RehYgKKARZs_3LdKxiWrYjEw8yJmlphmwoRU8UELYRvGvO9ULjhWyJ_7vsF-PEF9I/w640-h480/fog%20cloud%20rain%20ajo%20desert.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0W_q44RHDnAtTYqXbSAsEZdQ6Op_ah8A_jH5vugypzj7i7YSAwp6YnXc8xwIYXvW0dd93Vmvkqv_CCSKh8esTstP0jm6-r030X4PAv03rKxlROl_EOh4eyz88QGfNRYpAItC0yIo42mJ7LF4Jry0RxuZ3jk-xyQ1wDVNX8LnZZlVobePe7t3EUe0ICs/s720/winter%20clouds%20sun%20desert.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0W_q44RHDnAtTYqXbSAsEZdQ6Op_ah8A_jH5vugypzj7i7YSAwp6YnXc8xwIYXvW0dd93Vmvkqv_CCSKh8esTstP0jm6-r030X4PAv03rKxlROl_EOh4eyz88QGfNRYpAItC0yIo42mJ7LF4Jry0RxuZ3jk-xyQ1wDVNX8LnZZlVobePe7t3EUe0ICs/w640-h480/winter%20clouds%20sun%20desert.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-61914377649265774222024-01-21T04:32:00.005-07:002024-01-21T13:40:37.500-07:00Visiting the Neighbor Campers<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oh why didn't I react quicker with the phone and camera! Four of us were riding around the neighborhood in a camping area in southwestern Arizona. It was fun to stop in and visit the neighbors when they are outside their rigs.</span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I was amazed at how my little dog glowed and gushed when she got attention from people who were completely new to her. Small dogs can get some love off of people who aren't even 'dog people.'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What a look on her face! It is too bad I can't get enthused so quickly with my 'fellow camper.' It is hard to shake the notion that they are 'here today, gone tomorrow,' so why put a lot of effort into charming their socks off? That is why I have always liked the idea of traveling with other people in loose caravans. And yet it hardly ever happens, probably because everybody has different preferences and calendars.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Anyway, if I had to relive my RV career, I might be tempted to buy a rural property, and breed miniature poodles.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpoxB373hAGONlBAHHA1Cf2cfPyKjJYAXTDRde7zr5wSGg17r_BPeNBE5DvE2aAFcpnzRawpU5EXYVES0Iz05b5z1nFBKpPbuyYlNvpg05ziVUQJmgzbuPp3l5cqj6Nnr-MYoVdz7jaRw6gaDmkirqep8c6LGqe3OwDnDHE288zWem3mRWfnEky8YfQM/s628/cookies2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="628" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpoxB373hAGONlBAHHA1Cf2cfPyKjJYAXTDRde7zr5wSGg17r_BPeNBE5DvE2aAFcpnzRawpU5EXYVES0Iz05b5z1nFBKpPbuyYlNvpg05ziVUQJmgzbuPp3l5cqj6Nnr-MYoVdz7jaRw6gaDmkirqep8c6LGqe3OwDnDHE288zWem3mRWfnEky8YfQM/w640-h404/cookies2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-30567120059068787612024-01-17T07:01:00.003-07:002024-01-17T09:38:18.139-07:00'Fool Me Once...'<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I have never understood why Trump is so popular. Did any of the people who voted for him in Iowa really think he is going to "drain the swamp?" If reelected he isn't going <i>to do</i> anything in office other than shoot his mouth off in bombastic speeches, act like an octogenarian kindergartener, and visibly age in front of the camera.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He will nominate a soft-money Federal Reserve. Inflation will remain persistently high during a second Trump regime.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He won't stop Israel from slaughtering Gazans. He sucks up to Israel as bad as anybody.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On the other hand, he might end the slaughter of Ukrainians in that war.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Does Trump really have any serious political principles? Does he have a lot of knowledge or interest in the world? Or does he just see the presidency as a branch of the entertainment industry?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Conversely, I have never understood the Trump Derangement Syndrome. Many of the people who suffer from this disease are the same sort of people who would put a "No Hate Allowed Here" sign on their window or on their car-bumper. Never have I seen more vitriolic HATE spewed out continuously than what has been thrown at Trump.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The USA is 'circling the drain.' I need to think about something else for the rest of the day. Besides, there is nothing more to say of Trump's second term than 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtxNcD0UkLBn41ETgMHRswWD0e2eXR1brBqLtVKoLPXWIToNPaSgrOawBsgEM_4ndj_xM8tZfifO32fxHH-Kk6vhUnalfklVMa1vdIItNyNHZ21tb_kgdWTxUzZwWEEDHdtD9ZuIJH0EY7CMCWBn_u27gFThVeLSzjgDjv_i_UCgbjXfxHnr9-Uw5HD8/s500/Trump%20supporter.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="500" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtxNcD0UkLBn41ETgMHRswWD0e2eXR1brBqLtVKoLPXWIToNPaSgrOawBsgEM_4ndj_xM8tZfifO32fxHH-Kk6vhUnalfklVMa1vdIItNyNHZ21tb_kgdWTxUzZwWEEDHdtD9ZuIJH0EY7CMCWBn_u27gFThVeLSzjgDjv_i_UCgbjXfxHnr9-Uw5HD8/w400-h286/Trump%20supporter.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From desmoinesregister.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-38246581834631891152024-01-15T04:26:00.002-07:002024-01-15T05:44:12.490-07:00Those Bothersome Burros!<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Occasionally you can see videos made from Go-Pro cameras attached to the heads of animals. A coyote would be a good animal to choose for this kind of reality TV show. What a life those animals barely manage to live!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here in the Yuma area, not to0 many coyotes are heard or seen. That is not a great endorsement of a geographical area. But this year I see several <a href="https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/" target="_blank">wild burros</a> per day. They would also be a great choice for mounting a Go-Pro camera on their heads. How <i>do</i> they make a living around here? Water is not a problem, with the Colorado River and irrigation canals nearby. But there is no vegetation around here -- not even cholla. Those burros must be sneaking off in the middle of the night to raid lettuce fields!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cute animals, these burros. But I worry about how my little dog would behave around them if she were off-leash. They can kick pretty good and their hooves are sharp.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is an gravel pit next to my campsite that appears somewhat contained, so I let my little dog off-leash. Animals become a different animal when they run, and dogs are better than most animals at expressing sheer joy when they run off-leash. But I was worried about those burros.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then I heard a strange snorting sound. Sure enough, my little dog was chasing a burro. What a relief it was to discover that she would not get closer than 10 feet to them! It was strange the way the burro usually held its ground and studied her, while she barked at it. Once she stood on a small hill and stared at the burro while the burro returned the stare. It was starting to resemble the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGG3Ws7s_Zk" target="_blank">climactic shoot-outs</a> at the end of the Spaghetti Westerns, especially with the suspense, scenery, and a confined circle or arena of battle. I laughed out loud just thinking about which one would win the shoot-out.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSdvN_x8OcvCqzXjFJi4huMxYu_wBCpxCEQawrLHgL6mWWjlIaUpyqYtXKjlbBz6meO4Vf0MBZaSPu1KnI6YzlKfLNss4aEIhkUYWHwYiEEpxoe6PYEXqjihlcobWfQOpbSyuif0RTMLoJUUL9Yac2HQ0x448MutSFhE7l9qlKYqS2jzkKSzp_ADMk8g/s1500/burros%20wild.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="1500" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSdvN_x8OcvCqzXjFJi4huMxYu_wBCpxCEQawrLHgL6mWWjlIaUpyqYtXKjlbBz6meO4Vf0MBZaSPu1KnI6YzlKfLNss4aEIhkUYWHwYiEEpxoe6PYEXqjihlcobWfQOpbSyuif0RTMLoJUUL9Yac2HQ0x448MutSFhE7l9qlKYqS2jzkKSzp_ADMk8g/w640-h434/burros%20wild.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've lost the source of this internet photo, but it might be https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was more than just a (hockey) face-off between two animals. It was an ideological contest between two lifestyles: the thoroughly domesticated dog versus the once-domesticated, but now feral, burro. And where does a dispersed camper fit in, on that spectrum?</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-24473923749639433162024-01-13T07:17:00.003-07:002024-01-13T10:48:05.872-07:00Becoming a Statistic<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/world-int/24744-the-tragic-end-of-gonzalo-lira-a-voice-silenced-in-ukraine.html" target="_blank">Gonzalo Lira died recently</a> in a Ukrainian prison, due to health problems. He was a You Tuber who lived in Ukraine, where he had a couple children. He had been reckless enough to criticize the Zelensky and Biden regimes. </span> </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I used to watch his channel on You Tube. When the sad news came out yesterday, it really affected me. Of all the deaths in the Ukraine, this was the one that really hit me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Strange isn't it? Recall Stalin's words: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxUrYGs1UrxrpVqIxr7jMPApRe54pzwhmu_nsK8PHFvFC4p2bcpvTMXSQmMsHAhalNf1pykZxmBYVwZoFlo0pCaCAhbDIG0vBFFu8Mp7hyphenhyphenxIMJ1BWF0Vrkc3DP1NMiG9qpFnNdbG1XXVhWnOAQMkevrPql6eVR_bPL4TQVb1wYBA_dYi8pL7ZKJvXkQ/s800/gonzalo%20lire.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxUrYGs1UrxrpVqIxr7jMPApRe54pzwhmu_nsK8PHFvFC4p2bcpvTMXSQmMsHAhalNf1pykZxmBYVwZoFlo0pCaCAhbDIG0vBFFu8Mp7hyphenhyphenxIMJ1BWF0Vrkc3DP1NMiG9qpFnNdbG1XXVhWnOAQMkevrPql6eVR_bPL4TQVb1wYBA_dYi8pL7ZKJvXkQ/w640-h480/gonzalo%20lire.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From Helsinki Times</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-14076797281013364642024-01-10T07:18:00.002-07:002024-01-11T12:30:51.837-07:00Learning to Laugh at Being a Sub-Yuman<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Every year, during the depths of a Arizona winter, I put in some time in Yuma. It is the only time of year that I can stand the place. But I have learned to laugh at my own maladjustment here. And there are things that help, such as shopping first thing in the morning, when traffic is tolerable. Afternoon traffic is awful.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was in the Walmart getting some new tires, the first day. It seemed like I was the only adult male who wore long pants. But I was on my best behavior: not once did I roll my eyes at those goofy Canadian snowbirds, walking around in their shorts, and displaying their ugly legs in public. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The mere act of shopping is semi-comical. I blast through the store, pushing my cart at reckless speeds, and nearly having a couple crashes. The sooner the shopping is ended, the better! For one thing, I need to escape the music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then I stopped and stared quizzically at big blocks of cheese: why do they have 'mild cheddar' <i>and</i> 'medium cheddar?' People actually <i>like </i>food like that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On the drive out to the campsite, I had to run the air conditioner in the van!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But let's be fair to Yuma. It is enjoyable to see the agriculture. And the rocks are actually round near my campsite -- and that is no small miracle -- because they are close to the Colorado River. Bicycle tires and dog paws are happy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">After a couple days of poor visibility, the visual crispness of the desert can be delightful.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY58k30E85TRnJfky05qb51Ph0389lFos0wjmQjHNKLq4jot9GoMKiSA2YMlAQ1RBvZg6iRvc3eh7wBkJ5ZeAGN2Veiw4eH3Q5yUU_m-VqX_B6u6ZHP5_V2vqDPiglrqJxyw9msK9C-eXn9IS451hZH64YkdUaz6Q6xrhN2lnySjL5k9-5T39FLlgmOE/s720/crisp%20desert.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY58k30E85TRnJfky05qb51Ph0389lFos0wjmQjHNKLq4jot9GoMKiSA2YMlAQ1RBvZg6iRvc3eh7wBkJ5ZeAGN2Veiw4eH3Q5yUU_m-VqX_B6u6ZHP5_V2vqDPiglrqJxyw9msK9C-eXn9IS451hZH64YkdUaz6Q6xrhN2lnySjL5k9-5T39FLlgmOE/w640-h480/crisp%20desert.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-8989202724245426172024-01-06T06:37:00.000-07:002024-01-06T06:37:23.138-07:00Politics Realigns<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes it is hard to keep up to date. In a small Arizona town recently I saw a political message in somebody's yard/fence. It was an Israeli flag, with the message "Support Israel." I have seen such political billboards before in the rural West, and usually just roll my eyes at them. Presumably they are put up by a Rapture-crazed, Evangelical Christian who is under the influence of some frothing-at-the-mouth radio preacher.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But this flag surprised me: it also included a Rainbow flag. In other words, this was a statement made by a mainstream Democrat. And I still think of Democrats as the party of George McGovern and anti-Vietnam War protestors. My goodness, am I out-of-date!</span></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600429566875341122.post-46055480936821062712024-01-03T05:32:00.004-07:002024-01-03T11:39:27.827-07:00Desperate, Stubborn Hope Despite the World<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The American political system has become so dysfunctional that ignoring it makes sense to any individual person. Why become angry or worried about things you can't do anything about? But there are grounds for hope. Both Biden and Trump are old men. They are not immortal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It might seem self-indulgent to enjoy the speeches of a couple Irish firebrands, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TgkoCAqGnY" target="_blank">Clare Daly </a>or Mick Wallace. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzznf0li3xeHvNLx09WgFKuzkfcc5qfjWu0NlxkXDGZbxrxQtr8uVEhJeq5wz2aqtlcbXwk6cPdeUffGLJSaEB9Ofoo89v8NZqcz-D9K33zBp_UMWXIJjOt974DFqD7cSTbh73D08fBp-5Mosba3xXfNyR2ZKOB2t99UDnV3vS_-TwXdR3X9hhkPRIvc/s480/clare%20daly%20screenshot%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzznf0li3xeHvNLx09WgFKuzkfcc5qfjWu0NlxkXDGZbxrxQtr8uVEhJeq5wz2aqtlcbXwk6cPdeUffGLJSaEB9Ofoo89v8NZqcz-D9K33zBp_UMWXIJjOt974DFqD7cSTbh73D08fBp-5Mosba3xXfNyR2ZKOB2t99UDnV3vS_-TwXdR3X9hhkPRIvc/w640-h480/clare%20daly%20screenshot%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">If I did my homework on them I might find things to dislike. But at some point you have to allow yourself a little relief from the discouragement of daily news. Humans are not infinitely strong -- we can take only <i>so much.</i> Relentless discouragement will just cause a person to tune out everything that is happening in the world. That would hardly be a symptom of a healthy democracy.</span> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">With the same excuse-making, I allow myself to admire the Houthis' closing of the Red Sea to Israeli ships. They are the only Muslim neighbor of Israel that is <i>doing anything</i> to stop the slaughter in Gaza. In the Arab countries in the Mideast, large numbers of people protest in the streets. So what? Their politicians tweek their speeches to pretend to listen to their citizens. It means nothing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">These examples might sound pathetically humble, but at least I am trying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I asked the internet for a visual image that expressed discouragement and desperate, stubborn hope. It came up with a little bit. (Most of it was childish rubbish from the Bible or the bromides of pop-psychology gurus.) Microsoft Bing's AI Copilot came up with nothing. Why don't cartoonists, painters, or photographers apply themselves to something that is important to the human condition, instead of "Beauty?</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Perhaps musicians are more useful. I can think of plaintive songs of the cello that might serve the purpose. How's the Cello Concerto of Vivaldi, featured in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkLMZcWFWRQ" target="_blank">this You Tube clip</a> of "Barry Lyndon?"</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWBDtzZmDk-gUWWg_LXY7CYMDdJ0p47olp37Gyhb5x1t6L3Scdh1DspT0vdHccqXtnGivXmqVfrtyoWUvhkWlBX53cyIK42FxHAMDjuB5pLeUEKA97te-GWc6HbOZRVAgteJZONEvaiGbf1_Uk2EWM6xk69k7EQ6tBEJ6Gq5nyn9x6D0X_J4CFUTjtmg/s480/barry%20lyndon%20cello%20concerto_copy_480x360.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWBDtzZmDk-gUWWg_LXY7CYMDdJ0p47olp37Gyhb5x1t6L3Scdh1DspT0vdHccqXtnGivXmqVfrtyoWUvhkWlBX53cyIK42FxHAMDjuB5pLeUEKA97te-GWc6HbOZRVAgteJZONEvaiGbf1_Uk2EWM6xk69k7EQ6tBEJ6Gq5nyn9x6D0X_J4CFUTjtmg/w640-h480/barry%20lyndon%20cello%20concerto_copy_480x360.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>kaBLOOnie Boonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05845667016536890886noreply@blogger.com5