Occupation of Independence

Almost Nevada, almost Utah.  When a guy chases the seasons, he can sometimes get it just right.  This week I have descended the Colorado River system to where it falls into the 30s (F) at night and rises to around 60 F midday.  No flying insects, no sweat when walking, and no dangerous temperatures in the van for my little dog. But it is remarkable how narrow this perfect temperature range is.  I should have learned more about Evolution.  How could there be over 7 billion human critters on this planet when they are so mal-adapted to the planet's temperatures? Actually perfection only lasted two days here.  On the third night cold winds howled down the canyon from Utah.  Maybe it is fair to call them "Santa Ana" winds. At any rate my "program" is still in effect: only migrate south when daytime highs can't reach 55 F.  It's not that I dislike Arizona, but a couple months of it is quite enough.  The camping locations of Arizona are crowded and well-known,

Since Veterans Day speeches in the USA have a way of glorifying the US military, interventionism, and a planet ruled by the Pentagon,   some improvement is desperately needed. Does somebody deserve maudlin remembrance for getting unlucky as cannon fodder in some useless war that politicians tricked a country into? But what about the positive aspects of the martial tradition?  Those should be honored on Veterans Day.  And there are opportunities to do so. Let's start by honoring the brave militia members in the Donbass region, who have been shelled by NATO/Ukrainian artillery for the last eight years.  They have been performing a soldier's highest duty: protecting his family and people from invasion by a foreign power.  Since 2014, Ukraine has had an illegitimate government imposed by neocon warmongers in Washington DC. The people of the Donbass are Russian speakers for the most part.  They are tied to Russia historically, culturally, and religiously.  NATO is a foreign power th

There seems to be a pattern: laundromats haven't raised the prices of the washing machine all that much, but they double the prices of the dryers, and hope you don't notice it until it is too late. I was thinking about a commenter's suggestion to handwash clothes when I had surrendered to the laundromat, the other day.   Modern virtue signaling, using WEF-approved methods. O ne has to kill time somehow at the laundromat so I also surrendered to a  fast food joint that I could walk to.  Entering the Wendy's I braced for sticker shock by telling myself that "it's your own fault for being here."  (In fact I have pretty much rubbed fast food and coffee shops out of my life.) Finally a female employee (I think) walked up to the counter and asked if I had used the kiosk, which is basically a giant smartphone where you can wrestle with stepping through the menu system.  Once you get good at it, there will be a software upgrade of the system so you can relearn a b

A couple posts ago I speculated about Turkey's realignment towards the Eurasian block.  Since then, a real game-changer has come along: Saudi Arabia might be joining BRICS+.  If that happens, it will be like the earth's spin or tilt has changed!    This subject has gotten a bit of attention in the media but not as much as it deserves, perhaps because it is an ongoing process instead of an all-at-once news item.  Just think how much time we spend watching news that is unimportant, while something of earth-shaking importance is fairly neglected! Where can a person learn more about this topic?