well, fuck

Sean Connery has passed.  

His characters were my heroes, even if they were just characters. And he played 'em so well. 

Redefining:

 So what with the election all close and shit, we are getting BOMBARDED by political ads from the city of Chicago and its environs. 

The new buzzword in the attack ads is "Extreme".  (which might be effective if nearly every ad didn't use it)..

A candidate is "Extreme" if he or she doesn't want things like free shit, health care, abortion, etc. 

They are "Extreme" if they don't want all the liberal goals....if they want normal conservative things.. law and order, not having the government pay for everything, if they think that people have choices, and their choices should have consequences...

In other words, anything that doesn't go along with the Liberal Agenda is "Extreme"...even if that "Extreme" view was the nor  as little as 10 years ago.

I never realized how "Extreme" I was.....

Chutzpah

 SO it seems that Kenneth Walker is being sued for "Causing Emotional Distress"....by Louisville Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly....one of the officers who was involved in the ill fated no knock raid that ended up in the death of Breonna Taylor. 

Now, forget the controversy around Ms Taylor's innocence or guilt (remember, she hadn't been charged with anything, much less had a trial, so her innocence or guilt had not yet been established)...forget about the fact that this no-knock raid was unnecessary, be she innocent or guilty...

Here is a cop, who was all tac-ed up, ready for a gunfight, executing a no knock raid, who had ONE shot fired from the apartment, suing for "Emotional Distress". 

"If you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen". This lawsuit should be tossed. Getting shot at is a possibility when a cop goes on a raid...especially a no knock raid. That's why they wear armor. When one of the sheep fights back, thinking his home is being invaded (Hint: It WAS being invaded, only the invaders were COPS) and a cop gets shot, well, that is part of the possibility of what might happen on this sort of job. This isn't walking a beat, this is INVADING someone's home.  

I hope this suit gets tossed out. Even more, I hope that Mr. Walker Mattingly gets sued for court costs. 

I'm all about supporting our police, but at some point, we gotta say "enough". Now is that time. 

cognitive dissonance in reporting:

 So lessee here:

Trump is doing and has done everything wrong coronavirus wise....Hospitals are full to overflowing (or MIGHT be soon, anyway) there is a SURGE in cases across the country and this is entirely the fault of Donald J. Trump.

Next story: Coronavirus cases SURGE across europe and parts of Asia, despite these countries taking proper steps to corral and contain the virus. 

Who knew Trump could affect the rest of the world as much as he affects the United States, coronavirus wise? 

Look, newsie folks, I get that you dislike (if that is not too weak of a word) The Donald....But c'mon man, get a grip on rationality. 

A parody

 But a LOT of truth here:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3UvavR4AhLk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And since Blogger doesn't embed about half the time, a link to the video:

An Honest Ad From Your Democratic Party Spokesperson

Campaign ad questions:

 Why do the Democrats (and Liberals) hide the term "Abortion" with the phrase "A woman's Right to Choose" and "Women's health care choices"

Look: I am nether for nor against abortion. Not taking a stand either way here.

But call it what it is, stop hiding it with code words. 

Yes, I know it is too much to expect liberals to be honest, but still....

More looting in protest

 So a cop in Philadelphia killed a man with more melanin than the cop...

So the people in Philadelphia rioted and, of course, looted stores in their neighborhood.

'Cause nothing shows your thirst for Justice like looting the neighborhood Family Dollar store, Amirite? 

Especially if it will give you a reason to complain later about "No one wants to invest in "Minority Neighborhoods"..."

And they keep the "Sky is falling!!!" meme going

 Have you noticed that although the number of deaths from Covid is not rising, the media keeps pushing the "hospitals are overwhelmed" story? 

The latest I have seen is "hospitals may soon need to ration care"...."MAY" being the operative word. we've heard it for the past two weeks, but they keep repeating it....That is the story we heard last time too, when they were pushing the fears of 2.2 million deaths...back when they said we needed to shelter in place for two weeks to "Flatten the Curve"....back in March. 

I think that this is another attempt to scare us and keep people afraid.....

But what is the end game? What do they get at this point? The election is essentially decided by now. Few people have not made their choice....if there is gonna be fraud, it is already in place. It can't be the election, I don't think

Why keep ratcheting up the fear? 

One week deadline:

 So, just as an exercise....

What items will you need to purchase to keep your life "normal" in the next 3 weeks?

Forget about the following weeks (which may well also be problematic) or the Thanksgiving or Christmas season, or anything beyond the next three weeks. Just think about the week leading up to the election and especially the two weeks beyond that.

Likely, you are stocked up on TP and such, (if not, get shopping!). What I am talking about is things you would normally buy to eat, clean your house, keep your routine (going to work, to other places, church(if that is an option) , etc).....Got enough gasoline? 

If you can buy, and store, either on a shelf or in a fridge or a freezer the foods you would normally buy then I suggest that in the next few days, you do so. If you can buy, and safely store enough gasoline for a week or two of "normal" consumption, then you might be well advised to do so in the week prior to the election.

Medicines? Yeah, same same. Call yer Physician and see if you can get your maintenance medication filled this week. 

Remember, even if it is unlikely that there will be "Civil Unrest" in your immediate neighborhood, your grocery store gets it's supplies via truck from a warehouse...likely in a larger city. So does your pharmacy. So, likely, does your gas station get it's fuel from a tank farm near (or in) a larger urban area. 

It is quite possible that the Urban areas will get some sort of Blue fueled "Civil Unrest" should Donald Trump win the election. We have seen that the police are less than effective when such unrest has happened. 

Let us not forget that in many areas, the final vote count will likely not be known for at least a week past Nov 3rd.  So you gotta plan for a week of uncertainty and at least a week past that for things to flare up and fade out. 

Plan accordingly. 

Aaandd....a blogmeet:

 So Saturday at 8:35 central time, Aaron of the SHEKEL made the call that our blogmeet was a "GO". The weather was good enough for him to fly VFR to the blogmeet and it was good enough for me as well. (I was only worried about icing, really)

So we planned our flights to arrive at KFPK at noon local...Winds were 070 at 8 at departure, and 360 at 5 at KFPK at the time of departure

I left my airport...filed IFR via ADIME then direct. (Keeps me out of South Bend Indiana class C airspace and prevents me overlying KSBN)...I departed at 9:35 local. 

South Bend Clearance gave me 3000 ft initially, 5000 ft in 10 minutes.

I climbed up to 3000 feet. Clouds at departure were 1400 broken, overcast 1900. IF I had not had my Instrument rating, I could not have departed as it was definitely NOT VFR....As I checked in with South Bend Approach, they immediately cleared me for 5000. On the way through the clouds though, I picked up a fair amount of rime ice...more than a trace, but not enough to worry about. Broke out of the clouds at 4700 feet and flew towards my first waypoint at 135 kias..the winds were near calm, so my ground speed was more or less my airspeed. Then ATC asked if I wanted to go KFPK direct, which was great, saving me 10 minutes or so, so I accepted the amended clearance and flew direct. In and out of the clouds until more or less the Michigan state line, then clear above the mostly broken, then scattered, clouds at about 3800 feet. (The ice melted off slowly). Total flight time, including startup, warmup and taxi, was 1.6 hours. The view en-route was AWESOME.

notice the residual ice on the windshield??

At arrival, it was 220 at 9 about 35 miles out. So set up for the rwy 21 approach...when I crossed the numbers it was 010 at 6 so a kinda downwind landing, but not a big deal. I chose not to circle for the opposing runway and accepted the slightly higher landing speed...cause I am just stubborn and the winds were light enough that it wasn't a big deal. I arrived just after Aaron and his friend Tosh while they were still parking their plane. Pulled up, turned and shut down, backed mine in right next to theirs, chocked the wheels, and we unloaded. 

Met everyone: Aaron I knew, shook hands with his friend Tosh, and met ERJ ...and Scott of Providentia and his dad for the first time. We walked into the small airport office and used the facilities and planned our day. We had considered shooting a bit, but the available ranges were busy with either hunters sighting in for the deer season or Hunter Ed classes, so we chose to just have lunch. I did have to bring my rifle along with me (the Non-Ruger 10-22 in it's case) for security as the plane is almost as secure as a high school locker, but it just stayed in the car as we had lunch. 

Lunch was great, a small place called the Eaton Place. good soup, good sandwiches and the Tosh and I had their house made pie....pie was awesome. Did I mention the pie? I mean the pie was AWESOME....I didn't need dinner that evening and likely won't need lunch today, either. I think I ate 10,000 calories, half of which was pie. 

Conversation was great, lots of talk about lots of things. I miss blogmeets like this, as these folks are of my Tribe. 

All too soon, it was time to leave and return to the airport. Bummer. 

Preflighted and started up. Aaron taxiied first, I followed. A short runup and off we went. The wind kept changing, so Aaron had to change runways from a 21 departure to a 03 departure....Since I was at that end of the runway I took off while he was taxiing back to the 03 end from the 21 end. As I turned downwind I heard him call his departure and watched him climb out in the other direction. 

Great Lakes Approach gave me 3000 initially, 4000 (as I had filed) in 10 minutes. Cleared to 4000 feet, it was pretty bumpy so I asked for higher. They gave me 6000, which put me solidly in IFR in the clouds, which sucked as it was just at freezing and, while there was no ice formation, there was a lot of moisture on the plane...so I asked for higher again. Oddly, ATC gave me 7000 (westerly headings get even thousands normally), but I took it, as it got me out of the clouds. Later they amended that to the proper altitude, an even one (gave me the choice of 8 or 10)...I chose 8 which kept me out of the clouds. 

Passed over Kalamazoo at 132 knots (148 TAS, 121 ground speed), then began my descent to my airport just past South Bend.... 5000 feet, then cleared to 3000 feet. 19 minutes later I reported "Airport in sight" and cancelled my IFR flight plan. landed visually, and taxiied to the hangar. Fueled up and put the plane away. 

Over all,  the time going back, with taxi and startup and such, was 1.7. 

This is a 3-1/2+ hour drive, or an hour and a half flight. This is why I bought the plane. 

A great day, really, met some Internet friends in Meatspace, and that is a Good Thing. 

These folks, great people all, are my People.  

I look forward to doing it again soon. 

How I spent my Friday evening

 So there I was, with a bunch of other grumpy old men, listening to the lecturer demonstrate how to put on a CAT tourniquet.

I was taking a "Stop the Bleed" course. 

What with Covid restrictions and all that, we could only accommodate 16 people in the class, but lots was learned that evening. 

It was a good review of the course I took with Ambulance Driver way back when. His course was better, and much more in depth, but I did need the review. 

I urge you to take such a course if you haven't already taken one. 

And if you haven't had a review in a while, you should do one soon. 

I DO have a beautiful set of four matching pressure bruises on each arm and leg, up high though. on each arm and leg I did myself, but the really nice ones were done by the others in the class when they applied the tourniquets to me.  

The videos we saw were pretty graphic, but at least no one squealed like a 6th grade schoolgirl when the blood started flowing. 

Now today, I am hoping to do a blogmeet with some Michigan bloggers. 

One thought on the debate that no one else seems to be talking about:

 Joe talked a LOT about Values...but did not mention what those values were.

I think, for him, those values are not mine.

No rule of law

No Constitution. First amendment only to those who are currently special, the rest of us can just shut up. No Second amendment for anyone.

No true Equality, nor Equal Protection under the law....Minorities and groups deemed special at the moment are forgiven actions that the rest of us will be put in jail for.

Taxes taxes taxes...because the Government knows how to spend your money better than you do.....and redistribution is ok. So is Socialism. 

These are NOT my values. nor, I think, are they the values of most Americans, no matter what our color, culture or race. 

Show this to your liberal friends:

 Biden claimed he never said he wanted to "end" Coal and Oil and Fracking:

Trump called him a liar: "You said it! It's on tape!"

Biden said "Prove it"

Donnie and his team did so, as promised last night in the debate....

Read here. 

Biden lied (or forgot) 

Why is it that they can't tell the truth to most of the country? 

I was unaware that there were two Debates last night:

 Especially TV news, I can only come to one conclusion:

I must have watched the wrong debate.

And it wasn't the one that the Media saw. Couldn't have been. No way.

They saw things that I did not....

Or their bias did not allow them to see things that I missed. Lots of them. Somehow they saw a side of Joe Biden that I missed....

I was unaware that I was watching the wrong debate. 

I will have to pay more attention next election. 

And the people of Illinois are starting to say "NO!"

 Seems that the fat-ass Governor of Illinois has decided that the economy in many downstate counties was recovering too quickly.............

So he decided to close indoor dining and some other activities under the guise of "Spread of Covid" issues....even though there is no evidence that this is a major factor in new infections...

But it would seem that these downstate folks are fighting back, promising not to close, and their governments are stating that they will not enforce the new Edict by the Governor...

We will see how it goes. 

Odd, alcohol after 10 pm can cause covid?

 So in Chicago, the Mayor is implementing "curfews" for bars and restaurants. No alcohol sales after 9 PM, no food after 10 for any business deemed "Non-Essential". 

Why is it that before 9 PM, booze is safe? Or even going to a bar BEFORE 9 PM, but it is bad AFTER? 

Really, I gotta ask what the hell are they thinking? What logic makes this a good idea? 

Or is it Social Conditioning? Or simply a power grab? 

Turning the tables on CBS

 Seems that Donnie did an interview with CBS's "60 minutes". 

And he turned the tables on them, as he released an "unedited" copy. 

CBS is PISSED. Not able to edit and slant the questions and Donnie's answers. 

Anyone who is interviewed by any current "news" agency should record it for their own protection. 

An attempt to remain relevant

 The FBI has given a press conference telling us that they are ever vigilant and that they had "some information" about Iran and (possibly) Russia maybe sending some sort of "intimidating" emails to people....

Somehow, someone may have accessed voter information . No one said how, or who,  or what voter databases had been accesses...and what information they had that wasn't already publicly available data. 

But they told us to be assured that the FBI is ON THE JOB. 

(no statement on the fact that they had knowledge that the entire "Russian Interference" meme was bullshit, and they knew it, nor that they had knowledge of Hunter Biden's activities via the emails (and photos) on the Hard Drive that has recently surfaced via Giuliani and the Post...and that they sat on it for nearly a year)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0Jq-IL2NA

(Start at 8:30)...for some reason it won't embed

So....less than two weeks left:

13 days. 

"Beat the rush, panic early."

If I were you, I'd go shopping. While there may not be the selection in the stores you might like, I'd go purchase some food and water, especially if one lives on a "Blue" city (or, for that matter, any city). 

Plan for some "civil unrest". After all, we are likely to not have "election DAY" but rather "Election WEEK". as mail in ballots that arrive after election day are counted as much as 5 days after. It may be that we have no clear president for as much as a week. 

I fully expect the Left to become violent....followed possibly by folks on the Right deciding they ahve had enough and taking action to quell it. 

Food, water, fuel. (Ammo is pretty much nonexistent unless one is lucky, or is willing to pay 5 times for it). Buy it and store it...it might be that the wise move is to stay home for a week or more. 

Don't forget the pet food either!

If you don't already have it, try to get a 2 (or more) week supply of your maintenance medicine....just to be sure you have some if you can't get it. 

Kinda hard to believe them anymore

 So the evening "News" is telling us that "Hospitals are overwhelmed" ((again), even though they weren't overwhelmed last time) by the new "Surge" in Coronavirus cases. 

Maybe this time they are telling us the truth. Last time, there were very few hospitals that were "overwhelmed".

Much like the little boy that cried WOLF!, the media has lied time and time again, and I find it hard to give any credence to the warnings of doom this time.

The statistics are structured to frighten without giving a real, honest assessment. They tell us the total overall number of cases (since March, in most cases) and tell us the number of new cases without telling us how many of those new cases are symptomatic, how many are hospitalized....And they trumpet the number of deaths...but they make it difficult to find out any usable information....They don't tell us what percentage of tests show a positive, for instance....

When people or organizations use statistics to frighten, rather than inform, I become suspicious. 

I laughed and laughed

 Via Kenny:

Equal protection under the law

 So didn't Paul Manafort get convicted of failing to register as a "Foreign Agent"? 

Why aren't they going after Hunter Biden for the same thing? 

Just asking....for a friend

Like a Covid death prediction

 The forecast for the winds was less than on-target..

Highest wind was 38 knots...more or less 44 miles per hour.

Most wind gusts were much less.

Power only flickered once, and that was for less than 30 seconds as the automatics isolated the short. 

All prepped up (not really) and nowhere to go....

ETA: If they can't predict the weather 12 hours in advance, what makes them think they can predict Climate 50 years into the future? 

I can't believe that people pay money for them

 So I had to have some warranty work done on the Truck.

The Dodge dealer gave me a brand new Jeep Renegade to drive. 

What a shitbox.

The transmission never stops shifting, the dash looks like it was laid out by a 4th grader, and the controls feel cheap.

The acceleration is mediocre at best, the engine sounds like a sewing machine eating gravel while tripping on meth, and the handling is almost as good as my Kubota tractor.  The Fiat 124 was a better car 50 years ago.

I cannot believe, as competitive as the small car market is that Jeep sells these things. For $22k, one can buy a LOT of small car from Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, even Ford and Chevy and Subaru. None of them are luxury cars, but at least they are decently engineered. 

On the bright side, the outward vision from the Renegade was decent...and the turn signals worked. 

oughta be fun today:

 50 MPH wind gusts forecast. 

I expect to lose power....for how long I dunno. 

Getting the laundry done early, and planning on losing both power and internet for a while. 

If need be, I can fire up the generator, but as it isn't cold enough to need heat, I might not bother, 

No flying today though. 

Of COURSE its "Disinformation"

 So the media is now floating the theory that the Biden Emails (see below posts) are "disinformation" from "Russia" via the Ukraine via Rudy Giuliani 

Odd how the Ukraine (which is where Hunter Biden was "employed" by Burisma for his father's influence during the Obama Administration) has so much power, so many "Operatives" that can control so much influence over the American People and their choice for President, innit? 

Nice attempt to discredit. Nice deflection too. 

Are the emails legit? I dunno. They do fit the theory that has been floating around for a year or more, and it does seem odd that Burisma would hire Hunter Biden for his (nonexistent) "Expertise"...(not to mention the CHinese, but that is another story) ......I mean, they were paying his some serious coin to do........??

So...the story now is:

 That someone hacked emails from Hunter Biden and "inserted" the "fake" emails in question into the file...

Then put them on a hard drive of a computer that was then taken to the repair shop and left for 90 days...all done months ago so that the data could be released right now. Linking the emails to Biden and making the release "clean". 

Spin, spin, spin. and yet more spin. 

If we could hook a generator to this story we could power Manhattan. 

So...a question:

 It is reported that there is an email chain that links Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Burisma, and other figures "arranging" for Joe to "meet" with officials that could influence (eliminate by threatening the dispersal of US aid) the corruption charges against Burisma....

Supposedly gotten off a laptop brought in for repair...and left, never to be picked up.

Whose content was subsequently copied by the shop owner, who then also contacted the FBI...who confiscated the laptop.

Now, this all happened about the time of Trump's corruption charges and subsequent investigation....

And yet the FBI withheld this evidence and remained silent.  Odd, that, innit?

Forget the millions of Taxpayer dollars spent investigating the bogus claims, TH FBI KNEW THAT THEY WERE BOGUS AND HID EVIDENCE AND REMAINED SILENT. 

Think about that. Again, proof that the FBI wants Trump gone. That the FBI conspired to get rid of him. 

"While Black"

 So, suddenly, YoutTube thinks that I care about the propaganda campaign that shows the terrible treatments of black people by cops simply because of the color of their skin.

The harassment that black men endure....oddly enough, all when they ahve video and oddly enough all in the past two months. 

Strange timing, innit?

Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQB_2HkJOds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxbgBKKwokw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKX3_hOD_8o

You can find many more if you look. Most in the past 2 or three months. 

Of course, this only happens to black people, never to whites nor hispanics, right?

So...lemme get this straight:

 Seems tht the Democrats questioners of Amy Coney Barrett want her to be impartial, but also want her to tell them how she would decide some Liberal causes...

I found them to be irritating. They want her to prejudge the issues, even before there is an argument made one way or another. They want her to choose a side...

It would seem that they don't want an impartial judge, one that would do what we expect the Supremes to do...Examine and judge a case based on laws and the Constitution, but rather on ideology...(so long as it is Liberal Ideology, that is).

I find that disgusting. 

Interesting viewpoint:

 So it would seem that the Leftists and the DNC (and the media, but I am being redundant here) are all of the opinion that Judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, are there to legislate by proclamation rather than interpret the law. 

I find that scary, that they miss entirely the reason we have a Legislative, an Executive and a Judicial branch, and what their roles are. 

Columbus day

 And as usual, the LEFT wants to replace it with something else...."Indigenous People's day"

It is, at the end, simply another attempt to erase history. 

We need to stop this shit soon. 

Huh, what a surprise:

 NBA will stop pushing BLM message on the court after ratings plummet

Who would have thought? I mean, we all want politics with our sports, right? Strife in the things we view for relaxation...yeah, we want that...

Reports are that viewership is down by nearly 70%. 

They must be scared:

 SO watching NBC news....looking for a weather report.

And I see a "News" segment titled "Inequality in America" about the police shooting Hispanic men, and hispanic men having to have "The Talk" with their kids. (Seems that it is the women in Black families that have to have the talk?)  How terrible it is that police officers are treating the Hispanic community.

 I read this ad desperation by the Dems. They have realized that LOTS of Hispanics are gonna jump ship, simply because they are better off, despite the "Covid", under Trump than they were under the previous DNC rule. 

Bet on it. 

Instrument Pilot

 Yeah, you might have noticed that I have been posting very little and what I did post was not my "A" game. 

That's 'cause I was studying hard for my Instrument exam and checkride. 

And all that work paid off.

I now hold an Instrument rating on my Private Pilot certificate. 

I am an instrument pilot.

5 hours of oral exam, and a 1.4 hour flight.

All culminating in a landing on a 180 runway with a 220 wind at 21 GUSTING 34...(and it was a good landing too). 

So now my ability to go places just  got a bit greater. If this Covid shit would finish (or after the election) I will put it to good use. 

It only took a year longer than I had expected it to take, but I got there. 

lot of truth here

 Borrepatch posts a comparison on Glowbal Warming and Covid. 

Interesting how the parallels are there, the manipulation of data, and then the change in how the data is presented. 

I'd noticed the change in data, but hadn't made the connection to how the Glowbal Warming Climate change was presented. 

See ya on the other side:

 So I have been busy, but I learned last night that Eddie Van Halen, a significant music figure in my early years, has died of cancer. 

Bummer. I guess this is how my parents felt as the icons from their youth passed away one by one. 

Sad Press

 The disappointment is palpable. 

Donne didn't die (YET!) 

BUT...He did remove his mask. OMG!

His going home is, of course, terrible. Because reasons. 

In the meantime, the rest of the country doesn't seem to care one way or another. 

Except, of course those with TDS, they have something new to froth up about.  And they have.

Have ya noticed?

 While the press is focused  on Donald Trump's condition, as far as I have seen none of them are asking how the First Lady is doing....Odd, that. One might think that her condition would matter as well. It does to me, anyway

I guess that it only matters if she is dying. 

I think that tells us something about the Press. 

Truth:

 

From Feral Irishman

I expect the Left to go completely Apeshit

 I mean, moreso than they already have. 

Seems that Donald J Trump has tested positive for Coronavirus.  

(Note: He has not yet shown symptoms, nor is he, at the time, sick)

I fully expect that the Trump Haters will go nuts and bloviate on and on ad nauseum how he deserves this, how it is his own fault, etc, etc, etc.