Saturday, December 20, 2025

The Reiner Murder Tweet That Trump Should Have Made

12/19/25 Daily Mail:
Nick Reiner was suffering with worsening schizophrenia and became 'erratic and dangerous' when doctors changed his psych medication weeks before he allegedly murdered his parents, insiders say."

Untreated or inadequately treated mental illness is at the heart of a very large fraction of U.S. murders and most mass murders.  Fix that, and the guns do not matter.

The Reiners had their son in a very expensive treatment program.  They were trying.

EV Advocates Missing the Big Problem

12/19/25 Autoblog reporting on an EV advocate group's claim that even without the tax credits, EVs are cheaper than ICE engines.

This is very possible, but as the article points out, it assumes homeownership so that you can recharge at night when electricity is theoretically cheaper.  (I say theoretically, because where I live, there is no time of day discount.)

What the EV advocates are missing is how long it takes to recharge on a trip, assuming you can find a recharger  A relative has a Rivian SUV.  It is an amazing car.  It is substantially quicker than my Cadillac and not much inferior on cornering, I think.  (Batteries low in the car means low center of gravity.  This greatly simplifies getting good vornering.)  A recent long trip to Tri-Cities found problems getting recharged on the trip.

I really like EVs.  They are conceptually simpler, require less maintenance, and are generally better performing cars. Until they solve the omnipresent refueling comparison to gasoline, they remain a 21st century solution.

Friday, December 19, 2025

Criminal Behavior Has Consequences Even For a Judge

12/19/25 New York Post:
"Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of helping an illegal migrant evade immigration agents as they attempted to serve him with a warrant during a court appearance.

"Dugan was busted in April on felony obstruction and misdemeanor charges after she helped Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer sneak out a back jury door when ICE agents showed up at the courthouse to detain him, prosecutors said."
Especially for a judge the consequences should be severe.  Will Gov. Walz reappoint her to the bench once she is out? Count on it.

Chasing the Wrong Problem

Q2/18/25 Guardian:
"The federal government will launch a new gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi beach terror attack in what Anthony Albanese says will be the biggest collection of weapons since the Port Arthur massacre nearly three decades ago.

"It comes as New South Wales announced a suite of gun control measures including capping the number of firearms most recreational shooters can hold at four."

One of the terrorists had a license for six guns.  I have seen no evidence that either terrorist used more than one gun in the attack.

The more sensible solution and therefore not under consideration:
"Announcing Sunday as a national day of reflection for the 15 victims of the Bondi attack, Albanese confirmed information from the Office of National Intelligence that showed the shooters had used a regular online video game feed from terror group Islamic State.

"Albanese faced questions over whether intelligence failures had contributed to the killings. He said there was no information to suggest sharing of data could have prevented the carnage."

Thursday, December 18, 2025

How Much Racism Remains in America?

I know it persists but articles like this involving anti-Asian racism invented by a gay Chinese-American activist suggests thst demand exceeds supply.  An 18-month sentence for creating fake racism should get the message across.

Global Warming is Going to Starve Us All

12/15/25 Reuters:
"Earlier this month, the Canadian government announced record harvests of spring wheat and canola for 2025. And because most of the grains produced in Canada are shipped and consumed abroad, those gains have major implications for the rest of the world's ability to feed itself affordably.

Australia, another large global grain exporter, has also reported rising crop yields despite drier conditions.

The Suit Writes Itself

12/16/25 ABC 7:
"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Reparations for Black San Franciscans are back on the table after the Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday of an ordinance to create a fund aimed at addressing harms caused by past discriminatory city policies.

"The measure does not allocate any initial city dollars, a move that may have helped secure support from the board's moderates after repeated years of city budget shortfalls. Instead, the ordinance establishes a framework to receive future contributions - whether through city appropriations or private donations."

How quintessentially progressive.   A program with no funding yet.  I suppose if the progressive billionaires want to fund it, there is no equal protection violation on the revenue side but there is on the administration side.

Remember: slavery was never lawful in San Francisco or California.   San Francisco is also remarkable in having an 1850s civil suits by a black woman for discrimination on a streetcar which she won.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

I Went Hunting for This as I Was Preparing for Spring Semester

 There is a famous quote from Samuel Johnson deriding Revolutionary whining about being treated like slaves: "how is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"  There were Revolutionaries who saw the logic and freed their slaves.  After the war, northern states start to abolish slavery.  There is also a curious indirect way in which the Revolution frees many slaves.

Lord Dunmore was Virginia's last royal governor.  As he realized that the Patriots had him greatly outnumbered, he retreated to a Royal Navy warship and declared that slaves who fought for Britain would be freed:

On November 7, 1775, Dunmore issued a proclamation that established martial law and offered freedom to slaves who would leave patriotic owners and join the British army: "I do hereby farther declare all indented servantsNegroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining his Majesty’s troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this colony to a proper sense of their duty, to his Majesty’s crown and dignity."

Within a month 300 black men had signed up with Dunmore’s "Royal Ethiopian Regiment." While the regiment grew to only 800 men, his proclamation inspired thousands of enslaved people to seek freedom behind British lines throughout the Revolutionary War.

In addition, many masters sent their slaves to fight in the Revolutionary militaries with the promise of freedom.  Some failed to keep their promise so Virginia fixed that.  11 Hening 308 (1783)



Commemorating Indian Help During the Revolution

 During the starving time at Valley Forge, Oneida warriors led by Polly Cooper walked hundreds of miles carrying corn to feed them.  Polly Cooper provided training in how to cook white corn to get maximum nutritional benefit from it. She is being remember during this 250th anniversary year with a coin.

Monday, December 15, 2025

Govern, Do Not Do Social Media

12/15/25 AP;
"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director’s killing, delivering the unsubstantiated claim in a shocking post that seemed intent on decrying his opponents even in the face of a tragedy."
He could have pointed to the hints that Reiner's son's mental health problems were a factor or even better, let friends and family grieve.  Trump needs to govern more and social media way less 

Letting the left determine how he reacts is playing into their hand 



Global Warming Willl Starve Us All

 12/15/25 Reuters:

Earlier this month, the Canadian government announced record harvests of spring wheat and canola for 2025. And because most of the grains produced in Canada are shipped and consumed abroad, those gains have major implications for the rest of the world's ability to feed itself affordably.
Australia, another large global grain exporter, has also reported rising crop yields despite drier conditions

.

You might almost wonder if increased plant food in the atmosphere makes crops grow better.

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Buck 110 Knife Clip

My wife found this perfect Buck 110 lockback at the side of the road.  It slips out of my pocket too easily, so i ordered an add-on clip from NWLynch.  I needed to tap 2-56 holes.  And yes, for all the tips and drills that I own, I needed to buy both.

It holds in my pocket very nicely.

Change

12/14/25 Bloomberg discusses how the Stste Department switched from a sans serif font to a more traditional serif font and what this all means.

What is tells me is that there should be more focus on the words than the typeface as long as they are not using a font like Hostage.  That could be entertaining however..

Saturday, December 13, 2025

Light Pollution

We were invited to a house in Wilder last night, a town well away from Boise.  I could still barely still 3rd magnitude stars.  Industrial plants such as Simplot's potato operations are surprisingly bright.  Boise does not help either. 

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Appropriately Named Rep. Stalker (D-KY)

Explains why white kids need to be feel bad about their race.

As usual, a privileged person assumes she is privileged because of her race.  That she is privileged because Mom and Dad stayed together and created a stable home for her never occurs to her.

Million Monkeys, Million Typewriters, Million Dreams

I had q dream last night involving the word "rengulate."  There is no such word. But it kept coming back in multiple dreams  It is not a verb although it has the form of one.  It is not a category of animal like an ungulate.  Why did my subconscious create this verb. Can any of you assign a meaning for what seems to be a perfectly fine, million monkeys, million typewriters, million years word?

I Have Had Weeks Of Not Busy

This has allowed me to spend time on hobby activities.   Suddenly, College of Western Idaho's LMS (learning Management System) Canvas is operational for me to prepare for my spring semester class.  I am headed to New Orleans and Alabama on vacation December 27th, so i am attempting to get this all done before I leave.  I have taught this class before using the Blackboard LMS.  It is not like starting from scratch but about three hours per week of instruction to move to Canvas.  It is pretty tiring so I cannot spend all day at it. Blogging needless to say is lower priority. 

Adventures in Optics

That 52mm 152mm F.L. achromatic lens arrived Monday.  It seems a decent piece of glass for its intended purpose: a wide angle low power finderscope.  I had considered making the rest of the scope from carbon fiber composite, but this is perilously close to polishing a cow pie to perfect brilliance.   It turns out that perfectly respectable refractors can be made from lens like this and PVC plumbing pipe.  SCHEDULE 40 pipe in 2" nominal diameter is just about exactly the right size for this.  A 2" to 1" nominal size coupler allows you to use a PVC tube that is 1.31" OD.  To make go through the coupler I will bore through the coupler.   The 1" nominal tube will need boring to accept the 1.25" eyepiece.  I will tap the coupler to accept a thumb screw.  This will five a drawtube for coarse focus.  I have a helical focuser that goes into the draw tube for getting this nice and sharp.

Another fitting whose purpose is unclear (at least for plumbing) is the right ID for the achromat lens to rest in it.  I will put some 52mm O-rings at the front to hold the lens in place.  I need to figure some way to add set screws for adjusting the collimation of the lens to the tube.  I suspect my solution will only be approximate and that is probably good enough for intended purpose  

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Using the Rotating Table

LinuxCNC's axis GUI shows what the program will do and while it does it.  This is the first time I have written code using the rotating table and seen the display.
I am not sure how useful this really is.  It looks like a hose reel.

Grand Jury Transcripts Release

12/9/25 CNBC:

 A New York federal judge on Tuesday ordered the unsealing of grand jury materials and other documents related to the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite convicted in 2021 of procuring underage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.

Judge Paul Engelmayer's order came at the request of the Department of Justice, which cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act that Congress passed last month.

So what will Democrats claim now?  Trump's DOJ asked for their release and here they are. This 12/8/25 Bloomberg News article is paywalled but the headline shows that the PreCrime Investigation Division now has a PreNews Reporting Division: "As Epstein Files Deadline Nears, Here's What Might Emerge."


Peaky Blinders is Not Islamic Enough

 12/9/25 Yahoo News:

Four Afghan men who dress up as the Peaky Blinders have been arrested by the Taliban for violating “Islamic values”.

The group, all in their early 20s, who are known online as the “Jebrael Shelbys” after the Shelby family in the BBC crime show, were arrested in the Herat province in western Afghanistan.

The men parade around their township of Jebrael imitating the characters from the show, which is set in interwar Birmingham.

I guess dressing up as people who beead others with a knife for believing wrong would have been okay.

Can We Be Next?

 12/9/25 NBC News:

Can children and teenagers be forced off social media en masse? Australia is about to find out.

More than 1 million social media accounts held by users under 16 are set to be deactivated in Australia on Wednesday in a divisive world-first ban that has inflamed a culture war and is being closely watched in the United States and elsewhere.

Social media companies will have to take “reasonable steps” to ensure that under-16s in Australia cannot set up accounts on their platforms and that existing accounts are deactivated or removed.

Australian officials say the landmark ban, which lawmakers swiftly approved late last year, is meant to protect children from addictive social media platforms that experts say can be disastrous for their mental health.

“With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as ‘behavioral cocaine,’” Communications Minister Anika Wells told the National Press Club in Canberra last week.

While many parents and even their children have welcomed the ban, others say it will hinder young people’s ability to express themselves and connect with others, as well as access online support that is crucial for those from marginalized groups or living in isolated parts of rural Australia. Two 15-year-olds have brought a legal challenge against it to the nation’s highest court.

Supporters say the rest of the world will soon follow the example set by the Australian ban, which faced fierce resistance from social media companies.

They can express themaselves the way several thousand generations of young people have done: face to face with friends; through art, music, repairing stuff and playing (remember what that is).  Or like my friends and me, learning to program computers* and doig dangerous projects involving low grade explosives and hydrogen balloons.  None of us lost fingers.

*Building web pages with SquareSpace or editing silly cat videos does far less intellectual development than learning how to write interrupt service routines.

 

Tensions Increase Over Taiwan

 12/8/25 BBC:

Japan has protested after Chinese fighter jets locked radars on Japanese aircraft as tensions between the two nations worsened.

Locking radar onto an aircraft is considered a threat because it can signal a potential attack. Japan said there were two such incidents Saturday off its southern Okinawa islands.

Japan said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the Chinese J-15 fighter jets, while Beijing accused Tokyo of "harassing" its forces during a training exercise. No injuries or damage were reported.

Diplomatic ties between Japan and China have spiralled since last month, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.

Beijing views self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunite" with it.

Both sides have since engaged in increasingly hostile rhetoric towards each other, with the widening rift affecting daily life for citizens in both countries.

I keep hoping Xi thinks before acting stupid.  The U.S. and its allies Singapore, Phillipines, Australia, and Vietnam could interdict Chinese exports and perhaps more critically oil imports through the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea.  Invasion of Taiwan would ratchet up existing G7 anger at Chinese trade policy to a level from which China might not recover for years. I also think Chinese military might may turn out to be at Russian levels of corruption and incompetence.  The energy Xi has put into prosecuting military corruption at the general officer level hints that this problem may be present at lower ranks as well. If you know (or suspect) your superiors are dirty, why not get a piece of the pie for yourself?

Monday, December 8, 2025

Adventures in Optics Part 2

This part with the threaded end holds the lens and a 2" ID pipe slides into the non-threaded end.
The threaded end was 1.91" ID, so it would have partially obstructed the 2" diameter (actually 52mm) of the lens.  I was going to amputate the threaded version but then I found this threaded end cap:

I now have a cool dust cap that will never wear our or get easily lost.

I still have a few holes to drill here and there.  This ring goes inside the threaded fitting part to both center the lens in the tube and allow me to put setscrews in that fitting to press that ring for collimation adjustment.  

This started out as something else and needed to go from .5" to .25" wide.  Cutting on the mill would require tightening it down more in the mill vise than would be advisable for a weak, brittle material like PVC.  The lathe was the obvious choice.  Cutting that much off using the standard lathe tool is not practical. I do not have a parting tool for the lathe.  Perhaps I should get one.  

Solution: put it on the three jaw on that rotary table.  Bring 1/8" endmill to the outside of the ring.  Cut down into the ring very slowly.  Rotate the table at 50 inches per minute 

This is a cheap, likely only so-so strategy for collimation, but this is a finderscope, not a high end refractor so good enough 

This is how it will look after I get the lens in place.  The big ring on the left is a union to hold the main tube and eyepiece draw tube together.
One more thought.  The drawtube is now very thin wall.  1.31" OD and 1 25" ID.  I doubt that a thumbscrew would hold in such think material.  I will cut a 1.5" OD, 1 31" ID x .5" piece of carbon fiber to glue on the end of the drawtube, then tap a hole for the thumbscrew.   The black of that part will go nicely with the black of the helical focuser as contrast to the rest.

I am still waiting on 52mm ID O-rings.  In the meantime, flat black paint on interior and bright white on exterior. 

Paint.   I should have thought this through before pulling out the paint cans. Tape all holes on the inside before spraying interiors.   Then tape all holes on the exterior, paint exterior and interior. Then remove all tape on interior and paint again.  Then remove retake interior holes and paint exterior again.  Otherwise you get spray through the holes.  I will then touch the ends with a brush.

I Have Always Considered the 1970-72 Malibu One of the Outstanding Body Shell Designs of the Era

A roommate at the beginning of time bought a 1970 Malibu.  So imagine my pleasure at reading this SupercarBlondie article about a guy who restored his 1970 SS with a little change from stock: "Montana man gets his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle rebuilt as a 1,200HP beast."  Yes a twin turbocharged Chevy Big Block.

I shudder to think what top speed on this might be.  They weighed about 3500 pounds as I recall.  


Sunday, December 7, 2025

Taboos as Protection

I overheard our youth pastor, who is Navajo, mention that snakes and reptiles are taboo in his culture.   This should be no surprise.  The Southwest is awash in rattlesnakes and Gila Monsters both of which are venomous.

Do You Wonder Why We Have So Msny Leftist Cat Ladies?

7/25 Journal of Psychistric Research:

Highlights

  • Mental health hospitalization rates are higher after abortion than deliveries.
  • Risk is elevated for psychiatric disorders, substance use, and suicide attempts.
  • Patients with preexisting mental illness or age <25 years are most at risk.
  • Risk of mental disorders is greatest within five years of abortion.
  • Risk of most mental disorders disappears 17 years after an abortion.
Conservative Woman reports on efforts to legalize abortion until birth in Britain, which like most European nations has much more restrictive abortion laws than Roe v. Wade America.

Saturday, December 6, 2025

We Stayed in a Very Nice Hilton in Richland

 As usual carpets demonstrate too many interior designers did way too much acid long ago.


Or these are the color version of UPC bar codes.


Making That Wide Angle Finder

 I need a way to hold the lens in a weird PVC part that slides over the end of the 2" tube.  


But I also need to make sure it is held securely against the front.  So I cut a piece of 2" tube about 3/4" long.  I will slit this so it locks the lens in position and screws hold it in the weird fitting.  The internal lens holder and external tube need holes that are exactly 120 degrees apart so...


The internal lens holder sits in a three jaw chuck, which screws on to a rotating CNC table, which is attached to a tilting table at 90 degrees.  If this had many features, I would write a program.  Instead, I use semiautomatic mode to position the center drill at top of tube, tell it to cut to 0,5" down, back up, then rotate 120 degrees.



Friday, December 5, 2025

The Princes Are Not All in Nigeria

 12/3/25 Department of Justice:

The CEO of a Fresno-based home health care company was arrested at San Francisco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria. He is charged in a criminal complaint alleging that he fraudulently obtained more than $7 million in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs for services that were never actually rendered, including care purportedly rendered to veterans weeks after they had died, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

 

Am I The Only Person Who Sees An Inconsistency Here?

 12/5/25 CNN:

During interviews with the FBI, the suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing perhaps the first indication of a possible motive for the bombs placed near the DNC and RNC headquarters, people briefed on the matter said....

The bureau believes the man compiled bomb-making supplies for months before leaving the viable explosive devices outside of the political offices.[emphasis added]

So was this BLM activist preparing bombs before the stolen election?  Or did he just come up with this excuse in the hopes of getting in on the J6 pardons?

Orange Peacemaker Bad!

 12/4/25 AP report:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump praised the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed onto a deal on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the U.S. government and American companies.

The moment offered Trump — who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts — another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker extraordinaire on the global stage and make the case that he’s deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. The U.S. leader hasn’t been shy about his desire to receive the honor.

Instapundit.com observes correctly that the journalists "slammed Trump in about every third sentence of their report."  I wonder if any of these journalists ever wonder why they need to be attacking Trump for following Jesus' suggestion, "Blessed are the peacemakers."

69 Today

 I fel healthier than at any time since 2014.

Not What I Was Expecting in the Los Angeles Times

 12/5/25 Los Angeles Times:

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly insisted that she will not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels inside her nation’s borders.

“It’s not going to happen,” Sheinbaum said last month after President Trump yet again threatened such an operation. “We don’t want intervention by any foreign government.”

But while Sheinbaum passionately defends her nation’s sovereignty, recent polls and interviews from across Mexico show that a significant number of people here in fact welcome more American involvement in their country’s battle against organized crime — including having U.S. boots on the ground.

Slightly more than half of Mexicans surveyed by polling firm Mitofsky said they believe “U.S. authorities should enter Mexican territory to fight organized crime and arrest its leaders.” A third of respondents to a poll by El Financerio newspaper said they support the deployment of the U.S. military to Mexico to combat cartels.

The reason is obvious.   Many Mexicans believe their military lacks the capacity to do the job, likely because cartel wealth and intimidation has compromised so much of the Mexican government.  

I really cannot blame Mexicans for this.  Mexico is a poor country.  The prospect of a million dollar bribe there is likely equivalent to $10 million here.  I would like to think most of our officials would not be swayed by a bribe but $10 million for most Americans is an unimaginable amount of luxury.

The intimidation factor may matter more.  Organized crime has always benefited from being able to threaten family and friends.  In a nation where very few people may lawfully possess arms and police are as likely as not on the cartel payroll, what is your alternative?

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Oh Boy! A New Word!

Scromiting.  11/3/25 The Hill reports on vomiting while screaming caused by "cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS)" which a relative who lives in a pot-friendly state developed. 

Remember: it's natural, how bad could it be?
"

The "That Was My Roommate's Jeans" Defense is Not Going to Work

12/3/25 KBOI:

Velasco was taken into custody and booked into the Ada County Jail. Further investigation led officers to a Boise hotel room linked to the case, where they found approximately 12,785 grams of methamphetamine and 101 grams of fentanyl powder. Both substances tested presumptive positive.

"This seizure represents a major disruption to the flow of dangerous drugs into our community," said Boise Police Lt. Terry Weir. "The amount of fentanyl recovered in this case is enough to kill over 500 people. Our officers see firsthand how methamphetamine and fentanyl contribute to overdoses, and this case highlights the importance of proactive policing and strong investigative work."

Amazing What Two Million Illegals Leaving Does to the Rental Market

12/2/25 CNBC:

A slew of new supply is still making its way through the multifamily housing market. That, coupled with weakening demand, especially from the youngest workers, is pushing vacancies up and rents down. 

The national median rent for apartments fell 1% in November from October, and now stands at $1,367, according to Apartment List. It was the fourth consecutive month-over-month decline. Apartment rents are down 1.1% from November 2024 and have fallen 5.2% from their 2022 peak. 

"Earlier this year, it appeared that annual growth was on track to flip positive for the first time since mid-2023; however, that rebound stalled out and reversed course during a particularly slow summer," according to Apartment List researchers.

After hitting a record high for this index, which dates back to 2017, in October, the national multifamily vacancy rate remained at 7.2% in November. 

The historic surge in multifamily construction over the past few years is now pulling back, but a good supply of new units is still coming online at a time of much weaker demand.

The stack of articles about dropping rental rates around the country here is good news everywhere.


 

Probate

The attorney pursuing my illegitimate half-brother's inheritance informs me that the full probate process is not required because he has been dead more than two years.  Something called Summary Administration will satisfy Florida's Unclaimed Property Office.

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

More About Balcony Solar

I mentioned a couple days ago.  When I searched on amazon for "balcony "plug and play" solar" I got matches that look interesting.  A long-time concern that I have had about PV systems as civil defense is EMP damage.  If you bought one of these and put in a Faraday cage, you would have a post-apocalyptic power solution that you could be pretty sure will work.

Swords and Squatters

 9/30/25 Oaklandside:

“The average squatter,” says James Jacobs, “has no melee experience.”

No familiarity with katana swords or other bladed weaponry. No training in kendo, iaido, or other martial arts. 

If anyone knows the typical combat background of a squatter, a person living in a home illegally, it’s Jacobs. He runs a company called ASAP Squatter Removal, offering do-it-himself eviction services to property owners throughout the Bay Area.

Say a homeowner or bank or landlord discovers somebody occupying their property without authorization. They could call the police, though officers might not come. Police tend to shy away from tenancy disputes, leaving them to the civil courts. The property owner could go ahead and file an eviction lawsuit, but that can drag on for months. 

Or they can call Jacobs. 

For a fee, Jacobs will surveil the place and force out the people inside of it using a complex concoction of homespun arms and militarized tactics.

This is not a new problem.  I knew someone in San Jose in the 1980s who had a problem with squatters who took over his cabin in Sana Cruz.  The police were no help.

I suppose if the owner was not actually using it for himself or as a rental and the squatter was not actively damaging the property, I can see how progressives might persuade themselves that homeless squatters are just doing social justice.  But squatters seldom treat such homes well.

 

Machining PVC

Compared to aluminum, CFC, or even Delrin, PVC is easy. (It is an odd smell as it cuts.)  It is soft enough that you want to cut at low speed to avoid melting.  I needed to put a not quite blind 1.31" hole that diameter all tge way through and it was startlingly easy.  Tapping a 1/4-20 hole for a thumbscrew to lock the draw tube in place was very quick.  The next step is cutting a 5.5" length of pipe on the chop saw then using the mill to get very square ends on it.  The focal length of the objective is 152mm.  This should bring the focal point right out the end of the tube, where the draw tube  starts.  A drawtube about 2" long will allow eyepieces with focal lengths of 6mm to 40mm to focus there.  I am putting a helical focuser at the end of the draw tube which adds about an inch so perhaps a 5" tube.

Next I need to bore the draw tube to 1.25" ID.  Fortunately, I have a 1.25" Forstner bit to put in the lathe.  Then tap a hole for another 1/4-20 thumbs crew to hold the eyepiece there.
 
One nice thing about PVC: it does not spew carbon dust everywhere which is a nuisance to clean up.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Do the Stupid Names Cause This? Or Are TheyJust a Symptom of a Broken Culture?

11/24/25 CBS News:
A homeowner who shot and killed one of four men suspected of breaking into his home in Richmond Heights on Saturday told CBS News Miami that it was the "scariest moment" of his life....

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue came to the scene and rushed the injured suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Quanterry Alvin Whitley, to the hospital, where he later died....

CBS News Miami spoke with Lashundia Jackson, the mother of Whitley. She said the homeowner should never have fired his weapon.

I would like to say he did not do a home invasion. That is inaccurate. That is not who he is. That is not who he was. He would not do that. He was not that type of person," Jackson said of her son." [Stupid names emphasized]


Yes, I Hired an African-American By This Standard

7/3/25 New York Times:
"As he runs for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has made his identity as a Muslim immigrant of South Asian descent a key part of his appeal.

"But as a high school senior in 2009, Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, claimed another label when he applied to Columbia University. Asked to identify his race, he checked a box that he was “Asian” but also “Black or African American,” according to internal data derived from a hack of Columbia University that was shared with The New York Times."

And by this low standard, Elon Musk is an African-American. 

Long Term Care Insurance

Medicare covers nursing care and hospice.  Other categories such as memory care for those with the grave misfortune of Alzheimer’s are not.  A relative by marriage ran through $5000 per month in the last couple years.  Fortunately, she had purchased long-term care insurance, which left her millions untouched for her heirs.

I have not thought about this much, partly b because it is terrifying to imagine the last year of two before checking out and partly because my own parents managed to avoid these sort of ugly ends.  My father went from good health to death with only a couple days in the hospital.   My mother went from living at home fairly independently to death in a hospital in less than a week.

I think it likely that neither my wife nor me will battle Alzheimer’s because we keep our brains very active, constantly learning.  Nonetheless, it seems wise to consider purchasing coverage while we are still only in our 60s.  I confess that the prospect of burning through $5000 per month on memory care just does not seem thst scary.  That is not pocket change for us but there are no U-Hauls to Heaven.

Any thoughts or experiences on this?

UPDATE: One reader shared a horrible story that puts a worrisome asterisk on Medicare covers nursing care.  I did some digging and found out that what they cover has some gotchas

"So what happens when Medicare stops paying for nursing home care? Your loved one either extends Medicare coverage, privately pays for the nursing home, applies for Medicaid to pay for the nursing home, or gets discharged to a lower level of care.

"From day 21 to day 100 in a nursing facility, Medicare continues to contribute towards in-patient rehabilitation, but coinsurance payments are typically required from you. Additional coverage for days 21 through 100 depends on your Medicare supplemental or Medicare Advantage plans.

"Once you reach day 101 or plateau in rehab, Medicare coverage for nursing home care ceases. You are responsible for all costs (easily $300-500 per day in Florida) unless you have additional insurance policies or qualify for other programs such as Medicaid. This can be a critical juncture, necessitating a review of your financial resources and possibly the need to explore alternative long-term care options."

So if you stop improving, they stop paying and you can see several hundred dollars a day 

Monday, December 1, 2025

Epstein's Underlings Are Perhaps As Sleazy As Epstein

11/30/25 Daily Wire:

Democrat Delegate Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands’ non-voting member of Congress, garnered headlines recently when it came to light that she took direction from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.

Her relationship with Epstein is especially notable because Plaskett herself had “private nude images” of her stolen by her own ex-staffers, who used them to attempt to sabotage her re-election campaign. The husband of one of the culprits was, like Epstein, later found dead.

It gets worse the deeper you read.