STL Files

Any suggestions on which free 2D CAD program I should learn to produce STL files?

like something out of a spy novel

istina Fernandez hunkered down in her presidential residence for a week before speaking about the mysterious death of a state prosecutor who claimed she sought to whitewash Iran's alleged involvement in a 1994 bomb attack on Argentine soil.

When she did, Argentines were left in little doubt who she viewed as the victim in the scandal.
It was not Alberto Nisman, whose body was found in a pool of blood with a single bullet to the head a day before he was to detail his investigations, and to whose family Fernandez offered no condolences....

 The week before his death on Jan. 18, Nisman had accused Fernandez of opening a secret back channel to Tehran to clear a number of Iranian suspects and whitewash the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center as part of a grains-for-oil deal. 

A Glorious Day Out There

Sunny, and almost touching on warm.  Time to find a place to shoot thew new .22 pistol.

Pictures For My Mother

I am having trouble getting these images to her by email.   The rest of you can ignore.

In case you were wondering, my mother is 98, and her eyesight is declining.  She needs a laptop that she can read, even in 800x600 resolution, so I photographed my new toy, with both the native screen, and a 20" minitor in 800x600 mode.

Is This Enough Detail? updated

This is what I need either cast in aluminum or printed.

There are no holes in this because this basic item gets turned into a total of six different products depending whether it fits the Vixen HAL-110, HAl-130, and two different caster stems. 

Today I'm Depressed

My depression has always been cyclic, getting worse near the end of each calendar month, and today, I'm feeling it.

Need Some Advice

I have been making parts from acetal using a vertical mill that slide into slots for this part.

Machining this part is slow and ugly.  How hard would it be to make a mold and cast fiberglass or some other tough material to match these ends?  They don't have to be hollow, and if you know of something that could roughly approximate this, that would be fine.

Those sort of trinngles are 1.0005" wide, .765" high on the narrow side, and 4" long.  There is .485" between them.  Something welded of aluminum?  Two 3/4"x1" rectangles welded at the base. I have afriend with a welder.  I'll call him tomorrow.

I am thinking some off-the-shelf aluminum extrusion probably looks like this at the end.  Perhaps something I can cut to match.

Gallery of Guns

I saw this ad on the back cover of Shotgun News, and decided to give it a try.  I searched for what I wanted, entered my zipcode, and it gave me a list of nearby gun stores, and what it would cost me, paid what was probably the distributor's cost a week ago, and today, I picked it up at Impact Guns.  This being one of the free parts of the U.S., my carry permit skipped waiting period and background check.

That's a Walther licensed Colt 1911A1 in .22LR with a 12 round  magazine.  Apparently most parts interchange with a 1991A1, it weighs a bit more than two pounds empty, and I suspect it will make a nice and fun training aid for my Government Model, Browning Hi-Power and several other similar pistols that I sometimes carry.

UPDATE: I still have not fired it, but it has a 6 pound trigger.  This may improve with some shooting.

A Tiring Day

I passed the driving test, in a Nissan Maxima with various attachments including a hand control for brake and gas, which I did not need.  We drove around downtown Boise and on the freeway.  Tired.  Driving is still mentally taxing.  After picking up my newest toy, next posting, I drove home.

Bringing Back the Asylum

The Atlantic asks if it is time to bring back mental hospitals.

Cut and Paste Are Not Very Obvious on An Android

I seem to have figured out how to cut, but telling it to paste isn't so obvious.

this is very big

A federal judge has accused Dept. Of Justice lawyers of  lying to the court can a case involving one of the Fast and Furious whistleblower  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/29/fed

In a newly unsealed, Dec. 1, 2014, court ruling that legal experts said was highly unusual, Allegra accused seven Justice Department lawyers of "fraud upon the court, banned them from making any further filings in the case and took the unusual step of directly notifying Attorney General Eric Holder.

HB 2 Dies in Committee

The House State Affairs Committee voted 13-4 to kill the "add the words" bill.  This took a lot of courage for Republicans to vote down a bill that enjoyed the support of all the media, and pretend intellectuals of this state, along with the pseudo - Christian clergy and business interests who really want Idaho to be California with cowboy hats and glitter.

Tragedies of Weight Loss

When getting ready to go testify before the State Affairs Committee,  I tried on my suit, which was already getting a bit big on me after the aortic valve replacement, and it was tragic: my wife said it looked like a four-year-old wearing Daddy's suit.

Who Funds Environmental Movement: Not Just American Billionaires

It has long been known that environmentalism, is something of a rich person's hobby: a way of assuaging guilt over being fortunate. But now there is evidence that the motivations for funding may be more economic. From 1/27/15 Free Beacon:

A shadowy Bermudan company that has funneled tens of millions of dollars to anti-fracking environmentalist groups in the United States is run by executives with deep ties to Russian oil interests and offshore money laundering schemes involving members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. One of those executives, Nicholas Hoskins, is a director at a hedge fund management firm that has invested heavily in Russian oil and gas. He is also senior counsel at the Bermudan law firm Wakefield Quin and the vice president of a London-based investment firm whose president until recently chaired the board of the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft.

If rich Americans fund political campaigns, like the Koch Brothers, this is an outrage, but if environmentalists are funded by the Russian government, a nest of homophobes, nothing to be concerned about to the left.

Pew Research Reports Rising Support For Gun Rights, Even Among Blacks, Since Newtown

There is now majority support for gun rights. In two years, b lacksd who say guns protect against crime rose from 29% to 54%.

Speaking before the State Affairs Committee went better than I expected

I explained to the committee that I was recovering from a stroke and I was going to be as clear as I could be.  I ran into State Senator Buckner - Webb as I was leaving.  She had a stroke last year, and said I sounded fine.

Among the interesting results of adding gender identity in other states is that people get to use whatever sex bathroom or locker room they want.  One of people who testified was a Transgender detective from the Twin Falls Sheriff's Dept. He/she thought this was a great thing.

Where Do You Buy Baby Bison?

On the hoof, not in plastic.

House Bill 2

The hearings have incredible lines for those seeking to testify.

Homofascism Coming To Idaho

Idaho HB 2 adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the Idaho Human Rights code.  The bill is  astonishingly detailed.  It refers to any place of "public accomodation."  I see no exemption for religious institutions; not sure if churches can refuse to do same-sex weddings or not.  There will be a hearing on this bill Monday, Jan. 26 at 8 am (West Wing Auditorium, Capitol Building).  It won't just be photographers, cake bakers, and churches, in New Mexico, Oregon, and Colorado that will be at risk.  Coeur d'Alene, Idaho has already threatened pastors with jail for refusing to perform same-sex marriages.

a scary picture of me

this picture is using

the high brightness light I blogged about some time a while back to reduce SAD.

Things For Americans To Take Pride In

There are a lot of states like Rhode Island below that had made money from slavery, but still recognized its wrongness:

 

From

Rhode Island sess. Laws Feb. 1784, p. 6-7

Another Benefit of Dropping Oil Prices

LP gas prices are tied to gasoline prices (I don't know why), so this dramatic reduction inn gasoline prices should get the next fillup of LP gas down to $1200 or so.  Of course, I bought a 1000 shares of Suburban Propane (SPH) because of the absurd 6% dividend, so perhaps that  will drop.

Word of Mouth Advertising Is the Best

I got a call from someone in Florida about the ScopeRoller caster product who had seen a set being used by someone in the Talahassee Astronomical Society, and he was calling to clarify price before sending a check.  That's how it should work.

very cool Android app

The app is called SkyEye and it is a free planetarium simulator that you point at the sky and it shows you what the different constellations are where you are pointing your device as well as planets and stars and galaxies..

update: d just to clarify: uses the GPS and directions were pointing it doesn't look at stars In the sky figure out what constellations you're looking at.

Life in Horseshoe Bend

we went for a walk.

It

rehab equipment available at your local hardware store

the rehab clinic that I'm attending makes a lot of use of off-the-shelf stuff instead of expensive things made specifically for rehab. This combination of a Swiffer for the universal joint and a T joint plumbing fixture is being used to help mobilize my right shoulder.

Someone Needs to Write a Script For This

From Rhode Island sess. Laws Oct. 1781, p.3:

Senior Citizen Discount

I was able to get the senior citizen discount at a movie theater recently!  And to think I used to be young!

eBay Isn't The Only Way To Sell Stuff Online

Amazon.com also has a way to sell goods online.  You can create a seller account here.  I am selling a DVD-ROM drive that I bought in December, having not noticed  it was a reader only.

Clear Sky Last Night

Remarkably clear, even.  By the time I noticed it, I was ready for bed.  Maybe roll out the scope tonight.

Why the Left Should Regard Defeating ISIS As A Crusade

From the 1/17/15 International Business Times:

Shocking pictures have been released showing ISIS militants throwing two men off a tower block. Their 'crime' is that they are gay.

The graphic images, which were uploaded to Justpaste.it by jihadists and circulated on social media sites by IS-affiliated accounts, reveal the brutality of the Islamist group who have been coordinating a reign of terror throughout Syria and Iraq.

According to ISIS' radical interpretation of Sharia law, "engaging in homosexual activities" is regarded as a crime punishable by death.

One image shows a crowd gathered at the bottom of a tower block to witness the death of the two men. The charges against the accused were announced by a masked Islamic State fighter, using a small handheld radio. Reading from a list, he declares the men are guilty of engaging in homosexual activities and should be punished by death, in accordance with Sharia law.

In a second photo the man's body is shown on the ground after he is hurled from the rooftop.

The article also discusses women being stoned to death and men being crucified for theft.

The End of Page 3 Girls

From the 1/20/15 Daily Mail:

Government ministers have welcomed reports that the Sun has dropped Page 3 girls - with one branding the controversial feature "old-fashioned sexism".
Britain's best-selling tabloid has not published pictures of topless glamour models since Friday, and has reportedly decided to quietly drop the feature.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who also holds the women and equalities brief, said the move is "long overdue".

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2917547/Sun-ends-page-3-topless-pin-ups.html#ixzz3PNc1LRku
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

I have never been able to take the Sun seriously because of this; I find myself wondering how much their circulation will drop.  Whenever I see Americans compared unfavorably to the sophistication of Europeans, I think of the Page 3 girls.

My Therapist Says I Am Recovering Unusually Quickly From This Stroke

I shudder to think what a normal recovery time is like.  My cardiologist said the same thing.

blue sky

IDAer all these days and dreary cloud

cover and snow I'm pleased to show you a photograph out the back door

Update: That didn't last long; the fogbank is back.
update 2: one thing you can count on is Idaho weather never stays the same

A Profoundly Disturbing Documentary

PBS Frontline: Secrets of the Vatican.  It describes why Pope Benedict resigned; an unwillingness to confront a corrupt Vatican leadership dominated by a gay mafia that provided direction to archdioceses around the world to hide child sexual abuse and retaliate against victims, involved in drug dealing through the Vatican's bank.  Astonishing for a PBS documentary they acknowledged that the child sexual abuse was laregely homosexual in nature.

the voice recognition software on this smart phone works pretty well

I was trying to blog last night while my wife was driving home;but the Brave soundtrack was playing to pacify my granddaughter and thusoverwhelming its ability to handle my voice.

Disturbing Trend in Medicaid Enrollments

This article from the 1 / 15 / 15. Fort Smith Arkansas Times-Record reports that states that agreed to expand Medicaid for the poor have discovered that while in better health than many traditional recipients; they are likely to be drug addicts.  While drug addicts need treatment respect many taxpaqyers are going to regard drug addicts as not exactly the crowd in need of a helping hand.

Selling My Antique Cell Phone on eBay

Here. To my shock, there is a market for these antiques.

DVD Writer

I mentioned a few days ago that I had ordered a USB DVD drive for my ThinkPad, but didn't notice it was read only.  The Buffalo DVD writer arrived today, and it works perfectly.  And only $24.99 shipped!  The advantage of buying stuff that connects through USB ports is the old component vs. integrated stereo systems debate of the 1970s.  Everything can be changed out to isolate problems, at some loss of portability, but if anything fails, just unplug and replace!

Gluttony

I wrote a piece for PJMedia a while back about gluttony, but they never used it.  This 1/15/15 Telegraph article about gluttony and the welfare state should scare you:

A mother and daughter who get £34,000 a year in handouts because they are too fat to work say they'd rather be happy and on benefits than depressed and thin.

Janice and Amber Manzur weigh a total of 43 stone and are so overweight they have to use mobility scooters to get around.

But both women refuse to diet and mother-of-two Ms Manzur, 44, insists: "I'd rather my daughter live life on benefits being fat and happy than depressed and thin."

Ms Manzur lives in a three-bedroom house that has been customised by the council to accommodate her disability and drives a Fiat Quibo disability car worth around £15,000.

American Sniper

I read Chris Kyle's memoir recently, and very much enjoyed it.  The film version is breaking box office records.  I suppose I should go see it.

I finally have email working on my smartphone

I'm not sure exactly what I was doing wrong but it's all working now.I'm beginning to get the hang of how to use the varIous gesturing capabilities of the device.

I still need a lot of sleep

whenever I start to think that I am nearly recovered, I remember that I am still sleeping 11 to 12 hours a night. My wife compares it to how a newborn spends most of the day asleep building neurons.

Bad Weather

Make no mistake about it: we have winter. A few days ago we had day after day like this:

Then a brief day of blue sky.

And now back to clouds, cold, and dreariness.

Verizon Wireless: Great Instore Service

The Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived, but I could not figure out how to get the SIM card installed, so i went to the Verizon Wireless store in Meridian where one of their reps installed, activated my phone and set up my gmail account for me.

Ron Paul's Trutherism

Ron Paul's organization has published a piece by Paul Craig Roberts (someohne I used to respect) claiming the massacre at Charlie Hebedo was a false flag operation. Of course Roberts also thinks our government did 9/11. One of the reasons my respect for Ron Paul and the whole libertarian isolationist view has fallen so much is this tendency that when facts and ideology disagree, just make up new facts rather than question their ideology.

It Is All Show

The 1/16/15 shows that the highly hyped picture of world leaders (absent Obama) leading ther antiterrorism parade was a photo op. I admit having all these leaders squeezed into a tight space without security would have been a tempting target for the Religion of Peace.

For Those Who Haven't Seen It

My newest law review article.

blogging from my smartphone

it may be awhile before I'm proficient with this but I have my samsung s4 galaxy operational and I'm successfully blogging from it.

Read Carefully

I ordered an external DVD drive for the ThinkPad,  but did not notice it was read-only, so I am now ordering a writer.

This ThinkPad Battery Is Awesome

I have been working for at least an hour, and I still have 4:23 left on it.  Cross-country airline flights will no longer be wastes of time.

Ever Wanted To See Melanie Griffith In Bed With A Lion

No, it's work safe; she grew up in a house with a lion as pet.

An Incredibly Encouraging Article

From 1/11/15 Business Insider:

For China, it is a stunning feeling. Most of the society exists behind closed doors and is tough, driven, material, hierarchical. The country values wealth, power, and secrecy – not to mention that both government and schools officially, at least, promote atheism.

Yet Chongyi looks and feels like any evangelical megachurch in Seattle or San Jose. There are big screens, speakers blaring upbeat music, coffee bars. The choir is a huge swaying wash of white and red robes. Chongyi seats 5,000 people and holds multiple services on Sunday.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0111/In-China-a-church-state-showdown-of-biblical-proportions#ixzz3OpeOLvTu

Worth reading in full, Christians are about to surpass Chinese Communist Party membership.  Jesus is a serious threat to the Communist Party, and they know it.

Revolutionary Rhode Island's Attempt To Protect Slaves

Note: Mammoths Are Already Extinct

It's too late to save them.  New York is trying to stop the illegal trade in elephant ivory.  Fair enough, and certainly within their authority.  But this report shows that they need to worry about the extinction of intelligent bureaucrats.  They seized a necklace made of mammoth ivory.

In its effort to stop elephant poaching and the trade in illegal ivory, the government has insisted that it does not care about small-time, mom-and-pop-type ivory owners, that it’s more concerned with international crime syndicates and environmental terrorists. However, the recent ivory sting operation by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) on a 72-year-old woman for selling a necklace containing beads of mammoth—that’s right, mammoth, not elephant—ivory at the Pier Antique Show in New York City indicates the NYDEC apparently failed to get the government memo on the matter.
For knife enthusiasts, the question now is how soon the NYDEC—as well as its counterpart in New Jersey—will start targeting knives with handles of mammoth, mastodon and other ancient ivories, as well as elephant ivory.
Of course, though beyond all reason, mammoth ivory—the tusks of an animal extinct for thousands of years—has been declared illegal to sell in the state of New York and also New Jersey. However, since the senior citizen at the Pier Antique Show is from North Carolina, it’s understandable that she was completely oblivious to the New York law—especially considering how ridiculous it is to outlaw something millennia old in the first place. In addition to the necklace, the agents seized $1,400 worth of jewelry from her in all.
NYDEC agents did not stop with stinging the little old lady from Carolina. They also seized a couple of sets of “teethers”—whale bone or ivory sticks crudely carved by 19th-century sailors for babies to cut their teeth on—from a New York folk art dealer. The agents seized the teethers and issued both the folk art dealer and the little old lady from Carolina summons to appear in court.
- See more at: http://www.blademag.com/blog/steve-shackleford-blog/nydec-hammers-little-old-lady-carolina#sthash.gyl5E0NZ.dpuf

Freeing Slaves

In reading through Rhode Island's legislative journals for 1778, I am pleased to see that they authorized accepting slaves into military service, compensating their owners for their value, since they were considered free men after they left military service.  See October 1778, p. 25 for some examples.

Study: Men Who Post Selfies Show Psychopathic Tendencies

From CBS Cleveland:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBS Cleveland) – Men who regularly posted photos of themselves online scored higher on a measure for narcissism and psychopathy.

According to Medical News Today, a study out of Ohio State University has found that men who took “selfies” were more likely to exhibit psychopathic traits when compared to control group.

Google search for "Obama selfies" returns about 20,900,000 results.  Why am I not surprised?

What An Embarrassment Obama Is

Jake Tapper of CNN at the massive anti-terrorism rally in Paris

A man and his son came over to me holding a sign saying "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it," beseeching me to share their message with the American people. And world leaders were standing together amidst a procession that included Francois Hollande of France, Angela Merkel of Germany, David Cameron of Great Britain, Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, along with the leaders of Mali, Jordan and Turkey.

It is no small thing for the king of Jordan, a direct descendent of the Prophet Mohammed, to march in a rally prompted by the murders of people who mocked Islam as well as of innocent Jews -- all of whom were killed by Islamic extremists.

The United States, which considers itself to be the most important nation in the world, was not represented in this march -- arguably one of the most important public demonstrations in Europe in the last generation -- except by U.S. Ambassador Jane Hartley, who may have been a few rows back. I didn't see her. Even Russia sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

And a Democratic strategist:

Sunday, President Obama morally abdicated his place as the leader of the free world.
His decision to stay home instead of standing side by side with French President Hollande as millions marched in Paris in solidarity with the slain journalists of Charlie Hebdo in opposition to radical Islam – an enemy fiercer than we have seen in decades – sent a clear message to the world: Obama just doesn’t care.

His words about the horrendous terrorist attack this week were not enough. They came off as inauthentic at best and offensive at worst.

And from the New York Daily News:

More than 40 heads of state came together in Paris to denounce a wave of terrorism that defiled the City of Light last week — yet there was one glaring exception: The U.S. sent only a low-level official.

French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and dozens of other world leaders all took part in the powerful denunciation of last week’s terror attacks that left 17 innocents dead.

Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas set aside their differences to march together on Boulevard Voltaire.

Attorney-General Holder was in Paris before the rally.  It just shows that Obama doesn't consider this important.

It Is 6:20 AM And I Am Full of Energy

I think increasing the niacin is helping.  I woke up about 6:00 AM with new subplots for my novel squirting out of my brain, and no hope of falling back asleep! This is a lovely feeling.  Now if only my right hand could keep up with my brain!

Kangaroo Jack

Netflixc categorizes as Children/Family Movie, but I think most adults will enjoy it.  It is a silly movie, but fun!

Not Je Suis Charlie

But Je Suis Charles Martel.  If you haven't taken Western Civilization recently, I explain to my class that Charles Martel is the reason we are learning Western Civilization, not Muslim Civilization, in English, and there are women in this classroom.

Rhode Island's Inspector of Steel

One of the many odd little offices I found while digging through Rhode Island's legislative journal was Inspector of Steel, whose job was to verify the quality of steel made in Rhode Island.  Because a lot of steel was used in making muskets and swords, the state's interest was obvious.

Rhode Island Session Laws During The Revolution: What A Mess

There is no immediately pre-1791 codification of Rhode Island law, so I am haqving to read through the Acts and Resolves for 1776-1784, which is closer to a legislative journal than session laws.  How ugly.

I Tied My Own Shoelaces!

This may not seem like a big deal, but it has been so long since I have had the dexterity, and neural connections to do this!  Soom, I will be trusted to walk outside by myself!

Department of Justice Called

Or rather someone with an East Indian accent called to say the U.S. Department of Justice as about to an enforcement action against me.  The rest of the message was doubtless a chance to give my credit card number to pay several thousand dollars to prevent it.  I received the same call twice in two hours.  These guys are not too smart.  Ande I thought Indiaas full of really smart people!

I Think The Niacin Is Helping

I had more energy today than previously.

What Would I Do Without My Wife?

She is aray of sunshine and organization on days like this, when sun is hard to find, while I dig through Revolutionary Connecticut statutes.

Multiple Displays

Ever since I worked for Paladin in Bend, Oregon, I have been thrilled by multiple display systems, really useful for debugging.  The docking station for the ThinkPad supports two external monitors.  With some help from my very organized wife I rearranged the desk.

The 23" monitor is 1920x1080, and the 20" monitor is 1600x1200.

Any Linux Preferences?

I just installed Mint Linux under VMPlayer.  It seems to boot, but that's as far as it goes: no UI.

I went Ubuntu 14.04 because I have experience using it.

So Why Are We Allies With This Bunch?

From 1/8/15 International Business Times:

A Saudi Arabian online activist will be publicly flogged on Friday 9 January after being arrested and accused of "ridiculing Islamic religious figures".

The corporal punishment will be carried out after Friday prayers, Amnesty International said, outside the Al-Juffali mosque in Jeddah. It is the site where executions are carried out, earning it the grisly nickname "Chop Chop Square".

Raif Badawi, who co-founded the Saudi Arabian Liberals website, was arrested in 2012 for promoting public debate on his site, which has been closed since.

Badawi was charged with cyber-crime and sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison.

The future Democrats are unintentionally creating for America, with their wild enthusiasm for Islam.

A Useful Skill For These Global Warming Times

The Battle Against Islam

The 1/8/15 USA Todau obligingly presents the Islamofascist argument for mass murder and terrorism:

Contrary to popular misconception, Islam does not mean peace but rather means submission to the commands of Allah alone. Therefore, Muslims do not believe in the concept of freedom of expression, as their speech and actions are determined by divine revelation and not based on people's desires.

Although Muslims may not agree about the idea of freedom of expression, even non-Muslims who espouse it say it comes with responsibilities. In an increasingly unstable and insecure world, the potential consequences of insulting the Messenger Muhammad are known to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
 

Muslims consider the honor of the Prophet Muhammad to be dearer to them than that of their parents or even themselves. To defend it is considered to be an obligation upon them. The strict punishment if found guilty of this crime under sharia (Islamic law) is capital punishment implementable by an Islamic State. This is because the Messenger Muhammad said, "Whoever insults a Prophet kill him."

Bloomberg Bought the Best Crook Money Could Buy

The 1/8/15 Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Bloomberg's handpicked Pensylvania Attorney-General being indicted:

The special prosecutor and grand jury investigating allegations that Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane leaked secret information to a newspaper have found evidence of wrongdoing and recommended that she be criminally charged, according to numerous people familiar with the decision.

The panel concluded that Kane violated grand-jury secrecy rules by leaking investigative material in a bid to embarrass political enemies, sources said.

Some of those familiar with the grand jury presentment say it recommended charges that included perjury and contempt of court.

What makes Kane so amazing is that her predecessor had clear evidence that a number of elected Philadelphia officials were accepting bribes, but decided that the pursuit of corruption was racist, because most of them were black.  The ultimate Democrat!

Installing The Lenovo Dock

I was little concerned that it would be a struggle.  Once I put the driver disk in my wife's CD drive (because the ThinkPad doesn't have one), everything is going well.  The Control Panel shows me three displays.  I just need a DVI to DVI cable for the extra monitor.

I have installed VMWare Player.  Now just waiting for Mint Linux ISO to download.

It was very nice: unplug the USB cable and power cord from the ThinkPad, and I am untethered.

Bizarre Suicide By Cop Incident

Los Angeles Times 1/5/15:

The man shot and killed Sunday by San Francisco police officers after brandishing a pellet gun had several suicide notes on his phone, including one addressed to police officers, authorities said.

“You did nothing wrong. You ended the life of a man who was too much of a coward to do it himself. I provoked you,” began the note. “I threatened your life as well as the lives of those around me. You were completely within your legal rights to do what you did.”

Question For You Smartphone Techies

I am about to replace my antique Motorola Razr with a smartphone.  Is there any strong argument for the Samsung S5 over the S4.

Republicans Plan To Pass Keystone XL Bill

The 1/7/15 Chicago Tribune reports that Republicans are planning to pass a bill to allow the Keystone XL pipeline:

A White House threat Tuesday to veto legislation that would allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built through the United States sets up a showdown with Republican leaders, who have laid out an agenda that may also include attempts to dismantle Obama's health-care law and roll back environmental regulations and financial rules. Those measures are central to the legacy of the president, who has vetoed just two bills in six years.

This could be very entertaining as Obama takes the side of the billionaire environmentalists against not only America's closest ally, but also against many American labor unions, who want Keystone XL built.  

Holding My Weight

I am holding a pretty consistent 188 pounds, ever since I left the hospital.  I would prefer being closer to 170 for my height, but even this is progress, and I am not finding this a struggle to do.

If You Aren't Armed As You Go About Your Daily Business, Why?

In case you haven't already seen this.  From SkyNews:

Three masked men kill 12 people after storming the offices of magazine Charlie Hebdo, then flee after a gun battle with police.

From CBS DC:

“Hey! We avenged the Prophet Muhammad! We killed Charlie Hebdo,” one of the men shouted in French, according to a video shot from a nearby building and broadcast on French TV. Other video showed two gunmen in black at a crossroads who appeared to fire down one of the streets. A cry of “Allahu akbar!” – Arabic for “God is great”- could be heard among the gunshots.

 I can't imagine we won't have similar attacks, either organized or "lone wolf" in the U.S.

I Just Love This ThinkPad

So light and portable; we had some errands to run in Boise, and I just kept working on my novel while my wife was shopping.  The Lenovo docking station arrived today.  It isn't the same sort of docking station as HP or Toshiba sell.  It doesn't recharge the battery, so you need to keep the charger plugged in, It provides a way to plug in multiple USB devices reducing the need for a USB hub.

Interesting Conversation At Therapy Yesterday

While in the waiting room for outpatient therapy yesterday, my wife and I ended up talking to the mother of a young man who was on the rehab ward at the same time as me.  His was a tragic situation: he had been in a car accident, and while in the hospital, all he could do was moan.  I never heard any form of speech.  He was 17, and about to go off to college when the accident happened.  The wonders of being young, he is now talking, driving, and anxious to get back to skiing.   Another woman in the waiting room was a very pretty blonde in her 20s, who suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago, and is just now having therapy to fix some of her problems.  She mentioned a website that touted niacin and omega-3 for traumatic brain injury recovery.

A little digging found this article in 2010 Stroke:

Niacin Treatment of Stroke Increases Synaptic Plasticity and Axon Growth in Rats

Background and Purpose—Niacin is the most effective medication in current clinical use for increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. We tested the hypothesis that niacin treatment of stroke promotes synaptic plasticity and axon growth in the ischemic brain.

Methods—Male Wistar rats were subjected to 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion and treated with or without Niaspan (a prolonged-release formulation of niacin, 40 mg/kg) daily for 14 days starting 24 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion. The expression of synaptophysin, Nogo receptor, Bielschowsky silver, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and its receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B were measured by immunohistostaining and Western blot, respectively, in the ischemic brain. Complementing in vivo studies, primary cultured neurons were used to test the effect of niacin and high-density lipoprotein on neurite outgrowth and brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin-related kinase B expression.

Results—Niaspan treatment of stroke significantly increased synaptophysin, Bielschowsky silver, brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin-related kinase B expression, and decreased Nogo receptor expression in the ischemic brain compared with middle cerebral artery occlusion control animals (P-.05=""

 Conclusions—Niacin treatment of stroke promotes synaptic plasticity and axon growth, which is mediated, at least partially, by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin-related kinase B pathways.

Niacin is a low-risk addition to my diet because it is water-soluble, and therefore doesn't build up toxicity in the body, unlike the fat-soluble vitamins, and is known to reduce depression.  I doubled my evening dose of niacin last night from 1 gram to 2 grams, and while it might be placebo effect, I feel more energetic and less depressed this morning.

UPDATE: There are some risks at the 6g/day level, but I have felt so good today that I am going to stay at 2 g/day.

Stroke Risk Rising For Young

The 1/4/15 Sacramento Bee reports on how stroke risk is falling for the elderly, but rising for the young and why:

Although stroke has long been considered an illness of advanced age, statistics show a startling demographic reversal in recent years. Even while strokes are on the decline in older adults, decreasing by more than 25 percent for people older than 45, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, the chances of stroke have soared alarmingly among people in early adulthood and middle age.

From 1994 through 2007, CDC research shows, the rate of ischemic stroke jumped by 47 percent for men ages 35 to 44 and 36 percent for women in the same age group. For men in their early 20s, the number of stroke-related hospitalizations rose by more than 50 percent during that period.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article5418054.html#storylink=cpy

It's Official

I cleared out my office at Dept. of Correction today, and returned my ID badge.  I am now unemployed.

More Snow Plow

If you are at all curious about our driveway, which has been a source of many postings over the years:

Things I Am Going To Miss Being Retired

I absolutely hated my job with the Dept. of Corrections most days, but I really loved my co-workers there.  My boss, Michele, her boss, John, and my colleagues trying to beat the Correctional Information System into something useable, were the best group I have worked with in many years: polite, concerned for others, and a lot of fun.  Them I am going to miss.

The Emerging Epstein Scandal

In case you missed it, there is an enormous sex scandal involving a billionaire named Jeffrey Epstein, a very well connected person who has gone onto the "who?" list since he started pleading guilty to charges involving sex slave minors:

Prince Andrew abused an underage girl at an orgy where she was being used as a sex slave, it was sensationally claimed last night.

In an extraordinary legal allegation, a woman said she was ‘forced’ to have sex with him at parties in London, New York and the Caribbean.

Last night the prince issued a strongly-worded denial, with Buckingham Palace saying ‘any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue’. But his alleged victim immediately hit back by saying she would not be ‘bullied into silence by aggressive attacks’.

The woman – named only as Jane Doe #3 but said to be 30-year-old Virginia Roberts – says in court documents she was told to ‘give the prince whatever he demanded’ by his friend Jeffrey Epstein, the US billionaire paedophile who hosted the sordid parties.

She claimed she and other underage girls were ‘procured for sexual activities’ by Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite daughter of crooked tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Miss Maxwell is alleged to have facilitated the prince’s ‘abuse’ of the girl, after helping Epstein to convert her ‘into what is commonly referred to as a sex slave’

Epstein was suspected nearly a decade ago of paying for sex with dozens of underage girls. The FBI ultimately dropped its investigation and, in a ‘plea bargain’, he admitted a single offence and served 13 months of an 18-month jail sentence.

The documents, filed at West Palm Beach Federal Courthouse in Florida, are part of an ongoing civil dispute between Epstein and four of his alleged victims. The latest issue refers to his plea-bargain which two unnamed victims, Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2, say prosecutors should not have agreed.

Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #4 have joined their legal action. Last night there was no response to requests for comment from Miss Maxwell. Epstein’s lawyer, Jack Goldberger, said the allegations were ‘old and salacious and ‘been consistently proven to have no merit’.

No clue was given to the identity, but the court documents say Epstein’s ‘lending’ of young girls to prominent international figures – foreign presidents and US politicians and businessmen among them – was to ‘ingratiate’ himself and ‘so that he could potentially blackmail them’.

From his 97-page ‘black book’ of phone numbers and email addresses, it is clear Epstein had an impressive array of contacts.

When its contents were disclosed three years ago, the book was shown to include contact details for former US President Bill Clinton, ex-secretary of state Henry Kissinger, and Barbara Walters, then one of America’s most influential broadcasters.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2894911/Andrew-age-sex-slave-Duke-denies-claim-court-papers-teen-picked-sleep-Robert-Maxwell-s-daughter.html#ixzz3Nu2EU4BB
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It makes you wonder how much of the sleaziness of politics involves underage girls.  I suspect at least part of why many politicians are so relaxed about sexual orientation is that many have their own embarrassing/unlawful preferences that need to stay under wraps, and once you have  your own degrading behaviors, how easy is it to feel morally superior to others?  The pursuit of children as sex partners, has been a big part of being a political leader at least since Tiberius.

The Plus Side of Writing Science Fiction

It forces me to learn about heat shields and how they work and the differing forms of chorophyll and spectrographic measurement.

Fast

Video editing on this quad-core ThinkPad is fast!

One of the Best Purchases I Have Made

Agricover SnowSport 180 plow:
Here's mt wife backing it out with the blade in the up position.

And here she is putting it in down position:

And backing up and plowing.  Note how the blade backs up in reverse.

And from inside the vehicle:

F1 is the Magic Key

I don't know why it didn't work the first time, but F1 takes you into the BIOS on the ThinkPad where I told it not to boot from USB devices.  Now the external hard drives can share the USB hub with my mouse and keyboard.  For some reason, the mouse only appears if plugged directly into the PC.

Beginning to mistrust the 10-port USB hub.  Some of the product reviews on Amazon report similar problems..

Things That Happen While In The Hospital

I got a nasty note from the Idaho State Tax Commission today demanding $500 IN  SALES TAX AND $25 in penalties.  ScopeRoller is supposed to make quarterly filings of sales tax and I was in the hospital.  Now I have only paid very minimal sales tax because nearly all my customers are outside Idaho, so they just guessed $500.  I will call Monday and explain that IO have now file for Q3 and Q4, and turn off the collection agency threats!

Learning to be Patient

I have been trying find scholarly articles about bipolars recovering from stroke, but most articles are about bipolar disorder as a symptom of stroke, or depression.  I want my bipolar back, so that I can be  productive again.  The good news is that the depression is likely to fade:

Little is known about the course of major depression after stroke.  Prevalence varies over time with an apparent peak at 3-6 months after stroke and a subsequent decline to about 50% of initial rates at 1 year.  Spontaneous remission can occur 1-2 year post-stroke.

The Days I Miss Green Fascist California

It was . 9 degrees this morning.  It isn't like there is anywhere to go when I still feel so weak and depressed.  I miss the bipolar hypomania.