Not Enough Sunlight

I have been battling some depression.   I thought it was just a result of a couple weeks of substantial pain, now subsiding to only occasional pain.  But cabin fever may also be the absence of sunlight.   I spent an hour two on the front porch today (made more tolerable by a cool wind), and I feel better.

I also finished my presentation about NFA34 Congressional testimony and how it impacts post-Bruen interpretation of the Second Amendment and machine gun law for the October 18th Symposium at the University of Wyoming Law School.

A Little Victory

 U.S. v. Duarte (9th Cir. 2024):

Applying Bruen’s two-step, text-and-history framework, the panel concluded (1) Duarte’s weapon, a handgun, is an “arm” within the meaning of the Second Amendment’s text, that Duarte’s “proposed course of conduct—carrying [a] handgun[] publicly for self-defense”—falls within the Second Amendment’s plain language, and that Duarte is part of “the people” whom the Second Amendment protects because he is an American citizen; and (2) the Government failed to prove that § 922(g)(1)’s categorical prohibition, as applied to Duarte, “is part of the historic tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the” Second Amendment right.

Duarte's previous convictions for sentences exceeding one year were all for non-violent crimes (I had no idea vandalism in California was a felony).  I do not get the impression this guy Duarte is someone you want to invite over for dinner, but rights do not belong only to the bourgeois.

Secret Names

Over at ChicagoBoyz, a discussion of a person whose name is so powerful that you may not mention it on Facebook or YouTube.  Is it safe for me to say that name, or will lightning strike my blog?

When Greenhouse Gases Are Our Friend

9/27/24 SciTechDaily article about ozone levels coming back over the Arctic:

"Higher greenhouse gas concentrations in the stratosphere also accelerate ozone recovery. “This record was likely a result of decreased ozone-depleting substances and increased greenhouse gases. Otherwise, it would have been just a high year and not a record,” said Newman. “I call this year a harbinger of the future.”"

I Saw A Movie About This Some Years Ago

 9/29/24 ABC News:

LONDON AND TOKYO -- Scientists in Japan have made a robot face covered in living, self-healing skin that can smile in a demonstration of a new technique researchers believe could help pave the way for lifelike biohybrid humanoid robots in the future.

The scientists, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo’s Biohybrid Systems Laboratory, attached cultured skin to a 3D facial mold using perforation-type anchors, which mimic the natural structure of human skin ligaments.

That did not end well for humanity. 

Why Am I Skeptical?

 9/27/24 Financial Times:

Kamala Harris vows US border clampdown in attempt to neutralise immigration issue
The Democratic presidential candidate promises measures to stop illegal crossings in a campaign visit to Arizona

Gee, who did Biden put in charge of this last year?  And why would she reverse Biden's policies? 

PBS Documentary About Ellis Island Hospital

To say that I was startled does not even begin to describe it.  Forgotten Ellis Island (2008).  I was expecting a hit piece emphasizing the 1924 immigration law, eugenics, and what a horrible nation America is.  While eugenics was part of the story, it was also a story about how the U.S. built one of the best hospitals in the world to treat incoming immigrants regarded as too sick for immediate entry.  Some were deemed incurable and contagious (especially considering what was available at the time), some feebleminded, some were mentally ill.  These were deported.  But many were treated and allowed to enter the U.S.

For every depressing quote from a Public Health Service doctor awash in eugenics, there were examples of doctors challenging these ideas, and doctors and nurses engaging in humane and decent treatment of people with whom language was often a barrier.

Your Worst Chemical Nightmare

YouTube video titled "the Best Performing (and most dangerous) Chemical Rocket Ever."  Rocketdyne experimented with a liquid lithium metal and fluorine gas rocket with liquid hydrogen thrown in to improve performance.  This video has some truly dazzling video (spraying cold fluorine gas on brick, for example).  I am glad NASA never gave Rocketdyne a contract to make this engine.  

Machining

 I am making a set of what ScopeRollers would have been if I was making them for a captive audience with an unlimited budget: more precision than anyone can afford.

I needed a tigh fit inside a .990" inside square tube.  So I machined a piec e of 1.01" xquare aluminum tube to just fit.

The machining stripes are cosmetic.  They are ridges caused by using a 1/2" diameter end mill at 1/4" intervals.  They are so close to flat that I cannot feel them, so likely less than .003" high or deep (I am not sure which).  Ordinarily, you remove them by using a flycutter, which runs a cutting tool in a circle acros the entire surface.  Sanding works well, too, although taking some material with it.

Here it is taking .005" slices off.

I wanted something between an interference fit, which requires tapping it into square tube, and a clearance fit.  That describes, it takes finger pressure to get into the tube, so it will stay while I drill and tap a hole to hold it in place.  I wish I could have done a better job getting my hand out of the way.

The next step is cutting that square block into three segments with 30 degree angles for the threaded stem casters.

Carbide End Mills

Once you use them, you will wonder why you would ever use High Speed Steel (HSS) again.  I am trimming a piece of 1.01" aluminum square to .990".  For the first side, I used the first 1/2" end mill that I found in the drawer which was HSS.  For the second side, I used my 1/2" carbide end mill.  Much faster cutting and a nicer finish.

I Am Coming Unglued

The SuperGlue they used to close me up is now starting to peel off from the skin which has adequately healed to prevent leakage.

If This Is Not Revenge for Challenging Biden's Open Borders Policy, Then Someone is An Idiot

 9/26/24 [U.K.] Telegraph:

A Turkish businessman told Eric Adams he would “soon” become the US president, after he and his peers lavished the New York mayor with business class flights and luxury travel worth $123,000, according to prosecutors...

First Cardiac Rehab Session

Twenty minutes at 2 mph on treadmill.  Twenty minutes on stepper machine.  Quick recovery to resting heart rate.  BP 136/66 afterwards.  This is looking good.

Does Any Phrasing Better Identify East Indian English?

"If the necessary is not done within 2 days from today's date 26/09/2024, we are obliged to stop your services."

Or they shut off the Disney+ service that I have never had.

Immediately followed by the same spam in German 

I Wonder What Other Adjectives Get Used

I requested the surgeon's report on what he did, sort of like wanting a written statement of what the mechanic did under the hood. "The patient was expertly intubated..."  I am going to assume he was complimenting the skill of the anesthesiologist.   Keep in mind that a report like this is unlikely to ever see the light of day outside a civil suit.  

Cardiac rehab has me starting tomorrow.  The exercise physiologist said that being ready this soon after surgery is a little unusual.   Thanks to all of you who were praying for my recovery. 

I Am Not Sure How I Missed This

Worth v. Burton (8th Cir. 2024) struck down Minnesota's minimum age of 21 requirement for carry licenses:

Minnesota argues that 18 to 20-year-olds are not members of “the people” because at common law, individuals did not have rights until they turned 21 years old....

Ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizens that are 18 to 20-year-olds are members of the people because: (1) they are members of the political community under Heller’s “political community” definition; (2) the people has a fixed definition, though not fixed contents; (3) they are adults; and (4) the Second Amendment does not have a freestanding, extratextual dangerousness catchall.

You know, when every liberal had an "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" bumper sticker, I doubt many considered what granting citizenship to 18-20 year olds might eventually mean.

I Have a Solution to This Problem

From 9/22/24 Joanne Jacobs:

"In a 2022 statement, the National Council of Teachers of English declared: “The time has come to decenter book reading and essay-writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education.” Instead, teachers are urged to focus on "media literacy" and short texts that students feel are "relevant.""

I can find books that meet this criterion:

"See Dick.  See Jane.  See Spot.  See Dick and Jane throw the ball to Spot."

What could go wrong?

Ultimate Nerd

Cody's Labs YouTube video titled Precious Metal From Catalytic Converter has one of those lines that even I cannot deliver: "Using my X-ray photospectrometer...."

No Pain This Morning

I slept through the night.  I woke up with no pain.  I feel some tightness across the chest but with the sternum vigorously regrowing, I am not at all surprised.

Not Stitches After All

I went in for post-op examination today.  The P-A looked over all the stitches and said i was healing very well.  And nome of these stitches are stitches.  They are all glue.  She says they produce much smaller and better looking scars than stitches.  

"So, I can go back to being a chest model?"

Well at least as well as I did it before. 

I told her that I was able to walk 1500 feet last Thursday with no shortness of breath, which is better than before surgery.  She said most people are feeling  pretty good by fourth week.

I can resume driving sixth week.

"Doing Jobs Americans Won't Do"

You may recall Sen. McCain defending illegal immigration with this phrase.  I never thought we would reach a point where the American jobs being lost were criminal drug gangs. 9/22/24 New York Post:

"Chicago gangbangers rage against newly arrived Venezuelan migrants as Tren de Aragua moves in: ‘City is going to go up in flames’"

Along with criminals complaining about the savagery of the newly arrived, they interview black Chicagoans saying the Democrats have sold them out.  Some are actively promoting Trump.  I wonder how secure the black vote really is for Harris?

This is My First Day Not Wearing Pajamas Since Surgery

It feels strange to wear a button down shirt and pants with a belt.

Feeling Better

Going to church this morning.   The pain in my aorta has eased a lot.  Whoever was complaining about stitches seems to be getting where it should be.

Temptation

Have a T-shirt made with a foot long scar and the warning: "Watch your diet and exercise.   They are way nicer than open-heart surgery"

Temperature Change Over Time

From 9/20/24 Science an article about long-term temperatures  (past 540 million years). ( I cannot figure out how to crop this screenshot on my phone.)

Of course,  the article emphasizes the CO2 effects on temperatures but fails to explain how those very high temperatures in the past can be blamed on man.

A Discussion of Why Cosmetic Surgery to the Iris is a Bad Idea...

Led inevitably to the question of whether people are getting more stupid.  I observed thst at as low as stupid gets, there is a lower bound, to which someone posted the following meme:

Look, there are forms of cosmetic surgery to correct really severe defects that involve low enough risk and the esthetics matter: cleft palate; mastectomy replacement.   But risking permanent eye damage to change your eye color?  That is just plain stupid.   

What doctor considers this within ethical behavior?  The sort that do genital mutilation for an emotional whim and to make some money, I guess.

The End-Permian Extinction Event

I am sure you are aware that most species died out at the end of the Permian period.  I was watching a YouTube video about it and it seemed a bit too convenient that it cast the blame for the second temperature increase,  to 39 degrees Celsius worldwide, to the Siberian Traps carbon dioxide release producing 35 degree Celsius temperature that caused release of methane from tundra and deep sea methane hydrates.  The Wikipedia article is quite a bit more balanced and presented this as one possible explanation.   It is well worth reading if you are a geology nerd like me.

Walking

There is a home health nurse who comes over a couple times a week to check vitals abmnd verify exercise is going well.  Yesterday I walked 1550 feet which was no longer possible before the surgery. 

If You Do Not Read Beyond the First Two Lines

9/19/24 Politico:

"An email address belonging to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, a website designed for married people seeking affairs.

An adviser to Robinson, granted anonymity to speak freely, confirmed to POLITICO that the email address in question belongs to Robinson. A spokesperson for Robinson said he had not made an account on Ashley Madison.

“Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson denies that he ever created or used an account on this website,” said Mike Lonergan, Robinson’s communications director

"Robinson’s campaign also pointed to a website showing the email address in question has been compromised in multiple data breaches."

It is surprisingly easy to create an account using someone else's email.  The list of things he supposedly posted smells like a Democrat trick.  Calling yourself a "black Nazi"?  And it gets more obvious from there.  Why would anyone use an identifiable email address on Ashley Madison?  I mean anon555678@hotmail.com is likely available. 

Gov. Newsom Signed Law Banning Deepfake Election Ads

Babylon Bee does a deepfake that creates a perfect First Amendment basis for striking down the law.

Anyone that does not immediately recognize this as parody is too stupid to sit on a jury 

Pain Comes and Goes

Right now. It is in the aorta area.  This should be no surprise.   The surgeon sliced open the aorta to cut out Mr. Ed's valve, sewed a,mechanical valve in place, then sewed up the aorta.  Think of all the tissues and nerve endings that are busily reconnecting. 

Is Evangelicals for Harris a Libersl Front Group?

9/19/24 Associated Press:

"But some evangelicals have used perceived cracks in his political fidelity to further distance themselves from the former president, especially as Trump and his surrogates have waffled over whether he would sign a federal abortion ban  should he become president."

So Trump's unwillingness to commit to a federal abortion ban is reason to vote for Harris?

Snitches Get Stitches

As do open-heart surgery patients.   I had hoped there would not be a lot of stitches to sbio and remove but the foot long chest scar is stitched, as is the pacemaker implant and the lower leg from where the vein for the graft came.  Taking out one or two stitches hurts a little, but the foot Kong is going to be a lot of stitches.   Perhaps they can use a typical anesthetic?

Watch for Exploding Pens

In the last couple days Israel has detonated first pagers then handheld radios to injure and kill Hwzbollah who have been appropriately wary of using cellphones because of how easy they are to track.  Alas, ballpoint pens lack MAC addresses (unless there is a WiFi version thst I have not yet seen).

FOMC Cuts Rstes

9/18/24 Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System.  After a pile of explanation of their duty to keep unemployment and inflation both low, and sewing signs of a soft landing they will "lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent..." from looking at market indices, it appears that big money also priced in this reduction. 

No matter.  They seem to be doing their job, managing the disaster caused by a lack of adults running the government overall.

The markets are responding with vigor today 

Took a Nap; Feeling Better. amazing admission By Harris

9/18/24 Fox News:

"As San Francisco's district attorney, Kamala Harris told legal gun owners in her community that authorities could "walk into" their homes to inspect whether they were storing their firearms properly under a new law she helped draft."

She wants limits on "misinformation speech," gun ownership,  and now warrantless searches?  Will we be seeing her try for a quadrifecta by calling for government quartering of illegals in private homes (ad long as they are not on Martha's Vineyard)?

I Am Not Sure How Much This Pratically Means but As Rebuie it is Substantial

9/18/24 NBC News:

"Teamsters union declines to endorse in presidential election, breaking decades of precedent

The decision comes just two days after the union's leaders met with Vice President Kamala Harris and months after they met with former President Donald Trump."

In practice,  union endorsements have become less important as members especially blue collar ones such as Teamsters have moved increasingly to the right.   But the symbolism of a major labor union refusing to endorse a Democrat shows a lack of belief that Harris has the "cat in the bag."  (They are not even Hsitians!)

Refusing to endorse will cause them harm if Harris wins so the Teamsters leadership sees little risk.

Details of Teamster internal polling shows members are strongly pro-Trump.

When the Tylenol Wears Off

The chest reminds you that what happened was not dramatically different from an autopsy: ribs moved; flesh peeled back.

Are You A Law Student in Need of Funding and Recognition?

Since inception, the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund has awarded millions of dollars for legal research, education and support of cases defending the individual right to keep and bear arms.

The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund now proudly announces its Annual Law Student Second Amendment Research and Writing Competition.

Any law student currently enrolled in an ABA Accredited law school is eligible to enter the competition by writing a scholarly article suitable for publication on a specific Second Amendment issue. Articles must be submitted on or before March 1, 2025, to nracrdf_lawschoolcontest@nrahq.org. The awards are $10,000.00 for first place, $7,000.00 for second place, and $3,000.00 for third place.

Lies!

9/5/24 Travel & Leisure:

"This Northwestern State Was Named One of the Best Places to Live in the U.S. for Quality of Life and Affordability"

Do not believe them.  Mountain lions est five small children every day here!  We are about to resume burning witches on Sundays.  The daily temperature range is -100 to 250, often worse in summer.  Stay away! 

Now Down About Ten Pounds From Surgery Weight

My appetite has not fallen that much.  My calorie intake has fallen about 15%.  I suspect that improved oxygenation has increased fuel consumption. 

This Is Sort Of "Shiver My Timbers" News Story

9/17/24 Newsweek:

"An overgrown airfield on a small island in the Pacific, once instrumental in America's role in ending World War II, is being reclaimed by the U.S. Air Force as it prepares for a possible future fight with China.

"The remote island of Tinian, which is less than 40 square miles, is one of three principal islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, a string of sparsely populated islets in the Western Pacific Ocean that make up the U.S.'s westernmost frontier, along with the major military hub of Guam some 100 miles to the south."

You all remember why Tinian tickles a part of your memory bank, right?  For all the concern about Russian-saber-rattling, China is the real risk.

Around the World in 80 Days

 If you are part of my generation, you probably thius classic Jules Verne novel as a kid.  All of his novels have been hacked to bloody, incomprehsnible messes by Hollywood over the years including my favorite, Mysterious Island. There is a new BBC series on Masterpiece Theater.  It was spared no production costs but as usual the original novel has been hacked quite needlessly.  The absurd trip over the Alps by balloon from the 1950s musical is there but nowhere in Verne.

There are some excellent pieces of writing with no similar component in the original.

There are some substitutions that while a bit jarring really do no damage to Verne's story: Passepartout is now a black French valet, although very true to Verne's characterization.  His backstory in Verne is both more interesting and comfortable to the plot than this production.  The female stagecoach driver in the Old West is atypical, but not imaginary.  There were such.

I knew that what is one of the more exciting parts of the novel -- San Francisco to New York City -- could be told with modern sensibilities as our travelers deal with a Sioux Indian raid on the transcontinental railway (which I am pretty was quite imaginary when Verne wrote this).

Dep, Marshall Bass Reeves appears although in an ahistorical context.  Again, this is more about making the "woke" happy than spending the time to tell theinteresting story of Reeves, from slave to federal law enforcement.

The biggest surprise was the replacement of an overzealous police detective chasing Phileas Fogg around the world with a female jouirnalist of the same name recounting Fogg'sadventures for her stick-in-the-mud newspaper editor father.  There are 19th century female journalists such as Nellie Bly, but she feels like a sop thrown to modern audiences.

It is still a bit of fun to watch, with often clever dialog.  The ersatz Western Battle Mountain, Nev. has a Sweenet's Butcher Shop, just to see if you are payimg attention.

I Thought We Were Fully Suburban

The dogs went on a barking frenzy.  Rhonda looked and saw the colors of a coyote.  As it moved she could see it was a fox!

Accused Assassin Has a Very Weird Hiatory

9/16/24 Associated Press:

"KAAAWA, Hawaii (AP) — Ryan Wesley Routh portrayed himself online as a man who built housing for homeless people in Hawaii, tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and described his support and then disdain for Donald Trump — even urging Iran to kill him.

“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published book in 2023, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal."

It gets weirder from there.

"The world would be better it were run by women, he wrote in the book that has links to his website and X account, because “it seems that the totality of the world’s problems revolve around men with massive insecurity and childlike intelligence and behavior.”

I smell projection.  AK-47 scope for sniper work.

Below 190 Pounds

Trump Must Be at Risk of Winning

Or there would not have been another assassination attempt today 

The Sternum is Knitting Itself Closed

I van feel it.  It is not painful but there is definitely some tightness across it.  The Tylenol is probably why i am not feeling pain 

I Just Watched the 1950s Version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I keep hoping it is not prescient.   What happens if Harris "wins" the election by tens of millions of votes?

If Americans Will Do this, Why Won't Haitian Refugees?

 9/13/24 [U.K.] Telegraph:

Police have released video footage of an American woman being arrested for eating a cat – 170 miles away from Springfield, Ohio where Donald Trump claimed Haitian immigrants were devouring pets.

The arrest took place in Canton on August 16 after police received several calls from the public.

According to a police report Allexis Ferrell, 27, smashed the cat’s head with her foot and then started eating it.

Police said they saw fur on the woman’s lips and blood on her feet.

When Clintonistas Say There Was Something Suspicious

9/13/24 JustTheNews.com:

" Penn, a former advisor to Bill and Hilary Clinton, called Thursdsy for ABC to launch a formal internal investigation into its news division's planning and execution of this week's presidential debate to determine if there was some effort at "rigging the outcome of this debate."

"ABC News came under significant bipartisan criticism because its moderators fact-checked some of Donald Trump's statements but not a single pushback at any made by Kamala Harris."

Of course if you believe in your deepest heart that Trump is a liar and Harris is not, why would you bother checking her claims?