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NRA

It isn’t just the shooter who are making noise & lobbying. We forget all about the manufacturers who have a life (or death)  of selling all the paraphernalia to the shooters.  I picked up just one of the companies  brochures that supply the folks.,( Cabelas).

Here’s what they manufacture & sell:

Firearms, rifles & pistols – Get your Semiautomatic Tactical Riflle  (Looks kke an AK45) for $850!

                                It really doesn’t look like a hunting or skeet shooting gun.

A good shotgun for a couple of thousand,  & a nifty hand gun,  seven round magazine for $1,000.

Reloading -  gizmos to make your own bullets.

Optics, night vision for a few hundred

Accessories (tripods, holsters, gun cases, gun cleaning, gun storage

Clothing, boots , packs

Ammunitions – Lots of choices here.

 

Plastic Lavatory

MODULAR HOUSING

  I sometimes surprise my self. I was recently visiting my second modular Proto-type in Pasadena, I noticed the lavatory was very unique. At the time we were building our models, the plastic lavatory industry was just emerging.  Somewhere I was able to have some labs cast with this wonderful pattern in the bowl. Even after 50 years it still looks brand new. I tried to have it duplicated by current plastic (_Corian. etc.) but they just couldn't replicate it. It would probably be cheaper to have it hand cut in Alabaster at Volterra, Italia. 

  I  built it around  1968 in Laguna Beach,, installed it for a month in the State Fair in Sacramento, then moved it down to it’s current address in Pasadena. Plastic countertops were just being invented and I took advantage of that for this model, adding a spiraling faceted pattern to the bowl. 

BE COOL, MAN!

Seer Sucker shirts & suits.

            For those of us who have lived n hot, humid country, you may have a wardrobe of Seer-Sucker suits or  seersucker shirts in your closet. It's pretty interesting concept as it stems from the Persian, Sir-Suker, or puckered cotton and it does help some, if you have to live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

......

TO KILL A WHAT?

  I recently revisited the movie "To Kill a Mocking Bird" to see what all the brou-how is about.  Strangely, it is mostly about the children. The court scene where the black (African-American) was convicted of raping a loony white southern girl. Of course he was innocent but was convicted by the all white jury of red necks.  He was later shot while trying to escape as he knew what the final fate was going to be. But the real surprise was a neighbor man, who didn't seem to have all his marbles (There were a lot of people around there like that) kind of killed the father who was menacing the young children in a nearby glade. Since the movie confused me I had to revert to the written word, or the actual book to understand that the neighbor guy killed the father of the  raped (by him probably)  daughter. (Oh, those Southerners do lead an interesting life !). But, stay with me, the town Sheriff knew what had happened but considered that no one needed to know. But who did kill the father? I never could figure that one out.  But I do dig the title.

DIS-EASE

  Which the high cost of health care let's talk a bit about disease. This is a re-curring theme with me as I am intrigued by it, maybe because I've been able to avoid most of them , so far.  I've mentioned this before but am obsessed with the concept, since we seem to know so little about it.

I write these Rants not to inform you but to get me to investigate an issue before I dump it on you. Here's is what I surmised;

PREMISE; (Proposed by my doctor, Henry BIELER) The cause of disease is not germs. It is caused by toxemia which causes a cellular break down, which in turn, causes the way for germs to take over.
Bieler was an early proponent of nutrition, even published his iconic "FOOD IS YOUR BEST MEDICINE". in the 1950's.

COMMUNICATABLE DISEASE

   Most of  these have come down to us as we have integrated (You figure that out) with our animals that we have domesticated since around 8,000 BC (Sheep have to be in here somewhere.?).

     Measles                              from cattle? 1600 BC?

      Whooping Cough              ?

      Smallpox                           ?

      Venreal Disase –  Gonorrhea        from sheep (Or girls?)

                                    Syphilus          from the Americas? (girls)

      Plague                   fleas from rats?

      Typhus                  Squirrels?

       Malaria                  Mosquitos thru chickens, birds?        

      Leprosy                 (We don’t even want to talk about this)         

      Mumps      `           400 BC but where?

      Tuberculosis.         Cattle? (airborne?)

      AIDS                      Monkeys? 1959

NON-COMMUNICATABLE DISEASE   These appear to come from nowhere, maybe DNA? (Can these be related to our Diet?)

     Cancer                   Increasing

     Poliomyoltis            Almost eliminated by vaccine 

     Diabetes                 Increasing

     Multiple Sclerosis  A Mystery?

     

  HELLS DEVILS.     ( This is a bonafide rant!, the real purpose of all this, except somewhere along the line I segued into a philosophical potpourri)  Ever since I got out of high school I have begun to quiet down any machine I drove.  Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the concept of a motored cycle to carry a person around efficiently. But if you are a motorcycle affectianado and an owner of a Harley Davidson you will be doing just the opposite. I recently read an encouraging report that the fuzz are taking it all kind of seriously and will begin giving you a ticket if you have just blown out all the ear-drums within  a two block radius. Let's ask the primary question; Why do motor cycles make more noise than an auto or truck?  Answer? Because the owner will disconnect any noise muffling system that the 'bike' comes from the factory with. I have to confess we're working on heresy here as no one but me seems bothered by the audacity of some bearded, fat guy, who has to be heard several blocks away. There are some ''general rules that  have been in effect for decades; one is if the exhaust is louder  than the engine, you may have violated the maximum sound level of  80 decibels. What that bull shit means is that you may make your little bike a monster with the sound alone. This hurts my ears just writing about it.   There is some screwball rule that the bike's noise is tied into his manufacturing date. Gimme a break! When I was a kid (High School) we were plagued by the cops if we had a groovy sounded hot rod. We would actually get tickets!  Granted that was 70 years ago but we had the same cretin mentality that drives the Maxi-noise biker.  Even the French are not immune to this travesty of sound. Young boys rip around the small quiet villages on their screaming off-road bikes but we hope they will quiet down as they age or Mature.  Frenchmen seem to end up with more quiet bikes and much more practicable, like sometimes even with covered tops for rainy days.

OBITUARIES

  I'm writing this letter to the local newspaper as a warning to grieving relatives who want to post a note about their friend dying. Please realize my local Press Democrat news has dispensed with the nasty term "Obituary" and now calls it "Life Tributes" .  I have noticed that most obits tell of their friend has "passes", not died, mind you. Now just where has this person passed to? Will he /she be coming back around? That sounds a lot like hearsay , therefor  they might be touting re-incarnation, etc.  But that is not my point here. I want to warn everyone that dying is an expensive proposition, and to have it published in your local news is kind of pricey. Also, I object to "Sanitizing" death.

When my friend , Jack Jones died, I wrote and submitted the obit but it cost me over $350.!  Yikes! I thought this was news, not just a way to generate cash . Does the substitution of Life Tributes over obituary kind of make you angry? Obituary means you have died, but Life Tributes? What days that mean? It also means that the more money you are worth, the longer your "Life Tribute" will be. As you will be charged by the line ($6.50 a day + $50 for photo).

IMPORTANT NOTICE

 There has been an erroneous "Fake news" that a group of baboons is called "A congress of baboons". This seems to be in error as the actual terminology is " A Troupe of Baboons". This is very wrong as well as very disrespectful of baboons, so let's try to clear this up.

VENICIA

 For those fortunate ones who are destined to visit Venice, (Even before Paris?) you must see the You Tube regarding the installation of the incredible gates that have been installed for billions of euros to protect the city from current flooding as well as future global warming floods. Called the MOSES system for some reason, go to You Tube, and Moses Barrier to see the incredible engineering feat the Italians have construed. It is just being finished.

 

Still tilts but notice lead weights on left

PISA

While you're at it, see the remedial work done on the Bell tower of Pisa, where the Italians actually closed it, spent millions to stop and reverse the 17' lean. It has been closed for years during the work, but don't worry, they only got it back an inch or so. And know enough to make  sure there is a proper lean in this "leaning tower".  It isn't too often that an Architect's failure is a Huge success.

POLITICS

  How can we get our Pols to be more human? I heard that Obama wanted to wear a brown suit but it created such a Brau Hau that he had to revert back to the standard dark blue suit (and don't forget the obligatory American Flag lapel pin.) I just can't believe they are so up-tight that they can't leave a tie off once in a while. Is it true that certain tie diagonals refer to the College you attended? (Harvard, etc.) If I was invited to the White House by a president, would I not be admitted unless I wore the usual "Suit of Armor”.  What a sad state of affairs.?  Let's face it, before we have a black, woman president, a man with a beard or mustache could be president.

Try to remember what Samual Johnson said; “PATROITISM IS THE LAST REFUGE OF A SCOUNDREL”.

MORE POLITICS

 You hear the derogatory term "Socialist" whenever health Care for all is brought up. Well, let's face it, we have a certain amount of that already installed in our systems. What does the Big Webster dictionary say a Socialist is?

   SO.CIAL.ISM  - A system of social organization which advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

  That is pretty confusing as it sounds like capitalism. However, we have Social Security, the concept that when we age, we will have some income derived from portions of our wages or income during our life of work. Why is it that we are the sole developed country that doesn't care for part of our population and can't provide health care?  And what about our military? That has to be controlled, financed , etc. by the State?  How about Interstate transportation systems?,  But do we have to be involved with schooling? (The Party Line?)

 VIDEO ALERT

  "Before the Flood" refers to the rising sea waters as the poles melt down. This video is about global climate change and examines it from various perspectives in this illuminating documentary chronicling actor Leonardo DiCaprio's crusade to increase awareness of the potentially catastrophic effects of the changes already under way. But then, you may have to be one who thinks further than just what your having for breakfast to imagine what the life of your grand kids will be facing.

      Decaprio is kind of a odd guy as he is using his fame and fortune to further our dimming awareness about Global Warming. This is an hour & half of seeing the actual effects of the warming. He gets to see the Pope and even Obama, (who kind of moves it all around to national security, rather a let down.)  Anyway, probably a video we all should have in our repertoire.