New Things

I'm Nervous About This One - Massey Clutch Rebuild - Instant Reverse Part 2
Watch Wes Work

I'm posting this because of the comments Wes makes in the first minute. He likes doing new things, not doing the same thing over and over again. Looking back I have to say I am very similar. As to whether other people enjoy doing the same thing over and over again, I can't say. It's an alien concept. Oh, I can do repetitive work, but only if there is a goal in sight. It might be months away, but as long as there is an end point I can apply myself. Or maybe I just never found a repetitive job that engaged me enough to keep after it. Trouble shooting computer systems kept me engaged for ten years or so, but it was hardly repetitive. Every problem was new. I would have kept on but I was never able to connect with anyone who wanted my particular skills.

I enjoy watching his videos, not sure why. Maybe because they are comforting. I used to do mechanical work before I got into computers. I'm certainly not going to try and tackle any of the projects he takes on.

Caterpillar Wine Mixer

Bump Starting Old Iron with @ziptiesnbiasplies
DEBOSS GARAGE

Much of this equipment is left over from the Canadian Trans Mountain Pipeline. The pipeline was built in 1952. Note that is entirely within the year, not started in one year and finished umpteen years later. It was completed in less than a year. It is 700 miles long and runs from Edmonton, Alberta, across the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Trans Mountain Pipeline

The last section of pipeline is assembled on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, near Laidlaw, British Columbia, Canada, February 18, 2024. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

A second pipeline was recently laid alongside the original. The new line has almost double the capacity of the first one.

Pipe

GIGO

Garbage In, Garbage Out – George Carlin on Politicians and the Public
Harry McKenzie

Is a new president going to make any difference? One can hope, but I wouldn't count on it.

The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure

The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure
Practical Engineering

Taum Sauk? Where the heck is that? Somewhere in southeast Asia? No, it's in Missouri of all places, named for a Piankeshaw chief.

Curious place. I mean, you never see a lake on top of a mountain. The dam was originally built in 1960-62. It failed in 2005, rebuilt and reopened in 2010.

The European View

Sarah A. Hoyt gives us a snapshot of European attitudes:

A Glimpse in Passing

Anyway, one of the scariest things about the trip to Portugal was talking to people and realizing they’re living in an alternate reality.

You know, all the things that the Junta has tried to sell, and push? From “We’re in a booming economy” to “Biden is a patriot who stepped down to save the nation” to “Trump is a criminal” to “The refugee crisis is the result of global warming” ALL OF IT is being bought wholesale in Europe.

Of course, there are a great number of people here in the USA who are buying all the same bullshit. Depressing.

 

The Deep State

From Doug Casey's International Man:

Deep State and Outsiders in Power

The Deep State and the 2024 Election by Nick Giambruno

The Deep State is the permanently entrenched bureaucracy that really runs a country.

It is THE establishment.

While the Deep State concept is commonly associated with the US government, many other countries have their own versions.

Looking at what happens in those countries when an outsider comes to power can help us better understand what the Deep State might do in the US.

If an outsider somehow comes to power, there are three possible outcomes:

1. The Deep State kills the outsider.
2. The outsider succeeds in crippling the Deep State and can implement an independent agenda.
3. The Deep State co-opts the outsider.

Numerous examples of this dynamic have played out in different countries in recent history.

He continues with examples of all three situations and then he talks about the election and what might happen if Trump wins.

 

The Republic of Texas and The Naval Battle of Campeche

The Republic of Texas and The Naval Battle of Campeche
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

I had never heard of the events he talks about, but they touch on things that I have heard about like Sam Houston, Santa Ana and the war with Mexico. It makes me realize how narrow my view of history is. And who knew that Mexico was once at the forefront of battleship technology?

Mexican 2-gun paddlewheel frigate Guadalupe

Sebastopol from the sea - sketched from the deck of H.M.S. Sidon. The men are operating a 68-pounder 88 cwt smoothbore muzzle-loading gun.