We did manage to avoid the last two out of the five Nor'easters that came this way, meaning we had little, if any snow to move. But it has been below normal temperatures, though that's supposed to change late this coming week.
At least the temps haven't kept us from making preparations for downsizing because at the moment The Manse is too big for us, so we're putting it on the market and will buy/build a smaller place, preferable one on a relatively flat piece of land that doesn't have a driveway with a 23% grade.
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It seems some of the kids who protested for more safety at their school are going to get it...good and hard. It's obvious that they didn't think that their platform against mass school shootings, which by the way are not an epidemic, would come back to bite them.
From the very founding of our nation, we learned that order and safety can be just as devastating — if not more so — than chaos. Just as liberty and chaos are closely related, so is tyranny and order. You might live in a more safe world where danger is kept at bay, but there’s a good chance you won’t like how the powers that be go about it.They really didn't like that idea, not realizing that was what they were asking for. If they really wanted to help prevent another occurrence then they should have been demanding that law enforcement and the judicial system do its job. If they had then the murder of 17 people in Broward County, Florida would not have happened. Adding more gun control laws on top of those already in existence but not being adequately enforced won't solve the problem, something the kids do not understand. Then again, the folks that helped them plan these 'spontaneous' walkouts knew this, but it wouldn't push their agenda if they informed the kids.
And the Parkland students just learned that lesson. Needless to say, the freedom they just gave up to get safety isn’t sitting well with them.
According to the Daily Wire, the Superintendent of the Broward County School System issued an order that all students must have their student ID on them at all times. Furthermore, the students may only have clear backpacks, that the school will issue free of cost, that display their contents for everyone to see.
What I find ironic is the tweet from one student protesting the measures being taken at Parkland inadvertently made the case against tougher gun restrictions when she posted:
“So, we’re giving up all illusions of normalcy. okay. why should 3300 students be penalized for the failure of security to do their job?” asked MSDHS student @Nikta04.Heh.
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One would think that the Left and their MSM mouthpieces would have learned this lesson by now, that being “Don't trash the folks living in 'flyover' country,” particularly if you don't actually know who those folks are.
Apparently Matthew Dowd didn't get that memo.
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I find it interesting that the Progressive folks who have managed to take one-third of the seats in our little town's Budget Committee now believe that they control the purse strings and will be dictating to the other 8 members how we're all going to be voting to greatly increase spending (and taxes), particularly on the school side of the budget.
I think they're going to find that it isn't that easy and that the voters aren't as stupid as they think they are. If they propose large spending increases I believe they'll find the proposed budgets will be voted down because with few exceptions, no one wants to see their tax bills increase by between 5 and 8 percent. (Mind you, this conclusion about the increased taxes is based upon rumor and innuendo, but I have also heard first hand one new member has stated their intentions to increase spending, specifically school spending even though our student population has shrunk by over 10% to date and continues to do so.)
The budget season this coming fall is going to be 'interesting' to say the least. Here's hoping that reality will reassert itself and these new members will come to realize they aren't going to get what they want...but I ain't holding my breath.
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Here it is, all this time we thought that the Rothchilds controlled the weather, and we now find it's actually Big Chocolate. Who'da thunk it?
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Best sign ever at #MARCHFOR OUR LIVES protests. It puts everything into perspective for those who haven't a clue.
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As a follow up, here are the 10 Dumbest Signs at the #MARCH FOR OUR LIVES protests.
We got to keep a balance here, don'cha see.
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I have to make a note that while we have been preparing The Manse to go on the market, we've been amazed at the amount of dreck and junk we have accumulated in our 13 years residing here. All the stuff we thought was so important to hold onto a few short years ago has us scratching our heads, wondering “Why did we keep that...that...whatever it is?”
It's amazing to see how quickly we accumulate that stuff, how something that we figured we could find a use for 'sometime in the future' became just another item taking up space and gathering dust.
We easily went through about 3/4ths of our basement yesterday and have a very large “take to the dump” pile. We have a much much smaller pile for “goes to Goodwill”. There is still quite a bit of stuff to go through, mostly my electronics/computer/ham radio parts stash, something we will tackle next weekend. I expect that by the time we are done a good 85% of the stuff we have in the basement will be gone. It's just that much less stuff we'll have to pack and move when the time comes.
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I came across this again, something from last August, that has certainly made me think more than once. I have posted about it once before, but it bears repeating.
Are some cultures superior?
Yes, without a doubt. Next question?
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With the attempted hacks of our power systems by Russia (and the successful hacks of Ukraine's power systems), I am glad to see that the power companies and the US government are finally taking notice and trying to do something to prevent future breaches.
Looking at this from an engineer's point of view, I have one very important question ask in regards to the security of our electrical grid: Why the heck are these systems in any way connected to the Internet?
They should be standalone systems that have absolutely no connectivity to the Internet in any way, shape, or form. The utilities own thousands of miles of dark fiber that they lease to customers, much of that fiber run along their existing transmission routes using what is called optical ground wire (OPGW) which is an electrical cable that has optical fiber buried at its core, allowing utilities to provide both electricity and telecommunications using the same cable. So it can't be because the utilities don't have the fiber available, right? So why shouldn't they build their own network that is entirely air-gapped from the Internet? (Such a system wouldn't have any wireless access points connected to it because WAPs can be hacked.) With no connections to the Internet, the utilities command and control networks cannot be hacked from someone's computer in Moscow or Sophia or Beijing. You can't easily hack something that has no external points of entry. (I'm not saying it can't be done, but that usually requires someone to physically break into the network to attach hardware that is connected to the Internet.)
The standalone network should be heavily encrypted to deter would-be crackers from running scripts to break into the system. Make it defense in depth. But for cryin' out loud, disconnect the utilities' networks from the friggin' Internet as step one of making them more secure.
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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where we're still waiting for spring, spring cleaning (at least indoors) is continuing apace, and where thoughts of the upcoming boating season have started to intrude.