UnPresidented

http://americablog.com/about-us

A dog led cops to my yard.

2AM - I hear a noise at (near) my window (I leave scraps there for critters). I looked with a flashlight expecting a possum, nothing. 

3AM - I hear police chatter on a radio at (near) my window. I quickly look out but see nothing. I then look at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office website 

https://www.pcsoweb.com/activecallsdetails/ 

"SUICIDAL SUBJECT" near MY house.

I turn on all my lights outside. In the front are two PCSO SUVs lights flashing. Out back are two officers with a BIG DOG and flashlights in my yard at my back fence in the POURING RAIN.

I ask: "Can I help?"

One says "Our dog indicates a suicidal suspect went over your fence to the next house. What is your address?"

I told him.

That's all I know.

As I write this I hear the PSCO helicopter nearby. Close then far. Then close again.

May God have mercy.

Black & Decker LM175

made in 2005

My last gas mower was Sears. It finally gave up when I stopped trying to fix the carburetor. I threw away my gas cans (old plastic), already had two 50ft extenstion cords and paid $169 at K-Mart for a new mower. Haven't filled a gas can at the station since. Much safer.

http://www.top5lawnmowers.com/black-decker-electric-mower-lm175-review/

My mower since 2006:

Besides needing regular sharpening (blades hard to find) the on/off switch is worn and requires excessive pressure to keep the motor running. At 6.5 Amp it cuts fine if I don't let the grass get too high. One 50ft cord serves both front and back yard. I only ran over it once.

Married 47 years.

The year was 2010. 

The KIA Soul Hamsters.

CREDITS
Agency: David&Goliath, LA
Founder & Chairman: David Angelo
Chief Creative Officer: Bobby Pearce
Executive Creative Director: Gustavo Sarkis
Creative Directors: Basil Cowieson, James Cohen
Director of Broadcast Production: Paul Albanese
Executive Broadcast Producer: Curt O’Brien
Chief Strategic Officer: Wells Davis
Associate Planning Director: Ed Gibson
Senior Project Manager: Genie Lara
Junior Project Manager: Paul Stephens

Managing Director: Jeff Moohr
Group Account Director: Mike O’Malley
Management Supervisor: Aleks Rzeznik
Senior Account Executive: Annelise Lorenzo
Product Information Manager: Mark McNaul
Director, Business Affairs: Rodney Pizarro
Business Affairs Manager: Daniella Vargas

Digital Account Director: Marco Koenig
Digital Senior Account Executive: Rebecca Hanson

Production: MJZ
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen
President: David Zander
Senior Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins
Producer: Donald Taylor

Editorial: Work Editorial
Editor: Jono Griffith
Executive Producer: Marlo Baird
Producer: Brandee Probasco
Assistant Editor: Josh Sasson

Visual Effects: JAMM
VFX Supervisors/Lead Compositers: Jake Montgomery, Andy Boyd
Senior Flame Artist: Brian Hajek
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards
Producer: Ashley Greyson

Color: MPC
Colorist: Mark Gethin
Executive Producer: Meghan Lang

Music Editing/Sound Design: Stimmung
Creative Director: Rory Doggett
Sound Designer: Gus Koven
Executive Producer: Kristina Iwankiw

Licensed Music: “Ace of Spades” By Motörhead

This is America

Sabika Sheikh (17 years old) would have returned home to Pakistan when her program ended in June. She was killed in the Texas school shooting May 19, 2018 in Santa Fe.

"Sabika was in the United States on the State Department-sponsored Youth Exchange and Study program, helping to build ties between the United States and her native Pakistan," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement." Sabika's death and that of the other victims is heartbreaking and will be mourned deeply both here in the United States, and in Pakistan."

WATCH: Sabika Sheikh made this video to express her feelings about being accepted into the YES program.

Read the story from Voice of America:
https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-girl-among-dead-in-texas-shooting/4401020.html

This is America...

Mouctar Diallo came to New York City from Guinea seeking a life “for the better.” Then he entered the bruising world of Sanitation Salvage. On Nov. 7, 2017, Diallo wound up crushed to death under the wheels of a Sanitation Salvage truck. The men he’d been helping lied to the police, saying their dead colleague was a homeless person who had come out of nowhere.

It has taken months for his family to find justice.

That's Mouctar on the right.

Read the whole story from Voice of America:
https://projects.voanews.com/treated-like-trash/

Childish DiVito

I strive to be curmudgeon...

cur·mudg·eon
kərˈməjən/
noun
noun: curmudgeon; plural noun: curmudgeons

    a bad-tempered or surly person.

Origin
late 16th century: of unknown origin.

https://vimeo.com/blog/post/danny-devito-is-a-curmudgeon-in-curmudgeons
https://vimeo.com/159449591

Danny DiVito rhymes with Childish Gambino.

Design Mistake

Can you name this car? 

Ridgewood Mountain Village

In Pinellas County in 1958, real estate developer Charles Cheezem opened one of Florida‘s first retirement communities, Ridgewood Groves. Selling retirement homes in the peninsular county, with its temperate winter weather and high number of sunny days, proved effortless in the postwar economy. The nearby city of St. Petersburg had long served as a haven for aging Americans. The addition of air-conditioning in postwar suburban housing allowed communities like Ridgewood Groves to flourish in the Sunshine State.

In a marketing brochure for Ridgewood Groves, images of active retirees appear alongside promises of ―five producing citrus trees with every home. The potential resident could choose from five floor plans, all named after orange varieties – the Mandarin, the Seville, the Tangelo, the Valencia, and the Duncan.

The need to connect the community to oranges pervaded so strongly that the photographer hand painted unripe green oranges the color orange before capturing the cover photo. This manipulation of nature by man conveyed a natural quality inherent to Florida, symbolized by the orange.

Ridgewood Groves was expanded in 1962 to the south creating Ridgewood Mountain Village with aggressive marketing to retirees.

Putin's history with elections

A (very) little history.
Why would Putin want Trump to be president? I did some research.
The story of Vladimir Putin's hatred of Hillary Clinton began in the russian 2011 elections (coincidence?).
Read REACTIONS:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,_2011

For two years the russian people demonstrated in protest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%932013_Russian_protests

Putin repeatedly accused Clinton, who served as U.S. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, of interfering in Russia's internal affairs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections#Putin_and_Clinton

General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian Federation, writes in the "Military-Industrial Kurier“ February 27, 2013:

The very “rules of war” have changed. The role of non-military means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of force of weapons in their effectiveness. All this is supplemented by military means of a concealed character, including carrying out actions of informational conflict and the actions of special operations forces. Collective intelligence, dynamics of the crowd in participatory systems such as social media, have immense power to support a collective action – such as foment a political change.

Read the United States Army Combined Arms Center report on that strategy:
https://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20160228_art008.pdf

In secret, Vladimir has achieved a global victory.

Behind the scene

During the overnight when the networks would go off the air the feed from the affiliated network was used to deliver recorded announcements to the station. Sometimes the feed would be left on during other recordings. This was captured at an ABC affiliate around 1980.

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Create a USB drive to boot ANY computer:

Download the ISO file:
https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Run the Windows USB installer:
https://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

Only 2GB USB drive or SD card needed.

Choose the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click Install.

Your USB device now becomes a boot drive for almost any computer or laptop. Ubuntu 18.04 will boot up and run your hardware with an option to install or simply test drive. If you don't like it don't install it. Bionic Beaver will check your hardware and load compatible generic drives for all your gear. Only NVIDIA might need extra drivers.

Clearwater Beach, Florida

March 17, 2018

This photograph is a screen capture of FOX13's webcam http://fox13cams.com/webcams/clearwater.jpg
Combined with another photo of the sky.
In this picture the sun is coming up at the same time it is setting. 

Where did the word EASTER come from?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre

Theories connecting Ēostre with records of Germanic Easter customs, including hares and eggs, have been proposed. Old English Ēostre continues into modern English as Easter and derives from Proto-Germanic **Austrǭ, itself a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ews-, meaning 'to shine' (modern English east also derives from this root). In Northern Europe, Easter imagery often involves hares and rabbits. Citing folk Easter customs in Leicestershire, England where "the profits of the land called Harecrop Leys were applied to providing a meal which was thrown on the ground at the 'Hare-pie Bank'", late 19th-century scholar Charles Isaac Elton theorizes a connection between these customs and the worship of Ēostre.

Moving pictures

Royal Gorge Route Railroad 1:36:08

Experience America’s most spectacular rail journey aboard the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. In 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt described it best as “the trip that bankrupts the English language!” Come experience not just a memorable train ride through the Colorado Rockies, but also enjoy classes of service where we combine gorgeous scenery, great service, with delicious food, sourced locally and prepared fresh right on board the train for lunch. The train is running DAILY in Coach, Club, and Vista Dome. First Class lunch is available on weekends, beginning January 27th . Welcome Aboard!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Dollar Tree books

Creators of Fifty Shades of Chicken hack a new parody cookbook filled with snacks for every occasion, all accompanied by food photography that will ignite your palate. A Walking Dead Parody.

For fans of AMC's The Walking Dead (more than half of whom are female), Max Brooks, and all things zombies, the crazy-clever creators of Fifty Shades of Chicken hack a new parody cookbook filled with snacks for every occasion, tips for cooking under duress, and a love story that will send ripples down your spine--all accompanied by food photography that will ignite your palate. Recipes included in this excerpt: - Guac and Load Guacamole - Semiautomatic Garlic-Parmesan Popcorn - Sweet-ish Fleshballs with Red Berries D.B. Walker is a pseudonym. Walker also wrote 50 Shades of Chicken.

Here is a preview: the photography is fine and fine parody.

https://www.scribd.com/document/172827542/Recipes-from-The-Snacking-Dead-A-Parody-in-a-Cookbook-by-D-B-Walker

ISBN_978-0-7704-3544-8 by DB Walker 2013 

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Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, a true-life account of the United States’ misadventures with nuclear weaponry by Eric Schlosser 2013.

A 2013 nonfiction book about the history of nuclear weapons systems in the United States. Incidents Schlosser discusses in the book include the 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion and the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash.

Speaking of the book, domestic security adviser Lee H. Hamilton said, “The lesson of this powerful and disturbing book is that the world’s nuclear arsenals are not as safe as they should be. We should take no comfort in our skill and good fortune in preventing a nuclear catastrophe, but urgently extend our maximum effort to assure that a nuclear weapon does not go off by accident, mistake, or miscalculation.”

ISBN_978-1-59420-227-8 by Eric Schlosser 2013

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Title:

American statecraft : the story of the U.S. Foreign Service

Author:

Moskin, J. Robert.

Personal Author:

Moskin, J. Robert.

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Information:

New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, [2013]

©2013

Physical Description:

ix, 932 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Summary:

"This magisterial work on American diplomacy by a veteran journalist and historian is the first complete history of the U.S. Foreign Service American Statecraft is a fascinating and comprehensive look at the unsung men and women of the U.S. Foreign Service whose dedication and sacrifices have been a crucial part of our history for over two centuries. 

American_Statecraft_ISBN_978-1-250-03745-9

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The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea 

by Paul Ryan

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published August 19th, 2014
by Grand Central Publishing

 THE WAY FORWARD also offers a detailed critique of not only President Obama but of the progressive movement as a whole--its genesis, its underlying beliefs and philosophies, and how its policies are steering the country to certain ruin.

ISBN_978-1-4555-5756-1 

Added to Private Personal Collection http://justrluck.cctu.us/Books/

Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles BEER

Terrapin Beer Company is a brewery founded in 2002 by Brian "Spike" Buckowski and John Cochran in Athens, Georgia, USA. In July 2016, MillerCoors announced its majority stake in Terrapin, ending its status as a craft brewery.