Tuesday Tidbits

 I see that the Iranians managed to shoot down an Apache helicopter. The crew was rescued by an unmanned surface vessel.  That's cool.  That is verry cool.  The Iranians should not be patting themselves on the back.  The Apache is basically 1980s technology.  Oh, it's been upgraded, but it was designed to kill Soviet tanks in an Eastern Europe environment.

I've also been getting bits and pieces of the Karmelo Anthony trial.  From everything I've seen, Karmelo is guilty as hell. However, it appears that some of the melanin rich members of society want to make Karmelo the OJ Simpson or George Floyd mannequin of the year.  That is sad, because Karmelo is not a sympathetic character.  He's just another street thug who thinks he can get away with murder.

Courthouse

 I had to go to the Courthouse this morning to take care of a little family business.  A quick stop at the Clerk's office thin across the hall to the Assessor.  First, I had to go through the security kiosk in the lobby.  Knowing the drill, I left everything I did not need in the car before I got to the steps of the Courthouse. That metal scanner is set so tight that I am surprised it did not detect the filling in my teeth

This is all theater.  They started this bullshit after 9/11 to make the unaware unconcerned.  Anyone with a smattering of operational knowledge knows that a routine security protocol is easy to bypass. Anyone with nefarious intent would find it easy to defeat.  Even a feeble septuagenarian such as I could cause mayhem.

Still, the security detail provides employment for a half-dozen people.  I suppose that is a god thing, even if the mission is kabuki.

I Am Reminded

 I am reminded that 82 years ago today, Operation Overlord kicked off.  The crusade to retake Europe focused on five beaches on the Normandy coast.

Eisenhower had prepared a press release in the event that the landings failed.  He was prepared to accept full blame if the operation failed.  That was the ethical choice.  He was the Supreme Commander.  It was his show.

We can draw parallels to more recent military disasters and the lack of accountability.

Finally

 I mowed grass today, for the third time this season. I'm not proud of that, but we've had a wet May and my yard holds water.  I timed it perfectly, because when I finished mowing, it started raining. 

I don't have a lawn in the traditional suburban sense. I have a mixed-grass pasture.  The Bahia was going to seed and was nearly knee-deep in places. It used to drive the HOAS crazy.  When I moved here 20-something years ago, we had an HOA.  I and some like-minded neighbors decided to ignore the sonsofbitches and see if they could make their treats work.  They had no heart for conflict and folded up like a cheap pocketknife.

I'm not opposed to mowing grass, you understand, I am opposed to rutting up my yard. I raised beef cattle for 20 years and know that the proper use for good grass is feeding beef. I don't object to keeping a lawn, I am just baffled that anyone cares.

Tomorrow I'll break out the weed eater and trim around the culverts, then go to Popeye's.  Belle has a yearning for fried chicken.

Productive

 It was a god morning.  I trimmed some trees, cleaned a fence line, fixed a lawnmower and did a litlte gunsmithing.  Cooked lunch at noon.  Not a bd morning's work for an old fart.  I think I'll take the afternoon off.

I notice that we still don't have firm figures on the California races In this most advanced era of human civilization, the simple fact that California cannot count votes within hours of the polls closing is a damnable indictment of the way they conduct elections.

Local Politics

 Local politics should be local. A mayor's race is interesting to the locals, but past a certain mileage, it doesn't really matter.

I, for one, am damned tired hearing of the Los Angeles mayors race.   If those people don't have enough sense to elect a compete mayor, that is on them.  It doesn't affect me one whit.

Fox News needs to realize that they are a national news organization and quit covering local news outside of that local news market.

Fiddlers Green

 Running errands today I went to a sign shop and had a sign printed.   The guy wasn't busy and had a humongous priner, and in a few minutes, he had taken care of me.

Now, I need to decide where in the shop I am going to hang it.  If you know, you know.