BellGab.com Archive

Doc,

I have given you ample time to actually read the past four or five books I have recommended.

I just thought of this fun little one:


Dr. Pournelle wrote all kinds of stuff, you might enjoy his "Strategy of Technology" paper which I believe he wrote for the Reagan Administration, that is if you can understand the relatively light techno-scientific-ese that it was written in.

I offer you an easier option with "West of Honor;" one of the good actual Doctor's many writings in the fiction arena.  I believe this is one he wrote sans co-author, (he frequently worked with other luminaries in the SF/Fantasy world.  "Lucifer's Hammer," is a pretty good co-authored work of his) and is his mid-70s imagining of the state of affairs in the 2070s (roughly one hundred years later, in case, as I suspect you aren't too great at the Maths).

This is the universe of the CoDominion:  where the mutually faltering USA and USSR have made a devil's bargain to unite forces in space.  They still retain their terrestrial territories, but use the space colonies as a place to relocate their "problem citizenry" off world via the BuReLoc (short for Bureau of Relocation).

John Christian Falkenberg is the "hero," of sorts.  He loses his CoDominion Officer's commision for some political reason (perhaps not in this story, but maybe the next one:  there are several "Falkenberg's Legion" novels) and is deposited/left adrift in some awful colony (Tanith?  I vaguely recall this one, its been a few years...)

Anyhow, if you can get over the repulsive idea of the USA & USSR teaming up (I think Pournelle does a decent job of addressing his own revulsion to the idea by the "arranged marriage" aspects of the Soviet/US officer interactions in the CoDominion Space Navy, a sense of mutual fatalism, I digress), you might get a kick out of the Falkenberg series.

Had I acted before the good Doctor's death a few years ago, I would have a signed copy of "The Prince" on my shelves... I unfortunately never got A Round Tuit on sending him the thing, which he promised to sign...  It is a mis-print edition that is missing the first few pages (or one of the illicit "Royalty Thieves" tore those pages out, I was going to tuck a $100 into it when I sent it just in case.  Which he possibly would have sent back!  HAH.  He was a cool dude, I corresponded with him a bit via the e-mail).

One of my infrequent requests to him was that he finish/continue his "Jannisaries" series:


Which were just fun, he was allegedly working on it when he died.  Perhaps his son will complete it based on whatever progress was made before he passed?

That would be neat, even if it turned out like Herbert's son finishing/continuing the Dune story (just not the same as the original, and probably best left unfinished?



-p

Quote from: albrecht on October 04, 2022, 03:43:29 PMhttps://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/real-estate-services/real-property-utilization-disposal/property-sales/federal-helium-system-at-cliffside

This includes other mineral rights and a pipeline! In addition to the helium, buildings, equipment, etc. Jump on this before China does!

I am well aware of that, it has been "For Sale" for some thyme now.  I am surprised that neither the Chinese, nor any other foreign interest has yet seized upon the deal.

Must not be much of a "Deal," I suspect typical gov't mismanagement and typical lack of upkeep have resulted in a property that would cost too much to get into functional (and profitable) status.

I would jump on it merely as a labor of love were I well-heeled enough to satisfy the asking price.  A more normal (non-gov't Commercial/Industrial Owner to Commercial/Industrial Owner) sale, would be for $0.01 due to the vast infrastructure investment required to get the property up and running in a commercially viable status.

TheyThe hobo elite frequently engage in such deals as they involve Outstanding "Mortage" Loan Balances that render the original owner insolvent, and is done as a sort of "favor" from one businesspersonman to businesspersonman.

This would "Not Fly" in a gov't to private sale, of course, as it would smack of a "Sweetheart/Insider" deal which is not Kosher, and due to the nature of it not being economically feasible.  Hence, the property continues to moulder, degrade, and otherwise devalue as it awaits a buyer...

Sad really.

-p

ediot:  Don't get me started at the current inflated dollar and how that could affect the Business Acumen involved in a purchase of that Nature

Quote from: K_Dubb on October 04, 2022, 02:50:36 PM...Oil rights should be managed for the people, as though we all have a stake in them.  For the same reason that Norway is rich but Scotland is poor despite having the same oil...

A portion of the PDFRp lands sits upon a petro-chem reservoir that we retain ancestral mineral rights to.  It provides a small/modest income (variable, based on market prices at time of contract extensions & length of contract) that I would be loathe to turn over to Gov't Administration, for reasons.

I should say that the people may manage the mineral rights on Public Lands, but the Private Ownership of such should not be infringed upon in this plan of yours, Dubya!

I will not settle for a mere 25% cut of something I already have a 100% cut of, that is socialist nonsense!

-p

Two Hundred Seventy-seven, Terrible Tuesday
"THUNDERDOME LIGHTNING" : "JEWELED ALIEN" : "PLANK, DON'T RUN" : "ASS INDENT SEA"

Quote from: K_Dubb on October 04, 2022, 01:05:59 PMOh poor Hoagie, is he living in a mouse-infested hovel just watching them move crumbs around?  He needs a live-in producer to abuse, and to sweep.

No, no more drilling for corporate profit, does not help gas price since prices are fixed internationally bu the cartel, they just profiteer off the regular folks.  That should be crystal clear to everyone now.

Needs to be managed for the people like Alaska's permanent fund or Norway's.  I had high hopes that a right-wing populist president would take on big corporations like TR and work something like that out, that is the only real excuse for that kind of thing, busting monopolies like tech/entertainment and natural-resource and whatever Amazon is now, but he showed no appetite for either, just gave away the farm like typical golf-club Republican...

Indeed, I believe we can fit this into the "Re-Nationalization of the Strategic Helium Reserve" program.  The Helium gas is sometimes found in the liquid petroleum deposits as well, although perhaps not in as high of a %mol as one finds it in the natural gas fields.

I think in order to properly Administrate this program for myour people, we will need to have 25% of the profitsgross sales of this vital national resource deposited into a Private Account held by the current (me) holder of the Office of the POTUS.

K_Dubb;  I have discovered (as I have already pointed out to you via secure comm channels) that in addition to the current CrySis affecting the world-wide futures markets of both "Plums" and "Helium Gas" the price of "Carbon Dioxide Gas" is also experiencing a exponential upheaval.  I direct your attention to the following article:

Running On Fumes — CO2 Shortages, Higher Prices Add to Breweries' Rising Costs

As you are probably already well aware, CO2 gas is a by-product of the process of turning Natural Gas into Ammonia-based Fertilizers:

C(n)H(2n+2)(g) + 2H(2)O(g) + N(2)(g)  --> CO(2)(g) + 2NH(4)(g)

Which also jeopardizes our "Only Good Beer" and "Basic Lawn Maintenance" initiatives.

The adult-diapered fool of an usurper currently sitting in Warshington, DC simply must be deposed by whatever means necessary so that we may "Fix Shit."

The National Economic Situation is dire indeed and only looks to get worse with such feckless "Leadership" (I hesitate to use that term).  Some may think the nation dodged a bullet by fraudulently deposing the former occu-pant, but it seems to me that in dodging that "bullet" we have, as a Nation, landed upon a "hand-grenade" which is arguably worse than a mere bullet-wound in most cases...

This should not overshadow our clear unanimous victory two years ago, I have lost track whether that be merely a single incident of out-right theft, or if it was indeed two incidents of theft?  We all know my views on the Punishment allotted to Felonious Thievery, which is certainly un-Pardonable.

This talk depresses me somewhat.

Hear, Muzaks:


Thank you in Advance!  It is an honor to serve.

pate/K_Dubb 2024
"WHO shat in the interregnum?""

Quote from: K_Dubb on September 10, 2022, 03:33:13 PMI assure you, I did not smell a thing.

Sir, must I wait until the conclusion of your Glorious Hundred Days to fuck the Swedes, or may I begin now?

Yours faithfully,
kdubb

I seem to have forgotten to answer this question;  it is certainly the duty of all MAPA operatives (in whatever capacity they serve, as an additional aside:  I note that "what" is an anagram of "hawt," I digress) to Fuck Swedes at every available opportunity.

Hear, techno-Muzaks:


pate/K_Dubb 2024
"WHO farted in the elevator?"

Quote from: Dr. MD MD on October 02, 2022, 09:36:18 PMWill you be moving to Europe with him out of protest because orange man is super duper bad?

Who are you fantasizing about me moving to Europe with?

(Music starts @0:34)

I actually like Trump, btw.   You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?

Quote from: albrecht on October 02, 2022, 09:27:20 PMI always forget which side was the good side. Bloody Kansas, as they said, back when. But I forget which state their "KC" was better than the other these days, in terms of crime and undesirables. In the few times I had to problem to drive that way I avoided both.

Kind of dealer's choice there, The Kansas *spit* side is primarily centered on the lands stolen from the Shawnee Indians (this would be Johnson County, KS), and one of their little townships "Leawood" had, up until a few years ago, prohibitions from Jews and Blacks owning real estate within the City Limits.

Wyandotte County (Home of Kansas City, Kansas *spit*) is still somewhat owned somewhere by an Indian Tribe (they have a casino) and is known as realitively crime-ridden.

Jackson County, MO & Platte County, MO are the two parts of Missouri that actual KC,MO is situated in also have their problem areas.  North of the river (Platte) is not so bad, but Jackson County can get rough East of Troost (Old US 71 Highway) and a few other select areas...

I think you are more likely to be pulled over for "driving while black" in Johnson County, or at least that used to be the joke about JoCo (which is a joke).

KCMO is a Democrat-run shithole, basically.  Especially since they removed party-affiliation from the Mayor's race (and all city races) on the ballots a few years ago.

You used to be able to pick between a "D" or an "R" (the "D's" always seemed to win, something about Pendergast/Truman masheens!), but now it is just either unopposed "D's" or two slightly different "D's" that show up for local stuff.

Sad really.

-p

Quote from: Dr. MD MD on October 02, 2022, 08:36:12 PMCommie pablum. 🙄

Maybe, but this:


Definitely sounds Commie, especially when they start singing (@ ~0:56)...

Quote from: Dr. MD MD on October 02, 2022, 09:09:24 PMIt's perfect for a simpleton then.

I am sure you can manage it.

If that one is too advanced for you, you might try:


Which was written specifically for adolescents in the 50s/60s era.  You will probably not like it as it is nothing like the dumb movie adaptations.  Somewhat similar, but I do not believe Heinlien would have approved of what was done with his work...

Maybe he would have, he got a little weird in his writings at the end of his life...  This was one of his earlier works.

I enjoyed this one that he wrote in his "Later Years":


Which he wrote in 1982, I admit I purchased it mainly due to the cover.  There are those who believe we are in the "Crazy Years" of Heinlien's universe:





-p

Doc, when you are finished "reading" that last one;  you might get a kick out of this one:


It is neither about the Kansas City Chiefs nor the impending Republican mid-term victory;  it is about your favorite:  Communists!

Not to be confused with "The Hunt for Red October," which was written awhile after "Red Storm Rising."

Pretty good thriller, I think you will like the ending and will find it less confusing than my last recommendation for you.



-p

ediot:  This is only "Part 1," I imagine that Part 2-?? can be found in the video's description on the 'Tube.

Quote from: Dr. MD MD on October 02, 2022, 03:01:10 AM

Quote from: JaxTard on October 02, 2022, 12:18:50 AM

That's a good one, Coach!

-p

Quote from: albrecht on September 17, 2022, 02:18:13 PMThere is a theory. I'm not sure if it has been proven. In that legalized sports gambling, especially when done online or in a connected system (maybe, sort of like our parimutuel betting on horses) would help curb 'fixing' as bets can be tracked and statistical anomalies identified: why did one person bet so much? Why did bets go against a clear favorite? Why does one party seem to win all the time?

I don't know but there is a theory and now with many places now in the US taking bets making we will see. Certainly I see the argument that when 'underground' betting could cause fixing more easily.

What was the line on tonight's Sunday Night Football game?  It certainly doesn't seem to be going the way of the SuperBowl LV game.

Delicious.

-p

Quote from: JaxTard on October 01, 2022, 06:50:17 PM

Today I am revisiting my Carrot Cake recipe that I apparently last made March 16th of 2016.

I am apparently a procrastinator, as I have been planning this revisit for some time now.  I am certain the carrots I used haven't been sitting in the fridge since then.  I think they found their way to me in the past few months or so courtesy the retired short-colonel in the neighborhood who likes to visit the free Veteran Food Box day at the VA and pick up several boxes of whatever they are offering and picks out what he wants, then calls me up offering me the Onions, Carrots, Potatos and whatever.

He's an odd one, is actually a landlord in the 'hood, so it is not like he needs the free food.  I think his theory is that it would go in the trash if he didn't help himself.  He has been giving me the Thanksgiving turkey the past few years, I am not certain if he gets several of those and likes passing them out to friends and neighbors or if it is something he doesn't know how to cook?

Anyway, back to the Carrot Cake MkII (I had to make a new recipe, apparently in 2016 I was in the early stages of converting everything into the Professional Flour% formulas that are much easier to scale up/down).

I haven't worked out the flour% for this one yet, as it is sort of a "test batch," but here is what I used:

250g  AP Flour
10g  Baking Soda
10g  Baking Powder
  2g  Salt
  8g  Ground Cinnamon
  2g  Ground Nutmeg
  2g  Ground Cloves
  2g  Ground Allspice
200g  Eggs (~4 Large/XLarge with 2-4g H2O added to bring them up to an even 200g)
258g  Oil (I chose to use Peanut today)
192g  White Sugar
228g  Brown Sugar
12g  Vanilla Extract
454g  Grated Carrots (that's 1 pound in American)
130g  Chopped Nuts (English Walnuts, as I was low on my favored Pecans)
184g  Raisins (These can be Black Raisins, Gold Raisins, Currants &tc)

This is probably more a Spice Cake with Carrots added.  It matters little, I look at it as merely a vehicle for delivery of the 2lbs of Cream Cheese frosting I am making for it.  Here's the frosting:

1 lb  Cream Cheese        (454g)
0.5lb Butter              (227g)
2tsp  Vanilla Extract      (12g)
4cups Confectioner's Sugar (480g)

I haven't yet converted the sugar into grams (I usually just look at the nutrition label and use that, heck I will do that right now).  I guess that works out to about 2.5lbs of Cream Cheese frosting...

I don't know that I have quite enough Confectioner's Sugar, I might have to "jazz up" some White Sugar up in the spice grinder to make some impromptu super-fine

350F oven.  The original recipe was for a single layer "Suzy-homemaker" 9x13 pan, but I am trying it out split into my newish 1/4 sheet pans.  Anyway, according to my notes of Mar 2016 I apparently wasn't happy with how "not done" the recipe was after 40-45mins and decided to try for 50mins "next time."

That may have worked in the original "Suzy-homemaker pan, but apparently the 40-45 is perfect for 2x 1/4 Standard Sheet Pans.

I want a double-decker (hence the 2.5 lbs of icing, which I hope will be enough).


Kitchen smelled great while it was baking, although now that I have a pot of marinara sauce on the stove and am making the last of this season's Peppermint Syrup the kitchen smells wierd.  Spice Cake + Tomato Sauce + Mint Syrup!  Will probably get even weirder when I throw the Focaccia Breadsticks in the oven with the Lasagna...

It is cooling now.

Hey Roz, during this project I decided that the PFDRp could use a dish-washerRestaurant Test Kitchen Lab Tech.  I think we can offer the position as a Work-Study thing to learn about the PFDRp[/i] customs/language/culture/cuisine/etc.  You might be getting tired of living in that wage-slave hell-hole of a 1st-whirl'd country you reside in and might want to experience the luxury of a 0th-whirl'd country.  I have decided that, based on qualifications, the starting salary for this Restaurant Test Kitchen Lab Tech should be 1,000,000PC/yr (patecoins, the official digital tender/currency of the PFDRp.  The USD exchange rate is quite favorable, I understand)...

Quote from: Dr. MD MD on September 30, 2022, 04:34:42 PMFuck it! Let's hijack this thread for awhile.

This is my fav:



What's yours?

You like that one because of the "16 Men of Tain(t)" that make it.

Try this one sometime:



It's not just a single malt, it's a single Islay malt.

Not for weaklings.

-p

Doc, you will love this "book"


This story is set in Niven's "The State" universe, which isn't the same as his "Known Space" universe.

-p

Quote from: K_Dubb on September 28, 2022, 06:59:22 PMhttps://twitter.com/ChudsOfTikTok/status/1575287402779869184

Similarly, I restecp Brandon's life-long commitment to the same goal.

-p

Quote from: K_Dubb on September 28, 2022, 09:37:23 PM

And another thing:  are those "Uggs" the purported young lass is wearing?

-p

Quote from: K_Dubb on September 28, 2022, 09:37:23 PMThis one?



It appears to be munchkin-sized, maybe they were going to hang Rand Paul?

Yeah, that is pretty laughable as a "threat," it appears to be symbolic.

I do not see any evidence of the requisite "trap door" below the fake noose for an actual functional gallows.

You will have to do better than that, for credibility's sake!

-p

Quote from: K_Dubb on September 28, 2022, 07:02:56 PM... on the little gallows they built.

Pics, or it didn't happen.

-p

Quote from: Rix Gins on September 26, 2022, 02:11:51 AMFrom the George Noory Sucks! - The Definitive Compendium

I believe that was one of my earliest posts on this site, I bet it pre-dates the "Frumus Umphen Wine" thing.  HAH!

-p

I am catching up on dishes;  the kitchen radio is tuned to the station that airs the "Hammity" radio show.  He has his Official Hannity Meteorologist on (I think his name is Joe Bastard-y or something like that, Nautical SHore on the spelling?) talking about the hurricane.

Anyway, 'Bastard-y' says something along the lines of "...slow moving and incessant pounding..." which in my twisted mind sexualizes this hurricane:  raising excitement levels and causing internal speculation about course deviations.

Amusing only to myself, this naturally leads me to think of Roz gathering natural disaster relief supplies and heading that way on a mission of mercy...

I recall driving through the Miami-Dade swath of destruction back in '92 on my way to Key West with the Old Lady who had grandiose ideas of assisting with the rebuild/relief efforts then.  I also recall having a National Guardsman at a check point discreetly aiming his M16 in my direction as his fellow soldier questioned us about whether or not we were "looters" and then telling us to get the hell out of the area...  HAH!

-p

Quote from: aldousburbank on September 24, 2022, 01:58:50 PMSemantics

I am anti-Semantic, thank you very much.

-p