A good Saturday morning to all. Today I did get my order-of-sequence correct so my first, yet un-tasted, cuppa (or is it ‘mugga’?) of coffee is sitting next to me at my desk. Now, let’s get this thing rolling. Here are this weeks Ramblings as of the morning of September 12, 2020.

Contractors – Interviewing a worker for that stunning project you’re envisioning? Tip, check out the ‘wheels’ they drive up in to make their pitch; lots of information to be gleaned. Just sayin’.

Speed of Light – Scientists at M.I.T’s Media lab have created a camera that can capture the speed of light, taking a photo in less than two-trillionths of a second.

To gain perspective, it was pointed out that if we captured a blink filming with that camera we would see the enormity. To gain some perspective, consider that we film our blink at 10-trillion frames per second (lightspeed), then it would take (approximately) 1,900-years to play it back at normal movie speed of 24-frames per second. Just think, start watching that movie of my eyes blinking during the time that Jesus walked the earth and watch my eyelids open fully again right about the time of World War I. Now, just think that at that speed it still takes sunlight an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth. Yup, that’s the speed of light.

Any Benefits? –

“Sweden, now, looks like a country from a parallel universe. Children didn’t miss a day of school…its economic hit was half of ours” (Britain). ~ Fraser Nelson

Stanford Professor Jay Bhattacharya, director of Stanford’s Program on Medical Outcomes as well as the director of the school’s Center on the Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, found it “”shocking” that, as countless countries earlier this year moved to shut down ahead of COVID-19, and then forgot to “think about both the cost and benefits” of such policies.” Why this ‘Lockdown’ mitigation strategy?; “when there had been a playbook … to address the epidemic in ways that took into account both the cost and benefits of the policies.” (interview with John Solomon in Just the News)

Now from the New York Post comes this; “Teachers are fighting tooth and nail to prevent reopening public schools for in-person learning — in the name of safety. Yet our just-released study suggests that these reopening decisions have more to do with influence from teachers’ unions than safety concerns.”

Cincinnati’s public school system with 35,000 students has had ZERO Covid-19 deaths in their population. There is NO transmission of student to adult pattern. Yet, there is no in-person schooling in the Cincinnati public school system. All surrounding suburban schools and including several Catholic high-schools schools have sports as normal. Cincinnati allowed for practice but NO games. It’s NOT the science. It’s NOT for safety. It’s NOT for wellbeing.

What it is, is POLITICS and the large Teachers Unions. Wake up people!

Cafê Vivache – Wednesday Marcia and I tasted normalcy! After six months it was finally the total experience. We watched and were perfectly mesmerized by a live concert, enjoyed a steaming bowl of West African Peanut Stew (one of our favorites) and some flatbread along with a glass of Malbec.

The group we enjoyed was Trihos Urbanos. Husband and wife team (both instructors at Miami University) of CCM graduate João Rocha and Dr. Paula Gandara (Professor of Lusophone Studies). Percussions were managed by Baba Charles Miller displaying the percussive traditions of Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. It truly brought me back to some of the haunts I so loved on my times in Brazil. This YouTube was the evening’s finale, Another LINK here is to a YouTube of Gandara singing one of her poems and featuring the percussion artistry of Baba Charles Miller:

Media – Since the Media cannot extend one good day to our President I felt the need to let you know that in the past month:
** President Trump brokered peace and trade between Israel and the UAE.
** Peace between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel.
** Economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo (96% Muslim).
** Has been nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes.
Efforts had been made without success for decades by both Republican and Democratic Presidents. So what does The Atlantic quickly write? “End the Nobel Peace Prize – The Trump nomination shows that peace had its chance, and blew it.” [Sept 11, 2020]. These people are psychotic fools!

Fini – Recently I joined an online international group primarily because of our little Citroën Deux Chevaux-vapeur or 2CV (“two steam horses” a French taxing designation). One specific I looked for was replacement of the disc on the under-hood disc parking brake. Here’s what I have learned so far; that the hydropneumatic suspended Citroën’s were used for many years as camera cars for horse racing. Always start learning about the important stuff first.

Some people have that extra measure of ‘zest’. This past week back in 1955, and at age 67, grandma Emma achieved her goal. Months earlier Emma Gatewood told her children that she was going for a walk – they didn’t ask where. She did go on a ‘walk’, a 2,165-mile walk, and became the first woman to complete the Appalachian Trail solo and in a single season.

Yesterday we honored the fallen and celebrated the first responder heroes from the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center destruction, but still, we have no functioning Visa Exit System. This was ‘merely’ the top item (as in #1) on the 9-11 Commission recommendations list. Yesterday it was a parade of somber faced politicians on video and posing for photographs as they uttered hollow words; most all phonies, fakes, and hypocrites.

transcript of a Voice Mail sent from the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed in Somerset County, PA

My niece, Lori, took this noontime photo from in front of their home in Clackamas County, Oregon. Keep her and her family in your thoughts, as well as all the people of Oregon, Washington State, and California who are dealing with these horrendous forest fires.

Make it great week, keep the peace, stay safe, and be healthy! All Lives Matter.

Dirk