Alright; there’s two books that I’m about to read. This is good, it brings me up from my previous level, zero. Well, there was a book I half-read, and it was really good. It was simply too awful to finish, “Life and Fate,” by Vasily Grossman. I’ll probably return to it at some point, but it’s too much right now.

I really needed something fun, a good escape.

Well, two of my favorite authors have stepped up. One is Alicia Wanstall-Burke, with the latest installment of her series, “Legacy of Ghosts,” available everywhere on the 30th of November, 2019. That’s right now down in Oz, and a couple of hours from now here in the ‘States. I plan on tearing into this thing as soon as possible. I’ll probably take notes and then post a review here shortly thereafter.

This is going to happen.

Sometimes good news does crop up randomly in the inbox, too. It seems another friend of mine, Jason Cox, has completed the manuscript of his next thriller, it’s called “The Compass,” and there’s no word on when it will release, or by whom. If it’s anything like the other stuff he’s written, though, it should be pretty good; beta-ing quality stuff is a pleasure.

I discovered Jason through the fanfic “The Demons of Butte Crack County,” which has a few of his short stories in it. If you ever read Birmingham‘s Dave Hooper series, you have to check out “Demons” as well.

In any case, this is a short bit today.

There’s too much reading to do.

Do check out Alicia’s LEGACY OF GHOSTS, launching approximately now, and I’ll keep you posted about the progress of Jason Cox’s latest as it moves through the pipeline.

It helps to have a truck. To be specific, a fairly reliable Chevy. In the year that I lost my license (2012-2013), or rather the year that the VA and the DMV conspired to deprive me of driving privileges, I bought a truck. Yeah, pretty counter-intuitive. No license, new truck. I won’t say that it made sense because it didn’t. But hey, here we are six or seven years later and the beast is paid off and still doing the job. So on balance things ended up working out, and there’s a reason I bought the truck.

A close friend calls me up.

“Hey, Jason, can you haul something for me?”

“Sure.”

Turns out he needed a big-block engine hauled from the heart of the Appalachians to the East Coast. OK, I wanted to hang out and catch up, so this seemed like a good opportunity. All that I knew was that we were picking up a motor, throwing it in the truck, and hauling it north.

I linked up with my bud on Saturday morning, we headed south. There was a foldable shop crane in the bed, along with a toolbox and our overnight bags. The crane was for the engine, that chunk of iron weighed about 250kg.

250kg/500lbs? Well, we weren’t going to wish it off the ground. So we needed the crane. Oh yeah, there was a tire with no rim as well, so that the motor didn’t go sliding around in the back in case I had to hit the brakes. I’ve had that happen before; a heavy engine can literally make the rear end hop if it hits hard enough, and there will be damage.

So we linked up with another friend at the rebuild garage. I was unprepared for what it was that we were picking up; a freshly rebuilt and tested, fully functional and lovingly restored monster V8 engine. Its home was destined to be a vintage Jeep Cherokee.

I almost swallowed my teeth. I wasn’t hauling just any large chunk of iron; I was returning an expensively and extensively restored classic motor to its home some six hours away through rugged hills, bad weather and a couple of mountain passes.

My pulse picked up.

My spare tire to keep it from rolling suddenly seemed wholly inadequate; the motor had a snazzy billet distributor just waiting to be snapped off, and all number of protruding things that could easily be trashed with careless driving, sloppy tie-down, or a sudden stop and a weak cargo strap.

As we loaded and braced it, my mouth went dry.

How much had the owner paid for this rebuild?

My shaking hand turned the key in the ignition, the Chevy came to life. With slightly blurred vision, I backed away from the garage and started navigating my way through the windy backroads as my friend’s “bitchin’ betty” called out directions through his phone’s tinny speakers.

Good thing I wore my hearing aids. There were a million turns.

I went slow, slow. At each curve I anticipated the dreaded THUNK-CLUNK of a rolling engine, my eyes darted again and again to the rear-view mirror. Finally, we reached the highway. Now I could go reasonably straight. We merged into traffic, I pressed in the gas. The Chevy acted as if the iron in the back of the truck wasn’t there, it took off. I set the cruise and kept it at five miles/8 kph under the limit. Finally, my pulse slowed, I had saliva again and I settled in for the drive.

My buddy played a pretty funny comedienne through the AUX player.

Long after sunset, we arrived at our destination. It was raining and cold, but the tarp on the engine had held. Most importantly, the motor hadn’t shifted so much as a millimeter.

My friend spoke.

“The hell with it, we can unload this thing in the morning.”

I couldn’t have agreed more.

We went into the charming 19th century brick house, the engine’s owner treated us to the most amazing cup of hot apple cider I’ve ever had. I slept the sleep of the dead.

The 401 had come home.

The logo above is known as the “Steelmark” logo, it is used by the American Iron and Steel Institute to promote the US Steel industry. Why the heck am I posting it here? Because today I came across a very exciting news article, it seems that Bill Gates is backing a business start-up that has found a way to make steel and cement using solar power/energy alone!

(!) Wow. The next question is how?

A very brief thumbnail sketch.

OK, it’s obvious that in theory we could make steel on the surface of the sun. Just chuck in iron, nickel, and carbon, then fish out the metallic blob, right?

Yeah, not so much.

Let’s face it, we will always need to make stuff, and we will need plants and workers that create the raw materials upon which our civilization depends. Steel and cement are two of the basics, and at the moment their production relies entirely upon fossil fuels. Why? Well, to make either steel or cement you need very high temperatures, and this could only be done in the past by creating high temperatures most efficiently reached using coal, etc.

Bill Gates’ startup has figured out how to create the same high temperatures needed for industry by using mirrors to concentrate solar energy and AI to control the process for maximum efficiency. It looks as if it is possible to have your cake and eat it, too.

The heat and energy needed to make the stuff we need- the code has been cracked.

Apparently the necessary temperatures were reached on the first day the experimental plant went on-line. This speaks to very sound engineering and well-thought out theory.

Maybe you all don’t find this exciting, but I certainly do.

We need steel. We will continue to need steel into the foreseeable future. Therefore we will need plants, steelworkers, and all the associated infrastructure. This technology holds amazing potential world-wide.

I would have expected this type of thing from Elon Musk, but it looks as if Mr. Gates preferred to remain a sleeper and keep this close-hold.

This is the type of stuff I want to see in the news; simply excellent!

Hello, everyone. Today’s subject is Veteran’s Day here in the ‘States. I’m not going to go into detail about the day, its traditions, or everything that went on or events that were planned.

Suffice to say that I was asked to attend an event at my alma mater, and I did. It was nice, appropriate. Also, received a few thoughtful texts from friends and family. Those people know better than anyone what has been done overseas in their name.

This 11th of November was a little different in that my own daughter is now in the process of becoming a veteran herself, and I was talked into attending a complimentary lunch given by Texas Roadhouse. For those of you unfamiliar with the restaurant chain, they serve American Western style food for reasonable prices. A nice establishment to eat at.

A lot of places have give-aways or freebies on Veteran’s Day for those who hold a valid VA or military ID. Usually I don’t go around hunting for this stuff, but hey, Texas Roadhouse. Really hard to refuse. I haven’t been there since I went on a diet, and for good reason.

What I had today was a diet-smashing caloric bomb. But wow, was it good. The waitress even refused a tip; this was crazy as she was really hustling. When she disappeared, I left a ten-spot on the table and left before she could protest. Veteran’s Day or not, she deserved it.

The restaurant didn’t give some token meal or a free coffee. No, as you can see from the picture, it was sizable. My mouth sagged open a little when they brought out the breaded steak, my word, it covered the plate. It would have been easy, and still very much appreciated, had Texas Roadhouse given out a small complimentary lunch.

As you can see from the photo above, the lunch was not small. Also, there were fifteen choices of entrees, all of them gratis to the admittedly older crowd.

Well, Texas Roadhouse, here’s one veteran who appreciated your gesture.

Country fried steak, sweet potato and cheesy fries.

My thoughts? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this? I am fortunate. Thanks again, everyone, for your support. Friends and family, comrades, VA workers.

All veterans have yearned for some version of “home.”

Well, you all make home a “home.”

Bless you.

Long time readers will be familiar with this dog. She is Dixie, her breed is purportedly “Stumpy Tailed Australian Cattle dog,” but I have my doubts. She looks as if she has a healthy dose of mutt in there, too. Probably some Australian Shepherd as well. What a coincidence that a large portion of my reader base comes from Down Under, and I have a dog that may have some dingo lurking in there.

So I was reading the news and I came across a lovely article about a dingo that was rescued, it seems it was attacked and separated from its litter by a large bird. The unlucky/lucky puppy was carried away for lunch, and something distracted the hawk or whatever into dropping it onto a family’s lawn, where it was found.

The authors of the article seemed to believe that purebred dingoes are a rarity, and that may be the case. They certainly seem to interbreed with regular dogs without qualm; so I can imagine that finding a purebred would be pretty tough after 200 odd years of interbreeding.

Pretty cool.

Well, we have wild dogs over here, too, although they are rarely seen. The coyote. They are everywhere, and on still nights it isn’t uncommon to hear their eerie calls and yelps as they chase deer through the forests around here. They are smart and wily as hell; there’s a reason that they flourish while other species wane and disappear.

So yeah, I’m tempted from time to time to do a genetic test on Dixie, just to see what’s in there. I’ll bet her genetics look like mine; purebred, complete and total mutt.

That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. Purebreds seem to have no end of trouble and physical maladies, there’s something to be said for genetic diversity. As I watch her antics in the house, I’m thankful for what she is, a playful, healthy and probably happy 18kg ball of wiry energy. A specialty of hers: for no good reason she’ll jump up and run laps around the living room, springing from one piece of furniture to the next. This really cracks me up, it’s so random.

So whoever it was in the distant past who chose to chuck a genetic hand grenade into Dixie’s bloodline, thanks! You really did me a favor.

Maybe Dixie’s not any sort of proper breed, but she’s a fantastic dog.

I’ve posted this picture before. It’s a Civil War graveyard in a village by the Ohio River.

Why am I posting this today.

Well, given the heated political rhetoric being thrown around these days, I have heard a voice or two muttering about civil war, on both sides of this polarized debate.

This is folly. Do these voices think that such a conflict will leave them unscathed?

The US Civil War was our bloodiest conflict by far. An estimated 650,000 Americans died as a direct result of the conflict, a sizable part of the country was razed and ruined, and the bitterness and echoes of the war are felt to this day (see controversy re: Confederate statues, etc.).

Unlike our present wars, which less than 1% of Americans have been involved with, a second US Civil War would lay its dead hand on every soul within this country’s borders.

What, have people been lulled into believing that war is some antiseptic thing fought far away by other people?

I guess the answer is yes; this makes me want to vomit.

Read history, folks. At the first battle of Bull Run, spectators lined up in their finery to view the fighting as if it was some sporting event. This went out of fashion in short order. Why? It really sucks to catch a .58 Minie ball to the face.

Some statistics.

Over fifty thousand casualties at Gettysburg. Twenty-three thousand at Antietam. Eighteen thousand at Cold Harbor. The dreary list stretches on, and no-one really knows for sure how many died. Kind of like Soviet battle statistics, they are loose estimates to the nearest ten-thousand.

This war wouldn’t be carried out by professionals in some far away village. No, it would be fought with a massive conscript force composed of the children of the people who speak with such bland, colorless language of war; it will be fought with the kids and loved ones of those who secretly wish for such a horrid outcome.

It would be fought in their front damn yards, and the kids will die in droves.

Having seen war, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. And I sure as hell don’t want it anywhere near me.

My Grandma used to say “if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it at all.”

Wise words from a wise lady.

The motto of the US Army; “This we’ll defend.”

Ask yourself what “This” consists of for you. Then ask yourself if you’d really like to see a Second Civil War. Because then you’d have to step up and defend “this.”

And you might not be able to.

Your children- dead. Your house- burned down. Your family- scattered, bitterly and implacably divided.

You do not want this.