Privacy NOT by KimB

[Editor's Post]

It is time again to tell you what by now you already know, even if you didn't want to know, about our Privacy Policy.

Our Privacy Policy hasn't changed:

• We do not monitor you.
• We do not monetize the blog.
• We do not track you.

but, as you all know this is rather incomplete because:

• You are being monitored
• You are being monetized
• You are being tracked

just not by us.

What do you remember about Privacy? If you are over 30 you may remember what that meant, if you are under 30 you never got a chance to know anything about it.

The extent of Corporations and LEOs (Law Enforcement Organizations) General Surveillance, each of them desperate to find any aspect, any period, any thought that isn't tracked, logged, archived, analyzed and acted upon, has reached their first tier of saturation.

What that means is there is hardly a moment when you are not being watched: Live and Memorexed ¹.

Previous forms of surveillance generally were one-way: they watched you.

It was external, outdoors, the stuff of B-Movies stake-outs. There existed times where the Watchers lost contact; B-Movies foot races though crowded alleys and markets with the required up-turned vegetable cart delaying the pursuit just long enough for the hero or villain to disappear into the crowd.

This year the surveillance has achieved a two-way breakthrough milestone.

It started a few years back with those sports trackers and fitness monitors. It seemed innocuous stuff at the time. These items promised to monitor your heart rate while working out, analyze your workout effectiveness and track your fitness+muscle-mass progress over time. They never promised to DO the workouts for you, so the sweat was all yours and as many of us really dislike sweating, these devices evolved to be more fashionable because if it was just for the gym, you were going to take it off. Now you don't because it Looks Good and maybe fools folks into thinking that muscle-mass around your waist is really your biceps.

Two-way surveillance allows a peek inside your personal sphere and fitness trackers got a foothold. Not only do they track if your heart is beating, they track your location on the surface or inside a building. Some have a logging feature for those inconvenient times when it losses satellite signal, but will catch up once a connection is re-established. The over-turned vegetable cart doesn't work anymore.

Of course, the ubiquitous smartphone does the heavy lifting for most of the two-way surveillance but there's a bit of a problem: people drop, loose, forget or stop using them or sometimes turn them off. Although, by now you should know OFF does not mean OFF.

So the next step is to get inside where you might take off the fitness tracker or might set down the phone. This is where RING and IoT (Internet of Things aka IdiOT) play their part.

RING (owned by Amazon) provides a video camera system for your door. Generally installed at the front door but any door will do. IdiOT devices can be installed into anything that puts an access APP on your smartphone like thermostats, lights, garage doors. These are surveillance devices and even if you do not install the app, the surveillance is still happening. YOU are the target, not the Bad-Dudettes listed in the "Why You Need This" pamphlets.

Repeat after me:

If it puts an APP on your phone or computer
it's a surveillance device.

Here is a recent synthesis of RING abilities that are not included in the "Why You Need This": ^{2 3 4 5}

• Live Real Time and Recorded Video
• Accessible by World and Dog, by Bad-Dudes and Bad-Dudettes everywhere. Fully accessible by The Neighborhood Committee for General Housekeeping in charge of Ring Around The Collar and Floor Wax in the Corner Removal Compliance
• Video feeds direct to LEOs (Law Enforcement Organizations)
• Interior and Exterior details down to the square inch
• Two Way Talk usable by Strangers to talk to anyone inside at any time including Alexa
• Two Way Talk is also 24 Hour Listening by anyone who cares to listen to you singing in the shower or admire your snoring
• LEOs on the sales stump because they get free kit from Amazon if you buy what they're selling

These are features, they are part of the way the system works and is designed , it's not a bug.

So a bit more info not found on the "Why You Need This":

• 696 LEOs have full access to everything INSIDE and OUTSIDE (December 6, 2019)
• Anyone can install the APP and use it. You don't need a RING device to use the software
• Lots of 3d Party RING Apps and with ready to run Access Scripts
• A sample of usage within a 9 square mile area of unique Ring cameras that had uploaded video during the 500-day window
• The precise locations of approximately 20,000 Ring cameras across 15 different US cities
• Washington, DC, 1,863 devices pinpointed
• Los Angeles, 5,016 Ring cameras located
• Denver, 1,788 devices found
• Hidden geographic coordinates latitude and longitude with up to six decimal points of precision, accurate to the square inch of ground
• Washington, DC, at least 13 active Ring cameras line the path between a grade school and playing field
• Washington, DC, APP users shared videos of children
  (No one cares if they share pictures of adults)
• Track individual's entry and exit from businesses like a health clinic and legal office
• 90 Cities/LEOs have partnered with Amazon to sell Ring cameras
• Police agree not to talk about the details of the contract.
  If you remember STINGRAY/DRT BOX it's the same non-disclosure ^{6a 6b 6c}
• Police perform marketing and sales by encouraging residents to use the APP or buy Ring products and provides free "seed cameras" to kick start the local surveillance system
• Police departments run any public statements about Ring past Amazon first. Amazon PR provides template social media posts and pre-written press releases. "Any and all contact from journalists should be immediately shared with Ring."

Perhaps you are thinking

So, OK ... They can see inside and outside.
I get it.
I won't buy one or remove it if I have one.

Well, that's a nice thought but you have neighbors that have already installed a RING or like device. Guess which way that exterior camera is pointed? It's pointing at your house, at your garage, at your back yard. The busy-body-nosy-parker-informant is watching you and uploading your comings and goings, your friends, your parties, your holiday family gatherings and family fights in real time.

It's a strategy well documented under the STASI and they didn't need half the cameras to employ it, just upwards of 600,000 helpful citizens.⁷

Using cameras and geo-location, LEOs are having a big laugh at our collective myopia or shortsightedness. They collect far more than needed for any investigation, trapping millions into LEO databases because we passed though an intersection with a traffic camera.

Over collection is the name of the game.
Collect the Haystack is the goal. ⁸

An investigation of several arson cases in Wisconsin (value $50,000). ATF requested and received reverse-location data on about 1,500 phones in an area the size of an average Milwaukee city block. ⁹

The idea goes like this:

While you can't track the phone of a suspect you don't have

• You can start with the time and place of the crime
• Look to see what phones were nearby
• Presume all phones belong to the suspect

A small detail: this assumes whoever committed the crimes has an active phone. They may not have a phone, may not have brought it with them, or may have brought it with them in airplane mode or powered off, or used someone else's phone. However, using airplane mode won't stop the data collection because there are other parts of the device still broadcasting. And, we already know OFF isn't OFF.

Camera capture systems are everywhere. There really isn't any legal prohibition to them. If you are imaged by one, you are in a public space or a private space where you waived your rights to having your image taken. Major bushiness install detailed surveillance, health care, hospitals, supermarkets all have them. Occasionally, grainy blurred images are trotted out for public consumption with sensational headlines as favored by the 24-Hours of 5-Minutes of Recycled No News Services.

In the USA, we have Running-A-Red-Light cameras with automated automatic ticketing. In Australia, cameras target mobile phone use while driving with a substantial fine if imaged using one. Results are as you expect because we all know people use the phone while driving, just as people run red lights at intersections.

Worthy causes to be sure on the surface, but these systems do not stop or alter the behavior. They do provide a renewable source of income for LEOs and underfunded Community Budgets. An automated variation on asset forfeiture laws.

Mobile phones imaged in use while driving (In Australia)¹⁰:

• 3,303 drivers in one week
• 500 drivers a day
• 6 month trial: 100,000 drivers out of 8.5 million checked
• If 3% of drivers caught were to challenge the penalty,
  it would lead to 72,000 cases per year
• Reversed onus of proof, requiring drivers to prove what they are holding is a flat packed banana

Oh well... hmmm... Why is OFF not OFF?

Because they told us...

Well, they eventually told us, they didn't do it willingly or completely and they continually omit the details and roll back or re-introduce un-fixes to fixes.

Every modern device has a lot of layers to the hardware and software. The two layers do not have to connect. The lights on-off are a feature not a requirement.

There are 2 ways the lights get turned on:

• The software sends a message to the hardware to turn on or off the green/red lights. If there isn't any message from the software the light is blank
• Another part of hardware sends a message to turn on or off the green/red lights. If another part of the system doesn't flip the switch the light is blank

It isn't the hardest job on the programming scale. Wax On / Wax Off. Lights On / Lights Off.

Apple's new iPhone 11 incorporates an incomplete version of Ultra Wideband technology (UWB). UWB is designed to allow your phone to find and connect to any other UWB phone or device. If you have geo-location turned OFF at the top level and OFF for every APP on the phone, one might think that it would be OFF all together but UWB won't work if geo-location is OFF. UWB needs your precise location. ^{11a 11b 12 13}

So the phone auto-turns-on geo-location tracking periodically (every couple of minutes) just in case it can find something to partner with. Whether you want to or not, the Apple iPhone is going to hunt for a partner.

Apple's reasoning:

“So users can do things like share a file with someone using AirDrop simply by pointing at another user’s iPhone.”

It's incomplete, not fully functional and you cannot turn it off or limit it, but they thought it was a great thing to give you anyway. A bonus boon to anyone wanting to drop illegal, illicit, unwanted images on your phone just by pointing at it and waiting a couple of minutes.

What's also clear is that there is more coming:

Apple:
“The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings”

Translated into normal language it means there is stuff on the phone with no OFF settings. Apple will either provide a future OFF option or simply hide the indicator light which may pacify their clientele.

We know that OFF isn't OFF but ON is generally ON.

Apple isn't the only one with skin in the game, Google's in there too. They got caught out collecting your location data even if you have Geo Location Data Tracking turned OFF. ⁹ Google's facing lawsuits over collecting and retaining location data and distributing it illegally. Even when Google can wave a warrant, Google was never supposed to have the data to start with, much less keep it.

Now that you've glazed over there are things you can do.

1. Stop believing the ads
2. Stop upgrading or buying stuff
3. Reduce device usage
4. Place devices in a drawer when not in use
5. Remove obsolete devices with multi-year year batteries
6. Use it when you need it
7. Don't feed the machine

Hot RING Topics:³

• Sit back and relax to over 45 minutes of entertainment
• Join us as we go hit on completely random targets
• Watch while we tell shelter owners we killed a kitten
• Hear unsolicited racist commentary
• Funny "wake up" calls
• Ransom Demands to recover control of your system
• Talk to the children
• Video Replay On Line
• Watch the shows live...

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorex
   A series of famous television commercials featuring Ella Fitzgerald. In the commercials she would sing a note that shattered a glass while being recorded to a Memorex audio cassette. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?"
   
   
2. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/ring-used-parties-swag-to-build-700-police-partnerships-report-finds/
   Uploaded Ring footage reportedly provides location to the square inch
   Neighbors data proves extra-revealing as Amazon police partnerships accelerate.
   Kate Cox - Dec 10, 2019 8:50 pm UTC
   A review of Gizmodo RING use analysis
   
   
3. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/wave-of-ring-surveillance-camera-hacks-tied-to-podcast-report-finds/
   Wave of Ring surveillance camera hacks tied to podcast, report finds
   The bad actors harassing folks for fun got more attention than they meant to.
   Kate Cox - Dec 12, 2019 10:10 pm UTC
   In all the cases, some bad actor accessed indoor Ring cameras (not doorbells) and used them to harass, intimidate, or attempt to extort the residents.
   
   
4. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/13/ring-hackers-reportedly-watching-talking-strangers-in-home-cameras
   Ring hackers are reportedly watching and talking to strangers via in-home cameras
   Hackers are using two-way talk function to wake people up in the middle of the night and watch unsuspecting children
   Poppy Noor Fri 13 Dec 2019 13.45 EST
   A review of a Motherboard investigation into RING.
   
   
5. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/23/be-careful-you-are-not-giving-away-your-privacy-with-christmas-gifts-this-year
   Be careful you are not giving away your privacy with Christmas gifts this year
   Tim Singleton Norton
   Sun 22 Dec 2019 21.00 EST
   In the US, this has led to a rapid take-up of the [RING] tiny cameras on front porches and doorsteps. In turn, this has been too tempting an opportunity for US law enforcement, which earlier this year went into partnership with Amazon to gain unprecedented and unfettered access to video footage.
   
   
6. 6a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker
   The StingRay is an IMSI-catcher, a controversial cellular phone surveillance device, manufactured by Harris Corporation.
   
   6b https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirtbox_(cell_phone)
   A dirtbox (or DRT box) is a cell site simulator, a phone device mimicking a cell phone tower, that creates a signal strong enough to cause nearby dormant mobile phones to switch to it. Mounted on aircraft, it is used by the United States Marshals Service to locate and collect information from cell phones believed to be connected with criminal activity. It can also be used to jam phones. The device's name comes from the company that developed it, Digital Receiver Technology, Inc. (DRT), owned by the Boeing company.
   
   6c https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_use_in_United_States_law_enforcement
   Initially, the use of Stingray phone trackers was a secret, due to a number of non-disclosure agreements between individual police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the FBI entered into agreements with at least 48 police departments in the United States. In these agreements, the FBI allowed police departments to use the stingrays, while requiring police departments provide no information to either the public or the courts regarding the devices' operation or existence.
   
   
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_collaborator
   An unofficial collaborator or IM (both from German inoffizieller Mitarbeiter) or, euphemistically, informal collaborator (informeller Mitarbeiter) was an informant in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) who delivered private information to the Ministry for State Security (MfS / Stasi). At the end of the East German government, there was a network of around 189,000 informants, working at every level of society.
   
   During its lifetime the Stasi employed around 624,000 Informal collaborators
   
   In the residential areas the Stasi relied on "Information people" ("Auskunftspersonen " / AKPs), for information on neighbours. These were informants who in most circumstances would not themselves have been listed as IMs, and whose information gathering would mostly have been controlled by senior Stasi officers. They would have sought to conceal the true basis for their "curiosity", as representing, for instance, the local council, the military or the tax office in order to get their target-interlocutors talking.
   
   
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_B._Alexander
   "Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, 'Let's collect the whole haystack. Collect it all, tag it, store it ... And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it."
   
   
9. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/feds-reap-data-from-1500-phones-in-largest-reported-reverse-location-warrant/
   Feds reap data from 1,500 phones in largest reported reverse-location warrant
   The search warrants demanded nine hours' worth of location history from Google.
   Kate Cox - Dec 13, 2019 9:19 pm UTC
   Federal investigators trying to solve arson cases in Wisconsin have scooped up location history data for about 1,500 phones that happened to be in the area.
   Users who disable Google's location history features should, in theory, not have data in Google's SensorVault for the company to pass along to investigators. That said, Google is facing multiple lawsuits, including a potential class-action in the US and a suit by consumer protection regulators in Australia, alleging the company misled users and retained location data even if the setting was turned off.
   
   
10. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/17/mobile-phone-detection-cameras-more-than-3000-nsw-drivers-week
    Mobile phone detection cameras pick up more than 3,000 NSW drivers in a week
    Drivers caught by the cameras before March will receive a warning letter, but then fines of [AU$] $344 will be levied
    Josh Taylor
    Mon 16 Dec 2019 23.31 EST
    [AU$344 is about US$237 as of 12/19/2019]
    
    
11. 11a https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/12/the-iphone-11-pros-location-data-puzzler/
    
    11b https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/12/apple-explains-mysterious-iphone-11-location-requests/
    Detailed analysis of the OFF-ON location tracking in iPhone 11.
    
    
12. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/12/the-iphone-11s-u1-chip-necessitates-constant-geolocation-pings-apple-says/
    Analysis of iPhone 11 Ultra Wideband technology (UWB) implementation.
    
    
13. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/06/apple_ultra_wideband/ Analysis of iPhone 11 Ultra Wideband technology (UWB) implementation.
    
    

Memories

Memories

I have a sea of memories
stored
within my mind. Like bubbles
floating in the air,
the years of my whole life have been
recorded there.

The sweet love of family that
softens
sadness when a loved
one loses life.
The ups and downs of living, the
struggle and the strife.

The happenings of
kindnesses
all along the way;
the joy of making friends that
also came along
and stayed.

My memories are a
universe
I visit now and then
recalling people that I've known
and the places where
I've been.

Sometimes in conversations
about
current social trends,
you will hear me say,
"I remember when-"


Marion Bigelow November 2019

Happy Places two poems by Anno Nymus

Happy Places

2 poems by Anno Nymus

*

Deep Riverside Nights

Orange groves jasmine

magnolias and french roast

A little wine

the full moon

open convertible

and the gulf coast

Cali delights

riverside nights

burnt orange hills

sweet orange groves

in the dead of night

aromas of jasmine and

orange blossoms

so strong it could lift you

the wind so soft n warm

it drifts too

far into the senses

cruising at night

Riverside in orange season

at night convertible cruising

thru the orange groves

grooving and moving

Contentment

* * *

French Roast and the Texas Coast

Frenchy's Roost

Galveston Yuppie Cafe

Strong french roast

and the best french toast

but

not Belgian - 'Bulging' waffles

how great - how waffle ?

Hmmm butter ?

off ... ?

not ! … asking

question syrupy

jus' murmur …

damn damn best damn

on the gulf – waffle – period

scents arise

magnolias jasmine and rich java orange

vanilla wafts from around the waitress

french roast 'n Frenchy's toasty

bulging waffle

Happiness

* * *

copyright 2010 R. Bigelow

Living High by El Gato

Living High

We grapple with apple,
but live high
on pumpkin pie.


Living High by El Gato November 2019

Pumpkin Pie

Book report: Longtime Californ

"Longtime Californ" , is a documentary study of an American China town. It is a collection of taped interviews with people living in San Francisco's Chinatown¹, and a detailed history of the historic process of Chinese immigration as the first, free, nonwhite people to America. Written by Victor G. and Brett de Bary Nee; published 1973, it's a Pantheon Village Series book.

I don't remember buying this book, but it might have been one of my many purchases from the public library's sale table. In any case, I came across it while browsing the bookcases in my guest room when looking for a book to read.

Having visited San Francisco's China town many times, I became fascinated with the interviews and the social structure of the community which lies hidden behind the restaurants and businesses that cater to tourists.

The book highlights three coexistent societies, the "Bachelor society" or male laborers who dominated Chinatown during the nineteenth century, the small business centered, and "Family society" which grew with the presence of women later in the twentieth century, and the emerging society of working class families composed of immigrants in large numbers since 1965.

This book taught me a lot about Chinese people, and I wish I had known some of this history during those long ago days when I enjoyed being a tourist in that section of San Francisco.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_San_Francisco

Longtime Californ
Victor G. and Brett de Bary Nee

The Far Horizon

[Editor's Post]

Chocolate!

Will work for chocolate
[Editor's note: This story was written by MrsB]
Saturday, May 23, 2015

It's that time again, when we start to wonder ...

The OH SHYTE Presidential moment by KimB
[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB]
Wednesday, May 18, 2016

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 09 by KimB

Episode The Draft

Images of people marching with signs and chanting

FREEDOM, PEACE, PEOPLE POWER, END THE WAR!

Images of young men (and now women too), lined up bare-ass-nekked,

waiting INSPECTION

Images of warm afghans with bright colors and fanciful designs

staying WARM

Act 1 Scene 9 The Draft
sound effect: opening hot coffee thermos hiss

Glug	100 feet
Moi	ah? what?
Glug	100 feet
Moi	of signs?
Glug	no, 100 feet of draft
Moi	100 feet of BEER?
Glug	no no 100 feet of pipe
Moi	I don't smoke

End Act 1 Scene 9 The Draft
sound effect: glug glug glug

Fire Safety Draft Water:
The process of raising water
from a static source to supply a fire engine pumper is known as drafting.

Fire Safety Draft Requirements

Winter

My daughter and I chat frequently by phone since we live many miles apart. We share news of our latest endeavors, and I always ask about her horse. I hear about its training, how the vet visits go, and how the special horse shoes work that help strengthen certain muscles.

Today we mostly talked about how nice the weather was for riding and without giving it much thought I asked if she thought there would be a severe winter this year. She mentioned that it might be since her horse was getting a winter coat.

I immediately concluded that horses were fantastic weather barometers.

Later I researched information about horses and winter coats. It turns out that horses are not triggered to grow a winter coat by temperatures, but by photoperiods. As the hours of daylight decrease, they start to grow longer, coarser coats that become very dense. The hairs stand on end, becoming fluffy and trapping warm air close to the body, insulating it from frigid temperatures, winds, snow and ice. The density of the coat doesn't allow water to penetrate so a horse will stay warm when its raining.

Winter coats typically lasts from September to May. As the daylight increases, the coat begins to loosen and shed usually in late December. It won't be obvious though until much later.

I should have realized that if horses could predict weather, we would have been using that info starting when dirt was invented!

Icelandic Horse in Heavy Snow

Jimmie Rogers -- In Kerrville Texas -- part 2 by Anno Nymus

Jimmie Rogers – Part 2

The Father of Country Music, and Kerrville, Texas

For many years I've been curious about exactly where Jimmie Rogers lived in Kerrville Texas.

I first experienced Kerrville when I nearly bought a wonderful old 1920's stone house there yeas ago. It was on a hilltop and even had ramparts. Built with that famous white Texas limestone, it had beautiful stone work, and was almost a castle by any definition. It had the most amazing 360 degree view of the famed hill country. I made quite a few trips there at that time for the due diligence, and fell in love with the place, and Kerrville ... but I digress. Part of the Kerrville allure was a tidbit of a history mystery I had picked up years before.

The famous “Yodeling Brakeman” Jimmie Rogers* had lived in Texas for a time, and I subsequently learned it was in Kerrville.

I knew of Kerrville originally in the 1970's because of the famous music festivals. This was long before the internet of course, so back then it was hard to find information without doing a lot of serious gumshoe detective work, and on site research. I never had the time to pursue it, although my brief house hunting venture rekindled my curiosity. I never really found out much more about his time in Texas until just recently.

Fast forward 30 years …

Now that we have the internet, all that mystery disappeared magically and effortlessly the other night when, on a whim, I casually asked a search engine – “Where did Jimmie Rogers live in Texas ?”. In moments the answer populated my screen, and answered a question I've been puzzling on since the 1970's !

First, let me comment that I am always gobsmacked and amazed at the arcane information that resides literally at finger tip command these days within a simple hand held device! It's an amazing new world ! Star Trek realized .. a communicator multi-tool ! It's so easy. Whenever I have a question, just a few keystrokes into my mobile phone can retrieve the most astounding information instantly. It's a brave new whirl ?! Check the footnotes to see what else turned up.

Huge thanks for my answer goes to Hillbilly Hideaways, and their great site – featuring homes of the great country music stars ! ***

The answer was simply – 617 West Main Street, Kerrville – “The Blue Yodelers Paradise” as he named it, and it's still there !

Jimmie Rodgers Home ~ 1928-1932 "The Blue Yodelers Paradise" ***

617 W. Main Street, Kerrville,Texas

• The Singing Brakeman shared this 2,601 sq. ft. home with his wife and daughter until shortly before his death in 1933, when they relocated to Montrose Ave in San Antonio.
• After the stock-market crash, Rodgers was ailing financially as well as physically, and had to sell the house in 1933 just before his death. “Mrs. Jimmie Rodgers and her daughter Anita Rodgers Court have sold their fabulous Kerrville mansion, “Blue Yodelers’ Paradise”, purchased during her husband’s glory days as a nationally famous Victor recording artist, and moved to a smaller house in San Antoine.”(sic) LaFourche Gazette
• On May 26, 1933, he died of tuberculosis in his room at the Taft Hotel in NYC, while there for Victor recording sessions.

"The Blue Yodelers Paradise" 2015 ***

Alas, this lovely brick house was not the limestone castle I had nearly purchased years ago. Still, Kerrville remains a favorite place of mine, and a highly popular weekend getaway location with its' music festivals, beautiful vistas, cool breezes, and Guadalupe river cutting through town. Folks come from all over just to go 'tubing on the river', and enjoy the 'hill country'. Next time I pass through Kerrville on I-10, I'm definitely going to pull off and find the 'Blue Yodelers Paradise', and take a selfie !

It'll be one more item checked off my bucket list !

* * *

Notes

*** House photographs – then and now, thanks to Hillbilly Hideaways for their great site – homes of many famous country stars. Fascinating and wonderful photographs.

https://www.facebook.com/hillbillyhideaways/photos/a.684593708317335/699377366838969/?type=3&theater

**** The Carter Family Visits Jimmie Rogers in Kerrville, Texas – 1928 'Live' 78 rpm recording on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdYoTR_dkE

Jimmie Rogers -- The Singing Brakeman -- part 1 by Anno Nymus

Jimmie Rogers – 'The Singing Brakeman' – Part 1

Jimmie Rogers was a hero of mine – and I learned many of his songs growing up.

In the 1980's I was performing at a private event and did a bunch of old Jimmie Rogers songs: “T for Texas”, “Brakeman’s Blues”, “He's in the Jailhouse Now”, “Goodbye Ol' Pal”, 'California Blues' and a few others. At the intermission, an older man came up to me and introduced himself and complimented me on the old songs, and said it was fun to hear them again !

That sparked a nice chat about Jimmie Rogers and his songs. He told me that many years previously – he had heard Jimmie Rogers many times in person – at various informal settings and performances when he was a young railroad worker. He said with a growing smile that Jimmie knew really dirty versions of all of his songs, as well as other popular ribald old blues, and workers songs – so dirty “.. it made you blush” he said with a grin !

He continued with a twinkle in his eye, saying that Jimmie learned those dirty songs from the various railroad crews and work gangs he was around. They loved it when he would stop and sing, entertain, and regale them with his stories. The old man continued on, saying that Jimmie was a big kidder and had an impish nature. He was a great joke and dirty story teller, saying Jimmie would have everyone rolling in stitches, and howling with laughter with his wild and ribald jokes, tales and songs.

The man continued on and told me some brief snippets and punch lines of Jimmie's comedy bits. They were indeed really funny, and even made me blush – but alas, after all these years they are gone from memory as much as I'd love to regale you with them. I remember though that I sure did laugh – and blush!

I enjoy the image of Jimmie in a railroad yard delighting a bunch of rowdy roustabouts, and roughnecks, with ribald ballads and stories. The man said “...men and women, and all folks just flocked to be near Jimmie like a magnet. He was a real showman. He was a real star ! ”

You can get a feel for his live show presence if you listen to the banter and joking on the 'live' 78 recording – “The Carter Family visits Jimmie Rogers in Kerrville, Texas.” **** The Carter Family was based in nearby Del Rio Texas where they could broadcast nationwide. They admire his new mansion, and he jokes about his 'little shack' – where he can practically see Mexico – and kids around about getting chickens from the yard for dinner. In the 1920's Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family were the founding artists that created 'Country Music' ! The Kerrville house was a hotbed of such country music in those days.

“T for Texas, T for Tennessee … 'cause any old place I hang my hat – is home sweet home to me”

*Jimmie Rogers – 'The Yodeling Brakeman', and 'Father of Country Music' – inducted into:

The Country Music Hall of Fame – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame –

Blues Hall of Fame – Songwriters Hall of Fame

***

 **** The Carter Family Visits Jimmie Rogers in Kerrville, Texas – 1928 'Live' 78 rpm recording on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdYoTR_dkE

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 08 by KimB

Episode Oh Cadastre!

There is an old poem by A.A. Milne that I love because of its logic puzzle.

 Halfway Down
by A.A. Milne 1924 ¹

Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair quite like
it.


i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.


Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!

One of the aspects of the poem is: "How do you know WHERE you are"; which leads to all sorts of interesting problems and issues.

Trying to locate WHERE is a very old problem, probably as old as when the first hominids realized they could bludgeon another hominid to claim the spot that one was sitting on. Watching our cats sort out their eating bowls is much the same. They all get the same food but somehow they just "know" that the food in that OTHER dish is better. They rotate around the bowls sampling the same fare.

The odd thing about WHERE, is that we both know and we don't know. I know where my pile of dirt IS but I don't know WHERE it is. There is a significant difference between the two.

The main method humans use to determine WHERE are maps. Wolves just pee their territory markers and other wolves recognize the claim, but humans are sadly lacking in that olfactory department and peeing isn't recognized as a legal marker. So we use maps.

And there in lies a problem.

'Cause all maps are unequal

Some maps are more unequal than others

But only on Tues and Thurs

There are many sorts of maps, all attempting to solve one or more problems with WHERE.

Paper street maps show the approximate location and direction to any street within the grid area. Section A47 leads to block on the map where the street names are listed. It is not accurate. It's representational.

GPS systems have an average error of 50 ft., but they can be off by as much as a 100 ft. in WHERE. ² Given that modern humans rely on this imprecise information for auto-navigation systems , it's surprising anyone wants a self-driving car that can miss the road by 100 ft. and driving across the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge³ 600 ft. above the Rio Grande River might lead to quicker decent than anticipated if the car misses the roadway by even a few feet.

There is another niggly problem with WHERE and that is the earth is round-ish. There are maps that try to answer: "How do you make a round object into a flat surface?" It's rather like an orange and there are variations on how to peel it. Geographers and Cartographers have been working on this for a long long time.

For the rest of us it's a bit like Le Petit Prince's encounter with the Geographer ⁴. The Geographer knows nothing about the planet because all he does is write down what explorers tell him.

Le géographe ne quitte pas son bureau .... ⁴

So, where IS where?

For my hunk of dirt the only map that counts is a Cadastre Survey Map.⁵

A cadastre survey map marks the legal boundaries and corners of land parcels. While it has been around for centuries, but it's only since I've owned the pile of dirt, that I've learned about it. Knowing WHERE the boundaries and corners are, is an important way to avoid boundary clashes over fence lines and distance requirements. My dirt pile requires a 30 ft. fire break around the perimeter and a cadastre map will show where to measure that distance. It will allow the proper distance measurements between the house, well, septic and PGE power poles.

Now, given that the lot has been pretty much there since dirt was invented, one might think that this was a done-deal and it would be documented somewhere.

It is and it isn't.

Deed and title show the legal owner of what IS, and a previous cadastral map can show where the WHERE was; but you need something on the physical dirt to actually link both the "WHERE" and "IS" together.

Those physical markers are called milestones, boundary markers, survey markers, survey monuments or corner markers.⁶ Each has a purpose and is used to define the WHERE between two or more geographic areas.

So... why isn't a historical corner marker good enough?

Because someone with a bulldozer:

• dug it up
• moved it
• buried it
• excavated it
  or
• it was trashed and sent to some landfill.

On my dirt pile I have 5 markers.

2 have been found.
3 are missing.

OH CADASTRE!


References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfway_Down_(poem)
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.A._Milne
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_analysis_for_the_Global_Positioning_System
   Autonomous civilian GPS horizontal position fixes are typically accurate to about 15 meters (50 ft.)
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Gorge_Bridge
   The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, locally known as the "Gorge Bridge" or the "High Bridge... Roughly 600 ft. above the Rio Grande, it is the tenth highest bridge in the United States.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince
   https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Petit_Prince
   Le géographe est trop important pour flâner. Il ne quitte pas son bureau. Mais il y reçoit les explorateurs. Il les interroge, et il prend en note leurs souvenirs.
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadastre
   A cadastre (also spelled cadaster) is a comprehensive land recording of real estate to define the dimensions and location of land parcels described in legal documentation
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone
   A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile
   
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_marker
   A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other types of named border markers, known as pillars, obelisks, and corners.
   
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survey_marker
   Survey markers, also called survey marks, survey monuments, survey benchmarks or geodetic marks, are objects placed to mark key survey points on the Earth's surface.

Missing Survey Markers in Red

Choices by Anno Nymus

Choices

Back then …

you picked your side …

the Yin-Yang of social norms …

and so it was either …

Coke or Pepsi
Corn Flakes or Oatmeal
Stones or Beatles
Ford or Chevy
Donkey or Elephant

Greaser or Surfer
Jock or Preppie
Hard Rock or Folk
Country or Bluegrass
Pro-Life or Pro-Choice
Should I Stay or Should I Go
Mornings or Nights
Martin or Gibson
Go Solo or Form a Band

Shoes or Sandals
Suit or Tie-Dye
Longhair or Shorn
Brogans or Flip-Flops
OP's or 3 Piece Suit
'Sex,Drugs,'and Rock & Roll' or any Alternatives
Communes or Bible thumping
Straight or Else
Woodstock or Altamont
Pall Mall or Camels
Kool or Winston
Marlboro or Chesterfield

Pie or Cake
Milk or Soda
Taco or Burrito
Granola or Omelet
Burgers or Hot Dogs
Won Ton or Egg Flower
to Sushi or Not

Dodgers or Yankees
NYT or WSJ
McD or BK
Sizzler or Ryan’s
Mom's Fried Chicken or KFC
Progress or Congress

Slapstick or Puns
Writin' or Readin'
Limericks or Lyrics
Country or Classical
Highbrow or Lowbrow
Folk Music or Broadway
Sports or Library

Polio Vaccine or Iron Lung
Gamma Globulin or Jungle Rot
Life or Death
Birth or Abortion
Orphanages or Throw Away Kids

War or Peace
Vietnam or Marching
Segregation or Marching
Death Penalty or Marching
Womens' Rights or Marching
Equal Rights or Marching
Peoples Park or Marching
Black Panthers or KKK
Marching For or Marching Against

Macro or Micro
IBM or Pencil
Slide Rule or Pencil
Typewriter or Pencil
Analog or Digital
Apple or Microsoft
Steve Jobs or Bill Gates
Mac-rosoft & Micro-apple

California or Arizona
Hollywood or Tucson
Palo Alto or Tucson
Tucson or Mexico City
Mexico City or Cuernavaca
Saguaro Monument or Colossal Cave
Saguaro Corners or 17 mile drive
Cochise or Erle Stanley Gardner
Horses or Pickup's
Regular or High Test
Self Service Gas Station or Full Service Gas Station
Odd license day or Even license day

Cafes or Diners
Tea or Coffee
Toast or Fruit
White or Wheat
Wet or Dry
Jack D or Jim B
Hatfield's or McCoy's
Bubble Up or 7 Up
Wine or Beer
Less Filling or More Taste

Diploma or GED
College or Trades
White Collar or Blue Collar
Management or Labor
Stanford or Harvard
College or Draft
College or Vietnam
Air Force or Marines

S.F. or NYC
Berkeley or Boston
East Coast or West Coast
LA Rams or Baltimore Colts
Palo Alto or Philadelphia

Black or White
B/W or Color
White or Wheat
Black or Cream 'n Sugar
Black Hat or White Hat
'Black 'n White' or Color
White As Light or Black As Night
Segregation or Integration

Honky Tonk Saturday Nights or Sunday Morning Go to Meeting
One Gets You Stabbed or The Other Gives You Meaning

… and so it went – and so it goes …
* * * *

Copyright 2019 R. Bigelow (aka Anno Nymus)

Telephone Road by Anno Nymus

Telephone Road
by Anno Nymus

'52 June - I'm livin' in Texas …
… off of Telephone Road
Dads brother – is flying high in Houston
While sister's being borned …
… in the land of the Angels

Dad wheels and deals – rollin' on rubber wheels
Mom rubs elbows working with the great and famous
For only ½ the pay – of all the men there by the way
Art is struggling – for mom – and for dad

I start down – that lost ol' Jericho road
soon questioning – the great unknowns
Chance and Luck – are my best pals
well-springs – in supporting roles
both or all alone – this ancient story – old old old

Banjo from the mountains – banjo from the city …
makes a big racket – but don't it sound purty !
dulcet dulcimers – Berea, Cumberland's Gap
Appalachian adventures – far off the maps
But wait ! … open that Golden Gate …
here I come – feets do your stuff .. I cant wait …

Heading for Californ'
on the road again sure as you're born !
New adventures await in far off Cali
For dulcimers & Tangents – Stanford and Paly
The Tangent Deli '62 – prequel to the living 'Dead'
Garcia – Hunter – Weir – Nelson – and Pigpen
sippin' in the alley
my friends all then ...

Herringbone’s, Loars
Grenada’s and Martins
Playing our souls out – our lives just startin'
The fiddles soar ' – Telecasters roar
laundromat jamming late into the nights
Dances of Folks and late coffee house nites
Daytime’s filled with high learning delights
Coffee houses – havens of foment
We lived there virtually… with passions intense
creating futures so bright – and longing for Nashville
Recording Studios and a '64 Pontiac Bonneville

Roveings Ravings Rambles and Rumbles
Life’s little living stammers and stumbles ...

Quaker in the Corps
VIET NAM in the jungles

Let-your-feet-do-the-voting ! March for what you believe in !
Freedom Riders – Anti-War protest – Vigils – Equal Rights sit-ins !
Don't believe politicians in times of war – Hell, don't believe politicians !!

Home
A Miracle !

Film & Video
school – Art
Galleries
Corporate Events
Music Festivals
I arrive : show-biz
gigs in theme Parks
Coffee Houses – anachronisms now
The Penny University – The Ash Grove
The Tangent – The Ark
golden days
for a simple artist's living to be made

The Tangent Deli '69 - a country tsunami a-bornin'
the eyes of Texas are upon them
Armadillo Headquarters a brewing
Outlaw Country 'n hippies about to merge
A sheep at the wheel driving Cody's Commander
Palto Gryphons and banjo Crowes
A Gold Rush erupts – just lookin' for those Poa Boys

College and school – to be or not to be
Getta Job ! .. Steve Jobs! - and the wizard Woz
computers a-bornin'
my friends all – then, and Steven says …
'school can mess with your education'

what is the answer ? – but … what is the question ?
Is life simply the question – and living the solution ?
I just keep moving and ignore that confusion
keep doin' good– keep chuggin' along
…if ya don't mind, it don't matter after all
Just live to the hilt – as a boy with a dog
so c'mon boys … ever … onward - thru the fog !

Seems I've been everywhere or someplace like it … but now it's …
2018 June – I'm living in Texas …

... off of Telephone Road

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 07 by KimB

Episode Going Away

Discussions with The County can be quite illuminating. Not so much as in having an epiphany or getting insight on a topic but rather like getting hit by a multitude of perspectives.


Act 1 Scene 7 Excavating Ancient Plans
sound effect: approaching foot steps

Bolt	What do you want?
Moi	I have these really old plans and I would like to know if they can be updated to current standards.
Bolt	How old are they?
Moi	Old
Bolt	How old?
Moi	The reign of Thutmose I the third pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt 1506–1493 BC. Can I show them to you?
Bolt	Don't even open them!!! I won't look!!!
Moi	Oh! Why? Don't you want to see them?
Bolt	NO!!!!! I WON'T LOOK AT THEM!
Moi	Oh ... is there are problem?
Bolt	I'm LEAVING CALIFORNIA!!! I can't wait to get away from here! If I look I might be entrapped! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!

End Act 1 Scene 7 Excavating Ancient Plans
sound effect: fleeing steps

Clearly not a fan of
National Geographic Ancient Egypt Specials

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 06 by KimB

Episode Parking The Hay

Maxims of Motors

• You cannot have a Garage without a House.
• You cannot have a Carport without a Building.
• You can have a Pole Barn.... If you Park Hay in it.

Exeter Book1 Codex Exoniensis Riddle 24
Old English	Modern English
Ic eom wunderlicu wiht—wræsne mine stefne:	I am a wondrous creature—I vary my voice;
hwilum beorce swa hund,	sometimes I bark like a dog,
hwilum blæte swa gat,	sometimes I bleat like a goat,
hwilum græde swa gos,	sometimes I cry like a goose,
hwilum gielle swa hafoc.	sometimes I shriek like a hawk.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Book_Riddle_24
   The Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth-century book (960-1072).
   The Exeter Book is the largest known collection of Old English literature still in existence.
   This is a portion of the Exeter Book Riddle 24.

Telivision

I find myself glued to the television screen, listening and watching all of the news broadcasts about the Presidential election. This year the news is so compelling, that I'm even changing my eating habits just to make certain I don't miss a TV news broadcast.

I haven't always been so involved in either TV news or programming.  There have been long periods in my life that I didn't pay attention to either, but I must admit there were several instances where I became momentarily addicted. 

One of the instances was President Nixon's 7 day visit to China in 1972.  I had just purchased a large cabinet television with a larger size screen than I had been used to and images of Nixon and his wife, Pat meeting Mao Zedong, and traveling to three cities, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai and visiting factories and schools were certainly intriguing! 

Of course watching Watergate on television was a mesmerizing experience.  What more can I say?  Even reading the history of that time is still a mesmerizing experience.

When the O J trial took place, I tried not to miss any of the televised part.  At that time I was driving from Texas to California.  Since I wasn't in a hurry, I scheduled my motel stops so that I could watch the trial on TV in the afternoons. 

Television is such a part of daily living now that I have to laugh when I remember what is was like the first time I saw TV.  My husband and I had just returned that day from 3 years in France and before traveling on to Philadelphia, we stayed overnight with my sister and her husband in New York. 

They were living with her husbands parents and after dinner we watched television, which my husband and I had never seen.  There was wrestling and every so often there would be a break in the action while someone would advertise a product.  The advertisements were for different products each time and then wrestling would continue. 

The TV screen was a small square on the side of a small box and looked very much like a regular movie, only smaller.  I was used to watching a movie all the way through, so the breaks in action didn't seem to make much sense.  It made the pleasure of watching a wrestling match a dis-jointed experience.  Little did I realize that television was going to be the most important medium for advertising of any kind!
By 1952 this medium was used for a presidential election and has been so for every presidential election since.     

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 05 by KimB

Episode Invest in a Paper Mill

It might be a good idea to invest in a Paper Mill¹ or seriously consider doing so.

While the mantra of The Paperless Office² only made the amount of paper use increase, the concept of less paper has not actually hit those in charge of building things.

They are trying though.
 They haven't succeeded.

There is an enormous amount of paper needed to get anywhere near where you want to get to. Plans, sketches, plot maps, materials lists, structural details, statements of operational intent and an infinite list of other things are needed.

Not only are these lists infinite, you have to have provide multiple sets of everything: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 for starters. Every group that has a say-so in the process, has their own infinite lists and varying numbers of duplicates needed.

I think the only single item is the check with the required fees when you hand over the tidal wave of paper.

You will want to use a hand written check because there are tack-on fees to cover the bank surcharges when plastic is used for payment.

You might need to learn/relearn how to write in cursive to do this. Block letters just doesn't cut the mustard.³

There is also the counter problem of mass pulped trees ⁴ with ink on them which is that once things go IN the computer they may or may not come out again.

Some items are Sort of In
 and some items are Sort of Out.

Which causes a hysterical effect of:

But But But I DID! I DID!

followed by

hmmm hmmm
OH! There it is (or isn't)

There is an enormous amount of information that is in these systems. Absolutely mind boggling considering the number of dead mushed trees that are required for submission. How they find anything at all in the morass is astonishing. Which of course, they may not because computers are error prone and are not smart enough to recognize that a typo or misclick has sent something into the wrong folder, the wrong account, the wrong project.

It's like the old playground game:

• Lost Paper moves you back.
• Old Paper trumps Lost Paper.
• New Paper moves you forward.

You might want to bring a hand truck.⁵

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_mill
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperless_office
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursive
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_letters
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_the_mustard
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_pulp
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_truck

Stack of Paper

El Rancho S-OH-S Part 04 by KimB

Episode Fire and Prevention

While there are still a few folks who think 115f/46.11c is normal balmy summer weather, a great many more of us are getting the message that "IT IS HOT!" and it isn't going to get any cooler in our lifetimes.

I have watched the news of fires all over the world. I have had friends in the massive fire that wrecked the City of Santa Rosa, California, and other cities were just wiped out with many deaths. Years back, I knew people who lived through the fire storm that raged though the Oakland-Berkeley Hills exploding houses from the intense heat.¹

Fire demands Respect.

In the interest of being respectful I am working to have the requisite fire breaks and weed abatement done on the lot. Of course some of this requires questions and answers from those who know about the topic of Fire and Prevention.

Act 1 Scene 4 Calling Fire and Prevention
sound effect: Phone rings

FandP      Hello

Moi         Hello, I own a lot and would like to have the lot cleaned up, weeds removed and fire breaks added. Can you tell me about any restrictions or issues in having this done?

FandP      If you start a fire you will be responsible.

Moi         Ah ummm, I am trying to do what is required to prevent a fire.

FandP      If you start a fire you will be responsible.

Moi         Ah ummm, I would like to know are there are any time of day restrictions?

FandP      You can do what you like. Best to stop before 10am but you don't have to. If you start a fire you will be responsible.

Moi         Ah ummm, would it be better to wait 8 weeks until the weather changes and the fire danger is less?

FandP      You can do what you like. People work in all seasons and conditions. If you start a fire you will be responsible.

Moi         OK Thank you.

FandP      You're welcome. Remember if you start a fire you will be responsible.

End Act 1 Scene 4
sound effect: Music fade

R--E--S--P--E--C--T ²
Find out what it means to me ...

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_firestorm_of_1991
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect_(song)

The Far Horizon

[Editor's Post]

It's that time again, when we start to wonder ...

The OH SHYTE Presidential moment by KimB
[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB]
Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Food - Glorious Food!

The Recipe Box: Steamed Artichokes
[Editor's note: This story was written by ElGato]
Wednesday, November 16, 2011

History in English Haiku

I was browsing thru some old Smithsonian magazines, dated 1999 and 2003, that had been stored in the garage, and discovered some long forgotten articles and the following haiku written by Spike Gillespie.

The following haiku are a look at our past, written in English. The English form follows the Japanese rules of seventeen syllables and three lines, but is less strict, particularly concerning the number of syllables and subject matter.

Haiku by Spike Gillespie as printed in the Smithsonian Magazine 1999, 2003
Big bang or maybe six days of work, one of rest. Somehow, it begins.	Dinosaurs tromp tromp, act tough, then die so Spielberg can win more Oscars.
Homo erectus is Mr. Smarty No Pants plays with fire, makes tools.	Ice age arrives and prompts Homo sapiens to start wearing some clothes.
Hunt, gather? Why? This is the dawning of the age of Agrarius	There's no place like Rome, A salad of Caesars tossed aside by the Goths.
Guttenberg printing thrills all the writer types with a moveable feat.	Fourteen ninety-two; Chris Columbus breaks ground for the first McDonalds.
Colonists unite. Boston tea fling leads sun to set on British flag.	Industry arrives. It's electric. It's steamy. We are humming now.
Eighteen sixty-one: divided we fall. Able Lincoln unites us.	One world war follows another. Rosie rivets. Patton rolls. We win.
Russia leads space race. So? They get Sputnik but we get Elvis Presley.	Alphabet of strength: MLK, JFK, X Spelling civil rights.
Sixties. Some drafted. Some protest. Some seek flower power in the Haight.	John Travolta is disco dance personified. (What WERE we thinking?)
Internet arrives. You have mail! How did we find Things before Google?	The young dot-wealthy kiss hubris 'bye; bubble bursts, Can't cash laughingstocks.
A pair of Bushes are planted at the White House, make Clinton sandwich.	Crisis speak thy name, First Saddam. Then Monica. Then Saddam, again.
The twin towers fall. Sorrow, anger and pride rise up from the ashes.