Donald John Trump

Bombshells first.

It is not hyperbole to compare The Donald to Herr Hitler. Both Fascism and Communism work upon the "cult of the personality." Does The Donald subscribe to "cult of the personality?" Without a doubt.

The Donald uses racism, misogyny, nationalistic xenophobia as a staple of his campaign rhetoric.

"An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that Barack Obama's birth certificate is a fraud."

 “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.”

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.”

“If I were running ‘The View’, I’d fire Rosie O’Donnell. I mean, I’d look at her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I’d say ‘Rosie, you’re fired.’”

And yet he resonates with a significant portion of the electorate. Perhaps as high as 40%
He is the Howard Beale (Network 1976) of the day.

"I'm mad as hell and not going to take it anymore."

Some humans have a need to belong to a group...a strong group. The people to whom this appeals have a low threshold of fear. They see boogeymen around every corner and under every bed. They fear the loss of the title, "majority."
Or they have a specific target and the candidate stokes that fire of hate without ever specifying which boogeyman they mean - after all, it might be a voter.

There is a large part of this country that is still fighting the Civil War. They do not believe in rights for all American regardless of race, religion sex et cetera. And they have learned that tool called 'obstruction,' is one of the most effective.
They can appear rational and reasonable and yet all they are doing is trying to deny rights to Black people, Brown people, Asian people, Female people and so on.
Just look at the support each of those groups offer to Trump. Minimal at best.

I understand why he is running as I view him as a huge egotist. We are feeding him. This will spawn several books even if he never gets within walking distance of the White House.

But why people do not recognize that supporting The Donald is antithetical to everything that would be in their best interests eludes me. The Donald does not care one whit for you, mister and missus supporter. If you live or die he doesn't care. If your life improves or declines he does not care.

To be fair, neither does Hillary or Bernie, but their standard causes are more aligned with what we as people need for better lives. It is the reason for government - to provide for the people.

Come with me, now. Forward.


P.S. The election season is FAR too long. Limit it to one month prior to the election. If you cannot find out what you need to know about a candidate to make an informed decision in thirty days there is another issue lurking.

Pithy Wisdom

A rushed meal is fast food.
(This applies to everything)

Allow the artist the time to create a feast.

Listen to your inner critic and then fire them.

Practice.
(Think Karate Kid - endless repetition for muscle memory)

Change your inner strings daily.

Diversify.

Muddy roads lead to dirty feet.

Water cleanses the soul, too.

More practice.

Make time to be still.
Still of mind and heart.

Movement does not require thought.
But it helps to keep your eyes and ears open.

You make you own way...in luck, love and life.

PC Matters - Thermaltake 650 W Power Supply

My computer is close to six years old. The video card is the weak link.

The manufacturer (ATI Radeon) no longer supports it with new drivers. I began looking around, the cheapest replacement I could find was nearly two hundred dollars. The performance increase would be negligible leaving the card as the weak link still.  Not a good place to be.

A pal of mine recently offered to give me an unused video card that he has lying about.
This is a real boon. The unused card he offered cost in the neighborhood of four hundred dollars...or if he upgrades the card he is using now, I can have the current one.
He paid more than six hundred dollars for that. That's almost as much as I paid for the entire system.

This exposed another issue. The three hundred watt power supply that came with the computer was inadequate. The video card required a four hundred fifty watt power supply at the minimum.

This same pal then found a six hundred fifty watt Thermaltake power supply listed at Newegg.

1 x ($62.99) Thermaltake SMART Series SP-650PCBUS 650W ATX 12V 2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Subtotal:	$62.99
Tax:	$5.67
Shipping and Handling:	$4.99
Total Amount:	$73.65

In my mind I ran through the instructions for removing and replacing the power supply. Three days after I placed the order the item arrived.

I was ready and rarin' to go.

Except for the fact that the instructions were printed in a grey color in a very small font which meant I used a magnifier to read my way through, the operation was a resounding success. 

Even though the computer is over five years old the technology for power supply connectors has advanced to the point where if you have a motherboard that accepts a twenty pin main connector the extra four pins actually break off to accommodate your older board.

My CPU uses a four pin connector so I broke the standard eight pin connector along the serrated line and installed it.
The hardest part is my sausage fingers trying to install keyed connectors at strange angles in close quarters. A nice hemostat provided the dexterity I required.

The old power supply.

The new power supply with no dressing of the cables, yet. I just shoved the floopy and SATA cables into the drive bay. And the PCI-E cables which the new video card will need with the red connectors are just laying at the bottom of the case.

I Love Mankind, It's The People I can't Stand

I mean it.
Love man. There is hope and beauty and love and joy.

I hate people.
Detest civilization. There is war and greed and poverty and pain.

Charles Schultz was a philosophical genius couched in line drawings.

A Love Letter To A Dream

To Be Announced

Life

Some fucker turned the snow globe on its head.
There is dust everywhere.
Snow to the observer.

I am climbing and feeling my strength.
The strain is a benefit.
The stretching, the learning.

Mountain Climbing.
Misty Mountains.

Sore foot, fleet feet.
Mind is reeling and still the grip on the handle is firm.
Oxymoronic, sophomoric and in a stupor.

Phuck it.
Damned good to go.

I See

God shows beauty and I look for dirt.
Take the gift and thank the Heavens.

Because there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for.
Look up and down and side to side. But do not assume the world follows the axis you can see.