Fidel, Rot in Heck

Fidel finally bit the dust last week. 

So, the US now has an opportunity to take the lead in integrating the country into the rest of the world.

We can do this without reciprocation on their part. Congress and the Donald can remove all restrictions on travel and investment by Americans to Cuba. Why should Cuba be any different than the rest of the countries in Latin America? Five decades of embargo accomplished virtually nothing to change Fidel.

But, the future can be changed by what we do. Let's trade, talk, visit, etc. When ties are established, I am confident that the dire situation of the Cubans will change for the better, the government will then follow. It will become obvious to all that central planning did not and does not work.

(We, Americans will learn that lesson also, when the feddle gummint defaults on all its promises. Central planning doesn't work - that means that Janet Yellen and the rest of the FED crowd cannot plan the economy better than 7 billion people making economic choices minute by minute. But that is a subject for another day.)

Plane Spotter

Sometimes, I just like to hang out at the airport and see what's happening. Luckily, my airport doesn't have commercial service and thus, no Keystones Kops of the TSA variety. 

Here are some aircraft I saw the other day.

Time-sert

I stripped out the threads of the stud/bolt that attaches the intake manifold to the cylinder head of my Aerovee engine in my Sonex.  I wasn't happy at the time, but I found an inexpensive way to fix it with time-sert.

Here are some pictures of the process. It worked out really well!

Installing the insert after drilling, counter-boring, and tapping the new threads

 I used aluminum tape to cover the intake ports to keep the swarf out of the engine.

 

 Another view

 Installing the intake manifold (red part) and torquing the socket head cap screw that attaches it

An Open Letter to the Pope

Your Holiness,

The Vatican

Rome, Italy

I hope that you’ll forgive the informal nature of this letter. I am not a Catholic, but I am a Christian and because of that most important faith we share as brothers, I wish to suggest a couple of things that will benefit that faith worldwide.

The most important message of all time and space is the divine mission of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, His birth, life, mission, atonement, resurrection and continuing work.  I am sure that we both agree on that.

Here are my suggestions:

First, cleanse the church completely and thoroughly of abusers and molesters. Cooperate with civil authorities. Excommunicate them. As Jesus said it were better that a millstone were hanged about their neck and they were drowned in the depths of the sea. Then, develop strict policies to deal with abusers. Follow them every time.

Next, require that priests be married as husband and wife and have families (that means children) Priests who are husbands and fathers will know how to minister better to the believers.

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

Require tithing of your members and encourage donations. Begin again to build up your church.

Rebuild parochial schools and build new ones. Catholic schools were always superior to public schools, plus they taught the most important message of Jesus Christ.

Don’t dilute the message of Christ with climate change. Christ Rules in the heavens and the earth is his footstool. He created the earth that it be inhabited by his children. He foresaw all of this. The message of His divine mission and Sonship transcend climate change.

These changes will prompt growth in your church, to the glory of God and his Son and will benefit your Church and the entire world. Each soul of infinite worth that comes to know his or her Savior will rejoice with the believers.

Sincerely,

B. W. Rex

A fellow brother in Christ

#Calexit

#Calexit

Let's start with the following assumptions that should be axiomatic:

Big government = big corruption

Small government = small or smaller corruption

When I said I was willing to donate to the #Calexit project, I wasn’t kidding.

A decent consideration for the opinions of others demands that I share my thoughts on this subject.  I have friends and family that live in California, and I meant no disrespect to them.

Here’s how a see it. I buy things from nearly every country in the world. What difference does it make if California becomes one of those countries?

Just because I buy things from other countries, that doesn’t require me to adopt the politics and world view of that country.  However, being politically aligned with California now means exactly that. Their laws are enforced in my state. Let’s be honest, some in California have views that are diametrically opposed to those I have.  Let’s be grownups about it and each go our own way, politically. By all means, we will still be good neighbors, visit Disneyland, the beach, etc. And you folks should come to visit the natural wonders in Utah. Commercial relations!! Yes! Free Trade, Yes! Peace, Yes!

Here’s what I see as the benefits of Calexit. And BTW, the same benefits apply to any region or state, or whatever area secedes.

1.      The Federal government becomes smaller

a.       Small government = smaller corruption = more freedom

2.      Both parties become somewhat more aligned with the interests of their respective citizens, aka, the people

3.      Other states and regions can follow the example of California (ie. Peaceful secession)

4.      The process continues, until maybe 3000 counties are independent states with the corresponding freedom accruing to all!

5.      Power is decentralized and local politics is empowered

6.      The rest of the world, threatened with the overlordship of the US federal government, military and nuclear war, breathe a sigh of relief.

What if there were 3,000 states where there used to be 50?

Scribblings on Trump

Today is the day after The Donald was elected President of the United States. I voted for him. I am from a flyover state. (If only the meddling class would fly over with their meddling, also.)

I don't care for Hillary. I didn't vote for her. I thought she would win. She didn't. (Wasn't 8 years of her husband enough?)

I don't think that Trump is a savior of anything. I think he won because the "deplorables" are tired of the meddling class. I really don't want Trump to do anything, except to continue to irritate the media and the elite. (Elites, please do move to Canada. I might send a postcard.) Their apoplexy over Trump winning has been revealing.

If the moguls of Silicon Valley and the amoral Hollywood types wish to secede (#Calexit), please let me know where I can send my donation to assist their efforts.

I believe in peaceful relations with all. I think they will make good neighbors and I might want to visit Disneyland and the beach with my grandkids, in the future.

You see, there is just no reason for my community to be bound politically with California. We have opposing world views. Opposing means not compatible. So let's just stop pretending that the social engineering (cheer led by Hollyweird) coming out of Washington is not an existential threat to me and my family.

I want the United States of my grandparents with no FED, IRS, FBI, CIA, DOD, DOE, DOEd, NSA, USDA, DOJ, DHS, DEA, NRO, EPA, and all the rest. Does that make me a hater, that I want the limited government allegedly bequeathed to us by the founding fathers? No!

Cafe Racer

This blog is serious and fun.  I have been quite serious lately, but now it is time for some fun.

My son and I have been working on a cafe racer he is building from a Honda CM450E.

Here are some photos of the project during some of the rebuild.

 

My only regret is that we didn't take enough pictures along the way.