I’m Done…For Now
I have been blogging since 2009, when I was living in Texas. WordPress used to be a great place blog. The format used to be really easy to use. That is not true, today. They have shoved the block editor down our throats. In order to keep the classic editor, you have to pay extra money. Even worse, if you want to tweak the settings on your (legacy) theme, you have to upgrade and pay more for that, to get the plug-in that returns your theme back to normal and not “blocks.” I’m tired of this crap. Don’t even get me started on what they have done to the Reader.
This isn’t fun, anymore. I have paid for another year, last month. My history will remain, until the money runs out. WordPress will, ultimately, delete a good portion of blog posts…unless you keep paying, in perpetuity. There is a graveyard of abandoned blogs all over WordPress. Besides my blog posts, I have a library of data from a, now, deceased psychic, Chris Thomas. I would encourage you to read his data, watch the videos and listen to the phone interviews. I also have a documentary on him. If you want to see it, I can provide a link but, it is copyrighted material and you can’t share it.
That’s about it. It’s so much easier to post pictures and talk to people on X (Twitter). WordPress has worn out its welcome with me. I have been hassled enough and I have paid enough. IF things change, I might return but…I doubt it.
I’m done. Goodbye.
~Vic
Music Monday: Wait (Sarah McLachlan) 1994
Returning to my Samsung playlist, submitted for your approval…
“You know if I leave you now
It doesn’t mean that I love you any less
It’s just the state I’m in
I can’t be good to anyone else like this…”
The second track from the album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, the song was never released as a single, so there is no chart data. The album, itself, reached #5 on the Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM), #6 on the Canadian Albums (The Record), #50 on the US Billboard 200 and #102 on the Australian Albums (ARIA) chart.
The song “Wait” by Sarah McLachlan is a deeply emotional and poignant composition that delves into themes of love, loss and the passage of time. With her heartfelt lyrics and soulful melodies, McLachlan pulls at the heartstrings of listeners, conveying a raw sense of vulnerability and longing. The song explores a complex range of emotions, offering a profound reflection on the bittersweet nature of human connections.
BeatCrave
Bob Larson
October 9, 2023
This was a great album in totality. She is touring for the album’s 30th anniversary.
Lyrics (and meanings)
Throwback Thursday: Frank Eugene Corder 1994
Thirty years ago, today, Frank Eugene Corder stole a Cessna 150 and crashed it on the South Lawn of White House. He did not survive.
Born in Perry Point, Maryland, he was the son of an aircraft mechanic. Dropping out of high school in the 11th grade, he enlisted in the Army in October 1974 and was stationed in Kentucky & Colorado, trained as a mechanic. Honorably discharged in 1975, he was a truck driver from 1976 until 1993. Arrested for theft & drug dealing in the same year, he spent 90 days in rehabilitation. His third wife left him, shortly thereafter.
Apparently, Corder wanted the attention of, then, President Bill Clinton. It was speculated that Corder was trying to emulate Mathias Rust. On September 11, Corder, severely intoxicated, stole the plane from Hartford County Airport and was picked up by radar at Reagan National Airport just minutes before he steered into the White House wall. He died on impact at 1:49am. This event brought procedures to the forefront, as Corder was in restricted airspace.
Clinton was not in the White House at the time, due to renovations. He was staying at the Blair House.
Additional:
♦ Frank Eugene Corder: Crashing His Cessna (History On The Net)
♦ Crash At The White House (NYTimes)
♦ Suicide Suspected In Plane Crash (Los Angeles Times).
Story Sunday: Panjandrum Weapon
The Great Panjandrum at Westward Ho!
Wacky WW2-Era Failed Weapon
In 1941, the Government of the United Kingdom established a temporary wartime body called the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) to find new and unconventional ways to kill the enemy. Efforts from this department led to such useful inventions such as the Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon and Squid anti-submarine mortar, as well as the Holman Projector, an anti-aircraft rocket battery—and a system of degaussing used to protect ships against magnetic mines. It also led to the invention of the bouncing bomb that could skip across water to avoid torpedo nets and was used in the very successful Dambusters Raid of 1943. Above all, it played an important role in developing parts of the Mulberry Harbour used in the D-Day landings.
Despite these successes, not all of the DMWD’s projects were fruitful. An attempt to conceal the River Thames from German bombers, by covering it with soot, failed due to the effects of wind and tides, although it did cause some confusion when the coal-covered waters were mistaken for [a] tarmac during blackouts. The most disastrous project, however, was the Panjandrum. With a name inspired by a character in a nonsensical piece of prose from the 18th-century British dramatist Samuel Foote, the Great Panjandrum was doomed from inception. Constructed as a pair of large wheels, each approximately 10 feet in diameter, it featured a central steel drum carrying over a ton of explosives. Around the rims of the wheels were cordite rocket charges, designed to spin the entire device, propelling it towards the concrete beach defenses along the French coast with the intent of creating a substantial breach. The designers estimated that a fully loaded, 1,800-kg Panjandrum could reach speeds of around 60 mph (100 km/h), with enough momentum to crash through any obstacles between its launch point and target.
Trials began with only a handful of cordite rockets attached to the wheels and the payload was simulated by an equivalent weight of sand. The rockets were ignited and the Panjandrum catapulted itself forward, out of the landing craft used as a launchpad […] a fair distance up the beach. However, a number of rockets on one of the wheels failed, causing the weapon to careen off course. Despite several further attempts with more rockets, the Panjandrum consistently lost control before reaching the end of the beach.
Amusing Planet
Kaushik Patowary
July 5, 2024
Word Wednesday: Evocative
Can you use it in a sentence? Entertain me. ~Vic
“After the loss of my father, his photos, left behind are most evocative.
Word of the Day
Of WordPress, Gallbladders & Twitter (X)
Hmmm…where to start… After a long absence, I am returning to my blog. WordPress Happiness Engineers have lost their freaking minds. I still operate in the “Classic” editor. I will NEVER use that nightmare of a “block” editor.
Suddenly, I have these strange, white squares and a “Plus New” symbol.
Here is a better link…
SnipBoard Image
I have also had to adjust my Admin Interface Style in General Settings. WP-Admin in the Classic style does not support the “Add New Post” drop-down I need to get to the Classic Editor. I can only get it in Default style. Can things get MORE confusing, here??? I SO miss the days when WordPress was EASY to use. Now, it is a giant PITA. I spent an hour trying to get a “Happiness Engineer” to explain to me WHY everything is so jacked-up. Has anyone noticed how screwed up the Reader is?
I have been gone so long that, I am having to re-learn how to blog. With all the changes, I am struggling to deal with this insane labyrinth. My absence has been due to my Significant Other needing assistance on a grand scale…and me, still battling my gallbladder. He is improving and I am…slowly.
In July of last year, I joined Twitter (X). Bastion of free speech, they said. Everyone has a voice, they said. Right. At the moment, I have been locked out of my account for six days. Want to know why? I apparently threatened YouTube with the word collapse. Musk stated in a post that he was building a YouTube alternative. It sounded good to me. I reposted his announcement and all I said was “@YouTube, you censor too much. I hope you collapse.” Bells went off, sirens started wailing in the distance and blood began to weep from the walls of my house. I was told that I had used violent speech. How in the AF could I possibly be a threat to YouTube??? *facepalm* I am supposed to be freed from my bird cage in a few hours. SMDH. I will continue to lurk, read & share my blog posts but, there won’t be any other engagement. It’s better than FakeBook, which I left years ago. I do still use Messenger.
Later…~Vic
United Nations World Wildlife Day
The world is full of amazing creatures from every possible medium. From the birds in the air to the majestic whales of the sea, wildlife abounds in the most unusual and unexpected places. Wildlife benefits us in many ways. World Wildlife Day is a day to remind us of our responsibilities to our world and the lifeforms we share it with. Even though we might like to think so, sometimes, humans aren’t the only living things on Earth. In fact, we’re far outnumbered by other living things, from animals and plants to fungi and bacteria. Wildlife isn’t just something that we passively observe. It’s part of our world and something we need to care for. World Wildlife Day is your chance to celebrate all wildlife, from the smallest insect to blue whales. No matter what you love about wildlife, you can spend the day taking action to help protect it.
On March 3rd, 1973, the United Nations General Assembly took a stand to protect Endangered Species throughout the world. Whether plant or animal, the importance of these species in every area of human life […] could not be understated. At the time, hundreds of endangered species were being threatened every year and extinction was at a staggeringly high rate. CITES was put into place (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) to ensure that the world would not continue to hemorrhage [any] species.
Celebrated annually on March 3rd, World Wildlife Day is a holiday that not only celebrates the diversity of the world’s wild flora and fauna but, also raises awareness about the dangers they face due to human activities. Wildlife today faces many different challenges, which include but, are not limited to, loss of habitat, industrialized farming, commercial development, and overgrazing. Poaching and the trafficking of animal hides, tusks or fur, also pose significant risks to several species, including tigers, rhinos and elephants.
While extinction is a natural phenomenon, many scientists estimate that we are losing species at a rate approximately 10,000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction. Animals that had already gone extinct by 2016 include the heath hen, the Caribbean monk seal, the baiji dolphin, the golden toad, the Caspian tiger and the Tasmanian tiger. The most endangered species, as of 2017, are the ivory-billed woodpecker, Javan rhinoceros, western lowland gorilla, the tiger, the Amur leopard, the Chinese giant salamander and the red wolf.
Initially proposed by Thailand at a United Nations General Assembly, World Wildlife Day was established as an international holiday on December 20th, 2013. It was decided that it would be celebrated on March 3rd because that is the day on which the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted.
What do the orangutans of Borneo, the elephants of Sumatra and the Black Rhino all have in common? Aside from all being totally cool animals that we watch on YouTube, the more sobering truth about these creatures is that they’re all critically endangered species. [On] World Wildlife Day, the UN and its partners are planning to raise awareness of the gravity of this dire situation. An animal is only placed on the critically endangered species list if the International Union for Conservation of Nature believes the animal faces a very high risk for extinction. Russia’s Amur Leopard, found in the far eastern recesses of the country, is on the verge of extinction, with only about 40 left in the world. Unfortunately, this list goes on and on.
POTD: Wooden Gator
At least I think it is a wooden gator. It is in the same garden as the painted bench and the guitar. ~Vic
Click for a larger view.
Picture of the Day
Shutterbug Saturday: Flower Fest
Select photos for a larger view. ~Vic
MOTD: Disney Bombs
Twitter (X)
Gotta love the Babylon Bee. LOL! ~Vic
Meme of the Day
Cosmic-Observation 