All nuclear reactors leak

If we want to understand today’s world, it helps to look back at history and examine things through new eyes.

I’ve been watching this

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

It’s amazing the things they have discovered over the years. Keep in mind that they didn’t seem to have any protocols in place, to deal with the problem.  I get really angry watching this because I worked at a nuclear power plant during this time period. I don’t understand, because we had procedures for everything you could ever want. I worked writing the manuals.

I know emergencies have  happened  that the public was not made aware of or the situation was minimized.  I hated that big horn on the corner. I’m not sure how often it went off, but at least once a month or was it once a week.  Just a reminder that your family could be in danger.

The company I worked for, I don’t recall the name of it, I was actually hired by a temp service, to work for a subcontractor at the nuclear power plant.  Our main job was to find more work for our company to do, before their contract expired and they were kicked off plant property.

The nuclear power plant

Twp nuclear power plants

It would often take two or three weeks for them to get approval for new temps, so we would sit around for weeks on end, all the time collecting a paycheck and doing nothing.  Almost everyone who worked there was a subcontractor. In reality, everyone was there to collect their paycheck, of course I didn’t realize this until years later.

It’s just another accident waiting to happen.  We have all this nuclear waste piling up everywhere. They have no idea what to do with it.  The dirt from Chernobyl and Fukushima alone is staggering and they keep piling up more.  When will the madness end?

https://youtu.be/J3yUuK0HiSw

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Please take a moment to remember what this day represents: standing up to oppression and a statement of freedom.

Declaration of IndependenceThis day is not about the formation of the United States, but of the dissolution of the bonds the American  colonists had with England, a remote entity who didn’t share their values, interests or goals. England imposed  her will on the colonists without proper representation — deciding  their fates based on grand self-interest.

The current administration usually adorns these types of declarations with one of the adorable phrases “we can’t wait” or “for the children.” Nevertheless, these are abuses on their face and no amount of decorative wording can justify these actions.

The great men we call the Signers and Founders did not start by creating a new government to replace what they had, but first agreed that whatever may happen, what they had was severely broken, and knowing that regardless of what MIGHT come in the future, that what they were already subjected to was simply unacceptable.

The Signers had no way of knowing that several years in the future their efforts would eventually lead to a functional democratic republic.

As a developer I believe in having a true understanding of all inputs and potential complications before opening up an IDE, but when your life and liberty are on the line it’s all too often important to act impulsively. Remember this the next time you’re treated like a war criminal for refusing to submit to bogus “authority,” are threatened with force if you dare step outside  your “free speech zone”  or are declared an enemy combatant simply for disagreeing with Dear Leader.

Bald Eagle by Águila calva CC BY-SA 3.0The Declaration of Independence, for which this holiday is named, identifies twenty-seven (27) distinct classes of violations against the colonists. Fully twenty-two (22) of these are being actively repeated by the current administration and other recent administrations.  Of the remaining five, three are likely already happening as well — the incomprehensible lack of government transparency shrouds far too many of their actions. Moreover, there are plenty of additional offenses against us taking place each and every day, such as the gross invasion of our privacy by the NSA. Are we really supposed to believe that “person, papers and effects” doesn’t include our computers, telephones or travel?

Since the passage of the 16th amendment, which provided the federal government with it’s very own wishing well, our nation has gone to hell in a hand-basket. The last hundred years our nation has decayed more and more, providing a roost for some of  the worst mankind has to offer. From war profiteering to false flags to backroom deals for lobbyists…our elected representatives would do well to wear the logos for the brands and companies who sponsor each of their activities, for so rarely are they truly representing the interests of their actual  constituents. We can no longer stand idle while these people perform their ghastly deeds in secret, in our names. Sadly, “voting the bums out” when the only alternatives proffered are two sides of the same coin isn’t a realistic solution.

The worst part of it is that this has been in the works for so very long. Our nation flounders because we are so easily divided. The last several Presidents, while on television during (and I use this term in protest) “debates”  they portrayed their actions and positions as heatedly different, each performed in exactly the same ways. Taken as a whole, there has been nothing done by any of them to distinguish them from one another.  You would be hard-pressed to look at the individual actions of any of them and be able to identify exactly which person, or which political party, had done.

Not to be outdone, congress alternates between doing nothing at all and doing everything wrong. Personally, I would rather survive without  the added oppression imposed by “look-busy legislators”, so I pray for stalemate rather than compromise. My darling wife is very fond of saying, “when both houses of congress agree — you can be sure there’s a greater-than-normal conspiracy underway.” Some of the greatest offenses against the American public have been at the hands of a united and near-unanimous majority. Sigh.

This month I’m going to write about each of the reasons the Signers declared independence from England and how that applies to our lives today.  After 238 years, are we falling into the same trap?  Come back and visit. And tell a friend.

-Shawn

America’s Test Kitchen School Review

I signed up for a trial membership of  The America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School.  I stayed about an hour and tried out two of the lesson plans.  Boy was I disappointed.

...or how to make your cooking look repulsive....

Oh, they have thought of everything.  There was more reading to do than I like.  I have to read stuff all day long and the videos work just fine for me.  Yes, I admit to being lazy. The lessons include:

* IQ Quizzes – These fun quizzes appear at the start of Technique Lessons and In-Depth Course sections and are designed to both gauge your current understanding of the topic and teach you some basics before diving into course material. Detailed feedback is supplied for each response and a summary of your results is supplied at the end.
* Concept Reviews – These are interactive quizzes that test how much information you’ve learned. Do you understand the key concepts that will ensure good results in the kitchen? You’ll receive detailed feedback as you answer each question and a score at the end.
* Core Technique Videos  – These videos, found in Technique Lessons and In-Depth Courses, are focused on a single important core technique and will help build cooking knowledge. You will learn techniques that apply to thousands of recipes, such as how to sauté chicken or how to make risotto, as well as more specialized techniques, such as how to tie a roast or how to blind-bake a pie shell. Watching these videos will prepare you for the recipe tutorials where you’ll be applying many of these core techniques. Most importantly, these videos review key concepts that will increase your understanding of course material.
* Recipe Tutorials – Recipe tutorials are where the cooking happens. After we introduce a recipe to you and list the required tools and ingredients, you’ll watch Bridget cook in an extensive step-by-step video tutorial and hopefully, cook along with her – that is if you’ve got an ipad or laptop and can bring her into your kitchen.
* Discussions – Class discussion is a key part of your learning experience. Clicking the discussions icon in the upper right-hand corner will allow you to start/or contribute to these at any point in a lesson. As a student and peer, your participation is key. You will add valuable insight by participating in discussions, enriching the learning that takes place, and allowing other students to learn from you. We encourage you to participate in class discussions often!

Recipe

Instructors are available, but that’s extra.

The reason I didn’t stay a member?  I took the tutorial on Eggs.  They had the nerve to say that store bought eggs were just as good as farm fresh eggs.  Excuse me?  I raise farm fresh eggs and nothing could be further from the truth.  They also claim there is no nutritional difference.  Saying it does not make it so, you can see the difference.  I don’t care what they say.  Just crack an egg open.

They are being politically correct and not telling people the truth.  Most store bought eggs come from chickens who are eating GMO’s.  You can’t talk about food and not hit on this subject and pretend it doesn’t exist.  So, I cancelled my free membership, that I had to give a credit card number to get.  It’s so not worth it, when you can get good accurate information for free.

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