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I'm estimating about 1,500 Ipe plugs installed so far, with more to come. The fence is no quite finished. I need to build a trash can barn and a few gates. All from Ipe. Even the roof over the main door is covered with Ipe.

I glued in over 500 Ipe plugs into the outside Ipe staircase and fence, that are all held with countersunk screws. It's monotonous work, but it's easy enough. I just zone out to music. I'll try to remember to take pics tomorrow. With all that Ipe, it really is nice.

Just finished episode 3. Pretty good so far.

I have to fess up here. In the Falklands, Rapier missile emplacements were dropped on the beach head. Rapier missiles were tracked to their (aircraft) target at that stage using S-band microwaves. That neatly jammed the radar on our own ships - who promptly told the Rapier crews to turn off the missile tracker. That left them with the only option to sit in the launcher nest and manually track using a rate joystick and sighting crosshairs. Now they were not good at this, and led to a need to train crews in how to manually track. From the Wikipedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapier_(missile) "In the 1980s, a new training simulator system was constructed in Stevenage. This consisted of a 10-metre (33 ft) radius hemispherical dome whose inside surface was used as a movie screen onto which terrain images were projected. A copper vapor laser projected images of targets and the missiles in-flight on top of the background imagery, while a smaller helium-neon laser simulated the Rapier's tracking flare. A complete Rapier targeting unit was placed in the center of the dome, and its guidance signals were captured and sent to the simulator to update the position of the missile. The projected laser imagery was bright enough that it could be tracked by IR imagers and seekers, allowing it to be used with the updated Darkfire versions of the Rapier with their IR cameras, or other IR seeking missiles like the Stinger. This system was sold separately for use with other missile systems under the name British Aerospace Microdome. And laser image projection system was developed my me as a consultant when working for https://www.paconsulting.com/about/global-innovation-and-technology-centre . The whole British Aerospace simulator was darned impressive. There was a 1kW audio system in there to give a realistic sound effect of launching, as well as sound effects from the targets (helicopters, jets etc). Scared the bejeesus out of me when we were testing it.

I just want advanced aliens to come (back? 😄) to Earth and send a massive "Kindness Ray" across the globe. Is that too much to ask?!

Better than fucking Tidal! 😎

NYT Turkey Chili

Based on the NPR post above, I thought that I had listened to Hania's recent album. Turns out that I listened to - On Giacometti, not the newer Ghosts. Stupid TIDAL did not let me know that there was another new album in the same year (TIDAL is Dead to Me).... Anyway. Ghosts by Hania Rani (2023) https://album.link/i/1691156889 (Is Album link dead now? - it only shows Apple - I will stop using it if is just a waste) Example: So thanks to the Record Company - Here is the entire Album: Nothing really to say - Just a happy day of Hania.. {oh, and Fuck TIDAL for not telling me back in October}

Thanks youtube... {Edit: and once again thanks to the record company}

ZZ Top Essentials I dig that Apple Music has these artist essentials playlists with most of the hits included. Throw them on shuffle and enjoy. Today, some Texas boogie! https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/zz-top-essentials/pl.18bef26aad9941c682a190d0ac7f7a1d

Cool. Thanks for sharing. Me: just finished Obliterated last night. Fun little popcorn muncher. Dirty. Raunchy. Full dick (with whipped cream and crying).

I'm watching the 49ers kick the Lions asses! Super bowl baby! In all honesty, the first half had me worried.

Got the latest Covid vaccine, and the RSV vaccine.

So much fun playing games last night! Maki and Walter roughhoused for 4 1/2 hours straight. At one point the very large Walter pounced on Maki, literally covering her completely. I couldn't see her at all for several seconds, until finally she squirmed out under Walter's tail, literally looking like a birthing. She then jumped on Walter's back, ran across his body like a furry bridge, grabbed a mouthful of Walter's face and started tugging! Tail wagging wildly the whole time. All three of us laughing uncontrollably. Those two have met before, but just for brief periods of time. I think they're beasties after last night. This little girl really has no idea that she's a 12 pound Chihuahua mix. She must see herself as a Rottweiler. I really need to get her DNA'd to see what she's working with. Longer body and the Black coloring with White accents. Much larger than a full breed Chihuahua. Maybe some Border Collie or even Dalmatian? 12 pounds of "come at me bitch", whatever she is!

Polaroid Lovers by Sarah Jarosz (2024) https://album.link/i/1702798530 Example: I have been waiting for this release for a while. I listened to it yesterday (release date), and giving it a deeper dive today. I really like the different feel and colors that Sarah expresses in this work.

Just read about this, bummed me out quite a bit.... RIP to Brian Lumley, probably my favorite horror writer. https://locusmag.com/2024/01/brian-lumley-1937-2024/ His Necroscope series was a super-creative view on the source of vampires (and the source of my username!), and led me to several of his other (Fantasy & Horror mostly) series, as well as to F. Paul Wilson, one of my favorite all-time authors.

There was an interview with some US administration hawk on the UK's radio 4 a day or two ago. He said that his advice was to hit Iran hard - really hard. And take massive economic sanctions against China, who he accused of supplying arms to Iran. God help the world if this crazy couplet of policies is put into practice. First off - how many countries does the US (and Europe for that matter) cheerfully arm to the teeth? We found that out during the Falklands War, where our ships were hit by Exocet missiles - previously supplied to Argentina by the French. And US/UK's reputation in attacking countries does not end well. Libya? post Ghadaffy it is still a shit show. Afghanistan? Similar - it took the ultra orthodox Taliban five minutes to take control once we "withdrew". Iraq? Still a mess, and only now just about recovering. And the crazy partition of Israel into Gaza and Israel by the UN in late 1947 was never going to end well, in the same way that the UK partitioned India (by Mountbatten) into India and Pakistan - again in 1947 - is still a matter of massive tensions in the region. We really do fuck up the globe big time.