Does the ‘funny’ come first?

Bad Lip Reading has an informative Wikipedia page but it doesn’t answer one of my most burning questions. The dialogue/monologue has to be funny nonsense. And it invariably is. But the words always match the lip movement. I’m inclined to believe the funny comes first but the perfect sync seems equally important. 

Bad Lip Reading is the creation of Kennedy Unthank: “Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics and hermeneutics. He doesn’t think the ending of Lost was “that bad.”

Rebuilt carburetor for Jeep

While the Jeep is in exceptionally good shape for a 76 year old vehicle, Paul decided to replace the carburetor with a rebuilt Carter.

Carter adapted carburetors for Willys Jeep four-cylinder engines, waterproofing them for water crossings and making it possible to keep the engine going even on a steep incline (the Y-S carburetor). (Wikipedia)

He found a guy who specializes in rebuilding these and tests them on a Jeep engine. All for a mere $310.00. (Old and new carb below)


Took a screwdriver, a spanner and about half an hour and the Jeep was running like a Singer sewing machine.

Paul declared this the quietest old Jeep engine he had seen/heard. He’s pretty sure the engine was rebuilt along the way. The odometer reads 2,932 miles and was probably reset following the rebuild. Just waiting on the new steering box. Watch this space.

Cirsten Weldon, anti-vax QAnon promoter dies of COVID

Katie Dowd reporting for SFGate, San Francisco

A QAnon promoter with tens of thousands of followers on Facebook and Telegram has died after contracting COVID-19. On her last video, posted on December 28, Weldon was coughing and admitted she felt “exhausted” and “weak.”

Weldon was virulently anti-vaccine, both online and in real life. In one video posted to her social media channels, she can be seen harassing people in line to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “The vaccines kill. Don’t get it,” she shouts. “This is how gullible these idiots are. They’re all getting vaccines.”

Weldon livestreamed constantly and posted relentlessly on Instagram, Telegram and Facebook, inadvertently tracking her own symptoms. She began showing signs of illness around Christmas. In a December 27 stream, she started off by saying, “Good morning, patriots, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I’m sorry. I’m exhausted, and I’m very, very weak. I have no strength. I haven’t eaten in four days.”

On December 31, she posted a photo of herself wearing an oxygen mask with the caption, “Almost died at hospital in CA from Bacterial Pneumonia.” “Bacterial pneumonia” is a phrase commonly used in anti-vax circles to explain a COVID-related hospitalization without admitting to contracting the virus.

Weldon also posted on Telegram, where she had nearly 100,000 followers, that she rejected treatment with remdesivir.

Jeep: Steel Soldier

(YouTube) “Best video-history of the initial creation of the “Original Jeep”. The video shows the story of the “Jeep” from its original Bantam roots, all the way through its initial civilian use.” Should come as no surprise the Jeep has a rich a history at the Land Rover but I learn something new every time I watch one of these. And there seems to be a lot of them.

The history of the Jeep is at least as rich as that of the Land Rover. The first clip below is Bill Travers, a Jeep driver with the 87th Infantry Division. (45 sec) Below that a 2 minute clip about the CJ2A:

 

Jessie (12 weeks)

Only thing better than a Golden Retriever puppy (12 weeks) is a pup with a buddy to show her the ropes. Riley is delighted to have someone around who speaks dog. Riley not entirely thrilled to share her chairs with the new pup but is making the best of the situation.

Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse

(Wikipedia) Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse is a lighthouse 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometres) off the southwest coast of Iceland, in the archipelago of Vestmannaeyjar, often described as the most isolated lighthouse in the world. Þrídrangar means “three rock pillars”, referring to the three named rocks at that location. It was constructed in 1938 and 1939, with the lighthouse commissioned in 1942. Originally constructed and accessible only by scaling the rock on which it is situated, it is accessible by helicopter since the construction of a helipad.

The lighthouse was built under the direction of Árni G. Þórarinsson, who recruited experienced mountaineers to scale the rock on which it is located. Their climbing tools did not allow them to bite into the rock near the top, and there were no handholds near the top, so they made a human pyramid (one man on his knees, a second atop him, and a third one climbing on the second one) to reach it.

Bring back personal blogging

This piece in The Verge (by Monique Judge) touches on many/most of the reasons I never stopped blogging.

In the beginning, there were blogs, and they were the original social web. We built community. We found our people. We wrote personally. We wrote frequently. We self-policed, and we linked to each other so that newbies could discover new and good blogs.

Social media wasn’t a thing that existed back then, so all our pontificating on various topics took place on our personal weblogs, and the discussions happened in the comments section of said blogs.

The biggest reason personal blogs need to make a comeback is a simple one: we should all be in control of our own platforms.

Personal stories on personal blogs are historical documents when you think about it. They are primary sources in the annals of history, and when people look back to see what happened during this time in our lives, do you want The New York Times or Washington Post telling your story, or do you want the story told in your own words?

do think of my blog as a history of sorts. What was I reading, watching, thinking since 2002? This is where you’ll find it (if anywhere).

We are now in an age where people come on the internet to be the worst possible versions of themselves, and it’s an ugly sight to behold.

Not here.

In the past 20 years I’ve encountered countless wanna-be bloggers that never really get around to posting consistently because they get sidetracked by “setting up” and futzing with their blog. Endlessly searching for the perfect tool; the perfect layout; the perfect hosting service. They’re like “photographers” who never get around to taking photos because they’re so busy setting up the dark room. The illustration below is perfect.

Jeep: A few repairs needed

Closed the deal on the Jeep today but won’t be driving it until a few repairs are made. Needs a new carburetor and a steering box.

In all fairness, the shaft (assuming it’s the original) lasted 76 years. And it would have been interesting if this had happened while I was motoring around town.

I’m learning more about this model Jeep. The engine –an L134– is a very reliable engine. No idea when I’ll drive this baby home but I’m looking forward to the adventure.

Origins of the CJ series Willys Jeeps

Excellent video on the evolution of the Jeep from military workhorse to civilian utility vehicle. The segment on the CJ-2A (no mention of 2Ab) starts at 2:55 and ends around 6:40.


(YouTube description) “CJ series Willys Jeeps. CJ-1, CJ-2A, Cj-3A, CJ-3B, M38, CJ-5, CJ-6, CJ-8 were produced by several corporate parents, the Jeep CJ line was officially ended in 1986. More than 1.5 million CJ Jeeps were built, having continued the same basic body style for 45 years since the Jeep first appeared. Widely regarded as “America’s workhorse”, the CJs have been described as “probably the most successful utility vehicle ever made.”

A good example of that utility is shown in this photo of Bob Conner using a Jeep with attached plow to dig trenches for the ground antenna array for the tower at KBOA. The text on the bottom of the windscreen reads:Twice-A-Week Dunklin Democrat

STALINGRAD The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943

I’ve only read a handful of history books (crime fiction is my passion) but they’ve all be great reads. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century; Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civ89l War Era; Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869; and Wires West: The Story of the Talking Wires. I’m currently reading STALINGRAD The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor.

(Wikipedia) “Stalingrad is a narrative history written by Antony Beevor of the battle fought in and around the city of Stalingrad during World War II, as well as the events leading up to it. The book starts with Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the subsequent drive into the Soviet Union. Its main focus is the Battle of Stalingrad, in particular the period from the initial German attack to Operation Uranus and the Soviet victory.” Continue reading