Like the person who keeps telling the same stories over and over, I have many stories and bits of information that people are tired of hearing about. And as the years go by, I can’t for the life of me remember to whom I’ve told what. I don’t even try anymore.
So this topic includes all the things I would like to tell people about so they don’t have to hear it if they have already heard it. It’s here if they want it. And I can read it here again without bothering anyone. And since it is my website, I can even elaborate as I wish.
People are the source of all governmental power. —Barbara Jordan. 1976 Barbara Jordan vs Hillary Clinton Clips have been playing for the last few days of Hillary Clinton’s speech at the 2022 National Democratic Convention. Over and over. It’s nice to see her back out there again, but she has to do something with her voice. The harder she tries, the more it sounds witch-like. It’s not pleasant. I wonder where […]
Via Hendrix was 21, fresh out of college, and had found a starter job. Unlike her friends who had scattered to the outer boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, she wanted to live in the absolute center of New York City. There are several neighborhoods that one person or another would consider the true dead center of New York City but Greenwich Village or more commonly the West Village or just […]
My grandmother’s house was a white frame cottage, very neat and tidy, on the corner of two unpaved roads and with an outhouse in the backyard next to an apple tree. A rusted barrel was used to burn trash. The neighborhood smelled of burning coal all winter. To the west were acres of cornfields; to the east a block of 12 identical houses, six on each side of the street. […]
Well, not exactly depressed for no good reason. It’s the fifty-first day of my shelter-in-place sojourn for covid and I finished reading Sarah Kendzior’s Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America this morning. As a specialist, Kendzior explains the development of autocracies and kleptocracies and chronicles all the steps in Donald Trump’s rise to power. Good book but not an upper. Hiding in Plain Sight is […]
The Craftsman Book Company has been publishing books & software for the construction industry for 70 years. Craftsman has over 500 publications. They are used by contractors, remodelers, custom builders, appraisers, adjusters, estimators, architects, engineers and other construction professionals in the United States and Canada. Uniquely for one price you have access to all their books for one year. At this writing, the cost for this service is $129.99. The […]
Every year, the USDA publishes the average land values for farm real estate. The statistics are broken down into types of land—pasture, cropland, irrigated/non-irrigated, land and buildings. The attached copy of the 2019 report includes all the statistics, including trends, some from 2015-2019 and others from 2005-2019. This map is a snapshot of farm real estate values in different states. The report includes more such maps. USDA Land Values 2019 PDF […]
Pattern in Islamic Art is an online archive of over 5,000 beautiful Islamic patterns. Images sortable by museum, monument, region, town, materials used (ceramic tiles, plasterwork, wood, etc.), or by architectural feature (decorative panel, doors & doorways, lattice-work, etc.) Excellent images and documentation. Images are also available in prints. The image above is from Pattern in Islamic Art: Grand Mosquée de Paris This mosque was founded in 1926 and built […]
City-data.com is a not too cluttered easy to use comprehensive source of demographic data for cities in the United States. Interactive maps. Links that work. Information on Schools, Neighborhoods, Assessments, Restaurants, and even Sex Offenders. By collecting and analyzing data from a variety of government and private sources, we’re able to create detailed, informative profiles for every city in the United States. From crime rates to weather patterns, you’ll find the […]
Piping frosting in lace patterns is one of the ways to create an elegant cake. It also takes much more practice than cutting out fondant flowers. From and Craftsy: Everything You Need to Know About Piping Techniques Since piping is most often done on vertical surfaces, practicing on a glass or jar gives the best learning experience. I’m not about to try this but it’s nice to know how if I […]
Not Just for Dating Anymore With the growth of social media for networking, the profile picture has become a major decision for anyone who participates. Which picture will people click on in LinkedIn? Who will follow me in Twitter? Am I turning people off with my stern look on Facebook? Is my smiley smile too smiley? What do I do with my eyes? What should I wear? On OKCupid, “the […]
