May 26, 2025
Between Beer & Barbecue, do Ponder
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, 1915
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I went into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes," when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
Rudyard Kipling, 1890
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People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Variously attributed to Winston Churchill or George Orwell
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
11:56 AM
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May 21, 2025
Riot Season
Laughing Wolf has a good overview of the situation we find ourselves in on multiple fronts.
Read the whole thing. It IS long but it is the best overview I've seen.
I think he's right that we are going into riot season. The NGOs and Democrat activists are looking at their money spigot being turned off by D.O.G.E. and they are rather annoyed at having their sinecures disrupted. They are coming to realize thar they are sitting on the last pile of money they will get from the taxpayers...unless they can intimidate enough people to halt the reforms that threaten their rice bowls.
They are likely to get quite violent this summer.
Foreign adversaries are likely to act as spoilers in the coming unpleasantness, and bad actors have placed a great many operatives throughout the country over the 4 years of the previous administration.
We are likely in for a ride.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
06:53 PM
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Updates and Wound Care
Last week I learned that while applying antibiotics/antiseptics when initially dressing a wound is important, continuing to do so every time one changes the bandage will prevent healing as it kills people cells as well as infections. This, Ironically enough will inhibit the wound from closing up, making it much more likely that an infection will find its way into the wound during the extended healing time, no matter how well it's wrapped, especially if doing yard work.
I am ambulatory now and come off the antibiotics Friday. I returned to work today and discovered that lying in bed for a week with one's foot elevated does NOTHING to prepare one for returning to a very physical job.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
06:41 PM
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May 06, 2025
Weather Patterns
Apropos of nothing at all.
This .gif shows sunlight reductions that are expected in the months after 100-150 10-15 kiloton nukes go off in a general nuclear exchange between India & Pakistan in May given seasonal wind patterns. Late April to mid-late May is the time that such an event would have maximum effect on the start of growing seasons worldwide, hence the dates on the .gif (which is over a decade old IIRC). While not noticeable to most people on the round such reductions have the potential to have a nontrivial effect on crop yields and growing seasons for the rest of the year. The good news is that soot, the mechanism of the reduction, will not persist long. The bad news, given the current situation on the subcontinent, is that average yields of the weapons involved are now believed to be 10 to 40 kilotons and both countries have about twice as many nukes as they did when the map was made.
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