He was a crook and a liar but difficult to dislike. He was a true populist in the mold of Huey Long. I was tempted to call him a true Louisiana Original, perhaps it is better to say he is what nearly every Louisiana politician (and many outside of Louisiana) aspire toward.
A Crime Against Humanity in Brazil
Bolsanaro should spend the rest of his life in jail for crimes against humanity. From the BBC:
Covid-19 pandemic: ‘Everything you should not do, Brazil has done’
Cats of Brutalism
So proud that our cat, Rino, was selected for today’s Cats of Brutalism.
More Texas Power Grid Corruption and Incompetence
I do hear there is a run on generators and solar panels in Texas. From CBS news.
Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at Rice University, says the Governor’s demands will not improve things—in fact he says they may make things worse.
Governor Abbott signed two ERCOT reform bills last month, he said the job was done
Masters of Reality
Funny I have finally gotten around to reading Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States which covers similar ground. From the Baffler.
Masters of Reality
Cheap Renewable Energy
Seems to be the beginning of the end for non-renewable energy. Not a moment too soon. Note the slopes of the lines, too. From Visual Capitalist.
Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources is Now Cheaper than Ever
January 6 Capitol Riot
Required viewing.
Direct Drive 2.0
The mower project has been put aside for a few weeks. It seems I stripped the adaptor that connects the motor to the transmission. It was lightweight aluminum and I wasn’t sure it would hold up well, and it didn’t. I started looking at shaft adaptors again. I considered these originally but I was mostly worried about damaging the motor and transmission shaft. I found this shaft adaptor on Amazon that looked interesting. Turns out with a small amount of filing it was an all but perfect fit. It is also lightweight aluminum but it is a larger device that is certainly an improvement from the bolts and drilled pulley I had rigged up.
i was loathe to take everything apart again, but it wasn’t so bad. I was able to get the adaptor fitted to both shaft ends and even gave it a brief test. Seems solid and had less vibration. I will put the seat and fenders back on and try it out in a proper test run in the next few days.
We thought it wouldn’t affect us
One problem with the idea of “global warming” is that people in cooler climates might think “I wouldn’t mind it being a few degrees warmer”. Unfortunately it isn’t going to happen like that.
‘We thought it wouldn’t affect us’: heatwave forces climate reckoning in Pacific north-west
U.S. Legal Misogyny
Noticed these three stories near the top of my news feed today. Ladies, ever get the feeling the US legal system is heavily stacked against you? No matter how rich or famous you are?
Rich, famous guy convicted of drugging and raping dozens of women has conviction overturned.
Bill Cosby released from prison after conviction vacated
Famous actresses involved in “sex cult” run by man set to prison.
Allison Mack sentenced to 3 years in prison for her role in NXIVM sex cult
Famous singer still under her father’s “conservatorship” a dozen years later.
Steven A. Guccione 