Today's News
This summer has been interesting in a number of ways, but here at Adams Pond, I can assure you it's interesting because it's June, and it's Texas, and it's almost as if summer hasn't arrived yet. I can remember having our first 100-degree day in April. Thus far, it hasn't happened yet. The forecast promises 100-degree-plus days next week, but that puts us into the middle of June, and that's unprecedented. Personally, I'm not upset over this, but there are a lot of folks out there who are directly affected by it. One of them is my wife, so I am indirectly affected because what affects her ultimately affects both of us. She's in the air conditioning business (in case you didn't know). As an industry, HVAC companies and manufacturers make the bulk of their money over the summer. If you own an air conditioner and it's over 100 degrees outside, the reason is obvious. You want to keep that hot weather OUTSIDE. That results in air conditioners breaking down, which translates into business for HVAC companies. That business translates into work for sales people, service people, and installers. Let's not forget about the people who make money through advertising. It's an industry that keeps a lot of other businesses working. Thus, the cooler weather, whatever its cause, really is something to sweat about.
Sandy has been in her pool only two times since it was set up. That's because the water hasn't warmed up enough. We cut away the tree cover directly over it so the sun would shine on it, but even when it shines, it's not heating the pool up enough. Next week's warmer weather should make that possible, and since our granddaughter is coming for a visit, that's doubly nice as she will get to play in the water with her grandmother.
Who's Running for President?
This is just a list without political commentary. At present, we have ten people running for President on the GOP side, three on the Democratic side, and one from the People's Party (which I hadn't even heard of until getting the info for this section). I'm already burned out on politics, but that doesn't mean I'm burrowing in and maintaining a blind eye to what's going on. We all need to pay attention, as the future of this country is at stake.
Republicans
- Donald Trump
- Nikki Haley (former Governor of SC and former Ambassador to the UN)
- Vivek Ramaswamy (former biotech executive)
- Larry Elder (conservative talk show host)
- Asa Hutchinson (former Governor of Arkansas)
- Tim Scott (Senator - SC)
- Ron DeSantis (Florida Governor)
- Mike Pence (Former Vice President)
- Chris Christie (Former NJ Governor)
- Doug Burgum (ND Governor)
Democrats
- President Biden
- Marianne Williamson (Author & Spiritual Advisor)
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Environmental Author)
People Party
- Cornel West (Professor & Progressive Activist)
Obviously, we can expect some to drop off as others move forward. I expect a lot of these folks anticipate making a lot of money from book sales and appearances, and they may even jockeying around a bit for positions with the winner. Pay attention. As I said, this is not your normal America. The changes many of these candidates want to make are going to impact the country and affect you, your children, and your grandchildren.
More Shootings
According to the Gun Violence archive (Gun Violence Archive) there have been 18,431 deaths due to gun violence as of today's date in 2023. The total number of injuries is 15,462. That means you have a better chance of getting killed than just getting injured in a shooting incident. Take a look at the map this website provides:
Also alarming is the following chart:
I often tell people "I was an English major for a reason." That reason was that I discovered sometime in my junior year of high school that although I could handle geometry and algebra, I didn't particularly enjoy them. Thus, I knew I wasn't going to take calculus, physics, or even further explore chemistry because there were concepts I never quite understood. I could memorize formulas, and I could apply them, but I never understood what a sine or a cosine was much less molar values. HOWEVER, these numbers I can comprehend. I can't explain why anyone can look at them and say we don't need to address the problem of guns in this country. I'm reminded of a line from the musical 1776: "Well, in all my years, I ain't never heard, seen, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't be talked about." They were talking about the discussion of independence.
We need to discuss it, folks. We need to get together and just talk about it. All sides. A solution can be reached. It just requires the courage to admit there's a problem. The numbers can't be denied. We're talking about a human toll that needs to be dealt with.
Linux Update
I'll make this section short (maybe) because this entry has already become long enough to put some people to sleep.
"I'm Mike, and I'm a distrohopper."
If there was a support group for people addicted to moving from one Linux distribution to another, I might have to be a member. There are a lot of us. When you use Windows, you have the current version, an older version, or maybe even a preview of the next version. The same thing goes with a Macintosh. With Linux--well--there are hundreds of versions. Within each version, there may be multiple flavors. Flavors are made up of different types of desktops. For instance, one of the oldest Linux versions is Ubuntu. Ubuntu currently has several different flavors: (1) Gnome, (2) KDE, (3) XFCE, (4) Mate, (5) Cinnamon, (6) Budgie, (7) LXDE, (8) Unity, (9) Kylin, and (10) Studio. Each of those flavors does the same thing, but it may do it differently. It may look entirely different. Just as we don't have just one car model, we don't have just one type of Linux distribution. The big difference is LINUX IS FREE.
Free means there's no reason to stick with just one version. In fact, you can have several at the same time and just select the one you want when the computer boots up.
I think the version I like best is Linux Mint (the Cinnamon version). I keep going back to it when I've been distrohopping (the act of hopping from one distribution to another). However, the current version I'm running is just different enough and just usable enough that I may stick with it for a while. It's got a very unusual name: POP! OS. It's very usable, and it's a little quirky and playful in some of its design. I'll keep it for a while and let you know how it turns out.
That's enough for now.
Take care. Stay safe.
cma
No comments:
Post a Comment