civil engineering – Page 2

An Army of Many Genders

June 18, 2017

Lest you think I’m joking, go read the article cited down below. It is absolutely true. Our esteemed US Army has done it again. Again?

Yes, remember the recruiting slogan a couple of years, “An Army of One.” Bet that one put fear in our enemies hearts. Or, “Be All You Can Be.” Where the Army was willing to take anything as long as it was as good as it could be. Not necessarily up to any particular standard, you see, just the best it could be.

The slogan writers for the USA are not the cream of the crop. Well now, the same standards are leaking over into the official US Army gender department, or whatever it is called.

To keep abreast of modern trends, the Army of Many is becoming gender tolerant. It has issued guidelines for personnel to deal with the myriad of gender choices it faces. Like when a guy becomes a girl and vice versa. Quoting the guidelines, “All soldiers will use billeting, bathroom and shower facilities associated with their gender marker.”

Like what, a tattoo on the forehead? I thought gender markers were the presence of 2 X or an X and Y chromosome. Silly me.

It even cautions that one gender may find themselves showering with a soldier of the opposite anatomy, anatomy that just hasn’t had the surgical correction yet. “… there will be ‘mixed genitalia’ in military showers and sleeping quarters…”

“Moms and dads in America need to know this before they send their sons and daughters to military service.”

Shouldn’t the Army be at least as up to date as the elementary schools of San Francisco?

The guidelines even “…cover all sorts of scenarios – from shower stall etiquette to “transfemale” soldiers deployed to anti-LGBT countries.” I know, I know, you thought that armies were supposed to kick collective asses not kowtow to social mores of the lesser nation. What the hell is shower stall etiquette besides don’t drop the soap?

But the coup de grace is, “The Army has begun mandatory transgender sensitivity training for…dealing with a male soldier who becomes pregnant.”

I think someone in the Army watched Junior and thought it was a documentary.

From your grumpy male Uncle/Brother Dave, sharing guidelines “…mandated during the Obama Administration.”

Weary

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/06/16/armys-transgender-policy-includes-guidelines-on-male-pregnancies.html

http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/08/san-francisco-elementary-school-switches-to-gender-neutral-bathrooms-for-little-kids/

Wind farms and rotisserie chicken

7/2017

As I sit here contemplating my glass of iced tea, I thought of something. It came to mind that the globing-warming crowd has been predicting that the oceans are gonna rise and coastal communities are gonna go swimming. But, something is not right in this argument.

Now, I am not a physicist, but I decided to try an experiment. I filled my glass full of water and poured it into a graduated beaker (if you haven’t been to science class for a while, that is what scientists call a measuring cup). The glass held 12 0z of water. Then I filled it with ice and water and measured. It held 12 oz of ice and water. I then let the ice water warm to room temperature, i.e. I let the ice melt. Shazam, there was less than 12 oz of water after the ice melted.

OK, so I didn’t really do this experiment but it can be confirmed easily even if you don’t trust the internet for correct answers. See, water expands when it freezes as opposed to other substances that shrink when they freeze.

So, the global-warmed melted ice in the oceans will lower the oceans, not raise them.

But what about the land ice melt runoff? Huh, Uncle Dave?

Just maybe, the runoff will bring the shrunken coastline back to where it was thereby preserving the exorbitantly inflated coastal property values?

But, what if the windmill huggers are right?

To prevent global warming, as the story goes, wind farms will save the planet because it will decrease the dependence on fossil fuels. Most can see the use of wind-generated energy (actually the energy is not generated at all, it is just converted from one form to another) to reduce the dependence on fossil-fuel-generated energy, but it takes a real visionary to see the use of wind sails for personal and commercial transportation, for moving products across this great nation and for powering all those energy consuming devices still miles from any generator. Enter the law of unintended consequences and friction.

As we increase the Earth’s resistance to rotation, that is what all those windmill blades do, the velocity (speed) of the earth’s rotation may eventually slow down. As the rotation slows, the time allowed for the sun’s rays to contact the earth will increase, increasing the core temperature and causing the ice to thaw. Hence, the oceans will rise. Exactly what the wind farms were touted to prevent.

I prefer to think it in terms of the rotisserie chicken on a July 4th BBQ. If the rotisserie turns at the proper speed, you get nice juicy run off and moist perfect chicken. But, if it turns too slow, or not at all, you get dry burnt crap on one side and near raw chicken on the other.

Just what the global-warmers are offering us, half ass’ed chicken crap.

Just some more random thoughts from your grumpy Uncle/Brother Dave.

Weary.

Global Warming Gardening

4/2017

I worked out in the shop and in the garden, briefly, on Friday. It was about 73′ F. I got over heated and nauseated. Monday morning (April, the friggin 17th of APRIL!), I got off work and there were snow and ice on the windshield of the truck. The highway west was closed over the bridge for a couple of hours ’cause of the wrecks. It was a sheet of ice.

I think it’s supposed to be 67’F today.

Happy global warming gardening! Your grumpy Uncle/Brother Dave.

Weary.

We Survived the Weather Despite…

7/2017

On another topic, whew!! We survived.

Wife and I went on a road trip. I had looked at the weather online before leaving, while on the road I just stuck my nose in the air every day. By the 3d day, snow and ice hit, as expected. It wasn’t much, but about 3 inches of snow fell just about the time we hit Salina, with little to no ice. But it wasn’t until Topeka, on the way back after the worst had passed, that I fully understood the ramifications.

Just east of Topeka (100 miles later), was a KDOT text message board telling me to be careful because there was a Winter Weather Advisory out. And to think I might have made it all the way back home without knowing that! We are so lucky to live in a state that cares, seeing that they used Obama/our money to keep us safe.

Let’s be safe out there, don’t text and drive.

Your grumpy Uncle/brother Dave.

Weary

Rain Forest Resort

7/2017

We were talking about vacations at work the other day. I didn’t have much to offer, being the ultimate passive/aggressive recluse that I am, until someone mentioned this really cool place in the jungles of Costa Rica.

They have made an arbor-resort in the rain forest. He described these luxurious rooms, shops and restaurants in several stories in the trees. Up there high! There were suspension bridges and zip lines to get from here to there. You could spend as long as you could afford “up there” and never set foot on the ground until you left, or fell. Those who like to commune with nature, be close to trees in order to admire their majesty and return to a more primeval style of living do so and can help save the planet in the process.

A high-quality recording of chain saws working played at night at about 3 am on a windy night where the trees are swaying. That’d perk-em up right quick.

More superfluous musings from your grumpy Uncle Dave.

Weary