https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=28099069793098829&set=gm.1857607295515088&idorvanity=226675368608297
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
President L B Johnson was notoriously demanding and constantly complained that the cabin temperature on Air Force One was either too hot or too cold, driving the flight engineers crazy with requests to change it... so they installed a temp control knob by his seat to shut him up. It wasn't wired to anything, and did nothing - except make him feel he had control over the temp
Technicians retrofitted the cabin wall near the president’s desk with a prominent, custom-built control knob labeled for climate regulation.
Unbeknownst to Johnson, the dial was completely dummy hardware, connected to no electrical wiring, pneumatic ducting, or actuator assemblies whatsoever.
Whenever the temperature felt off, the president simply reached over and turned the non-functional dial to his desired setting, fully satisfied that he was actively commanding the jet’s internal atmosphere.
The annoying complaints ceased immediately
Monday, September 21, 2026
Forrest Kirkland drew industrial machinery for a living, and took 8 summers of vacation time to copy the ancient rock paintings of the Lower Pecos by hand, in West Texas summer heat
By 1925 he had his own advertising art studio, and his specialty was illustrating industrial machinery, precise work for people who needed to see exactly what a thing looked like.
In 1933 he came across the Indian rock paintings at Paint Rock, out on the Concho.
He had not discovered them. Ranch families and travelers had known that bluff for a long while. What he saw was that the paintings were being vandalized, and he worked out that if a trained artist made accurate copies while they were still legible, something would survive no matter what happened to the rock itself.
So that is how the he spent every vacation from 1934 through 1941. He and his wife drove out to the Lower Pecos country, and to Hueco Tanks, and into the shelters above the canyons, and he lay on his back on the stone floor to work, using a scaling method he had devised himself so the copies would be true in size and proportion.
Kirkland was a founder and president of the Dallas Archeological Society a director of the West Texas Historical and Scientific Society, a regional vice president of the Texas Archeological and Paleontological Society (later the Texas Archeological Society), and a fellow of the Texas Academy of Science
He was working on making a book, and had it mocked up when he died,
the University of Texas Press published The Rock Art of Texas Indians, featuring Kirkland’s paintings and a text by W.W. Newcomb, who also developed his own numbering system for the 1967 publication (reissued in 1996) in which the plates are geographically ordered.
When Amistad International Reservoir was completed in 1969, many Lower Pecos rock art sites disappeared beneath the waves. Other rock art sites have been damaged by vandals or by natural disasters such as major floods. And all surviving rock art, particularly pictographs, are subject to continued natural weathering.
Another book is by A. T. Jackson & his broad coverage of Texas rock art
an El Camino cab over, with an extra set of wheels... I can't remember if I posted this before
the one mistake criminals make, is getting caught at random because they were doing something stupid, like getting a parking ticket. This story has a similar idiotic loose thread / achilles heel - tinted windows!
Police stopped a silver 2025 Honda Accord with out of state plates (California) driven by Gagandeep Singh for tinted side and rear windows on Interstate 80 in Union County Penn. They discovered approximately $215,000 in gold bars and nine gold coins hidden under seats and in socks.
Ajaypreet Singh, 22, and Gagandeep Singh, 24, of Elk Grove, Calif., scammed victims out of $1.2 million by posing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents
When they contacted the victim, police said he identified Gagandeep Singh and Ajaypreet Singh as the two men who picked up the gold he was coerced into purchasing.
When they contacted the victim, police said he identified Gagandeep Singh and Ajaypreet Singh as the two men who picked up the gold he was coerced into purchasing.
The suspects were in contact with the victim for three months and coerced him to purchase approximately $1 million in gold and silver coins to provide to them to avoid arrest
Mountain View Ark. has a race downtown, on a highway, during the chili cookoff contest
see these and the others on
the U.S. House of Representatives just passed a bill mandating the presence of AM radio in all new vehicles, and as standard equipment - it can't be some ad-on option or subscription-based feature.
the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act - isn't law just yet.
It still has to make it through the Senate, and clear the Commerce Committee.
If it does successfully pass through the Senate, that bill would then have to be signed off by the President.
If all of that happens, the Department of Transportation (DoT) would have one year to write a final rule, and then two years would pass before it takes effect for major automotive manufacturers
Those that build fewer than 40,000 vehicles annually for the domestic market would have four years or more to comply.
However, automakers who sell vehicles without AM radio would also have to justify its absence in the meantime.
https://fordauthority.com/2026/09/us-house-passes-bill-mandating-am-radio-for-all-vehicles
https://fordauthority.com/2026/09/us-house-passes-bill-mandating-am-radio-for-all-vehicles
What's the point? The last two major catastrophes in the country, 9-11 and Covid didn't use any public broadcast to help citizens, and in fact, the govt actively suppresses information every chance it gets, as much as it can, for as long as possible.
EG assassination of JFK, Pentagon Papers, Iran Contra, NSA mass surveillance post 9-11 (every cell phone, every GPS (car/truck/plane/phone), Monica Lewinsky, Epstein's murder, Jack Abramoff, Chappaquiddick, Wikileaks, Hurricane Katrina... hell, I just learned of the Union Pacific scam last week
So, do we need an AM radio in new cars? Nope. We don't/won't need it. If shit hits the fan, the govt isn't going to be honest about it for decades, no city can evacuate, none even has a plan, or place to go. When catastrophic things occur (annually or more often) FEMA consistently screws it up (can't transport water, ice, trailers, meds, etc)
Shankweiler's Drive-In, established in 1934, is the oldest operating drive-in theater in the world. It was just bought, and the new owners found this when cleaning up sheds and closets, the original source for sound for the drive-in when it was first built in the 1930s - pre-dating even speaker poles
Sunday, September 20, 2026
I'm guessing this was a photo arranged by someone, so, why didn't they arrange the cars so the numbers were left to right 1,2,3,4 instead of 1,4,2,3?
And was there a significance to the red stripe across the nose of the 2 and 4 Cobras, vs the White stripe across the #3?
until a moment ago, I would have said no car has ever run into a submarine... but in Aug 1961 in Lysekil Sweden:
The car's driver did not notice that the parking lot was sloped, and did not use the handbrake before leaving the car.
The car began to move downhill towards the sea, and after passing by a shipment of herring, it crossed the Södra-Hamngatan (Southern harbor street) and crashed into the bow of the HSwMS Bävern docked at the pier.
In another historic first, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 will take to the rails this November for a limited holiday tour in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Nov. 21 from Cheyenne to Denver, it's first-ever holiday tour (thank you George!)
The public is being offered a rare chance to purchase tickets for the holiday tour and ride in vintage passenger cars pulled by Big Boy as it travels from Cheyenne to Denver.
The trip will support the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and include a donation from Union Pacific’s Community Ties Giving Program.
Ticket sales for patrons of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum will begin Oct. 16. Any remaining tickets will be available to the general public Oct. 19.
a theory on why diesel and gas are so expensive
Between 2020 and 2026, 11 major U.S. oil refineries permanently closed or stopped refining crude oil. Not temporarily shut down. Permanently gone. The combined capacity lost is approximately 1.72 million barrels per day gross, roughly 900,000 barrels per day net after accounting for some expansions at remaining facilities.
These were not small operations. Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Pennsylvania, 335,000 barrels per day. Shell Convent in Louisiana, 211,146 barrels per day. Phillips 66 Alliance in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, 255,000 barrels per day. Marathon Petroleum in Martinez, California, 161,000 barrels per day. LyondellBasell in Houston, 263,776 barrels per day. Phillips 66 in Los Angeles, 138,700 barrels per day. Valero in Benicia, California, 145,000 barrels per day. And several more.
U.S. refining capacity went from a record high of 18.98 million barrels per day at the start of 2020 to approximately 17.9 million by early 2022. The lowest level since 2014. It has continued declining since. Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Phillips 66 collectively earned $12.6 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone. Their highest combined quarterly result since 2022. Their stock prices are surging. Forbes reported in July that refining stocks are soaring as crack spreads hit record highs.
Marathon is the company that permanently closed its Martinez, California and Gallup, New Mexico refineries during COVID.
Phillips 66 is the company that closed its Alliance refinery in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida, closed its Rodeo and Santa Maria facilities in California, and closed its Los Angeles refinery in October 2025.
Valero is the company that ceased operations at its Benicia, California refinery in early 2026.
The same companies that removed the capacity are the same companies posting record profits from the scarcity that removal created.
And here is where it becomes something more than just a market story.
Before COVID, the oil and gas industry spent roughly $55 to $68 million per election cycle on political contributions to federal candidates and parties. That was the steady state for a decade. $56 million in 2018. $63 million in 2020.
In the 2024 election cycle, the oil and gas industry spent $219 million to influence the election. $67 million directly to candidates. $151 million in outside spending through PACs and super PACs. 88% of it went to Republicans.
From $63 million in 2020 to $219 million in 2024. A 247% increase in a single cycle.
Annual lobbying went from $112 million in 2020 to $154 million in 2024. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group that specifically represents refining companies, doubled its own lobbying budget from a $3.4 million annual average to $6.9 million starting in 2023, the same year its members were posting record profits from constrained supply.
The refiners' trade group doubled its lobbying the same year the refiners posted their highest profits from the capacity they deliberately destroyed.
Valero tripled its political contributions from the 2022 cycle to the 2024 cycle. $1.78 million to $5.66 million. This is the same company that closed its Benicia refinery in early 2026, removing another 145,000 barrels per day, and posted billions in quarterly profits. And what are those politicians doing with all that money and all that influence? that influence?
They are not investigating why diesel is at $6 when crude does not justify it. They are not holding hearings on refining margins. They are not asking why companies that permanently removed capacity are posting record profits from the scarcity they created. They are not proposing legislation to incentivize new refining capacity or to regulate crack spreads that are running 3 to 5 times their historical average.
Then those profits get recycled into political spending. $219 million in the 2024 cycle. $154 million in lobbying in a single year. That money buys silence. It buys inaction. It buys the absence of hearings, the absence of investigations, the absence of regulation. And the cycle repeats.
Close the refineries. Tighten the supply. Wait for the next crisis. Harvest the margins. Post record profits. Spend record amounts on politicians. Protect the arrangement. Let the American consumer absorb the cost.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/157118851129581/?multi_permalinks=3531931883648244&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen
These were not small operations. Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Pennsylvania, 335,000 barrels per day. Shell Convent in Louisiana, 211,146 barrels per day. Phillips 66 Alliance in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, 255,000 barrels per day. Marathon Petroleum in Martinez, California, 161,000 barrels per day. LyondellBasell in Houston, 263,776 barrels per day. Phillips 66 in Los Angeles, 138,700 barrels per day. Valero in Benicia, California, 145,000 barrels per day. And several more.
U.S. refining capacity went from a record high of 18.98 million barrels per day at the start of 2020 to approximately 17.9 million by early 2022. The lowest level since 2014. It has continued declining since. Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Phillips 66 collectively earned $12.6 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone. Their highest combined quarterly result since 2022. Their stock prices are surging. Forbes reported in July that refining stocks are soaring as crack spreads hit record highs.
Marathon is the company that permanently closed its Martinez, California and Gallup, New Mexico refineries during COVID.
Phillips 66 is the company that closed its Alliance refinery in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida, closed its Rodeo and Santa Maria facilities in California, and closed its Los Angeles refinery in October 2025.
Valero is the company that ceased operations at its Benicia, California refinery in early 2026.
The same companies that removed the capacity are the same companies posting record profits from the scarcity that removal created.
And here is where it becomes something more than just a market story.
Before COVID, the oil and gas industry spent roughly $55 to $68 million per election cycle on political contributions to federal candidates and parties. That was the steady state for a decade. $56 million in 2018. $63 million in 2020.
In the 2024 election cycle, the oil and gas industry spent $219 million to influence the election. $67 million directly to candidates. $151 million in outside spending through PACs and super PACs. 88% of it went to Republicans.
From $63 million in 2020 to $219 million in 2024. A 247% increase in a single cycle.
Annual lobbying went from $112 million in 2020 to $154 million in 2024. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group that specifically represents refining companies, doubled its own lobbying budget from a $3.4 million annual average to $6.9 million starting in 2023, the same year its members were posting record profits from constrained supply.
The refiners' trade group doubled its lobbying the same year the refiners posted their highest profits from the capacity they deliberately destroyed.
Valero tripled its political contributions from the 2022 cycle to the 2024 cycle. $1.78 million to $5.66 million. This is the same company that closed its Benicia refinery in early 2026, removing another 145,000 barrels per day, and posted billions in quarterly profits. And what are those politicians doing with all that money and all that influence? that influence?
They are not investigating why diesel is at $6 when crude does not justify it. They are not holding hearings on refining margins. They are not asking why companies that permanently removed capacity are posting record profits from the scarcity they created. They are not proposing legislation to incentivize new refining capacity or to regulate crack spreads that are running 3 to 5 times their historical average.
Then those profits get recycled into political spending. $219 million in the 2024 cycle. $154 million in lobbying in a single year. That money buys silence. It buys inaction. It buys the absence of hearings, the absence of investigations, the absence of regulation. And the cycle repeats.
Close the refineries. Tighten the supply. Wait for the next crisis. Harvest the margins. Post record profits. Spend record amounts on politicians. Protect the arrangement. Let the American consumer absorb the cost.
McKeen Paperweights were sent to the execs of the railroads that bought McKeens, the nicer ones to the left were sent to the execs of the bigger railroads
First from left was found in Omaha, Nebraska at an antique store 20 30 years ago or so
Second found in Orangevale, CA, just miles from Sacramento, HQ of the Southern Pacific. {It seems the nicer models were ...}
Third from right had no history and was purchased around Urbana, Illinois.
Fourth was found around Smyrna, South Carolina, and I can only guess it's from the Southern Railway or Norfolk & Southern.
History of the 5th unknown
this is a one man operation, a fulfillment of a childhood obsession with cool trains
The Mt Washington cog railway!
Saturday, September 19, 2026
the CMU Buggy race is one of Carnegie Mellon's longest held traditions, began in 1920 as a variation of Soap Box Derby mixed with Bobsled .... and I've never heard of it til just now
It is the quintessential interdisciplinary sport and it's one of Carnegie Mellon University's longest held traditions. This annual student-led relay race, officially known as "Sweepstakes," partners designers, engineers, mechanics and athletes. Together, these brilliant, quirky, creative minds produce a buggy — an aerodynamic vehicle with no engine. It's powered by brains and brawn alone.
In just over two minutes, teams of power-pushing men and women race around a .84 mile track with buggy and driver leading the way around Schenley Park's Flagstaff Hill, with speeds up to 40 mph.
the two-man teams that once changed places halfway through a race and rode in everything from rain barrels with bicycle wheels to three-wheeled ash cans 99 years ago.
This year Fringe is planning to roll four different vehicles, built and maintained in the Fringe workshop in the basement of the East Campus Garage, known as the "Froom."
"We're used to saying everything with 'fr' in front of it but when we say something in front of other people, it gets them confused," said Fringe head mechanic Dave Singh, who will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.
Fringe vehicles often are named with the letter "B," like Boson, Blueshift, Bissa and Bumper. Other teams, such as Apex, often use names that connotate fire, while the SDC (Student Dormitory Committee) team, uses names such as Vice, Bane, Avarice and Malice.
"We're used to saying everything with 'fr' in front of it but when we say something in front of other people, it gets them confused," said Fringe head mechanic Dave Singh, who will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.
Fringe vehicles often are named with the letter "B," like Boson, Blueshift, Bissa and Bumper. Other teams, such as Apex, often use names that connotate fire, while the SDC (Student Dormitory Committee) team, uses names such as Vice, Bane, Avarice and Malice.
Drivers, have the closest connection to the vehicles, aside from the mechanics who spent countless hours building and maintaining individual buggies. While races are brief, each driver must log a number of practice runs to qualify to race. Teams practice nights and weekends throughout the fall and spring semesters as weather permits. Buggies are often built around drivers, so the fit can be snug, and drivers are often less than 5 feet, 3 inches in height. Most — but not all — are women.
Tishya Girdhar, a junior in neuroscience, is social chair for Fringe. She came to CMU wanting to drive, but first she had to get over being claustrophobic. She started as a mechanic and got behind the wheel for last year's Sweepstakes.
"Our team's philosophy is to teach everyone how to do everything," Girdhar said. "But I came to CMU wanting to drive. I wanted to drive so badly."
at first I thought they were racing to push a streamlined floor jack
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