Open Thread 7-28-23 - Getting Away

Work, pressure, finding both relief and release...

We are back in the Texas Hill Country. I had the 27th and 28th clear from court, so we got gone!

I have friends who travel the world, or to a place as little as 50 miles away, to just get away from their daily grind.

Now, you can get away by turning off your TV, your NPR radio broadcast, and breaking up with that lover/spouse who turns out to be a test in your anger management course. (Most of my divorce cases fall into that category.)

We need a break from the pervasive propaganda, the demands, and laws that constantly control our behavior.

Willow City Loop.jpg
Willow City Loop, Willow City, Texas.
Texas Hill Country.

It was once about where we sit, where we stand, but now, it is what we say, as the 1st Amendment is the current freedom that is being taken from us.

I will be checking in, will likely be reporting to you all about how shitty driving through Austin is, and might have a wild turkey picture to post before the day is done.

Once, when I was maybe 13 or so, my liver was failing. I was in the hospital for 6 weeks. They do not do that now. That was in the 60s. My parents would try to visit me often, and I asked them to bring me World Book Encyclopedias to read to pass the time. In 6 weeks, I think I got from "A" to "W".

In that time, I got away from the forced isolation by learning about the world I could not see from that hospital bed. The education we now get just might be propagandized. Just maybe. /s

Anyway...

Every time any of us get away, we get happier.

There's this:

I can't count how many times I have seen Willie, Waylon, or been to Luckenbach, I can't count how many times I looked out of a hospital window, but I can say, it was all good. A great escape.

Oh... reminds me:

Escape anymore is going, doing, getting away from the stress of this world. War, protests, constant mind control.

Maybe, we can escape like this:

I admit, this last one makes me cry every time I hear it, and I play it anyway, so, like Dear One says, I am a goober.

Whats happening where you are? Speak up, speak out, any topic, open thread.

By the time publish this, I will have seen wild turkeys. Probably a few deer too. Will do my best to get a picture.

Cowboy Boots on the Fence Posts
3:05
Willow City Loop, just a few miles north of Fredericksburg, Texas.It's one of the most scenic roads in the Texas Hill Country.
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I am having a blast! I no sooner sat down on the back porch before I had spotted 6 deer!
Hope everyone is doing great, and getting away when need be.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Sima's picture

@on the cusp
That sounds great! Hope you see many more, and some wild turkeys Smile

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

@Sima at my final update.
22 deer.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

glad to hear y'all escaped to the hills
say howdy to the deer and turkey's
say bye to the stresses of life

A little Texas Flood headed your way ..

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@QMS We haven't seen or heard any turkeys. The deer make up for it.
I am so far away from the highway, I hear no auto traffic at all.
Have a great weekend, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

It is nice to get out of the routine and have different experiences. As you suggest, it doesn't have to be far away..just away. In my case, so I don't see all the projects that need doing. Been out mowing in the cool of the morning. I do just a bit at the time to save both me and the old tractor from over heating.

It is going to be another hot dry week...two in a row. I need to put on deck sealant at the camp house and downstairs deck, so it's good weather for that project. May get in a swim in the river this week too. Crazy how quickly your time fills.

Well thanks for the OT and have a great little holiday!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout We are experiencing the full effects of the heat dome. Any outdoors activities are hugely stressful.
Get your mowing and deck work done at the right time and right pace, friend.
Then, I highly recommend getting away for a while!
Good to hear from you, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Sima's picture

@Lookout
Go out mowing in the morning when it's cooler. I've been hemming and hawing about getting mowing done. But it's gotta be done! The goats aren't eating everything over the 13 acres!

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

usefewersyllables's picture

schedule "no-tech" or Amish evenings now and again, where the only thing we allow are candles and a single soft playlist that we start at the beginning and that doesn't get touched until we're ready to turn in for the night.

No buttons, no mice, no clicking, no screens. They are incredibly restorative. Speaking of which, we haven't done one since March, so we are way freakin' overdue...

Enjoy the downtime!

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables Very inventive!
Low cost, too!
We had a fun visit from the ranch owner's old German Shepherd, "Shep". We guess that he was likely a real bad ass when he was a young dog.
I hope your music selection will be wonderful.
Thanks for dropping by, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Willow City Loop is a great ride and one that is incredible during Bluebonnet season. Enjoy Luckenbach and surrounds and hope it restores your souls!
Am in Santa Fe and getting ready to do a walk along the Santa Fe river.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

@jakkalbessie The Loop was solid wildflowers this past spring. It was fairly rainy.
We see pastures along the Hill Country highways where ranchers keep their livestock fenced out of certain sections that are actually planted with bluebonnets. That's real dedication to the wildflower culture of the state. After we eat Mexican food in Fredericksburg, we will spend some time in Luckenbach and Albert.
The big concert is tomorrow evening at Albert Hall.
Have a wonderful weekend, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

mimi's picture

easy said, hard to be done.

It's a dog life, so I am thinking of getting a dog. Oh gosh, how many elderly women I see courageously walking their dogs in my meighborhood. I don't want to become one of them. All my neighbors are well over 75. Would be nice to see some kids running around.

Sigh. I have to get out of my depressive thoughts. I want to get away to Hawaii. Why the fuck is it so far away?

What gets most of my nerves is that people around me never give a thought about some people not having the money for getting away. I don't have a car and TPTB make sure I am not using or getting my sisters car. Assholes the whole fucking bunch. I have so many revenge thoughts of how I can pay them back for their inhumanity.

ok enough for being negative.

Thanks for the flash mob video. Long time I hadn't seen one. I love them. It is hard not to worry. Makes me feel like an idiot not to worry. I ain't a fucking idiot. Or may be I am. Oh, fuck that too.

Enjoy your get away trips. Just enjoy everything. I cut off the TV. I need to start reading again.
hmm, the glasses are not strong enough.

so, whatever. We will make it. Wink

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@mimi @mimi have an arrogance that is unfathomable to me.
Your authorities seem to be punishing you for having a disabled sister. I am so sorry.
Get than plan in place and get to Hawaii and you son, friend.
edit: my typing sucks when on vacation, it seems. Get that.....your son...

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

mimi's picture

@on the cusp

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inflation what so ever.raising interest rates will cure everything

Colgate-Palmolive isn't the only company taking advantage of weak government oversight.

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soryang's picture

@humphrey ...that perhaps US manufacturers would kept rebate benefit for themselves. If that's not a fair inference, it also said that it's not clear who would get the benefit of the rebate, manufacturer, distributor, or consumer.

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語必忠信 行必正直

@soryang Tax dollars handed to car manufacturers, no questions asked.
This whole rebate scam needs more light shining on it.
Thanks for dropping in, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@humphrey How else can they be increasing their profits by taking everything the working class and poor have, one purchase for necessities at a time.
Thanks for raising my hackles! Gives me some energy!
Thanks for dropping by, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

I most strongly suggest that you park the car before finishing the Wild Turkey, there is really no big rush to send us a picture of the empty.

Back when we had the trailer we kept it packed to the point that we could finish loading it for a 2 to 3 day trip quite quickly. We are 39 miles from a state campground on a low bluff overlooking a beach and connected to a lengthy coastal walking/biking/riding trail. Whenever we had to get away, we would simply fun over there for a few days, if not further. It wasn't all that fr, but it was still "away".

We too really desperately needed some time away and ran down the coast about 250 miles for a couple of days (against my Doctor's express instructions, but you only live once.)

Thanks for the music
have a great weekend, be well, and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris And we can have a real adventure 70 miles away.
Different sights and sounds, and we generally strike up a conversation with locals, really enjoy their take on things.
My Wild Turkey preference is feathered.
We all know Doctors do not know every damn thing!
Have a great weekend, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

undermine RFK Jr's presidential effort.

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snoopydawg's picture

.

The WHO just announced that the world is in a boiling phase and temperatures will be hotter than ever. But what caused it? Well for one thing many people are pointing at the sun and how it’s going through a hotter phase, but here’s something else.

Ready to learn something? Let’s meet the historic, record-shattering Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption of 2022, which I bet you never heard of. Back in January 2022, you were probably distracted by covid mandates or maybe by Biden calling himself “Senator” again. The short version is an underwater Pacific Ocean volcano named Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, 490 feet under the waves, massively erupted, bigger than any other modern eruption, even bigger than Mount Pinatubo.

You never heard about it since it was underwater and nobody died. But the erupting lava instantly vaporized fantastic, unimaginable amounts of sea water, which billowed into the atmosphere, changing the water composition of Earth’s atmosphere and heating it up for years. In only a few days, the superheated water from the Hunga Tonga eruption blanketed the globe, pole to pole, East to West.

The eruption was so big it could be clearly seen from space.

Here’s an August 2022 headline about the eruption, straight from the NASA website:

6FA5BD2E-A993-4A0C-BBD5-0327106BB90F.jpeg

“Unprecedented” is accurate but doesn’t do it justice. Here’s how the rocket-slash-climate experts at NASA described Hunga Tonda as one of the most dramatic events in modern history:

When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to temporarily affect Earth’s global average temperature.

The not only injected ash into the stratosphere but also large amounts of water vapor, breaking all records for direct injection of water vapor, by a volcano or otherwise, in the satellite era. …The excess water vapor injected by the Tonga volcano … could remain in the stratosphere for several years. This extra water vapor could influence atmospheric chemistry, boosting certain chemical reactions that could temporarily worsen depletion of the ozone layer. It could also influence surface temperatures … since water vapor traps heat.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Over the next year it would turn out that NASA badly underestimated the amount of water Hunga Tonga vaporized into the atmosphere. Current estimates are three times higher than the original: scientists now think it was closer to 150,000 metric tons, or 40 trillion gallons, of super-heated water instantly injected into the atmosphere. Talk about a greenhouse. Water vapor — humidity — is a much more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

A new study published in April this year analyzed the 1-year aftereffects:

Read the rest here. There is a lot more important information in the article that you don’t want to miss. Like how the Arctic ice started melting during an unusually cold winter…..

And of course let’s not forget about Biden blowing up the Nordstream pipelines that released billions of tons of methane into the atmosphere. But make sure that you separate your garbage and drive less and stop flying in order to do your part for climate change. One jet flying for 1 hour uses as much fuel as a family of 4 uses all year. Plus remember the pictures of hundreds of private jets at the parasites meetings around the globe throughout the year. I wonder how much fuel they use?

Hope you guys are having fun in the Texas hills. Hopefully it’s a break from the heat.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg than at home. Still, we are going to take a drive to Albert Hall to listen to some music, make inquiries about how the dance hall will be cooled during the concert tomorrow night. We both packed shorts and dressy slacks. We are thinking we may just wear shorts.
Biden is also opening up public lands to drilling. At the same time, he is trying to outlaw gas stoves and grills.
I read some article about TPTB having a climate change summit in Spain. They all flew in via private jets, then made a big deal out of riding bicycles to the summit's building.
It appears the 99% should be shamed, punished, behaviors modified, access to energy limited, so it can be reserved for the use and benefit of the 1%. We do not deserve it. Only they do.
Take good care of my client. Give Sam a hug for me.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

@on the cusp

W Virginia pipeline that is going to pour a lot of crap into the air including the so called liberals justices. The court is supposed to rule on the constitutional rights on bills, but instead they rule for big business instead of we the people. Gawd I’m so fcking sick of the corruption.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg are the biggest donors in Texas elections. That includes the judges.
But, switch to EV cars, recycle, and stop eating meat and dairy products to save the planet.
I won't type what I am thinking.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Creosote.'s picture

@snoopydawg
I think it's changed the sunsets, now about 9 pm bright clear orange, intense violet sky
Street trees look as if they've just put on two or three years of growth.
And what about the great lake near you?
Still gathering strength here. But I've got a sprouting willow branch taken from the hundred+ year old parent a germ-panicked neigbhor ordered decimated and removed for space to park cars. (They got an 'arborist' to declare it was "unsteady" to sidestep new city tree-preservation regulations.)
My collection of fine tiny hand-knit dusty cat toys will get a new home in the ground with the branch with new hope.
[sp fixes]

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6 deer sightings. 2 turtles. 2 woodpeckers. The biggest red tail hawk I have ever seen.
No wild turkeys.
It is really hot out there in the sun. Maybe they are hiding out under a shade tree.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

22 deer. Two 8 point bucks got into a little tussle.
It is dark, so that is it for the day.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp

(editors note: no ex's)
say hi to the dears!

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Texas exes are a real pain in the ass.
The concert is tonight.
We need to go exploring in Johnson City. The goal is to score a decent grocery store less than 20 miles from the ranch cottage. We have long since visited all the LBJ parks and museums.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

As I was looking out at the pasture, drinking my last cup of coffee before driving off for home, I saw 4 wild turkeys.
Huge ones!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981