My reaction every time I see the total on the grocery store cash register. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
Before leaving California I provided several illustrations of the actual price increases at a specific restaurant for the identical meal. Since moving to Williston, North Dakota I don’t have a lot of good data points yet. We’re still going to different restaurants and ordering different items so I don’t have a useful point-to-point comparison.
Yesterday my son gave me a painful example.
Last March he ordered one foot-long sub sandwich, a 6 inch sandwich, and one soda.
The price?
$13.26.
Yesterday he ordered the exact same items from the same restaurant.
All photos by James Ulvog taken on the U.S.S. Midway museum in San Diego, California.
Official records reported Capt. E. Royce Williams shot down one North Korean fighter on November 18, 1952. He was also credited with one “probable.” This was back during the Korean War. He was awarded Silver Star Medal at the time.
We now know there was far more to the story.
He actually shot down four fighters.
Oh yeah, they weren’t North Korean MiGs flown by North Koreans.
They were Soviet fighters. With Soviet markings. Stationed inside the USSR. Flown by Russian pilots.
ST MARTIN, ANTILLES – JULY 19, 2013: Boeing 747 aircraft on therunway at Princess Juliana International Airport in Netherlands Antilles in July 19, 2013 in St Martin.
The half century production run of the iconic 747 has come to an end.
On December 6, 2022 the last 747s that will be built rolled off the bone production line in Everett, Washington.
Number 1,574 in the production run is finished. It will be test flown by Boeing pilots, painted, then delivered to the customer, a cargo and charter carrier – not a major airline.
I-7 launch facility, assigned to 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB. Photo by James Ulvog.
Apparently there has been a massive overhaul in the technology behind codes used to launch nuclear weapons. Changes are significant enough the equipment used to generate codes and manufacture the physical documents have been put on display at the National Cryptologic Museum.
To all veterans pulling alert today, standing watch, filling supply orders, or who have not gotten a “thank you” lately, please know your service and sacrifice is appreciated. I again accepted a thank you on your behalf.
This summer, my cousin Sonia and her quilting group honored me with the gift of a gorgeous quilt. They gave it to me in appreciation for my service in the U.S. Air Force so many years ago. I pulled underground alert on the plains of South Dakota to keep the Evil Empire at bay. I had a small part holding back the Soviet bear.
Photos here don’t do full justice to the quilt, which I shall long cherish. My wife and I recently moved into our new home, so I have not yet be able to properly hang in on a wall.
For all those who have served, please know this lovely quilt expresses the appreciation felt by a group of quilters in Minnesota for all those who have stood on the front lines, kept the supplies moving, preparing those going to line service, or otherwise helped keep the U.S. military machine working.
To all of you, I say thank you.
A hearty thank you to all of you from my cousin, her group, and many more grateful Americans you will never meet.
I extend a hearty thank you to my cousin and her group.
The Covid vaccination is 95% effective against infection.
That is what we were told by every public health official and media outlet in order to persuade us to get the shots.
95%.
It has been so effective we should get a booster. And another booster. And now there is a brand new fifth booster, because the previous four worked so well.
This is the first in a series of posts explaining the effectiveness statements were not only false, but were known to be false at the time.
We start with a survey of how incredibly effective the vaccine has been in 2022:
CDC director
10/31/22 – Center for Disease Control – Update on CDC Director and COVID-19 – I cannot describe this more lastingly than merely quoting the straight line offered by the CDC press release:
It is imperative we remember what our political, public health care, and education leaders did to us and our children during the Covid shutdowns. Please remember what their sycophantic worshippers in most media outlets did as well.
Remember the economic, social, and educational damage they caused.
Remember the devastation to our spiritual, physical, and emotional health.
Remember especially those religious leaders who were thrilled to close churches, stop communion, and end fellowship. Some leaders tried to minister to their flock while they reluctantly followed mandatory government dictats. Some faithful pastors decided today is not the day for prison.
Others however, were thrilled to aggressively follow every whim of political and health-sector officials whose visible desire was to shut down worship.
My family worshipped in a church where local leadership was quite pleased to shut down tight. Regional and national leadership was oh so ready to bend the knee.
Remember those religious leaders who bowed down to Caesar (first century AD), or the Emperor (1500s), or the governor (today). Also remember those whose focus was bowing to Christ instead of Caesar, the Emperor, or the governor.
(This discussion cross-posted to my other blogs because it is time to stand for religious and political freedom.)
A recent thread on Twitter compiled a partial list of what these leaders did. Please remember.
Saw lots and lots of buffalo on a visit to the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park a week ago. (Yeah, yeah, they are actually American Bison, but I am still gonna’ call ’em buffalo.)
In June of this year, I moved my accounting firm to Williston, North Dakota.
My wife and I have been wanting to be near our son and his family. So the simple reason for the move is “chasing the grandkids.” It is also good to be out of California, with increasing congestion, skyrocketing cost of living, and deteriorating economy.
With the wonders of technology, I will be able to serve my clients just as easily from Williston, North Dakota as from Alta Loma, California. Only visible change on the website will be the mailing address.
Today we celebrate the most important day in the history of the world.
Easter.
We remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
On the preceding Friday, he was brutally executed by the Roman government at the insistence of the religious leaders. His sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for sins which we earned and fully deserve.
Was that sacrifice on our behalf accepted by God the Father? Are we pardoned from our sins?
The Sunday morning resurrection proves that yes, the sacrifice by the Messiah was accepted by God the Father as payment in full for your sins and my sins.
As a result, those who have faith in His atoning death are declared free of sin (crazy as that seems, it is true). We will be welcomed into heaven to spend eternity in glory.
Another rendition of this hymn, from Presbyterian Church of Novato with Katy Hatfield (organ), Walter Burge (vocals), & Siri Louie (vocals) on April 4, 2021.
Minuteman II on static display at March Air Base Museum. Photo by James Ulvog.
On 3/10/22, Mr. Cole Smith attacked the integrity of U.S. Air Force officers pulling alert across the northern plain states as they monitor their ICBMs and maintain readiness to launch in the horrible event the President were to make the decision to do so.
He also attacked the safety and reliability of the missiles and warheads with an unsupported claim that
“…there have been more near-misses than the world knows.”
His support for attacking crew integrity is citation of a drug-incident involving 11 officers in 2013 and a test-cheating scandal involving 34 officers. Those are old reports (I won’t bother looking up date of the cheating incident) and well know to all.
Support for the more near-misses claim is an accident at Little Rock Air Force Base back in 1980.
Um, that was 42 years ago.
The incident involved a Titan II ICBM. The Titans were liquid fueled. They have long since been retired with the last one pulled off alert in 1987.
Source: Legislative Analyst’s Office, California Legislature
As I have long been predicting, the legalized marijuana industry in California is struggling. The illegal market is still dominant. Tax collections are far below projection.
Articles for your consideration today:
Legal-marijuana executives report their industry is on verge of collapse.
Tax collections fall short of projection.
Actual tax collections in state of California.
Previous articles on burdens the state of California has placed on the legalized industry can be found by clicking on the regulation experiment tag.
Crude oil production averaged 1,113,410 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) in September 2021.
Production has been in the range of 1.1 or 1.2 million BOPD since August 2020. Production was 1.44M BOPD back in March 2020 before the pandemic hit. Production quickly dropped to 0.9M in both May and June 2020 before climbing to around 1.1M since then.
Graph at the top of this post shows average production since January 2008. The blue line is total production in the state with the red line showing production from the Bakken pool only, which also includes the Sanish, and Three Forks pools. The blue line essentially excludes the old wells and areas which have been in production since before the current boom started in the 2008 timeframe. You can easily see the radical impact of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
For a longer-term perspective, check out the average production in the state since 1990:
