The Perfect Metaphor

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia - Jeanine Pirro - stated in a court filing that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool was the "result of flawed installation by the contractor" rather than vandalism, prompting her office to drop charges against a former Olympic athlete and three other individuals.

Prosecutors noted that they received new evidence and information showing that the peeling sealant stemmed from poor contractor work and a rushed installation rather than intentional cutting by individuals.

Pirro isn't stupid and clearly knows if she pursued this nonsense she'd face disbarment. 

Speaking from the Oval Office yesterday Mr. Trump had this to say, "Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious.  Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked.  I don't know what the hell happened."

The Reflecting Pool is actually a perfect metaphor for Mr. Trump; and he created it himself. He's gonna drain it, repaint it and start over.   All the while expecting a different result. 

You read it here first. 

Any bets the algae makes a a return appearance? 

Rib Fest Reunion - The Giant Fish Fry

Growing-up the cousins on both sides of the family were pretty close.  My dad's brother and his tribe lived at the opposite end of the block.

 

Anyway, the cousins on my mom's side of the family have been consistent in helping to maintain many of the family traditions; including getting-together over the Christmas holiday and hosting a summer gathering.

 

Sun, surf and cousins reconnected for another Annual Rib Fest celebration on Legend Lake in Keshena, Wisconsin.

 

 

 

I dodge the rib event nowadays and orchestrate the Big Friday Family Fish Fry mostly because it’s so difficult to squeeze a large group into a supper club or local watering hole for Friday fish. And because I like cooking for a group. 

 

 

So I take the fry on the road. 

  

 

I recommend outdoor cooking, sparing the kitchen, and taking it under the upper deck on account of rain.

  

And a frosty Hamm’s.

 

From The Land Of Sky Blue Waters…..

 

A Technology Tale

If you're old like me some of you reading this will recall the technology boom that began in the 1990s, gained steam in 1995 and peaked in March of 2000.  This capital markets era of growth coincided with the adoption of cellular technology, the World Wide Web and embrace of the internet.  It was known as the Dot Com Boom.

As a financial guy it was hard to ignore the rapid growth in valuations of dot.com startups. Amazon comes to mind and companies that made no sense at all as they were experiencing soaring stock valuations based on a mere idea.  No assets, no sales, no earnings - just an idea.  At least Amazon was an online bookseller.  And following the peak on March 10, 2000 the tech bubble burst leading to a large market correction and a larger reckoning for those chasing the clown car and bandwagon of exaggerated stock valuations.  There's an old saying in the trade; Bears and Bulls make money - pigs get slaughtered.

Anyway, not all was ephemeral, this financial guy used some fundamental research to acquire shares of a company in 1991, or thereabouts, for not a lot of money.  This company went on to develop a nifty cellular communications device reminiscent of the communicators used by the crew of the Star Ship Enterprise.  It was a Flip Phone and it became immensely popular.

Anyway, in January of 1990 I presciently sold those shares and used the proceeds (almost entirely profit) to pay cash for the first new structure on our property.  I used the other people's money to erect a nifty Forest Construction metal shop building on a concrete slab and electrify it in relatively short order.  

Welcome to Motorola.  

Founded in Chicago on September 25, 1928 by brothers, Paul V. and Joseph E. Galvin this company has been around for awhile.  Originally established as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, like most start-ups it began on a shoestring of $563 of working capital, $750 in equipment and five employees operating out of rented quarters.  

And the Galvin brothers had a novel idea; a device that would allow a battery-powered home radio to be wired into a vehicle.  

And in 1930 the affordable car radio was born.  Paul Galvin named it the Motorola - "Motor" for motorcar and "ola" for Victrola.

Galvin Manufacturing didn't stop there.  They developed one of the first gasoline-powered car heaters capable of instant heated comfort, an AM-Band two-way police dispatching radio and with the onset of WWII the development of the Handie-Talkie, the first handheld, single operator two-way radio.  An FM-Band backpack model with greater range followed.

At the close of the war the company was firmly committed to wireless communications and in 1947 adopted Motorola as its new name.  Today you will find Motorola handheld radios used in my household for hunting and marine frequency use.  Two way police and taxi communications became their trademark line-up and persist today.  If you talk to anybody in law enforcement they will tell you:  Bad guys cannot outrun Motorola.

By 1951, home television was transitioning from a post-war novelty into a living room fixture and Motorola paired their technology with fine furniture styling and cabinet design.  It was Motorola who adopted full-view rectangular Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) that allowed the image to fill the entire screen without cropping or distorting the edges.  Motorola pioneered additional technologies that reduced glare, improved focus, high-frequency tuning, audio enhancements and chassis shielding that reduced household signal interference.

Aside from the Flip Phone, Motorola advancements in transistor technology replaced tubes, Motorola designed and built the Unified S-Band radio transceiver linking voice, video and telemetry between astronauts, the lunar lander and NASA's Mission Control.  In 1973, company engineer, Martin Cooper, made the first public handheld cellular phone call with a Motorola prototype on a Manhattan street corner.  In 1979 they introduced the 16/32 bit microprocessor that became the foundation for modern personal computing and gaming.  And it was Motorola who delivered the world's first 5G smartphone connectivity by connecting a consumer device to Verizon's commercial 5G network and bringing gigabit data speeds to everyday users in 2018.

So, now you know the rest of the story, insofar as where it's advanced.  Who knows what the future holds....

Cherry Camp

 

After Horseshoe Bay Farms discontinued its elite Holstein breeding operation in 1925 the farm transitioned to focus on orchard production.  As hundreds, upon hundreds, of acres of cherry trees reached full maturity there arose a seasonal challenge; harvesting millions of pounds of cherries.  The technology of the time required thousands of hands picking cherries one by one and just like today local labor was in short supply.  Frank Murphy, who owned Horseshoe Bay Farms in Egg Harbor came-up with a novel solution.

Cherry Camp.

Functioning as a part-time summer job and youth camp bringing local teenagers together with other 13 to 17 year-olds from across Wisconsin and as far away as Chicago. 

The original Horseshoe Bay Golf Clubhouse, located right on the shore of green Bay, was converted into a dormitory.  The clubhouse featured a mess hall and a canteen where campers could purchase soda pop, treats and snacks.  As an exclusively all-boys facility, following a day's labor, most campers stripped-down, soaped-up, and jumped into the waters of Green Bay to clean-up.  The dorm also featured an outdoor basketball court, baseball field, horseshoes and a boxing ring.

As co-owners the Cowles family held longstanding seats on the Green Bay Packers Board of Director.  Consequently, Packers players, supplemented with local high school coaches,  served as chaperones and camp counselors.  

The daily routine began with reveille and calisthenics.  Following breakfast, trucks transported the kids up the bluffs to the orchards.  Campers had to pick 7.5 pails of cherries each day to cover their room and board.  Profits of every pail picked beyond that went directly to the teenage camper.  Lunch was at the orchard and quitting time was 4 PM.  Following supper, candy bars were awarded to the day's highest pickers.  Each day closed with the Pledge of Allegiance, retiring of the colors, taps and lights out. 

 This was not a vacation experience; it was back-breaking work.  Climbing ladders and hauling pails of cherries in the July sun was not a leisurely summer day.  Nevertheless, the organized camp experience combining hard work with summer adventure away from home likely left some fond memories.

The boom years for cherry camp extended from the early 1940s thru the 1950s.  The camp operated at peak capacity during these decades often drawing 100 teenagers each July and August.  With the introduction of mechanical limb shakers and automated harvesting equipment in the 1960s the need for the manual picking of cherries was eliminated.  The need for seasonal teenage labor disappeared and so did cherry camp. 

It is worth noting that girls picked cherries too alongside the boys - but under a different arrangement. Local girls commuted daily to the orchards to pick alongside the camp boys.  The children of families visiting for the summer also earned summer cash making cherry picking a rite of passage for generations of teenagers.

                                                       Photo Credits - Horseshoe Bay Farms 

Survivor

Growing-up we had a redwood picnic table that I suspect my father assembled in 1960 or thereabouts.

I looked-around and was surprised you can still purchase genuine redwood outdoor furniture.  However, it is exceedingly expensive.  Of course, that is because redwood is naturally rot-resistant.  And scarce.

Anyway, part of my vast inheritance was the family picnic table (and benches) that I grew-up-with.  Birthday parties, backyard BBQs, cocktail parties, throwing a big blanket over it and building a fort - that picnic table has a pile of history.

I refinished it this week.  Had it been in pristine condition I would have applied a clear neutral stain.  Because it was messed-with over four generations I stripped it as best I could (without disassembling it) and applied a quality tinted redwood stain.  

It turned-out reasonably well considering it is Medicare-eligible. 

Beyond the inherent durability of the redwood material; dad had the foresight in 1960 with galvanized hardware.

Any all I had to do is tighten the fittings with a crescent wrench to rectify any minimal wobble and creak.  When's the last time you saw square nuts?  

Friday Music

I'm old enough to remember when Greg Lake was the front man for King Crimson and I possessed a coveted cassette tape.  And, yes, I am old enough to have purchased the vinyl album and most assuredly was drawn to use of a Moog Synthesizer to juice-up a tune that the rest of the band found uninspiring.   

Written by Lake as an acoustic tune on his first guitar at the age of twelve – it surfaced years later when the group Emerson, Lake and Palmer needed an additional song on their debut album.   

Greg Lake has been gone now for a decade already; thankfully his music persists.  

 Lucky Man…

 

More Fawns

From the trail camera trapline there are more fawns.

Whitetails all over the dang place.

The gift that keeps on giving. 

                                                      Can you spot the twins?