Station Spotting

 

Hosting guests for the weekend. 

 

NASA scheduled a flyover of the ISS for the occasion.

 

There’s a first time for everything.

 

If we’re lucky the northern lights may pay a call….

 

 

Deer Camp

 From the newest deer stand there is moon over the swamp...

Friday Music

 

 

Use your fancy noise-cancelling, blue tooth headphones with Apple Music or YouTube on your device at your own peril.

The Decibel Nanny may descend-upon you flashing an admonishment...

 

Winner Winner - Chicken Dinner!

Pregame Thanksgiving feast for the two of us.

Clockwise from the top: mixed veggies, baked yam, homemade stuffing, breast and drumstick.  Gravy over-all.

Did a roaster chicken in the bottom oven low and slow and finished it on convection roast setting to crisp it up.  Yams and dressing in the upper oven. Nuked the veggies.

I’m really digging the new GE Profile range. And, no. I’ve not paired it with my iPhone. Yet.

Pro Tip:  if you’re baking yams, taters or some other tubers; rub them in bacon drippings beforehand for a flavor enhancement.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends.

Go Pack!

 

Deer Camp

From the newest deer stand - daylight in the swamp...

 

Thankfulness

As per usual the Thanksgiving Holiday falls during deer camp.  This year it’s just Jill and I as nobody wants to be with us.  Which is just fine.  It’s a relaxing day of filling the wood box, drinking coffee, stuffing and roasting a big, fat chicken, maybe chilling-out in a deer stand for a couple of hours followed by sitting by the fire.

I've been counting my blessings because I've got a great deal to be thankful for.  My family, my friends, neighbors, reasonably good health, my marbles, a comfortable retirement, a new hunting dog and the great outdoors.  Let's face it - we live in the best country on planet earth.

 

An additional ray of sunshine is this bit of news:   According to the American Farm Bureau Survey this year's Thanksgiving dinner will see a dip in price for the second year in a row.  Thanksgiving dinner for ten will set you back $58.08, down 5% from last year; yet still 19% higher than five years ago.

 

Over the 39 years the Bureau has kept records the turkey has accounted for an average of 43% of the total dinner cost.  This year is no different - a 16-pound turkey accounts of 44.2% of the 10-person feast.  2024 brought a 6% decrease in turkey prices - a surprise considering  the USDA reported that growers raised 6% fewer birds this year and the lowest number since 1985.  In further evidence that presidents do not set the price of your turkey dinner contributors to the decline in turkey numbers have been the highly contagious avian influenza along with a drop in consumer demand.  This drop in demand has caused prices to fall.

 

There is some stuff in our world that can be improved-upon; yet on balance this is a terrific time to be alive.  If you glass is half-full like mine take a moment to count your blessings.  We have much to be thankful-for.

 

The staff here at The Platz extends their best wishes to you on this Thanksgiving holiday.   

Gobble, gobble...

 

Tariff Man

In case you weren't convinced that Donald Trump was serious about tariffs; he is.  But it's not necessarily about trade.

Raising the cost of imported goods from our two largest trading partners (Canada and Mexico) with the imposition of a 25% tax is very unlikely to happen.  Seriously, would Trump blow-up the Mexico-Canada-US trade deal he negotiated during his first term?  What would he gain by sparking a trade war with our neighbors?  And increasing the cost of imported goods on US consumers?  And contributing to inflation?  So it's basically bullshit.

What we are seeing is the threat of tariffs not for purposes of trade or economic policy but as a weapon of diplomacy and coercion. An escalatory ladder.  A bargaining chip.  Only a fool would enact them as you'd be punishing domestic businesses and consumers.  The investment markets don't like it either.

Tactically, tariffs may be a tool for rejuvenating targeted US manufacturing; but that ignores the simple efficiency of a cheaper dollar.  But you already knew that. 

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Beating It Out Of Dodge

Dodge City, Kansas, 1872

Deer Camp

Deer Camp 2024 is in the record book and the guys have left.

They clean-up pretty good too - leaving the house pretty much how they found it There is a bloody footprint in the garage but that's fine as it's in the garage.

 

The contraption in the photos is our camp meat pole. Introduced in 2016 our meat pole is unique. I'd like to think of it as a fine example of hunter ingenuity.

 

 

First, it is portable. Four guys can assemble and disassemble it in a matter of minutes. When not in use it is stored in the barn and out of the way. You can drive the Mule thru it between the legs for ease of hanging up to five deer on gambrel-equipped pulleys.

 

 

Secondly, it chronicles how many deer were taken (bow and gun kills) by year for each of the last nine years. If you do the math the total on the beam in the photo tallies-up to 94.

That's not the lifetime total; however, as our Deer Camp celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. Which would include an illustrious or notorious (you pick) collection of hunters over three decades. 

 

Some have retired. A few have departed the earthly realm for their happy hunting ground. Some are on hiatus. And the rest have moved-on or moved away.

 

You're probably thinking: How many deer total?

 

If I was inclined I could pore over the early written camp diaries and find totals there. There's a big bag of old school metal ear registration tags somewhere which might be moderately helpful.

 

The guys were talking about it last night and their best guess is we're likely close to or slightly north of a couple hundred deer since 1994. Many of which have been donated to the food pantry network here in northeast Wisconsin.

 

So, we're fond of saying: "Eat more deer."  They're all-organic, free range, healthy fare, a terrific excuse to get together socially with friends and family and a renewable resource.

 

Cheers!

The Taco Revolution

   

Vintage 1970s Taco Bell advertisement.

And, yes, things were a great deal fresher back in the day as everything was prepared on site, at each location.

One of my high school pals managed a store and I recall going over there in the morning to help with food prep.

The refried beans were made from scratch, the taco beef filling cooked with fresh spices and the taco shells fried there too.

After it was sold to Pepsico in the 1980s everything began to come from a centralized corporate commissary.

Deer Camp

Been busy here at The Platz and the blog has been neglected.

Deer Camp is running at full tilt and it's out 30th Anniversary!

Raise the flag and bake the bread.

That's a deli rye and a sourdough boule.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

From freezer and back.

Pheasants.  Round trip.  Before and after.  Had or local butcher smoke these for me, Lawyer and SID.  

I have a vision of winter pasta and risotto dishes in my future... 

 

Buckaroos

Today is the the opening of the nine day regular gun season.  The latest possible start date possible as set by state law.

By the time you read this we'll be on the lookout for these boys...

Deer Camp

A couple of days before deer camp a hunter's wife puts her foot down and tells him he has to stay home and whittle down his honey-do list of chores.

The fella's friends are upset and understandably disappointed that he cannot join them at camp.  Alas, they are powerless to do anything about it.

Two days later the crew has gathered at deer camp.  The fire is stoked in the wood burner.  Blaze orange bibs and parkas are hung in the fresh air on the porch.  Even the boots toe the line.  Firearms are carefully stacked on the gun rack at the back door.  Bunks are claimed and everyone is enjoying a refreshing adult beverage and shooting the bull in the testosterone-infused atmosphere.

Suddenly the dog barks as the door from the garage opens and the heretofore grounded hunter materializes.

Dang dude!  How did you manage to talk your wife into letting you go?

Sidling-up to the kitchen counter and opening a beer the hunter explains...

This morning I was sitting in my chair feeling poorly when my wife came up behind me.

She put her hands over my eyes and said - 'guess who?'   I pulled her hands away and was surprised to see she was wearing a flimsy negligee from Victoria's Secret.

A collective gasp emanates from the group as the hunter continues.

Then she took my hand and pulled me over to our bedroom. The room had candles and rose petals all over.  On the bed she had handcuffs.  There were ropes too.  She told me to tie and handcuff her to the bed.

Another collective gasp from the rapt audience.

You know I follow directions - so I did what she told me to do. 

 

Then she said - 'Do whatever you want.'

So, here I am.

 

Gun Deer

 

You Are What You Eat

Our Deer Camp celebrates a 30th anniversary this year. And the festivities begin in four days.

 

We place a high value on food in our camp as a hunting community travels on its stomach.

This evening it’s just me, Jill and the dog. Nevertheless, since you are what you eat there was this.

Duck fat fried taters, chopped romaine (bleu cheese dressing, crumbles and croutons), pan-seared venison (rare) and reconstituted forest floor fungi.

Kaboom…..

 

Daylight Bucks

Yes, evidence of daylight movement of bucks around these parts.

The boys have got romance on their minds...

Election Postmortem... || Peter Zeihan

 

What To See In The November Night Sky

Here's an opportunity you don't have to stay-up late for.

Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night

Shortly after sunset this evening look to the eastern sky and locate the moon.  Just below you will discern a very bright planet.  This is Jupiter.

If you want to stay -up late you can tract their ascent in the southern sky until they attain their highest position shortly after midnight.  Afterwards they both descend towards the western horizon as dawn approaches.

At this point the diurnal rotation of the sky will move Jupiter to the left of the moon.

The gigantic winter hexagon asterism, a ring made-up of the brightest stars in the winter constellations of Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, Canis Major, Canis Minor and Orion will surround Jupiter for the Winter.

Trash Panda

The title of this post is the pejorative used to describe the Urban Raccoonosaurus that would routinely raid the garbage in the cart overnight.

Save what someone might salvage from the compost heap there's no garbage to be had around here.

Nevertheless, we grow some of the largest raccoons I've ever been witness to...

 

Spot The Station

Kinda blurry glare.

Nevertheless, angle was just right to capture the sokar array of the ISS as it sailed over the house tonight.

 

Independence Day

The week preceding my South Dakota vacation (likely Monday, October 28 or thereabouts) a couple of economic news feeds caught my attention with some pre-election chatter.   

Equity, fixed income and currency markets were beginning to signal a Trump win.  

With that I thought to myself:  Election too close to call.  Bad news for Team Harris.  All of which was confirmed Wednesday morning November 6.  Donald Trump had won both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

With this came a big mandate for change.  And a bit of relief for me about something long in the making and now confirmed.  The party of Ronald Reagan was dead.  I take no joy in its passing; only relief in that it is now over and done with.

As a general rule my opinions about Donald Trump have reflected that I do not think very much of him as a person.  Nothing in this recent election outcome has changed that view.  His exhortations invalidate everything I have been taught about how to live my life and everything I've imparted to my daughter about being kind, generous, loving your neighbor, being accepting, showing understanding, empathy, being truthful, ethical, sensible and levelheaded.  Not being a bully, selfish and an asshole.

There is a reasonably good possibility that about half the people reading this would tell me that they like Trump because he says what's on his mind, he tells it like he sees it and doesn't have a filter.  Well, sometimes it's OK to have a filter.  There was a time, not so long ago, when being an asshole wasn't cool.  If you were a shitty person and kept it to yourself, society was a better place because of it. 

I am the product of a lifetime of unintentional, prior influences and imprints.  Dig deep enough into my implicit biases and you'll likely catch a whiff of cold war.  So, get over it. 

In 2016 I considered Donald Trump to be a goof and a joke; not to be taken seriously.  While my life got along swimmingly with his policies during the first three years of his administration all of that changed with the COVID shit show of 2020.  In over his head, by the time the election rolled-around more than enough people had enough of the drama that I believe it cost him the election.

2024 was different.  In a disciplined fashion Donald Trump tapped-into working class anxieties and resentment over inflation and the general economy.  It doesn't matter a lick if I feel my world is doing better if a plurality of my countrymen do not. I've learned to be cognizant of this.  I can do better.  We can do better.

Donald Trump won the White House, the Senate and the House.  The Trifecta.  SCOTUS is icing on the cake.  Donald Trump is no goof or joke.  He brought home the first popular vote win for the GOP in two decades.  He is the real deal. He expanded the GOP base to broadly include a meaningful number of minority voters.  He deserves a great deal of credit for that.  Consequently, he has a ginormous mandate for change and an abundance of goodwill.

Speaking of which, political parties undergo generational change.  And my generation has been shuffled aside as there is no place or role for us any longer in what was previously known at the Party of Reagan.  Social media has been fertile ground for fourth grade caliber ridicule.  Being derisively called a NeoCon is apparently a new pejorative.  Who knew? 

None of the foregoing amounts to much.  Sticks and stones.  It is the loss of friends and acquaintances who have excommunicated one another over perceived grievances that is the real tragedy.  Perhaps this will heal with the passage of time.  We'll see.

In the fourth paragraph of this post I alluded to a feeling of relief.  A consequence of the election outcome is being relieved of the burden of party.  Doesn't matter which party either.  I'm done rolling that boulder up the hill.  I'm basking in the warming glow of something I find strangely liberating; and it is not my laptop.  My newfound independence is a second chance to look at the world with a clean slate.  Independence Day has come to November 6.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try to stand for something other than our base instincts. I'm capable of better.  Donald Trump won fair and square and there wasn't even a whiff of political violence as a consequence.  That speaks volumes.  So, I'm going to sit on my hands for a bit and wait for detailed policy proscriptions to materialize.  You know, stuff that will improve your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  Along with making the world a safer place.

Bring it on....

Strong Dollar - Big Deal?

Impacts of the American dollar relative to other world currencies depends.  It holds advantages for some and disadvantages for others.  Let me explain.

If the dollar has strengthened - for most American consumers this is a good thing.  If I am planning another family vacation travel abroad becomes less expensive.  Imported goods sold in the American market place are less expensive.  What's not to like, eh?

However, imagine I am an American manufacturer and rely significantly-upon global markets  to sell my product(s).  As the dollar strengthens, my product is less competitively-priced overseas and this can impact sales and profits.

So, you're likely scratching your head and wondering why this is a big deal.  

It is kind of a big deal as the dollar has reached a one-year high against our peer currencies.  Ironically, a consequence of traders betting on Donald Trump's Secret Sauce of trade tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation stimulating economic growth.  Trump's plans appear to be pouring gasoline on the fire he doesn't want.  He obviously wants a weak dollar which would buoy US exports.

This is complicated stuff and a simple Only I Can Fix It with a blunt shillelagh of tariffs isn't necessarily going to work.  This calls for nuance and incrementalism.

If you want to know how this is working out keep your eye on the dollar.

What To See In The November Night Sky

With November comes the Leonid meteor shower. The 2024 Leonids will be a reasonably
laid-back affair with the early morning opportunity to observe shooting stars between November 6 to 30. The peak display will be this evening and into tomorrow Sunday morning November 17.

The meteors originate when the orbital path of the earth collides with the debris left behind by
comets. These bits and pieces of comet detritus enter the earth’s atmosphere with the resulting vaporization creating the streaks of light we call meteors.

The debris associated with the repeated passage of the comet Tempel-Tuttle results in this November display.  Like other meteor showers, this one will be best viewed after midnight. Turn your gaze toward the constellation Leo the Lion, where the shooting stars appear to emanate.

The 2024 Leonids are a moderate meteor shower with a peak display of about 10-15 meteors per hour. Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion, dots a backwards question mark of stars known as the Sickle. If you trace all the “shooting stars” from the Leonid meteor shower backward, they appear to radiate from this area of the sky.  Interference of moonlight may wash-out many of the meteors visible in a darker sky. Nevertheless, a dark rural location with minimal light pollution may yield good results.

Tempel-Tuttle is a periodic visitor that will return in 2031.  it is worthy of mention that the Leonids can be stunning on rare occasions. With the reappearance of Tempel-Tuttle every 33 years the debris left in its wake can result in meteors up to a rate of 1000 an hour! 2001 was a very good November and 1966 was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, a bright moon is going to shine on your meteor parade all night long competing with the fainter meteors. 

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear viewing conditions and early rising if you have to get out of bed to pee.....

Friday Music

A buddy of mine sent me the YouTube link to this video.  If I had to hazard a guess he sneaks over here periodically to read my forbidden fruit and knows something of my musical tastes.

Anyway, this Orange County, California quintet has been around since 2011 and while the band has evolved, the music they make remains faithful to bluesy southern rock.  That's right, Orange County California.  

From their latest album released this year, Robert Jon and the Wreck - Ballad of a Broken Hearted Man....

Pungent News

In further news it was reported today that The Onion won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Infowars, a website founded and operated by conspiracist, peddler of quack remedies, trafficker in lies and miscellaneous misinformation and general internet troll Alex Jones.

Hindustan Times

According to Ben Collins, Chief Executive of The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron the publication plans to reintroduce Infowars in January as a parody of itself, mocking "weird internet personalities" like Mr. Jones.

Karma or schadenfreude - you pick.

Edit to add:

During an emergency hearing afterwards, Judge Christopher Lopez of the US Bankruptcy Court put a hold on the sale until a hearing early next week.  Judge Lopez cited transparency concerns in the secret bidding process and the need to clarify which assets the winner are purchasing.  In dispute is Mr. Jones's account on X.

 

What To See In The November Night Sky

November's full moon is called the Beaver Moon or Frost Moon.

Full moons often take their names from the traditions of native Americans and European Settlers.  November is that time of year that beavers retire to their lodges for the duration of winter.  As a consequence of their pelts being prime this was also the time of year that fur traders trapped beavers.

The Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes Region called this Minidoons Giizis Oonhg - the Little Spirit Moon, a time of healing.  The Cree Nation of Central Canada calls it Kaskatinowipisim, the Rivers Freeze-up Moon. And the Iroquois-Mohawk Confederacy of Eastern North America call it Kentenhko:wa, the Time of Much Poverty Moon.

The Beaver Moon will reach peak illumination tomorrow afternoon as it rises after sunset.  Nevertheless, it will be sufficiently close to full just after sunset tonight. 

11.19.2021

 

 

This is not a sunrise.  It is a photo I took at sunrise of the Full Beaver Moon setting in the west. 2021.

This was a nice balance of low sunlight in the foreground from the rising sun behind me to the east and the moon dropping quickly below the western horizon.

Sometimes this stuff happens quickly.

You snooze, you lose...

Noah Was Prescient

Recently I touched on the matter of climate risk and the implications this has for our choice of where to live, the market impacts on the price of our homes, the costs associated with insuring against large losses and the cumulative impact on our communities.  

As the chart implies the incidence of flooding continues to rise over time.   

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is broke.  In debt to the US Treasury to the tune of $20 billion, it is required to pay interest on that debt.  And the program's interest burden amounts to $309 million every six months - money that otherwise would go to disaster response.

The NFIP is over-subscribed by severity and increasing frequency of flood events.  The programs flood maps are outdated and do not provide data about specific location risks. And remarkably, Americans are increasingly moving to coastal and other flood-prone locations.  Stunningly, fewer and fewer of them are purchasing flood insurance.  The federal government issued just two flooding disaster declarations in 2000.  So far for this year along it has issued sixty-six.

This is nuts. 

Several weeks ago the New York Times covered the crisis America's flooding problem and the three responses Americans are embracing to it.  

Fight the Water

Construct walls, dikes, barriers, pumps and drains to keep the water out.  Think: Holland, Venice and New Orleans.  The problem with this is the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to build-out the infrastructure necessary to protect Miami and Manhattan from storm surges. Miami abandoned their plans.  The people didn't want to spoil the view. 

Live With It

Get used to the idea of water and live with it.  Spend the vast sums of money necessary to locate homes on utility poles and elevate (or move inland) critical infrastructure like power generation plants and water utilities.  Expand wetland habitat to soak-up inundations like a giant sponge.

Pack Your Bags

And beat it out of Dodge.  Retreat and relocate to another community away from the likely risk of storm surge and flooding.  When the reality of repeated losses and inability to obtain insurance at any cost sinks-in; the shear weight of economics will drive the people to the high ground.  Maybe we should simply stop building in flood-prone locations.

For your late-night reading are a handful of links with more on this topic.

This year the federal government restricted building in flood plains.

Just last month, climate-induced flooding impacted people across four continents.

There is a real estate boom in flood zones.  Here's why.

Predators Are Cheap

Perhaps some of this can be explained by retirement affording the opportunity to live here year-round.  Or having sic trail cameras deployed year-round.  And checking them pretty regularly at two week intervals.  Nevertheless, I cannot recall a time when I have been witness to so many coyotes.

Wile E. Coyote sure makes the rounds.....

 

And for good measure a fox.  Tall, pointy ears, no white tip on the tail.  Might just be a grey fox.  But that's anybody's guess....

 

 

 

Veterans Day

Of all the veterans in my extended family only a couple are from my generation.  One has been gone for fourteen years already and I would like to introduce him to you and a strange but true story.
 
Quite awhile ago Jill and I traveled to San Diego for a business conference.  We added some vacation days to hang-out, see the sights and take-in what the southern California city had to offer.

Highlights of this short trip included time with my cousin Pete and his family along with a concert and terrific food.  We also spent the better part of a day climbing all over the USS Midway.  The first of the Midway Class of carrier, CV-41 was commissioned at the close of WW II and decommissioned in 1992 following a deployment in Operation Desert Storm.  It is a museum ship nowadays.

San Diego has so much to offer.  It is easy to hop on the city bus or the train to visit all sorts of other points of interest on Terra Firma.  If you were to take a bus to the end of the line - Point Loma - your destination affords the casual observer one of the most stunning panoramas of San Diego Bay.  It also happens to be home to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  One of the most picturesque of veteran cemeteries rivaled only by the Normandy American Cemetery at Omaha Beach and Arlington National Cemetery.

Unable to attend the funeral we took the opportunity to visit the resting place of my cousin Rob.

Rob was the third son and fourth child of my mom's older brother.   We were the closest in age of these four siblings.  As a member of the 'west coast family' my time with Rob was limited to his visits here and my visits there. 

One of my fondest memories of Rob was a beer-soaked Summerfest weekend in 1977.  What a pair of young Turks we were.  I was just out of college and working on my Masters Degree while Rob had graduated college OCS and was embarking on a career in the US Navy.  On a short visit to Milwaukee we seized the opportunity to make up for lost time.

Our contacts over the next three decades were rare yet we kept in-touch - but never seemed to find enough time to talk.  Once someone is gone for good the nagging regrets about sharing more conversations never seems to go away.  

Rob made a career as an active duty sailor and served for a period of time on the Midway.  With enough years under his belt Rob eventually retired from the Navy.  Regrettably, his adjustment to civilian life was fraught and just like an outlier number of veterans he ultimately took his own life.  Our personal family tragedy is just one of many excess veteran deaths relative to the general population.  An appalling and persistent problem. 

Back to the aircraft carrier.

When visiting a museum I often avail myself of an audio tour.  With a headset the disembodied voice provides the details of the impressionist painting I am gazing-upon or some long dead pharaoh wrapped in crumbling linen.  The Midway Museum allows you to do the same with five dozen interpretive points throughout the ship and a couple of dozen restored aircraft.

While strolling-about the flight deck I approached a static display of an aircraft poised for launch.  Pressing the appropriate code the narrator had this to say –  'Here is Lieutenant Commander Robert McNulty to explain the operation of the forward catapult.'  Holy crap!  It was Rob speaking to me.
 
In his own recorded voice - cousin Rob began detailing the preparation and launch routine for fixed wing carrier aircraft.  Including how the timing of the launch had to precisely match the momentum of a pitching ship at sea.

I suppose the dead really can speak to you.

Happy Veterans Day cousin.