FOG HORN

Is there anyone, besides me, who can’t wait for 2021 to come to an end? The problem with that statement is that 2022 may not be much better, but keep your sweat pumps in low speed and avoid panic buying of toilet paper.

I don’t think I’ve heard an uplifting or positive news stream all year; if that condition persists, it’s quite likely you’ll think of booking a therapy session. Stop!

A therapist is a jackass who majored in psychology so they could understand themselves. They are as messed up as you are, and may even be dealing with penis size ideations whether they’re male or female. A therapist will charge you at least $150 an hour to do what you can do with a weekend BBQ and a good shoot the shit with your buds and/or family. Therapists like to project an aura of great enlightenment, a con-job stemming from our Judeo-Christian heritage. A Jewish mother for example has no greater bragging right than to say her son or daughter is a therapist, so kids progress through their academic work with mom nudging them to become therapists – should I be a psychologist, should I not be a psychologist, will I become like Ilhan Omar. it’s like Jackie Mason’s¹ looking for a partner routine.

So what is a shoot the shit? The concept has nautical origins, it’s a social interaction during which any topic can be discussed. The participants don’t need to know anything about the subject under discussion, they are also free to make any unsupported comment, use uncensored profanity, insult anyone the wish or change the subject altogether. A good shoot the shit has greater efficacy than a therapist session. So, give social media a rest and schedule a good shoot the shit with friends, family or coworkers, you’ll feel better. Allow me to present this example.

Let’s say that you have a penis size ideation; for example, and you keep asking your spouse if he or she took the whole thing, so you mention penis size during a shoot the shit; the participants could respond by making you pull it out of your pants, or skirt, with a magnifying glass in hand immediately destroying your ideation. So let’s shoot the shit to kick-off our weekend.

What the hell is this thing!

The picture is of a Vision 60 unit manufactured by the US firm Ghost Robotics — It’s been fitted with a custom gun built by Sword International, a small-arms manufacturer. The gun dubbed SPUR or Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle is designed to be fitted onto a variety of robotic platforms.

• CALIBER: 6.5 Creedmoor / 7.62 x 51 NATO
• OPERATING SYSTEM: Short-Stroke Piston System / Arm and Make Safe, Fire, Immediate Action, and Clear and Make Safe Modes
• EFFECTIVE RANGE: 1200m
• CAPACITY: 10 Round Magazine
• WEIGHT: 17 lbs.
• BARREL TWIST: 1:7.5 (1:8 Available)
• COATING: Cerakote® GEN II NIR Ceramic Coatings (HIR Series) offer signature management and camouflage against 3rd Generation Night Vision.
• NIGHT SENSOR: Multiple Teledyne FLIR Boson 640X512 Thermal Cameras for enhanced FoV and zoom detail
• DAY SENSOR: 30X Optical Zoom EO Sensor LVDS Video Output

Securing a perimeter with accurate sniper fire has been made less labor intensive by the Vision 60. Can they build it in a 50 BMG version?

COVID-19

We find ourselves living in times where neither the government, main stream media or social media are reliable sources of information. Look no further than the COVID extravaganza where the public messaging has been an complete disaster; as a result, we have individuals, living in 2021 anno domini, who truly believe that the COVID vaccines will cause DNA mutations, keep them from getting to heaven or bring about a reduction in penis size. I respect all of those positions but folks, there are more documented adverse reactions to off-the-shelf medications than from any of the vaccines combined, this is a fact. If you believe that a COVID vaccine will keep you from getting to heaven remember that “God helps those who help themselves,” a proverb originating in ancient Greece some say. Enough on COVID…

Identifying a cluster-fuck

Beginning with this post and until things settle down a bit, I will be including an “Identifying a cluster-fuck” in my shoot the shit topic. My beef today, no pun intended, is food prices. People, food prices aren’t going up because people are eating more. We generally consume the same amount of food day in and day out and farmers generally produce the same quantity of food year over year. A farmer’s principal constraint is agricultural lands and weather. Getting food to market is impacted principally by fuel costs. Fuel is generally price inelastic, simply stated people will consume the same amount irrespective of its price. So, given the later, it’s reasonable to expect food costs to rise. But, there is a gorilla in the room that no one is talking about and that is China. China is a major importer of U.S. agricultural products, especially pork. Take a look…

China Pork Imports (2020)

• Spain: US$2.7 billion (up 194.6% from 2019)
• United States: $1.6 billion (up 223.1%)
• Brazil: $1.6 billion (up 157.9%)
• Germany: $1.3 billion (up 90.3%)
• Denmark: $1.1 billion (up 154.3%)
• Canada: $972.4 million (up 206%)
• Netherlands: $762.9 million (up 110.1%)
• Chile: $471.6 million (up 165.2%)

China’s 2021 purchases are projected to go even higher, so it’s reasonable to see bacon prices skyrocket. Now, how do you lower food costs for U.S. consumers? Simple, lower fuel costs, sell less to China and produce more pork.

Do not underestimate the impact that China has on our domestic food prices, it can be felt across the board; to include, beef production as well as other agricultural products. This is what the Texas Farm Bureau has to say:

“Asian markets are underpinning values as retail sales in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan continue at a steady pace amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining.

But the real heavyweight for July beef exports was China.

Beef exports to China were up 1,000% from the same time a year ago in both volume and value, at 99,022 MT and $773 million, respectively. USMEF noted the U.S. is now the primary supplier of grain-fed beef to China, and U.S. beef accounts for 5% of China’s total imports.”

That’s a wrap…

Don’t let the times get to you, have a great weekend and schedule a good shoot the shit. You can change the country’s trajectory in 2022.

1. Jackie Mason was one of the best standup comics in the industry. He passed away on 24 July 2021 in Manhattan. His 1986 one-man show “The World According to Me” was extraordinary; receiving a number of awards and a Grammy nomination.