Kinda simple right now…
Boza and I are just trying to stay warm and tomorrow it will start warming up to around -5 for a couple of days. Maybe I will get enough energy to take some images of the countryside? Right now we just walk to the edge of the Tiny Russian Village and then run home…
Boza eats, sleeps and does doggy business very fast…
I work on the computer, write on my books and do bear business even faster than Boza!
Life is simple…
Build fire stay warm!
WtR
2:30 a.m. and Boza wanted to go outside…
I mumbled at him that it is cold…. And he sat in the middle of the floor and tried to stare at me. He was off a little in his line of sight and those blind eyes made me sad. I sat up and mumbled some more and Boza came over and laid his head on my lap. Yes, Boza is a good boy and since I am in tune with him, I know he needs to go out to do doggy business… But, hey it is cold…
-32.3 C. and that means -26.14 in F…
So happy doggy and mumbling bear went outside to do doggy business. My breath tinkled as it froze instantly when I breathed out. Boza danced a doggy cold paw paw dance and down the mountain we went. Happy doggy soon became interested in why it seemed so cold beyond normal and soon he did his business and started for home. I found myself all alone standing at the bottom, in the valley and yelled out, “Hey stink butt, where are you going?”
Boza did not listen and actually did not care. I found him at the gate waiting for the lumbering bear to get there. (To be truthful, Boza did come back several times to make sure I was alive! But always ran away. Kinda like hurry up dad!) We got inside where it is a much more pleasant +20 degrees C. and Boza ate three packs of dog food, then went back to bed. I ate two wraps with ham and Boza woke up just enough to eat bites of ham and went back to bed. Of course I am wide awake, thus I worked on some projects of mine and am writing this post…
4:55 a.m. and it is warming up. -31.4 and settling at that… 😉
* * * * *
I want to mention something about my trip the other day to the Big Village…
My bus ride back to the Tiny Russian Village bus stop was interesting. The bus was basically packed and they made room for me near the front, since I would get off first. I guess I look like a public information terminal, because everyone always tries to ask me this and that. For Russians who do not know me, they talk to fast for me to gather their meaning many times. Just like English speakers talk to fast for non English speakers to comprehend many times. My brain is in English and the Russian is slow, from that…
But after everyone finds out I am an American, they were all excited. They were not understanding what this American would want to get off the bus at Kommuna or Tiny Russian Village. In fact they were worried. Worried enough to point out everything that might be an issue. That is a Russian for you…. Always trying to help in one form or another…
I got off the bus at my stop and then I heard the bus driver make an exclamation. He just realized who I was. He turned to the bus passengers and told them about the Gazette and the American and Russian Sweetie (Svetochka.)
Small town and small area, people know and remember everything. The bus got silent and I could feel everyone staring at me, as I put on my snowshoes. I ignored them and they just sat their with faces pressed against the windows of the bus. When I was done, I stood up and looked at them. I smiled and waved goodbye and everyone on the bus all waved and smiled. They were so excited. The very back of the bus made me almost giggle. Three babushkas were all fighting to get their faces in the last window to look at me. It was seriously wonderful. They had lost that worry about a stranger look and garnered the look, that he is one of us, even if a little different. They knew I was familiar and happy here…. They also knew I was normal in this part of the world…
Regardless, I gave them something to talk about!
As I turned to leave, I gave a thumbs up and everyone waved and smiled some really huge Russian smiles. The bus driver honked and off the bus went. That is what I love about Russians; 99% of them are the most wonderful people you would ever meet. They love strangers from other lands and they love to gossip. They showed me what is special about Russians; they were worried about me at first and then when they found out who I was, they became even more so attached to me. But they knew I lived here and I was no fool to worry about… And yes a new American lost in this tiny Russian area would need to be worried about. Because you would find him or her frozen to death before they figured out about the way of life and its survival…
I just love Russia…
* * * * *
Vova’s Dreams…
Vova found the energy to walk to one of his girlfriends…
Vova realized that he needed a gal for a night. There is one gal who just loves him and she is really smitten with him. She was going to come to our village, but the weather is just too bad and Vova after huffing about lazy people, all of a sudden, realized if he wants a date, he better get moving…
Therefore, last night at about 5 p.m. Vova dressed like an Eskimo headed out. He knew he had a blazed trail to walk on, for I had already broken the ground all the way to the main road. Vova left the Tiny Russian Village, Vodka Flask in hand, singing his favorite songs and looking forward to a wonderful night. He said, “до завтра” – do zavtra – see you tomorrow…. and disappeared from sight…
I smiled…
* * * * *
I had a good night. No music blasting from Vova’s home, no one wanted something, no one at all. Boza and I were alone for the most part. There is one babushka at the top of the village and she does not bother anyone. We (Boza and I) had the village to ourselves…
Peaceful night…
WtR
Boza and I woke at 4 a.m. and found the world had gotten even colder than it was when we went to bed. It looks to be dropping even more and the air is seriously crisp this morning. I was tired from my trip that lasted almost six hours yesterday. And this morning, I am slightly sore, but a very happy grouchy bear. Damn the coffee is good this morning…
Here is my trip…
They did not finish plowing the side road until after I was back. I really thought I had it made and it struck me as interesting at how my life always is; The road was only plowed about 50 meters. That is it, must have been a breakdown? Or tea break for a day or so… 😉
It is plowed now, but I had to walk a hundred meters in meter deep snow and found the tractor tracks of a wandering tractor. I will not make assumptions, but if I had to say what happened! Looks like the guy went ice fishing and decided a two day job is better than a one day job. The tractor looked as if the driver was feeling no pain and the tracks weaved all over the place and thus, I followed the next best thing to a plowed road…
I found either side of my road plowed, but nothing in the middle… Strange it was, until I figured out what happened…
Trees in the back ground are what I had to trudge over to…
When I started the rough part! I found this above image, but the tracks leading to it had filled in with blowing snow. It was these tracks that I stumbled around on and got to the best set of tractor tracks to stumble my way out. I figured out finally that whoever started to plow from the main road, gave up, drove through the trees and fields, then after ice fishing (found foot tracks to the river,) tried to get excited about doing his job, gave up again, and since it snowed like crazy and the wind blew like crazy. I had only an isolated spot to prove the guy even tried to plow…
I was not expecting anything to be plowed, but getting your hopes up sometimes makes for a grouchy bear…. I pushed onward and onward, one step at a time…
Meet Lenin…
He is everywhere in Russia and our Big Village is no exception. No, the Tiny Russian Village does not have a statue of Lenin, sorry… But I have to say, “Comrade Lenin kinda grows on you after a few years in Russia!”
Therefore, I made it home and after I was getting near our bridge across the river, I heard the tractor as the guy who gave up yesterday plowing came back to try again. I shook my head and then realized, it is all good! It, the road, is plowed now and that is a blessing…
Then as I finished the trip, I was doing some thinking. As I neared the Tiny Russian Village, I heard someone yelling at me. Vova had come down the mountain to help me carry bags (better late than never, right?). I picked up food and stuff for him also.He had cooked a big meal (potatoes fried with salo, salted fish dried, salt cucumbers, two fried eggs and a scoop of sauerkraut,) I sat at home and enjoyed that meal. It was delicious and yes, Boza got his bites of food also, from it all…
I was tired and soon Boza and I were sleeping soundly…
I have to say, I have a sweet girl in Moscow, who worried about me. She would call and tell me to rest, eat good food and take it easy. She knows me and knows I push, push and push some more. I am my own worst enemy and she knows that. She is a big help from long distance and allows me time to slow down and rest as I talk with her on the phone. Svetochka is my better half and it is nice having a better half and not a worse half for the first time in my life…
I wonder what that means about me? Hmm!
-26.5 right now and dropping……. as I write this post, another 1.5 degrees colder…
WtR
For that is when you die…
Today no snow coming down…
It has snowed for days on end. We are literally snowed in and very snowed in. So…. As to prove something to myself, I am going to walk out. I am going to the Big Village…. It is about three kilometers of waist deep snow and I will put the snowshoes to their ultimate test. Can they do it? Better yet, can I do it…
Sometimes we, as we get much older, have to prove something to ourselves. We look in the mirror and see a person that we many times do not recognize and wonder who that old person is. It is all okay, but at times we have to see who we really are. Today I will do that. Today I will walk out and if I make it, I will have answered myself some questions. Age slows us down,but that does not mean we stop…
If I have to go in life, I want to go doing what I love and life is what I love. Everyday in Russia, it is a challenge for this weak Russian speaking person. I struggle with the language and I struggle with myself as too, who I am. I doubt seriously that I will find who I am, but I still try and still move forward. I try to learn everyday and I try to help those around me as much as possible. But there are times we have to do something for ourselves. No matter how stupid it seems to others…. The world here is literally Arctic in substance and mentality. It is harsh outside right now and I decided to prove that I can still make it…
I realize that compared to the old days, I am wimpy! But I am changing that…
Boza has made me realize that getting old, even going blind, means nothing and we have to keep plugging along and accept what life throws at us. Boza is a tough doggy and I want to be just as tough. Sounds stupid doesn’t it? Not to me…
Every step…
Last time Svetochka was here, I said something to her. I said, “Every step is one step closer.” Meaning this village three kilometers away, would get closer and closer, just keep making one more step…
Then after thinking over the last week about what I said. I realized that life is exactly that same way. Life is simple in a truthful reflective. Life is one step at a time…
When you are young and indestructible. Life is leaps and bounds at a time…
When you get older, those leaps and bounds, become steps and shuffles. It just means that you can still do all you want, it just takes longer and more care to get there. Hard for someone like me, who leaped and bounded like a gazelle through life. I think that made it hard on many in my life, I know that it drove me to excel in all I did. I never turned a challenge down…
I would leap out a droning airplane behind enemy lines, just as if I was going to a party. I climbed the side of 1000 foot cliffs, just like the party was at the top of those cliffs. I crushed competition like they were in the way of that party and when life became threatened, I would explode in a fury to become the last man standing at all costs…
Then came several issues that rained on my parade and they shut me down. Six heart attacks and a brain tumor has a tendency to effect life in many ways. Life had showed me who is boss…
I guess that is when I started to take one step at a time. Just as I do now!
Therefore, one step at a time is better than sitting and whining about how bad things are, how life sucks and how mean life is…
My world is more than just elements of weather. My world is elements of another country and that is what keeps life interesting. I walk into the unknown willingly. For how will I grow? If I am unwilling to step out the door and breath the fresh air…
I see this quote as my life…
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” ― Douglas Adams
That is why I love Russia!
I have ended up where I need to be…
WtR
I am doing what many Russians are doing…
Popcorn is big business this year. We all are watching the “Three Ring Circus” unfold across the ocean. Russians are very interested in what happens across the pond and they await the games as they unfold. It is very interesting to watch such chaos happen and now when we watch, we see swapping around of priorities and morals as the main show…
Everyone is either switching sides…
Trying to bargain for their power position and or simply selling their soul to gather the needed end results that makes them happy. This is happening from the little guy sitting at home watching the nightly news, to the power brokers running the country. Chaos is a swirling mess at its best and this time it has become a hurricane, barreling full steam ahead at the shores of America…
My thoughts on the subject have been confirmed and that is why I voted for Trump. This time change will happen and it will make or break the country. Breaking America as it stood had to happen to settle the world. Good or bad; I hope Trump breaks the system and returns it to the people (Even if he tries to sit on top the pile.) Not sure the people have any idea anymore what to do with it, but if Trump can crush the wannabe Napoleons and Hitlers, then the people can deal with the last man standing much easier than hundreds of demons running around…
This is what it is all about. Power and one man taking it all. It had to happen, for the US is not based on fairness, just who is top dog. We have spent our whole life in America to believe that being top dog is the place to be, I am no different. Thus, why I have survived this long. Kissing ass works for most, but real money, real power and real fun begins; when you crush your opponent…. That is why I was so successful in the corporate world…
People are scrambling…
People are “wishy washing” back and forth. I am seeing democrats selling out left and right to their recent stands they took. I see republicans running into trees and walls as they try to figure out what kind of republican Trump is. The fact is Trump is not any of the above, Trump is Trump and he wants control of the most powerful spot on earth. I knew that and he would not be Trump if he acted any different…
Trump puts America first, his family next and as long as he sits on top. He will do okay with his own persona…. Yes that means America will have to come to grips with a Putin style leader. Russians have long expected and endorsed a leader to lead them for his life and Russians do not consider that a bad thing. Putin has Russia at heart, Trump has America at heart and we have been brainwashed to think that one man or woman as leader for life is a terrible thing. But it is not…
A terrible thing is when thousands of Hitler and Napoleon wannabees are allowed rein to destroy all around them. That is a bad system and that is what America had become; Napoleon’s backyard and Hitler’s dreams come true. Too many bosses, make a souffle collapse…. and Obama was never a boss and thus destroyed what was left of the system…
The world had gotten use to a country that was so powerful, but never kept its word about literally anything. That becomes comfort in an odd way and now the world has to adapt to a stronger presence, maybe (time will see,) in the White House at DC…
Therefore America is…
Chaos and chaos takes a strong person to keep a rein. Strange; America has become exactly what we fought against all our lives. America has become the Old Soviet Union, just with a modern twist. And as ex-Soviets will tell you, “Life was really very good most of the time in the CCCP!”
Freedom has become lost in America, it hides under a facade of Freedom. We just do not know how to get out from behind that fake wall. America needs a strong hand reining her in. For if we do not have that person, we have what we see now. Everyone going in twenty different directions, all trying to grab a share of that pie!
Time will tell!
Have a good day! Go long on popcorn…
WtR
Boza decided that getting doggy business done fast was the way to do it this morning and now he is back sound asleep on his bed. Me? Once I stagger out into -20 weather, wind blowing and snow flying. I have a tendency to not be able to sleep again. So I must wear myself out first, then take a nap. But coffee will put that nap deep in the afternoon… 😉
Thus, here I am pecking away at the laptop and writing something exciting err, boring, for all you diligent readers…
* * * * *
I want to thank the people who have donated in the last few weeks. Unless specified, all donations right now go toward getting a 4×4 and for that I want to thank you. The more that is collected the better the 4×4 will be condition…. Thank you very much, for the donations make it much easier to survive in the deep deep Russian landscape…. I wish I could say that all my years of service and years of hard work paid a dividend now in my elder years. But America has some issues with helping Vets. Be it medical and or financial…
Windows to Russia has been paid for by donations for a year plus now. This has helped tremendously with cash flow when that cash is needed. It is not cheap keeping a site like this online. The days of freebie when I was on Blogger Blogspot ended years ago after they decided that I was as issue and had to go…
It is people that donate that keep this site online…
Thanks…
Oh and yes; I want to thank a reader who has asked for a shipping address to send some white lilacs to grow here. I have not seen white lilacs in Russia and someone in Europe is sending me some starts to grow. I hope in March to get them, to get ready to plant when the ground finally thaws…
Thanks again…
* * * * *
My friend John Stanton sent an article and it was posted today. I just love his work and it seems that he is doing good, working at Sputnik. Still seems strange that he had to get a job in Russia as he lives in America. Shows me what the real picture is…
John has faithfully kept sending articles to post on WtR and for that I am thankful… (Over a hundred articles on WtR by John!)
* * * * *
As I sit and type this article…. I can hear the wind howling and roaring. 20 kilometers (steady blowing) an hour this morning. That puts -22 at a windchill of -33 C as Boza and I walked. Now you know why Boza said, “Doggy business and going home!” Oh and yes it is gusting up to 48.5 kph…. Oh My!
Now Boza has moved to my spot on the bed, put his head on my pillow and is snoring away. See, another reason I cannot go back to bed…
* * * * *
Our road has filled in completely again. We have to cut a new trail every time we walk…
Oh well, that is life in the Tiny Russian Village and Boza and I love it…. Svetochka does too! She is getting interested in living here, just a few more years and she draws pension in Russia. Same for me in America, except my pension is set on a older age than Russians have to wait…
Another good thing about Russia…
The legal retirement age in Russia is 60 years for men and 55 for women…
Mine is 67. Getting closer and closer every year…
* * * * *
Quote to think of today…
Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth. – Bradley Whitford
Yup!
WtR
By John Stanton
“We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the ‘right ‘, a Fascist century. Now liberalism is preparing to close the doors of its temples, deserted by the peoples who feel that the agnosticism it professed in the sphere of economics and the indifferentism of which it has given proof in the sphere of politics and morals, would lead the world to ruin in the future as they have done in the past. This explains why all the political experiments of our day are anti-liberal, and it is supremely ridiculous to endeavor on this account to put them outside the pale of history, as though history were a preserve set aside for liberalism and its adepts; as though liberalism were the last word in civilization beyond which no one can go. Never before have the people thirsted for authority, direction, order, as they do now. If each age has its doctrine, then innumerable symptoms indicate that the doctrine of our age is the Fascist. Fascism respects the God of ascetics, saints, and heroes, and it also respects God as conceived by the ingenuous and primitive heart of the people, the God to whom their prayers are raised” Benito Mussolini (1932)
Alright then, let’s not be too hasty in comparing President Donald J. Trump to Mussolini. It is too soon for that as Pope Francis said recently.
But let us look very closely at what Trump’s philosophy is while keeping an eye on Mussolini’s musings in the snippet quoted above and in the president’s diktats via Twitter. And let us pay attention to the political and economic landscape and the disaffection with neo-liberalism that is sweeping the Western World that appears to have ushered in an era belonging to the ‘Right.’
Trump demands, not invites, corporations, unions–and both his supporters and critics—to begin the reindustrialization of America and a revitalization of the American ‘spirit’ and, as such, he appears to be closing the ‘temple doors of liberalism.’ He cited the ‘Almighty God’ in his inaugural speech as a true friend of the United States and overlord of all that exists.
President Trump’s words and actions, thus far, point to a movement of the zealous religious-patriotictypethat, if it is to succeed, must start with instilling a frenzied populist nationalism in the consciousness of most of America. Trump and staff members like Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer exhibit the zealotry of a once persecuted ideology and movement that now finds itself legitimized and holding the reins of power. Like Trump, the butt of criticism and satire for so long, they are overly defensive and create ‘facts’ that square with their vision and not necessarily reality.
The Non-Believers Will Pay
In Trump’s America, enemies and blasphemers are the Republican and Democratic elites responsible for, or complicit in, replacing American labor withunderpaid workers based in China, Mexico, India and the Philippines who have heretofore manufactured automobiles, cell phones and clothing. And the bad guys are those companies who have turned raw materials into airframes, computers and fiber optic cable abroad and then shipped them back to the US homeland free-of-border-charges. It is federal, state and local governments who have allowed the American infrastructure—roads, bridges, rail, public education—to rot away. Those same governing levels sat idly by as the murder of civilians and law enforcement personnel took place. Taking this further, it is anti-Trump Americans on the streets who do not support Trump.
Indeed, enemies may come to include those who choose not to follow the leader and dissent publicly. Trump has said repeatedly that he will punish US corporations who manufacture overseas and then export finished goods to the USA by tax or tariff. What will be the penalty for those who challenge or question President Trump like CNN news? Pilloried, perhaps?
“Congratulations to @FoxNews for being number one in inauguration ratings. They were many times higher than FAKE NEWS @CNN – public is smart!, Trump opined in a Tweet on Jan. 24.
Will another House Committee on Un-American Activities subtly reemerge?
“I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!,” Trump said in a Tweet on Jan. 25.
Trump has even blasted sacrosanct American aerospace and defense giants like Boeing and Lockheed for cost overruns on key aviation programs. Would Trump take it a notch higher if he knew that Boeing helps fund STEM education for Chinese students in China. Why not bring that money to the USA?
Now What? Diktat by Twitter
For years, critics of neo-liberalism (me too) have made the argument that the corporations that own the Republican and Democratic political parties were gutting the US Constitution, Bill of Rights and ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence. The 30 percent that own most of the wealth in America were enriching themselves at the expense of the remaining 70 percent, many who are only a few paydays from bankruptcy. And they are killing the White, Black and Latino classes that live paycheck to paycheck, with many strung out on legal smack from the pharmaceutical conglomerates but do not have the political clout that Identity Politics brings.
“The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you,”President Trump said during his inaugural speech on Jan. 20.
“Never before have the people thirsted for authority, direction, order, as they do now,” said Mussolini.
“If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds,” Trump Tweeted on Jan. 24.
What if Trump succeeds?
Who is Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Going to Be?
The NSA and Cyber Command Chief Admiral Mike Rogers took it upon himself to interview with the then president-elect Trump without seeking clearance from the former Commander in Chief, Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense to do so. Apparently he did not feel a duty to his chain of command, instead seeking to advance the prospect of Trump selecting him to be the next Director of National Intelligence.
Roger’s superiors halfheartedly recommended that he be relieved of command, but never really pursued the matter. Under Roger’s watch significant security breaches took place at NSA and his management style left a lot to be desired.
According to the Washington Post, “Instead, in the past year and a half, officials have discovered two major compromises of sensitive hacking tools by personnel working at the NSA’s premier hacking unit: the Tailored Access Operations (TAO). One involved a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor, Harold T. Martin III, who is accused of carrying out the largest theft of classified government material. Rogers was put on notice by his two [direct] bosses — Clapper and Carter — that he had to get control of internal security and improve his leadership style. There have been persistent complaints from NSA personnel that Rogers is aloof, frequently absent and does not listen to staff input.”
If Admiral Rogers is Trump’s choice for DNI, the 17 intelligence agencies under the DNI’s watch are not likely to be pleased. And all Americans would do well to ‘watch their six’ with a rogue kindred Trump spirit the DNI head.
Trump could select Frances Townsend, a TV personality like Trump, and former Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. On the other hand, Townsend worked for CNN and now does so for CBS, a black mark upon her soul, apparently.
“Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!,” Trump proclaimed on Jan. 24.
Who knows?
Is President Donald Trump the Elmer Gantry of the Oval Office? Is he the Donald Trump fighting Don King in Celebrity Death Match? Is he a hypocrite that demeans the US federal government even as his Washington, DC, hotel is on a site that he leases from the US General Services Administration?
Or is he an American who seeks a better future for his grandchildren and all young Americans?
It feels like the 1980’s Ronald Reagan ‘Morning in America’ vibe in Washington, DC. But 2017 is radical, an acceleration of the cult of personality. There are more homeless people in my neighborhood.
Let’s see what Pope Francis says.
John Stanton can be reached at jstantonarchangel@gmail.com
WtR
Here in most of the civilized world, it does seem to me that includes even North Korea at this point, America looks like a 3rd world loony bin and is on the verge of psychotic indulgences of extremes…. From screaming pussies, shouting racists haters, pouting gay lovers, the I like to hate anything type individual and proven paid for thugs. We have shown the world that we are the leaders in total chaotic psychotic chaos…
We are now the laughing stock of the world. Why even Britain is posting the antipathetic wiles crawling the streets of America. Are you happy about the image that we are presenting? Maybe you think it all does not matter? Why are we letting the likes of Soros and company run amok? Why do we allow McCain and company to be reelected and run all over the world and snuggle with terrorists? You need to ask yourself and ten people today; Why?
Is America happy that now the women of America are represented in the world news, by a walking vagina image?
I will say this, “I am loving watching hardcore liberal and neocon heads explode. This is great! This is the greatest soap opera on earth! USA… I have got to say, “Trump is stirring the pot!” “Good or Bad?” Could not be any worse than the path we were on to self-destruction…”
What I do not like is seeing the sheep out bleating over trivial issues. America needs to look in the mirror and start fixing what they see there…
Americans use to be by nature a conservative people.
Russians are very much by nature a conservative people. I just hope the American president and the Russian president can gather an understanding. I think we are sunk in the understanding department. For even as you read this, we Americans are allowing China to be egged on into war along side with Russia. Do we want Russia and China against us?
We Americans have learned nothing over the years…
And in fact, we seem to have regressed considerably as time has gone by. The swinging of the pendulum of chaos’s force is strong in the US. We need to garner some middle ground or will will self destruct…
Time for another strong cup of coffee…
Well it is going to get damn cold in the Tiny Russian Village. The wind has changed and from the north is blows…
Snow is still falling and that makes walking Boza hard to do, but do it we do…
Since this image was taken by Svetochka, it has snowed another 6 inches and still coming down. Now we get drifts from the wind change and that makes for issues and more issues…. But since I love it! No complaints from me…
That is something that I am glad I am good at. I have had to stand alone most of my life and being alone is a simple thing to deal with. Sometimes, I have to make myself focus on the fact that I am not alone anymore. Svetochka is always with me in heart and mind, even when she is in Moscow and I am in the Tiny Russian Village…
True Freedom: “Freedom of being alone is intoxicating. – Kangana Ranaut”
But being with that special someone is: “It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. – Rita Rudner”
Now that is someone special and her and I have found that person… 😉
WtR
Long ago in a galaxy far far away!
I use to be part of the original insider program for Microsoft Windows. I started with Windows 98 and ended when Vista rolled out. I ran out of time and grew to dislike the way Microsoft was redirecting itself; Windows 10 was dreamed of many years ago…
The last few days I have been deep in Computerworld. It has been a long time and I have really enjoyed the last few days. Dredging up old skills and knowledge is good for you and me. We should do it more often.Sveta is probably going to give me that look about why I ate up so much precious internet bandwidth, but I got deep inside my old copy of Windows Vista and had tons of updates and stuff to slipstream inside the recompiled Vista disc I had. Vista is old and grouchy now, even more so than people think it was when it came out. Vista is the most misunderstood OS Windows ever made, but it also is the best they ever made. As with some children, Vista was born too soon and was born too far ahead of the technology at the time. Computers could not deal with Vista and that is that…
Thus, Vista failed! (But not before laying the groundwork for what we have now!)
It ate many a computer and made many have to buy a new computer, for Vista was a mess at first. Then with several Service Packs; Vista became a decent operating system. Just a dollar late and a dollar short…
Therefore, I grabbed my CD of Vista and decided to see if I could make it work on a modern machine. It took three attempts at installing and a hundred attempts at compiling divers for a system that never had such drivers to be used on it. As of this afternoon, I have accomplished the deed…
So different, yet so alike to Windows 7 and up. So XP in its insides and I can still see Windows 98 peeking at me many times as I worked on Vista. So familiar and so comfortable. In a few hours all my past came back and I, without thinking was able to just go where I needed to be and do what I needed to do. Vista is like that old coat. Your wife hates it, but nothing is more comfortable than that old coat…
I have a copy of Vista that I am sure many in the world do not have. It is stripped down and one of the original designs of the OS. It is light, fast and smooth. I just had issues to overcome, to adapt it to modern times…
So while it snowed and the wind blew!
Boza slept and I worked from early morning and into the nights having a blast…
WtR
Enough donations have been received to allow us to buy a 4×4. I want to thank everyone who has donated and this post is to than all who donated for a vehicle. Not a fancy one, but a workhorse that will allow us to get out of the Tiny Russian Village in emergencies and stuff…. Stuff like getting food…
I have settled on getting a LuAZ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LuAZ
Its first original design is the sturdy and simple LuAZ-967 off-road vehicle for the Red Army. It originated after the Korean War, when the Soviets saw a need for small off-road vehicles comparable to the American Jeep, to supplement the overly-large and heavy GAZ-69s then in service. Developed at NAMI (the National Automobile Institute), the prototype, known as NAMI 049, was completed in 1958…
The three images below are what I am looking at and they run between 30,000 and 40,000 rubles as they sit. They have papers, they run and they are ugly. So ugly only a mother could love them. They are also known as the Queen of Russian snows… And or simply “The Snow Queen…”
They are very basic and very very capable of traversing terrible terrain, rivers and snow…. The price is right and the darn things are beasts as they were made for the Tiny Russian Villages and at the time the Tiny Soviet Villages. The vehicles are made in Ukraine…
Just like a Pug dog, you either love it or hate it. I love them both… 😉
Cost in dollars: $500 to $675 and thanks to all the donations for a 4×4, we have the money sitting aside and waiting for us to get the ugly Pug, I mean LuAz 969M…
I am partial to the black one with the wench. It has a hard top instead of a soft top…
The only thing I want to do to them is to put the original tires on it. They where exactly like a heavy tractor tire, with deep biting lugs…
So cool…
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Boza and I got up at 2:30 a.m. and had ourselves a nice walk. We scared up some foxes and now are home sipping coffee and writing a post. Svetochka walked out on her own. She refused to let me walk with her and told me to stay with Boza. She knows how upset Boza gets when she has to leave. I tried to fight against it, but Sveta is stubborn and she was not to have her mind changed. Svetochka is one tough girl and she walked three kilometers out to the main road and got her taxi and took a train home to Moscow…. I was a nervous wreck and when she finally got on the train, I was able to sleep a few hours…
Boza and I both miss her, but she will be back next month…
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This morning after writing this post, I will look at installing Windows Vista on the big laptop and I just finished burning it from my ISO I keep of it and will see how that does on the newer laptop. Vista was a great operating system after the two service packs get installed and was a very underrated system in its prime. I always loved it and love the look of it. I think it is what is needed to make a stable laptop…
I salvaged the big laptop after the drive died. I had an old external drive of 500 Gigs and took the laptop drive out and installed the external, after I tore it out of its sealed case. Works really good and now we are back in business with a good laptop again…
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Sveta sneaked a picture of me as I crossed the river after walking for hours to get to the Big Village. We walked to the main highway, grabbed the bus and shopped in the Big Village. Then back on the bus and walked home. It was about -10 degrees, windy and snowing. But it was fun…
I am carrying a backpack stuffed to the gills and a very heavy sack (total about 40 to 45 kilos.) Balance was an issue for me, but we made it. Made me appreciate having lost so much weight. For I weighed with backpack and sack as much as I have lost and it was hard to carry… Weight loss if you are fat, is important…
Here is Svetochka in a selfie…
That is my sweetie in sub-zero weather, as she followed my trail across the country side. This is the trail that she walked out on last night…
Love that girl…
WtR