Over Processing of food

You can barely find whole chickens in the market anymore.  Lots of chicken parts, breasts, drumsticks, thighs, tenders, and such, all of which require someone to cut up whole chickens, where as a whole chicken, good for stuffing and roasting, and also can be readily cut up into parts by any halfway cook, are scare.  Why do the foodstores go to all this cutting up?
   For that matter, whole fresh mushrooms are loosing out to fresh sliced mushrooms.  Why?  the whole mushrooms last longer than they do after slicing. 

Is your router finking on you?

The Wall St Journal ran a cover story yesterday claiming that many of our routers, those little $50 boxes that allow more than one computer to use a single internet modem, have unfixed security bugs in their firmware.  Bug that allow hackers to get into your computer, suck everything off the hard drive, get all your passwords, and turn your machine into a zombie that follows secret orders from bot net masters. 
   Me, I didn't even realize that I could update or patch the code running in my router.  Things to do, dig into the closet under the stairs where my router is stashed, find the model number of my router, and Google for software updates.   And figure out how to insert said software update into the router.

Job Growth

Every so often, the Commerce Dept reports the number of new jobs "created" in the US.  Last time they were claiming 292,000 "new" jobs. 
  I wonder where that "new jobs" number comes from.  Probably the bigger companies report the number of new hires to the guvmint.  Do they likewise report layoffs?  Suppose a company lays off 292,000 employees and replaces them by hiring 292,000 troubled teenagers.  Does this count as 292,000 "new jobs"? 
   Is the "new jobs" number any more realistic than the "unemployment rate" which only counts people drawing unemployment benefits?  As unemployment benefits run out, the unemployment rate drops. 

My condolences to Space-X

They had a perfect launch, inserted the payload of satellites into orbit, and almost managed to softland the booster for reuse.  They came very very close to success, the booster autopilot managed to slow the booster assent,  fly it back to the designated landing spot, keep the booster upright, engines pointed down, and land within 1.3 meters, call it four feet, of the desired landed spot.  But every little thing has to be just right.   One of three landing legs failed under load (or failed to lock into the down position), and with only two legs to stand upon, the booster toppled over and burst into flames. 
   Which all the newsies are treating as a failure to Space-X.  I see it as a good launch and a near miss on landing the booster.  Next time, I bet all three legs work perfectly.
   Ad Astra. 

Feeling the Bern, Bernie on gun control

Bernie was on Meet the Press yesterday morning.  He came right out in favor of an "assault weapons" ban and a ban on "armor piercing bullets".   This isn't going to improve his vote in NH, where  most of us believe you ought to have a piece in the house, just in case.  He must think his lead in NH is strong enough to beat Hillary and it's worth it to gain support among the lefties in the larger democratic party.
  Amusingly enough, the Bern is raving against imaginary objects.  "Assault rifles" are the same as deer rifles in anyway that you can measure.  Except deer rifles are usually chambered for more powerful cartridges.  My ancient Marlin 30-30 lever action hits harder than the 223 round of the AR15. 
   Any bullet will pierce armor if it is going fast enough.  Real rifles (say 30-06) will pierce any armor light enough for a man to carry.  For that matter 223 assault rifles will pierce quarter inch mild steel, although they won't pierce a quarter inch of armor steel.  Standard bullets come with a full copper jacket over the lead slug which holds the bullet together as it hits the target.  Standard full jacketed bullets are the right choice to defeat body armor.  The other type of bullet has a soft nose and is supposed to expand when it hits, making a bigger wound.  These are sold for hunting, although a Geneva convention from the 19th century outlaws their use in warfare.  All US military ammunition is full jacketed to be in compliance with that convention. 
  So when Bernie comes out  against "armor piercing bullets" he is really talking about all standard ammunition.   Which might be his point. 

Cannon Mountain Ski Weather

It's snowing right now.  Started last night and I have 4 inches down already (8:30). It's still falling.  Temperature is good, 20F.  It ought to keep on snowing for a while.  The weathermen think it will last until 1 PM, another 4 hours  or so.

Election Predictions from the NRA

Ya gotta hand it to the NRA, they are effective.  They have a large and committed membership that votes, and the national organization is very effective at getting out the word to the member ship.  They are good at what they do. 
   Yesterday a piece of election "information" drifted into my mailbox.  It has a map of the US, with the states colored red or blue.  The old confederacy, the mid west and west are solid red.  The coasts are solid blue.  The few tossup states are left white.  They count 206 electoral votes for the Repuyblican who ever that may be, 217 electoral votes for Hillary, and 115 tossup electoral votes.  Who ever wins the tossup votes wins the election. 
    BTW, they show New England and New York solid blue EXCEPT New Hampshire.  We are a tossup.