Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

We made some Chakalaka stew recently. I had a can from South Africa and it was time to eat. Canned foods taste better after a year or two. It was quite tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed pronouncing Chakalaka. The Tesla has an impressionist side for its full self drive robot. The screen shows a string of buses as a train passes ahead. I kinda like it. The robot definately likes to consider objects with people rather than just objects. The weather really turned nice at least for a few days. The leaves are really popping out, as well as the pollen. It was a good oportunity to run the whole fleet. I am planning the radio systems for the Humvee and getting my electrical problems sorted out. I am still quite angry about the shop that decided to hook up the batteries incorrectly and cause some issues. It's fun to drive, not comfortable. Almost the exact opposite of the Tesla.

I was up in NY for the weekend. The weather was pretty nice. We fished in the farm pond and had large mouth bass and fresh eggs. It really shouldn't be called fishing in the pond. It is more like catching. We didn't get any of the whoppers that are in there, but we got some nice ones. DJ got a lot of mowing done. The fields are looking good. I don't get tired of driving up on top of the hill in the jeep and looking down the valley. Pictures don't do that one justice. We went to the Cortland County Airfest. They had a C-54 which was the primary aircraft used in the Berlin Airlift. It was inspiring. The dog and the rooster get pretty close. They both avoid eye contact with each other, though.

It has been busy and somewhat stressful. I am reflecting on the comparatively relative low stress of traveling alone in Southern Africa last year at about this time. I mean in Africa, I only had to worry about getting in car accidents (maybe running someone over), missing flights, getting robbed or attacked. All of these possibilities in a very unfamiliar land. Now interestingly, I seem to have more stress -- over what? It is probably a very good example of good stress versus bad stress. Good stress comes from calculated self-directed challenge. Bad stress comes from captivity and what we feel we "should" be doing. "Should" indicates there are external forces we are beholden to --without our own devices or agency. In April, I am speaking at CIDM Convex in San Jose CA. https://convex.infomanagementcenter.com/ . I also learned I am speaking at LavaCon in October https://www.lavacon.org/ . There were 150 speakers considered and only 40 selected. It will be my first t...

[Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing It's paid for, swept away, forgotten I don't care about the past [Verse] With my memories I lit the fire My sorrows, my pleasures I'm no longer in need of them Swept away the loves With their tremolos Swept away forever I'm starting over [Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing For my life, for my joys It starts with you  today Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait Ni le mal Tout ça m'est bien égal Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien C'est payé, balayé, oublié Je me fous du passé Avec mes souvenirs J'ai allumé le feu Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux Ba...

I knew there was a reason to take my camera with me this morning. I snapped this photo after I did a double take of one of my "neighbors" interesting endevors. Don't ask me. Please leave a caption for this photo in the comments.