FOLIO OLIO: FRIDAY #3459

One Of My Very Own

EMAIL: ralph.henry.at.folio.olio@gmail.com

NEWSY BITS

CALIFORNIANS TO VOTE ON SPLITTING CALIFORNIA INTO 3 STATES

In a somewhat bizarre piece of legislation, this November voters in California will have the opportunity to split the state into three separate states. In a push led by billionaire Tim Draper, the proposal received over 400,000 signatures to make it on the ballot. As shown above, the state would be split into Northern California, California, and Southern California. Mr. Draper says the proposal will provide lower taxes, better infrastructure, and better public education. Even if the measure succeeds, under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution it would need Congressional approval.

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SAUDI FORCES PUSH INTO IMPORTANT YEMENI PORT

Saudi forces pushed into the port city of Hodeida, a vital port to the Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia has supported the now-exiled government of Yemen in the civil war for three years but has struggled to push the Houthi out of their positions. Aside from the potentially high death toll from the urban fighting, especially in a war where both sides have shown little interest in reducing collateral damage, the real concern is the potential humanitarian crisis that could follow. 70% of the country's food imports come through the port city, and the war has already stretched the citizens of Yemen to the limits. So far the port has continued to operate. While the UN had enough warning to pull their aid groups out, other international aid groups were caught without warning.

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NASA has lost contact with Mars rover Opportunity during a severe dust storm.

Opportunity weathered another storm in 2007, but this one is six times more intense than that one. But hey, the little dude has been trucking along for almost fifteen years after a planned mission duration of only 90 days.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/opportunity-hunkers-down-during-dust-storm

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The signs are starting to add up that the United States is at the top of the economic cycle, and therefore headed down, likely into a bear market and recession, an increasing number of economists and money managers say. The main culprit for the looming downturn, they say, is the Federal Reserve, which is expected to again raise U.S. overnight interest rates on Wednesday...

“When the music stops I do think it’s going to be pretty ugly,” said Jonathan Beinner, chief investment officer of global fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Beinner highlights the increase of global debt, now upwards of $237 trillion and the way the debt has been dispersed as risks to the economy. Rather than banks holding most of the debt as it happened in the financial crisis, this time it’s hedge funds, private equity and investment managers holding most of it. Also worrisome, he says, rating agencies are again being overly generous with their appraisals allowing for companies with very high debt levels to gain investment-grade ratings.

“We’ve sown the seeds for the next downturn and there’s a lot of similarities,” Beinner said, comparing today’s climate to what existed ahead of the global financial crisis in 2008.

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LET'S LEARN SHALL WE

Is that a small man or a really, really big dog?

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Skittles rejects.

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This was a one-time media stunt, but still.

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HOLY MACKERAL!

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THE AMAZINGLY VERSATILE CONDOM

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A rather durable canteen.

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The Valley of Names

For over seventy years, people have been driving out in their RVs to a remote desert area near the city of Yuma, Arizona, to write their names and leave messages on the desert floor. Unlike regular graffiti that is hurtful to the environment, at Valley of Names messages are spelled out by carefully arranging rocks and small boulders in the hard-packed white sand.

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I've shown this before and used it to explain what happened to a friend of mine in the Air Force, but now I will do it with visuals.

The Sparrow Missile is a very popular weapon carried on all fighters. Here it is leaving the pylon.

It's about as big as a telephone pole and about 20' long.

Prior to launch, a meter is attached to the missile to check for static electricity - which is bad.

My friend was conducting that test requiring him to press his chest against the rear of the missile to reach around and place the probes in the proper locations, and the rocket motor fired sending the missile across the tarmac and over farm fields before crashing into the ground a mile or so away.

The exhaust blew him across the tarmac and when he came to rest he was totally naked. All the bits were collected and locked in a big room to which I had access. The most shocking bit was a perfect circle of my friend's shirt - the area that was in direct contact with the rocket motor. You would think that area would be the area of most damage, but no.

Like most US air to air missiles, Sparrows have a proximity fuse. When their detectors realize that they are beside the target, they explode - sending out a ring of attached metal rods that rips through the fuselage.

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We have been making fun of this for far too long.

But to ridicule is not enough.

People seem to love to lie. Remember when you were told that people with tattoos and/or piercings would never get wives or jobs? How about the preachings that viewing pornography will make you a pervert? Yeah, that was a big one until we all realized that WE ALL view pornography.

It's hard to remember all the evils attributed to smoking weed. Now we realize that your lawyer, your doctor, your kid's teachers ALL SMOKE WEED. Yet we STILL lock people up for marijuana. This insanity must stop.

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Why would an officer, any officer, attempt to arrest a violent felon alone?

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He gets caught peeking at the great taboo.

Yet this woman has cleavage down to her belly button - literally. She has, more or less, done everything in her power to get men to stare and for her to take offense would be the height of hypocrisy.

Vodka is the quickest way to teleport. You just have to be prepared to wake up naked to an unknown location with another teleporter.

WE HUMANS ARE SUCH AN ODD LOT

I still think humans are mostly good.

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Plastic skeleton under new deck meant to be found by the next renovator in a couple of decades.

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Yet another reason not to take your meds on the job.

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No weirdos.

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Why my wife and I don't travel anymore.

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Again I must ask: Why does he just happen to be on camera at that exact moment?

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I never knew that they were this observant.

[pretending to be on the phone as a guy with a clipboard approaches me]

"What do you mean I already do too much for charity?"

SILLINESS ENSUES

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AN URBAN homeowner is insisting he loves the graffiti that has appeared on his wall.

Before purchasing the property, Tom Booker told friends he was looking forward to living in a gritty neighborhood with real character and was quick to confirm his joy at the random images and scrawl.

Booker said: “One of the best things about buying in a real, living neighborhood is the pop-up art around the place. I’m not at all annoyed there is now some adorning the house I saved up for years to buy.

“There’s a really raw, edgy quality to it. They’ve obviously gone to a lot of trouble drawing that stylized dog. Or it could be a machine gun. It’s hard to tell.

- Said no one ever.

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