Posted by: bkivey | 16 January 2026

Towns I Have Lived In

You cannot make this up. Some of this week’s activity at the Albany Oregon Police Department  

Shenanigans

Officer Ferguson noticed a speedy car on Pacific weaving in and out of traffic going at a high rate of speed. Pretty gutsy moves when alongside a patrol car. Read gutsy, not clever. When he pulled the driver over, he was only 16 with a learner’s permit. Not a lot of learning appeared to be going on as the 20-year-old passenger had a suspended license. Obviously, he had not yet learned to keep an eye out for the black SUV’s with lights on top. Rookie mistake. #lessonstobelearned#BoldMoves#WeSeeYou

Officer Roten responded to the lobby of hobby for a theft of paint pens. These particular pens are fancy…like over $500 fancy. Maybe the pens draw pictures by themselves, but the two individuals were definitely feeling artsy. We posted the photos on the book of faces and boom, they were identified. No more wine paint night going on at their house. #paintsandrestraints#notsocraftyoncamera

Where not to park. Just a heads up, new graffiti at a convenience store this week states, “Tweeker Parking” on the ice machine in front of a couple parking spots. We will definitely not be parking there and neither should you. Just keeping you in the know. #youcantparkthere#ormaybeyoucan

On a cold, dark night, way past midnight, Officer Felty came across a truck with the hood up and smoke billowing out. When he approached the truck to see if he could assist, the driver let him know she had definitely been drinking and now her truck broke down and the night was getting worse by the minute.

Uh, we might just agree. She failed the sobriety tests but on the bright side, she got a ride in a warm car and her broke-down truck towed away. #wherethereissmokethereisfireball#smokesignalswork

There has been a lot of sticky fingered jackwagons out and about lately. Stealing skateboards off front porches, 2 minibikes out of a truck bed and a terrible one this week…a 10-year-old kid’s Honda CR85 motocross dirt bike out of the back of their truck. He had raced, won and qualified for the championship the next day only to wake up in their hotel and find his bike had been stolen in the night. That was one disappointed little dude. We hope we find that thievin’ turd or karma finds him first. If you see something suspicious, call us, we’re out there. #albanyoregonpolice

Posted by: bkivey | 13 January 2026

Ball Don’t Lie; Nor Does Math

Math Is Useful

I am selling a vehicle, and to set a price, I looked at all of the area Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Google Search offerings for similar vehicles, noting the year, mileage, and asking. I plotted Price and Mileage for each market, and the graphs yielded nice curves. There were a couple of outliers in each plot, but I could place my vehicle along the Milage X-axis, and see what the market thought it should pay. I didn’t derive the equations, but the data points clustered well.

Ball Don’t Lie

Attributed to Rasheed Wallace, the expression comes from basketball, where it is believed that if a bad call is made, the benefitting player will miss the free throws. The ball is the ultimate arbiter of the Game, or maybe a channel for God’s Judgement: another manifestation of karma. The term has escaped its origins, and can be heard in a number of places. It’s still most commonly heard on the hardwood, and a recent home Trailblazers – Hawks game illustrated this nicely.

A questionable call was made, and as the game was on radio, I had to trust to the announcing crew to describe the injustice. Analyst Michael Holton and Announcer Travis Demers (De-murs) have proven themselves the past four years to be very capable in their jobs. They are professionals, and know the rulebook better than most officials. They were slack-jawed at the call. They are also down-home homers; something you really want in the home broadcast team. If you want to call games without prejudice, work for a national organization. Local announcers need to be the head cheerleaders.

The opposing player went to the line for their two free-throws.

First attempt: miss.

“Ball don’t lie!”

2nd attempt: miss.

“I’ll say it again! Ball. Don’t. Lie!”

Because the ‘fouled’ player was top-tier, there was some discussion about the preferential treatment players get if they are established scorers. Not conspiracy theory; it’s a real aspect in any sport. Just part of the game, and real-life. On the next play, the same opposing player was deemed fouled in the act of shooting a 3-point attempt, and was awarded three more free throws. This call made the booth apoplectic, and you could sense the disbelief through the airwaves. You could also tell both were close to very unprofessional behaviour. Professionalism won out, but maybe just barely.

1st attempt: miss.

“Ball Don’t Lie!”

2nd attempt: good.

They didn’t even call the the 3rd attempt. Petty? Maybe; but I wasn’t there.

How Many Ways Can You Say ‘Assist’?

Heard during a recent Blazers – Warriors broadcast:

“Handing out clean plates at the buffet so Caleb Love can eat!”

Michael Holton, Trailblazers Analyst

I like hearing Coach Holton on-air. His knowledge is encyclopedic, he is excellent at breaking down the finer points of the game, and he comes up with the verbal 3-pointer on occasion. Kind of like a less exuberant Coach Madden.

Posted by: bkivey | 10 January 2026

Grass Catcher

Blockchain

Because cryptocurrency is a thing, and has been for some time, I took the opportunity to educate myself on how, exactly, blockchain operates. And, can you make money at it? I have an income stream that pays in crypto, so maybe good to know how that works. The most useful explanation I found was at the link on the title. Once I had a grasp of the process, I saw the money-making (‘mining’) part would come in where the nodes had to compete to be the first to solve the algorithm. First one done, issues the block, for which the winning computer is paid in whatever denomination it is mining.

This process led to the explosion in demand for the powerful computers known as Graphics Processing Units (GPU). NVIDIA, a leader in the field, saw Moore’s Law financial growth. This digital Gold Rush commenced around 2015, and now, solo mining opportunities are nearly non-existent. Experienced miners currently advise people to spend money on direct-buy, rather than a mining rig. Such a rig with profit potential runs around $4k – $5k, and you can always spend more. But, you will need 240V power, seriously good cooling (the processors run 100% all the time), and a location that will isolate the 75 dB sound these units generate. I turned my stereo up to 75 dB according to a phone app, and it’s loud. You could not have it in a dwelling.

That power supply, by the way, almost has to be self-generated to have a hope of making money. Most sources seem to agree that the magic number is $0.14/kWh. I was quite surprised to learn that local residential (R-1) power here is nearly $0.19/kWh. The Northwest has historically been known for its low electric rates: a combination of hydro and publicly-owned utility districts. Now, about the national average. All the more surprising, because when I worked as an Energy Engineer, environmental system upgrades were a tough sell regionally, as the ROI didn’t work out to the 2 – 3 years companies liked to see. Consequently, most of our work was on the East Coast and Hawai’i. Likely different, now. So, mining using available power is a no-go. Single mining rigs usually draw about 5kW, so power alone would cost nearly $1/hr. You could buy a generator, but that’s a whole ‘nother analysis.

The more common method of crypto-mining is to buy shares in an existing operation. Shares are sold on a monthly subscription: the more you pay, the greater your stake. Successful ‘extractions’ are paid proportionate to the stake held. You’ll have to generate your own curves among the contenders to see which, if any, are right for your circumstances. I am interested in the possibilities here, but I will not be setting up a mine. Others have done that, and I’m content to be a 3rd-tier player until I have a better understanding of the market.

Medal Of Honor

Awarded to Staff Sergeant Henry Eugene Erwin for actions 12 April 1945.

Citation: He was the radio operator of a B-29 airplane leading a group formation to attack Koriyama, Japan. He was charged with the additional duty of dropping phosphoresce smoke bombs to aid in assembling the group when the launching point was reached. Upon entering the assembly area, aircraft fire and enemy fighter opposition was encountered. Among the phosphoresce bombs launched by S/Sergeant. Erwin, 1 proved faulty, exploding in the launching chute, and shot back into the interior of the aircraft, striking him in the face. The burning phosphoresce obliterated his nose and completely blinded him. Smoke filled the plane, obscuring the vision of the pilot. S/Sergeant. Erwin realized that the aircraft and crew would be lost if the burning bomb remained in the plane. Without regard for his own safety, he picked it up and feeling his way, instinctively, crawled around the gun turret and headed for the copilot’s window. He found the navigator’s table obstructing his passage. Grasping the burning bomb between his forearm and body, he unleashed the spring lock and raised the table. Struggling through the narrow passage he stumbled forward into the smoke-filled pilot’s compartment. Groping with his burning hands, he located the window and threw the bomb out. Completely aflame, he fell back upon the floor. The smoke cleared, the pilot, at 300 feet, pulled the plane out of its dive. S/Sergeant. Erwin’s gallantry and heroism above and beyond the call of duty saved the lives of his comrades.

Bryn Mawr University

Nestled in the very Southeastern corner of The Keystone State, Bryn Mawr is a women-only university, and a member of the Seven Sisters. Well, more like the Six Sisters, as Radcliffe was merged with Harvard in 1999, and is no longer an independent entity. ‘Big Hill’, in Welsh, the name was assigned the town by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1869 after the Bryn Mawr estate established in 1686. The estate was at the southern end of what is called the Main Line, a string of well-to-do communities along the railroad.

The University did start accepting men for graduate school in 1931, but despite that male influence, the school colors are Lantern Glow and White. Women tend to have superior sensory perception, but it wouldn’t occur to any man to call any shade ‘Lantern Glow’.

Posted by: bkivey | 8 January 2026

Cea ‘The Social Dream’ Weaver

The Office of Mayor of New York City is arguably the hottest topic of political conversation since mid-December. A young, charismatic man, with looks to make at least half the LGBTQA+ community swoon, had risen in a matter of three months from New York Assemblyman from the 36th District, to Mayor of New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani made City history as both the first Muslim, and first Socialist-Democrat, to be elected to the Office. His victory was helped in no small part by previous Mayor Eric Adams’ departure under a cloud of Federal indictments for various corruption crimes. Nearest contender Andrew Cuomo had his own legacy of sexual misconduct, forcing his resignation from the New York Governorship. Progressivism appeals to base emotion, resulting in base behaviour. Second Rule of Management: People Work To Expectations.

Those expectations on the Left are non-existent. Expectations are anticipation of promised results; and come with accountability. There is no accountability in Collectivism, because no one is in charge, and nobody is at fault. Self is subject to State. The State is Mother, the State is Father. Personal responsibility for individual good is shifted to the Collective. The Collective, in turn, shifts the ‘accountability’ of the group back to the individual: telling them they are not ‘good’ Socialists because they don’t sacrifice enough. The Struggle must continue. Without individual responsibility, it’s difficult to produce results, and ‘expectations’ are reduced to promises, with no anticipation of results.

The folks who vote for The Collective, do not really expect results. They do expect that the people they elect will make the Tribal noises and identity codes. Without accountability, it’s all that matters. Which brings us to the post subject (Greek Chorus: “Finally!”). Cea (born Celia; assigned Female at birth; also current identity) Weaver was named the Administration’s Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, effective 1 January 2026. What does the Office do? The pull quote offered by Google AI:

” . . .works to strengthen tenant rights, combat landlord harassment, improve housing conditions, and enforce anti-harassment policies through interagency coordination, policy development, and direct engagement with tenants and advocates. ‘

How, exactly, will those aspirations be achieved? I would lay a large bet that no one in NYC government has any idea. They likely do have a direction, but the intangible metrics make resource effectiveness difficult to measure. Like, impossible: not an accident. And, no link to, or description of, the Office, or really any other, on the official NYC Government site. You get search engine results. No bios, or other information on the people in the various Departments. Plenty of direction on how to remit money to the City, though.

Ms. Weaver achieved her position through a (short) lifetime of activism. If a job is defined as activity that generates profit, whether for the individual, or organization, then Celia’s resumé is sorely lacking. This Champion of the Working Class attended Bryn Mawr ($88,000/year 2026), and later the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service ($30,000/year 2026). In current dollars, that’s about $400k in education. I have spent significantly less than a year’s Bryn Mawr tuition on my entire education to date, spanning several degrees. Ms. Weaver did spend her time on useful pursuits, earning a BA in Growth and Structure of Cities, and an MA in Urban Planning. These are valuable areas of expertise in an urban environment. Is it worth 400 large to acquire? Hmmm. Those jobs tend to concentrate in Government, an entity not know for great pay, but fantastic benefits. You can get the same education for under 100-grand if you attend public schools, which would leave enough, in much of the country, to buy a house, a nice car, and maybe a boat. Already, Ms Weaver’s financial acumen comes into question.

Her entire working career appears to have been spent in various forms of rabble-rousing, with a focus on tenant issues. Whatever floats your boat, but if that boat-floating includes public expressions self-hatred and unforced guilt, then maybe keep those to yourself. Not in this world of no boundaries and no expectation of privacy. Unless, you are caught out. The Internet is forever, as a number of GenY’rs are noticing. The World is noticing that the education that generation received, has given them a false narrative on Reality.

That formative-year indoctrination consisted in large part of valuing style over substance; herd virtue-signalling over thought. What people think about you, is more important than self-definition. The values of the group define yours. Which is to say, they are highly mutable; depending on the whim of the few, or maybe the one. Without fixed values, there can be no morality. It is, a world without sin. Humans however, innately desire direction. We have an ingrained desire to believe in and serve something greater than our individual selves. Lacking that, it is very easy to live a self-contradictory life, and rationalize any internal conflicts as external forces of Evil.

Which is what Cea Weaver, Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, has done since at least college. Some of her virtue signalling social posts back to 2017 have been unburied, and my, they are quite the revelation on The Revolution. Also a revelation is outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and as noted, outgoing under something of a cloud. Mr. Adams, though, is my favorite-person-this-week, based on his retort to some of Director Weaver’s X’s. Other’s, hard-core Democrats all, have similar responses. Where available, I’ll include the response’s to select social posts:

“If you don’t believe in the government’s sacred right to seize private property ITS OVER.” (2017)

“Homeownership is how immigrants, Black, Brown, and working-class New Yorkers built stability and generational wealth despite every obstacle. You have to be completely out of your f****ing mind to call that “white supremacy.” That level of thinking only comes from extreme privilege and total detachment from reality.” – Eric Adams

“Private property, including, and kind of, ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as “wealth building” public policy (2019, emphasis in original)

“Things like homeownership is white supremacy – I think that’s just ridiculous and, to be quite frank, I think it would surprise a lot of my Black, Latino and Caribbean-American constituents who have struggled their entire lives to buy a piece of New York and are raising middle-class families in my community to find out that they’re participating in white supremacy by doing so” – Assemblyman Kalman Yeger

“for centuries, we’ve really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good” and that in the future we will transition to treating it as a collective good under a model of ‘shared equity.’ It will mean that families, especially white families, are going to have a different relationship to property than the one we currently have.” (original undated)

Please click on the Kalman Yeger link and watch his thorough response.

Y asi. Ms. Weaver’s parents paid for her very pricey education, own a $1.4M home in Nashville, TN, and her father is a landlord. She does indeed live in historically-Black Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a neighborhood where the influx of White people and their money have halved the Black population the past 15 years. It is reported that a 3-bedroom apt goes for $4000/month, which for New York, isn’t bad. I’d say that the real-dollars price was very likely lower in 2010. I, and many others, would say that Cea is part of the problem.

“There is no such thing as a ‘good’ gentrifier” (2018)

Something I Did Not Know

Beverly Sills was from Crown Heights. My Mom was a Beverly Sills fan, and I heard a lot of her work on 12″ vinyl. We were stationed at West Point when she was in her prime, and my parents made several trips to The City to hear her. Sorry, kids. We did get to the Met enough, but I’m sure Dame Sills’ tickets were spendy on an Army officer’s salary with a wife and five kids.

That’s Funny

The first response to Eric Adam’s response to the Weaver X:

“Bro spitting facts now that he is out of office.”

Ivan Christopher

NFL Playoffs 2026

Over time, I have become a more casual football fan. I will watch games, but won’t make time for one. And as an American, I can’t escape the National Football League. I am not so indifferent to the sport that I can’t recognize a classic football game as it happens. The playoff wild-card game between the Green Bay Packers, and the Chicago Bears on 10 January was such a game. There are rivalries, and then there is Packers – Bears.

The rivalry is intensified by the relatively short 200-mile distance between the cities. This is similar to the Portland – Seattle separation, making them also natural antagonists. Because it’s only a 3-hour drive (faster than flying) between Chicago and Green Bay, both teams travel exceptionally well. Depending on the team’s respective fortunes, a home game can feel away. There is a lot of history, there.

On this particular evening at Soldier Field, the Packers manhandled Chicago. For the first half; with a score of 21 – 3 at the break. The second half was a different ballgame. Green Bay scored another touchdown, but Chicago scored four, for a final of 31 – 27, giving Da’ Bears their first playoff win in 15 years. Chicago fans will be re-watching this game for some time; Green Bay fans will probably burn the tape.

Posted by: bkivey | 7 January 2026

On Frozen Pond

I have been paying more attention to hockey the last several years, not least because the NHL Seattle Kraken surprised the League a bit a couple of years ago with their remarkable performance for an expansion team. I jumped on the bandwagon, but I am not a stranger to the sport. Seattle did not have an NHL team when I lived there, so my last NHL town of residence was St Petersburg, Fla. The Tampa Bay Lightning started play in the Suncoast Dome/Thunderdome/Tropicana Field located in town, and the company for which I worked would give out free tickets monthly to Lightning or Thunder (AFL) games; as the season dictated.

I watched a fair number of hockey games from the 300-level, and contrary to what Fox Sports thought at the time, Americans can see the puck on the ice just fine. The Thunderdome was, at the time, the largest of the NHL venues, seating nearly 30,000. It was true, that in a place called ‘God’s Waiting Room’; most fans in the early years were rooting for the opposition. The (somewhat) NFL Buccaneers had the same problem. I have been to Bucs home games that felt like they were playing away. The team would complain about lack of fan loyalty; the fan response was “Play better!”.

During the 95 -96 season, my last year of residence, the Lighting did ‘play better’, and made the playoffs, edging out the defending Champion New Jersey Devils by a single win. 8th-seed, is still a playoff seed.They played Philadelphia in the first round, and split the first two games, after which the series moved to St Petersburg for Games 3 and 4. Where I happened to live, and happened to be one of the 28,000 plus in attendance for Game 3, ending in a 5 – 4 Lightning overtime win. The game didn’t win the series, nor was it the last game played in the venue prior to moving to the Ice Palace in Tampa for the next season. That dubious distinction would go to Game 6 in the series 11 days later, which the Bolts would lose, as well as the round.

But, it was the first playoff win on home ice in team history. As soon as the lamp lit, an explosion of sound threatened to blow the roof off the dome. Literally deafening, and I was enthusiastically contributing. As a first exposure to NHL playoff hockey, it was a bit spoiling. It’s my second-favorite sports memory. The first; when I watched NC State beat Houston for the 1982 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in a bar half-a-mile from the State campus, and crowded way beyond fire capacity.

Boxing on Ice

You try it: https://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/n272684

Word Watch

Expantiate

The best the Internet can do is ‘expatiate’, which while uncommon, is not novel. So, of the million-plus words in the English vocabulary, this is not among them. Well, ’embiggen’ made it. So, word, or not? Although the word is fairly self-explanatory, I’ll include the full context:

“Weaker attack player on the left side, more attacks go over the right side and as attacker it is easier to score from the left side”.

Can you kindly expantiate on the above, thanks.

ahmed mohammed saba Coach, Nigeria on a hockey coaching forum.

I will say that ‘Nigerian ice hockey’ ranks with ‘Jamaican bobsledding’ as an unexpected word association. I will also say that my vote is Not A Word. There are plenty of other words that do the job in all its nuances. Sorry, Coach Saba.

Posted by: bkivey | 3 January 2026

Collective Thought(?)

Recent developments had me curious about what The Collective had to say, and I journeyed to those Reddest of sites, the digital homes of the Communist Party USA, (cee-pusa, to its friends), and the Socialist Party USA (or, spusa). What might the Communists and Socialists have to say about one of their own forcibly removed from power? Free and fair elections don’t really figure in those Governments: everyone is happy collectively helping everyone else in the Worker’s Paradise; what does it matter who’s in charge? Forcible removal is generally how power changes in those societies. In this case, one might wonder why it took so long.

If you are at all familiar with Progressive thought, you will be able to write either release, sight unseen. An imperialistic Amerika, led by a fascist, is motivated only by Venezuela’s oil. Guess who didn’t occupy Kuwait and Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War? The whole ‘invasion and occupation for resources’ was pretty well done after WW I. In a connected World, unforced aggression has serious economic and political consequences. Ask Vlad. But, if your political view and founding works are grounded in 19th Century European politics, your understanding of events will be limited accordingly.

Both the Socialists and Communists acknowledge the setback of the removal of a Socialist Hero, and they both exhort their followers to ‘continue the Struggle’. What the hell? You all have been Struggling since Day One. When do you think you might make some progress, Progressives? Does it not impress you that 175 years after Marxist theory was formulated, you are still ‘struggling’? That no major power is Communist? Indeed, the largest purveyor of Communism folded over 30 years ago, and the second largest has, if not embraced, at least admitted Capitalism? Successful organisms adapt; intelligent ones learn. Not much evidence of either, here.

Nicolás Maduro isn’t the only politician worthy of comment by the Red Press, recently inaugurated New York City Socialist-Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani struggled his way into arguably the top mayor job in the country. And by struggled, his plurality was 50.78%, or a little over 17000 votes of the 2.2M cast. Not exactly a mandate. A look at the voter demographics will illustrate why the Democrats call for lowering the voting age. Mayor Mamdani ran on a platform of Free Stuff. If you were educated by the New York City public school system, you might be unaware of that particular track record. And if you are young and ignorant, and your hormones tell you to stick it to The Man, you will vote for Free Stuff, with nary a thought to your future. Progressive power depends on just this ignorance, immaturity, and lack of self-awareness.

The Communists don’t have much to say about the Mamdani victory other than an announcement. In fact, while there is plenty of content on the site, I couldn’t find any long-form pieces on current events. Most of the writing budget appears to go to Marxist indoctrination under the ‘Study’ tab. It is notable that the anti-capitalists take PayPal and credit cards for membership dues.

The Socialists, by comparison, are a wordy bunch. They have quite a lot to say about the NYC mayoral victory. Fair, as they are one of their own. The first two paragraphs give some context, but the writer doesn’t even get out of the first paragraph without a warning: “But we must remain vigilant.” (the struggle continues). Those in power not down with the Struggle are called out:

” . . . those few Democrats not in on the spoils of fascism have sat too spineless and gutless to defend anyone from any of the openly violent capitalist terrorism unleashed this past year.”

” . . . openly violent capitalist terrorism . . .” Oh wow, four ‘trigger’ words in a row! A phrase undefined, but sure sounds scary. The Party seems a bit surprised at success:

“But on the 4th, people cast their votes for whomever they saw as the best defense against antidemocratic capitalist terror. And for now, it worked!”

There are warnings:

“We warn workers that capitalism follows the mentality of cancer, of endless accumulation and expansion.”

Just like everything that lives. Even Socialists. The Biological Imperative: Grow or Die, is immutable. Socialist Party USA acknowledges, almost assuredly inadvertently, the reason for American success:

“The Socialist Party USA maintains that only through independent working class political organizing can workers achieve and maintain economic prosperity and political freedom.”

In April of last year, I began documenting a struggle that resulted in exactly that.

Just a Note

Collectivist are always on about ‘owning the means of production’, as if that is the Great Equalizer that will usher in the Socialist Golden Age. The ‘means of production’ aren’t factories and industry; it’s someone picking up a hammer, and building stuff for other people for pay. ‘Production’ isn’t some thing obtainable only to ‘the rich’; it’s innate in every person. On that basis alone, Collective philosophy is shown to be harmful to the ‘working class’. The individual is required to contribute their creative energy to the collective without compensation. I have yet to see a demonstration illustrating how any normal person is better off putting their life decisions in the hands of others.

Posted by: bkivey | 1 January 2026

Battle of Quebec

Following on the opening hostilities in April, the Colonials moved to disrupt British supply lines by taking control of Lake Champlain, and thereby preventing Crown matérial coming south from Canada, while confining British resupply of New York and New England to the sea, simplifying interdiction. The increased reliance on sea transport would have the British ships more laden than might otherwise be the case, increasing the profitability of each encounter. As has been noted, the early Colonial Navy was focused on commerce raiding over other operations; no point in assault if you don’t have supplies.

The expeditions were led by Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen. Allen led the Green Mountain Boys, who had been feuding with New York over what is now Vermont. The Boys elected Allen leader, and headed to Ticonderoga. One fight’s as good as another, I guess. The British fort was quickly overwhelmed, after which the Green Mountain Boys pillaged, despite Arnold’s orders not to do so. You hire mercenaries, it’s what you get. After some military activity along the Lake, and an ill-advised assault on St. Johns at the northern end, the Colonials established themselves at Fort Tico with captured supplies, including several boats and a schooner. HMS Betsey was re-christened Enterprise, becoming the first vessel so named in the Continental/American fleet.

Both commanders were surprised by orders from the Continental Congress requiring them to abandon the Fort, and inventory supplies for later return to the British. Arnold appealed to Congress and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, while Allen did the same with the New York Congress. The pressure resulted in the Congress reversing the order on 31 May 1776, and sending reinforcements. While settling the immediate problem, there was dissension within the leadership of Lake Champlain. Col Arnold, who by accounts, was an egotistical hot-head, had declared himself “Commander-in-Chief of Crown Point” at the southern end of the Lake, establishing effective control of the waterway. A Col Hinman was coming with the reinforcements, and Arnold was expected to surrender command to him. This did not sit well with Benedict, and he threatened to surrender two of his ships to the British. He was relieved of command, and any of his men that would, were enlisted in Hinman’s service. The war was still rather more about personalities, and less about a structured military. Col Arnold resigned his commission.

Between the capture of Lake Champlain, and the arrival of reinforcements to the area, the Continental’s attempted to capture Canada. This action would not only neutralize the threat of invasion from The Great White North, it would give control of the entire network of the northeastern continental waterways, including the Great Lakes. A successful venture would require subjugating the only walled city in North America. Against trained, equipped, defenders, in Winter, in Canada. Sure.

The rebel march to the City came from two directions: Maj Gen Richard Montgomery approaching up Lake Champlain and the St Lawrence River, while Col Benedict Arnold journeyed north along the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers through present-day Maine. In the latter part of the 18th Century, this land was still very much wilderness. Arnold’s men had a tough time, losing boats, supplies, and most of their food. These were men experienced in wilderness combat, travel, and living: the terrain was that challenging. It’s notable that the rebels had to attack after weeks of arduous traveling, and intermittent combat. The defenders spent those same weeks in a relatively warm, dry building, with ample food and rest. If you wanted to choose the most difficult campaign possible, especially for a loose group of local governments, to mount against the reigning superpower, you’d have to look far to find one more challenging.

Col Arnold’s force of 600 arrived at Quebec on 13 November, and after a council with his officers yielded little enthusiasm for an assault, Arnold demand the City’s surrender, was rejected, and marched his men 20 miles south to link up with Montgomery. Those forces arrived on 2 December, with what one source describes as “food, shoes, and cannon.” The first two likely appreciated much more than the last. Maj Gen Montgomery correctly concluded that with Winter weather well in, and his men’s enlistments expiring at years-end, he was not able to mount a siege. He also correctly surmised that the defenders would not sally from behind the City’s nine-foot walls. While the general was weighing options, he learned that a deserter had tipped defending commander Maj Gen Guy Carleton. Many people would have withdrawn, and not unreasonably. But, Montgomery was a proto-American, and as Churchill (may have) noted, ‘Americans can be counted on to do the right thing, after they’ve tried everything else.’ The ‘everything else’ here, was attacking Quebec.

The attack was originally planned for 28 December, but a clear night and a full moon scotched that plan. What is described as ‘a violent storm’ came up on the night of 30 December, and Montgomery moved his forces into position after midnight; launching the attack about 0400 on 31 December. The plan was to feint at the southern walls and the St Louis Gate, while mortars fired into the town. Arnold, with 600 men, was to assault the North side of the City, while Montgomery with 900 men, did the same at the Southern wall. The ‘violent storm’ was a full-on blizzard, hampering force movement.

The British were unimpressed by the feinting attacks, and flares used by the rebels also alerted the defenders to the attack. With bells pealing, alerted defenders, and an ill-trained and disciplined assault force operating under adverse conditions, the Continental attack hardly got started before suffering casualties. Montgomery was killed, and Arnold wounded. Command of Arnold’s men devolved to Col Daniel Morgan, who took his men into the lower city, and engaged in the brutality of urban assault. The snow began to foul weapons, and the British had re-occupied a barricade, trapping the invaders, and forcing the Colonel with his 400 men to surrender.

Montgomery’s forces had retreated in disorder, while Arnold held with his forces outside the City until 6 May 1776, after which he withdrew. Such was the fate of the first, but not last, American invasion of Canada.

Just A Note

The article relates that enlistments ran out at the end of the year, and the battle occurred on the last day of the year. It is easy to imagine a Continental volunteer: last day of service, assaulting a walled city in a blizzard with a windchill of ‘Fuck This!’, snow fouling your weapon, officers that can’t find their butt with both hands, probably haven’t been paid lately, and your hands and feet are numb. Your best hope is success, but if you don’t succeed and somehow live, you’re faced with weeks of walking through freezing wilderness to get home. Life was different, then.

Related Reading

Posted by: bkivey | 27 December 2025

Roadhouse – A Review

Over Christmas, I was at a home where Roadhouse (1989, Swayze, Herrington, United Artists) was selected as the movie. What, no Die Hard? That particular movie is about as overdone as any other classic Christmas film, so maybe nice to see something else. Released a couple of years after Dirty Dancing, and two years prior to being named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People magazine, Roadhouse came at the height of Patrick Swayze’s popularity. If it was late 80’s, it was Patrick Swayze. The film has become something of a cult franchise, with a stage adaptation, a sequel (2006), and a remake (2024). I have never seen the movie, because I wasn’t a fan club member, and the movie was massively panned on release. I still haven’t seen the entire movie, as I came in about a third of the way through. Did see the important bits, though.

The movie came in at #44 for the year in box office gross, between Weekend At Bernie’s, and the Peter Pan re-release. Released on 19 May, the film was only out for seven weeks, likely because after Week 1, revenue started falling by mid-double digits. That’s quite the cultural impact for a movie that was out only 50 days.

The IMDB page describes the movie thus:

A legendary bouncer comes to restore order at a notorious bar but runs afoul of a ruthless crime boss who controls the town.

A formula as old as writing, itself. But, quite often can be a story well-told. This is not that story. And speaking of writing, it seems like the shooting script was maybe fifteen double-spaced pages. The legendary bouncer is a man of few, and very mediocre, words, and so is everyone else in Jasper, Missouri. Aaron Sorkin’s grocery list is likely longer and better written. The writing really is sub-par. The best line in the movie comes when the legendary bouncer brings the Big Boss’s kept woman back to him at the bar “If you have a pet, keep it on a leash.” That is the script highlight. And, how does one become a ‘legendary’ bouncer? Can you name a bouncer of any description, right now? Me neither. One qualification must be Category 2 hairspray, because tough, but sensitive, action-hero Mr. Swayze never has a hair out of place. Or anyone else, really. Like a telenovela, everyone looks good, all the time. Sam Elliot’s character is scruffy, to the point where he might be mistaken for the local street person.

Jasper, MO, is a real town, that really does have a small population (910), more than double the 1890 census. It does not, however, look anything like the southern California desert, where this appears to have been filmed. In the movie, the town is smaller still, as everyone lives around the same pond, and all the businesses are clustered together, not far from the residential area. There is an impressively large car dealership for the town. The car dealership seems to be one of many town businesses that do not carry insurance. After mayhem ensues, questions about insurance go unanswered “You got insurance, ain’t ya?” “[crickets]”.

The bar of record is the Double Deuce, while Sam Elliot’s character has a more appropriate appellation. The bar very likely cannot get insurance, because there appear to be several fights scheduled nightly. Knives seem to be an entrance requirement, as does the willingness to brawl. Law enforcement, isn’t. If I lived in Jasper, I’d have a glass shop and a disaster-cleanup outfit: both insured. And I’d stay the hell away from that bar. When the patrons (apparently no one gets 86’d) aren’t fighting, they are ogling the nearly-naked women on the stage. The film runs nearly two hours, but if it weren’t for sex and violence, there wouldn’t be a movie there.

And the violence isn’t that well done. As the reason d’etre for the movie, you’d think some budget would be spent here. The choreography is unimaginative, and the fighting is clumsy. There are scores of 40’s Westerns with better bar fights. It looks like the director said “Welp, good enough. Next scene.” Note to Hollywood fight choreographers: watch any Coen Bros 80’s Hong Kong Kung-Fu film. You will improve your craft.

If you’ve seen the movie, you know how it goes. I came in when Big Boss was trying to buy Patrick Swayze. Unsuccessful, but he didn’t offer hairspray, either. The movie is one big trope, so you know what happens next. I do not think there is a box unchecked. Some movies so afflicted can be decent; such as North Shore (1987 Adler Phelps Universal). That movie is also one continuous trope, but is elevated because it’s evident that the people involved cared about the project. And a guesting Laird Hamilton is judging the hell out of that surfing competition. Roadhouse looks like some people threw a couple of sets together out in the desert and made the easiest possible movie to cash in on Swazye-mania. The whole thing just feels lazy.

The film isn’t helped by the cinematography. It feels like a two-hour TV movie. Lots of medium and close shots, overlighted scenes, and an overall look like an 80’s TV show. The editing also seems informed by television, with jarring jump cuts. The director doesn’t really make use of the expansive possibilities offered by the big screen. The sound is OK, but includes the egregious squealing car tires on gravel. No. No, no, no. Of note, there is not a single computer visible, anywhere. And, you had to know the phone number.

While Roadhouse wasn’t a box-office failure; it returned four times its budget, this is not a good movie. It’s not even really bad enough to be good; it’s just bad. This film is good for wallpaper, and not much else.

Top Ten Movies for 1989 by box office gross (USD)

The last column is whether I have seen the movie.

1Batman$251,188,9242,201$251,188,924Jun 23Warner Bros.Yes. My favorite of the franchise.
2Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade$197,171,8062,327$197,171,806May 24Paramount PicturesNo
3Lethal Weapon 2$147,253,9861,830$147,253,986Jul 7Warner Bros.No
4Rain Man$139,602,9561,590$172,825,435Dec 16Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)Yes. Liked it.
5Honey, I Shrunk the Kids$130,724,1721,498$130,724,172Jun 23Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesNo
6Look Who’s Talking$113,455,8011,651$140,088,813Oct 13TriStar PicturesNo
7Ghostbusters II$112,494,7382,410$112,494,738Jun 16Columbia PicturesNo
8Dead Poets Society$95,860,1161,109$95,860,116Jun 2Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesNo
9Parenthood$95,527,8431,399$100,047,830Aug 2Universal PicturesNo
10Back to the Future Part II$93,592,1952,107$118,811,197Nov 22Universal PicturesNo

Wow. I am an uncultured heathen.

Roadhouse (1948)

Curiously, the OG Roadhouse (1948 Lupino Negulesco 20th Century Fox) is nowhere mentioned in searches. I only found it through an image search, where the movie poster turned up. I am definitely watching this movie. The Wikipedia article sounds much more interesting than the 1989 effort. Typical of film noir, there is a lot going on in under 1 1/2 hours. And if the script is typical, there’s a lot going on there, too. You really have to pay attention to these movies, or you’ll miss something.

Posted by: bkivey | 25 December 2025

In Hoc Anno Domini

Written in 1949 by Vernon Royster and published in The Wall Street Journal annually since.

First published on Fixed Points the first December of the blog in 2010.

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so. But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression – for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the le­gions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impresser to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a cur­tain so that man would still believe sal­vation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of dark­ness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wearand would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter’s star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Posted by: bkivey | 24 December 2025

The Tallest Yule Tree in All The Land(s)

Communities across the globe put up Christmas trees as part of the Holiday celebrations. I wondered: who has the tallest tree? Is there some sort of informal competition for the tallest/widest/heaviest tree? I had thought there might be an annually updated list somewhere, but if so; well hidden. One must look around a bit. This years search was complicated by sites that listed ‘Tallest Trees’, while leaving out some contenders. Some lists omitted the northern California trees entirely.

Here in Portland, Ore, a tree donated by Stinson Lumber Company is erected every season in Pioneer Monument Square downtown.

Credit: Bridgetown Bites

This year’s edition is 75 feet tall, but due to shipping constraints, and the fact that Douglas firs are not branch-endowed, other trees gave their lower limbs to fill out the hero tree. A community can hire Christmas Tree builders to fabricate a mutant tree made of bits from other trees, and this apparently still qualifies as on official tree. There are various artificial objects decorated as Christmas trees, but it’s all sizzle and no steak. Christmas trees don’t necessarily have to be fir trees, although ‘O Tannenbaum’ is an ode to one. People festoon palm trees in Florida, and it can look good. There’s a seasonal beer commercial highlighting that. As the commercial first aired while I lived in Florida, I am half-way convinced the palm-tree-lighting industry came about because of it, similar to Mexico City’s now-annual Día de los Muertos descended directly from the Bond (“James Bond”) movie Spectre.

I am only interested in naturally grown, humanely harvested trees. Fluffing up the branches is OK, and for a public display, necessary, but the majority of the tree must be a single organism. Of the more well-known trees in the US, the Rockefeller Center tree is 75 ft tall this year, while the officially-named US Capitol Christmas Tree reaches 53 ft. Last year’s edition towered to 80 feet. Was this a Trump snub to the Deep State? There are trees easily twice that height behind the house.

The contenders for 2025 are:

Ft. Bragg, CA

Credit: Ft. Bragg Advocate

212′ coastal Redwood

I hesitated on this one, because while it is the tallest Christmas tree, it is not publically accessible. That is to say, the public can access it, but only the public that can pay $70 for the privilige. Accessibility will be a criteria for the 2026 list. At any rate, this is the World’s Tallest Christmas Tree for 2025.

Ferndale, CA

Credit: Instagram

162′ Sitka Spruce

Located in northern California, Ferndale made its money in dairy, and has held an annual tree lighting since 1934 using the same tree. The tree is about as high as the species normally grows, although there have been some trees topping 300 feet. So, maybe room to grow, and take the undisputed crown.

Cragside Tree, Cragside, Northumberland, UK

Credit: National Trust

44.7m Giant Redwood

If you are wondering what a tree species more commonly associated with northern California and southern Oregon is doing in the UK, the climates are very similar. The tree was planted in the 1860’s by what Google AI describes as a ‘pioneering family’. Not sure how much pioneering there was to do in 1860’s England, but perhaps the reference is to family activity in the American PNW.

The same sites that omit the American trees, usually label this as the ‘World’s Tallest’. The Cragside site calls it the ‘World’s Largest Bedded Christmas Tree’, which seems a peculiarly British distinction, but not unexpected from a land of gardeners. The tree is compared to “The Angel of the North”, which I had thought to be a tree, but is a statue not far from this tree. The Northumberland visitor site is more conservative, confining it’s description to ‘UK’s Tallest Living Christmas Tree”. That should satisfy Legal.

The UK is metric, but I have noticed that when directions are given, distances are usually in miles. It’s amusing, and one of the more present cultural artifacts in modern use.

Citadel Outlets (nee Grove) Tree City of Commerce, CA

Credit on photo

115′ White Fir

Citadel Outlet Mall strives yearly to have the tallest cut tree in the country, and apparently this year, the World. This is also the tallest readily-accessible tree. The tree is well-presented, and the vertical tree serves to visually shrink the horizontal sprawl of the mall. It’s a nice installation.

The Grove Mall, Los Angeles, CA

Credit: Vanessa Wyatt/YouTube

100′ White Fir

These two LA-area malls seem to be in an informal competition for tallest tree. This mall is reputed to be a celebrity hot-spot. You know where to go.

Let’s Talk About That Decoration

I am going to say, that slapping some lights on a tree and calling it a Christmas tree, is not wrong, but is lazy. Draping vertical strings of lights on a tree is the least energy-intensive effort possible. Great, if all you want is something to show, but one of the joys of Christmas is decorating the tree. Ornaments are what connect people to the tree, and by extension, the Holiday. The Portland and Citadel trees are bedazzled with ornaments. People have things to look at. They can make a connection.

While four of the five are American, they all have a Star. The British tree, does not, further drawing attention to it’s sad effort at decoration.

If You Were Wondering . . .

The tallest publicly-displayed cut tree was a 212 foot tree-among-trees Douglas fir installed in a shopping mall in Seattle, WA in 1950. That is as tall as Doug firs grow.

In the two years immediately prior to the record-setting installation, the good citizens of Bellingham, WA, decided to go for the Tallest Tree record. The linked story is worth a look. If you live in a land of big trees and are Christian, you will naturally wonder how those trees might look in Christmas guise. This month’s header acknowledges that.

Making It Official

I would point out that the travel allowance isn’t quite as good as the $0.70/mile allowed business, but far better than the $0.21/mile rate allowed active duty personnel for moving. ADM Claus should probably apply for a variance, as there is only one pilot holding a Multi-Engine Sleigh endorsement.

Carrier Strike Group Three 

The Department of the U.S. Navy issued orders on Dec. 24, 2025 to Adm. Santa Claus, recalling him to active duty. A reservist with 1,748 years of service, this Naval Aviator specializes in vertical delivery of high-value items. He is carrier flight deck qualified and is also a Public Affairs Officer.

Also recalled were Lt. Cmdr. Dasher, Master Chief Dancer, Senior Chief Prancer, Lt. Vixen, Cmdr. Comet, Lt. Cmdr. Cupid, AW1 Donner, and AW1 Blitzen, Individual Augmentees from the Navy Reserve. Ensign Rudolph is also authorized to report for duty; however, he must first successfully complete Carrier Qual training, which he has failed three times.

Although the above Sailors are on orders for only 24 hours, it is anticipated that they will submit a travel claim for 24,901 miles at .56/mile, using a POV. Suitable government transportation is not available.

As a special operations unit, each member is granted a high level of uniform flexibility, as well as relaxed grooming standards. Per diem is authorized and has been modified to include large quantities of hot cocoa and cookies.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from CSG-3!

Real, Or Not?

The updated Portland Christmas Tree

Satirical site That Oregon Life published an ‘article’ about the ‘inclusive’ Portland Christmas Tree. If you read the piece, you will not be able to tell that it is satire, because Progressives have become such a caricature of themselves that fiction cannot be separated from reality. Which is the world in which they operate. If your beliefs and actions can be mocked without differentiation, that’s proof you don’t live in the real world.

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