Political Hypocrisy

Washington, DC is full of hypocrites. They are constantly telling us what to do while they do just the opposite. My favorite example is John Kerry, Biden's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, who flies all over the world in private jets even though he states climate change is an existential threat to human civilization and the environment. You can add Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg and others to that list.

I am currently waiting on the mainstream media to point out that although Joe Biden says the rich should pay their fair share of taxes and that guns should be banned, his son, Hunter, has been charged with failure to pay taxes on millions of dollars and a felony firearm offense (something that would put you and I in jail). I suspect it will be a long wait.

If it were only this easy

Mormon Crickets

My friend, Keith, sent me this note and photo of a swarm of Mormon crickets in northern Nevada...

A plague of biblical proportions

Here's a video that gives you a better idea of the scope of the infestation: https://youtu.be/lsZqXkts2fk

Hall of Flame Museum

The Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix has the largest collection of fire fighting equipment in the world. It starts with a pumper built circa 1725 (I believe my older cousin, Chris, helped design it) and continues up to modern, motorized fire engines. I tried finding a photo of that world famous firefighter, Terry Averett, but apparently, they had not gotten around to putting it up yet. Here's a slideshow of just some of the equipment...

 

If you would like to view the slideshow via a fullscreen, click here

Slinky T-Shirt

Huh?

When government gives you directions...

Musical Instrument Museum

Keith, Jayne and I visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix this morning. This is an extremely impressive facility with over 4,200 instruments on display from every corner of the globe. I would recommend it to anyone who is in the area. One of the unique features of the tour is getting a set of headphones at the front desk that allows you to automatically listen to the instruments while looking at a television monitor showing people playing them...

Click on images to enlarge

The vast majority of instruments I had never heard of much less seen. I played the trumpet in high school but never saw one like this...

There is even an area where kids can play on their own including the 25-foot-wide "Apollonia" orchestrion...

There is no way you can see it all in one visit, so I would suggest allotting several hours at the minimum. We were told that they are continually adding items to their collection which means there will always be something new to see. 

Heart Attack Grill

When I lived in Las Vegas, one of the most unique places to visit on Fremont Street (particularly, with friends from out of town) was the Heart Attack Grill which is known for their extremely unhealthy high calorie/fat food and drinks. A competitive eater that I occasionally follow on YouTube recently ate there and here is his video...