Testing updates and social media automatic updates

Posted By on June 24, 2025

Ignore this late lunchtime update.
The feed from WordPress to X.com has been failing to authenticate and update properly after the ups and downs on this server. Below is a 14 day look before finally clearing the MySQL problem. Hopefully the bloat has been fixed? 

Bloat fixed?

Peace Through Strength — Strength, Deterrence and Iran

Posted By on June 24, 2025

Trump Hits Iran - 250622

It looks as if my commentary is becoming a regular Thinking emojirigh-hand column thing over at TheHustings.news (based on the current news story).  

Peace Through Strength — Strength, Deterrence and Iran

The debate over whether to strike Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites is now behind us, as Tehran has suffered a significant setback in its pursuit of weapons-grade material. The United States military displayed impressive precision and professionalism in carrying out the orders of our ever-engaged commander-in-chief.

For many, the choice seemed binary: Either act decisively to prevent a nuclear Iran, or risk facing a far more dangerous regime emboldened by atomic leverage. Those of us who lived through the Cold War remember the constant threat of nuclear conflict — and the relief that followed the Soviet Union’s collapse. Unfortunately, the decades since have seen the rise of new nuclear threats, with Iran chief among them.

It is reasonable to hope that the recent B-2 strikes will not only stall Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also serve as a strong deterrent to its leadership — discouraging future aggression toward Israel, Western democracies, and continued support for terrorist proxies.

America cannot afford to project weakness. Under President Trump, the United States demonstrated a clear willingness to apply maximum pressure — politically, economically, and militarily — without rushing into prolonged entanglements. Critics may still call for restraint, but history shows that appeasement has rarely tempered radical regimes.

President Trump’s doctrine of peace through strength provided a strategic roadmap: one where America leads from a position of resolve, not retreat.

Avoiding war is always preferable. But ignoring Iran’s nuclear ambitions invites far greater peril. While some hesitate to act, President Trump understood that decisive leadership today can prevent the devastating conflicts of tomorrow.    — Rich Corbett

LINK

Adding a map posted on BrilliantMaps that does a pretty good job of illustrating the timeline of the United States air strike against Iranian nuclear sites on June 22md 2025, known as Operation Midnight Hammer.

Operation Midnight Hammer
Map credit: OSDPA

Music Monday: A post from decade ago, but a poignant reminder

Posted By on June 23, 2025

A repeated Music Monday song, but I could help but think about it after spending the week with my granddaughters and families who were both with us this past week and weekend.

A lousy, but socially needed,Music Monday” message:

While eating lunch at Wendy’s over the weekend, I notice a father and his young son spending time together for lunch as well. “Nice,” I thought … until the all to often happened. The dad’s attention was drawn to his cellphone … CatsCradleDadSon170211to the point he gave ZERO attention to his son — such a shame (although expect we all are guilty to some degree). The shock for me was not the momentary distraction, but that the dad completely ignored his son without ever once looking up. He pecked away on his phone and never once gave his son even a glance. I was shocked he never looked away from his phone and even when the by “politely” tapped his arm he only acknowledging him verbally without looking up.

I first felt sorry for the boy … then for the dad … and then for our “too busy, technology saturated and distracted” society. How have smartphones, tablets, games and tech gadgets distracted you and exacerbated another generations Cat’s in the Cradle? It is an epidemic problem.
 

    Cat’s In The Cradle | Harry Chapin – 1974

(more…)

Archive: Summer week with our granddaughters was a success!

Posted By on June 22, 2025

This content is restricted.

U.S. Strikes Iran’s Nuclear Sites: Escalation and Diplomacy in Focus

Posted By on June 21, 2025

On June 21, 2025, President Trump announced U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—escalating the Israel-Iran conflict. Using B-2 stealth bombers and “bunker-busting” bombs, the U.S. targeted Iran’s nuclear core, following Israel’s week-long campaign that weakened Iran’s air defenses. Trump called the strikes “very successful” but urged peace, with a national address set for 10 p.m. ET.

Iran reported “limited damage” and claimed prior evacuation of nuclear materials. Experts caution that the strikes’ impact is unclear without damage assessments. Iran’s Supreme Leader warned of consequences, raising fears of retaliation against U.S. troops.

Despite the aggression, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio push for diplomacy, though recent talks with Iran stalled. Egypt and Gulf states advocate de-escalation, while U.S. lawmakers are divided—some, like Sen. John Fetterman, support the strikes, while others, like Rep. Thomas Massie, demand a war-powers vote.

The strikes, aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, risk broadening the conflict in a volatile region. The coming days will determine if diplomacy or further escalation prevails.

Source: Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2025, Live Coverage: Iran-Israel Conflict Latest News

Tech Friday: Less blogging but monitoring Linux server stability

Posted By on June 20, 2025

Grok AI and I have become good friends over the past few weeks. I’ve been using artificial intelligencewith some success —  in order to fix a few ongoing issues Having problems?with MDB and the Linux server that has served me well for the past decade or so.

No … I’m not updating or doing anything crazy yet … but have realized that most of the problems are from outdated PHP code, hodgepodge theme updates over the years and old outdated and unsupported widgets and plugin. In other words, change is going to have to happen in the future.

For now, things seem stable and I’ll forego updating Linux to the latest release, PHP 8.1  any further or doing anything radical until there is a “blog update” plan in place. Part of me wants to tackle theme writing, but the other “wisdom of age” part of me knows it would be wiser to work with a new updated theme. For now, keeping CPU and memory issues to a minimum is all I’m asking. 😉 

First solid 24 hours without CPU and Memory issues

Woodworking: Keep your fingers safe working on the Table Saw

Posted By on June 19, 2025

As I have in the past, here’s another woodworking idea for a push block that keeps fingers safe and rides on the table saw fence. I my mind, I’m contemplating one that actually becomes a sliding fence for cutting thin strips for splines Thinking emojithat are all of the same size. 

Pushstick idea

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog