Revolution - the TV series

Just thinking ... (always dangerous)!

Revolution - the failure of electricity. Someone, somewhere wrote "Government worked before electricity. Why wouldn't work without it?" If electricity did fail and gasoline engines would not work then no transport network and no food distribution from farm to city and from processing plant to city. Millions would starve. Millions in care facilities, diabetics, those waiting on organ transplants would die before a new infrastructure could develop. The practice of medicine would devolve as stocks of medicine and disposable everythings were used up.

On the other hand, diesel engines could work if an alternative to electrically-heated glow plugs could be devised; I was thinking about replacing the plugs with gas-fired elements. Steam engines for railroads could make a comeback but would require time. The US Postal Service ... back in business ... with steam engines and horse & buggy (requisitioned).

However, unless diesel engines would work, lots of folks in the US would starve as our population is too large to be supported by a "man behind a plow on 140 acres of land" agricultural system. The Amish and the like would be retraining a large part of the surviving population as it moved back to the farm as tenants/sharecroppers. Cities would definitely downsize.
 

I don't know if any of this is part of the TV series as I have not watched.

-30-

What is a Troop?

 
I have seen the transition! 

About three weeks ago, I read the second news article in which the word "troop" was used in the singular to mean "one soldier."

Originally, a troop was a group of armed men that fought on horseback, a cavalry unit.  This is opposed to a group of men mounted on horses to move rapidly about the field of battle but who would dismount and fight on foot -- dragoons or mounted infantry. 

A member of a troop of cavalry was a trooper (or horseman or cavalryman).  Since 1910 in the USA, a member of a troop can also be a Boy Scout; Girl Scouts came along shortly thereafter.

Somewhere along the line, the word "troops" came to be used to "our fighting men" as in "Support our troops!"  So, if "troops" were many soldiers, then it must follow a single soldier would be a "troop."

-30-

Dead ... but only temporarily

A few years ago, I was dead for several days.

As I recall, my bank called to ask about my death. I responded I wasn't and who said I was.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) said so. "Someone" had told them I was dead and so they corrected my record to match the information supplied. The SSA would not tell me just who told them I was dead; that must be privileged information. The SSA did not have to verify the actual fact of my death; they were told I was dead and that was that.

On the other hand, my physical presence would not be proof of my non-deadness to the SSA. An official SSA form along with supporting documentation had to be presented at the local office before I became undead ... not dead ... resurrected.

And, after a bit of Googling, I learned this is not an uncommon event. Some 14,000 non-dead folk are listed as dead each year by the SSA.

Damp but not down,
J R "Mad Dog" Madden

Originally posted at SouthernFandomClassic at Yahoo! Groups.

Delta Diamond status attained ...

On Monday, 03 September, I completed my currently usual two flights from Baton Rouge to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Huntsville.  My assignment is at Redstone Arsenal with the GFEBS Project.

Those two flights (AKA segments) put me at 140 segments for the calendar year.  Therefore, I qualified for DIAMOND status as a Delta Frequent Flyer.  This is for the second year in a row.

Is it worth it?  Well, if the aircraft has a first class section, I usually get upgraded which is nice.  If the aircraft does not have first class seating, and my usual aircraft, the CRJ-200 doesn't, then it is not much of an advantage.

Oh, the complimentary SkyClub membership is nice on occasion when I have time between flights in Atlanta which is the case about half the time.


-30-