Russyan Athletes Stripped of Olympic Medals

   Four Russyan Olympic athletes were stripped of medals they were awarded at the Games in Sochi, Crimea, Ukraine in 2014.  All were accused of "doping" or using performance enhancing drugs.  This action continues the efforts of Olympic Committee members to remedy the illegal action of the Russyan hosts that conspired to defraud all athletes during the Games by altering blood samples in the lab on site.   The director of the lab, now living in the USA, admitted that the process under his guidance used a scheme that overcame committee efforts to make the alteration of samples impossible.  By breaking through security measures, the Russyan were able to replace the on site samples with fake samples provided by outsiders.
      Sadly, the athletes who have now been elevated to medal positions will never have their "moment in the sun" thanks to the duplicity of the Russyan hosts.
     Oh, well, they are Russyan.

Louisiana Gas Makes It to Poland

    Who built the pipeline from Houma, LA to Gdansk?  It seems like an impossible feat.  But wait.  Did it really happen?  Well, not exactly.  Poland has been searching for an alternative to Russyan energy suppliers.  As a significant consumer of all Russyan  energy market components, Poles have felt that they were under political pressure to pay more than markets dictated, given their dependency.  So, Poles looked for alternatives, realistic and dependable.  Where else than the good old U.S. of A?  America has become a net exporter of energy.  After years of being an importer dependent on the Middle East, fracking has turned the tables on imports.
     During the Obama administration, the rules were changed to allow export of oil and gas.   Energy companies were quick to jump in, despite possibilities of markets being upended by the entry of new products on the world stage.   However, companies saw a need to offer products to compete with those sources that had a lock on certain energy-dependent countries.   Poland was one of the first to tap this new source.   The gas came not via a pipeline, per say, but a maritime pipeline in the form of LNG ships, delivering natural gas in the form of liquid petroleum gas.   Ahh, thank you to our technicians and oil industry experts who put all this together.  Now Russya will be more respectful of Polish consumers and Polish utility companies that can now buy product at reasonable market prices without the heavy-handedness of their eastern neighbors(Kremlin).
       Too bad for you, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, 17 years the dictator of the largest country in the world.
     Have a nice day.

Chinese Hackers Indicted by US

      Hmmm. Here we go again.  Seems that three Chinese hackers got into the email account of one of Moody's chief economists.   Mark Zandi, a longtime Moodys employee/economists had his emails diverted by the hackers to shone light on economic attitudes to some banking rules and regs.  More will be uncovered as the investigation goes forward.

Wells Fargo: Financial Train Wreck

       Wells fargo got caught,, again, with their pants down.  It seems the ForEx division was cowboying along, breaking agreements and fostering a climate of excess in their pricing of transactions for clients.  They were overcharging in the fee structure.  The US Attorney General's Office is opening a broad investigation, as is the Office of Comptroller of Currency and Treasury Dept.  Wells says many of those involved have been fired.  No names were mentioned.  It seems also that executive bonuses were tied to goals and target quotas: never a good deal for clients.
     I believe that big banks are TOO BIG TO OPERATE HONESTLY.
Time will tell if regulators learn anything this time around.

Matthew Turner: Update

rigger on foremast platform

electric motor w/ drive shaft

yardarm fittings @work

     The brigantine Matthew Turner is about to get the last section of mast put in place this Thursday.  The fore topmast will be lifted into position with exacting precision.  It is a difficult operation_ the piece must be threaded through the foremast top band and raised into position, then held until the base foot is stepped against the lower section.  When it has been properly stepped, the riggers will spring to life and start the process of attaching all the stay cables: shrouds, fore stays, back stays, and all the running rigging hardware at the deck and at the platform position.
      The steel gang has been hard at work, making the numerous fittings needed to hold everything above decks in place.  All the running rigging hardware has had to be made because of the unique character of the ship and the desire to be historically accurate as much as possible,  Many components could have been purchased from mainstream dealers, but these modern elements would look out of place.   Many of the pieces were made with the help of many different workers- some remote(Van Bebbers), some close by(the Mayor), and a few on sight at the tent.    With a metal shop in one of the on site containers, welding, brazing, shaping, and painting can be done easily.  Even some machining can be done under the tent.   Braiding cable is also done here near the welding shop where volunteers have rigged a scaffolding to hold the cable horizontally while it is being covered with protective elements.
     When the fore top is in place, the ship will definitely have the look that has taken the crew almost 4 full years to accomplish.   Big Christmas Gala at the Bay Model of Army Corps of Engineer's building, Friday, Dec. 1.

                                                                                                                          

High Pressure Settles Over Tahoe

      The Thanksgiving Holiday has come and gone.  The memories linger of tranquil weather throughout the Sierra, especially at the Lake.

Mirror Surface Reflects Nevada Side: Tuesday Afternoon-11/21/17

Sunrise: 11/22/17-Fogbank Obscures Lake surface

     Tahoma enjoyed the balmy weather with temperatures reaching 60.  Reno expected to hit 70, which would be an all time high for the date.   The Mayor was up on a ladder for a spell, fixing a gutter.  Now's the time, with snow definitely just around the corner.  The Truckee River is running high as the dam is releasing quite a bit of water in anticipation of a "normal" or "average" winter's snowfall.  We'll see soon enough.
      Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows has opened, with early season conditions.   This means that only the higher elevations will have open runs.   The West Shore Pizza restaurant was busy all week- a good sign that vacationers were in a festive mood, ready to hit the slopes.  We can expect more of the same come December.
      Have you checked your propane tank?  What per cent is it reading?  Enough for a good holiday season?  Now's the time to get what you need while the weather is still good enough for a delivery.
CalTrans crews are still around, getting ready to stop construction and to prepare for snow removal efforts.
     How's your firewood supply? OK?  Stack it tightly, out of the weather, easily accessible.

Argentines Grieve Over Loss of Crew in Submarine

      Searchers have revealed evidence of an explosion in the vicinity of the course of the missing Navy submarine.  With a crew of 44, the boat vanished on a routine patrol off the West Coast of Argentina.  Families have become resigned to the fact that nothing has been heard in over a week.  The military has had very little information to provide families.   The local units have been added to by international units with satellite coverage to aid the search.
     Our thoughts are with the families.