Author: WmX

I stumbled off the track to success in 1968, started chasing shadows that summer. Since then, In addition to farm-laborer and newspaper photographer my occupational incarnations include dishwasher, janitor, retail photo clerk, plumber, HVAC repairman, auto mechanic, CAT scan technologist, computer worker and politico (whatever it takes to buy a camera.) I am on the road to understanding black and white photography.

VA Tech

The treatment of Iranian students post-1979 reflects a broader pattern of U.S. immigration policy reacting to geopolitical tensions. The Carter administration’s mass visa reviews were criticized as discriminatory, targeting Iranians based on nationality rather than individual actions.

robot plumbers?

My opening lesson as a toiletologist. Pasting in below a link to a conversation between Ross Douthat (NYT) and Daniel Kokotajlo, former Open AI employee. I’d thought repair plumbing was less at risk from large language models than the practice of medicine. Daniel is causing me to rethink. Dan is pessimistic, he reputedly places the probability that A.I. will decimate humanity at 70 percent. Eek! Same as the chance your toilet will misbehave.

Dan’s website

irrepressible

April and littermates were found in a cardboard box next to Route 22 in Louisa County. She never accepted the idea that a human could walk next to her on a leash. Nantucket sleighride, chaos, joy.

South of the Border

How it All Started
In 1949, Mr. Alan Schafer built a simple 18 x 36 foot beer stand known as South of the Border Beer Depot. As it adjoined the North Carolina counties, which were dry of alcoholic beverages, business boomed. A few years later a 10-seat grill was added and the business was re-named South of the Border Drive-In.

In 1954, Mr. Schafer added 20 motel rooms. Materials for the addition were shipped to “Schafer Project South of the (North Carolina) Border”. Mr. Schafer shortened the name of his business to South of the Border.

Business was steadily expanded with Mexican trinkets and numerous kitsch items imported from Mexico. The site itself also began to expand to include a cocktail lounge, gas station and souvenir shop. In 1962, South of the Border expanded into fireworks sales, potentially capitalizing on the fact fireworks were illegal in North Carolina. In 1964 it was announced that the route for I-95 would pass right by South of the Border, and the facility would be next to two exits and within view of the highway. By the mid-1960s, South of the Border had expanded to include a barber shop, drug store, a variety store, a post office an outdoor go-kart track complete with other outdoor recreational facilities and the 104 feet (32 m) tall image of the mascot, Pedro.
https://www.sobpedro.com/our-history