Nashville - To The River

The Cumberland River that is, for a riverboat tour.

 Walked on down Broadway to the riverfront. This should have been easy, but lower Broadway leading to the riverboat and the river was blocked and fenced off due to the America's Tailgate event.

So, there was quite an extensive detour to get around the stage area and then make the way to the boat. Quite a few people heading to the boat were all trying to figure it out, and while the setup people were helpful, a few gave contradictory instructions on how to get around the area to the boat.

 But we all did eventually get to the boat.

 

And a fine riverboat it is, a nice stern paddle-wheel steamer. We were checked in and welcomed on board. With three decks accessible it was easy to find space to relax and enjoy.  The bar on board didn't hurt the effort at relaxation either.

Soon we were off.

 There was a fair bit of history and information given during the tour about various buildings on the riverbanks 

Like Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans and Tennessee State Tigers Football teams.

We also learned about the many barges and such that we passed along the way.

 

You can tell the difference between a concrete barge and a sand barge very easily.

Heading down the river, we also got to see a fellow on a Sea-Doo doing some impressive stunts.

 

In addition to jumps he did complete flips.

The fellow was able to do a series of complete loops as he flipped the Sea-Doo in the air multiple times in a row, landing successfully each time until:

 

He mistimed this one and then wiped out most impressively, leaving a splash behind as he completely buried the Sea-Doo and himself underwater.

He got up, shook himself off, got the Sea-Doo going, and headed on his way. 

Quite fun to watch and he did do 10 successfully, so a single wipe out is no diminishment of the skill demonstrated.

We then headed back to the dock and debarked in good order.

The River Boat tour was fun, informative and a great time. A highly recommended activity if you're visiting Nashville.

It was a darn nice river tour.  Then everyone was walking around the stage setup again, and it was on to Broadway for lunch. 

Nashville - To The Opry!

I spent this weekend in Nashville,  taking some time to enjoy the city.

Arrived there on Saturday after a pleasant flight and checked into the hotel.

I then walked from the hotel to the WeGo bus station which was about a 20 minute walk along Broadway and Rep John Lewis Way. It was sunny and hot in the low 90s.

On my walk, I passed by quite a few homeless people and meth-heads, of which there was a strong overlap.

One in particular was busy loudly arguing with himself most vociferously, and a but further on a meth lady was getting in another homeless person's face and barking like a dog at him which was interesting to watch as I strolled on by.  I decided not to remain around and see the entire interaction play out, as it was the very definition of "Not my circus, not my monkeys", leaving plenty of space between me and the meth-heads.

Got to the bus station and then hopped on the #34 bus to Opry Mills.  Pretty easy system to figure out and the bus ride was pleasant with few people on the bus.

Got off at the last stop at  Opry Mills.

Since this was the south, I had a meal at Mission BBQ, which was very good, with great friendly service and a nice atmosphere.  I made short work of the Brisket platter which was excellent.

Then it was off to the Opry.

Getting there was a tad complicated as the easy walkway from the Opry Mills Mall to the Opry was closed for some reason, necessitating a wide detour around a pretty trafficy road on foot without much room  for pedestrians.  But, I made it.

 

The Opry is a live radio show that has been running since the 1920s.

Went in and got seated for the show. 

The show is broadcast live on air and the announcer would announce the performers and also read out advertisements from sponsors in between performances in a most warm and welcoming voice.

Before the show officially starts, the announcer gave a nice audio/visual show giving the history of the Opry which was a nice introduction.

The On Air signs lit up and the show began. 

 We got to listen to some great performers:

It opened with Mark Wills:

Stefanie Quayle, who sang a Dolly Parton song -- and absolutely nailed it. Dolly had encouraged her to keep on singing early in her career and this was a wonderful tribute.

 

Medium Build did his debut at the Opry and you could tell he was all sorts of excited to do so, and he really gave a performance.

Charles Esten, who first performed solo and then in a duet for Islands In The Stream in honor of Dolly.

 Note he's not using a strap to hold the guitar in place.  He didn't use one the entire time he was on stage which was impressive.

 

Keith And Kristen Getty along with two of their daughters, for the daughters' first time on stage at the Opry and they did great. 

 

Tommy Emanuel, who dazzled  everyone with his amazing guitar playing.

 

John Conlee who did a very meaningful and emotional rendition of A Lot of Things Different that boright down the house:

The Oak Ridge Boys who sang Elvira, with one of them sporting the most epic beard to grace the stage closed out the show

It was a great performance.

After the show, I went to the Opry gift shop, and then after having some after show beverages decided to take an Uber back to the hotel as walking late at night back through the meth-elated area didn't seem like the wisest decision.

It was a great first day in Nashville.  If you happen to be in Nashville and the Opry has a performance, be sure to go to it, it is really worth it.

Gov Whitmer In Favor of Blocking Entry Of At Least Some Illegal Immigrants

So long as they are just fish, she's otherwise just fine with illegals coming to and staying in this state.

The Detroit Free Press:  Why stop-work order on Great Lakes carp barrier was suddenly lifted

Work on a more than $1 billion project to deter invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes is set to resume in Illinois, after the Trump administration lifted a stop-work order following a direct appeal from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to President Donald Trump. 

She's in favor of effective barriers to keep invaders out, but again, just for fish. 

Funny, that. If only the invasive carp could just be relabeled as "Undocumented finned immigrants"  she'd be all for letting them flood in.

What's Missing From Consumers Energy's Announcement?

The Detroit News: Consumers Energy plan calls for more than doubling capacity by 2040

Consumers Energy says it will more than double its system capacity by 2040 by using an “all-of-the-above” mix of natural gas, solar, wind, pumped and battery storage as part of a long-term supply proposal.  

Energy matters.  America's economy, businesses, and consumers all depend on available, reliable, and (relatively) inexpensive energy.

And we as a country have been deliberately negligent in maintaining that available, reliable, and (relatively) inexpensive energy - whether going for the Greenies with their no building of power plants whether coal or nuclear at all, to the Green New Deal with its demand of having unreliable solar and wind to replace reliable baseline power.

That Consumers is announcing they will double production capacity is welcome news, especially as all coal plants in Michigan have been set to close by 2032 and we're down to two nuclear plants from five and energy demand has not decreased.

In short, there's not going to be much in the way of reliable baseline production aside from some natural gas plants.  

Certainly that will be badly needed, as there's been scant increase in reliable production capacity. But notice that nuclear is missing from the  “all-of-the-above” mix.

Nuclear provides excellent baseline power and is reliable and yes, safe, and verily non-polluting and not even making those greenhouse gases the Greenies fret about, so long as you don't put communists in charge of it. 

A pity Consumers isn't leading the way with the new SMR reactors or even the large safe reactor designs. 

Tornado Warning

We are now under a Tornado Warning.

The sirens are going off, the sky is all sorts of dark, the wind is whipping impressively, and the rain is coming down in solid sheets.

So, I thought it was a good idea to quickly review tornado safety procedures:

 Good advice, that.

 Happy to be working from home today, and it is down to the basement I go.

Update:  I Did lose internet yesterday, but I didn't lose power more than a few short moments, and a few trees near me are down, but everything is back to normal with just some thunder storms around today.

At Least Some Michigan Democrat Supporters Are Waking Up

Crain's Detroit Business:  Democratic donors break with party to back Rogers over El-Sayed in Senate race

It remains to be seen whether the defections amount to an isolated break or a broader problem for Abdul El-Sayed. 

Hopefully it will indeed be considered a broader problem as all but progressives realize who he is and what he represents.

Good to see how some at least are waking up and not falling for the "Vote Blue No Matter Who" and "Sacrifice Yourself for the Democratic Party" lines.

Nessel Bends The Knee To The Democrat Party

For the Democrat stalwarts, it is Party over principle, every time.

And they are calling on Democrat  Jews to be chickens for KFC.

The Democrats have their Kapos publicly urging Democrat Jews to put aside their very valid concerns over El Sayed including his support for Iran and even more locally, excusing and rationalizing of the attack on Temple Israel, so long as the Dems get to keep a Senate seat.

MSN/Detroit News: Nessel urges Jewish Dems to place world's needs above self-interest

Attorney General Dana Nessel suggested in a private speech to Jewish Democrats on Aug. 30 that they should sacrifice their own safety and comfort in exchange for what she described as "the opportunity to save the rest of humanity."

Nessel, Michigan's top law enforcement officer who is also Jewish, was honored by the Michigan Democratic Party's Jewish Caucus during a celebration in Birmingham. Members of the media were barred from the gathering.

In other words, bend the knee, vote for El-Sayed because he has a (D) after his name even though he is without a doubt extremely contrary to Jewish and indeed American interests.

This is the same Attorney General Dana Nessel who announced she was not going to the Michigan Democrat Convention due to threats against her for being Jewish due to the progressive wing of the party going full on anti-Israel and anti-Semitic in their fervor for Abdul El-Sayed.

We will also note that Ms. Nessel is a lesbian -- not that there is anything wrong with that -- yet she did not call on lesbians to sacrifice their safety and comfort to the Democrat Islamic wing of the party, the same one that has banned pride flags from flying in Hamtramck.  Funny that.

At this point Vote Blue No Matter Who has now nominated a man with a Nazi tattoo (only removed by the Dems from the race when all the polls showed he would lose); an Islamic terrorist supporter, Adam Hamawy who testified and provided material support for the World Trade Center bomber; and of course, Mamdami in NYC.