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https://github.com/ralphhightower/blog

@RalphHightower/Blog
https://github.com/ralphhightower/blog

anti-trump beer c-sharp photography politics software-engineering south-carolina university-of-south-carolina unix water-ski windows

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@RalphHightower/Blog

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README 

        
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# Reason for Starting a Blog



I started my blog because I realized that maintaining my opinion that [Donald

Trump Is a Fucking Idiot](https://ralphhightower.github.io/RalphHightower/Opinions/DonaldTrumpIsAFuckingIdiot.html)

was going to be unwieldy to update and maintain. You may have a different opinion

from mine. But the only person that can convince me that Trump is not a fucking

idiot is Donald Trump himself. I probably won't change your opinion or vote.

Likewise, you won't be able to change my assignment of Trump.



Both political parties fucked up in 2016.



- The Democrats chose Hillary because it was *"her turn."*

- The Republicans chose the candidate, Donald Trump, that was, and still is, unfit and unqualified to be president.[^51]



Both candidates are polarizing!



No, I do not have TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome[^52]. My opinion of Trump 

hasn't wavered from when he first announced his candidacy. He's still a fucking 

idiot.



At least I don't belong to the Trump cult or have RTD[^53].



[^51]: Trump meets the constitutional age requirement, but that's saying little. Plus Trump is dementia-ning! Talking about Arnold Palmer's balls, no it's not Titlist; it's that part of the anatomy that LPGA pros don't have.

[^52]: Wikipedia — [Trump derangement syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_derangement_syndrome?wprov=sfla1)

[^53]: Rabid Trump Disease.



Discussions and comments can be placed here: [RalphHightower/blog ·

Discussions · GitHub](https://github.com/RalphHightower/blog/discussions).



## Third Rate Game Show Host



I thought that it was a publicity when Trump announced that he was running for

president. Trump has neither the qualifications nor the temperament to be

president. My assessment has not wavered from 2016. America must not renew

"The Apprentice: White House" for a second season.



"The Apprentice: White House" ended a tumultuous four year season ingloriously

in January 2020, in an extraordinary low point in American history when

thousands of far-right undesirables, Pride Boys, Zero Percenters and Oath Losers,

lay siege on the US Capitol in a vain attempt of insurrection to overthrow a

fair election.



### Donald Trump Needs to Change His Behavior and Demeanor



***How?***



- Tame your temper! Quit throwing **Trumper Tantrums!**

- Quit your pathological lying and tell the **God-damned truth!**

- Quit your **God-damned gaslighting[^53]**!

- Start treating people with **respect!** I.e., quit that childish behavior of calling people names and acting like a school-yard bully.

- Be a true leader! A true leader recognizes team members, and subordinates for their accomplishment, and accepts the blame when things fail. A true leader does not use intimidation and fear.

- Quit your whining, *"It's not fair"* Grow up and be an adult!

- Accept the fact that the president lives under a **microscope.** You will be praised by some and condemned others for your actions or inactions.



[^53]: [gaslighting –  Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaslighting): noun
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
1: psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator
//Gaslighting can be a very effective tool for the abuser to control an individual. It's done slowly so the victim writes off the event as a one off or oddity and doesn't realize they are being controlled and manipulated.
— Melissa Spino
//Gaslighting can happen in any relationship circumstance, including between friends and family members—not just in couple relationships.
— Deena Bouknight
//This is a classic gaslighting technique—telling victims that others are crazy and lying, and that the gaslighter is the only source for "true" information. It makes victims question their reality …
— Stephanie Sarkis
2: the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one's own advantage
//Election season can create emotions spanning from immense anxiety all the way to extreme apathy. The public arguing, divisiveness, and competition for votes, including political gaslighting, can be overwhelming and exhausting.
— Vernita Perkins and Leonard A. Jason
//As the midterm elections approach, Americans have gotten an earful both about crime itself and how the other side is distorting the news about it for political gain. “Cherry-picking!” “Fearmongering!” “Gaslighting!”
— Chris Herrmann and Fritz Umbach
//Intense gaslighting techniques are making it difficult for Montana's commoners to discern what's truth and what's propaganda.
— Steve Kelly
//This corporate gaslighting effectively blames children for being addicted to social media and conveniently ignores how companies have intentionally designed their products to have addictive features …
— Nancy Kim



Trump keeps boasting that he is a highly intelligent person. As Brad Pitt said

in the movie, Moneyball, "Show me the money!". In Trump’s case, I say "Show

me your Mensa test score!". If you're short on cash, I'll even pay the $99 for

you to [take the Mensa Admission Test](https://www.us.mensa.org/join/testing/).



But you more than likely won't own up to my challenge to you. It'll probably

be for the same reason that you won't reveal your [Internal Revenue

Service](https://www.irs.gov/) tax returns as presidents have done as

past precedent. You're afraid that revealing that information will prove

that you are a fraud.



### Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas



I also think that [Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should be

impeached](https://ralphhightower.github.io/RalphHightower/Opinions/ImpeachSCOTUSJusticeClarenceThomas.html)

because he is ethically financial challenged.



## Briefly About Me



I freeze time; I photograph. I have 50++ years of computer programming and

software development; most recently using C# and .Net. Athough I am retired

from software development as a vocation, I am still active for personal

projects. I have witnessed two final space flights: the US half of the

Apollo/Soyuz Test Project, and Space Shuttle STS-135 Atlantis with the

Final Four \[CDR Chris Ferguson, PLT Doug Hurley, MS1 Sandra Magnus, MS2

Rex Walheim\], as well as the final landing next to the control tower of

the Shuttle Landing Facility (200 yards from the runway).



Photography is another creative endeavor that I have enjoyed since 1980. My

first camera was the Canon A-1 which was an innovative camera for the 80's,

which I still use. I added one of my bucket list cameras in July 2013, a

Canon New F-1 with the AE Finder FN and the AE Motor Drive FN. December 2013,

I added a DSLR, the Canon 5D Mark III with the EF 24-105mm f4L. I enjoy

photography period. It doesn't matter if I am shooting film or digital.



I have more information on my website:

[\[ Ralph Hightower — Website \]](https://ralphhightower.github.io/RalphHightower/),

as well as information that I want to use and that I am interested in.



### Personality Tests



|  Test/Website | Result |

|---|---|

| [Top Gun Call Sign](http://www.topgunday.com/call-sign-generator/) | Lt. Ralph 'Tahoe' Hightower[^11] |

| [Myers-Briggs Personality Test®](https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/) | [INTP](https://www.mbtionline.com/en-US/MBTI-Types/INTP)[^12] |

| [CliftonStrength 34™](https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-cliftonstrengths-assessment-products.aspx) | Ideation \| Deliberative \| Learner \| Input \| Strategic
Leaders with great Strategic Thinking strengths are the ones who keep us all focused on what could be. They are constantly absorbing and analyzing information and helping the team make better decisions. People with strength in this domain continually stretch our thinking for the future. |

| [Game of Thrones Personality Test](https://mygotcharacter.com/)[^13] | Primary Character: [Mance Rayder](https://mygotcharacter.com/EKJKKKCKIACFCK.html)[^14]
Secondary Character:  [Ser Jaime Lannister](https://mygotcharacter.com/EKJKKKCKIACFCK.html)[^15]
Tertiary Character: [Ygritte](https://mygotcharacter.com/EKJKKKCKIACFCK.html)[^16] |



[^11]: I'm a [Chevy](https://www.chevrolet.com/) guy and Tahoe is a model name. I love it!



[^12]: People with INTP preferences are quiet, thoughtful, and analytical. They tend to put a great deal of consideration into everything they do. INTPs are generally easygoing and genuine. They might seem to “zone out” from time to time while they consider new concepts or explore how something works. They are often happiest laying low and working hard behind the scenes. While they may seem impersonal with people they don’t know well, they like to have a close group of people they open up to. They are naturally adept at building structural models or coming up with new concepts for solving problems. They tend to see the world as a system that can be analyzed, and this is how they approach just about everything in life.
• 4.8% of the population • 5.8% of men • 4.0% of women •
× analytical × conceptual × logical ×
× quiet × independent × easygoing ×
× complex × driven × curious ×
× questioning × methodical × values competence ×
× self-critical × thoughtful × innovative ×
× problem solver × reflective × autonomous ×



[^13]: I had to Google the GOT Personality Test. Oh, I don't subscribe to HBO, so all I know of Game of Thrones is that's it's sorta like King Arthur set in medieval times.
I took the GOT Personality Test. I saw that reference in a LinkedIn news article about using personality tests to get the right balance of different personalities. I think using a personality test to determine employment is a form of discrimination and I use that rather strictly because there's race discrimination and gender discrimination.



[^14]: Primary Character: Mance Rayder 
Nickname: King Beyond the Wall
Traits: Inspiring, Formidable, Pioneer
Your primary character is Mance Rayder. You are a charismatic, calm, and determined man with strong leadership qualities. You tend to rise quickly through the ranks of any organization you enter. You have good social and diplomatic skills, allowing you to collaborate with many different types of people. You have an honest yet stern persona which earns you respect and admiration of those around you. You are very trusting which can be your greatest weakness. You value freedom above all else.



[^15]: Secondary Character: Ser Jaime Lannister
Nickname: The Kingslayer
Traits: Arrogant, Sarcastic, Apathetic
Your secondary character is Ser Jaime Lannister. You are charming and capable of impeccable politeness in the right circumstances. In the wrong circumstances, others perceive you to be disdainful, sarcastic and arrogant. However your arrogance may just be confidence, as you excel in a number of areas, including intelligence. You don't mock others over minor failings but you are usually very blunt. You typically just say what you are thinking without regard to the feelings of those that you perceive as incompetent. You regard ruthlessness as a virtue and behave in an unapologetically amoral way. You're not politically ambitious and sly maneuvering is not your way.



[^16]: Tertiary Character: Ygritte
Nickname: Ygritte
Traits: Wild, Uncoventional, Determined
Your tertiary character is Ygritte. You are brave and unconventional. You have a mind of your own and prefer not to conform with the demands of societu're cunning and value freedom above all else. You're loyal, but also very passionate and you follow to your heart much more than your head. You live a very fulfilled life, chasing your dreams but this sometimes causes others to mistrust you although you have little enmity in your heart.



### Where I Can Be Found



| Content | Website

|---------|---------|

| CodeProject | [RalphHightower](https://www.codeproject.com/Members/RalphHightower) |

| Facebook | [RalphHightower](https://www.facebook.com/ralph.hightower/) (I spend more time on LinkedIn than I do on Facebook.) |

| GitHub | **[RalphHightower (Ralph Hightower\)](https://github.com/RalphHightower)** |

| GitLab | [RalphHightower](https://gitlab.com/RalphHightower) |

| GitLab | [Permanent Vacations](https://gitlab.com/permanent-vacations) |

| Google Dev | [RalphHightower](https://g.dev/RalphHightower) |

| Gravatar | [RalphHightower](http://gravatar.com/ralphhightower) |

| Hackster.io | [ralph-hightower](https://www.hackster.io/ralph-hightower) |

| IEEE Collabratec | [RalphHightower](https://ieee-collabratec.ieee.org/app/p/RalphHightower) |

| LinkedIn Profile | **[RalphHightower](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphhightower/)** (LinkedIn is where I spend the majority of my time.) |

| Photography Portfolio \(Flickr\) | **[RalphHightower](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ralphhightower/)** |

| Stack Overflow | [ralph-hightower](https://stackoverflow.com/users/19978043/ralph-hightower) |

| Twitter | ~~[RalphHightower](https://twitter.com/RalphHightower)~~[^21]

| YouTube | [RalphHightower](https://www.youtube.com/@RalphHightower&show_icons)  |



[^21]: As of April 27, 2023, I deactivated my Twitter account based on this Elon Musk tweet:
[@ElonMusk](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1651602599345373186): *Anyone making materially false statements on this platform will get Community Noted, including you, me, Tucker, advertisers, head of state, etc. No exceptions. 
Convince the people and let the chips fall where they may.* 
@RalphHightower: Seriously? Yet you welcomed back a pathological liar, Donald Trump, who incited and welcomed violence in an attempted coup d'état on January 6 in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Twitter has gone to ***HELL!***



### Authored Websites



|[RalphHightower](https://ralphhightower.github.io/RalphHightower/) | Description |

|---|---|

| [RalphHightower](https://ralphhightower.github.io/RalphHightower/) GitHub Repositories | Primary Website|

| [Azure-Resources](https://ralphhightower.github.io/Azure-Resources/ )|Useful Documents for Azure|

| [GM-Canada-OnStar-2G-Sunset](https://ralphhightower.github.io/GM-Canada-OnStar-2G-Sunset/ )|Canada sunsetted cellular CDMA 2G technology in 2015. GM Canada figured out how to retain OnStar functionality in affected vehicles without using a dongle like GM USA. Documents from [NHTSA (US) nhtsa\.gov](https://www.nhtsa.gov).|

| [Sushi](https://ralphhightower.github.io/Sushi/ ) | A place for sushi recipes and checklists for checking off menu items. |

| [SpaceShuttleMissionSchedule](https://ralphhightower.github.io/SpaceShuttleMissionSchedule/ )[^31]|NASA Space Shuttle Mission Schedule Transfer to Outlook Calendar|

| [RalphHightower/minimaUSCGamecockSandstorm](https://ralphhightower.github.io/minimaUSCGamecockSandstorm/USCGamecocksSandstorm.html) | USC Gamecock Sandstorm theme derived from [jekyll](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll ) / [minimaa](https://github.com/jekyll/minima), a one-size-fits-all Jekyll theme for USC Gamecock writers. **[Production Ready]** |



[^31]: Support ended with wheelstop of Space Shuttle Atlantis on July 21, 2011 with the end of the Space Shuttle fleet.



### [USC Gamecocks](https://www.sc.edu/)



| [USC — University of South Carolina](https://www.sc.edu) |

|---|

| [USC — College of Engineering and Computing](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/engineering_and_computing/index.php) |

| [USC Alumni Association](https://uofscalumni.org/) |

| [USC Gamecock Sports](https://gamecocksonline.com/) |

| [WUSC-FM 90.5 FM](https://garnetgate.sa.sc.edu/organization/wuscfm)[^61] |

| [Carolina Band](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/ensembles/usc_bands/athletic_bands/carolina_band/index.php)  |

| [University Band](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/ensembles/usc_bands/concert_bands/university_band.php) |

| [Jazz Bands](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/ensembles/jazz_ensembles/index.php) |



[^61]: WUSC-FM was an AM Radio 📻 broadcast station when I was a student.