Picto Diary - 7 to 10 October 2025 - Duc to Palo Alto and Back (Part One)

Above: Cargill Salt. Tooele County, Utah. 07 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
Got salt?
Great Salt Lake salt. Far superior to sea salt.

Above: Tree of Utah. Tooele County, UT. 07 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
Stonehenge... eat your heart out.

Above: Star Hotel and Restaurant. Elko, NV. 07 October 2025.
Lunch.
Best Basque food east of Wool Growers Restaurant in Bakersfield.

Above: Winnemucca Inn and Casino. Winnemucca, NV. 07 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
$100 in. $269.25 out. As I've said before, I have a system. Pays for the gas on the trip.

Above: Winnemucca Inn and Casino. Winnemucca, NV. 08 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.
8:00 AM. 40 degrees. Brrr. Turning on the heated grips and heated seat.
Now for the 411-mile assault on Menlo Park, California and the Stanford Park Hotel.

Above: Rye Patch Dam. Pershing County, NV. 08 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.

Extensive freeway motorcycle riding spurs poetic composition. Good for memory exercising as well. The following poem was composed, half on the outbound ride and half on the inbound ride, three days later.

Frippin' at the Frop 'Neath the Rye Patch Dam
Alkaline water, artificial lake.
Sun seared sagebrush. Rattlesnake.
Humboldt River flows from dam to sink.
Scummy water, better not drink.
Swirling wraiths, Son of Sam,
Frippin' at the frop 'neath the Rye Patch Dam.
Return on 80 through the black.
Succubus water... near the track.
Specter eyes grow in looking glass.
Warned by the flashers; at eighty-five they pass.
Swirling wraiths, Son of Sam,
Frippin' at the frop 'neath the Rye Patch Dam.
First range outlines in the night,
Then Winnemucca billboards and city light.
Duc hum ends at The Winnemucca Inn.
Steak and bed, no pokie sin.
Swirling wraiths, Son of Sam,
Frippin' at the frop 'neath the Rye Patch Dam.

Above: In 'N Out. Auburn, California. 08 October 2025.
Out and about on the Duc.

It is beyond my comprehension how people out of reach of an In 'N Out Burger franchise can ever be happy in life.

Auburn In 'N Out a must stop on my regular I-80 California forays.

Oliver and Susan Burling Ward live out a poignant retirement in nearby Grass Valley, California. Hat tip: Wallace Stegner.

Above: Sundance Restaurant, Palo Alto, CA. 08 October 2025 (file image).
Seven Hoover goer friends tuck into prime rib. Mezzanine, Magnolia, Bishop, Lip, Desert Driver, Liz, and King Air. The Monk was to attend, but plane arrived late.

Above: Victor Davis Hansen, Hoover Institution Retreat Speaker, 09 October 2025, Palo Alto, California.
Out and about on the Duc.

DJT challenge: Counter Revolution. It's harder to start a counter revolution than a revolution.
DJT feels he needs to flood the zone. He has nothing to lose. He's 79 years old and consequences be damned. Fabulous results on the border... and so, why not other things? First amendment at universities. Out with racial dorms. Energy revolution.
Why is gen Z shifting his way? They want what granny had: affordable housing, jobs, income to support raising a family. They don't want the green new deal or non-binary gender culture.
Success on the horizon in solving Hamas/Israel dispute. Ukraine a tougher nut. Is Korean solution looming for Ukraine? DMZ? Where to draw the DMZ line? Russian oligarchs aren't going to be happy with trading 1MM Russian casualties for only fifty miles westward penetration into Ukraine. Note: Note taker is fallible. Mistakes are his.

Above: Kevin Warsh, Hoover Institution Retreat Speaker, 09 October 2025, Palo Alto, California.
Out and about on the Duc.

On the FRB:
Trump, in his criticism of FRB, says publicly what other presidents say privately.
FRB Independence is a two-way street.
FRB will determine its own Independence by its successful, or not, adherence to its purpose i.e. to oversee monetary policy... price levels and employment, and proper bank supervision.
FRB: Five years of failing to do their job. No price stability. We live in a divided country. 56% of Americans have no financial assets. 27% inflation since 2020. Fed has made no change to their operational framework.
Also, for the last five years the FRB has operated outside of its remit. Instead? They jumped into fiscal policy by urging Congress to spend during Covid. FRB got involved in climate change and DEI.
The most powerful asset of the Fed is not the printing press... it's credibility. Today's FRB is low on credibility.
The US is on the verge of an AI productivity revolution that could lead to 3% sustained economic growth rate within the next five years.

Warsh: I'm optimistic about America: Still unique in the world in its capacity to assume risks and spawn innovation.

At a Hoover luncheon in Sun Valley, 2024, Bishop sat next to Kevin Hassett, Hoover Fellow and current head of DJT Council of Economic Advisors. Hassett, like Warsh today, was bullish about a productivity boost emanating from AI revolution.

Overheard post Warsh discussion: "His presentation sounded like a job interview to become the next head of the Federal Reserve."
Note: Note taker is fallible. Mistakes are his.

Above: Glen Loury, Hoover Institution Retreat Speaker, 10 October 2025, Palo Alto, California.
Out and about on the Duc.

Discussion of Loury book, "Self-Censorship."
Building on his seminal 1994 essay "Self-Censorship in Public Discourse: A Theory of 'Political Correctness' and Related Phenomena," Loury dissects how social norms, fear of judgment, and strategic signaling compel individuals to suppress unpopular views—not through overt coercion, but via the invisible hand of reputation management. The book applies these timeless insights to today's hyper-polarized climate, including debates over race, Israel-Gaza, and identity politics. Loury draws on economics, psychology, and philosophy to argue that unchecked self-censorship erodes truth-seeking and self-respect, urging readers toward courageous authenticity

Above: "Self-Censorship" by Glenn C, Loury

Bishop loved this presentation. Bishop has alienated many acquaintances and friends over the years by tilting to tout his truths when discretion might have otherwise been the order of the day. For example, Bishop has been an unabashed and unrestrained Trump supporter since 2016 and has not hesitated to declare such. In other words, Bishop has been light on self-censorship. Bishop has ordered Loury's book and looks forward to reading it.
Note taker is fallible. Mistakes are his.

Addendum:

Steve,
We had a weak moment, and Nancy found a shelter dog we have added to the family. He is fitting into the house very well. Thanks for posting your friends obituary. I would like to have known him.
John Galt,
Walla Walla, WA