08:06 – It’s official. In yesterday’s mail, the contract showed up for our next book, The Illustrated Guide to Homeopathy Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture. We hope to have it in print before the end of this year.
As always, we’ll be putting together a custom kit to go with the book. That kit will include volumetric glassware, a small rubber mallet, and the other equipment needed to make up homeopathic remedies, along with the dozens of tinctures and extracts necessary to make up literally hundreds of different totally ineffective homeopathic “drugs”. Because homeopathy teaches that the more dilute a solution is the more potent it is, we’ve decided to simplify matters by pre-diluting the tinctures and extracts so that the kit contains only the most potent raw materials. In other words, all of the bottles will contain only pure distilled water, without so much as even a single molecule of their supposed contents.
This one should be a goldmine.
I detect Tongue in Cheek day.
RBT wrote: “This one should be a crystalmine.”
Fixed it for ya!
I look forward to the “Illustrated Guide to Astrology”! 🙂
Steve
I never could stand April Fool’s Day. Fortunately, the Germans never heard of it and did not like the concept at all. So mercifully, I had about 10 years living without it. Restaurant at noon was filled with little kids screaming out April Fool’s jokes. And I do mean screaming. Which brings up another difference between the US and Germany: kids are never taken to restaurants — except the McDonald’s with the playroom equipment. “It just isn’t done.”
Very humid here. Every day it is between 80 and 99% — even when it is not raining. Spring and fall used to be the comfortable seasons, but while it is not even 75 F here, the humidity is 88%, and it feels more like 90 F out. Kids around here are in their all-out summer clothes. I never used to turn the central air on before May, but may not make it that long this year.
Meanwhile, I am one of the last people on the planet to get a GPS unit. A friend who works installing radio stuff in remote farm fields, said Garmin was the only one to buy, so I did. Very pedestrian unit (1450LMT), but a really good price from Amazon. Although the software and ads claim I can have any one of over 50 world languages, that is simply not true. I can use only a few N. American ones, installed with the unit, including Canadian French (what an accent) and Mexican Spanish.
I thought that there would be hacks and all sorts of languages available for these units, but it appears Garmin must be actively nixing that. Hack information is many years old, and the links to various modifications are almost always dead. Too bad there is not a community like there is Rockbox for MP3 players, that hacks GPS’s with a universal operating system. There needs to be a legal restriction that stops manufacturers from telling you what you can and cannot do with equipment you purchase — like it used to be when I was growing up. If you wanted to buy a radio and tear it apart to adapt it to some custom use, have at it. But not anymore. With our 100% corrupt Congressional lobbying system, we will probably never see those days again.
Chuck, as far as I know, the only thing you lose on hacking your hardware is the warranty. You can, for instance, jailbreak your cellphone without any legal action. Apple tried, but lost that argument. So, have at it, and modify your vacuum cleaner to shoot dirt at those pesky kids at the restaurant.
“There needs to be a legal restriction that stops manufacturers from telling you what you can and cannot do with equipment you purchase — like it used to be when I was growing up.”
Kinda’ like cars – can’t put fuel injector software from a 318CID Jeep V8 in 1.4L Samurai.
Well, there are user forums for handheld GPSrs (receivers) such as this:
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?s=23d8da3c1979b69b58880a5192867d94&showforum=11
However, AFAIK, there have been no successful hacks of the OSs. OTOH, there are open source topo maps available for some Garmin models for free so that users do not have to buy additional on SDHC chips from Garmin.
Regarding the advice on which model to buy, many of the users are real afficionados, fan bois, just itching to get into a “my Garmin (Ford) is better than your Xyz (Chevy)” fight. I find much of the advice to be so biased as to be uesless, and when not incorrect, it is superficially right for all the wrong reasons. The mean IQ over there is about 1 1/2 σ below that here.
Steve in Colorado wrote:
“I look forward to the “Illustrated Guide to Astrology”! 🙂
Steve”
I’m looking forward even more to “Creationism! The Fossils Say Yes!” or “Why the US Needs Stringent Gun Control”.
Chuck, must be a US thing. Nothing happens here on April Fools Day. About 20 years ago there was a quite elaborate prank played by the local newspaper about draining the lake that divides Canberra. The front page article said it would be drained to harvest all the topsoil that had been washed into it, the wrecked cars, and so on.
There was a small continuation – about one column inch – on page 2 suggesting that readers go back to page one and look at the first letter of each paragraph. Those letters spelt APRIL FOOL.
Cowboy Slim wrote:
“Regarding the advice on which model to buy, many of the users are real afficionados, fan bois, just itching to get into a “my Garmin (Ford) is better than your Xyz (Chevy)” fight. I find much of the advice to be so biased as to be uesless, and when not incorrect, it is superficially right for all the wrong reasons. The mean IQ over there is about 1 1/2 σ below that here.”
Oh, it sounds like I’d be right at home there… 🙂
That fellow Down Under in fabled Oz is pulling our legs again. He is not waiting for books on creationism and gun control. He is panting for the rumored Playboy centerfold of the Heroine of Tripoli, out on newstands here today, but when it reaches Oz is anybody’s guess.
30s here again today and 20s tonight, with snow showers after midnight. No, this is not April Fool, it is the normal spring here after all. But we were about fifty miles southwest of here yesterday and green stuff was shooting up all over, including forsythia and daffodils.
Mrs. OFD is in St. Louis this week, just landed, in fact, and tells me it is in the 80s there and humid. Following week she is in Florider to drive MIL back up here. A week after that she will be in Kalifornia, San Jose, do you know the way? OFD is holding the fort with wild-ass parties and chicks and dope and booze per usual, taking a page from the fabulous Robert B. Thompson Book of Entertainment and Holiday Merrymaking.
What RBT really should write is The Illustrated Guide to Repeatable Social Science Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture. It should be very cheap to print because it’ll be barely longer than the famous Things Better than Breasts.
Occasionally, Dean Baker outdoes himself, and this post is one.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/esquire-magazine-writer-wanted-to-help-convert-class-war-into-generational-war-no-skills-required-pays-top-dollar
He notes that the very first paragraph of a new Esquire article, contains false information, negating the whole premise of the article. His rant is extended, and reminds me of the ones Boston Libertarian talk host David Brudnoy used to do, back when he was alive and well. Baker is no Libertarian in the Brudnoy vein, but he points out the repeated utter stupidity of the article in question. Brudnoy probably had an IQ of over 200; it was delightful to hear him make mincemeat of idiots. This article by Baker is the best I have seen since Brudnoy was diagnosed with AIDS and quit taking on the stupidity of other people.
My uncle keeps saying that no one has to prove anything these days, all they have to do is shoot off their mouth, and everyone takes it as truth. Baker is the only person I know who actually uses facts and figures on Social Security, to point out that it is FULLY funded until 2036, and even then will be able to pay out 80% of a figure that is likely to be over twice the value of what it now pays to current retirees. The Esquire article claims that Social Security will be fully bankrupt in 2036.
The nanny state comes to the UK, if it wasn’t already there:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-02/uk-to-monitor-citizens27-calls2c-emails2c-texts/3926548
I wouldn’t have expected this from the Tories.
The nooz about our Brit cousins was already on FB earlier today, and it was portrayed as an illustration of our coming similar fate here. Their Tories are mostly like our RINOs here, not far from being what we used to call wet libruls. Genuine conservatives are considered Beyond the Pale, as here.
Of course this is of a piece with their national disarmament a few years ago and the prevalence of camera lenses every three feet now. And as the fine adventure in the Sandbox winds down, noises are being made there and in Argentina over the Falklands again, gotta keep those swords nice and sharp, eh wot? As they simultaneously dismantle their navy that used to rule the waves. Bloody idiots.
OFD Wrote:
“That fellow Down Under in fabled Oz is pulling our legs again. He is not waiting for books on creationism and gun control. He is panting for the rumored Playboy centerfold of the Heroine of Tripoli, out on newstands here today, but when it reaches Oz is anybody’s guess. ”
Dave, something I’ve learned over the years is that when people harp on a subject, say they dislike or hate X, where X is whatever you want it to be, they quite often really like/love X. So for quite a long time while our host repeatedly denigrated the great Barry Manilow and his work I suspected, privately at first, that he had a guilty secret. Eventually I suggested this, he denied it of course (repeat a few times), and after a sufficient number of denials I decided it was the diplomatic path to take him at his word. After all, males living in NC are notorious for their poor taste in fine music and musicians. But every so often I still wonder if, when he finally karks it, Barbara will discover a Barry Manilow Greatest Hits CD and a signed poster of the great man hidden somewhere… 🙂
Applied in your case, I think you’re really lusting after the Secretary of State, and using your foul words about her as a smokescreen. You really should come out of the long grass, admit to us and to Mrs OFD that the former First Lady is the new love of your life.
One thing is clear — the world is coming ever closer together, and each country is competing with others, on all scores, including throwing civil liberties out the window. The US and UK are racing each other to see who can spy on citizens first, and more thoroughly. I think the UK is slightly ahead at the moment.
The only nationalism left, will be in what each country bans, as Internet content switches are put in place and turned on, just like in China.
I know people who would actually buy “The Illustrated Guide to Homeopathy Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture” if it was available. These people are not stupid, but appallingly ignorant of any science.
Miles_Teg says:
1 April 2012 at 19:33
Steve in Colorado wrote:
“Steve”
I’m looking forward even more to “Creationism! The Fossils Say Yes!” or “Why the US Needs Stringent Gun Control”.
Greg, for sure we need to control our guns better, improves accuracy as well as time to transition to the next target.
Me thinks you need to stop drinking “CUB” products and look to the Western Part of the Country for your liquid refreshment needs, may I suggest a nice Swan Lager? 🙂
I’ve had Swan, many years ago. I didn’t care for it then but I really should try again.
I remember our host pointing out a number of years ago that guns can be noisy and saying, tongue in cheek, that they should have to be sold with some sort of silencing gear. One of the other posters said “At last, a form of gun control I can agree with”.
Actually, I’ve moved over from being pro gun control in 2005 to pro Second Amendment now. But I think there should be *some* upper limit on the weaponry individuals are allowed to have. So while I’m okay with people owning frigates, destroyers, a small number of B-52s and so on I think allowing people to own a full scale battleship or aircraft carrier is a bit too much.
I also think individuals shouldn’t be allowed to make, buy or acquire their own nukes either. That means I think it’s timed you handed back the nuke you “borrowed” when you left the Navy.
The last projection I got in the mail of my Social Security benefits I got in the mail (from the Federal Government) stated that the Social Security Trust Fund would run out sometime around 2036 and that incoming tax revenues would only pay about 75% of benefits that year.
So that projection which was from from the Federal Government specified a future year in which the Social Security system will have depleted its assets and have expenses exceeding its income. If that isn’t bankrupt, then what is?
Social Security is not and never has been “fully funded”, except in the sense that those covered by it have paid fully for expected future benefits. If it were fully-funded, it would be an annuity. In other words, expected future claims would be covered by actual assets held by SS, things like corporate stocks and bonds, real property, and so on. Unfortunately, SS has no real assets. The so-called “trust fund” holds only IOUs issued by the federal government. In fact, SS is a literal Ponzi Scheme. Current out-go is funded by current in-come.
As Bob points out, Treasury gives SS IOUs. I’ve always known that, but ask your friends and relatives if they know. You’ll be deafened by the “Huh, you’re lying!” Most people don’t even know they are supposed to get an annual statement of what they paid in. The first 10 years of my working life were so full of errors, it took me a year to get it cleared up. I had to provide paper copies of all paystubs, W2s, etc. Luckily my military stubs were on fiche and easily had.
You haven’t heard? Because “nobody reads them” the Social Security Administration decided to stop sending out those statements.
Not sure what you mean “SS IOUs”. Everyone receiving Social Security benefits is paid in US dollars. Now you might claim that US dollars are IOU’s, since they are no longer redeemable in gold; but those receiving benefits are getting real dollars, not IOU’s.
Obviously, the US government operates like most businesses, in that its pensions are paid primarily from current revenue, not from a savings account where they stashed all the money owed to everyone. Baker has been citing that the GAO and Congress’ own budget office credit Social Security as completely and fully funded by its own tax (out of current revenue) until 2036. Now, if it will then be able to pay 80% of nearly twice as much benefit as is being paid today, I don’t know how anybody can call it “bankrupt” even then. Increasing the SS tax by less than a full percent will fully fund it again. This is not a serious crisis, and if you buy into that, then you are the ones who will be threatening our retirement income by believing a lying, cheating, conniving Congress, who wants to impoverish you and see you at their full mercy.
Chuck, all I meant is what you said. I think most people believe they have their own little account with money in it. The IOU is the common way of accounting for the money that is used in most of the articles I’ve read. My SS statement says “more will be paid out in 2015 than is taken in. We need to resolve these issues soon…” If the SSA is saying that, how can it be fully funded by it’s own tax? Where’s the rest coming from?
Dave, your link is wonky, but I made it there. I received a paper copy last year for 2010, must have made the cutoff. I didn’t know only 60+will get paper from now on. Maybe in a generation or two, people will actually go online to check their earnings.
Mr Atoz wrote:
“Maybe in a generation or two, people will actually go online to check their earnings.”
I can do that right now.
I’ve always thought that Australia was ahead of the US… 🙂
Well, I am having my own little tiff with them at the moment. My generation will not be paid the Full Monty until 66, although many of my friends took a significantly reduced amount at 62. Either way, you are eligible for Medicare at 65. If you took early benefits, then your Medicare card comes automatically when you are 65. If you did not take early benefits, then you are still eligible for Medicare, but you have to intuit that you must contact them 6 months before reaching age 65 and apply for Medicare, as they will not contact you to tell you. I kept not getting a card, while all my friends kept saying, ‘It will come, be patient.’ Knowing that my doctor was waiting on my card, in order to do a procedure I would not be otherwise covered for, I finally went over to the SS office in Muncie, and they told me that no one who is not receiving SS benefits gets any correspondence telling them they must apply by a certain date.
I am ‘protected’ by having visited the office (that means I don’t have to wait another whole year to get covered by Medicare), but my coverage will not start for another couple of months.
Great system. Don’t tell anyone they are eligible or what they have to do to avail themselves of benefits, and maybe they won’t take it. To me, that is criminal, especially where healthcare is involved.
But they sure WILL notify your ass if you owe THEM money, you could bet your life on it, in fact.
It is all part of the same game that is played on us here, as with the banks; for example, I deposited a sizable corporate check written in this country this morning in person at the bank at 08:30 and the funds will not be credited, most likely, and per usual, until well after midnight tonight, if then. But any bills we pay or purchases we make are taken out of our account instantly. So the electronic network technology here only works one way.
The same bank put our daughter and me through an absolute wringer yesterday morning for an hour, simply converting American fiat currency into Canadian fiat currency, with loads of ID, etc., etc.
I can certainly appreciate Chuck’s criticisms of how things are here, primarily as one who left briefly only for mil-spec service a lifetime ago and who has experienced nearly the full gamut of stupidity, ignorance, wastefulness and malevolence that this State directs against its own citizens. But would I move to Germany or Oz or Liechtenstein anytime soon? Not bloody likely, because this country, and this particular region, is saturated with my family’s bones, blood and DNA and a history of said mil-spec service dating back to King Philip’s (Metacom’s ) War. (they have one of his war clubs in a museum down in Maffachufetts and man, I sure would like to try it out on some politicians, lawyers, stockbrokers, CEO’s, and Army generals.)
Wait, you had to show ID to change money? WTF??
My daughter had to show three or four ID’s to the teller, and on top of that, lots of fiddling the teller was doing on the computer terminal, PLUS several consultations with the branch manager, PLUS more fiddling with safes and drawers and the counting of the currency by that teller and a SECOND teller, plus…arrrggghhh….it just went on and on and on, for a solid hour, making me late for work.
I am a solid American citizen with loads of ID myself, a joint account at said bank with Mrs. OFD who is also a solid American citizen with loads of ID AND a passport, and daughter who holds dual Canadian-American citizenship ALSO with a current passport. WTF is right! This same bank bedeviled the shit out of us a couple of weeks ago with insufficient funds notices and overdraft charges and fees that were totally off the wall, and the hassle to clear it up was a royal PITA. We’ve had accounts with this bank since it was something else, mostly regional, and since it got taken over by a Canadian bank its services have sucked.
Soon we are bailing, and going to a local credit union accordingly.
My suggestion on how to get money out of the country is to have an ATM card that works abroad (ours did automatically, as we were with the old Polaroid credit union, and they dealt with international all the time, but Ray says you now have to notify them that you will be abroad and get the card activated for that). Then, just go to the ATM of your foreign bank and pull out money. Money comes out in the local currency, conversion is automatic, fees are lower than going into a bank and doing it with tellers, no muss, no fuss, no greasy kid stuff.
We did that for our first couple of years in Germany. Jeri was getting severance from her department closing down, and I was still doing freelance work and earning money in the US. Until we both had jobs earning Deutschmarks, then euro, we just went to our local bank in Zehlendorf and pulled out a few hundred every couple of weeks.
What really gets me about banks, is that it is OUR money, but they always act like it is theirs. The most insulting thing I have ever heard from a business person, was the loan officer of a bank that ultimately was the mortgage holder of our Natick house (Bank of New England, which probably does not even exist, anymore). We needed a bridge loan of $50,000 for 14 days, as the closing date of our Chicago house was after the purchase of our new Boston home. The loan officer woman yelled to me across her whole office as I was leaving with check in hand, “Be sure to come back with my money!” Ugh! How denigrating.
You are correct, sir, Bank of New England no longer exists, of course. To wit, the Wikipedia entry on this particular bankster:
“The Bank of New England Corporation was a regional banking institution based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1991 as a result of heavy losses in its loan portfolio and was placed into Chapter 7 liquidation. At the time, it was the 33rd largest bank in the United States, and its federal seizure bailout was the second largest on record. At its peak, it had been the 18th largest bank and had over 470 branch offices. The liquidation company was named Recoll Management Corporation and its bankruptcy estate has continued to exist to pay out claims against the company.”
Sound familiar?
We’re gonna set up our daughter with her own debit card for her account now and since the bank is Canadian anyway, there should be no further issues with currency, no fuss, no muss, as you say. (I am guessing, however, that since the card will be dispensed by an American branch, there will be issues anyway…)
Yeah, the buggers act like it is THEIR money, similarly to how the State acts. Amazing chutzpah.