10:19 – It’s Birthday Eve for Barbara, who turns 3E tomorrow. Wow. When we got married, she was only 1C and I was only 1E.
We ended up getting 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) of rain, which is basically almost a month’s worth in two days. Things have cooled down, and Saturday night into Sunday morning we’re expecting a blizzard with as much as a tenth of an inch of snow.
As usual, kit sales have started to increase after Thanksgiving. We’re down to one chemistry kit in stock, so the top priority for today is to build more of those. We have all of the subassemblies in stock, so it’s just a matter of packing them up. This afternoon, we’ll get more macaroni repackaged into 2L bottles. We have about 40 five-pound bags left to repackage. About 2.7 pounds fit in a 2L bottle, so we’re going to use a lot of bottles.
It was “see your breath” cool this am, and is up to 53F. I think this is the coldest so far this year. I’ll have to get some clear plastic sheet to make a ‘greenhouse’ cover for my fence windowboxes.
At 58%RH, it’s pretty humid which feels cooler too.
n
Funny that your sales ramp up. In the auctions, sales drop off dramatically this month and next. Well, items still sell, just at much lower prices. This can be a buying opportunity.
I expect my ebay sales to fall off as most of my items are not “gift” items, and people’s attention turns elsewhere during the holiday season.
I have saved a couple of bigger items for this month, to try to keep cash flowing and sales up. We’ll see what happens.
nick
RE: Repackaging Pasta
For those of us who don’t buy anything in PET 2L bottles, what do you suggest?
@nick
it was see your breath cool this morning
It’s been frigid (0 F) here for the last little while. We finally finally finally got some snow last night.
The dogs are delighted as am I.
Roads will be a literal wreck this morning as it came down on a layer of ice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAIBE9oLwxY
I guess this is the Banana Belt compared to where Jenny is; low fotties and high thirties this week with intermittent rain showers, more like a normal late September/early October for this AO. We’ve only had one snowfall so fah, and it was only a couple of inches.
Back to the house and yard chores today.
Yeah, us wimps down in the lower 48 don’t appreciate what winter can really be. Even International Falls has wimp winters compared to Alaska or even a lot of Canada. Mary Chervenak did a post-doc at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She said she almost froze to death, literally. She grew up in upstate NY, and thought she knew what winter was. Not Edmonton winters, as it turned out.
Well, it is all relative but MAN it feels cold to me.
We never got a hard frost last year, which was good for gardening, bad for bugs.
The previous year I spent almost a couple of weeks with my gardens under blankets and heater lights for each fruit tree. That sucked.
I was hoping for another mild winter. Some of that globull warmening wouldn’t go amiss….
nick
just went looking for a good slow cooker turkey soup recipe. Found several candidates, but don’t have any carrots at home at the moment. Why do today what you can put off til tomorrow, right??????????? (or maybe I should get the soup started and pickup some carrots during my normal shopping…)
Zero Hedge has an interesting article on how a civil-war could happen.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-30/real-reasons-why-another-american-civil-war-possible
“They think they are heroes, awakened to a world view that the rest of us are incapable of comprehending. In their minds, anyone seeking to obstruct them is either dangerously ignorant or a fascist hellbent on sabotaging humanity’s “natural progression” into the leftist utopia. Therefore any and all actions are justified on their part. They are fighting “evil.” And, of course, conservatives like you and I are the physical manifestations of that evil. We are the super-villains that must be destroyed at all costs in the leftist fantasy world.”
“Yeah, us wimps down in the lower 48 don’t appreciate what winter can really be.”
Fully understood, but in normal winters past, we would have had zero temps occasionally and more snow starting in late October, a full month ago. If this is climate change warming us up, there will be no complaints from us. I do remember walking the nuke weapons storage area in central Maine many moons ago in the dead of winter with chill factors 50-60 below zero. Now THAT sucked. As did, of course, the 115 above zero in SEA a few months later.
“….maybe I should get the soup started and pick up some carrots during my normal shopping….”
Bingo.
I generally agree with most of what the author at ZH has to say about the coming civil war; note that he ruthlessly steals from me the concept of the Left always “doubling down” in the face of their consistent failures. And I’d prefer, like him, to avoid it, if at all possible, and also to zealously avoid using the State to win our war for us. We need to defeat them at meatspace level, in our own towns and villages, and it’s the Culture, stupid. Everything else is but symptom. I agree with the late A. Solzhenitsyn that we are largely in this mess because we have willfully or negligently forgotten God. Hey, don’t go by me; go by somebody who examined the history for the past century and came up with that, after hearing it from older people there first. And as somebody else once said, without God or belief, anything and everything is permitted; we’ve seen the results of that in the West all our lives now.
[snip] For those of us who don’t buy anything in PET 2L bottles, what do you suggest? [snip]
Not ‘cheap’ but Uline sells 1/2 gallon & 1 gallon jugs in a variety of configurations. What I would call milk type, Windex type, and flat sided.
https://www.uline.com/BL_8182/Milk-Jugs?keywords=1%20gallon%20jugs
https://www.uline.com/BL_8155/Utility-Jugs?keywords=1%20gallon%20jugs
https://www.uline.com/BL_8174/F-Style-Jugs?keywords=1%20gallon%20jugs
and given the survey I quoted yesterday with half of young people not thinking democracy is important, I’ll add that my 5yo and 7yo are VERY familiar with the idea of kings, queens, princes and princesses, and servants from their cultural exposures.
They play princess and servant all the time.
They don’t play cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, or voters and elected officials….
n
Nick, it’s soup and you’re making it in the crock pot. The recipe is not one of the ten commandments, it’s a suggestion. I made my traditional turkey and noodles without homemade turkey stock for the first time. I used half chicken stock and half vegetable broth. So either go out and buy some carrots, or substitute the vegetables you have. Cajuns made their own cuisine from french cuisine by taking out the carrots and adding bell pepper.
Well, we know that Cowboys & Indians is extremely un-PC now, and probably also Cops & Robbers, due to way too many problems with one or the other being either bad or good, eh? Whereas monarchy is safe, because geographically and historically distant, and a long, longtime staple of fairy tales and mythologies.
Half of youngsters don’t think “democracy” is important because, A: they have zero experience with it in reality, and B: it has been taken out of their history education, and whatever idea they do have of it is all wrong. I’d guess that their probable idea of it comes from their communist indoctrination in our educational systems and currently through media like Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” radio program or the blatherings of such imbeciles as Field Marshal Rodham and her ilk.
@nick, WRT carrots: do you have carrots in the freezer? As a “prepper” you should.
I always keep several bags of frozen carrots, sliced and fake “baby”, just for cases like this.
Just checked the pantry, I have canned carrots too. If you use canned carrots don’t put them in until an hour or so before serving.
Final edit/addition:
Once again Scott Adams (Dilbert) offers a proper insight:
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/153905823756/the-new-ceos-first-moves-and-trump
Or dehydrated.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Augason-Farms-Emergency-Food-Dehydrated-Diced-Carrots-38-oz/22985142
https://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706370_-1__3074457345616985230
Incidentally, the AF carrots are $16 for a 2 lb. 6 oz. #10 can. The LDS carrots, if ordered on the website, are just over $10/can for about 2 lb. 11 oz. And the LDS carrots are much cheaper if you pick them up at an LDS HSC rather than ordering them on-line.
Well, I’m wrong. The LDS HSC pricelist now has 2.1 pounds of carrots for $11.50. Same thing on onions, which are $9 for 2.1 pounds at the LDS HSC versus $48.75 for a case of six 2.4-pound cans on-line.
I’m not sure what’s going on here. The web store used to include shipping in the price, but that must have changed. I also don’t understand the different weights.
Well, I was going to mostly wing it with the soup anyway, but thought “I don’t want greasy flavorless soup (which I’ve managed in the past) so I’ll look at some recipes.”
Went ahead and got it started since the first 4 hours are just to reduce the carcass to gel….
I usually have a bag of ‘baby’ carrots in the fridge, but they were eaten as appetizers on Tgiving Day. I’ve got canned, but a can is more than I need. They kids don’t like cooked carrots, so I don’t stock a bunch. (Hah!) I’ll just pick up a bag of snack bags this afternoon. Plenty of time to add them later.
I don’t have any #10 cans, and damn little FD other than Mountain House meals. Part of that is the spousal reluctance (apocalypse prepping not ok) and part is that I’ll pay more for smaller servings so that we can actually eat it for normal size meals.
Once I determine/negotiate where the whole house gennie will live, I’ll know if I’m gonna lose a planting bed, and then I’ll get some carrots in the ground. We got more than we could eat from just 2 1/2 feet square this fall.
n
Just spent way too long changing out one of the outdoor security lights. Nothing is ever as easy as it should be…
Now for a scrap run, groceries, and maybe an auction pickup…
n
WRT to liter bottles (PET bottles) for LTS…..perhaps a trip to the local dollar store to get their cheap sodas. At a theoretical $1/each (plus tax), it might be cheaper than ordering empty/new bottles.
Or if you like OJ or other refrigerated fruit juices, those plastic containers are quite sturdy.
Or beg them from friends/neighbors who recycle them. Ask them not to crush them and just to toss them still capped into a yard waste bag you provide.
I like to watch “Democracy Now – the War & Peace Report” with Amy Goodman. It helps to understand how others think. Wifey hates it because I’m watching “Political” shows. Makes no difference at all that DN is closer to her beliefs than mine.
Anything to make me think outside the box is fair game.
Amy Goodman’s brother is David Goodman, who lives in Waterbury, VT and is a writer. His wife is Sue Minter, who ran as a Dem for the Gov job here and lost big. She has pushed like crazy during the campaign that as Secretary of the Agency of Transportation, she “led the state” in its recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene and her pics and vids almost always showed her in a hard hat and neon hazard vest. Their daughter was/is friends with ours, and is a real nasty piece of work; the whole bunch are uber-progs and daughter did not come by her foul mouth/language and behavior all by her self. They live on a ridge with nice views and Tibetan prayer flags waving in the breeze off the front porch.
And now back to our irregularly scheduled program on carrots. Yikes.
Just spent way too long changing out one of the outdoor security lights. Nothing is ever as easy as it should be…
I’ve got four of them 23 ft up if you want to change more … They are 400 W metal halides that I want to change out to 150 W LED. Two are dead at the moment and the other two are probably heading that way. I hate having to rent a bucket lift to fix them.
I was kinda thinking about using this 100 W LED shoebox light bulb. Kinda expensive though.
https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-Equivalent-Adjustable-UL-Listed-DLC-Qualified/dp/B01A6A1SZO/
“California targets cow gas, belching and manure as part of global warming fight ”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-cow-gas-20161129-story.html
Kalifornia is absolutely barking mad. You do not mess with the food supply.
Hard to believe, but there are still Normals living in Kalifornia; at least a couple of them post here regularly. It’s the gummint in Sacramento and in the other cities that’s barking mad, along with their MSM cheerleaders. My old home state of MA is the same way; lots of Normals still there, including my siblings, but the crew in Boston and the cities are also barking mad. Their maniac AG down there is still harassing the chit outta legal gun owners, any way she can, in a state that is already among the worst in the country for that stuff. Like I say, the buggers just keep doubling down and never give up.
Let’s all remember what that ZH article said about warmer weather and barking mad lefties inciting riots and violence once winter has faded this next year. Presumably tRump will have been in office already for a few months and the MSM will be in high dudgeon 7×24 with hate and visceral loathing throughout. Also inciting riots.
That’s why I favor a system like the electoral college at the state level. NC has 100 counties, each of which should get one vote in any national contest. Whoever wins the popular vote in at least 51 counties gets all 15 of our electoral votes.
EC at the state level? Agreed. If it was in place, the so-called red states would win almost every time. Plus “blue” states like MA and Kalifornia. Take away the big cities and those counties and guess what? Up here it would be two counties against the rest, Washington and Chittenden. In MA it would be several greater Boston counties against the rest. Actually MA is a bad example; the whole state is pretty nearly blue by now.
Well, thank goodness! I’m sure you’d be upset if the one playing the elected official mugged and stole from the one playing the voter. Or if the one playing the voter tarred and feathered the one playing the elected official.
I just had to pick myself up off the floor, not easy these days, from laughing so hard:
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/308206-tired-dem-donors-feel-like-their-money-got-burned
Burn, baby, burn!
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Aw, ya beat me to it. And my commentary on the article would have been an identical “haha”. What are the odds?
What odds?
But like I say, the buggers will double down on state and local elections now and whisper sweet nothings into the ears of the Congress full of RINOs and neocons. I doubt tRump will be able to get his laundry done, let alone any bills or EO’s passed.
Our B&G have been replacing all the metal halides with LEDs for the past year or so. Another 2 years to cycle them all out. They figure the electricity savings over 3 years should pay for the fixtures.
The truly appealing part is that the visible light reportedly doesn’t drop off as much with age as the MH bulbs do.
At home I’ve started replacing CFLs in the cold areas with LEDs. The instant-on is pretty nice to have. Our outdoor light is getting the LED treatment next. My thanks for the discussions here – convinced me it was worth the investment now.
Our B&G have been replacing all the metal halides with LEDs for the past year or so. Another 2 years to cycle them all out. They figure the electricity savings over 3 years should pay for the fixtures.
The truly appealing part is that the visible light reportedly doesn’t drop off as much with age as the MH bulbs do.
Are they replacing the fixtures also ? I was just planning on removing the ballasts and using the current fixtures. But, I need a freaking manlift as a ladder just does not cut it for working 23 ft up (I have a 40 ft double section ladder, I hope never to use that sucker again).
And yes, LED lights are so much improvement over CFL and Metal Halides. CFLs have trouble maintaining their light in a wind below 40 F and metal halides take forever to start (both my 400 W and 800 W take five plus minutes to start). My warehouse has five 400 W and twenty 800 W metal halides. When all 20 of the 800 W are running, it is daylight inside there. But the meter is spinning like mad at 16 kW.
Yeah, us wimps down in the lower 48 don’t appreciate what winter can really be. Even International Falls has wimp winters compared to Alaska or even a lot of Canada.
I remember Honeywell outsourcing the manufacture of the XTRATUF neoprene boots was a huge controversy in Alaska back when we lived in the Northwest. It was even a story in Seattle/WA State because a lot of Canadians use the I-5 corridor as their shopping mall to avoid that country’s VAT.
“The New CEO’s First Moves (and Trump)”
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/153905823756/the-new-ceos-first-moves-and-trump
“Remember what I taught you in the past year: Facts don’t matter. What matters is how you feel. And when you watch Trump and Pence fight and scratch to keep jobs in this country, it changes how you will feel about them for their entire term. This is a big win for Trump/Pence disguised as a small win.”
Yup.
This is a big win for Trump/Pence disguised as a small win.
Trump probably reminded United Technologies about the Sikorsky contract for Marine One. IIRC, in that case, UT argued that the production should remain domestic.
A lady is walking through a park in Houston and a frog hops over to her and says, “I am a Texas oil man. Kiss me and I will turn back into my real form.”
She keeps walking.
He hops over to her again and says, “Really! I am a Texas oil man. Kiss me and I’ll be a Texas oil man again.”
She bends over, picks him up, and puts him in her purse. He asks, “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
She replies, “In this day and age, a talking frog is worth a lot more than a Texas oil man.”
A typical quiet night in Pasco WA:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article118274653.html
WRT today’s Scott Adams Blog, Trump knows how to really get things done, not just form a gazillion committees.
I may not like all of Trump’s appointees, but I think we are going to see a first 100 days like no one can imagine.
I do hope he declares open season on BLMs, flag burners, SJWs, illegals, and mooslems (note: there is a big difference between a Muslim and a mooslem, the latter being a world-wide scourge destined for hell).
I may not like all of Trump’s appointees, but I think we are going to see a first 100 days like no one can imagine.
I am wondering if the Senate is going to like them. Lots of really out there dumbocrats (Schumer and Warren just for two) and RINOs who are really dumbocrats that will want a bribe (McCain and Snowe, ughh).
Just wait until Trump sends his first SCOTUS pick to the hill. The rumor on the streets of Texas is that first nominee is going to be Ted Cruz. Maybe you have heard of him, the junior senator from The Great State of Texas.
Our local rag was anti-tRump throughout the campaign and today’s editorial harped on and on and on about how he’s surrounded himself with rich people, as if this was earth-shaking nooz and no other National Administrator had ever done that. And kept harping some more on “we will see” and “wait and see,” etc. They can’t wait to start their attacks and piling on. But every factory he manages to somehow keep from bailing outta the country is another huge plus in the populist category. That’s the kind of chit peeps in Flyover Country care about most; bring our friggin’ jobs back! But he’s bucking against much larger economic trends in that regard, as RBT and others have discussed here before. Those jobs ain’t coming back, most of them. The owners and managers don’t want Murkan workers; they want cheaper foreign workers and/or robots. Period.
As for SCOTUS picks, he’ll probably choose someone fairly safe, but he really ought to pick Ann Coulter. That’ll fry all their brains out there. She’s one smart cookie and a lawyer and of course she’d have to ratchet down the media splash quite a bit but what a way to shake things up! In any case, the Congress will try to stonewall it and make him choose yet another “penumbra” type clone, you know, the guys who “interpret” the Constitution in light of “new realities” and issues. Whoever it is should spearhead the repeal of Roe v. Wade immediately.
Extremely windy here last night and I saw that power lines were down in the state capital; windy again today and tonight with temps in the fotties. Some rain showers and drizzle but not the good soaking we need.
As for SCOTUS picks, he’ll probably choose someone fairly safe, but he really ought to pick Ann Coulter.
Wow, picking Ted Cruz is guaranteed to piss off the other 99 Senators. But, they all hate him so much (especially the senior Senator from The Great State of Texas) that they might be willing to throw him on SCOTUS just to get him out of the Senate.
But, picking Ann Coulter ? That is really out there. I can just see Schumer holding up her book about how to talk to a liberal and having an stroke right there as he pounds the table with it.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Liberal-You-Must/dp/1400054192/
As long as we are going for fantasy picks, how about Mark Levin ? Schumer’s head would spontaneously explode just reading any of his books.
https://www.amazon.com/Men-Black-Supreme-Destroying-America/dp/1596980095/
Just call me … Mr. Patch. We released version 15.05 of our software last night and we’ve already got a 15.05a patch going out to Brazil. Sigh. Seems like we have have been on the patch treadmill since the release of version 15.00 last July.
// 08/20/15 Lynn McGuire change to version 15.00
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@”Mr. Patch” = job security 😉
“But, picking Ann Coulter ? That is really out there. I can just see Schumer holding up her book about how to talk to a liberal and having an stroke right there as he pounds the table with it.”
Exactly.
Just call me “Mr. Really-Out-There.”
I nominate Dr. Robert Bruce Thompson to the Supreme Court.
Execution by firing squad would be too kind:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/12/unreal-hundreds-veterans-may-infected-hiv-hepatitis-va-facility/
“Execution by firing squad would be too kind:”
Removed from patient care and that’s it, so far, I guess. SOP for Fed and state employees. Takes a lot to get fired or indicted. A dentist out here would simply lose whatever license and be drummed out permanently, esp. if anyone WAS, in fact, infected. Great; now I’ll have that in my head next time they shoot something into my spine.
But our little VA facility in Vermont has been right on top of things, so far as we can see, and individual vets apparently have personal access to the top honcho, who has made himself available for that.
“I nominate Dr. Robert Bruce Thompson to the Supreme Court.”
No can do. He ain’t a lawyer. And not a real doctor, either. I’d create a job just for him: Director of Government Reduction. His task: assemble a team to go out and chop Fed gummint to the marrow and then some. Carte blanche.
No can do. He ain’t a lawyer.
Where does the USA Constitution say that the Supreme Court must be empaneled by lawyers ?
Nowhere. But they’ve generally chosen lawyers or judges for that gig. I suppose if RBT is a doctor, then he can just as easily become a lawyer or judge or SCOTUS guy. Laissez les bon temps rouler, mes amis!
@”Mr. Patch” = job security
Mr. Patch = pissed off customers !
Have Trump go ahead and nominate RBT for that or any other position. But first appoint me as facilitator. When the Senate balks, as they will, I’ll go and facilitate as much as needed. RBT will be confirmed, unless not enough Senators remain to make a quorum.
I suggested something similar a while ago, elsewhere. I’d be appointed as Trump’s nunzio to the Congress. In a speech to the combined houses, I’d say, “Representative Paul, please come here so that I can deliver your reward for all the service you’ve done for the people of the United States. Raarrrgh! Sergeant at Arms, please take these here papers. You’ll see they’re a pre-signed Presidential pardon for me. Moving on, Representative Pelosi, please come here…”
Like I keep saying, you need someone to keep all that crap under control. You and your people might be great ChemEs and coders and salesmen, but you’ve got serious problems with your development and release process.
(Lest you wonder, no, I’m not greasing for a job. I could do it and it might be an interesting challenge, but moving to Houston is not high on my to-do list.)
So for Mr. Lynn’s operation, would that mean a “project manager” and that Agile Framework stuff with Scrum masters and daily morning “stand-ups?” Yikes. I refuse to work in any of those environments and would rather stock supermarket shelves on the night shift.
I like that nunzio gig, though; excellent idea. And I’d like to pitch in and help deliver those rewards to all those people for their excellent service to the country….
You know what the purpose of dev team stand-up meetings is supposed to be? To tell people about anything you’ll be doing which might cause them problems and to tell about problems that you’re having which either are caused by someone else or can be helped by someone else. That’s it. They are not supposed to be a rehash of all the task tickets you’ve worked on since yesterday – anyone can look at the ticket tracking software and see that for themselves. The stand-up meetings are not supposed to be for recital of the CEO’s annual direction message, nor for planning out the next two releases, nor for any other purpose.
Unlike the typical “short” “stand-up” meeting, which typically runs at least 30 minutes and is conducted sitting down in a conference room too small to hold the entire team, my stand-up meetings were conducted in the dev team area and usually ran about two minutes unless there were problems that needed to be addressed. I’d have preferred to get rid of the morning meetings altogether, but they were needed for airing problems often enough that I couldn’t quite ditch them.
Much the same goes for most of the other “agile” stuff you despise. Done right, it makes it more likely you’ll get the product out the door at some close approximation to on time and on budget. The problem is, it’s very seldom done right. “Agile” has been buzzwordified and is used by incompetent managers as cover for doing things the same way they always have but with even more chaos.
So for Mr. Lynn’s operation, would that mean a “project manager” and that Agile Framework stuff with Scrum masters and daily morning “stand-ups?” Yikes. I refuse to work in any of those environments and would rather stock supermarket shelves on the night shift.
Don’t forget the large room full of four foot tall cubicles where everyone hears you fart, sneeze, blow your nose, curse, belch, fart again, talk to yourself, and answer yourself (that one is scary). I used to work in a cube farm with nine guys, it was horrible. One of the guys had his phone turned up so much that you could hear his latest girlfriend from American Express asking him when he was going to pay his bill.
We have 14 ft by 17 ft offices with two windows and doors here, except mine is 20 ft by 20 ft on the back corner with four windows. But I, uh we, yell at each other through the hallway all the time. And the bare concrete floor conducts sound like you would not believe.
““Agile” has been buzzwordified and is used by incompetent managers as cover for doing things the same way they always have but with even more chaos.”
Indeed. That was my experience and I realize if it was done right and those things lasted a couple of minutes, tops, it might be helpful. Otherwise I have zero interest in it. But it’s fucking everywhere now. Another mangler fad, like many years ago, “management by objectives,” “quality circles,” some other fad emulating Japanese chit, and before that they were sending staff to Werner Erhard’s seminars for EST chit. Fads. Innovations. Novelties. Bull-chit.
“Don’t forget the large room full of four foot tall cubicles where everyone hears you fart, sneeze, blow your nose, curse, belch, fart again, talk to yourself, and answer yourself (that one is scary).”
Yeah, I imagine many of us here are all too familiar with the prolecube farms. I hate those, too, and would rather sit in a frigid and noisy data center for eight hours. At IBM I had my own office for eighteen months (no windows but a lockable door) and then they doubled us all up so another crew of engineers and programmers could roll in and basically take over that floor of the building. And then they began the layoffs.
I had my own office when I worked for the state up here, too, with a window, lockable door, and my systems in that office with me. A DEC Alpha box running OpenVMS and then they made me switch it to Windows NT. Another box running VAX/VMS which they got rid of. Assholes.
Well, now I have my own office again. At home. With two windows. My Linux Mint main desktop, an AMZ Kindle Fire, shortwave radio, scanner, and a chit-load of books. Also some defensive tools.
Wife just called from lovely Hackensack, NJ and is royally pissed off; Air Canada treated her 88-year-old mom like shit today at the Montreal airport and this is not the first time they got the shaft there. Wife used a bunch of her miles to get her the first-class round-trip flights out to CA and back again, plus the airport hotel, and called United earlier, and now she’s trying to contact Air Canada. Plus some bozo in her class screwed up his presentation and she has to roll in early tomorrow AM for his do-over, which she is certain he’ll screw up again and fail the class. And the traffic noise outside her place makes it sound like she’s living on a runway. So she ain’t real happy tonight.
I’ll go get her tomorrow and try to jolly her along in the Holiday Season spirit, etc. Made the mistake of telling her our dryer probably chit the bed; tumbling action ain’t working anymore. One more hassle.
Watching the Vikings put up a pretty good fight against the Cowboys so far.
You know what the purpose of dev team stand-up meetings is supposed to be? To tell people about anything you’ll be doing which might cause them problems and to tell about problems that you’re having which either are caused by someone else or can be helped by someone else. That’s it. They are not supposed to be a rehash of all the task tickets you’ve worked on since yesterday – anyone can look at the ticket tracking software and see that for themselves.
We don’t do standup meetings either. I assign trouble tickets (we call them PMRs – program modification requests) as I can without just absolutely snowing everyone under. We have a custom built PMR system that dates back to January of 1984 on our old Prime computer system. It was ported to RS/6000 for a few years in the 1990s and then to Windows around 1996 using bsh (we use a unix toolkit on windows). We have almost 10,000 PMRs in the system with probably 2/3rds of them closed. I push all PMR changes to the entire staff via email, we like it that way. We don’t meet, we email or yell down the hallway. Unless things get bad.
Things are so much better now than when I started working with this in 1975. We used punch cards until we got a Prime 450 in 1978 ? and that was the cat’s meow. We started with eight terminals with 14 inch CRTs and integrated keyboards. Wow!
I have been doing this for 41 years since I was 15. Man, I am old !
Naw, you just a baby-san!
Sounds a lot like the “lean” nonsense for the physical world.
Yeah it works great, until your Just In Time, isn’t. Then you got enough parts on hand for one day or less.
And that kanban nonsense works great too, until you can’t stock repair parts because there’s no where to put them, or you are buying connectors in lots of 3 and paying 10 x their cost for shipping, when you could buy 300 for the same shipping cost (and you’ll use the 300 over the year.)
Customer complains when it takes 10 weeks to get a part from germany? You mean, instead of just robbing one off the assembly line, and cascading the missing part thru new product until the replacement finally hits the country? Fuck customers. We didn’t get into this manufacturing business to deal with customers, we got in it to ship boxes.
Bah, glad I’m not dealing with the factory, or with the developers anymore. Income took a huge hit, but I don’t get the anxiety attacks anymore either. And I’m home with the kids.
nick
I dunno if this is a good idea or not:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/us/politics/james-mattis-secrtary-of-defense-trump.html?_r=1
I am in favor, as I’ve tediously said here and elsewhere for years, of closing almost all of our overseas military installations and bringing the troops home; let the Euros defend themselves, ditto Japan and South Korea. Get out of the nonstop chaotic hornet’s nest that is the Sandbox and The Suck. This guy wants to kick ass over there still and get in the Russians’ faces, which I most emphatically do NOT support.
But we shall see; the proof is in the pudding.
I’ve decided to change my tacking on tRump’s win. I’ve been silent about Coffin Cankles crushing defeat, but not anymore. It’s enjoyable watching the Libturdians heads explode everytime tRump does or says something. He gets Carrier to stay, Libturdians say how many jobs Odooshnozzle “created”. Billions lost on auto bailout, green energy, etc. tRump’s not even President and he’s working. The Dumbcrat party of peace and inclusion insults, curses and lies about tRump every waking minute. I’m calling out anybody who starts blabbing about Cankles’ actually winning. Threats against electors, bribes, petitions, lies by Stein (money grubbing fucking prog bitch). Fuck em all. tRump may kill the MSM all by himself. That would be glorious.
I just read the latest post by MrAtoz:
I approve.
Most heartily.
I have also enjoyed the tears; the icing on that cake was when a certain somebody on here mentioned that he’d like to wash his truck or car, I forget which, with those tears. Hilarious.
It’s great watching their heads pop; almost like that guy with the pickaxe in the first few episodes of “Walking Dead.”
Timely info for anyone living in a wildfire potential AO, and I’m thinking of RBT here, first of all:
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/12/joe-alton/wildfire-preparedness/
There could certainly be a forest fire near here to our north a bit, but it would run outta fuel pretty quickly, and it’s amidst lake watershed wetlands.
@Dave
wash his truck or car, I forget which, with those tears.
I think it was Nick. It was my favorite image too. Well, right after politician and bureaucrat heads on pikes.
Are they replacing the fixtures also ? I was just planning on removing the ballasts and using the current fixtures. But, I need a freaking manlift as a ladder just does not cut it for working 23 ft up (I have a 40 ft double section ladder, I hope never to use that sucker again).
I believe they are swapping out the fixtures, but replacing the guts on the ground. We have a high lift, so getting up there isn’t much of a problem. The rule is that they only work high when they _must_. If something can be pulled to the ground to work on, they do, even if it costs more time.
@”Mr. Patch” = job security
Mr. Patch = pissed off customers !
Been there. Done that. I sympathize. Glad I’m off that treadmill. We had one release that involved patch hell. As I recall, it was a result of a poorly thought-out feature that we thought needed more proof time. We eventually got through it, and the next release was a lot less patch-prone.
I’m not sure if it was experience or caution that made it better. But new features spent a lot more time in meetings before going to development. Yay – more meetings!
A dentist out here would simply lose whatever license
When I was stationed at Randolph AFB in Universal City TX I had the misfortune of going to the clinic for a really bad cold. The doctor I had, her name was Wiswell, opened a book to look for a prescription for my ailment. I thought that was odd as I would have thought the treatment for a cold was fairly standard.
After a some questions Dr.? Wiswell volunteered the fact that she had lost her license to practice medicine in the state of Texas. But apparently that does not matter to the USAF as she is now working in a federal facility where state licensing does not apply. Thus the loss of license in Texas still allowed her to practice on federal property.
I told her no thanks and left her office and went back to the front desk asking for another doctor. Was told that was not going to happen as I had just seen a doctor and thus had been treated. Take it or leave it. I left.
mine is 20 ft by 20 ft on the back corner with four windows
With a nice view of a lot of turtles.
Yup, that was me, dirty truck needs washing….
Picked up a couple of radios at a sale yesterday. Everything was about double priced, and when I got to talking with the seller, she admitted all that was left was the stuff that didn’t sell at the hamfest or to club members. Unusually, after showing her the much lower ebay sold listings, she came down to where I needed to be.
Picked up a Yaesu FRG-7700 wide band communications receiver. (think shortwave, but better) It has continuous coverage from 150khz to 50 Mhz and all modes for demodulation. Needed some contact cleaner on rotating knobs, and then good to go. Nice sound, super smooth tuning, and reputed to be a great general listening receiver. Supposed to be good for ham SSB, but I couldn’t tune any QSOs. It might have been band conditions, or there might be an issue with the radio. In any case, SWL was fine.
Also picked up a late 60s, early 70s tabletop radio. 8 bands, including AIR, SW, and 2m. Needs electrical cleaning but works.
Some other misc radio stuff, psu, 2m mobile rig of unknown condition, some books to sell and 2 for reference.
If you think short wave has a spot in your preps (and I think it does) then I’d recommend a mid 80s or thereabouts tabletop receiver. Either a general purpose ‘communications receiver’ or a multiband transistor consumer radio. You want it to be big, so you get a large dial movement. I’ve tried a bunch of small, pocket or slightly larger analog radios, and they are very difficult to tune. I’ve tried a couple of the digital radios, but unless you have a specific freq to tune, they are annoying for just “cruising the bands.” The best is an analog radio with a digital freq display.
Why shortwave? It’s one of those things people just recommend without much thought, which is bad. For one, there isn’t a ton of “alternative news sources” on the air. Most of the broadcasters in english and spanish are religious. The others are country specific so they cover local news if any, and play music. So you’re not gonna be getting your news on SW. Although Alex Jones and Art Bell are both on SW if that’s your thing. You also aren’t gonna be evesdropping on a bunch of hams. SW radios are not a good choice for listening to the ham bands, although it’s sometimes possible. finally, if you are worried about EMP or something similar taking out your personal electronics, what do you think will happen to the SW broadcasters with hundreds of foot long antennas?
I use SW as a pleasant way to see what band conditions are like. And I like the DX (distant listening) aspect. Since I was a kid, I have gotten a kick out of hearing far away stations. SWL (short wave listening) gives you an appreciation of propagation at different times of day and to different countries. This is useful for a ham operator. It’s a lot easier to spin the dial for the dozens of commercial stations, than the hit or miss with hams.
I don’t see SW as a means of info distribution post SHTF, mainly because it takes massive amounts of power. I don’t see it as an alternative to local or national media outlets. It is a fun way to mess about with radios, learn some things that are useful for a ham operator, or interest a kid in technology (radio is magic, the voltages/currents are SOOOO very small, it’s a miracle it works, and radio is the basis of our current wireless world.)
Today is likely to be about a couple of sales, some cleanup, some fixing stuff, and some school activity. This is the annual FFA chapter Christmas fundraiser and livestock show. Good kids working hard to raise animals, and learn stuff. Lots of hands on for my kids too. And free pix with Santa…
nick
“Agile” has been buzzwordified and is used by incompetent managers as cover for doing things the same way they always have but with even more chaos.
Part of my current career problem is that I walked out of an Agile Jenkins Polarion-driven environment in Seattle three years ago. A fancy lifecycle process doesn’t fix dishonesty, favoritism, or basic developer incompetence.
Scott Adams (who is very worth reading) posted this link and I think it is long but well worth the read. It will give you tools to react to antiTrumpers, and if you are antiTrump, it might help you move on.
http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/16/you-are-still-crying-wolf/
Takes a bit to get going, but RTWT.
nick
The Religion of Pieces:
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/rrw-what-do-nine-bloody-attacks-in-18-months-have-in-common/
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/what-do-nine-bloody-attacks-in-18-months-have-in-common/
http://www.wnd.com/2016/11/9-bloody-terror-attacks-in-u-s-in-18-months-have-1-thing-in-common/
I left the first two links in because of either the nifty graphic at WRS or the comments at RSW, but the money article is in the third link. Info that has never, to my knowledge, been reported in the MSM. We can expect more of this stuff here and in Europe. They’re not gonna stop. And our Western governments are apparently not gonna stop letting them into our countries.
It is like unto the parable of the venomous snake and the turtle. Or the venomous snake on the doorstep taken in by the compassionate and generous woman of the house. Etc.
Overcast and dark again today, rain showers likely. Just never as much as we need.
I thought reuse of dental equipment (after autoclaving) was routine.
Maybe in Australia, but our dentists (Barbara’s and mine) use a lot of disposables. Basically for anything that touches a patient. Some of the equipment, like the ultrasonic cleaner, has disposable tips. Hand tools, some metal and some nylon, come in sealed paper packs that are opened for use and then discarded.
mine is 20 ft by 20 ft on the back corner with four windows
With a nice view of a lot of turtles.
And the occasional crane. There was a four foot tall crane here last week for several days with about a six foot wingspan. He ate several fish while I was watching him.
And the occasional alligator.
@”Mr. Patch” = job security
Mr. Patch = pissed off customers !
Been there. Done that. I sympathize. Glad I’m off that treadmill. We had one release that involved patch hell. As I recall, it was a result of a poorly thought-out feature that we thought needed more proof time. We eventually got through it, and the next release was a lot less patch-prone.
I’m not sure if it was experience or caution that made it better. But new features spent a lot more time in meetings before going to development. Yay – more meetings!
We changed the fundamental data storage in our user interface from distributed to a centralized cache with duplicates checking. That has been the source of many unforeseen problems. But, the 75+% reduction in binary file size was needful for our future plans.
All of the updates have driven my web server to almost 1 GB/day traffic in 2016 including weekends. In the 24 hours after a release, the customers will hit me for 7 GB now.