Currently 77F at 730am. Liars call for sunny and dry.
Woke up this morning dreaming I was in a PA novel. The event was over, and people were getting to their rendezvous points. It was a bit like after the hurricane when the evacuees return.
Group of friends joins us. We see signs of life everywhere. LOTS of people made it through and now they are out looking for stuff.
We go out in a jeep, meet up with a group, and are ambushed and all killed. My pistol is some skinny metal thing with a wire trigger guard that won’t fire, won’t chamber a round, and won’t shoot straight. I blue on blue one of our guys before we’re all killed and captured.
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Not a good way to wake up.
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Better get some breakfast cooking, or the little one will unleash the kraken….
n
@jenny, I approved your long comment about the above ground pool. It was stuck in spam. Sorry, I hadn’t looked.
n
(sat. 7 july)
The return of the servant problem
Excerpt:
“But now it’s 2018. Poverty cultures are reaching down to unprecedented levels of self-degradation; indicators of this are out-of-wedlock births, rates of drug abuse, and levels of interpersonal violence and suicide. Even as American society as a whole is getting steadily richer, more peaceful and less crime-ridden, its lowest SES tiers are going to hell in a handbasket. And not just the usual urban minority suspects, either, but poor whites as well; this is the burden of books like Charles Murray’s Coming Apart. J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy, and the opioid-abuse statistics.
“It’s hard not to look at this and not see the prophecies of The Bell Curve, a quarter century ago, coming hideously true. We have assorted ourselves into increasing cognitive inequality by class. and the poor are paying an ever heavier price for this. Furthermore, the natural outcome of the process is average IQ and other class differentiating abilities abilities are on their way to becoming genetically locked in”
(SES = Socio-Economic Status)
ESR follows this gloomy line of thought to some conclusions rather less palatable than Eloi and Morlocks.
ESR is a smart guy, and has an interesting perspective on a lot of subjects.
n
added- read thru it.
I think he gets this part backwards–
“Drugs to make people smarter; germ-line manipulation to make their kids brighter. If we can narrow the cognitive-ability spread enough, the economic forces driving increasing divergence between upper and lower SES will abate.”
The current ‘ruler’ technocrat class is already doing this according to some conspiracy theorists. They are certainly doing it with normal means- good nutrition, early intervention with diseases, surgical correction of deficiencies, etc. They will have access to and knowledge of any advances. They will take advantage, while the lower SES classes do not. This will result in the disparity increasing.
There may come a day when whole families save and strive to send the first child to be raised in the modified culture, as the do with college today. My question would be, if the kid still wants to help once uplifted….
He also leaves out a driving force that explains A LOT of trends- illegal immigration, particularly from places that already have a ‘master/servant’ culture. By the nature of the invasion, they are not “yearning to be free” they are yearning to stay the same, only here. The vast majority of the illegal invaders are of the ‘peasant’ class, and don’t see anything wrong with that. Why else would so many be the new servants? They do child care, construction, lawn care, house cleaning, all traditional servant roles.
As the percentage of residents who are from those medieval cultures increases, so to does the social stratification that comes with those cultures.
@mediumwave: It’s hard to see a way out of the downward spiral for certain groups. Of course, the “average IQ” is already genetically locked in. Innumerable studies have confirmed that. The results just aren’t politically acceptable, so people close their eyes, plug their ears, and cry “racist”.
Which has actually little to do with the problems with blacks in the US. Those can largely be laid at the feet of well-intended programs – everything from welfare rules to affirmative action programs. Incentivize broken families, and put people into educational and professional situations for which they are unqualified.
If the progressives had wanted to destroy the black community, they could hardly have come up with a more effective set of measures.
“If the progressives had wanted to destroy the black community, they could hardly have come up with a more effective set of measures. ”
Yep, sure looks like it. I’m thinking that in this case, we can ascribe to malice what would otherwise be thought incompetence. Especially in light of LBJ’s famous comment about having them vote Democratic for generations.
n
Of course, the “average IQ” is already genetically locked in. Innumerable studies have confirmed t
And, if you mention The Bell Curve you are a raycissss!
Mother of the year:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5942653/Parkland-shooter-Nikolas-Cruzs-mother-let-buy-AR-15-used-massacre.html
Read the article and see if you can spot the spin…. “Who should we blame? … Well, who’s not here?” Nope all those official contacts didn’t fail, it was the dead mom….
Nominee 2:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5942469/Mother-arrested-leaving-two-babies-blazing-hot-car.html
Nice neck tattoo Ms Gonzalez.
n
Does anyone here doubt that there is a war on whites in the US?
“A California university is looking to slash its number of white students in a drive to boost diversity on campus.
California Polytechnic State University recently released a 30-page report which stated that it was hoping to reduce its percentage of white students from 55 per cent to less than 40 per cent.”
…
“Percentage of white students has already fallen from 63 in 2011, to 55 in 2017, but there is still much work to do,’ a report aimed at boosting diversity states” [emph added]
…
And men–
“Cal Poly SLO was especially focused on increasing diversity in ‘traditionally male-dominated majors’ such as STEM and Architecture and Environmental Design.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5940911/California-universitys-plans-slash-number-white-students-diversity-drive.html
n
.
OK, advice accepted. I will forever use the term: “Normal Distribution”.
Hmmm….. my grandson was accepted there for the next school year. He decided on USC and is already there on a summer, introductory 4 week program.
There may come a day when whole families save and strive to send the first child to be raised in the modified culture, as the do with college today. My question would be, if the kid still wants to help once uplifted….
There are still many places in this country which, while unexciting, are not stratified to the level of San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, etc, and living costs, including college, are still affordable. Unfortunately, as I’ve pointed out before, a lot of retirement plans in “flyover country” now depend on keeping the stratified Ponzi going inside the bubble so everyone has skin in the game at this point.
It won’t end well.
Are they also working towards increasing diversity in traditionally female-dominated majors, such as Women’s Studies?
Scanner has some team about to take down some guys trafficking heroin and meth, by the Fry’s on US 59 in sugar land
n
they’re gonna pull them over with marked units, they’ve got them on traffic violations, but hope to ‘develop something fresh’ to justify the stop.
they perp is making it easy by ‘driving like a jackass’
speeding and swerving all over the freeway
pulling him over now
and, no more radio chatter.
they perp is making it easy by ‘driving like a jackass’
Guess that works in Houston. The label would apply to half or more of the drivers around Austin.
they’re gonna pull them over with marked units, they’ve got them on traffic violations, but hope to ‘develop something fresh’ to justify the stop.
When we left, some of the communities around Vantucky were adopting “distracted driving” laws, officer’s discretion. The intended purpose was to be one of the mechanisms for enforcing city soda taxes, but, heck, that kind of law might be effective against … legitimate law breakers. Imagine that!
“TSA screeners win immunity from flier abuse claims: U.S. appeals court”
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/tsa-screeners-win-immunity-flier-abuse-claims-u-150740124.html
So, if I get beaten up by a TSA employee and sit in their jail for a while, I have no legal recourse ? Well, that makes me want to get on a plane and fly somewhere.
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
So, if I get beaten up by a TSA employee and sit in their jail for a while, I have no legal recourse ? Well, that makes me want to get on a plane and fly somewhere.
You have no legal recourse if you are felt up as part of the invasive search.
Before boarding a flight to Tampa last week, I forgot to pull my wallet from my back pocket heading into the body scanner. Of course, instead of letting me remove the wallet and go back through the scanner, I had to consent to the goon groping me, checking my crotch with the back of his hand.
The rules and equipment vary from airport to airport. YMMV, especially in CA.
The TSA in Tampa Airside C (Southwest) is fairly no-nonsense so, flying back, the laptop stayed in the bag, shoes stayed on, and my wallet remained in my back pocket while getting screened. No gropings necessary.
In Tampa, the TSA silliness takes place in the outbuilding where the luggage contents are “screened”. No love note about opening the suitcase this time — I put my smelly beach sneakers (red tide, dead fish guts) and used underwear right on top of everything when packing for the return flight.
“County detective: 8 reasons Houston’s ‘honor killings’ seem connected”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Detective-9-reasons-Houston-s-honor-killings-13066414.php
Islam, the religion of peace ? My hind foot.
Someone needs to air drop pallets full of Arabic and Farsi language versions of The God Delusion all over the Middle East.
Someone needs to air drop pallets full of Arabic and Farsi language versions of The God Delusion all over the Middle East.
Dr. Pournelle used to advocate iPods full of Madonna, etc.
These days, it would be Kanye and Beyonce.
Just found out what the nasty smell in my Ford Expedition air conditioning is. My air conditioning evaporator had a leak in it and was slowly venting R134a and compressor oil. The cost is $1,720 which also includes pressure testing the engine cooling system (makes sure heater core is not leaking, I told them to check out both systems). They think that the a/c compressor is ok but not totally sure.
If I had known the evaporator was failing, I would have junked the Expy before replacing the transmission. The rebuilt transmission was $4,125. This is too much money to spend on a 13 year old vehicle with 194K miles.
Are you going to fix it?
Are you going to fix it?
Of course. I love my a/c. It is either replace the evaporator or sell the truck without an a/c and buy a new one.
And, I must confess that I knew that the a/c was not performing up to regular standards before I replaced the transmission. I just thought it was low on refrigerant. Which it, it was.
BTW, when the tech looked at the evaporator, the leak got way worse. Not surprising, the evaporator is probably just a huge pile of rust.
On my ’92 Dodge truck the compressor leaked behind the clutch. So, never a full charge. A couple or three cans of freon a year, not a big deal. The day the system died it made funny smell through the vents and the compressor stopped. I had the door open, just to let some of that wonderful sunny at 2 PM mid-July heat out.
When I got home, I changed to shorts, fed the critters, got a beer and a can of freon. That was a wasted can. Of freon….
Sold the truck for a grand three years later. Which surprised several folks at work. Some that I got a grand for it. Some that I actually let it go.
It had bad paint and was proud of it. No rust. Just an old truck with a bent rear bumper (not by me) and a few dents (also not be me). I kind of missed it until I saw what the buyer did to it. Take the decent factory radio out of the dash and wire in some Wal-Mart junky thing with enough wire to set the radio on the front seat. But keep the original speakers. And more. [shrug] I did sell it and have no room to complain.
The ’02 I now have is a much nicer truck.
Well, new transmission, new a/c, you might as well drive it until the wheels fall off.
Ok, you might have a short block dropped in some day.
Well, new transmission, new a/c, you might as well drive it until the wheels fall off.
Gonna need new tires in 10K miles …
And the a/c tech says the compressor is good. Today, he is not sure about tomorrow.
And yes, I’ll drive it until the leather seat finishes cracking / ripping under my wide ass.
Drop backpacks with some nutritious if not delicious food, some pro-American propaganda, some consumer luxeries like a pair of blue jeans or a doll, and a Liberator pistol with ammo.
I crunched some numbers 2002-ish (with SWAPs on several of the numbers) and figured we could have dropped a package for every human in Afghanistan for much less money than just our first year’s military cost, and at virtually no risk to American lives. If the Afghans wanted to be free of the Taliban, millions of weapons in the hands of allegedly decent people would do it. If not, not our problem.
What’s that? Lynn’s riding around in a short bus?
If I had known the evaporator was failing, I would have junked the Expy before replacing the transmission. The rebuilt transmission was $4,125. This is too much money to spend on a 13 year old vehicle with 194K miles.
Dealer $ervice department quote?
Group One dealer $ervice department?
Even Firestone gave us a $500 better quote than the dealer on the rack and pinion job for my wife’s 4Runner.
Dealer $ervice department quote?
Yup, Legacy Ford in Rosenberg, Texas. I don’t have anyone else that I trust at the moment. And I have serious trust issues.
I should have junked the truck since I won’t go to Firestone, etc.
And here is what the service advisor said about my a/c compressor, “As of right now, there is no evidence the compressor is bad, as there is no dye leaking out the seals and the system was surprisingly cool given the condition of the evaporator. The honest answer is that we can not be completely sure until the system is up and running again and under full pressure for a reasonable amount of time.”
ADD: translation, “the compressor is working today”.
Speaking of the Bell Curve, I will be having dinner with one of the authors, Charles Murray in a few weeks.
@ech, that is really cool, to gauche to ask for him to sign a copy?
n
ech, if you speak to him, make sure to tell him you’ve read TBC, didn’t just look at the graphs in Ch 13 and 14. (Assuming you did, of course. And if you haven’t, you should. It’s over 20 years old and still stands on its own merits.)
Even Firestone gave us a $500 better quote than the dealer on the rack and pinion job for my wife’s 4Runner.
My brother and I replaced his rack and pinion steering on his Nisson 280ZX turbo a couple of decades ago. I won’t do that again.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5922515/Brad-Pitts-Hurricane-Katrina-homes-rotting-leaking-caving-in.html
Hmm, what could possibly go wrong?
Architects unfamiliar with local tastes or conditions.
Super tight LEED platinum where every detail has to be right and everything depends on mechanical systems.
Homeowners with NO experience at even the most basic homeownership, and no money to maintain or repair.
Lots of ‘experimental’ materials and systems.
And the result???
Rot, decay, insect and moisture damage.
There are good reasons for vernacular construction styles. There are good reasons why my rent house, built in the 40’s and open to the weather for a number of years is still standing.
Tight building doesn’t make any sense in any way other than counting electrical bills.
Oh, and once a sh!thole, still a sh!thole. You can’t force change.
n
My brother and I replaced his rack and pinion steering on his Nisson 280ZX turbo a couple of decades ago. I won’t do that again.
I used to do my own oil and plugs when I still lived at home, but, since moving out on my own, we’ve rented apartments or owned homes deed-restricted communities.
Rack and pinion. That’s a project. A Z car is worth it, though. Pre-Renault designs, those are raw fun, even the Mercedes/Chrysler drivetrain 300s.
As a retired Rocket Scientist, I’m going to ask him to sign the history of the Apollo program he co-authored.
Oh, and once a sh!thole, still a sh!thole.
You callin’ New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward (AKA da Nint’ Wohd or da Lowah Nine) a sh!thole?
Yeah you right.
Is, was, and always will be, Brad Pitt notwithstanding.
”’ Just found out what the nasty smell in my Ford Expedition air conditioning is. My air conditioning evaporator had a leak in it and was slowly venting R134a and compressor oil. ”’
@Lynn:
I would have hoped that I was correct about cowl debris (not that it is not sometimes a really bad situation), but yours is worse. Best of luck on all this!
I think it’s a good thing to toss out (relatively simple) potential solutions to any problem, especially if it’s possible that the simpler problem could use some work, too.
I mean, clean out the cowl, if it needs it, no matter what…
If the cowl is not full of debris, I consider you lucky.
I still believe that Fort Lauderdale/Miami is a serious possibility for Amazon HQ2. It looks like the Motorola facility in Sunrise is going to be available sooner than even I expected.
http://digg.com/2018/magic-leap-demo-video