30F and wet, according to my station. (in half an hour it dropped to 29F) This sucks dead bunnies. I trusted weatherunderground’s forecast and DID NOT cover my citrus. I’m going to be REALLY angry if I lose a tree because those @ssholes assured me it wasn’t necessary. I’ve become used to the idea the .gov forecast is always wrong, but WU had been reliable.
Yesterday some people thought they saw snowflakes. I thought I saw a few myself. And by a few, I mean 10-12. The backyard thermometer read 40F so I dismissed it as impossible. Several other people insisted that they saw them too, all over town at different times. I should have covered my citrus.
In more wide ranging thoughts, if the world was a bunch of guys in a crowd, full of drunks, bullies, that guy who always thinks you can talk it out, and the angry girlfriend yelling sh!t, we just moved from pushing, yelling, and posturing to ‘took a few swings’, landed a few punches or “scattered fistfights broke out”. There is then a pause when people think “wow that hurt’ or “F you pussy!’ or ‘I’m going home, you and him fight’. The drunk girl is still yelling sh!t, because she loves the smell of sweaty men, and hasn’t been hit yet.
At the end of this pause, the crowd will either break up as the guys decide it’s just not worth it yet, or the fight will break out again with a lot more seriousness. This is also the point where the cops usually come and break up the crowd to send all the sullen fighters home. BUT the cops are on strike at the moment, concerned about their own issues, or possibly looking to put the boot in on their own.
Iran’s acting like they know they’ve got a gun in their pants, and everyone else is naked. If they decide this is the time, all hell is going to break lose, and we WILL get involved. A nuclear conflict in the middle east is a step WAY to far for us to ignore. Even a big dog can get bitten by a little dog at the start of the fight. If that bite is poisoned or infected, one bite is all it takes.
Cheery thoughts for a dreary morning, eh?
Stack it high fellows. There’s no harm in being ready. The worst that being wrong would bring is ‘bringing forward demand’ as the economists say, and you shop less over the next few months.
n
It’s freezing here as I type this. 30º and light snow. I didn’t realize it was snowing – it was NOT snowing when I let the dog out at 3:30, and I didn’t look until shortly before I left. Gah. Scraped the sidewalk with the shovel to get the slush off so it won’t be too bad when it DOES freeze.
Truck died on the way home last night. Managed to coast into a parking lot and got a ride from my wife. Ride to work this morning as well, which saves me some grief. I’ll call my favorite garage this to get it towed & fixed. They’re good about it, and prices are good. Gaah.
I’m reviewing how some managers manage their passwords here. Suffice it to say “gaaah!” The information they have access to is valuable. I need to teach them to protect it better. Perhaps. I’ll keep fighting for it.
Thanks to all for the advice about cameras yesterday. I’ve collected it all and will discuss with the plant engineer to try to get some sanity in the conversation.
Aaaaaand – the Dick Tracy watch works great. I had to reboot my phone and I got a call from the garage while it was in-process. I answered on my watch & let him know that I do NOT have a plow and the tow truck can pick it up just fine.
Ain’t technology grand?
Frost on all the roofs here, but the sun is coming out. Moon is low in the sky and waning gibbous, super bright.
If Iran attacks Israel, will they also start simultaneous terror attacks elsewhere to distract the world, or will they go for one big surprise? Which better fits their nature?
n
I’ve been slacking on stacking extra food. I’m working on correcting that. I just received an Amazon shipment of Keystone canned ground beef and turkey – 8 cans of each. I’ve had the beef before, and though not great, I can eat it. I’m assuming the turkey is the same way. This is for longer term storage, but I will rotate it out in my lunches.
The cans all arrived dent free – a minor miracle. 8 were in a box by themselves, and the box was just big enough for the cans. The other 8 were in a box with a couple other items that took up all the space. I don’t attribute this packing to any great Amazon elite packing policy…I just happened to get someone who gave half a crap.
Have to go to Costco soon – getting low on dog food. Maybe I’ll finally start stacking up a few bulk staples. I keep putting that off….
50# rice – $25
50# flour – $16
25# sugar – $12
3 gal peanut oil – $30
30 canned chicken – $30
big can countrytime lemonade mix
~$200 and you can eat for a long time
YMMV and you might like some canned veg or more meat
I store peanut oil as a fat because I use it to cook and it is tasty enough to use in place of butter if needed.
At ~$1/can one month of main meals of canned chicken/ham/pork, rice, and one veg is less than $100. It beats RBT’s “iron rations” by a mile in my book too.
n
added- the flour and oil are for tortillas or other flat breads. Grab a couple pounds of salt too.
So the stories and realfacts in the alternative media are finally getting out into the legacy media…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6627223/Native-American-faced-Catholic-schoolboys-NOT-Vietnam-veteran.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6627525/Native-American-refuses-schoolboys-offer-face-face-talks-confrontation.html “as he admits he ‘never set foot in Vietnam’ as questions around his military service arise”
‘course you gotta love the use of language… “Philips and Sandmann found themselves at the center of a national conversation about race after they were filmed going eye-to-eye near the Lincoln Memorial. While Sandmann and his classmates were initially condemned, a more nuanced picture has since emerged, and Philips has admitted inserting himself into a confrontation between the boys and some African American activists. ”
Expect to see this soon, if it continues on-
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/native-american-elder-nathan-phillips-was-arrested-for-assault-and-for-breaking-jail-while-serving-in-marines/
n
Vibrancy.
“Iraqi asylum-seeker, 21, is charged with multiple child rapes and murdering a 14-year-old girl in Germany
Rejected Iraqi asylum-seeker charged with rape and murder of 14-year-old girl
Ali Bashar fled back to northern Iraq after the death of Susanna Maria Feldman
Bashar is also suspected of raping an 11-year-old schoolgirl in a refugee home
Another Afghan boy, Mansoor Q, also charged with with rape of the 11-year-old”
Hey, don’t forget about ebola!
“If Ebola does make it to the major city of Goma then ‘all bets are off’ for the bid to control the outbreak, one health official said earlier this week.
In preparation, the WHO and DRC’s health ministry have already sent rapid response and vaccination teams to Kayina, and set up a lab in Goma as a precaution.
More than 60,000 people have been vaccinated against the virus already, in an outbreak which is the second worst in world history.”
“cases keep ‘popping up unexpectedly out of thin air’ ”
A timely article from Greg Ellifritz, well known self defense trainer….
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/how-to-spot-a-bad-guy-a-comprehensive-look-at-body-language-and-pre-assault-indicators
Well worth a few minutes of your time.
n
Who’s gonna blink first: Pelosi or tRump? I hope tRump’s vanity doesn’t get him. Also, remember when Dumbo’s, including Crazy Eyes, were screeching about not taking a salary during the shutdown? I guess that went out the window as she traveled to Sundance. Unbelievable Congress still gets paid.
30F and wet, according to my station. (in half an hour it dropped to 29F) This sucks dead bunnies. I trusted weatherunderground’s forecast and DID NOT cover my citrus. I’m going to be REALLY angry if I lose a tree because those @ssholes assured me it wasn’t necessary. I’ve become used to the idea the .gov forecast is always wrong, but WU had been reliable.
If you have mature trees, just brushing the freezing point for half an hour or so in a coastal area like Houston probably won’t be an issue. In 10 years in FL, I only lost a Japanese Plum, and I strongly suspect that the REMF living behind me dosed the tree with Round Up as part of an attempt to make the view into his Suburban Florida back yard look like Hillbilly, WV, where he grew up.
Iran’s acting like they know they’ve got a gun in their pants, and everyone else is naked.
One carrier. Not even sunk, but seriously damaged. That would be enough to remove the US from the Middle East or, at the very least, the Gulf.
I doubt even the REMF perverts at MacDill are deluded enough to believe they can put “boots on the ground” in Iran.
“Bobcat spotted in Sugar Land neighborhood, residents reminded it’s mating season for the critters”
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/sugarland/news/article/huge-bobcat-spotted-perched-on-Sugar-Land-fence-13557975.php#photo-16818777
The picture is at my neighbors house. I am wondering if our 12+ lb male Siamese cat, Remy, can defend himself at all from the bobcat. If we close the door to the outside, Remy goes nuts after a while. He goes in and out at least a dozen times a day.
The picture is at my neighbors house. I am wondering if our 12+ lb male Siamese cat, Remy, can defend himself at all from the bobcat. If we close the door to the outside, Remy goes nuts after a while. He goes in and out at least a dozen times a day.
No, a housecat is defenseless against a bobcat. You’ll have to either supervise the cat’s trips outside or, as heartless as it sounds, let nature do what nature does.
Cats still have a lot of “wild” in them. We currently try to control our cat’s trips outside to avoid fights with the neighbor’s cats, and, in return, she lets us know she’s not happy by pooping once a day on the rug in our dining room. If it goes to urination, we’ll let nature take its course.
30 canned chicken – $30
Is this the little 5 ounce cans that one can buy anywhere ?
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/harvest-creek-chunk-white-chicken-in-water/591288
I buy the 50 oz canned chicken cans at Sams Club at 2 for $11 each. The downside is that is a lot of chicken and if one does not have refrigeration then …
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/dc-chicken-breast-50-oz/prod6790291.ip?xid=plp_product_1_2
“Tax Deductions That Disappeared This Year”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tax-deductions-disappeared-155349952.html
“While some crucial tax breaks might return after some provisions of the tax law expire in 2025, here are 12 tax deductions that disappeared this year:
— The standard $6,350 deduction.
— Personal exemptions.
— Unlimited state and local tax deductions.
— A $1 million mortgage interest deduction.
— An unrestricted deduction for home equity loan interest.
— Deductions for unreimbursed employee expenses.
— Miscellaneous itemized deductions.
— A deduction for moving expenses.
— Unrestricted casualty loss deduction.
— Alimony deduction.
— Deductions for certain school donations.
— Deductions from tax extenders.”
Wow, that is more changes than I thought.
In more wide ranging thoughts, if the world was a bunch of guys in a crowd, full of drunks, bullies, that guy who always thinks you can talk it out, and the angry girlfriend yelling sh!t, we just moved from pushing, yelling, and posturing to ‘took a few swings’, landed a few punches or “scattered fistfights broke out”.
Are any of the third world countries in control by women like half of the first world countries are ?
And did I just get myself in heap big trouble ?
Stack it high fellows. There’s no harm in being ready. The worst that being wrong would bring is ‘bringing forward demand’ as the economists say, and you shop less over the next few months.
My big problem is that my offsite storage is on a second floor. After about three trips up those stairs with stuff, my knees start killing me.
They didn’t go far enough. There are still thousands of deductions on the books.
1 page of instructions. One page to file.
Unlimited state and local tax deductions.
I don’t think a lot of people on the West Coast fully understand that one yet. This is the first filing year without the deduction, and the thought processes on taxes at the state and local levels have always been “its deductible”.
Texas either. Round Rock ISD got their bond measure passed this time around. Admittedly, it was bare bones — no football stadiums or performing arts halls … for now.
Thirty years ago … damn I’m old.
https://www.tampabay.com/data/2019/01/24/ted-bundy-was-executed-30-years-ago-today-three-of-his-victims-were-from-st-petersburg/
“Who Makes the Most Reliable Hard Drives?”
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175089-who-makes-the-most-reliable-hard-drives
“Backblaze has released its data set for the full year 2018 and there are some surprises in it this time around. Annual failure rates for drives have fallen sharply in comparison to previous years as smaller capacity HDDs have been replaced by higher capacity counterparts. This isn’t automatically what you’d expect.”
There is a table of the Backblaze experiences in 2016 to 2018:
2016 drive count = 71,940 AFR = 1.95%
2017 drive count = 90,523 AFR = 1.77%
2018 drive count = 104,778 AFR = 1.25%
That is a remarkable decrease in drive failure rate over time.
They just bought a large number, 31,146, of 12 TB Seagate drives. One wonders what the long term affects of those drives will be.
Cats still have a lot of “wild” in them. We currently try to control our cat’s trips outside to avoid fights with the neighbor’s cats, and, in return, she lets us know she’s not happy by pooping once a day on the rug in our dining room. If it goes to urination, we’ll let nature take its course.
I take it that she does not like the litter box.
It is quite an amazing feeling when one steps in it.
“Tax Deductions That Disappeared This Year”
They didn’t go far enough. There are still thousands of deductions on the books.
1 page of instructions. One page to file.
Hey, those deductions were bought and paid for !
I take it that she does not like the litter box.
We added a second litter box and upped the cleaning schedule per the vet’s instructions. That worked for a few days but then she got wise.
No, the poop is a message about being able to do that outside as much as she wants.
I bought Rick’s book yesterday. Huh, plus sales tax on a handful of bits and bytes. No idea when I’ll actually read it. My Kindle is full of unread books which goes along nicely with the thirty feet or so of shelving I have of unread books.
I’m not allowed to buy anymore books. Says me.
Although I do want a set of Britannica, early ’70’s and before it was split into three parts… an index book, about ten books of summary articles, and the twenty or so with full articles. “Clunky to use” is not quite the phrase I need here.
Sure, it would be lacking on Computers. I have that covered:
*Windows95 Resource Kit
*WindowsNT Resource Kit
*Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit
Plus a boxed set for *Windows 2000 Server
And a couple of books about DOS 5 and 6.
Along with the brain busting “Network Essentials” set. <— that was a tough class and yet I some how passed with only three incorrect answers.
MCSE school was fun. Then again, for me, Windows has been my version of video games since I found a copy of Win2 in a junk drawer at work.
@Paul — thanks for the book purchase.
It’s a runaway best seller – total sales in the two figures. Heh.
Those that have read it have liked it. Even got a five-star review. One reader is waiting anxiously for Book 2. Which I am writing. It’s got 25K words so far (first pass). The ending of the story is still a bit fuzzy here.
But it is interesting to write it. Hopefully, also interesting to read.
I modified the books web site (https://www.lightblink.com ) a bit. The front page blurb is different. And changed the excerpt a bit.
Also worked a bit on the cover for Book 2. Not quite done yet, but starting to look good.
Always interested in reviews of any kind. And, purchase, of course. All are appreciated.
1 page of instructions. One page to file.
1. How much did you make from work this year?
1a. How much did your Spouse make?
2. Add any interest income. As a punishment for actually saving money.
3. This is your net income.
4. How many people in your family? Enter their SS numbers.
5. Take the number in Line 4 and multiply by $20,000. ( or whatever )
6 Subtract Line 5 from Line 3. This is your taxable income.
Etc.
No, you don’t get a refund if you and wife are negative on Line 6. Mom and Dad and three kids is a $100,000 deduction off of total income.
Sure. It would stiff the young single guys getting on by not much. What’s new? Then again, it would encourage folks to get married and have a few kids. $20k per head deduction….
Always interested in reviews of any kind. And, purchase, of course. All are appreciated.
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Blink-Book-Richard-Hellewell/dp/1793202060/?tag=ttgnet-20
If I rate it a three out of five stars, do you promise that your feelings will not be hurt ? I rate everything that I read. I have 716 reviews on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHV2C7F5C3SWNVJAYRZOU7ORTWYA?tag=ttgnet-20
I rate most books a four. If I can finish a book but it pisses me off, I rate it a three. If I really like a book, I give it five stars. And I have a very short list of about ten books that I give six stars.
And “Reamde” is starting to piss me off. Too much Tom Clancyism.
Sure. It would stiff the young single guys getting on by not much. What’s new? Then again, it would encourage folks to get married and have a few kids. $20k per head deduction….
I foresee even more fake kids than today on tax returns.
Of course, my understanding is that many people claim fake kids on their tax returns to get earned income tax credit.
The income tax is an abomination. “Fixing” it is putting lipstick on a turd.
Tie the franchise to property owners, any age, any sex, mebbee even corps. and tax property. -OR- Apportion it back to the States and let them figure their own system. Make the census worth something.
Either way the Feds become vastly more accountable and can’t be spendthrifts.
Either way the Feds become vastly more accountable and can’t be spendthrifts.
Just like the feddies are accountable and not spendthrifts now.
Not gonna happen regardless, too many politicians want to be Uncle Santa Claus.
@lynn
If I rate it a three out of five stars, do you promise that your feelings will not be hurt ? I rate everything that I read. I have 716 reviews on Amazon.
Honest reviews is all I can ask for. (I can take the abuse; I’ve had teenagers.)
I am interested in any comments. Including any that might say “you can’t write worth a d***”. Hoping that there aren’t any of those, but can accept them if there is. We can still be friends.
I had fun writing it. Hoping that others enjoy the experience of reading it.
That would be rather the point. Actually, it is the control of the money fountain that makes any other issue deck chair arranging. No checks, no balances today.
Income tax was sold as a temporary war measure. It should be abolished. One straight federal tax on sales of everything other than capital goods. If you buying it means someone else can’t, then sales tax. Local and state sales tax limited to a percentage of Fed, Fed limited to less than 10%. Lottery on receipts to encourage people to patronize businesses that properly collect the tax (china does this).
This captures SPENDING which is all money is good for. Doesn’t matter when or how you earn it, it’s no good until you spend it. Captures earnings from drug dealing and other illicit activity, captures earnings from people working under the table. No more IRS from citizens’ point of view.
Businesses already collect sales tax so little additional burden is imposed.
n
“Big Apple Layoffs Pump Brakes on Its Autonomous Cars”
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/apple-project-titan-layoffs,news-29225.html
Apple is getting ready to buy Tesla.
Honest reviews is all I can ask for. (I can take the abuse; I’ve had teenagers.)
A friend of mine at church has four daughters, no sons. All four are now teenagers. He has two bathrooms in his house. He says that there is no bad silence now. Especially when he rounds them up for interrogations about the latest crazy thing going on. He claims that he has sat there for over an hour without saying a word while all four of them glare at him.
That would put thousands of accountants and IRS workers out of a job. Many lawyers also which would be a good thing.
I approve.
I am interested in any comments. Including any that might say “you can’t write worth a d***”. Hoping that there aren’t any of those, but can accept them if there is. We can still be friends.
The first time that I read the excerpt, I did not like it. Now I do. Weird.
BTW, did you get to choose the pricing on Big River ? $4.95 Kindle and $11.95 trade paperback seem almost the bottom of the pack nowadays for self published. Mind you, I am not complaining, those prices represent the most that I will pay today.
I just bought the trade paperback and Big River offered me the Kindle version for $1.99. They don’t miss a trick, do they.
Apple is getting ready to buy Tesla.
And Valley lawyers are salivating about the class action shareholder lawsuits with Musk’s rapper girlfriends as star witnesses.
I just dropped my proxy in the mail. I only fill it out to vote ‘no’ on Al Gore remaining a board member. Otherwise, I trust Cook to do the right thing. If that trust is misplaced, I’ll sign on to a lawsuit.
I endured the Austin Apple Store tonight. The place was busy but did not resemble a Greyhound bus terminal like it did the last time I stopped. I still believe the current downward trend in sales and the stock price are deliberate if for no other reason than to make sure Angela Ahrendts sticks around.
Income tax was sold as a temporary war measure. It should be abolished. One straight federal tax on sales of everything other than capital goods. If you buying it means someone else can’t, then sales tax. Local and state sales tax limited to a percentage of Fed, Fed limited to less than 10%. Lottery on receipts to encourage people to patronize businesses that properly collect the tax (china does this).
Nope, we will have federal income tax and federal sales tax both. In fact, probably a federal VAT tax. Just wait until AOC becomes president in six years.
BTW, I heard AOC on Sean Hannity’s radio show today. Man, she is whiny ! They are going to have to give her voice lessons before she runs for prez.
@lynn
On Kindle Book Publishing (KDP – the self-publisher area of Kindle/Amazon), the submitter (author) decides on pricing for the ebook and paperback.
For the ebook, you want to choose something in the 70% royalty range, so price above $2.99. You can choose any number you want. I figured that $4.95 was a reasonable price for an ebook from a new author. Seems to be about low/average for ebooks.
Then I joined the ‘club’ that allows you to ‘share’ in the “Read for Free Kindle” club (available to Prime members). Theoretically, you get a portion of the total amount allocated to that club’s authors, with your percentage based on ‘read-through’, or how many pages were read by Kindle-Free people. (I read a lot, and have Prime, so just about any book I read is via Kindle-Free.)
For the paperback book, you go through a separate ‘build-the-book’ process, and KDP tells you the printing cost. So you price from there. I chose a price that was lower than mass-marketed books, or those traditionally published. Something that would seem reasonable to someone taking a chance on your book. (There are other ways to created a printed book – I’ve used LuLu , and they have a good process.
Printed copies of the book are done by CreateSpace, I believe, a print-on-demand place. As an author, you can order any number at the printing cost, not the retail. So I can sell them myself, if I wanted to go through that fulfillment process. Not sure of the printing time. I ordered some copies for me on Tues 22nd. Delivery scheduled for 2/2. So about 10 days of print/ship time for print-on-demand. Not bad.
So, the self-publishing author sets their own prices. Those are the numbers I picked.
The process of publishing an ebook is quite easy via KDP. Of course, you have to write the book first, but you submit it as a Word doc. And create a cover. (I created the cover myself.) But the submission part took about 30 minutes (there’s some formatting time on their end to get it into the correct form).
You can even add a narrated copy of your book (via Audible). But that’s a bit more complex, as you have to find a narrator and ‘produce’ the audio. Haven’t found a good text-to-audio converter. Although I supposed you could do it with Microsoft text-to-speech tech. Haven’t looked deeply at any possible ways to do that.
But not a hard process to create the ebook. Harder (and longer) to write one before you submit.
Just like the feddies are accountable and not spendthrifts now.
That would be rather the point. Actually, it is the control of the money fountain that makes any other issue deck chair arranging. No checks, no balances today.
There has not been any checks and balances for 200+ years now. We need a balanced budget amendment with teeth in it. The only exception should be wartime. Oh wait, we are at war right now !
BTW, I heard AOC on Sean Hannity’s radio show today. Man, she is whiny ! They are going to have to give her voice lessons before she runs for prez.
I’m not giving in to the initials meme.
Ocasio-Cortez is part of a documentary at Sundance. The PR push is on.
Dunno about Hannity, but what I saw of Colbert’s interview was pretty disgusting. I swear these guys don’t get tough because they want to bed her.
Even Letterman went pervy before CBS canned him. The network had to buy his mistress a Yeshiva University law degree to keep her quiet.
Thank God it was Colbert doing the interview and not Letterman. That would have been sad.
For the paperback book, you go through a separate ‘build-the-book’ process, and KDP tells you the printing cost. So you price from there. I chose a price that was lower than mass-marketed books, or those traditionally published. Something that would seem reasonable to someone taking a chance on your book. (There are other ways to created a printed book – I’ve used LuLu , and they have a good process.
Thanks for the info !
I have published five technical books and their follow-in revisions through http://www.lulu.com . Their process to upload the book is ok but their printing has to be watched. We have had to have them reprint many due to cover misprints or running out of toner in the middle of the book. I have yet to see printing problems with Big River’s POD books.
“Although I do want a set of Britannica, early ’70’s”
One of the things I regret was that my parents got rid of (threw out) their 1968 Encyclopedia Brittanica. I loved the look, feel, and SMELL of those books. Dad read thru the entire thing twice. You couldn’t beat the guy at Trivial Pursuit….
I like the late 60’s version for how they are poised between modern science and the ‘pc’ and green nonsense. All the countries have their correct names too.
I don’t have the room here, but I’d love to replace that set……
n
My 70’s set taught me that enough $36/month installments and potato soup is your only cuisine. At least I didn’t go for the extra cost leather bindings! Must be sets languishing in the used book stores or abebooks.com.