79F and saturated this morning. Hot and humid yesterday, with the sun baking down. Today should be the same. Summer in Houston. Whoda thunkit?
Nothing in the news catches my eye. I didn’t watch, listen to, or even become aware of Trump’s announcement rally until this morning. Not gonna spend any time on it at all. I don’t believe him on the economy, he’s getting soft on 2nd Amendment issues, and his opponents live in a parallel universe and don’t or can’t see the world the way I do. Not much to talk about with someone who looks up and insist the sky is green. They clearly feel the same way. We’ll see what actions reveal about the opposition during the next few months.
Funny what’s not in the news, while some tattooed freak and his girlfriend begging for money online is front page…
What are we being told?
Why now?
What AREN’T we being told.
Teaching my kids to ask those 3 questions about every bit of news they see.
Who’s telling us, and what do they gain are good follow ups.
n
$52k a year? For what exactly?
I see a lot of stories like this lately, covering the shutdown of small private colleges. The cocktail waitress’ plan for “Free” college means that the winnowing process clearing the dead wood out of higher ed will stop.
No mention of the president’s salary. God forbid. Or what will happen to the various endowments and real estate the school held.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/06/what-its-like-when-your-college-shuts-down/591862/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Was a successful 2 year program. Then —
Sports. Not scholastics. Construction projects. Loss of focus and too many side projects is what it sounds like.
n
Sports. Not scholastics. Construction projects. Loss of focus and too many side projects is what it sounds like.
No nursing school. NP and PA programs are big money for these small colleges, especially online offerings.
What school isn’t constantly under construction anymore? I don’t recall any time since we moved here and started taking kids to camps and other events at UT Austin where the campus buildings have not been undergoing major renovations.
Part of the nonprofit model is that you can have no more than 50% of one year’s expenditures in the bank. You MUST spend it or lose that status. Thus, hospitals and religious institutions that take in money (colleges) are constantly building so they can keep on raking in the bucks.
To me, that sounds like a recipe for a positive feedback engine that must, inevitably, explode.
Freefall: in space, everything changes
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff3300/fc03293.htm
And food service needs to be careful.
BC: vegan velociraptors
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2019/06/19
Heh.
Nothing in the news catches my eye. I didn’t watch, listen to, or even become aware of Trump’s announcement rally until this morning. Not gonna spend any time on it at all. I don’t believe him on the economy, he’s getting soft on 2nd Amendment issues, and his opponents live in a parallel universe and don’t or can’t see the world the way I do.
On the economy, Trump is absolutely correct. The USA economy is racing along on three legs. Why do you say three legs Lynn ? Because, we have an enormous amount of people in our economy who are not productive.
First, many of the productive people have now retired. It is very tough on a human body to work a blue collar job after age 60. White collar people can go to 70 if their mind is holding out and that seems to be around 50 /50 on a good day. I am suspecting that around 20% of the population is retired or on disability now. The actual number may be 25% of the population, I am just not sure. And ten of thousands more are retiring every day.
Second, we have an enormous amount of people on drugs and are not functional. They are living with relatives, living in government housing, or living on the streets. I do not have a good picture of how many people this is but it could be 10% of the population. Shudder.
Third, we have an enormous amount of people who have immigrated to the USA who are not easily trainable for an entry level job. These people do not speak the national language, English, and have incredibly poor educations. They do not understand that 10 + 15 = 25. Just about all they can do is mow lawns and clean human spaces. In order to work for a paycheck instead of cash, they must falsify their credentials to show that they are USA citizens. That is not as easy as it used to be and is getting harder by the day. I do not have a good picture of how many people this is but it could be 10% of the population. Some of them have been in the USA for over 50 years and are now filing for social security and medicare. What a nightmare !
Fourth, there are the infants and school aged children who can not work legally until they are 15 years old. That is what, 15% of the population ?
So, 20 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 55% of the population is not qualified to work or is retired. That does not leave much of a labor pool for employers. And this number is increasing quickly.
Just wait another five years. Employers will be paying starting bonuses to new employees.
Swan Eaters: pet rat
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2019/06/19
Ok, if I had a pet rat I would call him Mike or Joe but never that name.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42916/jabberwocky
he’s getting soft on 2nd Amendment issues
Ok, Trump has made a few statements about people with mental health issues owning guns. Has he actually done anything yet ? There is a wide disparity between Trump’s words and his actions to date.
Wait, he (the ATF) has acted on bump stocks. I am on the fence about those.
“Microsoft considering a dedicated Office key for keyboards”
https://www.osnews.com/story/130160/microsoft-considering-a-dedicated-office-key-for-keyboards/
Just say no.
I know many productive people who are either working in the grey or secondary economy, or “under” working because they don’t see a benefit to working at full capacity (this is typically because of .gov mandated things like penalties for having too many employees, the cost of employees with all the .gov hoops, the risks from employees due to .gov rules and entitlements, etc) I’ve talked to many contractors who shut down their companies and went back to just doing projects they can do themselves. Usually it’s the hassles, costs, and potential risks of having employees that caused it, not a lack of work.
I’m seriously “under” employed. I am making almost no money at the moment, and will not start any business that would require employees, or .gov oversight. Nor will I willingly go back to full time employee status. I’ve got a folder full of exploitable ideas, some with more potential than others, but all would be doable or at least worth exploring further. This state of affairs is quite a change from when I was working full time and earning ~6 figures.
I’ve got no idea how the .gov would capture my current situation, since I’m not looking for work, I’m not ‘unemployed’, but I do (would like to) have taxable income, but not employment either.
I’m not alone, the ‘gig economy’ is growing. It’s where I spent most of my working life, so I know that it’s both different, and harder to track, and not as remunerative for the worker.
n
I know many productive people who are either working in the grey or secondary economy, or “under” working because they don’t see a benefit to working at full capacity (this is typically because of .gov mandated things like penalties for having too many employees, the cost of employees with all the .gov hoops, the risks from employees due to .gov rules and entitlements, etc) I’ve talked to many contractors who shut down their companies and went back to just doing projects they can do themselves. Usually it’s the hassles, costs, and potential risks of having employees that caused it, not a lack of work.
I have a counter to that. I know quite a few people in their 50s and early 60s who are working only to get health insurance. Otherwise, they would retire.
And yes, having employees is a total pain. Good night, the number of reports to file and special taxes that my business has to pay is incredible. And we are in Texas ! I can just imagine what New York is like.
I’ve got no idea how the .gov would capture my current situation, since I’m not looking for work, I’m not ‘unemployed’, but I do (would like to) have taxable income, but not employment either.
I believe the term is “Working age adult 18-65 not participating in the labor force”.
I’m not alone, the ‘gig economy’ is growing. It’s where I spent most of my working life, so I know that it’s both different, and harder to track, and not as remunerative for the worker.
The government also makes it more difficult for the worker with quarterly tax filings and forced payment of the true SS tax percentage.
“Trump raises more money in 24 hours than opening days of Sanders, Biden, O’Rourke, Harris combined”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-raises-more-money-in-24-hours-than-opening-days-of-sanders-biden-orourke-harris-combined
“Presidential Trump brought in nearly $25 million in the first 24 hours of his official reelection efforts, according to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel — more than the combined totals of five of his major Democratic rivals.”
This is significant. People are waiting to vote for Trump again. The dumbos top 20 hopefuls are absolutely frothing at the mouth crazy.
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
And yes, having employees is a total pain. Good night, the number of reports to file and special taxes that my business has to pay is incredible. And we are in Texas ! I can just imagine what New York is like.
The only way we get paid by our customers in that part of the country is to prep a lawsuit and go as far as filing paperwork.
Though, recently, our large Texas customer got sneaky with performance metrics on a new project which are proving nearly impossible to meet, far beyond what any of the competition could deliver. We aren’t getting paid while they collect a revenue stream beyond their wildest dreams for any similar-sized project in the past. The salespeople and delivery managers were clueless and just wanted the gig.
CA an NY move to TX and bring their attitudes with them. It is just a bunch of hicks down here.
My goodness, this may be me in a few years. I just turned 46. I’m shooting to be able to retire at 55-57. I think I could do it, except for the big healthcare unknown.
My wife, who is 4 years older than me, has a good job at a credit union. Her health insurance is better, so that’s the one we use. Heck, it’s a traditional PPO plan! I’ve told her she has to work until I retire so I can have healthcare. She thinks I’m kidding……..
Ok, in prepping thoughts, what books do you have in your bug out location ? I have many books such as
https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Dentist-Murray-Dickson/dp/0942364058/?tag=ttgnet-20
and
https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-No-Doctor-Handbook/dp/0942364155/?tag=ttgnet-20
at my home but I do not have them in the bug out location.
But, I do have some duplicates of my six star books at the bug out location such as
https://www.amazon.com/Mutineers-Moon-Dahak-David-Weber/dp/0671720856/?tag=ttgnet-20
and
https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Galaxy-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0345342445/?tag=ttgnet-20
. But only four fiction books at this point.
CA an NY move to TX and bring their attitudes with them. It is just a bunch of hicks down here.
Yup. And they vote for dumbocrats here in TX and called them the sane people. Meanwhile the people that they have put into our county office are a bunch of do nothings. Of course, that may be a good thing.
@rick, one difference I’ve noticed with the new comment plugin, when I reload the page, the text moves up and down in the browser window as elements load. Used to be it would just pop the reloaded page onto the screen. Now it loads text, then the comment text moves up the window, then down.
Not a deal breaker, just different than before (win8.2, FF67.0.1, 64bit)
n
Yup. And they vote for dumbocrats here in TX and called them the sane people. Meanwhile the people that they have put into our county office are a bunch of do nothings. Of course, that may be a good thing.
Republicans in TX aren’t holding their politicians accountable, however. The CA money people behind MJ Hegar smell blood in the state-wide office water after the latest disappointing Legislative session.
My goodness, this may be me in a few years. I just turned 46. I’m shooting to be able to retire at 55-57. I think I could do it, except for the big healthcare unknown.
My wife, who is 4 years older than me, has a good job at a credit union. Her health insurance is better, so that’s the one we use. Heck, it’s a traditional PPO plan! I’ve told her she has to work until I retire so I can have healthcare. She thinks I’m kidding……..
I am fairly sure that Trump is going to do the Medicare for All plan either before his reelection or at the beginning of his second term. It will be a budget buster so get ready to pay for it. But, at this point I am not sure if there is much difference between a one trillion dollar federal deficit and a four trillion dollar federal deficit. I wish I was kidding.
“Texas lawmakers crack down on ‘surprise medical bills,’ tighten rules on freestanding ERs”
https://www.expressnews.com/business/health-care/article/Texas-lawmakers-crack-down-on-surprise-medical-14007781.php
“Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation Friday prohibiting the widespread practice of “balance billing” in which an insured patient receives medical care from an out-of-network doctor at an in-network emergency room or facility, resulting in unexpectedly high bills.”
Medical ER providers brought this on themselves. Balance Billing was not the solution to their problems.
@nick: I don’t notice any jumping when I reload, with local cache on or off. Could be a browser thing. FF, for example is starting to optimize the loading of images (‘lazy-load’).
My system Win0 (latest), FF 67.0.2
Ok, I ordered some Keystone. Twelve each of Beef, Ground Beef, Turkey, and Pork. 28 oz. cans. Delivered via FedEx in two boxes.
I’m not happy with FedEx leaving it at the gate, in the sun, and not a fan of having a bonus of ants in the box. I want to know if FedEx is lazy or stupid. I have a gate opener, just push a simple doorbell button on the post. It’s not like I have a keypad like my neighbors. They left my packages right next to the post. Everyone else manages to figure out “push the button”. Anyway, “grump grump grump”.
One can of Beef is dented enough to rock on the counter. Another can of Beef and one of Ground Beef are…. sketchy for long term storage. Nothing leaks. I’ll put the three cans in the fridge. Or maybe return them at the store.
I was shorted a can of Turkey. I sent Walmart an e-mail. They can replace or refund, their choice. I wonder how that will play out.
I did not order any Chicken because it falls apart like store brand tuna. Canned chicken from the grocery store does the same. The Beef is very good. Think Pot Roast without the carrots and onions. The Turkey, well, I like turkey and it does stay in chunks. The Ground Beef and the Pork are good but not exciting to me… easy and lazy cooking for supper though.
So, 20 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 55% of the population is not qualified to work or is retired. That does not leave much of a labor pool for employers. And this number is increasing quickly.
If it was 55% nationally, we would be done.
I put the percentage at just under 50% nationwide, higher in “blue” states, lower in “red”.
In any given state, take the real unemployment rate of capable adults, add the retirees, and throw in the 10% of the population that my wife believes, based on her daily observations, truly need help with things like food or medical bills for whatever reason.
Medical ER providers brought this on themselves. Balance Billing was not the solution to their problems.
I wondered why I suddenly got a big disclaimer read to me yesterday when I called about the projected cost of an MRI I have scheduled for tomorrow.
$1600 before insurance to check out a cyst near the knuckle on the ring finger of my right hand. It was the same hand which had a raging E Coli infection last Fall, and I’m regretting not being a snowflake and filing Workers Comp.
I am fairly sure that Trump is going to do the Medicare for All plan either before his reelection or at the beginning of his second term. It will be a budget buster so get ready to pay for it. But, at this point I am not sure if there is much difference between a one trillion dollar federal deficit and a four trillion dollar federal deficit. I wish I was kidding.
Release the inflation hounds!
Talk about economists “animal spirits”.
I wondered why I suddenly got a big disclaimer read to me yesterday when I called about the projected cost of an MRI I have scheduled for tomorrow.
$1600 before insurance to check out a cyst near the knuckle on the ring finger of my right hand. It was the same hand which had a raging E Coli infection last Fall, and I’m regretting not being a snowflake and filing Workers Comp.
My wife called the hospital about getting an MRI done on our daughter a couple of years back. They quoted her about $2,000 (below our deductible). The wife called around and got the MRI for $700 at a hole in the wall place. But we had to file the insurance since they did not take insurance.
So, 20 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 55% of the population is not qualified to work or is retired. That does not leave much of a labor pool for employers. And this number is increasing quickly.
If it was 55% nationally, we would be done.
I put the percentage at just under 50% nationwide, higher in “blue” states, lower in “red”.
This is why I think that Congress is welcoming people running across the southern border of the USA. And why many of them appear to be working, mostly day labor, and for cash. Which, could drop my SWAG 55% to 45%.
Ok, 109F in my driveway. Feels like it too.
I received my new “phase change” cooling vest and gave it a workout. It has 4 packs of gel that you cool or freeze then insert into the lightweight-(ish) vest. They say 2 hours of cooling, and that has been my experience so far. After 2 hr, it’s hot as F wearing the thing. The gel packs act like an insulator at that point.
Supposedly you can recharge it in 5 minutes in a cooler of ice, but I haven’t been able to test that. It ‘freezes’ pretty quick in the chest freezer.
It’s colder than my evaporative vest, lasts about the same time, but is harder to recharge (just soak the old vest in water.) It’s dry (not damp like the other) and it’s effective under other layers (safety vest, collared shirt, cover garment….) while the evap vest needs some air movement over it.
I think there is a place for both styles, but value for money, if you can let air get to it, the evap vest is best.
Evap- ~$25 https://www.amazon.com/TechNiche-International-Adult-HyperKewl-Cooling/dp/B004VMF2MY/?tag=ttgnet-20
Phase change- ~$125 https://www.amazon.com/Cooling-Lightweight-Recharge-Ergodyne-6260/dp/B07QWB63KJ/?tag=ttgnet-20
n
On the subject of heat, we had hail a couple of weeks back, tennis ball sized and for some length of time. Consequently we have been swarmed with ambulance chaser roofing contractors. Some of our neighbors have already begun roof replacement.
Other than cleaning pit toilets, I can’t think of anywhere I’d less like to be than on a roof in this weather. The sweaties can have it.
n
“Boeing’s Latest 737 MAX Concern: Pilots’ Physical Strength”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/physical-strength-of-pilots-emerges-as-issue-in-returning-737-max-to-flight-11560937879
“Turning manual crank during emergency procedure may be too difficult for some people”
“Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the retired US Airways pilot celebrated for his 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson” landing, said Wednesday that pilots should be required to spend time in simulators before the MAX returns to service, not only to review the updates to the MCAS software but to practice situations where manually turning the crank would be more challenging. At higher airspeeds, turning the wheel could require two hands, the efforts of both pilots, or may not be possible at all, he said.”
Uh, that ain’t gonna fly !
Heh, I made a funny !
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
On the subject of heat, we had hail a couple of weeks back, tennis ball sized and for some length of time. Consequently we have been swarmed with ambulance chaser roofing contractors. Some of our neighbors have already begun roof replacement.
Other than cleaning pit toilets, I can’t think of anywhere I’d less like to be than on a roof in this weather. The sweaties can have it.
I am getting my home roof replaced in a week or so. 59 squares for a 3,400 ft2 house with a two car detached garage with 15 ft extension ! The hail event is listed as May, 2017. The roofer is the guys that I have been using for two decades now.
The insurance adjuster that my insurance company sent found hail damage all over the place. Including the steel side door to the garage and the windows on the front of the house. And the water damage inside my gameroom from the leaking air hawk. All of the air hawks will be replaced with ridge vents.
in the immortal words of South Park,
Dude, what the fukc is wrong with german people?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7159013/Husband-killed-wife-48-hour-bondage-sex-session-left-perforated-bowel.html
“barbed hook”
n
From @Greg yesterday:
There was a strong succession movement in the state leading up to the 2016 election, but you don’t hear much from that crowd as of late.
Do you mean secession ?
And I agree, that crowd has disappeared. But they will reappear when the federal financial apocalypse occurs.
Dude, what the fukc is wrong with german people?
I have the German remake of “Tootsie”, “Rubbeldiekatz”, their idea of both a comedy and a ‘chick flick’. Universal made the film but never brought it into this country.
The movie is … odd. The lead actor as a girl is much better looking than Dustin Hoffman even though he’s roughly my height/build.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzCmdhYWExQ
In German with subtitles. I think some things get lost in the translation starting with the title which, apparently, isn’t to be taken literally, kinda like how we say nonsense is ‘bullsh*t’.
I bought a 5# bag of flour tortilla mix. Made in San Antonio. Two cups of stuff and a half cup of warm water. Mix the dough while the griddle is heating.
I’ll see how it works tomorrow.
Sure seems like a “cheaper for energy usage” than baking bread.
I hauled my propane tanks in for re-fill yesterday. Five tanks, two too old to refill. So three tanks at $13 each and two replacements at Walgreens for $20 each.
That gives me seven tanks plus the half tank on the grill.
Need to get another regulator assembly or two…. that’s the part that always screws up. Other than cobwebs in the burners.
Though, recently, our large Texas customer got sneaky with performance metrics on a new project which are proving nearly impossible to meet, far beyond what any of the competition could deliver. We aren’t getting paid while they collect a revenue stream beyond their wildest dreams for any similar-sized project in the past. The salespeople and delivery managers were clueless and just wanted the gig.
Lawsuit time. Or refuse to serve due to non-payment.
The salespeople should be beaten with a stick in the public area of your office space. Then placed into stocks (I really think stocks ought to come back in fashion).
I have all kinds of strange flicks in my stash. I went to extraordinary lengths to get the live action “Star Blazers” — not a great flick, but the first firing of the Wave Motion gun is one of the most iconic scenes in sci-fi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4phT2Vukvn0
Real Japanese sci-fi (non anime) is just as odd as German rom-coms.
And, Walmart just replied. In one e-mail, they are sending a can of Turkey. In another they are sending a can of Beef and a can of Ground Beef. And I can keep the damaged goods.
All to arrive on the 22nd. I would be happy with a refund but I’m not running Walmart so what do I know.
Also, another e-mail with “Thank you for choosing Walmart.com and have a wonderful day!”
Hey, I didn’t go “asshole” on them. That makes a difference. Pretty sure…..
Another house just came on the market that I am thinking about taking a look at. Two story, 4/3/3, 3,432 ft2, 1.26 acre for $515K
https://www.har.com/5810-bridlewood-drive/sale_95209455
Built in 2010. Awesome looking kitchen. Very nice fully enclosed rear patio and pool, very private. Master and two bedrooms are up, Guest bedroom down. No pictures of bedrooms, strange.
Value of $470,100 according to the FBCAD.
https://fbcad.org/Property-Detail?PropertyQuickRefID=R213303&PartyQuickRefID=O0515026
Elevator !
House elevation at 82 ft according to FB County Lidar map. Very good.
http://fbcdd.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=9bcefbb8dc844327ac20e27d9af6cb6c
I am not thrilled about the garage though. I cannot get my truck into a single car garage that is only 8 ft wide without manually folding both the outside mirrors.
I would put our daughter in the master and let her run the upstairs. Turn one upstairs bedroom into a kitchenette for her. I would eventually build a new master suite, game room, and another large two car garage behind the patio enclosure for the wife and myself. The wife and I would live in the downstairs guest bedroom for the time being.
Wow, I don’t want much, do I ?
And, Walmart just replied. In one e-mail, they are sending a can of Turkey. In another they are sending a can of Beef and a can of Ground Beef. And I can keep the damaged goods.
All to arrive on the 22nd. I would be happy with a refund but I’m not running Walmart so what do I know.
Also, “Thank you for choosing Walmart.com and have a wonderful day!”
Walmart is in catchup and survival mode to Amazon and they know it. That said, good for them !
Nick, after hearing you praise Open Weather Map, I finally signed up for an account a couple of weeks ago… account seemed to be required, but then couldn’t see much merit in it.
Currently out of town with spare time, so decided to try it again. Initially saw some nice 13 (?) day graphs, but then changed to the city I am visiting, and can’t get that view back. Got tired and frustrated, and gave up.
Still trying to find something remotely as good as Intellicast before they were absorbed and ruined by Weather Underground. WU advertises “same maps”, but I only used Intellicast’s 10 day and hourly graphical and tabular views, which were excellent. The WU version of those omits the data I really want, such as dew point, and takes forever to load.
I looked for alternatives, including Windy, My Radar, Accuweather, and NOAA, all of which which have some good features, but nowhere as good as Intellicast. Anyone here have any suggestions?
The salespeople should be beaten with a stick in the public area of your office space. Then placed into stocks (I really think stocks ought to come back in fashion).
If we flogged the salespeople for every bad project they signed, the beatings would never stop.
I strongly suspect we’re being reverse engineered by the customer on my other project in VA. Flogging may not be good enough if they succeed.
Walmart vs Amazon: agree with you guys, except on tires. I have installed my own for a few decades, and buying tires without installation is getting harder. WM has beaten all other sources by far for me for my last two orders, one recent and the other about a year ago. The first one was free shipping to our local store about two miles away, but the one last month was free to my front door. Only some out of state sources that do not charge sales tax come close.
If I needed a return for a defective tire, I suppose WM would beat all, since other product returns are no questions asked.
Buried in this story is an update on the first expected launch date for SLS.
2021. Soooprise!
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-boeing-space-headquarters-titusville-20190619-pt6abvinzbaw5hnov2oaefx7ge-story.html
Buried in this story is an update on the first expected launch date for SLS.
2021. Soooprise!
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-boeing-space-headquarters-titusville-20190619-pt6abvinzbaw5hnov2oaefx7ge-story.html
I wonder what NASA is going to do when SpaceX flies their 100 man spaceship around the Moon in 2023 ?
https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/17/technology/spacex-moon-tourist-mission/index.html
Of course, since SpaceX burned their Dragon spaceship (manned resupply spaceship for the International Space Station) up the other day, I have no idea if Dragon will ever fly.
I don’t have a problem with WalMart. When I moved out to Burnet from Austin, everything closed by 9 PM. At the latest. And no McD’s or Whataburger at the time.
The little local stores? Oh, hell, I tried but when I can drive to Austin, to Stripling Blake (no longer there) (but there’s a Honda dealership near), not at all a cheap place compared to Furrows, and save money even with feeding gas to a ’78 Volare wagon, and figuring my time is worth $10 and hour, well, sorry about that little local stores with the snooty attitude.
I do miss Burnet County Supply. A lot. The folks there never treated me like I was an idiot. Unlike other stores. Looking at Hoovers, here. Yeah, they may have laughed their asses off at the kid from the city, but never to my face.
I wonder what NASA is going to do when SpaceX flies their 100 man spaceship around the Moon in 2023 ?
We’ll see about that one. I’d be surprised if manned Dragon and CST-100 flights are a regular thing by then at the current rate of progress.
NASA at Kennedy is already pretty useless right now. They’re busy building launch towers and new HQ buildings while SpaceX and Boeing fly hardware. I honestly don’t think anyone at NASA cares if they fly their own vehicles again.
Of course, since SpaceX burned their Dragon spaceship (manned resupply spaceship for the International Space Station) up the other day, I have no idea if Dragon will ever fly.
The other day? They blew up another one?
Our nearby city is Ridgecrest, CA, with a pop of about 27k, so bigger than Burnet. We still have a mix of small local merchants and big deep pockets ones. I treasure both. When we arrived in 1972, it was much different, and regular trips to the nearest “big” city, Lancaster, about 90 miles, were needed for lots of things beyond groceries.
Back then, many local merchants had no competition, and behaved accordingly. I think our Sears catalog outlet (no store) set national records. How times change.
Our feed and supply store closed when the owners wanted to retire, but could find no buyer. It used to be a required stop for visiting city slickers, where they could buy practical things like hats and boots. Everyone knew the place.
Another nearby place sells just about everything except hats and boots. Friendly, and very competitive.
Some of these places look as if they exist at the other end of a time machine. Sure, we have our big chain places, but we also have quite a few local family owned ones.
Nice to live in a small, isolated place.
Of course, since SpaceX burned their Dragon spaceship (manned resupply spaceship for the International Space Station) up the other day, I have no idea if Dragon will ever fly.
The other day? They blew up another one?
https://bgr.com/2019/06/18/nasa-crew-dragon-status-spacex-testing-explosion/
Back in April.
Some quick stats via google searches, from 2018:
US population, 327.16 million
72.4% adult, or 236.86 million
15.6% over 65, or 36.95 million
2.61% on Social Security disability, or 8.54 million
62.9% labor force participation rate (peaked at 67% or so in 2000)
There may be some overlap between the over 65 and disabled. The number disabled has been slowly dropping a bit each year since 2014.
@jimb,
I never set up any account with openweathermap, I just put my city in the search box.
I looked and there is a “sign in” link at the top so I know I’m NOT signed in. I’m allowing all scripts, and they look like just what’s needed to run the site, and addblock+ is blocking 3 things.
I get the 24hr graph at the top of the page, and the 13 day under that.
So far, they’ve been the most accurate one day out of any I’ve tried. I haven’t tracked their longer term accuracy. I’m usually good with 2 days or possibly 3. Given our microclimates and weird weather, that’s about all I need and I treat it all as an armwave and suggestion….
NOAA had us in the Tstorm zone for today but it was clear all day at my house.
n
@lynn, that house looks great and I really like the “florida room” around the pool.
You could probably get two of the garage doors combined with minimal effort. New header and doors….
n
@lynn, that house looks great and I really like the “florida room” around the pool.
You could probably get two of the garage doors combined with minimal effort. New header and doors….
It bothers me that there are no pictures of the bedrooms or the elevator. I am harassing the listing agent into having an open house. It has never worked before but why not now ? I am tired of dragging out my agent to look at a house and then finding a problem or five.
Or turn the three garages into a game room and build a real three car garage in the back …
Nick, thanks.
I tried the no sign-in thing early on, but found everything in metric units, and I couldn’t change to US standard units. There were some other reasons, but I forgot. After creating an account, I could get more data, but still saw unfamiliar units, such as hpa for barometric pressure. Anyway, not for me.
I use “forecast.weather.gov” for accurate local temperature forecasts. My site, based on the Hanford, CA, station, has a map I can use to pinpoint my location. The local temp gradients are large, and by slightly moving my location on the map I can get very accurate numbers, better than any other site. Their rain and wind forecasts are often several hours behind, but that is not very important to me.
We are surrounded by four mountain ranges, and that makes forecasting challenging, especially in winter when most of our weather occurs.
I have solar space heat, so cloud cover forecasts are important. WU, even though it loads slowly and unreliably, shows the same cloud cover graph that Intellicast had, and that is good.
I don’t think WU shows the hourly dew point or relative humidity forecasts that Intellicast did, and those are nice to see when using evaporative cooling. Directly measuring wet bulb or dew (frost) point at 100F and <10% relative humidity is tricky without expensive meterology instruments. It can be done, though.
“The other day? They blew up another one?”
Back in April.
I saw that story. They will be lucky to fly a manned mission this year.
I’m sure the defect has been addressed, but NASA will want endless reviews. They would prefer that Crew Dragon not fly ever, but they want to delay at least until Boeing has CST-100 ready to fly.
It bothers me that there are no pictures of the bedrooms or the elevator.
Wallpaper in the bathroom — probably in the bedrooms too.
It may not bother you, but we always walked away from lots of wallpaper.
Surely no wallpaper in the bedrooms. Surely not.
Surely no wallpaper in the bedrooms. Surely not.
Beats a home dungeon or a stripper pole in the extra bedrooms.
In FL, my wife’s handyman friend installed both.
Kinda surprised that a house built in 2010 had it in the bathroom. That’s been a known no-no for at least a decade.
Wallpaper is a relatively easy fix compared to the size of rooms or deferred maintenance.
My sister bought a house with wallpaper on every wall, sometime 2 or three patterns in the same room. Very professional install, even the HVAC grills were covered. Took years to get rid of it all, but it was mostly done in a few months. Huge improvement for little investment. Who papers over an oak paneled foyer?
n