mid-70s and wet…. [75F and 99%RH at 6am]
But definitely Fall. We may still get a couple of really hot days, but we’re over the hump. I hope.
Some errands to run around town today.
Paid the state for my truck registration online last night. If you gotta do it, being able to do it online, with automatic confirmation of your insured and inspected state is very convenient. Quite a lot of state sponsored data sharing and oversight. But convenient, and they thanked me and reminded me that I’m supporting a number of good and helpful programs with my registration money. Very pleasant. Of course, all that linked data sharing is in service of catching cheats and increasing compliance, but it’s still convenient.
If you’re gonna institute a surveillance state, at least use the data collected to make things easier for your subjects.
nick
Jeez, I’m feeling ridiculously tired this morning, and I got to bed at my normal 12am…
Very few days that I feel like laying back down, but this is one. And I’ve got no idea why.
n
In line with yesterdays comments about college athletes getting paid, I find this https://www.npr.org/2019/09/30/765700141/california-governor-signs-bill-allowing-college-athletes-to-profit-from-endorsem .
Brought to you by Gavin Newsom. Need I say more?
It is unfair for the schools to profit while the players don’t. It’s a massive entertainment enterprise, with merchandise earning millions.
Let’s just cut the BS and stop pretending it has anything to do with education.
n
As I posted yesterday, they are the minor leagues of the NFL & NBA.
There are some players who are actually using the system to pay for their education. Some of them are getting a good education and have no desire to continue within the NFL. Out of the thousands of collegiate football players only a small percentage will move on to the NFL.
But the ones that are looking for the education are few, the exceptions.
Sports programs in college, especially football and basketball, are simply breeding grounds for the pro circuit. Schools encourage the behavior by trying to recruit the best so the school can have a winning program. I guess bragging rights are important. Whether a school wins or loses is of no importance to the majority of the population.
I have mixed feelings about compensation. In one way it will finally bring the payments into the open. A star quarterback with a job at a car dealership, for which they never show up, getting paid handsomely, with new car driving privileges, is simply being compensated under the table for his efforts. Happens quite often.
What control does the NCAA have over an athlete getting paid by family members to play at a certain university? Why is that the business of the NCAA? How far do you extend family members? Why does the NCAA have control over where an alumnus of a school spends their money?
I have mixed feelings about athletes being paid. I think it is wrong for schools to rake in millions each game while compensating nothing to the athletes. At an average of $80.00 a ticket filling Neyland Stadium at 108,000 is $4.3 million. Add in the beer sales at $13 a glass, water at $6.00 a bottle, a “hamburger” at $8.00 and there is real money involved. Top it off with the money the networks pay to televise a game, the money paid by Nike to have their logo on the uniforms, sales of UT branded merchandise and I suspect the amount the university gets per football game tops $10 million.
What will happen with the less popular and endowed school athletic programs? They certainly will not be able to pay as much. Or is the payment only from companies such as Nike with the university prohibited from paying anything? If that becomes the case smaller schools will began hurting for money for their sports programs.
I would be in favor of ALL state sponsored institutions of completely dropping their sports programs. Sports are supposed to be self-supporting but I really don’t think that is 100% true. Taxpayer money paid for those expensive stadiums. Tax payer money pays for the upkeep. I don’t like my tax money spent on such limited restricted value to the state activities. Supposedly a major football event is bringing millions to the local economy in terms of hotel rooms and food. I don’t believe that as there are not enough hotel rooms in Knoxville to support the supposedly $10 million in tax revenue that is brought into the local economy. Even with 10,000 rooms each room would have to be taxed at $1,000 a night. The numbers thrown around simply don’t add up. But no one cares.
Private institutions can do what they want with sports programs.
Let’s just cut the BS and stop pretending it has anything to do with education.
You’ll have to sell that to the alumni.
Plus, the corruption at this point has spread to high schools, and it isn’t just Texas. The Jesuit high school in Portland had the dominant football program in the region thanks to a special school-within-a-school for ringers with a separate set of “disadvantaged” scholarships and standards for players.
After looking at my schedule for the week, I’m headed to Austin today. Got a pickup to make, and no real time to make it.
n
Yes, however, if a cop stops you, you gotta have that wrinkly piece of paper “I gotsa insurennce” or you get a ticket. That happened to me when I first moved to Kneevaduh. Here, you have to go to the court clerk to get it dismissed by showing your wrinkly insurance paper to him. All the tech and cops can’t call it in, or have a mini scanner or sumpin’.
Looks like it is getting dicey in Hong Kong with a protester shot. I hope the tanks don’t roll next.
This one is from Bearing Arms:
Anti-Gun Control Sticker Leads To Citation, Prosecution
It reminds me of the one where a guy had “truck nuts” on his truck and the sheriff gave him a ticket. I believe that was dismissed. This one sounds like a cop with a stick up his ass.
@MrAtoz
Laura Love performs a powerful piece about Tiananmen Square.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ERg0qYS5Q
Randy Stonehill wrote a pretty good, albeit dated, piece too
Countless wheels turning at each command
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2TwtbAHh4
The apparent power of China staggers me. It is difficult to find locally made / US made / not China products. We put in a determined effort. I don’t think our meager efforts do much for the poor buggers protesting on the other side of the world, regrettably.
Woke Math In Seattle
Sadly, not a parody.
SteveF, yesterday, in the context of college sports:
You don’t know the half of it, Steverino!
After looking at my schedule for the week, I’m headed to Austin today. Got a pickup to make, and no real time to make it.
If you’re in a hurry, SR71 and the airport area are to be avoided if you can. Who knows when the nightmare will end at this point.
US 290 isn’t too ugly, but be careful about the toll sections.
From yesterday:
I see a federal property tax on the horizon. And not just for the great and the good.
Gore was exploring an “imputed income tax” during the 2000 election. That’s the way “moderate” Dems will approach a federal property tax which could arguably survive a challenge before Roberts.
And the new federal property tax will tax ALL property. Except for all of these fake religious organizations such as the muslim temples. And they will tax our IRAs and 401Ks.
From yesterday:
I see a federal property tax on the horizon. And not just for the great and the good.
Ah, yes, “The Land of the Free” where you can never really own land. Come up a penny short on the property tax, and you’ll get a lien post haste.
Last year, I screwed up and transposed two digits on the check for the property tax on one of my commercial properties. They sent the check back to me and said that it needed to be for the exact amount, even though it was for more than the amount of the tax. Luckily I paid the tax early and I had time to send them a new check before the end of the year.
“Amber Guyger convicted of murder for killing Botham Jean”
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/10/01/amber-guyger-convicted-of-murder-for-killing-botham-jean/
And the Dallas cop who burst in on a man eating ice cream on his couch and killed him has been convicted of murder by a Dallas jury. I now have a little more faith in the court system. Not a lot more, a little more.
I could not believe the Texas Ranger who testified on her behalf that it was OK to shoot a man in his own home under mistaken circumstances. That is not OK !
and:
https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Deliberations-set-to-resume-in-Dallas-ex-cop-s-14481693.php
The college and university “student” athletes will not receive payment from their schools. They will only receive advertising fees from Nike and like. They can still not be billed tuition for fake classes.
In line with yesterdays comments about college athletes getting paid, I find this https://www.npr.org/2019/09/30/765700141/california-governor-signs-bill-allowing-college-athletes-to-profit-from-endorsem .
Brought to you by Gavin Newsom. Need I say more?
I am ok with this. People should be allowed to make money off their fame. I am fairly sure that Johnny Football at TAMU made quite a bit of money selling autographs while he was playing there. He had to pay for his new Mercedes sedan somehow.
After all, we do bill the USA as the land of the free and home of the brave. Sometimes.
Oh crap, who am I kidding ?
“Southern California Gas Prices Soar Past $4 Per Gallon”
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/09/30/southern-california-los-angeles-4-dollar-gas/
There is no reason for people to pay almost twice what I am paying here in Texas. California has so over-controlled the gasoline and fuels market that the costs has risen rapidly due to the lack of “good” gasoline and the ability to bring in gasoline from other suppliers.
Of course, the California state tax on gasoline is 61 cents/gallon whereas Texas is 20 cents/gallon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States
One person out of what, ten?, figured out a quick solution using the tools at hand.
Enters the frame about two seconds in, at a jog, takes 12 or 14 seconds to cross the frame, another few seconds to start the opposing rig, and stops the threat a few moments later.
There were several people closer, with presumably similar training in the equipment. Judging by the scattered detritus this thing had been spinning for a bit longer than the video. Most of them are staring in perhaps horrified fascinating. Or maybe contemplating how to leap aboard like an action hero.
The guy who runs in with his brains intact is pretty darn awesome. It appears he was likely at the next plane over, yet noticed what was happening and had a solution in mind. I do wonder why he didn’t come in close to the building to cross the destructive path, rather than risk getting pasted to the nose of the plane.
(Updated with a more informative link)
https://heavy.com/news/2019/10/beverage-cart-ohare-airport-video-jorge-manalang/
Don’t people already pay taxes on those type of accounts when the funds, or property, is withdrawn? I am facing that ugly scenario and am having to work with my financial adviser to minimize the tax implications.
That is the plan that I have heard. The sponsors will be paying the fees to the athletes. Do you really think a tackle for Memphis State will receive the same compensation as the quarterback for Alabama? I think with paying the spread between the worst and best teams will widen. No one will want to play for Memphis State if Nike is only paying $5.00 whereas playing at Alabama will pay $500.00.
As for the schools not paying, ha! Surely you jest. The schools are already paying in the form of scholarships. Graduating an athlete, in a degree that is worthless, that cannot read beyond the third grade level and cannot count a bag of oranges without using their toes. Heaven help us if the count ever gets to 21.
An institute of higher learning, an academic institution, should not be funding any type of sports programs. The schools
arewere designed for learning and state sponsored schools are receiving money for that purpose.Having worked on the UT campus, seen some of the students, dealt with some of the students, by and large the intellect level is low. Athletes make these students seem like geniuses. Those athletes played for four years, received nothing for education, were simply paid for their services to keep the alumni donating.
For UT anyone that wants good season tickets are placed into a lottery drawing. The more the person donates the higher in the drawing they become. A minimum of $1K is required to enter the lottery. No donation, served the remnant seats. High in the stands, facing east so that glaring setting sun is the face (along with heat), on shallow aluminium benches where the heat will weld your underwear to your butt, with seat spacing barely wide enough for one cheek.
Well as far as I am concerned, Fall is here. I had to switch the heat pump from cool to heat to take the chill off of the house this morning.
There was snow on top of Rattlesnake Mountain yesterday.
Rattlesnake Mountain is a prominent and historical feature around here.
Union rules probably prevented the other people from operating any other piece of equipment or doing any other task. Stopping a rampaging food cart is not in their job description thus “not my problem.”
Happened at one of the nuclear plants near where I live. A machine part failure caused the machine to start destroying itself. A bearing was failing and causing the machine to smoke. Several union people stood around watching as this multi-million dollar machine eventually destroyed itself by catching fire. When asked why they did use the circuit breaker to stop the machine the reply was it was not their job and doing so would have resulted in a union grievance being filed. Only electricians were allowed to touch circuit breakers.
A bit of levity:
This is what happens when you reply to spam email
And they will tax our IRAs and 401Ks.
Don’t people already pay taxes on those type of accounts when the funds, or property, is withdrawn? I am facing that ugly scenario and am having to work with my financial adviser to minimize the tax implications.
Yup. You are going to pay and pay and pay.
And the new federal property tax (being presented as a wealth tax for now) will tax your money in IRAs, 401Ks, bank accounts, your boat, your house, your tool shed, your lawn mower, and the clothes on your back. Remember the old adage about politicians lying only when their lips are moving. The only place that they will not tax your money is the money buried in your backyard that you will have to swear does not exist. Or the money in your floor safe in your study that they do not know about.
Just remember, the first federal income tax was “In order to help pay for its war effort in the American Civil War, Congress imposed its first personal income tax in 1861.[15] It was part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872). Congress also enacted the Revenue Act of 1862, which levied a 3% tax on incomes above $600, rising to 5% for incomes above $10,000. Rates were raised in 1864. This income tax was repealed in 1872. ”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_taxation_in_the_United_States#Income_tax
So yes, all withdrawals from your IRAs and 401Ks will be taxes as income. But, you will not have to pay social security tax and medicare tax on the withdrawals. Yet.
The only place that they will not tax your money is the money buried in your backyard that you will have to swear does not exist. Or the money in your floor safe in your study that they do not know about.
They’ll recall the paper money like India did at some point in the last few years.
And, I think I pointed out yesterday that the President retained the ability to seize gold in the reintroduction of private ownership of negotiable gold (bullion, coins) in the 70s. One of my uncles is (was?) a gold bug.
(The days all blur anymore)
From what I understand, the original confiscation done by Roosevelt was a broad interpretation of an old law related to trading with enemy powers. The legalization codified the seizure measure but granted the average citizen the ability to once again buy/sell the metal.
“Hillary Clinton’s big comeback begins Tuesday”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/30/inside-the-beltway-hillary-clintons-big-comeback-b/
The hillerbeast is back !
And, I think I pointed out yesterday that the President retained the ability to seize gold in the reintroduction of private ownership of negotiable gold (bullion, coins) in the 70s. One of my uncles is (was?) a gold bug.
A friend of mine had his dad pass away about five years ago. He found many gold coins (over a million dollars worth) and lots of ammo in a semi hidden floor safe in his dads home office.
“Did Houston just have its worst September weather ever?”
https://spacecityweather.com/did-houston-just-have-its-worst-september-weather-ever/
“Weather-wise, this past September was pretty terrible. There were the floods of Tropical Storm Imelda, which were especially terrible north and east of the Houston metro area. Then there was the heat: Highs were 98 degrees, or above, for the first eight days above, and overall this was by far Houston’s warmest September on record. Finally, the region saw no cool fronts to bring down overnight temperatures, so it remained hot and muggy throughout the month.”
Not even close. The Labor Day holiday of 1999 ??? was horrible, 113 F here in Sugar Land. The electrical grid in Texas was hanging on by a thread with rotating brownouts across the state. 85 F inside the house since the electricity had been cut off so many times.
“Will Tesla Smart Summon Stop for a Person? | Enhanced Summon Demo | Version 10 |”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUHCTKy1W1U
There is NO WAY that I am going to stand in front of my vehicle and drive it with my cell phone, trusting it to not run over me.
I am glad that his foot is OK.
No problem. When it runs you down and your finger comes off the phone and it stops.
Wimp.
There is NO WAY that I am going to stand in front of my vehicle and drive it with my cell phone, trusting it to not run over me.
There are a**hats here in Austin who will try it. The Domain has a bumper crop of the personality type with Teslas.
The lawsuits over the summon feature should start soon.
Wimp.
Well, he does have a bad heart. Just saying.
“New Research Promises Electric Car Batteries That Last For a Million Miles”
https://gizmodo.com/new-research-promises-electric-car-batteries-that-last-1838357663
“Electric motors guzzle electricity, which can be especially hard on a rechargeable battery. The power cells used in electric vehicles, like Teslas, have an expected lifespan of around 300,000 to 500,000 miles, but a team of battery researchers believes it has come up with a recipe that can double that, leading to batteries that could potentially outlast the electric car itself.”
“In a paper published in the The Journal of the Electrochemical Society earlier this month, battery researchers from Halifax, Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University describe a new lithium-ion battery that could potentially power an electric vehicle for over one million miles and over 4,000 charging cycles while only losing about 10 percent of its charging capacity (and vehicle range) as it reaches the end of its lifespan. Most drivers upgrade their rides well before the odometer rolls over to one million, but the new battery tech could be especially useful in vehicles that are on the road around the clock like taxis, shuttles, and even delivery trucks.”
I have been reading about this new battery alchemy for quite a while as the current batteries in the Teslas are reputedly good for 1,000 charge cycles. I am not quite sure what the definition of a charge cycle actually is, for instance, if my 130 kwh battery is 65% charged and I charge it up to 85% (the max charge ???), is that a charge cycle ?
However, the previous notes that I read were that Musk knows that heavy class 8 trucks will require 4,000 charge cycles on the batteries. They have had these batteries for a while in a 250 kwh form factor which are more than twice the size (and weight ???) of the 130 kwh battery. The new battery chemistry is not as dense as the older chemistry but allows many more charge cycles. BTW, the heavy class 8 truck comes with four of the 250 kwh batteries. They are presently using the heavy electric trucks to move the car batteries from Nevada ??? to Freemont, CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck_classification#United_States
I find this stuff tremendously interesting but have no desire to buy a Tesla. I am looking at a price of $41K to $43K plus TTL to buy a new F-150 4×4 XLT. I am sure that the equivalent light Tesla truck will be $85K. Maybe $100K with a 250 kwh battery for a 400 mile range (200 mile range towing). Too rich for my blood.
Wimp.
Well, he does have a bad heart. Just saying.
Definitely a wimp. And before the heart issues.
Definitely a wimp. And before the heart issues.
Wimp? Nah, I’ve never thought that.
Made it home.
We have neighbors night out tonight, which means spending some time in the street with our neighbors, oohh ing over the new babies and eating cupcakes and cookies. Good times!
n
Depends on what you are towing. Even a light trailer, U-Haul for transporting a riding mower, dropped my gas mileage 25%. Towing my RV and the mileage drops about 60%. Thus you may get 150 miles towing depending on the terrain, weight and starts/stops. Towing puts a big strain on everything. Those electric motors would need a lot of torque to tow anything over a couple thousand pounds. As one who has towed many trailers for most of my driving life towing is something I would leave relegated to a petrol powered drive train if you are towing more than a couple dozen miles.
I find this stuff tremendously interesting but have no desire to buy a Tesla. I am looking at a price of $41K to $43K plus TTL to buy a new F-150 4×4 XLT. I am sure that the equivalent light Tesla truck will be $85K. Maybe $100K with a 250 kwh battery for a 400 mile range (200 mile range towing). Too rich for my blood.
I’ll believe a Tesla truck when I see it. Absent government meddling, the only real threat to the F150 dominance is Toyota, and they’re still climbing the learning curve after investing 20 years and billions of dollars into the effort.
If Trump loses the current standoff with CA and the automakers, the costs of traditional vehicles will eventually rise to make Tesla-type cars and trucks seem affordable.
250 kwh battery for a 400 mile range (200 mile range towing)
Depends on what you are towing. Even a light trailer, U-Haul for transporting a riding mower, dropped my gas mileage 25%. Towing my RV and the mileage drops about 60%. Thus you may get 150 miles towing depending on the terrain, weight and starts/stops. Towing puts a big strain on everything. Those electric motors would need a lot of torque to tow anything over a couple thousand pounds. As one who has towed many trailers for most of my driving life towing is something I would leave relegated to a petrol powered drive train if you are towing more than a couple dozen miles.
My cousin’s Tesla Model 3 is 475 hp (dual motors) with the 75 kwh battery (I thought it was a 130 kwh battery). Good for 310 mile range. Incredible acceleration, feels like the hand of God pressing you in the chest. Consumer Reports says 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. He has it set for maximum regeneration so any time he lets off the accelerator pedal, it feels like it is braking.
I suspect that the Tesla Truck will be the same motors with either a single 130 kwh battery or dual 75 kwh batteries.
I find this stuff tremendously interesting but have no desire to buy a Tesla. I am looking at a price of $41K to $43K plus TTL to buy a new F-150 4×4 XLT. I am sure that the equivalent light Tesla truck will be $85K. Maybe $100K with a 250 kwh battery for a 400 mile range (200 mile range towing). Too rich for my blood.
I’ll believe a Tesla truck when I see it. Absent government meddling, the only real threat to the F150 dominance is Toyota, and they’re still climbing the learning curve after investing 20 years and billions of dollars into the effort.
If Trump loses the current standoff with CA and the automakers, the costs of traditional vehicles will eventually rise to make Tesla-type cars and trucks seem affordable.
“UPDATE: Tesla Pickup Truck: Everything We Know: Price, Range, Reveal Date”
https://insideevs.com/news/364925/tesla-pickup-truck-price-specs-more/
Nov 2019 unveiling. Base model price of $49K. Dual motors. Range of 400 to 500 miles.
I’m betting that it looks like a Honda Ridgeline.
Good chat with the neighbors. Good brownies. Horrible pizza, but free! Didn’t see any of our deputy constables or HPD officers. First year in 10 that they missed us. Our street is getting younger with every passing year.
n
@greg, re: traffic and construction…
I got to the surplus store around noon. There was almost no traffic. The google directions compensate for the messed up lanes and detours, and were accurate. It was a bit harrowing changing lanes and trusting that google was right, but it worked. Funny thing is, you can see the Store from where you turn, but because of the bridge deconstruction you can’t get there. You have to go 2 miles out of the way in a loop.
I managed to swing thru the Goodwill Outlet on my way home too. No vintage audiophile gear today. Maybe I’ve just been lucky every other time. Still picked up a cart full, and all for personal use. About half of the salvage auction stuff is personal use too. I better start selling some stuff soon…
n
Nov 2019 unveiling. Base model price of $49K. Dual motors. Range of 400 to 500 miles.
I’m betting that it looks like a Honda Ridgeline.
The old Ridgeline. It looks like they took a bunch of those apart.
Time for a rant. Y’all can skip over this, you won’t miss anything.
Building on our new house is scheduled to start in 12 days. We still don’t officially have permission to build the required access road, because our neighbors are playing stupid games. The town invited us and them to a meeting, to sort this out. So now they are playing “black hole” and simply not answering.
We can – legally – just ignore their objections, and build the damned road anyway. If they don’t answer by next week, that’s exactly what will happen. Unless…their next step would be to go to court and get an injunction. They will ultimately lose, and they would probably be liable for our attorney’s fees and additional costs. Wonder if they’re going to be that stupid?
How long would the neighbors tie your home building up in court? Would the courts be slow and give a hearing date a year from now? You are in the right but until the court blesses the road you may be issued a stop work order.
A guy I used to work with had some construction start behind his home that he did not like. He filed some paperwork with a court and got a judge to issue a cease work order. Construction had to stop until a judge ruled. The delay was costly enough to the builder that the builder found it cheaper to buy this guy’s home. Got about 10% more than the appraisal.
I hope your court system works better.
It’s similar here: they can get a court to say “stop” until the judge hears the case. However, the hearing would be in a few weeks, almost certainly before the end of the year. Since they would be unable to present any grounds for stopping the work, the judge would rule against them.
Since they would be unable to show any reason to have stopped the work in the first place, we could almost certainly collect all costs from them. Given the rescheduling mess, plus the fact that we are living in rented quarters, that could easily go into 6 figures. So it’s a question of how far they want to push things.
My wife has thought about just offering to buy their land – it’s not that much, and we could afford it. But we don’t need it, and anyway I’m too pissed off to help them out of the hole they’ve dug. They can stop digging any time now.