Hot and wet? Could be, but it was beautiful by the end of the daylight hours yesterday. Sun came out, temps were held down, and the clear blue sky was great. Even had some pretty pinks and reds at dusk.
Picked up some of my auction items. Lots of parts for various build projects are piling up in the garage.
I’ll probably never get to them. Oh well, I’ll have them there if I need them.
Hit the Costco run yesterday and spent a bunch more than usual. Didn’t get bulk, but did pile a bunch of stuff in the cart. Sometimes my self-discipline sucks. I hope I do better at the grocery store today.
Rain delayed and shifted some of my plans so there is a cascade effect. Running around doing pickups added to that.
I’ve got my school volunteer days on Wed. and Thur. so I really need to get ahead of the curve.
Lots of yard decor to do too, but that falls down the list with each day.
nick
“Brad, just curious if you would be in trouble if you had hurt the perp.”
Definitely, because the attack was already past. That’s one of the reasons I made myself walk away – my adrenaline was through the roof, and I just wanted to hurt somebody. Thankfully, I didn’t know who to hurt. IANAL, but my understanding is that you can defend yourself “in the moment”, but not after the fact. So if somebody pulls a knife on you, you can defend yourself. But if they’ve grabbed your wallet and are running away, physically stopping them puts you on shaky ground. Judges have a good bit of discretion, and do use it, but you really don’t want to go there…
More crazy times–
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-police-force-highlights-problem-racist-toddlers
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/10/biological-male-dominates-at-womens-masters-track-cycling-world-championships-wins-gold-medal/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7597945/Canadian-transgender-cyclist-defends-Masters-title-second-year.html “‘We are either full and equal women, or not’: Canadian transgender cyclist, 37, defends herself from critics after retaining her Masters Track Worlds title” — ok then, NOT.
n
I can’t wait for the rest of the details to come out, because this story is clearly only PART of what is going on….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7596451/Teenage-boy-URINATES-black-girl-hurls-racist-abuse-her.html
–a quick look at greatschools.org shows that this school is the BEST of local schools in the Trenton NJ area.
–of course, best is relative, witness the test scores:
Subject % Proficient
English 68%
State avg: 59%
Math 45%
State avg: 35%
Algebra I
97%
State avg: 41%
Something odd about that algebra score…. only 16% of students take algebra, half the state average, but 79% (~state average) pass it.
–and their demographics show <1% Native American, so "Indian" must mean either caribbean black, or "asian" as there isn't an "indian" category.
--by 8th grade, their black students (17% of attendees) are only testing 8% proficient in math (1/2 of their state wide average). Whites, 52% and asian 79%. Even hispanic tests at 30%.
--this is what passes for a good middle school these days in the urban shitholes across america. And they grow up to ask "where's all the goot jobs?"
n
added- the "high performing" schools nearby have essentially no blacks or hispanics and are about 2:1 white and asian. In those schools, everyone is taking algebra, and doing well, suspensions are minimal, and they exceed state averages.
“‘We are either full and equal women, or not’: Canadian transgender cyclist, 37, defends herself from critics after retaining her Masters Track Worlds title” — ok then, NOT.
Finding another controversy involving the McKinnon “woman” is too easy. The Daily Mail reporters are getting lazy.
It looks like McKinnon now has tenure at Charleston. That was probably the goal all along. Try getting a tenure track position as a straight white male in the Liberal Arts, especially gender studies — not happening.
One friend’s husband is a straight white male English PhD specializing in Literature of African American women. You can imagine how well his academic career has gone over the last 20 years.
woodpile report is worth reading…
http://www.woodpilereport.com/html/index-600.htm
n
@nick said: “woodpile report is worth reading…”
Good, but sad, history refresher.
While I consider myself pretty well off concerning “preps” I am also a realist. I am old and of limited mobility so when Civil War II starts I am going to hold my ground for as long as I can.
Beans – Bullets – Band-Aids and a perimeter as secure as I can make it.
In the short term, our side can use food as a weapon too. Lots of people online talking about how long the cities will last if the trucks stop delivering. If they move on the trucks, we’ll know they are serious.
n
(also a pretty good reason for someone on the left, with a cr@pton of money, and inexplicable support, to be developing driverless trucks…. doesn’t take much to see how that might be useful.)
In the short term, our side can use food as a weapon too. Lots of people online talking about how long the cities will last if the trucks stop delivering. If they move on the trucks, we’ll know they are serious.
Anymore, the infrastructure is really fragile, and both sides will have access to control of strategic points. Things will be very ugly very fast if food, fuel, and electricity deliveries become targets.
(also a pretty good reason for someone on the left, with a cr@pton of money, and inexplicable support, to be developing driverless trucks…. doesn’t take much to see how that might be useful.)
*Autonomous* vehicles are a Lotus Eater fantasy. Witness the failure of Tesla’s “summon” feature just within the space of a parking lot. The government continues to give “The Real Life Tony Stark” a free pass, however, which fuels the imagination about cars driving themselves while the passengers stream “Game of Thrones” cruising at 100 MPH.
*Automated* vehicles are possible with reasonable development from current tech — I count three organizations working it just in Austin alone — but the vehicle fleet is about five years or more from being turned over sufficiently with cars amenable to automation to simply order non-automated vehicles off the roads or at least parked during commuting hours. Things may get way sporty before then.
Even with automated vehicles, the tech will still be fragile and may still be decades from having sufficient reliability. Witness the latest problem down at Stark Industries:
https://insideevs.com/news/376037/tesla-mcu-emmc-memory-issue/
Four years and done because of a part worth a few bucks?
I’m thinking ‘road train’ level self drivers, with armed escort when required. Lead vehicle driven by a human.
n
Just as a public service announcement, Palmetto State Armory has their AR pistol kit for $299. Everything is included, except the lower receiver. That means it’s not a gun.
They are probably flying out the door because the PSA website ordering is down… now back up…
(Pick up a stripped lower from them for $40 and you have a AR pistol for <$350.)
I'd pick up the lower on another day, or in a separate order, as the lower is considered to be the 'gun' and will require shipping to an FFL and a form 4377 background check.
Or go one better and pick up an 80% lower and finish it yourself for an entirely unpapered gun.
If you prefer your AR a bit longer, they have a long barreled rifle kit for $360. Paired with a stripped lower and you have a $400 AR. That's pretty cheap, and about as cheap as currently available.
n
Which would raise the cost of the delivered food enough to accomplish the same end.
But if they’ve grabbed your wallet and are running away, physically stopping them puts you on shaky ground. Judges have a good bit of discretion, and do use it, but you really don’t want to go there…
So if somebody is running away with your stolen property, you cannot chase them down and get it back ? That is crazy.
_BEMs: Bug Eyed Monsters: Book Four, the New Frontiers Series_ by Jack L Knapp
https://www.amazon.com/BEMs-Eyed-Monsters-Book-Frontiers/dp/1083070010/?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number four of a six book space opera series. I read the well printed and bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author. I am reading book five now and have book six also.
Wow, great story series. An older engineer buys a bunch of Nikola Tesla’s journals in an old chest and spots a design for an “electric impeller” that was never built. He built a working version of the electric impeller after many restarts and has a electric propulsion device. The story is about the usage of the electric impellers to build space ships, a Moon base, a Mars base, and various peoples and countries trying to steal the design.
This book is specifically about the aliens nicknamed the Flickers introducing themselves to the humans. The Flickers have much more advanced technology than the humans including FTL and totally automated space ships. But the Flickers are not the only aliens out there.
BTW, this is not the first time that a story has been written similar to this. Many stories have “magical” engines for space drives. A very similar book is John Varley’s most excellent _Red Thunder_ which uses the magical squeezer drive. The reason why I like these stories so much is that it is not just the new drive device, it is also the design and work to build the various containers around the new device.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (13 reviews)
The Swan Eaters: big changes coming
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2019/10/21
Uh oh ! Dramatic pause !
I’ve long held the belief that if aliens showed up tomorrow with FTL tech, we’d figure it out and all the strings and dark matter armwaving would be negated.
If we KNEW that it was possible, suddenly all the reasons we KNOW it won’t work could be gone and we’d have to consider something besides the current “knowledge” that can’t even tie all the forces together and sounds increasingly like ‘epicycles’.
n
Breaking Cat News: just 30 minutes of peace
https://www.gocomics.com/breaking-cat-news/2019/10/20
That was 5 minutes of peace. The goal is to build that up to 30 minutes.
For those interested in light pollution and astronomy:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/how-flagstaff-arizona-switched-to-leds-without-giving-astronomers-a-headache/#p3
“Four lessons from the biggest riots in decades” by Simon Black
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/four-lessons-from-the-biggest-riots-in-decades-26070/
“If you’re been following the news, you might have seen reports about civil unrest in Chile– the worst in decades.”
“I lived in Chile for more than seven years before moving to Puerto Rico; I still have business interests there, along with hundreds of employees (both foreign and local), many of whom I’ve been speaking to over the last few days.”
“First things first, Chile is ordinarily a quiet, stable, peaceful country.”
“The last time Chile went to war was 140 years ago back in 1879. They even skipped both world wars.”
“Let’s talk about some of the key lessons from this:”
“1) It can happen anywhere.”
“2) It can happen faster than anyone realizes.”
“3) It only takes a few idiots.”
“4) They often think Socialism is the answer.”
Just skip his advertising.
“Our Gallant Allies, the Kurds (and other fairy tales)” by Tom Kratman
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/most-folks-who-have-never-been-to-iraq-think-of-the-kurds-as-some-noble-non-islamic-ally-well-theyre-a-bit-better-than-the-typical-islamic-but-not-a-hell-of-a-lot/
“Ah, the Kurds. How can mere words render a proper appreciation? They’re trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous…um…no; no, they’re not. Oh, sure, as individuals they can be fairly boon companions, but in the main and in the mass? Not so much.”
Oh my.
Kratman always has an interesting angle on things. I need to reread his “Caliphate” book again.
https://www.amazon.com/Caliphate-Tom-Kratman/dp/1439133425/?tag=ttgnet-20
Hat tip to:
http://www.woodpilereport.com/html/index-600.htm
“The Most Convenient & Rewarding Way to Return Amazon Packages”
https://www.click2houston.com/notification_askamy/ask-amy-hack-amazons-returns-game-get-more-from-yahoo-settlement-and-info-your-doc-doesnt-need
“If you shop on Amazon, there’s a good chance you’ve had to return something at least once. For any future returns you should know the easiest way to return Amazon products is to take them to Kohl’s. Yes, I said Kohl’s. Over the summer, all Kohl’s stores began accepting Amazon returns. When you take your product there, you don’t need a box or even a label. You have to start your return on Amazon. If you select Kohl’s the drop off point, Amazon will send you a QR code that you can pull up on your phone. That is all you need when you take the item to Kohl’s. Sure, some UPS Stores are also label-free, box-free Amazon return sites too; but they won’t give you a 25% off coupon! Every person who returns an Amazon item at Kohl’s gets a coupon to use in store that week. Keep this in mind for the holidays. For all of the details you need, you can read our full story here.”
Sweet, I did not know that ! And I have a Kohls three miles away from the new used house.
Good article. Our neighborhood has no street lights, and probably never will, but I have noticed a disturbing trend. A few people have converted outside lights to LED. Now, because the lights use less energy than what they replaced, the people leave then ON all night. Worse, the lights are brighter. Still worse, the light fixtures scatter light all over. I have a neighbor ~300 yards away with four lights on one side of his house that are disturbingly bright. He probably likes them, but I almost never see any activity that could benefit from them.
The polite part of me wants to launch an education campaign so people install lighting that controls scatter. The other part of me wants to shine a 100k lumen flashing spotlight in their direction.
Must… control… urges.
“Netflix Looks at ‘Consumer-Friendly Ways’ to Limit Password Sharing”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/371448/netflix-looks-at-consumer-friendly-ways-to-limit-password
“Right now there is no limit on the number of devices you can sign in to Netflix on and no ‘big plans’ to curb password sharing.”
As a SAAS (software as a service) provider, I am very interested in this also.
The three of us were watching Netflix recently on three different TVs. Netflix stopped the presentation and forced us to upgrade to a three device service level for $4/month more. I pay it.
The three of us were watching Netflix recently on three different TVs. Netflix stopped the presentation and forced us to upgrade to a three device service level for $4/month more. I pay it.
I could see account sharing within one household, but the Chinese relations all shared one cousin’s Netflix password at different houses spread across the country and on business travel overseas. They aren’t alone — there is even a mention of the practice in “Crazy Rich Asians”.
“Due To The Weather, Midwest Farmers Fear Widespread Crop Failures And A “Record-Low” Harvest In 2019”
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/nightmarish-weather-has-many-midwest-farmers-fearing-widespread-crop-failures-and-a-record-low-harvest-in-2019
I keep on seeing headlines about a possible food crop failure this year. The farmers around these parts having already completed their harvesting. Or plowed their crops under since there was little rain in July and August this year for the corn.
Hat tip to:
http://www.woodpilereport.com/html/index-600.htm
I assume you meant that you already pay for three device service, and Amazon failed to check your account options, in spite of the fact that you were logged in and thus identified.
I find this increasingly maddening on several web sites where I have an account. Immediately after I log in, I am blasted with an interruption to sign up for paperless billing. Of course, I am already signed up. Of course, the site could have easily checked that. Such things seem to be increasing, when they should be decreasing. Shucks, they should be ZERO.
“Cuomo orders utility to pump imaginary natural gas”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/10/17/cuomo-orders-utility-to-pump-imaginary-natural-gas/
“There’s been a standoff between New York City and utility company National Grid going on since May of this year. As you may recall, plans for a new natural gas pipeline from New Jersey were killed off by the state government under pressure from environmental activists. As a result, National Grid wound up imposing a moratorium on new gas hookups because the current supply was insufficient to serve additional customers. This has resulted in more than a thousand potential customers being unable to be hooked up.”
“Now the Governor has come up with a unique plan to end the stalemate. Using an obscure state law regulating utility companies through the power of the Public Service Commission, Andrew Cuomo (who helped kill the pipeline project) is simply ordering the utility to hook up the gas lines anyway. (New York Post)”
I remember standing around at an engineering conference about four or five years ago talking about the fact that New York State had refused to allow Kinder-Morgan to build a new 48 inch natural gas pipeline into New York State. It was going to be the most expensive natural gas pipeline ever built at over ten million dollars per mile. Well, those chickens have come home to roost because New York State does not have enough natural gas pipelines. And, they are buying natural gas (LNG) from Russia at twice the price to keep their gas pressure up (very important !).
Along with my last rant :), this. I notice another trend: in searching, extra, unrelated results. The worst I deal with is Walmart. Search for a specific item on their web site, even something with a specific and unusual name, and there are a jillion results. The item might be buried in the results, but there is no way to refine the search. I am not going to wade through those results.
Amazon is good in this regard, but I see them creeping in that direction, too. Google is increasingly cluttering up their search results with ephemera, such as q&a. Some of this is useful, but most is not.
C’mon, guys!!
Netflix stopped the presentation and forced us to upgrade to a three device service level for $4/month more. I pay it.
I assume you meant that you already pay for three device service, and Amazon failed to check your account options, in spite of the fact that you were logged in and thus identified.
Hmm. Replace “I pay it” with “I pay it now”. We went from $8.99/month to $12.99/month now for Netflix. Maybe it is a dollar/month more than that, I am not sure.
On the subject of natural gas, I noticed that some communities are prohibiting gas to new developments. This has been going on for quite a while, but is increasing. This led me to wonder what might be a suitable replacement. In short, I discovered that there are now air sourced heat pumps that can work effectively (without backup) down to 20F, and even lower. Some are being installed in Wisconsin. The operating cost, compared to gas, is possibly competetive. I say possibly, because there are hybrid and dual fuel units that complicate the comparisons.
This is of interest, because I have wanted to extend gas to my property for about 30 years. It is now close enough that the installation cost is probably (there’s that word again) less than ever. However, some of my friends are complaining about bill increases over the last few years. Some pay more for gas than I do for electricity. Really?
In my case, I would spend some more (capital plus operating) but gain comfort and convenience in thf winter. I would also gain refrigeration AC for the average 10 days we have humidity in some summers.
I would think some of you folks in the South are ideal candidates? I note that some in Wisconsin are replacing AC units and gas furnaces with heat pumps, likely related to old equipment and the coming phaseout of R-22, so more complexity.
I would think some of you folks in the South are ideal candidates? I note that some in Wisconsin are replacing AC units and gas furnaces with heat pumps, likely related to old equipment and the coming phaseout of R-22, so more complexity.
Both of my houses have two natural gas furnaces and two air conditioners. All of the systems are less than ten years old.
My office building and warehouse office do use straight electric heat integrated into the air conditioners. Each of the electric heaters are 230 volt, 50 amp, 10kw. But we don’t heat more than 50 days a year around here. I could could pull natural gas into the office complex for less than $10K but then would need to run more lines from the new meter and replace the electric furnaces. No thanks.
Why?
Well, come to think of it, we do have at least a hundred abandoned mines only a couple miles away. Wonder how much has disappeared in them?
Oh, wait. Urges are firmly under control… now :-p
DadCooks,
I was taught that there’s a fourth B – Boots. I ruined one each pair of boots and gloves in the immediate aftermath of last year’s storm. Both of them were nearly worn out anyway, and I had spares, but there were a lot of people here who were very unprepared, in terms of basic outfitting, for any sort of actual labor. Even fresh shoelaces can be critical.
Well, those chickens have come home to roost because New York State does not have enough natural gas pipelines. And, they are buying natural gas (LNG) from Russia at twice the price to keep their gas pressure up (very important !).
Warren Buffett strikes again. He cozies up to the Dems to keep the pipelines from being built. Even if the pipeline can’t carry anything else, the right of way is established. In addition to directly carrying the freight, BNSF manufactures and sells/leases most of the rail tanker cars in use in North America.
I actually read the annual simple homespun wisdom (ghostwritten by Fortune editor Carol Loomis).
Also, gas is harder to control centrally than electricity.
From JimB:
Many years ago, we used to have dry wash mining campouts near by. Going N on 395 through Johannesburg and down the hill, then make a right just past the RR tracks, and dry wash mining, much beer, campfire steaks and the rest, right along side the tracks, a few miles NE from 395.
Ok, I tried to resist. I really did. But this picture is too good to not post–
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7599811/Pig-tailed-macaques-work-pest-control-chasing-EATING-rodents.html
–rat, it’s what’s for dinner!
n
CowboySlim, I know the place. We would occasionally go there, but only when it was deserted. No offense, but we deserters like our solitude.
Reminds me, two of us were once taking a break on dirt bikes somewhere, when some visitors rode up. (We would never ride up to strangers.) After some pleasantries, we were asked where we were from. My buddy motioned, “Over that hill.” A visitor asked excitedly if there was a town over there. Seeing the gleam in his eye, I responded, “Not much; you wouldn’t like it.” We are also private folks.
I have hillbillies in my background, and we are wary of strangers. But, once we get to know someone, we can be a mite friendly.
–rat, it’s what’s for dinner!
Raw rat !