Cool and damp. [60F and 99%RH] Supposed to rain. I guess we’ll see.
Yesterday was flipping beautiful weather. I spent part of the day in the garage, cleaning shelves. I’ve decided I’m done with rats and need to put my stores back in order. I’ve got some losses with rusty cans but I’ve got ideas how to minimize that going forward. I don’t want to dip each can in lacquer, but I will if that’s the only way. I’ll try just keeping the rats off them as a start. I took some time to clean up in the yard too. I got some fresh air and sunshine.
I don’t know what the US financial markets will do today. They SHOULD go down, but with so many people buying the F’ing dip, who knows? China’s market tanked, surprising no one. Even if this ended tomorrow, the disruption is already taking off. This won’t end tomorrow.
Speaking of which, even my wife is awake now. She announced to the kids we’d be practicing not touching our faces, eyes, or mouths, and we’d be doing a lot more hand washing. Kids are getting a bit freaked out. Frankly, I am too. I don’t know if I WANT to sell my N95 masks even at a stupid profit. What if I need more than I intend to keep? To that end, I found some in my pandemic supplies that I can do without. They only have one strap, so I don’t like them, and they have the magic word- 3M so they sell well. They are NOS (New Old Stock) and out of date, but they do sell on ebay. They have a Habitat for Humanity price sticker, $5/box of 50. They are selling on ebay for $36/ box.
If you want some masks and think you’ve missed your chance, United Rentals had 3 boxes on the shelf when I was there renting my trailer. They didn’t even mark them up, so they were $1/ mask. I couldn’t help myself and bought one box. Point is, there are still masks out there, just maybe not in the first place you’d think to look. I’d try auto parts stores, tool rental houses, and places like that. My Grainger store has masks, the online tool lists 5 boxes in stock with 5 more available Tues. They have 6 other suitable styles available. Industrial suppliers are a good choice too. Auto paint suppliers might still have them.
WuFlu is coming to you… get yourself ready.
n
Since China is full of bad news, check out this guy on youtube for something completely different- Grandpa Amu makes stuff by hand from nothing but raw wood. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClaEdLrmti779-tyovta8zw I can’t stop watching.
n
I stayed up past my bedtime to watch to the “big Game”. It was a rather lackluster game compared to others. The half time show was highly sexualized. I know, they all are, but this one seemed more so than usual.
We are deep into the “look at me” culture. Social success is measured by how many people you can get to look at you, regardless of whether that attention is negative or positive. It all leads to a steady rise of outrageous appearance and stunts. Even the weird challenges on YouTube result in a person essentially saying “look at me being an easily manipulated idiot”.
So says this gray man.
I doubt that china had all that medical equipment just sitting around waiting to be used. I bet it was
commandeeredrequisitioned from the supply chain. US and EU markets will soon experience back-orders on many items, not just face masks. More than half of the general consumables I use in my lab come from China.Everyone went offshore to reduce costs. They are really just shifting those costs (labor and environmental costs) and eventually, the savings are erased when one of the trade offs comes back to haunt them. IE- long supply chain subject to disruption, scandal damaging reputation, theft of IP, or local .gov grabs the current stocks and production.* A whole bunch of US and euro companies are about to learn this lesson the hard way.
n
*this can happen here too, if a project has “National defense priority” and you fall behind, .mil and .gov will occupy your factory and seize your goods in production until you are caught up to your deliverables. IDK how often or even if this happens, but it’s in the contracts.
Everyone went offshore to reduce costs. They are really just shifting those costs (labor and environmental costs) and eventually, the savings are erased when one of the trade offs comes back to haunt them. IE- long supply chain subject to disruption, scandal damaging reputation, theft of IP, or local .gov grabs the current stocks and production.* A whole bunch of US and euro companies are about to learn this lesson the hard way.
Cough … Cisco … cough.
I know System76 has been trying to reestablish laptop production domestically, since before Coronavirus, but they’re facing an uphill battle because the infrastructure just isn’t here anymore. Plus, once you eliminated the Windows 10 bloatware problems and license cost, a $1000 laptop running Linux with a given CPU and memory can’t offer enough increase in capability over a $400 laptop to justify the cost, at least not at a level a lot of users would notice.
*this can happen here too, if a project has “National defense priority” and you fall behind, .mil and .gov will occupy your factory and seize your goods in production until you are caught up to your deliverables. IDK how often or even if this happens, but it’s in the contracts.
It would have to be a serious emergency for something like that to happen. Based on what I observed in Tampa, even NCOs retire from active duty and land lucrative gigs with the contractors, and no one wants to rock that boat.
After reading the Drudge headlines, this was prescient. Latina stripper show (with J-Ho’s kids in cages in the back to slam tRump) isn’t national TV entertainment. Re-electing tRump is going to be glorious.
Libtard tears are the sweetest tears.
I don’t know what the US financial markets will do today. They SHOULD go down, but with so many people buying the F’ing dip, who knows?
FOMO.
The Fed has been providing the liquidity since late last year, but I haven’t trusted the stock prices for several years. Other than rolling over old 401(k)s into Vanguard and T. Rowe, I haven’t been buying.
I don’t trust GLD at all in a SHTF situation, but I may park my broker cash in there until buying opportunities arise.
Cruise ship, thousands from literally everywhere potentially exposed….
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ship-has-literally-sailed-carnival-admits-coronavirus-case-6-days-after-cruise
That’ll let the cat out of the bag in the next 12 days.
n
Holy crap. I’m listening to the CDC telebrief, and the Dr in charge just said the WuFLu test on ‘non-syptomatic’ people is NOT intended to be a diagnostic test. It’s intended to allow CDC to track the spread and basically see if it turns up in anyone tested “as a public health tool.” It’s not intended to make decisions about individuals.
F me.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/
OMG, CDC still doesn’t have a plan for where to PUT anyone who becomes subject to quarantine. They are “working with state partners.”
n
Crap. the Dr just said as an excuse “a couple of weeks ago there were 41 cases now there are over 17,000 cases in China, and it’s a novel virus…”
So NO PLAN ahead of time, not even a wargame?
n
Well, it looks like the chinese government just confirmed that some of the video coming out of china is real…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7961571/Whistleblower-arrested-China-secretly-filming-piles-body-bags-coronavirus-hospital.html
n
Again with A&M Commerce…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/2-dead-1-wounded-shooting-texas-am-dorm
n
Again with A&M Commerce…
No mention of demographics.
FMOD inbound…..
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7960409/Woman-26-set-marry-man-encourages-eat-10-000-calories-day.html
“Woman who weighs 450lbs reveals she’s engaged to ‘feeder’ boyfriend who helps her eat 10,000 calories on ‘stuffing days’ – and she’s aiming to be 600lbs for their wedding
Jessica Wilson, 26, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, currently weighs 450lb
She met Eric, 34, on a website for the feeder community in August 2019
Pair who are marrying this year, hope Jessica will reach her 600lb goal weight
On a ‘stuffing’ day she eats up to 10,000 calories, with Eric’s encouragement”
–WHAT F’ing “Feeder community?”
n
No RIP. Rot in Hell, Bernie Ebbers. You and Kenny Boy. Madoff will hopefully join you both soon.
At the Death Star, we knew something was wrong with WorldCom, but, then as is the case now, some companies and individuals are special to Wall Street … until they aren’t.
The Legend of Bernie The Basketball Coach, selling long distance out of the trunk of his car. Move along, folks, no Ponzi here.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/telecom-pioneer-and-convicted-fraudster-bernard-ebbers-has-died/
Racist.
“No mention of demographics.”
Racist.
It would be headline news on CNN if the shooter was white.
In the meantime, here’s the headline on CNN as of a few minutes ago. It probably makes the Progs even happier than a story about a white guy shooting up a dorm.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/03/media/rush-limbaugh-cancer-diagnosis/index.html
No mention in this attack either, but plenty of calls for searches and metal detectors.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/breaking_news/article-7961129/Six-people-shot-Greyhound-bus-traveling-LA-San-Francisco-1am.html
It’s funny to recognize the dialect in the direct quotes. I can almost hear the accents.
n
Some of us have made plans.
I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Here’s either a crazy case of synchronicity or more evidence google listens to you…
I bought a forklift. It needs brake work. It stops, but the pedal is rock hard and has almost no travel. I’ve mentioned this a couple of times out loud to my neighbor.
Suddenly today in my youtube recommended list, fixing brakes on a Clark forklift.
More than one video too.
I’m going with ‘listening in.”
n
Here’s either a crazy case of synchronicity or more evidence google listens to you…
Newish Google phone? Yes, they’re listening. I’m not convinced that disabling Google Assistant (“Hey Google …”) does anything really.
A few new Android phones still have removable batteries if you are concerned. The Moto E6, for instance, has the feature and should receive one more major OS update (Pie->’Q’).
[UPDATE: Motorola isn’t making any promises for the E6 and ‘Q’, but Pie will be around for a long time.]
Alternatively, you can buy a phone on Lineage OS supported devices list, root the device, and replace the firmware. The list was getting a bit thin on newer hardware, but I noted the Moto G7 now has support.
I run Lineage OS on a G4 Play for a “Google free” experience. Though, to be fair, at times, this leaves *much* to be desired. Plus, I now have to build my own OS images from scratch once a month to keep up with security updates.
The new numbers are out. I’d avoid watching the video, as you will see someone die. The shaking fit matches the earlier video from a hospital that people are trying to suppress or discredit. No way to know for sure WuFlu killed him, but something did.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/i-cant-let-my-mom-die-home-desperate-patients-swarm-wuhan-hospital-hong-kong-closes
–also the twitter video of men barricading someone into their apartment got picked up by dailymail. If it’s true, then think about what it means. You get the flu, they lock you in to die. Suddenly the empty streets are even more ominous.
n
I was talking to a T-Mobile rep yesterday and she mentioned if you go for their $40/mo pre-paid plan AND pay two months in advance ($80) they’ll give you a Motorola G6. They’ll unlock it after a couple more months of continuous service (not many IIRC).
“Jim Cramer: ‘’Fossil Fuels Are Done’’”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jim-cramer-fossil-fuels-done-000000804.html
What an idiot ! Fossil fuels supply 80% of our energy needs (electricity, heating, cooking, transportation) in the USA. Maybe in the world also. The only other really viable energy source is nuclear.
The only problem is that we are swimming in in crude oil and natural gas today which is depressing the price.
Watch the big banks now. They are holding huge amounts of loans on the wildcatters. At least $10 billion. Maybe $50 billion. Maybe a $100 billion. Maybe a trillion dollars. I have no idea other than it is a huge amount. Many of the wildcatters might be going bankrupt soon as the price of crude just dropped below $50 again. And natural gas is below $2.
I was talking to a T-Mobile rep yesterday and she mentioned if you go for their $40/mo pre-paid plan AND pay two months in advance ($80) they’ll give you a Motorola G6. They’ll unlock it after a couple more months of continuous service (not many IIRC).
What color G6?
Motorola gives away the “Deep Indigo” G6 phones for free when you buy one of the newer models.
What an idiot ! Fossil fuels supply 80% of our energy needs in the USA. Maybe in the world also. The only other really viable energy source is nuclear.
No one should ever take Cramer seriously, especially on political matters. IIRC, his college roommate was Elliot Spitzer, and they both worked for John Corzine at Goldman Sachs.
Cramer and his buddies want to sell retail investors TSLA while loading up on ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco. Anything he makes from his CNBC contract is pocket change in comparison to what he takes home from shearing the sheeple.
That said, the shale oil “miracle” is highly dependent on borrowed money and the interest rates remaining low. The Texas economy is more diversified than in the 80s, but the parts of the state dependent on continuous new drilling are going to be in trouble for a while.
The majors are going to make out as well as they always have.
Never bet food money on Cramer’s advice. Heck, I’d be concerned about betting the beer money.
*this can happen here too, if a project has “National defense priority” and you fall behind, .mil and .gov will occupy your factory and seize your goods in production until you are caught up to your deliverables. IDK how often or even if this happens, but it’s in the contracts.
I know somebody this happened to about 15 years ago. He got behind on supplying his battery operated hydraulic nut drivers to the Army. 500+ ftlbs of torque on up to three inch nuts. One day a DOD project manager showed up at his shop and took it over. The DOD pm ran his shop for 3+ years and got product out the door to where the Army was happy (they were using his hydraulic fasteners to amour the humvees in Iraq). My friend turned into an alcoholic since he was no longer allowed to run his shop. And he made a lot of money.
The DOD pm ran his shop for 3+ years and got product out the door to where the Army was happy (they were using his hydraulic fasteners to amour the humvees in Iraq). My friend turned into an alcoholic since he was no longer allowed to run his shop. And he made a lot of money.
Emergency situation and a small shop. Maybe a NCO gets a gig as a supervisor down the road, but the Col. Bat Guano-type who lived behind me in FL was a retired W-3 with a flexible enough morality to torture Gitmo prisoners on the [big consulting company] payroll — if neighborhood legends were true — much more lucrative and fit her personality.
In the early 90s, I got a call to work on Seawolf combat systems as part of an insanely compressed schedule at GE in Upstate New York. I wonder if the DOD stepped in with that one in retrospec, but the contractor was GE, offering lots more job opportunities down the road.
I did a couple of those projects. If your PM has a tendency to issue revised schedules unilaterally, he might not be a good fit. DoD is used to contractors failing to keep their schedules and deliverables, but you better keep them in the loop and get buy in.
n
2o, 209 with 426 dead and 637 recovered. According to the latest update.
20 days ago, there were almost none.
n
Ah, that explains it….
“Super Bowl LIV attracts 102 million viewers for Fox, halting the NFL finale’s four-year ratings decline as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s halftime show draws larger audience than the game”
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7961361/Chinese-government-spray-disinfectant-entire-CITY-tonight.html
“The drastic measure comes after scientists discovered the killer virus is more contagious than previously thought.
A simple cough or sneeze is enough to spread the disease and it can live on inanimate objects, such as door handles, for short periods of time.”
n
Be happy you don’t live in China today.
We enjoyed our years in Hong Kong but are glad to be here now.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/4-plagues-are-marching-across-asia-simultaneously-coronavirus-african-swine-fever-h5n1-bird
Ah, that explains it….
“Super Bowl LIV attracts 102 million viewers for Fox, halting the NFL finale’s four-year ratings decline as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s halftime show draws larger audience than the game”
Not my thing, but Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performing Gloria Estafan’s “Lets Get Loud” is Miami. The NFL made the right choice — the halftime show has trended towards “phoned in” as of late.
Tampa has the game next year, a relatively short notice change since the new stadium in LA is behind schedule. Bern’s Steakhouse was probably completely booked for the week within moments of the announcement.
I did a couple of those projects. If your PM has a tendency to issue revised schedules unilaterally, he might not be a good fit. DoD is used to contractors failing to keep their schedules and deliverables, but you better keep them in the loop and get buy in.
State DOTs are similar. The PMs burning out our group haven’t been punished for their unilateral schedule changes … yet.
The problem with our group’s hiring standards is that we end up doing a lot of technical work beyond installing our own software.
I met Bernie several times when I Worked at WorldCom in the 90s. I recall a particular meeting in 1998 when he told us that WorldCom would focus on fiber, cable, and copper because the wireless phone market was a disaster. I questioned his sanity. Then we “bought” MCI and soon WorldCom was being run by MCI management. Not long after we declared bankruptcy. That stranded us in Hong Kong.
“Oxford University: Best Response Ever to a Fossil Fuel Divestment Demand”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/03/oxford-university-best-response-ever-to-a-fossil-fuel-divestment-demand/
“… The students want the college to sell the more than $10 million of its endowment now invested in Shell and BP, and they want it now.”
“The Times of London reports that bursar Andrew Parker made them a counteroffer. “I am not able to arrange any divestment at short notice,” he wrote. “But I can arrange for the gas central heating in college to be switched off with immediate effect. Please let me know if you support this proposal.””
“The idea that the students themselves make a fossil-fuel sacrifice did not go over well. …”
Requiring that those who make demands, themselves pay a price? Yah, that’ll cause some resentment. That’s what kicked off the yellow vest protests in France: the French citizens loved the idea of green energy and carbon taxes and restrictions on production of deadly carbon. It would hit the US hardest, and that was wonderful. But then they found out that would mean higher energy costs and higher taxes for themselves. That’s when the protests started.
“The Times of London reports that bursar Andrew Parker made them a counteroffer. “I am not able to arrange any divestment at short notice,” he wrote. “But I can arrange for the gas central heating in college to be switched off with immediate effect. Please let me know if you support this proposal.”
The Brits are ahead of us when it comes to being fed up with the stupidity.