Warm, sunny, windy, and wet.
Yesterday was another beautiful day. Solid blue sky, a bit windy, and started at 79F.
I spent the morning online, 3 hours messing with Ubiquiti UniFi config tool to try to get ONE access point set up, and then went on my service call. Not much got done, but I will earn some money.
I haven’t said anything or linked to the story out of Canada about the guy who dressed like a Mountie and killed at least 22 people. It’s a weird enough story I was waiting for more info to come out. Don’t want anyone to think there was some ulterior motive to reporting on some mass murders, but not others. Just didn’t know what to do with this one.
And right on time, Paris is burning again. Auto du Fuego in the ‘hoods. It isn’t yellow vests, just the same “disaffected youths” as always.
I better get a bunch of stuff done today. Time waits for no man.
Dinner yesterday was mac n cheese with ham steak for the kids, leftover hawaiian chicken for my wife, and one lonely pork chop leftover for me.
Second order effects are coming, buy some meat…
Stay in and stay safe.
nick
When black, mohammedan, or hispanic men have sex with twelve-year-olds, it’s OK because they’re just following their culture and there’s nothing creepy about it. It’s only white men of Christian, European culture who are creeps because they’re violating their cultural expectations and choosing to do something they know is wrong.
And there was one apparently white guy in the bottom corner, so the problem cuts across all races. Also, race is just a social construct and if you deny that then you are the real problem.
I hope this definitively
addresses your concernsshuts down all discussion of this topic and we don’t have to bring it up again.I miss Dr. Dean Edell, too. Here is his take:
https://www.kgoradio.com/2020/03/13/ronn-owens-report-dr-dean-edell-on-covid-19/
A bit old. I wonder what he would say today.
A bit old. I wonder what he would say today.
Edell took on stupidity regardless of its ideological origins.
The bandanna masks top my list of things about which I’d like to hear his opinion.
Folks, we can’t reopen the country thinking that the “lets rob the 4:10 stage out of Dodge” look is going to mean anything, much like the airport Kabuki. It just appeals to the control freaks.
I have noticed the MSM seems to be burying the information about preexisting conditions. They seem to love reporting when anyone under 30 dies. but you usually have to read down 6 or 7 paragraphs to get to the part where that person was an HIV+ obese asthmatic. When this whole thing started that information would have been in the first paragraph.
Two brothers in Tennessee (Matthew and Noah Colvin) with 17K+ bottles of hand sanitizer are forced to surrender all their stock with no reimbursement for the their cost. They were being charged with price gouging. They are also prohibited from selling emergency or medical supplies (including FLASHLIGHTS) during an emergency or any disaster. I guess supply and demand is not a factor.
Yet drug companies have been price gouging people on medicine, especially insulin and epipens, without any repercussions. The drug companies claim they have to make a profit.
The two brother’s biggest mistake was not contributing to political campaigns of elected officials. Had they done that the brothers would have been congratulated for smart business decisions.
We can only hope the country learned something useful for the next round, next, next, next. You know, like the MSM and Billy Gates say it is never going to end. We can’t continue to live in our caves unless Shot Girl takes over and we go full Commie.
If so, it might be the first time. Instead, we will get new bureaucracies, just like the other times. That will make the masses XXXXXX politicians happy.
Congress set the standard yesterday (or so). They had to come up to the podium to pontificate, first thing they do is pull their mask off, up, to the side, etc. Spit, touch, breath all over the same podium they all used. Politicians are the dumbest class of Humans.
Most of the DIY masks I see out there are only good for keeping people from spraying their mucous when they sneeze. I could make a better mask by folding paper towels and using duct tape. You could even wet it, form it to your face, dry it and Bob’s Your Uncle.
I just picked up a chest freezer. They are becoming rare and expensive around here. I know what you are thinking: A prepper without a chest freezer isn’t a prepper. I knew I should have one, but it wasn’t urgent since there are only 2 of us in the house and we don’t eat a lot of frozen food. I kept putting it off. Now with some food supplies becoming spotty we need to buy and freeze when available. Plus, when I open a 28oz can of Keystone meat I will need to freeze some, that is a lot of meat for a small house.
Anyway, the big box stores are all backordered and what was available on eBay and Craig’s list was too big, too expensive, or too far away for me to buy so I kept checking. The planets aligned on Tuesday morning. I caught a listing on Craig’s list just minutes after being posted. 5 cu ft (just right for me) and $200 (within my budget) and only 2 miles from where I work. I grabbed it.
Guess what, the seller was honest man. He had no idea that chest freezers were suddenly hot items. He told me he received about 50 emails in the first hour or two with people offering way over the $200. But I was first and the deal was $200. A deal is deal**. He has a couple of others in his warehouse that he will list at more market prices, so he will do OK.
**”Bust a deal, face the wheel” for all you post-apocalyptic aficionados.
” the guy who dressed like a Mountie and killed at least 22 people. “
Our liberal government is already making noises about more gun control, even though it’s already public knowledge that the murderer was NOT a legal gun owner.
A useful distraction for them, I suppose.
I had the same thing happen to me just before a hurricane. I’d craigslisted 4 broken generators, and a couple of good ones. I had one left, running but beat up, and the hurricane entered the Gulf.
Suddenly I was getting calls non-stop, but the first guy to call said he was on the way… and he got here, with cash, and bought it for the $50 I’d priced it at before the hurricane.
I’m not above pricing stuff high, but if you’ve listed a price, then that should BE your price. If you want highest bid, list as an auction.
I’d bet that there are more of us, like that guy, that would behave this way than not. I’m sure it depends on whether you are from a high or low trust community, and tribal or rule of law…
n
@gavin, if you find a trustworthy and reasonably complete source for the story as we know it, please drop a link here, “for the record”. I’m a fairly serious student of these types of incident, but am a bit distracted with other things to do the digging myself for the definitive report.
n
Two brothers in Tennessee (Matthew and Noah Colvin) with 17K+ bottles of hand sanitizer are forced to surrender all their stock with no reimbursement for the their cost. They were being charged with price gouging. They are also prohibited from selling emergency or medical supplies (including FLASHLIGHTS) during an emergency or any disaster. I guess supply and demand is not a factor.
That is an old story which was discussed here last month. The brothers obtained their stock by stripping bare Dollar General and Family Dollar/Dollar Tree stores across Kentucky and Tennessee which were legally prohibited from charging according to supply and demand.
Also, a Dollar General store in a rural area without a WalMart is usually a signal that the presence is subsidized by some mix of local/state taxes, and retail arbitrage of the local store stock on EBay is effectively theft whether or not it is recognized by legislated statute at the current time.
A lot of small towns in KY and TN depend, God help them, on the items in their Dollar General stores actually being there when needed. Arbitrage of Nintendo Switch consoles from remote WalMart stores is different than over the counter medications and basic supplies like masks and hand sanitizer.
One upside of the virus is that the economy based on multi-level arbitrage selling things from shipping containers of Chinese origin is over. Look where that got us. Italy. The whole world.
Even before the virus, have you tried to buy simple Excedrin lately?
Yup, insulin at current prices is outrageous. Inaction by current elected officials is inviting an extreme response from the left eventually resulting in Trump signing the Medicaid For All bill into law.
The settlement was reached two days ago. The brothers were forced to give up their entire stock without compensation. Unless you consider dodging fines and/or jail time compensation. The state could have told them to charge what they paid plus a small markup. Instead the state seized all of their product.
Yet the government finds no issue with drug companies charging $250.00 for insulin which costs $2.00 to manufacturer. In times of high demand and limited supply the price of insulin spiked. No slap on the wrist for the manufacturers that controlled the price. Drug companies are big contributors to political campaigns for good reason.
Wife had to get an epipen because of her allergy medicine. Actually forced to get one by the insurance company. That little device cost $285.00. Insurance would not pay for the pen but forced her to get the pen otherwise the allergy stuff was not covered. That little device should be no more than $25.00. Drug companies gouging again with no ill effects.
The government is not playing fair and targets the easy targets. The two brothers did not have deep pockets for lawyers. The drug companies have lawyers that can easily outgun government lawyers and have contributed to the campaigns to congress critters and senators to avoid getting into trouble over price gouging.
What the brothers did was wrong. But rather than the government giving them the option to sell at the price they bought, the government seized without compensation. That is a dangerous precedence. Would you be happy if the government confiscated all your stores if you tried to sell that can of ham for 20% over your cost?
Yes, these guys were charging a lot more. But where is the limit set by the government. If a person charges 10% more is that gouging? 100% more? Where is the limit. As it currently stands the government can seize at just a small percentage markup. The whim of the district attorney.
which is the very definition of tyranny.
n
Secondary indicators—
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8252459/Bodies-piled-Brazilian-city-Manaus-coronavirus.html
n
Goodbye rule of law. Better stock up on guns and ammo, and start working on your political connections.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8251917/Massachusetts-coastal-town-refuses-turn-water-300-seasonal-homes-coronavirus.html
n
Yes, these guys were charging a lot more. But where is the limit set by the government. If a person charges 10% more is that gouging? 100% more? Where is the limit. As it currently stands the government can seize at just a small percentage markup. The whim of the district attorney.
I’m on record that I believe the anti-gouging laws are stupid and should be repealed, but as long as they are on the books, the statutes need to be applied equally.
Seems I can get past some sites that detect ad blocking software and refuse to release the site by using incognito mode when opening the link. At least true for the dailymail link above. I tried opening the site in Edge but it took almost 90 seconds to fully load due to the number of ads and the slowness of the ad servers. That makes a page useless. Using ad blocking and incognito the page loaded in 10 seconds, much more reasonable.
Which describes a lot of the governors and local officials in the past few weeks. Many have set themselves up as the lords of their domain issuing orders that seem to violate many constitutional rights. Not that any of them have really read the constitution.
Many of them will be using what they have done during this Covid-19 era as platforms for their campaigns. Bragging about what they did, what they ordered, what they allowed or did not allow, as single-handidly saving everyone from total annihilation.
Fully expect the news stations to start blowing their own horns bragging about their coverage. The first with the most. The most accurate. The most timely. The most reporters. Same thing every time a major event happens. Many are giddy with visions of getting their face on CNN.
Funny you are. Big corporations with big money, big donations, powerful lawyers, will never be held to the same standard as the kid selling lemonade (or sanitizer) in his/her/shim front yard.
Goodbye rule of law. Better stock up on guns and ammo, and start working on your political connections.
So the none of the seasonal residents had plans to run Air BnBs at their summer houses during the crisis?
I overheard a fascinating explanation of small coastal town economics dispensed by one of the owners of Norma’s Seaside Diner in Seaside, OR one lazy Labor Day afternoon. She was waiting tables, and I doubt anyone thought she was an owner until the next table over asked her about living out on the OR Coast full time. Apparently, the couple was contemplating the move in retirement. The response from the diner owner, in a word, was “don’t”.
Among other issues, the resource constraints are a serious concern. And that was pre-Air BnB being such a big deal to the point that it endangers the real estate markets in desirable part-time vacation areas.
Funny you are. Big corporations with big money, big donations, powerful lawyers, will never be held to the same standard as the kid selling lemonade (or sanitizer) in his/her/shim front yard.
The anti-gouging laws need to go. I’ve already lived artificial “gas shortages” in TX and FL in the aftermath of storms as a result of the laws, and the media seems intent on creating a meat shortage nationwide now that their TP shortage is starting to fizzle in the face of increased deliveries from the manufacturers.
I even saw a “dry yeast shortage” story in the last few days.
The Wife and I had an antique biz in Boerne eons ago. It was in one of those boutique flea market places. Everybody there started at 100% markup over what they bought it for. No one thought that was gouging.
I went through three different shortages when I was stationed in Hawaii. Dock workers would go on strike stopping delivery of many needed products. One time one of those toilet paper. The military flew, or shipped, in hundreds of pallets of toilet paper to keep the bases supplied. There was no shortage on base. I would buy dozens of rolls at the base exchange every couple of days and sell them off-base for a 100% markup from what I paid. Made a hundred dollars or so doing those transactions. I never sold a roll from the base supply for the buildings as I knew that would get me on a federal charge.
I’ve been unable to find bread yeast when I’ve gotten food a few times in the past month. I still have half a pound and can grow my own from a small amount of what I have, so it’s not a real problem, but I’m annoyed at what looks like yet another media-driven shortage.
Meat was considerably higher, 25%-50%, at the butcher shop last week. I gave meat a bare glance at the grocery store the same day, but there was nothing at a really good price and overall the prices seemed higher.
Yeast shortage in stores appears to be real. And flour is in high demand.
Baking bread is one of the things a lot of people would like to do and never get around to it. Looking at being home all day, a whole bunch of people are baking bread, kind of ‘recreationally’. Since in most areas daily bread baking isn’t a thing, stores don’t stock that much yeast. If a bunch of ‘stay at homes’ decides to bake, they quickly buy up all the yeast.
I’ve got several “bread kit” buckets. Couple bags of flour, small bag of sugar, container of salt, yeast packets, and usually a liter of peanut oil. The quantities fill the bucket. Sometimes I throw in a small bag of cornmeal if there is room.
My wife’s neighborhood FB group has an ongoing discussion about bread flour, and yeast, with a group buy organized for both.
If you can’t get yeast, look up beer or soda pop bread recipes.
n
Hagar The Horrible: home flooding preps
https://www.comicskingdom.com/hagar-the-horrible/2020-04-23
Having been flooded before (one inch of water in 1989 in Dallas, Texas), I applaud Hagar’s prepping. A move to his Viking ship would be even better. Except, sleeping under a tarp in a thunderstorm is no fun.
We can only hope the country learned something useful for the next round, next, next, next. You know, like the MSM and Billy Gates say it is never going to end. We can’t continue to live in our caves unless Shot Girl takes over and we go full Commie.
I was thinking that Shot Girl was going to be our President in 2025. But, Biden is looking competitive without being competitive. I am amazed that people would even consider voting for a person with dementia.
I had a real estate agent contact my real estate agent yesterday and complain about the price of my house for sale being too high. And the agent said that there are no comps for a 3,400 ft2 one story house with 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a 30,000 gallon pool and spa. So they are thinking of offering the comp price of a 3 bedroom house with 3 bathrooms which is $50K less. Is there no logic in our society anymore ?
https://www.har.com/homedetail/2007-starlite-field-dr-sugar-land-tx-77479/11317583
“Elon Musk announces that early access to the Starlink satellite-internet project will launch this year”
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-starlink-will-launch-beta-test-six-months-2020-4
“SpaceX’s Starlink project will launch a private beta in as few as three months, CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Wednesday.”
“The project, designed to bring internet to rural communities through thousands of tiny satellites, will begin in high latitudes with a “private beta” in about three months, Musk said, followed by a public beta in about six months.”
“SpaceX had launched only 360 satellites as of March, but it’s working to have as many as 12,000 in low orbit by the end of the decade. The company, alongside others like Amazon, OneWeb, and possibly Apple, is hoping to fill a void in the world’s communications infrastructure that has left a massive rift between well-connected urban cities and rural areas without decent networking infrastructure.”
Comcast offered me 250 / 15 Mbps cable internet only access in January for $70/month and I jumped on it. It keeps on rebooting a couple of times a day though.
The Wife and I had an antique biz in Boerne eons ago. It was in one of those boutique flea market places. Everybody there started at 100% markup over what they bought it for. No one thought that was gouging.
Antiques and surplus are a whole different game. Rare sneakers, video games, toys too.
ATT fiber just got cheaper.
We were paying $80/mo for 300/300.
Someone clued my wife in to their new rates, which are ~$50/month for ANY of their offered speeds, including 1000/1000, which we switched to. Price is good for one year. After that, it’s still better than the $80 we were paying.
Speedtest numbers are all over the place.
to skybeam in dallas, 750/750
to att in houston, 900/250
to comcast in houston 580/900
seems pretty snappy.
n
I was thinking that Shot Girl was going to be our President in 2025. But, Biden is looking competitive without being competitive. I am amazed that people would even consider voting for a person with dementia.
Biden hasn’t named his running mate. That person will be president in 2025 if the ticket wins.
However, I think Cuomo and Newsom have decided that it is in their best interest for Trump to be reelected and study the upcoming US Senate race in Texas, which Newsome’s money people are funding on the Dem side again. Either of them running this year means involving Robert Francis in the electoral calculus, and everyone in the party is over the faux Kennedy/Mexican.
Someone clued my wife in to their new rates, which are ~$50/month for ANY of their offered speeds, including 1000/1000, which we switched to. Price is good for one year. After that, it’s still better than the $80 we were paying.
AT&T needs the cash flow to pay the 7% (!) dividend and get them over the hump of putting HBO Max online, and I think they’re beginning to doubt whether the streaming service will be as successful as it looked like it would be last year.
I still believe “Friends” will reappear on Netflix within two years, but I’m biased. I know a thing or two about what kind of thought (or lack thereof) goes into AT&T streaming services.
AT&T needs the cash flow to pay the 7% (!) dividend and get them over the hump of putting HBO Max online, and I think they’re beginning to doubt whether the streaming service will be as successful as it looked like it would be last year.
AT&T is losing customers from ALL their streaming services:
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/att-lost-897000-premium-tv-customers-in-q1-2020/
“In total, AT&T lost 897,000 premium TV subscribers in the first quarter. That number includes DirecTV, U-Verse, and AT&T TV customers. Video revenue was down 8.4% to $7.4 billion, while broadband revenue rose 1.9% to $2.1 billion.”
We dropped DirecTV in February and do not miss it at all. We use Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime now and are overwhelmed in our choices.
Speedtest numbers are all over the place.
to skybeam in dallas, 750/750
to att in houston, 900/250
to comcast in houston 580/900
I get 300 / 20 on our cable modem in rural Fort Bend County.
http://www.fast.com
Aesop had something to say about that today: https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2020/04/co-morbidity.html
BTW, his comments are open again. For how long, who knows?
There must be competition in your area. Where I live there is no reasonable competition and Comcast is $140.00 a month for 300 down/20 up. No incentive for them to change, because where are we going to get service? Comcast has a locked in contract with the city that does not allow any competition to service the same area. I can get TV through Direct TV, internet through AT&T, phone through AT&T. But I cannot get all three. Pricing the different providers together I would be paying over $250.00 a month to get the channels the wife and I like. Comcast knows this and abuses their pricing accordingly. I also have data limits.
“How a Nuclear Submarine Officer Learned to Live in Tight Quarters”
http://nautil.us/issue/84/outbreak/how-a-nuclear-submarine-officer-learned-to-live-in-tight-quarters?utm_source=pocket-newtab
“During my first year onboard, I spent all my waking hours either supervising reactor operations or learning the intricacies of every inch of the 350-foot tube and the science behind how it all worked. The electrolysis machine that split water molecules to generate oxygen was almost always out of commission, so instead we burned chlorate candles that produced breathable air. ”
And the Green Power idiots believe that we are going to replace internal combustion engines with finicky fuel cells that have the same issues as electrolysis machines. Fuel cells are NOT low maintenance devices. Until recently, all fuel cells were built by PostDoc engineers because the initial startup is so difficult.
I also have data limits.
Yes, we have a 1 TB / month data limit. Our peak month so far has been 400 GB (March). I expect April to be even more.
“How a Nuclear Submarine Officer Learned to Live in Tight Quarters”
The media over the last decade has been pushing the Tiny House movement, that we can all be happy with less living space. The story strikes me as part of that effort, probably commissioned well before the virus hit, but edited when the submarine returned to port.
I don’t think anyone believes the Tiny House movement would be successful in “flyover country”, but they’re prepping people on the West Coast for the day that the major cities get a whole lot denser. It is well under way in Seattle and Portland, but CA and Prop. 9 will mean the 50s-era houses will simply have to wear out (90 years) before families will willingly give up the real estate within easy commuting distance of the business districts.
We have a Tiny House movement in Austin, but school quality in the ISD means that everyone moves to my neighborhood or further out as soon as the kids come along.
Tiny house, van life, settle for less, travel like a hobo with no fixed address….
n
This seems to be a reasonable account:
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/canada/nova-scotia-schooter-gabriel-wortman-had-a-domestic-dispute-with-girlfriend-before-going-on-a-killing-spree/wcm/267b86c3-75f4-4943-8d95-6dbbd156d1bd/
and the anti-male-hegemony responses have also started:
https://theconversation.com/lets-call-the-nova-scotia-mass-shooting-what-it-is-white-male-terrorism-136938
Heh. I wondered that too, back at the beginning when we couldn’t buy masks and the CDC was still telling us NOT to wear them. That advice made me real nervous. After reading as much as I could find, I chose to wear a 100% cotton bandana mask for personal use, despite the CDC saying not to wear any mask at all. Perhaps a double layer if I have concerns or am in an area where I can’t distance. I also am staying home, only making essential trips out. I’m no expert and not giving advice but here’s the info I based my personal decision on.
A quality bandana is made from similar type of fabric that autoclave wraps are made of: high thread count 100% cotton. Even under a challenge test, a single layer autoclave wrap will hold sterility for 3 days before a germ can get through. I figure it can hold up for the 15 or 20 minutes I am in the grocery store keeping my distance. Key is to remove & stow it safely, and launder it before using again, along with my other fabric clothing worn to the store.
A U of Edinburg challenge test found that a bandana/handkerchief blocked 28% of particles even smaller than coronavirus: 10 times smaller. They managed the challenge:
“by running a diesel generator (to mimic car exhaust) and piping the exhaust through different masks. They used a particle counter to see how many particles made it through the mask.” They also found that cycling masks are surprisingly good, more than 80%
I started from a recognition that for reasons, experts making recommendations for the public start by assuming non-compliance, so they exaggerate the steps/time/materials required as well as exaggerate the dangers. Second, challenge testing is what is used for official recommendations, and by definition challenge testing uses extreme circumstances to break the recommendation. That extreme then becomes the starting point for exaggerated expert recommendations. I understand why they do that, and generally follow their official line anyway, but for my own use in this case, there is no need to appease the liability insurance people.
Tiny house, van life, settle for less, travel like a hobo with no fixed address….
More like we all live in those 350 sq. ft. apartments like IKEA has mocked up in their stores over the last 5-10 years. Yeah, IKEA is in on the movement too.
The heirloom quality furniture stores like Haverty’s are done.
I knew the store had been around a long time, but the last time we took the Edison/Ford home tour in For Myers, the guide described how Haverty’s was involved in the restoration of the Ford house, the store still in possession of all the invoices from the family’s initial decoration of the house over 100 years ago.
New York State forced nursing homes to take patients from hospitals with SARS-COV-2 and residents got infected. Amazing ! What stupidity !
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/04/23/coronavirus-in-new-york-nursing-homes/
and
https://nypost.com/2020/04/22/forcing-nursing-homes-to-take-coronavirus-patients-is-just-insane-and-evil/
“She says short-staffing has lead to some residents not getting food or medications, but the nursing home administrator denies those allegations. The daughter says an outbreak began after patients were transferred there from New York Presbyterian Queens, though the hospital won’t confirm or comment.”
“New York State has more than 3,500 people in nursing homes and adult care facilities that have died, almost a quarter of the state’s total COVID fatalities.”
“The hardest-hit facility is the Cobble Hill Health Center in Brooklyn where 55 residents have died. There’s been more than 40 deaths in at least one facility in Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, and the Mary Manning Walsh Home in Manhattan has lost 32. ”
Sean Hannity was talking about this on his radio show. I did not believe him that NYS could be that stupid. I was wrong.
Missing after heart surgery reputedly
https://www.nationalreview.com/photos/cartoons-of-the-day-april-24-2020/#slide-1
Sound like his sister is a royal …
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kim-yo-jong-kim-jong-uns-kid-sister-cuts-loose
More like we all live in those 350 sq. ft. apartments like IKEA has mocked up in their stores over the last 5-10 years. Yeah, IKEA is in on the movement too.
I have not been in Ikea for a decade or two. Sounds like I did not miss much.
IKEA is overrated. Most of it is a step up from the knock-down furniture, like books shelves, I bought at K-Mart waaaay back in 1984.
Step up as in “better quality of particle board”.
Their glass and cookware looks decent. Perhaps a slight notch better than Wal-Mart. But I have all of that already. Neither sell anything like Salad Master for cookware.
I like to go look for ideas. At the same time, WTF happens if there is a fire? The place is like a fun-house maze minus the mirrors and strobe lights.
>”Most of the DIY masks I see out there are only good for keeping people from spraying their mucous when they sneeze.”
If they reduce the reach of the wearers’ exhalations, they might be worth wearing.
Step up as in “better quality of particle board”.
As we found out in the Great Flood of ’89, particle board is only one step behind books in soaking up one inch of water in the house. The water went up the particle board stereo and tv center over a foot. The water went up the stacks of books over two foot.
Oh. Glassware from Wal-Mart. A sister had drinking glasses from Wal-Mart. She, for some reason, got pissed off at her hubby and threw a glass at him. Missed by a hair. The glass just bounced….
Anchor Hocking. I think. I went and bought a box. Twelve each of 10 and 16 oz size. Or close. $3.96. So, figuring “too cheap to last”, I bought two boxes. And almost 30 years later I have lost all of four glasses to breakage.
A brand new case still sits on the shelf in the Feed Shed. 🙂
It’s plain to see you didn’t cram your book shelves tight enough.
Yes, books soak up a huge amount of water. When Mom’s house flooded an inch deep, and sat for like that for several months, the books soaked up enough water that the spines melted off. High humidity in Edinburg.
Wall mounted shelving, no floor contact.
Added: And where she left her bed with the blanket barely touching the floor? Wicked up and soaked the mattress. I hear the mushroom crop looked very impressive.
I bought one of them there new Sam’s Club Members Mark toilet paper cases for the office last week. 45 rolls for $18.46. I like it and recommend it. It is on par with the Charmin Soft. Maybe between the Charmin Soft and Charmin Strong.
https://www.samsclub.com/p/mm-bath-tissue-fq-45-roll-235-sheet/prod21231904
Like everybody else, no ordering online. You have to go to the Big Box and see if they have any. Limit 1.
Jeez it got hot out. Looks cool, shady, with a nice breeze. I’m panting.
I cut the grass in the back yard, moved some stuff in the driveway. Added dirt to the potatoes. Blew leaves and used the string trimmer in the back. Since I’m not letting the yard guys in the back, I had to do it. Joy. Lots of leaf mold.
Folded up a couple of tarps and put some stuff out for heavy trash day. I should put some more out there before they get here.
n
Jeez it got hot out. Looks cool, shady, with a nice breeze. I’m panting.
My truck showed 95 F a while ago when I grabbed some lunch from Subway.
“God Bless Brian Kemp”
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/04/24/god-bless-brian-kemp/
“RUSH: I just have to say, folks, God bless Brian Kemp. God bless him. The governor of Georgia is standing by his decision. I mean, he’s got everybody insulting him, everybody trying to tell him he’s the biggest boob and idiot in the country right now. And he’s standing by his decision to partially open his state, Georgia, today, with more openings on Monday.”
“RUSH: We need to do this. Oklahoma’s doing the same thing. We need to do this. Damn, do we need to do this. We need to have a counterbalance to the one-size-fits-all. And, you know, it’s fascinating what is happening in Georgia. You know, Governor Kemp is not mandating anybody do anything. If you own a nail salon or a tattoo parlor, you don’t have to open up. And, if you happen to be a customer, you want a manicure, you want a tattoo, you don’t have to go to a newly opened store. You can make up your own mind.”
I just want a decent haircut without going to somebody’s garage and worrying about SWAT coming in through the door arresting everyone. You may laugh, I almost did this last Tuesday but I chickened out.
IKEA is overrated. Most of it is a step up from the knock-down furniture, like books shelves, I bought at K-Mart waaaay back in 1984.
Step up as in “better quality of particle board”.
We have a lot of Kallax and the same shelf units’ previous incarnation.
When we lived in Vantucky, the store was 10 minutes from our house, at the edge of the Portland airport’s property. We watched the sample apartments start to shrink from 900 sq. ft to 350 over the course of four years as the Tiny House movement took hold in Portland.
Portland approved ADUs, Accessory Dwelling Units (essentially guest houses), below a certain sq footage in an effort to alleviate homelessness while the city broomed the single family house zoning, but the plan backfired when the homeowners, typically older and empty nesters, built the ADUs, moved into them, and rented out the big houses as Air BnBs for a source of retirement income.
And that’s a real shame. We bought new furniture in 2018. We wanted Mission/Craftsman style, with top grain leather. I went all over the place looking, and furniture sales people just shrugged their shoulders. My husband finally found a sofa on Etsy – company out of Chicago that builds to order out of solid wood. Shipping was cheap then and I think it is free now. They manage their own shipping; their guy messaged us as he got closer so we knew exactly when he was coming. When they got here, they unboxed it outside, carried it in (it does not come apart, not even the legs), set it up, took the packing away with them. The sofa is solid quartersawn oak, like the originals were. The whole thing surprised me, I never expected high quality furniture on Etsy, but there it is.
And that’s a real shame. We bought new furniture in 2018. We wanted Mission/Craftsman style, with top grain leather. I went all over the place looking, and furniture sales people just shrugged their shoulders. My husband finally found a sofa on Etsy – company out of Chicago that builds to order out of solid wood. Shipping was cheap then and I think it is free now. They manage their own shipping; their guy messaged us as he got closer so we knew exactly when he was coming. When they got here, they unboxed it outside, carried it in (it does not come apart, not even the legs), set it up, took the packing away with them. The sofa is solid quartersawn oak, like the originals were. The whole thing surprised me, I never expected high quality furniture on Etsy, but there it is.
Website ?
And that’s a real shame. We bought new furniture in 2018. We wanted Mission/Craftsman style, with top grain leather. I went all over the place looking, and furniture sales people just shrugged their shoulders.
We reupholstered our 20 year old sofa through a high quality local shop when we needed to do something about the big hole the movers punched through the upholstery in back and then tried to hide. The upholstery crew replaced worn cushions and reinforced the frame where necessary. The cost exceeded buying new, but the sofa will probably go another 20 years.
Domestic hand work is pricey regardless of trade.
Randall the Rat retiring?
(Look at the picture carefully. The union guys have inflatable rats for the picket lines for a reason.)
Not that Stankey is any better. He’s part of the PacBell crew who inspired “Dilbert”, and the TV services have been his trainwreck going back to the BellSouth buyout which brought the half-a**ed Uverse concept into the company.
Randall did break the unions 10 years ago, but he needed Steve Jobs help.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/24/att-ceo-randall-stephenson-to-step-down.html
I’m not sure I’d take that bent curve to the bank just yet. As of right now, (6:10 PM CDST) Worldometer is showing nearly 37,000 new cases, a new all time high for that number by a couple grand or so. Could be one of those glitches that occur every once in a while. If not, then that’s a problem for the Trump Team narrative. It’s also a problem for the rest of us, although one not wholly unexpected.
I’m not sure I’d take that bent curve to the bank just yet. As of right now, (6:10 PM CDST) Worldometer is showing nearly 37,000 new cases, a new all time high for that number by a couple grand or so. Could be one of those glitches that occur every once in a while. If not, then that’s a problem for the Trump Team narrative. It’s also a problem for the rest of us, although one not wholly unexpected.
There are more testing stations now. And this thing is not going away. Aesop is making a strong argument that the infection rate across the USA is only 4%. I think that it is closer to 15%, especially with the cities. Anyway, I think that the fatality rate is much lower than the 3% that Aesop is pedaling. If he is right though, we are hosed for the next year or five. Because there is not a vaccine coming soon as the first vaccine already failed its human trial. BTW, if you look at the logarithmic graph for the USA, we are leveling out.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
I am really unhappy with New York State putting infected people into the nursing homes. That seems almost intentional in stupidity. And a quarter of their deaths. People in nursing homes are already at deaths door, no need in pushing them over. We have my wife’s father in a nursing home, he has been locked down for over a month now. Even his girlfriend cannot go in to see him.
Speaking of those NY antibody studies:
https://twitter.com/MarkLevineNYC/status/1253473387948781568
There are more testing stations now. And this thing is not going away. Aesop is making a strong argument that the infection rate across the USA is only 4%. I think that it is closer to 15%, especially with the cities.
If H1N1 was 60 Million infections, then the rate was ~ 20%.
I expect at least that high of a rate in this case. The Wuxu Flu is more virulent.
The basic problem, as has been proven repeatedly, for various reasons, the sick are not going to stay home, even if they know they are sick. My wife has had two near miss exposures from infected medical professionals who know what was happening to them.
Lynn, here’s the company’s store on Etsy. The shop name is “DesignGallery005”. I’ve linked to the sofas, but they also make dining sets, side tables, bookcases, etc.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignGallery005?section_id=24427673
That’s smart, Greg. Can get a much higher quality fabric or leather going that route too.
That’s smart, Greg. Can get a much higher quality fabric or leather going that route too.
The upholsterer gave us a yardage estimate and we bought the fabric ourselves.
My son showed me this, “Operation Sea-Spray”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sea-Spray
“Operation Sea-Spray was a 1950 U.S. Navy secret experiment in which Serratia marcescens and Bacillus globigii bacteria were sprayed over the San Francisco Bay Area in California.”
“On October 11, 1950, eleven residents checked into Stanford Hospital for very rare, serious urinary tract infections. Although ten residents recovered, one patient, Edward J. Nevin, died three weeks later. None of the other hospitals in the city reported similar spikes in cases, and all 11 victims had urinary-tract infections following medical procedures, suggesting that the source of their infections lay inside the hospital.[1] Cases of pneumonia in San Francisco also increased after Serratia marcescens was released, though a causal relation has not been conclusively established.[4][5] The bacterium was also combined with phenol and an anthrax simulant and sprayed across south Dorset by US and UK military scientists as part of the DICE trials which ran from 1971 to 1975.[1][6]”
The mind boggles.
The mind boggles.
The current state of the Everglades is the result of a Corps. of Engineers brain fart which lasted decades.
Everything south of Gainesville in Florida always has been and always will be a swamp.
Lynn, here’s the company’s store on Etsy. The shop name is “DesignGallery005”. I’ve linked to the sofas, but they also make dining sets, side tables, bookcases, etc.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignGallery005?section_id=24427673
Thanks ! So that is mission style. Nice but not my taste.
My parents had their original couch and my dad’s lazyboy recliner recovered and rebuilt a couple of times. They were still in good shape when we moved mom out of the house, 50+ years after purchase.
There are several commercial stores that have Amish furniture in the name, and they act as agent/sellers for Amish communities. My kitchen table and chairs are Amish made, in Canadia. I bought them used at an estate sale and they are VERY solid. I spent $600 for the round table with leaf, and 6 chairs. I feel like I stole it.
IKEA has it’s place, and there are lines that are well designed and sturdy. Their office furniture is very nice (for flat pack) and sturdy. I’ve got a bunch in my home office. Their kitchen cabinets are nice too, but no one would call them ‘cheap’. Their bath lines can be very nice, but they are all sized to Euro standards. If you have a tiny bathroom you are remodeling, you would do well to see some of their 4/5th size stuff.
I ate in the store cafeteria many times while in Norway. Cheap and delicious.
In the US, I used to stop in the store at least once a week, get a $1 hot dog and a bag of chips, and go thru the As Is section. I got a lot of good fabric super cheap, some lamps, and some slabs of wood to be repurposed.
Since they got militant about banning guns, including permitted concealed carry, and FREAKING UNIFORMED COPS, I haven’t been back. There is nothing I need badly enough to give the Nazi bastards any more money. And, too many burkas. (call me whatever, islam is incompatible with western civ, and I hate to see the inroads they are making in the US and the EU.)
n
The mind boggles.
The son’s current theory is that SARS-COV-2 is the unweaponized version of the virus that the Chinese were going to weaponize. It got out accidentally after they isolated the virus. But before they made it more virulent. Way more virulent.
If that is the case, do the Chinese have the more virulent (weaponized) version finished ?
My son is the master of conspiracy theories. Eight years of the US Marines Corps did that to him.
Speaking of van life and hobos,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8253831/Coronavirus-Woman-lives-van-says-shower-pandemic.html
“Many of the parking lots where she used to stay have been closed, and the gyms and other public spaces that she used to shower have also been shut down ”
–when you coast along and take advantage of other people’s infrastructure, you might find yourself out in the cold when they get tired of it, you, or people like you, or something like CV comes along….
n
Had to hit Walmart this evening to pickup wife’s new prescription. While waiting for it to be filled I toured the store. No shortages I noticed. Lots and lots of TP and paper towels. Pallets full in the middle of aisles. Pharmacy looked well stocked too. 100 count boxes of latex gloves and cloth masks were available. Much more normal looking than when I visited a week ago. Aside from all the shoppers in masks, it looked normal.
Wandered into Costco earlier today (afternoon). Plenty of TP, paper towels, water, even bleach (3-packs). Limits on one each paper products. Looked like a full supply.
Checkout area had been re-vamped. There are fewer, along with lines on floor to maintain the silly ‘social distance’ requirements. Masks on all employees. Gloves/masks on those gathering carts. Sanitation stations at entrance.
Wasn’t too crowded for a Friday afternoon. About 40% shoppers masked. (I was in the 60%.). A quick checkout (lines were 1-2 people deep).
Went to the attached gas station ($2.07/gal regular). Gas pumps had ‘social distancing’. There are 8 lanes (one each side of pump row), and three pumps per row. Alternating pumps were in use; the others were blocked off. Three employees were wiping down pump handles and buttons after each transaction.
Then went to the local Safeway. Single entrance, cart wiping available, one-way aisles with markings on floor. Social distancing marks on checkout stands. Did the self-checkout, as only had a few items. Supplies seemed close to normal, but didn’t check deeply.
Then went to the BBQ place. Good stuff. No place to sit, of course, and order counter had the plastic shields. Sat in car in front until they brought out my order.
Used my own hand sanitizer throughout. Washed up at home before/after putting stuff away. Didn’t worry about clothes/shoes. Not that paranoid. YMMV.
I paid an ungodly sum to have a leather recliner reupholstered a couple years ago. I realized afterwards I could have gotten quotes from a carseat upholsterer and they probably might have come in much lower. Just a thought.
This is a damned peculiar zombie apocalypse…
n
This is a damned peculiar zombie apocalypse…
I keep on looking for the zombies. I think that they are all in their houses bingeing Netflix.
I don’t know why the stores are running out of 9mm. Ain’t no zombies to be found.
Speaking of van life and hobos,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8253831/Coronavirus-Woman-lives-van-says-shower-pandemic.html
“Many of the parking lots where she used to stay have been closed, and the gyms and other public spaces that she used to shower have also been shut down ”
–when you coast along and take advantage of other people’s infrastructure, you might find yourself out in the cold when they get tired of it, you, or people like you, or something like CV comes along….
I’d feel for her but, my son did not take a shower for six weeks on his first trip to Iraq. In that six weeks, he dug mortar pits, filled 2,000 lb sandbags, rode shotgun on 7 ton trucks driving across the desert carrying food, fuel, supplies, and water, guarded areas in armored Humvees without air conditioning (no opening windows), built hootches, installed armor on Humvees, guarded the camp, patrolled the village of Hit, Iraq, and burned trash. A lot of sweat. Oh yeah, helped pull a humvee, a 7 ton truck, and an Abrams tank out of a sinkhole between the main base and the town of Hit.
After about six weeks, he took a 24 bottle case of Nestles water (they had a ship full of those dock for them in Kuwait which they trucked across the desert), and took a bath with it, one bottle at a time. And then he washed his coveralls and underwear and put them all back on.
He told me this on the satellite phone and I mailed him a solar shower. He got it in about a month and took his second shower in Iraq. The solar shower was popular in his FOB (forward operating base) of 40 men on the Syrian border that he volunteered for.
My parents had their original couch and my dad’s lazyboy recliner recovered and rebuilt a couple of times. They were still in good shape when we moved mom out of the house, 50+ years after purchase.
Laz-Z-Boy recliners have reached the point where the cost of the hand work to recover them far exceeds buying one new unless you do the work yourself. The new mechanisms are still solidly made and the upholstery details so intricate that even they shop that recovered our couch suggested buying new when I asked if they work on the recliners.
The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been sequenced and the results show that it is related to other bat corona viruses with a natural mutation pattern. No signs of editing. Also, it’s not as virulent as the SARS-CoV-1 and MERS viruses.