Cool and maybe sunny? Windy and damp to a high degree of certainty. 50F when I went to bed.
Most of yesterday was sunny and windy in the 50s and 60s F. I half froze cleaning the leaves out of the pool 🙂
I got a bunch of little things done yesterday. Nothing worth writing home about, or indeed, writing here about.
I was tired and falling asleep in my chair all day. I got to bed late and didn’t sleep well. I am hoping today will be better.
Still planning to do mostly Halloween prep. I’ve got a few more things to put out, and the new stuff to pull together. Child two needs additional work on her CV costume. And all the normal stuff needs doin’…
So I better get going.
n
(use this time wisely, and keep stacking)
El Paso was locked down last night. Robert Francis home base.
Austin is sure to follow.
https://news.yahoo.com/el-paso-returning-to-coronavirus-lockdown-is-a-sign-of-more-to-come-105624453.html
I’ve never done business with them, but https://grabagun.com/sale.html has inventory of pistols and black rifles this morning. Prices are within the new normal.
n
France is back on lockdown too, until Dec.
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8895437/Coronavirus-France-Gridlock-thousands-try-flee-Paris-ahead-new-month-long-lockdown.html
How badly does this stink?
n
The election fun never stops in Broward.
Davie, too! I’ve stated here before that if you ever want to understand how the 2000 mess happened in Broward, I suggest doing a couple of hours of people watching on a Saturday afternoon at whatever grocery store currently occupies the space of the former Winn Dixie in the Emerald Hills plaza in Davie/Hollywood.
(Again, the pizza at DiSalvo’s in the parking lot is good. Get the garlic knots. Just don’t mind how the sweaty guy in the kitchen cleans his spatula.)
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/2020-election/fl-ne-voter-id-fraud-broward-florida-20201030-rfwqzhgfq5fypl4632dspgla7i-story.html
So as far as mainstream thought gets, it doesn’t get much more mainstream than walmart….
n
And I’d like to point out that
Violence on election day is some third world bullsh!t. STILL think we aren’t on the downward path?
n
OK, small world….
This guy was my roommate one summer!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8892981/Florida-man-mauled-black-leopard-paying-body-experience.html
n
(The accused, not the attacked.)
This is more reporting on the story from earlier
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/houston-judge-election-staff-accused-voter-fraud-retired-cop/
n
OK, small world….
This guy was my roommate one summer!
Another story out of Davie.
I watched Davie change from sleepy rural town on the edge of the swamps to Miami/Fort Lauderdale suburb in the space of a couple of years in the early 90s.
Our company has to have a safety minute at the start of every meeting. Our unit director has a weekly meeting, so of course he has to have one. A “volunteer” is drafted every week. This week’s volunteer did a presentation on how to change a light bulb safely. Thank merciful Zeus that I am attending the meeting via Teams, so I can mute and make all the snarky comments I want.
As more info comes out on this dirtbag, the more the media bury it. Quite disgusting. It is evident Plugs is covering for his son. Wake up sheeple! Even if you hate ORANGE MAN, look at what journalism has become. What else are they burying?
Our company has to have a safety minute at the start of every meeting. Our unit director has a weekly meeting, so of course he has to have one. A “volunteer” is drafted every week. This week’s volunteer did a presentation on how to change a light bulb safely. Thank merciful Zeus that I am attending the meeting via Teams, so I can mute and make all the snarky comments I want.
My last employer had a full-time Health & Safety officer since the company was, effectively, a specialized civil engineering contractor. The guy was a major germ-o-phobe/hypochondriac, and once Covid started in Austin, he went full on “Dwight Shrute”, with a really draconian set of rules involving a lot of hand washing and sanitizer for anyone who dared to show up in the office, far beyond anything at more “woke” companies in the complex.
I’m tired.
“What else are they burying? ”
–exactly. when you look at all the pedos we KNOW about, that screwed up bad enough that even their connections couldn’t keep them out of jail, stuff like pizzagate seems more and more likely.
Weiner- husband of the second or third most powerful woman in DC
Epstein- host to and [probably] blackmailer of world leaders
Hunter-
Scieorececcyee Kennedy – suicide, posted that she’d been molested by a family member
Clinton foundation haitian orphanage bosses- busted for child trafficking
How many others?
n
Scanner has El Paso/Laredo cops working a barricaded shooter with a long gun, taking shots out the window at cops. They’ve called for the Bearcat APC to be brought up.
n
cops are saying they are “pinned down” and taking multiple shots. Nothing on the news… no one is sounding very excited considering the circumstances. I wonder if it’s a training exercise? Sounds real though.
HA! Synchronicity. Just last night coming home from my daughter’s wife say, ‘I’m tired’. Me, ‘Let’s face it, everything from the waist down is kaput’.
MTF or FTM?
I’m lonely
I did a “Task Safety Analysis” (required before ever task) for a major oil company about using the bathroom.
That place is dangerous. Slip and fall, chemical burns in eye from the soap spray, biohazard exposure, burns from hot water….
n
(my client was not amused. of course, I did it because I wasn’t amused by every wannabe jackboot being turned loose from their safety training class down the hall and sent out to issue warnings to contractors. I once told the jackboot at conoco that I could either do the compliance or the work, his choice, but I had a Dr’s note exempting me from the hard hat requirement (in an office environment).)
I thought there was an “I’m tired” scene in Falling Down, but I just spent a half hour looking for it and didn’t find one.
n
Scanner has gone silent, which usually means a kinetic ending to whatever situation was being monitored (as they all move to ‘tactical’ channels).
Last traffic was where to position the ‘marksman’ so he’d have a clear shot, and that they couldn’t let the guy keep taking shots at them.
n
From one of my newsletters–
Whole report, worth a readthru
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/cidrap-covid19-viewpoint-part6.pdf
n
From yesterday,
Seeing was decent, so i took the opportunity to use the 3” refractor and an Orion zoom (7-21mm) someone had recommended. A far cry from the horrible horrible zooms of the 1980s. i’ll have to compare it against a decent fixed focal length plossl, but it’s good enough for casual viewing.
@ed, I was an amateur astronomer in high school, and now live where the air is almost always clear. We also have excellent daytime visibility of the valley, about 5 miles in diameter, with distant mountains 100 miles away often visible. I have experimented with various binoculars and spotting scopes over the years, but have not bought anything recently.
Step with me for a few moments into my imaginary system design world. I have thought about getting a PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) color security camera that I could mount outside and control from the comfort of my office. No more freezing for me! It would be connected to a computer with a nice display, and I could simply tap a button to take a picture or video, recorded on the computer. It would have good low light and zoom capability for day and night terrestrial views, and good enough low light capability for occasional astronomical use. This would not be a full time surveillance camera, just something I could use to view the world around me when I want. Parts of this design already exist, but I have not seen anything someone has already done. I don’t want to build or program anything. At this point in my life, I am less interested in cost and more interested in plug and play. Less time spent getting it to work means more time enjoying it.
A few years ago, getting the parts would have cost thousands, and would have required integration, but that might be changing. Recently, I think I could get the camera for something just under a thousand. That wuld be a good start. Progress, but haven’t looked in a while. Time is on my side.
Now back to reality. Any thoughts from anyone here?
@jimb, you can get an 8mpx surveillance camera with really good IR capability for under $300.
You can get industrial camera bodies with large imagers and all kinds of performance for small money, especially used on ebay.
Pair either one with a telescope or better lens, protect and mount on a Pelco or other PTZ mount, and you are good to go if you want a project. Try searching for microscope camera…
n
If anyone here has responsibility for network security of a healthcare facility, you should have received an update email from .gov…. regarding a new and imminent threat from Ransomware…. that was not for general release.
n
Hydroxychloroquine use is up 20x.
But everyone KNOWS (including a Dr friend of mine) that hydroxychloroquine doesn’t work.
It seems like the actual frontline doctors have a different opinion.
See Krebs on Security article: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/10/fbi-dhs-hhs-warn-of-imminent-credible-ransomware-threat-against-u-s-hospitals/ , posted on Wed. Some comments have other links. And some knee-jerk reactions.
Also saw some general news articles about it.
I wish every god-damned computer at UWash medical center crashed. Friggin’ doctors spend all their time staring at a screen and documenting crap to cover their asses for legal upstairs that the patient’s well-being is secondary.
/rant
And why the hell can’t they hire switchboard operators?
/rant
Ahhh, that feels bettter. 🙂
I would also check the temperature range for the camera if it is outdoors.
“California threatens to arrest 12 year old for missing three Zoom classes”
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/california-threatens-to-arrest-12-year-old-for-missing-three-zoom-classes-29184/
Why is anyone still living in California ?
I did a “Task Safety Analysis” (required before ever task) for a major oil company about using the bathroom.
That place is dangerous. Slip and fall, chemical burns in eye from the soap spray, biohazard exposure, burns from hot water….
n
(my client was not amused. of course, I did it because I wasn’t amused by every wannabe jackboot being turned loose from their safety training class down the hall and sent out to issue warnings to contractors. I once told the jackboot at conoco that I could either do the compliance or the work, his choice, but I had a Dr’s note exempting me from the hard hat requirement (in an office environment).)
After working at a facility with the Safety Coordinator drinking a fifth of vodka in his office for lunch EVERY day for three years, if I have to choose a side, I choose the overreaching side of safety. We had 65 people and accidents all the time at that plant. Our company had 16,000 people total and deaths every year I worked there.
Later, I worked at one of our plants in Rockdale, Texas for month. The week after I left three men were killed in a METAL boat while working on an electric motor in the plant cooling water lake. I guess they could not see that one coming.
Some of those drugs have been in short supply for years. Some are no doubt short due to lack of precursor chemicals, especially from China.
Every prescription label I have tells me who made the drug. Now, the precursors may have been from elsewhere, but the drug manufacturer is on the label. A lot of generics come from India and Israel, btw.
This article mentions the three best antibiotics to stockpile are:
∙ Cephalexin (aka Keflex)
∙ Ciprofloxacin (aka Cipro)
∙ Metronidazole (aka Flagyl)
Those “3 antibiotics will cover 90% of the common bacterial infections.”
Someone with more knowledge of such things should probably weigh-in. This is one of those subject areas RBT was great at.
I learned on a “three on the tree ” on my Dad’s 1969 Pontiac Stratochief (well, bottom of the line Pontiac – this was happening already in 1969). For floor shift patterns, Audi/VW put reverse to the left of 1st gear. Mazda put reverse where 6th gear would be (it was a 5 speed) with a push down IIRC. Either makes sense as being out of the normal progression and so unlikely for you shift into reverse at speed and blow up the transmission
Driving my friends Citrean sedan with 4 plus reverse on the column was interesting. Hitting the two middle gears was an learned exercise in frustration.
If anyone here has responsibility for network security of a healthcare facility, you should have received an update email from .gov…. regarding a new and imminent threat from Ransomware…. that was not for general release.
My new job is back in security, working on a box that sits on a network and monitors the data streams for patterns indicating malware, virus problems, etc. C++ because of the speed required.
Though, I may be a bit of a hypocrite taking the job. I’ve always viewed malware and virus problems as a sign of poor user education and enforcement of company policy about computer resources, particularly regarding pr0n on laptops, either at home or behind closed office doors.
The latter is the worst. C-suite execs. Wall Street. I didn’t know about TeamViewer and the submissive crowd in the finance industry visiting the dominatrix on their lunch hour until I had to install that application for work at the last job.
Some things I’d just rather not know.
Medical industry. That’s the most vulnerable. Doctors are mostly clueless about computers, and a lot of nurses have an attitude that I can’t even begin to understand where it originates.
Why is anyone still living in California ?
Draw a circle with a 100 mile radius centered at either Union Square in San Francisco or The Orange Circle near Anaheim, and what you have access to within easy driving distance is unparalleled. Plus the weather is generally nice. The whole world wants to live there for a reason, particularly Mainland Chinese.
Some of those drugs have been in short supply for years. Some are no doubt short due to lack of precursor chemicals, especially from China.
Excedrin was in short supply going back well before Covid, and it is simply aspirin with caffeine.
@Chad – approved your comment.
Although it probably wasn’t the number of URLs (you are allowed up to 4), but the medical names and links. Those are very common in spam, and Akismet probably blocked it due to those names/links.
I wish every god-damned computer at UWash medical center crashed. Friggin’ doctors spend all their time staring at a screen and documenting crap to cover their asses for legal upstairs that the patient’s well-being is secondary.
Below the provider, the IQs/education levels in a typical doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital fall off really fast, creating a high probability that someone will do something stupid, endangering patients’ health or even lives. Doctors have no choice about documentation if they don’t want to be sued.
My wife got sued once as a result of her mental midget MA in Florida failing to document a phone call properly. $1 million settlement. Plus the MA *kept her job*.
Yah. Not only network monitoring but the stuff on hard drives. From time to time I’m asked to recover data from a computer which won’t boot Windows anymore,* for work or for an acquaintance. “I want all of the saved images, but don’t look at them, OK?” Really, I don’t want to know what sites you surf during your lunch break and I really don’t want to know what your wife looks like naked.
* That’s how I got the laptop I use now, in fact. A friend-of-a-friend had already gotten a new computer and just wanted her documents and such recovered. I did that for her, wiped the drive, and now have a Linux box. I don’t know the last time I bought myself a computer.** I just refurb borked Windows machines, and a laptop which is marginal in Windows runs just fine with Linux.
** Well, I do, in fact. Last year I bought myself a really sweet laptop. And found that most of its features don’t work in Linux. After extensive foul language, my daughter got a really sweet Windows laptop.
@Greg
Congrats on the new job. IT Security was among my responsbilities in my job at a local government agency in CA. Fun stuff. I established required anti-virus, web-blocking software, and OS updates requirements org-wide. Took a bit of effort to get that done. (This was back in the 1990-2010 years.)
I used the Internet Storm Center and SANS as a resource. There’s some good policies/recommendations there. Which you probably already know. The “Top 20” protections they recommend are a really good start at how to protect an organization.
….If you can get management to pay for things. Often, they don’t want to spend the money until after a breach. But there are many stories you can tell them about after-hack costs that could have been much smaller if they had done prevention.
This article mentions the three best antibiotics to stockpile are:
…
Those “3 antibiotics will cover 90% of the common bacterial infections.”
Someone with more knowledge of such things should probably weigh-in. This is one of those subject areas RBT was great at.
Cipro is not a drug to be trifled with, and Keflex isn’t something the medical community believes the general public should have uncontrolled access to because resistance issues have made it the last line of defense against certain common bacteria.
While in general I would agree, when the shit has hit the fan, my concern for broader, longer-term issues is much lower than my concern for my own needs.
“While in general I would agree, when the shit has hit the fan, my concern for broader, longer-term issues is much lower than my concern for my own needs. ”
–file this under “their goals may not be YOUR goals. You want to get better quickly. They want you to get better eventually, with a whole raft of things they also want stuffed in there
WRT side effects, if you’ve had it before without problems, I wouldn’t worry about taking it again, but that’s just me and def not medical advice. Also, the side effect of a serious infection grid down is death. Roll the dice or sure thing? I want to at least have the choice.
From a prepping standpoint, better to have them secured for your use and then take them under direction of medical professional than to not have them available because you’re afraid you might misuse them in some hypothetical future.
Aesop has written thousands of words on medical prepping issues. https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/
RBT talked about ABs several times, use the medical tag or search for antibiotic on the site.
n
Cipro is not a drug to be trifled with, and Keflex isn’t something the medical community believes the general public should have uncontrolled access to because resistance issues have made it the last line of defense against certain common bacteria.
For those who are not allergic to Keflex. I screwed up and took it twice. The reaction the second time taught me a lesson. Then my doctor ripped me a new one.
Oh, yeah, Baby Yoda 2 is out incase you didn’t notice.
Doctor’s don’t know you’re allergic to a particular antibiotic either. Basically, they prescribe it. You have an allergic reaction. They note it in your records (you make a mental note) and they prescribe something different. Not much worse than you have some in a stockpile, using it, reacting poorly, then saying “F that stuff. I’ll try one of the others.” 🙂 I suppose there is a chance of your allergic reaction being severe/deadly, but that exists today too and doctors don’t currently make you wait under observation for an hour after you swallow your first dose of an antibiotic that’s new to you.
I would imagine in a SHTF situation that certain things you may have taken antibiotics for previously you just learn to suffer through. Sinus infections come to mind. Antibiotics would be reserved for preservation of life or limb. In which case, the risk of taking it without professional medical supervision is smaller than the certainty of not taking it.
I should note that stockpiling antibiotics is for prepping for the aforementioned SHTF scenario. It’s not for playing doctor during “normal” times because you’re either too cheap or too antisocial to seek out a professional.
Copy that! I’m about 10 miles SW of The Orange Circle near Anaheim. Also, about 1 1/2 miles inland from the ocean. I’m not leaving…..only possible tsunami worries me as my house is at sea level with only a 20 ft berm between.
Hey, now, don’t be hatin’ on us!
@JimB:
I think it’s easily doable now. Any Modern (10yo or less) Meade or Celestron comes with electronic PT (Z probably not) built in – some literally have NO manual slewing controls. A lot of the astrophotographers use a remote “warm room” or their house to control from.
It’s not my thing – I want a hobby that doesn’t involve computers for a change – but probably quite feasible and not expensive. Used Meade ETXs start below $100.
I think the enclosure would be a possibly be an obstacle – telescopes aren’t usually made to be weatherproof or be in direct sun 365.
Not sure about IR through a SCT type scope either.
That’s ok Slim. When the big one comes and the western side of the San Andreas fault slides under the Pacific I plan on having beach front property. (not to mention the improvement in the state government when all those blue districts are gone)
I retired last year from head of IT security at a UK based medical device manufacturer after working almost 30 years in data & network security. After a MAJOR compromise by Chinese Army hackers, the board finally gave us a budget to implement basic security. But, as noted here, the user is the biggest security hole. We got management to agree to complex passwords after claiming for years that 6 characters was all a user could remember. So the users selected a good complex password to pass our Windows requirements. Then, because it was difficult to remember, promptly changed the passwords on ALL their on-line accounts to the new work password. Thus, when a gamer site or photo sharing service was hacked, the hackers had valid passwords to ALL the users accounts from banking to our payroll network. We tried education but VPs feel they are above all that. We were installing Azure as a global access & identity service when I left.
We now have the 4 ton a/c and heat system in the house zoned. The two zones are the master suite and the other three bedrooms. Works great ! The only thing better would be if we could have added a third system but we did not have the attic room available. The 3 ton A/C system for the common areas was not changed.
The cost was $2,730. Three guys did the new duct work (we put air jumpers in the three bedrooms plus the three air duct dampers and the computer and the second thermostat).
So, this weekend:
1. full moon
2. time fall back
3. the end of early voting
4. and the federal election finishes on Tuesday
What could go wrong ?
Been there, done that. When I was running EU server ops for MCI, we were constantly running into limits on users network allocated space. Adding gigabytes was VERY expensive back then, so I started a review of what people were storing. The UK and German users had pirate music and mostly family photos but the Amsterdam users had the most eclectic and graphic porn I’ve run into. Much of it was clearly illegal, so my team freed gigabytes of space. Then I got a call from corporate legal. It seems that the stuff Amsterdam users were keeping on their “private” network drives didn’t violate policy because it was all legal in their jurisdiction so we had to restore all of it or face legal action. I took it to the EU CIO who told me in writing to put it back.
Not just a full moon, a blue moon.
@lynn
This year, it could be anything.
“Von Greyerz: “Get Ready For The Biggest Collapse In Human History””
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/von-greyerz-get-ready-biggest-collapse-human-history
“Get ready for the biggest collapse in the history of mankind. It will be devastating and reach all parts of society, economic, financial, political & social.”
“But wait, it won’t happen just yet. Because before that the world will experience a LIFTOFF in markets of gigantic proportions. This will be the grand finale of this financial era. It will involve inflationary liquidity injections of proportions never seen before in history and lead to a massive explosion in many asset markets.”
“Most investment assets will benefit as the disconnect between markets and reality grows to distortionary proportions.”
Well, that is the height of despair.
When Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for _Gravity_, she went to Donna Karan to have a sexy dress designed for the awards show. She wanted it cut low to show off her assets and when Donna asked how low, she replied, “About the height of dis pair.”
The head a/c tech was wearing an awesome single LED headlamp today in the attic. Did I mention it was awsome ? This was close to it. 4 or 5 hours on the rechargeable battery.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6BI87C/?tag=ttgnet-20
“Joe Biden Wants to Jail Oil Executives for Causing Climate Change”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/10/29/breitbart-joe-biden-wants-to-jail-climate-deniers-and-oil-execs/
I want to jail Joe Biden for selling the USA to the Chinese for personal profit.
I want to jail Joe Biden…
in a multi-generational family suite right next to the Clintons.
“The Best Fantasy Books of 2020”
https://fantasybookworld.com/the-best-fantasy-books-of-2020/
I am zero for 23.
Got a projector down from the attic to use for Halloween. The plastic has become so brittle the handle fell out and I dropped it one foot to carpet. The whole case blew apart. So I used packing tape to put it back together. Works great and I’m getting a way better effect than I’d hoped for a WHOLE lot less work. Happy accident. When it burns up, I’ll get another projector out. (I’ve now got the eye of Sauron 3ft high in my dining room window. It’s COOL.)
I listened to one of Trump’s speeches while driving around today. Sounded good to me.
n
“23 Best Climate Change Science Fiction Books”
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-climate-change-science-fiction-books/
I have read the “State of Fear” by Michael Crichton. 1 out of 23.
@Mark W
“Hydroxychloroquine use is up 20x.
But everyone KNOWS (including a Dr friend of mine) that hydroxychloroquine doesn’t work.
It seems like the actual frontline doctors have a different opinion. “
I’d contribute to the development of a non-contact drug test that could be applied to every one of the 538 as they enter the chamber for the SotU address in January if the results could be shown in something approaching real time.
Zero for me.
Novik and Clarke are good writers, I recognize one or two others.
Hey Rick! did you add a disambiguator for acronyms?? I’ve never noticed the double underline before in comments here. TEOTWAWKI isn’t there but SHTF is… I wonder about TANSTAAFL? or DILIGAF.
n
Huh, mine didn’t do it but Chad’s post upthread did.
Zero for me also. Surprised Fallen Angels not on the list. Well, as it’s about a coming ice age not warming and breaks the editors preferred narrative, maybe I’m not sur.
Best Climate change novels???
Heavy Weather
by Bruce Sterling — really good. Some very uncomfortable moments, strong sexual situations, but I have read and re-read several times.
Windup Girl== I’ve expressed myself on this piece of krep many times. Avoid.
n
Best Climate change novels???
Heavy Weather
by Bruce Sterling — really good. Some very uncomfortable moments, strong sexual situations, but I have read and re-read several times.
Windup Girl== I’ve expressed myself on this piece of krep many times. Avoid.
n
_The Last Centurion_ by John Ringo
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Centurion-John-Ringo/dp/1439132917/?tag=ttgnet-20
_Fallen Angels_ by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Michael FLynn
https://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Larry-Niven/dp/067172052X/?tag=ttgnet-20
_Red Mars (Mars Trilogy)_ by Kim Stanley Robinson
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Mars-Trilogy-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0553560735/
Best Climate change novels???
Heavy Weather
by Bruce Sterling — really good. Some very uncomfortable moments, strong sexual situations, but I have read and re-read several times.
Windup Girl== I’ve expressed myself on this piece of krep many times. Avoid.
n
_Flood_ by Stephen Baxter
https://www.amazon.com/Flood-Stephen-Baxter/dp/B008NV6X5O/?tag=ttgnet-20
_Stone Spring: The Northland Trilogy_ by Stephen Baxter
https://www.amazon.com/Stone-Spring-Stephen-Baxter/dp/B008MMIX5M/?tag=ttgnet-20