Thur. Dec. 31, 2020 – New Year’s Eve

By on December 31st, 2020 in culture, decline and fall, personal

Cool and wet again, maybe.

Certainly rained most of yesterday.  The ground is saturated.  I have standing water in my yard.

I got some very small things done, but had a very late start.  Felt good to sleep though, after staying up way too late.

Today I’m supposed to be able to take some stuff to one of my local auctions.    I’ll do that on the way to my rent house, where my tenants have managed to twist the handles off the new shower valves.  I think they are just cranking the everloving heck out of them.  The knobs and the valve stems were new.  If they normally fail in a couple of weeks, I think Home Depot might complain to the vendor about the returns.  Therefore, I think it’s operator error.  If the stems aren’t ruined, I’ll replace the knobs again, and epoxy the freaking things in place.  I know you only need finger tight to shut the valves off, I checked when I installed the new ones.  An uncomfortable conversation with the tenants is in my future.

The year is finally nearly over.  It’s NOT that I expect 2021 to be better, in fact I expect it to be worse in almost every way.   It’s that I would like to see the clean break of the year change.  It’s POSSIBLE that will have a positive effect on at least some people.  A lot of the baggage of the year will be behind us too with the date change.  It’s superstitious, and somewhat silly, but that describes most people too.  FWIW, this will be the first year I’m not anxious about a terror attack on Times Square.  That’s gotta be a blessing.

No matter what happens with the presidential election, I expect politics in 2021 to be INSANE.  Half the people will feel cheated and disenfranchised.  Violence is almost certain to increase.  It’s much easier to destroy than to create, and some things once damaged, can’t be fixed.   Yeah, it’s possible we’ll end up replacing stuff with totally new ideas, execution, or tech, but I’m rating that lower than a meteor strike or aliens revealing themselves.  You need optimism and prosperity for those sorts of changes.  What you get from anger and desperation is a whole lot uglier.  Add that we have historically gotten ourselves out of similar fixes with massive wars, well, the future I’m preparing for isn’t bright.

It is possible to get through it though.  There are still Jews in Germany.  There are Romans in Rome.  There are good ol’ boys in the South.  Norway and Finland survived WWII as did the UK.  Almost everyone BUT the US was impoverished by it and disheartened for a couple of generations though.

In any case, I want to get myself and my loved ones through the trouble I think is coming.  Skills, connections, and stuff should all help with that.  So I’m stacking.  You should too.

nick

87 Comments and discussion on "Thur. Dec. 31, 2020 – New Year’s Eve"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    My husband recently recovered from COVID. He caught it in the nursing home the next county over. He had a rough time, but they were able to treat him there on their isolation wing, and he didn’t have to go to the hospital. The nurses told me they believe they have a less deadly strain of the illness. On the other hand, a local friend of ours, younger than me, died of COVID this past week. Completely unexpected.

    @Pecancorner – Sorry to hear about your husband. When I first saw the post, I assumed that he worked at a nursing home. It didn’t occur to me that he was a resident.

    Good to hear that he’s on the mend, though.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    If they normally fail in a couple of weeks, I think Home Depot might complain to the vendor about the returns. Therefore, I think it’s operator error. If the stems aren’t ruined, I’ll replace the knobs again, and epoxy the freaking things in place.

    I just saw a story about Home Depot recalling ~100-200,000 ceiling fans because the blades might fly off under normal operation.

    The last time I returned something at that place, I noticed a sign requesting that customers delay returns as long as possible due to the pandemic affecting operations.

  3. Pecancorner says:

    Are you able to visit your husband in the nursing home or are they still locked down ? We did not see my father-in-law from March 14 ??? until Sept 1st or so when my wife had them take him to the hospital.

    @Lynn, A couple weeks before their first case, they had started trying to open up somewhat with an in-person visit protocol: they created a ‘clean room’, by appointment and after much screening & signing of forms, using PPE they provided, one caregiver could visit in person. It was a good thing: we got 3 visits in November. I took the clippers and gave him a haircut (with the lock-down, even barbers can’t go in).

    He went in straight from the hospital in mid-Sept, and will come back home as soon as I can take care of him again.

    COVID is making its way through the staff, too, so the staff are working long hours, others working from home while in quarantine or positive themselves, and quite a few temporaries coming in.

    @Greg, Thanks! He’ll be home again, hopefully sooner than later!

  4. Greg Norton says:

    No matter what happens with the presidential election, I expect politics in 2021 to be INSANE. Half the people will feel cheated and disenfranchised.

    No one has a mandate to do anything. The suburban Dem female voters living outside DC and the tech hubs voted for status quo … but without Trump …

    Here’s the thing. Trump. I’m just sayin’.

  5. Pecancorner says:

    managed to twist the handles off the new shower valves. I think they are just cranking the everloving heck out of them.

    We’ve had problems with bath valve handles in recent years. The gear part is made of some amalgam that does not hold up to ordinary use. We’ve had a couple that acted like child-proof caps and had to “push down and turn” and hope the moon is in the right phase. Wasn’t after two weeks, but was after only a few months that they acted up. I wish we could still find fixture parts made of brass. Like so many Made In China things, the outside looks solid and good, but there will be one inner hidden essential little connection or part that is brittle.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    I wish we could still find fixture parts made of brass. Like so many Made In China things, the outside looks solid and good, but there will be one inner hidden essential little connection or part that is brittle.

    The last time I replaced an outside spigot, I bypassed Home Depot and Lowe’s, opting for a plumbing store in Belton, near where I worked at the time. That fixture has held up well.

  7. Ray Thompson says:

    I did not think things could get worse. I was wrong. I now understand why some animals eat their young. ‘Nuff said.

  8. SteveF says:

    I did not think things could get worse. I was wrong.

    Sympathies. Can you distract yourself for a while by watching nature documentaries … of animals eating their young?

    I bypassed Home Depot and Lowe’s, opting for a plumbing store

    They’re more expensive and a lot less convenient, but that’s good advice. The plumbing supply store I used to go to is closed now. The owner, who’d been a master plumber since before I was born, died and his sons just weren’t up to keeping the place running.

  9. ech says:

    I had to visit the dentist yesterday, as a crown came off. He had HEPA air filters in each treatment room. I had to sign a waiver, affirm that I had no symptoms or been out of the US in the last 2 weeks, and have my temperature taken. The staff were wearing N95s. He had HEPA air filters in each treatment room. He and his hygienist got dose one of the COVID vaccine 3 days ago (he had a sore arm for one day) and the rest of the staff next week. I’ll be back next week for a new crown.

  10. dkreck says:

    Rain this morning. Light, but cold and wet.
    The best part
    http://www.altasierra.com/index.php/web_cams/

  11. SteveF says:

    One of my crowns came off in late March, right after Andrew “I Sniff Sheep Bottoms” Cuomo put in the order to shut down all businesses (except large corporations who lean reliably left). I’ve been unable to get the damned thing recemented because my dentist has permanently shut his doors (he was close to retirement anyway and this was the final straw) and I haven’t been able to find a practice who will take a non-patient for this “under the current circumstances” because it’s not an emergency.

  12. Mark W says:

    like we’re doing with all those old and worn out burdens on society we have warehoused in care homes?

    A few months after I moved here 20+ years ago, I noticed that. No one else thought it was strange, probably because they are accustomed to it. Very different from the UK in the same decade.

  13. Mark W says:

    I feel much better about the vaccine thanks to @Ech’s link last week (I think?).

    I also read this: https://berthub.eu/amazing-dna/ – the similarities to computers are fascinating.

    I’ll be getting the vaccine asap.

    The Bexar county judge was on TV last night talking about his vaccine experience. He said he took it to prove to us “that it’s safe and effective”. I’m curious how he thinks he demonstrated those.

  14. JimB says:

    You guys know there is do-it-yourself crown cement for emergencies, don’t you? My dentist gave me some at different times in anticipation of overseas travel. Never needed it.

    One kind was a two part epoxy, with instructions to thoroughly dry the area before application. The newer stuff is one part, and the instructions say it is compatible with moisture, so it might be urethane. Probably could buy it at usual sources.

  15. Greg Norton says:

    One of my crowns came off in late March, right after Andrew “I Sniff Sheep Bottoms” Cuomo put in the order to shut down all businesses (except large corporations who lean reliably left). I’ve been unable to get the damned thing recemented because my dentist has permanently shut his doors (he was close to retirement anyway and this was the final straw) and I haven’t been able to find a practice who will take a non-patient for this “under the current circumstances” because it’s not an emergency.

    Dentists in Texas are open.

  16. Greg Norton says:

    Yesterday’s adventure in retail was customer service at Dillard’s to return a Christmas gift.

    A large rolling bin behind the counter held a large quantity of what looked like high end handbags, most likely purchased online and returned to the store.

  17. Ray Thompson says:

    He said he took it to prove to us “that it’s safe and effective”.

    Uh, no. He took it to jump to the front of the line. Same as the rest of the arsehole politicians who think they are valuable. An excuse, nothing more. Just lording themselves over us mere serfs. They are useless cretins.

  18. Greg Norton says:

    The Bexar county judge was on TV last night talking about his vaccine experience. He said he took it to prove to us “that it’s safe and effective”. I’m curious how he thinks he demonstrated those.

    TV isn’t a courtroom. You assume that he actually got the vaccine. Bexar and Travis are Prog Central

    And no one in Williamson County believes a thing out of our Judge’s mouth anymore. He’s a RINO, however.

    I doubt he could order a lockdown even if it was truly necessary.

  19. Greg Norton says:

    ‘He said he took it to prove to us “that it’s safe and effective”.’

    Uh, no. He took it to jump to the front of the line. Same as the rest of the arsehole politicians who think they are valuable. An excuse, nothing more. Just lording themselves over us mere serfs. They are useless cretins.

    They will have to jump to the front of the line again for the follow up dose for the shot to truly be effective. That is, if they are really getting the shots.

    My wife received an email last night from the hospital where she rounds once a month, suggesting that, if she was interested in being vacccinated, she should start the shot sequence now to avoid being in a situation where the follow up dose isn’t available when the time comes.

  20. CowboySlim says:

    My dentist is open here in Huntington Beach.

  21. ~jim says:

    A useful analysis tool is “what would be different?”

    @SteveF
    I find this intriguing, along the lines of “At whose expense?” but I’m liable to forget it. Might me help if you pointed out some examples occasionally, until it sinks in.

  22. Nick Flandrey says:

    Our whole family saw our dentist a couple of weeks ago for semi-annual maintenance.

    And of course I chipped a tooth yesterday. Not bad, just a tiny corner on front center bottom tooth. I’ll live with it for a while until she can fit me in. It’s just a bit of rough spot. If I had to, I’d hit it with a diamond hone and smooth it myself, but I want to leave it rough so there’s some ‘tooth’ for any repair to stick to. 😉

    One minute I was enjoying beef jerky, the next I was spitting out grit.

    I have a whole pouch of temp dental stuff, from wax and clove oil to sharp pokey things. No pliers though. Nor chisels, nor hammers.

    n

  23. Nick Flandrey says:

    high end handbags, most likely purchased online and returned to the store.

    not a good sign. That’s a way to ‘cash advance’ your store card. You know, when the checking account is empty, and your other cards are all maxed…. Not good at all.

    n

  24. Lynn says:


    There are more reasons for the show than for actually getting it, considering no one at that level has died from chinaflu

    A congresscritter elect from LA died yesterday from COVID.

    He died from a heart attack with a procedure done while he had the covid. So he was in the with covid column, not the from covid column.

    Having had two heart attacks, they can be quite strenuous on your body. I took an entire week off from work for the first heart attack. The second, just three days.

  25. Lynn says:

    One of my crowns came off in late March, right after Andrew “I Sniff Sheep Bottoms” Cuomo put in the order to shut down all businesses (except large corporations who lean reliably left). I’ve been unable to get the damned thing recemented because my dentist has permanently shut his doors (he was close to retirement anyway and this was the final straw) and I haven’t been able to find a practice who will take a non-patient for this “under the current circumstances” because it’s not an emergency.

    That is how I got my first root canal at age 20. It was such a pleasant experience that I am hoping the second will not be necessary until after I die.

  26. Nick Flandrey says:

    “after I die. ”

    –they’ll be digging out your gold fillings….

    n

  27. Greg Norton says:

    “high end handbags, most likely purchased online and returned to the store. ”

    not a good sign. That’s a way to ‘cash advance’ your store card. You know, when the checking account is empty, and your other cards are all maxed…. Not good at all.

    I’ll check with my wife to see if Dillards is still a real “store card”. Most have transitioned to being rebranded Visa or MasterCard in the 25 years since Sears lost the special exemption for their cards.

    Dillards can compete with Amazon on price, but they can’t compete on the amount of returns they can accept without going broke since, like most retail operations, they don’t have an AWS to subsidize the losses from actually selling things.

    More immediately worrisome than the handbag returns, however, was the amount of merchandise my wife noticed still on the racks in the special event wear sections just outside the customer service counter. Austin’s pinhead Mayor and the Travis County judge dropped a bar and dine-in curfew late on Wednesday night, just before the 10 PM newscasts, and sales the store expected to see in order to move a bunch of sequins didn’t happen heading into tonight.

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    Whooohoooo, I’ve made $37 on my $40 ‘investment’ in BTC in the what, 2 weeks I’ve owned it???

    Time to mortgage the house and cash in the kids’ college funds, we’re gonna get rich day trading!

    What could possibly go wrong?

    n

    Um- jk. It has almost doubled in a week or two. Sounds kinda ‘frothy’ to me.

  29. Nick Flandrey says:

    Anyone have any experience with Signal? Daughter wants to be able to text or IM me from her new Ipod Touch, with no cell service, only wifi. I’m on android of course…

    NO facebook or google apps need apply but if there is something cross platform where I’m not the product, I don’t mind hearing about it.

    n

  30. Greg Norton says:

    Anyone have any experience with Signal? Daughter wants to be able to text or IM me from her new Ipod Touch, with no cell service, only wifi. I’m on android of course…

    NO facebook or google apps need apply but if there is something cross platform where I’m not the product, I don’t mind hearing about it.

    For now, Signal requires a cell phone number to register … or at least it did. They were working on changing how accounts get established.

    Skype has messaging, but you are still the product. OTOH, for now, selling ads and user data isn’t the way Microsoft makes most of its money, and the apps for both the iOS and Android platforms have a solid track record.

    Definitely ignore the hype and avoid Slack.

    My former employer abandoned Slack in favor of Skype/Teams after they discovered that Slack considers the message content to be their property whereas Redmond does not. The monetization of the user base will probably be accelerated once Salesforce takes over.

    WhatsApp will be hard to avoid, particularly if your daughter has Subcontinent friends and/or participates in Girl Scouts.

  31. Alan says:

    Pence is in the line of succession, Kamala is not. Politics and personal feelings aside, there are legal and practical considerations, and continuity of government is a pretty big deal.

    Actually she is…reference Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment:
    If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President.
    Not that I wish anything bad to happen to Uncle Joe.

  32. drwilliams says:

    @Alan
    Until Inauguration Day, Uncle Joe, Camel Toe, and whatever communist scum they have lined up for their cabinet are not in the line of succession.

    @Nick
    In lieu of a pair of dental pliers for your kit, a nicely finished slim pair of ignition pliers is a good substitute.

  33. Greg Norton says:

    Actually she is…reference Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment:
    “If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President.”
    Not that I wish anything bad to happen to Uncle Joe.

    Regardless of what the media decided more than a month ago, he President and Vice President Elect won’t be official until the Electoral College votes are counted in the House next week.

    So, if, between the announcement next week and Inauguration Day, something happens to Uncle Joe and Kamala moves up to President Elect, does the Senate pick a new Vice President Elect with Pence providing the tie breaking vote if the worst happens in GA on Tuesday?

    If so, it is in the Dems best interest that Uncle Joe remain upright and above room temperature at least through the 20th since Pence would most likely be reelected as resident of One Observatory Circle for another four years and provide tie breaking votes preventing the rules changes and antics like packing the Supreme Court along with DC statehood.

    The Dems need Uncle Joe for at least one busy day as President.

  34. lynn says:

    _The One-Eyed Man: A Fugue, With Winds and Accompaniment_ by L. E. Modesitt Jr.
    https://www.amazon.com/One-Eyed-Man-Fugue-Winds-Accompaniment/dp/0765370417/?tag=ttgnet-20

    A standalone science fiction book, no prequel or sequel that I know of. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Tor in 2014. As with all L. E. Modesitt Jr. books, I really enjoyed the suspense and the story telling of this book. And the short story at the back about the book cover painting was good too.

    The book was inspired by a painting by John Jude Palencar which is on the book cover. The original short story commission was published in this book. Modesitt decided to write a full length novel inspired by the painting in addition to the short story that he wrote that is at the end of the book.
    https://www.tor.com/series/the-palencar-project/

    The book is a mystery about a strange planet and a planetary ecologist sent to evaluate the planet since the life extension drugs produced on the planet extend human life by more than factor of two for the interstellar Unity of the Ceylesian Arm.

    Please note that the author has a website at:
    https://www.lemodesittjr.com/

    My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (which rounds up to 5 stars)
    Amazon rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars (76 reviews)

  35. lynn says:

    “after I die. ”

    –they’ll be digging out your gold fillings….

    n

    And my two gold molars. 41 years ago, the modern ceramics were not in use by my dentist.

  36. lynn says:

    Today I’m supposed to be able to take some stuff to one of my local auctions. I’ll do that on the way to my rent house, where my tenants have managed to twist the handles off the new shower valves. I think they are just cranking the everloving heck out of them. The knobs and the valve stems were new. If they normally fail in a couple of weeks, I think Home Depot might complain to the vendor about the returns. Therefore, I think it’s operator error. If the stems aren’t ruined, I’ll replace the knobs again, and epoxy the freaking things in place. I know you only need finger tight to shut the valves off, I checked when I installed the new ones. An uncomfortable conversation with the tenants is in my future.

    All conversations with tenants are uncomfortable. And I need to get the new contract to my warehouse tenants.

  37. lynn says:

    No matter what happens with the presidential election, I expect politics in 2021 to be INSANE. Half the people will feel cheated and disenfranchised.

    No one has a mandate to do anything. The suburban Dem female voters living outside DC and the tech hubs voted for status quo … but without Trump …

    Here’s the thing. Trump. I’m just sayin’.

    They ain’t gonna get status quo. President-elect Harris has a mission that she thinks is a mandate. I am predicting $5/gallon gasoline and diesel by the end of her first term with the CO2 taxes for the new Children’s Universal Health Insurance fund.

  38. lynn says:

    I did not think things could get worse. I was wrong. I now understand why some animals eat their young. ‘Nuff said.

    Sorry dude. I know that your wife does not want to but sounds like time to cut all conversations if things are trending worse. Maybe leave your fortune to the local zoo or something like that.

  39. lynn says:

    “Lin Wood accuses John Roberts of illegally adopting two young children from Wales through Jeffrey Epstein”
    https://noqreport.com/2020/12/31/lin-wood-accuses-john-roberts-of-illegally-adoption-of-two-young-children-from-wales-through-jeffrey-epstein/

    “Mark this down in the category of “I’m skeptical but hopeful.” Why? Because I really don’t like John Roberts.”

    John Roberts seems to have turned into a whiny butt.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  40. lynn says:

    From a friend of mine, “Can people in Flint, MI Drink the water yet… Wondering before we send money to Pakistan for Gender Studies.”.

  41. Greg Norton says:

    John Roberts seems to have turned into a whiny butt.

    Roberts cut a deal to keep the Court from being packed.

    Touchdown Jesus getting his first Supreme Court seat was going to happen regardless.

  42. Alan says:

    So, if, between the announcement next week and Inauguration Day, something happens to Uncle Joe and Kamala moves up to President Elect, does the Senate pick a new Vice President Elect with Pence providing the tie breaking vote if the worst happens in GA on Tuesday?

    Wasn’t able to readily find a definitive citation for this scenario but from what I recall, either the President Elect selects a new VP Elect or there is no VP for the next four years.

  43. Ray Thompson says:

    Maybe leave your fortune to the local zoo or something like that.

    I suppose a two day supply of monkey chow would be appreciated.

  44. lynn says:

    Touchdown Jesus getting his first Supreme Court seat was going to happen regardless.

    Who is “Touchdown Jesus” ?

  45. Greg Norton says:

    “Touchdown Jesus getting his first Supreme Court seat was going to happen regardless.”

    Who is “Touchdown Jesus” ?

    https://www.uhnd.com/history/touchdown-jesus/

    Once nominated, the Notre Dame alumni would have made sure Barrett took that seat even if it meant calling in markers on a few Dems.

  46. Marcelo says:

    Having had two heart attacks, they can be quite strenuous on your body. I took an entire week off from work for the first heart attack. The second, just three days.

    Sounds like you are getting better at it. Next one you will not have an excuse to take a few days off work. 🙂

  47. MrAtoz says:

    He died from a heart attack with a procedure done while he had the covid. So he was in the with covid column, not the from covid column.

    That’s what I read. Plus another person died after getting the COVID vax. Cause of death listed as natural causes. Narrative.

  48. drwilliams says:

    VP is a constitutional office and cannot be vacant for four years.

  49. MrAtoz says:

    RIP Dawn Wells. COVID, of course.

  50. ~jim says:

    RIP Dawn Wells. COVID, of course.

    Without Dawn Wells, Tina Louise doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

  51. Greg Norton says:

    VP is a constitutional office and cannot be vacant for four years.

    Speaker of the House fills the Presidential succession line if the VP chair is empty, but the tiebreaker vote is gone from the Senate.

    If the GA Senate races both go Dem and something happens to Uncle Joe, the Republicans have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by keeping a new occupant out of VP position through the end of the next Congress.

  52. lynn says:

    “Oomf! Dominion CEO LIED! Said Voting Machines “Are Not Connected to Internet” — That Was Before Jovan Pulitzer Broke into a Dominion Machine during Live Testimony Using Internet”
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/oomf-dominion-ceo-lied-said-voting-machines-not-connected-internet-jovan-pulitzer-broke-dominion-machine-live-testimony-using-internet/

    So why would ANY voting machine be connected to the intertubes ?

  53. drwilliams says:

    Bill Gates was the first of the pale sweaty accidental billionaires to tell wholesale lies under oath. If Slick Willy’s DOJ had brought charges and sent him to prison where he belonged, our tech landscape wouldn’t be top-down with lying pale sweaty accidental billionaires.

    The judge needs to jail Poulos immediately.

    ADDED: For completeness, it was Bush the Stubby’s DOJ that allowed the case to peter out to nothing.

    2
    1
  54. Greg Norton says:

    Bill Gates was the first of the pale sweaty accidental billionaires to tell wholesale lies under oath. If Slick Willy’s DOJ had brought charges and sent him to prison where he belonged, our tech landscape wouldn’t be top-down with lying pale sweaty accidental billionaires.

    Prison for what? Microsoft is hardly a ponzi scheme, and, in the end, for all his wealth, Gates has been proven to be incredibly short sighted about where the computing world was headed.

    I believe Microsoft would have been even more powerful broken up, with OS and languages on the Issaquah Plateau and the remaining products in Redmond.

  55. Pecancorner says:

    Happy New Year, everyone! Daynotes was one of the good things that I discovered in 2020. May God bless you all with health and happiness in 2021! We stand at the threshold of a golden age in many respects. Look around, there is much goodness to be found.
    https://www.space.com/spacex-astronaut-starship-launches-2020-milestones

  56. Pecancorner says:

    So why would ANY voting machine be connected to the intertubes ?

    So the company can “push” those essential software and firmware and security updates to it, of course! It would be too much trouble for them to mail a disk.

  57. SteveF says:

    Prison for what?

    Lying under oath, as drwilliams just said. Gates told a number of whoppers about integration of various components in Windows. He also lied to politicians or investigators about hidden APIs but I don’t recall if that was under oath. However, given the expansive interpretation of the criminality of saying something to any government employee which does not match their recollection, his having been under oath doesn’t much matter.

  58. drwilliams says:

    @ Greg
    Prison for lying under oath. About every other word.

    1
    1
  59. lynn says:

    Those half dozen fireworks stands within a mile of my house were real busy today. And they are busy shooting the fireworks now.

  60. Greg Norton says:

    “So why would ANY voting machine be connected to the intertubes ?”

    So the company can “push” those essential software and firmware and security updates to it, of course! It would be too much trouble for them to mail a disk.

    Thumb drives. The Sam’s Club near my house was sold out for several weeks following the election so I assumed they were part of the process of running the machines.

  61. Greg Norton says:

    Those half dozen fireworks stands within a mile of my house were real busy today. And they are busy shooting the fireworks now.

    Alcohol and high explosives. Hilarity ensued.

    There was a line to get into the Twin Liquors near my house this afternoon. No line for the fireworks stand, however, since it is outdoors in converted shipping containers.

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    Lotta gun shots by my secondary location. Lotta fireworks here at the house.

    Finished dropping off auction items, picking up auction items, and doing the plumbing work at the rent house. I changed the valve seats (had the tool with me this time) and flipped the washers on the stems. They were already showing wear from the crusty seats. EPOXIED the handles on this time. And sent text with subtle reminder not to crank on the valves.

    Discovered I hadn’t invoiced my one remaining client in all of 2020. So did that. Got paid. Venmo. Despite the risks, if I’m going to try selling on FB next year, I need the payment system the kids are using.

    Now to eat some dinner and see what the world is up to…

    n

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    @pecancorner, welcome, thanks for being here and contributing, and thanks for the compliment!

    You are correct that there are many good things waiting… I hope we get there.

    nick

  64. Nick Flandrey says:

    ” Like so many Made In China things, the outside looks solid and good, but there will be one inner hidden essential little connection or part that is brittle. ”

    -china and chinese in a nutshell.

    n

  65. lynn says:

    Now to eat some dinner and see what the world is up to…

    They have brought the mortars out now. Very distracting at my office.

    At least with the 5 to 6 inches of rain that we got yesterday and today, ain’t nothing catching on fire.

    Both of my office ponds are full and overflowing to the bayou that drains to the Brazos River.

  66. lynn says:

    Self storage facility at 425 Crabb River Road, Richmond, TX 77469. Price reduced from $3 million to $2 million after 150 days on market. That is a huge drop.
    https://www.har.com/homedetail/425-crabb-river-rd-richmond-tx-77469/9466283

    73 storage units and 100 parking spaces. At $100/month each with 100% rented, that is $17,300/month gross income.

    At $2,000,000, any banker is going to require min of 30% and maybe 40% down. So at 30% down, the down payment is $600,000. The mortgage at 15 years and 6% is $11,814/month.

    Gonna need help to staff the place, 40 hours/week at $15/hour @ 4.25 weeks/month = $2,550/month. Say $3,000/month with taxes.

    So $17,300/month – $11,814/month – $3,000/month = $2,486/month profit with an investment of $600,000 down and 100% rented.

    Nope. Not enough return. At $1.5 million I might be interested.

    Wait, I forgot about property taxes. 2.0% on $1,500,000 is $30,000/year = $2,500/month.

    Nope, not interested until property reaches $1,000,000 sales price. Then there will be a line to buy the place.

  67. Nick Flandrey says:

    Storage units are a holding pattern until you can sell the land to a developer.

    Looking at office/warehouse space and the numbers do the same thing. Rents don’t cover the costs.

    n

  68. lynn says:

    Storage units are a holding pattern until you can sell the land to a developer.

    Looking at office/warehouse space and the numbers do the same thing. Rents don’t cover the costs.

    n

    The Grand Parkway is going to be 100 yards away from that property in a couple of years. No developer is going to want it due to the noise.

    And the property is too deep and narrow (estimated 200 ft by 625 ft) for a developer to get serious about it.

    And no water on the property so no potty except a port-a-potty.

  69. lynn says:

    Storage units are a holding pattern until you can sell the land to a developer.

    Looking at office/warehouse space and the numbers do the same thing. Rents don’t cover the costs.

    n

    My office / warehouse space on 14 acres that I bought in 2011 covers the costs quite nicely. I make about 40% profit on it. But I put 40% down on it.

  70. drwilliams says:

    Last week a heavily keyworded listing on CL popped up on an unrelated search. Property in a small town a couple hundred miles away. 48×80 brick building on main street with steel arch roof. About 70 years old. Insulated. Concrete floor. 3/4 basement with concrete floor. Car lift. 3-phase power and commercial air compressor. 24×20 office in front. Three large overhead doors.

    $75,000

    Location, location, location.

  71. lynn says:

    “Elon Musk reveals catch and quick release plans for Super Heavy booster”
    https://newatlas.com/space/elon-musk-super-heavy-booster-catch-launch-tower-arm/

    That is a LOT of rockets at the bottom of the Super Heavy Booster.

  72. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ok the NYE fake tv nonsense is always groaningly bad, but HOLY COW does TV suck.

    Even my wife can’t believe how humorless and awful these C list personalities are. So far the only funny bit at all was some old guy from instagram with 5M followers, and he was a hoot. Turns out he’s been in the entertainment business for 50 years and has talent.

    This little korean comic is pathetic.

    n

  73. Greg Norton says:

    This little korean comic is pathetic.

    I believe Ken Jeong is a real “Dr.”, not a Dr. Jill Biden “Dr.”. Internal medicine according to my wife.

    We’re watching the same show.

    And still debating how many of the women dancing behind Leann Rimes were trans. I say just one but my spouse suspects at least one more.

  74. MrK says:

    Well.. Happy New Year everyone..
    Not sure how 2021 is going to turn out but people seem optimistic.. I’m not entirely convinced. 😉

    Here in Oz, states are shutting borders at the first hint of whuflu outbreaks.. My nephew and his family was due to fly out NYE to visit family etc for a few weeks. Border was shut just hours before their departure. Really sad for them.. They have done it hard in 2020, full house curfew, cannot travel farther than 5km from home, one person allowed to shop only etc.. This went on for about 3 months.. Crazy times..

    Anyway, best wishes to all..

  75. MrAtoz says:

    Happy New Year!

    Brought to you by the HARRIS/plugs lockdown forever admin.

  76. Greg Norton says:

    Happy New Year!

    Brought to you by the HARRIS/plugs lockdown forever admin.

    Austin’s Mayor prevailed in court, ordering bars and dine-in shut down at 10:30 PM.

    Whisky Tango Foxtrot was open, eating the $1000 fine, but that place is the poster child for superspreader venue. My wife had a patient infected there.

  77. JimB says:

    A belated Happy New Year to all here. Remember, life is as good as you make it, so may 2021 be as good as possible. Illegitimi non carborundum.

  78. nick flandrey says:

    The rain stopped sometime in the afternoon. The temperature started to drop-da-drop-drop around 7ish. It’s 42F and windy at the moment.

    Welcome to 2021. Gonna be a while before I get used to typing that. I keep typing 2010…

    It is my sincere and fervent wish that we all have a better ’21 than ’20.

    n

  79. lynn says:

    The rain stopped sometime in the afternoon. The temperature started to drop-da-drop-drop around 7ish. It’s 42F and windy at the moment.

    Welcome to 2021. Gonna be a while before I get used to typing that. I keep typing 2010…

    It is my sincere and fervent wish that we all have a better ’21 than ’20.

    Happy new year !

    My neighbors are still firing off mortars at 130 am. They are down to a mortar every 4 or 5 minutes now. We had 20 to 30 neighbors within a block simultaneously firing mortars at midnight. I am glad my son was not here, he would have freaked since he got mortared in Iraq.

    I have replaced the video cable, pulled and reset the video board, and replaced the power supply. The video is still fragged in my home pc. Best Buy tomorrow for a new video board !

    Just remember, as bad as ’20 was, ’21 can now drink legally.

    And the septic tank alarm is going off for some weird reason. I am beginning to think that we got hit by lightning yesterday.

  80. Geoff Powell says:

    @lynn:

    Your comment reminded me of a story by the late Derek “Blaster” Bates, called “The Shower of S**t over Cheshire” (that’s Cheshire, UK, if you’re in any doubt) He was an after-dinner speaker of genius, telling stories about his experiences blowing up, or explosively demolishing, various things. In it, he describes emptying an impromptu septic tank, with 150 pounds weight of gelignite.

    The recording may be available online (warning: NSFW) A transcript certainly is, or was a year or so ago.

    G.

    edit: it’s on youtube – first hit for the story title. All the other stories linked from that are worth a listen, too, like “Naming of Knicker Brook”, “All Our Heads Will Roll”.

    edit 2: There are CDs. I have them.

  81. ech says:

    He died from a heart attack with a procedure done while he had the covid. So he was in the with covid column, not the from covid column.

    He had no comorbidities. He wouldn’t have had the procedure done without COVID. COVID killed him.

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  82. ech says:

    Oomf! Dominion CEO LIED! Said Voting Machines “Are Not Connected to Internet” — That Was Before Jovan Pulitzer Broke into a Dominion Machine during Live Testimony Using Internet”

    From what I read, he broke into vote counting machines, not voting machines. Big, big difference.

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  83. ech says:

    Wasn’t able to readily find a definitive citation for this scenario but from what I recall, either the President Elect selects a new VP Elect or there is no VP for the next four years.

    After being sworn in as President, they nominate a VP who must be confirmed by a majority vote of the House and Senate. That’s how Gerald Ford got to be VP and then President – Agnew resigned and Ford was appointed. Then after Nixon resigned, Nelson Rockefeller became VP in the same way.

  84. Nick Flandrey says:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/42-people-west-virginia-mistakenly-given-regeneron-antibodies-instead-vaccines

    I guess we’ll be running the experiment to see what happens when healthy people get the antibody cocktail…

    n

  85. Nick Flandrey says:

    For the record, the woman ‘singing’ the obscenities was “Megan Thee Stallion”. I don’t get it, since a stallion is a male horse and a symbol of male virility, but hey, there’s a lot I don’t get in pop culture.

    n

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