Comfortable, sunny, breezy, and nice. That’s what I’m hoping for, we’ll see what we get. We had all the kinds of weather yesterday. Overcast, thunderstorms, drizzle, sunshine, wind and rain. We even had a few minutes of ‘very nice.’ Today, the national forecast has Houston in the clear.
Didn’t get a whole heck of a lot done yesterday, that couldn’t have been done more efficiently and more quickly by someone who was motivated. Keeping my motivation up, and keeping moving forward is harder some days than others. But Summer is Coming, and with it the most common threat around these parts- hurricanes. Also on the way are un- somethingly hot and humid days. I’ve got a limited time to do a bunch of stuff that is SO MUCH easier when it’s not in the 90s for both heat and humidity.
I feel a bit like I’m going through one of those periods like RBT did when he kept posting that he probably wouldn’t be posting much, but then he posted more. I keep saying the same thing every day- “I’ve got so much to do” but then I don’t do it…. grrrr. External deadlines… I need them.
I built three or four careers around meeting externally imposed deadlines. It’s in my blood. Internally imposed? Not so much. I’ve never been good at that. My 10 year plan took me 15 years. I did eventually accomplish it all, but it was both simple and complicated. Get my finances in order. Find a good woman and marry her. Buy a house. Start a family. Simple right? 15 years to get there from where I started.
Live through whatever is coming and get my family through it, doesn’t have the same concreteness, and yet it’s an arguably simpler goal. After all, it’s mostly just “continue living”. And how hard can that be? Weeeeelllllll, that depends, doesn’t it? And it strikes right to the heart of a preparedness lifestyle.
“Live through” – but implied is not just survive, but do it with style, without drama, with simplicity and grace. Succeed, not just endure. Coming out the other end as a starving refugee is better than not coming out, but far from the ideal of being in a position to thrive when things get better.
“Whatever is coming”- bad things are ALWAYS coming. Good things too and sometimes people forget to prep for them, but mostly we prep for the bad things and figure the good things will work themselves out. Hurricanes and floods are the most likely natural disasters here. But personal bad things- job loss, accidents, illnesses, death of a loved one- are the most common disasters everyone faces and if you aren’t prepping for them, you should be.
What other bad things are coming?
–Global pandemic was on the list but not top ten. Ebola convinced me to take the possibility seriously and to prep for it ‘for realz’. H/T to Aesop for that. And HEY LOOKIE! Global pandemic is here. I’m in restocking mode, but I could still be comfortably pulling TP from stock after a year, and that’s with three females in the household. How much is too much vs now you have none? You will have to find your own balance, but I’m usually on the side of ‘more’.
–Slow economic collapse, worldwide depression. RBT changed my mind about this, and changed my planning horizon. Now I think we’re already started on this one. It’s harder to prep for because the length of time involved is so great, and because the number one prep – piles of money – doesn’t work so well with the most likely cause, ie. hyperinflation. There are steps you can take and preps you can make though. Unless you like the taste of domestic animals and the local fauna, food is your best prep. Putting your stored up life energy (ie. the product of your work) in something that will survive a currency collapse is a good idea too. If you can’t get your stored up life (money) somewhere safe , or if you haven’t managed to store much up, you need to look for ways to use what remains to continue working through a collapse. Rental income streams were my go-to plan for that, but I didn’t factor in a government that would steal from the landlords. I’m busy rethinking and looking for additional streams. Skills involving making and repairing are looking pretty good.
–War. Internal or external. Both are bad. Both involve hardship and privation. Internal would also include economic collapse. External might involve a currency collapse, or might be triggered by more monetary trickery, or it could pull the economy up out of the dumps. So many flavors are possible, with contradictory effects. Very little of it is likely to be good on an individual level though. Internal war is looking more and more likely every day, with Balkanization being the most likely outcome. Where you are is going to be VERY important if that happens and your number one prep.
There are other bad things that could be coming, some far more unlikely than others, but not impossible. First contact with aliens would be a game changer, for example. It’s also unlikely to go well for us, but most of the things that would be likely to happen get covered by preps for the other biggies. Room temperature superconductors, fusion energy, radical life extension, those might fall into the ‘good thing’ column but would also be disruptive as heII. True AI, self aware machines, grey goo, killer plagues, all somewhere on the list of things to consider, and then usually discount. CME, EMP, space debris impacts, other ‘hand of God’ events, well, we’ll do what we can if something that big happens. Having preps won’t hurt.
And then there is that last part of my goal- get my family through. The everyday part of this is just to raise my girls to be competent human beings, and to make sure they have a good foundation for their lives on their own. The prepping part is a bit more specific, but mainly for me it comes down to skills, attitude, and foundational beliefs. What I think those should be would fill another few thousand words, and maybe I’ll spend the time to write those words down, but that will have to wait. Right now, getting my family through means the physical stuff- preps in the traditional sense. It means making sure we have the basics to survive and thrive in the most likely scenarios, and even some of the much less likely ones. It means resilience and flexibility and adaptability. It means stockpiles of stuff, and collections of skills and reference materials. It means paying attention to possible threats, local and national and global. It means engaging in the world around us with our minds and eyes open. And it means planning for what comes next and putting resources in place to support those plans.
And of course it means STACKING. Start stacking. Keep stacking. If you can’t stack stuff, stack knowledge and skills. Stack people, relationships, networks. Do it as a hobby. Do it as a social activity. Do it with passion, or with calculation and focus. But Do It.
It’s never too late to start, it’s always too early to quit.
nick
added— welcome to any new readers! Most of the best part of this place is not me, it’s the people who come together here and the conversation that happens. Keywords are on the right, and may refer to the comments not the post, so always take a look at the comments. Comments are always welcome, join the conversation if you like. There is an astounding breadth and depth of knowledge in the people who come by and visit and hang out. If you have questions or answers, please feel free. There is an About link at the top of this page to explain why this place is the way it is. Again, welcome.
“@Lynn – First season? You’ve never seen any of the series up until now?
Don’t forget “Fire Walk With Me”.”
Yup, never seen before.
The first two seasons of “Twin Peaks” are worth the time. Even if whatever you see on screen at any given moment doesn’t seem to advance the story arc, it usually is interesting for some reason — location, sets, actors, contingency handling. Though, I will admit that it is hard to get into without the context of the 1990-91 publicity push with Lynch dropping pieces of the background in interviews, treating the press tour as performance art. The creative team was making “TV” as they saw it, both onscreen and off.
For instance, the hotel is a bit of a puzzle box challenge since the interior and exterior are completely separate and distinct buildings on opposite corners of Seattle, with most of the interior shots using different camera angles shot in one ballroom at the location. However, without a little advance knowledge, it is hard to appreciate the accomplishment of making the footage look like one building straight out of an Architectural Digest awards issue.
Now go watch. See what I mean?
Sadly, to us, the third season came off as a kind of funeral for “TV”. When Showtime offered Lynch the chance to continue the show, the idea was to fulfill the last original episode’s featured prediction, “I will see you in 25 years”, down to the exact moment EST when the second season finale signed off — landmark “TV” — the director changed his mind about giving the network the accomplishment and dithered about money, stretching production time beyond the exact date because it wasn’t his vision.
Lynch is a weird guy. Consider yourself warned.
And I’m not kidding about avoiding streaming with “Mullholland Drive”. The DVD’s MPEG2 encoding is deliberately part of the art.
Just heard on the top of the hour news that the IRS April 15th filing deadline is very likely to be delayed at least one month, and possibly more, due to the continued backlog of processing paper tax returns and taxpayer correspondence.
Before Christmas, I filed an amended return to correct an error in my July filing and still haven’t seen the $200 check refunding the tax overcharge.
Of course, before I corrected the mistakes I made on the 2019 return, when the IRS thought that the amended version would result in me paying $2000, they were extremely communicative.
The IRS may be slamming you with penalties and interest, most assuredly interest. Which is generally a one way street in the IRS’ favor.
Generally the case. And their notices always arrive in the mail on Friday or Saturday thus at least three more days of interest and penalties to be assessed.
When the IRS claimed I owed them money, and kept the money, until I proved otherwise, there were no penalties assessed against the IRS. Seems that should only be fair. A paltry amount of interest was paid by the IRS but nowhere close to what I was assessed in interest for being “late” in the IRS’ opinion.
It got to the point of the IRS wanting to call me and talk. I responded by letter that I refused to talk with anyone from the IRS by phone. I wanted everything in writing. I also stated that any further communication would be with an IRS agent, in person, doing a complete audit in Knoxville. A couple of weeks later I got the notice that the IRS had corrected their records and owed me money.
Apparently some human with an IQ that may have been in the middle of the Bell Curve looked at the return. They still got it wrong in my opinion and I should not have been paid, nor owed, anything. Since the IRS said they owed me money, I have the letter to prove it, there is little the IRS can now accomplish. The IRS may come back and say I owe, but they cannot charge me interest or penalties for their error.
In the course of my life I have been in four battles with the IRS. In all four cases I have been proven correct. It really makes me wonder how many other people the IRS slams, the people get scared, and just pay what the IRS says. No agency of the government should have that much power and instill that much fear in people. The IRS can seize property and money with no court oversight and that is simply wrong.
Fair is not a word the IRS is acquainted with. These are the people who haul folk in front of tax courts – run by the IRS, so anything but neutral. They also don’t bother respecting any sort of legal restrictions – recall OFD’s continual battle with the IRS, where they would randomly empty his bank account, and he would have to fight to get his money back. Apparently because he failed to sufficiently kowtow to the local petty bureaucrats.
As a non-citizen, my tax return was only 5 pages (US income was a whopping $169). But I remember the full returns I had to do as an expat – basically impossible for a non-expert, especially with the annual rule changes.
Of course, before I corrected the mistakes I made on the 2019 return, when the IRS thought that the amended version would result in me paying $2000, they were extremely communicative.
Probably different parts of the organization, with different priorities. Ya think?
Noticed that the deadline for estimated payments was NOT extended, which means that most of my work still has an April 15 deadline. IIRC, last year everything was extended. Different administration. Boy, is it ever.
As of last night, CA had not announced anything, but last time they took a while.
I am started. Started last November, as usual. Now, just need to wait on some details. Waiting on some reports due me. Those have a deadline of late March, but are usually early. Wuhan flu might make them late, but I need to look before complaining.
Although I like paperless, it means I have to print some stuff to send my tax guy. Also have to scan some paper-only stuff, and with the new computers and decisions to get a new scanner, I will have to pull the old scanner and its computer from storage and set them up for less than an hour’s work. I looked into phone scanner apps, but the highly rated ones seem permanently wired to cloud storage. Um… no. Not when there is still an option. Besides, I am familiar with the old scanner, and have always been able to depend on it. I have several hours of learning and configuring invested, and don’t want to start over for a one-shot job.
I’ve posted before, the IRS put a lien on our first house in San Antonio for pennies short on a 1040. They didn’t even contact me about it, we just got a letter in the mail. After an hour on the phone, I proved they effed up. All I got was the *flimsy* copy of a document releasing the lien.
Now the fukstik plugs is in office, expect the IRS to go back to Oblola’s weaponization of the IRS.
No agency of the government should have that much power and instill that much fear in people. The IRS can seize property and money with no court oversight and that is simply wrong.
Agreed, but the FBI can be much worse. I know of two instances where other officials had to work with them on a so-called peer basis. They came away with opinions I can’t state here because we are supposed to keep things civil. Something way beyond arrogance.
That is minor compared to being a target. They can take lives with impunity. ‘Nuf said.
My experiences with California’s version of the IRS were blessedly short, and to the point, but if you think the Feds are quick to seize and slow to release, pray you never cross the Franchise Tax Board….
I won’t say my experiences with the IRS were good, but they were during the rare and short period when their previous bad acts caused them to undertake a very public “kinder and gentler” posture. I got good advice, acted on it, and resolved a very bad situation (for me) both fairly and quickly. I wouldn’t like to replay that today however.
I use an “Enrolled Agent” to prepare my taxes (among other qualifications) and she can stand for me in court if needed. She’s saved me far more than she has cost over the decades. Unless your taxes are very simple, you should get professional help. It’s like doing surgery on yourself- I suppose you could, if you had no choice, but… you do have a choice.
It’s probably worth it to run the tax software too, if you use a program to manage your recordkeeping. Money and jail are involved, getting a second look doesn’t hurt.
n
–no comment
n
A traffic court jury I was on sorta did this. It became obvious that the ticket he got (running a stop sign) wasn’t what he did – he made a bad left turn and hit a car. So we voted not guilty.
What Nick said. My experience with the IRS and FTB has been good. We had a minor in-person IRS audit when We ran a small business. Prepped for it like making a presentation, had a good outcome. Way before computers. Drew a very competent and reasonable agent, who asked questions, then actually listened to the answers. It was a confidence building exercise: once she saw we had good records and nothing to hide, she accepted the rest with no further questions.
Shortly after, I started using a CPA, and have since. Once met an enrolled agent, and agree they are good, too.
RE: IRS
An old realtor buddy of mine called their bluff. The IRS told him to submit to a voluntary audit or they could take him to court and force the audit. He said, “Okay, see you in court.” He’s an ass like that (explains why we’re friends). He never heard from them again. Most of their audits aren’t court enforced but the threat of court enforcing them combined with the IRS’ scariness among the general population gets 99% of people to just submit to it out of fear. “If I don’t voluntarily submit to this audit then they’re going to take me to court. I can’t afford an attorney. I’ll lose and they forcibly audit me except then they’ll be pissed off and really hammer me.” It should raise alarm bells any time citizens fear any part of their government.
Eventful week for us. It started Friday afternoon when my son (almost 17) texted me saying he was feeling bad. I checked him out from school and he was able to drive home. He felt drained, and nauseous. That continued until Saturday morning.
Saturday morning, he added vomiting, and did that 4 or 5 times by the afternoon. My wife took him to urgent care for a COVID test, which came back negative. They gave him Zofran for the nausea. That worked for about half an hour, then the nausea and vomiting started again. Later that evening, my wife grabs me and tells me he is having trouble breathing. I was concerned before with the vomiting, but now it hits high gear. He is laying in bed and he says it feels like he can’t get enough air. Right there I made the decision to take him to the ER.
Luckily, we are only 8 miles from the hospital, so we took him there ourselves. We have great Woman and Children’s hospital. Got checked in and in a room quickly. He got an IV and they pushed fluids and zofran, as well as drawing blood for labs. After being there an hour, he was feeling a little better, since he was so dehydrated. Sometime later, the doc comes in and tells us he has Type 1 diabetes. Needless to say, we were shocked. His blood sugar was 690!
He was admitted to the PICU, and they began slowly bringing his sugar levels down. I have nothing but great things to say about out PICU staff. They also have an excellent patient training and education program. My son picked up the info quickly, and had no issues calculating his insulin dosages and administering his shots.
By Tuesday, he was in great shape and released. The closest pediatric endocrinologist is at Vanderbilt in Nashville, and we had an appointment on Wednesday. We drove up Tuesday evening to avoid the storms and extreme early driving (0830 appointment with 2 hours travel time). Vandy has a great program, and I feel he is in great care. After a cluster of 4 visits in the first few months, we will going up every 3 months.
He is going back to school on Monday. He is physically able to now, but taking time to adjust to his new normal is not a bad thing. I am so impressed with how he is handling everything. I think it helps that one if close friends is Type 1. He knows what to expect, and has a good support mechanism.
Lessons learned:
1. Know when to get help. I’m not an MD, heck not even an EMT. I have had a lot of first aid/CPR training and I have several nurses in the family. I do know that there are some things you just don’t mess around with. I was probably going to take him to the ER anyways if the vomiting didn’t subside soon. Dehydration is no joke. When he started having breathing issues, well, that made the call to go the ER easy.
2.In hindsight, the signs were there. His weight at check in at the ER was down 20lbs! He’s a skinny kid, so we didn’t notice. He also noticed that his vision had gotten a little more blurry over the past couple weeks. It returned to normal after going on insulin. At his appointment on Wednesday, he had gained 10 pounds of water weight back.
I find that I’m not struggling with the diagnosis. It can’t be changed, is definitely manageable, and there are many people with far worse problems. My struggle is just dealing with the hypothetical “what if I didn’t get him help that evening?” At the very minimum, he would have likely gone into a coma and there is a good chance he would have died. Sobering thoughts, to say the least.
Hug your kids, no matter how old.
About normal the IRS. Some agent lets his/her/shim job go to their head. Abuse of power is a good term. If you know you have done nothing wrong standing your ground is the best strategy. The IRS does not like people that do stand their ground. It shows the IRS as fallible and the IRS does not like that position. Fear of the IRS produces easy results and that is wrong.
For every IRS agent that improperly seizes property, the IRS agent and their supervisor should automatically be charged with theft. Federal charges. That may stop some over zealous agents. The person wronged should be awarded 10x the incorrectly seized amount payable within 30 days, interest of 10%, compounded daily, tax free, paid from the time of seizure until payment.
The penalties the IRS can apply for incorrect and fraudulent returns are severe. Make it work the same way for the IRS. No one should have to fear the IRS, an agency that is built on fear.
In my dealings and issues with the IRS they have never admitted fault or apologized. All settlements ended with “We can later review our findings and change the outcome.” In other words, “we are pissed we lost and will spend time to get even if we can.”
Wow! Glad you caught it and got a solution. Some things can happen quickly.
Yes, very glad you caught that, and that your son is ok. My mom told me you never lose the fear for your kids, no matter how old you or they get. So much of my dad’s behaviour makes sense to me now that I have kids…
n
Oh yeah, 66F, 35%RH, sunny and gusty winds. Nice day to be outside, if a bit blustery.
n
“Dan Bongino to Take Over Rush Limbaugh Time Slot”
https://www.newsmax.com/us/bongino-limbaugh-time-radio/2021/03/18/id/1014259/
Never heard of this guy. Those are very big shoes to fill, I doubt that he is signed for all 680+ radio stations. Rush’s team has been running Rush’s fill-in people: Mark Steyn, Ken Matthews, etc since he passed with lots of audio clips of Rush’s commentary on things. It is OK but they are not Rush.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“I don’t know how violence isn’t inevitable”
https://gunfreezone.net/i-dont-know-how-violence-isnt-inevitable/
“Biden has been President for two months.”
“In that time he:
Decimated oil and gas jobs
Caused gas to go up by $1 a gallon with estimates of $4/gal or more this year
Caused a deluge of illegal immigrants across our southern border
Has pushed a reopening/economic recovery delay to fight COVID
Spend trillions of dollars which will drive inflation
Is pushing new tax hikes”
“Now a Ford plant is going back on it’s word and is moving production to Mexico. It will now be the only one.”
“The Biden Administration can be summed up as white collar progressive utterly destroying blue collar America because Bad Orange Man sent mean Tweets.”
“Half of America deliberately cost the other half of America their livelihood and income, on purpose, because they look down on them (the MAGA Deplorables).”
Wow. Nailed it.
“Palm Beach Sheriffs Department strange request.”
https://gunfreezone.net/palm-beach-sheriffs-department-strange-request/
“PBSO
@PBCountySheriff
Does anyone recognize these 4 women who attacked employees in the drive thru at Popeyes on Seacrest Blvd around 1pm today? Punches were thrown and one grabbed money from the register.”
There is a freaking video !
Something is weird here.
And society is falling apart. And I see people thinking that they are entitled.
A Tax CPA acquaintance of mine told me a story about a client who insisted on attending the audit even though the CPA strongly recommended against it.
The audit went well (he is a good CPA) and right at the end the agent said “I think we’re done unless this “security” line is dog food.” The client laughed, the CPA looked sad, and the audit took on a new level of scrutiny.
Pros are often worth it.
Blue sky thinking! Google co-founder Sergey Brin builds world’s largest aircraft for $150M: Disaster relief blimp will be zero emissions alternative to airplanes:
T’would seem that Sergey has never heard of the Hindenburg.
Never heard of this guy. Those are very big shoes to fill, I doubt that he is signed for all 680+ radio stations. Rush’s team has been running Rush’s fill-in people: Mark Steyn, Ken Matthews, etc since he passed with lots of audio clips of Rush’s commentary on things. It is OK but they are not Rush.
I was sure that Mark Steyn would be tapped for the permanent gig, but that may have been a syndication problem in Canada.
The Great White North has no freedom of the press enshrined by law, and Steyn was in trouble up there for a while.
and that the writer doesn’t understand that aviation IS technology, despite lauding two ‘firsts’ that will take developing whole new technologies.
n
@mediumwave:
Or R101. Or innumerable other hydrogen-filled airship disasters.
And that’s the point, here. Hydrogen-filled. I would hope that Sergey’s technical advisors are recommending helium as a lifting gas. Goodyear blimps use helium, AFAIK, and you don’t hear of them catching fire.
G.
In the course of my life I have been in four battles with the IRS. In all four cases I have been proven correct. It really makes me wonder how many other people the IRS slams, the people get scared, and just pay what the IRS says. No agency of the government should have that much power and instill that much fear in people. The IRS can seize property and money with no court oversight and that is simply wrong.
The tax issues at our house are always related to my wife’s jobs/partnership situations. I have relatively simple taxes on my own. I’m just glad I didn’t make any mistakes on the Vantucky misadventure which complicated our taxes for a decade even though we left after my “it” moment at the four year mark. The mistake with last year’s return related to private practice in Austin which we avoided turning into a partnership.
Or R101. Or innumerable other hydrogen-filled airship disasters.
And that’s the point, here. Hydrogen-filled.
Indeed. But even if only hydrogen-powered, historically hydrogen and dirigibles are a bad mix.
Also, airships were/are slow. IIRC, top speed was ~75 mph, and that with a tailwind. Delivering disaster aid via airplane is orders 0f magnitude faster.
“Now a Ford plant is going back on it’s word and is moving production to Mexico. It will not be the only one.”
Ford got away with the Hencho en Mexico Focus and Fiesta disasters which could have bankrupted the company but didn’t thanks to the narrow window of the class action settlement claim filing period. The MBAs feel invincible.
“Also, airships were/are slow. IIRC, top speed was ~75 mph, and that with a tailwind. Delivering disaster aid via airplane is orders 0f magnitude faster.”
–but it’s GREEENEEEENNEEEENNENEEENN!!11!!!!
n
“Ford got away with the Hencho en Mexico”
–legal and economic environment changed, so their plans did too. Elections have consequences. I wonder if the big union membership is going to realize how badly they’ve been betrayed by the mob bosses?
n
–deep state needs more child sex slaves, send your kids.
–see my previous comments about my two CEC classes with HPD about human trafficking. 10year old girls on birth control before they’re sent by their ‘loving parents’ into the hell of sex trafficking.
n
I got a call from the Federal Reserve Police Force last week and I hung up on them. 😉
Wizard of Id: Raise The Drawbridge
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2021/03/18
Not a problem here in south Texas in March. February however…
He’s the ex Secret Service guy. He’s on Fox a lot. I like him because he always tells Geraldo Rivera “You are full of shit.” Just recovered from cancer treatment. I believe it was a brain tumor.
I like Mark Steyn more. He’s polished and has that accent.
So I just got this eflyer from one of the more upscale local gun club/shooting ranges…
$40/ person!
n
I feel a bit like I’m going through one of those periods like RBT did when he kept posting that he probably wouldn’t be posting much, but then he posted more. I keep saying the same thing every day- “I’ve got so much to do” but then I don’t do it…. grrrr. External deadlines… I need them.
No deadlines ! I cannot stand them anymore. I always did everything early, graduated high school at 17, graduated college at 21, married at 21, first full time post college job at 21, senior engineer by 27, President and CEO of failing business at 35 and managed to turn it around to 3X revenues in ten years. Now at 60, am a little burned out.
–Slow economic collapse, worldwide depression. RBT changed my mind about this, and changed my planning horizon. Now I think we’re already started on this one. It’s harder to prep for because the length of time involved is so great, and because the number one prep – piles of money – doesn’t work so well with the most likely cause, ie. hyperinflation. There are steps you can take and preps you can make though. Unless you like the taste of domestic animals and the local fauna, food is your best prep. Putting your stored up life energy (ie. the product of your work) in something that will survive a currency collapse is a good idea too. If you can’t get your stored up life (money) somewhere safe , or if you haven’t managed to store much up, you need to look for ways to use what remains to continue working through a collapse. Rental income streams were my go-to plan for that, but I didn’t factor in a government that would steal from the landlords. I’m busy rethinking and looking for additional streams. Skills involving making and repairing are looking pretty good.
Yup, we are in the slow economic collapse now. It will become a crisis when foreign banks will not take dollar denominated money transfers anymore. No, I do not have a date, probably somewhere between 2030 and 2040. There will be disasters and good quarters between now and then. I have been meaning to read this book to see what this author’s scenario are but, have yet to do so , “The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047”
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006232828X/?tag=ttgnet-20
Admin, after answering the phone: “Hey Elon, can you take a call from some guy named Sergey?”
Up in Canada we didn’t get around to a bill of rights until a few decades ago. It is not part of the British parliamentary model (parliament is supreme) but was inspired by the US Bill of Rights. Below are the first 2 clauses from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is part of our constitution.
Rights and freedoms in Canada
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Fundamental Freedoms
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
Houston Texans, your quarterback who does not want to play for you anymore, now reveals why he won’t be playing in the NFL this fall. “Graphic details from three lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson”
https://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Deshaun-Watson-massage-lawsuits-graphic-details-16035284.php
When it was just one lady, it was he said, she said. Now it is six ladies. Gonna be tough for him to escape this.
“@Lynn – First season? You’ve never seen any of the series up until now?
Don’t forget “Fire Walk With Me”.”
Yup, never seen before.
The first two seasons of “Twin Peaks” are worth the time. Even if whatever you see on screen at any given moment doesn’t seem to advance the story arc, it usually is interesting for some reason — location, sets, actors, contingency handling. Though, I will admit that it is hard to get into without the context of the 1990-91 publicity push with Lynch dropping pieces of the background in interviews, treating the press tour as performance art. The creative team was making “TV” as they saw it, both onscreen and off.
I have watched the first two episodes now. First impression, somebody can be in a fight, get knocked out but their hair is perfectly blown. Second impression, the actors look like escapees from The Young and The Restless.
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Everyone’s definition of “reasonable” is different.
The last time we went up to BC was 20 years ago, and my wife’s uncle warned us to clear out any newspapers we had in the car before hitting the border checkpoint.
“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it ”
–that is OPPOSITE of the US model. Our rights are pre-existing, inseparable, not granted or guaranteed by anyone other than God and natural law, and the BOR limits GOVERNMENT, not the people.
“subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law”
–yup, “reasonable” right up there with “common sense”
–“freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression” don’t people get prosecuted for thought crimes against muslims? Pretty sure there have been at least a couple of cases, and y’all are quite a bit further along that us with the whole “hate” crime thing which is a de facto criminalization of thought and belief.
No true presumption of innocence either, iirc from my time in front of Customs and Immigration….
n
I hear you. I seem to be unable to say “no”, when asked to take responsibility for something I care about. I will be very glad to retire in 4 years.
But: I know myself, and I’ll need the next thing to do. Maybe something with kids, idk. Have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up…
“Ford got away with the Hencho en Mexico”
–legal and economic environment changed, so their plans did too. Elections have consequences. I wonder if the big union membership is going to realize how badly they’ve been betrayed by the mob bosses?
The battery-powerd F150 is slated to be built in Canada while the Exploders will stay in Chicago.
Ford has been forced to play catchup with the pipeline since the 2018 election. The jury is still out on the E-Mustang quality problems, and I haven’t seen the EcoSport Subcontinent-built compact SUV since our last trip to Florida, rolling around as rentals.
54 MPG CAFE is coming. The EcoSport didn’t help them there, even with the 3 cylinder engine.
In the course of my life I have been in four battles with the IRS. In all four cases I have been proven correct. It really makes me wonder how many other people the IRS slams, the people get scared, and just pay what the IRS says. No agency of the government should have that much power and instill that much fear in people. The IRS can seize property and money with no court oversight and that is simply wrong.
Have you ever been in an IRS office ? I was not impressed with the Dallas office in 1986.
“Ford got away with the Hencho en Mexico”
–legal and economic environment changed, so their plans did too. Elections have consequences. I wonder if the big union membership is going to realize how badly they’ve been betrayed by the mob bosses?
The battery-powerd F150 is slated to be built in Canada while the Exploders will stay in Chicago.
Ford has been forced to play catchup with the pipeline since the 2018 election. The jury is still out on the E-Mustang quality problems, and I haven’t seen the EcoSport Subcontinent-built compact SUV since our last trip to Florida, rolling around as rentals.
The UAW unions run all of the Ford plants in the USA and Canada. Not Mexico.
It is past time for the big three to break the UAW.
I admit to a tremendous curiosity as to what your uncle thought were in your newspapers. It’s not as if we don’t get copies of them up in Canada. Perhaps he just liked to pull your leg? With no insult intended or implied to you or your uncle, unless you those papers contained kiddie porn, I can’t imagine a Canada Customs agent caring about your reading material.
My experiences with California’s version of the IRS were blessedly short, and to the point, but if you think the Feds are quick to seize and slow to release, pray you never cross the Franchise Tax Board….
I have detailed my experience with California’s tax agents here in Sugar Land, Texas. I had a guy claiming to be a California tax auditor bull his way into my business offices in 2002 or so. He was arguing with my office manager and I went out to see what was going on. I asked him to leave our office and the guy actually reached out and pushed me in the chest. I told my office manager to call the cops and then told the guy to remove his hand from chest before I broke his arm. He did so, turned around and walked out. I filed a police report but nothing ever came of it. I carefully filed their letters to my business in the nearest trash can.
I’m not sure we have it down here in the states either. If we had TRUE presumption of innocence you couldn’t be jailed until conviction via due process. Likewise, you wouldn’t be fired after being arrested but before conviction (if there is a conviction). Etc. Etc.
I have watched the first two episodes now. First impression, somebody can be in a fight, get knocked out but their hair is perfectly blown. Second impression, the actors look like escapees from The Young and The Restless.
“TV” as interpreted by David Lynch.
We’ve had 25 years of a kind of “golden age” for TV drama since then which significantly changed the genre.
“Better Call Saul” out-Lynches David Lynch with the fast-forward sequences that open each season. That’s the best “TV” on the air right now IMHO.
Last season’s flash forward even had Robert Forester in his last performance.
@chad, I agree, we fall very short of the mark, and at least 5 of the 10 are under constant assault.
Given a strict reading of the 2A, almost ALL existing gun laws are unconstitutional on their face. The Founders were perfectly capable of adding language to the Amendment when they thought restrictions were justified. That they didn’t in the 2A tells me they didn’t think there should be any.
Given a strict reading of the 4A, searches of vehicles would be subject to the same restrictions as searches of homes and those would be significantly restricted from where they are now.
The evil of defining some expression as “hate” and criminalizing it is just one more stab in the back for the Republic, by the very people who swear an oath to defend it.
n
“you wouldn’t be fired”
–unless we’re talking about a FedGov job, almost everyone in private employment is ‘at will’ or covered by collective bargaining agreements. It’s well within an employer’s fiduciary duty to the company owners to fire someone that will likely be seriously distracted from doing the job they’re paid to do. Unfortunate that employers would feel that way, possibly without evidence, but permissible under the rules. Also, unless your objectionable behavior was at the behest of and in service to the company, they don’t have any obligation to assume your burdens. There are definitely burdens for the company if an employee is charged with a crime, if only reputational.
At will also means the employee can leave at any time without penalty. Also different from the Canadian model, where our employees HAD to give notice or be subject to penalties and court orders, and then we had to keep unwilling employees in the company. If the employee is unwilling, the company has to keep them where they can’t do harm, which can be a significant burden on the company.
n
(any interaction with the IRS for example is directly opposite of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and the burden of proof is on the accused. That this is allowed to continue is just another sign of how far we’ve fallen.)
Now at 60, am a little burned out.
I hear you. I seem to be unable to say “no”, when asked to take responsibility for something I care about. I will be very glad to retire in 4 years.
But: I know myself, and I’ll need the next thing to do. Maybe something with kids, idk. Have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up…
Please let me know how to figure out when you have grown up.
Canceled: Conservative comic strip ‘Mallard Fillmore’ dropped in ‘unprecedented’ move:
Fortunately, still available online.
Pray for SpaceX. NASA isn’t serious anymore.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/bill-nelson-nasa-476947
I had the advantage of reading the constitution without being “taught” it first and it just amazes me how a literal reading differs from practice. My guess it that most laws are unconstitutional.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!
n
@Nick – Much to reply to here.
Well, yes. As I noted we come from the British model of parliamentary supremacy (there are no limits to what parliament may make a law on). The Canadian Charter of Rights was layered on top of that to place limits on parliament and so starts from a different place. As for “granted and guaranteed”, well, I will just say that if they were so natural there would be no reason they need to be mentioned as such. It is a fundamental assumption of your governing model. Nothing wrong with that, it is just a different model. Both models appear to have arrived at about the same place.
Speech is completely unlimited in the USA? There are no hate speech laws, civil rights legislation, slander and libel laws? Freedom of speech is fundamentally about being able to criticize your government, and those in government, without fear of retribution. We have that. Saying or writing anything you want about anyone without limit? I refer you again to slander and libel laws. It is likely Canada has stricter limits on hate speech.
So, explain “thought crime” since I doubt we have the technology to actually read someone’s thoughts. As noted above, we probably limit speech a bit more than you do. There certainly exist folks up in Canada that dislike other folks in Canada because they are somehow different. In Quebec, we had someone go into a mosque and slaughter (6 dead, 5 wounded) men at prayer. When you investigate the perpetrator, you find he is deep into white-nationalist and anti-muslim websites. Such speech can lead to evil acts so some control of same, especially the truly vile, is fine by me. (It turns out that nice white Christian boys can self-radicalize to be right-wing terrorists using internet sites, same as nice brown Muslim boys can self-radicalize to be Salafist terrorists using internet sites. Who knew we were so similar?) He was convicted of murder, not a hate crime. Multiple sentences of life and a minimum or 25-years without a chance of parole is sufficient for his acts, not his thoughts. He will never get out.
As a US citizen, you have never had to deal with your immigration and customs people from the other side. Entrapment is expected at the border. Lots of stories over the last several decades (well before decriminalization) of agents trying to get you to admit, casually, that you may have tried marijuana. If you say, “oh sure, at a party when I was 13 I tried it”, then you are taken aside while they do paperwork that bans you for life from ever entering the USA ( Another victory in the war on drugs? ). They love doing this to middle-aged folks on their way to a job interview or visiting their relatives, thereby wrecking their lives. Frankly, customs agents (Canadian or American) are expected to be a$$holes to non-citizens at the border and wield God-like powers over when to let people into their country. Canadians just know to deny any drug use whenever you get asked at the border, even if it happened 30 years ago.
Pray for SpaceX. NASA isn’t serious anymore.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/18/bill-nelson-nasa-476947
NASA has not been serious for a decade or two now.
I like Mark Steyn more. He’s polished and has that accent.
He is NOT Polish. He was born in Toronto. Oh, wait…
I see Rand Paul told Fauci something similar to what I’ve been saying. If you tell people who have been vaccinated they still have to wear a mask you make them question the point of a vaccination and that creates “vaccine hesitancy.” He then went on to tell Fauci that Fauci has been vaccinated and is only wearing two (not one but two) masks for theater. It should be noted that Rand Paul is a physician.
I always did everything early… Now at 60, am a little burned out.
I am a late starter. Do you suppose that might allow me to live longer? I doubt it.
I once was a little close to burn-out, but changed my ways. Life is too short to not enjoy.
@TV,
“if they were so natural there would be no reason they need to be mentioned as such. ”
–yes, well that very argument was presented at the time. Fortunately more cynical thinking prevailed and it was spelled out.
“Speech is completely unlimited in the USA? There are no hate speech laws, civil rights legislation, slander and libel laws? Freedom of speech is fundamentally about being able to criticize your government, and those in government, without fear of retribution. We have that. Saying or writing anything you want about anyone without limit? I refer you again to slander and libel laws. It is likely Canada has stricter limits on hate speech.”
–my emphasis is on the weasel word “reasonable”. In our jury instructions that word has a very specific meaning, it’s a “term of art”. In every other usage, it’s very slippery and often defined well outside norms of behavior, or to mean whatever the person defining it wants it to mean.
Our slander and libel laws require that the aggrieved show actual harm has occurred and the complaint is brought by the person harmed, not the state. How does Canadian law define “hate” speech vs other types of speech? Far too often those sorts of things come down to “I don’t like what I heard” or “what I heard upsets me so someone must be punished.”
If you think getting into the US with a history of drug use is hard, try getting a work permit for Canada if you are a US citizen, or entering more than once with an arrest (not conviction) on your record. The arrest was more than 25 years old and had been set aside!
FWIW, I never got searched more thoroughly than by Canadian C&I. Every time. Every freaking time, even WITH papers. I used to joke that the lube smelled like maple syrup (but I was just joking. Never had to squat over a bucket.) Meanwhile I’d watch foreign nationals with the sketchiest looking student visas get waved thru…
Hate crimes are by definition thought crimes as the word ‘hate’ addresses inner beliefs and thoughts and mental state. (and my google fu is weak today so I can’t link the provincial case that my feeble memory won’t recall the details of.)
n
“He then went on to tell Fauci that Fauci has been vaccinated and is only wearing two (not one but two) masks for theater. It should be noted that Rand Paul is a physician. ”
— I watched the exchange and it has TWO assumptions built into the argument…. neither of which is proved.
1- that Fauci GOT the vaccination.
2-that Fauci believes the vaccination is efficacious.
Fauxi got called out for wearing an N95 under his cosmetic (I’m just like you ordinary folks) mask. He couldn’t admit that he has special access to effective masks, or that he didn’t trust the cloth rag to be effective, or that he was disguising his ‘privilege’ so he doubled down on wearing two masks.
He’s a politician and history tells us that when confronted their first reaction is to lie. Their second reaction is to double down on the lie or try to twist their way out (‘reframing’.)
I’m going to embrace the power of “and” in this case.
n
I grew up XXXX lived (hi, SteveF!) just north of the USA-Canadian border, near Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Back then, it was one of the busiest border crossings in the world, with something close to 100k people a day going over the bridge and through the tunnel. We knew to respect XXXX fear the border agents. Mostly the US ones, as I recall. They would tear apart one car just about every day to keep the proles in fear. OTOH, we knew to be polite and truthful, and never have or attempt to hide anything illegal. Know the rules, and pay whatever duty was required. Never had any trouble. Back then, Windsor was a very nice city worth visiting. Might still be today. The reason for the large number of people crossing was the auto industry, with about equal numbers going each way.
I once bought some camera equipment, and had it legally delivered to me at the border. Since this was rather common, I simply checked the rules and showed up at the customs office. I paid the modest tariff, got my paperwork, and was handed the sealed box by an import agent. Much easier than doing the same thing at one of our post offices. There, we were required to open the box, and deface certain trademarks, which could be a bad thing. There were ways around that, but going to the border was much easier.
I’d say that when you can’t pull an “all nighter” and make it thru the next day, you’ve grown up.
When you finally refuse to do ‘all nighters’ then you’ve grown up.
When you’d rather have a good night’s sleep than marathon sex, you’ve grown up.
when you no longer have a couple of drinks as a ‘warm up’ before going out for the night, you’ve grown up.
n
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-responds-biden-killer-slur-it-takes-one-know-one
n
Putting your stored up life energy (ie. the product of your work) in something that will survive a currency collapse is a good idea too. If you can’t get your stored up life (money) somewhere safe , or if you haven’t managed to store much up, you need to look for ways to use what remains to continue working through a collapse. Rental income streams were my go-to plan for that, but I didn’t factor in a government that would steal from the landlords. I’m busy rethinking and looking for additional streams. Skills involving making and repairing are looking pretty good.
Did you lose rental income in the COVID nonsense ? We did not. Our commercial property (3 tenants) and the 3 residential properties all stayed rented during the last year until February of this year. The rent house in Abilene had the long term (10+ years) tenant move out and the wife wants to sell it or torch it, one of the two, it is reputedly in very bad shape. We sure do not want to put $20K into it and then sell it.
So, for us, rental properties have been a good source of income, even through the COVID nonsense. The three residential properties are paid off and the commercial property has a 15 year mortgage for about a third of its value so we are not getting mortgage payment pressure.
We do have another unimproved property, just five acres of land, that we are holding as a long term investment. That does cost us money for taxes and mowing but nothing else and we can afford that for a long time. I anticipate selling that property in the next 10 to 20 years to the first investor who can pay me an obscene amount of profit on it. In fact, I am thinking about putting up a for sale sign and a website for it.
I just wish that all of the flippers would stop calling me and mailing me. And they call me on properties that we do not even own !
I’d say that under those definitions you are well past growing-up and into a later stage…
@Nick
That’s cheap… and dangerous
Back in the 1980’s and 90’s, at least, they had a real hardon about taking work away from citizens. If you answered yes to “Are you coming to Canada to work” they would deny you entry. Didn’t matter a bit if your work was supporting 100 Canadians. Always wanted to say “Absolutely not! I hate warm climates and can’t stand Florida in February!”or “No, I’m going to sign up for welfare.” Never did. Got really tempted on one trip, though. Wanted to say, “No, I’m coming up here to find out if your citizens know how to work. I have a $50 million product line that needs to be relocated and some people think it should move to Canada.” Near thing. It ultimately didn’t happen, but the possibility that I would have to make a trip north every month or so, after spending an extended period shaking down a relocated manufacturing line, was inhibiting my naturally civil nature.
@Lynn
Not too early to start the transition to retirement.
Easy to mix up the order of things like that.
Fake News Jake Tapper followed up with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on FNN. Totally bolluxed it by saying:
Twitter is totally bashing him with “Why the fcuk did I get vaccinated if I still have to wear a face diaper and might die from a COVID mutation anyway.”
I was sqawking this last year. It will never end. Vax every year (some doctors are now saying it isn’t a vax, its gene therapy). Diapers forever. Goobermint control.
GO MOPP4 NOW!
“That’s cheap… and dangerous”
–oh yeah. I’m working my way thru the Harvard Classics, got about 20 so far. Picked up a couple dozen great gub reference and gub smithing books, several really nice coffee table art books, great reference books (like the NY Public Library Answer Book), all the stuff a millenial doesn’t value when Prof. Grampa kicks it.
It’s funny how they work it, some days there aren’t any books and some days there are hundreds per bin. The pro’s are there scanning them and picking out the ones that will sell, I’m looking for stuff without bar codes….
n
“Back in the 1980’s and 90’s, at least, they had a real hardon about taking work away from citizens”
–2000s too. Company spent tens of thousands on lawyers so I could attend meetings in Canada.** They’d yank guys out of line if they admitted to being there for meetings without the ‘green card’ for work. Keep in mind that by the time I left, I’d say I was one of the top 10 guys at my job in the entire world*, so definitely met the definition of ‘expert’ AND was training Canadians in the work which were two of the qualifying reasons for getting the work permit.
n
*very small pond for me to be a big fish in it. VERY small. Still, I was very good at the job and got flown all over to solve issues others couldn’t solve.
**to be fair, there were also projects I directly supervised workers- like the 3 months I lived at the Westin in Calgary….
And might die from the “not-a-vaccine”. Or be sterilized by it.
!!! You’ve read about 20 or you’ve obtained about 20?
I’ve been reading the before
falling asleeppassing out from exhaustion and in odd free moments for a couple months and have only just started the third volume. (Not that the Harvard Classics are all I’m reading. There’s a science book, which is slow going, and some light fiction.)“I just wish that all of the flippers would stop calling me and mailing me. And they call me on properties that we do not even own ! ”
–I wish the flippers would stop trying to steal my property and make a real good offer.
I didn’t lose any rent from wuflu yet. The tenants continued to pay, but then this is TX, not NYFC.
n
I have been meaning to read this book to see what this author’s scenario are but, have yet to do so , “The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047”
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006232828X/?tag=ttgnet-20
Don’t read it if you are the least bit depressed. I put it down after the first 50 pages and have no desire to ever pick it up again.
“I just wish that all of the flippers would stop calling me and mailing me. And they call me on properties that we do not even own ! ”
–I wish the flippers would stop trying to steal my property and make a real good offer.
I didn’t lose any rent from wuflu yet. The tenants continued to pay, but then this is TX, not NYFC.
n
If the flippers ever make you a decent offer then you did not ask enough.
The real estate agent managing the two properties in Garland raised the rent in 2020 from $550/month to $700/month. One tenant left and the other tenant stayed with the new rate. The agent had no trouble finding a new tenant for the other property, they are both 2 bedroom / 1 bath, maybe 800 ft2 each.
Although it started in the UK, most any multi-national financial services company will have a mandatory “garden (or gardening) leave” policy for either VP or ED level and above that’s enforced when an employee gives notice. Basically a forced paid vacation, usually for 2 to 3 weeks, where you’re restricted from meaningful work in your old position and barred from starting your new position. Typically to stop you from enticing any clients from following you to your new firm.
I read several pages of The Mandibles. It seems to be literary fiction with the author’s political and social opinions woven in, a dreadful combination. Based on this solitary example, I have no idea how Shriver got a good reputation.
(That’s a lie. Of course I know. It’s literary fiction written by an urbanite. Of course the big publishers and the NYT love it.)
Geez, he’s 78…no grandkids to enjoy? And not likely he’ll be getting another ride in space.
A physician, yes, but an opthalmologist, not an immunologist.
“The Decline of Fry’s Electronics…What Happened?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to-osQMHxpE
“To the disappointment of many, Fry’s Electronics has announced that they will be permanently shutting down all their stores. This video talks about the decline of the chain of electronics stores and theorizes where things went wrong.”
I toss the mail.If they call and it doesn’t come up a possible spam I tell them yeah, it’s for sale, two million cash, no contingencies, 10 day close, 20% deposit. Usually they just hang up, once in a while it gets a laugh and then they hang up.
”
!!! You’ve read about 20 or you’ve obtained about 20?”
— hah, I knew that was unclear. Obtaining. We’re only reading Arabian Nights, and we’ve paused that to read the Hitchhikers Guide series. If I realized the Harvard classics were bringing between $10 and $20 each depending on edition, I’d have about double what I have now, but instead I just grabbed the ones that interested me.
n
“Glitterbomb Trap Catches Phone Scammer (who gets arrested)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g
“I glitterbombed my way up the scammer chain of command. Come join me in my Creative Engineering class!! https://Monthly.com/MarkRober”
“If you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of fraud, you can call or visit the National Elder Fraud hotline (https://stopelderfraud.ovc.ojp.gov/) at 833-372-8311 and report it to the FTC by visiting the agency’s website (https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/) or calling 877-382-4357.”
I cannot imagine sending $15,000 in cash to somebody through FedEx.
Of course, I cannot imagine allowing somebody to install a remote control on my home or office pc that I do not know personally.
Books: that list yesterday only covered about 7 weeks. My son has trouble believing how much I read and the content spread. Finished since yesterday: “Stardogs” by David Freer; “Earth Alone” by Daniel Arenson. I have about 1500 books in my library, mostly paperbacks. I’ve been thinning it out to ones I really like.
I threw away a hundred or so old and out dated technical books when I moved from North Carolina. I probably should have tossed another fifty. No one needs a dozen books on BASIC, MS-DOS User Guide and Reference, TTL, 6502 Systems, or The 2nd Edition of the Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering. (I did toss the 1st edition).. Oops, I didn’t include almost every Atari reference book ever published. Need to add another 10 or 15 books – those are still in boxes until I move the car books to the shop.
@Lynn, My shop is for personal use. I want to build a vehicle for drag racing and do some small woodworking projects. 1944 square feet heated, etc. The garage part will keep the weather and pine sap off my utility and car trailers, etc.
Thanks, you made my day. I bought the whole collection that was missing a couple of books in a school fair about 30 years ago at a Very affordable price. A bit worse for wear or, more precisely, probably stored improperly. I then read about a dozen of them but after that I started reading sci-fi more assiduously so they got relegated for future reading. I have them in boxes somewhere. Aside from the financial aspect, I wonder how many of those books will be sanctioned as improper material and be sanitised in the future. There is nothing like having an original as intended. 🙂
Are you kidding me? Everybody that is anybody needs a 6502, MS-DOS BIOS reference and Z80 set of books. It is where personal computing started!
I still have a shrinked-wrapped Microsoft C for MS-DOS and OS/2 box complete with full set of manuals and 5 1/4 floppies -I think, since it is unopened- that I intend to use and study sometime in the future. (No kidding either).
I have always been at the opposite side of the OFD RUTHLESS imperative. They’ll have to make a new tip site when they bury me and my stuff. 🙁
I think that Rick has instituted a feel-good feature lately. Most comments now seem to come with a thumbs-up. I am not complaining. 🙂
@Marcelo
They bury you with all those manuals and you’re going to sink right down through the subduction zone.
Although technically not hard to do, I haven’t done anything like that. Maybe people have started to notice that feature I implemented months ago. And are using it.
I often use it for those comments that I agree (or disagree) with.
“There is nothing like having an original as intended. ”
–that has been my idea and driven my ‘collecting’ since Lucas changed who shot first in the cantina to please the SJWs. Then amazon clawed back some kindle content, and netflix lost their licenses for some things which subsequently disappeared from the publicly accessible site.
If you can’t hold it, you don’t own it. I FINALLY picked up a Tom Sawyer last week that I THINK is unexpurgated. I haven’t looked inside as I was pressed for time. I have the collected works on the reference shelf but wanted a copy of each story to read with the kids. Imagine not knowing how Tom tricked all his friends into doing his work for him, because of one word. Or not knowing about the con men, tarred and feathered and run out of town. Literally. Or that only 150 years ago white fathers were beating their sons for ‘puttin on airs’ and learning to read.
But hey, I’m sure that reading about a mentally ill hispanic boy who wants to become a girl would be just as funny, and have just as many universal truths… after all, the author wrote a book. One. In sher life. But it’s a good one, oh yeah. Timeless classic.
n
@Marcelo, Read in future? I read a few pages for a break and to remind me of how it used to be. I wrote patches for the Atari assembler and Atari BASIC back in the day. I studied the 4004 CPU in my first micro processor class.
My first mainframe had some vacuum tube circuits but it mostly discrete components – transistors, capacitors and resistors on hundreds of boards. The compiler required two passes (reads) of the input card deck because memory wasn’t big enough to hold the complete input. The first pass extracted the data elements and sizes; the second built the program. (Started as a computer technician (repairman), became a assembly language programmer and later a systems manager.)
Bob, I am still to become a retired manager, systems engineer or programmer and only God knows when that will happen. Then, it just may be that I get to do something with that box but there are so many other things waiting to be learnt and done that the box may never get to be opened by me.
You also seem to have a few more years of experience than I have.
I started a bit later than you with a COBOL course on my last year of high school that used a Burroughs 500 as processing unit for the hands-on part. That determined that instead of going for an engineering degree I went for a Systems degree.
My first job, whilst on second year of Uni, was with a low end IBM 360 with removable hard drives, tape units with vacuum columns, card reader for input and very noise band printers. One of the essential detached units was a card sorter for when somebody tripped with the card boxes and made a mess of things or just because the card sorter was a more efficient use of resources than doing the sorts in the computer.
Back then you could actually See the progress of computations by looking at the machines. When the last card was read you knew that only then the program had been read and would start processing or that the final card with data had been read and the program was almost finished processing. Or when the tapes got rewound for that matter.
It was also a more religious period for computer programmers. You would be praying that the card reader did not jam, that the continuous stack of paper would not get to the end in the middle of the output process so there would not be output with two sections to it or that the appropriate removable disk was mounted and still working.
All the fiddling and time wasted on Z80 devices in the hope that we could actually save time. Some day. But it was a very nice period of time in which things started changing faster and faster and eventually giving us the personal computers that have given us so much in terms of fun, huge productivity increases, immeasurable improvement in dissemination of information and a means to making the world so much smaller and familiar than it was back then.
Good times. (And bad , but that is as it always has been.).
Cops are working street racers again tonight, but aren’t having much luck tracking them down or catching them in the act.
Shortwave radio is coming in pretty good in the 5mhz band. Mostly US based and Cuban broadcasters, but there are a lot of them lighting up the dial tonight.
n
They’ll have to make a new tip site when they bury me and my stuff.
My kinda guy. If OFD was ruthless, I must be ruthful. 🙂
My wife and I have always accumulated stuff. I refuse to call it collecting, because value doesn’t matter. Always have neglected projects and plans. Retired almost 19 years ago, and am busier than ever. Enjoy tinkering.
A day without learning something is a wasted day.
@ITGuy1998 – read through the symptoms and it sounded exactly like my wife’s DKA event that destroyed her kidneys a couple of years ago. She was already type 1 diabetic but no one connected the sudden uncontrollable vomiting and dehydration with an elevated sugar level. Took three days for them to make the DKA diagnosis and by then the damage was done. So happy your hospital staff were on the ball. I worked with a colleague who was type 1 and both his girls, age 6 and 10 were also. Sad to see, but they all had insulin pumps and managed pretty well.