Sunny with rain, high humidity, and heat. Probably 90s, and RH between 70 and 90. Kinda like yesterday.
Spent yesterday doing stuff. Drove youngest to day camp and back. She had a better day, with more activities. Doing that today too. Took oldest to the Doc in the Box, ended up with a strep test and positive diagnosis, so she’s started on amoxicillian. Which meant I went to the pharmacy too. No need for fish meds when the grid is up. I’ll take note of the scrip for the future though. The positive test means real questions about the weekend plan for GS activities, and next week’s sleep away camp. Dr said she should be fine for camp by Sunday. She’s hoping for Friday. Hmm. Don’t want to be that guy.
Spent time doing online chat with some indian fellows at Dell to get a replacement for the returns monitor that didn’t light up. The backlight comes on, but no image. No internal menus displayed either. The Dell warranty is pretty good for a $200-300 monitor. I don’t have the replacement yet, so, fingers still crossed.
Wife is home from the funeral trip. Thanks for all the condolences. Family gathered for the ceremonies, and my wife says they’re looking pretty shell shocked as you might imagine. She also took a hard look at her own parents and was a bit surprised to see them showing some frailness. They’re in a split level raised ranch style house with some stairs that wouldn’t meet current code because they are too steep. They are going to have to move if they want to stay in a normal house. They are not planning to move. There will be some reality smacking some heads at some point, hopefully not after a serious injury. Neither of us would be excited to have them move here. There will be more discussion another day. Guys, have a realistic plan for coping with the decline in your physical abilities.
My plan for today is to get out of the house, leaving oldest alone for a couple of hours while I do needful things elsewhere. I have to do a pickup on the other side of town and while I’m out, I need to move the piles of trash at my secondary from the place I stacked it to the dumpster. Then back to get youngest home, and nursemaid the sick one.
And getting some of the stuff here out of the house or better organized would be good too. I got more stuff ready for auction,but I still have to get an auction set up. Or three.
All that while working to improve my position, and topping up the stacks.
It’s a great life if you don’t weaken. Keep stacking.
n
I hear the high desert is suffering drought. Man, I wish we could send them some of our water. We’re drowning in rain, all rivers and reservoirs overflowing, and major rainstorms forecast for the rest of the week. I wonder if the Alps float? Oh, and the high passes are closed due to snow. While that’s not totally unusual, it does show that our temperatures are lower than normal.
That always seemed crazy to me. A valuable resource, just being burned off. I mean, an isolated well with some minor amount of methane, sure. But half?! That’s just nuts.
@brad:
But if you can’t transport it to people who can use it, because the NIMBYs or the Greens won’t let you build a pipeline, what can you do?
Mind, I entirely agree.
G.
She thought her zip code would protect her.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9784429/MA-mom-felt-sick-stomach-watching-Ring-video-stranger-snooped-home.html
Swing voter in tech hub suburb. “Joe and Kamala understand. *We* worked hard for this.”
Looks like a BMW X5 grocery getter in the driveway of the video stills from the obligatory Ring McMansion accessory. All the crossovers look the same to me, however.
The neighbors have the virtue signaling solar installation that is probably useless at that latitude and climate. Not 45th parallel, but really close.
When I started in engineering classes in a community college, Physics 101 had about 140 students in two classes. Calculus I had about the same. Physics 101 had lost probably 20% within a couple weeks.
At the end of two years, seven engineering students remained, one math major, and no physics majors.
The engineering program at that school was very well regarded, with pretty much automatic transfer to Rensselaer, Clarkson, and RIT.
By the way, of the seven remaining engineering students, four should have been kicked out. They were from Middle Eastern countries and had issues, shall we say, with doing their own work on tests. The teacher who taught most of the engineering classes caught them repeatedly but was unable to toss them. Money talks.
By the way, of the seven remaining engineering students, four should have been kicked out. They were from Middle Eastern countries and had issues, shall we say, with doing their own work on tests. The teacher who taught most of the engineering classes caught them repeatedly but was unable to toss them. Money talks.
I saw the same issues among the same demographic at my alma matter in the 80s. The school eventually became famous for the EE/CS department being home to leadership of Palestinian Islamic Jihad among the faculty, but the administration looked the other way until 9/11.
Money does talk — I’ve flogged the deceased equine here regarding increasing academic honesty issues among the dominant Subcontinent demographic in non-thesis CS Masters programs at state universities in this country over the last decade. The administration doesn’t care if they run an OPT diploma mill as long as the tuition gets paid.
Things that make you say hmmm — I was one of only two grad students in my CS Masters program who could produce a certified transcript as required by the state to qualify for the title “Teaching Assistant” and the higher paycheck. Lest you say that logistics were the issue, the other student who could produce a transcript without a problem was Vietnamese.
I had a Zoom interview with one of the local studios for a Microsoft game subsidiary on Monday. Of course I took the interview just because of the name, but things are a little unstable at the new job right now.
The company passed late yesterday via email, but, as usual when that happens, I always learn what I don’t know.
In their case, I don’t know enough of the more obscure parts of C++ and the associated terminology.
A decade ago, I would have made a point of spending a lot of down time to correct the deficiency ASAP, as I did with C++11 following a bad Intel interview experience, but, at this point in my career, I’m not sure what I would gain long term.
My spouse and I decided that our two-story house was not the house for us to grow old in when she stumbled going up the stairs. She wasn’t hurt, but it was a timely warning. We started looking for a one-story house, but couldn’t find anything we really liked in our price range. We ended up talking to a builder who was filling out the vacant lots he had bought in an area, finding a floorplan we liked in his list, and having him modify it to be ADA compliant – halls and doors wide enough for a wheelchair, walk-in shower stall, etc. We did this mainly because one of our friends is in a wheelchair, and we wanted things to be easy if she came to visit. Then earlier this year I tore an Achilles tendon, which put me in a wheelchair for a few weeks. It would have been a near disaster in our previous house, but in this one it worked out OK. I’m definitely glad we moved before we needed it.
This house was never intended to be our “forever” house, but it’s all one level. There is a 6″ step down to the formal living room, which we used as a pen for the kids when they were little and is now the “play room” or the “library” depending on mood.
Part of the master remodel was to widen the bathroom doors. I got to 32 or 34″, I forget. Not quite to the ADA 36″ but better than the original 24″.
n
South Africa is collapsing.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/south-africa-crumbling-amid-widespread-looting
Has been for some time. Several people have been linking to stories of white farmers killed and maimed and burnt out of their homes. Crime is crazy high. Confiscation of land was approved by the government.
Now the already tenuous ‘civilization’ is failing.
n
I graduated from a university in the late 1960s with a five year bachelor of electrical engineering degree that included a cumulative year of coop employment at a major electronics firm. I never considered failure to be an option, however a small percentage of students couldn’t hack the technical subjects and transferred to the business college of the same university. A few years after graduating, some of them rose to high paying jobs that were rarely open to engineers. That was a life lesson, and partly why I took opportunities to get into project management. It might not have been upper corporate management, but I had a good career.
Now that I am retired, it makes absolutely no difference. I have friends who had menial to exalted careers. All of us are pursuing life and our hobbies.
Darned phone charged to only 1% last night, so it’s probably the circuitry. I’ve changed batteries, chargers, and cables. I’ve cleaned the port, tried a hard reset and even shorted the battery terminals inside the phone. (Used to do that on motherboards to clear the CMOS, but I forget why, lol). I’ve tried threats, bribery and cajoling but alas, she’ s dead ~jim. All that’s left is a factory reset but it seems like a hardware problem so I don’t think that’ll help.
@RickH
Didn’t you have an extra phone you got and didn’t need? A32? If indeed it’s a Samsung I’d be more than happy to give it a good home.
From the timeline, they weren’t missing the quorum call at the time they left. So, the warrants weren’t out. In addition, no law has been violated by their leaving.
He didn’t suspend their salaries, he line item vetoed their salaries in the appropriations bill for the FY starting 9/1/2021. They will need to pass a new appropriation bill to restore them. In any case, their salaries are chicken feed, $600 per month, but they also get a per diem of $221 per day when in session.
This girl’s story is interesting, but also sounds like a con…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9674507/Cheryl-Diamond-model-born-outlaw-spent-childhood-international-fugitive-evading-Interpol.html
n
I’ve never had the issues with browsers that some people do and their problems have always perplexed me. I’ve heavily used different versions of IE, Firefox, Safari, and even Opera over the years and none have been a problem (except perhaps very early versions of IE that didn’t like to render HTML in accordance with the published standards). Same goes for operating systems. I can’t think of a single complaint I had about Windows Me or Windows Vista. I certainly have browsers and operating systems I prefer the feel of, but performance-wise I’ve never found myself annoyed at this or that like so many other people.
This is a common point made by Linux proponents. Personally, it’s solving a problem that isn’t really a problem. While I suppose there’s some architectural bragging rights to Linux being able to install most updates while you use the stuff being updated that’s pretty much where it ends… bragging. You can schedule update windows in Windows so updates are installed when you’re typically sleeping and you can set it so they don’t install without your explicit permission. So, the fact that they require a reboot or lock up the OS during install isn’t really an issue. If it is, then maybe just don’t click the “install now” button while you’re trying to get work done or maybe take 5 minutes to set up your preferences for system updates. Like I said, this is a problem that really isn’t a problem.
Linux is a bit of a religion. I’ve found the people who exclusively use Linux for their desktop OS are so blinded by their Linux loyalty that they shrug off anything Linux isn’t particular great at or user-friendly with. After a while, they forget that those things they’ve shrugged off are things they used to do and so desktop Linux just becomes infallible in their head. There’s a reason desktop Linux never seemed to move much past 2% market share and it’s not because Microsoft and Apple are evil megacorps trying to suppress it. It’s because your 55 year old aunt doesn’t want to spend a week googling and tweaking a config file so she can get her all-in-one printer/scanner/copier working as desired (to use just one example). Also, desktop Linux users tend to have a really outdated perception of other operating systems (especially, Windows). They switched to Linux when it first got really popular 20(ish) years ago and for many of them in their heads they’re unfairly comparing 2021 desktop Linux to versions of Windows that were widely in use in 2002 when they made the switch.
I used to use the heck out of Linux from about 2001-2006. Not because I thought it was better but just because it was fun. I always considered it a hobbyist OS. Some guys like to twist wrenches on cars on the weekends. I liked to mess with Linux. I sort of got bored with it and moved onto other interests.
I believe recent science has shown that the part of your brain that’s used for decision making and as a moral compass isn’t fully developed until you’re about 25. Imagine the rage if the age of majority was changed to 25. lol
I did some web-development work for a home designer many years ago. They had designs they classified as “boomer-centric” with wider hallways, wider doorways, ramps instead of stairs at the entrance, separate master bedrooms (they embraced the fact that many elderly choose to sleep in separate beds), and so forth.
“Gov Abbott could suspend salaries again, then restart under a new system that uses paper checks and requires a confirmation signature from the legislator to get staff paid.”
He didn’t suspend their salaries, he line item vetoed their salaries in the appropriations bill for the FY starting 9/1/2021. They will need to pass a new appropriation bill to restore them. In any case, their salaries are chicken feed, $600 per month, but they also get a per diem of $221 per day when in session.
The stories I read indicated that Abbott line item vetoed all of the salaries for the Legislature, including the full time staffers who work in Austin even when the elected members are absent.
I doubt the full time staffers salaries are insignificant to their bottom line. Regardless, Abbott has to make sure something comes out of the special session(s) to prove that he has a wider agenda than abortion restrictions and gun rights. He will get the blame for the next big power-outage, whether the finger pointing is deserved or not, and another February-level event before the primary could be the end of his reelection chances given his real accomplishments in office to date.
Robert Francis is in town a lot more as of late, increasing his visibility as Abbott stumbles, and I’ll spare you another round of …
Well, you know the McConaughey line from “Dazed and Confused”.
Republican. You heard it here first.
Linux is a bit of a religion. I’ve found the people who exclusively use Linux for their desktop OS are so blinded by their Linux loyalty that they shrug off anything Linux isn’t particular great at or user-friendly with.
I have multiple machines I use regularly with all three major OS platforms: Mac OS, Linux, and Windows.
Each one has their place in my workflows.
The new, developing religion that I find discomforting is composed of Windows hardcore who recently discovered the Linux subsystem and believe that Windows 10 is the “one ring to rule them all”, especially now that Microsoft has half-a**ed a mechanism to run Linux GUI apps out of the subsystem via RDP.
There are LOTS of options out there now. For 2 story houses, several kinds of lifts and elevators are made for residential use. For split levels, ramps with hand rails are often good options for up to 3 steps up. And a friend of ours put one on their motor home that works like an artesian screw: his wife transfers from her wheelchair to a seat, it lifts her up and swings into the motor home, then she transfers back to the wheelchair. Her husband still has to carry the wheelchair up into it.
Since my husband became seriously disabled 7 years ago, we’ve made modifications as needed to our one-story house, to accommodate his gradual loss of strength. Originally, I cobbled together a short ramp from the carport entry door using a piece of 3/4″ plywood propped onto a pile of 2x6s and 1x4s. I took him down it backwards and when going up, he would grasp the door frame and help pull. That worked fine until he learned to walk with his walker again. When not in use, I stowed the pieces behind and under a bench by the door. And I really liked not being saddled with a permanent ramp that would have been a problem for me to have to walk up and down.
Our son built us a wooden 4 part platform with ramp to raise his wheelchair high enough for him to transfer into the Dodge pick-up that is the one of our cars he is comfortable in (he can’t lift his legs high enough to get into the Jeep). Being in 4 pieces, I can take it apart and put it in the back, then get it out and put together when we get where we are going. We used that until he was able to walk with his walker again.
He was able to lift his legs over the tub to transfer to a shower stool, so we only needed to replace the shower head with a hand-held, until two years ago when he could no longer lift his legs that high, and at that time we removed the tub to create a step-in shower.
Recently, he’s lost even more function, can no longer walk, cannot pivot when standing, and is having to learn to transfer again, so my little make-shift ramp is not sufficient. I got the portable car platform/ramp back out to use also at the carport entry door. It is taller than the threshold, so we added a 5th piece – a piece of 3/4″ plywood with a 2×4 on one side for the in-house side of the threshold to ramp down from the platform smoothly onto the floor. It works great and is still portable and removable, so doesn’t hamper me coming in and out several times a day.
“He didn’t suspend their salaries, he line item vetoed their salaries in the appropriations bill for the FY starting 9/1/2021. They will need to pass a new appropriation bill to restore them. In any case, their salaries are chicken feed, $600 per month, but they also get a per diem of $221 per day when in session.”
Whatever. Details don’t matter in this Asymmetric warfare on the short end is for losers and the page from the other side is “make up your own rules, implement them, and let the other side litigate to a resolution two years later”.
@Nick
Have you read “The Drifters” by James Michener. ca 1970. Nailed Africa dead center. Nailed the progs in passing in one paragraph. Pithy upstart religion reality, too.
Knee surgery in 8 days. VA has called me multiple times. Setting up in-home therapy because I can get it. I really don’t want the spousal unit committed to taking me therapy every day for two weeks. In-home is better anyway as less exposure to other people.
The surgeon has ordered a walker, cane, and ice pack machine (not sure what that is). The VA will be providing all of them, delivered from Nashville by a driver, a 300+ mile round trip. We already have a walker and cane from wife’s hip replacement surgery. I am afraid to cancel those as it may screw up the entire order. The ice machine, I think, is container with ice, an attachment that goes around the knee, and a battery powered pump in the ice container. I have to wear it when I leave the hospital.
The VA is being much more responsive than I have seen in the past. Almost bending over backwards to accommodate the surgery. Some of that I attribute to Trump. I don’t know if Biden will continue the trend.
Anyway, I am very nervous and scared of this procedure. I have never been sliced open before. I have been put under before. In this case I am getting a general anesthetic plus a nerve block. I know the surgeon does a couple hundred a year, the hospital a couple thousand. But still, I am not looking forward to this process.
Scheduled for the 22nd of this month, one night in the hospital, no driving for six weeks.
The VA is being much more responsive than I have seen in the past. Almost bending over backwards to accommodate the surgery. Some of that I attribute to Trump. I don’t know if Biden will continue the trend.
Have you noticed that Biden’s portrait is not yet in the VA facilities?
Trump’s replaced Obama’s fairly quickly in 2017.
As for responsiveness, in the last six months, with the surgeons and specialists reluctant to return to the offices full time, the VA has shifted a lot more of their work, particularly paper shuffling, onto the GPs — great in the short term, but the organization will pay a heavy price in attrition long term, increasing their reliance on Subcontinent GPs as replacements.
@~jim
Yep, have an new LG K51 that is gathering dust here. Splash screen shows Metro-T-Mobile logo; just did a factory reset with it. Includes the SIM card that it came with, plus the charger and cord. And the fancy box with the Metro-TMobile branding. Label shows mfg date of 11/2020.
LG website shows the cost of an unlocked version as $199 – https://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-lmk500qm7ausatn-unlocked-k51 .
I’m willing to accept whatever reasonable price you decide on. About $5 to ship via USPS, probably, to a US location. I have no use for it.
Contact me at rhellewell at gmail dot com if you are interested.
Ray, my prayers for an easy surgery and speedy recovery. I understand the nerves. I had never had surgery either. In Feb, I had surgery (for a different reason) with general plus a nerve block, and stayed overnight. I LOVE NERVE BLOCK! I never had ANY pain of any kind from the surgery! Some soreness as it healed but never any “pain”. They sent me home with a bottle of pain pills, but I only took one “just in case before I needed it”… well, it turned out I never needed it. I hope that you have the same great result that I had.
“Law Banning Handgun Sales for Those Under 21 Unconstitutional, Rules Federal Court”
https://mediarightnews.com/law-banning-handgun-sales-for-those-under-21-unconstitutional-rules-federal-court/
“In 1968, then-President Lyndon Johnson signed a law banning the sale of handguns for those under 21, now the law has been ruled “unconstitutional” by a federal court.”
“The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday this law is unconstitutional and Trump-appointed judge Julius Richardson said, “In the law, a line must sometimes be drawn. But there must be a reason why constitutional rights cannot be enjoyed until a certain age.” Richardson points out that 18 year olds who served in the militia when the second amendment was written were require to have their own weapons.”
I have been wondering this myself. How can rights be banned above the age of 17 ? Specifically, guns and alcohol.
At the tender age of 18 and up, I bought a LOT of beer with my buddies at TAMU. We drank it like crazy because there just was not that many women at TAMU in the 1970s.
@nick said: Beer and the pursuit of young women is why I’m not an engineer today. Well, add math, statics, thermo, and diffeq to that list too. The weed out classes weeded me out….
Math, statics, thermo, and diffeq make the world go round. And hold the Earth around Sol and the Moon around Earth. And allow us to heat ourselves out of the ice age. And cool ourselves at the equator.
And beer is freaking awesome. Too bad I decided that more than one beer was too much for me back in 1986. But the wife was getting unhappy and …
“@nick said: Beer and the pursuit of young women is why I’m not an engineer today. Well, add math, statics, thermo, and diffeq to that list too. The weed out classes weeded me out….”
Math, statics, thermo, and diffeq make the world go round. And hold the Earth around Sol and the Moon around Earth. And allow us to heat ourselves out of the ice age. And cool ourselves at the equator.
At the last job, the non-linear autofocus numbers on the internally-developed license plate cameras made me wonder if the engineers passed Dynamics, particularly the section on angular momentum. The naive assumption with stepper motors is always that the position is exact when the turning stops, even when moving a heavy glass lens.
And, before anyone says it, no, the engineers were not Chinese or even American. They were Austrian, and the company had a much longer history with mechanical controls on railroads before they bought into toll systems.
Yes, 125+ year old Austrian company with a history of railroad control systems. Just don’t ask what they were up to, say, 80-90 years ago.
Still looking forward to the daily ballistic from Houston to Tokyo
–in one of the SF books I read, they make it a point to be sure the LANDING strip is empty before LAUNCHING. The implication is that it once wasn’t. Can’t remember the story though.
n
@nick
The story is “Friday” by RAH https://www.amazon.com/Friday-Robert-Heinlein/dp/034530988XFriday/a?tag=ttgnet-20, which also touches on why you don't trust an AI to control the flight… it has nothing to lose and isn't accepted as human (by whatever definition) so if it has a grievance, the outcome could be really bad for the passengers.
–in one of the SF books I read, they make it a point to be sure the LANDING strip is empty before LAUNCHING. The implication is that it once wasn’t. Can’t remember the story though.
Whenever Shuttle launched at Kennedy, the landing strip had to be cleared of alligators in case an emergency forced a landing.
I remember back when Wil Wheaton was on Twitter (before he got mad and left in 2018). He would block anyone that tweeted “Shut up, Wesley!” at him or sent him any related memes. He was “sick of it.” lol
I saw this opinion piece on Fox News about why the Texas legislators will definitely be back…
Still looking forward to the daily ballistic from Houston to Tokyo
–in one of the SF books I read, they make it a point to be sure the LANDING strip is empty before LAUNCHING. The implication is that it once wasn’t. Can’t remember the story though.
n
@nick
The story is “Friday” by RAH https://www.amazon.com/Friday-Robert-Heinlein/dp/034530988X?tag=ttgnet-20Friday/a?tag=ttgnet-20, which also touches on why you don’t trust an AI to control the flight… it has nothing to lose and isn’t accepted as human (by whatever definition) so if it has a grievance, the outcome could be really bad for the passengers.
Totally cool ! And “Friday” is on my reread list.
https://www.amazon.com/Friday-Robert-Heinlein/dp/034530988X?tag=ttgnet-20
I did notice that when I was last at the Harriman VA Clinic. I suspect Biden is not supporter of the VA and considers the agency a waste of money. Well, until one of his family members is placed in a high position within the agency.
I am hoping for the same. Surgeon indicated the nerve block would make a significant difference in comfort and recovery speed. I will be given a prescription for 5 days of narcotics as that is all the VA will allow. It can be extended under doctor’s order for another 10 days if necessary. Fine with me. I am not a fan of narcotic drugs and will avoid them. But better to have and not need than need and not have.
The general ruling for the VA is that if the VA does not offer the service within 30 miles of the recipient’s home, the VA will find a private provider for the services. Certainly beats a 150 mile one way trip to Murfreesboro to the VA hospital. I am not real keen on VA hospitals from what others have stated. My last experience with a VA hospital was 40 years ago and would hope things have improved since that time.
I really don’t know why this procedure is bothering me so much. The eye surgeries I never batted an eye (clever pun, you can now clap) in any of the processes. May be because I could “see” (another clever pun) the problem and knew it would be fixed. In this case the substantial pain I experienced is gone, I move around well, no real discomfort, thus I don’t see the gain. Maybe it is a “knee jerk” reaction.
South Africa is collapsing.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/south-africa-crumbling-amid-widespread-looting
Has been for some time. Several people have been linking to stories of white farmers killed and maimed and burnt out of their homes. Crime is crazy high. Confiscation of land was approved by the government.
Now the already tenuous ‘civilization’ is failing.
n
I know 3 or 4 South African whites here in the USA. They got out decades ago.
we are still flaring half of the natural gas produced in the USA
That always seemed crazy to me. A valuable resource, just being burned off. I mean, an isolated well with some minor amount of methane, sure. But half?! That’s just nuts.
Before the crude oil collapse in January 2020, 2/3rds of the natural gas produced in the USA was flared. And even if there are pipelines, the price in the Rockies for natural gas is one penny per million btus. That will get your heart to thumping if you are a seller.
The problem is that all of these new shale oil fields in the USA are mostly natural gas. You have choice with natural gas while producing crude oil which is very salable. The first choice is to sell the natural gas to the pipeline. If the natural gas has very much CO2 in it, or more than 4 ppm H2S, or nitrogen, or water, you have to treat the natural gas. Treating is expensive and can easily cost one dollar/mmbtu.
But if there is no pipeline, you still have choices. You can flare the natural gas which is cheap. Just buy a flare rack with an igniter. But the state governments frown on that and generally do not allow wells to be flared for more than a year. Coincidentally, the wells last less than a year unless throttled so it is always time to drill a new well.
So if you don’t want to flare the natural gas, you can compress it and put it back in the ground. Compressors are expensive (millions of dollars) and have 18 to 24 month lead times. And the EPA wants you to use electric drivers (expensive to buy and expensive to run).
So if you don’t want to sell, flare, or compress the natural gas, you can convert it into LNG, liquefied natural gas. And this is happening right now. A lot of people are doing this but, it is a growth industry as the 18 wheelers trucks are being modified for LNG. But, an LNG production skid costs over a million dollars. And you need to treat the natural gas, expensive.
Makes one want to buy a solar panel field.
BTW, Nigeria flares 90% of its natural gas. Just saying. Until the shale oil fields took off in the USA in the 2000s, Nigeria was the number one flarer of natural gas in the world.
I did some web-development work for a home designer many years ago. They had designs they classified as “boomer-centric” with wider hallways, wider doorways, ramps instead of stairs at the entrance, separate master bedrooms (they embraced the fact that many elderly choose to sleep in separate beds), and so forth.
I am thinking about building a second master bedroom / game room onto my house. My wife snores something fierce. She also goes to bed at midnight, I go to bed at 2 am to 4 am.
He was able to lift his legs over the tub to transfer to a shower stool, so we only needed to replace the shower head with a hand-held, until two years ago when he could no longer lift his legs that high, and at that time we removed the tub to create a step-in shower.
I am getting ready to convert our master tub (the one I fell into backwards Sunday night) into a walk-in shower. I want zero elevation change so we can wheel a wheelchair in there. Our existing master shower is 36 inches by 36 inches (tight !).
“Here comes the UN to destroy America”
https://gunfreezone.net/here-comes-the-un-to-destroy-america/
“Remember that the Special Rapporteur that investigated Israel came to the predetermined conclusion that Israel was an apartheid nation that committed war crimes, evidence to the contrary be dammed.
The Special Rapporteur investigating America will come to the predetermined conclusion that America is the most racist, most unequal, most evil country on earth, evidence to the contrary be dammed.
Then the Biden Administration will be forced to invite the UN to do something about it, which means handing over sovereignty to a bureaucratic cesspool that hates us and wants to take us down.”
How long until the civil war II in the USA ? It is coming.
I know 3 or 4 South African whites here in the USA. They got out decades ago.
Austin has a decent-sized expat community. I’ve met a few, and, interestingly, they are in the weapons business, assault rifles no less.
I don’t doubt the stories that the expats have a few nukes as insurance against a genocide of the white population. There is probably little they can do about land confiscation but get out and let the Cape turn into Zimbabwe.
From what I’ve been told, SA is increasingly dominated by Subcontinent as that government’s hedge against expanding Chinese influence in Africa. That could be interesting long term.
Groan…
A friend of mine had a knee replacement and nerve block, said it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. Said the physical therapy was the worst but apparently it’s really important. FWIW.
I had a white south african for a roommate for a couple of years, and worked in a wannabe megachurch with a white south african preacher. While in Florida, met my sibling’s local friend, also white south african, by way of Oklahoma of all places.
Yeah, they all got out decades ago.
n
“Six Facts The Left Doesn’t Want You To Know About Global Warming”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/six-facts-left-doesnt-want-you-know-about-global-warming
“Hold on to your wallet.
The Left’s global warming Chicken Littles insist that the sky is falling but don’t want you to know six key facts.
First, in his new book “Unsettled,” Obama Administration Department of Energy chief scientist Steven Koonin shows that the models relied upon by the Left to predict future global warming are so poor that they cannot even reproduce the temperature changes in the 20th century.
Second, Koonin’s book also documents that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s own analysis indicates that any negative economic impact that global warming eventually may have will be so modest that it warrants no action.
Third, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the UN IPPC do not claim that a link has been established between global warming and natural disasters.
Fourth, as the earth’s temperature has risen, natural disasters have become far less deadly.
Fifth, some of the world’s best scientists believe that global warming will be beneficial rather than harmful.
Sixth, global warming saves lives. A study published in 2015 by the British medical journal The Lancet found that cold kills over 17 times more people than heat.”
Seventh, we cannot predict the future worth a hoot.
Most of the knee ops now get some sort of cryo therapy and movement right away.
I had a nerve block and general when they reattached my bicep muscle. VERY strange feeling the weight of my arm pulling on my body without feeling the arm…
And don’t be a hero, take at least that first painkiller before the block wears off.
n
How long until the civil war II in the USA ? It is coming.
–give us some nice blue helmets to target and unite the factions with an outside enemy.
n
Why showers are enclosed, or worse still, enclosed with hard to keep clean glass, is beyond me. A chest high partition, a built in bench, and drain in the bathroom floor and in the shower itself. Big tiles. And for cryinoutloud, coved corners and sides for easy cleaning.
☽ I’ll light my Wiccan spell candle and ask the Goddess. ☾
🔮
lol
Did my pickup, trash run, swapped trucks and got d2 from day camp.
Then my older neighbor (the one we’re worried is losing it) asked for help hanging a light. So I went over to help him. Gave me a good chance to interact and evaluate. Replacing the light module on a ceiling fan, with the proper brand replacement part, and two things made it almost impossible. One, it used slotted screws. No way to hold them, and they were too short, and went into relieved holes in the casting. I finally ended up taping the screw to the driver to hold it. Two, there was no slop in the screw holes AT ALL. They were 1/64″ out of alignment with the threaded holes, but that was enough that they just wouldn’t start. I ended up filing the holes bigger, each by less than 1/64″ and then everything lined up.
All this is while holding the module over my head, tight to the fan. I’m soaked thru with sweat.
His wife was doing ok, remembering things in the distant past well enough. He was tired and had trouble coming up with the right word when we were in the story swapping phase of the work. Couldn’t remember our street name on the first try. Called me Jim, realized he got it wrong and correctly called me “Nick”. He’s not completely sharp but also was plenty functional.
It was encouraging to see him in such good shape, after the incident with the rifle…
n
Did my pickup, trash run, swapped trucks and got d2 from day camp.
Then my older neighbor (the one we’re worried is losing it) asked for help hanging a light. So I went over to help him. Gave me a good chance to interact and evaluate. Replacing the light module on a ceiling fan, with the proper brand replacement part, and two things made it almost impossible. One, it used slotted screws. No way to hold them, and they were too short, and went into relieved holes in the casting. I finally ended up taping the screw to the driver to hold it. Two, there was no slop in the screw holes AT ALL. They were 1/64″ out of alignment with the threaded holes, but that was enough that they just wouldn’t start. I ended up filing the holes bigger, each by less than 1/64″ and then everything lined up.
All this is while holding the module over my head, tight to the fan. I’m soaked thru with sweat.
His wife was doing ok, remembering things in the distant past well enough. He was tired and had trouble coming up with the right word when we were in the story swapping phase of the work. Couldn’t remember our street name on the first try. Called me Jim, realized he got it wrong and correctly called me “Nick”. He’s not completely sharp but also was plenty functional.
It was encouraging to see him in such good shape, after the incident with the rifle…
n
Sounds like my Dad’s parents, she was the brain, he was the brawn. It worked for a couple of years and then blew up one day.
Scariest day of my life when my grandfather decided to outrun the 50 mph train at the unarmed crossing next to his house. I was in the back seat. My grandmother yelled “stop Gilbert !” and he did. That was the last time I rode anywhere with him.
How long until the civil war II in the USA ? It is coming.
–give us some nice blue helmets to target and unite the factions with an outside enemy.
n
Here is a practice target:
https://www.hoplitearmor.com/products/targets
BTW, charging my F-150 AGM battery last Sunday afternoon for six hours worked. The start-stop system activated last night on my four mile trip from work to home.
Both my brothers had the procedure and both said the same thing. Older brother had a friend who ignored the therapy and now requires a cane to walk. Both said it was painful therapy, enough to make them both cry and want to gob-smack the therapist.
I have no intention of being the hero. I will take the medicine exactly as specified by the surgeon. If it hurts, I will take the pain medicine. I don’t like the narcotic medicine as last time I had some after oral surgery I slept for 18 hours. Never took the rest. But there was no painful therapy involved.
“IT’S HAPPENING: Biden Is Sending Community Organizers Door-to-Door With COVID Shots”
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2021/07/14/its-happening-biden-is-sending-community-organizers-door-to-door-with-covid-shots-n1461643
“Joe Biden wasn’t kidding. When his spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Biden administration would send people door-to-door to convince people to get the COVID shot, there was a chill sent down the spines of freedom-loving Americans everywhere. Many people took it as a threat.
But now those door-to-door COVID-shot salespeople are here and they’ve brought back-up: injectors.”
Wow ! And with shots right there !
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Put the beef roast in the oven.
n
Put the beef roast in the oven.
n
What time is supper ? Do I need to be early ?
Wow ! And with shots right there !
The Moderna and Pfizer shots are fragile and have to be thrown away if not used quickly after being thawed from their specified storage temperatures. Without numbers known in advance, there will be a lot of waste.
Maybe Scranton Joe should start with his adopted home state. IIRC, the vaccination rate in Delaware is 57%.
C’mon, man!
Without numbers known in advance,
–the vax maker likely gets paid when the shot ships, not when it goes in the arm… so they don’t care.
n
Wow ! And with shots right there !
The Moderna and Pfizer shots are fragile and have to be thrown away if not used quickly after being thawed from their specified storage temperatures. Without numbers known in advance, there will be a lot of waste.
Maybe Scranton Joe should start with his adopted home state. IIRC, the vaccination rate in Delaware is 57%.
C’mon, man!
Probably the J&J single application shots.
That’s a bunch of malarkey!
So, we are deflating Terra, eh? Won’t it start crumpling?
BTW, charging my F-150 AGM battery last Sunday afternoon for six hours worked. The start-stop system activated last night on my four mile trip from work to home.
I don’t remember if that is the only battery in the system. If it is, when you get a chance, check the voltage with the engine running at fast idle and all loads OFF. It should be ~13.5-14.5 V at your summer temperatures. If it is low, have someone check it further. I think the truck is under warranty, so if it is, take it to the dealer. Don’t mention charging the battery, just that start-stop doesn’t always work. See what they find. Someone here mentioned warranty stuff, and the dealer is good for that if you trust them. Otherwise, go to a good automotive electrical shop, tell them the whole vehicle is under warranty, and take their advice.
Batteries are cheap, but if there is something wrong with the charging system it could be expensive. Many cars have that function in the engine controller, and the only official cure is to replace it.
Wife and I both snore. My sleep apnea is pretty bad – so they tell me.
You’re kidding yourselves if you don’t go to a pulmonologist and get checked.
I’m guessing a cpap is in order. Wife and I both use one. I’ve known may others that also do. I’m immune to others snoring but my wife isn’t. To be honest, I often remove the mask during the night without knowing. If I wake her she lets me know.
I does stop the snoring and you’ll get a better night’s sleep.
Sleep apnea is a precursor to atrial fibrillation. Also, a probable cause of death, if your brain doesn’t remember to restart your breathing when an ‘apnea’ stops your breathing.
Sleep apnea is what caused my a-fib problems. I’ve been using a CPAP for more than a decade. The mask I use is just two nasal ‘pillows’ that are not intrusive while sleeping.
And afib is no fun, although mine is controlled, so only have occasional afib episodes.
If you think you have sleep apnea, get it diagnosed with a sleep study. Then start using the CPAP if prescribed. Or die in your sleep. It’s that serious. I tell you three times.
Agreed. I have been on CPAP therapy for about 10 years myself. After adjusting to the mask I find I sleep much better. Some nights not so well, but not many.
I use a DreamWisp mask.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/dreamwisp-nasal-cpap-mask-fit-pack-headgear
Really like it as there are no snaps, just magnets. The airpath from the top of the head down each side of the face allows me to sleep on my side. The mask is smaller than others and not as intrusive. But to each their own as that is why there are so many options.
I am due to have my machine replaced, have been for a couple of years. But it still works so I fail to see why I need to replace.
Last time I needed a new machine my insurance would allow me to “rent” the machine for about $150.00 a month for 11 months that I would pay and counted toward my deductible. However, CPAP.COM had the same machine for $900.00, almost a thousand less than the DME was charging insurance. I asked if I could apply the cost of the machine from CPAP.COM to my insurance deductible. Was told no, CPAP.COM is not a recognized provider. I then asked the insurance company if they are interested in reducing health care costs. They said absolutely. I then asked why insurance is being charged a thousand dollars more the same machine. All I got was silence.
So I purchased the machine myself, taking the risk I would not exceed my deductible for the year. I was correct. My next machine will be covered by Medicare and my supplemental. The VA will NOT cover CPAP machines. Seems strange. Or at least last I checked seven years ago. My status has changed and the VA has changed. I need to check again.
And for the ultimate heresy, a Linux “distro” created and used by Microsoft. Give it a spin! Buahaha.
https://blog.jreypo.io/2021/07/09/a-look-into-cbl-mariner-microsoft-internal-linux-distribution/
…BTW, Nigeria flares 90% of its natural gas. Just saying. Until the shale oil fields took off in the USA in the 2000s, Nigeria was the number one flarer of natural gas in the world.
So, we are deflating Terra, eh? Won’t it start crumpling?
Already started. That is why Miami and Houston flood so bad. Areas of Houston have dropped over ten feet in elevation to below sea level. New Orleans was already below sea level before we started building a large city there.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/For-years-the-Houston-area-has-been-losing-ground-7951625.php
@Ray Thompson
If you had any issues with previous anesthesiology make sure to discuss with the current anesthesiologist beforehand.
@Lynn
“And beer is freaking awesome”
You might want to try some of the newer NA brews. A couple of them are quite respectable.
@RickH
“If you think you have sleep apnea, get it diagnosed with a sleep study. Then start using the CPAP if prescribed. Or die in your sleep. It’s that serious. I tell you three times. ”
If I agree, does that add one or another three?
Most insurance will pay for the sleep study.
@Nick
If all the white South Africans got out years ago, the many in this country in weapons businesses wouldn’t be shipping heavy boxes to the old homeland labeled “car parts”.
Already started. That is why Miami and Houston flood so bad. Areas of Houston have dropped over ten feet in elevation to below sea level. New Orleans was already below sea level before we started building a large city there.
Tampa had a choice 25 years ago — raise the sales tax to fix the drainage issues on the Interbay peninsula or buy the Yucs a new stadium. Guess which one the city chose.
At least the field at Raymond James Stadium drains well even if the surrounding streets don’t fare as well.
To be fair, however, the old Tampa Stadium always had decent turf too. The 30 year bonds to build that facility weren’t even paid off when ground was broken for the replacement.
The NFL is moving towards 25 years max as acceptable age for stadiums.
Ribeye roast was delicious.
Small red potatoes boiled with a sprig of rosemary.
Canned peas.
Baked a shelf stable loaf of bread.
d1 made chocolate cupcakes for dessert, since the oven was hot anyway.
n
Ribeye roast was delicious.
We bought a new grill for a combination Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and delayed housewarming (only 7 years) gift.
First gas grill in 12 years. We didn’t want to get too ambitious so we grilled hot dogs and turkey burgers tonight.
Now we have an excuse to stash propane canisters out in the shed. We have an adapter for the Coleman camping stove that dates back to the hurricane kit in Florida.
One small step for gastronomy…
WRT NA beers,
My favorite is Becks NA. Tastes the closest to a normal pilsner beer.
St Pauli Girl comes in second. Has a more unique taste.
Clausthaler is a bit more hoppy and a nice change of pace. Not widely available in the US. BOTH flavors are tasty.
Heineken was good, but isn’t widely available here.
I preferred a malty beer over a hoppy beer, but …
Buckler is drinkable. The Guinness Kaliber was not. (they have a relatively new one I haven’t tried. Gets good reviews)
Coors NA is ok mixed with stuff or as a sports drink. (like michelada style)
Labatt Blue NA is ok. Not bad at all, but hard to get in the US.
Odouls is foul. I will not drink it except at a restaurant where there is no other choice, and I’ll STILL sometimes pick ginger ale depending on my food. Add a lime wedge and salt.
There are some other domestic brand versions that I’ve tried once or twice but never bought again. They are generally ‘better than nothing.’
n
Last time I got real nauseous after waking up. It was for kidney stones and I was informed they put a person in a real deep anesthesia state for the procedure After passing 100 ML of urine I was eligible to leave the hospital. But the hospital balked because I was still nauseous. I insisted on letting me leave and just give me a barf bag. I really wanted out of that place. Now I have to stay a night. I wonder if I can sneak out? Catch an UBER?
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/07/conservatives-fight-back-big-tech-new-freedom-phone/
https://freedomphone.com/
interesting. But I want some more technical details.
n
See: VA Gets Another Massive Funding Increase in Biden’s First Budget https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/01/va-gets-another-massive-funding-increase-bidens-first-budget.html
@Lynn
“And beer is freaking awesome”
You might want to try some of the newer NA brews. A couple of them are quite respectable.
Actually just a plain old Miller Lite is nice. Or is it Budweiser Lite ? I had one just a year ago.
My favorite is Belgium ales since I am a quarter Flemish. Blackberry, Raspberry, and Cherry ales are freaking awesome. I will break my rule and have two of those, in fact I did that just a couple of years ago.
I am going to an engineering convention in September in San Antonio. I hope that the guys who bring the Belgium ales are coming.
Sleep apnea is a precursor to atrial fibrillation. Also, a probable cause of death, if your brain doesn’t remember to restart your breathing when an ‘apnea’ stops your breathing.
Sleep apnea is what caused my a-fib problems. I’ve been using a CPAP for more than a decade. The mask I use is just two nasal ‘pillows’ that are not intrusive while sleeping.
And afib is no fun, although mine is controlled, so only have occasional afib episodes.
If you think you have sleep apnea, get it diagnosed with a sleep study. Then start using the CPAP if prescribed. Or die in your sleep. It’s that serious. I tell you three times.
My afib was not related so sleep apnea at all. Having a missing right coronary artery causes a lot of problems, including afib. I heartily advise the Heart Ablation surgery that I had three years ago, it fixed me right up. Now my afib only last 4 to 5 seconds at most and does not proceed into tachycardia.
Apparently I am the oldest person known in my cardiology clinic with a missing right coronary artery. That does not bode well for a long life. Or is 61 a long life ?
If you had any issues with previous anesthesiology make sure to discuss with the current anesthesiologist beforehand.
Last time I got real nauseous after waking up. It was for kidney stones and I was informed they put a person in a real deep anesthesia state for the procedure After passing 100 ML of urine I was eligible to leave the hospital. But the hospital balked because I was still nauseous. I insisted on letting me leave and just give me a barf bag. I really wanted out of that place. Now I have to stay a night. I wonder if I can sneak out? Catch an UBER?
As soon as you can WALK out.
@Nick
Agree on O’Douls Premium. OD Amber is much better.
Busch NA is the only one I’ve consumed a full case worth. It tastes like an ordinary tap beer at the VFW, and if you like “red beer” in the summer, it makes a good mixer.
@richard, thanks for the link. Scanning thru it I don’t see much discussion of actual healthcare funding though. Did I miss it?
n
@Ray Thompson
“Last time I got real nauseous after waking up.”
Common. Lot’s of people say it’s the worst part of a procedure. It likely can be ameliorated if you discuss with your anesthesiologist.
@Lynn
“Or is 61 a long life ?”
No. You have a whole lot more hell to raise, so don’t plan on checking out anytime soon.
@lynn, it depends. Could be 20 years too long for some people and 20 too short for others. I’d like to think that in 6 years I’ll still think that’s way short.
Having my wife’s aunt pass suddenly at 63 has people reconsidering their assumptions.
n
@lynn, it depends. Could be 20 years too long for some people and 20 too short for others. I’d like to think that in 6 years I’ll still think that’s way short.
Having my wife’s aunt pass suddenly at 63 has people reconsidering their assumptions.
n
@Nick, I am going with drwilliams answer ! I have survived two heart attacks and two heart surgeries. I am shooting for five more heart attacks like my MIL before it takes me out. In fact, the second attack did not hurt near as much as the first one did. The first one was a pain fest with two large barrel morphine hits to calm me down.
And yes, 63 is not old. My MIL passed at 58 almost 30 years ago. My wife still misses her greatly even though she is 63 now. My MIL had square heart valves with triangular leafs (very leaky). She had her first heart attack when she was 36. Vfib got her at age 58 after 7 heart attacks and 300% heart enlargement.
I do know one thing, 60 is not the new 40. That is a freaking horrible joke.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/doj-watchdog-details-inexcusable-failings-fbi-larry-nassar-case
–too busy egging on terrorist wannabees and building cases against “domestic terrorism”.
n
Interesting.
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2021/07/if-you-use-lot-of-flour-pasta-or.html
n
I saw this opinion piece on Fox News about why the Texas legislators will definitely be back…
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/texas-fleeing-dem-lawmakers-chuck-devore
So, will Texas Democrats continue their walkout indefinitely? Likely not. That’s because 2021 is a redistricting year and, in Texas, when the Legislature fails to draw new legislative lines during their first general session, the Legislative Redistricting Board takes over.
This five-member body is composed of the lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, attorney general, comptroller and commissioner of the general land office – Republicans all. Their decisions on where to draw the lines can potentially end the careers of dozens of lawmakers, who, in Texas, aren’t term limited.
The pending work of the Legislative Redistricting Board may serve as a powerful inducement to return to the work of legislating, especially for Democratic lawmakers with seniority. Even more so as Gov. Greg Abbott is likely to add additional charges to the special session call such as consideration of $5 billion in property tax buy-downs.
Apparently Governor Abbott has privately told the dumbocrat idiots that if they do not come back to Texas, he will declare their seats to be vacant and set up special elections for new seat holders. I wonder if this rumor is true and if he can do so. The Texas Constitution does provide for vacancies and special elections.
“Sec.A23. A VACANCY FOLLOWING REMOVAL FROM DISTRICT OR COUNTY
FROM WHICH ELECTED. If any Senator or Representative remove his
residence from the district or county for which he was elected, his
office shall thereby become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled
as provided in section 13 of this article.”
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/pdf/CN.3/CN.3.23.pdf
from
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/
Wow, we have a huge constitution in Texas.