Sun. July 25, 2021 – hooray, pack is back together…

Hot and humid again. No rain in the forecast for today, although the edge of the zone isn’t that far away. Yesterday was over 100F in the sun and the humidity was high enough stuff didn’t dry outside. So of course I needed to be working in the heat. It was a little bit cooler at my secondary location, mainly because the sun was mostly hidden, and there was a bit of a breeze.

I just kept hammering away (or sawing and carrying) pulling a trade show exhibit out of its shipping containers and piling the pieces up for trash or recycle. Carry, cut, carry, cut, plod…. The end goal is worth the drudgery. The drudgery should have been done years ago, btw. Real Life ™ got in the way though. Danged Real Life ™, always making demands…

Before I could go do that work, I needed to be home to greet the kids on their return from camp. Lots of fun was had, some things were learned. Oldest didn’t quite make her ‘Mariner’ certificate. They try to fit a longer course into the week and it didn’t quite make it. Still, she now officially knows more about sailing small boats than I do.

I had two vehicle issues. My Ranger battery appears to have died. I’ll look at replacing that today or tomorrow. The heat here kills batteries and it’s been hot. I’m pretty sure I looked at the battery not too very long ago and decide it was near EOL. Poor timing, but not a tragedy as I have the other truck to backup the Ranger.

Took the backup truck to work, and on the way home the Expedition got a flat tire. There is some more detail in yesterday’s comments, but the 10,000 foot look is one of potential fail. I was all set to swap in the spare, which I had a high degree of confidence in, because I actually look at it fairly often, and thump it once in a while, and I’d done that when I bought the truck. It was fine, and I knew how to get it out from under the truck. I’d also checked that the jack and tools were there when I bought, and I added a couple of things to that compartment when I moved into the truck. I recognized that I’d run over something and was able to get to a safe and flat area- all set to be all self sufficient…

And then the lug wrench didn’t fit the lug nuts. Seriously? Upgraded ‘fancy’ wheels. They must use bigger nuts than stock and no one ever realized. Or whatever they did to compensate didn’t get transferred to me when the sale went through.

Here’s the prep part. I considered using the can of Slime Fix a Flat to just repair the tire and get home. Then I thought about the mess when actually fixing it and decide the situation didn’t call for it. I could have used my plug kit and 12v compressor to effect a repair, but it would have to be redone for ‘realz’ by my tire guy, and really, grid up. Only 6 miles from home. So I called AAA for help. I figured the tire tech would have the right sized lug wrench and it would only take a few minutes to change the tire. I was right, and was back on my way after about 45 minutes total.

Having a roadside service company is a prep. All the stuff in bins in the back of the truck is prepping. Prepping is really about having options. Prepping CREATES options. Absolute worst case I could have abandoned the vehicle and walked home. I’ve got a dozen different routes I’m familiar with between that point and home. I’ve got two cases of mountain house and water in the truck. I was wearing sturdy shoes, and armed sufficiently for most encounters. I had a wide continuum of choices because of my preps.

In the end, I didn’t use the stacks, I used the credit card… and my connections to society, because we’re still grid up, and it was the least disruptive choice as well as the second fastest. It also points out the importance of practicing and USING your preps. The spare tire is the prep for a flat, and as a system it failed when I needed it because I hadn’t tested it. New vehicle, should have been tested.

While I didn’t use the stacks this time, they were there if I had needed them. Stack some for yourselves…

n

76 Comments and discussion on "Sun. July 25, 2021 – hooray, pack is back together…"

  1. SteveF says:

    Nick, when you have a half hour, take off one of the tires with fancy rims, put on the spare, and then see if the lug nuts fit the spare’s rim. You might need to keep a spare set of nuts and tire iron or socket for them.

  2. Ray Thompson says:

    Slept through the night by taking an Oxycodon pill. Unable to sleep on my side but got a good nights sleep anyway. What little PT I did this morning put me in a sweat. Most difficult part of PT is the swelling of the joint. Makes it difficult to move because the skin is so tight. Able to move around better so I guess that is progress.

    One of my complaints at the church is that the church has done little to have a backup for my role as the broadcast producer. I am the only one that knows how it all works. I have people that help and somewhat know their part but I still have to instruct them every Sunday. If there is a problem, they just give up with no effort to resolve. Every single connection is diagrammed, every cable labeled. If there is a problem they should be able to locate.

    One day we had really bad static on the live stream. I found out half way through the service. I asked the people in the studio to try and fix. They just looked at me. I had to show them where the audio was good along the audio path. Everything was good up to the streaming box. I showed them the diagram and asked them to trace the problem. They just looked at me and said they had no clue. The fix was power cycling the SDI to HDMI converter the goes to the streaming box.

    So it will be interesting to see how today and next Sunday work out. Every broadcast has an error, we are doing it live. I have had people that watch the broadcast say the mistakes make it real, not some slick production. They likened it to WJM-TV and Ted Knight.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Having a roadside service company is a prep

    As I learned on our Florida trip in March, the roadside assistance through your auto insurance does *not* cover a rental car. At least, the Gecko’s coverage doesn’t.

  4. pecancorner says:

    AAA save the day, again. Good value for money in my book.

    +1
    And if not done already, consider upgrading to the “Plus” level, gets you 100 mile tows. “Premier” adds on one 200 mile tow per cardholder per year. I’ve had Plus for several years and my son has used the extended tow a couple of times with no issues.

    +1000

    We’ve had AAA Plus for several years.  It is the best $75 we spend every year, and an essential for us. Did you know their free tows include towing out of your own driveway to the mechanic? Yep! How’s that for cool? One year, I had to call for tows 3 separate times on two vehicles, and on the third one in July, the tow-truck driver told me “this is the last free tow until your renewal in September.”  Fine by me, as that was an oddity – normally we don’t break down.

    Out here, it takes the truck an hour and a half to get to us, but the AAA people call every so often to make sure we are still “safe”, and to report on the progress of the truck towards our direction.   My guess is that if we were “not safe” they would call the state troopers to come babysit us until they arrived.  The AAA operator knows who I am and how long we’ve been members the minute she answers the phone, so the only thing I have to tell them is where I am – no time wasted playing 40 Questions.

     

  5. Greg Norton says:

    We hit the Classic Game Fest in Austin yesterday, and my wife might return with the kids today.

    The show had been slowly dying in terms of attendance as of late, but the recent big numbers on older Nintendo cartridges obviously sparked some imaginations since the show floor was mobbed with guys who obviously weren’t interested in games beyond landing the elusive tenbagger. Vendor booths were kinda limited so anything Nintendo had a big price tag.

    Austin moved their virus rules to “Stage Four” last week, meaning mandatory indoor masks, but their rules had expired with most of the city council out on vacation until Labor Day. Packed show, no masks on most in attendance. It was the first time since last July that I doubted my decision to take a risk, but what happens happens at this point with the virus.

    The funny for the afternoon was when we headed down to the corner to feed the kids at one of the local burger chains. A group of three tattoo-covered soy boys and one unknown (trans, but which direction?) boy/girl asked us about the ordering process for the stand after obviously having waited in the outdoor seating area for a while.

    “Is ordering here online?”

    My wife responded, “Go to the window. Order. Wait for the food.”

    “Oh. Thanks.”

    Austin. Possible Californians. Locust Class — no real hands on ability with tech but young and able to get past HR just on that basis, possibly with a few Hot Skillz buzz words. I’ll bet the boy/girl (?) puts female on the application.

  6. Geoff Powell says:

    @greg:

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/07/23/as-covid-cases-climb-experts-question-floridas-pandemic-data/

    (from yesterday)

    I can’t read anything from them – I get geo-blocked, I suspect because their advertisers are even more into the creepy stalking than most, and they don’t want to give it up. And if I VPNd in, I wouldn’t be surprised to be blocked again, this time for ad-blocking (I use UBlock Origin (turned up to 11) and Privacy Badger on Brave) Yes I hate advertising, despite (or perhaps because) of working in commercial-supported broadcast television.

    G

     

  7. Greg Norton says:

    I can’t read anything from them – I get geo-blocked, I suspect because their advertisers are even more into the creepy stalking than most, and they don’t want to give it up. And if I VPNd in, I wouldn’t be surprised to be blocked again, this time for ad-blocking (I use UBlock Origin (turned up to 11) and Privacy Badger on Brave) Yes I hate advertising, despite (or perhaps because) of working in commercial-supported broadcast television.

    The Tampa Bay Times is heavily paywalled, even for US readers.

    The newspaper hasn’t been held accountable to advertisers for decades. With Warren Buffett’s help, they bought out and shut down the remaining competition, as weak as it was.

    The Times has an axe to grind with the Governor ever since he threw one of their beat reporters out of his press conferences early in his term, but none of the major dailies in Florida endorsed DeSantis wanting to make history with Andrew Gillum. You can Google for the end result of that.

    Any bad virus news is going to get used as a club by the papers. To be fair, DeSantis got lucky. This is an important test — don’t go all out, jumping on the bandwagon ala “George W. Bush 2000” if he survives reelection. Good Lord were Republicans sold a bill of goods with “Shrub”. Taking on Kamala (assuming the worst) or Plugs running with Mayor Pete (my guess) as the Deep State’s President in Waiting will require a candidate with as few skeletons as possible.

    Little Marco is also getting tested next year, but he’s on shakier intellectual ground than DeSantis.

  8. pecancorner says:

    Every broadcast has an error, we are doing it live. I have had people that watch the broadcast say the mistakes make it real, not some slick production.

    A lot of people say that is why they follow my YouTube channel. I just record it live and talk as though I’m speaking to a friend. No edits, no scripts, sometimes it is as goofy (or embarrassing later) as the old Julia Child shows. Media is so over-produced these days that people like the honesty of plain live recording.

  9. Alan says:

    As I learned on our Florida trip in March, the roadside assistance through your auto insurance does *not* cover a rental car. At least, the Gecko’s coverage doesn’t.

    AAA membership is tied to the cardholder and should cover whatever vehicle they are driving.

  10. Ray Thompson says:

    I just record it live and talk as though I’m speaking to a friend

    In the ’80s I was writing articles for a technical journal dealing with Burroughs computers. One about every two months. It was well read and people liked it. Going back and reading some of those, my English was terrible. Would make an English teacher faint. I asked my editor why they did not correct my grammar. Her response was that I wrote like people talked. The publication was a technical journal, not some formal thesis for a college degree. In her opinion it was best left as I wrote because it was human, not sterilized, readable. I had several people that I met while doing the articles state they would not subscribe to the journal if it were not for my articles.

  11. Alan says:

    I just kept hammering away (or sawing and carrying) pulling a trade show exhibit out of its shipping containers and piling the pieces up for trash or recycle. Carry, cut, carry, cut, plod…. The end goal is worth the drudgery. The drudgery should have been done years ago, btw. Real Life ™ got in the way though. Danged Real Life ™, always making demands…

    I like “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans…” Liked it enough that I have it as a tattoo on my left forearm.

  12. Greg Norton says:

    “As I learned on our Florida trip in March, the roadside assistance through your auto insurance does *not* cover a rental car. At least, the Gecko’s coverage doesn’t.”

    AAA membership is tied to the cardholder and should cover whatever vehicle they are driving.

    The same is not true of Geico’s coverage, but they are not up front about it.

  13. Alan says:

    Skateboarding is now an Olympic sport?? What’s next, Jenga?

    IOC needs more Originalists.

  14. ech says:

    The government won’t be able to sweep the VAERS numbers under the rug much longer.

    What is there to sweep? As I have pointed out here, the majority of the VAERS data entries are junk – I’ve looked through them, unlike most of the online scaremongers seem to have. Most have little to no real information in them. And there are sites exaggerating the “death” numbers. The major side effects seen are in line with other vaccines.

  15. ITGuy1998 says:

    Skateboarding is now an Olympic sport??

    My wife and I were watching swimming last night, and then they broke out Tony Hawk and skateboarding. While neither of us could do what those skateboarders do, I don’t think it should be an Olympic sport.

    I don’t watch sports on tv anymore except for golf. Golf commercials are geared towards a certain demographic. I can’t believe how much preaching commercials do now. I just have to make it through the swimming events, then the Olympics are done for me.

  16. pecancorner says:

     

    Good sk8ers can do amazing things! One of my young’uns was a skateboarder.  After seeing your comment, I watched the stair rail competition bit from the Olympics. Geesh it was boring.  The street skaters in this video make those olympians look like posers:

    https://youtu.be/pADoLZS3Z9Q?t=31

  17. Greg Norton says:

    What is there to sweep? As I have pointed out here, the majority of the VAERS data entries are junk – I’ve looked through them, unlike most of the online scaremongers seem to have. Most have little to no real information in them. And there are sites exaggerating the “death” numbers. The major side effects seen are in line with other vaccines. 

    VAERS is also historically underreported.

    This pandemic is unique in terms of the politics involved, and, now that the Dems have used the opportunity of the crisis to purge Trump and advance an insane spending plan, half of the country is never going to believe Plugs/Fauci.

    Again, I ask. If I don’t take the shot, what are you going to do?

    Make me stay home? What about sick people?

    Mandatory vaccinations to participate in life outside the home is going to be a huge can of worms, as Europe is finding out this weekend.

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  18. Nick Flandrey says:

    ““Is ordering here online?”

    My wife responded, “Go to the window. Order. Wait for the food.””

    –I was on the opposite side of that when we went to the brewpub this week. There were scannable placards on each outdoor table. I had no idea what “online ordering’ entailed. Wife started poking thru it, and eventually said “I’d rather just tell someone what I want.” As it is, the waiter brought our food, I asked about NA beers, he brought one (they weren’t on the menu), and there was no way to add it to the ‘online’ tab. He should have just charged us for a single at the bar, but didn’t think of that, being focused on adding it to the tab. He could have just asked for $5 and I’d have handed him cash. Instead he just comped the beer with a wave.

    Online ordering is possible at the local pizza place too, but I always call in. They have three or four tablets open on the wall by the cash register, one for each app they accept. Thai place had several tablets by the register too. Pizza girl says if you don’t do it that way, you miss orders.

    Missed orders and giving stuff away make it hard to stay in business.
    n

    added– I thought the online ordering must be optional or supplemental, as there were visible wait staff, but nope. Most of the kiosks at the airport in Houston on my last trip were either entirely automated, or had tablets at each spot for ordering. The snack kiosk didn’t even have an attendant, just cams and scanners.

    n

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  19. ITGuy1998 says:

    I think I mentioned that during our 3 hour layover in ATL earlier this month, only half the businesses were open.

    oh, and the waiter at the Friday’s we ate at lifted my AMEX number. He tried to buy a bunch of crap at Best Buy in Atlanta. Amex declined the purchase, notified me, and sent a new card. Easy.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    –I was on the opposite side of that when we went to the brewpub this week. There were scannable placards on each outdoor table. I had no idea what “online ordering’ entailed.

    The establishment was a burger stand. P. Terry’s. The next time you drive in on 71, an outlet is on the right just past the airport, before you get to 183.

    Lunch for 4 is still less than $30. They’ve never had online ordering … or wait staff in the outdoor seating areas.

     

  21. MrAtoz says:

    When I arrived in SA Saturday, there was a “Get ya free vax” station at baggage claim. Guy with a cooler full of jabs.

  22. Greg Norton says:

    oh, and the waiter at the Friday’s we ate at lifted my AMEX number. He tried to buy a bunch of crap at Best Buy in Atlanta. Amex declined the purchase, notified me, and sent a new card. Easy.

    Atlanta. Fulton County. They never let you forget who is in charge at ATL.

    As I’ve noted before, if you want some real fun and have the time, try to get the $11 “deposit” back on your MARTA card, white boy.

    Just follow the signs down to where the train departs from the main terminal and ask one of the nice women behind the bulletproof glass.

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  23. Nick Flandrey says:

    Used to fly thru ATL regularly. Don’t miss it. Atlanta is a separate country.

    n

  24. Greg Norton says:

    When I arrived in SA Saturday, there was a “Get ya free vax” station at baggage claim. Guy with a cooler full of jabs.

    Nirenberg is up for reelection next year along with the idiot Castro brother.

    (Okay, all together: They’re both idiots)

    Gotta keep the hysteria going in SA. Look for Coach Pop to pontificate on vaccinations later this Fall when the NBA starts getting warmed up for their season.

    And as soon as football season starts at UT, you’re going to hear about it between chants of “All right, all right, all right”. He’ll have an even bigger platform next year running for Governor when UT and Oklahoma switch to the SEC.

    If the rumors running around Austin this weekend are true.

    I’ll bet TAMU is not enthused about that.

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    DailyMail has a bunch of stories on their landing page, destined to be gone tomorrow.

    n

  26. Ray Thompson says:

    If all you’ns was to wants to eyeball my wound, here is the link.

    http://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/IMG_3687.JPG

    Twenty three staples by count. Apparently neatness does not count.

  27. pecancorner says:

    The establishment was a burger stand. P. Terry’s. The next time you drive in on 71, an outlet is on the right just past the airport, before you get to 183.

    Lunch for 4 is still less than $30. They’ve never had online ordering … or wait staff in the outdoor seating areas.

    Our bunch in Austin are “P.Terrydactyls”!  Good burgers and fries.

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, I’ve heard that the ladies love a man with scars!

    In which case, you are golden!

    holy cow, that’s pretty impressive.

    n

  29. ~jim says:

    Twenty three staples by count. Apparently neatness does not count.

    “We can rebuild him. We have the technology…”

    What Nick said. Impressive!

  30. paul says:

    I haven’t been to Austin in a while.  No need.  When we go we have plans to go to “where ever” and almost every single time end up at the Taco Cabana on MoPac that is on the edge of the Incredible Universe / Frys parking lot.

    What can I say?  I’m a sucker for the carne guisada plate and an ice cold Tecate.  I can get a hamburger at Storm’s or WhatABurger any time.

    I would like to go to Manuel’s.  Lots of good time were had there.  The location on Congress.  But I hear the parking is pretty much “f-u” now along with the general stupidity of Austin traffic…. def a job for the Dodge truck.

     

  31. MrAtoz says:

    Here’s hoping you heal fast, Mr. Ray.

    I got my Jackery 2000 back on Friday. It’s getting 450W in from 800W of solar panels. I’m not sure if it is refurbished, but it’s not the one I sent in. The accessories looked to be new. 25% to 100% in four hours.

    I use a Drobo 5D RAID box connected to my main Mac. It is showing it’s years, though. Every update to macOS Big Sur causes a problem. I’m back to using an old USB device cable since Thunderbolt won’t work. There are posts of outraged people on the Drobo forum with the latest Drobo’s that are SOL because they don’t have USB on them anymore. No answers from Drobo on a solution for 17 days. So, I’ve decided to try a NAS instead. Synology DiskStation DS220+ with two Seagate IronWolf 8TB NAS drives. It looks like it might be possible to put my Dropbox folder on it, but I’m in research mode. It also has an app to direct backup to Backblaze. I subscribe right now to B/U the Drobo to Backblaze. Some new fun things to figure out. It’s good to be alive, even in these days of COVID.

  32. Alan says:

    Skateboarding is now an Olympic sport?? What’s next, Jenga?

    IOC needs more Originalists.

    Okay, okay, forget Jenga, how about, wait for it, Cornhole! ESPN seems to have bought into it as late night fill.

    And speaking of corn, there’s this…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9802645/AT-T-releases-misspelled-words-state-year.html

  33. Alan says:

    Mandatory vaccinations to participate in life outside the home is going to be a huge can of worms, as Europe is finding out this weekend.

    Once there’s a FDA fully approved jab for ages 5-12 I expect the prog school districts to add it their must-have to attend list. Same in college space.

  34. Greg Norton says:

    What can I say? I’m a sucker for the carne guisada plate and an ice cold Tecate. I can get a hamburger at Storm’s or WhatABurger any time.

    I would like to go to Manuel’s. Lots of good time were had there. The location on Congress. But I hear the parking is pretty much “f-u” now along with the general stupidity of Austin traffic…. def a job for the Dodge truck.

    We needed something cheap within walking distance of the event yesterday.

    Most people head across the street to Blacks, but we didn’t want lunch that heavy and pricey.

  35. Alan says:

    Wishing real hard will make it come true, right?

    Daily Mail: Former White House physician said he believes Biden will be forced to resign over fitness.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9821135/Former-White-House-physician-said-believes-Biden-forced-resign-fitness.html

  36. Nick Flandrey says:

    Believing in the power of incantation is a prog thing.

    n

  37. Nick Flandrey says:

    Back is really letting me know I’m not young and fit anymore today after all the lifting and toting I did yesterday.

    Getting a late start subsequently.

    ‘course, it’s 106F in the sun at my house.

    n

  38. Ray Thompson says:

    Solid waste system is moving again. That brick leading the parade was a rare treat in the world of pain. Been eating prunes the last couple days along with softener tablets. The lead lump apparently never got the message. Yeee, haaaa.

  39. paul says:

    And NOW the prunes kick in…..  🙂

    Although, I don’t “get” the thing about prunes. In high school the fruit of the day was canned prunes once in a while. Everyone was “eww!!!!”. I like canned prunes and what? They’re gonna make me go poop? Never happened.

  40. MrAtoz says:

    When it rains, it pours:

    One of MrsAtoz’s nephews has been in a nursing home for decades and suddenly passed away. COVID restrictions really kept family away and he passed alone. On the way to the funeral last night, one of MrsAtoz’s nieces had a stroke. They are taking here off life support this afternoon the brain damage is so great. I never knew the two, but what a sad life for the nephew and devastating for the nieces family.

    And, the new puppy had diarrhea so daughter #4 is at the vet. He has Parvo and the vet said “yeah, he came with that. Your dogs are all up to date and older and doubtful they have it or will get it”. The treatment can run $1-2,000 and I was thinking no. Then all the siblings started chipping in. Obadiah is on the way to a Vet ER for a week stay. No guarantee on his survival. We’re all heart broken. Daughter is going to call the seller and bust some chops. Cash deal, so I may have to go burn the sellers house down.

  41. MrAtoz says:

    If I drink a quart of prune juice, I’ll be on the crapper all day.

  42. lynn says:

    “Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)” by Lois McMaster Bujold
    https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Vorkosigan-Adventures-McMaster-Bujold/dp/067187845X/?tag=ttgnet-20

    Book number twelve (in chronological order) of an eighteen book space opera series. However, some people call this a military science fiction series. There are several other books and short stories in the Vorkosigan Universe. This series won the Hugo and Nebula awards for best series in 2017. Also, several of the individual books in the series have either won awards or been nominated for awards. This book was nominated for the 1997 Hugo award for best novel. I have read this book at least twice. I reread the well printed and well bound new MMPB published by Baen in 1997 that I just rebought on Amazon (the sixth printing !). I have rebought the rest of the books in the series in MMPB.

    Admiral Miles Naismith (aka Miles Vorkosigan) took a needle grenade in the chest while rescuing his clone brother Mark a year earlier. Even though he was cryogenically preserved for three months, his brain suffered damage. Just enough so that he experiences a seizure every month or so. And when one is wearing an armored space suit with a high powered laser and has a seizure, watch out ! And unfortunately, he failed to disclose this new medical status change to his superiors.

    Vorkosigan Saga (Chronological) by Lois McMaster Bujold
    https://www.goodreads.com/series/98254-vorkosigan-saga-chronological
    1. Dreamweaver’s Dilemma
    2. Falling Free
    3. Shards of Honor
    4. Barrayar
    5. The Warrior’s Apprentice
    6. The Borders of Infinity (The Mountains of Mourning, etc)
    7. The Vor Game
    8. Cetaganda
    9. Ethan Of Athos
    10. Brothers in Arms
    11. Mirror Dance
    12. Memory
    13. Komarr
    14. A Civil Campaign
    15. Diplomatic Immunity
    16. Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
    17. CryoBurn
    18. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

    My rating: 6 out of 5 stars (yup, six stars)
    Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (437 reviews)

  43. paul says:

    I’ve never swilled a quart of prune juice.  Maybe that’s the secret.

    Bummer about Obi.

    You are in San Antonio, yes? No need to personally Molotov anyone’s house. Just saying.

  44. lynn says:

    “CDC Quietly Revokes RT-PCR Emergency Use Authorization Because They Counted Covid-19 and Influenza Together”
    https://thelibertydaily.com/cdc-quietly-revokes-rt-pcr-emergency-use-authorization-because-they-counted-covid-19-and-influenza-together/

    “Here’s a punch in the gut for a nation that’s already hurting. As it turns out, the so-called “gold standard” testing referenced by so many “doctors” like Anthony Fauci, as well as government officials across the board, has had its Emergency Use Authorization revoked.
    The CDC announced, albeit quietly, on Wednesday that the RT-PCR tests used to tell millions of Americans they’re infected with Covid-19 has been unable to accurately differentiate between the various coronaviruses. Of particular note is the inability of these tests to know whether someone is infected with Covid-19 or influenza.”

    You have got to be kidding me. So a lot of the people who think that they had the covid actually had the flu.

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

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  45. paul says:

    You have got to be kidding me. So a lot of the people who think that they had the covid actually had the flu.

    Surprise!!!!

    No, you are not really surprised. But hey, OrangeManBad is gone and we are safe from rude Twitter tweets. And all comfy with a bag of whatever kind of kiddie fondler that ain’t done much of anything in 50+ years of sucking on the government teat.

    OFD would have some choice words.

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  46. SteveF says:

    unable to accurately differentiate between the various coronaviruses

    As some of us have been saying for a year now.

    That’s aside from running too many cycles in order to pump up the numbers.

    And aside from PCR not being intended for clinical use because the amount of a virus is as import as the mere presence of the virus.

    So a lot of the people who think that they had the covid actually had the flu.

    Cold, actually. Influenza is caused by influenza viruses (surprise!) and common colds are caused by rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, and a bunch of others.

     

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  47. pecancorner says:

    Mr Atoz, condolences to Mrs Atoz and her family on the passing of her nephew and her niece. That’s rough.

    the new puppy had diarrhea so daughter #4 is at the vet. He has Parvo and the vet said “yeah, he came with that. Your dogs are all up to date and older and doubtful they have it or will get it”. The treatment can run $1-2,000 and I was thinking no. Then all the siblings started chipping in. Obadiah is on the way to a Vet ER for a week stay. No guarantee on his survival.

    I hope the puppy will turn out ok.     I don’t know about parvo, but I once nursed a puppy through distemper, and it was a mistake. The Great Dane survived, although he died suddenly just 3 years later, but he was never “right”. The distemper did neurological damage, and his thinking was heavily affected. Sweet and loving dog, but could not learn things.  When I asked the vet how he had gotten it, since he had had all his puppy shots on time, the vet said “Oh, distemper is endemic out here, so I don’t bother vaccinating puppies for it. Most of them are naturally immune.”  🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁   That was back in the days when all veterinarians were large animal doctors first, and treated pets as secondary since – at that time – even registered dogs were not very expensive. The cattle and horses had increasing value, dogs and cats did not. Different world today.  Today, most vets go into small animal practice, and I’ve heard a good candidate can get a free ride to school if they are willing to specialize in livestock.

     

  48. Nick Flandrey says:

    Yeah, I use wuflu because it sounds better and chinky flu gets me too much hate which detracts from my message.

    Really sad news about Obi, hope his treatment is effective.

    I’m home, $75 lighter, with the new battery in the Ranger. Old one had a sticker 1/18, so 3 1/2 years for the costco interstate battery. Right on schedule. The battery had been on the shelf for three months, but the 36month guarantee runs from purchase date, so that’s ok. I wrote the actual date on the battery.

    Decided it was too late and too hot to head to my secondary. Swung by the thrift store, scored a USN issue leather holster, and a Bianchi mag carrier for resale, and an industrial strength ‘rodent excluder’ for my pantry shelves, all for less than $13.

    Hottest day of the year and daughter 1 made cookies in the big oven. \/ 🙂 \/ Whadda ya gonna do?

    n

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  49. Ray Thompson says:

    Well, the (+s)hit parade just keeps on giving. The dam has been broken. Amazing how much better it can make one feel.

    Getting around better, probably from being more proficient with the walker, learning how to get in and of chairs and the bed. The upper thigh muscle is feeling better where the tourniquet was used during surgery, still sore and exhibits bruising.

    Leg is still swollen, ice machine at night helps. The machine from the VA sucks so using the one from the hospital. VA machine is out of ice in three hours, hospital machine lasts seven hours.

  50. SteveF says:

    Hottest day of the year and daughter 1 made cookies in the big oven. \/ \/ Whadda ya gonna do?

    Set up the solar oven, figure out the timing needed for baking cookies, show the mini-me that cooking without service power or gas works, and — very important! — appropriately dispose of the evidence of the less-than-perfect attempts, where “appropriately” should not need to be spelled out.

  51. Nick Flandrey says:

    The disposal is the best part.

    n

  52. RickH says:

    Re the ‘ice machine’ … I always thought there would be a big market for a small, personal ‘heat pump’ that would provide heat and cold alternately to a wrappable pad. The docs are always telling you to use heat and cold for sore muscles, etc, but that’s a pain (heh).

    Imaging a little box you plug in. The box is a tiny heat pump, with a control timer that would cycle between providing heat and cold through a pad that you wrap around your arm/etc. The small heat pump would work just like the one for your house, providing heat or cold to the pad.

    I’m not an engineer (nor do I drive a train), but think of the market potential for such a thing! (I could use one right now for a stiff shoulder…)

  53. SteveF says:

    So a lot of the people who think that they had the covid actually had the flu.

    Cold, actually.

    I stand corrected: the CDC’s page says that the current PCR test can’t distinguish between SARS-Cov2 and the flu. Seems odd to be, but I’ll believe what they say because of their sterling reputation for accuracy and honesty.

    (Snark aside, I’ll assume that what they report is correct, subject to refutation.)

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  54. Nick Flandrey says:

    On the DailyMail

    –US shooter wins air rifle medal
    –George Soros funding Defund the Police – so not a conspiracy theory anymore I guess.
    –if you want equal rights, you get equal responsibilities. Women need to register for the draft next year.
    –mob of “100” “youths” beat firefighter who was walking his dog in NYC
    –more NYC violence in the street
    –Joe Biden used private email accounts to discuss govt and private business
    –idiots are idiots, Tucker Carlson worst human ever… wonder what his political murder count is? Oh yeah, zero.
    –we’ve descended so far that an athlete has to apologize and explain herself for staying on the court for the Anthem during the Olympics.
    –FauxXi now admits to funding corona virus research at the wuhan lab… guess that was another conspiracy theory that isn’t…
    –offenders reoffend. “Man, 40, who ‘attacked three women in one hour in Upper Manhattan park’ was released from prison in May after similar attack on teen in 2007′” Took him a whole two months before changing the lives of three women…but I guess the parole board thought he was cured.

    Jeez.

    n

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  55. Marcelo says:

    Well, the (+s)hit parade just keeps on giving. The dam has been broken. Amazing how much better it can make one feel.

    When going through similar experiences what always really amazes me is how much can actually be in there…

  56. SteveF says:

    so not a conspiracy theory anymore I guess.

    Q: What’s the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth?

    A: Six to eighteen months.

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  57. Marcelo says:

    There are some interesting categorizations in the article like:

    Mid-Capacity NAS
    8TB WD Red Plus

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/12075/best-consumer-hdds

    The final comments made me laugh:

    Finally, a note on shucking – buying a relatively cheap external hard disk (such as the 14TB Western Digital Elements with a re-labeled / firmware-modified WD / HGST Ultrastar HC530 DC for $344), removing the internal drive, and using it in a NAS or as an internal desktop drive in the place of a more costly drive ($441).

    Not that there is anybody around here that does these kind of things…

  58. Nick Flandrey says:

    Fauci lashed out at Paul on Tuesday during a Senate hearing as he accused the Kentucky Republican of being a ‘liar’ who ‘doesn’t know what you’re talking about’ when it comes to COVID origins and gain-of-function research.

    –what is the famous advice to attorneys? If you can’t attack the facts, attack the witness….

    n

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  59. Nick Flandrey says:

    Soros routinely backs Democratic congressional candidates and attorneys general, and has made a string of financial contributions toward groups or candidates that advocate for defunding the police.

    –so now presented as a given…. not conspiracy theory that got carefully lawyered rebuttal statements…

    and what is he the inventor of?

    n

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  60. Paul+Hampson says:

    “Although, I don’t “get” the thing about prunes. In high school the fruit of the day was canned prunes once in a while. Everyone was “eww!!!!”. I like canned prunes and what? They’re gonna make me go poop? Never happened.”

    My mom and I used to eat dried prunes by the handful to no effect, whereas my stepdad would spend the day in the can just from being in the same room.  Guess they affect folks differently.

  61. Nick Flandrey says:

    Mr Soros has long supported higher taxes for wealthy Americans,’ his spokesman said.

    –so give up the accountants and lawyers and PAY MORE…

    n

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  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    Joe Biden’s administration has spent at least $2 billion on suspending border wall construction, a new report from Republicans on a subcommittee on the border revealed.

    Amid a continuing migration crisis at the southern border, the administration is pumping around $3 million every day into stopping building of the wall, according to the minority report for the Senate subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management under the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

    The costly per day amount is reportedly going to contractors to guard all the materials – like steel and concrete – that are lying around in the desert for the project.

    ‘This waste of taxpayer resources threatens military readiness and national security,’ the report states.

    –but I’m sure it’s really in the taxpayers’ interest.. I must simply be too simple to understand it.
    n

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    “Texas man, 40, ‘set his house on fire, killing his brother, 54, and injuring his 82-year-old mother because they didn’t follow the Bible'”

    –no, no he didn’t. He set the house on fire because he’s insane. The Bible bit was just his excuse.

    n

  64. Alan says:

    And, the new puppy had diarrhea so daughter #4 is at the vet. He has Parvo and the vet said “yeah, he came with that. Your dogs are all up to date and older and doubtful they have it or will get it”. The treatment can run $1-2,000 and I was thinking no. Then all the siblings started chipping in. Obadiah is on the way to a Vet ER for a week stay. No guarantee on his survival. We’re all heart broken. Daughter is going to call the seller and bust some chops. Cash deal, so I may have to go burn the sellers house down.

    My son went through the same parvo scenario a few years ago and went ahead with the treatment and the puppy pulled through. Seller coughed up about 25% of the vet bill. Good luck with Obi.

  65. Greg Norton says:

    Fauci lashed out at Paul on Tuesday during a Senate hearing as he accused the Kentucky Republican of being a ‘liar’ who ‘doesn’t know what you’re talking about’ when it comes to COVID origins and gain-of-function research.”

    –what is the famous advice to attorneys? If you can’t attack the facts, attack the witness….

    Unlike Rand Paul, Dr. Fauci never actually practiced medicine.

    More interesting is that Bashar al-Assad was a highly regarded *practicing* ophthalmic surgeon in London before joining the family business ruling Syria.

  66. lynn says:

    Mr Soros has long supported higher taxes for wealthy Americans,’ his spokesman said.

    –so give up the accountants and lawyers and PAY MORE…

    n

    Mr. Soros does not pay taxes at all. He does not take a salary from his business. Instead, he uses his business shares to guarantee loans from banks to himself. This is tax free. Bill Gates does it also. So do many other billionaires.

    I am not sure how his estate will pay back the loans when he passes. Rest assured, his lawyers have a plan.

  67. Nick Flandrey says:

    how his estate will pay back the loans

    –the wicked evil part of me wants to say “jewish gold teeth”…

    but that would be wrong.

    n

  68. Greg Norton says:

    –the wicked evil part of me wants to say “jewish gold teeth”…

    but that would be wrong.

    Much easier to convince the US Government to sieze privately held American gold again. All that is required is a Presidential signature.

  69. lynn says:

    And, the new puppy had diarrhea so daughter #4 is at the vet. He has Parvo and the vet said “yeah, he came with that. Your dogs are all up to date and older and doubtful they have it or will get it”. The treatment can run $1-2,000 and I was thinking no. Then all the siblings started chipping in. Obadiah is on the way to a Vet ER for a week stay. No guarantee on his survival. We’re all heart broken. Daughter is going to call the seller and bust some chops. Cash deal, so I may have to go burn the sellers house down.

    My nephew’s two month old German Short Hair Pointer, Gus, was bitten by a copperhead three times on their farm outside Luling, Texas two weeks ago. The total vet bill was $5,000. He took a selfie of him and Gus leaving the vet, both of them are very sad.

  70. lynn says:

    –the wicked evil part of me wants to say “jewish gold teeth”…

    but that would be wrong.

    Much easier to convince the US Government to sieze privately held American gold again. All that is required is a Presidential signature.

    No, you cannot have my two gold molar crowns. I have had one of them for 41 years, the other for 30+ years. I will fight to keep them, they both cost me quite a bit when I did not have the money.

  71. Alan says:

    Much easier to convince the US Government to sieze privately held American gold again. All that is required is a Presidential signature.

    Good thing they mostly don’t let Joe play with sharp or pointy things…like pens.

  72. Nick Flandrey says:

    Good thing indeed. Lots of people keenly interested in keeping the gravy train moving too.

    n

  73. Nick Flandrey says:

    Fell down a youtube rabbit hole.

    Cottagecore

    Dark Academia

    “aesthetics” as hobbies.

    Holy cow.

    n

  74. brad says:

    Ok, I went and did it: I just ordered a bunch of the Ego Power stuff to replace all of my old gas-powered equipment. There’s a local place (in our town of 400!) run by two brothers that sells it. I’ve gone to them before for repairs and such – they’re “good folk”. Because I’m ordering about $3k of stuff in one batch, he offered me a nice discount as well.

    @Lynn: I just wanted to say “thanks” for posting your book reviews. I’m now into the fourth book of the Alex Verus series, and enjoying it a lot.

    @Nick: Sorry to hear about the pup having parvo. Assuming you got the pup from a reputable breeder, they need to know about this. They will have a lot of footwork to do, checking their own dogs and contacting all owners of puppies they’ve sold recently. Also, sorry to be mercenary, but if your pup doesn’t make it, they will owe you a replacement.

    – – – – –

    On another subject entirely: Did y’all read that Congress has finally decided to allow NASA to launch their Europa mission using SpaceX instead of SLS? It wasn’t the price difference ($178 million fixed-price for SpaceX vs. $2 billion cost-plus for SLS). No, that’s irrelevant. It was simply the technical aspects: SLS is expected to vibrate so much that it would have basically destroyed the spacecraft.

    In fact, the vibration is apparently well-known. For manned missions, they have apparently designed displays that flicker in time with the vibration, because they would otherwise be unreadable smears. What a boondoggle…

  75. Nick Flandrey says:

    @brad, thanks but it’s Mratoz that has the sick puppy.

    Mine has doubled in size and weight since we got him, and his wire hair seems to be coming in. Still a cutie though.

    n

  76. Brad says:

    Oops, sorry, I missed that there were two new pups in the ttgnet family…

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