Mon. Aug. 2, 2021 – same old stuff- you’d think I would try something new

By on August 2nd, 2021 in personal, WuFlu

Hot and humid, possible rain. Pretty much like every day here. We call it ‘summer’. Certainly was hot and humid yesterday. Hid in the house all day.

Didn’t get much done yesterday. Did some small office things, a couple of repairs from the stack. Finished the three small projects I started yesterday for auction. Opened some mail.

Cooked breakfast (spam slices and instant hash brown potatoes, d2’s favorite breakfast.)

Cooked dinner (lamb roast, canned peas, boiled cubed turnips, shelf stable bread.)

D1’s cut cheek continues to heal. Little bit of bruising showing now which is consistent with the mechanism of injury.

Puppy will poop in the house when there are people home, but mostly doesn’t when people are not here. Strange. He doesn’t get any attention at all unless we catch him in the act, so that’s not it. The joys of having a toddler in the house.

Today should be messing around in the house and yard, spending some time with the kids and dog, and one pickup.

Maybe move some more stuff around. So I can stack some more.

Stack it up. Bad times are coming.

nick

87 Comments and discussion on "Mon. Aug. 2, 2021 – same old stuff- you’d think I would try something new"

  1. Ray Thompson says:

    Doctor this morning, hope to get the staples out. Walking with just a crutch that is used for balance. I am able to put full weight on the leg without issues. Still sore rather than painful. That little bandage that is over the incision is apparently silver coated. Expensive. Online indicates that retail on the bandage is over $100.00. I bet the hospital cost is close to $500.

    First time wearing shoes in 11 days. Difficult to put a sock and shoe on the damaged leg. Doing almost anything is still a strain, and a physical drain. But at least I can do some of the stuff.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Got chastised by the Assembly Chair when I coughed (loudly) into my hand, not so subtly said my subdivision name, and coughed again, as my assembly person was telling lies about the ways they involved community in placing homeless shelters. Sadly I’m still best remembered for calling one of their ordinances a dog poop sandwich (except I didn’t say poop). Local press and leftist assembly are predictably working against our new conservative mayor and the knives are out.

    I’ve noted that Progs are weird about profanity as of late. Let one word slip in a public form when things get heated, and, Heavens to Betsy, why, the invective gives them the vapors.

    Definitely don’t let anything slip at work in public or, especially, on Microsoft Teams. I’ve learned that one the hard way.

    (With Teams at work, just assume anything you type/say is going straight to HR. Teams may yet make Microsoft the most valuable tech company on the planet again — it is the ultimate management surveilance tool.)

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Doctor this morning, hope to get the staples out. Walking with just a crutch that is used for balance. I am able to put full weight on the leg without issues. Still sore rather than painful. That little bandage that is over the incision is apparently silver coated. Expensive. Online indicates that retail on the bandage is over $100.00. I bet the hospital cost is close to $500.

    $500. You are not counting the hospital’s billed labor for the specialized “wound care” nurse to apply the dressing since she (always females in my experience) has the training to handle the material “properly”.

    Everything in medicine is a racket.

  4. SteveF says:

    Everything in medicine is a racket.

    It’s a business, not a profession.

  5. pecancorner says:

    I’m six weeks into the new database job and love it. Today I took six children to see a rebroadcast of the Bolshoi ballet performing Sleeping Beauty….

    Sorry gentlemen – just saw the call to check in. All ok. Fell off the planet.
    Didn’t feel the earthquake. No local damage, and nothing in the news about places closer to the quake.

    Jenny, good to hear from you. Glad all is well.

    The four-day music festival will close on Sunday with headliners Foo Fighters playing to 100,000 people

    Lollapalooza is 30 years old? I remember when it was new. Iv’e got friends who have ridden that pony for THREE DECADES. I’m old.)

    The Foo Fighters band is about that old, too.   My eldest two had their cds. And their friends kept making off with our Led Zepplin Runes… I think we replaced that cd 5 times. Our 22 yr old grandson’s iPod was playing old Waylon Jennings outlaw stuff when he was here helping with sheetrock a couple months ago.

    That little bandage that is over the incision is apparently silver coated. Expensive.

    Silver bandages can be worth their weight in gold for preventing or healing infection!  A valuable prep item.  My husband’s  surgical wounds got infected in nursing home 7 years ago, they didn’t find it until I brought him home, and home health nurses discovered it. He had to visit wound care for a couple months. They used silver in all the bandage materials, then.  Apparently, the silver helps keep the skin from healing over, so that the wound can heal from the inside out. And, of course, silver is anti-microbial.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    The Foo Fighters band is about that old, too.

    1994, following Kurt Cobain’s suicide which ended Nirvana.

    I never got Nirvana — revoke my X-er credentials — but I have a couple of early Foo Fighters albums.

    The Foos had a close relationship with Worldwide Pants from early on and closed out the last “Late Show” broadcast after Letterman was fired.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKOtbVnV4M

  7. Alan says:

    Our Congress-critters at work…

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/01/schumer-bipartisan-senate-infrastructure-public-release-501987?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210802&instance_id=36887&nl=the-morning&regi_id=52160700&segment_id=65126&te=1&user_id=e9d62056cb914182a595727baa394e6b

    “This very process of finding bipartisan compromise and working together to achieve the objectives that the American people are depending upon us to do is the very heart and very core of why each of us serve in this government,” Sinema said.

    Hang on, let me translate that into ‘non-political’ language…
    “Everybody got their fair share of the pork.”

    Read it for yourself and see, why it’s only 2,702 pages long.

  8. Brad says:

    Aesop’s screed is about anger at our elites

    Yeah, I get that. All the more reason to be accurate in what he says. Otherwise, it’s easy to dismiss him as a cranky conspiracy theorist.

  9. Greg Norton says:

    Read it for yourself and see, why it’s only 2,702 pages long. 

    We have to pass the bill to find out what is in it.

    Like nationalization of student loans in Obamacare.

    I’ve seen stories this morning alleging that some kind of amnesty is in one of the Senate Infrastructure bills.

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  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    Aesop’s screed is about anger at our elites

    Yeah, I get that. All the more reason to be accurate in what he says. Otherwise, it’s easy to dismiss him as a cranky conspiracy theorist.

    –yes, his main point though is that he’s been on the front line, wading around in rooms sloshing over with wuflu, and didn’t get sick because he uses the physical precautions, N95, hand washing – hygiene, and doesn’t want a shot that has no long term track record. And face it, whether you are pro- shot or anti- shot, it doesn’t have a long term record. We have no idea what 1 year, 5 year, or longer looks like, and plenty of drugs that went thru normal testing later got recalled because of newly discovered bad effects.

    No pre-pubescent child that got any of the shots has become pregnant and delivered any baby, let alone enough to be statistically significant. No 12yo boys have fathered children who have grown up and developed normally.

    For that matter, no adults have had it long enough to develop unusual cancers, or early onset dementia, or ANY malady that takes time to show itself.

    We’re being asked to believe in people (and processes) that have been REPEATEDLY shown to be untrustworthy. THEY LIED. Flat out lied about masks so they could have more for themselves. I am disinclined to believe self admitted liars about anything after they’ve lied.

    n

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  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    2 rare Sumatran tigers in Indonesia are recovering from COVID-19 after they showed signs of shortness of breath, sneezing and a runny nose

    Two Sumatran tigers at an Indonesian zoo are recovering from COVID-19
    Tino, 9, and Hari, 12, tested positive after showing signs on July 9 and 11
    Both tigers experienced shortness of breath, sneezing and a runny nose
    They were treated with antibiotics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory drugs and multivitamins for 10 and 12 days
    Officials are trying to figure out how the tigers became infected
    None of the zoo’s workers tested positive for COVID-19 around the time the animals were infected

    –if it’s crossed over into an animal reservoir, we will be dealing with outbreaks forever. That demands a very different strategy than what we’ve done so far.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9852247/2-rare-Sumatran-tigers-Indonesia-recovering-COVID-19.html

    n

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    Getting weirder and more violent.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9850689/Michigan-Burger-King-employee-points-gun-drive-customers-dispute-payment-method.html

    A Michigan Burger King employee is facing felony firearm charges after he took out a handgun and pointed it at a trio of drive-thru customers in a fight over how they would pay for their food, police said…

    He faces eight counts, including for felony firearm possession…

    In a separate incident, stills from security footage taken from a separate incident at the fast food joint in Memphis, Tennessee, late in March, a woman was seen pointing a gun through the drive-thru window and opening fire. Police later arrested the woman for attempted murder

    n

  13. Ray Thompson says:

    Bandage gone, steri-strips only, no more compression socks (I hated those things). 60% of the recovery is in the first 10 days, final 40% takes a year. Outside part of the knee is numb and will always be numb. Surgeon said they have to cut a nerve. Some feeling may come back but most likely not. Weird touching and feeling nothing.

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    That all sounds like good news Ray.

    Weird touching and feeling nothing.

    I’ve had a couple of injuries that resulted in that. Submerging the area in water was the weirdest, as I could feel the pressure but not the actual water… you get used to it mostly. And after 20-30 years, I got some feeling back, which is even weirder.

    n

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    This was the original article that does a good job of describing why Scarlet Johannson sued Disney.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9844951/ScarJos-talent-agent-says-Disney-released-salary-attempt-weaponize-success.html

    IIRC the first time I read it, they’ve stealth edited the (reported) disney comments to be less smarmy.

    She’s alleging that her deal – and the bulk of her pay – was to come from exclusive theatrical release, and that Disney broke the deal in a way that not only reduced her compensation, but increased the compensation of the people who made the decision to change the release. Typical hollywood companies robbing the talent, unfortunately happens all the time, rarely goes public in a big way.

    n

  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    Huh, Barnstable County. I was there two? summers ago?

    @brad,

    https://www.barnstablecountyhealth.org/newsroom/july-30-2021-update-covid-19-cluster-in-provincetown

    The Provincetown Select Board, Provincetown Board of Health and Barnstable County officials continue to closely monitor the cluster of COVID-19 cases that prompted officials to issue a public health advisory on July 19, which was then escalated to a town-wide public health mandate on July 26.

    Surveillance Data

    As of July 29, a total of 934 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 had been officially reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health associated with the Provincetown cluster. Of these cases, 560 are Massachusetts residents, 231 of which reside in Provincetown. The remainder of individuals who tested positive reside in other states. A total of 7 hospitalizations have been linked with this cluster. No deaths have been reported. Genetic sequencing continues to provide evidence of community transmission of the Delta variant

    From the CDC report –“Among five COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated;”

    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7031e2.htm?s_cid=mm7031e2_w

    ~1000 cases, in a population with high vax rates, and 4 of 5 sick enough to be hospitalized were vaxxed. No deaths.

    Lotta hoopla about 5 hospitalizations.

    n

    RTWT, draw your own conclusions.

    n

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    From the same report, this is a bit chilling.

    During July 10–26, using travel history data from the state COVID-19 surveillance system, MA DPH identified a cluster of cases among Massachusetts residents. Additional cases were identified by local health jurisdictions through case investigation. COVID-19 cases were matched with the state immunization registry.

    –I also wonder if the samples collected for “full genomic testing” were taken with full informed consent, and in what form? Or did they just send the nasal swabs after running the local test?

    n

  18. lynn says:

    https://houston.craigslist.org/grq/d/used-pvc-pipe-x-16-various-shorter/7357282648.html

    Is there anything that is not sold on Craigslist ?

    I wonder what was in that used eight inch pvc ? I guess that I could clean it but I do not want to store metal objects in there if the used pipe has “stuff” embedded in it.

    Oh wow, that address is in Fort Worth ! Just a 300 mile hike each way.

  19. pecancorner says:

    –if it’s crossed over into an animal reservoir, we will be dealing with outbreaks forever. That demands a very different strategy than what we’ve done so far.

    Oh, COVID-19 has been known among the animals since almost the beginning. Remember all those minks they slaughtered in one country? Various zoos have had problems with it, and there were Humane Society billboards claiming “you can’t catch it from a dog” outside of Austin in June.   Of course,  there’s a lot of money invested in  claims that pets can’t transmit it back to their human, even though many studies have shown pets catching it.  The Mayo Clinic says:

    “If your pet tests positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, follow the same precautions you would if a family member became infected. Aim to isolate your pet in a separate room away from the rest of your family and have your pet stay at home. Wear gloves when you interact with your pet or its food, dishes, waste or bedding. Wash your hands after touching any of your pet’s items. Don’t put a face covering on your pet and don’t wipe your pet with disinfectants, which can be harmful. If your pet develops new symptoms or seems to be getting worse, call the veterinarian.”

  20. Nick Flandrey says:

    Oh wow, that address is in Fort Worth ! Just a 300 mile hike each way.

    –oops, saw that after following the links. That surplus company has some cool stuff but it looks expensive to me, especially when shipping or pickup is involved.
    n

  21. lynn says:

    Bandage gone, steri-strips only, no more compression socks (I hated those things). 60% of the recovery is in the first 10 days, final 40% takes a year. Outside part of the knee is numb and will always be numb. Surgeon said they have to cut a nerve. Some feeling may come back but most likely not. Weird touching and feeling nothing.

    I stupidly fell through a glass door in 1987, cutting a 270 degree four inch diameter hole clean through the skin of my left knee. To the point of where my knee bones and cartilage was poking out. 100 stitches (35 sutures) to close it up after the ER doc picked out the glass for two hours. I cut one or more nerves. I cannot feel the knee since then but after a couple of years or so, I get little “fires” of the nerves connecting back together. They can be quite exciting.

    The glass slivers in the knee joint were another exciting thing for a couple of years also but many of them worked their way out of my skin, poking out and catching as I pulled my pants on to be tweezered out. The scars are quite a conversation item over the years as some of the stitches were five inches long.

  22. mediumwave says:

    No pre-pubescent child that got any of the shots has become pregnant and delivered any baby, let alone enough to be statistically significant. No 12yo boys have fathered children who have grown up and developed normally.

    (cough)Thalidomide(cough)

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  23. lynn says:

    In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I have ruined a pair of new $45 Dockers light tan slacks. I stopped to help a guy at 10pm last week on the dark unlighted country road that my office property is located on. We ended up pushing his truck off the road into the grass so nobody hit it and I took him 10 miles to his home down by the river. I did not notice that his engine was leaking oil and got some on my pants from the rear bumper when pushing it. And then I forgot to tell the wife and she washed and dried the pants, setting the oil stain. She tried dawn dishwasher detergent and a couple of other items but the stain is set. Bummer.

    Now I know why my grandfather always wore black slacks in his print shop in Freeport. Stains don’t show and he always had ink stains all over his hands and arms. No telling how much ink was spilled on his pants all the time.

  24. Nick Flandrey says:

    (cough)Thalidomide(cough)

    –or phen fen, or vioxx, or myriad others

    n

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  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    After my motorcycle wreck I was picking glass and gravel out of my face and shoulder blade for years. Sometimes I get sharp pains in my fingers and I wonder if there is any fiber optic debris in there. We were terrified of stabbing little pieces into ourselves while working.

    n

  26. lynn says:

    No pre-pubescent child that got any of the shots has become pregnant and delivered any baby, let alone enough to be statistically significant. No 12yo boys have fathered children who have grown up and developed normally.

    (cough)Thalidomide(cough)

    One of my friends is missing his right forearm from that. He has a single finger tip (to the first joint) sticking out of his elbow. He can use the computer mouse with it quite easily. Or do single finger typing.

  27. Nick Flandrey says:

    Sarah manages to quote the video game Portal and Kipling in the same rant today.

    https://accordingtohoyt.com/2021/08/02/the-cake-is-a-lie/

    n

  28. Greg Norton says:

    From the CDC report –“Among five COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated;”

    Lotta hoopla about 5 hospitalizations.

    The official narrative is that the vaccinated don’t end up hospitalized.

    Provincetown is also home of several big LGBTQXYZ events this time of year IIRC.

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  29. Nick Flandrey says:

    For oil stains I use shout directly on the stain, soak and scrub, then wash in hot with good detergent. Might take more than once.

    Might also not be the oil that you are seeing, but oily dirt. Fortunately the treatment is the same.

    And if that doesn’t work, squirt it with electrical contact cleaner, or brake kleen, but know they can bleach the fabric sometimes. The pants are already ruined, can’t hurt to try.

    n

    –and for added bonus, I never wash kitchen towels with regular clothes as I find lots of oil spotting on the clothes if I do… I assume the cooking oil from the hand towels is migrating to the whole load (and maybe there isn’t enough detergent.)

    Easier to just not mix the two.

    n

  30. Nick Flandrey says:

    Walensky specifically pointed to the high viral loads among the vaccinated in this case, suggesting that vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant can transmit the virus.

    https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/93830

    n

  31. Greg Norton says:

    In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I have ruined a pair of new $45 Dockers light tan slacks. I stopped to help a guy at 10pm last week on the dark unlighted country road that my office property is located on. We ended up pushing his truck off the road into the grass so nobody hit it and I took him 10 miles to his home down by the river. I did not notice that his engine was leaking oil and got some on my pants from the rear bumper when pushing it. And then I forgot to tell the wife and she washed and dried the pants, setting the oil stain. She tried dawn dishwasher detergent and a couple of other items but the stain is set. Bummer.

    Double check the shoes you were wearing. Used engine oil can do nasty things to the soles if left uncleaned.

    All of the jeans and shoes I wore out to the test site in Taylor on the last job ended up ruined by something in the soil out there.

    Things that make you say “Hmmm” — the test site is directly across the runway from ERCOT HQ.

  32. Greg Norton says:

    –and for added bonus, I never wash kitchen towels with regular clothes as I find lots of oil spotting on the clothes if I do… I assume the cooking oil from the hand towels is migrating to the whole load (and maybe there isn’t enough detergent.)

    Easier to just not mix the two.

    Used cooking oil is highly acidic.

    I trashed the soles on an old school pair of Blundstones walking to work in Downtown Seattle one morning. When I described my route to my wife, her theory was that I stepped in cooking oil dumped by one of the restaurants in the International District.

    Within half an hour of arriving at the office after walking up from the train, huge chunks of the soles were just flaking off everywhere I walked. Fortunately, one of the few place in the US that replace Blundstone soles happened to be near where we lived outside Portland.

    New Blundstones, like everything else Hecho en China, are not the same as those the company made in Australia 20 years ago.

  33. Ray Thompson says:

    Now I know why my grandfather always wore black slacks in his print shop

    I have always wondered why painters wear white clothes. Is all the paint stains a mark of accomplished? I also knew a guy in a print shop who wore nothing but white, for a few minutes anyway. Said he didn’t care, could always find white clothes, and everything goes with white.

  34. SteveF says:

    Lynn, if you just walked around naked you wouldn’t have to worry about ruining your clothes. Wear a pair of crocs if you don’t want to walk around barefoot and you can be stylish at the same time. #FollowMeForMoreAdvice

  35. lynn says:

    Wizard of Id: Flying Monkeys
    https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2021/08/02

    My visual image of flying monkeys is much nastier than those.

  36. Greg Norton says:

    Mexican Laundry Soap Bars

    The Mexican brand laundry products sold through US retailers do not have the phosphates which make the detergents more effective at cleaning.

    A bag of Ariel sold in the US is Procter & Gamble providing a familiar smell, appearance, and granularity. Without the phosphates, you might as well buy Tide.

  37. Chad says:

    I did not notice that his engine was leaking oil and got some on my pants from the rear bumper when pushing it. And then I forgot to tell the wife and she washed and dried the pants, setting the oil stain. She tried dawn dishwasher detergent and a couple of other items but the stain is set. Bummer.

    You just need to soak the entire pair of pants in used motor oil, then wash and dry and set the new color. You may even prefer it to the original light tan. 🙂

    I’m horrible at staining shirts. I always joke that I’m going to buy a case of white t-shirts and submerge and simmer them in a mixture of used motor oil, tomato sauce, red wine, mustard, and fried chicken grease. Once that treatment is in place everything should just blend…

  38. lynn says:

    I did not notice that his engine was leaking oil and got some on my pants from the rear bumper when pushing it. And then I forgot to tell the wife and she washed and dried the pants, setting the oil stain. She tried dawn dishwasher detergent and a couple of other items but the stain is set. Bummer.

    You just need to soak the entire pair of pants in used motor oil, then wash and dry and set the new color. You may even prefer it to the original light tan.

    I’m horrible at staining shirts. I always joke that I’m going to buy a case of white t-shirts and submerge and simmer them in a mixture of used motor oil, tomato sauce, red wine, mustard, and fried chicken grease. Once that treatment is in place everything should just blend…

    You know, tie dye comes to mind on this approach.

  39. lynn says:

    Got chastised by the Assembly Chair when I coughed (loudly) into my hand, not so subtly said my subdivision name, and coughed again, as my assembly person was telling lies about the ways they involved community in placing homeless shelters. Sadly I’m still best remembered for calling one of their ordinances a dog poop sandwich (except I didn’t say poop). Local press and leftist assembly are predictably working against our new conservative mayor and the knives are out.

    I’ve noted that Progs are weird about profanity as of late. Let one word slip in a public form when things get heated, and, Heavens to Betsy, why, the invective gives them the vapors.

    Definitely don’t let anything slip at work in public or, especially, on Microsoft Teams. I’ve learned that one the hard way.

    (With Teams at work, just assume anything you type/say is going straight to HR. Teams may yet make Microsoft the most valuable tech company on the planet again — it is the ultimate management surveilance tool.)

    My impression is that progressives use the F word or the S word at least once per sentence. The more progressive ones go for three times per sentence.

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  40. lynn says:

    That little bandage that is over the incision is apparently silver coated. Expensive.

    Silver bandages can be worth their weight in gold for preventing or healing infection! A valuable prep item. My husband’s surgical wounds got infected in nursing home 7 years ago, they didn’t find it until I brought him home, and home health nurses discovered it. He had to visit wound care for a couple months. They used silver in all the bandage materials, then. Apparently, the silver helps keep the skin from healing over, so that the wound can heal from the inside out. And, of course, silver is anti-microbial.

    I am reading “A Boy and His Dog At The End Of The World” right now. He uses honey for deep cuts for the same reason, to heal from the inside out.
    https://www.amazon.com/Boy-His-Dog-End-World/dp/0316449431/?tag=ttgnet-20

  41. Nightraker says:

    Phosphates are available in the USA as wall cleaner, pre-painting:

    https://www.amazon.com/Savogran-10621-Trisodium-Phosphate-16oz/dp/B07PZ8NRZM/ref=sr_1_6?crid=UDSJKB3A1QB6&dchild=1&keywords=TSP&qid=1627935306&sprefix=knudson%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-6&th=1&tag=ttgnet-20

    Harsh stuff, wear gloves. Seems 1/4 cup is the googled recommendation as a laundry booster. Might prefer to use at a laundromat if worried about contaminating your septic tank.

  42. Alan says:

    Oh, COVID-19 has been known among the animals since almost the beginning. Remember all those minks they slaughtered in one country? Various zoos have had problems with it, and there were Humane Society billboards claiming “you can’t catch it from a dog” outside of Austin in June. Of course, there’s a lot of money invested in claims that pets can’t transmit it back to their human, even though many studies have shown pets catching it.

    According to this article from Nature “Countries had reported 458 outbreaks by 15 February 2021.”

    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00531-z

  43. Greg Norton says:

    My impression is that progressives use the F word or the S word at least once per sentence. The more progressive ones go for three times per sentence.

    Of course they do, but they are also really good at playing victim if that is the more effective tactic. It all depends on the audience.

     

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  44. Alan says:

    Phosphates are available in the USA as wall cleaner, pre-painting:

    We used to use a wall cleaning product called Soilax, worked great and mostly didn’t need rinsing. Was discontinued about 15(?) years ago. Still have half a box left in the laundry room. A few NOS boxes for sale on eBay. @nick, something to keep an eye out for a estate sales.

  45. Greg Norton says:

    Phosphates are available in the USA as wall cleaner, pre-painting:

    Harsh stuff, wear gloves. Seems 1/4 cup is the googled recommendation as a laundry booster. Might prefer to use at a laundromat if worried about contaminating your septic tank.

    We did that in the Northwest when the phosphates were first banned in dishwasher detergent about a dozen years ago. Before the landlord replaced our rental’s dishwasher due to bad capacitors, the old washer was fairly useless without the phosphates, and dishes had to be run twice.

    BTW, be careful with boxes labeled “TSP” in the paint section at Home Depot. If it doesn’t say “Trisodium Phosphate” on the box, you’re not getting the phosphates.

  46. lynn says:

    In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I have ruined a pair of new $45 Dockers light tan slacks. I stopped to help a guy at 10pm last week on the dark unlighted country road that my office property is located on. We ended up pushing his truck off the road into the grass so nobody hit it and I took him 10 miles to his home down by the river. I did not notice that his engine was leaking oil and got some on my pants from the rear bumper when pushing it. And then I forgot to tell the wife and she washed and dried the pants, setting the oil stain. She tried dawn dishwasher detergent and a couple of other items but the stain is set. Bummer.

    Double check the shoes you were wearing. Used engine oil can do nasty things to the soles if left uncleaned.

    All of the jeans and shoes I wore out to the test site in Taylor on the last job ended up ruined by something in the soil out there.

    Things that make you say “Hmmm” — the test site is directly across the runway from ERCOT HQ.

    I was wearing my Justin boots with leather soles. They are just fine. I wear them at least six days a week.

  47. Alan says:

    I am reading “A Boy and His Dog At The End Of The World” right now. He uses honey for deep cuts for the same reason, to heal from the inside out.

    What’s best is Manuka honey. We used it on one of our dogs that had a hard to heal open sore. Cover with Hypafix tape – very sticky.

    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=manuka+honey&rh=p_85%3A2470955011&dc&qid=1627937589&rnid=2470954011&ref=sr_nr_p_85_1&tag=ttgnet-20

    https://www.amazon.com/Hypafix-10-Tape-Each-Roll/dp/B001SIS7MG/?tag=ttgnet-20

  48. Alan says:

    BTW, be careful with boxes labeled “TSP” in the paint section at Home Depot. If it doesn’t say “Trisodium Phosphate” on the box, you’re not getting the phosphates.

    NYFS has a total ban on TSP. This is what you get instead, and as @Greg said, it’s labeled “TSP” in large letters and “Substitute” in a much smaller font.

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/SAVOGRAN-1-qt-Liquid-TSP-Substitute-Cleaner-10632/205491255

  49. lynn says:

    This was the original article that does a good job of describing why Scarlet Johannson sued Disney.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9844951/ScarJos-talent-agent-says-Disney-released-salary-attempt-weaponize-success.html

    IIRC the first time I read it, they’ve stealth edited the (reported) disney comments to be less smarmy.

    She’s alleging that her deal – and the bulk of her pay – was to come from exclusive theatrical release, and that Disney broke the deal in a way that not only reduced her compensation, but increased the compensation of the people who made the decision to change the release. Typical hollywood companies robbing the talent, unfortunately happens all the time, rarely goes public in a big way.

    n

    Maureen O’Hara made one movie for Disney, The Parent Trap, that she documented in her autobiography. She swore never again. No residuals. Walt Disney was both the producer and director. Both the movie and the autobiography are highly recommended.
    https://www.amazon.com/Tis-Herself-Autobiography-Maureen-OHara/dp/0743269160/?tag=ttgnet-20

  50. Alan says:

    I have always wondered why painters wear white clothes. Is all the paint stains a mark of accomplished? I also knew a guy in a print shop who wore nothing but white, for a few minutes anyway. Said he didn’t care, could always find white clothes, and everything goes with white.

    One of many answers…

    https://www.allseasonsuniforms.com/blog/10-reasons-why-painters-always-wear-white-psst-its-not-what-you-think

  51. Greg Norton says:

    I was wearing my Justin boots with leather soles. They are just fine. I wear them at least six days a week. 

    I had Vibram soles which started to delaminate, something I had never seen in 30 years of wearing the same type of shoe.

    The delamination has progressed since I last went to Taylor. If I hadn’t been fired, I would have been back out there now for testing on the “Fredericksburg Express” in VA — more US toll roads to fund Australian pensions!

    I may let Austin Shoe Hospital take a crack at rehabbing the pair.

  52. lynn says:

    “After a century-long assault on NCAA power, Oklahoma and Texas just dealt the NCAA a major blow”
    https://www.chron.com/opinion/article/ncaa-history-comment-16357257.php

    “Last week, the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the University of Texas announced their decision to leave the Big XII Conference for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2025. The move caught many observers of college sports off guard. But, it is just the most recent example of a century-long assault waged by programs like OU against the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s role as the central authority in college athletics. In fact, it highlights the emergence of a new era in which conferences rival the NCAA in power and the amateur model is no longer the status quo.”

    “The NCAA also wanted to control media coverage of the team. In 1951, it instituted a television plan that limited the number of football broadcasts per year – just 20 in the first year – and gave itself sole negotiating rights for these broadcasts. The association then divided the revenue among member schools but only after skimming off nearly 60 percent of the money for itself. Sooners fans and Oklahoma politicians vigorously protested what they considered a draconian plan. They described OU football as a product that belonged to the people of Oklahoma rather than the emerging NCAA cartel. And yet, the threat of expulsion, probation and loss of games intimidated the Sooners into compliance for several decades.”

    Wild. Looks like the NCAA is going to get taken down.

  53. lynn says:

    “Want To Avoid Mandatory Vaccine In UK? Try Identifying As “Trans Vegan””
    https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/want-avoid-mandatory-vaccine-uk-try-identifying-trans-vegan

    “After the revelation that half a million vegans in the UK could be prevented from having to take mandatory workplace vaccinations due to their beliefs being protected by employment law, actor Laurence Fox publicly announced that he now identifies as “trans vegan.”
    “So-called ethical veganism was ruled to be a protected characteristic at a tribunal last year, meaning employers would risk legal action if they order staff to be vaccinated,” reports the Daily Telegraph.”

    4
    1
  54. ~jim says:

    After my motorcycle wreck I was picking glass and gravel out of my face and shoulder blade for years

    That happened to me after my head broke a windshield from hitting a tree. Years past by and every once in a while I’d absentmindedly scratch my forehead only to find a sliver of glass under my fingernail.

    I’ve always used Shout! Aerosol spray for oily, greasy stains. Used it as a kid to clean my bicycle chain… Seems it’s a foam now.

    https://www.amazon.com/Shout-Advanced-Foam-Aerosol-Ounce/dp/B003USGPO4?tag=ttgnet-20

  55. lynn says:

    “Should employers pay for home internet during remote work?”
    https://www.techrepublic.com/article/should-employers-pay-for-home-internet-during-remote-work/

    “With the switch to remote work, employees have been left to foot the internet bill and many workers believe some changes are in order.”

    ADD: Next, people will expect their employers to supply a house also. And a bed. “Stat of the day: 38% of remote workers work from bed”
    https://www.axios.com/38-percent-remote-workers-work-bed-f8708125-a068-47ff-9519-bb7870011cd5.html

  56. lynn says:

    I’ve always used Shout! Aerosol spray for oily, greasy stains. Used it as a kid to clean my bicycle chain… Seems it’s a foam now.

    https://www.amazon.com/Shout-Advanced-Foam-Aerosol-Ounce/dp/B003USGPO4?tag=ttgnet-20

    Yeah, the wife used Shout on my pants. Probably would have worked before the dryer set the stain.

  57. Nick Flandrey says:

    Next, people will expect their employers to supply a house also.

    –if by ‘house’ you mean a building to work in, they pretty much do, it’s called an office. And the space at home is a ‘home’ office. 😉

    My canadian bigcorp wanted to be sure I had an ergonomic chair, monitors, appropriate printer, etc. They paid a percentage of my cell phone and my internet. If they don’t, it can be claimed on federal income tax as unreimbursed business expenses. If it’s well documented, it isn’t a problem.

    Claiming the home office deduction should be dramatically easier for 2020 and 2021 than in the past. People are rightly afraid of it, because most of them don’t actually keep enough separation between their work and living areas. I claimed it for years as I had extra phone lines, a drafting table, and a filing cabinet that took up a significant part of my home’s sqft. 920 sqft total, 40-50 sqft for office. In my current home we don’t claim it because the percentage is too small to matter.

    I do claim my mileage though, it’s the biggest part of my vehicle use.

    n

    4
    1
  58. ~jim says:

    Yeah, the wife used Shout on my pants.

    There used to be big difference between the actual aerosol and spray-pump versions. Probably added volatile hydrocarbons…

    Reminds me of Fels Naphtha. A bar soap. Great for scrubbing up after exposure to poison oak.

    Edit: And Lava® with pumice powder. Do they still make either?

  59. Alan says:

    And the gloves are off, both Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist quoted towards the end of the article…

    Florida Covid hospitalizations shatter record as DeSantis downplays threat.
    https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/08/02/florida-covid-hospitalizations-shatter-record-as-desantis-downplays-threat-1389356

  60. Alan says:

    Edit: And Lava® with pumice powder. Do they still make either?

    Lava, yes. I get it by the bar at the local Ace Hardware. I recall Big River didn’t have single bars the last time I looked. One bar lasts us quite a while. Good stuff.

    ADDED
    Fels too:
    Fels Naptha Laundry Soap Bar – 5.0 oz – 2 pk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1ZHU12/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_TSV6W5C7DMA5Q8HKC2ZP

  61. Rick H says:

    Big River has single packs of Lava Bar soap – https://amzn.to/3C9gtt3 for US$6.28. Although cheaper to get multiple bar packs.

    Although I prefer using the Fast Orange pumice cleaner https://amzn.to/3frht22 – half-gallon pump jug for US$6.27. Has that nice orangey-citrus scent afterwards.

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    Fels is a standard ingredient when preppers are making their own laundry soap.

    My dad used to collect antique soap, powdered in the box, and bars in the package. He started because it was something cheap he could look for when they were out antiquing. In the end, they were worth more than he wanted to pay. Gold Dust Twins, Duz, Fels, Life Bouy, dozens of other brands. I was always amazed at the ordinary daily life stuff that never got used and survived to the present.

    n

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    I have lava bars, and orange pumice. Use them for different dirts. If I think about it, I use a barrier cream first (Liquid Gloves) and that makes cleanup a lot easier.
    n

  64. Alan says:

    Big River has single packs of Lava Bar soap – https://amzn.to/3C9gtt3 for US$6.28. Although cheaper to get multiple bar packs.

    $1.79 a bar at Ace. $5.25 delivered, albeit not for a week.

  65. pecancorner says:

    Don’t forget Goop!  Amazing stuff, that. The hand cleaner, not the “Gwyneth Paltrow Lifestyle Brand” (sheesh, Duck Duck Go, what are you thinking?)

  66. dcp says:

    …most of them don’t actually keep enough separation between their work and living areas.

    Jerry Pournelle had his Monk’s Cell.

  67. Greg Norton says:

    And the gloves are off, both Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist quoted towards the end of the article…

    Even Dems in Florida despise Charlie Crist. He’s abandoning what has traditionally been a solid Republican Congressional district to run for Governor … again.

    Nikki Fried is the last player left on the statewide bench.

     

  68. lynn says:

    And the gloves are off, both Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist quoted towards the end of the article…

    Florida Covid hospitalizations shatter record as DeSantis downplays threat.
    https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/08/02/florida-covid-hospitalizations-shatter-record-as-desantis-downplays-threat-1389356

    “The Florida Hospital Association on Monday reported 10,389 Covid-19 hospitalizations, the most statewide during any point in the pandemic. This follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting over the weekend that the state had more than 21,000 new coronavirus infections on Friday. It was the highest one-day total for Florida, which now makes up roughly one and five new cases nationally.
    About 95 percent of those hospitalized are unvaccinated, and Mary Mayhew, the president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, said the Delta variant that is sweeping through Florida is infecting young and unvaccinated people and is much different than the previous strain.
    “We have to convince 25-year-olds, 30-year-olds that this is now life threatening for them,” Mayhew said during an interview on Morning Joe. “That is not what they saw and what we experienced last year.””

    I do not know how to convince the anti-covid-vaxxers. The people that I know are adamant against the vaccination.

    Twelve people at my church are now known to have the covid. Four of them are in the hospital. Three of the four are reputedly not vaccinated.

    There is also something else going around that is not covid or flu. My wife has had it, it turned into bronchitis in her and many of our friends have gotten it also. Two of my 80 year old friends ended up in the hospital with it, both with pneumonia.

  69. ~jim says:

    My dad used to collect antique soap, powdered in the box, and bars in the package.

    Do you have his collection? I would love to see a pic or two. Coincidentally, just yesterday I saw an advertisement for Flobar bar soap, to decontaminate oneself from atomic fallout.

    https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/atomic-age/images/d/d1/Flobar_detergent_ad.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170504001856

    I remember being entranced by the ads in the old 1920 – 1930s copies of National Geographic in my elementary school library. Advertising is an interesting perspective of cultural values.

  70. ~jim says:

    A curious fact if you ever engage AT&T for your cellular phone connection. The account number is only available if you call. I have been on hold for 29:37 minutes and counting now, just in order to get that singular, mysterious number.

    Why? Because I want to migrate my AT&T account to the new T-Mobile number.

    By the love of God I cannot do that I without my AT&T account number. Once I have that, T-Mobile says they can migrate it instantly. But I have to do it in person at one of their stores, not online. LOL.

    Thank you for your patience. We are experiencing unusually high call volumes.

    ~jim

    What, me worry?

     

  71. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I have ruined a pair of new $45 Dockers light tan slacks.”

    OTOH, maybe it was a karma adjustment.

  72. drwilliams says:

    Lot’s of Wuhan virus porn in the news.

    I have a saying: TDAF

    ”The data are fcuked”

    Which can mean any number of things, but the operative implication is that conclusions are also fcuked.

  73. lynn says:

    @Lynn

    ”In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I have ruined a pair of new $45 Dockers light tan slacks.”

    OTOH, maybe it was a karma adjustment.

    Heh.

    If so, stay away from me, there may be more coming down the pike.

  74. drwilliams says:

    Dr. Michael Osterholm on masks:

    https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2021/08/02/biden-covid-advisor-look-the-cloth-masks-just-dont-do-much-for-you-n406188

    Which includes the Fucedchi quote on masks not working.

  75. Mark W says:

    I just had $100 of kitty litter stolen off my doorstep. The Amazon guy delivered it this morning, and when I got home it was gone. A review of the Ring camera shows it there at 2.11 and gone at 2.26. Stupid ring camera didn’t catch the motion and get a recording.

    So now I’m trying to decide between buying a DVR-based camera system or building my own. I’m very familiar with Linux and could build one just like Nick, but his constant issues really put me off, and I’m sure I’ll be tempted to tinker with it too much.

    I see a set of 4 4k REOLink cameras and DVR for $559. Seems like a good deal. I’ve used Reolink before and they work well.

    Any recommendations?

     

  76. Nick Flandrey says:

    I don’t know what happened to the collection. I’m assuming it went in the estate sale. I was focused on his workshop during that trip, and making sure there wasn’t any more cash hidden in the house.

    Mom thinks it must have been sold at the estate sale.

    He had about 60ft of it displayed on a little shelf around three sides of the kitchen, up near the ceiling.

    n

  77. Nick Flandrey says:

    @markw,

    Take a look at the iSpy ‘agent’ software NVR. If you have a spare machine or spare cycles on a machine, it’s free. The sub is for remote access. It has the advantage of working with just about any camera out there. the same software runs on windows, but the constant windows updating was driving me nuts. I’m sure it runs very well on most systems. I just don’t know what I don’t know to figure out what is puking mine.

    I recommended to a friend that just wanted a couple of cams that he could buy two or 4 good cams, put micro sd cards in them and just let them record internally with a common web browser to see the video. You can always add a NVR later.

    I like speco brand cams (specotech.com) for price vs performance. That is who I’ll buy a dedicated NVR from (probably) too, as I’ve installed several without issue. b and h photo has the best prices I’ve found for speco unless you want to go to ebay.

    My buddy bought 4 speco cams, and installed them on a poe switch and has been using them with just the internal micro sd since.

    Another option is streaming the cams to a NAS drive. My western digital supports cam recording although I’ve never tried it.

    In fact my speco cam will record to any machine with the camera live in a browser (although the file is hidden from you in the virtualized filesystem that IE uses to “protect you” from yourself.)

    Speco does like to upgrade models very often so older models might not be available. I’ve been happy with every different camera I installed from them, and with their service and support when I had an issue. (although in the past they almost required IE, they are much better about that now.)

    I have four O8D6M outdoor dome cams covering the front of my house. Standard def would likely be fine for a cam under your porch roof somewhere though.

    n

  78. Marcelo says:

    I have four O8D6M outdoor dome cams covering the front of my house.

    Catchy name that one: Can I have a couple of O8D6M, please?

  79. drwilliams says:

    Arlo Pro 3.

    3 wireless cams, DVR and a solar panel charger.

    On sale for $349 at Sam’s Club

    ADDED:
    Swann Communications Simulated Security Camera — White, Model# SWPRO-MSBDUM-GL
    $9.99 at Northern Tool

  80. Rick H says:

    I’ve standardized on Wyze. Got two of their ‘box’ cams that are inside. One outside/battery operated one on the porch railing outside (it’s rated to be outside). And a doorbell cam.

    All work well with their app – I got the subscription for long-term storage for two of the cameras (I have four total).

    Did have a problem with the doorbell cam. Easily installed (uses the standard two-wire doorbell wiring). Worked OK live, but event playback didn’t work on my old Android phone. No fixes that worked from Wyze, and a common complaint on the forums. Got a new phone with newer Android OS, and the doorbell cam event playback works with the new phone.  Comes with a ‘chime box’, and they now sell additional chime boxes.

    Easy installs, and inexpensive. They also have a home monitoring system/package. I also got their little battery-powered vacumn. https://www.wyzecam.com .

  81. JimB says:

    Cameras prevent theft? Or just document the perp all covered up with the obligatory hoodie? Why not just bolt down a stout box for packages? The lid self locks when closed. No messing with cams, software, and all those other pesky problems.

    Me? I have always wanted a device that would grab the perp and hold him for “processing” later. Legalities? Details. Best is the word gets out not to mess with that house with the crazies. 😛

  82. JimB says:

    By the love of God I cannot do that I without my AT&T account number.

    Curious, I checked. Account number is displayed at the top of the Billing & Payments > My Bill page.

    You can stop holding now.

  83. ~jim says:

    He had about 60ft of it displayed on a little shelf around three sides of the kitchen, up near the ceiling.

    To die for! What a wonderful collection. Probably the only one in the whole wide world… And it’s gone. Waaah! 🙁

    If you’ve got nine minutes to spare, this is how plywood is made.

     

  84. ~jim says:

    Account number is displayed at the top of the Billing & Payments > My Bill page.

    This was for an AT&T prepaid cellular connection. YMMV. I succeeded in getting my 12 digit account number. Total time was 44:29 and I’ll be damned if I forgot to tell them to discontinue the auto-pay option on the first of the month! I foresee great gnashing of teeth in the immediate future.

  85. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m going to try for an earlier bed time tonight, it’s only 1am, but I do feel kinda tired. Maybe I won’t have weird dreams involving the Big-ass-ians if I get more sleep.

    Please jebus…..
    \
    n

  86. JimB says:

    Re soap for hand washing, an old machinist friend suggested liquid dish detergent and about a teaspoon of sugar. First apply the dish detergent liberally to coat dry hands, then add the sugar. Rub a little until most of the sugar dissolves, and only then add a little water. Rub a little more, then rinse well. It is about as good as just about anything I have tried, and is not very hard on skin.

    Barrier creams are good, but any cheap hand lotion is almost as good. Apply before work, and use more for a quick clean, drying with a paper towel. When done, wash with hand soap of choice.

    Gloves are better. I like 5 mil nitrile. Sometimes I cover them with heavy stretch knit cotton gloves for more protection.

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