Cold, turning to cool, and damp of course. Whatever pressure zone moved in yesterday blew out the clouds and we had beautiful blue skies. So I spent most of the afternoon modeling my house in sketchup.
If we can’t buy a getaway place, my wife is convinced we need to remodel here. Which means moving somewhere else for a year. And a lot of other things. It’s nuts. But if anything is going to move in any direction, models will help. Oy vey, I’m not amused.
I’m headed to my client today, because yesterday got eaten by relationship maintenance.
All I can do is shake my head and try to keep moving. If you stop moving you get crushed.
Stack something. You’ll be glad you did.
n
41F and 98%RH this morning. Back is killing me. Must be a change in the weather.
n
It's the thought of moving, which is always a pain in the back, if not in points farther down.
Potatus
Now that the "no poaching" clause in the offer letter from the previous previous job is expired and I'm free to recruit the company's employees to join the new place, I'm reaching out to my former co-workers only to discover that a lot of them already reached a point where they grew disgusted and found other jobs.
One of them has a better setup than my new new employment!
"Unlimited" vacation and eliminating 401(k) match were among the gripes.
The vacation time scam in particular is a screw job if you are a conscientious white male. It is increasingly common in Austin.
What? Mainstream car journalism printing the truth about the Jesus truck?
I'm shocked! Shocked!
Those guys know the score. Still lots of Tony cheerleading and even Rivian.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/tesla-cybertruck-delayed-2022.html
Rivian doesn’t get Tony-level protection, but the auto press has still been complicit in that Ponzi.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/01/11/rivian-screwed-up-heres-how-it-can-do-better/
That is one of my lines with any company. If they eliminate, or even drop, the 401k match, I will make it my top priority to leave.
On a related note, my wife works for a credit union. They just announced the annual bonus for employees – 13%. They also are upping the employer match from 5% to 7%. In the grand scheme of things, the match likely isn't a huge burden, as I would guess the majority of people don't have the foresight to actually save money. Luckily, it benefits us greatly.
Worse before better.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10399899/Wholesale-inflation-hits-record-9-7-annual-rate-consumer-prices-jumped-40-years.html
More evidence of the breakdown.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10401351/Video-captures-thousands-damaged-packages-LA-train-tracks-left-cargo-looters.html
n
UP has it's own police force and from what I've heard not one you want to tangle with. I guess they do more than rough up hobos nowadays.
and just saw this too
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2022/01/your-shipment-is-delayed.html
Murder at a golf course tonight on "Death In Paradise" at 9:00 PM on BBC One.
You got COVID.
We always chose credit unions over banks because they used to plow every dime back to the customers. Most have forgotten that now, and the only reason as a customer to keep using them is that they are independent and small enough to know who we are. But we never ever borrow from the last one we still belong to, and we keep only minimal amount in our savings there, due to poor dividends.
I closed out one credit union account last year. I opened that account when I was 17 years old. It was in another town, so I no longer used it for checking and only kept savings there. In recent years, they merged with another so they could be "big", and reached a point where the fee they charged for the account was much more than the dividend they paid. I got fed up with it and shut it down. I wrote them a snail-mail letter. The next month, another statement, another fee, so I called them. They "had no record" of my letter but if I would EMAIL them they would close it and mail me a check. They went way way downhill from the days when the President of that credit union lived in a double-wide trailer, had only two employees, & recognized my voice when I called.
Very true. This credit union treats their employees very well. The benefits for customers aren't that great. I've been a customer way before my wife started working there. I just used them for a checking and small savings account. They don't pay any year end bonuses to members, and their rates are not the best on anything they offer. When I did my refi, they weren't even close to what I could get from Lendrfi. A few years ago they did add a special savings account that paid 5% interest on the first $2500 deposited. When rates took a dive, it dropped down to 2.5%, and has stayed there. I keep $2500 in that account and move out the interest earned every quarter.
In contrast, I used to belong to the credit union at my dad's company. I was in college when I stopped being a member, so I never had the opportunity to use anything more than checking. My dad said they had the best rates for years, and usually still do. They also pay a yearly dividend to members based on profitability. I could technically rejoin, as the son of a retiree, but being out of state makes it cumbersome. Plus, online options now for loans are just as good.
I am reminded of a funny meme picturing Kim Jong-un saying, "North Korea is best Korea!" lol
Cue CowboySlim to tell you that it's 24/7 or 24/365. 24/7/365 is redundant. 😛
I saw a good comment to this effect on TikTok. It was some vid of someone ranting about Trump and I clicked the comments and the first and most upvoted comment was, "Trump moved out of the Oval Office and right into your head."
Unlimited PTO is going to spread like wildfire amongst the salaried professions. It's too good of a deal for employers. There's no liability from employees banking a bunch of PTO hours. Many professional level employees don't use all of their vacation anyway and lose some every year (or bank it and create the aforementioned liability). It looks good for the employer to be able to say there's "unlimited PTO" and people who don't know better think that's awesome.
I've always said the railroads were weird. There's a bunch of very old odd laws, loopholes, and exemptions that still apply to them. I attribute it to very successful 18th and early 19th century lobbying by the railroad barons. lol IIRC, they don't even contribute to Social Security. They contribute to their own retirement plan in lieu of that. They're like the only industry exempted from social security contributions. So, the fact that they have their own police force that is probably allowed to do whatever it wants on their railway easements is of not surprise.
Credit unions traditionally had the best rates on car loans. So, I knew a lot of who had a credit union account with a minimum balance so they could technically be members of that credit union for the purposes of an auto loan.
I chuckle at how the requirements for membership have slackened. Growing up in a military family (and being military myself for a bit) all of the bases had their own credit unions with membership limited to servicemen assigned to that base and their immediate families. Over the years they've all nudged that up to where it's more like "anyone in the tri-county area with a pulse."
My mother-in-law, deceased, was able to get an account. Well technically the wife opened the account. Granted it was an executor account in her name for tax purposes, but it was still an account. So the pulse may actually be optional.
We switched to credit unions in WA State because I couldn't shake the feeling that US Bank was feeding information back to my wife's employer about our balances on a regular basis. The paychecks, which varied month to month, always seemed *just* enough to pay bills, rent, and student loans, but not sufficient to accumulate savings.
I had a co-worker at one job who worked for Wells Fargo verify that the employers can estimate balances in direct deposit accounts, but the technique was complicated. In Vantucky, since the clinic was the largest private employer in town, I assumed the management simply walked across the road and asked.
Not that I completely trust credit unions without exception. The base-related credit unions in Tampa, MacDill/Grow and PenFed, held a lot of sketchy paper in the suburbs during the real estate bubble 15 years ago, and PenFed in particular was complicit with several of my Bat Guano neighbors dreams of turning off-base housing allowances into tenbagger gold.
Still haven't left for my client's house. Cleaning service came so I can't use the bathroom. Spent the morning modeling the changes proposed by the contractor. Not going to work, the ceiling height isn't there.
n
Get rickrolled in your Tesla. Sweet!
https://americandigest.org/teenager-takes-control-of-25-teslas-its-probably-nothing-to-worry-about/
>> It's the thought of moving, which is always a pain in the back, if not in points farther down.
I'm happy that we've moved for the last time (at least voluntarily). Just gets harder as you get older. Now if we could get rid of the snowbirds, that would help cut down the traffic a bit.
Feel sorry for @nick facing two moves. Maybe cots in your storage locker? Protect your stuff at the same time.
MrsAtoz and I have been members of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union for around 40 years. We keep little money there, but get loans from them all the time. Car loans are very competitive and done in a couple of days. Mostly, we got loans to float the company when it is leans. We can get $20K into our account in two days without a problem. Phone or innertubes.
I watched all six parts of this video series on masks(while having three cups of covfefe):
Everything you need to know about masks
I’m sure the CDC and Fuher FauXi wish death upon people like this. Masks aren’t effective the way they are being mandated. Anything less than N95 is useless. Most people with N95 or KN95 wear them wrong. Guys like the author are dismissed because they don’t work for a goobermint goon agency.
WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE FROM COVID!
The previous previous job made the switch partially because they lost $146 million on $500 million in sales last year but also since many of the employees have extracurricular activities which, given more time to pursue, serve as a distraction from the financial loss since they see it as an acceptable tradeoff.
The senior developers in my group probably didn't view it as a big deal since it gave them more time to keep bees, breed goats, and play medieval serf at the Sherwood Forest Faire. Life is good when you are making $40-60k more a year than the real-life modern serf who has to get on airplane, so losing the ability to bank a few grand a year in vacation time is no big deal.
I wouldn't keep any more money there than what is necessary to get a competitive loan rate.
Well, 24/7/365 can also be construed as 7 years.
Hearing doctor today. Was able to get an appointment quickly.
Yesterday my hearing markedly changed in one ear, the best ear. The other ear changed two days ago and has done that in the past recovering within a day. This time the ear did not recover. The change was rapid as in less than four hours. Something is wrong. I was able to get a lot of wax out of the ears using the approved method (no sharp tools, Debrox). But it did not help. Some scary shirt(-r) is going on and I fear that I am heading down the path to almost being deaf. I am hoping it is still just a wax issue requiring professional removal.
@Ray
Scary indeed. Hope you get a top-notch ear doc.
I agree with drwilliams, Good Luck, Ray!
Yesterday my hearing markedly changed in one ear, the best ear. The other ear changed two days ago and has done that in the past recovering within a day. This time the ear did not recover. The change was rapid as in less than four hours. Something is wrong.
Sinus infection ?
I can hear the tinnitus in my left ear just fine. It comes and goes in the right ear. Both of them sound like a 3,600 rpm 1,000 hp electric motor.
I read the Mandibles over T-giving break. Freaked me right out. She wrote it in 2009? and got way too much right.
It's not the best or most engaging writing, the characters are mainly unappealing, and the energy falls off a cliff right before the end, but it was worth finishing.
n
I am trying to figure out how the USA could have a two year long cyber attack starting in 2024 that the author is calling The Stoneage. Surely we would be able to fight that off after a long weekend or some short period like that ? According to the author, the two year cyber attack did fairly major damage to the USA economy since nobody could order anything from Amazon.
I only sporadically hear the tinnitus, not to often. However, reading the above, mine is back again.
A flaw in AWS security could have serious implications for the economy, but people still order a lot of things on Amazon's retail operation that they could purchase elsewhere.
Amazon "retail" is still in the "delight the customer" stage. The other day, I went to drop something off at the UPS Store, and the line was out the door with people clutching paper with QR codes and unboxed items — obvious Amazon returns. Most of it looked like cr*p they could live without and merchandise that will either be trashed or sold in bulk bins when sent back.
Maybe the UPS Store has a hauling contract for the trashed items. That would save time/money.
If we can’t buy a getaway place, my wife is convinced we need to remodel here. Which means moving somewhere else for a year. And a lot of other things. It’s nuts. But if anything is going to move in any direction, models will help. Oy vey, I’m not amused.
Move. You need more room and more storage. Plus, high school is coming up. You need a better school.
Here is just one house that might work if it is not in the flood zone:
https://www.har.com/homedetail/18306-timber-strand-dr-houston-tx-77084/8685142
Apple's last update to Safari on Mac broke a lot of web sites. I have to use Chrome to access Quickbooks Online from my main machine. The new laptop is M1, but I haven't tried it yet.
It's tax season!
>> I read the Mandibles over T-giving break. Freaked me right out. She wrote it in 2009? and got way too much right.
Coming up on $30 trillion !
https://www.usdebtclock.org/
Just for some perspective, one trillion is one million million. But it's all Monopoly money, right?!
There's a story of a self-made man, worked hard, started his own business, finally made his first million dollars. Soon after he was at an industry event and was introduced to a billionaire. The millionaire asked the the billionaire what was the best way for he himself to become a billionaire. The billionaire replied, "What you did to become a millionaire, just do it 999 more times."
>> I chuckle at how the requirements for membership have slackened. Growing up in a military family (and being military myself for a bit) all of the bases had their own credit unions with membership limited to servicemen assigned to that base and their immediate families. Over the years they've all nudged that up to where it's more like "anyone in the tri-county area with a pulse."
I recall my son paying $5 to some "military supporters" group so he would be eligible to join the PenFed credit union.
What? Mainstream car journalism printing the truth about the Jesus truck?
I'm shocked! Shocked!
Those guys know the score. Still lots of Tony cheerleading and even Rivian.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/tesla-cybertruck-delayed-2022.html
"It's all about being able to produce the new 4680 batteries at scale. Now that the Semi is being produced (15 to Pepsi at the end of this month) the availability of those batteries is likely the issue. Both of these vehicles require that new battery. "
The new total electric Semis are eating batteries like they are going out of style. At 2 kwh/mile, the Semi needs four 250 kwh battery packs (the big one !) to make 500 miles. And then the Semi needs four Superchargers to get recharged in 30 minutes.
Tesla had to make a choice, Semi or Cybertruck. Looks like they chose Semi. I wonder who Musk fired for making him make that decision ?
The amount of infrastructure needed to convert the three million 18 wheeler trucks in the USA to total electric is simply amazing. Probably equal to that of 20 million cars.
>> Still haven't left for my client's house. Cleaning service came so I can't use the bathroom. Spent the morning modeling the changes proposed by the contractor. Not going to work, the ceiling height isn't there.
Hopefully the changes include a second bathroom.
UP has it's own police force and from what I've heard not one you want to tangle with. I guess they do more than rough up hobos nowadays.
and just saw this too
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2022/01/your-shipment-is-delayed.html
UP used to use Pinkerton. Those guys were walking tanks. You did not want to mess with them, they had cart blanche to do what they needed to do.
I read the Mandibles over T-giving break. Freaked me right out. She wrote it in 2009? and got way too much right.
It's not the best or most engaging writing, the characters are mainly unappealing, and the energy falls off a cliff right before the end, but it was worth finishing.
n
I am trying to figure out how the USA could have a two year long cyber attack starting in 2024 that the author is calling The Stoneage. Surely we would be able to fight that off after a long weekend or some short period like that ? According to the author, the two year cyber attack did fairly major damage to the USA economy since nobody could order anything from Amazon.
The only thing that I can come up with to stop a cyber attack on the USA is to cut all the intercontinental ties.
I have had two major DNS attacks on my main website (I have seven). Both times my host just starting blocking IP addresses at their outer ring. Worked perfectly even when the attacker moved IP addresses. The attackers pulled well over 3 TB off my server that day. Just the same PNG file over and over again.
CowboySim says:
14 January 2022 at 14:04
I only sporadically hear the tinnitus, not to often. However, reading the above, mine is back again.
Ok, where is CowboySlim and what have you done with him ?
A flaw in AWS security could have serious implications for the economy, but people still order a lot of things on Amazon's retail operation that they could purchase elsewhere.
The real problem would be way more than people buying retail. The problem would be those people who refill brick and mortar stores (Walmart, HEB, Target, 7 Eleven, etc) using private networks over the internet. Nobody has private networks on their own cables anymore, everything sits on the intertubes. And all of the "Smart" electric / gas meters, etc.
"Biden: Bull Connor’s GOP Imperils Democracy"
https://buchanan.org/blog/biden-bull-connors-gop-imperils-democracy-158989
"As for calling the Republican opposition, all 50 senators, racists whose position on voting rights recalls the segregationists of the early 1960s, that would appear only to solidify and harden their opposition. But perhaps Biden is after another game here. For what this speech did succeed in doing is to temporarily change the subject."
Ok, Biden is starting to scare me.
I'm here and standing bye.
"This 20-person tent has sleeping 'rooms,' so everyone in your family will be comfortable"
https://www.chron.com/shopping/article/20-person-tent-sleeping-rooms-16735781.php
If only we had this when my five person family was doing the weekend camping thing one weekend a month back in the in the 1960s.
"‘Justified’ Revival Set at FX With Timothy Olyphant Returning"
https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/justified-revival-fx-timothy-olyphant-1235154475/
Please don't screw this up !
And "NBC Greenlights Quantum Leap Sequel Pilot"
https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1207975-nbc-greenlights-quantum-leap-sequel-pilot
"2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Will Offer 400-Mile Range"
https://www.carprousa.com/blog/2024-chevrolet-silverado-ev-400-mile-range
I would not touch this with a 20 foot linesman pole.
The segregationists of the 60s included Albert Gore Senior and Senator William Fullbright, Bill Clinton mentor and the same Fullbright as in Fullbright scholars whom Progs hold in high esteem.
Plugs went too far with that speech, even scaring Peggy Noonan off the reservation this week. Fortunately, no one paid it much attention so it is just more death throes of the Dem beast, sinking into the tar pits of irrelevance and 33% approval ratings.
The speech probably played well in Atlanta, as intended. They have to defend that Senate seat after Warnock got elected with 300,000 Republican voters not showing up for the runoffs.
"2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid Pickup"
https://www.carprousa.com/vehicle-reviews/2021-ford-f-150-powerboost-hybrid-pickup
"The big news is the PowerBoost hybrid engine that starts out as a 3.5-liter six-cylinder EcoBoost with twin turbos. When you add the hybrid system, it boosts you to 430-horses and an incredible 570-pound feet of torque, 12,700 pounds of towing, and on a full tank of gas, you can go 700 miles without filling up."
"With the PowerBoost, you also get a Pro Power onboard generator. It comes standard with a 2.0 kW generator, or you can go up to a 2.4kW, or spend $750 and get the 7.2kW, which is what this truck had. With that, you get six 120V power outlets, and one 240V outlet. To give you an idea of the power, this truck will run all your power tools, including a welder. Last year during the ice storm that blanketed Texas, many people powered their entire houses from their PowerBoost F-150 when the electricity was out."
$76,605 for the King Ranch version with the 7 kw power option. Are you kidding me ?
Oh gosh, I want XXXX need one !
Back from the ear doctor. Said he could find nothing wrong. Well, anything that he can fix. Says my hearing is about what it was a year ago. I disagree as sounds are now muted. I now hear, constantly in addition to tinnitus, a background roar like standing next to an A/C inlet for a house. Annoying it is. He did prescribe some steroids and said the condition is probably temporary, give it some time. That will be $300.00, pay the receptionist, thank you very much.
How is your ESG score ? ESG = "Environmental, Social justice, and Governance score".
"Glenn Beck on His New Book: The Great Reset"
https://www.clayandbuck.com/glenn-beck-on-his-new-book-the-great-reset/
"BECK: It’s an Environmental, Social justice, and Governance score. Now, we saw the beginnings of this with gun control. Remember they said, “You know what? We can’t do this. You might not be able to get insurance, and so you’re gonna have to pay, you know, extra for insurance — and these banks? I don’t know. We don’t want to do business with companies that are selling guns.”"
"That’s just the beginning of it. This score is an arbitrary score set by the banks and elites and people like BlackRock along with the government, and it really is going to turn into pay-for-play. And it will be first on the scores like Coca-Cola. They’re already doing this in Europe. Coca-Cola has to justify their business to the banking community and to the other regulators that are really not part of government, it’s just the financial community."
The VA specialists still aren't back at full schedules in person. My wife is very grumpy.
"Falcon 9 completes launch, has now lifted 550 satellites into orbit [Updated]"
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/01/with-thursdays-launch-spacex-continues-to-increase-cadence-of-booster-reuse/
"This was the booster's 10th flight to space."
"10:40 am ET Update: With clearing skies and moderate winds, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket rideshare mission safely launched into space on Thursday. The first stage then sent its upper stage and a payload with 105 small satellites on its way into low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 first stage made a smooth landing back near its launch site."
"Remarkably, this single Falcon 9 rocket first stage has now launched 550 satellites into orbit, as well as one Cargo Dragon and one Crew Dragon. It has flown, on average, every two months since its first launch. It would seem that rocket re-use is more than a fad."
Pournelle would be so happy !
Ford is seriously fetishizing the F150 Lightning with the new commercials which ran during the big NCAA bowl games. They will probably repeat the spots during the NFL playoffs starting this weekend.
The ads show the F150 Lightning powering an entire McMansion while the neighbors' properties are dark. Of course, the price as equipped isn't mentioned. Neither is how long the lights will stay on with the house all lit up.
Falcon 9 landing ! So cool ! The way all spaceships should land, on a big fireball.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1481651037291225113?cxt=HHwWsoCp7ZXx8I8pAAAA
Ford is seriously fetishizing the F150 Lightning with the new commercials which ran during the big NCAA bowl games. They will probably repeat the spots during the NFL playoffs starting this weekend.
The ads show the F150 Lightning powering an entire McMansion while the neighbors' properties are dark. Of course, the price as equipped isn't mentioned. Neither is how long the lights will stay on with the house all lit up.
If you got it, flaunt it !
Of course, preppers are all about being the dark man.
The VA specialists still aren't back at full schedules in person. My wife is very grumpy.
My late February engineering conference in Oklahoma just went virtual. Screw that, I am not doing that. Luckily I had not paid yet.
Psaki is busy walking back most of plugs "Bull Connor" speech. Looks like he wandered off into the garden again.
I miss tRump.
My wife's big spring conference is in Dallas this year. They announced a "hybrid" virtual plan, but my guess is that they will announce a pure virtual event in the next few weeks like they did last year.
OTOH, this could be the last surge for the virus. It seems like everybody has it.
I cancelled my rescheduled dentist appointment this morning. The receptionist at the office said that they were rescheduling on a rolling basis because a lot of patients had the same problem and I should call when I think I'm clear.
I have a Covid test scheduled for Tuesday.
Why did scientists suppress the lab-leak theory?
In private, they said it was plausible. In public, they called it a conspiracy theory.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/01/12/why-did-scientists-suppress-the-lab-leak-theory/
Again, millions of people have died and the "scientists" have lied.
No problem with cruel and unusual punishment, here, either: pith them like frogs and hang them on a barbed wire fence as terrible reminders that if you're in a position of authority you do not kill the people who pay your salary.
Since that's probably a fence too far for the tender-hearted, how about as a minimum that they be dismissed from public service, stripped of their pensions, and denied even a cent of public funding in the future?
The Daily Deaths worldwide curve of The Koof has turned upward just a skinch now. Nothing compared to the Daily New Cases worldwide curve which hit 3.3 million, a new high.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
@lynn, that is one nice house. And has a workshop. And craft room and theater. The only problem is it's not in the middle of 10 acres of woods and rolling hills.
n
From the World of Engineering:
2019: Avoid negative people.
2020: Avoid positive people.
2021: Avoid people.
2022: A void.
@lynn, that is one nice house. And has a workshop. And craft room and theater. The only problem is it's not in the middle of 10 acres of woods and rolling hills.
n
And 150 miles away from Houston with a stream or a lake in one corner.
"A Million Dollars vs A Billion Dollars, Visualized: A Road Trip"
https://youtu.be/8YUWDrLazCg
And a trillion is a thousand billion.
I found the characters in "The Mandibles" tiresome but the events provocative. I enjoyed "The Jakarta Pandemic". The disease was more lethal than the Falsi Flu and the prepping might be a bit too good. "Lights Out" also suffered a bit from super survivorism but was just so well done.
I'm near finishing "The Borrowed World" and enjoying it fine.
“‘Why did scientists suppress the lab-leak theory?’
‘In private, they said it was plausible. In public, they called it a conspiracy theory.’
Whatever it took to get Trump out of office. Unfortunately, he took the bait.
"Biden: Bull Connor’s GOP Imperils Democracy"
From Wikipedia (emphasis added):
I found the characters in "The Mandibles" tiresome but the events provocative. I enjoyed "The Jakarta Pandemic". The disease was more lethal than the Falsi Flu and the prepping might be a bit too good. "Lights Out" also suffered a bit from super survivorism but was just so well done.
I'm near finishing "The Borrowed World" and enjoying it fine.
All very good books. You might also like "Going Home"
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Home-Novel-Survivalist-American/dp/0142181277//p?tag=ttgnet-20
Or "One Second After"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0765356864//p?tag=ttgnet-20
Or "Earth Abides"
https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Abides-George-R-Stewart/dp/0358380219//p?tag=ttgnet-20
I've got a hundred more if interested.
Or "Emergence"
https://www.amazon.com/Emergence-David-R-Palmer/dp/194881806X//p?tag=ttgnet-20
Or "The Postman"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLSY8R6//p?tag=ttgnet-20
Or "Wool"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0358447844//p?tag=ttgnet-20
I started with "Alas, Babylon" w-a-y back when. Excellent Cold War turns HOT. And "Lucifer's Hammer", of course. There are many when crisis gets turned up to 11.
Hopefully, IRL stays under 10. 🙁
I speculate in a WAG kind of way that the current labor shortages are from married moms going a bit Galt and homeschooling or homemaking instead of working just to pay the child care provider.
Hopefully, IRL stays under 10.
IRL ?
Oh wait, urban dictionary says IRL = In Real Life.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=irl
Oh yes, the moron in charge in DC seems to be obsessed with Russia. That obsession is not healthy for him or us.
@lynn:
Shouldn't that be "the moron nominally in charge in DC"?
G.