Cool and damp. Like yesterday turned out to be. We got some rain in the morning, and misty drizzle later too. Just enough to be grey and damp, and to make the road slippery. It was warm long enough that I ended up turning on the A/C before bed as temps in the house crept up to 77F. That meant 82F in my office which was just too dang hot. We’ll see how today goes, but I need to do the pickups I didn’t do yesterday, so I’m hoping it’s not too wet.
I was coughing and didn’t feel great in the morning so I took a wuflu self test. Negative again. That’s something like 6 times I felt bad enough to test, and yet still don’t have the coof. I’ll head to bed early as the universal remedy for sickness.
Spent most of yesterday on domestic bliss. Did 2 loads of laundry, folded same. Did some cleanup and putting away of stuff that’s been out for far too long. Did some restocking of cabinets. Then got the kid and went book shopping at the thrifts. She bought more clothes than books, but did manage to find a half dozen. Prices in the independent thrift store were high. Much higher than normal. It could be a new manager setting prices more aggressively, or it could be inflation showing up in the staff’s perception of what a good price would be. I managed to get a couple of books, and a benchrest for shooting gubs.
Today I’ve got pickups if it’s not raining. That will free me up to get out to my client on Friday. Bought some stuff to donate to daughter’s school. Wife is already donating both our time this weekend, and something they need in the theater showed up in my auction. Funny how that happens in my life.
The world continues in its tendency toward increasing tyranny. The latest from our neighbors to the north slid right by, with nary an objection, and might be used lightly this first time. They always come back and use it full strength at some point though. I’d be decreasing my cash in the bank, and increasing my valuable stuff close at hand. No one ever thinks they’ll come for them, until it’s too late and they have.
The tendency toward increased perversity should be obvious after 10 minutes review of current pop culture. It wasn’t that long ago that a band could sing a song based on Bible stories. In fact many bands could do so and each could make it their own, and no one would object, and most people hearing it would already know the story. Today the dominant pop culture celebrates drug use, violence, misogyny, obscenity, and pornography.
Our president says the smartest guy he knows is a crack head who films himself using drugs and having sex with whores, and who can’t even keep track of his own laptop with the videos on it, as well as evidence of his other crooked deals. The previous Democrat administration was so crooked, listing the crimes would get a novel with that plot thrown out as completely impossible fantasy.
Legal abortion, which was supposed to be ‘rare’ has killed 23 million black babies alone, by some estimates. The social “reforms” of the 60s and 70s have destroyed the black family, destroyed the cities and black neighborhoods, and encouraged a culture of decadence and dependence that has poisoned the soul of black America instead of uplifting it.
This person is reading stories to our kids in the library, and this person is now in charge of our nuclear waste… At least he has some background in the field, but he seems to have gotten the position “because of” not “in spite of” his clear mental illness.
I’m not just a grumpy old man complaining about the kids today. This stuff that would have been unimaginable a decade ago is really happening. And it’s being CELEBRATED.
The center cannot hold.
You and I don’t have enough preps. Stack it up. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
n
70F and 93%RH this morning. Certainly cool, although warmer than it has been.
My wife came home with flowers for the pots so she’s convinced we’re done freezing. Don’t know where I’ll find the time to do any gardening though.
Client texted and would like me to come by today, so my list just shifted around. Oh well. Plans, I got em. Completed plans, not so much.
Better get started.
n
(500 error)
Hmmm, I believe I might have mentioned something like this… sequencing the human part is only a revelation away…
https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1493982257790570501
n
As the not-so-old saw has it, the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth is 3-18 months.
and also: We need to come up with some new conspiracy theories. All of the old ones are coming true.
February 16, 2022
If Canada wants to reduce its COVID death rate, it should adopt ivermectin
By Howard Richman
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/02/if_canada_wants_to_reduce_its_covid_death_rate_it_should_adopt_ivermectin.html
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that the death rate in Canada is accurate at 939 per million. Let's also say that the death rate in the U.S. is overstated, and that the real death rate is at least 20% less, or about 2280 per million. That's quite a span, and not explainable by the difference in vaccination rates.
The death rate in Uttar Pradesh as claimed above is claimed to be 95 per million, with a vaccinaton rate about half that of Canada.
There are people that poo-poo that number and claim it is suspect.
Like this guy:
https://gidmk.medium.com/ivermectin-didnt-save-uttar-pradesh-from-covid-19-17684f49d8b3
Who doesn't know the difference between "jive" and "jibe", which makes his opinion jive as far as I'm concerned.
And this guy:
https://healthfeedback.org/feedbacks/
For which this guy:
https://fcpp.org/2021/11/17/ivermectin-fact-checking-the-fact-checkers/
does the takedown in detail
Ending with:
The "key takeaway" from the second guy is this:
If you read both the poo-poo's (h/t to Stephen Frey as Jeeves) the objections (hardly arguments) fall into two categories:
1) correlation doesn't prove causation
2) here are a bunch of other things that could have been factors
With regard to number 1, gee, that's original. If that objection was so devastating, we'd have been done with lockdowns and "mask" mandates a year ago, with the two poo-poo'ers applying their bright shiny tool of analysis and leading the charge. (Note: I leave it to others to confirm, but I doubt they did)
With regard to number 2, I quoted the "key takeaways" specifically because the events just since October 2021 have put paid to a bunch of the other factors.
If you've read this far, and read some of my other posts, you probably think that I'm advocating ivermectin.
Nope.
My argument all along has been that there are trillions of dollars and complete dictatorial political power based on controlling the population in response to the KungFlu virus. The antipathy shown toward treatment of any kind, with ivermectin leading the way for the past year or so, is overwhelming proof that the "trillions of dollars and complete dictatorial political power" is winning and has no actual regard for public health outcomes.
[As an aside, I will note that a #3 could be added to the list above in the form of "there ain't been no double-blind clinical trials". To which I submit that the "gold standard" of medicine is actually a gold wash, easily nicked to show the base metal underneath. How many new drugs are ever tested in combination with the most common things they will be taken with: aspirin, ibuprofen, blood pressure meds (diuretics and the ABC of blockers), birth control pills, etc.? Yet bend-over pharma only has to show approximately equal efficacy at 95% confidence interval to push it out the door and buy endless tv time for the new $1,000 per month miracle that might be as good as the $6 pills that are out-of-patent.]
So, here's my conclusions:
The first response to the claim of “The death rate in Uttar Pradesh as claimed above is 95 per million.” should be to investigate the claimed death rate. But there has been no reported efforts to investigate the claimed death rate: No one has found an extra 200,000 bodies. The lack of investigation—no team from the WHO, the CDC (U.S. government), the NYT, or even Fox News—is absolute stone-cold proof that those entities have no interest in public health. [note: the U.S hasn't sent any teams to Canada, either]
Absent an interest in public health, the most likely explanation remaining is “trillions of dollars and complete dictatorial political power".
IF the claimed death rate is reasonably accurate, THEN the reasons should be investigated.
IF the claimed death rate is accurate, THEN both the governments of Canada and the U.S. (and every country in the world that has a death rate higher than a large, crowded, poor state in a third world country) have effectively murdered a large swath of their population.
Additional damning evidence for the utter disregard for public health lies in: a) clinging to draconian measures that don't work according to sound scientific analysis and have other proven adverse affects; b) misrepresenting and covering up deaths associated with the vaccines; c) pushing for vaccination of young children with absolute disregard for the damages outweighing the benefits; and d) the long list of claims made with absolute surety by “experts” that have been shown to be incorrect and revised with equally tenuous basis in sound science.
But they meant well, so it's all ok… /s
Seriously, the right thing to do, would be to undo all those counterproductive reforms. It took 2 generations to destroy the black family and black culture, it would take at least two generations to undo the damage. If it's even possible – it may just be too late. Civilization is easily destroyed, but more difficult to build.
– – – – –
As of today, all Covid restrictions have been lifted, except for masks in public transport and hospitals. Those last bits will be lifted at the end of March. Asked about next year, the government said the obvious: it's just going to be treated like the flu: an annual disease for which vaccinations will be available.
It will be interesting to see how many people continue wearing masks anyway. I will probably continue wearing one in the train – too many people crammed together for too long. Elsewhere, probably not…
– – – – –
Younger son and girlfriend are visiting, getting some skiing in. Snow where we are is almost melted from rain in the past couple of days, but the ski slopes are a bit higher, so they have nice, fresh snow.
I've mostly been loafing this week, but tomorrow I have to get back to work. First lecture of the semester is Saturday.
Before even looking into the claims, three things come immediately to mind:
– Just how reliable do you think the reporting in Uttar Pradesh is? (Hint: not very, it's a poor region even for India)
– What proportion of the population is elderly? (Hint: less than a third as many as in the US and Canada)
– Why Uttar Pradesh – i.e., why some poor province in India? (Hint: Cherry picking)
Maybe the guy's claims are true, who knows? This surely isn't any sort of useful evidence.
@brad
Then I'm sure you will find the jive guy persuasive.
Florida will be among the first to feel it starting next month with spring training ready to begin and Canadians ensconced for the remainder of winter through Easter.
Among the darkest tracks of Sting's solo career — the story of David and Bathsheba.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPJmBT4tu-Q
“The Soul Cages” is my favorite “serious brooding” album. Strong with the dark side that CD is.
It wasn’t the only time Sting dipped into the Bible.
And, geesh, the old NBC Letterman show had amazing musical performances. Those need to be on Antenna TV like the old Carson tapes.
Give the democrats a chance. They need to find a "few trucks" that were previously unknown.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10519941/A-500-Walmart-gift-card-led-arrest-NYC-couple-4-5-billion-bitcoin-heist.html
Interesting account of how they caught up to them.
n
Local high school basketball coach got forced to resign. At the end of the game he went to the opposing bench and shoved a student. Which caused a ruckus on the court between both coaches and some others.
As a coach an opposing player is never touched unless it is to save them going out of bounds. Second no-no is to never, ever touch an official. The coach violated a big rule and dismissal is the only appropriate response. Perhaps even assault charges filed by the student's parents would not be out of the question.
One stupid move, done in anger, stopped his coaching career, will put him in legal trouble, and may jeopardize his business. He owns and operates a local cable television station, the one where my church broadcasts.
I have known the guy for 20 years. Yes, he does get animated at basketball games. Yes, he tends to get angry. But to go after an opposing team player is just not normal.
@greg, I have a hard time thinking of Sting as a pop music artist… and that linked song is pretty far from "pop".
And man o man, I'd forgotten how bad tv audio engineers were at mixing live bands. SNL was the worst, but that mix is pretty bad. I had to find another version to even really hear it. I like it though, and was never a big Sting fan.
n
The general condition of the stores belies the fact that Walmart is very high tech. I get emails all the time to go to Bentonville — no remote work in your jammies allowed.
The people who run Walmart don't have to pretend to be "woke" like Tim Cook. Though, I doubt Cook will continue to back down about forcing a return to the office once the new campus in Austin opens.
“And man o man, I’d forgotten how bad tv audio engineers were at mixing live bands. SNL was the worst, but that mix is pretty bad. I had to find another version to even really hear it. I like it though, and was never a big Sting fan. ”
Letterman got short shrift at NBC in terms of resources. He frequently worked in the SNL studio in the late summer leading up to the Fall season when the network took over his studio for affiliate events, even during his last contract when 11:30-1:30 drove half the revenue for the network.
One of the legendary Letterman bits in the 80s was Dave stealing plants from the Donahue set at 30 Rock — no one messed with Donahue back then … except Letterman.
“Say, Paul, I want some plants. Phil has plants. I’m going.”
IMHO, the best performance of the song outside of the studo is on the “Live From Berlin” DVD, played using the uncompressed audio track.
I frequently hear the studio version at HEB. Someone either likes Sting or has a wicked sense of humor. The other Sting song I hear at HEB is “All This Time”, from the same album– no Bible story, but heavy religious themes.
Ah yuck, the misty drizzle of this morning has turned into steady rain. I have a bunch of stuff to pick up that shouldn’t get wet.
I think I’ll head to my client’s house. The forecast says rain should taper off. If I get done out there, maybe I can still do my pickups in the afternoon. I’d really like to get tomorrow freed up.
n
From yesterday (a plugin delayed comment)
Watched the Tucker Carlson segment, and when you put it like that….
Holy cr@p. Innocuous sounding words and a flat delivery and BAM. Pretty sweeping control of the population.
n
I watched some of that too, then tuned out. I have to say, Tucker Carlson and his research crew are some of the hardest working people in the entertainment industry. The effort it took to research so much about Canada and cherry-pick just the facts (or opinions) that would tell the story he told are astonishing. I realize he offers opinions and not news (hence, he and his research crew are not the hardest working people in the news industry). But hey, Tucker must know better so those who pay attention to him must understand they now have a functioning fascist tyranny on the northern half of the continent. I am sure such viewers will be offering political asylum to the Canadian snowbirds in Florida and Arizona as we speak. Oh those poor Canadians… (Fox and Tucker: One of the great examples of taking a few facts, ignoring others, viewing with extreme alarm, and conjuring a mountain from a molehill to rev up his audience).
Seriously, as reported, the farce here continues. The existing laws were more than sufficient when enforced to end any border blockades. The same could be used to remove the trucks and protestors from the residential areas of Ottawa. (The police chief of Ottawa has resigned, he was not doing his job). I think the protestors are welcome to stay for as long as they like in front of Parliament – they will get bored as will the media and the media attention is why they are there. Political theatre. Invoking the Emergency Act is a step too far by a Prime Minister (and his advisors, as many don't believe Trudeau has the ability to create policy on his own) that played the protests as a wedge issue and are now far behind in addressing the issue. This will cost him at the next election. And contrary to the alarmist Tucker, there will be a next election.
Yuuup, my county, Orange, is getting away (not being sued in court) with mandating disease preventing vaccinations. I'll have to bring my dog to the vet before his current Rabies Vaccination expires on June 22, 2023.
Oops. Talk about poor timing.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/canadas-major-banks-go-offline-in-mysterious-hours-long-outage/
My Dad is doing well with the covid.
I took another government issues covid (koof) test last night which was negative again.
I highly advise getting the four free government issued covid tests. I would like to find out where to buy them, they are easy to use other than sticking the swab up your nose into your brain.
https://www.covidtests.gov/
I ordered a UPS from Provantage on Monday around 11:30AM. "Free Ground Shipping" which has always meant UPS. It arrived about 11:30AM today. FedEx Ground, who as usual, left the package at the gate because pushing a button to open the gate is difficult or something. But it's cool, I expected UPS to deliver next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Buddy wanted to go for a walk and yeah, a 24 pound box gets sort of heavy. Along with juggling a dog leash. It's a bit more than 1000 feet from gate to house. Not worth the wear and tear on the truck or van to go 2000 feet. I need the exercise anyway. Take a guess where Buddy likes to walk to?
Amazon had the same price. Delivery time unknown. Drop-off at the gate or at the house is random.
Didn't shop elsewhere. I just looked and NewEgg has one from a third party for less but I'm not interested in a re-furb.
I bought a used book last week. It arrived a week early. That's a nice change from packages going from Ohio to California to Nevada for a few days and then to Georgia before getting to Houston for a few days. Need to rest from all that traveling. Then to Austin, sometimes Dallas before Austin and then here.
>> Actually it is large ships that are most efficient. However getting a ship to Phoenix is still a major problem.
Should be less of a problem once California falls into the ocean. Straight shot then down I-10 for some of those driverless semis.
Maybe we can build a salt water canal from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX as a new variant of the Panama canal. That would be a neat project.
Oh, and it would be a nice moat between the USA and Mexico.
No no no. Not a moat. A shark refuge.
I highly advise getting the four free government issued covid tests. I would like to find out where to buy them, they are easy to use other than sticking the swab up your nose into your brain.
https://www.covidtests.gov/
Ah, here is the government issued test from iHealth. $20 at CVS if they have it.
https://www.cvs.com/shop/ihealth-covid-19-antigen-rapid-test-2-tests-per-pack-prodid-432457
I checked the SA area, nada.
Would you like to buy my two? $100/ea.
I volunteered to upgrade a Dell M5110 laptop with an SSD. Stupidly, I did not check how this was done in advance (I am used to working on Lenovo, where it would have taken a few minutes). I had to take the laptop apart, right down to removing the motherboard, as the drive is physically attached to the underneath of the motherboard. In the process I moved the laptop lid/screen and noticed that the fixings for the hinge included a couple of plastic standoffs which had cracked due to the leverage (I don't know whether they were already cracked or whether I did it moving the screen. Very poor design – placement of drive and weak hinge fixings. I did a bit of web research and came across some bright spark who had previously addressed the broken plastic standoff problem.
Brass 'nuts' were originally embedded in the plastic standoffs, but were now broken away. His suggestion, which worked for me, was to free the brass 'nuts' and use a soldering iron to carefully melt them back into the remaining standoff (heat only applied to the 'nut'), find longer screws, and put some spacers between the remaining standoffs and the hinge fixing. Still left a poor design, but when tightened up, plus replacing another screw coming from the base into a metal standoff on the hinge seems to do the job.
A little reminder to check the detail before offering to do what 'should' have been a simple job.
All done, software installed and ready for the new user.
Regarding Covid Tests – they are becoming available free here in Jefferson County (WA) via local health dept at various places, including fire stations. N95 masks are also available.
I have 4 sets (each set has two tests). Two from the feds, and two from WA state.
Mine aren't as expensive as MrAtoZ's. Only $95. Plus shipping.
Regarding SSD upgrades: I've been thinking about one for my HP Envy 17" laptop. Currently has a 256MB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive. Both are approaching 90% full.
So, would replace the 1TB hard drive with a 2TB SSD. But the laptop is about 2 1/2 years old. Still works fine, although the hinge are a bit stiff (I suspect some cracking there). A replacement would cost about $1200+. A 2TB SSD cost is about $200.
Currently running Win10. Win11 upgrade available and waiting on this system. I use it 6-8 hours a day.
Have not decided if an upgrade or replacement is best. But doing data backups regularly just in case.
Regarding SSD upgrades: I've been thinking about one for my HP Envy 17" laptop. Currently has a 256MB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive. Both are approaching 90% full.
So, would replace the 1TB hard drive with a 2TB SSD. But the laptop is about 2 1/2 years old. Still works fine, although the hinge are a bit stiff (I suspect some cracking there). A replacement would cost about $1200+. A 2TB SSD cost is about $200.
Currently running Win10. Win11 upgrade available and waiting on this system. I use it 6-8 hours a day.
Have not decided if an upgrade or replacement is best. But doing data backups regularly just in case.
I have the WD 2 TB SSD in one of my file servers running Windows 10 x64 Pro. Works like a champ and very fast even though it is the low end model. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-NAND-2TB-SSD-WDS200T2B0A/dp/B073SBRHH6?tag=ttgnet-20/
I have the WD 1 TB Black M.2 SSD in my new office PC running Windows 10 x64 Pro. Runs like a screaming banshee. Highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-SN750-NVMe-Internal-Gaming/dp/B07M64QXMN?tag=ttgnet-20/
Buy one NOW. There was a major contamination incident on three of the NAND factories. Shortages and price increases coming.
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/331558-western-digital-loses-six-exabytes-of-nand-flash-due-to-contamination
I make fun of my wife for this. Every time she's under the weather she runs out for a COVID test and every time it's negative. She's probably had one done 10 times… maybe more. She'll be like, "My test was negative," and I'll reply, "I'm sorry, honey. I know you were hoping for a positive test. Maybe next time." lol
Yes….but need to decide whether to keep or replace the laptop. Originally purchased in March 2019.
Would prefer a new one with 512GB SSD (C- OS and programs) plus 1TB SSD (D-data). But this one is working OK – so far …. but how much longer given my high daily use?
Plus, I am somewhat of a cheapskate, although I can afford it.
Everyone knows Tucker's is an opinion show, not news, and that most (all?) news shows are just propaganda.
Let's not forgot Ms Maddow claiming she had seen proof of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia. That wasn't even opinion, just a lie, as recently proved (again).
Or Stelter recently trying to bury Rogan by saying Rogan's show can't be trusted because it isn't as well researched as CNN's news shows, when Rogan doesn't even do news. Arguably, neither does CNN.
I'm not sure why anyone believes *anything* on TV.
>> Yes….but need to decide whether to keep or replace the laptop. Originally purchased in March 2019.
Would prefer a new one with 512GB SSD (C- OS and programs) plus 1TB SSD (D-data). But this one is working OK – so far …. but how much longer given my high daily use?
Plus, I am somewhat of a cheapskate, although I can afford it.
@Rick, how much RAM and what processor in the current machine? Would a new one upgrade one or both enough to improve your daily workflow? If so, your high usage would seem to be a good reason to upgrade and have the current machine as a backup.
That must have been really vintage Dell. I have an Inspiron as a road machine that is about 5-6 years old, and replacing the hard drive with SSD was easy.
The big limitation with the system is that RAM max is 4 GB. Typical Intel. New Inspirons max at 32 GB thanks to AMD competition for laptop CPUs and chipsets, but the limit would probably be 8 GB otherwise.
The Inspiron with 4 GB is usable running Fedora 35 with zRAM enabled by default and another 8 GB dedicated swap. For Windows 10 it is hopeless.
>> I'm not sure why anyone believes *anything* on TV.
I only watch it for the commercials, those are always true, right??
Current system:
Microprocessor
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz
System memory12 GB
Two drives: one 256G SSD (C), one 1TB 'spinner' (D). Both about 90% full, with some programs installed on D drive.
Overall thinking is that this one is approaching EOL (or end of useful life), although it is working well. Don't need a gaming system. But do need a laptop.
Perhaps a 2TB SSD system is enough for my needs. Some of the data files (lots of pix) could be offloaded to an external drive, since they aren't used much. Maybe the extra 1TB is enough for the next couple of years.
Processor is new enough to be officially supported for Win 11. I'd just put in an ssd. You can always move that ssd to a new system if you still aren't happy.
Woof!
Canadian Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland says those who donated to #FreedomConvoy will have their accounts frozen (if they haven’t already) [video]
This is a bad look for Canada. I wonder what she'll do about the 50% or so Americans donated? Put them on a watch list? And what about the truckers themselves? Just freeze accounts of anybody in the area during a certain time frame? Coming To America under Obola/plugs/Kamel Regime of Tyranny.
If you had a VW or Porsche on order, there may be a delay:
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/burning-cargo-ship-full-of-porsches-adrift-in-atlantic-ocean
"Burning cargo ship full of Porsches adrift in Atlantic Ocean"
The Googles have been up and down my street dropping fiber all morning. My daughter called Spectrum, provider, and they bumped her up a service notch and dropped the price $10 to keep her from switching to Google. I might switch to Google, but I'll wait to see how reliable it is and any reports of MALARKEY. C'mon man!
Edit: Someone on the neighborhood app said they got a popup saying “you have too many streaming devices” after they switched to Google from Spectrum. Maybe you have to use Google’s router/switch.
You and I don’t have enough preps. Stack it up. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
I bought some more 30 year Auguson and Mountain House yesterday. So far I have hidden these purchases from the wife. One of these days she will find out and there will be h e double toothpicks to pay.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBWWXT3?tag=ttgnet-20/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084BSS771?tag=ttgnet-20/
And, geesh, the old NBC Letterman show had amazing musical performances. Those need to be on Antenna TV like the old Carson tapes.
Warren Zevon was the backup band leader on Letterman in addition to his quarterly performances. Those were great shows. "Warren Zevon – Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner – His Last David Letterman Show – Part 4/4 (HD)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIC4j6Rn9s4
Speaking of TurboTax:
On "Reacher", when Jack goes to get some new duds for the first time at the thrift store, there is a huge TurboTax ad on the side of the store. It looks like one of those sports stadium ads imposed on backgrounds.
An old man is seen shaking his fist at the ad screaming "two times, two times!" I made that part up, Mr. Ray.
I make fun of my wife for this. Every time she's under the weather she runs out for a COVID test and every time it's negative. She's probably had one done 10 times… maybe more. She'll be like, "My test was negative," and I'll reply, "I'm sorry, honey. I know you were hoping for a positive test. Maybe next time." lol
You better sleep with one eye open.
Woof!
Canadian Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland says those who donated to #FreedomConvoy will have their accounts frozen (if they haven’t already) [video]
This is a bad look for Canada. I wonder what she'll do about the 50% or so Americans donated? Put them on a watch list? And what about the truckers themselves? Just freeze accounts of anybody in the area during a certain time frame? Coming To America under Obola/plugs/Kamel Regime of Tyranny.
My father-in-law had nine checking and savings accounts when he passed. He grew up during the Depression in the Appalachians of New York State when you never knew when a bank holiday was coming. I wonder if I should rethink just having three checking and savings accounts.
I make fun of my wife for this. Every time she's under the weather she runs out for a COVID test and every time it's negative. She's probably had one done 10 times… maybe more. She'll be like, "My test was negative," and I'll reply, "I'm sorry, honey. I know you were hoping for a positive test. Maybe next time." lol
You better sleep with one eye open.
A lot of people are wanting Bob Sagat to be exhumed and re-examined. They are stating that the medical examiner report sounds a lot like a Louisville Slugger across the eyes.
https://www.eonline.com/news/1320143/candace-cameron-bure-says-there-are-a-lot-of-questions-after-bob-sagets-family-sues-authorities
Uh… dunno. Is mud-sharking really that prevalent?
But since they barely get the weather forecast right and BLM riots are Free Speech and truckers clogging roads are all by Terrorists, yeah…
I watch Wheel of Fortune and flip over to various sub-channels for the rest of the evening. It's a sad state of affairs when Gomer Pyle is "good tv".
The Googles have been up and down my street dropping fiber all morning. My daughter called Spectrum, provider, and they bumped her up a service notch and dropped the price $10 to keep her from switching to Google. I might switch to Google, but I'll wait to see how reliable it is and any reports of MALARKEY. C'mon man!
Is the fiber underground or above ground ?
The fiber in Port Lavaca is above ground at my dad's house. Somebody cut 32 feet of it off the pole the other day at 4 am in the morning. The entire city internet was down for about 24 hours since it was their connection to the Gulf Of Mexico fiber that runs along the shoreline. The banks were closed, everybody.
Ok. let's sell the house in the RGV. I mailed the key. He got it and sounded excited. Ok, all via text messages.
Not a word since.
Yes, it's a weird house. It's round. Concrete slab and cinder block walls.. The ceiling is 1×4 tongue and groove pine. Looks pretty awesome. Mom did the cutting and Dad did the nailing. They did everything but pour and float the slab.
As for bedroom doors, "custom made" works.
All underground. The contractor has various machines for trench digging dirt, asphalt, concrete, etc. They also drill/frak under roads from one side to the other instead of just cutting a trench across the whole road.
I went out to watch the digging for a while. A small backhoe type thing has the cutting blade. A big water truck runs in front of it feeding water to the blade. They refill at hydrants. The trench is about 1" wide and is cut through the asphalt a couple of inches from the curb. At each house, or two houses if they have garages next to each other, a 1" trench is sawed through the sidewalk and a hole dug. The fiber laying trailer is coming up next.
A lot of the VWs sold here are Hecho en Mexico.
Well, Ensamblado en Mexico is probably more accurate. 🙂 Frequently, the "made in" is pointless as that really just means "assembled in." The components come from wherever.
Funny thread:
Requirements to attend State of the Union speech will make it abundantly clear Biden didn’t fulfill a campaign promise
Maybe plugs has one foot in the grave. Ha ha. I said maybe.
I remember that Zevon filled in while Paul Shaffer filmed "Blues Brothers 2000" for … six months?
Paul Shaffer was the piano accompanist leading the band when "Jake and Elwood" would perform on SNL, but the legend is that Belushi made sure Shaffer was stiffed for the part in the original movie. Dan Aykroyd did take care of Shaffer when the sequel came up, however.
We got hit for a water heater today after the alarm in the pan sounded last night. I had hoped it was just the relief tank, but no such luck.
Of course the plumber wanted to have the "tankless option" discussion, but I wasn't ready to put that much money into this house.
With the German manufacturers, given the complexity of their systems and tight tolerances, the final assembly point is critical. Preferably, it happens in Germany.
Even something from a US BMW or Mercedes plant tends to be iffy.
"Red Thunder (A Thunder and Lightning Novel)" by John Varley
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Thunder-Lightning-Novel/dp/0441011624?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number one of a four book space opera series. I reread the well printed and well bound used MMPB book published by Ace in 2003 that I bought on Amazon since most of my books are boxed in the garage. In fact, I have read this book at least six to eight times. I found my copy of the second book and have ordered new copies of books three and four. Too bad the first and second books in the series are out of print.
I am a big fan of the Heinlein books, especially the juveniles. This book is extremely inspired by the Heinlein juveniles but it is not a juvenile. Somewhere of a cross between the juveniles and Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. One note is that all of the characters in the book use names from Heinlein's books.
The book is extreme hard science except for the squeezer that Jubal invents. Everything in the book is doable with today's science and engineering, and will be done, if someone invents a cheap spaceship drive that can boost thousands of tons at one gravity from Earth to anywhere in the Solar System. Or, Alpha Centauri or anywhere else in the 5 to 20 light years away distance.
My review from the distant past: "What a book ! I grew up on Heinlein juveniles, this is great addition to that section of science fiction. The squeezer drive is a great idea and building the spaceship out of railroad car tanks is a great idea. The story flows well and was difficult to put down (I was 45 minutes late to work Friday morning because of it."
The author has a blog and posts there fairly often.
https://varley.net/
My rating: 6 out of 5 stars (yes, six stars)
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (326 reviews)
Historically, or so I was told, the Germans didn't compensate for tool wear, so their gearboxes, for instance, ere full of precision-ground shims to take up the tolerances. And they had an entire sub-industry that did nothing but produce those shims.
G.
Directional boring.
Micro-trenching.
Replacement hearing aid arrived today. I was able to get an appointment with the audiology department the same day to pick up the device. Six days to get the hearing aid replaced. Which is what the VA should have done after four times with the same problem. Seems to work. But so did the other repairs for a month or two. Supposedly this is a brand new hearing aid provided by the manufacturer. It works better than the original which seems to indicate the failure was deeper than I thought. I don't know if there was some warranty involved or who stood for the cost.
When I talked with the audiologist on the phone I told her that since I am able to get a new replacement for a lost device once every three years that if the device was not replaced, I would just lose the device and get the VA to get me new device. She did mention that she has several patients that lose more than one device a year as their mental facilities are not fully functional. She said the VA would never make a patient pay for a hearing aid. What they will get instead is a used hearing aid, generally one that someone used but was not happy or the device was not suitable.
Meanwhile, I counted my batteries. I have approximately 430 batteries stashed in my storage box. I am allowed to order 120 every six months. Basically the VA thinks 20 a month is OK. The batteries last 3 days, so 10 per device is 20 per month. Right on target. I got the excess because of Covid and not going anywhere. I currently have enough for 18 months. I need to use those up as there is a shelf life on the batteries.
The image that comes to mind is Dr. Evil with a ray gun, and he points it at a person, and that person becomes bored to death, like listening to a speech by [insert politician/media personality/actor/musician]. Affects the person pointed at, but only people in that direction. Sort of like a shotgun mic in reverse.
An old Dennis Miller routine from the late 80s had the comic musing that the "stun" and "kill" settings on the phasers in "Star Trek" were too limiting. He advocated the writers opt for a third setting, "melancholy".
BZZZZT
"Oh, God, what have I done with my life? Space? What was I thinking."
"GMC's Hummer EV Battery Weighs More Than Most Small Cars"
https://www.pcmag.com/news/gmcs-hummer-ev-battery-weighs-more-than-most-small-cars
"The pickup boasts a 329-mile range, 47 MPGe combined efficiency, and 9,063-pound curb weight."
I can't help think that someday, someone will have extreme trouble disposing of the 2,923 lb battery.
And, I have bought my last GM vehicle.
On the plus side, if you're in a collision with another car, your 9000-pound car wins.
https://nypost.com/2022/02/16/new-metamates-nickname-mocked-by-facebook-employees/
I've always hated business speak terms. 'A guy I work with' seems good enough.
On the plus side, if you're in a collision with another car, your 9000-pound car wins.
It is not a car, it is a LAV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAV_(armoured_vehicle)
Regarding my laptop upgrade plans; I have a new theory.
The current laptop has a 256GB SSD C drive, and a 1TB D drive (non-SSD). Both are getting full, approaching 90%. Otherwise, the laptop doesn’t have any issues. The processor is new enough that a Win11 upgrade is available, and I have 12 GB RAM (in two memory slots, an 8GB and 4GB). The laptop is approaching 3 years old (next month), and is used daily for 8-10 hours.
Since hard disk space is the major issue, my new theory is to replace both drives with SSD drives; probably a 512GB and 2TB; maybe 1TB and 2TB. While digging around inside, I’ll replace the 4GB RAM with an 8GB or maybe 16GB.
That upgrade (two SSDs and RAM) will probably cost about $500. I have the geek skillz to do it (and the fancy screwdrivers – this kit https://amzn.to/3gQVqCa at about $23; nice kit). And the software that comes with the Crucial SSD will help with the transfer of everything. (I even have an external USB drive adapters.)
If the laptop dies in the next year, it will get replaced with a minimal system (but a 17″ screen, which is helpful for my old eyes). The new parts above will get transferred to the new system.
That’s the current theory/plan.
Only until the battery explodes. Everybody loses at that point.
"Google Search Is Dying"
https://dkb.io/post/google-search-is-dying
I doubt it. Wait.
Google search results lately are crap. I usually have to look on the second page now due to all the ads / affiliates on the first page.
I have Crucial 2.5" SSDs in several laptops. I haven't had any problems, with one pushing five years old.
Linux Mint, one of the most popular independent distributions, just sold out to Google and Firefox.
Sounds awfully "SeaOrg" to me. Are the Facebook employees going to run around campus dressed like Navy officers?
I need to buy about a thousand catfish and bass for my two ponds at the office from these guys. Every bird in Fort Bend County has my ponds on the checklist so they have just about fished me out.
https://www.stockmypond.com/product_category/fish/?state=tx
@TV, well, I'm glad it doesn't sound as dire to those of you north of the border, but I'm a lot less sanguine than you about governments USING the powers they've suddenly given themselves. Sooner or later, and sometimes a bit at a time, they use them until you find yourself at the bottom of the slippery slope looking back up, and wondering how the heII you ended up there.
For US examples, see the TSA, the creation of the Dept of Homeland Security, the war on (some) drugs, civil asset forfeiture, no knock raids, "first shoot the dog" policies, etc. We've come very far, very fast, and they weren't even announcing it ahead of time. Statements from your government should terrify you. Freeze bank accounts? Freeze driver's licenses? Got any due process? Where is the method to have those things restored to you?
n
How about solar panels that don't require direct sunlight? https://bgr.com/science/revolutionary-new-solar-panels-dont-need-sunlight-to-generate-energy/
Interesting – but just general info; no deep details.
You need a gator. 🙂
interesting link in the Google article posted above:
https://alexskra.com/blog/the-mermaid-is-taking-over-google-search-in-norway/
https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2022/02/17/trudeau-reprimanded-in-parliament-for-remarks-made-to-jewish-conservative-party-mp-n449255
What Gov. Walz and DOH Got Wrong and Still Get Wrong
By Kevin Roche, February 17, 2022
https://healthy-skeptic.com/2022/02/17/what-gov-walz-and-doh-got-wrong-and-still-get-wrong/
Ten "lessons we should learn", all good, but #2 jumps out:
Mr. Roche takes dead aim at the pathetically and murderously inept governor of Minnesota (Incompetent Bastard):
We are "resources" at my workplace.
At least they will end the mask mandate next month.
Before you put the bass and catfish in be sure there's enough blue gill or something like that to keep them fed.
Call me when shore lunch is ready.
I'll bring beer.
ADDED:
Back in the 70’s I knew a guy who was almost retired, had nearly 40 years in at his employer, and took most of his 8+ weeks of vacation in the summer. He lived less than a quarter mile off the Mississippi River, and had a commercial fishing license so he could run some serious lines. When he had a fish fry he would set up Dutch ovens on charcoal grilles and cook boneless catfish fillets in Crisco.
Washed down with Miller High Life.
If you didn’t get burned you weren’t eating fast enough.
You need a gator.
I have had three gators. They ate all the large catfish. One of them dragged around a 2.5 foot catfish for a week, eating on it. I went out and played with it, grabbing its catfish and trying to take it away. It hissed at me and dragged the catfish to the bottom of the pond and did not come up for awhile. I got tired of waiting and left.
Before you put the bass and catfish in be sure there's enough blue gill or something like that to keep them fed.
What do the blue gill need to eat ? I am literally all fished out.
from: https://www.stockmypond.com/product_category/fish/?state=tx
Hybrid Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus (male bluegill) x Lepomis cyanellus (female green sunfish) The hybrid bluegill is shaped like its male parent (oval …read more »
1" – 3" $ 69 per 100 Quantity:
3" – 5" $ 129 per 100 Quantity:
From 82 F at 2pm today to 42 F at 10pm today. Suppose to be 36 F in the morning.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/tx/richmond?cm_ven=localwx_10day
When we had the big influx of Cambodian refugees last century (just call me geezer) it took a while to partially introduce them to American ways. Throwing anything back was contrary to their certainty that food was scarce, and the old folks in particular could often be seen fishing a pond and keeping the little ones.
“From 82 F at 2pm today to 42 F at 10pm today. Suppose to be 36 F in the morning”
No ice on the pond, then.
43F and dropping at casa de nick.
Took the garbage can to the curb in my lighter Carhart jacket, and it's COLD.
n
The popo are working street racing again. They are near my secondary location tonight, atm.
n
>> My father-in-law had nine checking and savings accounts when he passed. He grew up during the Depression in the Appalachians of New York State when you never knew when a bank holiday was coming. I wonder if I should rethink just having three checking and savings accounts.
That was before Big Brother had the means to know where all your accounts were. Today there's no hiding from whatever .gov agency wants to know.
You know what is worse than having to upload a 186 MB file to your website over a 12/1 mbps line ?
Having to upload the 186 MB file twice because you forgot to digitally sign the file first and Window 10 told you the file was corrupted when you test downloaded. Argh !
>> I watch Wheel of Fortune and flip over to various sub-channels for the rest of the evening. It's a sad state of affairs when Gomer Pyle is "good tv".
Try "Family Guy." Many are ROFL good.
>> I went out to watch the digging for a while. A small backhoe type thing has the cutting blade. A big water truck runs in front of it feeding water to the blade. They refill at hydrants. The trench is about 1" wide and is cut through the asphalt a couple of inches from the curb. At each house, or two houses if they have garages next to each other, a 1" trench is sawed through the sidewalk and a hole dug. The fiber laying trailer is coming up next.
How do they get from the sidewalk to the demarc at the house? More trenching?
>> Well, Ensamblado en Mexico is probably more accurate. Frequently, the "made in" is pointless as that really just means "assembled in." The components come from wherever.
Tony poking Uncle Joe…
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-joe-biden-tesla-model-most-made-car-america-2022-2
>> And more deaths will ultimately be caused by the responses to the epidemic than were actually caused by CV-19.
And this would just be someone's speculation right now, until there are facts to prove the theory?
Because we'll have accurate 'cause of death' for everyone that dies during the pandemic?
>> I have had three gators.
"had"? Did they just wander off?
.
>> What do the blue gill need to eat ? I am literally all fished out.
Gotta stock the whole food chain, no??
>> And more deaths will ultimately be caused by the responses to the epidemic than were actually caused by CV-19.
And this would just be someone's speculation right now, until there are facts to prove the theory?
Because we'll have accurate 'cause of death' for everyone that dies during the pandemic?
Including the motorcycle fellow who died of covid after he hit the tree at 180 mph ?
>> I have had three gators.
"had"? Did they just wander off?
They wander on, they wandered off. My office is just 300 yards away from one of the largest rivers in the USA, the Brazos River. They show up three foot long in February / March, eat a lot of fish and whatever, leave in the fall six feet long. I mess with them when they are three foot, at six foot they can break your leg with that tail.
They come from Brazos State Park, about ten miles away. There are 35,000 alligators in the state park. When they get to three foot, the 10 to 14 footers start eating them. So they leave and go find a nice pond, I have two ponds, a 1/2 acre and a 1.0 acre. I've got lots of minnows but not many larger fish.
I've got a four foot tall crane and a five foot tall crane who stop by weekly to check out the fish situation. I've got a black comorant whom I watched eat a ten inch catfish one day, it took him an hour to get it down that funky neck of his. I was rooting for the catfish. I've had as many as 9 or 10 nesting pairs of whistling ducks raising 6 to 9 ducklings. You've gotta watch out when they are doing flight training, some of the young ones do not have good control, "DUCK" means duck your head right now as we have incoming !
I do have plenty of minnows in both ponds though. And a boatload of turtles up to 12 inches in diameter. And a bunch of bullfrogs that are up to six inches wide and a foot long. Just not many larger fish than the minnows and tadpoles. I might have some good feeding for a 1,000 blue gills. Maybe a quarter of them will survive the turtles and the cranes. Maybe.
And snakes, lots of snakes. Coyotes too. And about 14 deer including a 12 point buck. Me and two of the fawns played chicken the other night, I had to come to a complete stop and flash my headlights at the idiots before they ambled off my cutoff road. Now if that had been some pigs I would have run them over like I did last year.
This is my office property, 9 acres. I also own the five acres next to it.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/8653+FM+2759+Rd,+Richmond,+TX+77469/@29.5352076,-95.6678437,599m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640e39f672f8369:0xd643dd2fb920f337!8m2!3d29.5333671!4d-95.6668536?hl=en