Wed. Aug. 10, 2022 – time to make the donuts…

By on August 10th, 2022 in decline and fall, personal

Hot and humid, but it did get below 80F last night, so there is that.   My neighborhood got hammered by rain in the afternoon, over an inch in places, but the rest of Houston got little.   I was out driving and could see the thunderstorm cell in  the distance, and figured it was near my house.   It was.  Some of the local water level monitoring stations alerted due to how much rain fell so quickly.  One consequence is that I couldn’t cut the (wet) grass Monday or Tuesday.  Not getting “Yard of the Month” any time soon.

Did some of my errands.  Dumped the debris I brought home from the BOL.   Checked out some stuff I saw in the dumpster when I picked up some auction items a couple of days ago.   It looked like cedar lumber, from a pergola or outdoor shelter kit.  I have a need for some cedar lumber for repairs at the BOL dockhouse, so I went back for a closer look.   Unfortunately not cedar.   Lots of interesting stuff in the dumpster, from a big auction house that does mostly larger store returns.  I don’t need any projects, but I might need materials for projects I’ve already got.   Keep a flexible mind when it comes to sourcing during the upcoming unpleasantness.   “Scrounger” was a necessary team member in some very “resource constrained” environments.  On a more general note, knowing where to get stuff, when stuff is hard to get, is very useful.

I’m thinking about some stuff, how it goes together, and how to teach or pass it on.  Currently I’m at Reuse, Repair, Repurpose.

 

And of course, stack it high.

nick

211 Comments and discussion on "Wed. Aug. 10, 2022 – time to make the donuts…"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    But I need to guard myself and stop being so open seeing as five people emailed me.

    I’ve been really careful about discussing road trips here ever since I was open about our Spring Break travel here and my neighbor caught someone pulling into our driveway to take a good look at the house while we were gone. 

    Yes, he got a plate, but it went straight to the cops.

    We were out of town all last week. We did a couple of cool things but not as many as we had planned for the time period.

    My low point with Covid was Saturday, but I didn’t think about what I had. I still drove six hours that afternoon and another ten on Sunday to get us home. Then, I went back to my usual routine at work.

    BTW – Unvaccinated. I’m pretty much done with the Wuxu Flu while my fully-vaxxed/boostered spouse is getting an in-home antibody infusion today.

    I’m going to watch that infusion team carefully inside my house.

    Has anyone heard from SteveF recently?

  2. Greg Norton says:

    @Ray – We made it as far as Memphis and Nashville on our road trip.

    The giant pyramid Bass Pro shop’s hotel is indeed cool, but we were too sick/tired to really appreciate the room Saturday. We might as well have gone back to the Medical Center Holiday Inn Express, where we stayed earlier in the week, which was half the price and also very well maintained.

    Thanks for the recommendation on the Holiday Inn Express.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    @Lynn – Who else is going to understand when I start in with “Oh Christmas Tree. Oh Christmas Tree” poetry when the SEC Football 2022 antics commence with UT showing the current Fired Coach Walking the door early in September?

  4. ITGuy1998 says:

    Chemistry… you want useful chemistry?

    Here you go:

    https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=6481

    In EPCOT’s pavilion The Land, Disney has  a functioning hydroponics garden. The “Living with the Land” ride is one of our favorites. They also offer a Behind the Seeds tour, where you get a walking guided tour with one of the workers. Ours was working there over the summer while in college. Highly recommended. 

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    In EPCOT’s pavilion The Land, Disney has  a functioning hydroponics garden. The “Living with the Land” ride is one of our favorites.   

    –that boat ride is surprisingly well worth doing.   The things hanging from the overhead lattice are HUGE.  (I forgot what they were but they were about double sized.)  Walt wanted all the Epcot attractions to be like that, tours of something that worked.   It’s been a long time, but they still haven’t really figured out what to do with EPCOT, although Food and Wine comes closest to a success, I think.

    n

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    Only 81F at the moment, but I’m sure it will increase rapidly.  

    Back to school activities are starting up.  Kid2 had a get together for her incoming class at a waterpark yesterday, and both kids had a “pickup your lappy and meet your teachers” event last night.   District has implemented/emphasized some security features, mainly centered around access control and door control.  

    D1 has shared that she was bored all summer, wants school to start, and wishes I’d offered her more activities to do, oh and she doesn’t really like to watch TV all day.     [pulling my hair out]   Sweet suffering succotash.  I might do a murder.

    n

  7. Ray Thompson says:

    And I am not appreciative of disparaging comments about public figures, either. They also have no place here, IMHO.

    Fair enough. I will refrain from calling Joe names. I will still criticize what I think are bone headed decisions that, in my opinion, are being controlled by other entities. I suppose that is true of most presidents as they have multiple advisors. As was once famously stated “the buck stops here” so regardless of who controlled and created the decisions he makes, it is still his responsibility.

    I don’t subscribe to the rants of massive voter fraud. I do believe there was fraud. Enough to tip the election I highly doubt. Joe is president. Perhaps the worst president the U.S. has ever seen. His mental confusion leaves him ripe for being misguided. I really think that is what is happening.

    When my aunt was getting dementia one of things my wife and I would do is play “Sorry”. A simple game with instructions on the card. As my aunt’s disease got worse she had to spend more time reading each card. It finally got to the point where she had to read each card even it was the same card she got last time. I would really like to engage Joe (it is so hard to resist using my favorite term) in a game of Sorry over two or three nights.

    Seems one of the primary purveyors of vinyl ‘from the original master tapes” has been using a process that includes digitization.

    Nope. Analog should remain analog as long the media is not prone to deterioration over time. That is going to be the biggest hurdle. Two inch master tapes are not made for long term storage, especially if not in ideal conditions.

    Some of the best audio recordings I have ever played are from Telarc of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Digital done right. None of the digital was recorded loud enough to clip. Clipping digital produces an annoying sound, analog no so much.

    Analog is going to deteriorate over time. Main reason I digitized all my 35mm transparencies. The only real survivor after 30 years was Kodachrome which was still in good shape. Ektachrome was turning more blue. Agfachrome only had the red layer left. Seattle Film Works was basically clear, no color at all.

    I suspect that analog recordings may suffer the same fate. Poorer quality media will have a very muddy sound. Some of it may even be so brittle as it wrinkles, even sheds oxide when it is played. Digital is the only real form of survival. Provided the conversion does not clip the highs.

    My take is that we are not all equal here. People who provide popular content on a frequent basis are allowed more leeway.

    I believe that be true. I don’t mind being informed I am incorrect about something. I do not like being called names or otherwise slammed. The day I am perfect you will no longer find me on this earth.

    I also don’t like being put down for use of an incorrect word, not fully qualifying the use of “not” instead of “generally”.

    If I disagree with someone I will say so, especially opinions, but I will not tell the person they are wrong. I may not like their opinion, they may not like mine. Thus it is a wash. If everyone thought the same it would be really boring.

    @Lynn: I just cannot stay away, I really enjoy the community of regulars.  The trolls, not so much.

    Good for you to be back. You are an obviously intelligent person otherwise you would not be running a business, an extremely technical business. I sometimes disagree with you but will always give you the benefit of doubt as to who is correct. And in some situations, we both are, and aren’t, at the same time. Makes it interesting.

    I didn’t even realize what I didn’t know about power and fuel until I started reading his comments. I still don’t know anything, but I still enjoy reading about it.

    Some of the numbers bogle my mind. Hard to comprehend on the scale that is sometimes provided.

    And who knew that septic systems were so complicated. Around here most are just a cement tank set in the ground with a leach field.

  8. Nick Flandrey says:

    And who knew that septic systems were so complicated. Around here most are just a cement tank set in the ground with a leach field.  

    – oh how sweet that would be… but if you are somewhere the liquid doesn’t absorb, they won’t work.  And if you are in an area where that seemed to work for 30-40 years but now might now, then you gotta go with the new.

    Sanitation and drinking water are two of the main components of civilization and cities, so I support their regulation even when it costs me money.

    Cities are giant machines for generating wealth, and I’d like them to continue…

    n

  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    Huh, four times now I meant to write about my client and got distracted.

    His ATT fiber install has been delayed again, with the team blaming nation wide shortages of critical material.   It wasn’t spelled out, but I believe the shortage is fiber.  I kinda wish I still had the 10ft spool of fiber that I trashed a couple of years ago.  It might actually be worth something now.

    n

  10. WhiteHorse says:

    Hi all – long-time lurker 🙂

    I visit this site out of my own free will – nobody is forcing me to come here.

    Should I note something that – in my opinion – is factually incorrect, I am welcome to

    rebut with the necessary proof, but I CANNOT force anybody to accept or acquiesce.

    On the topic of deleting comments: it is the RIGHT of the admins to delete any and all

    comments as they see fit, for whatever reason. (and no, it does not have to be “fair” eg.

    “my comment was deleted, but somebody else’s comment is still up…” BOO HOO..)

    ONLY Barbara has the right to change admins – or the behaviour of admins – should

    she see fit to.

    A suggestion: when the admins delete a comment, would it be possible to leave the

    comment entry – and thus the poster’s name – with “comment deleted” ?

    That way everybody can see whose comment was deleted…. and the trolls cannot

    then use the strawman / deliberate confusion arguments about so and so’s comments.

    The trolls have already managed to affect posters here, and they are trying to

    “moderate” this site to conform to their own views – THAT is unacceptable !

    After all: Free Speech protects your ability to say what you want to, but if you are

    standing in my yard and doing it, MY RIGHT to evict you from MY yard for 

    trespassing effectively overrides that. Go stand in somebody else’s yard, or in a public

    place!

    My 2 cents…

  11. Ray Thompson says:

    My low point with Covid was Saturday, but I didn’t think about what I had. I still drove six hours that afternoon and another ten on Sunday to get us home. Then, I went back to my usual routine at work.

    This batch of Covid that is making the rounds seems to be not much worse than the flu or cold. People are not dying in large numbers. Those that do pass have several other problems and may have terminated from the flu. Yet everywhere is still panicking.

    I look at my grandson and his social development. I think it is far behind where it should be at this point. Much of that I believe is due to the closing of pre-schools and other isolation methods. There was no opportunity for gaining social skills and learning from others.

    He is four years old and is not toilet trained. I think some of that training comes from seeing other kids and other kids making fun of kids that are not toilet trained. Cruel? Perhaps. But it does motivate in some small way.

    The damage from the lack of social interaction is more significant than anything else that Covid caused. He was very low risk and no more so than just catching other afflictions. I don’t know what the damage has done to the development of his immune system by not being exposed to afflictions passed from child to child.

    we were too sick/tired to really appreciate the room Saturday

    I have had trouble getting reservations, well for the days I wanted. It should be easier now that school has started and vacations are slowly winding down.

    Thanks for the recommendation on the Holiday Inn Express.

    I was pleased with the facility. I like Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inns. When I travel I no longer stay in facilities that have exterior room entrances if it can be avoided. Yes, I pay more but at this point in my life that is a secondary issue. Avoid America’s Best Value Inn. Terrible places to stay.

    Did you make it to Graceland? I went with the wife and it was much better than I had anticipated. A worthwhile stop in Memphis.

  12. JimB says:

    @Jenny, I am curious about your use of the Orange Mailer. I have had a USPS Click N Ship account for many years, maybe even before Bob had his. It just works. I only use it for packages. Also have UPS and FedEx accounts that work great, too.

    If I have something small to ship only a few hundred miles, USPS is consistently lowest cost. Larger, heavy, and farther, FedEx wins. UPS rarely wins, except recently when they had a promotion that saved me a bunch on a 40 pound big box.

    USPS has the advantage that I can put the box in our large rural mailbox, or if it won’t fit on a chair beside it, for pickup. UPS and FedEx can do pickups, but I have never tried that because they need to be scheduled for the next day.

    I almost always ship using my own box, because the USPS flat rate boxes are almost always higher postage.

    I print prepaid labels on a standard printer, but your little thermal printer should also work. Each of my accounts has a credit card associated with it.

    So… with that long-winded preamble, what advantage does Orange Mailer have? Always looking for something better, thanks.

  13. JimB says:

    BTW – Unvaccinated. I’m pretty much done with the Wuxu Flu while my fully-vaxxed/boostered spouse is getting an in-home antibody infusion today.

    Did you consider self quarantine for yourself and your wife, instead of that trip? Weren’t both of you contagious during the trip?

    Just curious, not trying to be churlish, or add to the recent drama here.

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    WRT mocking public figures, I will continue to do so.   The number of honorable ones who deserve my respect is somewhere between 0 and 5, and most of those are dead.

    In theory they are our SERVANTS executing OUR will, and serving at OUR pleasure.  The fact that they are not really deserves all the pushback we are capable of and mocking them is but a tiny gesture.

    They all need a “momento mori” that they aren’t getting.  

    Unless [general] you want to make the argument that picking on SloJoe is elder abuse and impolite given his obvious incapacity, in which case I’d listen, but then demand his removal as incompetent to execute the demands of the office.    He can’t speak, remember where he is or what he’s done, and can’t even put on a jacket without help.   

    The rest of the snake pit deserves more than just mocking, but it seems unlikely they’ll get their just rewards this side of helI.

    n

  15. Ed says:

    WhiteHorse: It’s nice to see another “long time follower, rare commenter” post

    It’s interesting you bring up free speech. There seems to be a lot of discussion of that nowadays, especially in conservative circles.   I really don’t understand the confusion about it, as it’s pretty basic that the first amendment doesn’t apply to private individuals (Twitter, this blog). Not identical, but related, the discussion about CVS yesterday was weird. CVS has no obligation to sell you cigarettes, birth control, or horse medicine. In language used here recently, if you don’t like it, start your own blog (oops, I mean pharmacy)

  16. JimB says:

    D1 has shared that she was bored all summer, wants school to start, and wishes I’d offered her more activities to do, oh and she doesn’t really like to watch TV all day.     [pulling my hair out]   Sweet suffering succotash.  I might do a murder.

    NOW she says. Seems as if you have mentioned lots of activities. When I was a kid, I had yards to maintain, and my dad’s workshop for entertainment. Never a boring day!

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    @jimB, 

    I’ll let greg speak for himself but since my recent bout came after air travel, hotel stays, and attendance at a wedding and reception….

    Looking back I might have had a mild (super mild, vague, wouldn’t even notice but I never get) headache before traveling.    I might even have tested positive before hand, with minimal to non-existent symptoms.  Who knows?   I was a bit worried after the trip that I might have been Typhoid Mary but not a single person I came in contact with later reported any illness.   My wife and kids never got sick, despite close personal contact- they were tested multiple times for Girl Scout activities.

    The most plausible source for my infection was one of my auctioneers as two of them had recently returned to work after being sick.  I spent about a half hour talking to each one in his office.   And that would have given it to me before my travel.   

    The second most plausible would be someone at the airport or on the plane for my return trip, as there was a mass of humanity involved…  but that timing is very tight with the onset of noticeable symptoms.

    So I either had it but none of my contacts got it from me, or I got it during the travel, and almost instantly developed cold symptoms.  Which I wasn’t worried about but needed the test for different reasons.

    I never had classic wuflu symptoms.  Never lost taste or smell.  Never ran a fever.  Never had shortness of breath or low blood ox.  Never had any reason to suspect chinkypox at all, except that we’ve been conditioned to get a test if we don’t feel well.

    I did isolate after the test, including from family, but only so their Girl Scout pre-event screening wouldn’t be affected.    

    The chinese bioweapon has always had an element of randomness to it.   My renter got it early, but his wife never got it, despite sharing his bed.    One of my auctioneers has tested positive three times so far, but his co-workers have not.

    If anything good comes from the last 2 + years, I hope that people will be more willing and able to stay home if they are sick with anything.

    n

  18. Nick Flandrey says:

    if you don’t like it, start your own blog (oops, I mean pharmacy)

     – bzzzzz. Pharmacies are regulated by the state and feds.   You do what they say or you go to jail, so your analogy breaks.

    And if you’d been paying attention during the past couple of years, when people did do exactly as you propose, the existing unholy alliance of state and industry came after them to prevent them from “starting their own.”

     The IRS actively worked to prevent a new political party from developing by choking off their funding, for example.

    n

  19. dkreck says:

    the discussion about CVS yesterday was weird. CVS has no obligation to sell you cigarettes, birth control, or horse medicine.

    Of course if you’re a baker and don’t want to bake a wedding cake for certain groups watch out. But free speech means FREE to most people; except those who wish to silence their critics.

  20. lpdbw says:

    horse medicine

    “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” -Maya Angelou

    Ivermectin may or may not have any clinical effect on the prevention or treatment of Covid.   It is, however, known to be one of the safest medications in the world, earned a Nobel prize to its discoverers, and might have benefits beyond Covid.  At the very least, people may lose parasites they didn’t know they had.  And that’s before discussing the placebo effect.

    So calling this proven life-saving medication “horse medicine” shows me everything I need to know about a person.

    In the new spirit of the blog, I won’t say narrow-minded unscientific purely political buffoon.  That would be judgmental and personal.  I won’t say “wrong”, because apparently that offends some people as well.  I will say, however, that I feel no need to ever give credence to any utterance such a person makes.  I have been shown who they are.

  21. Ed says:

    Nick, I feel like you’re isolating a minor issue and ignoring the real substance, but, okay, I’ll bite. I thought it was implicit that “start your own” meant “start your own according to established procedures“, to include getting licensed or whatever. To continue the analogy, I assume WordPress, Dreamhost, etc have rules to follow and costs to pay? “Start your own blog” would imply “start it by paying hosting fees”, etc. 

  22. Ed says:

    dkreck: I thought the bakery won that case. So…not much of an argument there?

  23. CowboyStu says:

    JimB & EdH:  My SIL brought back two six packs fro Indian Wells Brewery, a Mojave Gold % a Mojave Red.  We had one bottle of each at his house Sunday afternoon and he sent me home with one bottle of each.  Really great tasting!  WRT alcohol and driving, I live $20 Lyft/Uber from my daughter and him.

  24. Ed says:

    It is, however, known to be one of the safest medications in the world

    New Mexico links 2 deaths to ivermectin misuse

    Poisonings rise as Americans treat Covid with anti-parasitic drug

    I suspect there’s more. But really guys, I don’t like responding to these “gotchas”. My point was that CVS is free to decide what they want to sell in their stores.

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ED,

    while you certainly are free to describe Ivermectin however you like, it just reveals your ignorance and bias.

    Ivermectin is a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases. It is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies.

    The two Drs who discovered it won a Nobel Prize for doing so because it is life changing for millions of people.

    Ivermectin’s effectiveness as a preventative or treatment for a certain chinese bioweapon is an open question, but derisively calling it “horse medicine” is like calling penicillin “mold juice” and dismissing it because it doesn’t cure cancer.  

    Every prepper who thinks we might see third world conditions here, should have ivermectin in their medicine chest.

    n

  26. Ed says:

    while you certainly are free to describe Ivermectin however you like

    Thanks.

    Ivermectin is a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines listfor several parasitic diseases. It is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies.
     

    Was Greg diagnosed with any of those diseases? 

  27. Nick Flandrey says:

    CVS is free to decide what they want to sell in their stores.

    maybe, but not in their pharmacies.

    n

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    Was Greg diagnosed with any of those diseases? 

    –  also known as changing the subject or moving the goalposts.   Straight from the list.  What has Greg got to do with your ignorance?

    n

  29. Ray Thompson says:

    Of course if you’re a baker and don’t want to bake a wedding cake for certain groups watch out

    Or a photographer who does not want to do a wedding for certain groups. I got slammed as being something, don’t remember, don’t really care. I had to explain that I don’t understand their lifestyle and would do a lousy job at capturing the event. If they wanted to persist I can guarantee the pictures would be horrible and it would be in the contract.

  30. Ed says:

    What has Greg got to do with your ignorance?
     

    I’m not ignorant, and I’m not changing the subject. Someone else brought up the utility of the drug. I’ll respond to the first chain separately. My point is that Greg doesn’t seem to be afflicted with the things it treats and is approved for, so it’s odd to be surprised that you can’t get it. 

  31. Ed says:

    maybe, but not in their pharmacies
     

    Can you explain? Are you saying that every pharmacy must stock and sell certain things? If so, what law or regulation requires that? I can’t envision how a pharmacy that decides to sell, say, heart medicines, would be shut down. Mark Cuban just started a website selling only certain generics. Are you saying the law/regulations prohibit that because he decided not to sell certain other drugs? 

  32. Ed says:

    had to explain that I don’t understand their lifestyle and would do a lousy job at capturing the event
     

    Uh, so you’re saying that you were permitted to decline? If so…not sure what you’re complaining about. If it’s the fact that they said something mean about you not wanting to take the job, my response is that people say mean things sometimes. Might I direct you to the comments on yesterday’s post?

  33. Nick Flandrey says:

    Are you saying that every pharmacy must stock and sell certain things?

    yes.  And there are things they can’t sell.   Regulated by State and Federal government.

    n

  34. Nick Flandrey says:

    so it’s odd to be surprised that you can’t get it. 

    if greg has a prescription for it, from a Doctor licensed by the State to write prescriptions then the pharmacy and the pharmacist have NO standing to refuse to fill the prescription, overriding Greg’s Doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan.   

    n

  35. Ed says:

    Things they can’t sell is clear, but I’m not aware of any requirement that they must sell certain things. What is the number of the law or regulation requiring them to sell certain things?

  36. Ed says:

    the pharmacy and the pharmacist have NO standing to refuse to fill the prescription

    I’m going to ask you to again cite a regulation or law requiring this. It seems implausible. The Supreme Court ruled that you can’t be compelled to buy health insurance. Sounds similar here—can’t be compelled to sell something. 

  37. CowboyStu says:

    WRT people arguing with me and castigating me on technical issues on forums, I had some very enlightening experience over here about 20 years ago.  https://forums.geocaching.com/GC/index.php?/forum/11-gps-technology-and-devices/

    They were like people arguing after a game that my Boston Red Sox are better than your Washington Redskins.  How incredibly stupid is that?

    In that forum the argument with me which was the better way to measure local elevation with a hanheld GPS device, the GPS method or the devices barometric sensor.  It went back and forth and I finally realized that they were incredibly stupid with their resultant thinking being that I was very stupid while they totally overestimated their knowledge.  Consequently, I began to understand their lack of intelligence and got over my animosity towards them and actually began to feel sorry for them.  Like feeling sorry for somebody with terminal cancer.

    In retrospect I now realize that I achieved an informal (no actual paper certificate) Master’s Degree in Sociology.  Yes, I no longer get emotionally upset when I am disagreed with and I feel sorry for that person (recently NaN).

  38. CowboyStu says:

    Sounds similar here—can’t be compelled to sell something. 

    Well, it will be illegal to sell cars that put CO2 in the air. 

     But OK for Joe, Kamala and Jill to fly around in USAF jets than can carry 200 people with just several others.

  39. Ed says:

    Well, it will be illegal to sell cars that put CO2 in the air. 
     

    The absurdity of this aside, it’s not what we’re talking about. That would be a prohibition on selling something. I said above that prohibiting a pharmacy from selling something is clear (cocaine, meth). A regulation or law requiring the sale of something is entirely different and, so far, hasn’t been established. 

  40. Clayton W. says:

    Life is much better if some are not engaged.  Just saying.

  41. mediumwave says:

    Life is much better if some are not engaged.  Just saying.

    Starve the troll!

  42. Nick Flandrey says:

    Things they can’t sell is clear, but I’m not aware of any requirement that they must sell certain things. What is the number of the law or regulation requiring them to sell certain things?

    do some reading about “plan b”

    n

  43. Ed says:

    do some reading about “plan b”
     

    I have. Things like the Access to Birth Control Act have been introduced but are not law. I’m waiting for you to provide any single state or federal law or regulation that requires a pharmacy to sell any particular medication, ivermectin or otherwise. I really don’t think such a thing exists. So, no, it’s not true that CVS is in the wrong legally for declining to sell a particular medication. 

  44. mediumwave says:

    Contentious: 

    The adj contentious has 3 senses (no senses from tagged texts)
                                      
    1. contentious, combative, disputatious, disputative, litigious — (inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits; “a style described as abrasive and contentious“; “a disputatious lawyer”; “a litigious and acrimonious spirit”)
    2. contentious — (involving or likely to cause controversy; “a central and contentious element of the book”- Tim W.Ferfuson)

    3. @Ed

    (Emphasis added, and yeah, I made up the last one. 😀 )

  45. Greg Norton says:

    Did you consider self quarantine for yourself and your wife, instead of that trip? Weren’t both of you contagious during the trip?

    Just curious, not trying to be churlish, or add to the recent drama here.

    We weren’t sick when we left Texas. Neither of us had any symptoms until Saturday, and we were in the car most of the weekend.

    We didn’t suspect Covid until Monday morning, when my wife called in sick to her job and went for a test. I’ve worked all week since returning home

    To me, the bug seemed like the garden variety sinus infections I get about once a year. I’m not going to claim I was asymptomatic, but for me to be “sick” – lay on the couch, etc. — I have to be sick.

    The last time I was sick was ~ 15 years ago.

  46. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ed, who claims he’s not ignorant wrt ivermectin, must then have chosen his use of the phrase “horse medicine” for other reasons… maybe instead of ignorant he’s mendacious? Or maybe duplicitous?   Certainly his style is contentious.  And abrasive.

    n

  47. JimM says:

    >”the pharmacy and the pharmacist have NO standing to refuse to fill the prescription”

    >”So, no, it’s not true that CVS is in the wrong legally for declining to sell a particular medication. ”

    There is some grey area there. Pharmacists have some responsibility as part of the system to prevent damaging drug abuse. They also have some responsibility to serve the populace, especially in light of the legal regulations that reduce competition. In the case mentioned, there was no reason to suspect damaging abuse, so no valid reason to refuse the sale. People and businesses should practice good behavior even when it is not coded into law.

  48. Greg Norton says:

    so it’s odd to be surprised that you can’t get it. 

    if greg has a prescription for it, from a Doctor licensed by the State to write prescriptions then the pharmacy and the pharmacist have NO standing to refuse to fill the prescription, overriding Greg’s Doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan.   

    Tennessee ordered Ivermectin to go over the counter in April, the pharmacist’s input only required for dosage.

    I’ll remember CVS the next time all of my regular meds come up for renewal. Though, to be fair, I don’t think Walgreens behaves any differently.

    CVS wasn’t a big chain in The South until JC Penney gave up on the Eckerd Drug experiment and jettisoned the chain, with only CVS desperate enough to take on the aging stores and personnel issues to get the market presence.

    The carpet still seems like a nasty flooring choice to me. Jack Eckerd is probably doing cartwheels in his grave.

  49. Ray Thompson says:

    Uh, so you’re saying that you were permitted to decline?

    No, I was not given that option. They refused my services after I said I would do a lousy job. Read it again, slowly by moving your lips and reading out loud. They said no, not I.

  50. Ed says:

    People and businesses should practice good behavior even when it is not coded into law.

    I don’t disagree, but that’s far from drawing the conclusion that a private business must sell something.

  51. Greg Norton says:

    Did you make it to Graceland? I went with the wife and it was much better than I had anticipated. A worthwhile stop in Memphis.

    Graceland and the Sun Studio. 

    The Ryman in Nashville – that is music history, regardless of genre.

    The Ryman’s modern era kicked off with Prairie Home Companion in 1993 as the first show after the renovation, but Keillor’s been cancelled in the building and his exhibits removed.

    Love or hate Keillor, The Ryman owes him a huge debt.

  52. Nick Flandrey says:

    There was an unexpected 40% increase in ‘all cause deaths’ in 2021

    266 views Premiered Aug 8, 2022 Dr. Kelly Victory explains on Good Morning San Diego which is broadcasted on KUSI News in San Diego California.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QYsWK7QiGU 
     

    n

  53. dkreck says:

    As I said just because you win doesn’t mean they will stop

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/08/gibsons-bakery-will-have-to-wait-to-collect-ohio-supreme-court-grants-stay-of-enforcement-of-judgment-against-oberlin-college/

    and the commies are the ones pushing you will sell especially when it’s their special protected and disadvantaged groups.

  54. JimM says:

    >”They refused my services after I said I would do a lousy job.”

    I have heard of a few older car mechanics who turn down work that they don’t think they can a good job on. One summed it up as, “If I haven’t done that repair a half dozen times already, I don’t take the job.” Another was a strong discouragement of a heater core replacement in a later model pickup. The mechanic said the truck would never really be right again after all of the dashboard disassembly. My friend took the truck elsewhere (the dealer, I think), and the repair went better than that, but there were some issues with trouble codes showing up that took a few return trips to fix.

  55. Ed says:

    That’s a court case about…shoplifting? Student protests? Allegations of racism? I’m not seeing anything anyone being required to sell items.

    Best I gather from Ray’s experience is he was called names and his services were declined. Nothing there about being required to sell items or provide a service. 

  56. Greg Norton says:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/significant-material-cost-increases-ford-hikes-prices-ev-truck-7000 

    Ford isn’t the only one to raise prices.   

    It was never going to be possible to sell 1.5 ton class EV trucks for $40k beyond sweetheart deals for big fleet customers. We’ll see how many of the orders get delivered for $40k without Ford playing games with the reservation holders like offering to push up delivery in return for upsell on trim levels.

  57. lynn says:

    Over The Hedge: Poop Face

        https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2022/08/09

    Oh yeah, poop jokes are the best.  Sorry ladies, but I remember those days and the resulting bio-hazard results.

  58. Rick H says:

    I got a notice from the hosting place here of some maintenance on the SQL server used for this site. Will happen Thursday 10am-6pm PDF. 

    Intermittent slowness during that time, they say.

  59. lynn says:

    I’ve been really careful about discussing road trips here ever since I was open about our Spring Break travel here and my neighbor caught someone pulling into our driveway to take a good look at the house while we were gone. 

    Yes, he got a plate, but it went straight to the cops.

    HeWhoShallNotBeNamed and Ed seem to have an extreme personal dislike for you.  That really bothers me when mentally disturbed people take an interest in someone.

    I am assuming that you carry and keep a few loaded guns in strategic places.   Don’t answer that.

  60. lynn says:

    Ah, Patch Tuesday on Windows got me again.  I had an assembly line all set up for 120 Fortran subroutines, converting twelve global variables to local variables through the argument lists.  Of course that all got hosed by the reboot on my Windows 10 x64 Pro office PC.  I did get 75 of the subroutines converted yesterday though.

    I did get a patch for Thunderbird yesterday that fixed my POP downloads from our gmail domain office email yesterday.  I knew that they would fix it, I just did not know when.

  61. lynn says:

    Dilbert: Keep The Plastic Bag 
       https://dilbert.com/strip/2022-08-09 

    I’ll bet Dogbert’s tail is wagging. 

  62. lynn says:

    BTW – Unvaccinated. I’m pretty much done with the Wuxu Flu while my fully-vaxxed/boostered spouse is getting an in-home antibody infusion today.

    Is she OK ?

  63. Rick H says:

    @lynn – don’t you have your ‘working hours’ set up in Windows Update, so that updates only happen during those ‘off hours’? And there’s a setting for “don’t install automatically” or similar.

    I get update notifications, but they don’t install until I do it manually. Has worked that way since sometime in Win 10.

    My update alert came up this morning, but didn’t install, because it is set up to only install when I want it to. And outside my ‘working’ hours. I closed all open apps, saving as needed, then did the update. Waited a few minutes, logged in, restarted FireFox, and told it to ‘restore previous session’. 

    No issues.

  64. dkreck says:

    One more just for fun…

    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-hotel-housing-proposal-heads-to-2024-ballot/

    If it passes in 2024, the hotels will have to inform the city of the number of vacant rooms they have each day. The city would house individuals in the vacant rooms and pay for them with vouchers.

    The program would not be voluntary, and managers could face lawsuits if they don’t comply.

  65. lynn says:

    @Lynn – Who else is going to understand when I start in with “Oh Christmas Tree. Oh Christmas Tree” poetry when the SEC Football 2022 antics commence with UT showing the current Fired Coach Walking the door early in September?

    I found out Monday that I am taking my 84 year old Dad, my 81 year old uncle, and my son to the TAMU – Arkansas game in Jerry’s World on September 24, along with 85,000 new friends.  This may be the last trip for my uncle as he was diagnosed with Alzheimers back in January and it is coming on strong as he has trouble speaking now.

    My uncle was a Navy fighter bomber pilot back in the 1960s / 1970s and has 4,500 carrier landings along with the Distinguished Flying Cross.  His wingman was shot down in Hanoi harbor and my uncle tankered six times while flying lazy eights above him, firing one of his 200 twenty mm cannon shells each time the North Vietnamese army boats got too close.  And then it got dark before they could get the rescue helicopter in without the AA shore batteries shooting at them.  He never saw his wingman again, he still wears an MIA bracelet.  A couple of weeks later, their squadron commander, a guy by the name of John McCain was shot down in the same harbor.

    Anyway, I suspect that 4,500 catapults of zero to 120 knots in 100 feet and the 4,500 landings of 175 knots (198 mph) to zero mph arrested in 200 feet may have damaged his brain over the years that he served.

    10
  66. lynn says:

    Wizard of ID: Henry is not a Horse !

        https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2022/08/10

    I suspect that a flame breathing mount is against the jousting rules.

  67. Jenny says:

    @JimB

    I’ve used USPS Click n Ship, Stamps.com, and now Orange Mailer. They’ve all worked well. 
    I couldn’t gain access to my Stamps account. I couldn’t get USPS to generate a media rate label. I found out about Orange Mailer when looking for tools compatible with the Paperang printer. 
     

    Orange Mailer worked as well as the other tools I’ve used. Some of the interface was more difficult to use on the iPad screen. I liked that it allowed me to set the return address separately from the origin address. I required the Media Mail option as I had several hundred pounds of books and sheet music to ship. 

    It took multiple finicky steps to get the pdf of the label to the printer. I could have made that easier by using a laptop, or creating a Paperang account. I was ok with absorbing the finicky annoyance factor. I would not have wanted to walk either the impatient or novice they it, though. Self inflicted pain to minimize my footprint and what I carried to California. I traveled very light – toiletries in a quart bag, couple lightweight dresses and unmentionables. My mandolin took more space than my clothing -grin-

    I was anticipating returning with a suitcase stuffed with apples.

    I thought Orange Mailer was a reasonably good product. Their customer service email was responsive. The tool was self explanatory. Loading money to the account could be done with PayPal which was handy. Packages have begun arriving so apparently the postage was correctly calculated and formatted. And as I said, Media Mail was available- my deal breaker. 
     

    Regarding the baker. My recollection was the original judgment against him was overturned but because it was wrong, but because the higher court believed the lower court were discriminatory to the bakers deeply held religious convictions. Not that the baker was in the right to refuse the job from religious convictions. My takeaway when I read a variety of articles at the time, was the lower court got spammed for being obviousLily nasty in their discrimination. And then it went back to court. Again. 
     

    I remember growing up seeing signs in most shops reserving the right to refuse service. I grew up believing we have a fundamental right to choose with whom we associate. It is my opinion that this is no longer a popularly held concept. Those who choose to not associate with folks with an opposing value system are now the bad guys. Odd turn for our country particularly amongst the cries of diversity and inclusivity. 

  68. Nightraker says:

    From the Everyday Cheapskate:

    ——————-

     10 Cheapskate Truths 

     1. Saving for a rainy day requires a longer stretch of clear weather than it used to. 

     2. Keep track of small expenses. Tiny leaks can sink a big ship. 

     3. Your yearnings should not exceed your earnings. 

     4. Remember the 3Rs of saving money: Reduce, reuse, recycle 

     5. Writing down what you buy will shock you to the sky. 

     6. The trouble with getting a life is making the payments. 

     7. Drag the Joneses down to your level; it’s cheaper. 

     8. Life is cheap. It’s the accessories that kill you. 

     9. You can’t have everything. Where would you put it? 

     10. She who dies with the most toys is none-the-less still dead.  

    ——————-

    Good advise, except for #7.

  69. Ray Thompson says:

    The 5G hotspot that I am testing, from a company that I cannot name, is quite an impressive device. Ethernet or WiFi offloading with cellular backup. Cellular data can use the Ethernet port to connect to a home network and provide backup. USB-C to USB-C, Ethernet or WiFi to a computer. Failover works really with no disruption in streaming. Impressive device.

    I get 50 gig of 5G high speed data from T-Mobile and after that I get slower data speeds if the network is congested. The amount of data is still unlimited. Fairly good speeds approaching 200 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, using cellular. My location is on the fringe of T-Mobile’s 5G coverage.

  70. lynn says:

    @lynn – don’t you have your ‘working hours’ set up in Windows Update, so that updates only happen during those ‘off hours’? And there’s a setting for “don’t install automatically” or similar.

    I get update notifications, but they don’t install until I do it manually. Has worked that way since sometime in Win 10.

    My update alert came up this morning, but didn’t install, because it is set up to only install when I want it to. And outside my ‘working’ hours. I closed all open apps, saving as needed, then did the update. Waited a few minutes, logged in, restarted FireFox, and told it to ‘restore previous session’. 

    No issues.

    I don’t have any good downtimes.  I work noon to midnight and my three LAN incremental backups start saturating our LAN at 10 pm so the backups run until 3 to 8 am depending on the days activities.

    I do want the updates though.  Our website is getting attacked hourly so I suspect our LAN is getting attacked also.  I want the latest patches to fight off the hostiles even though we are double firewalled.

    And then there are the bugs from Microsoft.  “Windows 11 Encryption May Damage Data, Microsoft Says”

         https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-windows-11-encryption-could-damage-your-data

  71. lynn says:

    “Farewell, Olivia Newton-John: Why We Honestly Loved Her”

        https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/olivia-newton-john-rob-sheffield-1394426/

    Oliva Newton-John and John Travolta have a 2012 Christmas album ?  Who knew ?

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009H442DG/

  72. Geoff Powell says:

    Update on my car situation:

    When I left it, the theory was that the radio itself had turned its toes up. Comes now the news that this may well not be the case. Current thought is that the aux circuit from the ignition switch is intermittent. Also the radio on/off switch and volume control knob is borked.

    I got the car back this afternoon. Radio does not work, possibly because of the aforesaid borked switch. But I’m mobile again. Also the yearly service and (mandatory) MOT inspection were done. And I only paid £200 to get all this done. If the radio problem recurs, the indicated temporary fix is to jiggle the key in the ignition lock, pending a complete lock replacement, which is apparently a bureaucratic nightmare. Until the problem gets more severe, though, I don’t need to do it. I’ll miss the radio, but…

    Following on from this, I had to fill the fuel tank. £1.747/litre, which is lower than it has been – as high as £1.99/litre? Ouch! And 2 new tyres for Jane’s car – she’s having a couple of weeks away, with D3, starting Saturday.

    So today, I’ve spent about £420 – an expensive day.

    G.

  73. Rick H says:

    @lynn  (BTW, welcome back; glad to see you again)

    This is how I have set up Windows Update on my Win11 system, so that update restarts are done manually: https://paste.pics/I2T8K 

    (BTW, I really like that site for quick sharing of screenshots. Quick and easy. Useful when you need to send screenshots to tech support chats.)

  74. Rick H says:

    Speaking of gas prices, filled up yesterday at the local (to me) Costco at $4.09 (regular/gallon). Last week at the same place it was $4.35/gallon.

  75. Alan says:

    Welcome back MrLynn…  

    Plus I hope MrAtoz finds his way back also…

    +1 for both.

    It’s often sad when we lose a long-time regular, whether intentionally or not. (Harold comes to mind, hopefully it’s not the latter. Was going to plug Rick’s Not Here Anymore site but looks like it’s temporarily down for some changes.)

    Sometimes Lynn goes over my head but to be expected for someone with his breadth of knowledge. Don’t stop.

    So out of curiosity I checked and I’ve been here over 20 years…about as long as with W1…15 much better years (and still counting) with W2.
    Was a lurker for a good chunk of that time but trying to be a useful contributor of late (my dry sense of humor notwithstanding).

    With regard to our possible two-letter name troll, my preference is to “starve” them (no mentions, no replies to wrong or ‘baiting’ comments, no thumbs up/down, and comment deletion when Nick deems it appropriate. Rather let Nick spend his time here talking about prepping, home repairs, auction buying/selling, rather than the latest troll fight. As for our three-letter name troll, they seem to more or less be out of the picture.

    And kudos to Nick for the extra time he’s been spending here of late to keep this ship firmly above the water. I’ll owe you a six-pack if I ever make it back to Houston.

  76. Rick H says:

    @Alan – thanks for thinking of the NotHereAnymore.com site. It’s an interesting site, providing a service that is not available elsewhere (I think, at least it was when I started it about 11 years ago). 

    The site works – except for the important part of automatic notifications that happen every 30-ish days to make sure you are ‘still here’.  Since that is the whole point of the site, it needs to be fixed.

    I really need to move fixing that site further up the project list. But I keep thinking of new projects that distract me.  (There have been two new projects in the last two weeks….)

     “Squirrel !!”

  77. Nick Flandrey says:

    thanks Alan, my preferred beverage is “goslings diet ginger beer”  with my preferred ersatz beer being Heineken NA.

    Virtual will have to do for now 🙂

    n

  78. lynn says:

    Hot and humid, but it did get below 80F last night, so there is that.   My neighborhood got hammered by rain in the afternoon, over an inch in places, but the rest of Houston got little.   I was out driving and could see the thunderstorm cell in  the distance, and figured it was near my house.   It was.  Some of the local water level monitoring stations alerted due to how much rain fell so quickly.  One consequence is that I couldn’t cut the (wet) grass Monday or Tuesday.  Not getting “Yard of the Month” any time soon.

    We got about a half inch (SWAG) of rain yesterday afternoon here in the wilds of Fort Bend County.  First serious rain since early May.  I am hoping for more today.

  79. lynn says:

    I got my father to call Generator Supercenter finally on Monday.  He has a large house with four air conditioning units in Port Lavaca so he needs a larger generator.  And he has a complicated three phase power supply.  They told him they had a used 48 kw natural gas Generac with 100 hours on it for installation next week or they could order him a new one for installation in a year.  He took the used one.  

    The used genertor was turned back in for a larger generator.  They are giving him with factory approval a new unit warranty.  The total price installed is $32K.  Not bad, especially since he needs two transfer switches with the three phase power.

  80. Nightraker says:

    Life in the USA

    Here is good news: We are 5% of the world’s population and have it really good.

    Of human necessities, CLOTHING is a solved problem. What was once an immense, all hands effort has been mechanized into choice beyond a King’s whim.

    Despite rising prices and shrinking portions, FOOD, at the moment, is similarly a very minor speedbump of income. If someone is hungry in America, they are just not trying. If that were not true, grocery parking lots would be free fire zones and dumpsters anywhere would have armed guards.

    Other than those whom have been termed here as “urban woodsmen” SHELTER, for the vastest majority, requires a significant effort that almost anyone is able to meet. I might suggest that woodsmen are living with consequences of differing priorities.

    If one is poor in America, it is beyond likely that one has a personal cell phone, use of a flat screen, and control of a private climate (heating, cooling). Far more luxurious poverty than folks living elsewhere. The average Joe and Jane, never mind the actually wealthy, have luxuries denied Kings of old. So common that those luxuries are perceived as a given of modern life.

    There are more scientists and engineers living today than at any time in the past, so the future beckons with a smile. We live within a capital plant (roads, rails, factories, hospitals, universities) of huge diversity and depth, spanning the continent.

    Problems we have are those of governance and government.

  81. CowboyStu says:

    And kudos to Nick for the extra time he’s been spending here of late to keep this ship firmly above the water. I’ll owe you a six-pack if I ever make it back to Houston.

    And I’ll do him a six-pack whenever he makes it back here.

  82. Paul Hampson says:

    In theory they are our SERVANTS executing OUR will, and serving at OUR pleasure.  The fact that they are not really deserves all the pushback we are capable of and mocking them is but a tiny gesture.

    I often have to remind myself that they are executing our COLLECTIVE will, not mine or yours, but the collective will of the entity they are representing, be it town, county, state, etc.  And yes there is often more than enough failure to do that as well.  

    ____

    Refused to sell, or don’t carry?  Or isn’t carried by their supplier?  I can’t imagine a small mom and pop pharmacy being required to have in stock every medication that a large pharmacy employing several pharmacists might stock.

  83. Ray Thompson says:

    Speaking of gas prices

    Costco here in East TN was $3.45 a gallon.

    So out of curiosity I checked and I’ve been here over 20 years

    I have been here since 1998. Back when only Bob wrote on the pages. It was necessary to email Bob to comment on something. At one time Bob banned me. He said it was mistake. We disagreed on many items, especially over PC’s and Microsoft. Later on it was FLASHLIGHTS.

    I have met personally three of the people on this board. You’ens know who you are. I also went to the memorial for Bob and was able to meet Barbara. I had plans to actually go visit Bob but his health problems and quick demise ruled out that trip. Bob lived about 250 miles from my location.

  84. Ray Thompson says:

    I can’t imagine a small mom and pop pharmacy being required to have in stock every medication that a large pharmacy employing several pharmacists might stock

    Medicines can be ordered and received in a day or two from large pharmaceutical suppliers. I have had this happen at my local pharmacy that I use when I had my eye surgeries. A couple of the medicines were not stocked when I turned in the prescription and were ordered and arrived the next day. Stupidly expensive stuff, $400.00 for a tiny bottle with less than an ounce of fluid. No wonder the pharmacy did not stock the stuff.

  85. Nick Flandrey says:

    Pharmacists have been sued over not providing what the customer wanted, mainly related to birth control.   If they lose, then the power of the State is being used to force them to sell something.  Period. You don’t need a mandated list, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one, to have coercion.    Someone who cares more than I do could look up the outcome of the case in Minneapolis, it should be done by  now.  Google is strangely consistent in the results it returns, all articles sympathetic to the woman who sued on the first page.

    n

  86. Ed says:

    The woman lost on the civil rights claim. I’m guessing the emotional damage award relates to this:

    Badeaux also warned Anderson against trying to get the prescription filled at a Shopko pharmacy in a nearby town and refused to tell her where else she could try, as required by state law, the complaint stated.

    And the ensuing driving in hazardous conditions, etc. 

    I say again: you haven’t shown anything that requires a pharmacy to stock and sell any specific medication. In other words, you haven’t shown anything showing that “the power of the State is being used to force them to sell something”. You might want that to be true so you can play the victim, but it’s not. 

  87. Nick Flandrey says:

    @EdH, 

    Used this just now to reset the user account password on win7 pro.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xuQWGvcVFc 

    doesn’t require any additional disks, but it is slow because you have to let the repair attempt run to completion.

    A neat variation from using “net user ” to reset the password is you can also change the account’s privileges from the same widget that you use to reset the password, you can do it for every account on the machine, and you do it graphically.

    n

  88. lynn says:

    “Trump says he refused to answer questions in deposition for New York AG Letitia James’ probe of business”

         https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/10/trump-says-he-refused-to-answer-ny-attorney-generals-questions-in-probe-of-his-business.html

    Trump is learning.

    When Trump becomes Prez 47, I am hoping that he fires every supervisor in government.

    Defund the FBI !

    Hat tip to:

        https://www.drudgereport.com/

    5
    1
  89. lynn says:

    D1 has shared that she was bored all summer, wants school to start, and wishes I’d offered her more activities to do, oh and she doesn’t really like to watch TV all day.     [pulling my hair out]   Sweet suffering succotash.  I might do a murder.

    Isn’t this the kid that you found watching tv at 3 am the other night ?

  90. Nick Flandrey says:

    Yup.  No one ever suggested that teen girls were consistent.

    n

  91. lynn says:

    And who knew that septic systems were so complicated. Around here most are just a cement tank set in the ground with a leach field.  

    – oh how sweet that would be… but if you are somewhere the liquid doesn’t absorb, they won’t work.  And if you are in an area where that seemed to work for 30-40 years but now might now, then you gotta go with the new.

    Sanitation and drinking water are two of the main components of civilization and cities, so I support their regulation even when it costs me money.

    Cities are giant machines for generating wealth, and I’d like them to continue…

    When you get your septic tank pumped around here, the vaccum truck runs to the nearest city with extra capacity that day and dumps the 2,000 gallons of crap in their sewer treatment facility.  So, having the cities around is nice.  I just don’t want to live in one anymore.

  92. lynn says:

    BTW, I was wrong about the new 81,000 IRS field audit agents that are in the bill that the Senate passed last Sunday.  It is 87,000 IRS field agents and well over 100% increase in the IRS budget.

  93. Jenny says:

    @Paul Hampson
    Refused to sell, or don’t carry?  Or isn’t carried by their supplier?  I can’t imagine a small mom and pop pharmacy being required to have in stock every medication that a large pharmacy employing several pharmacists might stock.

    In my case in 10/2021 in Alaska, refused to sell. We were too ill to go out. A calm determined friend visited multiple pharmacies. That calm and determination turned out to be essential.
    Multiple had in stock and refused to sell. At one the pharmacist went so far as to refuse to return the prescription, throwing it in the trash. Friend was able to wait until the pharmacist walked away and convinced a clerk to dig the prescription out of the trash and return.
    Our doctor warned us this is what we would encounter, and counseled us to not relinquish the prescription until we had to. Also told us to return if the prescription was confiscated.

    We encountered more difficulty having the Ivermectin prescription filled than any opioid.

    Our friend asked at each location ‘why not’, which was met with anger and a refusal to answer the reasonable question.

    I think it took four or six pharmacies, chain as well as independents, and two days of trying, to find a pharmacist willing to fill the prescription for Ivermectin.

    We are fortunate to have such good friends.

    Our experience was not, is not, unique.

  94. Ed says:

    Our experience was not, is not, unique.

    It did, however, embody libertarian ideals. 

    That said, I’m glad you recovered from COVID.

  95. Nick Flandrey says:

    Funny, the linked article had this ““To be clear, the law in Minnesota prohibits sex discrimination and that includes refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception,” Gender Justice Legal Director Jess Braverman said.”

    – sounds kinda like the state forcing a pharmacy to carry and dispense something… of course, Mx Bravermxn could be overstating what the law actually says, since the jury found otherwise.  

    n

    4
    1
  96. Alan says:

    Are there legions of lurkers out there who are yearning for more chemistry in the blog? I make a comment from time to time, but the responses don’t indicate a lot of interest. My experience is different than Bob’s, but maybe I should range wider and see if something clicks. 

    Hands up if you miss chemistry.

    @drwilliams, would be good if you can suggest sources for some basic compounds that may get mentioned here (as long as we’re not stirring up any of our TLA listeners too much), such as boric acid as an ant killer, lye for soap making (used to be ‘old-fashioned’ Draino in a can at the hardware store, but fewer of those around), etc.

  97. Jenny says:

    @Norman

    Finally, if anyone would like a couple of recipes for mead (Dry & Sweet) that I’ve had success with I’m happy to share.

    I’m interested in your mead recipes. My efforts at mead have been enthusiastic and drinkable, but not particularly nice. 

  98. Jenny says:

    @Ed

    It did, however, embody libertarian ideals.

    Is your statement in good faith?

    It seems like you are just poking at me and I don’t really know why. I’ve related my personal experience in good faith. So – maybe you are serious with your statement, text in a comment form isn’t always clear communication. So. Here is my opinion.

    I do not think they were refusing to fill the prescriptions because they were libertarians. Nor do I have any reason to believe that following libertarian ideals were on their mind when they refused. And every single libertarian I’ve ever attempted to have conversations with have been enthusiastic about explaining and articulating their positions.

    Tossing our legal prescription in the trash certainly wasn’t an individual following their libertarian ideals. The clerk fishing it out of the trash may have been. Refusing to explain WHY they wouldn’t fill the prescription didn’t match the characteristics or inclinations of libertarians I’ve encountered.

    Our friend, a fine observer of human behavior, described the body language, tone, etc, encountered. What was described was angry behavior. It is irrational to be angry that a doctor wants to prescribe a safe drug for off label usage.

    I disagree with your assertion that they were embodying libertarian ideals.

    And for fun more than for anything else, a quote
    What is a libertarian? | Libertarianism.org
    A libertarian is committed to the principle that liberty is the most important political value. Liberty means being free to make your own choices about your own life, that what you do with your body and your property ought to be up to you. Other people must not forcibly interfere with your liberty, and you must not forcibly interfere with theirs.

  99. Greg Norton says:

    HeWhoShallNotBeNamed and Ed seem to have an extreme personal dislike for you.  That really bothers me when mentally disturbed people take an interest in someone.

    I am assuming that you carry and keep a few loaded guns in strategic places.   Don’t answer that.

    All I’ll say is that they will have to take a number and stand in a long line of people who wish me harm because, at the end of the day, many people cant abide a smarta**. 

    I figure half of the white population in the US and Europe long to be Rolfe in “The Sound of Music” if given a chance.

  100. Ed says:

    sounds kinda like the state forcing a pharmacy to carry and dispense something…

    Problem 1: There’s no mention of what law “requires” this. Laws have numbers and names. Just saying “the law says such-and-such” doesn’t make it true. 
     

    Problem 2: What Braverman described is not the state forcing a pharmacy to carry and dispense something. It might be the state saying “if you decide to sell this, you can’t do it in a discriminatory way, such as by only selling to men”. I say “might” because, once again, there’s no identification of any law on the books requiring that. But even if so, it is not a requirement to carry and sell a drug. Go back to my Mark Cuban example: nothing stops him from selling only certain generics; nothing requires him to stock and sell others. 
     

    If I decide to open a store and sell only apples, maybe an authority can prohibit me from only selling apples to white men. But you’ve got nothing to show that an authority can force me to also stock and sell bananas. 

  101. Ed says:

    Jenny: It was made in good faith. 
     

    Tossing our legal prescription in the trash certainly wasn’t an individual following their libertarian ideals

    I agree with you here. 
     

    Overall, though, I think it is a libertarian ideal that a private party can decide it won’t sell an item (at all, which is different from selling in a discriminatory way). The opposite requires forcing a private party to stock and sell items. That is what I consider not-libertarian. 

    To clarify, what I meant was that the overall non-transaction seemed libertarian (declining to sell an item and not being forced to). Certainly, parts of the experience (anger, throwing away the script, etc) might not have been.

  102. Greg Norton says:

    BTW – Unvaccinated. I’m pretty much done with the Wuxu Flu while my fully-vaxxed/boostered spouse is getting an in-home antibody infusion today.

    Is she OK ?

    Yeah. Getting those antibodies instead of the Pfizer pill took a lot of doing, however.

    Plus, the state dispenses those now. Three people plus an EMS truck driver came out to deliver the infusion.

  103. Ray Thompson says:

    This from the San Francisco Chronicle.

    The Walgreens pharmacy chain can be held responsible for much of the opioid epidemic in San Francisco because it supplied the drugs to its stores for many years without taking steps to prevent their misuse, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

    I am certain those were legal prescriptions. If Walgreens was forced to honor the prescriptions, how can they be at fault?

    just thought I would muddy the waters and stir the pot. I don’t know if pharmacies can be forced to honor each prescription. I do know here in TN if the pharmacy thinks there is abuse by a client, they must refuse. I don’t know the specific law number  I just know from some news reports of charges against a local, now defunct, pharmacy. 

  104. Greg Norton says:

    Raining now in Austin. This is the first I’ve seen in two months here.

    At first I didn’t hear it above the fan in my home office.

    Doh! Now the rain is gone. I cursed it.

  105. Jenny says:

    @Ed

    OK.

    Yet the pharmacies each stated they had the Ivermectin in stock. They carried it. It was there. Why respond with anger instead of explanation? Why throw away a prescription in an angry outburst without a logical explanation?

    How does refusing to fill a doctor prescribed prescription for a legal medication, albeit off label usage, advance anyone’s liberty? Theoretically libertarians do not interfere with other people’s liberty. Our liberty to be treated by a doctor we trusted was interfered with when our prescription was thrown away. Our liberty to be treated was interfered with when multiple pharmacies refused to fill a legal prescription without explanation, for a drug they had in stock.

    In what way were we interfering with the pharmacists liberty by requesting a legal prescription be filled?

    No scenes were made by our friend, he is the embodiment of calm. Yes he requested a prescription be filled. Yes he asked whether the drug was in stock. Yes he asked for an explanation when the prescription was refused. At which of these points was the liberty of the pharmacist intruded upon?

    I think a pharmacist can reasonably expect to have such a refusal politely questioned.

    Honest questions. Put them in the category of counting angels on heads of pins. At this point we are deep into opinion and speculation. I’m curious whether this conversation can be kept going without devolving, actually.

  106. Ed says:

    Ray: To me, that seems more like basic liability for what is sold than what has been talked about today. If you buy a lamp at IKEA and it blows up when you plug it in, maybe IKEA could be liable for injury. Without addressing whether it’s right or wrong to make that SF pharmacy liable in that situation, it’s a straightforward question about liability. To me, very different from being forced to sell a product. 

    Edit to add that I agree with you that, if the pharmacy was required to dispense the drug, the liability question seems like it should be different. But that takes us back to my point that…I don’t think can be required to, and nobody’s shown anything to the contrary.

  107. Ed says:

    Honest questions

    All of them interesting and, frankly, good critiques of libertarianism.  Where does one person’s liberty end and another’s begin? I don’t have exact answers. 

    I appreciate that you appreciate this is a discussion and not an attack. 

  108. lynn says:

    Are there legions of lurkers out there who are yearning for more chemistry in the blog? I make a comment from time to time, but the responses don’t indicate a lot of interest. My experience is different than Bob’s, but maybe I should range wider and see if something clicks. 

    Hands up if you miss chemistry.

    @drwilliams, would be good if you can suggest sources for some basic compounds that may get mentioned here (as long as we’re not stirring up any of our TLA listeners too much), such as boric acid as an ant killer, lye for soap making (used to be ‘old-fashioned’ Draino in a can at the hardware store, but fewer of those around), etc.

    I took one Chemistry course in high school and four chemistry courses in college including Organic Chemistry.  And now I work with modeling crude oil and natural gas chemistry with water and other fun chemicals (alcohols, glycols, etc) every day of the week.  I realized quite a while back that I have a lot to learn still and welcome the teaching / sharing.

  109. Jenny says:

    @ed

    Where does one person’s liberty end and another’s begin? I don’t have exact answers. 

    I would submit that one person’s liberty ends when it infringes on another’s liberty, without their own liberty being impacted. No forcibly impacting someone else’s liberty.

    My liberty was forceably impacted. In the absence of an explanation from the pharmacist, the pharmacists liberty was not observably impacted.  Perhaps they held deep convictions that the ivermectin would cause harm, that was not articulated however.

    I continue to disagree that libertarian ideals were at play during the pharmacy / ivermectin experience in 10/2021. 

    It seems to me there is a simpler, less lofty and more human sort of explanation. A more logical conclusion from the observable facts at that time were that the pharmacists had read the FDA opinion about ivermectin as well as the local publications villifying ivermectin and those who prescribed it. It seems unlikely the pharmacists thought to themselves, “Self, I shall follow the principles of libertarianism and make a rational decision to not prescribe this ivermectin in this instance, because I hold a conviction it’s going to injure the patient.”. 

    Had that been the case there would have been an explanation instead of an angry outburst. I think they were scared and operating from fear. Fear of getting in trouble with their company. Fear of being doxxed like their doctor colleagues, for prescribing what had by that point become a controversial drug. Fear of reprisal from whoever it is that licenses pharmacists. That fear wasn’t unreasonable – we had more than one local doctor get doxxed or in other trouble over treating covid.

    From a libertarian standpoint, I suppose that acting in self interest is following the ideals, but imperfectly as they did it at my expense – not, I think, particularly libertarian.

    Anyway. No pharmacist was abused or forced to do anything they didn’t want to. We were fortunate our friend was persistant and eventually found a pharmacist who filled it. In our experience there were few to no discernible side effects, and we did recover significantly faster than friends of similar health who could not get their ivermectin prescriptions filled. 

    We were taking the ivermectin within a short number of days of symptom onset which I understand is necessary to see results. There were other drugs, which I do not remember, in combination with the ivermectin. 

    Our doctor’s explanation of the plan was he treats the symptoms. He had been using the protocol since shortly after covid became a thing. None of his patients wound up in the emergency room. As he was one of the minority in town willing to prescribe medication and treat covid (most doctors in our town were telling people to go home, and head for the emergency room when breathing became a problem, with no suggestions on how to treat with over the counter meds), he treated many many covid patients. 

    His patients didn’t wind up in the emergency room.

    (and now my battery is dead, nothing personal if I don’t make further replies.)

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  110. lynn says:

    “$4,104,725,000,000: Federal Tax Collections Set Record Through July”

        https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/terence-p-jeffrey/4104725000000-federal-tax-collections-set-record-through-july

    Scaling linearly, the feddies will collect $4,925,670,000,000 in collections this fiscal year.  But, they need more so they can give away more.

    Hat tip to:

       https://www.drudgereport.com

  111. lynn says:

    “FBI searched Melania’s wardrobe, spent hours in Trump’s private office during Mar-a-Lago raid”

         https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/fbi-even-searched-melanias-wardrobe-in-trump-raid/

    So, the FBI went through Mrs. Trump’s underwear drawer.  That just sounds creepy.

    And wow, that house is opulent. Looks like a castle in Germany or France.

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  112. Ray Thompson says:

    If you buy a lamp at IKEA and it blows up when you plug it in, maybe IKEA could be liable for injury

    And that would largely depend on how the lamp was used. Plug that sucker into 220V and I suspect Ikea’s liability would be null. Same with a pharmacy. A pharmacy that sells a drug cannot control how the drug is used. There is no liability. If the person had a valid prescription can a pharmacy refuse to honor the prescription?

    When dealing with opioids the pharmacy can, and is legally required, to stop the sale if they realize something is up. Such as three prescriptions for the same opioid from different doctors. In a case such as that the pharmacy is following the law. What if the prescription is from a different doctor for a different person but within the family. Is the pharmacist supposed to stop the sale?

    It gets to be muddy waters when a pharmacy is required to stop a sale, or when a pharmacy stops a sale because they know a drug will be used improperly. In the case of opioids, the pharmacy has to know. In the case of Ivermectin would the pharmacy be liable if they thought the drug would be used improperly just they would for opioids?

    In the case of San Francisco the pharmacy is on the hook. Would they pharmacy be on the same hook for selling Ivermectin knowing it was not being used according to government regulations?

    The rules may vary by state. Here in TN where drug abuse is rampant the state has stepped up the attack by putting some of the control on the pharmacies. The good side is that many of the drug leaches are on TnCare (TN Medicaid) and get caught by TnCare.

  113. Nightraker says:

    What is not forbidden, is mandatory:

    https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/08/video-explorers-find-rockets-ammo-fined-340-court-date-after-reporting-to-police/
     

    I suspect the real motivation is that the Army doesn’t want questions about its’ dumping of ordinance.  Permit, indeed!

  114. ~jim says:

    It seems to me freedom has to be a two-way street. I’m free to ask for what I want, but have to accept no for an answer.  I can’t think of any alternative except some form of coercion.

  115. ITGuy1998 says:

    I took one Chemistry course in high school and four chemistry courses in college including Organic Chemistry
     

    Organic chemistry was the deciding factor in my desire to change my major from Chemistry. Specifically Organic II. 

  116. nick flandrey says:

    One of the magnet fishers that I watch was warned not to clean up waterways in Illinois Forest Preserve areas without a permit.  

    ——————-

    regarding pharmacists denying prescriptions the war on some drugs has pushed responsibility onto them that does not apply in the case of ivermectin.

    You want a cite?

    §291.29 Professional Responsibility of Pharmacists
    (a) A pharmacist shall exercise sound professional judgment with respect to the accuracy and authenticity of any
    prescription drug order dispensed. If the pharmacist questions the accuracy or authenticity of a prescription drug order,
    the pharmacist shall verify the order with the practitioner prior to dispensing.
    (b) A pharmacist shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that any prescription drug order, regardless of the means
    of transmission, has been issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner in the course of medical practice. A
    pharmacist shall not dispense a prescription drug if the pharmacist knows or should have known that the order for such
    drug was issued without a valid pre-existing patient-practitioner relationship as defined by the Texas Medical Board in
    22 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §190.8 (relating to Violation Guidelines) or without a valid prescription drug order.
    (1) A prescription drug order may not be dispensed or delivered by means of the Internet unless pursuant to a
    valid prescription that was issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the course of medical practice by a
    practitioner, or practitioner covering for another practitioner.
    (2) A prescription drug order may not be dispensed or delivered if the pharmacist has reason to suspect that the
    prescription drug order may have been authorized in the absence of a valid patient-practitioner relationship, or
    otherwise in violation of the practitioner’s standard of practice to include that the practitioner:
    (A) did not establish a diagnosis through the use of acceptable medical practices for the treatment of
    patient’s condition;
    (B) prescribed prescription drugs that were not necessary for the patient due to a lack of a valid medical
    need or the lack of a therapeutic purpose for the prescription drugs; or
    (C) issued the prescriptions outside the usual course of medical practice.
    (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection and as authorized by the Texas Medical Board in 22 TAC
    §190.8, a pharmacist may dispense a prescription when a physician has not established a professional
    relationship with a patient if the prescription is for medications for:
    (A) sexually transmitted diseases for partners of the physician’s established patient; or
    (B) a patient’s family members if the patient has an illness determined by the Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, or the Governor’s office to be pandemic.
    (c) If a pharmacist has reasons to suspect that a prescription was authorized solely based on the results of a
    questionnaire and/or in the absence of a documented patient evaluation including a physical examination, the
    pharmacist shall ascertain if that practitioner’s standard of practice allows that practitioner to authorize a prescription
    under such circumstances. Reasons to suspect that a prescription may have been authorized in the absence of a valid
    patient-practitioner relationship or in violation of the practitioner’s standard of practice include:
    (1) the number of prescriptions authorized on a daily basis by the practitioner;
    (2) a disproportionate number of patients of the practitioner receive controlled substances;
    (3) the manner in which the prescriptions are authorized by the practitioner or received by the pharmacy;
    (4) the geographical distance between the practitioner and the patient or between the pharmacy and the
    patient;
    (5) knowledge by the pharmacist that the prescription was issued solely based on answers to a questionnaire;
    (6) knowledge by the pharmacist that the pharmacy he/she works for directly or indirectly participates in or is
    otherwise associated with an Internet site that markets prescription drugs to the public without requiring the
    patient to provide a valid prescription order from the patients practitioner; or
    Texas Pharmacy Rules 22 TAC, PART 15 68
    Click HERE to return to Table of Contents
    (7) knowledge by the pharmacist that the patient has exhibited doctor-shopping or pharmacy-shopping
    tendencies.
    (d) A pharmacist shall ensure that prescription drug orders for the treatment of chronic pain have been issued in
    accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Texas Medical Board in 22 TAC §170.3 (relating to Guidelines), prior to
    dispensing or delivering such prescriptions.
    (e) A prescription drug order may not be dispensed or delivered if issued by a practitioner practicing at a pain
    management clinic that is not in compliance with the rules of the Texas Medical Board in 22 TAC §§195.1 – 195.4
    (relating to Pain Management Clinics). A prescription drug order from a practitioner practicing at a certified pain
    management clinic is not automatically valid and does not negate a pharmacist’s responsibility to determine that the
    prescription is valid and has been issued for a legitimate or appropriate medical purpose.
    (f) A pharmacist shall not dispense a prescription drug if the pharmacist knows or should know the prescription drug
    order is fraudulent or forged. A pharmacist shall make every reasonable effort to prevent inappropriate dispensing due
    to fraudulent, forged, invalid, or medically inappropriate prescriptions in violation of a pharmacist’s corresponding
    responsibility. The following patterns (i.e., red flag factors) are relevant to preventing the non-therapeutic dispensing of
    controlled substances and shall be considered by evaluating the totality of the circumstances rather than any single
    factor:
    (1) the pharmacy dispenses a reasonably discernible pattern of substantially identical prescriptions for the same
    controlled substances, potentially paired with other drugs, for numerous persons, indicating a lack of individual
    drug therapy in prescriptions issued by the practitioner;
    (2) the pharmacy operates with a reasonably discernible pattern of overall low prescription dispensing volume,
    maintaining relatively consistent 1:1 ratio of controlled substances to dangerous drugs and/or over-the-counter
    products dispensed as prescriptions;
    (3) prescriptions by a prescriber presented to the pharmacy are routinely for controlled substances commonly
    known to be abused drugs, including opioids, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, psychostimulants, and/or
    cough syrups containing codeine, or any combination of these drugs;
    (4) prescriptions for controlled substances by a prescriber presented to the pharmacy contain nonspecific or no
    diagnoses, or lack the intended use of the drug;
    (5) prescriptions for controlled substances are commonly for the highest strength of the drug and/or for large
    quantities (e.g., monthly supply), indicating a lack of individual drug therapy in prescriptions issued by the
    practitioner;
    (6) dangerous drugs or over-the-counter products (e.g., multi-vitamins or laxatives) are consistently added by
    the prescriber to prescriptions for controlled substances presented to the pharmacy, indicating a lack of
    individual drug therapy in prescriptions issued by the practitioner;
    (7) upon contacting the practitioner’s office regarding a controlled substance prescription, the pharmacist is
    unable to engage in a discussion with the actual prescribing practitioner; the practitioner fails to appropriately
    address based on a reasonable pharmacist standard the pharmacist’s concerns regarding the practitioner’s
    prescribing practices with regard to the prescription; and/or the practitioner is unwilling to provide additional
    information, such as treatment goals and/or prognosis with prescribed drug therapy;
    (8) the practitioner’s clinic is not registered as, and not exempted from registration as, a pain management clinic
    by the Texas Medical Board, despite prescriptions by the practitioner presented to the pharmacy indicating that
    the practitioner is mostly prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol, but not including
    suboxone, or any combination of these drugs;
    (9) the controlled substance(s) or the quantity of the controlled substance(s) prescribed are inconsistent with
    the practitioner’s area of medical practice;
    (10) the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program indicates the person presenting the prescriptions is obtaining
    similar drugs from multiple practitioners, and/or that the persons is being dispensed similar drugs at multiple
    pharmacies;
    Texas Pharmacy Rules 22 TAC, PART 15 69
    Click HERE to return to Table of Contents
    (11) multiple persons with the same address present substantially similar controlled substance prescriptions
    from the same practitioner;
    (12) persons consistently pay for controlled substance prescriptions with cash or cash equivalents more often
    than through insurance;
    (13) persons presenting controlled substance prescriptions are doing so in such a manner that varies from the
    manner in which persons routinely seek pharmacy services (e.g., persons arriving in the same vehicle with
    prescriptions from same practitioner; one person seeking to pick up prescriptions for multiple others; drugs
    referenced by street names;
    (14) the pharmacy charges and persons are willing to pay significantly more for controlled substances relative to
    nearby pharmacies;
    (15) the pharmacy routinely orders controlled substances from more than one drug supplier;
    (16) the pharmacy has been discontinued by a drug supplier related to controlled substance orders;
    (17) the pharmacy has a sporadic and inconsistent dispensing volume (including zero dispensing);
    (18) the pharmacy does not maintain normal operational hours each week from Monday through Friday; and
    (19) the pharmacy has been previously warned or disciplined by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy for
    inappropriate dispensing of controlled substances. 

    n

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  117. lynn says:

    Organic chemistry was the deciding factor in my desire to change my major from Chemistry. Specifically Organic II. 

    I called Organic Chemistry I “binge and purge”.  It was memorize a bunch of reactions and repeat them on the test every two weeks.  Worthless.

  118. drwilliams says:

    Catching up after being out all day. For the record, I can attest that the Martini and Rossi frozen drinks in a pouch are absolutely awesome coolers and attitude re-adjusters.

    City driving. Why are Audi and Suburu drivers reliably ashholes? (For the record, so are Jetta drivers, because they’re closet eurotrash and want a beemah) Does anyone have a good recommendation for a dash cam? I want 360-degree coverage, so I the next time I have some idiot in a big black truck that is compensating for his small penis and decides to pass me on a double yellow as I’m making a turn, I can send three views to the sheriff, with copies to each of the top ten insurance writers in the area.

    Glad to see you back, Lynn. You have taught me a lot, too.

    Welcome to all the decloaked lurkers. Please stick around and post often, with one exception.

    Glad something good came out of the fooferol. I hope Nano is reading this and gnashing his teeth as he swigs Pepto for his exploding ulcers. (What are the symptoms of monkeypox, again?)

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  119. Greg Norton says:

    And wow, that house is opulent. Looks like a castle in Germany or France.

    That place has a bizarre history going back before Trump showed up.

    Among the group of Post heirs who sold the property to Trump following a brief ownership by the US Government (!) was Dina Merrill, second wife of Cliff Robertson. Both appeared in the Adam West “Batman” series together as Shane and Calamity Jan.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuDQ7QBbLq8

    BTW, the infamous Kennedy compound on Palm Beach is just down the street in a more secluded location. Lots of old money.

  120. nick flandrey says:

     I can’t think of any alternative except some form of coercion.

    fwiw, I don’t think the pharmacist has a right not to fill the prescription, either for a drug he personally doesn’t like, or for religious reasons, or any other reason.   He’s been given a license by the State to perform a service, a monopoly, and shouldn’t get to chose who he serves.  He gives up some “rights” when he accepts the preferential treatment.   If he is incapable or unwilling to provide the service he’s been granted a monopoly for, he must then  provide someone to provide those services in his stead.

    EMTs can’t refuse to treat Jews or blacks, or women because they have beliefs that contradict treating them, nor can nurses, or Doctors.   They have a ‘duty of care’ and are obligated by their license to exercise it.

    If they can’t accept that duty, then they can’t be licensed as pharmacists.    

    Yes it is using the power of the government to coerce but in this case it is a voluntary agreement entered into by both parties, the pharmacist and the state.  The coercion comes from the licensing requirement.

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  121. Ed says:

    Nick, I read your wall of text. You are still incorrect. Let me break it down for you. 
     

    Earlier, I asked:

    Are you saying that every pharmacy must stock and sell certain things?

    You quoted my question and replied:

    yes.

    All day, I have been asking you to support that. The text you quoted does not show that a pharmacy must stock and sell certain things  There is a lot of “may not be dispensed” and “shall not dispense”. There is nothing establishing an affirmative requirement to stock or sell anything. 

    Engaging with you is a waste of time because you consistently deflect instead of either supporting what you claim or admitting you have nothing to support it. I believe I’ve made the points I intended to make—you are wrong about this—so I’m finished with this topic. 

  122. nick flandrey says:

    Wow, micro burst just hit, tossed stuff in the yard around.   Rain started and the temp dropped from 98F to 78F,

    Power blinked 3 or 4 times.

    n

  123. Ed says:

    Trump is learning.

    Here is a  interesting take on the kind of people who plead the fifth amendment, including the question, “if you’re innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment?”

  124. Ed says:

    “Trump is learning”

    An interesting take on the kind of people who plead the fifth amendment. 

    I think the money quote is: if you’re innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment?

  125. nick flandrey says:

    Engaging with you is a waste of time because you consistently deflect instead of either supporting what you claim or admitting you have nothing to support it. I believe I’ve made the points I intended to make—you are wrong about this—so I’m finished with this topic. 

    – finally.   thanks! Bye Felicia!

    I will say the “pivot” with the sudden interest in libertarian-ism after I quoted your own link back at you was textbook from the internet argument checklist, and its addendums on Shaving Leviathan.   Now the rage quit! perfect.   YOU’RE finished so we’re done?  Awesome.  Save the trouble next time.

    nick

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  126. Ed says:

    Nick, I’m not taking the bait. All you have to do is provide something that supports your statement. You are still welcome to do so. But I’m finished pointing out why everything you respond with doesn’t do that. 

  127. Ed says:

    Jenny: Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing. 

  128. CowboyStu says:

    Regardless of Ed, I always agree with Jenny, lynn and nick.  Jenny and I have met personally and I respect her totally.

  129. Greg Norton says:

    @Ray – If you want to see something cool and haven’t been previously, stop at Cooter’s Store in Nashville. I unpacked my purchases from that place today – a DVD of “Moonrunners”, a postcard with the movie’s logo, and a Boar’s Nest magnet.

    The nearby Holiday Inn Express is as nice as the one in Memphis near the medical center.

  130. Ed says:

    Ray: Interesting notes about the situation in TN and the response. Thanks for sharing. 

  131. nick flandrey says:

    big chunk of tree just fell on my rent house.   Guess I know what I’m doing tomorrow.   Tenants are fine, house seems to be intact.    

    We’ve gotten ¾ inch in the last few minutes, and the temp continued to drop, now 75F.   Lightning and thunder, but less rain atm.

    n

  132. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    @drwilliams, I found your sharing  about concrete to be very useful.   Practical, alternative, and home based uses of chemistry would be of interest to me too.   Homeowners in the late 1800s and early 1900s used a lot of raw chemicals to accomplish stuff around the house.   That sort of thing interests me a lot.

    Thanks. I read that this morning and have been thinking about another quick dump of useful concrete information as a conversation starter. Concrete is a very practical application of chemistry at the basic level and even more so as the mix properties, curing properties, and physical properties of the final product are intentionally altered.

    Unfortunately, the greenies are trying to kill concrete along with every other thing that makes modern civilization work. 

  133. drwilliams says:

    @JimB

    I almost always ship using my own box, because the USPS flat rate boxes are almost always higher postage.

    Have you looked at Regional A boxes? Not a flat-rate box but similar. Two configurations, one chunky and one flatter. 15-lb limit, ships for the two-pound rate. Boxes only available by order through the USPS website, and postage not available at the counter, it has to be purchased on-line.

    I believe there are still Regional B boxes, but that Regional C has been discontinued.  Neither hav proved to be useful to a large swath of shippers. Regional A, OTOH, is widely used. When boxes were not available from the USPS due to supply chain issues, some people were selling their stock on CL.

  134. ~jim says:

    I’m going to agree with Ed on a technical level because I saw no affirmative obligation to sell a drug in that long screed of legalese.

     However, as a practical matter, I’ll agree with you that he’s bound solely because of the licensing requirement. In a free world, and I hate to sound so Randian, the government wouldn’t be involved in trade at all because it’s an awful slippery slope
    legislating my duties toward my fellow man. 

    Just for fun, would the garbage man be required to pick up my trash if its contents offend his religious sensibilities?

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  135. JimB says:

    Ah, Patch Tuesday… Pretty smooth here. As suggested, I have my operating hours set, so there is never an unexpected restart. I do wish the operating hours could be set for more than 18 hours. I do think that is possible, but might require a registry change or some other advanced tweaking.

    I also set up automatic downloads, but manual updates. This makes things go much faster on my slow connection. Last month, my wife’s notebook, with W10 Home, did not need any major updates. This is a first for me. This month, it needed the usuals. Mine, with W10 Pro, always needs more. Plus, this month the restart took long enough that I left the room. Of course, I had to restart both computers, which is annoying. I keep lots of things open until I am finished working on them, and having to close them all is disruptive. I always forget something upon resumption.

    I also went through an Android update last night. I have not looked to see what it was, but it did require a restart. That was pretty quick, and everything I had open was restored. Wish Windows could be that streamlined. Android is not perfect, but sure is good. One major gripe: AT&T requires that updates be done over Wi-Fi, which is much slower than my usual cell data speeds. They will not budge on that policy. I have considered using the hotspot function on one phone to update the other, just for spite, but I am not that petty. However, just like Windows, Android downloads the usually large update files quietly in the background with no apparent drag on performance. It wasn’t always that way with computers. Remember the hoary old days using boot floppies?

  136. drwilliams says:

    @Alan

    @drwilliams, would be good if you can suggest sources for some basic compounds that may get mentioned here (as long as we’re not stirring up any of our TLA listeners too much), such as boric acid as an ant killer, lye for soap making (used to be ‘old-fashioned’ Draino in a can at the hardware store, but fewer of those around), etc.

    Borax is readily available as 20 Mule Team Borax in the laundry aisle at the grocers. For pest control the two are pretty much interchangeable.

    Borax is the salt of boric acid and the reaction is easy to reverse if you need boric acid and can’t find it:

    https://sciencing.com/convert-borax-boric-acid-7826421.html

    HCL aka muriatic acid is commonly used in pools. Readily available. And almost universally stored improperly. 

    And this is the point where I will repeat: ALWAYS use PPE (personal protection equipment) appropriate for the specific hazards of the materials you are using. This means eye protection 100% of the time: safety glasses with eye shields or goggles. Norm Abrams was not kidding. Other PPE as required. The short formulation is “treat chemicals like firearms”.

    Lye and sulfuric acid are available from good hardware stores. If you don’t have such, getting them may be difficult indeed. Getting many solvents has become difficult and expensive if they are not available from the paint or automotive store. There are companies that supply small to medium size businesses, but most will not deliver to residences.

    If you can’t find it on eBay that may be a clue.

  137. drwilliams says:

    A doctor or pharmacist in private practice retains the natural rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The state cannot force him to give up those rights and perform a service as a matter of licensing. They can try, but such efforts have been generally unsuccessful absent an emergency. A law requiring a referral would be see as considerably less intrusive and would probably stand.

    Is contraceptive failure when the failure rate is known and significantly non-zero an emergency? There’s an old saying: Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Cue Garret Morris as Chico Escuela.

    Before anyone damns the pharmacist, consider whether you want him to be the guy that gets the scrip for puberty blockers from the school that has pledged not to communicate with the parents.

    If the doctor or pharmacist is not in private practice, but is an employee, then he may have given up some rights in the employment contract. Sounds like the employer in the case at hand had a reasonable accommodation in the policy, but it wasn’t good enough for the aggrieved. 

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  138. NaN says:

    Reading today’s exchanges: WOW, “Nick” took it on the chin. So many opportunities to back up his “I’m right and everyone else is wrong” claims, and he WHIFFED on all of them. 

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  139. drwilliams says:

    ~jim

    Just for fun, would the garbage man be required to pick up my trash if its contents offend his religious sensibilities?

    Remains of a ham sandwich? 

    Like the Muslim checker ringing up the bacon, the cab driver transporting the passenger from the liquor store?

    Nuances count. 

    Trash and cab driving are government monopolies in most cases. Service to all.

    Groceries is not. Employment contract could go either way.  

    Say you have a small town with one gas station/convenience store. New owner has religious reasons for refusing to sell certain items and is closed one day of the week.  Could he be coerced by changes in local ordinance, tems applied to his state sales tax license, etc.? 

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  140. Rick H says:

    Regarding HCl and PPE: Summer job in high school was working for my brother-in-law in his pool business. One service provide was acid washing the pool plaster for cleaning. The pool would be drained except for a small puddle at the bottom.

    Then I would go into the pool with a bucket and a push broom. I’d fill the bucket with some water, add some HCl to the bucket (maybe 1:4 ratio?), and pour it on the wall, using the push broom to scrub it. Use a water hose to rinse the wall, and maybe myself if I splashed the mixture on me.. Repeat all the way around the pool.

    I’d usually wear tennis shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt – it was hot in the middle of a pool with the white surface reflecting the sun. And I’d usually get small burn spots on my exposed skin (sort of mosquito-bite sized), plus small holes in my t-shirt.

    Good times.

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  141. Nightraker says:

    Mar-a-lago was in very poor shape when Trump bought it in 1985.  It was a money pit for a good long while.  126 rooms, 110,000 square feet.  Turning it into a private club with quarter million a year dues probably keeps ahead of the plumbing and painting maintenance. 🙂

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  142. ~jim says:

    >>They can try, but such efforts have been generally unsuccessful absent an emergency.  <<

    I have never understood the legal logic behind those Good Samaritan laws. It boils down to a question I posed to JEP years ago: Does your hunger give you a right to my bread? Does your anemia give you a right to my blood?

    ~jim

    “We need your fondue sets!”

  143. nick flandrey says:

    I guess I should have been more explicit, the “wall o text” was in response to Ray’s comments about pharmacists being drafted into the war on some drugs, and their additional responsibilities.   The portion I quoted was specifically about not enabling drug use by using their discretion to not fill some prescriptions.

    It was not and is not about forcing them to carry anything.   Nor was it intended as such.

    For the record I’ll spell it out.

    Customer goes to pharmacy for specific, legal substance (there is some greyness because at .gov command some of what she wanted may have been available WITHOUT prescription but placed behind the counter under the pharmacist’s control*).   Pharmacist says “no”.   Customer, along with an advocacy group says “then we’ll sue you.”    The customer has invoked the power of the state to demand that the pharmacist provide what the customer wanted, under threat from state.   Had the customer won, after what, three years of uncertainty in the pharmacist’s life, added stress, and unknown but not zero legal defense costs, not to mention time away from family and job for trial and depositions, every pharmacy would have made sure they had the substance, and were willing to dispense it.  You can argue the semantics but I don’t think you can argue the result, which would be the substance available on demand, under threat of state action, in contradiction to the pharmacist’s wishes.

    In one state, in this case, the pharmacist won, but the quote I provided from the linked article, clearly showed the advocacy group was still certain that the law supported COMPELLING the pharmacist with the threat of state action.

    As I said, that looks like force to me.

    n

    *behind the counter, under the pharmacist’s control, an idea resulting from the war on some drugs, where OTC drugs that could be used as pre-cursors to methamphetamine were removed from shelves, and restricted by quantity and frequency, and customers made to beg the representative of the state for permission to get what was and is medically an uncontrolled substance.   Power and mission creep.  Slippery slope.  And now a powerful surveillance tool.

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  144. Ed says:

    Honestly, Nick, stop it. This will be as succinct as I can make it. 
     

    the “wall o text” was in response to Ray’s comments about pharmacists being drafted into the war on some drugs

    Was it? Because you said “You want a cite?”, which is what I’ve asked for all day. 
     

    It was not and is not about forcing them to carry anything.   Nor was it intended as such.

    That is exactly what this discussion has been about. See above: 

    Earlier, I asked:

    Are you saying that every pharmacy must stock and sell certain things?

    You quoted my question and replied:

    yes.

    As for this:

    Had the customer won

    The point is that the customer did not win. Being sued doesn’t make someone guilty. 
     

    And for this:

    In one state, in this case, the pharmacist won, but the quote I provided from the linked article, clearly showed the advocacy group was still certain that the law supported COMPELLING the pharmacist with the threat of state action.
     

    Opinions are not facts. One person thinking “the law” says something does not make it so. 

    Just stop, man. There is no shame in admitting a mistake. I’ve done here before. 

  145. dkreck says:

    Little Sisters of the Poor.

    and

    Say you have a small town with one gas station/convenience store. New owner has religious reasons for refusing to sell certain items and is closed one day of the week.  Could he be coerced by changes in local ordinance, tems applied to his state sales tax license, etc.? 

    I recall the old saying by Chief Justice John Marshall

    “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”

  146. drwilliams says:

    @NaNo

    There is no shame in admitting a mistake. I’ve done here before. 

    How’s that homework on “innocent until proven guilty” coming, then? Weeks overdue. Seems you can ask for a cite, but don’t know how to back it up. Same school as ed?

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  147. ITGuy1998 says:

    Regarding HCl and PPE: Summer job in high school was working for my brother-in-law in his pool business. One service provide was acid washing the pool plaster for cleaning. The pool would be drained except for a small puddle at the bottom.

    Then I would go into the pool with a bucket and a push broom. I’d fill the bucket with some water, add some HCl to the bucket (maybe 1:4 ratio?), and pour it on the wall, using the push broom to scrub it. Use a water hose to rinse the wall, and maybe myself if I splashed the mixture on me.. Repeat all the way around the pool.

    I’d usually wear tennis shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt – it was hot in the middle of a pool with the white surface reflecting the sun. And I’d usually get small burn spots on my exposed skin (sort of mosquito-bite sized), plus small holes in my t-shirt.
     

    Wimp. (Kidding).

    I worked for a city parks and rec department for many summers. First as a lifeguard, then assistant manager, and from finally manager. There were two pools. The big Olympic sized pool used sodium hypoclorite for chlorination. Ruined quite a few shirts moving those big drums around. No PPE.

    The other pool was a smaller community pool. It used gas chlorine for chlorination. No PPE and 18 year olds changing tanks with no training. I knew it was dangerous and at least knew enough to run like hell if I caught even a whiff…still shake my head about that whole situation knowing how dangerous it really was.

  148. Rick H says:

    Personal opinion: Neither of you is going to convince the other. 

    Just let it go. Don’t try to get in the ‘last word’. 

    The arguments will only escalate. And we don’t need that here.

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  149. drwilliams says:

    @RichH

    Plain white plaster? 

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  150. Jenny says:

    The series ”Paper Girls” on Amazon Prone is pretty good.

  151. ~jim says:

    We ought to get rid of those thumbs. Seems to me they encourage cheap shots instead of reasonable, adult, discussion and debate.

    I find the bickering tiresome.

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  152. Rick H says:

    @RichH

    Plain white plaster? 

    Don’t recall exact stuff used for the pool plaster. It came from a bag of mix, put in the big gas-powered mixer, add water, then pour into wheelbarrow.

    Take the wheelbarrow of plaster over to the pool, hopefully not spilling it, and use a flat-blade shovel and deposit the shovelful of plaster on the pool side  walls (over the ‘gunite’, a cement mixture that was sprayed on the pool forms then smoothed with a trowel) without splattering the guy in the pool using a trowel to spread it out. 

    And trying not to get too much on the tile at the top, which I had to clean before it dried (another fun job). Bucket of water, sponge and rag, clean plaster off the tile without damaging the plaster below the tile. You had to clean the tiles before the plaster hardened. The ‘grunt guys’ (me) got to do that cleaning job – kneeling at the edge to reach the tile. Hot sun and all that.

    The guys in the pool really didn’t like it when you splattered them with the shovelful of plaster. I may have done that once or twice, not purposely.

    After the plaster in the pool is smoothed, you start filling the pool with a hose down by the deep-end drain – you might start the fill before they were completely done in the shallow end. The plaster cures best under water.

    Then there was the job up in Jackson Hole WY – a hotel pool next to a recently irrigated field. Mosquitos very thick in the air. 

    Fun times.

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  153. lynn says:

    Remember the hoary old days using boot floppies?

    9 track tapes.  With the broken leader that had to be respliced.

    Wait, my personal favorite, the paper tape reader/writer on the CDC 6600 operator console.  Ours at the power plant required calling out the computer guy any time for a reboot.  Which, he had gotten tired of the paper tape ripping on him and memorized the 50+ instructions using the 16 bit switches on the computer main box.  I watched him reboot that bad boy several times and never got tired of it. Flip, flip, flip, flip, enter instruction.   Flip, flip, flip, flip, …

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_6600

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  154. Rick H says:

    Note that the ‘thumbs’ and ‘emojis’ were installed here by popular demand. 

    Just like anything else (like the comment box – and avatars), they can be abused. 

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  155. Greg Norton says:

    @Lynn – I didn’t venture downstairs out of my home office while the state infusion team was here, but my wife said that all agendas of any kind were out the window when the techs saw my new old copy of “Roadhouse”, another purchase on the road last week.

    One tech had apparently seen the movie 30 times.

    They were not aware of the new-ish print with weed-fueled Kevin Smith commentary.

  156. Rick H says:

    “Banning” doesn’t work. 

    Obviously.

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  157. Nick Flandrey says:

    I find the bickering tiresome.

    yep, me too, but when I tried to save everyone the time and annoyance I got sh!t for deleting comments.

    For as long as it amuses me, I’ll just edit them instead, in response to a request I leave them inline but delete the content.

    It’s interesting that Ed and Nanny may not in fact be the same person.   How did we get so lucky?

    n

  158. Alan says:

    >> Fair enough. I will refrain from calling Joe names. I will still criticize what I think are bone headed decisions that, in my opinion, are being controlled by other entities. I suppose that is true of most presidents as they have multiple advisors. As was once famously stated “the buck stops here” so regardless of who controlled and created the decisions he makes, it is still his responsibility.

    Well, “multiple advisors” is a bit different than “multiple controllers.” I’d proffer that Bush 41 and Obama had the former while Bush 43 and Joe had/have the latter.

  159. lynn says:

    You know, whoever had the account name and password idea might be right.  I thought it might be overkill but I suspect that the twins are going to invite more and more crazies here.

    Of course, the twins could just be multiple personalities of the same body.

  160. drwilliams says:

    @RichH

    Buncha wimps (not you, the plasterers).

    Real plasterers have the mix dumped out of the wheelbarrow and into the pool. Then they trowel it up from the bottom.

    That’s how they get arms like the guys pulling leaf lard at the pack.

  161. Rick H says:

    IMHO, comments should not be ‘moderated’ because they are from any particular person(s). 

    Moderation – removal of comments – should be very rare.  And I think others here have expressed that opinion.

  162. Nick Flandrey says:

    It is rare.  Limited to one individual.  ~200 out of 189, 369 so far.  And all in the last few weeks out of years…

    n

  163. lynn says:

    @Lynn – I didn’t venture downstairs out of my home office while the state infusion team was here, but my wife said that all agendas of any kind were out the window when the techs saw my new old copy of “Roadhouse”, another purchase on the road last week.

    One tech had apparently seen the movie 30 times.

    They were not aware of the new-ish print with weed-fueled Kevin Smith commentary.

    The movie is not that good for 30 times.  Maybe 5 times.  I think I watched it on Netflix a year or two ago.

    Who the freak is Kevin Smith ?  Oh, that guy.

       https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003620/

    “Kevin Smith on Batgirl Cancellation: ‘It’s an Incredibly Bad Look to Cancel the Latina Batgirl Movie’”

        https://www.ign.com/articles/kevin-smith-batgirl-cancellation-incredibly-bad-look-latina-superhero-movie

    Something really bad must happened in the filming of that movie.

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  164. Alan says:

    And CVS  no longer sells cigarettes. 

    “In February 2014, the company announced it would stop selling tobacco products because the sales conflicted with its healthcare mission.”

    A corporate decision that ‘Joe Consumer’ would be more likely to patronize CVS services (e.g. in-store clinics, etc.) if CVS didn’t sell “unhealthy” products.

  165. Nick Flandrey says:

    Who needs healthcare more? Smokers or non-smokers?  

    n

  166. Rick H says:

    A comment should be moderated (removed) because of it’s content being offensive. Not because it is from one person., even if that person is a ‘repeat offender’.  Not because it is being argumentative. Or expressing a view counter to another person.

    “You are a ****” is a comment that should be blocked. As should “I think your relative deserves to be sick”. Both should be blocked.

    “I disagree, and here is why” should not be blocked.  Nor should “here is a video of a speech by an campaigning official that they later state an entirely different view from the original”. 

    There should be no blanket blocking based on user identity.  Again, IMHO, blocking should be very rare.

  167. drwilliams says:

    @ITGuy1998

    I worked for a city parks and rec department for many summers. First as a lifeguard, then assistant manager, and from finally manager. There were two pools. The big Olympic sized pool used sodium hypoclorite for chlorination. Ruined quite a few shirts moving those big drums around. No PPE.

    The other pool was a smaller community pool. It used gas chlorine for chlorination. No PPE and 18 year olds changing tanks with no training. I knew it was dangerous and at least knew enough to run like hell if I caught even a whiff…still shake my head about that whole situation knowing how dangerous it really was.

    Strong smell of chlorine at both?

    Who did the calculation for the gas chlorine?

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  168. Nick Flandrey says:

    Jesus Nan you really are a smoothbrain.   I delete you because you are offensive.  YOU ARE NOT WELCOME.

    You can lie and lie and lie, but it makes no difference.  Your views and the expression of them mean less than nothing to me.   The way you act, the abrasiveness and willful disruption are what got you banned, blocked, deleted.

    n

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  169. drwilliams says:

    @RickH

    There should be no blanket blocking based on user identity.  Again, IMHO, blocking should be very rare.

    The individual in question has a history of repeatedly posting vile personal attacks equivalent to tossing a turd in a swimming pool just for fun. He worked hard to loose any consideration of any kind, and simply deleting his comments and leaving no trace is the second best alternative since I can’t ask the Sons of Silence to visit with him about proper decorum.

  170. drwilliams says:

    Who cares if there’s fags in the store?

  171. NaN says:

    Your views and the expression of them mean less than nothing to me

    Pretty clear that is not the case. You go out of your way to pounce on anything I say. Pretty obvious you have an addiction (well, ANOTHER addiction – besides doom, gloom, and guns). Just like Lynn couldn’t stand 24 hours away from his favorite source for misinformation.

  172. NaN says:

    A comment should be moderated (removed) because of it’s content being offensive. Not because it is from one person., even if that person is a ‘repeat offender’.  Not because it is being argumentative. Or expressing a view counter to another person.

    “You are a ****” is a comment that should be blocked. As should “I think your relative deserves to be sick”. Both should be blocked.

    “I disagree, and here is why” should not be blocked.  Nor should “here is a video of a speech by an campaigning official that they later state an entirely different view from the original”. 

    There should be no blanket blocking based on user identity.  Again, IMHO, blocking should be very rare.
     

    Too bad you aren’t in charge. It’s Not-Nick’s blog now, and you’re just a victim of it. 

  173. Rick H says:

    The individual in question has a history of repeatedly posting vile personal attacks…

    Yes, but there have been some deletions of comments from that person that did not do that. 

    I am able to see ‘behind the scenes’ the comments that are being removed. I don’t agree with all of those deletions, and have, in fact, restored a few of them that I thought were OK – even if ‘marginal’. 

    A person’s comments should not be removed because “I delete you because you are offensive.” The comment should be judged on the comment content, not on who made the comment.

    That’s why I think that comment removal should be very rare, as stated above. And not removed just because it came from a particular person. There’s a bit of heavy-handness behind the scenes, IMHO. Not always, but it’s there.

  174. Alan says:

    We learned late yesterday that CVS in Texas won’t fill Ivermectin because they are choosing to follow CDC guidelines.

    One aspect that I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned with regard to what Rxs CVS will fill is if the patient is covered by any health plan that employs a pharmacy benefits manager. For CVS that would be Caremark. If you are covered by Caremark and if the drug is on your formulary list, I’d suspect that any CVS pharmacist that refuses to dispense that drug would quickly be on line at the nearest Unemployment Office and would be soon be replaced by a more “cooperative” pharmacist. If the drug the doctor prescribes (e.g. Ivermectin) isn’t on the formulary then you need to have the doctor appeal to Caremark, making a case as to why this is your only option. I wouldn’t expect too many Ivermectin appeals to be granted, at which point you’re on your own if you want to pay out of pocket and convince the pharmacist to dispense the drug. Or off to Tractor Supply.

  175. ~jim says:

    >>Note that the ‘thumbs’ and ‘emojis’ were installed here by popular demand.  <<

    Instigated by whom? I think it’s one of the factors which has resulted in the kindergarten fisticuffs. That, and the desire to hear yourself talk. Like those Bright Boys who sit at the front of the class.

  176. Rick H says:

    >>Note that the ‘thumbs’ and ‘emojis’ were installed here by popular demand.  <<

    Instigated by whom?

    As I recall, there were multiple votes ‘for’ the thumbs/emojis. 

  177. drwilliams says:

    @RickH

    What you overlook is that it took repeated violations to get to the point of having everything taken down. When an individual gets formally trespassed out of a business by filing a complaint with the police, he is out all the time. He’s not given the opportunity to do it again the next day or the next week. The penalty typically lasts for a year.

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  178. NaN says:

    Note that the ‘thumbs’ and ‘emojis’ were installed here by popular demand.
     

    If popular votes are what mattered, Hilary Clinton would have been President. This is “Nick’s“ fiefdom now, and you’re all just subjects in it. 

  179. Nick Flandrey says:

    All those in favor of “heavy-handedness” say “aye”   all those in favor of drinking punch with a turd floating in it say “nay”

    nick

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  180. NaN says:

    What you overlook is that it took repeated violations to get to the point of having everything taken down

    Nope. It only took posting something the Toddler-in-Charge didn’t want to read. 

  181. NaN says:

    in favor of “heavy-handedness” 

    Wow, attacking your co-moderator. A new low. 

  182. Alan says:

    Or a photographer who does not want to do a wedding for certain groups. I got slammed as being something, don’t remember, don’t really care. I had to explain that I don’t understand their lifestyle and would do a lousy job at capturing the event. If they wanted to persist I can guarantee the pictures would be horrible and it would be in the contract.

    There’s not likely a scum (deleted as redundant) lawyer still breathing that doesn’t see something in a contract that they don’t agree with and as such ready to file suit for you.

  183. drwilliams says:

    @alan

    One aspect that I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned with regard to what Rxs CVS will fill is if the patient is covered by any health plan that employs a pharmacy benefits manager. For CVS that would be Caremark. If you are covered by Caremark and if the drug is on your formulary list, I’d suspect that any CVS pharmacist that refuses to dispense that drug would quickly be on line at the nearest Unemployment Office and would be soon be replaced by a more “cooperative” pharmacist. If the drug the doctor prescribes (e.g. Ivermectin) isn’t on the formulary then you need to have the doctor appeal to Caremark, making a case as to why this is your only option. I wouldn’t expect too many Ivermectin appeals to be granted, at which point you’re on your own if you want to pay out of pocket and convince the pharmacist to dispense the drug. Or off to Tractor Supply.

    If I had a pharmacy refuse to fill a prescription written by a doctor authorized to write prescriptions, I would move my business elsewhere and file a complaint with the state board. Probably arrange for some informational picketing to let the public in general know.

    If a pharmacist took my prescription and refused to return it, I would be on the phone to 911 reporting a theft.

  184. drwilliams says:

    Nano

    You are an idiot and a liar. 

    @RickH

    You are free to take that statement down, if you wish, but it is simply a statement of fact and if you have deleted comments on file you have the proof.

  185. Alan says:

    My point is that Greg doesn’t seem to be afflicted with the things it treats and is approved for, so it’s odd to be surprised that you can’t get it. 

    A doctor can prescribe most any FDA approved drug “off-label” for whatever condition they think it may be appropriate.

    For example, plenty of Metformin (a type 2 diabetes drug) Rxs are written for weight loss to people with perfectly normal blood sugar levels.

  186. Alan says:

    Mark Cuban just started a website selling only certain generics.

    Mark should spend more time getting the Mavs to the NBA Finals.

  187. drwilliams says:

    And please note that I refrained from pointing out the high probability that his warped personality is probably due to childhood bedwetting, penis envy, bad acne, and a history of eating from the dog dish. Well, almost. 

    And his puerile public displays are entirely due to his opinion that he is safely anonymous due to technology far beyond his understanding. He may be right, for now, but the internet is always.

  188. ITGuy1998 says:

    Nick – use the ban hammer as you see fit. It’s your house, we are all guests here. 

  189. drwilliams says:

    Mark Cuban just started a website selling only certain generics.

    Cigars? Soda? Mac and cheese? 

  190. drwilliams says:

    Hang around with Webb photos and start getting links like this:

    https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/cheese-curedmeats/napoli.html

  191. Alan says:

    Note that the ‘thumbs’ and ‘emojis’ were installed here by popular demand. 

    Just like anything else (like the comment box – and avatars), they can be abused. 

    Hmm, restoring the Gravatars might entice MrAtoz to return…

  192. Jenny says:

    @drwilliams

    Regarding pharmacy, ivermectin, theft of prescription. In spirit, yes, those would be solid responses. 
    In practice we were home ill and our friend’s only concern was getting the prescription filled. Escalating under those circumstances wasn’t going to achieve the desired outcome. 
    I suppose we could have asked our friend if they  would be willing to participate in legal action after the fact. I strongly suspect they would have refused. 
     

    @alan

    I was prescribed Metformin off label for awhile to treat PCOS. No pharmacist ever batted an eye or questioned it.

  193. drwilliams says:

    Theme songs going out to the contentious poster in his mother’s basement:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9OOKM1p0T4&t=136s

  194. drwilliams says:

    @jenny

    Not advocating that my response should be yours. 

    Your circumstances were different.

  195. Jenny says:

    @drwilliams

    Love Jethro Tull!

  196. Alan says:

    >> If I had a pharmacy refuse to fill a prescription written by a doctor authorized to write prescriptions, I would move my business elsewhere and file a complaint with the state board. Probably arrange for some informational picketing to let the public in general know.

    @drwilliams, agreed, but again, many, many people are tied to a particular pharmacy (chain) for in-network pricing.

    When Nexium first came out my gastroenterologist wanted me on it for treatment of an esophageal condition that was sometimes a pre-cursor to esophageal cancer. It took several letters and more phone calls to get the pharmacy benefits manager to approve it. And now it’s both generic and OTC.

  197. Jenny says:

    @drwilliams

    circumstances

    Yes sir. Was not taken as a criticism. I do hope others do so. 

  198. Alan says:

    >> I was prescribed Metformin off label for awhile to treat PCOS. No pharmacist ever batted an eye or questioned it.

    I think I’ve posted this link here sometime in the past…

    ADDED: 202 comments so far today…and the night is young…time to put up another pot of tea…

  199. lynn says:

    Please note that I have been fighting these people for decades.  They are also thieves or are closely connected to them.  There will be more of them here soon.  They will profess to being long term friends of RBT and are very ashamed of the current admins.  They will overwhelm the board.  I would not be surprised to see them demand money to go away.

  200. lynn says:

    “Tesla 500 mile range Semi Truck starts shipping this year, Cybertruck next year”

         https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557236629412007937

  201. EdH says:

    Aye. 

  202. Jenny says:

    @drwilliams

    **swoon**

    Man can they play! 

  203. Jenny says:

    @drwilliams

    And I meant I hope other people follow logical legal recourses. I reread and realized I’d grammared all poorly and communicated badly.

  204. ~jim says:

    Got the news that my anus will be reattached on December 20th, not December 21st as I would have hoped but the surgeon will be at another hospital that day. Awww, shoot! I do like anniversaries.

    Anyway, I told Cousin Dan and he suggested I keep a chronicle of the events in hospital, including as many puns as possible. His weren’t so good but they sent me down the road toward possible titles and I have been amusing myself with same.

    Possible titles include:
    *Merry Poopins
    *The Poopwick Papers
    *The Grinch who Stool Christmas
    *Poop and Prejudice

    Help wanted. 

    ~jim

    Providing comic relief as necessary 

  205. paul says:

    *Wipe on the Wild Side

    I got nothing.  

    Does any of this hurt?  

    I mean other than your pride what with a bag of whatever strapped to your leg?   Not trying to be a smart ass, just curious. 

  206. ~jim says:

    What pains me the most is how much medicine has changed. It irks my ire to no end that the surgeon who performed the (rather drastic) open abdominal sigmoid resection and colectomy hasn’t called me back or checked in. Why?

    Because he’s not going to learn anything useful until he gets real feedback from his real patients; not mis-transcribed computer notes from “nurses” and nurse flunkies.

    That goes against Hippocrates and tutoring in general in the name of what? The Bright, Clever Boy (no more than 30) has sold his soul to the company store and that hurts most of all. 

    The old fart who is going to do the fixing is about my age. Antedeluvian.
    Now get off my lawn !

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