Day starts nice and cool, but still gets up near 100F in the afternoon. Maybe some spotty rain. Maybe not. We did get a few drops yesterday and the sky turned black for a couple minutes but it blew right past us.
We got a lot done yesterday. Tanks are placed, inspected, and wiring and plumbing are underway. Hopefully today we’ll get the stuff that was never properly connected to the system plumbed in, and the electrical done. If we get lucky, drip line will go in too. This guy is good, conscientious, but he works alone, so it does take a bit longer. To be fair, the additional plumbing was a surprise, as was the giant root ball, and the crazy thickness of the concrete. Just getting the hole dug, and the lines trenched in was more difficult than it should have been. Still, progress is being made. The pace has slowed a bit as we are both getting worn out by the additional effort required.
I did not get gas lines in, because I was prepping for the additional plumbing. Lots of poor choices were made decades ago, and I’m paying for them now.
Spent some time spinning the dial on the shortwave, which is where today’s title came from. WTWW on 5.085mhz plays a lot of good music at night, and it’s a WIDE variety. Lots of stuff I haven’t heard in years. If you are looking to get familiar with shortwave listening, that’s one freq to check along with the national time signals.
Prepping involves testing gear and assumptions. Get your radio out and see what you can hear, and if you can actually tune to anything. Shortwave is an entertaining way to get a feel for propagation, without firing up your ham rig.
And as always, stack some things.
nick
Progress is good.
Swimming naked again in Texas. The airport has backup generators which should be ready to go in a moment’s notice … well, in theory.
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/travel-walk-highway-power-outage-austin-bergstrom-international-airport
Water when working: August in a southern Georgia submarine base with the sub in the graving dock. Said dock lets the submarine stick out at both ends so the satellites can tell when a sub is there (One of the nuke reduction treaty requirements, supposedly).
Out job was to replace a fathometer transducer and cable that is run through the ballast tanks. 130 F in said ballast tanks. We worked 4 hours the first day. Noon to 4 pm, of course. The 4 of us drank 5 gallons of water and still lost about 8 pounds each. Miserable work.
When we got back to the shop, we informed the Chief our hours were now from Midnight to 8 AM.
74F and 91% RH. I’m up and moving, about the same as always, but my hands are stiff like paddles. Holding that sledge is more hand strength than I’m used to using.
Septic guy just arrived. He had to go to the store and get fittings and pipe for the additional plumbing runs.
After all that day’s work, I stayed up too late reading. I started “Into the Real” w/ john ringo as co-author, and I like it a lot. I think I’ve spotted the ‘mcguffin’ but it’s so obvious, I can’t really believe it can be… the main character is engaging, and I find myself thinking about it and wanting to pick it up and read while I’m doing other things. Great indicator that I’m enjoying it. Not an actual recommendation btw, although it’s well written, the subject, VR and online gaming might not appeal to you. An actual review when I finish it.
n
@Nick
Presume you are using gloves, but you might want to evaluate better ones if you are doing any more sledging.
@ClaytonW: Yikes!
But yeah, my father worked in shipyards and night was the preferred shift in central California in summer and fall.
But it also infuriated him, because oversight was lax (for management above foreman level night was punishment duty or new hire work) and some people would do the sloppiest work they could get away with – or none.
A great book about shipyard and wreck removal work in heat (it actually has a wikipedia page) is Ellsberg’s Under the Red Sea Sun:
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Red-Sea-Edward-Ellsberg-ebook/dp/B00KQ6PK9O?tag=ttgnet-20
I am surprised you can move at all. Take lots of anti-inflamitories.
WRT anti inflammatory meds, I’m on a maintenance NSAID so I’m limited on stacking more on top. Which on a day like today sucks rocks.
I can move my left hand but can’t grip tightly. Right hand has loosened up.
WRT gloves, I like some very close fitting but thin gloves for general work, with rubber coating on the palm side, and stretch fabric on the back to let the sweat out. I probably should have switched to anti-vib padded gloves for the hammer drill and sledge work. Most thicker gloves have seams that irritate my hands when using the sledge though, so I stuck with the seamless molded ones. No blisters on my hands is pretty good result considering how many swings I took this week and last.
Gloves are boots for the hands and have gotten really technical. I have, but didn’t wear, several kinds all focused on different tasks. I blame stubbornness and maybe too much sun for a bad decision. ( boots should be matched to the task too.)
Preps should include a variety of PPE, and a variety of gloves especially. And then use them, unlike me.
n
Doesn’t that describe most government workers? Some are very diligent, unfortunately the exception.
Yard mowing today along with trimming. Probably the second to last for the season. One mowing in late November will be to munch the leaves.
Queen is 96, and press is speaking in pained hushed tones of her family gathering. Listening to a few minutes I got the impression the press was hoping she’d die and give them a story they could juice for weeks. Nauseating.
I find the news that Lance Mackey, local legend, has died, far more distressing. He was 52 and had a rough life. Man worked hard, played hard. https://mustreadalaska.com/passing-lance-mackey-iditarod-champ-cancer-survivor/
King Charles and Queen Camilla. God help us all. Here’s wishing Her Majesty a full recovery.
We won’t have King Charles for long and Camilla will only be the “(royal) consort”. I’m thankful for small mercies.
I can’t find the reference at the moment, but Chuckles has stated on several occasions that her title will be “Queen”.
“King Charles” could easily be around for 20 years.
After all that day’s work, I stayed up too late reading. I started “Into the Real” w/ john ringo as co-author, and I like it a lot. I think I’ve spotted the ‘mcguffin’ but it’s so obvious, I can’t really believe it can be… the main character is engaging, and I find myself thinking about it and wanting to pick it up and read while I’m doing other things. Great indicator that I’m enjoying it. Not an actual recommendation btw, although it’s well written, the subject, VR and online gaming might not appeal to you. An actual review when I finish it.
I’ve got the MMPB on order for delivery next March. Don’t worry about me, I’ve still got 500 books in my SBR. The wife has given up trying to stop me from ordering “new” books.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982192577?tag=ttgnet-20/
You know, this will probably be the last $9.99 MMPB. I suspect that MMPBs will move into the $12.00 realm very soon now. Yes, $11.00 will be skipped.
“What yesterday’s Apple satellite announcement really means”
https://www.cringely.com/2022/09/08/what-yesterdays-apple-satellite-announcement-really-means/
“From what we already knew going into yesterday’s event, Apple downplayed the satellite news. They limited their usage case to emergency SOS texts in the USA and Canada, sorta said it would be just for iPhone 14s, and be free for only the first two years. They showed a satellite app and very deliberately tried to make it look difficult to use. They gave no technical details and there was no talk of industry partners.”
“Yet there were hints of what’s to come. We (you and I, based on my previous column) already knew, for example, that ANY iPhone can be made to work with Globalstar. We also knew the deal was with Globalstar, which Apple never mentioned but Globalstar confirmed, more or less, later in the day in an SEC filing. But Apple DID mention Find My and Air Tags, notably saying they’d work through the satellites even without having to first beseech the sky with an app. So the app is less than it seems and Apple’s satellite network will quickly find its use for the Internet of Things (IoT) as we already knew.”
Whoa, the cringe is still alive, I thought he was dead (“Big Jake” joke). So Apple is really moving into the satellite business.
King Charles, who thought Camilla’s tampon was lucky.
Well crap, I am now on PSA watch since I am high risk. My PSA was 0.6 four years ago, was 1.0 two years ago, and is now 1.4. Both of my grandfathers died of prostate cancer, one was 86 and the other was 64. So my new GP is concerned and wants me back for another PSA check in four months. Fun, fun, fun.
RIP.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/6178587/queen-elizabeth-dead-news/
Wonder if Larry Correia will write her in as a vampire ?
Amateur. I’m regularly rocking the upper 4.x range and spiked at … 6.2 … last October before it retreated back to 4.8-ish in June and 4.7 in the most recent test. It is among the many issues I’ve been investigating with the doctors this year.
If you avoided the test for a while out of fear of the “digital” exam, your GP is probably establishing baseline. With that family history, he can’t be too cautious.
@Greg
RIP
Ok, I am tearing up. What a reign. Hard to imagine anything good or stable coming out of her death. She hung on for a remarkably long time. 96.
If you want to know what’s coming, visit the Reagan Library and make a point of finding the picture of John Travolta dancing with Princess Diana. Check out the look on Prince Charles’ face as Reagan is clearly enjoying the moment, giving the Prince a bit of grief like any good Irishman.
Still, Chuckles is not amused at a level that is a bit scary, especially in light of what happened to the Princess less than 20 years later.
I’ve never seen that exact picture duplicated anywhere else.
The Reagan Library is a nice afternoon. Stay until sunset to see the magic happen was the sun sinks at the end of the valley.
@Greg
RIP
Ok, I am tearing up. What a reign. Hard to imagine anything good or stable coming out of her death. She hung on for a remarkably long time. 96.
She was a tough lady unlike her uncle who abdicated in the face of the Nazi rise over Europe and left the mess for his stuttering brother. She went and worked the assembly lines alongside the commoners for war materials during WWII. But she watched England change from a global power to a local power during her lifetime.
King Charles will be a freaking mess as he tries mandates all kinds of things to combat global coolin XXXXX XXXXXX global warming XXXXX XXXXX climate change XXXXXX XXXXX climate disruption.
King Charles and Queen Camilla
He has been coy about what name he will reign as. Camilla is the Queen Consort according to the BBC.
She did, and it will. The news people will be stumbling over themselves.
I expect our local stations will find someone, who has a cousin that lived in the area 20 years ago, saw the queen in a parade while looking through a picket fence. There will be interviews.
Amateur. I’m regularly rocking the upper 4.x range and spiked at … 6.2 … last October before it retreated back to 4.8-ish in June and 4.7 in the most recent test. It is among the many issues I’ve been investigating with the doctors this year.
If you avoided the test for a while out of fear of the “digital” exam, your GP is probably establishing baseline. With that family history, he can’t be too cautious.
Ooof, PSA of 6.2 sucks. Both of my grandfathers had prostate removals and wore diapers for the rest of their lives. My maternal grandfather went to the doctor for first time in his life at age 59 when he started peeing blood. They ran him up to St. Lukes in Houston where a surgeon gutted him, removing over 40 tumors from his abdomen. He lived for five years after that, I saw him a week before he passed and he was down to 80 lbs. Big guy like me, 6’1″ and 200 lbs most of his life, smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. Rather, I am a big guy just like him but I don’t smoke so I weigh 250.
What did you do to get it down, take female hormones ? Two of my friends did that and absolutely hated the side effects. Two of my wife’s uncles took the female hormones also when the radiation treatments failed, they whispered the side effects to me which were horrifying.
Several of my friends at church have had their prostates removed. There is a good urologist in the area who uses a robot surgeon. Reputedly, most of his patients get control of their bladder back and can even have sex without aids.
King Charles and Queen Camilla
He has been coy about what name he will reign as. Camilla is the Queen Consort according to the BBC.
All of the Georges and Henrys have been crazy so maybe he will go in that direction.
Not to diminish her reign, and I’m sure there will be 24×7 coverage for days and days on the BBC and BBC-America, but coincidentally there’s nothing newsworthy happening in the US worth mentioning by the MSM?
“Fort Bend cop shares video of coyote jumping 6-foot fence near Houston”
https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/coyote-jumping-fence-fort-bend-17425554.php
This is a couple of miles away from my house. I keep on trying to tell the 15 lb Siamese cat that he should not go outside at night because of the coyotes but he keeps on begging.
>> He has been coy about what name he will reign as. Camilla is the Queen Consort according to the BBC.
MSM is reporting Charles III.
My hands are the pacing element in many of my outdoor projects.
Particularly anything that requires repeated impact, sledges, picks, hammer drills. It is at best limited to a half day effort, with 4 ibuprofen beforehand. Otherwise my hands swell and my fingers look like sausages, with all my old man wrinkes disappearing (and the hands hurt). Then it is a week off.
Thick gloves help, perhaps 20% more time?
Frustrating.
>> There is a good urologist in the area who uses a robot surgeon.
Robotic surgery is awesome. I had it several years ago for a double hernia repair and results were excellent. Got a glimpse of the ‘robot’ when I was wheeled into the OR.
Yep. All my cats are indoor.
I refuse to look at the bulletin board at the little market near here, it is mostly distraught owners missing cats and small dogs.
Charles is honestly too dim to be an effective king. Also far too old. Queen Elizabeth was a special case, and also very good at her job. He isn’t, and won’t be.
The best thing he could do is immediately abdicate for the next generation. But he’s too dim to understand the need.
If Charles is King for more than a year or two, it may well be the end of the monarchy.
@Jenny, @all:
I, personally, hope that after the recent brouhahas involving the younger royals, a period of stability will ensue. Of course, given the popularity of royal scandal among the more salaciously-minded (read: all) members of the press, we can rely on any minor faux pas being trumpeted to the world.
Incidentally, in regard to what title the Duchess of Cornwall (now Queen Consort) will use, it has already been announced that she will style herself HRH The Princess Consort – remember she only holds these titles by marriage, not birth.
A subtle point, I know, for anyone, including me, that is only a Royal watcher.
G.
Flip a coin. Cat is happy being outside at night. Cat gets old and you make the Vet rich.
He doesn’t have to stay out all night.
Fido always wanted out about sundown to do “whatever” but after half an hour or so she’d be at the door and wanting in.
I note today is also the 5 year anniversary of Dr. Pournelle’s passing. I miss his commentary. Often find myself wondering “What would Jerry say about that?”.
From the Chaos Manor Facebook page (run by the family):
I don’t grok why she goes from “Queen Consort” to “HRH The Princess Consort” now that Chuck is King.
Then again, I don’t know a lot of stuff.
The death of a world leader is a major event, especially one that led thru the rise of the entire modern world.
My impression of the Queen was always one of duty, hard work, and genuine concern for her subjects. It’s definitely a changing of the guard.
Like I’ve been saying, this is one of those times when everything changes….
n
@paul:
She (or maybe her advisors) felt that taking the title “Queen Consort” might be impolitic, given that the decision was made soon after her marriage to Charles, when the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, was more recent. However, more recently, Her late Majesty announced that she should use that title.
But the original statement was 15 or so years ago, and things change.
One thing that doesn’t change is the appellation “Consort”, which is applied to the spouse of a monarch, since the title King or Queen can only apply to someone born into the succession.
G.
Big changes coming for Britain and the UK. They’ve had a queen, the same queen, and an overgrown schoolboy searching for relevance, for almost everyone’s entire life. It would be a miracle if there weren’t big changes, some of which will be purely in the zeitgeist and will take a while to manifest.
Even in normal families the death of the long time matriarch causes things to fracture and rearrange. There will be stuff changing. “You never would have done/said/whatever that when mom was alive” will be happening in the family and in the culture.
We don’t have anything at all similar, and I can’t even imagine the end results.
n
@Nick:
Indeed.
G.
I went to the local lumber yard / hardware store today. I bought 27 bags of pellets for the wood stove. Forty pounds each. That gets me to an even 50 bags again. Same price as last year.
It’s still in the truck. Too dang hot and humid, whine whine whine. I’ll move it to the barn tomorrow morning when the temp is more like 80F and not 96F.
Added: My arms and back are already sore.
SpaceX landing the booster for the first time successfully and the “Starship” concept in general.
Roped my husband into a nasty task at lunch.
The attic space of the house is maybe 4.5’ tall, with planks on the trusses. Tight space. Poorly suited to his over 6’ height, doable for my under 5’ height.
We are the second owners of our house, built 1964. Previous owners eventually died of old age, leaving son (older than us) to clear out and sell the place. By the time he got to clearing the attic, he kind of didn’t.
Dust. A lot of it. My husband stood below the hatch while I passed objects to him.
Artificial Christmas tree
wooden skis
four heavy metal fluorescent bulb fixtures that took a lot of grunting and swearing to fit thru the hatch
old newspapers
four long boards with a seat to receive a pipe at one end and heavy metal plate at the other. No idea.
dollhouse
child kitchen sink / cabinet full of more toys
two child chairs
sled
several original boxes of more toys
All of it will go, dump, Craigslist, a friend who sells vintage stuff on eBay.
I also pried up one of the particle boards strips obstructing blowing in insulation. There are many. It pulled out easily. The plywood sheets will require cutting and more effort.
The insulation guy today only does insulation. We have to figure out sealing penetrations, etc. To get the R-Value we want 20”-27” of blown in is recommended. 4.5’ at highest internal point of attic space. Reality is once it’s blown in I’m not going back up there, nor is my husband, except for something absolutely critical and unavoidable. So. We better get any new projects done beforehand.
My to do list is getting longer.
Now is the perfect time for Spongey to sneak something by the people. The news media will not be paying attention. His handlers are probably foaming at the mouth, Pelosi perfectly giddy, figuring out what they can sneak under the radar.
I hope it did not say “Danger Will Robinson”.
She struck me as rather calm, reasonably intelligent, concern for her position, responsive to her duties, an overall good person that was not pompous other than what her duties required. One of the few world leaders I would have much liked to meet in person.
Mowing completed. I did a lot more than my yard. The land behind me is owned by the church next to me. Small membership. Their property has not been mowed in about four weeks. I suspect money is a problem. So I mowed the land behind my property so it looks decent. Only takes about 30 minutes and a gallon of gas.
The neighbor across the street is gone somewhere for a few days. His property has not been mowed in a couple of weeks. He mows with a walk behind 22″ Honda mower. The grass was high enough that it would be a difficult task for the small mower and would take a couple of passes. So I mowed his area for him while he is away. There is rain for the next four or five days and his grass would get really tall. I have done so before. Once he injured his hand and could not mow for a couple of months so I mowed for him. I also mowed once this summer when his grass was really high. Only takes about 30 minutes and gallon of gas.
Both areas easy enough to do with a commercial 46″ ZTR mower. For both places I did two passes as the grass was tall enough to leave little spikes. The second pass was at 45 degrees to the first pass, and 45 degrees facing the road. Mulching of course with no trace of grass clippings anywhere. The advantage of a commercial mower.
The 6.2 was the outlier which happened because I went in for blood work the day after my anniversary.
The doctors just watch the number for now.
No way on the hormones. One of the Bat Guano neighbors in Florida, an HOA Board member, was on that stuff, and I can’t describe his behavior using any other adjective than “b*tchy”.
No way on the hormones. One of the Bat Guano neighbors in Florida, an HOA Board member, was on that stuff, and I can’t describe his behavior using any other adjective than “b*tchy”.
Taking female hormones for prostate cancer
The last one is the worst of course.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2022/sep/05/burning-forests-energy-renewable-eu-wood-climate
no more of that stinky fossil fuel.
and public safety? so what…
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/09/08/vancouvers-new-virtue-signaling-fire-engine-useless-but-at-least-it-wont-wake-the-neighbours-up/
The 6.2 was the outlier which happened because I went in for blood work the day after my anniversary.
The doctors just watch the number for now.
I take it there are no robin’s eggs on the prostate during the digital exam ?
My buddy went from PSA of 1.0 to 9.0 in one year (2018). Now he no longer has a prostate. And he does not wear a diaper anymore (he wore a diaper for three months as he peed when he laughed or coughed). His PSA is 0.01 now. Yes, they are monitoring his PSA since you can get prostate cancer outside the prostate.
@Lynn
If the cat goes out make hime a bolthole—cover too low for coyotes to enter.
Do you have a window at elevation that overlooks the yard? IR illuminator, scope, and subsonic ammo. Just sayin.
@Jenny
Number the rafters with a big marker and map the attic before the insulation goes in.
We insulated a metal building a few years ago. Ceiling and blown in insul. Built a 2’ wide walkway decked in osb right down the center, and marked locations of electrical and garage door openers right on the osb.
@Lynn
If the cat goes out make hime a bolthole—cover too low for coyotes to enter.
Do you have a window at elevation that overlooks the yard? IR illuminator, scope, and subsonic ammo. Just sayin.
He actually goes in the detached garage and sits on the old recliner I have out in the garage when he gets stuck outside for the night. If I go looking for him at 2am in the house and cannot find him then I go out to the garage.
His feet are about 1.5 inches across and his switchblades are ¾ inch long. Anything messing with him is in for a world of hurt. His problem is that he is slow, our 30 lb Schnaupin is much faster than him but, she respects his twenty switchblades very much.
“Red Planet Blues” by Robert J. Sawyer
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Planet-Blues-Robert-Sawyer/dp/0425256413?tag=ttgnet-20/
A standalone space opera private detective book, no sequel or prequel that I know of. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2013. Note that this novel is an expansion of Sawyer’s Hugo and Nebula nominated novella “Identity Theft”.
Alex Lomax is the only private detective on Mars. He lives and practices in Klondike, the domed city on Mars in the large valley where the Martian fossils are found. The fossils sell for huge amounts on Earth since they are so rare. Many of the fossil hunters are moving their consciousnesses to android bodies since they do not have to wear space suits for prospecting. And the murder rate is going up quickly.
The author has a website at
https://sfwriter.com/
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars (166 reviews)
“Backblaze Rides the Nautilus Data Center Wave”
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-rides-the-nautilus-data-center-wave/
“On the outside and on the inside, our newest data center (DC) is more than a little different: there are no cooling towers chugging on the roof, no chillers, or coolants at all. No, we’re not doing a drive stats experiment on how well data centers run at 54° Celsius. This data center, owned and developed by Nautilus Data Technologies, is nice and cool inside. Built with a unique mix of proven maritime and industrial water-cooling technologies that use river water to cool everything inside—racks, servers, switches, and people—this new DC is innovative, environmentally awesome, secure, fascinating, and other such words and phrases, all rolled into one. And it just happens to be located on a barge on a river in California.”
OK, this is a very wild data center.
BREAKING: Twitter paid $7M to whistleblower in June
https://hotair.com/headlines/2022/09/08/breaking-twitter-paid-7m-to-whistleblower-in-june-n495265
sniff, sniff
Is there a tang of copper in the air?
Penny stock time approaching?
Does Twitter’s universe-wide HQ have any C-suite windows that open?
@Lynn
So they built it on a barge and dump waste heat to the river?
Why or why do I suspect that it is only a matter of months before the green weinies propose a tax?
@Lynn
You liked it less than A avg and rated it lower than most of your reviews.
Why?
Haven’t read it myself, just curious. I’ve read some of Sawyer, and have the intention of gathering all of his books at some point and reading them all. But if this one doesn’t measure up for one reason or another, I may pass.
@Lynn
Kitteh!
No.
And let all this uncomfortable messaging be a lesson to you kids – get everything checked out now. Even without total societal collapse, access to medical care will get tighter.
It won’t be long before you wish you were waiting to hear “Your nurse practitioner will see you now.”
Or even “Your pharmacist will see you now.”
You liked it less than A avg and rated it lower than most of your reviews.
Why?
Haven’t read it myself, just curious. I’ve read some of Sawyer, and have the intention of gathering all of his books at some point and reading them all. But if this one doesn’t measure up for one reason or another, I may pass.
Don’t pass. It just starts real slow. At the ¾ point, it is really moving.
And it is mostly hard science except for the Martial fossils and the body transference. It is set about 80 or 100 years in the future as the domed city is about 40 years old.
The book takes a real hard look at whether or not to transfer your consciousness to a plastic and steel android body. After all, it is a one way trip. That alone is worth a look.
BTW, I am trying to cut back my five star reviews. But four stars is still a good, above average book. I actually think that I rate a star too high as I have about twenty six star books. But then there is the xkcd statement on ratings.
https://xkcd.com/1098/
Don’t pass on any Robert Sawyer book. His thinking on many of these subjects is very sideways and causes you to go “huh”.
If Twitter faked the numbers, they all did. That’s why the rest of The Valley is rallying behind Twitter against Musk.
A lot of pensions and 401(k) plans are invested in the big tech stocks.
Disabled persons in Portland whose access to the sidewalks they require for mobility has been impaired by homeless people and their shiite have filed an ADA lawsuit against the Portland city government:
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/09/08/will-this-ada-lawsuit-in-portland-take-down-the-homeless-industrial-complex-n495255
No.
And let all this uncomfortable messaging be a lesson to you kids – get everything checked out now. Even without total societal collapse, access to medical care will get tighter.
The guys here need to hear this as several of them are older than me. My grandfather did not go see a doctor until he was peeing blood. His surgery was a freaking disaster, I remember that day well, my 35 year mother came home crying from hospital where they told her that he MIGHT make it through the night. He made it and lived five years but his quality of life was poor, very poor.
I figure that out of pocket expenses for medical stuff will be doubling over the next year and then double again. Medical costs have been held down by Medicare and Medicaid. The doctors and hospitals are just about ready to say screw that. My 65 year old doctor friend just retired last month, he had a big sign in his waiting room, “No Medicare Allowed”. And he put up that sign a decade ago.
+1.
Maybe the new hot stock will be a company doing video surveillance of pale sweaty billionaire’s offices.
Is Splat!.com available?
@Lynn,
A PSA of 1.4 is still pretty low, and a four-year doubling period is pretty slow. What you have described so far is a simple linear progression, which is good. Your doctor is paying attention to it, which is also good, especially considering your family history. More frequent monitoring is good. Watch the trend — if the rate of change starts increasing, that is bad. Don’t be spooked by occasional spikes, they do happen. Some activities should be avoided in the days before your PSA test to prevent it from reading higher than it should. A good reference is here: https://www.pcf.org/blog/what-are-some-other-causes-of-a-high-psa/
There has been tremendous progress in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment in the past ten years. Surgery is now only one of many options. Urological oncologists like surgery. Radiation oncologists like radiation. Medical oncologists like chemicals. If it ever comes to that point, don’t let yourself get rushed down a particular treatment path, take the time to research and evaluate them all.
If you reach the point where your doctor wants you to have a prostate biopsy, DON’T have a trans-rectal biopsy, and DON’T have a “blind” biopsy. DO insist on a 3T (or better) parametric MRI first. DO insist on a fusion biopsy (https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/fusion-biopsy) and DO insist on it being a transperineal biopsy, preferably with full anesthesia.
I had a DRE as part of my annual physical when I turned 50. It was unremarkable. A blood test for PSA was not included, and in hindsight, that was a mistake. Four years later, when I did get a PSA test, the result was off the top of the scale and I was already stage IVb, with many distant lymph node mets and many distant bone mets. Treatable, but not curable. Five-year survival rate for metastatic prostate cancer is 31%. Learn from my example, and don’t let the cancer get that far along.
This is not quite correct. The therapy is not “taking female hormones.”
First generation Androgen Deprivation Therapy for prostate cancer interferes with the hormonal signaling chains from the pituitary gland that govern the production of androgens. In men, it suppresses testosterone. In women, it suppresses estrogen.
I am on two layers of ADT. Lupron (https://www.drugs.com/lupron.html) shots every three months, and Zytiga (https://www.drugs.com/zytiga.html).
I started Lupron 40 months ago, closely followed by a short course of chemotherapy (Taxotere). A year later Zytiga was added to the regimen, along with another short course of chemo (Jevtana).
The side effects of ADT are unpleasant, but it is doing what I need it to do. My PSA has been below 0.10 for a 18 months now, and at 0.01 for the past 12 months. I’m pretty confident that I’ll see 2023, and I’m starting to think I might beat that 5-year mark.
There is another type of ADT that works a little differently, it blocks the androgen receptor sites on the surface of the prostate cells. An example is Xtandi (https://www.drugs.com/xtandi.html). When my PSA starts to rise again someday, that is one possible option for me.
One very common side effect of ADT is muscle loss and fat gain. This is not the same as gynecomastia. However, a small percentage of men do develop gynecomastia, and there are treatments for that.
Most definitely. I have had real trouble with this.
Most definitely. My testosterone test usually comes back at “<10” now. Which means the ADT is definitely working, but still…. Sigh.
Finasteride is a androgen antagonist not a female hormone. It reduced my PSA levels significantly. But my prostate is cancerous. Currently we are doing the “watchful waiting” procedure. I am in no rush for surgery or radiation. I was told that, after surgery, most men regain continence within a year, but men with Parkinson’s never do. Both my father and his brother (my uncle) had Parkinson’s and I’ve been losing fine motor control over the last few years.
In general, my health over the last few years has been “interesting” when I would rather it be boring. Who knew getting old could be so interesting? What I will say is that the medical care that I have received here has been as good as I would get anywhere.
I’ll be 78 at the end of October and I’m curious to see what will happen next.
Just saw dcp’s comment. My tumor is still confined to the prostate. Hence only watching. A trans-rectal biopsy is indeed a brutal procedure. An MRI is now considered the “Gold standard” for locating tumors.
@Lynn
It all depends on what the scale is and whose doing the ratings.
Most of the 1-star reviews I’ve seen on Am0zone are: “I ordered this book a month ago and still don’t have it.” Flipping idiot using a review system designed by flipping idiots.
I browse 100 books in a physical bookstore.
I reject authors that write crap, but YMMV.
I reject plots that don’t interest me, again, YMMV.
I reject authors that can’t or won’t edit and sell it by the pound–I don’t need to name them.
Most fantasy is crap, pass.
I read a few pages, then buy three books. At this point, I’m likely to read them all completely, or be really ticked off that I got fooled.
So if I started with 100 and reject 97, what’s the baseline for the 3 books I read? Is it a 4.0? What gets a 5.0–book a year, book a decade, book of a lifetime, absolute must read?
[Lynn, I know you’ve posted your 6-star and perhaps yur 5-star list. Do you have a link?]
I probably picked up L.E. Modesitt’s books 100 times and laid them back down. Then I was gifted the first book in the Imager Portfolio, got hooked, and have read them all. Went back and tried the Recluce series, forewarned with a bit of knowledge about the structure, and enjoyed them, mostly. Tried his science fiction and found no winners. Couldn’t get through the first book of the Corean Chronicles, which read like 100 other books written from the same 2-page plot summary. Quit Spellsong somewhere in the third book. Bought but couldn’t get interested in the Ghost series.
So if I was going to review LEMjr’s books, how would I do it? How would I rate him as an author?
I used to get Stereo Review. About once a year they did a tape guide that rated RtR and cassette tapes on a multi-part scale that was presented as a circular plot with each sector representing a different evaluated property.
I suspect that a useful rating scale would be similar.
Since that ain’t going to happen, I’ll settle for taking recommendations from readers, reviewers, and authors that seem to have tastes similar to mine. And the product pages on Amazon “also viewed” feature, as well as a similar feature on Fantastic Fiction, have proven useful sometimes.
I used to visit bookstores all over the U.S when I was traveling a lot. Some became regular stops. At one such in Miami the owner gave me a paperback and told me I would like it. He was right–it was the first Doc Ford novel. I can cite a handful of similar instances where the recommendation came from a bookstore owner or an author. Unfortunately, I just don’t travel or go to conventions much anymore, and I’ve lost most of those contacts.
@dcp and @Rolf Grunsky – Thanks for the info and both of you keep up the good fight!
“Sanibel Flats”. All of the locations in the book really exist around Pine Island Sound in Florida except the marina was closed to power boats in the 80s, the motivation for Randy Wayne White to go to work for the News-Press and, later, write the books.
There is even a chain of Doc Ford restaurants. White frequents the one on Sanibel if you make a pilgrimage. Pricey but really good. However, a trip to Cabbage Key — still owned by the Wells family — should be the priority if you are out that way.
[Lynn, I know you’ve posted your 6-star and perhaps yur 5-star list. Do you have a link?]
Lynn’s six star (or top ten) list from Jan 2022:
1. “Mutineer’s Moon” by David Weber
2. “Citizen Of The Galaxy” by Robert Heinlein
3. “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein
4. “The Star Beast” by Robert Heinlein
5. “Shards Of Honor” by Lois McMaster Bujold
6. “Jumper” by Steven Gould
7. “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling
8. “Emergence” by David Palmer
9. “The Tar-Aiym Krang” by Alan Dean Foster
10. “Under A Graveyard Sky” by John Ringo
11. “Live Free Or Die” by John Ringo
12. “Footfall” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
13. “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
14. “The Zero Stone” by Andre Norton
15. “Going Home” by A. American
16. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
17. “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline
18. “The Martian” by Andy Weir
19. “The Postman” by David Brin
20. “We Are Legion” by Dennis E. Taylor
21. “Bitten” by Kelley Armstrong
22. “Moon Called” by Patrica Briggs
23. “Red Thunder” by John Varley
I probably picked up L.E. Modesitt’s books 100 times and laid them back down. Then I was gifted the first book in the Imager Portfolio, got hooked, and have read them all. Went back and tried the Recluce series, forewarned with a bit of knowledge about the structure, and enjoyed them, mostly. Tried his science fiction and found no winners. Couldn’t get through the first book of the Corean Chronicles, which read like 100 other books written from the same 2-page plot summary. Quit Spellsong somewhere in the third book. Bought but couldn’t get interested in the Ghost series.
So if I was going to review LEMjr’s books, how would I do it? How would I rate him as an author?
Not very high. I have only read a couple of his non-fantasy books:
The Forever Hero: Dawn for a Distant Earth, The Silent Warrior, In Endless Twilight
Haze
The One-Eyed Man: A Fugue, With Winds and Accompaniment
I made the pilgrimage to Slip F-18. Didn’t do much for me. Read the last McGee on vacation in Florida, just about ten years to the day after JDM’s death. Reading “A Friendship” didn’t diminish his books, but it sure took the shine off the author for me.
@Lynn
Recommend MacDonald’s “The House Guests” if you’ve never read it. First published in 1965. Caution: Meezers ahead.
Modesitt: Try Imager.
Police are reporting that two people have been shot in the area of Uvalde Memorial Park at about 5:30 p.m. local time, according to KENS 5.
It is not clear at this point what the condition of the victims is. The police are hunting for two suspects in the shooting.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/09/08/breaking-multiple-people-shot-in-uvalde-tx-police-n624838
[Lynn, I know you’ve posted your 6-star and perhaps yur 5-star list. Do you have a link?]
Here are the 900+ books that I have reviewed over the last 20+ years.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AGJZ2IAEX5W6JZX5A5UCJTD44I3A?preview=true&tag=ttgnet-20
Here is a professional SF and Fantasy reviewer. James currently charges $100 for a review. He has won Hugos for his reviews. James has a mission to promote women SF authors also.
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/reviews
James occasionally goes off on a tangent such as “50 Nortons in 50 weeks”:
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/reviews/project/50-nortons-in-50-weeks
@Lynn
Thanks. I’ll put those links somewhere I can find them again…
@Lynn
How do I get more of your reviews? I don’t see a paging option at the bottom.
Of the 23 books you list above, I’ve read 15, “Emergence” is on my reading pile from your earlier recommendation, and I am aware of 7 but have not read them for one reason or another. (i.e., low tolerance for fantasy in general and witches in particular)
Before I ask about any books that are not on your list, but which would be on mine if I made a similar list, I thought I would check your reviews. So the second question: Is there a way to search them?
A question for the Hive Mind:
Does anyone know how to prevent MS Word and OO Writer from running amuck with numbered lists, aka “Can I just turn it the flock off?”
I pulled a copy of Lynn’s 23 best sf books and plunked it into OOW. If I try to reorder them and keep the original numbering, it insists on adding some hierarchal level b.s. I can kludge it by copying a line at a time then highlighting and deleting. Is there a way to just turn it off and make it dumb like MS Word 4?
@Rick H
Thanks, Rick.
Looked interesting, but I don’t do Farcebook.
I did stop at jep.com. Looking at the sidebar with the Chaos Manor Twitter posts, it’s evident that although the posting may be done by Jerry’s family, they don’t actually know dick about Jerry’s voice, so I’m done with that.
@drwilliams, I use wordpad. It does 99% of everything I need without all the automagical stuff.
You could two step the list into text, reorder, then repaste into word for formatting.
This editor here in the comment box does obnoxious things like turning a dash into a dot if it’s the first character of a line, but a double dash becomes an emdash… and it turns three periods into the ellipsis character. It messes with quotation marks too, and doesn’t behave consistently with ctrl-i for italic… so I’m really glad I don’t have to use anything more complex, like word. 🙂
Which might all add something to the discussion or not, but doesn’t answer your question. I know…
n
>> Which might all add something to the discussion or not, but doesn’t answer your question. I know…
Another ‘non-answer’… I find it easier to muck around with lists in Excel and either just keep them there or cut/paste to Word if needed.
Before I ask about any books that are not on your list, but which would be on mine if I made a similar list, I thought I would check your reviews. So the second question: Is there a way to search them?
I don’t know. That webpage on Amazon will scroll forever but you have to give it time. Lots of time. As you scroll to the bottom it will add more and more reviews.
@Nick, @Alan
I can fake it out by using search and replace to make the first character of each line an “L”, then I have Lynn’s numbers preserved and I can move the lines around without the problem.
But I’d like to be able to just turn it off.
A review from 2016, “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History”
https://www.amazon.com/Isaacs-Storm-Deadliest-Hurricane-History/dp/0375708278?tag=ttgnet-20
“Freestanding book, no prequels, no sequels.”
“I loved this book. Does an excellent job of telling you how your life can turn upside down in 48 hours with little or no notice.”
“Just remember when you climbing up in a tree to escape the flooding, a bear, or a crazy neighbor, there might be something waiting for you who was there first. Like 12 rattlesnakes.”
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (5,253 reviews)
Modesitt – I enjoyed his Recluce series, although the plots get a bit predictable. Unfortunately, his later series just recycle the plot lines with different characters.
More on crabapples and our harvest:
A friend and husband lopped a major limb from the dolgo crabapple, which was shading the better apple tree. The better apple tree produces fewer apples as a result of this shade. It was a hefty limb high in the structure of the Dolgo.
Friend is a chain saw wielding fearless tree climbing force of nature. After relaying uncles two cents, “don’t use a ladder that’s dangerous”, friend made his nimble way up the fifty year old trunk and set to work.
Manly activity ensued.
A short while later the offending limb was on the ground, in pieces, and they’d moved on to the birch which also shades the better apple tree. Limbs came down, chainsaw merrily whined, sawdust flew.
A fine time was had by all. Bourbon and coffee were duly enjoyed. Welcome after the cold of the pouring rain.
I harvested ten gallons of crab apples from the downed limb. Sent some juice from this mornings press and the first couple gallons of apples I’d harvested home with friend.
Rabbits each received a generous helping of twigs and leaves. Six kindled today, eight kits, and was most appreciative of the special treat.
If I had a bit more energy I’d wash and press the apples tonight. They’ll hold till morning.
We are reminded daily of our many blessings. We give thanks for our friends and gifts God has given us. The world is a discouraging place, these moments of light lift our spirits and hearts and give us something good and whole to carry us through darker times.
@drwillianms
insulation, osb, marking
Will do. I appreciate your wisdom.
I have Word 365 running, but similar options should be in earlier versions:
File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options → AutoFormatAsYouType Tab
Turn off (untick) Automatically Bulleted Lists & Automatically Numbered Lists.
Works for me 🙂
@whitehorse, thanks! I knew someone would have a real answer. The knowledge pool is deep and wide…
n