Cool and nice, getting hotter later. But NOW it feels like fall is here. Wouldn’t get 65F in summer… it did get hot later in the day yesterday but oh my that morning was glorious.
Did stuff all day long but it doesn’t feel like I got much actual work done. Sometimes that’s just the way it is.
Today I’ve got more stuff to do, pickups, shopping for stuff for the BOL, and organizing. There are a couple of things I need to get done before going out of town for another week, and possibly two.
Meanwhile the pace and intensity of conflict in the world is picking up. I know it’s sky falling all the time, I’ve been reading old posts from a year ago, and more. Hard to time the markets, and hard to predict when things will go kinetic. But we have an aggressor, who has stated plainly and repeatedly that nuclear weapons are an option. We have an attack on his national assets, for no reason that seems to make a bit of sense, but which will certainly cause other actions and reactions. This same aggressor has instituted some sort of draft, which is NOT the action of someone who thinks they’ll be done fighting in a month or two. As a nation we are weaker than we’ve been in a lifetime. We’ve given away and expended an awful lot of ordinance that is not easily replaced, weakened our military and its leaders, and don’t have a President who can even put on his own coat, let alone lead in a global conflict. Our populace is divided, our economy is foundering. We are on the verge of open conflict within and without.
The elephants are dancing and this mouse is going to hide… It could be a day or a month or a year away, but we’re on a path to serious disruption. Not sure what form it will take, but it will be big. Everything is building toward SOMETHING happening. Don’t try to time it.
Stack more stuff, while you can.
nick
Zojirushi. We bought the last one from the Tar-jay web site, but you might get a deal at an Asian market locally.
I’m not an extended warranty fan in general, but 72 months is a long time. Consider it if any major part of the vehicle will go out of warranty before the loan is paid off.
Yup, hence the “referendums”. He wants to claim parts of the Ukraine are actually Russia, because he is legally justified in using nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory. It’s a very tattered fig leaf, probably meant entirely for internal propaganda purposes. Beyond that, Putin obviously doesn’t care.
The military analysis I have seen expects – if he drops a nuke – for him to start by “testing” a nuke over the Black Sea. If that doesn’t intimidate the Ukraine into abject surrender (and it won’t), his next step would be to use a tactical nuke or two on the battlefield.
And if that happens, life becomes…interesting. Using nukes would be the final confirmation that Putin has lost his grip on reality. If internal Russian forces don’t take Putin out, it’s a safe bet that some external power will (attempt) to do so.
The ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.”
Inexpensive rice cooker:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KFPZ1MF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=ttgnet-20
and the Insta-Pot has a “Rice” button, too. Versatile machine.
59F this morning! Sun coming up. 77%RH is still pretty damp.
WRT instapot rice, following the directions it was hard and undercooked and took just about the same time as boiling in a pot on the stove. I’m not really an instapot fan. I see a lot of them at goodwill.
n
Mine is very repeatable with rice after a small water adjustment. In the 8-quart: For Sam’s jasmine rice 4 cups rice, 4 cups plus ¼ cup water, and hit the”Rice” button. Other types of rice will require some adjustment in water, and if you’re more than about 1000 ft above sea level, you may need to add a minute.
The main advantage is absolutely no babysitting. It does not need attention and I can work on the rest of the meal. It also keeps the rice warm, although I’ve found it does that best if I unplug it when I take the lid off, so it doesn’t dry out at the bottom.
At some point I’ll circle back and do spaghetti. My first and only try was not successful.
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/09/27/the-first-lawsuit-challenging-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-plan/
No one has seen any paper documenting the exact plan beyond talking points about justification for the action from Department of Education.
What are the libs going to do if Biden doesn’t go through with it after the midterm debacle? Vote for DeSantis in 2024?
Palate cleanser from the news of the day:
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/09/john_cena_just_set_an_admirable_world_record.html
Running America on Imaginary Technology
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/09/running_america_on_imaginary_technology.html
A follow-up to the EV discussion a few days ago.
Many similar points including:
ADDED:
No indication where the 145,000 number comes from, but it is within the range implied by the current number of gas stations (over 100,000) being replaced by EV charging stations with one-sixth the capacity–i.e., more stations, bigger stations, or a combination.
@Alan: I use a 2 cup Dash rice cooker, a slightly earlier model of this:
https://www.amazon.com/DRCM200GBPK04-Steamer-Removable-Nonstick-Function/dp/B07DTPC1QB?th=1&tag=ttgnet-20
It works fast and is fire-and-forget.
I admit I haven’t checked that it actually draws only 200w.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that Warren Buffett is consolidating control of Flying-J/Pilot while simultaneously pitching building spare gas turbine generator capacity in Texas on the government’s dime.
We’ll know more about what he has in mind once the truck/travel stop chain is 100% controlled by BH and the founding family members still in management are sent packing.
2024 IIRC. Say, is that another not coincidence? ….
I tend to use fueling options with better food, even if I’m not buying food.
Electric trucks with longer charging times won’t impact driver schedules that are already constrained by hour limitations, and probably a minor inconvenience from a charge reservation system similar to that used for showers. But upgrading the electrical capacity is a big consideration, and the longer time to charge vs. refuel has to require more square footage.
Buffet and his people are fully cognizant of the improbability of achieving more than a fraction of the EV adoption without running into serious constraints of electrical generation and transmission capacity and material shortages. I’d like to see their internal reports.
looking at the Center for the American Experiment’s “Tracking the Feeding Our Future Fraud” webinar:
John Hinderaker hosting Bill Glahn
Indictments of 49 persons last week alleging $250 million fraud is the “floor”. 3 escaped the country. 2 in jail as known flight risks. Majority released on their own recognizance.
Up to $500 million total and more indictments on the way.
This is the biggest single fraud discovered–so far.
Feeding our Future (since dissolved) was an umbrella non-profit organization which was supposed to be doing the oversight for dozens to hundreds of smaller non-profits, making sure that all requirements were being met. Their cut was 10-15% of the money they dispersed, but they were also getting bribes/kickbacks. The principle and her boyfriend are the primary figures in the case.
Two other umbrella nonprofits “Partners in Nutrition” and “Gargar Family Services” are currently involved, but others will probably be investigated.
FBI has recovered about 20% of the $250 million.
Among the items seized was an Excel spreadsheet that contains random name and age generators used to fabricate the rosters.
Overwhelmingly Somali/eastern Africa related. The deputy administrator of FOF has fled the country and was traced to Mogadishu. Strong connections to government officials including Ilhan Omar, Aide to Minneapolis mayor (indicted), Minneapolis dept appointee (indicted). Several others arrested while trying to flee the country.
No oversight of Feeding Our Future.
Claims by state officials regarding litigation were subject of unprecedented refutation by the judge in the case. No intelligent person reading the transcript could come to the conclusion that Governor Walz was telling the truth (paraphrasing Hinderaker). Note that their was no allegation of fraud alleged in the litigation.
The federal program regulations were poorly written and the oversight is minimal.
Glahn has previous state legislative experience with much smaller state government grants and listed the simple due diligence for documentation/registrations that they did with applicants, all seemed perfectly reasonable.
Astonishing lack of documentation required wrt invoices, expenditures, records of attendence, etc.
The execrable liar MN AG Keith Ellison is claiming that he can’t comment due to “attorney client confidentiality”, begging the question as to who he considers his client.
Predictably, the Minneapolis Star Tribune is running full interference to minimize the political fallout for Democrats. Their latest is a claim that the payments were resumed after the FBI told the state to do so as to not compromise their investigation–even though payments resumed before an investigation was opened.
No information on whether any state government employees were involved in any of the indictments so far, but a number of those involved in the fraud made hefty contributions to politicians.
Wizard of Id: The Future Of Language
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2022/09/28
Yup.
“Friday” By Robert A. Heinlein with introduction by Richard Chwedyk
https://www.amazon.com/Friday-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1647100259?tag=ttgnet-20/
The second book of a rare two book science fiction series by Heinlein. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Richard Chwedyk in 2021 and written by Heinlein in 1981. I bought this copy new on Amazon, I also have a 1982 MMPB copy that I do not remember reading back then.
The world of “Gulf” and “Friday” is way different from ours. Many things are much more advanced yet the population of Earth is significantly reduced due to constant wars and diseases. People can travel to the Moon and the stars using the beanstalks but travel locally using horses and carriages. Plus ballistic travel between the continents from place to place in 30 minutes is common. Anti-gravity devices are used but incredibly expensive. And the USA has been broken up into several nation states along with Canada and others. And there are several colonies in other star systems using huge FTL space ships, much like the old ocean liners that carried both humans and cargo.
Friday Jones Baldwin is the biological daughter of the two secret agents who died at the end of “Gulf” on Luna preventing the immolation of Earth, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Greene. Of course, Friday’s genes were significantly enhanced for intelligence, strength, speed, and disease resistance. And plus some genes from Kettle Belly “Two Canes” Baldwin, her adopted father and her boss. Due to to the common saying, “her mother was a test tube, her father was a sharp knife”, Friday is an artificial person with almost no rights and not a human. But nobody knows that Friday is an artificial person as Kettle Belly adopted her and created birth records for her. Unless, she tells her secret.
Friday is a combat ready courier and secret agent. Her enhanced speed, strength, and training make her a formidable courier for moving valuable materials in the dangerous world that Heinlein has built. She can kill without remorse and loves freely, way too freely. In fact, Heinlein brought his concept of group marriages to “Friday” that he wrote about in “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”. He even destroys a group marriage to show how easily they can break up also.
As always, Heinlein dedicated this book to his friends and this book is dedicated to thirty-one strong ladies, including Roberta Pournelle, Judy-Lynn Del Rey, Ginny (his wife), Marilyn Niven, Joan De Vinge, Catherine Sprague de Camp, etc.
https://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/dedications.html
Warning, both “Gulf” and “Friday” have very detailed torture scenes in them. The descriptions are quite breathtaking.
The Heinlein apologist, Hugo and Nebula award winning author Jo Walton says this about “Friday” in a 2009 review, “The worst book I love: Robert Heinlein’s Friday”. She complains that there is no plot but to me, the best plot is just life.
https://www.tor.com/2009/06/14/the-worst-book-i-love-robert-heinleins-friday/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,044 reviews)
“When disaster came, I bet on Elon Musk over my local government”
https://www.sovereignman.com/international-diversification-strategies/when-disaster-came-i-bet-on-elon-musk-over-my-local-government-37667/
“Last week, Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, knocking out power to the entire island. Over a week later, nearly 25% of the island is still without power, including dozens of local hospitals. Puerto Rico’s power grid has been notoriously unreliable for years; in fact when Hurricane Maria blasted the island in 2017, the electrical grid was down for months. This prompted the US federal government to shovel more than $30 billion in aid to Puerto Rico, which is a prodigious sum for an island of just 3 million people— it works out to be $10,000 for every man, woman, and child in Puerto Rico.”
“And out of that $30 billion, $12.8 billion was specifically set aside to fix the electrical infrastructure. To put that figure in context, $12.8 billion should have been enough money to build new power plants, from scratch, that would have had enough capacity to power the entire island. And yet, five years later, the electrical grid is even more unreliable and precarious thanks to endless government incompetence and widespread corruption.”
“Intel and Samsung are getting ready for ‘slidable’ PCs”
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/27/23375102/intel-samsung-display-slidable-pc-concept
OK, those screens are interesting and neat. So, if you want bigger screens, just pull them open.
But, looks like an answer in search of a question.
The Haunted Mansion’s next upgrade. Animated portraits in the stretching room.
The OpenGL “Hitchhiking Ghosts” upgrade in Florida is very cool. Sadly, Florida did not have the Hatbox Ghost as of the last time we went.
BTW, Florida and Tokyo move the ceiling up while California stretches with the floor moving down.
Greg Norton:
In most of Florida, the water table is no more than 10-15 feet down. MUCH easier to build up.
Running America on Imaginary Technology
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/09/running_america_on_imaginary_technology.html
A follow-up to the EV discussion a few days ago.
Many similar points including:
ADDED:
No indication where the 145,000 number comes from, but it is within the range implied by the current number of gas stations (over 100,000) being replaced by EV charging stations with one-sixth the capacity–i.e., more stations, bigger stations, or a combination.
BTW, here is a complication. As the federal government subsidized electric stations multiply and the total electric vehicles multiply, the number of gasoline and diesel stations will start to reduce due to reducing number of customers. At some point, driving a gasoline or a diesel vehicle may become difficult as you have to plan trips around refueling.
The ride building is also within the perimeter of the park, marked by the railroad tracks and moving the ceiling up is much easier in general.
Tokyo just recycled the Florida blueprints.
Isn’t that the ultimate goal? Make IC vehicles so inconvenient people will not purchase the vehicles. I would even guess that at some point anyone with an IC vehicle will only be able to park at the far reaches of any parking lot.
Hmm…the Weather Channel is still running commercials…yeah, the on-air correspondents aren’t gonna get much wetter just standing around getting rained on.
I may be crazy. Though “stupid” works. I bought this:
https://www.newegg.com/neosmay-ac8-jasper-lake/p/2SW-006Y-00003
Current PC has 6 GB RAM and I’ve never noticed it swapping. 16 GB should be good. There’s an 8 GB model but after looking at Crucial, it’s a wash.as far as the price. It can handle 32 GB but I didn’t see anything about how many slots for memory. I ‘ll find out when I open the case.
512 GB for the drive? There’s a slot for a PCIe drive. Win7 says I’m using 290 GB on my current 1TB drive. I have network shares if needed for more storage.
WiFi 6 is an unknown. Doesn’t matter. The wi-fi here is the 2.4 stuff and this new machine is going to jack into the Ethernet.
Then off to Big River for a few things. Got to save stuff up for free shipping after dropping Prime. A ps/2 to USB gizmo is pretty cheap. We’ll see if it actually works.
I’m not sure about Win 11 Pro. Because I like Win7.
I’ll worry about a DVD burner later. Along with a memory card reader. I don’t use either very much… kind of like VHS tapes.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL092022_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/145524_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png
So, landfall at Fort Myers plus 100 miles north and 100 miles south ?
140 mph winds are going to do some damage. I have yet to see the storm surge height.
I’m not sure about Win 11 Pro. Because I like Win7.
Windows 10 if you want to run TurboTax or a few other apps that limit themselves.
https://twitter.com/zachcoveytv/status/1575219137734795264
Yup, Fort Myers is getting trashed.
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
“Monstrous EIGHTEEN FOOT storm surge swallows Fort Myers and leaves hundreds of families clinging to their rooftops: Record-breaking Hurricane Ian leaves one million without power and sends tsunami of flood water crashing up West Coast”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11250413/Ian-strengthens-Category-1-hurricane-nears-Cuba-NHC.html
18 foot storm surge sucks. Hurricane Ike was 24 foot here in 2008. It really sucked.
I doubt EVs will reach that kind of critical mass before people get cranky about the limitations.
Most of the population flat-out cannot afford a $50,000 vehicle using the old school rules of thumb that are going to come back into fashion as the lenders get pickier and 2% loans disappear.
Mortgage rates are 7% and going higher. Gotta wonder what car paper is like right now.
Naples and Sanibel/Captiva are serious quiet money. They will get rebuilt quickly in places where it is needed, but the existing construction is generally first class.
The question mark is how bad Lee County looks on the mainland.
With the West Coast of Florida south of Tampa, the hurricane evacuation area is generally anything west of I-75/US-41. I-75 wasn’t pushed south of Tampa until the 70s.
I remember the FEMA trailers after Charley remaining in place for several years, parked at the airport in Charlotte County, just north of Fort Myers. The trailers looked pretty bad at the end of the run, and, unbelievably, people bid on taking them when the government sold off what was left, formaldehyde problems and all.
Tampa dodged another bullet today. I’m not sure that is a good thing.
Mortgage rates are 7% and going higher. Gotta wonder what car paper is like right now.
Alan’s son got 3.75% for 72 months yesterday from his credit union.
“Used car market evidently still somewhat askew. My kid closed a used car loan today from his credit union at 3.75% for 72 months for a slightly used Hyundai Palisade with three row seating. I guess an 835 FICO doesn’t hurt. Car was on the lot for about four hours and they already had a backup offer. ”
The question is how many people are going to die.
After the storm we already know that any opportunity to reassess where shiite gets built will be ignored.
I run TurboTax without any issues on both of my W11 PRO machines.
Give it a month, after the election.
Windows 11 on my T420 is kinda-sorta a bust. I got the beast to install, but a lot of the OS upgrades would not proceed because the security module updates would not happen without the TPM and Secure Boot.
Not every science experiment works. The laptop has a Windows 7 Pro license, Windows 10 Pro digital license, and runs just about any Linux distribution without a hitch.
The “Windy” site has a hurricane tracker – via the little hurricane icon upper right corner.
Shows the projected path heading directly through Orlando and then Daytona beach before curving out into the ocean, then curving back to cross Savannah, GA.
“Tesla To Employ Thousands Of Its “Humanoid Robots” In Its Factories”
https://cleantechnica.com/2022/09/28/tesla-plans-to-use-thousands-of-its-humanoid-robots-in-its-factories/
Well, this reminds me of a book. “I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov. I wonder if Tesla is programming the Three Laws into the robots ?
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
Wait until Amazon puts them into their warehouses and they demand a union vote.
Lizzo borrowed a priceless crystal flute that belonged to James Madison from Library of Congress
https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2022/09/28/lizzo-borrowed-a-priceless-crystal-flute-that-belonged-to-james-madison-from-library-of-congress-n499612
Very, very cool. Our heritage on display and actually played.
>> Zojirushi. We bought the last one from the Tar-jay web site, but you might get a deal at an Asian market locally.
Inexpensive rice cooker: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KFPZ1MF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=ttgnet-20
@Alan: I use a 2 cup Dash rice cooker, a slightly earlier model of this: https://www.amazon.com/DRCM200GBPK04-Steamer-Removable-Nonstick-Function/dp/B07DTPC1QB?th=1&tag=ttgnet-20
It works fast and is fire-and-forget.
@Greg, @nightraker, @EdH, thanks, ordered the Dash from ‘Zon, being delivered tomorrow (thanks Prime).
Here’s one for those of you playing the home game:
And MacKenzie drove the Bronco
All through the day and night
While Jeff worked on the business plan
He had to get it right
https://news.yahoo.com/mackenzie-scott-may-no-longer-180949404.html
Well, if you’ve got a hurricane story from Ian, please share. Especially later, when you do an After Action Report… but certainly now when it’s still fresh.
And if you are a regular reader, and you have an unmet need, please ask.
Shocking before-and-after photos show sheer scale of the destruction wrought on Florida by Hurricane Ian: Massive storm loses steam as it’s downgraded to Category 2 – but still manages to knock out out power for more than 2 MILLION
n
Always kinda liked Coolio…
Pioneering rapper Coolio dead at 59: Gangsta’s Paradise singer found dead lying on bathroom floor at friend’s home in Los Angeles
n
>> Shocking before-and-after photos show sheer scale of the destruction wrought on Florida by Hurricane Ian: Massive storm loses steam as it’s downgraded to Category 2 – but still manages to knock out out power for more than 2 MILLION
Kinda telling that the best compilation of photos I’ve seen so far is from the DM.
Oh, and h/t to Mary Howitt.
In regards to the damage to the Nord Pipelines – all ships have tracking systems installed, and that data is publicly available via sites like https://www.MarineTraffice.com .
Although the tracking can be turned off (I think), perhaps the folks that did the sabatoge weren’t that smart.
Working hard on winter prep. And trying to have fun. And trying to pray for my dying sistet, last one is hard as while I have compassion in a general sense I have no relationship with her and many bad memories of us as children. Her shack up honey (seven years together) died of a heart attack yesterday. I know how I’m -supposed- to feel but it ain’t there. So I’m praying Gods will because everything else comes out fake.
Saw a fat fast mouse in the garage today. Laid out glue traps because they were handy, ordered a couple multi mouse traps, will arrive next week.
Worked on making the tiered garden ready for sledding (cut punji sticks flush with chainsaw / hand clippers; weed whacked, etc). Hung more Wyze cameras. Put a battery outdoors Wyze cam under the apple trees in the hopes we will use it to check for moose when it’s dark before releasing the hounds.
Fixed a board to a gap near a gate / deck railing to keep dogs from going walk about. Hung more Wyze cameras for chickens and rabbits, identified three v2 early models that had died and chucked them. Found Wyze light sockets I’d forgotten about. Will install those tomorrow.
Hilariously added a canine skeleton to the 7’ hominid skeleton on our flat garage roof. Original plan was to have Fred lovingly rest a hand on Fidos head. Fred leans his head back in a peculiar fashion. Like he’s belly laughing. Or… Screaming? So Fido is on his rear legs, front legs stabbing Fred in his non-existent nards, with Fred’s funny bone clenched in his teeth.
I about fell off the roof laughing.
Planted a bunch of iris and narcissus bulbs. Another 25 to go. Costco. We will lose ¾ of them but the price was right.
Brain check up in the morning. Tired. We had snow mid October last year. I’m rapidly running out of time.
Fwiw…
CNN: First on CNN: European security officials observed Russian Navy ships in vicinity of Nord Stream pipeline leaks.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/28/politics/nord-stream-pipeline-leak-russian-navy-ships/index.html
Nordstream – it’s very unlikely that anyone will be able to prove anything. The explosions had to be close to the pipelines, which likely means a drone, or possibly a submarine dropping a package off. Neither of those would be easily observable, and a drone could have come a long way. You could hunt for fragments, and hope to find some identifying information – components, serial numbers, etc.. Even then, military hardware is widely sold, so proof would be circumstantial at best.
I like the theory that Gazprom did this, to avoid the penalty clauses in their delivery contracts. But really, who knows. Putin has become irrational, so he could have ordered it just for spite. It could be a false flag operation by any of the NATO countries, or even Ukraine.