Cool and damp. It was nice and clear all day Thursday, and even warmed up a bit in the afternoon, but was cool again by evening. 49F when I went to bed.
Bus was on time and kids were there just before it arrived. I really hope we can reset the bedtime, wake time routine so it’s not such a battle getting them out the door.
Did a couple of things around the house yesterday. Got an NVR set up for the BOL. Initialized and hard drive installed. Stole the drive out of a thrift store NVR that I couldn’t get the admin password reset. I wanted to use it as it has a built in 4 port PoE switch, but now I will just use the drive. At 2TB it’s a bit small for 4K cams, but I don’t actually have the cams yet. Supposedly this other NVR has the bandwidth to support 8 streams of 4k. Tiny little board inside the thing and no memory sticks or big FPGA chips. No idea how it will actually work with the streams. I suppose that as long as it doesn’t have to transcode, it doesn’t take much grunt… Needs an external PoE switch, but I’ve got plenty of those. About half a pallet load actually. I have a couple of decent cams somewhere, just need to find them. And I can order some, during the next budget cycle anyway.
Today should be clear too, and I’ll be headed to my storage unit. My non-prepping hobby mini-swapmeet is tomorrow and I need to get a few things out and ready to sell. Interestingly, PPEs are my most steady seller, particularly “reader” safety glasses. I’ve been trying to refresh my stock, but missed out on a box just yesterday. Gloves and finger protection do pretty well too. Not a bunch of money, but pays for my table. The same things sold well for me at Hamfests.
While I’m there, digging out the correct bins, I’ll do some organizing too.
Checked through a couple of food bins on the shelves here and I’m a bit short on ground coffee, smoked almonds, and M&Ms. I’m a bit overstocked with maple syrup, pancake mix, and oatmeal. Our family eating habits have changed. Something to watch out for when stacking.
I haven’t seen or heard a possum in a while. Maybe the giant rats have finally gotten the message and skedaddled. Time to start cleaning up the mess left behind. There is definitely food that has been (de)spoiled, and there is debris all through the garage. Just more things on the list.
I’ll keep plugging away and keep stacking. Don’t wanna be lackin’.
n
47F and saturated. Chilly and damp. Fun. Time to get the kids and wife vertical.
n
Invent. Treasuries don’t sell very well now. They are liquidity instruments at these rates, with the Fed still printing to prop up the stock market and housing prices.
Cough … Vanguard … cough.
A small but amusing update on the crazy neighbors. They cut the asphalt on our private access road to install their sewage. Their latest reason for not repairing it?
“The small area that is no longer paved is not damage, it is just a non-restoration of the original state.”
You can’t make this stuff up…
Try cutting off one finger from each of their hands. “It is just a non-restoration of the original state.”
Another name from the stadium wall in Gronk’s shoe commercials, and the fourth Yucs player going into the Hall from the defense which forever put an asterisk on the legend of The American Underdog.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/ronde-barber-is-in-the-hall-of-fame-and-the-legend-of-that-bucs-defense-grows-again/ar-AA17ki8y
I just got back from the VA audiology clinic. I will be getting new hearing aids. The audiologist stated they are not impressed with Resound hearing aids, the ones I have, as they have had many problems with the devices and repairs. Well, duh, that is what I have been saying for the last 2.5 years. My devices are 40 months old. VA will replace after three years, IF the audiologist recommends. Which she did.
I will be getting Phonak hearing aids, same form factor as I have now. The biggest change is that I will be getting ear molds to fit my ears. The audiologist feels this will help with some of the high frequency loss and the mid-range boost that is needed.
I will still be using battery devices rather than rechargeable. If the rechargeable ones run out of power, there is a time delay to recharge. With removable batteries I just swap the battery, quickly.
I will also be getting a new streaming device for my TV. The old device that works with Resound will not work with Phonak. Seems like a waste.
I like my current domes as they allow outside noise into my ear. Makes the world seem more real. I was offered in-ear devices, but they completely block the ear canal. That is something that I do not like from past experience.
The new aids should be ready by March 2, a much better time frame than the original devices. That took three months at the Murfreesboro clinic.
Filed my taxes. Electronically of course. I expect the refund in two weeks, maybe less.
But this is the first time that I have had to physically mail a form and supporting documentation when filing electronically. Strange. Turbotax software stated I needed to send the forms into the IRS. I now wonder if it will delay my refund. I suspect not as the IRS just sends refunds if the return is correct and will adjust in a couple of years if the paperwork is not provided. Got to give the IRS time to accrue interest and possibly penalties.
Just did a craigslist sale. No problem, the guy was on time, and didn’t try to beat my price down. I should buy a lotto ticket.
n
Off to run some errands.
Stand by the hammer.
n
The IRS didn’t get to the 2021 returns until August of last year.
The big IRS facility here in town wants everyone back in the office, but, unlike the local tech companies, the management has not backed down on mandatory jabs or weekly testing. As a result, there has been a quiet revolt rolling for the last year.
Austin is indeed the location to which I need to mail the documents. I fail to understand the need for the additional documentation. It is a standard IRS form for investment gains and losses. The printed form will not provide any more information than what I filed in the return. The necessity of providing a copy of the 1099-B will provide no more information that what has been provided to the IRS by the investing company.
In other words, a waste of frigging time and resources. Or was it chosen by random chance? Tax software randomly picks people to send in the documentation to keep the serfs honest?
VA clinics, audiology and medical, are still playing masking games. And will until sometime in May when Sponge Brain has indicated he will cease requiring extra measures for Covid. As if on a certain day suddenly Covid becomes a non-issue. Why not today? Or tomorrow? I doubt that three months will make any difference. Except to Spongey, who wants to show he is still in charge (yeh, right!).
I got my teeth cleaned last week. No mask required. It took two years for the dentist to drop that. I bet the staff said “drop the mask requirement or we’ll all quit.”
“Hey! Where’d All the “Browns” Go?” February 1, 2023 by Ann Coulter
https://anncoulter.com/2023/02/01/hey-whered-all-the-browns-go1/
“George Floyd, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, and on and on and on — all black people, generally “justice-involved,” who resisted the police and ended up dead. Name a civilian killed by cops of any other race that led to international protests, billboards, renamed streets, hashtags, memorials, NBA jerseys, murals, busts, tribute songs or O magazine covers.”
“Only black people reflexively defend their own criminals. The “blacks and browns” scam is an attempt to rope Hispanics into the black community’s dysfunction.”
“Hispanics don’t champion their criminals! (Asians don’t even champion their A-minus students.) When 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot by a cop in Chicago, “activists” did their best to incite worldwide protests, but Hispanics weren’t interested. Why are we going to take off work?””
So true, so true !
“A small but amusing update on the crazy neighbors. They cut the asphalt on our private access road to install their sewage. Their latest reason for not repairing it?
“The small area that is no longer paved is not damage, it is just a non-restoration of the original state.”
You can’t make this stuff up…”
So how are you driving on the private access road ?
Off to run some errands.
Stand by the hammer.
n
It is not Tuesday or Thursday, Mr. Tweed Jacket with patches on the elbows troll is teaching his junior college courses today.
Of course, my troll may show up today as it randomly does from India. It has not insulted me on usenet in almost two weeks now.
The local VA has a mask requirements in 1:1 situations such as patient visits, but not for walking the halls.
We hadn’t heard about May being the end of the games, but the Chinese and Indian doctors who are the dominant demographic at the local VA facilities are still paying lip service to being freaked out about the virus, partially out of fear and partially because they like to avoid actually having to see patients in person.
Imagine.
“GOA and Texas AG Paxton File Suit Against ATF Pistol Brace Rule”
https://www.gunowners.org/goa-and-texas-ag-paxton-file-suit-against-atf-pistol-brace-rule/
“Washington, D.C. – Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden Pistol Brace Ban with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.”
“This new rule, which took effect on January 31st of this year, will force Americans to register or destroy their approximately 40 million lawfully owned brace firearms within 120 days, or face possible felony charges.”
Good for GOA and good for our state attorney general.
ChiComs send obsolete balloon and fake payload so doddering senile puppet employee can shoot it down and look tuff.
News at 11
Hmmm…. first there are complaints about waiting to shoot it down, and calls for shooting down when entry into Alaska air space, and now there are complaints about doing exactly that.
It seems that the intelligence that was gathered from the balloon during it’s travel across the US was important stuff. We’ll probably never know the details, but I suspect that there was much knowledge gained.
(Yes, it’s me, and not the troll.)
“Huge Piece Of Sun Breaks Off, Scientists Stunned”
https://www.ndtv.com/feature/huge-piece-of-sun-breaks-off-scientists-stunned-3769985
“Scientists are trying to understand the impact this huge prominence will have on Earth.”
Probably no impact on the Earth as the chance of anything hitting the Earth from Sol is very small.
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
The comet C2022/e3 (ztf) should be within a degree of Mars tonight. Mars is bright red, near the zenith.
It (the comet) is not particularly bright, magnitude 6.5, but should be an easy binocular target, as a gray smudge in the same field of view, before moonrise.
It is, of course, already clouding up here.
Any time there is political gain, or loss, from an incident, there is no right or wrong answer. Every political hack will be mouthing off to try and get their name and face in the news.
I would not put it past the current administration to have sent up the object, then shot it down. Makes the administration look tough and “Johnny on the spot”. Due to the fallout from the ballon incident of a few days ago. That is my tinfoil moment with no supporting evidence.
I also don’t understand the outrage over the balloon. The US seems to justify spying missions with SR-71 and U2 spy planes over other countries. Gary Powers became an international pawn because he got caught. If it is OK for the US to spy on other countries by flying over their air space, why not China? China did nothing that is not practiced by the US which has now got their panties in a wad.
>> Just did a craigslist sale. No problem, the guy was on time, and didn’t try to beat my price down. I should buy a lotto ticket.
I have a stack of used lotto tickets for sale – 90% off face value – let me know if interested 😉
>> I got my teeth cleaned last week. No mask required. It took two years for the dentist to drop that. I bet the staff said “drop the mask requirement or we’ll all quit.”
Yeah, good idea, hard for the hygienist to do a good job while you’re wearing a mask 😉
“Decarbonization is at the forefront of environmental innovation”
https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/magazine/2023/january-2023/special-focus-sustainability/decarbonization-is-at-the-forefront-of-environmental-innovation
“Earth’s carbon dioxide levels have increased appreciably within the last several decades, which directly correlates to rising environmental concerns of GHG emissions, pollution and disruptions of marine and terrestrial environments, among others.”
This is the crap that gets sent to me two or three times a day, every day of the week. Of course, the engineering construction companies see GHG projects as huge paydays, even though they do not make economic sense in a sane world and will be quickly abandoned down the road.
“Suppressor Ownership Growing In Popularity”
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/suppressor-ownership-growing-in-popularity/
“The number of applications for a National Firearms Act (NFA) tax stamp—federally required for lawful ownership of suppressors, short-barreled rifles and similarly configured shotguns, among others—has more than doubled in the past four years. Figures released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) during a seminar at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show showed it processed 342,860 in 2019. In 2022, the volume more than doubled to 709,508.”
Suppressors should be available for anyone wanting to save whats left of their hearing.
A boss of mine was a retired Navy officer, at one point on an attack sub. He served on one of the boats in that book. He lent me his copy when it came out, saying “I can’t believe they got some of these stories”.
Sky? What’s a sky? Haven’t seen one of those around here for a while. The clouds sometimes thin enough that it almost seems that some blue might come through, but it never quite makes it.
From Lynn:
Okay, I am going to be another troll for you. I will take my laptop to a Starbucks and use their WiFi, so I won’t be using my home ISP.
Hey, what do you want for supper? Tacos or Chili Mac?
Chili Mac is cooking. Hopefully there will be enough left that I can skip cooking supper tomorrow.
It’s easy to make. Brown the hamburger, salt and pepper to taste, dump in a can of diced tomatoes, then two cans of water. Stir it up, wave the onion and garlic powders over the pan. Add a couple of eating teaspoons of cumin and chili powder. Yeah, wave that cayenne powder over, too. Taste, maybe add some salt. Yup, it’s good. Add a mostly full can of macaroni. Put the lid on the pot, set burner to low simmer, and walk away for half an hour.
Beats the heck outta Hamburger Helper. Yeah sure, Hamburger Helper is a great kit for when you are starting out and you have no spices or pasta or etc. Good stuff to take when camping.
I suppose that depends on whether it tastes so good that you eat it all in one sitting.
I’m curious about the amount of water to the amount of pasta. Isn’t that too much water? I thought the ratio was supposed to be closer to 1:1, and the tomatoes will add liquid, too.
I suppose that depends on whether it tastes so good that you eat it all in one sitting.
I’m curious about the amount of water to the amount of pasta. Isn’t that too much water? I thought the ratio was supposed to be closer to 1:1, and the tomatoes will add liquid, too.
His mysterious house guest may eat it all too.
Might be a bit too much water. I usually use a can and a half. It was a pretty solid pack of diced tomatoes.
I just eyeball it. Sometimes you get mushy pasta and sometimes an al dente crunch.
Well, my daughter’s two ER visits in January were a total of $24,000 (rounded). My wife paid $500 for each visit. We got an adjusted bill today for the remainder of $3,800 after BCBS hacked at it.
Being sick is expensive.
The daughter and the wife spent most of Wednesday at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The obgyn oncologist surgeon feels strongly that our daughter does not have ovarian cancer. But the surgeon thinks that the polyps in her uterus have spread beyond the uterus, possibly in to the ovaries. The daughter is scheduled for a pelvic MRI on Monday, the surgeon does not want any surprises when she does the hysterectomy. The tumor markers in her blood are not at elevated levels but that is not guaranteed.
The daughter refused to leave the house yesterday for her scheduled iron infusion so that has been delayed for a week even though her blood iron was down to 6.7, the lowest it has been. Her blood A1C level was 12, a 6.5 means pre diabetes and a 9 means probable diabetes. So, the endocrine group was calling the wife yesterday and saying that she could not have surgery until they got her diabetes under control. The surgeon called this morning and said that the blood the ER infused two weeks ago was probably diabetic and will reflect this for three months so this will not affect the surgery. Her blood sugar was 103, a good level and not a problem.
I had forgotten that MDACC has a dual mission statement: Cancer and diseases of the blood. About 3 or 4 of the doctors in the endocrine group want to study the daughter. She does not want to be studied. She also had her thyroid removed at age 17 (she is 35 now) which complicates things too. Lyme disease is a known thyroid attacker now.
I just eyeball it. Sometimes you get mushy pasta and sometimes an al dente crunch.
The wife made me chicken crunch on Monday and I have been eating it all week. Canned chicken, cream of mushroom soup, cashews, chinese noodles, and a few other things. Crunchy and fattens me right up.
@lynn, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s ongoing issues. I hope it will turn out to be the least serious possible case.
Slightly used lotto tickets? Odds are almost identical to new ones. 😉 Probably within 5 nines anyway.
Home. Did two pickups, pushed the freezers off again. Spent the rest of the day sorting and organizing at my storage unit. Grabbed the stuff I’m trying to sell tomorrow.
D2 had a busy day. Field trip most of the day, then back to school for a Valentine’s dance, then off to a friend’s for a sleepover. Tomorrow my wife will pick her up in time to come by my non-prepping hobby and try to flog some GS cookies… Lot’s of running around.
D1’s in bed. Not feeling well.
Dinner was leftovers. I defrosted a ribeye roast but wasn’t here to cook it. Maybe tomorrow.
Now for some relaxing…
n
The NM prosecutor is even dumber than she seems.
My wife’s father’s family out of WA State has a lot of thyroid disease, and my wife had her thyroid removed at 28 just as cancer was about to escape the organ. She also had to get the radiation ablation of the residual tissue about a year later when tests showed some tissues around that area still processing iodine into thyroid hormone.
>> ChiComs send obsolete balloon and fake payload so doddering senile puppet employee can shoot it down and look tuff.
News at 11
“Coming up next is Sports, and after that, if we still have time, FBI search turns up ONE more classified document at Mike Pence’s home.”
>> Add a mostly full can of macaroni
Sorry, confused, ‘can of macaroni?’ Like Spaghetti Os? Or something else?
Just using the tomato can as a measuring device. fooled me the first time too.
n