Mon. Mar. 6, 2023 – another work week begins

By on March 6th, 2023 in culture, decline and fall, gardening

Cool to start, nice all day.   That’s my expectation.   We’ll see what happens but the weather liars are fairly sure it won’t rain…    Sunday was beautiful.   Really beautiful.  FINALLY we are getting some Spring weather.

Of course, a few years ago, I was wearing my cool vest to the Rodeo around this same time, and moaning about the heat.   It’s nice to have a long Spring here in Houston, when we can.

Spent the day (once I had stretched and loosened up enough to move) taking stuff back and putting it away.   I still have some stuff here at the house to re-stack.   I’d like to do some cleanup around the places I store it though.   And there are some things that need to be thrown out or scrapped.

I had to get rid of about 20 boxed potato side dishes that I had forgotten about.   They were in a tub, under the tarp in the driveway.   Water can condense in the tubs over time.   They weren’t moldy or showing signs of water damage,but they were old and the cheese sauces were undoubtedly past usability.  Mad Max rules, I’d have tried them, or at least tried to salvage the potatoes.  Not at this point though.   I expect spoilage and waste due to my really poor storage conditions.  I’m willing to tolerate it so that I have enough food on hand.

After returning the trailer, I totaled up my expenses for the hamfest.   $10 entry fee (which I could have skipped, as I never even picked up my ticket), $15 for 3 parking spaces at the swapmeet, and $54 for the trailer after taxes and fees.  I might have saved $20 if I was able to return it on Saturday afternoon, but $20 was cheap since it let me spend time talking with guys, and  hanging out for an extra couple of hours at the hamfest.   Including gas and a bottle of water, I grossed about $1000.  Don’t know what my net profit is, but I’ve got that money back in my safe instead of locked up in goods sitting in the tubs in the garage.  Sometimes getting your money back is the best you can do.

Today will be more cleaning and putting  away.   It’s long overdue, and while not ‘top of list’ it makes sense to do it while the stuff is out of place.  I may even take the time to scrap out some stuff for my next run to the junkman.

And with this weather I really need to make some decisions for the gardens here, and at the BOL.   I usually wait too long and have poor results.   I’m determined to get a jump on it this year.  If it’s not already too late.

Food security.   Worth putting some time and effort into it.

If you can’t garden, and I really can’t, you’d better stack it up…

nick

49 Comments and discussion on "Mon. Mar. 6, 2023 – another work week begins"

  1. Nick Flandrey says:

    66F and saturated.   Sun is already coming up.  Sky is bright.  Might be overcast, haven’t actually stuck my head out and my cams are still in b/w mode.

    Woke up with no back pain.    This is so unusual that it’s freaking me out.    Still no back pain and I’ve been up for half an hour.   Welcome, but very weird.

    Coffee should be ready, bacon is started…

    n

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Bold.  This EPA lowering of the particulate standard will shut down all coal, steel, and other manufacturing plants in the USA.

    Take away the cars and the jobs of the commoners. Filthy lucre.

    Meanwhile, the Fancy Lad who replaced me on the DC project at the tolling company before giving up in October has his current status on Linkedin listed as “Career break. Traveling the world.”

    Hilarious.

    Man, oh man, do I hate them Fancy Lads.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPGSLiLm43E

    Sadly, the Fancy Lads are in charge.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    So ebay calls it the ‘circular economy’ and ‘recommerce’…

    https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/news-events/ebay-releases-new-recommerce-report 

    Our latest study shows that both sellers and buyers are turning to recommerce for its financial benefits. Sellers are making and expanding their livelihoods on our marketplace by selling gently used goods, while buyers are seeking pre-owned items to find what they love at a fraction of the price. And for both sellers and buyers, recommerce is a way to reduce their environmental impact. 

    This year, 13% of sellers surveyed said they engage in recommerce due to lost household income, and 30% said they saw an increase in their selling over the past six months.

    It’s global too.

    Worldwide, 90% of buyers surveyed reported purchasing pre-owned goods on eBay in the past year. In some countries, that number was even higher; French respondents clocked in at 98%. This popularity of recommerce is evident from the seller survey, too; nearly 75% of the items sold by the seller survey respondents were either pre-owned or refurbished. (France was again higher than the average, at 77.5%.) 

    Our survey, being global, reveals some habits of individual locales. The U.K. and France cited “cleaning out closets” as a top reason to sell pre-loved at the highest rates, at 48% and 45%, respectively. Japan, surveyed for the first time, saw the highest increase in their sales due to the economy, as 27% reported that their sales increased a lot, and 32% said their sales increased a little.

    On the buyer side, tech and electronics remained the global category leader, with 34% of buyers surveyed reporting that they had purchased gadgetry. In Germany, more than half, or 56%, of buyer respondents said they purchased tech or electronics in the past year. 

    n

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    Remember the guy in NYFC found dead in his apartment surrounded by ‘hazardous chemicals’?

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11823903/Woman-35-dead-car-Midtown-Manhattan-surrounded-hazardous-chemical-materials.html 

    n

  5. Greg Norton says:

    Our latest study shows that both sellers and buyers are turning to recommerce for its financial benefits. Sellers are making and expanding their livelihoods on our marketplace by selling gently used goods, while buyers are seeking pre-owned items to find what they love at a fraction of the price. And for both sellers and buyers, recommerce is a way to reduce their environmental impact.

    The pendulum at EBay has swung back to the sellers putting cr*p from Goodwill in a Priority Mail box and the company defending their fees collected from buyers payments when the scam is discovered.

    I’m dealing with two disputes now, which is fairly high given my buying history.

    The response is the same – Leave a negative review.

    EBay, at least, is not going to end well.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    Are we at peak weird sex yet?

    No. Deal with any profession requiring labor way off the right end of the bell curve and you just hope that the kinks are relatively benign.

    In some cases, being far out there can help land gigs. The guy at the top of the Sherwood Forest Faire web page who I believe drove the complaint which got me fired from the tolling company was hired for his extracirricular activites at the Faire and not necessarily his coding ability.

    And, please, no one should try to tell me that the Faire isn’t a fetish thing. My wife’s friend regularly goes out there on a volunteer basis to treat the STDs of the transients who “work the circuit”.

  7. SteveF says:

    Circular economy = circling the drain?

  8. EdH says:

    If you can’t garden, and I really can’t, you’d better stack it up…

    Seen online today at Bayou Renaissance Man: “Growing your own tomatoes is the best way to devote three months of your life to saving $2.17”.

    So true, at least here in the California High Desert.

    I had some success in town, but after 5 years out in the (hotter,windier,dryer) rural area I am giving up.

  9. brad says:

    I came across an interesting article discussing some of the problems of the modern Internet. About a quarter of the way down, you get what is imho the heart of the article:

    the modern business wisdom reveres “going meta” – not doing anything useful, but rather, creating a chokepoint between people who do useful things and people who want to pay for those things, and squatting there, collecting rent

    Which applies to Google, Facebook, eBay as well as zillions of smaller businesses. Worth a read…

  10. MrAtoz says:

    Bold.  This EPA lowering of the particulate standard will shut down all coal, steel, and other manufacturing plants in the USA.

    Also, another three-letter agency basically making laws. I’m sure fines are attached. None approved by Congress. Other than Congress sits on it‘s ass and lets them make laws and collect fines.

  11. CowboyStu says:

    AKA CowboySlim

    @Jenny:  Yes, I aso liked to have met again!

  12. nick flandrey says:

    I’ve been touting physical media for a while, both for it’s local accessibility and to avoid revisionism or “them” making it simply not available.

    The march to 1984 continues.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2023-03-05/theyre-coming-your-books 

    They already do it with movies, either revising them for re-release (“There’ll be no escape for the Captain this time” changing to “There’ll be no escape for the Princess this time…”,  or changing that Han Solo shot first) or putting snowflake warnings in front of them, or simply NOT releasing them.    Now it’s books- Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming novels being “revised” and maybe even stealthily changed on your devices.   

    Bowdlerized versions have existed for long time specifically for young readers, now it’s adults too, and without telling them.

    n

  13. nick flandrey says:

    wow, I’ve gotten nothing done.   I don’t want to lift and tote bins.  I’m just reveling in not having a sore back while it lasts.

    n

  14. MrAtoz says:

    wow, I’ve gotten nothing done.   I don’t want to lift and tote bins.  I’m just reveling in not having a sore back while it lasts.

    Enjoy the day, sir. Get comfy and read a book. No browsing.

  15. MrAtoz says:

    Back to Vegas, today. About to get pawed, licked and peed on by a roving pack of vicious dachshunds.

    Currently reading “The Well of Hell” by Grieg Beck. An Alex Hunter “Arcadian” novel. A good horror/sci-fi/fantasy novel series.

  16. Lynn says:

    “Gary Rossington, Last Surviving Original Member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dies at 71”

       https://variety.com/2023/music/obituaries-people-news/gary-rossington-dead-lynyrd-skynyrd-guitarist-1235543685/

    “Rossington had a number of “cheating death” experiences over the decades — most famously surviving the 1977 plane crash that killed the Florida rock band’s lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and several members of their road and flight crews. Before that, Rossington survived a horrific 1976 Ford Torino car accident that inspired their roaring cautionary tale, “That Smell.””

    Awesome song writer and guitar player.  You can only cheat death so long.  I was always amazed that anyone survived that plane wreck.

  17. drwilliams says:

    Also of the excellent but short-lived Rossington-Collins Band. Last I looked some good video on YouTubE

  18. RickH says:

    Re the conclusion of the FBI and Energy Dept about the “lab leak theory”:

    “moderate confidence” and/or “low confidence” (the conclusions written in the reports, respectively) do not equal “most likely”.

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  19. drwilliams says:

    No, “most likely” would require that there are no competing theories that are equal or higher confidence. 

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  20. Denis says:

    Mayuyama Koji, “The God Hand”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIoi-DSm0e4

    The restoration of fine Japanese porcelain by a second-generation master, training the third-generation.

    Thank you, drwilliams. That was captivating. I couldn’t believe what they did with the restored items at the end!

  21. Lynn says:

    “Men should ejaculate at least 21 times a month, scientists say…”

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11817419/Abstaining-masturbating-RAISES-risk-anxiety-depression-erectile-dysfunction.html

    “It comes after a 2016 study found that men who ejaculate more often have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer.  Researchers from Harvard University analyzed data from nearly 32,000 men and found that ejaculating at least 21 times a month cut the risk of developing the cancer by one-third.”

    My GP told me three times a week.  Both of my grandfathers died of prostate cancer, one was 86 and the other was 64.  The wife says I am lucky to get sex once a week.  And my PSA has tripled since I turned 59 three years ago, from 0.6 to 1.7.

    Hat tip to:

        https://www.drudgereport.com/

  22. Lynn says:

    Dilbert: Dogbert Builds User Interface

       https://dilbert.com/strip/2023-03-06

    He may not be wrong.

    And http://www.Dilbert.com is still up.

  23. Ray Thompson says:

    “moderate confidence” and/or “low confidence” (the conclusions written in the reports, respectively) do not equal “most likely”.

    But is certainly higher than “not at all”.

    I don’t trust this lying, misdirecting, withholding, administration with any of their statements. At this point there is too much on the line with their careers IF it has been found they were lying, or making stuff up.

  24. Ray Thompson says:

    found that ejaculating at least 21 times a month cut the risk of developing the cancer by one-third.

    Well, interesting. I now have a medical reason for that criminal charge against me on the 802 bus.

  25. Lynn says:

    “Houston-area Rep. pens bill that would close gaping Texas gun law loophole”

        https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texas-gun-law-houston-17822554.php

    “Rep. Joan Huffman’s bill passed out of committee with bipartisan support last week.”

    “If signed into law during this year’s legislative session, Huffman’s bill would require courts to share involuntary mental health hospitalization records for juveniles 16 and older with the Texas Department of Public Safety.”

    So if you are committed, even once, you cannot buy a gun ?  I have a problem with that.  Only people with violent pasts with people should not be allowed to buy a gun.

  26. SteveF says:

    Only people with violent pasts with people should not be allowed to buy a gun.

    I don’t accept even that restriction. Shall not be infringed. Violent nutcases, or scumbags who see violence as the road to success or subhumans who lack the self control to not act on violent impulses, will be weeded out of society soon enough. They’ll claim some innocent victims but the total harm will be less than that caused by capricious government interference with a natural right to self defense.

  27. Greg Norton says:

    My GP told me three times a week.  Both of my grandfathers died of prostate cancer, one was 86 and the other was 64.  The wife says I am lucky to get sex once a week.  And my PSA has tripled since I turned 59 three years ago, from 0.6 to 1.7.

    The PSA is crazy unreliable so that’s why you have to get the “manual” screening as well.

    A new blood test is coming. And MRIs are increasingly common before going in for the biopsy as insurances are starting to cover it.

    You have a urologist in addition to the GP, right? And you keep all the appointments, even when *that* test is due?

  28. Greg Norton says:

    Well, interesting. I now have a medical reason for that criminal charge against me on the 802 bus.

    You and Pee Wee Herman.

  29. Ken Mitchell says:

    Growing your own tomatoes is the best way to devote three months of your life to saving $2.17”.

    So true, at least here in the California High Desert.

    “High desert”? Do you pay for water? Tomatoes can be THIRSTY crops!  But they are worth the effort; as John Denver sang, “Home grown tomatoes” are a positive delight, and FAR surpass store-bought tomatoes. Part of that is that store-bought tomatoes lack flavor because they’re picked early, to survive the trip to the market. 

  30. EdH says:

    “High desert”? Do you pay for water?

    I do pay for water, but have no lawns and just a few shrubs and trees, and have never gone above my base payment.

    It is the climate “hat trick” of single digit humidity, double digit winds, and triple digit (degreesF) that “ends” my tomatoes.  It means that few of the fruit blossoms even fertilize, and even fewer fruit grow.

    Jalapeno peppers, on the other hand, seem to do well.

    To paraphrase an old Texas joke: “It ain’t Terlingua, but you can see it from here”.

  31. Lynn says:

    “Renegades of the Future (Perry Rhodan #65)” by Kurt Mahr, translated by Wendayne Ackerman 
       https://www.amazon.com/Renegades-Future-Perry-Rhodan-65/dp/4416602480?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number sixty-five of a series of one hundred and thirty-six space opera books in English. The original German books, actually pamphlets, number in the thousands. The English books started with two translated German stories per book translated by Wendayne Ackerman and transitioned to one story per book with the sixth book. And then they transition back to two stories in book #109/110. The Ace publisher dropped out at #118, so Forrest and Wendayne Ackerman published books #119 to #136 in pamphlets before stopping in 1978. The German books were written from 1961 to present time, having sold two billion copies and even recently been rebooted again. I read the well printed and well bound book published by Ace in 1975 that I had to be very careful with due to age. I bought an almost complete box of Perry Rhodans a decade or two ago on ebay that I am finally getting to since I lost my original Perry Rhodans in The Great Flood of 1989. In fact, I now own book #1 to book #106, plus the Atlan books.
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan

    BTW, this is actually book number 73 of the German pamphlets written in 1963. There is a very good explanation of the plot in German on the Perrypedia German website of all of the PR books. There is automatic Google translation available for English, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, French, and Portuguese.
       https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Die_drei_Deserteure

    In this alternate universe, USSF Major Perry Rhodan and his three fellow astronauts blasted off in a three stage rocket to the Moon in 1971. The first stage of the rocket was chemical, the second and third stages were nuclear. After crashing on the Moon due to a strange radio interference, they discover a massive crashed alien spaceship with an aged male scientist (Khrest), a female commander (Thora), and a crew of 500. It has been over sixty-nine years since then and the Solar Empire has flourished with tens of millions of people and many spaceships headquartered in the Gobi desert, the city of Terrania. Perry Rhodan has been elected by the people of Earth to be the World Administrator and keep them from being taken over by the robot administrator of Arkon.

    The Myrtha system containing the Grautier and Whistler planets is predicted to have a time plane convergence with the Druuf’s time plane in less than a year’s time. So the Solarian Empire is creating a base in the system to fight the Druufs off. All of the settlers on Grautier have been offered to be transported back to the Venus or to join the Solarian Fleet. But, three of the settlers have stolen a Gazelle spaceship with First Lieutenant Chellish as the pilot. The deserters are planning on selling the position of Earth to the Arkonide Robot Regent but cannot get to the Arkonide fleet without going through the Solarian fleet first.

    Two observations:
    1. Forrest Ackerman should have put two or three of the translated stories in each book. Having two stories in the first five books worked out well. Just having one story in the book is too short and would never allow the translated books to catch up to the German originals.
    2. Anyone liking Perry Rhodan and wanting a more up to date story should read the totally awesome “Mutineer’s Moon” Dahak series of three books by David Weber.
       https://www.amazon.com/Mutineers-Moon-Dahak-David-Weber/dp/0671720856?tag=ttgnet-20/

    My rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars (1 reviews)

  32. Lynn says:

    You have a urologist in addition to the GP, right? And you keep all the appointments, even when *that* test is due?

    I have a recommendation from a friend who had his prostate removed three years ago when his PSA hit 9.0.  He is now 67 with a PSA of 0.1 so they got it in time.  I am thinking about visiting his urologist for the fun fun fun digital exam.

    My grandfather that died of prostate cancer at age 64 was Mom’s Dad.  He refused to see a doctor until he was peeing blood at age 59.  They immediately removed his prostate but the cancer had spread all over his abdomen.  

  33. Ken Mitchell says:

    @EdH; Your tomatoes might benefit from a “misting” system. Back in Northern California, I had installed an “Arizona Mist” cooling system; a small tube connected to a hose, with 8 brass misting nozzles.  It used about a gallon of water per hour, but it cooled off my patio and the plants thrived in it. 

  34. dkreck says:

     I am thinking about visiting his urologist for the fun fun fun digital exam.

    Wait for the biopsy. Goes in the same way with a mean needle.

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  35. dkreck says:

    Speaking of fun I was subjected to this commercial more than a few times this weekend. A little surprised but it’s the wokeness I can’t take.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db6R1ixedqE

    Not only must you appreciate you must praise their courage. 

    At least the message is clear to many. Pretend what you want but you’re still what mother nature made you.

  36. nick flandrey says:

    Rigid sigmoidoscope.  And a dollop of lube.

    n

    added- rigid, when the flexible one won’t do.

  37. nick flandrey says:

    @dkreck , nice ratio in the comments.

    Lefty or prog progression.

    Tolerate.

    Celebrate.

    Participate.

    Incrementalism at its finest.    Now WE need to use that tactic, somewhere outside of gun rights.

    n

  38. Greg Norton says:

    Wait for the biopsy. Goes in the same way with a mean needle.

    Thankfully, insurance is starting to pay for the MRI which can eliminate the need for the biopsy or allow the doctors to get a precise target area.

    At least they aren’t cutting into the “taint” anymore.

    Thank you Kevin Smith for the term.

  39. Lynn says:

    “A Twitter engineer says at least 2 bodyguards accompany Elon Musk around Twitter HQ — even to the restroom”

        https://www.businessinsider.com/bodyguards-accompany-elon-musk-twitter-headquarters-restroom-engineer-report-2023-3

    Musk does not trust anyone, good, he may see 60.

  40. drwilliams says:

    @Denis

    That was captivating. I couldn’t believe what they did with the restored items at the end!

    Good word to describe the video. The finish was unexpected, but so Japanese.

    I looked at one other NHK video, and will be looking at more.

  41. Greg Norton says:

    “A Twitter engineer says at least 2 bodyguards accompany Elon Musk around Twitter HQ — even to the restroom”

    Twitter HQ sits on the edge of the Tenderloin, just across Market. That part of the city has been resistant to gentrification. 

    Market is not someplace I like to be after dark.

  42. drwilliams says:

    Bay Lop, the subject in the photo, had been executed in Saigon after carrying out the mass murder of Huan Nguyen’s father — South Vietnamese Lt. Col. Nguyen Tuan, along with the officer’s wife, mother, and six of his children, five boys and one girl.

    Huan Nguyen, managed to survive despite being shot three times through the arm, thigh, and  skull. The youngster stayed with his mother’s dead body for two hours following the cold-blooded murder according to Military.com.

    When night fell, Nguyen then escaped managing to avoid the communist guerrillas, and went to live with his uncle, a colonel in the South Vietnamese Air Force.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/03/another_pulitzer_prize_discredited_as_propaganda.html

    The true context of one of the most famous anti-war photographs. I’d known the backstory for years, but now research has nailed it down tight, just as irrefutable as the guilt of the Rosenbergs.

  43. nick flandrey says:

    “’taint balls, ‘taint ass….”

    — the vase is incredible, especially to get the look of the fired glazing with a cold process.

    youtube put that one in my recommendeds, but I hadn’t watched it.   If it puts some japanese  shoe guy in there, watch that too.

    n

  44. drwilliams says:

    Celebrity doctor writes another best selle…just kidding. He lifted a bunch of it

    Why, my goodness, said the LA Times. That new book of “yours”? We’ve found 95 different examples of things other people wrote in it.

    https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2023/03/06/celebrity-doctor-writes-another-best-selle-just-kidding-he-lifted-a-bunch-of-it-n535233?cx_testId=1&cx_testVariant=cx_undefined&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXIO3RTI8YOF#cxrecs_s

    Agus said in a statement. “I take any claims of plagiarism seriously.” 

    Just as seriously as FJB, no doubt. Plagiarism is like eating potato chips.

    author of three previous bestsellers

    Even as we sit there are people looking at his previous work. The tools to do so have gotten an order of magnitude easier to use in the last couple of years. 

    Note that this comes on the same day as:

    Musk: Accounts weaponizing DMCA demands will get suspended (updated)

    Nick Flor

    ‘Accounts engaging in … weaponization of DMCA will receive temporary suspensions’ No, not temporary. Make those PERMANENT suspensions. They’ll do this during election time to stop bad press of their candidate from getting out.

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2023/03/06/musk-accounts-weaponizing-dmca-demands-will-get-suspended-n535264

  45. brad says:

    The wife says I am lucky to get sex once a week.

    There is a definite biological mismatch between the average male and female sex drive. Of course, there are alternatives.

    I now have a medical reason for that criminal charge against me on the 802 bus.

    Not that alternative…

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