Warm. Damp. Maybe wet. We had overcast with the threat of rain all day, until late afternoon when the sun actually came out. ‘Course it was hot and humid. I expect more of the same today.
Spent the day doing sorting and cleaning. I’m making a little progress on some of the piles around the house. Not much mind you, but some. I had some things to say over at Aesop’s place https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2023/05/facial-recognition-psa.html and at Peter’s https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-power-grid-is-looking-increasingly.html
Today I have a couple of things to get- two pickups, and some stuff in storage that I want to take to my swapmeet/sale. I’d also like to do some shipping. I’ve got stuff that has been sitting here waiting to ship to my mom since Christmas, and some stuff for a friend that has been here even longer. Finally shipping it would get it to people that can use it, and get it out of here.
I took 3 bankers boxes full of dvds that I’d ripped to store at my secondary location along with some other stuff when I had the wife’s minivan. I’ve still got several boxes of dvds and CDs to rip. It really goes surprisingly fast when you just keep loading a new one every time one finishes. If I’m sitting at my desk I can get a dozen done in a day. If I’m doing CDs, they go a lot faster. I can get a couple dozen ripped in between ripping DVDs. They are much more accessible when ripped to a server.
The school year is drawing to a close. The kids are doing their mandatory testing. In theory I like the idea of consistent testing. You can’t measure what you don’t test. Yes, you do get ‘teaching to the test’ but if the test is well designed, and encompasses the whole requirement for each grade, isn’t that what you want? No time for flights of fancy or indoctrination, if they are busy teaching what will be tested. Of course, the tests are NOT well designed to test a comprehensive and appropriate grade level worth of learning. The format pretty much boils it all down to a reading comprehension test at its base. If they can’t understand the question, they can’t answer it. And there is a lot of specific stuff that is ‘surplus to requirements.’ The learning is specific, wide, and shallow. Not a lot of foundation, and it’s very glib for lack of a better word. It’s better than a lot of places, most even, if half of what I read online is true.
Education is a prep for the future. Learning how to learn is the best prep of all. Make sure your kids/grandkids are actually learning something.
And keep learning yourself. It will keep you sharp, and might save you time, money, or even your life.
Stack it up.
nick
To be fair, the dollar is much smaller than it was when the “Will we ever see” question was asked.
It varies by state, but in NYFS the public school teachers are very well compensated, between salary, benefits, and pension. The same goes in the other Northeast states in which I’ve lived.
As for underworked, I’m sure that a diligent teacher can spend every free hour in preparing lessons, grading, and helping students. Unfortunately, “diligent” is not a word I’d use to describe any of my sons’ public school teachers, nor what I recall of my own, decades ago. Why should they work hard? Maybe for a few years, but by the time they have tenure they’ll have seen that union protection of the incompetent and the lazy means that there’s no benefit to hard work. From an ”economics” point of view, I perfectly understand the teachers who slack off; all they’ve done is perform a cost-benefit analysis. From a taxpayer and parent point of view, I want to tear down the entire public school system.
@lynn (from yesterday):
Read: £599 in UK. But that’s probably because we have sales tax (although we call it VAT) at 20% included in our prices. Plus the usual $=£ ripoff.
Too much for me. But then, I already have a 10 inch Lenovo tablet, for those times when my Nokia 8.3 (with a 6.8 inch screen) isn’t big enough.
And I too look back with affection on the Nexus 7 tablets (and, indeed, all the Nexus line)
G.
IDE cables are generally (Always?) Insulation Displacement Connectors. Add in a fan or 3 for a bit of vibration and it is a wonder they don’t fail more often. I hate that style of connector.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulation-displacement_connector
Sun poking out or just lighter overcast? Dunno, but sky is lightening. No actual rain atm.
Wrt clothing as costume… yes, I think there is a LARPing aspect to it. There is a feeling of inclusion or ‘in group’ element too. But I also think that ‘retro’ or nostalgia styles come out when times are bad. Well, maybe in the period where you can see the bad times coming, but things aren’t so bad yet that you have time resources and energy to devote to fantasy.
With the cottagecore, the emphasis on a softer femininity is definitely a reactionary movement, along with ‘tradwife’. Of course those are both threatening to TPTB, since they’ve worked for decades against those things. Two recent attacks on high profile couples with a more ‘traditional’ relationship are not a coincidence. It’s also possible to ‘embrace and extend’ with the fashion, to take it mainstream and have people who don’t share the original motives wear the clothes and dilute their power to differentiate the wearer. If everyone is dressing like punks, how do the punks dress?
From a prepper point of view, fitting in, looking appropriate for where and when we find ourselves is important. Observing the world around us is part of that. If you don’t own a hoodie by now, you should. I take it a step further and have stuff in my closet to fit very specific scenarios that I picked up at thrift stores. Shirts that have patterns that work as camo without being camo… Logo’d polo or golf shirts, khaki pants- the office uniform. A nice suit. Appropriate hats. Outerwear that lets me dress down or up. Delivery or food service logo’d clothes…
Noticing fashion and trends also keeps us focused outward, and can help break out of a mindset trap. I’ve mentioned previously my list of “tells” for spotting like minded individuals. Every group has them. You want yours to serve your purposes.
n
I have to take 10 days PTO by the middle of August. We can accrue and carry over up to 400 hours. After 400, you stop accruing. I’ll hit that around September. Taking 10 days will put me at approximately 370 hours at the end of the year. I will also have taken the minimum (actually more) of 120 hours if you are above 200 hours. I will have to take a couple weeks around March of next year. I’ll worry about that later.
A few days ago there was a discussion about retirement spending. I’m saving enough (probably too much) for retirement, so I’m making a little more of an effort to spend a little more now. Booked a condo in Maui for 8 nights. We will stay in CA for a full day on the way back to visit my mother and farther-in-law. Maui is the only major Island I haven’t been to, so it should be fun.
I’m still saving where I can though. We had an Amex companion ticket for Delta, so the trip to LA and back was essentially half price for the two of us. We had enough miles for Comfort+ tickets for the LA to Maui leg. I was saving those for a UK trip, but those flights (using miles) are so stupid expensive it’s not worth it. We will look for deals when we are ready for that.
When I was traveling for business, I did the math and decided that miles were best used for upgrades, especially on flights longer than 6 hours, or international. Unless you have a short, one hop domestic, that fits in the lowest tier of points usage, it’s almost always cheaper to buy a ticket and upgrade. Has to be an “upgradeable” ticket though.
n
Eyepatch McCain:
Crenshaw is undecided on the House Republican border security bill
He’s becoming a reliable Dumbocrat vote.
“Vacation” PTO is the one area where my current employer falls short in terms of salary and benefits.
For someone with my years of experience, the time falls about a week short, but the response from the company is that they have a “dead” week between Christmas and New Years during which, in theory, everyone is off.
Unfortunately, this year, ChatGPT exploding in popularity meant that the only time I was truly “off” that week was when we left my laptop behind for a couple of days in Fredericksburg doing … nothing!
Again, I think we are the only vendor shipping the requisite hardware to run the serious AI models.
The man from OpenReach came, he saw, and he conquered. My VDSL sync rate downstream is now 60+MBit/sec, which is well in spec.
Those of you with cable may now mock, but, as I said yesterday, I don’t need multi-hundred MBit downloads. That 60MBit will more than suffice for me.
And since it was an external fault, no call-out charge.
G.
@Alan:
I use Xfinity because I have Xfinity for internet. They use Verizon towers so the coverage is really good. I have not had any issues with the service in the 4 (I think) years I have used the service.
Truth be told for most people 100 MB is fast enough and enough bandwidth. I would like more upload speed as I upload a lot of images to my website.
I equate the speed wars with internet providers to the pixel wars with cameras. A 40 MB image sensor coupled with a lens that will only resolve about 5 MB is really a waste. I tell people shopping for cameras to drop down a couple of levels from the top end, save the money on the camera and go top end on the lens. The results will be much better.
speedof.me says I’m getting 750 down and 132 up.
n
Sun came out. Windy though, so anything can blow back in.
Need to do some stuff…
n
The peasants and “primitive animals” back home didn’t like it, with the daughter of .gov official flaunting her wealth…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12070345/Papua-New-Guinea-Foreign-Ministers-daughter-Savannah-Tkatchenko-slammed-Coronation-TikToks.html
I wonder if the Foreign Minister is well positioned to profit from his role?? Hmm?
n
Wonder how long it will be before the same happens here? Oh, right, never.
n
STAY AWAY FROM NYFC…
Daniel Penny released on $100k bond for death of Jordan Neely
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12076733/Witness-subway-thanked-Daniel-Penny-putting-Jordan-Neely-chokehold.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
“Why doesn’t drowning in debt bother Biden?” By Star Parker
https://www.tribdem.com/news/editorials/columns/star-parker-why-doesnt-drowning-in-debt-bother-biden/article_daea3d8c-eff5-11ed-8e3f-4b6ba9bee17d.html
“The most perplexing thing about President Joe Biden’s stance on the debt ceiling issue is that the staggering national debt does not seem to bother him. In remarks Biden made the other day, he noted that the national debt has “accumulated over 200 years,” and he also noted that the debt increased under President Donald Trump.”
“But the president’s selective memory chooses to overlook that when the Obama-Biden administration took office in 2009, national debt stood at 60% of GDP. When they left eight years later, it was at 100% of GDP. We also must note that from 1965 to 2008, the annual average growth of the U.S. economy was 3.1% per year. From 2009, when the Obama-Biden administration started piling on the debt, to today, the average GDP growth has been 2.1% per year.”
“According to the U.S. Treasury Department, federal expenditures accounted for 25% of our GDP in 2022. In 2015, they accounted for 20%.”
“One not-so-subtle hint as to where Biden stands is his calling the $4.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years proposed by Republicans “draconian. The total spending in the budget recently submitted by Biden calls for $82.2 trillion in spending over 10 years. $4.5 trillion in cuts out of $82.2 in spending is anything but draconian.”
We, the USA, are in big trouble. A financial apocalypse is coming.
STAY AWAY FROM NYFC…
Daniel Penny released on $100k bond for death of Jordan Neely
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12076733/Witness-subway-thanked-Daniel-Penny-putting-Jordan-Neely-chokehold.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
The NYC officials are the scum of the Earth. They take good people, the protectors of our society, and try to to turn them into criminals.
Noticed that StackSocial has MS Office 2021 Lifetime license (not the ‘365’ version) for under $30.
I’ve purchased earlier versions from them before, so this is legit. Good for one computer only.
Link is here for the Windows version. Mac version link is here.
Phone plans: I was on Mint Mobile for a year, $35/mo, 15G data, unlimited T/T.
I wanted to try out my Apple Watch Ultra (sniff) on a phone plan. MM doesn’t support it. I just switched to a T-Mobile 55+ plan so I could add the AWU. $55/mo plus $10 add on for the watch. It works good and I can get calls while I’m out walking just with the watch, listening to Audible, tracking the walk. If I get tired of the amount, I’ll switch back to MM. T-Mobile just bought out MM, but I don’t know if they will change anything.
Viva La Elysium!
Yep. When I signed up for Google fiber, they had a 100mbit and 1000 mbit plan. I got the 100 and was just fine for 3 people streaming at the same time. I was forced to upgrade to a 500 mbit plan for $5 more per month. Google doesn’t even offer that now, only selling 1000mbit and 2000mbit plans. I’m sure I’ll be forced to upgrade sometime in the future. Still better than having to rely on the Deathstar for access though…
Hollyweird:
Oscar-winning actress and LGBTQIA+ ally says what drive her are her three — yes, three! — queer kids
Sure they are.
Pearls Before Swine: I Want You
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2023/05/12
Yup, I’ve been there too, Pig.
“I thought I’d heard it all, but…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/i-thought-id-heard-it-all-but.html
Why ???
Eyepatch McCain:
Crenshaw is undecided on the House Republican border security bill
He’s becoming a reliable Dumbocrat vote.
Hopefully somebody will Primary him.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/01/rep_dan_crenshaw_gets_slapped_down_in_the_house.html
People are weird. Good luck collecting from the sex toy company…. as in, don’t bother trying.
My wife’s seen lots of x-rays of that type, items both inserted anallly and swallowed.
The latter category included a Barbie. Fun fact – Barbie does not show up on x-ray, but the shoes are opaque to that part of the EM spectrum.
Down the hatch!
The guy didn’t admit to swallowing Barbie at first.
Isn’t Crenshaw’s district the part of town with Exxon and HPE?
Good luck with that primary challenge.
“May 12, 2030: New York City Announces Gourmet Solution to its Rat Infestation”
https://www.sovereignman.com/future-headline/future-headline-nyc-announces-gourmet-solution-to-rat-pocalypse-147398/
“The campaign will also include pop-up sidewalk grills throughout the city, where Michelin-rated chefs will encourage New Yorkers to try their gourmet rat-fare.”
“Swedish Prime Minister Greta Thunberg was among the first to applaud the move, saying, “People got used to the idea of eating bugs. I think they will come around to the idea of eating rats soon enough.””
Ugh.
“China orders recall of 1.1M Teslas to fix accelerator pedal problem that raises crash risk”
https://www.chron.com/business/article/china-orders-recall-of-1-1m-teslas-to-fix-18096126.php
OK, I am not quite understanding the problem. Are they going after the problem where people are hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal and Teslas are so powerful that it can get them going real fast when the person meant to slow down ?
“Now that’s a reversal!”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/now-thats-reversal.html
“I’m nowhere near as active or adventurous as Bear Grylls, but I can confirm that since I switched to a carnivore diet, my health has definitely improved. Of course, on my present fasting diet I’m not eating solid food at all for five days of the week – only on weekends – but in general, the more “meaty” my diet, the better I feel for it. When this prolonged diet is finally over, I intend to follow a carnivore diet as far as possible. (Of course, today that’s an expensive proposition, given the price of meat. I wonder what the FDA, the CDC and Texas’ Animal Health Commission would say if I imported cane rats from Africa and farmed them locally? They’re very easy to raise, and make very good eating!)”
“I wish more fast food places would offer the option of their regular burgers, etc. minus the buns. The only one I’m aware of is Carls Jr., which offers lettuce wraps instead of buns with their burgers if you ask for them. If anyone knows other chains offering that sort of option, please let us know in Comments.”
Interesting. I need to read up on the Carnivore diet.
Hollyweird:
Oscar-winning actress and LGBTQIA+ ally says what drive her are her three — yes, three! — queer kids
Sure they are.
Munchausens.
“List Of 23 Vehicles Most Likely To Make 250,000 Miles”
https://www.carpro.com/blog/list-of-23-vehicles-most-likely-to-make-250000-miles
“Ten of the vehicles on the list are pickups: the most durable model being the Ford F-350 Super Duty, with a 49.1 percent chance of reaching 250,000-plus miles. Toyota figures predominately on the list, making up 8 of the 23 models. As for longest-lasting SUVs, the Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Sequoia and Honda Pilot make the list. Three passengers cars make the list: the Honda Accord, Toyota Avalon and Toyota Camry.”
I think that you can get a Cummins diesel straight six on the F-350. I know for a fact you can get the Cummins diesel on the F-450 and and F-550 for $$$ with an Allison transmission.
“The next big Windows 11 feature update is imminent — here’s what’s new”
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/windows-11-may-june-2023-feature-drop-changelog
I had no idea that USB4 was even a thing.
My Windows 10 office PC wants to upgrade to Windows 11 real bad. Real real bad. I am tempted as I want to have a Windows 11 PC in the shop.
xkcd: Siphon
https://xkcd.com/2775/
Nope, toilets still flush here in South Texas.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2775:_Siphon
The Land Cruiser, Tundra, and Sequoia would need the V8 engines. I doubt the turbo-ed V6 in the new Tundra and Sequoia will last as long, and the Land Cruiser was pulled from the US for 2023.
The 4Runner and Tacoma with the non-turbo V6 have the caveat of the rack and pinion assembly on the vehicles currently pushing ~ 200,000 miles. That was the question mark for us, but I still regret trading the 4Runner for the Exploder – not my decision, however.
In-n-Out, Ask for your burger “Protein style”, which is lettuce wrapped but no bun. I especially like the “3 by 3, protein style, animal style”. Don’t get it to go; it’s WAY too messy to eat in the car.
Lynn says:
Technically that’s “Munchausens by proxy”, convincing someone ELSE to act crazy.
USB4 is news to me. The rest is just BS. Having the clock show seconds might be cool. I’d rather be able to make the clock font larger and then hover for the date.
Yeah. Hater ‘r’ Us.
>> My Windows 10 office PC wants to upgrade to Windows 11 real bad. Real real bad. I am tempted as I want to have a Windows 11 PC in the shop.
@lynn, can you do a clean install instead of an update?
Thanks for this, as I’m currently shopping for a truck.
Given the weirdness of the used truck market, I’m resigning myself to dropping $50k on a new truck. Not certain yet, and I’ll continue to look all over the country for the right used truck, but eventually I’ll run out of patience as my need for an additional vehicle increases.
It stings a bit. That’s double what I’ve ever paid for a vehicle before, and I whined and moaned about that one.
My last factory new vehicle was back in around 1999 or so. A minivan to cart my 3 kids and their friends around.
You can get a Five Guys burger without a bun – either wrapped in lettuce or in a bowl.
Jersey Mikes will give you a sub in a tub – everything on a sub minus the bread. I get the Big Kahuna in a tub when my son and I go.
Red Robin will do a lettuce wrap for their burgers. I haven’t been there in years since the boy has gotten older.
And as mentioned above, In-n-Out protein style for the win. Double Double with onions for me. No fries.
I’d wager most places will do no bun now. I don’t know if the bottom level fast food places will.
My take on the “Carnivore diet” thing is …. get off of the carbs. Get off of the potato chips and doritos and soda pops. Get /off/ of the sugar. It’s hard, it’s almost like quitting cigarettes.
Yeah, you can still have the little glass of orange juice with your breakfast of eggs and bacon. You can still eat a normal hamburger. You can still have a loaded baked potato with your steak.
Just get off of the crap food. It doesn’t mean you need to start eating carrots and cabbage every other day. (gag)(just for the Mr Ray farts) There’s a whole entire aisle at the grocery store full of crap like chips and crackers and cookies and candy. Skip that aisle unless you want some saltines or triscuits or porky rinds.
Snack on cheese and summer sausage instead of chowing down a bag of Fritos and a handful of Oreo’s.
And for whatever it’s worth, my pants were getting pretty tight. To the point of buy new or just not button the top button. I cut out the gatoraid and jugs of orange juice and iced tea at work. Cut out the bag of store brand doritos for lunch.
I had a fridge in Cash Control. So, a block of cheese, a summer sausage or the kosher hotdogs. Cube that up, Add a few (like six) Ritz or Triscuit. Eat with a toothpick between customers. Because money is filthy.
And go from pushing a fat for me 175 to 155 in a couple of months. Just cut the sugar and most of the chips.
>> My Windows 10 office PC wants to upgrade to Windows 11 real bad. Real real bad. I am tempted as I want to have a Windows 11 PC in the shop.
@lynn, can you do a clean install instead of an update?
Probably, but why ?
I did an update from W10 to W11 on two computers. Did not have an issue with either. When I built my new computer I opted for W11 from the start and it was a clean install. No issues.
At some point the jump will have to be made as W10 loses support. Might as well jump in with one computer now to see what issues, if any will arise.
At some point the jump will have to be made as W10 loses support. Might as well jump in with one computer now to see what issues, if any will arise.
Not only that, but I need to fully test my software on W11 for my customers.
“Efficiency, demand response could cut Texas winter peak loads 23.5 GW, save billions over new gas: ACEEE”
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/efficiency-demand-response-cut-texas-winter-peak-loads-ACEEE/650155/
“Heat pumps, smart thermostats and electric vehicle demand response programs would account for 16.5 GW of the reduction.”
Don’t trust these people, they have no idea what they are doing. All of their so-called load reductions require the public to change their habits and spend their money.
I didn’t let the AC installers put in a “smart” thermostat with the new system, but something seemed off with the old thermostat the last time I adjusted the temp. I’m going to pull it and look behind the mount this weekend.
100,000 Jesus Trucks charging every night will eliminate the current ERCOT Summer margin.
My new primary desktop was built on the cheap using a Ryzen 5 5600 with the stock AMD cooler. 64 GB RAM. ASUS “Pro” motherboard.
All I really cared about was enough CPU to run Docker Desktop and maxing the memory without affecting the clock speed.
I can post specs. I know it can install Windows 11 with a new hard drive, but I’m not in a hurry.
Nothing weird with the thermostat. The installers just didn’t push the thermostat into the wall mount socket properly after changing the batteries.
>> @lynn, can you do a clean install instead of an update?
Probably, but why ?
I just feel more comfortable doing a bare metal install. They can’t have tested every upgrade scenario. This is Micro$oft we’re talking about.
‘70’s Mother Earth News design for a setback thermostat had a 7-watt night light on a timer mounted on the wall below the thermostat. Get the distance adjusted and Bob’s yer uncle.
The rest is just BS. Having the clock show seconds might be cool. I’d rather be able to make the clock font larger and then hover for the date.
– I think it’s long past time that plugging in a F”ING MOUSE shouldn’t cause a pause to load drivers. I think that the whole desktop shouldn’t have to periodically redraw, with placeholders for the icons. I think that the volume control should work on the F’ING startup noise.
Fix those things first. Then get rid of “Tiles” and the App paradigm. Develop a freaking 3d GUI, SGI had one called Portalis 25 years ago ffs. No more waiting when clicking on a folder for windows to create all new thumbnails would be nice too.
n
“I thought I’d heard it all, but…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/i-thought-id-heard-it-all-but.html
Why ???
The first comment says it all.
“”Anal railgun”… I never thought that I would see those words in print.”
And the fifteenth comment by Aesop makes my innerds hurt.
“Torn large intestine, hepatic contusion (at minimum), and emergency surgery. I hope the OR team could keep a straight face when informed.”
>> @lynn, can you do a clean install instead of an update?
Probably, but why ?
I just feel more comfortable doing a bare metal install. They can’t have tested every upgrade scenario. This is Micro$oft we’re talking about.
An upgrade is an hour of my time. A nuke from orbit, reformat, and install to bare metal is four hours of my time since I have to move across my 66 GB of email plus 10+ GB of other documents. Plus the three sandboxes of 22 GB each.
As part of my work today to get stuff ready to sell, and to get some sort of vinyl player for D2, I’ve been listening to gear today.
I’m listening to an early 80s K-Tel compilation on an Optimus (Radio Shack) turntable (the much better Pioneer it’s sitting on needs a new cartridge) with an 80s vintage Technics SA-203 turner/amp, into Bowers & Wilkins CM1 bookshelf speakers.
The record is a horrible pressing. I can’t turn the volume past 3 because everything is sitting on the kitchen table and the bass starts to feed back thru the turntable… 3 is too loud to talk while standing in front of them.
45s sound great with awesome stereo separation. The Urban Cowboy LP sounds great too, as does the original cast Jesus Christ Superstar.
I was going to sell the speakers but I might keep them for my office. D2 can get some Boston Acoustics or Klipsh bookshelf speakers that I have in storage. Maybe a Polk Audio pair… I think she’ll get the Optimus TT, if I can figure out how to reduce the downforce setting, and I will probably give her the amp too.
Vinyl, who knew?
n
Saturday’s Dilbert just arrived. Wally is asking PHB for time off. PHB says why ? Wally says that TikTok has convinced him to remove his testicles and live as a woman. PHB says TikTok isn’t that powerful. Wally says that is what he thought too. Then Wally says he has to go shopping for hedge trimmers and summer dresses.
Yup, too edgy for the funny pages. Adams is living large now.
“The .38 Special: History & Performance”
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-38-special-history-performance/
“The .38 Spl. is nothing if not versatile.”
I like the +P ammo.
K-Tel records sounded “not good”. You did get a long of songs for the price. But better than nothing and better than a copy of a cassette of songs recorded from the radio. AM radio.
“get a long of songs” A lot of songs, too.