Hot and hotter. Humid too. I think it might be hotter today. Temps went UP last night, and there was lighting around three quarters of the horizon… Don’t know what today will look like.
Did a bunch of stuff yesterday but did it very slowly. The heat was very oppressive. I was moving about half speed. I did get stuff done, just not the whole project, and not last night. I’ve got stuff to do today to wrap up before I can head home. ‘Course that’s usually true…
It would be helpful if it wasn’t so hot.
But progress is being made. And that’s what counts.
Always be working…
and stacking.
n
Wishing our friends in the US a very non-labourious Labour day! Odd that you don’t celebrate international communism on 1 May like everyone else 🙂
My day started with some non-scheduled labour. Last night a little old lady hit Mrs Denis’ vehicle with her car. No injuries, but some bodywork damage. The old dear was so oblivious to her surroundings that Mrs Denis actually had to chase her down to make her stop. I spent this morning filing a claim with the LOL’s insurer. Joyous. Just very glad no-one was hurt. Mrs Denis was pretty shook up though.
Do you have a maximum legal driving age in the US? Germany doesn’t, nor do they have medical tests or other checks of elderly drivers’ abilities. Apparently more than â…“ of road accidents are caused by seniors…
From Brad yesterday…
That – the peace of mind factor – is the difference between life assurance and other insurances. The former reassures despite the inevitable, the latter protects against the consequences of the possible. We are all going to die!
Comes today mail from the Borough’s Electoral Services. It’s time for the annual update to the Electoral Register.
They tell you who they believe is resident at your address (based on your responses in previous years), and you are required, by law, to notify any changes, either online or by returning the suitably-amended form, at your expense (no postage-paid envelope is included).
The question is moot in my case, the pre-printed details are correct, so I don’t need to do anything. But I did notice that the maximum age for Jury Service is now 76 (being registered to vote means “eligible to be called for Jury Service”).
There is also an option to have your name removed from the “Open Register”. Doing so does not remove any entitlements, it just means that your name(s) are not on the list that can be bought by any Tom, Dick or Harriet, perhaps for marketing purposes.
G.
I also got the result of my latest Diabetic Eye Screening test, wherein they photograph my retinas in hopes of detecting retinopathy before it becomes untreatable.
And it’s good news – no current evidence of problems. There’ll be another test in a year’s time. Still free of charge to me, since this is all under NHS auspices.
G.
@Geoff: The NHS does good stuff. I just wish there weren’t also the stories about interminable waits for essential treatments…
Health insurance here is going up around 10% in January – it continues to increase a lot faster than inflation. The reasons are pretty darned obvious to anyone with a brain: They keep adding more stupidity to the “basic” care. It is supposed to cover only essential things, but it now covers homeopathy and a bunch of other nonsense. Trim it back to basics, and let people who want fluff pay extra.
We also have a serious age problem among GPs, pediatricians, family practitioners and the like. All the docs want to be specialists. The general practitioners are over-worked and underpaid. Which is just dumb, because they can – and do – handle 90% of the actual health care.
@Brad:
Agreed. That said, I recently had to change GP practices, because my previous GP was about to lose his (rented/leased) premises, because the landlord wanted to sell up. I’d still be there, were it not for that. (not saying anything about my new practice, it’s still early days, but all appears well at this time).
G.
Make healthcare a “right” and virtual enslavement of at least part of the provider community is the inevitable end result.
Right now, in the US,most of the younger GP population works under an indentured servant arrangement inherent with student loans, but the Progs keep toying with the idea of blanket loan forgiveness of the “evil” debt, which would most likely gut provider ranks absent some forced conscription system tied to a medical license.
Today I’m taking three teens to the county fair. Yay. Given my druthers, I’d work on a bunch of the chores that need to be taken care of that I don’t have time for, but the kids will have fun.
Speak for yourself.
I don’t really think that I’m unkillable and immortal, but so far I’m not seeing much evidence to disprove it.
No maximum age exists, and, in many states, absent reported incidents, a decade or more can pass before a driver even has to submit to an eye exam after relocating to a new state and receiving the initial license transfer.
Further complicated by the medical schools sliding down the path to wokeness.
The best medical treatment is to eat healthy and try to postpone any problems.
I tried a Mountain Dew Voltage recently that was evocative of the blue raspberry slush drinks of the state fairs of my youth. I thought it was diet, but I was not paying attention when I bought a 12-pack at the store and got the full-on sugar at 46 grams. No wonder I drink so much black coffee.
I had tv on yesterday morning early as the coffee was brewing and caught a food program where the chef was demonstrating to the parents of a family of five your boys that reduced calorie recipes could be healthy and taste good. I didn’t pay much attention to the remake of ice cream, but he did a caprese salad to demonstrate a reduced fat alternative to olive oil that used olive brine to cut Âľ of the calories in the dressing. Since this is tomato season I need to find that recipe, if I can remember the name of the show…
Or back door establishing MBBS schools in the US as I believe my wife’s alma matter is currently doing in Florida.
They can’t be alone with this scheme.
Make healthcare a “right” and virtual enslavement of at least part of the provider community is the inevitable end result.
That works right up until you realize that the average age of a GP is around 60 – which it is here. Empty pipeline. That’s gonna be a problem real soon now…
As the saying goes: I intend to live forever, or die trying…
That said, I age is sometimes frustrating. I’ve always had a terrible memory, for example, and now it’s worse than terrible. Also, I find my math and programming skills slowing down, which is really annoying…
After getting the shakedown at the dealer last week over replacing the brake fluid in the Camry over water intrusion issues, I picked up a fluid tester from the auto parts store, spending decent money for a well reviewed device. The end result was < 1% water, barely registering on the probe.
Taking another look at the recommendation paperwork, I didn’t see any numbers from the dealer.
Clowns.
Now I have the tool. It already paid for itself.
The crazy thing is that the dealer tech fought me on the cooling system flush on the last visit. They also argue with me over 5,000 mile interval oil changes every time I go.
Oil change/tire rotation visits are up from $70 – not crazy considering the prices of oil and filter along with the hassle of removing the skid plate – to $120, where it becomes more cost effective to do the oil at home.
LOL, even CNN is dumping on FauXi over wearing face diapers:
AAAS! You KNOW it’s over for Branch Covidians when even CNN is pushing back on Fauci – watch THIS
Watch him squirm and try to justify “but, but, but individual…” like that helps. I’m laughing as his sycophants try to justify his actions by quoting bad science from decades ago to justify his bad science of today. Like he is some bumbling mad scientist just trying to do the right thing. His face diapering was nothing but a thought experiment on his part that was disproved multiple times.
Bonus Rachel Madcow lying about the mechano-gene-splicing-pseudo vaccine and diapering:
Glenn Greenwald proves what a FRAUD Rachel Maddow IS in receipt-filled thread on her COVID ‘reporting’
Damn, lying on video really bites you in the ass. She probably wore four masks after TPTBs sent out the memo.
It’s already gotten 2 degrees hotter while I was having my breakfast… 87F at the moment.
I’m on a very thin pipe up here, or I’d link some appropriate headlines wrt the international labor movement, ie commie/socialist front…
– awful lot of strike talk going on
nothing like some organized extortion…
And yep, we do celebrate May day on a different day… fit’s better with the working week, ironically.
n
>> Do you have a maximum legal driving age in the US?
Of course we do. It’s based on a formula using the POTUS’s age, number of days on vacation and mileage on a blue Corvette.
need more cores for that
The calculation must also include the number of different stories Corn Pop has spun over the years about the origin of the Corvette.
Wedding gift.
Engagement gift.
Law school graduation gift.
…
CNN had their chance three years ago. Now they deserve to meet the same fate as where the rest of the media is heading, with all of the “personalities” eventually roasting in Hell after spending the rest of their natural lives living in shame..
The chance of any of them feeling shame is not measurably different from Zero, so best they get to Hell quicker so their Eternity is a fraction longer.
When will the blackouts start biting? The coming southern hemisphere Summer, December this year to February, is looking very iffy in Victoria and South Australia.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/09/03/aemo-east-coast-aussie-states-are-failing-or-about-to-fail-energy-reliability-standards/
Have they built the secure compound for the Quislings, yet.
I have little sympathy for the Australians. They volunteered for
castrationgun confiscation, and thought that every single freaking historic example of what follows wouldn’t apply to them. No means of resistance, so just starve in the dark as the Chinese take over without a shot. **When the few buried rifles come out it will be other Australians doing the policing, not the Chinese.
Oh, some of us do have a special “celebration” on May 1st.
It’s called Victims of Communism day.
“The authoritative Black Book of Communism estimates the total at 80 to 100 million dead,…”
I believe if you include all forms of socialism, the total is much higher. And of course, that doesn’t count the pain and suffering and deprivation for those who survived it and those suffering under it as we speak.
“The only good communist is…”. I’ll let you complete the quote.
We went to San Antonio on a fast trip this weekend to the big anime show at the convention center. Since I remain part of the Control, I violated the show’s mandatory jab or test policy the last two years so I didn’t go.
The craziest thing we saw in the last couple of days was the face of the Spurs’ “Coach Pop” looming large in a mural on the side of a church what was a predominantly black neighborhood. I believe the NFL’s desire to have Gregg Popovich as even a minority owner of a team will override any objections from Jerry Jones about relocation or expansion into San Marcos.
>>The calculation must also include the number of different stories Corn Pop has spun over the years about the origin of the Corvette.
Not to mention how it miraculously survived the “fire.”,
Best not to get too close to the toxic cesspool. But the people who live there, suck it up Skippy,..
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-says-he-hasnt-been-able-break-east-palestine-visit-despite-lake-tahoe-getaway-de-trips
From what I’ve seen in videos, the garage is detached, making it ideal for classified document storage, right next to the extra antifreeze.
Were those Warren Buffett’s tanker cars? I never followed up.
Look for UTLX markings on the side in the pictures of the aftermath of the explosion.
If the explosion involved Buffett’s cars, that might explain Biden’s reluctance to draw attention to the site.
For some reason, we lost power and the generator ran for a hour or two this morning. I really need to figure out how to get the run log and see how long it ran.
Or stick a nice analog Hobbs meter in line somewhere.
Not mocking, btw, my little dual fuel 2.2kw (1.8 effective) generator doesn’t have one, been thinking of how to attach one. I think the 12v outlet is always powered, unlike the 110v outlets, so it might be the place to attach.
A gorgeous morning here in the high desert, nicest since spring, after a small storm blew through over the weekend.
I’m on a very thin pipe up here, or I’d link some appropriate headlines wrt the international labor movement, ie commie/socialist front…
– awful lot of strike talk going on
nothing like some organized extortion…
The Teamsters killed Yellow Freight a couple of weeks ago by not allowing it to rebuild itself for more efficiency.
https://abc7ny.com/yellow-corp-trucking-bankruptcy-freight/13612690/
“As it sought a cash infusion that never came, it struggled with slowing business, an unaffordable debt load and a long-running battle with the Teamsters union, which represented 22,000 of its 30,000 employees, including its drivers and most of its dock workers.”
Or stick a nice analog Hobbs meter in line somewhere.
I do have an digital hour meter on it. But there is a modem on it calling home to mama frequently.
There is no maximum age, but California requires an in-person visit every 5 years after age 70 for renewal, with both a vision and written test.
There are laws against age discrimination, both federal and state, so the DMV has to tread very carefully.
Was ERCOT close to capacity last night? Do they have historical charts showing supply/demand?
Just got home and all the visible evidence is that we had a big storm cell move thru. There are blown over signs, standing water, and the look of a big wind and rain having gone by…
Wife says that it rained twice…
So maybe the power went out in Sugar Land because of something similar.
n
With the caveat that you can’t trust any of the numbers…
Staggering figures reveal 1.2MILLION US-born workers lost their jobs last month – replaced by 688,000 foreign-born staff – as migrants flood across the border
–remember when they were decrying “replacement theory” as just another conspiracy theory?
n
Well, I haven’t had a road accident in my post 75 years, but I really am concerned about it
Remember kids, Mexico has very strict gun control laws. Americans who unintentionally crossed the border with as little as a SINGLE BULLET are sitting in Mexican prisons.
\
–but but but, I was told the US was the horrible killmurderverybaddest place in teh world…
n
Away from the anime show, San Antonio was chock full of Subcontinent this weekend.
I’ve never seen so many Riverwalk tour boats running at the same time, even late last night ~10, when we walked to CVS.
>> I had tv on yesterday morning early as the coffee was brewing and caught a food program where the chef was demonstrating to the parents of a family of five your boys that reduced calorie recipes could be healthy and taste good. I didn’t pay much attention to the remake of ice cream, but he did a caprese salad to demonstrate a reduced fat alternative to olive oil that used olive brine to cut ¾ of the calories in the dressing. Since this is tomato season I need to find that recipe, if I can remember the name of the show…
Do you know the network the show was on? (Possibly no one has used that TV recently besides you?) The network’s site might have a search that will get you to the recipe. Good luck…
Dang. 197 per 100! Do they resuscitate them and then kill them again?
Did ya’ll know that Bill Gates has a blog ? “The day the moon blew up” “The novel that rekindled my love for sci-fi.” By Bill Gates May 17, 2016
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Seveneves
“When I was younger, I read a ton of science fiction. I was up to date on all the big authors. Probably the one I read the most was Robert Heinlein—The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress was a particular favorite. But for the past decade or so, I haven’t read nearly as much sci-fi. I just got out of the habit.”
“So when a friend recommended Neal Stephenson’s most recent novel, Seveneves, I thought I would give it a try. I had read one of Stephenson’s earlier books, Snow Crash, and thought this new one would be a good way to get back into sci-fi. I’m really glad I did, because is a thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable book.”
“Neal, who lives in Seattle, was nice enough to meet up so we could talk about his work—and he patiently helped make this virtual-reality film of our conversation. It’s the first of a series of VR movies I’ll be releasing on TGN.”
Was ERCOT close to capacity last night? Do they have historical charts showing supply/demand?
Not even close last night. At noon today, there was only 66,072 MW demand. Last night at midnight, it was 56,499 MW. ERCOT served over 84,000 MW of demand a week ago.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
@Alan
“Do you know the network the show was on? (Possibly no one has used that TV recently besides you?) The network’s site might have a search that will get you to the recipe. Good luck…”
I thought I knew, but when I looked I couldn’t find it.
“Possibly no one has used that TV recently besides you?”
Kitchen tv was probably on/off ten times as I passed through the kitchen drinking coffee and grazing.
I remember seeing that entry, but I’ve always figured BillG’s blog was ghostwritten by Wagg Ed or whoever does his publicity now.
I haven’t bought the “reading weeks” since I worked for the Egghead Ponzi and Gates used to do our holiday sales pep talks with Head Grifter Victor Alhadef.
Pam Edstrom, another rumored Gates paramour, died in 2017.
Stephenson was shilling for Bezos and Blue Origin when he wrote “Seveneves”.
I met Stephenson at a book signing for “Reamde” in Portland pre-shilling days. IIRC, Fox optioned “Reamde” as a miniseries which went nowhere.
I brought my first edition “Cryptonomicon” for a signature. The admission fee was not tied to a specific book purchase, and Stephenson seemed genuinely happy to see the book, which was more than a decade in his past at that point.
I have several first editions of Cryptonomicon, a first edition set of the Baroque Cycle, and the custom, one off art project set. I was sure he would continue to produce work that only got better, and they’d be worth owning…
I got the first first at the bookstore, the others I’ve picked up later at thrift stores. I carried my trade paperback copy to actually read.
Speaking of reading, I just finished the third Murderbot story. I’m really digging them, and they are short and easy to read. Two so far today, and I’ll need self control not to read the fourth…
n
I met Stephenson at a book signing for “Reamde” in Portland pre-shilling days. IIRC, Fox optioned “Reamde” as a miniseries which went nowhere.
Ron Howard purchased the rights to Seveneves back in 2016. He released a tweet in 2020 that they were working on the script. Amazon is paying the bill.
https://twitter.com/RealRonHoward/status/1276136984076042241
Two so far today, and I’ll need self control not to read the fourth…
Good luck with that. I woke up at 530am this morning with the nightstand lamp on and my book still open.
>> Well, I haven’t had a road accident in my post 75 years, but I really am concerned about it
Speling miztaks doughn’t kount
Speaking of reading, I just finished the third Murderbot story. I’m really digging them, and they are short and easy to read. Two so far today, and I’ll need self control not to read the fourth…
https://www.amazon.com/All-Systems-Red-Murderbot-Diaries/dp/0765397536?tag=ttgnet-20/
You can stop anytime, right ? The following line just kills me.
“Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency.”
The scary murderbot has social anxiety…
n