Tues. Oct. 3, 2023 – slouching toward the future…

Slight coolness to the breeze in the morning, not quite as high temps in the afternoon, it must be Fall, finally. 90F+ is still plenty hot, and I don’t want to be in the attic yet, but I can tell the day is coming. I will end up doing all those things I’ve put off.

I spent the day Monday doing paperwork. Tax stuff. Billing. Bill paying. Nothing at all interesting, other than the observation that round trips to the BOL pretty much doubled the miles I drive in a year. My wife is doing about the same number of trips in her Honda too. So we’ve increased our mileage expense dramatically, especially when gas was at the peak.

The other observation is that I haven’t been keeping up my rate with my remaining client. I bumped it up for this invoice, and I’ll be bumping it again on the next one. I need to get at least a thirty percent increase just to stay even, and I’m not close yet. Raising rates is hard, even with good, long term clients. It might be harder actually, as you can more easily raise rates on strangers than someone you’ve been working with for a decade. He’ll understand, and he’s not pinching pennies, but he didn’t get to where he is by writing a bunch of checks. I think my position is pretty secure as I know more about what’s going on there than anyone, but I also don’t want him to put off calling when there is an issue. It’s tough, and it’s going to be tougher.

Today I’ve got to do the stuff I blew off yesterday, and I’ve got to finish before 4pm. I’ve got a doctor appointment for more prodding this afternoon. There was a week without anything, but now I’m busy again. Still, better to get any issues identified and treated before things get really bad.

And make no mistake they are getting bad. Lawlessness in our major cities, feral youth running wild, imported criminal cartels busy getting set up and established, and a flood of illegal dependents pushing aside citizens will continue to worsen our standard of living and cause anger and resentment in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. You need to start asking yourself, what are you willing to put up with? What are you willing to do? Would you join a lynch mob? Chase down and beat a thief? Burn down a nuisance property? Report your neighbors who you think might be doing those things? Will you join a neighborhood watch? or an armed militia? Will you become a police auxiliary, or volunteer with the Sheriff? Time to start thinking about lines in the sand.

And stacking. Always improving.

And for your sake, get out of big cities…

nick

60 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Oct. 3, 2023 – slouching toward the future…"

  1. SteveF says:

    Would you join a lynch mob? Chase down and beat a thief? Burn down a nuisance property?

    Foment a riot in a feral neighborhood to cause internecine death and ongoing revenge killings?

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Non-thesis MSCS programs with thin admission requirements are lucrative diploma mills for many otherwise reputable institutions who count on that international tuition money to pad their budgets, and I’m not surprised the Supreme Court left it up to Congress to straighten out the mess

    Of course, Congress won’t.

    I am surprised Rafael Edward is involved in the challenge, but even he has to be aware of the colonization happening in Houston and Austin right now, with F-1/OPT being a primary visa mechanism.

    https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/366554052/Supreme-Court-rejects-IT-worker-challenge-of-OPT

    How thin are the requirements? My Masters program taught remedial C to the international students under the class title “Advanced Programming Paradigms”.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    Up and moving.  Bit of a rough night, tossing and turning.  Not super rested.   

    Coffee will help.

    n

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/sponsored-post/8-critical-life-saving-medications-every-american-should-have-hand-and-foolproof-way

    –an alternative to the other Dr approved pack of home drugs for the prepper…

    useful for the list if you are ‘rolling your own’.

    n

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    Some good news.

    Charlotte Sena is found alive in CABINET in camper van owned by her ‘abductor’ Craig Ross Jr, 47, as it’s revealed he left ransom note in nine year-old’s parents’ mailbox, triggering SWAT helicopter rescue

    Charlotte Sena was found ‘alive and safe’ on Monday – two days after she was snatched from Moreau Lake State Park in Gansevoort. Craig Ross Jr, 47, is the suspect in custody – and he is currently under questioning, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (center) revealed in a dramatic press conference Tuesday evening. He lived inside a trailer at his mother’s property on Barrett Road in Milton, New York. Police found little Charlotte covered up and hidden in a cabinet on Monday. Ross Jr. drove up to Sena’s parents’ home at 4.20am Monday morning and left a ransom note inside their mailbox – which was covered in his DNA and fingerprints. At 2.30pm Monday, investigators finally found a match in the database and linked the fingerprints to a DWI arrest made in Saratoga County in the 1990s. From there, they swooped on Ross Jr’s camper van, arrested him, and found the missing girl. Cops confirmed Ross Jr is not a registered sex offender and did not reveal a motive. Earlier reports misidentified the suspect as a 51 year-old convicted pedophile.

    n

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    Super light misty drizzle this am.   The streets aren’t even wet under the big trees, but there are puddles in the open areas.   So very light, but steady for a while. 

    Cool.  If the light overcast burns off and the misty rain stops it might be a nice day.

    I hope so, because I can’t work on my storage unit with rain coming down.  Might have to rearrange my ToDo list.

    n

  7. Bob Sprowl says:

    Lynn:  ‘66 Falcon Sedan – it has the same engine compartment as the ’66-69 Fairlane which was almost the same as the ’67-69 Mustang’s compartment

  8. PaultheManc says:

    Troublesome experience with the Honda Jazz (Fit) Adaptive Cruise Control.  On a number of occasions now on UK three lane motorway, the ACC has ‘braked’ the car (captured on dashcam from 63mph to 54mph) whilst moving from outside lane to centre lane adjacent to an articulated truck on the inside lane.  It seems to think I am following the truck, rather than maneuvering into the free lane. This is annoying when it happens, but has been dangerous on two occasions when a truck following the adjacent truck has moved from the inside lane to the centre lane at the same time, to overtake.  In effect the truck sees me as ‘braking’ in the lane ahead of him!  Fortunately on both occasions the truck drivers have been responsive and immediately pulled back into the inside lane (when I accelerate, they then pull back into the centre lane and give me a good ‘flashing’ indicating, not unreasonably, their displeasure).  I have only got ‘form’ responses from Honda and UK Safety agency.

    One other occasion, the ACC slowed down as I came up to a truck in the inside lane, where I was positioned consistently in the centre lane.  The ACC seems to have problems with multi lane implications.

    Clearly I have to adapt my driving technique when ACC is active.

  9. EdH says:

    Clearly I have to adapt my driving technique when ACC is active.

    Wow.  A feature that imitates a tire blowout at speed is not something I would want installed.

  10. MrAtoz says:

    This is what you call a frivolous lawsuit:

    Math is HARD! Letitia James proves to be her own worst enemy in Trump case and HAAAAA

    Since she is an Amish, goobermint goon, carbuncle Dumbocrat, nothing will happen.

    And the judge that valued tRump’s Mar-a-lago at $18 million (based on some bogus “official” in PalmBeach) is an out-of-his-mind PLT imbecile.

    It won’t make any difference to the sheeple if tRump gets all these suits dropped.

    Dumbocrats.

    tRump, tho.

    6
    1
  11. Greg Norton says:

    I’m sure leaving out FauXi was just a clerical error…right??

    The PR push to shortcut at least a decade off of trials for “miracle” mRNA cures begins.

    Moderna doesn’t have any other revenue generating product besides Covid jabs.

    I’m still part of the control group for mRNA tech along with … 15% (?) … of the US adult population — statistically significant enough that we can’t be ignored.

    We’ll see who rusts first.

  12. Ray Thompson says:

    Damned insurance companies. Damned, damned insurance companies.

    I changed insurance companies as my rates with the prior company jumped 25% with no explanation. I decided to change. I found another company that gave me better rates with a savings of $730.00 for the year. Not a trivial amount.

    The insurance company sent an inspector to “photograph” the property. Uh, no they didn’t. He wandered around the property while I was not at home. He complained about no locks on the gates because of the pool. There have not been locks for 34 years. Then he complained about the stacked retaining stones that acted as steps, a shortcut to the side yard. Nope, need permanent stairs with a railing. To see those he had to walk around behind the trailer parked in the space.

    He also complained about a limb touching the roof of the garden shed. Why that is an issue I don’t know. Next on the agenda was the gutters on the garden shed being clogged. Uh, no. They gutters have screens and the stuff he saw was debris on the screens. To look in the gutters he would have to use a ladder and would have discovered the gutters are dirty, but not blocked.

    He complained there was a dog barking and no dog was declared on the application. I was never asked on the application and I most certainly do not volunteer information. The inference that I lied did not sit well with me.

    So I cleaned the gutter screens. Restocked the blocks. Got locks for the gates (do I have to actually lock the locks?), removed on small branch from a tree. The dog was admonished to never bark at adjusters. I hope they are happy.

    I am demanding a re-inspection with me present. I don’t want this negative crap hanging over my head. It would be used to deny a claim or significantly reduce the claim award. Insurance companies are necessary scum. Lawyers are just scum.

    11
  13. Lynn says:

    Do not stick your *%%^^ into anything that is crazy or will want money from you.  “Trevor Bauer, woman settle dispute in sexual assault case”

        https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38549922/trevor-bauer-woman-settle-dispute-sexual-assault-case

    “Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer and the San Diego woman who first accused him of sexual assault, triggering the investigation that led to an unprecedented suspension from Major League Baseball, have settled their civil lawsuits outside of court, with no money exchanged between the two parties.”

    “The woman accused Bauer of sexually assaulting her during two encounters in the spring of 2021, prompting the former Cy Young Award winner to be placed on administrative leave that July. The woman was later denied a permanent restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court, and the district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges against Bauer. But MLB — which has the authority to apply punishment outside the criminal justice system and spoke to other women who made similar accusations — handed Bauer a 324-game suspension in April 2022, twice longer than the previous high under its domestic violence policy.”

    “Bauer, 32, subsequently released a near-four-minute video on YouTube alleging that Hill’s legal team approached him “multiple times” about a financial settlement that his side consistently declined. Bauer said in the video that the defamation lawsuit allowed his legal team to uncover additional cell phone material that was “deliberately and unlawfully concealed” from his lawyers, most notably a video of the woman “lying in bed next to me while I’m sleeping, smirking at the camera without a care in the world — or any mark on her face” on the morning after the second alleged incident.”

    Now Bauer needs to sue the MLB for false suspension and ruining his career. The MLB should not react unless the player is under legal charges from the District Attorney.

  14. Lynn says:

    The other observation is that I haven’t been keeping up my rate with my remaining client. I bumped it up for this invoice, and I’ll be bumping it again on the next one. I need to get at least a thirty percent increase just to stay even, and I’m not close yet. Raising rates is hard, even with good, long term clients. It might be harder actually, as you can more easily raise rates on strangers than someone you’ve been working with for a decade. He’ll understand, and he’s not pinching pennies, but he didn’t get to where he is by writing a bunch of checks. I think my position is pretty secure as I know more about what’s going on there than anyone, but I also don’t want him to put off calling when there is an issue. It’s tough, and it’s going to be tougher.

    Half of my new contracts that I have signed this year are half off.  The natural gas industry has contracted so much that it is unreal.

  15. Lynn says:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/sponsored-post/8-critical-life-saving-medications-every-american-should-have-hand-and-foolproof-way

    –an alternative to the other Dr approved pack of home drugs for the prepper…

    useful for the list if you are ‘rolling your own’.

    I am really scared of this stuff as I am deathly allergic to Penicillin and Keflex.  I forgot that I was allergic to Keflex thirty years ago and took it a second time.  I got hives all over my body 3 or 4 inches wide from the first dose.  My doctor yelled at me for 15 minutes when I came back to get a replacement prescription.  He told the next time I took Keflex that I will die and I believe him.

  16. Lynn says:

    Lynn:  ‘66 Falcon Sedan – it has the same engine compartment as the ’66-69 Fairlane which was almost the same as the ’67-69 Mustang’s compartment

    Cool !  Yeah, I was wondering if it was the same car in the Bryan Adams video So Happy It Hurts but that is a 66 Chevy Corvair convertible.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0caIWs0O9c

  17. Lynn says:

    One other occasion, the ACC slowed down as I came up to a truck in the inside lane, where I was positioned consistently in the centre lane.  The ACC seems to have problems with multi lane implications.

    My wife’s 2019 Highlander has the same problem with Adaptive Cruise Control when you are in a curve.  It will see the car in the next lane and brake HARD.  But you can override it with the gas pedal.

  18. RickH says:

    My wife’s 2019 Highlander has the same problem with Adaptive Cruise Control when you are in a curve.  It will see the car in the next lane and brake HARD.  But you can override it with the gas pedal.

    My 2019 Highlander XLE doesn’t have that problem. Have not noticed that at all since I bought it in 2020.  

    If you are following a car with ACC on, and there is a slight curve in the road to the right, you might speed up momentarily if the car in front gets out of the sensing zone. But it slows right down as you enter the turn to maintain the following distance.

    Just got back from a trip to Oceanside CA (from Olympic Peninsula WA). Two days driving about 10 hours a day. No problems with the car. Averaged 25.5 mpg, with speeds usually above 70mph where allowed. 

    The trip this spring to TX and back (about 6K miles) also didn’t have any issues. Same speeds/mpg on that trip

  19. Lynn says:

    “SpaceX’s Starlink Adds Enough Capacity to Lift Waitlist for US”

         https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacexs-starlink-adds-enough-capacity-to-lift-waitlist-for-us

    “The waitlist for Starlink in the US disappears after the company deploys new satellites with four times the capacity as the first-generation tech.”

    “On Monday, the last remaining holdouts for the waitlist, mainly based in the southeastern US, were finally lifted. This occurred days after SpaceX launched another batch of 22 Starlink satellites into orbit. In total, SpaceX now has 4,845 Starlink satellites circling the planet, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell.”

    I did run into a problem with Starlink the other day.  I cannot get FTP to my website to work over Starlink.  I tried SFTP but could not configure it as I ran out of time so I plugged my DSL modems back into my multiplexer switch.

  20. Lynn says:

    “Automakers say they face $14 B in fines from Biden’s ‘unfeasible’ fuel rules”

        https://hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2023/09/automakers-say-they-face-14-b-in-fines-from-bidens-unfeasible-fuel-rules/?oly_enc_id=8020E7639790J0C

    “(Reuters) – The Biden administration proposal to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 is not feasible and could cost automakers a total of more than $14 B in fines, an automotive group said Friday.”

    “The criticism is similar but not identical to concerns raised about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal that would require 67% of new vehicles to be electric by 2032. The auto group in June called the EPA proposal “neither reasonable nor achievable.” Toyota called the EPA proposal stringency requirements “extreme and outside historical norms.””

  21. Lynn says:

    If you are following a car with ACC on, and there is a slight curve in the road to the right, you might speed up momentarily if the car in front gets out of the sensing zone. But it slows right down as you enter the turn to maintain the following distance.

    It happened to me last week.  I was in a curve going 60 mph and a car came on in the merge lane (the next lane over) going 10 mph.  Even though I was in the next lane, it saw the car going 10 mph and braked HARD.  I hit the gas pedal and moved over to the middle lane of the three lane road.

  22. Lynn says:

    “Texas Republicans stuck with Kevin McCarthy, but it wasn’t enough to save him”

        https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/03/texas-republicans-kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote/

    “WASHINGTON — Texas Republicans joined together to support U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership on Tuesday — but it wasn’t enough to save the Californian from becoming the first leader of the chamber in American history to be removed from the position.”

    “The challenge paralleled the troubled election for McCarthy to become speaker in January — historic in its own right because it took 15 tries to get there. At the time, a handful of Texans led the charge to challenge McCarthy’s bid. But this time, the state’s delegation stayed true to their party leaders, with all Texas Republicans who were present voting to save McCarthy and all House Democrats voting to remove him.”

    “The House ended up voting 216-210 to remove McCarthy, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats.”

    This is not a solution.

  23. paul says:
    “Automakers say they face $14 B in fines from Biden’s ‘unfeasible’ fuel rules”

    What if the Automakers gave the Feds the middle finger?  The Feds are going to do what?  Seize a manufacturing plant? 

  24. Nick Flandrey says:

    Anyone know why the flags are at half staff today?    Not everyone,  but a lot of them…

    N

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    Collecting the fines is the goal.  

    N

  26. Greg Norton says:

    “The House ended up voting 216-210 to remove McCarthy, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats.”

    This is not a solution.

    It probably plays well in The Villages.

    Succession becomes interesting now without a Speaker.

    Who were the other Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy? I’m guessing Gaetz and The Witch (Anna Paulina Luna) voted to remove.

    The 2026 race for FL Governor has begun. Gaetz-Luna?

  27. SteveF says:

    Automakers should add 10% to the cost of every new car and list it as the Biden EPA Tax.

  28. Greg Norton says:

    Automakers should add 10% to the cost of every new car and list it as the Biden EPA Tax.

    They will definitely add the tax to the sticker price. That’s the point – to convince people that an EV will save them money.

  29. Greg Norton says:

    What if the Automakers gave the Feds the middle finger?  The Feds are going to do what?  Seize a manufacturing plant? 

    The US automakers have been wards of the Feds since the financial crisis. They will do as they are told.

  30. Greg Norton says:

    “Automakers say they face $14 B in fines from Biden’s ‘unfeasible’ fuel rules”

    Wait until Mayor Pete lowers the national speed limit to 55 MPH and the “fudge factor” returns to the MPG calculations.

    Do you really believe a K Car got 47 MPG highway?

  31. Lynn says:

    Automakers should add 10% to the cost of every new car and list it as the Biden EPA Tax.

    Half of the people in the country will gladly pay the new cost.

  32. paul says:
    Do you really believe a K Car got 47 MPG highway?

    A friend had one.  It was a not bad car for the price.  Not ugly.  Comfortable ride.  Easy to work on for things like changing the oil.    I think he got about 23 mpg around town.  Compared to my ’75 Cordoba, that was fantastic. 

    No idea at all about his highway mileage. 

  33. CowboyStu says:

    From RickH:

    Just got back from a trip to Oceanside CA 

    You must have gone by close to my house in Huntington Beach, Ca.

  34. paul says:

    Time for the annual waste of time.  Vehicle Inspection.  

    It’s not exactly the money that ticks me off.  It’s the 45 minutes of waiting plus drive time to and back. It’s the “you need a new air filter” or “you need new brakes” bull crap that they have no beeswax even looking at.    It’s almost two hours of my life spent doing bullshi(-r)t.

    Last year?  Truck had 25,446 on the odo.  I just looked. 26,002.  It still smells new. 

    Grump grump grump. …. 

  35. RickH says:

    @CowboyStu

    Just got back from a trip to Oceanside CA 

    You must have gone by close to my house in Huntington Beach, Ca.

    Perhaps. Stayed at the condos near the harbor, on the beach. Nice weather. Took a one-day jaunt to D-land to be with the grandkids. But mostly was lazy.

    Did get the three new books in the thriller series done. And published.  The first in the series is here: “The RV Park Redemption” at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKD5712F?tag=ttgnet-20 . Ebook on pre-order; live on 7 Oct. Paperback book live on 9 Oct. 

    Books Two and Three are also published. “The Dive Bar Redemption” (Book 2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKCTMVWP?tag=ttgnet-20 . “The Hiker’s Redemption” (Book 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKCXB9TW?tag=ttgnet-20  . Ebooks on pre-order, print books available 10 Oct.

    Have started work on Book 4. Still figuring out the main plot, though. 

    Cover images and blurbs here: https://www.richardhellewell.com/rv-vigilante-series-new/ (need to update that page with the links to the books). 

  36. SteveF says:

    You must have gone by close to my house in Huntington Beach, Ca.

    So… Rick is a creepy stalker? That’s a terrible thing to say… without evidence… evidence like him spending time near your house.

  37. Greg Norton says:

    Automakers should add 10% to the cost of every new car and list it as the Biden EPA Tax.

    Half of the people in the country will gladly pay the new cost.

    I saw a lot of new F150s sitting on the dealer lot on Saturday morning when I nosed around waiting for my wife to check in at the service counter. None of them had a sticker below $60k.

    $1000 car payments are not affordable for the vast majority of the population now.

  38. paul says:
    Just got back from a trip to Oceanside CA 

    I went to CA to visit a group of friends back about 20 years ago.  Up near Grass Valley.  Nice country there other than all the darn trees…. because you can’t see the highway signs for the trees.

    Drove south.  I figured I’d catch a motel along the way.  Do some tourist stuff.   Never caught a good vibe from the highway.  Through LA was just bad vibes. Like driving past the Arch in St. Louis but without the ghetto vibe.     So, Grass Valley to Oceanside in one day.  

    The little off brand motel, I like giving those folks my business, was almost hostile when I wanted a room. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Maybe I’m too clueless to know if it was a place to take a Rent A Whore motel. Totally not in Utah Toto!  That the lights would turn off while reading a book was an interesting feature.

    I wanted to go to Oceanside.  I was a kid when we moved to Mobile.  I was nine.  I had a bike and riding around town was great!   I wanted to see how it looked.  It all looked rundown.  The house that was new, in 1963 or ’64, 142 Mayfair, was still the same color.  Still had the stained glass contact paper on the front door glass that Mom installed.  I have a key to that house and I would not be surprised if it still worked.  I can draw the floor plan.  

    The mission, San Luis Rey, was, I don’t know.  Disappointing.  It was grand when I was a kid.  Oh.  Have you ever visited the Alamo in San Antonio?  Same thing, a preserved thing. 

    Went to the beach and meh.  South Padre is more exciting. 

  39. Greg Norton says:

    $1000 car payments are not affordable for the vast majority of the population now.

    Also, student loan payments resumed this week. Interest resumed accruing last month.

    At $1.7 Trillion in loans outstanding, interest is easily an $80 billion hit to GDP annually.

    And the numbers just keep getting bigger.

  40. Lynn says:

    I saw a lot of new F150s sitting on the dealer lot on Saturday morning when I nosed around waiting for my wife to check in at the service counter. None of them had a sticker below $60k.

    $1000 car payments are not affordable for the vast majority of the population now.

    This is why the UAW wants a 40% pay increase.

  41. drwilliams says:

    Return with us now to Marion, Kansas, where the August executions of illegal search warrants against a newspaper and multiple private residences including that of the newspaper owner, whose heart attack and death the next day may be related:

    https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/pushback-gestapo-police-chief-who-raided-kansas-newspaper-in-august-suspended/

    The town’s mayor reversed course and suspended the police chief who had an interest in finding out what the reporter had found out about his own sordid history.

    The reporter has filed suit against the police chief. 

    The mentally defective judge who signed the search warrant based on faulty if not fabricated evidence has had a complaint filed against her with a state commission.

    The restaurant owner that started this shiite show trying to prevent the reporter form revealing a DUI has insured that millions of people now know about it and it is permanently enshrined in the internet for future generations. (No suits against her, yet, but if “it appeared from evidence that chief Cody was simply acting as the hired thug of that restaurant owner” was meant to imply that a bribe was involved, things could get interesting. In any case, her ex-husband–the actual source of the info–is wearing a prosthesis to keep from LHAO)

  42. Lynn says:

    “Is it time to start prepping?” By Michael Devon 

        https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/09/is_it_time_to_start_prepping.html

    “How much time do we have left before the Marxists eliminate our constitutional rights and freedoms?”

    “There is less time left than you may imagine.  The late summer of 2024 will most likely be the tipping point.  Look for these four bright lines that, when crossed, will inform you that our Republic is on life support, and that the “do not resuscitate” order has been signed, notarized, and posted on the defibrillator next to the gurney.””

    So we have twelve months before “the event”.

    Hat tip to:

       https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/10/tab-clearing-and-prepper-update.html

    Critiqued at:
    https://www.kimdutoit.com/2023/09/26/its-always-time/

  43. drwilliams says:

    1000 car payments are not affordable for the vast majority of the population now.

    “This is why the UAW wants a 40% pay increase.”

    The UAW is making a darn site more that “the vast majority of the population” now and their demands are obscene.

  44. Greg Norton says:

    This is why the UAW wants a 40% pay increase.

    Go back about 20 years, and the number of boats registered in Michigan was much higher than Florida. I’m not sure where the stats are now.

    The UAW has moved beyond the “nice bass rig” retirement. The rank and file want to play golf with Tiger Woods in Windermere, FL like Derek Chauvin had planned before he went to prison.

    I’m sure Chauvin wasn’t alone investing in Florida real estate among Minneapolis cops. They tend to do these things in groups.

    I know that San Francisco cops got a sales push for a private island development off the coast of Honduras about 15 years ago. Not long after we moved to the Northwest, my wife was on the business end of a a shake down for our house equity from her nurse in Vantucky whose sister was an SFPD Detective looking to buy into the scheme.

  45. nick flandrey says:

    Jeez the commentors over at Kim’s are the same caricatures as on the rest of thar intarwebs when it comes to prepping.

    “Yer gennie is loud and will run out of gas”  – yes, and?    Works great for every disaster and SHTF we’ve had so far.

    “I know a bint that died before she even ate a bite of her preps”  – yes, and?   Lots of people die before they use something.   Lots more people die because they didn’t have what they needed, or ran out before the need did.

    “don’t get too complicated wit ur meds, some dood says you don’t need that stuff”.  Really?   An ER doc, in a first world nation, with civilization raging all around him says “Stabilize and transport to higher”.  This is my surprised face.   WTF has that got to do with prepping for the collapse?  Nothing.

    ———-

    I’m waiting for the “all I need is a big gun and I’ll take what I want” comment.  Or “I don’t need to prep, I’m coming to your place.”

    There are a million reasons not to prep.   They will probably be like every other person ever, who was warned but didn’t listen, and then the big bad happened, and their reaction will be to get angry and blame the people who DID listen.

  46. drwilliams says:

    “I don’t need to prep, I’m coming to your place.”

    Call first. I hate waste and want to make sure I have freezer space. 

    OTOH, there’s always jerky, and that would be weirdly appropriate…

  47. drwilliams says:

    “Superchargers charge vehicles up to the 80% sweet spot in as little as 20 minutes, but to provide that kind of power for nearly 100 bays takes something solar can’t provide — diesel generators.”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/03/the-irony-of-green-charging-stations-the-harris-ranch-tesla-supercharger-station/

    I suppose it would be too much to ask the green weinies to turn off the a/c while their cars were charging? 

    Note that the facility has 98 stations, but the photo only shows 36.

    Nice asphalt solar absorber, up to 98 vehicles charging while running a/c (probably) and the diesel gennies chugging away. Wonder what the thermal efficiency is and what it looks like from orbit to a satellite with an IR camera?

    “And when reporters from SF Gate tried to ascertain just how much of the station’s electricity came from these generators, Tesla remained conspicuously silent.”

    Too much work to go down to county and check the permits for the size of the fuel tanks and the site electrical upgrade when they installed those chargers? Don’t know any injuneers?

  48. EdH says:

    Too much work to go down to county and check the permits for the size of the fuel tanks and the site electrical upgrade when they installed those chargers?

    That was pretty much my thought after reading the article.  Though I don’t imagine the average reporter has ever pulled a permit for development of anything, their *existence* is a mystery.

    As well as the “why no shade” thing.

    Most of the units on pedestals in the background (transformers?) are shrouded which may explain why only 36 chargers are working.

  49. Greg Norton says:

    As well as the “why no shade” thing.

    The business model of the travel centers doesn’t work when loitering is encouraged. Buc-ee’s stores don’t have seating for the customers, but the management did recently stop requiring drivers to remain with vehicles parked at gas pumps, around the same time the EV chargers arrived.

  50. nick flandrey says:

    Civilization is great while it lasts.  I’ve been xrayed, even had a movie made.   I’ve been CT scanned, for a couple of different reasons.   I’ve been MRI’d in the past.    All ways to look at your insides from the outside…

    Next week I’ll get a new one for me, PET scanned.   They’re doing “base of skull” and lower so I won’t learn if I have a Positronic Brain, but I’m pretty sure that would be negative anyway.   And I already know there is more in my head than sawdust anyway.

    So that’ll be fun.  For values of fun.

    n

  51. drwilliams says:

    5th Circuit Broadens Social Media Censorship Injunction To Include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

    William Jacobson’s summary:

    The 5th Circuit today in an Opinion on Panel Rehearing, granted rehearing, withdrew the prior Opinion, and issued a new Opinion expanding the injunction.

    The Court went on to reissue its injunction, including against CISA this time. The 5th Circuit stayed the injunction for 10 days to give the government time to seek a stay from the Supreme Court.

    This is a BFD.

    page 61 of 74::

    Ultimately, we find the district court did not err in determining that several officials—namely the White House, the Surgeon General, the CDC, the FBI, and CISA—likely coerced or significantly encouraged social-media platforms to moderate content, rendering those decisions state actions.20 In doing so, the officials likely violated the First Amendment.21

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/5th-circuit-broadens-social-media-censorship-injunction-to-include-cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency/

    I commend your attention to IV.A. (page 28) of the opinion linked above.

    This is going to the Supreme Court. If it’s not 9-0 then anyone dissenting is going to permanently stain their legacy.

    I wish Scalia was there to write the opinion.

    F*cking Gaetz and his grandstanding. Someone needs to write a nice, tight bill to deal with the government employees involved. Bar them from government positions and make them liable for damages  with their pension at risk. Pass it in the House and then everyone can ask why the Senate isn’t interested in First Amendment violations by fedgov.

  52. Bob Sprowl says:

    Doctor x-rayed my hip and surgery is not necessary.  I could hardly hear him; I usually take my son to the doctor but forgot to this time.  He gave me a shot and a prescription for something and an appointment for me in 6 weeks.  I didn’t hurt much when  I walked the dog tonight.

    I’m only getting the transmission at this time.  The clutch assembly has a two year and the scatter shield has a five year warranty from date of manufacture.  Since it will probably be a year (or more likely two) before I start the car I’ll wait to order those.  It is a safety rule that NHRA, the racing association, enforces.  The flywheel, etc. would be best purchased at the same time as the clutch.

    I took my 3×2 carbs to my machine shop to get the air horns mill from circle to a “D” shaped.  I asked to speak to Steve Taylor, my contact there.  The grandson of the owner (and General Manager) told me Steve died in a motorcycle accident on the way to work this morning.  I asked them to text me the name of the funeral parlor when they get it.  

    I was numb; he was in his early ‘50s and very good.  They are backlogged and with him gone were not interested in my small job.  I finally recovered and found another shop that will do the work.  They said that if I build a fixture to hold the carb in the milling machine’s vise, they will do the job on Friday morning.  I’ll started on a wooden one made from some scrap oak I had; it will be done in the morning.  

  53. nick flandrey says:

    @bob, wow, that sucks.  Keep your eyes open for a ‘gofundme’ for his family, seems like that is the norm now, and I’m sure it’s helpful.

    n

  54. JimB says:

    Nick, that’s a lot of testing for someone as young as you are. I hope you get a good diagnosis, and wish you the best.

  55. brad says:

    Ah, it’s election time here. Jeezum. For our equivalent of the House of Representatives, just for our canton (state) there are – I didn’t count – but must be something approaching 100 candidates. Crazy. Definitely not normal, but politics are heating up here, not least because of the illegal immigration problems.

    You can vote straight party-lines: pick your party. Then, if they have too many candidates, pick a particular prepared list of candidates. IMHO a stupid way to vote. Thankfully, there’s a nice little online tool where you answer a lot of detailed questions about your political positions. The candidates have done the same. You can then vote for the individual candidates whose results most closely match your own. I did that, but I eliminate any career politicians, lawyers or farmers. Interesting: the average age of the candidates I voted for turned out young – maybe 30 or so. Given my mostly conservative positions, that was a surprise.

    For our equivalent of the Senate, there are “only” 8 candidates for 2 seats. I couldn’t eliminate the lawyers, because that’s basically the only choice (unless I want to vote socialist). Grumble. Lawyers should advise the parliament, but they shouldn’t run the damned place.

  56. Nick Flandrey says:

    @JimB, yes, and thanks, me too.

    n

  57. EdH says:

    The business model of the travel centers doesn’t work when loitering is encouraged. Buc-ee’s stores don’t have seating for the customers, but the management did recently stop requiring drivers to remain with vehicles parked at gas pumps, around the same time the EV chargers arrived.

    Policies based on typical 5m gasoline fill ups don’t translate well to 30-45m charging stations.  

    I haven’t seen a station, other than a small stop & rob, without  always (mandated?) without a cover at gasoline pumps in years.

    An actual apparent design flaw is that all of this seems to be nearly a grade & at a danger from flooding.  

  58. brad says:

    @Bob: Thanks for the summary of your paper. Pretty obviously, my knowledge is based on high school history and superficial knowledge, whereas you’ve done a lot more research into the topic.

    In any case, the pressure on the Palestinians – turning Gaza into a pressure cooker – is entirely deliberate by the surrounding Arab nations. Egypt closing its border to Gaza is a pretty clear statement. Let’s see how many other Arab nations offer evacuation via the sea route. Almost certainly: zero.

    ———-

    On a different, but related topic: It’s interesting to see the pro-Hamas protests, and the local reactions to them. All the Harvard student organizations will claim the right to “free speech”. They may discover that they can speak, but that there are consequences to that speech.

    Locally, a tenured professor came out in support of Hamas. He was fired, and the university looked into why his department head didn’t do so faster. Turns out she is his wife, and is now also likely to be fired. In Germany, they have outlawed a number of organizations that sponsored pro-Hamas protests. Free speech in Europe has limits. One can argue whether that is good or bad, but that’s the way it is.

    Given the huge number of Arab immigrants over the past 10-20 years, I predict some interesting times ahead as they test the limits of European tolerance…

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