Cold again, maybe not so clear. It was cool and clear most of yesterday but did get a bit cloudy at sunset. We’re not supposed to get rain. … we’ll see….
Did a bunch of running around. And some sitting around. Ordered my ham for the party, got tablecloths and the other things I was assigned. Tried to find some stuff for one of my projects while I was at the store for other things, but didn’t. I’m looking for local sourcing for Febing’s leather dye. Michaels is supposed to have it, but they didn’t. Tandy leather is in a very inconvenient place for me to get there. I might have to bite the bullet and order from the zon.
Got the kids shifted back and forth. Ran out of time and didn’t make it to my secondary. That will slip to today.
Today I’ve got one item to pick up, then the ham later in the day. I’ll go to my secondary location in the morning. With my hosting duties coming up, it’s been feeling like a school night with homework due. I don’t like that feeling. It’s part of being in meatspace though.
And meatspace is important.
So is stacking. Maybe there will be some good sales later. Keep your eyes open, and have some resources ready. If you have some resources that aren’t fully committed. Times are getting tough, and it’s going to be harder to stay ahead.
Better to try than not though.
Stack.
nick
Swapping war stories with other IT people in Tampa one night, friends of friends, I remember one IT contractor talking about fudging the numbers at CentCom in an Excel spreadsheet after the real spending data was lost for an entire month ~ early 2012.
I don’t doubt they do the same at the EPA and CARB. Scratch hard enough on any bureaucracy, and you’ll find a key Boomer or possibly X-er woman in a windowless office somewhere who is practically Mozart in Excel having spent a whole career doing nothing but that.
My wife used to think I was nuts on that point, but when we saw Girl Boss speak at the Powerhouse Animation panel at the con back in January, during Q&A, after one audience member asked about what tech or art skill she would hire immediately if she saw it on a resume at their booth later, Girl Boss responded “Excel”.
Run a production for a woke Netflix show and I guess you need to be creative with the numbers to justify a second season like Girl Boss did for Kevin Smith … if she wasn’t a hired pro just for the panel
Especially when you are the head of the creative team who killed He Man.
Sad state of affairs when such becomes a reasonable comment.
I have a problem with interstates that suddenly morph into toll roads. If a road is a toll road, it is not interstate as interstates were mostly paid for with tax money. I think at one time I-20 (this was over 35 years ago) was a toll road between Dallas and Fort Worth. There is still a problem in Houston where a person is traveling on the I-state and suddenly they are on a toll road. There are signs but having to watch traffic in Houston, reading toll signs, with many different tolling authorities, it is not an easy task for the infrequent traveler in Houston.
Traveling in the northeast one time the interstate suddenly became a tolled interstate. Interstate signage, but a toll must be paid. I know states foot some of the bill for interstates but federal highway money is still involved. Any road that receives federal highway money should not be tolled by the states.
Now there is talk in TN about preferred routes and lanes. Portions of the interstate where paying will get a vehicle access to the lane(s) or route. I think that is wrong. If TN wants to have preferred lanes on existing interstate let them build the lanes with money from the tolling authority. Atlanta did that on I-75 north of Atlanta. Congestion pricing. Sometimes that 15-mile route may cost over $30.00 one way.
Another bad idea in Atlanta, reduced lane width. I-75 through Atlanta from I-285 North and South trucks are banned. There is a reason. Atlanta reduced the lane width to 11 feet rather than the normal 12 feet. Eight lanes of traffic each direction south of Atlanta
I have some cash but my expenses have been greatly higher than income for a few months and I don’t know when that status will change. I hesitate to put more money into “stuff” when I might need the cash next month. There’s also a question of where to put more stuff, but that’s normal by this point.
Austin has a lot of adult babies, and I’m not talking about the kink where they wear diapers and sleep in full size cribs. Well, not in most cases.
Who knows with that guy however. I remember seeing him, but Caleb Hammer has a knack for getting the freaks to travel to Austin at their expense. After a while, the parade becomes a blur of irresponsibility.
Really lazy reporting by the DM unless they weren’t making a bigger point for Schadenfreude about how things work in the US/Texas/Austin. That video is at the top of the Financial Audit channel and Hammer posted it eight months ago.
Gotta sell papers while they can.
For the interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZpWki2mOA4
I’m guessing plugs’ “bad son”, Hunter, won’t spend a day in prison. I think he will be hit with a massive fine, millions, and will come up with the cash no problemo ( or get the Sharpton Special). Or, plugs has the pardon already written and it will be delivered right after Hunter is processed.
That guy should apply at the tolling company. One of my co-workers in my group was a convicted felon – two (three?) counts of DUI/manslaughter – awaiting sentencing in Marble Falls for a year and management put him on the payroll because he was somewhat competent at writing code and dealing with the pressure of deployment situations.
Management at that place loved to hire people they thought had no other choice and would be pliant in the face of all kinds of antics.
Does Texas employment law prohibit discussing co-workers’ arrests? I know some states make it grounds for dismissal.
@greg, I found it interesting on a meta level of ‘new new media’ with a newspaper’s website reporting on youtubers… it was almost as far down the page as you can get, but it did reach a national audience. I bet his channel explodes.
@stevef, I hesitate to put more money into “stuff” when I might need the cash next month.
—There is this, but with inflation at 30% that cash buys less and less. I’d say “balance” between pre-buying stuff, ie moving demand forward, and keeping up your reserve. If ‘in’ isn’t matching ‘ out’ though, you have an issue in the medium and long term… but you know that.
67F and wet. Ground is wet and the occasional drop falls, but it could just be condensation falling from the trees. The horizon is lightening, but the forecast now calls for rain. Bugger.
n
The local stagehands union had a couple of murderers on the call sheet. One convicted, one awaiting trial…
n
Biden can’t issue the pardon until Hunter is convicted of a crime. The indictment leading to the pardon has to be structured in such a way that Number Two Son won’t be subject to new charges later as more evidence surfaces in any House investigation of Corn Pop’s rackets.
A pardon now would be meaningless, and Hunter isn’t getting a plea deal with immunity now.
Caleb Hammer’s channel exploded a long time ago. He was rumored to be in talks with Dave Ramsey to sell the channel and join that organization, but Ramsey and Hammer have very different takes on credit cards and, I’m guessing, various social issues and politics.
See also: H1-B
Mr. DUI/Manslaughter was H1-B as well. IIRC, he got a little carried away during Daiwali and hit a mother taking her son to school out in Marble Falls. His blood alcohol was .32 according to the newspapers.
Subcontinent gets really crazy during Diwali. I’d say it is like New Years, but the more accurate comparison would be 6th Street in Austin the night after UT wins the shiny metal hat trophy at the annual Red River game in Dallas.
On a side note, UT didn’t win the hat for the strippers this year so Seven Wins Steve continues to sit on the hot seat with the alumni.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/texas/article-12839321/Texas-mass-shooting-suspect-Shane-James-34-sprung-prison-woke-bail-reform-group-year-James-break-bail-conditions-DAY-cutting-ankle-monitor.html
– there is a part of me that wants them charged with accessory to murder, even knowing that would be a slippery slope.
n
— bold added. Is it climate change or normal weather pattern? Make up your mind. And that’s the first time I’ve seen “climate breakdown.” Seems to be a UN turn of phrase.
n
It appears that this latest indictment of Hunter isn’t the Golden Ticket Number Two Son needs to lead to a pardon but just a stop gap to prevent closed door testimony next week as part of the House’s investigation in to the Corn Pop rackets.
Hunter will plead his 5th rights in the face of an ongoing DOJ investigation and, now, indictment.
Congress will adjourn for Christmas and that will be it for the Biden inquiries until January. Nothing relevant will happen until after the MLK holiday and the week after that is the South Carolina Walkin’ ‘Round Money Distribution and Rubber Stamping disguised as the Dem primary.
The media will be ensconced in Savannah after Christmas. Maybe off season living in Augusta and sneaking in a few rounds of golf.
Divemedic has a way with words.
Yes, yes they should.
n
Daily Timewaster features a beautiful pipe in one picture, and I saw a guy walking in my neighborhood yesterday smoking a pipe…
There is definitely at least the beginning of a pipe smoking subculture happening here.
Just an observation. Keeping an eye on the edges of the culture.
n
Not gonna happen with the State Attorney in Travis County.
When the story broke, local Faux News and the rest of the media were keeping quiet about the suspect’s prior brushes with the law. I first heard about the details on a movie geek vlog out of San Antonio the other day and then it popped on Faux 7 Austin last night.
I’m sure Joe Pags and possibly Michael Berry had the details straight on Wednesday, but I don’t get much of a chance to listen to either show anymore.
The State Attorney and the Austin jury pool are going to protect the Prog agenda. Just ask Alex Jones.
Enter the Scapegoat:
Mel Monzack, 83, Joe Biden’s personal lawyer who is authorized to act on the president’s behalf in financial matters, is LINKED to Hunter’s newly filed criminal indictment
I won’t be surprised if he “suddenly died” of unknown causes and is then convicted post-mortem. The PLT Puppet Masters will do anything to stay in power.
Finished breaking down the standing rib roasts. Nice 3.5 to 3.75 pound roasts are now vac sealed and at freezer camp.
Broke a whole giant bag of frozen mixed veg into single use serving sizes. If I don’t do that, the big bag gets freezer burned before we use it. Because we prefer fresh veg, we don’t think to go to the freezer. I’m taking most of the little bags to the BOL, where they will give us the option of ‘almost’ fresh, without a special store trip.
Looked thru this week’s grocery store circulars… and they aren’t even pretending anymore. The 4 stores that cater to the hispanic market now have all their listings in spanish, with the english translation smaller and below. That reverses what they did for years. Makes business sense, but is a reversal of custom and courtesy, and an acknowledgement that they don’t need white or black shoppers.
The aldi ad is ¼ fruit, and ¾ holiday cookies and treats. Usually it’s ¼ food and the rest household items or even stuff like beach cabanas.
And there is a full page Krispy Kreame ad in one of the manufacturer coupon circulars, but the only 2 Krispy Kreame stores in Houston are 30 – 45 minutes away. Next nearest is College Station, at almost 2 hours, or Austin at 2:15 or more… KK is p!ssing money away, where are the activist shareholders?
n
Only the most clueless would think otherwise…
Move over Meghan – Kate is the ‘People’s Princess’ in the US… and William has a higher approval than Harry: DailyMail.com poll reveals Princess of Wales is America’s favorite royal – and a third think the Sussexes should go back to the UK
If the press has been kind to mm, then think what a horror she must be in person.
n
Where are Krispy Kreme’s shareholders? At the grand opening of their new store in Paris, France.
re Interstate highway system and Eisenhower
I’ll give Ike a pass on this one. He was intimiately aware of the limitations of the highways in the US, which were legion, and as a military man realized the weakness for defense.
He was wrong, on many levels, and the law of unintended consequences rose up and bit him (and us) on the behind, but I understand how he missed it.
The consequences: the death of passenger railroads (bad), the freedom of auto travel (good), the ability for long distance trucking (good), the dependence on long distance trucking vs. railroads (bad), the dependence on, and necessity of, automobile ownership (bad), the rise of unionization due to the auto and steel industry (bad), urban sprawl (mixed).
As was pointed out earlier, urban areas co-opted the Fed money to improve their own roads, which was just plain wrong. Toll roads are bad, just plain bad (sorry Greg).
There are 3 Tandy leather stores in Houston.
I don’t find the one on the Beltway too difficult to get to. I drive right by it on most Wednesdays.
One of the reasons I like the DM despite the glaring faults, they follow stories to the end. This one continues to play out.
The FBI seized these ‘safe deposit’ boxes without the owners being convicted of anything, or in many cases, even knowing who the owners were.
n
” I drive right by it on most Wednesdays.”
– I drive by it too. Driving TO it is the issue, as it’s in a weird place off the frontage road that I have no reason to drive thru. I will have to make the effort next time I’m in that part of town.
n
And as a point of reference, Rain X Windshield De-Icing spray will burn just fine wherever you would use alcohol, like a penny stove/hobo stove or an alcohol lamp. It’s mostly just methanol anyway, but I tried it in an alcohol lamp used under a chafing dish to be sure there wasn’t something not on the MSDS that would stop it from burning.
I got a whole bunch for $1 a case, just for the alcohol. Unlike isopropol, it doesn’t have enough water in it to self extinguish. I use it as a cleaner too. Don’t know yet if it will sub for isopropol as a cleaner for 3d resin prints.
When looking for stuff that burns, if the label has a bunch of the right sort of warnings, you can use that as a guide, and if there are federal warnings about misuse or off label use, that is something to take a good look at too. Find out what those other uses are…
n
Love this … by Charles Hurt
So here goes our first Nuclear Option Christmas Carol, sung to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas“:
On the first day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me a Toppled Christmas Tree!
On the second day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Two New World Wars.
On the third day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Three Biting Dogs.
On the fourth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Four Trump Trials.
On the fifth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Five Dimes of Crack!
On the sixth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Six Terrorists.
On the seventh day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Seven Fentanyl Pills.
On the eighth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Eight Hostages.
On the ninth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Nine Mortgage Hikes.
On the 10th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Ten Homeless Camps.
On the 11th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Eleven Carjackings.
On the 12th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Twelve Migrant Trains.
I think we’re going to need more brandy.
• Charles Hurt is the opinion editor at The Washington Times.
I have used Rain-X® Original Glass Water Repellent
https://www.rainx.com/product/rain-x-original-glass-water-repellent/
since the 1970s. It was recommended by a guy who knew the inventor,
https://www.rainx.com/about-the-inventor-of-rain-x/
and why he came to invent it after there were some issues with visibility on aircraft windshields. Rain-X has a long history of being bought by larger corporations:
https://www.rainx.com/our-history/
Now, their portfolio of products has grown, and they no longer emphasize their original product. There are likely better rain repellant products on the market, but I have a lifetime supply of the original, and am happy with it. (I ordered some, and the container leaked; I contacted the company, and they sent me two large replacement bottles. Nice folks.)
The point in all this is that Rain-X has some ingredients that I wouldn’t want to burn indoors. I don’t know about the De-icer. You are probably much better at interpreting MSDS reports than I am, so you can judge, but I have been led to believe that the reports do not contain all the ingredients, especially those that could be hazardous when used off label.
I will add another plug: I once bought a discontinued Rain-X car wax that was on clearance at a local auto parts store. I liked it so much that I went back and bought the remaining stock, which was really cheap. I used it up, and have not found anything that is as easy to use with as long lasting protection since. I think Mr. Ohlhausen was a good inventor who learned how to do things right. RIP.
Fixed it for you.
I have a problem with interstates that suddenly morph into toll roads. If a road is a toll road, it is not interstate as interstates were mostly paid for with tax money. I think at one time I-20 (this was over 35 years ago) was a toll road between Dallas and Fort Worth. There is still a problem in Houston where a person is traveling on the I-state and suddenly they are on a toll road. There are signs but having to watch traffic in Houston, reading toll signs, with many different tolling authorities, it is not an easy task for the infrequent traveler in Houston.
I-30 was the tollway between Dallas and Fort Worth. It was converted into an interstate when the bonds were paid off. There will never be another conversion from tollway to interstate in the Great State of Texas. The Powers That Be learned their lesson on that one.
WRT putting their fair amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, both plugs and kammy are coming to LA today. She is arriving at 1 PM at LAX and plugs at 5 PM. They have no reason to fly together.
Yeah, that’s totally offensive. Corrupt government at work. I really don’t understand how courts have let asset forfeiture stand – it is the very opposite of “innocent until proven guilty”.
I tried Rain-X a long time ago, and gave up. It worked great, but after a few days the coating started glaring really badly – dangerously – at night.
Maybe I used it wrong? Or do you really have to re-apply it every few days?
The toll road industry in the US is driven by consulting firms who seem to be centered around Kansas City for some reason.
Strangely, I don’t remember toll roads when I drove through there. Certainly not on the scale of Dallas, Austin, or Houston.
The really outrageous scheme right now is driven by the Australian firm Transurban, where the medians and/or HOV lanes of the Interstate system are sold by the states in return for a cut of the proceeds and Transurban installs toll roads which fund Australian and Canadian pensions.
Of course, all surface streets will eventually be sold off and tolled electronically. It isn’t a question of the tech as much as the knuckleheads thinking and managing with their d*cks who run the system integrators like my former employer.
Even the genetic women think with their d*cks at those places, especially if they are divorced.
One of the reasons I like the DM despite the glaring faults, they follow stories to the end. This one continues to play out.
The FBI seized these ‘safe deposit’ boxes without the owners being convicted of anything, or in many cases, even knowing who the owners were.
SCOTUS needs to stop civil forfeiture RIGHT NOW. Civil forfeiture is nothing but plain old highway robbery and the robbers are the cops. Civil forfeiture, like anything else where the person gets a piece of the action, is corrupting our police forces from the local townies, to the staties, to the feddies.
@CowboyStu:
Isn’t there a rule that says the Prez. and Vice-Prez. cannot fly together? ISTR such a thing.
G.
@Nick
“@drwilliams, it [interstate highways] ended up that way but did it start that way? It was supposed to be defense spending, but we have all benefited, most especially the OTR truckers, which lowered the cost of moving goods, which helped us all.”
The OTR truckers are subsidized by automobiles–it is the heavy trucks that do a disproportionate amount of damage to the roads, requiring constant highway re-construction. That subsidy led directly to the demise of the railroads, which were much more efficient at moving freight.
WRT putting their fair amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, both plugs and kammy are coming to LA today. She is arriving at 1 PM at LAX and plugs at 5 PM. They have no reason to fly together.
There are rules about management flying together. Don’t is a simple rule.
Texasgulf here in Texas lost most of their entire management team and board of directors flying back in 1981.
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/12/nyregion/texasgulf-chairman-and-6-aides-killed-in-westchester-jet-crash.html
“The Crippling Economic Costs of Green Energy Subsidies”
https://thelibertydaily.com/crippling-economic-costs-green-energy-subsidies/
“The single largest subsidy is the federal investment tax credit (ITC). Most wind and solar projects will be able to claim a minimum 30% ITC, plus be eligible for an additional 10% credit if the projects rely on domestic manufacturing for components.”
“The EIA’s optimistic forecast projects about 900,000 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics, 350,000 MW of onshore wind turbines, and 24,000 MW of offshore wind by 2046. If all of this generation is built, it will result in direct ITC subsidies totaling between $500 billion and $1 trillion, depending on construction costs. The greater the costs, the larger the subsidies. Although wind and solar proponents still claim costs are falling, the reality is the opposite. Offshore wind developers, especially, are clamoring to renegotiate contracts they signed previously, including guaranteed price adjustments for increasing costs, and relaxing the domestic content requirement so they can claim the additional 10% ITC.”
Just about any project with an immediate return of 40% can be justified. Note that we are talking about trillions of tax dollars paid to investment firms like The Goldman Sachs.
@Ray
“If TN wants to have preferred lanes on existing interstate let them build the lanes with money from the tolling authority.”
Nope. The interstate highway system paid dearly for every corridor constructed and was often involved in lawsuits that dragged out over years, greatly increasing costs. If they want to use the existing corridor then the true cost of doing so needs to be calculated. Even then it’s a problem because the roads have calculated room for future expansion, and using it for toll roads–which are nothing more than taxpayer ripoffs, boongoggles, and (used to be) sources for cushy union jobs.
Fact is they can’t afford to put in a separate toll road, it would take decades if they tried, and any honestly figured toll rate would be obscene at the start of the project and 10x obscene by the finish.
I got a call from a scammer this morning trying to sell me insurance on my electric smart meter at my house. I hung up on him. That smart meter is owned by my electric provider, Centerpoint Energy. I do not own it.
I don’t know if there is a “rule” about not flying together, but it most certainly is within the security guidelines for the two. Along the lines of both pilots on a plane not eating the same meal items.
Or let me put forth another question. Would you want to fly with the Kamel?
Atlanta did their dedicated toll road that roughly parallels I-75 north of Atlanta and did the project in less than 10 years. Reversing lanes, inbound in the morning, outbound in the evening. Tolling is congestion based. The higher the congestion on I-75, the higher the toll on the road.
@Nick
“If TN wants to have preferred lanes on existing interstate let them build the lanes with money from the tolling authority.”
How is conspiracy to violate bail conditions and aiding and abetting the crime that followed any more a slippery slope than having the entire group of felons charged with murder when it was just one person that pulled the trigger?
The people who lost loved ones need to beat feet into civil court asap with a pipe-hitting attorney that files against the organization, the officers, and the members and pushes for speedy trial with demand that the court freeze assets in the meantime.
“Used Electric Vehicle Prices Plummet”
https://www.carpro.com/blog/used-electric-vehicle-prices-plummet
“Electric vehicles are selling slower, even as their prices fall faster than hybrids or gasoline models, according to new data from iSeeCars.com.”
“Researchers say that while used car prices are coming down from their pandemic-induced highs, used EV prices are down 33.7 percent compared to the average used car price, which is down only 5.1 percent. The average use hybrid price is down 9.6 percent.”
“Three of the top 10 slowest selling used cars are EVs, including the Kia EV6, Ford F-150 Lightning and Polestar 2. Meanwhile, seven of the top 10 fastest-selling new cars are hybrids, including the Ford Maverick, Kia Sportage and Toyota Grand Highlander.”
I would expect any EV to drop in value by 50% the first year. Especially if the battery has problems and is not replaced by the manufacturer.
@Ray
“Would you want to fly with the Kamel?”
Not even as a guaranteed ticket to the Mile-High Club
I’ve used Rain-X. It’s been a while. It does work but it made my wiper blades chatter. Could be cheap blades, could be the way Chrysler hid the wipers under the edge of the hood or just who knows.
I plan to give the truck a treatment on the side and back windows. And the outside mirrors. Might do the windshield, might not.
Early GE smart meters ran hot and burned down houses in California.
One of the architects of the system was our Village Idiot at the Death Star 20 years ago, kept around for use as eventual chum to feed the layoff monster.
No one ever thought that GE would hire him for that much responsibility, but he essentially cribbed my resume and had my partner sign off as a reference on all of my accomplishments at Death Star Labs as belonging to the Idiot.
My partner and I don’t speak anymore.
As for the Idiot, GE canned him and he went to work for Siemens doing their meters.
UPDATE: Village Idiot lost the Siemens job too. He’s had four jobs in the last 10 years since leaving Siemens. I’m guessing where he currently works is through family connections — the father in law is a fast food franchise owner billionare who diversified as of late.
Isn’t there a rule that says the Prez. and Vice-Prez. cannot fly together? ISTR such a thing.
I accept that I forgot that. But they could take Amtrak and still reduce CO2 polution.
They have no reason to fly together.
–can’t for reasons of Continuity of Government. When authors want a clean slate (like Tom Clancy) there aren’t too many options for an effective decapitation strike on the US, which constrains the mayhem they can wish for.
The bigcorps have learned the lesson as well, and even sports teams down to college level will split up the team. Banks after 911 seem to have taken it most seriously. I’ve mentioned my sibling being on the ‘designated survivor’ roster at an investment bank. Nothing like being locked in a bunker so that you can put things back together when 80% of your co-workers and friends have been killed somehow.
Pilot and crew don’t eat the same meals or drink from the same bottle.
Heck, if my wife and I fly separately from the kids or without them, some friends and family are alerted and supposed to be ready to step in if something happens. It’s prudent, if unpleasant to think about.
——————————-
Politicians sell off assets that aren’t theirs all the time. Roads are just one. I guess they figure the aussies and the saudis don’t have an army if push comes to shove.
——————————-
Rain X Windshield De-Icer is not “Rain x”, it’s just co-branded methyl alcohol, 90% in a spray bottle. Water is the other ingredient with a small amount of surfactant commonly used in shampoo and hair conditioners that is listed as “non-combustible”. FAR less crap in it than the alcohol sold at Home Depot, or Sterno, and both of those are SOLD to be burned indoors.
BTW you should have some sterno in your preps, it stores well and keeps forever.
n
Most of the tollway authorities eventually put their thumbs on the scales with congestion pricing. At a certain level, the numbers become troublesome politically, and the research has proven repeatedly that the express lanes customers are not the wealthy who you would expect to use the roads but rather a broad swath of demographics under a time crunch for one reason or another.
We avoided the Illinois Tollway going out to Madison since we had the time but I decided to try and game the system use the toll road returning to O’Hare since I didn’t want to run the risk of missing the plane.
Gaming the ORT worked for one of the four plazas. It might have worked in another except I was competing with a Corvette for lane space who was playing the same tricks to try and fool the tracking system.
My former employer is the only integrator with an ORT that works anywhere near 100% thanks to a proprietary stereoscopic vision sensor simliar to what Tony uses in his self driving boondoggle.
Not in my experience, but my storage conditions may have been a factor. If you’ve got some stored away, you may want to check your oldest package and rotate your stock.
Physical integrity of the packaging is paramount. Once you open a can, use it up soon. Not necessarily all at once, but the alcohol evaporates and leaves behind a purple sponge-like substance. Reminded me of urinal cake.
Several places have built parallel toll roads, including Houston’s “Hardy Tollroad” which parallels I 45. Even in Cali they built toll roads that weren’t originally interstate highway. I’m pretty sure 73 (that avoids the logjam of 405 south of LA) was a greenfield project, not even surface streets to take over although I could be misremembering that.
I LIKE toll roads if they are privately financed. Since Texans seem to have an allergy to paying to use them, they are usually much faster than the alternatives, and less trafficked.
I pay a bunch of money in tolls though.
n
“”If People Think Things Are Bad Now…” Tucker And Alex Jones Talk Deplatforming, Depopulation, & The NWO”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/if-people-think-things-are-bad-now-tucker-and-alex-jones-talk-deplatforming
“But Jones says his most accurate prediction was around a decade ago when he read the “Rockefeller Foundation Operation Lockstep report,” which he says:”
“These warnings, among other things, were the reason, Carlson argues, why Jones was so widely deplatformed.”
Tucker really likes Alex Jones. That makes a statement. Or is Tucker just trying to light a fire.
Once you open a can, use it up soon.
good advice. Mainly it’s cheap, compact, sturdy, and commonly available. DEEP backup for me. Right in front of the trioxane bars.
n
The Epic Road Trip That Inspired the Interstate Highway System
Nothing against Rain-X, however, I prefer Nu-Finish on both the paint and glass for a car. Leaves an ugly white residue on black plastic trim, so Armor-All or Black Magic there.
Also, works nifty on bathroom mirrors and chrome faucets.
“Windows 12: New features, AI experiences, expected rollout, and everything we know so far”
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/windows-12-ai-new-ui-features-and-everything-else-we-know-so-far
“The next big Windows update is coming in 2024, and it’s all about AI.”
Just what I want, my PC to tell me that I am even more of an idiot than I thought. Because, you know it is just an expansion of Clippy.
“Windows 11’s system requirements call for a PC running Intel 8th-generation or AMD Ryzen 2000 series and up CPUs. It also requires a TPM, and a minimum of 4GB RAM. One report claims Microsoft might up the RAM requirement from 4GB to 8GB with this next release, but I’ve not been able to confirm this.”
Oh, just give it a rest and say that Windows needs 16 GB. You know it does.
My two new systems have 64 GB each.
I keep the server at the bare minimum for Fedora Linux to run with a GUI and Vuze Bittorrent client under Java 8. Right now, that is 8 GB RAM.
Microsoft will just skip ARM and go straight to RISC-V, which has 128 bit extensions.
Tucker should have emphasized the point that conservative content creators should stay out of Austin, Travis County, and the Federal Cout district drawing their jury pool from around here.
Texas is going California, but Austin/Travis County are already there.
Got the Expy through smog. Now I can get the registration up to date. Didn’t get the the secondary location. Oh well, will have to make do.
Rain came back for a while, then cleared for a bit, and we had a nice sunset.
Got everything ready for my hosting duties tomorrow… except my white elephant gifts. Still have to get the paper down from the attic and wrap them.
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One the broader front… earlier the Costco chief was quoted and linked here, so here is some more detail…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-12839331/Costco-bad-news-members-savings-prices.html
The article is a disjointed mess, but that bit above was interesting.
n
The article is a disjointed mess, but that bit above was interesting.
n
All stores will be this way in the medium to large cities in the future. Gotta pay to get your membership.
Actually, you show the membership card to get in the door. You show the photo ID on the back of the card when checking out. People getting prescriptions do not need any form of Costco ID.
oh my
https://www.showtimes.com/movie-trailers/godzilla-minus-one-trailer-2-26096/
Go – zir – rah!!!!11!!
n
Takei isn’t doing the Asian Stepin Fetchit in this one. Subtitles.
The Japanese could have the #1 and #2 US films this weekend with “Godzilla Minus One” and “The Boy and The Heron”, what could be the actual last film from Hayao Miyazaki.
Meanwhile, Disney has pulled “The Marvels” from theaters and “Wish” was averaging $87 per screen this week.
No word on if whether number includes the concessions.
The House of Mouse is En Fuego.
and not in the good way.
n
@bob sprawl, I let your comment out of detention, but since it’s so far up thread, I’ll paste it here too. Limit for included links is 4 or 5, more will automatically get held until one of us can approve it.
Bob Sprowl says:
8 December 2023 at 13:45 (Edit) (Spam) (Trash) (Delete)
Love this … by Charles Hurt
So here goes our first Nuclear Option Christmas Carol, sung to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas“:
On the first day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me a Toppled Christmas Tree!
On the second day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Two New World Wars.
On the third day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Three Biting Dogs.
On the fourth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Four Trump Trials.
On the fifth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Five Dimes of Crack!
On the sixth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Six Terrorists.
On the seventh day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Seven Fentanyl Pills.
On the eighth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Eight Hostages.
On the ninth day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Nine Mortgage Hikes.
On the 10th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Ten Homeless Camps.
On the 11th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Eleven Carjackings.
On the 12th day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me Twelve Migrant Trains.
I think we’re going to need more brandy.
• Charles Hurt is the opinion editor at The Washington Times.
I’m going to try for an early night, but if I’m not actually sleepy there isn’t much point.
I’ll be off site tomorrow after about 11, checking in occasionally.
n
The last time we went to Costco, I was admonished at the self checkout about my Costco Visa not having a photo.
At a certain point, they are going to start enforcing a rule which says that they won’t accept the card without the photo being present on the back, even if the member has the Costco ID with picture.
We got out of the habit of Costco during the pandemic, when they were at the forefront of advancing the Dem agenda with mask kabuki, using their clout with the local city governments to force the issue on Sam’s/Walmart.
Austin PD was still staging mask enforcement drills at our nearest Sam’s in early 2022. Funny — I never saw APD at Costco, parking their Exploders right at the entrance.
Wasn’t 2021 a record murder year in Austin?
The last time we went to Costco, I was admonished at the self checkout about my Costco Visa not having a photo.
Note to self, if I ever darken the door of Costco again, bring lots of cash.
“In Two Years, China Plans to Unleash Mass-Produced Humanoid Robots to Replace Human Workers”
https://thelibertydaily.com/two-years-china-plans-unleash-mass-produced-humanoid/
“By the year 2025, communist China plans to unleash large number of humanoid robots, meaning robots that look and act like people but are just walking computers and circuitry.
In a race with Elon Musk’s Tesla and other Western companies working on similar technologies, China hopes to start mass producing its version of humanoid robots by 2025.
According to banking giant Goldman Sachs, the market for humanoid robots could reach $150 billion per year in just 15 years. Fully operational humanoid robots are expected to be mass produced and working in factories between 2025 and 2028, and later in other jobs by 2030 through 2035.”
No freaking way. I don’t believe that the software is there yet.
And these bad boys are going to cost $100,000 to start. Maybe more.
And they’ll last for about 5 days. Chinese quality control being what it is.
n