Sun. Jan. 7, 2024 – no rest for the wicked…

Cold, hopefully clear. It was clear during the day but started to get a bit cloudy with dusk, so it could continue cloudy today. High yesterday might have been in the 60s. A little bit warmer would be nice.

After my pickup, I stopped in at costco. I try to avoid the place on a Saturday, as it’s usually insanely busy. That worked to my advantage yesterday as all the lanes had cashiers and it went very smoothly. Some things were finally on sale. Charmin. Kleenex. Still none of the frozen cheeseburgers I like though. Oddly, australian lamb was CHEAPER by a buck or two. That HAS to be a currency thing.

They had a couple of beef cuts I haven’t seen there before and there were a couple that were “economical” like “beef stew” and eye round roasts at $4.xx per pound. I don’t usually buy that cut, because it’s super lean and can be tough. Thought I’d give it a try with the same sort of cooking I used on the prime rib. Worked ok, was done the way I wanted, had a great beef roast taste, but yeah, much tougher than the ribeye cut. Hamburger was $4.19 for 82/18 (lean vs fat) which I can’t even get at HEB anymore. So I bought a package. Already repacked as 1 1/2 pound freezer vac packs. Had to increase my single meal size from 1 pound to 1 1/3 pound and now to 1 1/2 pound as the kids have grown.

Looks like I’m going to have to figure out how to cook beef brisket as it was the cheapest beef in the cooler… and my Texas man card might be revoked if they realize I don’t know how šŸ˜‰ It was less than $3/pound. Grind it and mix with hamburger??

Menu planning might have to get ‘creative’ if things keep getting weird. Like duck for $3.69/ pound. Granted you’re buying the bones too, but still, pretty cheap for a change of pace. That said a single frozen duck was still $21. Is that where we are? Dinner for a family of four at home, $30-40? That USED to be a nice meal at a sit down casual restaurant.

My current weekly meal “plan” is to have some cheap nights and some that are nicer but still inexpensive because I got the main meat on sale. (Plan is in “quotes” because I rarely have an actual plan.)(and I know talking about the economics of food can be divisive because of peoples’ differing situations and expectations. For a baseline, I use the Joy of Cooking, pre-1980s edition, for an idea about what dinner in America should look like with a bit of effort, and a middle class income.) My goal is to expose the kids to a variety of things, eat what I like and what they like, and do it as economically as possible while maintaining quality and quantity. That said, I’ve already altered my buying and cooking habits in the last couple of years or a bit longer. Doesn’t seem that long, and I had to revise the sentence to make the period longer, once I considered it.

Stocking up on sale items and just not buying stuff that isn’t on sale has been my main money saving strategy. That is kinda the heart of prepping too, buy now to save later…

I appreciate those of you who are sharing your dinner and menu choices too, and your local shopping reports. Information is power. And a burden shared is a load lightened.

Stack it if the price is right.

nick

88 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Jan. 7, 2024 – no rest for the wicked…"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    ā€œThe AARP just told its 38 million members to get an eighth (yes, EIGHTH!) shot of mRNAā€

    And the AARP is getting deeper and deeper in absurdity.

    The AARP sold out to the Dems decades ago.

  2. Denis says:

    Looks like Iā€™m going to have to figure out how to cook beef brisketā€¦

    Mmmm. Brisket:

    Texas BBQ, rolled and pot roasted, New England boiled beef, cured into corned beef, pastrami, Reuben sandwichesā€¦

    There is a lot of connective tissue in brisket, so whatever you do, it needs to be cooked long and low, with some liquid present so that the chewy collagen is hydrolysed to unctuous gelatine.

    I don’t think mincing it and adding to hamburger will be successful, as the cooking is too short and hot. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Someone one the email chain suggested the girls and moms all mask up for the GS meet up that wife and dā€™s went to today.   Ah,ā€¦ nope.

    Some people are so eager for the collar and the lash.   I canā€™t quite believe it.

    added- and our costco had the food demo people masked today. Caught my eye, but I didnā€™t know why.

    The Good Germans always have their armbands at the ready.

    About half of the population is still scared silly and Costco management is left wing. I’m not joking about ā€œGovernor Kirklandā€ in WA State being bought and paid for by the company.

    If you still have the same half-wit ā€œJudgeā€, she may be making noise about defying the Governor, Legislature, and Texas Supreme Court in the upcoming political season.

    Not that the RINOs in Austin would do anything about it. They’ll wait to see how DeSantis responds if Dade County’s “Mayor” tries to defy the state orders about masks in Florida.

    Cue the Obstetrician!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MinVw6HvLg

    Warren Buffett’s TV station from … geesh … almost four years ago.

    You listen to Big Papi or Big Papi will yell at you some more, Skippy.

    He may know about birthing babies, Miss Scaarlet, but he doesn’t now cr*p about using a mask properly.

  4. SteveF says:

    Looks like Iā€™m going to have to figure out how to cook beef brisket

    Easiest: Get a jar of brisket rub, rub a thick coating onto the meat, and plop it into the crock pot on low for at least eight hours, preferably longer. I usually toss vegetables in for the last six hours, big chunks of potato and carrot and onion and celery. At least for the briskets that I get from the butcher shop, adding water is not needed.

    Better: Basically as above but place in a slow oven, covered, for at least six hours. Water or broth may be needed.

    Best: Smoke it. I can’t give details as I don’t have a smoker but I’ve eaten what others have smoked.

    Grind it and mix with hamburger??

    Why you wanna go and do a dang fool thing like that???

    When The Child was 9 or 10 she was going through a picky stage. There were very few things she wanted to eat. But the first time I made a brisket, she nommed down on it to the point that she ate about as much meat as I did. She’s loved beef brisket ever since.

  5. SteveF says:

    About half of the population is still scared silly

    ā€œThink about how stupid the average man is. Half of the people are stupider than that.ā€

    I’m not a big fan of urban liberal snobbery but Carlin wasn’t exactly wrong, there.

  6. lynn says:

    It 37 F here in the wild west side of Fort Bend County.

    We still have 4 inches of standing water on the ground between is and the east neighbor from the Thursday night rainfall of around five inches of rain.  The front ditch has three feet of water in it still. 

    Why couldnt we get all this rain back in August ?

  7. lynn says:

    We had Christmas yesterday with my folks and a couple of outlaws.  The outlaws left at 4pm to go work their weekend jobs.  Dont tell me that things are easy out there.  I know the truth.  

    And the outlaws despise Biden for making their lives tougher.  One of them is taking tickets at a concert at the soccer stadium with a couple of big guys standing behind her.

  8. lynn says:

    We had Stauffers Lasagne, salad, and oyster dressing with serrano peppers in it.  I am still stuffed.  And I am amazed how hot our open kitchen can get with both ovens and the microwave cooking hard.  I had the a/c turned on and it never hit 60 F outside yesterday.

  9. lynn says:

    My daughter is watching Minecraft videos on Youtube.  Something about a Hermit mining diamonds.  This guy has been making videos for seven years with the latest video having a half million views.  I do not understand in the slightest.

    I do understand this.  Youtube is the universal place for people to get their weird on and show it off.  Good for them.

  10. SteveF says:

    Just shoveled the driveway, sidewalks, stairs, and patio. Only about 4″ of snow so far but it’s still coming down. Don’t know how much will come, total, but at the moment I doubt we’ll reach the ā€œ8 to 10 inchesā€ which was the last thing I saw last night. (Or, to copy what some announcers have said about other storms: Up to 8 to 10 inches or more. A less precise forecast can scarce be imagined.)

    First thing I did, after opening the chicken coop, was leave the run’s door open and shovel about 50 sq ft of the patio. A couple of the birds thought about coming out but decided against it. It’s not that cold, a few below freezing, but patio stones with a bit of snow are colder on their bare feet than several layers of cardboard with straw between and over them. Didn’t stop a couple of the birds from aaaawwwwking at me, their usual sound of complaint when they’re dissatisfied about something. Did I mention that my chickens are spoiled? After checking for eggs (one since yesterday evening; still getting a bit under three per day on average) I gave each a cracker. Yes, they’re spoiled.

  11. Greg Norton says:

    My daughter is watching Minecraft videos on Youtube.  Something about a Hermit mining diamonds.  This guy has been making videos for seven years with the latest video having a half million views.  I do not understand in the slightest.

    I do understand this.  Youtube is the universal place for people to get their weird on and show it off.  Good for them.

    I don’t get the fascination with watching people play video games on Youtube.

    For me, video games are about playing the game.

    I spent down time in Fredericksburg indulging in one of my other Christmas gifts ā€“ ā€œMetroid Prime Remasteredā€ for the Nintendo Switch. I also spent time in ā€œAdvance Wars Reboot Campā€, finally cracking one scenario which had me stumped going back to our time in Wisconsin.

    I have my own Switch Lite, which I take on trips. It rarely gets used if I’m not on vacation time, however.

  12. Ray Thompson says:

    That blowout on the 737 appears to be a door opening that was sealed over. Apparently poorly done as the blowout occurred at 16K feet, about half the normal cruising altitude.

    To hear passengers interviewed on the news you would think the plane was in pieces. A lot of exaggerating drama for the news cameras and future lawsuits. ā€œI thought I was going to dieā€, ā€œI thought I was going to get sucked out of the planeā€, ā€œI am traumatized for lifeā€. That last one is really for the benefit of the lawyers and the resulting lawsuit for mental anguish. Of course the news stations look for sensationalism and generally find someone on the far left of the bell curve.

    Modern commercial airplanes are quite robust. The safety is simply amazing. Redundancy, multiple safety systems, multiple checks, strict maintenance, detailed maintenance records including the serial numbers of the tools used on the plane along with the technicians involved. The maintenance trail is long and detailed. Fuel is consistently checked for quality. The automation when there is a problem significantly increases the pilots ability to handle the situation.

    The masks did drop in this incident. That is scary. The plane was at 16K feet so oxygen deprivation would not be an issue. Had the opening failed at 36K there may have been real problems. The oxygen masks allow for about 10 minutes of oxygen which is enough for the plane to get below 10K. The real issue would have been the -40F cold air rushing into the plane. Definitely refreshing.

    I was in a military T-39 plane flying at altitude I don’t know, probably less than 20K if I had to guess. I heard a high pitched squeal, then a pop. A door seal below out. The oxygen masks dropped. The pilot yelled back at the passengers (myself and two others) to not touch the masks as immediately went into a steep dive. Turns out the using a mask would require overnight maintenance at Bergstrom AFB. The pilot did not want to spend the night. All they had to do was put the masks back in the enclosure and close the door. Using a mask would have required replacing the oxygen generator. The pilot also stated this was second time the same door seal had failed on that plane.

  13. dcp says:

    a door opening

    https://youtu.be/nw4eQGAmXQ0?si=TRYK8JpcQDr1dpk0&t=203

    See also, same video at 24:00

    I have a mind to go re-read Kipling’s “The Sons of Martha.”
    “They do not preach that their God will rouse them a little before the nuts work loose.”

  14. Greg Norton says:

    Modern commercial airplanes are quite robust. The safety is simply amazing. Redundancy, multiple safety systems, multiple checks, strict maintenance, detailed maintenance records including the serial numbers of the tools used on the plane along with the technicians involved. The maintenance trail is long and detailed. Fuel is consistently checked for quality. The automation when there is a problem significantly increases the pilots ability to handle the situation.

    Maintenance of US jetliners is the wildcard. Corners get cut or work gets done outside of the country.

    I am surprised the problem was on Alaska. And with a brand new jet. When we lived in Vantucky, I preferred flying that airline over Southwest if it was available.

    Alaska bought out Virgin’s domestic service, however, so who knows what the maintenance is like as of late.

  15. MrAtoz says:

    How long before the C-POTUS (Corpse-POTUS) announces heā€™s shaving off two $ billion to ā€house, feed, provide health care, forā€ the millions of new ā€œundocumented US Citizens?ā€

    Florida and Texas should start bussing crimmigrants to the Canadian border in Montana, the middle of nowhere, with a 3-day care package and a boot in the ass.

    I got a laugh at the new NYC ā€œlawā€ banning bus companies from dropping crimmigrants. Hypocrisy at itā€™s finest.

    6
    1
  16. Ray Thompson says:

    And with a brand new jet

    The shape of the opening indicates that at one point that was a door, or is an option for a door, or is a design change from a door. Pictures I have seen of the plane do not show a door in that location. The seat arrangement in the plane at the opening are not configured for an emergency exit.

    Maintenance of US jetliners is the wildcard. Corners get cut or work gets done outside of the country.

    Yes, I have seen crash stories on the National Geographic Channel where a change in maintenance caused a crash. In particular an engine change procedure was improperly done. The recommended procedure was to remove the engine from the wing mount, not remove the engine and mount from the wing. Additionally a forklift was used to replace the engine rather than the proper machine. This bent an engine mount bracket and failed and the engine ripped off at takeoff.

    The change in the procedure was never sanctioned by the manufacture but done by the airlines. It saved hours over removing the bracket and a change in the manufacturer procedure. The change saved several hours that involved removing many panels. The shortcut was shared with multiple airlines and used by those airlines. Removing the mount from the wing probably was OK, using a forklift was not OK. The forklift motion was not precise enough.

    What I find amazing is the amount of detail that is gleaned from maintenance records used when there is a crash. In the USAF the amount of detail collected amazed me. I was one of the individuals that wrote the maintenance accounting software for TAC. Everything down to the serial number of the tools involved, the batch numbers of the parts and date manufactured, the names of the techs involved, the hanger used, serial numbers of any equipment used such as lifts, ladders, platforms, tow tugs.

    I think for the most part the maintenance on commercial aircraft is tightly controlled, even in 1st world foreign countries. Flying an aircraft where the last maintenance was in Mexico, I am not so confident.

  17. Ray Thompson says:

    the millions of new ā€œundocumented US Citizens voters?

    Fixed it for you.

  18. Ray Thompson says:

    NYC ā€œlawā€ banning bus companies from dropping crimmigrants

    Wasn’t it New York that said the lower states should welcome the crimmigrants with open arms? Attempting to block them from entering was not human.

    Another case of NIMBY.

  19. Greg Norton says:

    Wasnā€™t it New York that said the lower states should welcome the crimmigrants with open arms? Attempting to block them from entering was not human.

    Another case of NIMBY.

    The Florida and Texas bus programs are voluntary.

    The Texas border areas are pretty bleak places economically, and the prosperous parts of the state are 1-2 hours from most of the crossing points.

    And please, don’t give me the spiel that the migrants don’t understand where they’re headed when they get on the bus due to the language barrier. You haven’t been to one of those cities if you believe that is the problem.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    I got a laugh at the new NYC ā€œlawā€ banning bus companies from dropping crimmigrants. Hypocrisy at itā€™s finest.

    Drop them off at a train station in Newark.

    That avoids the hypocritical collection of the toll on the bus entering Manhattan but prohibited from dropping off the passengers.

    PANYNJ will still collect their cut.

  21. drwilliams says:

    Bill Ackman lit up X with incendiary fire:

    Last night, no one at @MIT had a good nightā€™s sleep. 

    Yesterday evening, shortly after I posted that we were launching a plagiarism review of all current MIT faculty, President Kornbluth, members of MITā€™s administration, and its board, I am sure that an audible collective gasp could be heard around the campus. 

    Why? Well, every faculty member knows that once their work is targeted by AI, they will be outed. No body of written work in academia can survive the power of AI searching for missing quotation marks, failures to paraphrase appropriately, and/or the failure to properly credit the work of others. 

    But it wasnā€™t just the MIT faculty that did not sleep last night. The @Harvardfaculty, its governing board members, and its administrative leadership did not sleep either. Because why would we stop at MIT? 

    Donā€™t we have to do a deep dive into academic integrity at Harvard as well? 

    What about Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Dartmouth? You get the point. 

    While we are going to do a detailed review of plagiarism at MIT, we are not going to be the only ones who do so. 

    Every college and university in the world is going to have to do the same for themselves. They will do so because they will need to validate all plagiarism accusations, or someone else will do it for them

    The best approach, however, is probably to launch an AI startup to do this job (I would be interested in investing in one) as there is plenty of work to do, and many institutions wonā€™t have the resources to do it on their own. Perhaps more importantly, the donors are going to demand that the review is done by an independent third party. For who today is going to trust higher education to review itself? 

    Consider the inherently irreconcilable conflicts of interest. Would you trust todayā€™s university president to do an examination of their faculty? What are the chances that the reviews would be weaponized to go after faculty members whose politics were not favored by leadership? 

    We have seen this before with other tools used by university presidents and their deans. Consider the weaponization of MeToo accusations, speech codes, and the other tactics of cancellation that have destroyed free speech on campus, and many faculty membersā€™ reputations, careers, and their families. 

    By analogy, who would trust even our most credible corporations with auditing their own financial statements? There is a reason why all public companies have independent auditors who are carefully examined by regulators to ensure they maintain quality, standards, accuracy, and independence. 

    And what if a plagiarism review turned into an incredible embarrassment for the entire university? It could lead to wholesale firings of faculty. Donors terminating their donations. Federal funding being withdrawn, and a massive litigious conflagration where faculty members and universities sue one another about what is plagiarism, and what is not. Think about the inevitable destruction of the reputations of thousands of faculty members as it rolls out around the country, and perhaps the world. 

    And maybe thatā€™s a good thing.

    (continuesā€¦)

    https://twitchy.com/samj/2024/01/07/popcorn-bill-ackman-calls-down-the-thunder-on-higher-ed-after-business-insider-goes-after-his-wife-n2391475

    Quote above from the post on X, linked with commentary at Twitchy.

    Bold is mine. Seems my previous comments anticipated Ackman. 

    This is not going away.

    I suspect that there are people at MIT who thought they were darn clever helping Business Insider target Ackman’s wife. I further suspect that their colleagues are helping them feel less clever this morning.

  22. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well there is SOME rest for the wicked as I managed to sleep in a bit.   I was up late and didn’t sleep well. 

    50F and sunny here, still trying to dry out from the earlier rain.

    D2 is meeting with her friends for a day of board gaming.    She’s vibrating with excitement.

    n

  23. Nick Flandrey says:

    Those sorts of reviews are the ā€˜cable cutting warā€™ in the Neil Stephenson books.   Once started, the auto du fe will continue until no one is left standing.

    n

  24. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    ā€œWe had Stauffers Lasagneā€

    I made two pans of lasagna Friday evening, and baked one yesterday. In a rare and supreme act of willpower I did not go back for thirds. Leftovers today.

    The second pan will get baked today, cooled, and then cut in quarters and frozen against future need. Thawed overnight in the refrigerator, it reheats nicely in the microwave.

  25. dcp says:

    Follow-up video with further details about the design of the plug option for Boeing 737 MAX-9 mid-cabin emergency exit doors:  https://youtu.be/maLBGFYl9_o?si=iCAXzcT4CXs9ABkj

  26. drwilliams says:

    Drop them off at a train station in Newark.

    That avoids the hypocritical collection of the toll on the bus entering Manhattan but prohibited from dropping off the passengers.

    I sued to fly into Newark regularly in the 1990’s. Major renovations meant continual change and disruption, but I preferred it to LaGuardia, and I maintained that preference even when not going into the city. Philly was often closer to my final destination but I found that the city of brotherly love put all of their anti-social ash-holes in positions of petty power at the airport. Probably all Eagles season ticket holders, as both groups are close to human garbage.

    If I sound bitter, it’s because I am. After a late flight arrival and running across the airport I had the jetway door closed on my connecting flight when I was literally 30 feet away and they could hear and see me. The best I could do was rebook to an airport 50 miles away from the original, and more than three hours later. 

  27. Greg Norton says:

    We have seen this before with other tools used by university presidents and their deans. Consider the weaponization of MeToo accusations, speech codes, and the other tactics of cancellation that have destroyed free speech on campus, and many faculty membersā€™ reputations, careers, and their families. 

    Every failing grade which was the result of TurnItIn flagging content problems in submitted papers for the lazy faculty now becomes a liability in civil court or Borrower Defense actions.

  28. Ray Thompson says:

    I sued used to fly into Newark regularly in the 1990ā€™s

    Fixed it for you. Really changes the meaning. Why would anyone sue to fly in to Newark? Wait, I am thinking of New Jersey. My bad.

  29. brad says:

    I am surprised the problem was on Alaska. And with a brand new jet.

    It was a 737 MAX. Again.

    This, just after Boeing asked to be allowed to *not* correct a safety issue with the de-icers: If the pilots don’t manually turn them off, they can overheat and potentially crash the plane.

    At this point, it might be best just to permanently ground all 737 MAX aircraft.

    Bill Ackman lit up X with incendiary fire

    I had never heard of him until this weekend. He was apparently part of the brigade that brought down Ms. Gay for her plagiarism. Only… It turns out that Ackimans wife is faculty at MIT. And *her* dissertation not only plagiarizes, she copied extensive text from *Wikipedia*. Even undergrads understand that Wikipedia is not a source, it is just a place to go find sources.

    From comments on the tech forums, her entire dissertation is techno-babble. Her seat at MIT is externally funded, and she was hired as a professor immediately after receiving her degree. Which just does not happen in real life, and certainly not at top-end institutions. No surprise that there are suspicions about donations coinciding with her degree, and just how her professorship is really being funded.

    Anyway, once her plagiarism was made public, Ackman started this campaign about checking everyone’s dissertation. To which I say: bring it on! While his motivation sucks (being insulted that his trophy wife was caught out), it is time and past time to bring some standards back to academia.

  30. Greg Norton says:

    I sued to fly into Newark regularly in the 1990ā€™s. Major renovations meant continual change and disruption, but I preferred it to LaGuardia, and I maintained that preference even when not going into the city. Philly was often closer to my final destination but I found that the city of brotherly love put all of their anti-social ash-holes in positions of petty power at the airport. Probably all Eagles season ticket holders, as both groups are close to human garbage.

    Veterans’ Stadium (or whatever they call it now), both the old and new iteration, is a unique NFL facility in that it is the only league venue with an arraignment courtroom and holding cells on site.

  31. Nick Flandrey says:

    ha ha

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12929539/dubai-new-magaluf-gansters-luxury-holiday-haven.html

    ‘It’s turned into a mafia paradise with the Kinahans over there and their associates, the source explained.

    ‘They’re part of the new rich, showing off their wealth, a lot of it ill gotten.

    ‘You also see a fights in hotels and lots of prostitutes coming and going.’

    The insider added that the city had become ‘over-developed’ with endless hotel blocks and offices losing its desert oasis allure for a lot of A-listers.

    But the city’s stringent laws and willingness to punish and even imprison foreign tourists have deterred some celebrities

    ā€“ anyone who promotes tourism to any of the arab states is an apologist for dictators, hugely oppressive dictators at that.   

    With their oil running out, they have been trying to transition to some other wealth pump, but after 20 years, IDK if it’s gonna work.   Since they are faking all of it, eventually people see thru it.  They fake the freedom, they fake the allure, they are almost as fake as the chineseā€¦

    n

  32. drwilliams says:

    NY girls HS basketball game canceled after antisemitic slurs hurled at players

    This was flagrant and foul.

    A high school girlsā€™ basketball game in Yonkers was canceled this week when players on the home team shot antisemitic slurs at their Jewish opponents, who needed security guards to escort them off the court to safety.

    The girlā€™s varsity teams from The Leffell School, a private Jewish school in Hartsdale, and Roosevelt High School, a public school in Yonkers, faced off in the non-league game Thursday evening.

    ā€œI support Hamas, you fā€“king Jew,ā€ a Roosevelt player snarled at a Leffell opponent, according to The New York City Public Schools Alliance, a group of parents and teachers fighting antisemitism.

    From the outset, there was hostility and aggression with ā€œsubstantially more jabs and comments thrown at the players on our team than what I have experienced in the past,ā€ senior player Robin Bosworth wrote in an op-ed for Leffellā€™s student-run newspaper, The Lionā€™s Roar.

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/01/antisemitic-slurs-yelled-at-jewish-players-cause-cancelation-of-girls-high-school-basketball-game-in-yonkers/

    Absolutely zero tolerance for racial slurs in high school sports. That should be a game forfeit for Roosevelt, a suspension if not expulsion from the team for the offending player(s), and suspension from school. As a minimum, and that should be within existing codes of conduct. Put me on the Athletic Board and Roosevelt sports teams are on probation across the board with it made clear that the next instance triggers cancellation of a seasons worth of games going into next year if necessary.

    As I’ve pointed out before, the rot starts well before this generation goes to college, and a major source of the rot is the teachers and their unions.

  33. Greg Norton says:

    It was a 737 MAX. Again.

    This, just after Boeing asked to be allowed to *not* correct a safety issue with the de-icers: If the pilots donā€™t manually turn them off, they can overheat and potentially crash the plane.

    At this point, it might be best just to permanently ground all 737 MAX aircraft

    Boeing can’t ground the planes and remain viable in the commercial aviation market.

    The 737 MAX was the quick solution for the retiring 757 fleet. The proper solution was a single aisle companion to the Dreamliner, but that would have been a problem with the union as Boeing abandons WA State completely.

  34. drwilliams says:

    @brad

    ā€œI had never heard of him until this weekend. He was apparently part of the brigade that brought down Ms. Gay for her plagiarism.ā€

    Ackman initially objected to the anti-Semitism after Oct 7, and very publicly called for release of the names of Ivy League students that signed letters supported Hamas, so his company and others would not hire them. After Gay’s refusal to condemn anti-Semitism in her testimony before  congress, Ackman withdrew his donation pledges to Harvard and turned up the heat. 

    ā€œAnd *her* dissertation not only plagiarizes, she copied extensive text from *Wikipedia*.ā€

    That’s the accusations. I have yet to see the specifics, although it’s already clear that Gay’s plagiarisms were order-of-magnitude worse.  Given what I know about the ease with which Wikipedia can be manipulated by the left (William Connolley and global warming, and an interesting edit that I came across on a product that apparently led back to a trial lawyer’s office) I would want to look very closely on time stamps before I accepted that one.

    I have no doubt that some violations will be corrected and forgiven. I wouldn’t be surprised if a point system is developed and manipulated. Losing jobs on the left-wing carousel is immaterial–Gay keeps $900,000 that was paid as a result of plagiarism tantamount to fraud. The real proof will be when degrees are revoked, and the committee members are also sanctioned.

  35. Brad says:

    itā€™s already clear that Gayā€™s plagiarisms were order-of-magnitude worse

    I have to disagree. The articles on Ackman’s wife were pretty dpecific, showing her texts next to the ones she copied from. Very egregious.

    Also, the fact that she was hired as a professor immeduately after finishing her doctorate? That smells.

    None of which excuses Gay. It just adds more evidence that the universities have lost their way.

  36. Nick Flandrey says:

    hired as a professor  

    ā€“ like slowjoe?   Did she ever teach a class?  Or was it one of the payolla positions routinely granted to donors?   There are hundreds if not thousands of those type of ā€œprofessorsā€ who might do a symposium or special lecture once in a whileā€¦ 

    ā€œDoctorā€ Jillā€¦

    There are articles online doing the same side by side for Gay’s papers, although they might be harder to find.  I might have linked one here.

    The whole enchilada is rotten and needs to be destroyed so it can be rebuilt.   It’s a big clubā€¦ and akermman thought his money made him part of it.   His heritage kept him out though.  Funny, ā€˜cuz itā€™s his heritage that makes him part of another clubā€¦.

    n

  37. Nick Flandrey says:

    Wall Street-backed landlord buys 264 Las Vegas homes in $98M deal – even though Sin City has nation’s worst housing shortage – as study shows corporate sharks could own FORTY percent of all US homes by 2030

    • Dallas-based Invitation Homes shelled out $98 million to buy 264 homes in Clark County, where a chronic housing shortage has led to a rise in eviction rates
    • The deal forms part of a $650 million swap of a portfolio of close to 1,900 single-family rental homes

    ā€“ you’ll own nothing.   And if you don’t like it, we’ll replace you.

    n

  38. EdH says:

    The masks did drop in this incident. That is scary. The plane was at 16K feet so oxygen deprivation would not be an issue. Had the opening failed at 36K there may have been real problems. The oxygen masks allow for about 10 minutes of oxygen which is enough for the plane to get below 10K. The real issue would have been the -40F cold air rushing into the plane. Definitely refreshing.

    Ray, I think the set point is 14,000 feet for automatic deployment, so the mask oxygen system did what it was supposed to do. I believe that over about 12,000 feet altitude people do not immediately perish, but they do start to show signs of oxygen deprivation and loss of mental acuity, important in an emergency.  I believe pilots are required to use supplemental oxygen above 10,000 feet (cabin pressure), just to be on the safe side.

  39. Nick Flandrey says:

    @EdH, the audio of the incident sounds like the pilot is on supplemental air (there is a ā€œshusshā€ sound) at the beginning.   Well, the co-pilot, as the pilot should be flying while the co works the radios etcā€¦    She also sounds like a non-native english speaker, who has trouble finding the words when she’s most stressed.  I guess there are a lot of non-english speakers flying jets around the world.   I can think of at least one other incident where language came into play as a cause of an accident or near miss.

    n

  40. Alan says:

    Good thing there’s no hint of the stench of plagiarism associated with our esteemed current President of the Unitedā€¦yeah, fine, never mindā€¦ 

    https://youtu.be/fZLeaSWY37I?si=-3mnE9mILywzamNh

    Back to NFL Red Zoneā€¦what’s that? The balls at the Pats game look funny? Arghā€¦oh wait, professional cornhole quarter-finals are on ESPN EspaƱol! 

  41. Greg Norton says:

    Also, the fact that she was hired as a professor immeduately after finishing her doctorate? That smells.

    Liberal Arts in the US. Fail to land a tenure track position young, and you are quickly banished to the adjunct ghetto.

  42. Alan says:

    >> youā€™ll own nothing.   And if you donā€™t like it, weā€™ll replace you.

    For now I’m good with having no mortgage, seven foot block fences, defensive stacks and no intention/need to move.

  43. Greg Norton says:

    Dallas-based Invitation Homes shelled out $98 million to buy 264 homes in Clark County, where a chronic housing shortage has led to a rise in eviction rates

    That’s a really weird number which smells like a corporate relo.

    The Death Star hides buyouts of executives’ houses in shell corporations based in Dallas to avoid upsetting the unions. They broke the CWA in 2009, but that was 15 years and five contract terms in the past.

    Who is the ILEC (think Baby Bell) in Las Vegas?

    UPDATE: CenturyLink? At GTE, we called that company “The Old Plantation”. HQ in Monroe, LA. They don’t play the union’s game.

    A lot of small fry are playing the same game with houses which should be places for locals to live.

  44. Nick Flandrey says:

    @greg, from further down the article, they own about 3500 houses in LV.   

    and even further down, they’ve finantialized the whole mess, so when it all comes apart it will be an even bigger messā€¦

    As of the third quarter of 2023 Invitation Homes had bought 2,291 homes for $854 million during the year, according to its latest earnings report.

    ‘Theyā€™ve turned these homes into collateralized rental obligations. Theyā€™ve collateralized them and what theyā€™re doing is swapping homes like stocks for one another’ Las Vegas real estate agent Noah Herrera told the Las Vegas Review

  45. Lynn says:

    ā€œWe had Stauffers Lasagneā€

    I made two pans of lasagna Friday evening, and baked one yesterday. In a rare and supreme act of willpower I did not go back for thirds. Leftovers today.

    Lasagna is addictive.  I had two portions yesterday and two portions today.  My wife made both the meat and the five cheese versions.  Both are awesome and very detrimental to my waist line.

  46. Ray Thompson says:

    I believe that over about 12,000 feet altitude people do not immediately perish

    Your numbers sound about right. I have been to the top of Pikes Peak, a little more than 14K feet. I was there for a couple of hours. I have been three times. Drove the route twice, once on the cog railroad. I felt no issues on any trip. I was living in Colorado Springs for a couple of months before my first trip. I was acclimated to higher altitudes. Others may not fair so well. It might have been a different story if I spent a day or so at the 14K altitude. I could tell the air was thinner as I was breathing harder.

    I think that airplanes are pressurized to 8K feet. A pilot goes on oxygen if the other pilot leaves the seat. The oxygen the pilots get is from a tank, not generators as the passengers receive. The pilots do not normally fly with oxygen on commercial flights.

    When the door seal ruptured, twisted, failed, whatever, on my flight it was startling when the masks dropped. The aircraft also fogged up for several seconds but was not severe. The dive the pilot put us in to get to 10K or below was fairly severe in my opinion. Seemed like 45 degrees which may be just my imagination. Military flights donā€™t follow the same highways in the sky and are not really under the same attitude constraints as civilian flights.

    Most of the passengers on the 737 are having imaginations running wild. They are probably looking for a monetary reward, their face on the news, free flights from the airline. Milking the situation for all they can get. I am certain that some are being coached by lawyers.

  47. Greg Norton says:

    @greg, from further down the article, they own about 3500 houses in LV.   

    and even further down, theyā€™ve finantialized the whole mess, so when it all comes apart it will be an even bigger messā€¦

    All institutional shareholders with the usual suspects, Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard.

    The paper is in everyone’s retirement plans, including Vanguard VTSMX and the big kahuna S&P 500 fund which everyone believes is invested in ā€¦ S&P 500 stocks.

    So how do institutions hold 104% of the stock?!?

    About half of my non-401(k) mutual fund holdings consists of shares in VTSMX. I’m working to diversify for the next few years.

  48. dcp says:

    In general aviation in the U.S., we are allowed 30 minutes between 12,500′ MSL and 14,000′ MSL before we are required to be on supplemental oxygen.  

    https://www.faraim.org/faa/far/cfr/title-14/part-91/section-91.211/index.html

    Smart pilots use supplemental oxygen at lower altitudes than that.

  49. Nick Flandrey says:

    Didn’t some famous guy run his Lear out of gas a couple of years ago after losing consciousness over the US due to a lack of O2?

    n

  50. SteveF says:

    The heated perches came in well earlier than expected so I put them together, tested that they do warm up, and put one inside the coop and one on the ground near the coop. As should surprise no one, the chickens aren’t using them. ā€œEeek! Something new! Stay away!ā€

    They still aren’t using the dust bath, presumably because of the different color of the new dust than the old.

  51. paul says:

    Haleakala on Maui is 10,000.  Smoke a Marlboro there.  Whee!  It’s high enough I could tell the Sun was stronger.  It was warm enough to get by without a shirtā€¦. I didn’t want to get tan lines.

  52. dcp says:

    Didnā€™t some famous guy run his Lear out of gas a couple of years ago after losing consciousness over the US due to a lack of O2?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_South_Dakota_Learjet_crash

  53. Nick Flandrey says:

    1999, jeez, time flies.

    n

  54. Nightraker says:

    There was also a 737-300 Greek flight crash where the pilots failed to engage the pressurization system ~2005 and were overcome along with almost all aboard until the plane ran out of fuel and crashed.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_Airways_Flight_522

  55. Ray Thompson says:

    Didnā€™t some famous guy run his Lear out of gas a couple of years ago after losing consciousness over the US due to a lack of O2?

    One of the crash stories I have watched was one where the pilots failed to don their oxygen masks in time. That part of the emergency procedure was half a dozen steps down on the emergency checklist. The recommendation from the crash was to move putting on oxygen masks at the top of the checklist. To me that would be common sense, oxygen first, then assess the situation. Clear thinking is vital.

    In the Payne Stewart crash it is unknown if oxygen masks were used or there was a failure in the oxygen system. What is surprising is the altitude the plane reached of almost 49K feet. I did not realize private planes could reach that level.

  56. Ken Mitchell says:

    I believe that over about 12,000 feet altitude people do not immediately perish

    Based on several experiences in the USN and USAF altitude chamber,  12K feet is where a normal person will BEGIN to feel the first signs of hypoxia. Even 18K doesn’t kill, but it does cause fuzzy thinking. In the pressure chamber, they lowered the atmospheric pressure to the equivalent of 25K feet, and in pairs, we took off our oxygen masks to do some simple physical tests; pat-a-cake, reading the alphabet aloud, playing ā€œcatchā€ with a soft ball.  After 5 minutes at 25K feet, most of us began to notice a lack of coordination and attention. 

    Above 39K feet, loss of consciousness and death will occur fairly quickly. 

    But many people have climbed Everest without O2, and that’s 29K feet. 

  57. drwilliams says:

    from the wiki link above:

    “Research has shown that a period of as little as 8 seconds without supplemental oxygen following rapid depressurization to about 30,000 feet (9,100 m) may cause a drop in oxygen saturation that can significantly impair cognitive functioning and increase the amount of time required to complete complex tasks.”

    When the masks deploy the instructions are to don your own before helping others. 

  58. drwilliams says:

    Norman Lear, inventor of the Learjet, also invented the 8-track tape.

    Certified American genius.

  59. SteveF says:

    But many people have climbed Everest without O2

    Genetics matter, heresy though such an idea may be.

  60. Greg Norton says:

    Norman Lear, inventor of the Learjet, also invented the 8-track tape.

    Certified American genius.

    Bill Lear invented the jet and the 8 track.

    Norman Lear created ā€œAll In The Familyā€.

    Bill Lear died of Lukemea.

  61. paul says:

    But many people have climbed Everest without O2, and thatā€™s 29K feet. 

    That’s different than being in airplane.  Because the gravitational pull of Everest causes the atmosphere to be denser. 

    I make more sense than all the climate change mongers.   

  62. drwilliams says:

    Story about Henry Wallace:

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/the-shambhalic-henry-wallace.php

    I commend your attention to the link to the 2012 Weekly Standard article by Ronald Radosh:

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/a-story-told-before

    The hard left in the United States marched to the command of the Soviet Communists for decades. Wallace was a flake and  extraordinarily open about his influences, where others were covert and did everything to deny. Note that he was Roosevelt’s SecAg for eight years before becoming veep. His position in government was unlikely to be a decision made by FDR alone, and his replacement on the ticket was done in fear that he would imperil the election for the Democrats. If they had known the vp would become president it’s likely they would have done everything to keep such a gullible, easily manipulated communist tool on the ticket.

    The publishing industry and academic history departments are dominated by PLT’s intent on rewriting history: deny, deny, deny, obfuscate, and portray the commies as simply dedicated to the public welfare and to fighting the evil capitalists. 

    We’re eight decades past WWII, a few decades past the fall of the Soviet Union, and our public schools no longer teach history of either. High school graduates have no concept of the abuses and failures and collapse of the Soviet Union. They think Che Guevara is some sort of hero. And, incredibly, they are hunting Jews on the streets of U.S. cities.   

  63. Ken Mitchell says:

    Genetics matter, heresy though such an idea may be.

    So does acclimatization; spend enough time above 10K feet, and oxygen deprivation symptoms are somewhat reduced. People who want to climb Everest without oxygen need to spend a few months above 10K, to reduce their need to supplemental oxygen. 

    People  who want to climb Everest without oxygen are also fools, gambling with their lives. 

  64. Ray Thompson says:

    But many people have climbed Everest without O2, and thatā€™s 29K feet.

    These people have spent several weeks at base camps at higher elevations. This allows the body to somewhat compensate. Were I, at my current elevation of 745 feet attempt 29K, I would be dead. A frozen lump of worthless flesh.

    I played competitive tennis in Colorado Springs. I would get winded but was still able to play a full match. When I relocated to Texas I continued playing. A three hour session of playing and I was barely breathing hard. Over time I started breathing hard again. I doubt I would have been able to play 30 minutes if I had relocated back to Colorado.

  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    Spent most of my life at or near sea level.   Just walking around in Colorado left me winded.

    n

  66. Nick Flandrey says:

    Just won a 3000w Renology solar charge controller and inverterā€¦  maybe my solar project will be underway sooner than I thought.

    n

  67. MrAtoz says:

    ā€œResearch has shown that a period of as little as 8 seconds without supplemental oxygen following rapid depressurization to about 30,000 feet (9,100 m) may cause a drop in oxygen saturation that can significantly impair cognitive functioning and increase the amount of time required to complete complex tasks.ā€

    I’ve posted before that as part of Army chopper training; all pilots go through a high-altitude chamber. The chamber is vacuumed to the equivalent of 25,000′. Then, you take your forced air mask off and assemble a kid’s wood puzzle, putting pegs into various holes. I lasted about three minutes before passing out. The safety tech put my mask back on, and I revived in seconds. The idea is to recognize hypoxic effects. Mine are lightheadedness, then sort of an alcohol buzz, then passing out. All in three minutes.

    The Army has some Electronic Warfare helicopters that regularly go above 12,000′. Forced air breathing is required.

  68. drwilliams says:

    OMG. Sorry, Bill. 

  69. Lynn says:

    The Army has some Electronic Warfare helicopters that regularly go above 12,000ā€². Forced air breathing is required.

    In the ā€œ12 Strongā€ book and movie, the CIA and Special Forces operatives are transported to Afghanistan using a USA Army Chinook helicopter at 29,000 ??? feet through the mountain passes, a couple of weeks after 9-11.  The movie is highly recommended, I have not read the book.

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CH-47_Chinook

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Strong

  70. Greg Norton says:

    Fools, drunks, the United States of America, and the Yucs.

    Once upon a time, Lovie took Jimbo’s word for it, but, fortunately, Tom Brady was up for the challenge of mop duty to clean up the resulting mess.

  71. Nick Flandrey says:

    Domestic bliss.   Load of laundry.

    Snake the females’ shower drain.  Remove hair sausageā€¦

    Gak.

    n

    knowledge plus tools.

    n

  72. SteveF says:

    Snake the femalesā€™ shower drain.  Remove hair sausageā€¦

    I taught my daughter to clean the hair out of her shower’s drain when she was about 11. I’m sure your daughters can learn.

  73. drwilliams says:

    Ohtomber 2PCS Stainless Steel Bathtub Drain Strainer

    $5.00 on FeeBay

    $5.29 on The River w/ $35 spend

    Or make your own. A 6″ square of perforated soft plastic shelf liner will do the job if it will stay in place in your tub.

  74. Nick Flandrey says:

    Yeah, they already use the strainer – supposedly.

    And they already use a 2 ft long plastic thing to snake what it reaches.   It just isn’t long enough.

    So I had to pull the overflow to access the trap and then go about 6 ft with my hand snake.

    Wife pulled a 2 ft hair sausage out the first timeā€¦ but it was still slow, hence my involvement.

    And I’m probably going to have to get the drain machine out and do the big line from the kitchen to the curb.  It’s been a year or moreā€¦   aren’t old houses fun?

    n

  75. SteveF says:

    And they already use a 2 ft long plastic thing to snake what it reaches.   It just isnā€™t long enough.

    Got it. Yah, that’s what my daughter uses now.

  76. Nick Flandrey says:

    Also won some more stove pipe for the wood stove.   it’s double walled, and short sections are ~$100 normally.    Yeah, I’ll accept a few dings to get if for $15.

    n

  77. Alan says:

    >> Stocking up on sale items and just not buying stuff that isnā€™t on sale has been my main money saving strategy.

    For those ā€œof age,ā€ don’t forget your senior discount. My primary grocery (Albertsons) is once a month on the first Wednesday. 

  78. Nick Flandrey says:

    Another small task done.   Swapped my ā€œgoes with meā€ bag to a newer bagā€¦   I was using a Targus laptop backpack, but the zippers would sometimes open, and the handle was starting to tear open the seamā€¦  So I moved the stuff to a new computer backpack that is actually TSA ā€˜fold it open for scanā€™ friendly.   Not that I travel with a lappy any more, but it is a Swissgear bag, seems well built, holds my stuff well, and it’s light.

    I’ll use it for a while going back and forth to the BOL before I trust it enough to take on a plane trip.

    Feels lighter than the Targus.

    n

  79. lpdbw says:

    Any tips how to follow Alan’s link without paying at the paywall?

  80. Nick Flandrey says:

    Worked for me without any popups.

    n

  81. Nick Flandrey says:

    Batshevaā€™s Brisket

    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    2-pound first-cut brisket

    4 large white onions

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    Paprika, salt and pepper to taste

    1. Loosely dice the onions and set them aside in a big bowl.

    2. Pat the brisket dry and pour a very generous amount of salt, pepper and paprika on the less fatty side. Pour oil into a high-sided pan with a lid to coat the bottom. Turn the stove to medium-high and place the fattier side down in the pan for 7 minutes. When the meat is browned, flip it so the spiced side is down and generously sprinkle more salt, pepper and paprika onto the fatty side. Let cook uncovered for 4 more minutes.

    3. Pour in the entire bowl of onions; they should cover the meat and reach up to the top of the pan. Cover with lid and turn down to a simmer.

    4. Cook for 3 to 4 hours, or until tender.

    5. Slice and serve brisket immediately; itā€™s great with rice.

  82. Nick Flandrey says:

    Huh, guess you can be to bigā€¦

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12936929/Audacy-bankruptcy-2billion-debts-bonuses.html 

    US’ largest radio and podcast company Audacy files for bankruptcy with $2billion in debts just six months after paying execs $3.2million in bonuses

    • The broadcaster operates 227 radio stations and produces podcasts from the likes of Stephen A. Smith, Dana Carvey and David Spade 
    • The company announced the move after giving out millions in bonuses in June 
    • The bonuses included Chairman/President/CEO David Field getting $1million 

    One of the few OTA stations I listen to is an Audacy station.   They push the app too, to ā€œtake your music with you.ā€   There is a pretty big shortfall in ad revenueā€¦

    A report in November said Audacy’s debt was around $1.92billion due to the ad sales fallout.

    The bankruptcy deal will reduce that debt load by about $1.6billion and will see a group of lenders give about $57million in further financing. 

    ā€“ that is a pretty big haircut for lenders.  I expect some more bankers will try to flyā€¦

    n

  83. Lynn says:

    I have watched 18 episodes of “Sanctuary Moon” XXXXXXXX XXXX ā€œHow To Get Away With Murderā€ on Netflix this weekend.   I am binged out.

       https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/

  84. Denis says:

    I visited the Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps. The cable car is the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 to 3,842 m (3,396 to 12,605 ft). At the top, I couldn’t climb the stairs to the summit. Oxygen deprivation was not a nice experience.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiguille_du_Midi

Comments are closed.