Tues. Mar. 19, 2024 – feeling a bit vulnerable, actually…

Cool and damp to start, warming, with possible overcast all day. The sun did come out yesterday and it was quite nice in the late afternoon. Maybe that will happen again today! Or not.

Didn’t end up doing much yesterday. Caught up on auction stuff, and did a bit of domestic bliss.

I hope today will be better. I’ve got D2 at the orthodontist in the morning, then both kids need rides in the afternoon. That means I’ve got to get my errands done without too much faffing about. Some can slide until Wed. but some need to get done today.

The title refers to me having shaved off my beard and mustache yesterday. I’ve been wearing them for better than 5 years, so it’s a big change. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror, and I thought I was looking tired and haggard, with the grey, so I took the big step. I’d forgotten how prominent my scar was… when I picked up D1 from school the first thing she said was “gee, you can really see your scar.” Kids.

I’ll probably grow it back, facial hair seems to be the norm these days, and I already miss “playing” with it. In the mean time, I’ll give it a chance. Funny thing is W hasn’t said anything yet. She gave me some funny looks at dinner, but didn’t say anything about the missing hairs…Could be she’s just messing with me.

Sometimes it’s good to make a change, to break habits and set patterns. We’ll see if this was one of those times.

Stack something today.

nick

90 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Mar. 19, 2024 – feeling a bit vulnerable, actually…"

  1. SteveF says:

    paving the way for the first fusion power plant to be constructed in Germany by 2040

    That’s too ambitious. The fusion plant will be ready twenty years from now.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    That’s too ambitious. The fusion plant will be ready twenty years from now.

    It is always twenty years from now.

    Fusion power is another Pizza Box Dream.

    There will still be a power company involved … and ERCOT in Texas.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    Chilly this morning,  48F.   Clear though. 

    D2 currently being tortured by orthodontist.  TV is silent instead of blaring  HGTV.   

    Some Spanish speaker is tearing someone up in the next door restroom at volume.   Fun times. 

    N

  4. Alan says:

    I’ve had facial hair in one style or another since high school. 

    Some kind of ‘Sampson’ thing I guess. 

  5. SteveF says:

    Because I am apparently completely unable to do nothing, I’ve been looking at and analyzing and plotting a number of data sets. (It’s not an entirely arbitrary task. I’m learning to use TensorFlow, a (choose one) fancy number crunching tool or gateway to machine intelligence. I needed data to feed into it.)

    One data set I came across was red-light camera and speed camera data for Chicago. They found – shock, shock – that cars in black and hispanic neighborhoods got more tickets than cars in White neighborhoods.

    Makes me wonder if this “disparate impact” will be used as a line of attack for banning the cameras. It’s unpossible that different racial groups have different obedience to traffic laws – who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? – so it must be discrimination and White supremacy. (For that matter, I wonder if this line of “reasoning” has already been used without my noticing it. I’ve been either busy or distracted pretty continually for a good while and have missed a lot of things.)

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    I am beginning to think there really is something wrong with kids these days.

    Picked up D1 from school, and noticed something.   She walked right past a  couple of boys sitting down, looking at their phones.    They didn’t even glance up to check her out as she walked past.

    D1 is 5′ 8″, blonde, fit, busty, and no lie- beautiful.   She’s a half foot taller than most of the kids in school, and one of about 3 white girls.  She was wearing her tennis workout gear, shorts, t shirt.  In other words, she’s noticeable. 

    Boys didn’t even glance up.  

    Neutered. 

    Soy, phones, or too much porn, IDK, but even movement in their field of view didn’t cause a flicker.

  7. lpdbw says:

    Soy, phones, or too much porn, IDK, but even movement in their field of view didn’t cause a flicker.

    And zero situational awareness, to boot.  I want to know who’s walking past me, and whether they are armed, at all times.

  8. Chad says:

    Soy, phones, or too much porn, IDK, but even movement in their field of view didn’t cause a flicker.

    Probably this. Odd topic to look into, but do a little research on the effect of regular hardcore porn consumption on the libido (and even ED). It’s pretty shocking. It’s as if there’s an entire generation of men (and women) who have made themselves completely numb to realistic sec with an actually human being in-person.

  9. SteveF says:

    Don’t discount the social messaging that any man looking at any woman is a creep and deserves to be called out, shamed, expelled, fired, and possibly arrested.

  10. nick flandrey says:

    Don’t discount the social messaging that any man looking at any woman is a creep and deserves to be called out, shamed, expelled, fired, and possibly arrested.  

    – nah, they didn’t even twitch, never made a decision not to look at the girl,  and it’s not the first time I’ve seen the zombie fixation in students.

    They have overridden one of the most basic elements of our visual processing – reaction to motion in field of view.  And they aren’t interested in females.  Both of those are anti-survival.

    n

  11. nick flandrey says:

    Ex-Google Ventures exec says disastrous woke Gemini AI was caused by tech giant’s focus on DEI over excellence that saw them promote ‘unqualified’ young black woman

     

    A former Google executive has claimed the firm’s disastrous AI chatbot was the result of the tech giant’s over zealous focus on DEI.

    – at least they’re ‘eating their own dog food…’ 

    n

  12. nick flandrey says:

    interesting ‘tells’

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13209943/telltale-signs-american-behavior-reddit.html 

    but nothing too revealing.   Unless the ‘leaning’ thing is true.

    FWIW, I don’t have any trouble picking out Brits at Disney, they are loud as heII and complaining constantly….

    And brazilians are wearing A&F or Aeropostale like they are premium brands…

    n

  13. Greg Norton says:

    And brazilians are wearing A&F or Aeropostale like they are premium brands…
     

    The South American adults generally look bored by the Disney experience. Universal is not the same, but those parks dont shy from pushing alcohol.

  14. nick flandrey says:

    REVEALED: The best and worst-paying college majors after five years – some graduates will be earning more than double others

    • Almost all of the highest-paying majors are engineering disciplines
    • Liberal arts graduates earn the least, according to the New York Federal Reserve
    • Education graduates had reasonable starting salaries but they did not grow

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13210601/best-worst-paying-college-majors.html 

    graduates that took theology, liberal arts, hospitality, psychology and anthropology were all earning $40,000 or less in the same five years. That is below the median US personal income of $40,480 in 2022.

    But the good news for most college graduates is that on average they will be earning more than the median US income straight out of college.

    Overall, the average graduate had an early career salary of $50,000. By the time they were ‘mid-career’ – or aged between 35 and 45 – they were earning $80,000.

    Even graduates that majored in the subject with the lowest mid-career salary, early childhood education, were on an average of $48,000 a year.

    Chemical engineering on the other hand was earning mid-career graduates the most on average – $133,000.

    Generally, those that were making the highest amount straight out of college continued earning more as they advanced through their career, with a few exceptions.

    Graduates who specialized in education had starting salaries higher than $40,000 but their mid-career salaries tended to be lowest – less than $60,000.

    contrast reality, with numbers to this article…

    The little-known signs you have ‘money dysmorphia’ – and how to get yourself out of the destructive cycle

     

    Gen Z and millennials are suffering from a financial insecurity regardless of whether they’re doing well or not, experts have found…

    made up illnesses in the “look at me” and “I’m special after all” culture….

    n

  15. Greg Norton says:

    A former Google executive has claimed the firm’s disastrous AI chatbot was the result of the tech giant’s over zealous focus on DEI.
     

    Big Mike 2024

  16. nick flandrey says:

    I’ve been watching this story and it doesn’t add up.  Family says she was kicked out of an uber on the freeway and was hit.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13213933/Widower-vanessa-Schwartz-virginia-mom-ran-uber.html 

    Where was the husband?  Why was she wandering along a highway 3 hours after the ride ended?   Where was the husband?   Initial reporting didn’t even make it clear if he was with her on the night out.  This article says “they” left the bar/whatever.

    However, Virginia state police have said there is ‘no evidence’ she was abandoned on the highway, and ‘it appears she made her way to the interstate from a secondary roadway.’

    Cops said in an update on Wednesday, three days after the death, that ‘at this time, there is no evidence to indicate she was dropped off or left along I-495.

    ‘Instead, it appears she made her way to the interstate from a secondary roadway.’

    and again, where was the husband during this time?  Where is the tox report on her? on him?

    n

    cynic says – he killed her.   Drunk or drugged, pushed into traffic. 

  17. lynn says:

    The title refers to me having shaved off my beard and mustache yesterday. I’ve been wearing them for better than 5 years, so it’s a big change. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror, and I thought I was looking tired and haggard, with the grey, so I took the big step. I’d forgotten how prominent my scar was… when I picked up D1 from school the first thing she said was “gee, you can really see your scar

    I have had a moustache since I was 19.  The wife has never seen me without one.  The VanDyke for the last 20 odd years.  Both of my brothers have full beards.  My son has a 18 inch long full beard that he cuts back to a foot every year.  I call it the woman repeller.

  18. Ray Thompson says:

    I call it the woman repeller.

    Or crumb and food debris catcher.

  19. Chad says:

    I call it the woman repeller.

    Or crumb and food debris catcher.

    I’ve seen some fairly horrific articles about what they found when they swabbed the beards of random people and then analyzed it. Food, feces…. lol

    I have a very short beard that trim back with the #2 guard on my clippers every other week. I’ve probably had it since 2011 or so.

    Though, lately, I’m not liking the amount of gray I’m seeing in it and my vanity may kick in and I’ll return to clean-shaven.

  20. drwilliams says:

    “They have overridden one of the most basic elements of our visual processing – reaction to motion in field of view.  And they aren’t interested in females.  Both of those are anti-survival.”

    Mother Nature does not care for individuals, only the species. Sounds like another case of losers getting selected out of the breeding pool. 

    But yeah, pity the fools. 

  21. EdH says:

    Question:

    My brother’s old windows 10 (11?) computer just died last week.  So he tried using his back up Windows 7 system, and then it died last night.

    He didn’t see anything he liked at the nearby Best Buy.

    I suggested he try the Microsoft Store online, since the rumor is that they don’t put any extra bloatware on their PCs. But is that still true?

  22. JimB says:

    Greg, please explain Big Mike for those of us who don’t follow politics much. ISTR a few days ago you said it was NOT Moochelle. Some Google searching left me with rappers and other irrelevant results. I don’t think the former president’s wife would be interested in working, but then the current office occupier isn’t either.

  23. SteveF says:

    “Big Mike” in a political context refers to the person who identifies as Michelle Obama.

    Bike Mike has stated that “she” doesn’t want to be Prez. Take that for what it’s worth. Quite a few people deny interest in elected office but are then “persuaded” that it’s their duty.

  24. Greg Norton says:

    Greg, please explain Big Mike for those of us who don’t follow politics much. ISTR a few days ago you said it was NOT Moochelle.

    No, You didn’t get it. Big Mike is the persona Moochelle will use to run.

    Settlin’ The Score

    Once And For All

    First Trump Then The Rest Of Them

    Big Mike 2024

  25. TV says:

    What’s gonna happen when you import enough people to lose the “herd immunity”…

    Same measles problem happening in certain locations across the Great White North.   This is not really an immigrant problem but a travel problem. Too many people have stopped immunizing their kids. Far too many parents have become vaccine-hesitant.  Since they are not listening to anyone that actually is an expert (like their doctor) but are absorbing Facebook posts as truth, I can only look upon this as evolution in action.  Dumb parents and unfortunate kids.

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  26. SteveF says:

    Cryin’ shame that the medical establishment destroyed their credibility in the past few years. 

    Cryin’ shame that an untested, experimental medical procedure with dire side effects was mislabeled a vaccine, fueling the anti-vaccination noises which had previously been going around. Also too bad that the medical establishment got so shot-happy, raising the recommended vaccinations from about a dozen in the first 18 years to two dozen in the first two years and a couple dozen more after that.

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  27. TV says:

    Crying shame everybody listened to the Facebook experts on vaccinations.  Crying shame that over 4 years later that same opinion is still being propagated as truth.  Crying shame that we now have more vaccines to handle more diseases than when I was a child.  Shameful is what it is…

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  28. EdH says:

    Big Mike 2024

    Whether she wants the job or not, the Biden’s and Obama’s have a lot to lose if Trump wins.  

    American politics did not used to be a Imperial Rome gladitorial Battle Royale, but that’s the new world order.

    Even the most cursory look into the three mansion buying finances of the Obama’s (no warrant required!) is likely to be pretty explosive.

  29. Ray Thompson says:

    I suggested he try the Microsoft Store online, since the rumor is that they don’t put any extra bloatware on their PCs. But is that still true?

    When I purchased my Surface Laptop my memory is the OS provided my Microsoft was fairly clean of other obnoxious programs. It has been awhile as I had to reinstall the OS. Somehow my system got really flakey and was unusable. I thought it was hardware. I tried a fresh install and everything was OK so not hardware.

    The Surface Laptop has been a really good laptop. Mine has been to Europe once and carried around a lot.

  30. Greg Norton says:

    Spring  break for someone this week.  I just checked the calendar.

  31. Lynn says:

    I call it the woman repeller.

    Or crumb and food debris catcher.

    Soup catcher.

  32. drwilliams says:

    @EdH

    He might consider checking locally for a certified Dell refurbisher. 

  33. Lynn says:

    D1 is 5′ 8″, blonde, fit, busty, and no lie- beautiful.   She’s a half foot taller than most of the kids in school, and one of about 3 white girls.  She was wearing her tennis workout gear, shorts, t shirt.  In other words, she’s noticeable. 

    Does she go to High School next year ?  If so, she will be noticed by the seniors.

    I assume that the talk has been given to her by you and mom.  The one that ends with “boys don’t get pregnant, girls get pregnant”.  With the “yes, girls can get pregnant on the first time” and the other myriad lies that boys tell girls.

  34. JimB says:

    Thanks all, for the information on Big Mike. Another scoundrel I will have to vote against.

  35. Lynn says:

    “ERCOT says solar power will be drastically reduced during eclipse”

       https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/ercot-solar-power-eclipse-19247752.php

    “The state energy regulator said it will use all available tools to maintain grid reliability during the cosmic event.”

    “Much like the most recent “ring of fire” eclipse in Texas, the upcoming total solar eclipse is predicted to cause a dramatic drop in the state grid’s solar power production. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has confirmed that as the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth on April 8, casting a shadow that moves over Texas from the southwest to the northeast, solar power production in the region will be impacted between 12:10 p.m. and 3:10 p.m.”

    I’ve got a whole house generator.  It runs frequently.

    I wonder if the natural gas companies are going to pack the pipelines (run the pressure up to 1,000 psig from their normal 700 psig) like for a cold front.  I would.

  36. Jeff Vincent says:

    Though, lately, I’m not liking the amount of gray I’m seeing in it and my vanity may kick in and I’ll return to clean-shaven.

    There’s always “Just for Men” to darken things up. Not much hassle, works for me…

  37. Lynn says:

    “Former Acting AG Matt Whitaker: Letitia James Is Violating President Trump’s 8th Amendment Rights”

        https://rumble.com/v4k7iu2-former-acting-ag-matt-whitaker-letitia-james-is-violating-president-trumps-.html

    “Eighth Amendment”

       https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-8/

    “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

    Sounds like a SCOTUS issue.

    Hat tip to:

       https://thelibertydaily.com/

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  38. Lynn says:

    Though, lately, I’m not liking the amount of gray I’m seeing in it and my vanity may kick in and I’ll return to clean-shaven.

    Used to be, grey beards were seen as a sign of dignity and accomplishments.

    Oh shoot, who am I kidding ?  Bunch of old farts.

  39. Lynn says:

    BTW, Texas now pulls 14,000 MW from solar farms from 10 am to 6 pm.  The total production time is 8 am to 8 pm.

        https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards

  40. JimB says:

    I suggested he try the Microsoft Store online, since the rumor is that they don’t put any extra bloatware on their PCs. But is that still true?

    I don’t know, and it is one of those things that Microsoft wouldn’t advertise. I bought my wife’s Dell notebook at a Microsoft store too long ago to be relevant, but it indeed came free of any bloat, except for a couple of small Dell utilities that I ignored. I have long forgotten about them, and they were never intrusive. Solid system.

    I have had great service from one system refurbished by a Microsoft certified refurbisher, with the caveat that it has also been too long ago to be relevant. I have done some recent looking, but just out of curiosity. When I bought my current system, I bought it through Newegg, strongly influenced by their then-great user reviews. I suspect that their reviews are no longer as good as they once were, but that is unfair. I haven’t bought much computer related stuff, from Newegg or anyone else. I have this nagging feeling that I should be planning for my next system.

    I personally would look at major name brands that are aimed at the engineering CAD users, mostly because these tend to be solid systems with quality components. I have additional experience with systems aimed at large office purchases. These were all purchased new, in quantities of more than 100, and were as trouble free as any I know of. The big box store systems aimed at home users are often filled with cut-rate components and unnecessary stuff. Some can last a long time, but many don’t; a crapshoot.

    I would bet there is someone else here who could make some more up to date recommendations than I could. Happy shopping.

  41. Lynn says:

    “Houston City Council members challenge Mayor Whitmire’s $650M firefighter deal”

        https://www.chron.com/news/article/houston-firefighters-mayor-settlement-19211644.php

    “The city firefighters’ union is on track to get a $650 million settlement, but no details have been provided on how the city will pay for it.”

    Simple, Houston will borrow the money at 5% (municipal tax free bonds).

    Plus the retirement pensions for all the firefighters will shoot up too.  And the current pensioners, especially since they tend to retire at around 50 due to infirmities.

  42. Lynn says:

    BC: End To War

       https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2024/03/19

    Truer words were never said.

  43. RickH says:

    The last two HP laptops I have purchased – the last one was last fall – came with minimal installed software. The usual Norton/McAffee trials, which I immediately removed after moving all programs and data from the old laptop. (I use the Sophos Home Premium AV on all systems.)  

    Bought a new Office 2021 Pro via StackSocial at a significant discount and installed that. Removed Office 365.

    Other than that, not much extra software on the systems. New system was upgraded by a third-party which installed more RAM (36gb) and a 4TB SSd drive.

  44. Greg Norton says:

    “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

    Sounds like a SCOTUS issue.
     

    A large percentage of the country will not be satisfied with anything but Trump’s execution at this point.

    And once they hang him, they will want to keep the gallows busy.

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  45. SteveF says:

    What they want and what they get may not be the same thing. A number of people that I know have said that Trump’s arrest or untimely death would be the trigger for them to kick off CWII. Whether they’ll do anything or will be all talk is anyone’s guess.

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  46. CowboyStu says:

    Right now, sending from a Dell laptop that I bought from Micro Center in Tustin several years ago.  Very happy with it.  Has Windows 10 and LibreOffice instead a MS Office.  Upstairs I have an Asus desktop with Windows 7 that I bought from Newegg about a dozen years ago and it still works well.

  47. lpdbw says:

      This is not really an immigrant problem but a travel problem.

    You’re saying that tens of thousands of unvetted immigrants who came from or travelled through 3rd world shirtholes  aren’t a problem but some hundreds of middle class travelers are?  I question your judgment.

    Crying shame everybody listened to the Facebook experts on vaccinations.  Crying shame that over 4 years later that same opinion is still being propagated as truth.  Crying shame that we now have more vaccines to handle more diseases than when I was a child.  Shameful is what it is…

    Dear TV:

    The crying shame is that no one, at all, in any official capacity, is addressing the huge excess deaths epidemic we’re seeing now, since the experimental treatment was forced on us all.

    SteveF was right, and you are wrong.  Facebook is irrelevant; what’s important to me is the amount of blatant censorship of actual data about how bad the covid “vaccines” are, and the malignant stupidity of the medical-government complex.

    One of my co-litigants put it very nicely, I thought:  “Whenever I’m feeling down I remind myself that a trillion dollars worth of propaganda didn’t work on us.”

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  48. Lynn says:

    “What do liberal women want?”

       https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2927277/what-do-liberal-women-want/

    “If you want to know why declining birth rates are bad for humanity writ large, and the United States in particular, then Chapter 6 of Tim Carney’s new book, Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be, is definitely for you.”

    “But if you are already convinced the world is a better place with more babies in it, then Chapter 14 on civilizational sadness will be more thought-provoking. Carney begins the chapter by noting that Germany, Italy, and Japan led the world in declining birth rates decades before other nations. “One couldn’t help but notice that the countries least interested in reproducing were the countries that had been on the wrong side of a world war or two in the previous century,” Carney writes.”

    ““One of the factors driving Germany’s extraordinary Baby Bust,” Carney continues, “was the belief that they, as Germans, were not good. … How much of our resistance to family formation is rooted in the belief, stated or unstated, that we simply aren’t good?””

    “Turns out there is a growing demographic in America that does believe we aren’t good.”

    “Among all Americans, the vast majority, 72%, either believe the U.S. is the greatest country on Earth, (20%) or “is one of the greatest countries” (52%). Just 27% say other countries are better than the U.S. But among Democrats between the ages of 18 and 29, 50% say other countries are better than the U.S.”

    My unmarried son thinks that 80% of women under 50 are liberal.  He refuses to have anything to do with them.

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  49. Lynn says:

    “Meet Nvidia’s Blackwell, a GPU to Supercharge AI Training”

       https://www.pcmag.com/news/meet-nvidias-blackwell-gpu-a-chip-to-supercharge-ai-training

    “The Blackwell GPUs promise to perform seven to 30 times better than the company’s H100 GPUs, which have been fueling the generative AI boom.”

    “Despite the huge performance gains, the new chip uses up to 25 times less energy, the company says. Blackwell is built with an improved version of TSMC’s 4-nanometer process, which Nvidia previously used to produce the H100, first introduced in 2022. The big difference is that Blackwell contains a whopping 208 billion transistors, up from 80 billion in the H100.”

  50. Lynn says:

    “Elon Musk Reveals Two “Very Mentally Ill” People With Guns Tried To Assassinate Him”

        https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/elon-musk-reveals-two-very-mentally-ill-people-guns-tried-assassinate-him

    “In December 2022, Musk posted a video of a “crazy stalker” who followed a vehicle carrying his son X Æ A-Xii. The billionaire then wasted no time suspending X accounts for ‘doxxed real-time location info.’”

    “Meanwhile, Musk’s commitment to ‘free speech’ X has infuriated Deep State entities, leftist corporate media outlets, and radical Democrats. The Biden administration has been increasingly weaponizing federal agencies after the billionaire’s companies. It wouldn’t be surprising if the two crazies that came after Musk in Austin were flaming libtards.”

    Yup, libtards.

  51. Ray Thompson says:

    Bunch of old farts.

    Get off my lawn, er lawn chair.

  52. CowboyStu says:

    How many people dies due polio prior to 1960?  How many iron lungs were in the hospitals at that time?

    How many died after the vaccines became available?  How many died in the last 50 years.

    Living next door to me in 1946, a boy my age died as there was not an iron lung available to him.

    My wife, a registered nurse, had vaccinations for polio as soon as they were available in the ’60s, and our 2 children as soon as they were old enough.  None of use ever caught it.

    I am not an anti-vaxxer, I am an alive and healthy pro-vaxxer.

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  53. CowboyStu says:

    EdH and JimB, don’t bother with masks when we get together at The Joint in Randsburg!

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  54. Greg Norton says:

    The Ford dealer finally got back to us today after the vehicle sat in their shop for over a week waiting on a tech to take a look. The Exploder is not done, the power steering rack is fine, but the vehicle needs new struts, mounts, and half shafts on each side.

  55. Greg Norton says:

    “The Blackwell GPUs promise to perform seven to 30 times better than the company’s H100 GPUs, which have been fueling the generative AI boom.”

    Nvidia had to short circuit the launch of AMD’s MI300X which has some interesting names associated with the GPU.

  56. paul says:

    The Exploder is not done, the power steering rack is fine, but the vehicle needs new struts, mounts, and half shafts on each side.

    Might take it elsewhere.

    Took the van to the dealer in Marble Falls because the right rear brake was making noise and the ABS light was on.  On most of the time.  So they had it for a week.  Never called.  I guess in these days of cellphones that calling a 214 area code is verboten. 

    They did the rear brakes.  The ABS?  Yeah, Ford doesn’t make that part any more, sorry.  So what is the part?  What is the trouble code in the computer?  “Can’t tell you for liability reasons”.

    But…. the ABS light is ON and the van is safe to drive?    Yeah.  Not going back there.  By the bill, they are pretty darn proud of their work.

    Anyway.  We took it to another shop.  She found no codes for ABS with her better than my $25 OBDI dongle.  The light comes and goes.  It’s something sticking or a bad ground.  I’m going to pull the bulb just to not hear about the ABS light anymore.

    We managed our whole lives without ABS. I think we can keep managing.

  57. Ray Thompson says:

    had vaccinations for polio as soon as they were available in the ’60s

    Are you certain about the timeframe? I remember getting the shots when I was maybe in 1st grade. That would have been 1957. A series of three injections some period of time apart. I also remember the sugar cube in 5th grade which would have been 1961, or perhaps earlier.

    I remember the fear among everyone. A couple of kids on my block got polio and their legs were severely affected requiring crutches on each arm. People avoided them like the plague until the vaccine was more widespread.

  58. nick flandrey says:

    Polio, smallpox, mmr, tetanus, and the rest of the classics are in fact real vaccines as that word was understood until about 2021…

    I don’t recall the number of sketchy things they wanted to give my kids when they were little, all at the same time.   I wrote about it here, but can’t find it.   It was like 16 vaxes, several shots, several combined vaxes.   Our Dr spread them out and we did the necessary ones over about 6 months.

    I had to fight with the hospital to keep them from giving my NEWBORNS the hepatitis  vax.  Day one of life, get injected with something.   No.  Mom didn’t have hep, and we got the hell out before the hospital could give it to us or the kids.  EVERY time a new nurse check the chart, she’d go “oh, didn’t get  the hep vax yet, lemme go get that…”   NO.   

    That sort of behavior isn’t sane.

    n

  59. paul says:

    I got the polio shot.  Mom raise hell with the nurse, too.  Mom made the nurse give the shot where my t-shirt sleeve would cover the scar.

    Might have had two shots.  I forget.  Did get a couple of sugar cubes. 

    Measles and chicken pox, we all had that.  My sisters and brother and a bunch of other neighbor kids had mumps.  I missed catching the mumps enough to look like a chipmunk.  

  60. Lynn says:

    We are running on pure Starlink at the moment as a experiment.  I just uploaded a 186 MB executable to my website in Pittsburg.  It went up in just over three minutes.  Very impressive.  My AT&T DSL takes about 20 minutes to upload that big binary file.

  61. JimB says:

    EdH and JimB, don’t bother with masks when we get together at The Joint in Randsburg!

    CowboyStu, did I miss something? Last I knew, you were going to post a date in September. I watched, but could have missed it. If so, apologies. I was out of town around that time, but I always lurk here. Is there a current plan? I would welcome a visit. I don’t worry about masks, but I do get a bit nervous when I see people wearing them in a bank.:-)

  62. JimB says:

    BTW, I sometimes get behind reading this site. I miss opportunities to post because of that.

  63. JimB says:

    Anybody know if Brian Bilbrey is OK? He hasn’t posted on his site since 9 December.

  64. Lynn says:

    had vaccinations for polio as soon as they were available in the ’60s

    Are you certain about the timeframe? I remember getting the shots when I was maybe in 1st grade. That would have been 1957. A series of three injections some period of time apart. I also remember the sugar cube in 5th grade which would have been 1961, or perhaps earlier.

    There were two polio vaccines.  The first one came out in the 1950s and was not totally dead.  Several people got polio as a result.

    The second vaccine came out in the early 1960s and was a totally dead vaccine.  Big success.  I got it in 5th grade in the spring of 1970 in the sugar cube form.

    Dad talks about polio in the 1940s and 1950s.  His parents were always telling him and his sibs to be careful and not touch anyone at school or church.

  65. nick flandrey says:

    There was an article in the DM this last week about a guy in an iron lung, heart of gold?  tank of gold?  

    n

  66. EdH says:

    The brother says he ordered an HP from Amazon…

    The only computers that I’ve ever owned that haven’t died were a Sony Vaio (XP), and an Apple 2012 MacBook Pro, both laptops that ran for more than a decade.  I finally gave away the Sony and still have the MacBook around somewhere.

  67. nick flandrey says:

    D1 is a freshman in high school this year.  Same thing happened today when I picked her up.

    n

  68. nick flandrey says:

    I will order from Dell website, from the Small Business line when I need a new computer.   They are solid and will last a decade or more.   I’ve never had one fail, actually, just retire.   I think the one I’m using now is 15 years old.

    n

    Touch wood.

    n

  69. nick flandrey says:

    They’re trying to blame the shoes.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13212007/Biden-west-battleground-states-arizona-nevada-trump.html 

    Biden ditches sneakers for smart shoes with big soles and extra grip as he flies to battleground states Arizona and Nevada to shore up support over Trump and reverse dwindling polls with Latino voters

    • Biden won both states in 2020, but they are set to be crucial for victory in 2024
    • Former president Donald Trump is currently leading in the polls in each
    • Biden targeting union voters and voters of color during his campaign swing 
  70. Greg Norton says:

    The only computers that I’ve ever owned that haven’t died were a Sony Vaio (XP), and an Apple 2012 MacBook Pro, both laptops that ran for more than a decade.  I finally gave away the Sony and still have the MacBook around somewhere.

    My 2012 MacBook Pro is still my primary Mac and keeps all of my music, photos, and email with Time Machine backup weekly.

    I believe the OS X version is Catalina, which isn’t a big deal because the machine doesn’t leave the house.

    The MacBook Pro also has my Windows 8 partition/license, bootable under VMware Fusion and direct to bare metal.

  71. lpdbw says:

    Polio, smallpox, mmr, tetanus, and the rest of the classics are in fact real vaccines as that word was understood until about 2021…

    Repeating what nick said, because it’s important.

    It’s disingenuous to accuse people like me of being anti-vax just because we’re skeptical of a completely different medical treatment that is supposed to fill the niche formerly held by vaccines.  That was rushed into production. That uses novel new technology.  That was never tested with animals.  That has had no long-term testing.  Where the control group for the limited testing that was done has been destroyed.  Where the government conspired with media to censor reporting on side-effects.  Where reputable scientists were completely shut down, deplatformed, and fired for merely considering alternative treatments or expressing the opinion that caution should be used.

    Polio vaccine is not in any way related to the lipid nanopartical mRNA “vaccine”.  They actually changed the definition of vaccine in the dictionary to mask that difference.

    8
    1
  72. drwilliams says:

    “Cryin’ shame that an untested, experimental medical procedure with dire side effects was mislabeled…”

    add “gender affirming care”.

    Shellenburger dropped the WPATH files this week:

    https://public.substack.com/p/the-wpath-files

    and last night the board had an unscheduled emergency meeting, after which the website was rolled back some years and the current president disappeared.

    There is debate today on X as to whether it is merely an “accident” or the result of an overt decision.  Proponents of the former think that the board should hang tough without admitting anything is wrong, lest they incur liability.

    Maybe they should look at the ignition switch story @Lynn posted yesterday.

    My opinion is that their best course of action is to have a video AI answer their Zoom calls while they book a vacation in Switzerland for new faces. There are going to be hunters out and it’s 50:50 whether there will be a tracking website on the darkweb by the end of the week. 

  73. drwilliams says:

    SCOTUS Green Lights Texas Immigration Law Allowing State Deportation of Illegal Aliens — Liberal Heads Explode

    In a huge loss for the Biden Administration, the law lets Texas stop illegals from entering the state and lets state judges deport them

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/03/scotus-green-lights-texas-immigration-law-allowing-state-deportation-of-illegal-aliens-liberal-heads-explode/

    Awesome. All they need to do now is get 24,000 (20 mile mile, about one every 85 yards) white vans labeled “Texas Illegal Catch and Deport Service” and line them up along the border.

    Then let New Mexico and Arizona follow suit, and California gets all the blessings.

  74. Lynn says:

    Ron Paul is on Tucker Carlon: “For a man who correctly predicted most of the big disasters of the last twenty years, Ron Paul is remarkably humble.”

        https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1770208399059206344

    Ron Paul used to be the congresscritter from south of Houston, mostly Lake Jackson where my grandparents lived from 1968 to 2008.  My grandmother who grew up in a dry cabin in Sweeney, Texas loved him.

  75. Greg Norton says:

    “Cryin’ shame that an untested, experimental medical procedure with dire side effects was mislabeled…”

    add “gender affirming care”.

    Shellenburger dropped the WPATH files this week:

    https://public.substack.com/p/the-wpath-files

    and last night the board had an unscheduled emergency meeting, after which the website was rolled back some years and the current president disappeared.

    Two big pediatric chains around here,Texas Childrens (Baylor Scott and White) and Dell Seton, had house cleanings in various related departments last Summer after the Governor signed the bill banning gender affirming care for minors.

  76. Greg Norton says:

    It’s disingenuous to accuse people like me of being anti-vax just because we’re skeptical of a completely different medical treatment that is supposed to fill the niche formerly held by vaccines.

    No one around here is anti-vaccine, at least, real vaccines, and I don’t recall anyone among the regulars being fond of Facebook.

    And, again, ground zero of the current “outbreak” is an elementary school in Weston, FL, hardly a “third world sh*thole” … well, okay, except for the politics.

  77. Ken Mitchell says:

    I wrote about it here, but can’t find it.   It was like 16 vaxes, several shots, several combined vaxes.   Our Dr spread them out and we did the necessary ones over about 6 months.

    My wife demanded separate injections, a week apart, when our son got his initial round of vaccines in 1984-85. And then another batch in 1987 before he could go to the Philippines when I was transferred there. 

  78. Alan says:

    >> REVEALED: The best and worst-paying college majors after five years – some graduates will be earning more than double others

    • Almost all of the highest-paying majors are engineering disciplines
    • Liberal arts graduates earn the least, according to the New York Federal Reserve
    • Education graduates had reasonable starting salaries but they did not grow

    Would be even more revealing to include data on vocational schools – specifically Electrician, Plumber, HVAC and Carpenter.

  79. drwilliams says:

    Are the salaries discounted for student loan debt?

  80. drwilliams says:

    Too bad it’s only a metaphorical hammer. 

  81. Greg Norton says:

    Spring Break at God-forsaken Blue State U.

    The hard drinking started tonight.

  82. Greg Norton says:

    Are the salaries discounted for student loan debt?

    Ssssh. That’s an important source of revenue for the Federal Government these days.

  83. Lynn says:

    Too bad it’s only a metaphorical hammer. 

    No joke.  Something to reach out through the intertubes and beat the living hell out of the transgressor would be totally awesome.

  84. Greg Norton says:

    The Exploder is not done, the power steering rack is fine, but the vehicle needs new struts, mounts, and half shafts on each side.

    Might take it elsewhere.

    The front struts and mounts are another chronic problem on this generation Explorer, and, as for the half shafts, my wife hits curbs so it didn’t surprise me.

  85. Greg Norton says:

    No joke.  Something to reach out through the intertubes and beat the living hell out of the transgressor would be totally awesome.

    He was right on schedule. I knew God-forsaken Blue State U. was on Spring Break after Texas, but I figured that the time would be closer to Easter. The Spring term doesn’t end until 5/22.

    Mark your calendars now.

    Cue the Barenaked Ladies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM68ISI8slM

  86. nick flandrey says:

    Elon Musk on working from home.   “It’s a moral issue.”

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y5OHFt8QyiU?feature=share 

    (he don’t like it)

    n

  87. Alan says:

    Violating gun safety rule #3 … and (surprise, not) he’s not Amish!

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/26774029/aaron-taylor-johnson-offered-role-james-bond/

  88. Alan says:

    And in today’s Florida GOP Primary, Nikki Haley, with 13.8 percent of the vote, beats Ron DeSantis (3.8 pct) in his home state.

    .

    .

    .

    Ohh, and “Yes, I Have No Bond Money” is the winner with 81.0 pct.

  89. Norman says:

    Re beards, I’ve had various incarnations of beard since I could grow one, it’s currently of medium size and quite grey. I believe this to be a sign of wisdom, it’s not widely known but beards act as cooling fins for the brain, the bigger the better It should be noted that the small designer beards worn by millennials and assorted liberal types actually fail in this – they fool the brain into thinking it has sufficient cooling when it doesn’t thus causing their brains to overheat & fail.

  90. brad says:

    those parks dont shy from pushing alcohol

    That’s where the money is. Pretty much everything else is a loss-leader, or just barely covers its costs. The same for the restaurant business: food breaks even, you make money on the drinks.

    Almost all of the highest-paying majors are engineering disciplines

    I was just reading an article on Hacker News about CS programs. Very popular because $$$, but lots of students can’t handle the technical stuff. So you get CS programs that offer tracks that almost completely avoid unimportant stuff like programming, databases, and networks. Instead, you get a curriculum built out of courses on graphical design, user psychology, legal issues, etc. That keeps enrollment up, and the school doesn’t have to care that the students fail when they hit the job market.

    I have a very short beard that…

    I grew a full beard once. Not good – mostly, I looked like a druggie or an escaped convict. Shaved it off in stages, to see if anything like a Van Dyke, or even just a mustache was any better. Nope.

    I do appreciate the modern acceptance of not being clean shaven, though. Shaving every 3-4 days is a lot more agreeable than the old way (military days) of a close shave every morning.

    American politics did not used to be a Imperial Rome gladitorial Battle Royale

    Hey, I think that could be the seed of a great idea! Instead of fake elections, let’s put the candidates in an arena with swords and whips. The winner gets to be eaten by lions, and we get to drink some of the aforementioned alcohol while watching.

    “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

    Indeed. Judge on a power trip, definitely overstepping their authority. How this will get resolved, is anyone’s guess…

    – – – – –

    Hey, Switzerland made headlines when Musk tweeted this week. There is a right-wing guy from Austria who came to give a speech on “remigration”, which he defines as deporting migrants who are here illegally, or who fail to integrate. Definitely a right-wing topic, but a legitimate discussion that needs to happen.

    Anyway, the police took him into custody – note: did not “arrest” him, but he had no choice about going with them. Why? Because of the “risk of violence”. Not by him or the people who came to hear him, but by the leftist protesters outside. Seems pretty obvious that the police should have concentrated on the protesters, and even then waited for some actual violence, but they took the cheap way out.

    Musk’s comment was just “Is this legal?” To which the answer is: probably not, and I think we will see some fallout from this. On the positive side, it did get the guy (and “remigration”) into the headlines. Which is good, and maybe next time he will be allowed to speak.

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