Tues. Apr. 16, 2026 – more messing around to do

Cool and cloudy to start, then warming later. And some wind- “fresh” in the words of openweathermap.org. It was blowing all over last night.

Yesterday I did my doctor appointment. I like him, he’s just a bit younger than me, but the current nonsense over any meds used to treat pain is nuts. I take a simple med for chronic back pain. It’s not abuse-able, has a long and well understood history, is cheap, and is an NSAID with minimal side effects. I’ve been on it every day for about 15 years. It works for me. So why change? Why the intrusive nonsense about renewal? The office wanted a contract like I was a barely under control junkie mandating monitoring, blood tests, when and how I could refill, all sorts of nonsense for a drug that ISN’T controlled, ISN’T abuse-able, and technically ISN’T a painkiller. I pushed back with increasing firmness until he admitted all the above, and agreed I didn’t need the stupid contract.

I’m going back to the way I got it for years. F this S, I will not have my ability to control my pain and ability to work and do stuff at the mercy of a just in time delivery system, especially considering that it’s essentially Motrin, and in any sane place would be over the counter. I thought this guy was more reasonable. Guess not.

After that, I did some shopping and one pickup. Did a bunch of cleaning and moving stuff around while waiting for my chauffeur duty to be called upon. Did some more after. Tripped and fell over the child gate we use to keep the dog out of the bedrooms. Smashed myself and the gate up. Bought another in the auction last night. They always have child gates for some reason. So it was a mixed bag yesterday. I did get some stuff done, but was frustrated and stomping around, both metaphorically and in reality.

Today I’ve got several pickups to do. That should keep me busy until I have to get the kid from school. STAAR testing this week so no afterschool activities. That means a short day for me too.

——————————————————————————–

Traps in the attic haven’t caught anything. I’ll have to try some different bait. The poison boxes are untouched too, but I still hear scurrying at times. SOMETHING is up there. Possums usually go for the traps, rats usually eat the poison. I guess it could be squirrels…

Stack some poison, traps, insecticide, and the like. You may not be able to get them when you need them. Stack the other things you need to be comfortable too.

nick

81 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Apr. 16, 2026 – more messing around to do"

  1. SteveF says:

    I thought this guy was more reasonable

    Remember, your doctor doesn’t work for you. He works for the insurance company, the government, and the pharma companies.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Remember, your doctor doesn’t work for you. He works for the insurance company, the government, and the pharma companies.

    Don’t forget the AI data mining the practice’s Epic database.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    Mid 70s and overcast, threat of rain in the air.  

    Some breeze.   

    I am hoping the rain holds off, I’ve got stuff to do.

    n

  4. EdH says:

    I thought this guy was more reasonable

    I think I read recently that they are starting another crackdown on doctor prescribed pain meds, with the aim of cutting them by some huge percentage.

    The “War on Drugs” having failed, they aim to conflate it with legitimate medicine from doctors to patients, smash that system, and then declare victory.

  5. Ray Thompson says:

    I still hear scurrying at times. SOMETHING is up there

    For your case it might be CIA agents.

  6. Chad says:

    Iranian made drones are helping the Russians in Ukraine. Iran just sent a bunch of them to attack Israel. If I was US-backed Israel looking for a “measured” retaliation, then I’d level every drone plant in Iran.

  7. Geoff Powell says:

    Here in London, we have elections in a few weeks. Mayor of London, and two sets of Greater London Authority Members – one Constituency member, and general members, which are elected as a party slate.  I’ve just received my postal ballot papers – 3 of them, one per race. We do not have omnibus ballots. Completed ballots must be received by the authorities by 22:00 on the 2nd May – polling day.

    As a postal voter, I will be turned away if I attempt to vote in person.

    So mark the ballots as required, insert same in Envelope A (supplied) which has an attached sheet requiring your signature and DOB, and seal the envelope. Then insert Envelope A into envelope B (also supplied), seaal it and post the result in any letter box. Postage not required within the UK. There are alternative methods of delivery. Non-compliance with this routine will result in your vote(s) not being counted. Counting is manual.

    We will have to do this again before the end o the year, since the national government’s maximum 5-year term will end then.

    G.

  8. Greg Norton says:

    I thought this guy was more reasonable

    I think I read recently that they are starting another crackdown on doctor prescribed pain meds, with the aim of cutting them by some huge percentage.

    Texas has a shadow DEA which doubles the grief in this state.

    In private practice, especially large groups, the providers get caught between the number crunchers emphasizing volume while the state scrutinizes every prescription.

    A patient getting argumentative cuts out into the provider’s paycheck, regardless of whether they are right. 

  9. drwilliams says:

    If there was really a War on Drugs, or even someone in Washington that gave a one-eyed tinker’s damn, the southern border would be locked up tighter than a nun’s habit. 

    Instead we loose 100,000 lives a year to fentanyl and other crap coming from China via Mexico. 

    We lost 58,220 in the entire Vietnam War, and it was a big deal. What kind of Memorial are they going to build to the Democrats open borders debacle? 

  10. EdH says:

    Iranian made drones are helping the Russians in Ukraine. Iran just sent a bunch of them to attack Israel. If I was US-backed Israel looking for a “measured” retaliation, then I’d level every drone plant in Iran.

    That – and the nuclear development plants which are the long term existential threat for Israel. 

    If you think the mullahs are crazed now, wait until they get the bomb.

  11. Alan says:

    >> Remember, your doctor doesn’t work for you. He works for the insurance company, the government, and the pharma companies.

    Two words: Concierge Physician 

    One of the best ways I have spent my healthcare dollars. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. 

  12. Alan says:

    >> Two words: Concierge Physician

    Also look at Direct Primary Care. 

    https://www.dpcare.org/

  13. CowboyStu says:

    Two words: Concierge Physician 

    Yes!!!  We have been with an office of two for over 20 years.  Realizing that they are coming to an end, they recently brought in a third who is far younger.  He had been practicing in Ridgecrest!

  14. SteveF says:

    Chicken follies, or in one case Fowl Follies:

    As is my norm when the weather isn’t foul, I’m sitting out with my chickens, with the laptop, mostly working but checking them from time to time to make sure they’re not running away and not getting in trouble and also making sure that any hypothetical hawks see that there’s a dread human around.

    I have the solar panel out and hooked to the “power station”, to charge the laptop when I need it. The solar panel is mostly vertical-ish but the bottom quarter is horizontal because where I attach the whole this is a little shorter than the four-folding-panel solar charging thingie. No problem; the panels are angled well enough to keep the laptop charged and any attempt at perfect alignment would be wasted.

    Except that the birds keep getting up on the horizontal panel because it’s right there and why wouldn’t they. It’s got a bunch of muddy little footprints which probably reduce the efficiency, but again I’m getting enough power so I didn’t worry about it.

    Except that one of the wretched beasts pooped on the panel this afternoon. It’s not as big as an egg but it’s bigger than the offender’s head. -sigh-

    In other follies, I went in to grab a sandwich for lunch, a hamburger roll (home made, of course) and a thick slice of pork loin. The birds smelled it and came crowding around to mooch, because they’ve never been fed in their entire lives, just ask them. No problem, I gave each a pinch of meat. Except that the black-and-white hens, who are aggressive, kept stealing the meat right out of Brown Hen’s mouth. I finally leaned over to hand Brown Hen’s to her and keep my hand near to keep the others away … and one of the wretches jumped up and tried to steal the sandwich out of my hand.

    I’ve mentioned that my chickens are the most spoiled little chickens who ever lived, right?

    11
  15. Rick H says:

    Whenever I read @SteveF accounts of sitting out in front of his house and the chickens, I think of something like this:

    SteveF and Chickens

    (I used my special powers to insert the picture. These powers are not for mere mortals to use.)

    11
    2
  16. Ray Thompson says:

    I used my special powers to insert the picture. These powers are not for mere mortals to use.

    Here I come to save the day,
    That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way.

    If you remember that, you are old.

  17. lpdbw says:

    I rented that cabin once!

    Not really, but one much like it.

  18. Lynn says:

    “What were the tax consequences of letting Windows 95 team members keep a piece of software as long as they tested it?” by Raymond Chen

        https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20240415-47/

    “Every so often, somebody rediscovers my story of buying an entire Egghead Software store. One question that comes up is the issue of taxes. (You can never avoid taxes. Taxes are due today for most people in the United States.)”

    “If the employees were allowed to keep the software provided they tested the program and filed bugs against it, did that count as work compensation that became taxable income?”

    Bonus chatter: During one of the many iterations of this story being retold, someone remarked that they got a copy of the video game Wing Commander III through this exercise. I immediately remembered that they fulfilled their expectation by filing a bug against Windows 95: When you earned the cloaking device on level 58 or something, you couldn’t activate it.”

    Cool !

    I was an alpha tester of Windows 92 XX 93 XX 94 XX 95. I filed quite a few bugs on it. One was quite serious, it killed my software when they tried to extend the Window Handles addressing. Broke every piece of Win16 software in sight.

  19. Lynn says:

    “Tesla stock slides as Musk pushes deeper into robotaxis”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-stock-slides-as-musk-pushes-deeper-into-robotaxis-174408390.html

    “Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly pushing more resources into robotaxis and self-driving tech, raising concern among some Wall Street analysts.”

    Ah, Wall Street.  Only cares about the next quarter.

  20. EdH says:

    Ah, Wall Street.  Only cares about the next quarter.

    A visionary thinking ahead 100 years ahead vs. financial parasites thinking 100 days ahead…

  21. Lynn says:

    In other follies, I went in to grab a sandwich for lunch, a hamburger roll (home made, of course) and a thick slice of pork loin. The birds smelled it and came crowding around to mooch, because they’ve never been fed in their entire lives, just ask them. No problem, I gave each a pinch of meat. Except that the black-and-white hens, who are aggressive, kept stealing the meat right out of Brown Hen’s mouth. I finally leaned over to hand Brown Hen’s to her and keep my hand near to keep the others away … and one of the wretches jumped up and tried to steal the sandwich out of my hand.

    I’ve mentioned that my chickens are the most spoiled little chickens who ever lived, right?

    Chickens are descended from dinosaurs.  Therefore, you are messing around with dinosaurs descendants.  Number one imperative is to eat.  

    I am surprised that they do not try to eat you.

  22. Lynn says:

    Sieg Heil, Baby

    https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/04/16/brussels-mayor-shuts-down-farage-conference-because-it-is-conservative-n3786608

    My mother’s mother’s parents were from Duksmuter, Belgium, a suburb of Brussels.  They left in 1903 ? when my great-great grandfathers warehouses full of flax were torched and burned down.  Violence due to political beliefs is nothing new in Belgium.

  23. Greg Norton says:

    “Every so often, somebody rediscovers my story of buying an entire Egghead Software store. One question that comes up is the issue of taxes. (You can never avoid taxes. Taxes are due today for most people in the United States.)”

    The Egghead Ponzi. When I first saw the link, I assumed it was a story about someone literally buying an entire store after the landlords changed the locks when the Ponzi imploded more than 20 years ago.

    The Ponzi was a huge partner of Microsoft back in the day, to the point that Gates would do the annual Christmas sales “rah rah” videos in the late 80s/early 90s.

    These days, the swanky former Ponzi HQ building is home to Philips Healthcare.

    Egghead had much nicer HQ digs than Costco’s just around the corner.

    Yeah, Costco management is heavy Prog, but they’re tight when it comes to their own bottom line.

  24. Lynn says:

    “Put not your trust in bureaucracies – Second Amendment edition”

         https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/04/put-not-your-trust-in-bureaucracies.html

    “It seems the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF for short) is bound and determined to put every single firearms transfer through a formal registration process, whether justifiable or not.”

    Nope, the ATF wants to seize all guns in the USA.  This is just another step in that process.

  25. Greg Norton says:

    “Tesla stock slides as Musk pushes deeper into robotaxis”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-stock-slides-as-musk-pushes-deeper-into-robotaxis-174408390.html

    “Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly pushing more resources into robotaxis and self-driving tech, raising concern among some Wall Street analysts.”

    Ah, Wall Street.  Only cares about the next quarter.

    Tony was a ward of Wall Street far longer than I thought possible.

    Live by the Wall Street games like “Going private at $420 a share”, die by the games.

    Technically speaking, there isn’t any support for the current price beyond the big players shearing the sheeple. Meaningful resistance was burned off long ago.

  26. Lynn says:

    “Massive Crowd of Illegal Africans Swarm NYC’s City Hall Demanding Green Cards and Work Visas”

        https://rumble.com/v4ptirl-massive-crowd-of-illegal-africans-swarm-nycs-city-hall-demanding-green-card.html

    This will not end well.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  27. Lynn says:

    “Biden Administration Has Taken Over 200 Actions Against Domestic Oil and Gas: Report”

        https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/biden-administration-has-taken-over-200-actions-against-domestic-oil-and-gas-report-5630458?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily

    “‘Democrats have a plan for American energy: make it harder to produce and more expensive to purchase,’ the Institute for Energy Research wrote.”

    “On his first day in office, President Biden revoked the March 2019 permit for the Keystone Pipeline, canceled all oil and gas leasing activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and revoked President Donald Trump’s executive orders to decrease regulations to expand domestic production.”

    “In his second week, the president canceled new oil and gas leases on public lands or offshore waters and issued new regulations for permitting and leasing practices, which had been mired in litigation for years.”

    “Before the 2022 midterms, the Biden administration blamed the oil and gas industry for excessive pricing, accusing them of profiteering and threatening producers with a “windfall profits tax.””

    “Last month, the Biden administration proposed $110 billion in tax hikes on oil, gas, natural gas, and coal. The proposal prompted a coalition of two dozen U.S. senators to send a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing “grave concern for the administration’s continued hostility towards American energy production.””

    These are enemy actions.  You are either for the United States or against the United States.  There is no middle ground.

  28. paul says:

    Everyone (sounds rather generic), all my friends here, thank you.  I means a whole lot.

    Thank You.

    14
  29. Lynn says:

    My wife has an offer to buy her townhome in the Dallas area.  It is ok but the purchaser wants her to pay $8,000 of their closing costs.  The wife is going to counter offer.

    Also, the purchaser is getting a 5% down, 6.75% 30 year loan.  I thought that those were gone.

  30. SteveF says:

    Whenever I read @SteveF accounts of sitting out in front of his house and the chickens, I think of something like this:

    Nah. I’m much slimmer than that, don’t wear pants, and buzz my hair and beard whenever they get over about ¼”. Aside from that, well, I won’t say you’re wrong…

  31. Greg Norton says:

    Also, the purchaser is getting a 5% down, 6.75% 30 year loan.  I thought that those were gone.

    No. Those never really stopped.

    The default rates on the weird low-down payment loans were actually lower than the people who bought the usual 20% to the table.

  32. Lynn says:

    “The Tucker Carlson Interview: Pavel Durov”

       https://tuckercarlson.com/the-tucker-carlson-interview-pavel-durov/

    “The social media app Telegram has over 900 million users around the world. Its founder Pavel Durov sat down with us at his offices in Dubai for his first on-camera interview in almost a decade.”

    Wow.  I may have a Telegram Messenger account to talk with a group of like minded individuals.

  33. EdH says:

    Talked to my neighbor this morning, he’s bugging out of California next year. it was going to be this year but his father-in-law just passed away and they decided they needed to hang around and settle the estate. 

    He’s a retired fire captain, so he probably has a pretty nice pension.

    If the unions manage a carve out from the ‘reparations’.

    —-

    In other California news someone sideswiped my brother in traffic yesterday. They took off a high rate of speed and he couldn’t get the license plate. 

    When he went in to the station to report it they at first (angrily!) refused to take the report, then  grudgingly gave him a form to fill out, and telling him both “no one would read it” and “if you make a single mistake it will get tossed”.  He decided not to point out that someone would have to read it to see if there was a mistake…

    Basically he is just going through the motions to satisfy his insurance company.

    I am not sure what the percentage of uninsured illegals is in Palmdale, probably not at Coachella levels, but still probably north of 50%.

  34. MrAtoz says:

    Gravatars!

    Gravatars!

    Gravatars!

    4
    1
  35. Lynn says:

    Basically he is just going through the motions to satisfy his insurance company.

    I am not sure what the percentage of uninsured illegals is in Palmdale, probably not at Coachella levels, but still probably north of 50%.

    Aren’t we all ?  I had a wreck with an uninsured lady who ran a light back in 1998.  The hoops that I had to go to get the $8,000+ of damage to my 1996 Ford Explorer fixed were unreal.  And I had uninsured / under-insured driver on my vehicle insurance.

    I am not sure what our level of uninsured drivers is around here in the Houston area is but I would not be surprised at 50%.  Texas is reputedly at 30% uninsured drivers across the state and that is an old number.

  36. paul says:

    I’m sort of in a strange place.  The dogs know and they seem ok though not happy with it. Anyway, I’m sort of getting hungry tonight.  I missed supper Sunday.  For some reason.  eye roll.  I reckon it’s stress.  I’m just not hungry beyond snacking on leftover taco meat and some cheese.  

    Heck of a way to drop six pounds in a couple of days.   But proof that I’m full of s(h)irt. 

    Today while trying to turn stuff off was a mix of OK and I’d shoot yer dumb ass.

    Turning Sling off was simple.  Clicky click and done.  That’s $70 a month plus tax.
    Turning off his Medicare type F plan was simple.  Mutual of Omaha rocks.  There’s $286 saved. 
     

    The dental plan from CIGNA?  Oh, jeebus, shoot me.  After almost an hour of repeating the same stuff over and over, the 5th person I talked to said to mail a letter to the office in Tampa or just dispute the charge with the credit card and have it blocked. Yep, you can sign up on the phone but you can’t cancel on the phone.  She agreed when I said that’s crazy.  I’ll try disputing the charge but I doubt Capital One will be helpful.  

    I’ll get it sorted.  I’m not sure how SS works for the survivor.  I think I’ll get what he was getting.  That’s still a big drop in income because his pension goes away.  So income drops in half.   But if all there is my SS  plus the $800 I started pulling from my 401k, I’ve run the numbers and even without the 401k, I’ll make it.  Just need to make property taxes and car insurance and groceries.  Going back to HEB isn’t happening, I burned that bridge by walking out. 

    This week’s project was to shop Costco (for a start) for an 80″ TV.  I was sort of looking forward to it , I like shopping.  He gets a new big TV and stops bugging me for a bigger TV.   “How do we get it home?”  Hey, I have a pick-up truck, ya know?
     The prices have come down a lot.   With his macular degeneration he wanted a new TV.  I’ll stick with the 55″ Vizio for now.  

    What else?  I haven’t turned the stereo on in maybe four years.  Three years at least.  Long enough for the batteries in the remote  to have died.  What with his ears and the hearing aids it’s all  a lot of annoying noise.  So, the Squeezebox3 was slightly warm but no display.  I have a spare SB3 (because of course!) and tried that power supply.  Ah.  It works.  I rummaged up another power supply and all it well.  And it’s interesting to me that the Yamaha sounded weak but after an hour or so it’s rocking enough to shake the dust off of the speaker cones.  The remote is being a pain, the power button doesn’t work very well.  I can press and wiggle and it’s getting better.  But…. the system is 19 years old, I bought it 3/12/2005.  Yes, I save a lot of e-mail.

    I have tunes now.  125 GB in random shuffle play.  Cool.   

    The dogs have had their supper.  It’s almost time for the bed time walk.  And then a shower.

    13
  37. paul says:

    I think I’ll get what he was getting.   Not mine plus his.  Just his.  So that makes it all work better money wise.  Though SS may  be bitches about it.

    Anyway.

    Sorry about cussing in front of the kids and women.  But sometimes that’s the word you need.

    Anyway.  Atomic just started to play.  Time to crank it up! 

    10
  38. Nick Flandrey says:

    @paul, the one thing I’ve learned from all the estate stuff I’ve been doing, and talking to people about it– don’t make any really big, irrevocable decisions for a while.   You  are in an altered state and will be for some time.    You’ve got a good handle on the immediate stuff, it sounds like.   Are there family and friends to notify/deal with?  Wishes to take care of?  

    Remember that you don’t HAVE to do anything just “because” but it’s often helpful to follow convention.  It can provide a framework for everyone to work from and ease things along.  

    That said, his wishes and your wishes are really the only thing that matters.   You have time.   Take what you need.

    n

  39. Ray Thompson says:

    The dental plan from CIGNA?  Oh, jeebus, shoot me

    Generally normal. When my mother died she owed ~$400 on Discover. I called to have the card cancelled. They refused until the balance was paid. I told Discover no one was paying the balance as the cardholder was dead. Discover persisted. I then said that I would drop the card in the Best Buy parking lot and let what happens, happens. Cancel the card, or not, I don’t care. Discover said they would take my mother to collections. I then asked what part of “dead” do you not understand. The agent said it was procedure. I said fine, I really don’t care and hung up. Almost 30 minutes on the phone.

  40. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Yesterday I did my doctor appointment. I like him, he’s just a bit younger than me, but the current nonsense over any meds used to treat pain is nuts. I take a simple med for chronic back pain. It’s not abuse-able, has a long and well understood history, is cheap, and is an NSAID with minimal side effects. I’ve been on it every day for about 15 years. It works for me. So why change? Why the intrusive nonsense about renewal? The office wanted a contract like I was a barely under control junkie mandating monitoring, blood tests, when and how I could refill, all sorts of nonsense for a drug that ISN’T controlled, ISN’T abuse-able, and technically ISN’T a painkiller. I pushed back with increasing firmness until he admitted all the above, and agreed I didn’t need the stupid contract.

    I’m going back to the way I got it for years. F this S, I will not have my ability to control my pain and ability to work and do stuff at the mercy of a just in time delivery system, especially considering that it’s essentially Motrin, and in any sane place would be over the counter. I thought this guy was more reasonable. Guess not.

    Good grief. Sounds like a full employment plan for a few extra staffers required by government. 

    I get by with straight ibuprofen, and have several years stocked. 

  41. drwilliams says:

    @RichH

    Whenever I read @SteveF accounts of sitting out in front of his house and the chickens, I think of something like this:

    Special powers, indeed.

    Is that a potty chair?

  42. Nick Flandrey says:

    George Soros drops $60 MILLION into Democrats’ war chest – second-biggest donation of the 2024 race to back ultra-progressive candidates and causes

     

    The $60 million for Democracy PAC is the second-biggest campaign donation in the 2024 election cycle, after an $82.5 million sum to Ron DeSantis’ doomed presidential bid.

    – but but but we were told it was justa conspiracy theory that ol’ nazzi Georgie was buying politicians and offices and elections in the US.

    n

  43. drwilliams says:

    @SteveF

    I’ve mentioned that my chickens are the most spoiled little chickens who ever lived, right?

    Grab your grill, a sharp knife, and two cans of beer. Pop one beer and start a fire. Grab your least favorite chicken by the neck, shake hard, pluck, and gut. Apply your favorite chicken rub. Use empty can for beer can chicken. Cook chicken. Cool. Pull the legs off and eat them first, explaining to the rest of the flock that they could be next. They will ignore you and want some dark meat, because they are cannibals. At least you got lunch.

  44. Nick Flandrey says:

    Bank of America profits plunge 18% due to rise in customer credit card delinquencies – as company prepares for MORE Americans to miss payments amid red-hot inflation

    • The bank set aside more money to cover souring loans from consumers
    • Profit fell to $6.67 billion in the first quarter of this year, Bank of America said
    • America’s combined household debt shot up to $17.5 trillion at the end of 2023

    By Tilly Armstrong Assistant Consumer Editor For Dailymail.Com

    Published: 16:59 EDT, 16 April 2024 | Updated: 17:58 EDT, 16 April 2024 

    Bank of America reported an 18 percent drop in profit for the first quarter of this year, as the company set aside more money to cover consumer credit card losses. 

    The bank said profit fell to $6.67 billion, or 76 cents a share. 

    Its net charge-offs – or debts that are unlikely to be recovered – rose to $1.5 billion in the first quarter, mainly from credit card losses. This is up from $807 million a year earlier. 

    – yup.  Bad times are here for a lot of people.  And worse is coming.

    n

  45. Lynn says:

    – yup.  Bad times are here for a lot of people.  And worse is coming.

    The day the EBT cards fail is going to be bad.  Real bad.

  46. drwilliams says:

    Lynn says:

    16 April 2024 at 17:56

    “Biden Administration Has Taken Over 200 Actions Against Domestic Oil and Gas: Report”

        https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/biden-administration-has-taken-over-200-actions-against-domestic-oil-and-gas-report-5630458?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily

    “‘Democrats have a plan for American energy: make it harder to produce and more expensive to purchase,’ the Institute for Energy Research wrote.”

    “On his first day in office, President Biden revoked the March 2019 permit for the Keystone Pipeline, canceled all oil and gas leasing activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and revoked President Donald Trump’s executive orders to decrease regulations to expand domestic production.”

    “In his second week, the president canceled new oil and gas leases on public lands or offshore waters and issued new regulations for permitting and leasing practices, which had been mired in litigation for years.”

    “Before the 2022 midterms, the Biden administration blamed the oil and gas industry for excessive pricing, accusing them of profiteering and threatening producers with a “windfall profits tax.””

    “Last month, the Biden administration proposed $110 billion in tax hikes on oil, gas, natural gas, and coal. The proposal prompted a coalition of two dozen U.S. senators to send a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing “grave concern for the administration’s continued hostility towards American energy production.””

    These are enemy actions.  You are either for the United States or against the United States.  There is no middle ground.

    In January 2025, President Trump issues an Executive Order: Give The Greens Weinies What They Deserve 1) confiscating automobiles from all Democrats and making it a felony to offer one of them a ride, 2) issuing each a springless rickshaw kit that they can assemble

    In February 2025 President Trump issues an Executive Order: Rickshaw Regulation, Licensing, Road Tax, and Parking Regulations. ATF issues an opinion that a rickshaw is the functional equivalent of a bump stock.

  47. Greg Norton says:

    The day the EBT cards fail is going to be bad.  Real bad.

    JP Morgan Chase.

  48. Greg Norton says:

    Generally normal. When my mother died she owed ~$400 on Discover. I called to have the card cancelled. They refused until the balance was paid. I told Discover no one was paying the balance as the cardholder was dead. Discover persisted. I then said that I would drop the card in the Best Buy parking lot and let what happens, happens. Cancel the card, or not, I don’t care. Discover said they would take my mother to collections. I then asked what part of “dead” do you not understand. The agent said it was procedure. I said fine, I really don’t care and hung up. Almost 30 minutes on the phone.

    A couple of years after … something … happened to my father-in-law at UT Southwestern and one of the nurses collected his life insurance policies, the hospital had the gall to call about the unpaid final bills.

  49. drwilliams says:

    @Alan

    More on car colors…

    So what color did you want on your new Mustang?

    https://jalopnik.com/ford-will-paint-your-mustang-for-free-so-long-as-the-c-1851406600?utm_source=jalopnik_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024-04-14

    When I got my Mustang dad pronounced the Ford paint was “dead”. 

    Polishing the oxide layer off took most of a weekend.

    There’s still a million Ford Crown Vic’s on the road and you can tell the 2003’s from a mile away becasue Ford relaxed their paint standards and they all look like shiite, which to this day is exactly what Ford knows about automotive paint.

  50. Greg Norton says:

    Bank of America profits plunge 18% due to rise in customer credit card delinquencies – as company prepares for MORE Americans to miss payments amid red-hot inflation

    Bank of America needs to fail this time. Their day of reckoning is long overdue.

  51. Nick Flandrey says:

    At least Ford didn’t have the GM problem where the paint flakes off the galvanizing layer that a decade or two had.   I still see it everywhere.    AND my wife’s Honda is now starting to show the same issue, the paint flakes off to leave just galvanized looking metal.   Leading edges and mostly horizontal surfaces show the worst of it.

    n

  52. Nick Flandrey says:

    Instead Ford had the 80s and 90s when all the paint colors were “not quite” the normal version of the color.  Not quite blue, not quite aquamarine…   Not quite green…   the trucks were the worst.   It’s like Suzzanne Sommers was the stylist.

    n

  53. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    At least Ford didn’t have the GM problem where the paint flakes off the galvanizing layer that a decade or two had.   I still see it everywhere.    AND my wife’s Honda is now starting to show the same issue, the paint flakes off to leave just galvanized looking metal.   Leading edges and mostly horizontal surfaces show the worst of it.

    VOC’s?

    We don’t need no stinkin’ VOC’s!

    Yeah, you do.

  54. Greg Norton says:

    RIP. Bob Graham was a class act.

    Six years ago, Florida Dems put it all on the line to back Andrew Gillum, including throwing the Graham family under the bus.

    The party is done for at least a generation in the state.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/04/16/former-florida-governor-senator-bob-graham-dies-87/

  55. drwilliams says:

    I was wrong. Not 100,000

    For the first time in U.S. history, fatal overdoses peaked above 112,000 deaths, with young people and people of color among the hardest hit.

    I was wrong. Not fentanyl, just the precursors:

    Fentanyl is mostly manufactured by drug cartels in Mexico and brought across the border by smugglers. The cartels get the chemicals used to make the drug almost exclusively from China.

    https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2024/04/16/why-is-china-still-subsidizing-fentanyl-precursor-chemicals-n3786661

    Give me a thousand drones that can each carry a pound of fentanyl confiscated at the southern border and a good launch point to overfly Mexico City. 

  56. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Not quite blue, not quite aquamarine…   Not quite green…

    Teal the Tweenie. Heretofore only available in the Box of 64.

    They searched diligently for another “not quite”, but never found it. Effect pigments took over along with clear coats. Now it costs $3000 to reskin and paint a bumper. Earl Schieb used to give you a spray job for $29.95.

  57. drwilliams says:

    Scranton Joe, in Scranton, forgets he’s in Scranton:

    https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/04/16/biden-scranton-remarks-n2172870

    “Clap for that, you stupid bastards”

    https://twitter.com/realJoelFischer/status/1309582023066095616

    “Jill, let me tell you about Jill. Fifty feet of garden hose is nothing…”

  58. Nick Flandrey says:

    Auctions.  Everything comes thru eventually.

    Last week I won some UV tubes for a water treatment system, but lost out on the holders.   This week I won what should be the correct holders for the bulbs… in a different auctioneer’s sale.

    Last week I was looking at all the 80% alcohol I’ve accumulated and thought it would be a good idea to get an alcohol stove.   Just won two vintage stoves in another auction.  It’s deep preps and layers but for $1 and $2 I couldn’t say no.

    n

  59. Denis says:

    Rick H,

    did you use your super powers to bork the page layout with that photo of SteveF, or did Steve’s effigy do it all by himself?

    In portrait mode on my smarty pants phone, today’s page doesn’t fit on the screen without scrolling left-right or reducing the font size to Microsoft terms and conditions invisible/illegible. Yesterday’s page displays fine, as usual.

    Paul, very glad to see you posting, and it sounds like you are managing things one item at a time, which is a good way to proceed. Crank up the music and remember your partner in happy times. Let the dogs console you and each other. Awake at weird hours because your mind is racing through all the to-do’s, drop a line here; chances are, someone of your friends is awake too.

    SteveF, I am enjoying your chicken-life reports. More, please!

    Nick, I love the smell of food cooking on an alcohol stove. It reminds me of many happy youthful days spent messing around in boats, with meals prepared on a gimballed stove. Much safer than propane, too, if one remembers the flame is almost invisible.

    Auctions are evil. Yesterday I spotted a rifle going at a price I couldn’t pass up. Now I own another one. My clever rationalisation is that it will stay at the place where I go deer stalking, thus not taking up space in my own storage. Oh, and it came with matching reloading dies and once-fired brass. Who could not buy that? All I need to get now are some ring/bases for a scope, once I decide which scope from the shelf is going to adorn it.

  60. Nick Flandrey says:

    @denis, you didn’t just get a good deal on a rifle, you got a project to keep you busy too!   😉

    n

  61. Nick Flandrey says:

    Quick poll.

    Do we have all the time zones represented by readers here??

    I know we have E,C,M,P in the US, and we have a couple of European zones… with some other people in more far flung places, like Alaska.

    I’m thinking Atlantic might be hard, PEI and Newfoundland, are pretty small.   Are the Bahamas in Atlantic?   IIRC Newfoundland is ½ hour off from everyone else, is that even Atlantic?

    GMT is accounted for with Gavin at least, and others.   Aussies?  MrK?

    n

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    I love the smell of food cooking on an alcohol stove.  

    – I feel the same way about the coleman lantern and stove.  Good memories linked to the smell and sound.

    n

  63. Denis says:

    GMT+1 zone here.

    you got a project to keep you busy too!  

    Obviously, I need another project like a hole in the head, but this is one where I convinced myself that I see a benefit.

    This morning, I am thinking of, and thankful for, the person who originally layed out our garden. They put a rhododendron with flaming orange blooms between two shocking magenta azaleas just outside my bedroom window, in a spot that catches the light of the rising sun. The effect is spectacular for the couple of weeks that the blossoms last. It gives me a boost every morning when I open my eyes, or when, as this morning, eyes already open, the dawn breaks. Flowers, good for the soul.

  64. brad says:

    @RickH: We always wondered what SteveF looked like. Now we know.

    Chickens are descended from dinosaurs.

    Supposedly the closest living relative of T-Rex.

    6.75% 30 year loan

    Ouch. I hope they have the option to refinance, when rates drop. Or is that actually considered a good rate in the US nowadays?

    Texas is reputedly at 30% uninsured drivers across the state and that is an old number.

    Great chance for the police forces to earn some easy money – set up a stop, check insurance and registration. Profit! Why aren’t they doing that?

    – – – – –

    @Paul:

    That said, his wishes and your wishes are really the only thing that matters.   You have time.   Take what you need.

    This. Do what you feel up to, wait for the rest.

    For practical advice, what Ray said: lots of places will pressure you to pay money that you do not owe. Apparently, lots of people pretend to die in an attempt to skate out of their debts, so many call centers refuse to believe you. Doesn’t change the facts, but it sure does make things unnecessarily painful.

    Stay strong, take care of yourself.

    4
    1
  65. Gavin says:

    GMT is accounted for with Gavin at least

    Hmm… While I was born in a place where GMT was ‘the correct time’, I haven’t lived there for, hmm… 2, plus 3, carry the one… 6 decades. So I guess there’s another Gavin on here I haven’t noticed?

    And I hadn’t realized I’d missed the anniversary of my move to the good colony by over a month. Which was, for y’all triskaidekaphiliacs on a Friday the 13th.

  66. Alan says:

    >> My wife has an offer to buy her townhome in the Dallas area.  It is ok but the purchaser wants her to pay $8,000 of their closing costs.  The wife is going to counter offer.

    Also, the purchaser is getting a 5% down, 6.75% 30 year loan.  I thought that those were gone.

    Hmm, I’d wager a guess that replacement tile would cost…oh, say,$7995?

    Will the house appraise for the loan amount? 

  67. Geoff Powell says:

    @nick:

    For current GMT contingent, there’s me, and (I think) PaultheManc. Possibly Norman, although I’ve not seen a post from him in a long time.

    Edit: April 2nd last, if the commenter page isn’t lying to me (which it does, occasionally).

    G.

  68. LGW says:

    Nick, why don’t you get a cheap trail camera and put it in your attic and get a look at these scurrying varmints.  Those pictures will tell you what to bait/trap with to get rid of it/them!

    First ever post.  Mostly a reader – not a responder.  Am a country guy with a farm and varmits.

    12
  69. Jenny says:

    @SteveF

    love the chicken stories. My hens are food thieves, too.

    @paul

    It takes a solid year before brain function returns to something approaching normal from what I’ve observed. Be gentle as you can with yourself and no big or irrevocable decisions for a bit. 
     

    @denis

    Auctions are evil. Yesterday I spotted a rifle going at a price I couldn’t pass up

    Yup. I bought a Moeck Rottenburgh Bass recorder from ShopGoodwill auction site today. The tenons need to be recorked. I’m excited to play it. 

  70. WhiteHorse says:

    GMT+2 zone here.

  71. brad says:

    GMT+1, just like Denis

  72. paul says:

    The trail camera is a great idea.

  73. Nick Flandrey says:

    @gavin, of course, had your location crossed with Geoff…  

    GMT +1 and +2,   -1,2,3,4,5, and ?8  for Jenny?

    There are gonna be some that no one lives in…

    pretty good coverage so far.

    n

  74. Nick Flandrey says:

    @LGW,   “First!”  

    🙂

    n

  75. Denis says:

    LGW, welcome, and thanks for breaking radio silence!

    Jenny, bodhráns and recorders…. Cacophony manor? 😉

    Y’all know the difference between a descant recorder and a bass recorder?

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    … a bass recorder burns much longer than a descant recorder!

  76. Jenny says:

    @Denis

    Boo! -laughter-

    I play lots of instruments, mostly beginner / intermediate level. I’m not bad on the wind instruments and can sight read (at my level) like nobody’s business.

    Call it a joyful cacophony. 

  77. Jenny says:

    @nick

    Per Google my location is currently GMT -8, in the Fall GMT -9

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