Warmish, still damp, and possibly clearing to a nice day. Yesterday was a mixed bag, but I didn’t get any more rain during the day. Some other places might have.
As I was driving around I did see that the local bayous are at higher than normal levels. I crossed the San Jac river in the middle of the bridge and couldn’t see down to see what it looked like though. Google gave me flood warnings when I navigated to my auction pickup in Kingwood (north and east, where all the flooding starts to show up as you head out of Houston proper.) I didn’t see many signs of flooding though.
One of my auctioneers did show me a picture of his car flooded to the door handles in Porter.
I did my two pickups, and headed home.
Before and after that I did a bit of stuff around the house. Some more poking at the All in One PC. I ordered more RAM because it was a cheap upgrade and it should be usable for basic tasks. It’s less responsive now that windows had a chance to update, win10 has a LOT of bloat over the years, but it’s still very usable for web and normal tasks. If it had a touch screen it would be perfect for a media center/ music steaming GUI in the garage or dockhouse. Or I might put it on the shelf with the 3D printers to manage those machines, if they need a handy computer nearby…or I could plug my SDR radio dongle into it and have that running in my office. I could still clone the drive to an SSD to get better performance too. That is probably the single best and cheapest way to extend the life of an old machine that is feeling slow.
There is a lot of life left in old, cheap machines. And I like the idea of one machine per task.
Today I’ve got a couple more pickups to do. Kid has an ortho appointment in the morning, and that will get me out and about, while disrupting my routine at the same time. Other kid doesn’t have sports team practice this week, so I’m on deck to do an early pickup for her. Lots of poking at things around the house to do too. Even if the weather is nice, I bet I don’t get out in it much.
On the plus side, my back and neck have been better this week and last. Small mercies.
Oh, almost forgot. Data point. Dinner last night included boxed potatoes (betty crocker au gratin in various flavors) with a best by of 2021 and 2022. I had to open 8 boxes to find two that didn’t have little black bugs INSIDE the sealed plastic bag with the potato slices. Those bugs must have been there the whole time, but only get numerous enough to see in a few years?? The two I made that were “sans bugs” were still tasty and the powdered cheese in the foil pouch was still good. Wife and kids both commented that they liked the potato casserole dish (I did add a few tablespoons of bacon crumbles). Main meat was a sirloin cap roast (picanha roast) from 2021 or ’22. Even a two pounder is thin enough to defrost quickly and cook in less than an hour. That gave me time to cook the potatoes and some instant ‘tube’ biscuits too.
My storage conditions are the suxx, and I expect the ‘breakage’. I’m actually surprised I don’t lose more stored food.
Which is where the stacking comes in. You never really know when you’ll be stuck with what you’ve got. I’d rather have too much, than too little and I’m willing to lose a bit to ensure that. You may feel differently- preferring a more precise FIFO plan, with an exact amount of stored food, and a strict rotation to keep it fresh. That’s cool if it works for you. Whatever you do, stack SOMETHING.. and keep stacking as you use it.
nick
My guess: Dentist. They’re always the group in the most trouble with loans. $1 million isn’t uncommon.
Ever since the Federal student loan program was nationalized with interest payments going into the US Government’s coffers, the sky has been the limit with tuition increases.
My daughter was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design this year.
$68k tuition annually.
Yeah, that isn’t happening. The suggested Parent PLUS loans would put us in hock at a number greater than my personal accumulated 401(k) balances, effectively making our household insolvent except for whatever unicorn fart number that the house is worth.
For an art degree from a Fancy Lad school.
Just curious – does renouncing citizenship work with regard to the student loan balance?
If the loans didn’t pay for some kind of professional medical diploma then the money went into lifestyle.
The lifestyle probably included flights to … Switzerland!
Dirtbag.
Commencement isn’t for another two weeks at God-forsaken Blue State U.
76F and mostly clear. Sun is trying to get out.
n
We’ve had the same bus driver for D2 this whole year. He’s been rock solid, arriving exactly on time almost every single day. Maybe twice? there has been any significant deviation. I just stood in the front lawn and waved him on since we’re going to the orthodontist instead of riding the bus to school. I’ll do my part to help him stay on schedule…
What a difference to last year where we had a different bus driver every couple of weeks and their arrival time could vary by 20 minutes or more.
Hard to get good employees.
n
I don ‘t think your debts get discharged just because your citizenship changes. And I can’t imagine the Swiss giving him citizenship if he’s a deadbeat. Is he already a dual? Most countries require that you bring assets INTO the country with you.
Unless you are a “refugee”.
n
Revocation of degrees should be automatic when the loans that paid for them are renounced.
Illegal from Guatamala, enters thru Mexico, ends up in Florida, with a bunch of family, who are also illegal…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13389723/Migrant-arrested-kidnapping-raping-pre-teen-weeks-illegally-crossing-border-given-2027-immigration-court-date.html
And who apparently think sex with an 11 yo is JUST FINE if they acknowledge the child…
There is no universe where this is ok.
n
Insane. I know they’ve also gotten more expensive, but…state schools?
Also: Art and Design? Almost everything under that title is not a career, but rather a hobby. She needs to study something she can earn a living with. Get established, then pursue art on the side.
Nah, just make the schools liable for them. All problems solved – suddenly, loans would be very restrictive, and tuition would drop back to sane levels.
Yes, unfortunately. He apparently was born to at least one Swiss parent, so he already has citizenship.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13387985/nineties-magazine-predicted-modern-cost-living.html
Jebus H. the language suggests a rats nest for a brain. Lack of options for saving.. they don’t have piggy banks? mattresses? bank accounts? guitar shops?*
No. what they lack is money to save at the end of the month. Because of choices like spending $24 on a lunch.
n
* my wife’s co-worker was an addict and yet a high earner. He would buy guitars when he was flush, and sell them when he was broke. The added friction of the transactions slowed his spending and allowed him to put some value aside for later. If he left it in accessible cash, it would all vanish.
@Nick – not wishing to teach my ‘grandmother to suck eggs’, but a letter to the bus driver’s employer would provide some recognition for him?
@Jack:
Does that include all the federal money for the pork projects, such as high speed rail that is billions over budget and goes nowhere? The military bases, the highways, the massive water projects? A lot of that money is federal grants as California is too broke to afford such projects.
Reflecting on a Sunday evening ‘happening’.
I was in a local food retailer doing a small shop, when suddenly to my right there was a young employee shouting at a young man with a big bag on my left who was cleaning out the meat cabinet. She was shouting at him to get out, but I would expect she is instructed to not physically engage with the thief, and he was taking little notice.
I did not think, I immediately stepped forward and physically ushered him to the exit (he complained about the rough handling!!).
The young employee said that that was the third of fourth time he had stolen from the shop that day. He had the appearance of someone with a drug problem.
I acted on instinct, rather than a considered response. Pleased with the outcome, but it could have been quite different.
I have made two citizen arrests when I was younger and not on my own. I might be programmed to die?
@PaultheManc: I find it completely wrong that shops just let theft happen. If the shop doesn’t have security personnel, just lock the doors and call the police. Tell the other customers why they are being delayed. In areas where this is a persistent problem, arm and train the shop personnel.
I’m sure that won’t work for every shop, but just putting up with looting is not the solution.
And $12.00 cups of coffee each day at Starbucks. There is a reason “bucks” is as the end of the company name.
The other that gets me is people complaining of having no money and smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. Probably each person in the partnership. With 12 lottery tickets in their pockets and stopping at the lottery counter at the QuickieMart to get buy some scratch off tickets while holding a six pack of beer in one hand. But they certainly saved a lot of money on dental procedures by not doing any.
The person may be armed and harm others in a desperate attempt to leave. The liability for the store is huge and may not be covered by insurance. If insurance does cover any personal harm, the coverage will probably be dropped and the store will not be able to find other coverage.
A high powered laser, with a green dot for aiming, fitted with AI (ain’t everything configured as such today?) that burns a small hole in one of the arms (or both) and failing that target the cheeks next. Might be cheaper than insurance.
But drugs are a victimless crime.
Until you are a victim.
Seems like I have heard this before, somewhere…
AI Engineers Face Burnout Amid Tech Industry Rat Race
—–
It occurs to me that there is an AI version of the “Tragedy of the Commons” going on.
There is a Commons, which is a combination the lower Upper class, and the Middle class, which has money to be used to purchase AI related products.
And then there are AI proponents, which seek to replace the jobs of these people.
No individual AI replacement “solution” will take the jobs of everyone, and each vendor of such a application hopes that there will be still be enough people gainfully employed to buy his product.
I just watched the recorded Apple iPad event. Some impressive new iPads at even more excessive prices. Must…have…new…iPad Pro. For continued access to Elysium.
LOL, Timmy starts out hawking Vision Pro. I wonder if that is because sales are in the tank? $3,499 starting. Sure.
Timmy shows the first three “creatives” and “students” using the new iPad. Amish, Amish, Asian… And a train full of POC not paying attention during some iPad guru’s presentation. Does Apple really believe the iPad user base is NOT WHITEY! Heresy! I take that back!
I do not get kickbacks from Apple.
PS Can we just scrape “jack” from the bottom of our shoe?
Israeli tanks have taken the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah. The vermin have no escape.
Now if they would just announce that there will be no prisoners taken if a single hostage is killed.
Like the desktop PC did years ago, the new iPhones and iPads have reached (and passed) the point of diminishing returns to the users.
Even the True Believers are starting to notice the scam.
The only new hardware Apple has is the helmet.
Hi, Nick. The date in the post title is incorrect. Unless I am mistaken, today is 7 May 2024.
Obviously, all comments posted before this one are invalid 🙂
Siete de Mayo.
I adjusted the title (but not the link, as that might bork comment links) of today’s post.
Aye, I’m a bit out of sorts today… didn’t notice…
n
Given The Chance, Austin Voters Escape Austin
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=57993
Linked from Instapundit https://instapundit.com/646070/
Must see on X:
John Fugelsang LOSES It After Nick Searcy Sends Him the Bee’s Hilarious ‘Woke Jesus’ Video and LOL
The BB video is hilarious.
Biden’s Latest Gaffe on Taxes Is a Refreshingly Unintentional Moment of Honesty
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut now and then. Yeah, he’s gonna raise your taxes, idiots.
The out of date mustard? The seller replied.
“Sorry, for any inconvenience this may have caused. We actually don’t sell that mustard anymore. I can submit a refund, and over ride the having to return the item. Again, sorry about that.”
Refund applied to my gift card balance. That was painless.
I escaped Austin.
From what I’ve heard, Lamar from 183/Research/Anderson Lane (it’s a mess) north to Braker isn’t very nice anymore. Ghetto isn’t the right word. “Rio Grande Valley” comes close.
Freefall: Communal Showers
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff4100/fc04057.htm
Yeah, wolf hybrids don’t do well in communal showers.
“ERCOT issues Weather Watch as blistering heat threatens Texas”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/ercot-texas-grid-warning-19444474.php
The power grid manager says the watch is due to “unseasonably high temperatures.”
It is hot and muggy out there baby !
ERCOT will be spinning all of the gas turbines up at 5pm when the 16,000 MW of solar power starts going away.
I adjusted the title (but not the link, as that might bork comment links) of today’s post.
Aye, I’m a bit out of sorts today… didn’t notice…
The two of y’all do a great job together keeping this place running. I really appreciate it.
I made the mistake of opening Reddit again. There are a couple of Swiss groups. On one of those is a person who has moved to Switzerland (they apparently had citizenship through a parent), and intends to renounce their US citizenship. Reason? Because they want to bail on $600k of student loans.
First, what were they thinking? Second, why does the government guarantee these loans? Otherwise, no lender would ever offer a student that kind of money. Seriously nuts.
The whole student loan program is one gigantic brain fart.
Edit: I wonder if that will actually work? For $600k, I would seriously hope that someone would come after them, garnish their wages, whatever. I suppose the lender doesn’t care, though – government guarantee…
Hi Brad, I hang out in five reddit groups. The printsf group is fairly volatile with 317K users. The moderators go crazy trying to keep it civil.
I have been banned and scrubbed from the reddit wormfanfic group for stating my opinion that Taylor Varga is better than Worm. Oh well, their loss.
The USA federal student loan program looks to be terribly mismanaged. But, I am seeing doctors claim that their student loans are routinely over a quarter million. I cannot imagine.
As I was driving around I did see that the local bayous are at higher than normal levels. I crossed the San Jac river in the middle of the bridge and couldn’t see down to see what it looked like though. Google gave me flood warnings when I navigated to my auction pickup in Kingwood (north and east, where all the flooding starts to show up as you head out of Houston proper.) I didn’t see many signs of flooding though.
One of my auctioneers did show me a picture of his car flooded to the door handles in Porter.
Oh crap, gonna be lots of “fixed” vehicles on the used car lots again with mysterious electrical problems.
My daughter was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design this year.
My son’s best friend is the backgrounds art manager at an LA game software studio. You know the one. He makes $400K per year. He has a masters in art design from SMU (ivy league wannabe college in Dallas, Texas).
Israeli tanks have taken the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah. The vermin have no escape.
Now if they would just announce that there will be no prisoners taken if a single hostage is killed.
I wonder if Israel is going to open the gates to Egypt and let the two million Palestinians freely go through. That will get the Egyptians blood to pumping. If so, this is a very gutsy move but it solves their Gaza strip problem.
“Study Finds ‘Significant Increase’ In Cancer Mortality After 3rd COVID Dose”
https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/houston-texas-news/content/2024-05-02-study-finds-significant-increase-in-cancer-mortality-after-3rd-covid-dose/
“In Japan, 86.5% took a 3rd Covid vaccine jab, compared to just 15% here in the U.S.”
The 30 year analysis paper on the Koof vaccines may be very interesting. It will probably be squashed.
Reflecting on a Sunday evening ‘happening’.
I was in a local food retailer doing a small shop, when suddenly to my right there was a young employee shouting at a young man with a big bag on my left who was cleaning out the meat cabinet. She was shouting at him to get out, but I would expect she is instructed to not physically engage with the thief, and he was taking little notice.
I did not think, I immediately stepped forward and physically ushered him to the exit (he complained about the rough handling!!).
Good for you. But dangerous.
Had he pulled a knife or a gun on you then I hope that you were prepared to defend yourself.
Many of these local shops and stores are complaining that when the pilferage rises above 3% then they cannot stay in business. Not good if you enjoy having a local store.
Back in the 1970s, the 7-11 corner stores would randomly put shotgun squads in their stores in the back. The thieves soon learned that they did not like playing Russian Roulette.
I wonder if we will start getting shotgun squads in the stores some day ?
Siete de Mayo.
—–
A friend mentioned that CostCo was super busy today.
I reminded her that the weekend was the Cinco de Mayo holiday, so this was Cinco de Ketchup for everyone.
Apparently I am now blocked?
That’s equivalent to talking about your classmate whose cover band went on to sign a million-dollar deal with a major label. Take a look at the median earnings of the would-be musician or actor or graphic artist or pick-up basketball player and then tell me that going a couple hundred thousand into debt in pursuit of the dream is a good investment.
Most college degrees have essentially no market value. They are luxury goods, and borrowing to buy luxuries is a foolish move.
… And I believe that I’ve found the topic for my next essay. Time permitting.
re: pilferage, shotgun squads
Even in Texas, it’s frowned upon to shoot someone for theft. Sometimes legal, but will get you a heap of legal trouble proving it.
In some places, like Cacafornia, you could have private security arrest, handcuff, and hold a suspect, caught red-handed with witnesses and videotape, and the prosecutor won’t even let charges get filed. I suspect Harris county in Texas is much the same way.
You can’t SSS and get away with it, so your shotgun squads only work if you’re suffering aggravated robbery, preferably with a gun, and can claim self-defense.
Most of the pilferage is grab-and-go, and the insurance risk is too high to stop them. That’s why even in Katy, TX, Walmart and CVS are locking up more and more aisles behind plexiglas.
I doubt they want a fourth war, this time with Egypt.
Plus, why would they want to let the mass murderers live, to appease the left?
“It is better to be feared than loved” – some old white dude.
The middle east respects a strong horse, so looking at it coldly: reducing Gaza to rubble and killing anyone that took part in October 7 should garner plenty of that.
I’m not going to roll the dice on personal insolvency to give my kid a piece of paper from a Fancy Lad art school.
SCAD is not a public university, but the full ride scholarship awards at UT Austin this year are $100,000 just for the tuition/books.
Absolutely.
“In other words, the linked site counts what the citizens pay on one side, and what their state government receives on the other.”
Money flows both ways between every state and the federal government. The linked website, like many, is playing games with partial accounting. For example, California has the largest federal payroll (combined military and civilian) of any state, representing billions of dollars in federal money being spent in-state.
Your son’s friend should save his money. Microsoft/Bethesda just announced significant layoffs, and the other studios are not far behind.
Get Woke Go Broke has cripped the games industry as well.
“Amazon unveils first electric seaport trucks amid push to slash tailpipe emissions”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-unveils-first-electric-seaport-180339844.html
“LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Amazon.com on Tuesday will unveil the first of a dozen Volvo electric big rigs it plans to deploy this year to pick up cargo from the nation’s busiest container seaport in southern California.”
“The e-commerce giant said it already has eight of those semi trucks in use at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, where every so-called drayage truck must be zero-emissions by 2035.”
I wonder if all of the big truck makers have electric trucks coming ?
I have not heard how the Tesla Semi is doing.
Schools are liable for their results with tuition paid under the Federal student loan program in the US.
Borrower Defense.
Right now, it is an obscure mechanism, but going that route is going to get a lot more popular in the near future.
xkcd: Good and Bad Ideas
https://xkcd.com/2929/
We would have lost WWII without leaded gasoline. The bombers and fighters both required 100+ octane gasoline which was only achievable using massive quantities of tetra-ethyl lead in those days.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2929:_Good_and_Bad_Ideas
Judge In Trump Classified Docs Case Indefinitely Postpones Trial Date
https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/07/judge-trump-classified-docs-case-indefinitely-postpones-trial
Letting Biden off scot-free when he unlawfully possessed classified documents he “acquired” while a senator and vice president already mooted this case as an election issue. Postponing the trial date just takes it off the Dems lawfare list.
If it does ever get to trial on of the first things the defense will do is challenge the legality of Smith’s appointment, which was not lawful based on the special prosecutor law.
Meanwhile in the news today: One of the NY legislative cheerleaders of the “get Trump” law passed to re-open the statue of limitations to benefit E.Jean Carroll’s expired claims has been hit with a rape allegation in a case reopened by the same law, which he now claims is unconstitutional.
Probably stuck somewhere between Barstow and Baker waiting for tow or a large diesel generator.
@Lynn
Asbestos was an important war materiel also.
Ask the Brits how heat pumps are working out for them.
“The 2024 election campaign in a nutshell”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-2024-election-campaign-in-nutshell.html
“Remember the acronym TINVOWOOT – There Is No Voting Our Way Out Of This – because you’re going to be hearing it a lot between now and then.”
What Peter said. We are so screwed. Just the average 30% inflation per year for the next decade is going to hose us.
Asbestos was an important war materiel also.
Ask the Brits how heat pumps are working out for them.
We did have a replacement for Asbestos, CaSi something. It is just not as good an insulator.
The heat pumps are working fine between the electrical brown outs occurring daily and weekly. Oh, and the economic incentives are bankrupting the nation. And some people don’t like the heat pumps because the heating air is 120 F instead of the natural gas heating air at 140 F.
Yummy frozen meat. Just saying…
n
Agreed.
A variation, Great Grand-Uncle Schimmelhorn’s Toolbox, is much the same as Taylor Varga. It starts with a slightly different twist, but is still a lot of fun: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40531458
Youtube decided I needed to see some vids about people having shop accidents. The woman who cut the tip off her thumb had a very good suggestion.
If you work with tools in a shop, have a PLAN for where to go if you have a hand injury… not just any ER will do.
https://www.assh.org/s/hand-trauma-center-network
Nice interactive map.
n
Unscientific American
Science journalism surrenders to progressive ideology.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/unscientific-american
Just another PLT rag.
The last paragraph of the article:
Scratch a “progressive activist” and you’ll find a mindless communist who believes that they will be the ones in control after the revolution. More likely a ballistic lead attractor.
The “Animal House” reboot “Where Are They Now” reel.
“Big Mike” White House Aide. Raped in prison.
Killed by his own troops in Ukraine.
A shame. Israeli could have countered with an offer to swap Palestinian prisoners in the same alive/dead ratio, but instead has embarked on the “making good Palestinians” project.
Funny how the Arab nations have evolved the same definition of a “good Palestinian”.
YGTBFKM, Kathy Hochul
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/05/07/ygtbfkm-kathy-hochul-n3787928
The video meme is hilarious.
What can I say but: “Kathy, you ignorant sl*t”
Just another PLT rag.
has been for years. I forget what finally triggered me, but I canceled at least 15 years ago.
n
“Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Shifts-Daniels-Ilona-Andrews/dp/0425270688?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number eight of a ten book paranormal romance dark fantasy series. There are short stories and successive books to the series also. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2016 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. I have all ten books now and will read book number nine later.
Kate Daniels is a mercenary in Atlanta, Georgia and engaged to the former Beast Lord. All of her life, she has been running from her father, a 5,000+ year old all powerful mage currently known as Roland. In the Bible, he is known by another name. Roland has killed all of her brothers and sisters so she expected the same treatment when he found her. Now Kate is trying to figure how to live with him knowing where she is and popping up in her life constantly.
I liked everything about the story. I especially liked the very clear distinction between the tech time and the magic time. I had never thought about it that way. The series may be inspired by “Ariel” by Steven Boyett and “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling except those never interchange the tech time and the magic time, they just transitioned to the magic time.
Kate Daniels’s universe sucks. Forty years ago, the tech world crashed over the entire Earth and was replaced by the magic world in the form of a magic flare. Guns don’t work, cars don’t work, electricity and phones do not work. But magic works. Good magic and bad magic. After a week, the tech world came back to a drastically changed world. And radically fewer humans. And the magic world came back after a while. And the tech world came back after that. And so on and so forth. Each world can last a few weeks or a few hours.
The authors have a website at:
https://www.ilona-andrews.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (11,263 reviews)
Lynn
Egypt HATESHATESHATES the Muslim Brotherhood, because MB assassinated Anwar Sadat 40+ years ago. And Hamas/Gaza is entirely controlled by the MB. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Anwar_Sadat
Kathy Hochul Steps on Tongue with pResident Joe Biden, who said “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids”.
I cancelled my SciAm subscription in the mid-1990s after, IIRC, the fatuous “man made climate change” issue. And I cancelled my 30+ year NatGeo subscription when THEY did that.
Reparations will be huge for Apple and Tesla.
I’ve been calling her Kathy the Ho since about two days after she took over for Handsy Andy.
SciAm lost my subscription in the 1980s when they lied about the Strategic Defense Initiative.
The DOJ’s Doctored Crime Scene Photo of Mar-a-Lago Raid
New disclosures in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s espionage case against Donald Trump reveal the FBI tampered with evidence to create the infamous photo–and DOJ has lied about it for nearly two years.
https://www.declassified.live/p/the-dojs-doctored-crime-scene-photo
Earlier accounts of the postponement did not include all the information. The FBI conspired to poison the jury pool, inflame public opinion with a staged photo that was beyond doctored, it was a chimera created from mismatched parts. The lead prosecutor deceived the court and effectively lied about the origin of the cover sheets, and then was forced to retract their claim that the evidence was secure and untouched.
This case will be dismissed. Had Lee Harvey Oswald not been murdered by Jack Ruby, the federal government could not have prosecuted him with this kind of evidence tampering.
Bratt should be the one being prosecuted.
@Ken Mitchell
@SteveF
Another PLT milestone was the full-issue dissing response to Bush’s 2003 SOTU address espousing hydrogen power–after decades of discussion of the advantages of hydrogen power.
The final phase was the total cover-to-cover PLT propaganda raison d’être described in the article I linked earlier.
I am so mad at the tire guys at Sam’s Club that I could spit. I had the wife order two Michelin Defender tires to replace both of the front tires, including the tire that she blew out Sunday when she hit the curb.
So, she goes over to get both tires replaced today and they talked her out of replacing both tires. They only replaced the blown out tire and moved the new / old front tires to the back.
I am not only replacing tires with 13,000 miles on them but I am changing from Michelin standard tires to Michelin Defender tires. A very different tread and tread depth.
So now I have an unmatched back axle on her Highlander and some day if we rotate the tires, I will have unmatched tires back on the front. Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous above 50 mph, this is how you get wheel hop at speed and roll the vehicle. We drive this vehicle at 80 mph all the time.
So I may have yelled a little bit and she is going back tomorrow to get the other now rear tire replaced.
Since when do tire guys install unmatched tire on the same axle ??? This is the first law of tire management, never have unmatched tires on an axle. In fact, I am wondering if I should replace all four tires.
I had a plan, I bought an ultra safe vehicle for her and maintained it that way …
Reparations will be huge for Apple and Tesla.
Huh ?
Egypt HATESHATESHATES the Muslim Brotherhood, because MB assassinated Anwar Sadat 40+ years ago. And Hamas/Gaza is entirely controlled by the MB. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Anwar_Sadat
Yup. So if Israel dumps two million Palestinians into Egypt, do you think Egypt will take that lying down ?
There is a rumor that the Egyptian gate guards have been letting the Palestinians go through the gate into Egypt for something like $10,000 per person.
BTW, Bobby Kennedy was killed by a Palestinian “Christian” in California in 1968. I would say that we have a big beef with the Palestinians too.
@Lynn … sorry for your tire experience at Sam’s Club.
I stand by my recommendation of “America’s Tires” (Discount Tire in some areas). Never had an issue with any of their service, and I’ve used them for decades.
Lynn; Back in Cacafornia, I always bought tires from “America’s Tire Store”. Turns out that the same company here in Texas is called “Discount Tires”, and they still had access to all my records here. I’ve never had a problem with them, and I highly recommend them. They’re not the cheapest tire store, but the tires are good quality, fairly low priced and the service is excellent.
After demonstrators were arrested
A group of PPLT faculty have threatened to withhold grades as a protest.
The administration has given them a milquetoast reminder of their duties. The response should be a policy of immediate termination, and any students involved should be finding an attorney to launch a federal lawsuit against the faculty and administration.
Note this from Twitter:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/05/unc-provost-office-supports-sanctions-for-instructors-who-improperly-withhold-grades-in-protest-of-suspended-students-in-anti-israel-protests/
Apropos of an unrelated discussion here, this is an example of federal dollars flowing back into a state that are not part of a state budget and so not captured by a simplistic analysis. I’d hazard that the total such for Stanford, USC, UCLA and other California universities is easily in the billions of dollars.
It’s also an example of a federal budget area that could be carefully pruned the the water table with a 30″ chainsaw. It ain’t science and the U.S. taxpayers never needed it and certainly don’t now with FJB’s $33 Trillion and counting deficit.
Maybe the NC taxpayers would like to consider whether sending $10 million to DC to get $9 million back with a nice rubber stamped grant to diss another aspect of everyday tradition is a good enough deal that they want to fund it themselves.
Hey! I wonder what would happen if all the car dealers in the area decided to decline to do work on vehicles owned by PPLT faculty that withheld grades as a protest? And got joined by the rest of the business community, some of whom doubtless have affected students in the family?
The Egyptian government has built, and re-enforced, and expanded, and raised and lengthened their wall between Gaza and Sinai. I can’t imagine that Israel has any intention of breaching the Egyptian’s wall.
I hadn’t heard that one, and it would be the business of the Egyptian government to handle it if there were any truth to it. Which I sort-of doubt. But if the Palis can afford it, and if some Egyptian guard will go for it ……..
I stand by my recommendation of “America’s Tires” (Discount Tire in some areas). Never had an issue with any of their service, and I’ve used them for decades.
I used to use Discount Tire 30 years ago. Then Sam’s Club came out and beat everyone’s prices on tires by a significant amount (5 or 10%). So I have been going to Sam’s Club for the last 20+ years. I am very frugal but I will not compromise safety. Looks like it is time for me to change back.
@Lynn
I don’t see a reason to replace all four.
Get the auto department manager on the phone and yell at him. If he gives you any crap: “Well, I could ask for the store manager, or I could even escalate it to the Sam’s Club district manager. But I won’t. Instead I’m going to call the district rep for Michelin and ask him it they will stand behind their dealer’s recommendation in writing. If not, then I will ask him what corrective action they intend to pursue, starting with a call to the Sam’s Club district manager suggesting that they start requiring experience for your position.”
Lovely dinner with my sibling, and the rest of my family. Haven’t been to the place in years and it’s significantly different than I remember, but it was good. Upscale food in a mid-scale setting (we were on the patio) and in our suburban area.
Delicious, and not priced out of line for the type of food and setting.
There was a range rover parked in my spot on the street when I got home. Whole area is gentrifying I guess. First Starbucks, now a fitness place that just does stretching, soon there won’t be anywhere to get authentic chorizo… We’re gonna be the po’ folks on our street if this keeps up.
n
@Lynn
“I used to use Discount Tire 30 years ago. Then Sam’s Club came out and beat everyone’s prices on tires by a significant amount (5 or 10%). So I have been going to Sam’s Club for the last 20+ years. I am very frugal but I will not compromise safety. Looks like it is time for me to change back.”
You’re better off spending the extra 5-10% with a professional shop that you can build a relationship with. You’ll get the money back in better service.
“Good Samaritan Killed at Houston McDonald’s”
https://rumble.com/v4trif6-good-samaritan-killed-at-houston-mcdonalds.html
Good Guy tried to calm down another customer who was abusing staff. That customer went out to his truck, got a gun, returned and killed the Good Guy. The shooter then drove off and no one has any idea who he is.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13392841/Texas-lawyer-killed-McDonalds-customer.html
sad:
Swiss army knife maker to produce version without a blade
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/07/swiss-army-knife-maker-to-produce-version-without-a-blade
Note that the Swiss Army knife in the photo has four blades.
So they’re going to produce a specialty tool for bicyclists without a knife blade? Maybe a special little wrench to adjust the tone of the bell, or a special little tool to put a curl on the streamers?
I have a specialty tool for AR15’s. It has a knife blade.
‘No safe place’: people in Rafah describe terror as Israeli assault begins
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/07/gaza-aid-agencies-down-to-less-than-days-fuel
Funny how the terror of going to a music festival and being shot, killed, raped, mutilated, and seeing your family die before your eyes under the savage assault of terrorists harbored by a sadistic regime that makes syphilitic rats look sane just isn’t important.
I had a very bd experinece with Costco tire service. Next time I will go to Discount Tires.
When I lived in NC I had a locla shop I bought tires from for 35 years with no problems and great prices.
“The shooter then drove off and no one has any idea who he is.”
Tell the police he looked Jewish and the no doubt progressive DA’s office will be hot to track him down.
What is “authentic” chorizo?
Wikipedia says “Chorizo is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite different from each other, occasionally leading to confusion or disagreements over the names and identities of the products in question.”
So, it came from Spain and Portugal, and now everybody claims that only THEIR version is really “chorizo”?
Black kids know about iPhones, iPads, etc., just like any other kid.
Reparations won’t be millions of dollars, but a hundred grand or so per person is possible.
Check the date codes. If the tires are pushing six years old, you want to replace all four.
Also check the date codes on the new tires. They may not be so new at Sam’s/Costco, something I learned about recently when I pulled nine year old tires off the Solara after replacing the entire set at Sam’s in 2017.
Do the math kids.
Hamas could stop this at any time. All they have to do is lay down their weapons and surrender. They won’t, because they want maximum civilian casualties. They don’t care if those casualties are their own people. In fact, for political purposes, they prefer it that way.
Turning over dead hostages? Seems like a great way to really piss off the Israelis.
Really annoying… I have a couple of email addresses that have to be visible on the Internet. There are various ways of protecting those addresses, so that spambots don’t recognize them. I just got the first ever spam on one of those addresses. Annoying, because that means some spammer has now found the address and put it on a list.
Next fun for the day. Try to create an “electronic patient dossier” (EPD), which requires using a particular national electronic ID service. Which requires you to activate fingerprint or face recognition on your smartphone. Which my phone only supports for unlocking (which is a bad idea, security wise), but otherwise refuses to allow apps to access.
This has literally been a multi-day process, just to get stuck on this. How a non-IT person would ever have gotten this far, is a mystery to me. I suspect there aren’t many EPDs in use…
@ken, I was mostly joking about the chorizo, it’s nasty stuff when you look at it. Tastes good, but worse than hot dogs…
The second chain car wash place is about to open in my neighborhood and maybe that’s a better indicator than not finding “authentic” mexican food in Texas…
(I personally don’t really like TexMex as a food style, I came to love the Baja California style when I lived in San Diego. TexMex tastes like poverty.)
n