Fri. Jan. 3, 2025 – beginning of the year weirdness, but that’s normal

By on January 3rd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Chilly to start, warming later, then back to chilly here in the home of Florida Man. It was nice yesterday, only a bit cool at dusk. Sunny and mostly clear. I’m expecting the same today.

We mostly hung out with family and played games yesterday, then went to see some holiday lights… and finished with our Christmas gift exchange. I got mostly snack items.

We’ve been eating tons of cookies and holiday treats. My sibling has lots of guests here, who often are world travelers, and they sent lots of foreign treats. Pine flavored hard candy from Belgium is the weirdest so far… and yep, it tastes like pine.

Today we’ll hang out some more, and eat some more, and play some more games. Good times for sure.

I hope everyone else here is easing into the new year. It’s certainly not been easy for far too many people and I’m pretty sure it will continue to get weirder and more violent. Consider what that might mean for your year and your activities. Take some steps to mitigate bad things happening around you. And be aware of your surroundings and risks.

Stacks can limit your exposure to other people and potentially bad places. And they feel good. So … stack. It’s easy.

Much easier than predicting the future.

nick

56 Comments and discussion on "Fri. Jan. 3, 2025 – beginning of the year weirdness, but that’s normal"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    >>It is the God given right of everyone who lives in that part of the country to wear shorts all year around but especially at Christmas.

    An “arctic blast”. What? 50?

    I remember you could tell the native Floridians – the ones wearing down parkas and gloves when it was 50.

    Outside the house.

    Inside the house, it is shorts weather, with the thermostat on the electric heat set to 74.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    >> Some variation of Chinese chess.

    @Greg, thanks!

    You should apply to be on Jeopardy.

    We used to sell a Chinese-style chess game at the Egghead Ponzi.

    The shrinkwrapped box was nothing but a dust magnet.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    We used to sell a Chinese-style chess game at the Egghead Ponzi.

    The shrinkwrapped box was nothing but a dust magnet.

    When the landlord seized the local  Egghead Ponzi store merchandise after the functionally illiterate (!) store manager ignored warning letters that corporate stopped paying the rent in the late 90s, I wonder if that Chinese chess box was still on the shelf collecting dust.

  4. Craig_in_TX says:

    Re: Nick’s travel backpack post yesterday.

    I’m a day behind because I like to read the previous days post and all the comments.  Nick mentioned his travel backpack had one ounce gold coins.  Years ago I was watching a Doug Casey interview (I believe he was living in Argentina at the time).  He said that having ¼ ounce gold coins was a better option if one needed to use gold coins.  After thinking about that, I started buying  a few ¼ ounce gold coins.

    Doug Casey did an interview on Phil Donahue’s show Nov.3, 1980.  I think some of the readers of this blog might enjoy watching it.  You have to keep reminding yourself of the year it was done and the times we lived in then.  Doug Casey is an interesting guy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAk6_74m_kI

  5. Greg Norton says:

    Doug Casey did an interview on Phil Donahue’s show Nov.3, 1980.  I think some of the readers of this blog might enjoy watching it.  You have to keep reminding yourself of the year it was done and the times we lived in then.  Doug Casey is an interesting guy.

    I’m old enough to remember Howard J. Ruff’s “How To Survive The Coming Bad Years” being a huge seller in the late 70s/early 80s.

    Ruff was also on Donahue a number of times back during that era.

    Before moving to New York, Donahue would book based on who was interesting and willing to go to his studio in … Cincinnati? I think he was in Chicago for a while as well.

  6. lpdbw says:

    I owned a copy of Ruff’s book and my brother subscribed to his newsletter.

    It’s one of the reasons I tried homesteading in the Pacific Northwest, and justified my gub hobby.

    Craig, if you read closely, Nick said “one oz of gold coins”.  Not “one ounce gold coins”.  I’d bet he’s got ¼ oz or even 1/10 oz coins, if they make such.

    I used to hold Krugerrands myself, back before I lost everything in the divorce.

  7. Greg Norton says:

    I owned a copy of Ruff’s book and my brother subscribed to his newsletter.

    It’s one of the reasons I tried homesteading in the Pacific Northwest, and justified my gub hobby.

    Anything west of Boise has been screwed up for a long time.

    WA State last elected a Republican Governor 44 years ago.

  8. Chad says:

    It’s 23℉ in my neck of the woods today and I’m wearing shorts and a hoodie. 🙂 I’m not a lone weirdo either. It’s a matter of pride for a noticeable portion of white men who live above a certain latitude to just wear shorts year round. Though, it should be noted that nobody blinks when a woman wears a skirt is cold weather, but if a man is wearing shorts you get a lot of, “Are you crazy?!”

  9. Craig_in_TX says:

    Thanks lpdbw, I did misread that (one oz. of gold coins)…I think you are correct.  

    For all here, it may be a good idea to have a few small denomination gold coins  Personally I don’t like the 1/10 oz coins…they are too small in size.

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    @craig, indeed, it’s 1/10ths 1/4s and halfs… and not exactly an oz.

    You pay a higher premium for the smaller units, but they offer more options if you are thinking of using them as money.

    —–

    Sunny and warm, spent the morning talking with my sib about work.   S/he will be retiring soon if everything goes right.

    Now people are headed to the dog beach for some messy fun.

    ——-

    haven’t looked at the news yet, so still in a good mood.

    n

  11. ITGuy1998 says:

    In winter our house thermostat stays at 68 degrees. I used to wear shorts and a t-shirt in the house. Several years ago, I switched to a long sleeve shirt. Now I wear sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt, and sometimes also a lighter sweatshirt. I’ve also upgraded to thicker socks. Getting old is not for the timid.

    10
  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    At home, the house is at 72F for my wife’s comfort.   It’s just a bit too cool for me, but my office, where I spend most of my time is much warmer with the computers and monitors and incandescent lighting.

    For years we were locked at 75F but she’s hot all the time now.

    “Learning ” or programmable thermometers have no appeal for me as I am always home and don’t want the temps to change.

    I wear shorts as much as possible because I like the freedom of movement.   But I’ll wear cargo pants too.  I don’t like wearing the more tapered leg of currently in fashion men’s pants.  And the extremes that youth fashion take that to makes them look like Oompa Loompas…

    n

  13. Lynn says:

    >>That is about a hundred books.  One could be “One Year After: A John Matherson Novel (A John Matherson Novel, 2)” by William R. Forstchen

        https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-After-Matherson-Novel/dp/0765376717?tag=ttgnet-20

    @lynn, that’s the one I’m looking for – thanks.

    Wow, I feel like I hit a bullseye.  You are welcome.

    I have the “Five Years After” book on my nightstand along with 50+ other books in my SBR. The other 450+ books in my SBR are in my bookshelf next to the nightstand.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250854598

  14. Lynn says:

    Yesterday was a mostly slow and lazy day for me. Took my time getting packed and ready. Had to replace most of the spare batteries in my bags and replace the “get home” money that I “borrowed” when a fun toy became available at an irresistible price… My back pack has 1 oz of gold coins and about $1K in USD tucked into it. That is supposed to be untouchable and just for emergency use. I’m good at lying to myself though, and I raided it for some cash.

    I’ve talked about the other stuff I carry before, but the high points are a tourniquet, blow out kit (first aid focused on bleeding control), change of clothes, windbreaker, towel, food, water, and some really thick zip ties…

    I’ve got some other stuff in there too including my toughbook and kindle, batteries, a bag of cables and chargers, my back up id and cards, blister first aid, some crayons and a little coloring book (for fussy kids), and general snivel gear.

    And carry your TQ at least when you are out in crowds. If not a TQ, then an Israeli bandage and a pack of quick clot. It’s not big, and it might save a life.

    Any URLs on the tourniquet and blow out kit ?  Sorry, I have asked before and forgotten to do anything.  

    Do you carry your backpack through TSA ?  I always carry my backpack through TSA.  I have never have them seize a flashlight (I carry three flashlights in my backpack: pencil AAA and two rough duty AA).  But I have had them seize water bottles.  

    My backpack lives in my truck and goes with me everywhere I go.  It goes on planes, etc.  The change of clothes has been real handy in the past.

    I don’t carry a laptop anymore, just my phone.

    No gold coins, just the same amount of cash.  Maybe I should get some gold coins.

    I try to remember to stuff TP in there on any trip. Not much TP on the road nowadays. In Japan, you had to buy TP from a dispenser on the wall.

  15. Lynn says:

    “Mike Johnson Loses First Speaker Vote”

       https://thelibertydaily.com/mike-johnson-loses-first-speaker-vote/

    Gonna be a long week.

    This process is called spanking the Speaker.

  16. Ray Thompson says:

    “Learning ” or programmable thermometers have no appeal for me as I am always home and don’t want the temps to change.

    I have a programmable thermostat, Ecobee, and the system changes my temperature twice a day. I keep it at 70 in the day and 60 at night in the winter, 76 in the day and 74 at night in the summer. The system starts heating early in the morning in winter so that it reaches 70 by 07:30.

    I have 5 remote sensors that monitor several rooms. They know the room is occupied and keep the room at the set temperature. When we are away the system drops the winter temperature, or ups the summer temperature. When we travel I can get on my phone and tell the system to get to the set points by the time we get home.

    My biggest fear is the electric or gas company finds out and will demand access to control the consumption during high demand. I don’t know if the electric company would want access as they may be able to just shut off the electricity. The electric company may want access to control the temperature.

  17. Ray Thompson says:

    I have never have them seize a flashlight

    My flashlight had very aggressive edges around the light. It was advertised as a defensive weapon as the edges could be used to strike someone. This was back in the days shortly after 9/11 and the scrutiny was still being adjusted. Plus, I think the TSA agent wanted the flashlight.

    Since then, I have carried two lights. A larger and very bright light and a small penlight flashlight. On my last trip to Europe, I brought a dozen little coin cell lights and gave them to the gate agents and flight attendants. I got much better service on the flights. I have never had a problem.

  18. Ray Thompson says:

    “Mike Johnson Loses First Speaker Vote”

    Gonna be a long week.

    Nope. He survived the first vote, sort of. Weird house procedures on voting.

  19. Lynn says:

    “Mike Johnson Loses First Speaker Vote”

    Gonna be a long week.

    Nope. He survived the first vote, sort of. Weird house procedures on voting.

    But will he survive the 100th vote ?

    The Speaker has to get ½ + 1 of the 435 votes.  That is 218 votes.  Johnson got 216 votes, Hakeem Jeffreys got 215 votes.

  20. Lynn says:

    I have never have them seize a flashlight

    My flashlight had very aggressive edges around the light. It was advertised as a defensive weapon as the edges could be used to strike someone. This was back in the days shortly after 9/11 and the scrutiny was still being adjusted. Plus, I think the TSA agent wanted the flashlight.

    Since then, I have carried two lights. A larger and very bright light and a small penlight flashlight. On my last trip to Europe, I brought a dozen little coin cell lights and gave them to the gate agents and flight attendants. I got much better service on the flights. I have never had a problem.

    This is my current two AA LED favorite.  Does look kind of aggressive.

        https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0716D98GQ?tag=ttgnet-20/

    None for sale at the moment.

  21. Lynn says:

    “Mike Johnson Gets Two Dissenters to Switch Votes, Wins Speakership”

       https://thelibertydaily.com/mike-johnson-loses-first-speaker-vote/

    And Mike Johnson got 218 votes on the second voting.  His spanking was very light.

  22. Lynn says:

    “Make It Make Sense? OK. My Theory on Vegas.”

       https://bigcountryexpat.com/index.php/2025/01/02/make-it-make-sense-ok-my-theory-on-vegas/

    “So someone realized that they had a way of fixing some ‘stuff’ real quick. You and I know that there’s been casualties in the Krain. US DotMil casualties. On occasion the Russians actually find the stiffs and IDs and are able to show them, and invariably, the dead have been ‘deserters’ or ‘AWOL’ or ‘retired’ when they were killed. My intel actually tells me that they were ‘sheep dipped’ and there, under ‘double secret probation orders’, I.E. they were never there, but they were, but the Secretary would disavow any activity or words to that affect.”

    “Any bets the MSGT was KIA’d in the Krain?”

    Wow, that goes off into the deep end.

    2
    1
  23. Lynn says:

    “About to see Waymo Waymos”

        https://www.komando.com/video/news/about-to-see-waymo-waymos/

    “Google’s Waymo took the lead in the self-driving robotaxi race with over 3 million driverless rides across three cities this year. We could see autonomous Teslas in 2025 and Amazon’s Zoox is opening up to customers in early 2025. OK, this made me laugh: A confused cop trying to pull over a car with no one in the driver’s seat.”

    So the Waymo computer gets confused in construction and drives the wrong way down a one way street.  Sounds like a typical human driver to me.

  24. Lynn says:

    “Hertz Is So Desperate To Unload Tesla Inventory It’s Asking Customers If They Just Want To Keep Their Rentals [UPDATE]”

       https://jalopnik.com/hertz-is-so-desperate-to-unload-tesla-inventory-its-cus-1851727725

    Wait, if you rent a Tesla from Hertz do you have to stop at a Supercharger and fill it up before returning it ?  That sounds painful.

  25. Lynn says:

    “SpaceX Teases 1Tbps of Download Bandwidth on V3 Starlink Satellites”

        https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-teases-1tbps-of-download-bandwidth-on-v3-starlink-satellites

    “The V3 Starlink satellites will be deployed via SpaceX’s upcoming Starship vehicle.”

    I am ready.  I am getting 30 / 10 mbps from my Starlink at the office.  Seems like everyone and their dog is getting Starlink here in Fort Bend County.

  26. Greg Norton says:

    Doug needs to cut back on the “juice box” runs.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzA7xBLUYg4

  27. Lynn says:

    “Watch: Teacher receives MASSIVE settlement after being forced to resign over pronouns”

        https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/ohio-teacher-pronouns

    “In America, compelled speech is unconstitutional, especially when it goes against one’s religious beliefs. However, some leftists working in the public sector don’t care about that, as they are beholden to progressive priorities, despite it being against our founding principles.”

    “A teacher was awarded $450,000 after being dismissed for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns.”

  28. Greg Norton says:

    “Hertz Is So Desperate To Unload Tesla Inventory It’s Asking Customers If They Just Want To Keep Their Rentals [UPDATE]”

    In another year, disposal costs for the aging Tesla fleet will become so onerous for Hertz that they will make the customer pay to bring the car back.

  29. Lynn says:

    “Microsoft to Spend $80 Billion on AI Data Centers This Year”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-spend-80-billion-ai-191302185.html

    “(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. plans to spend $80 billion this fiscal year building out data centers, underscoring the intense capital requirements of artificial intelligence.”

    That is an incredible amount of power and water.  Unless, they use air cooling which I doubt.

  30. Lynn says:

    “Gunmetal Magic” by Ilona Andrews
       https://www.amazon.com/Gunmetal-Magic-Ilona-Andrews/dp/0425256138?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number one of a one book dark fantasy series. This book is a spinoff of the very successful ten book Kate Daniels series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2012. I look forward to future novels in the main series and this spinoff series. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. The book also includes a free 108 page Novella in the back called “Magic Gifts”.

    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.

    Andrea Nash is having a bad year. She was outed as a hyena shapeshifter when Kate Daniels aunt attacked Atlanta and Andrea changed in public. Then the Order of Knights threw her out of the Order. Now the Pack wants her to join or leave Atlanta. And she just broke up with her boyfriend, alpha of the Bouda clan of the Pack. Not quite the Hallmark movie. Maybe a really dark Hallmark movie.

    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 and never went back.

    The authors have a active website at:
       https://www.ilona-andrews.com

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (4,213 reviews)

    Lynn

  31. Lynn says:

    “SFBC shutting down”

        https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1hsnqmd/sfbc_shutting_down/

    “Reported in Ansible 450.”

    “The “How it works” page now says this:”

    How Your Membership Works<br>Cancel anytime.

    After 2/1/2025, orders will no longer be processed at Science Fiction Book Club.

    You can still redeem your existing credits on the site as normal until 2/1/2025.

    You can also still purchase books using a credit card on the site as normal until 2/1/2025.

    I am surprised SFBC lasted this long.  I have not ordered a book from it since the early 1970s.  I think that “Dune” was the last book I bought from it.

  32. Greg Norton says:

    That is an incredible amount of power and water.  Unless, they use air cooling which I doubt.

    Really high tech liquid cooling from central distribution points in the data center.

  33. Lynn says:

    “Judge Merchan Sets Trump Sentencing for Hush Money Conviction BEFORE Inauguration Day”

        https://thelibertydaily.com/judge-merchan-sets-trump-sentencing-hush-money-conviction/

    “In case you thought the lawfare was over, it’s not. Corrupt radical judge Juan Merchan set January 10th for President Donald J. Trump’s sentencing for his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.”

    This guy has a lot of guts.  I say that Trump deports him back to his native homeland, Columbia.

  34. paul says:

    I watched Matrix Reloaded last night.  Meh.  Not much of a movie if you remove the kung-fu fighting.

    The audio was bad.  Almost no center channel.  I tried a couple of different movies today and the problem is not my stereo.

    I got to thinking.  Maybe a bad setting is Bob’s problem.  The TV could be doing some sort of “wide” surround sound effect when plain stereo would be better.

    Just a thought. 

  35. drwilliams says:

    “We have bigger fish to fry”

    or

    “How are you going to explain to your constituents that you distric has ZERO appropriations next budget cycle?”

    or

    “Who would rid me of this troublesome representative”?

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/01/03/trump-called-two-gop-holdouts-to-get-mike-johnson-confirmed-as-speaker-n2649961

  36. Ray Thompson says:

    “SpaceX Teases 1Tbps of Download Bandwidth on V3 Starlink Satellites”

    I first read that as “tablespoon” and wondered what they would be downloading.

  37. drwilliams says:

    January 03, 2025

    Jimmy Carter Was Not a Good Man Who Made for a Bad President. In Fact, He Was a Very Bad Man, Too.

    https://ace.mu.nu/

    Babylon Bee Headline:

    White House Insists Jimmy Carter is Still Sharp and Focused Behind Closed Doors

  38. drwilliams says:

    Trump’s Secret Weapon for Mass Deportations: E-Verify

    Most southern states get this, such as Florida, which mandated E-Verify across the board last year. There’s no reason President Trump and the incoming Republican Congress shouldn’t require every employer in all 50 states to enforce its use.

    Yet many blue states go out of their way to discourage E-Verify’s use. California bars private employers from using E-Verify before making a job offer. Illinois penalizes companies that “misuse” the E-Verify system, discouraging them from using the program at all. And in 2021, Colorado Democrats actually repealed the use of E-Verify for state contractors on a party-line vote, calling it a “barrier to certain public opportunities.”

    CIS experts argue the president indisputably possesses the authority to mandate E-Verify for all employers through executive action under the 1986 immigration law. (Others, including Cuccinelli, believe it would require congressional approval.) Depending on how that law is interpreted, implementation could take either 60 days or two years.

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2025/01/03/trumps_secret_weapon_for_mass_deportations_e-verify_152153.html

    Mandate it and have three lawsuits by private entities ready to be filed immediately in jurisdictions with selected judges. Set it up to get conflicting rulings in different circuits, so it can get fast-tracked through appeals to SCOTUS.

  39. Greg Norton says:

    “SpaceX Teases 1Tbps of Download Bandwidth on V3 Starlink Satellites”

    I first read that as “tablespoon” and wondered what they would be downloading.

    ACP, used by sheep farmers to prepare the flock for shearing.

    The constant rumor is that SpaceX IPO will go “soon”.

  40. drwilliams says:

    I continue to learn:

    Then there is the 16th century quote, credited to Luther, condemning the idiocies of relics and pilgrimages. “Eighteen out of twelve apostles are buried in Spain.”

    Was there a real King Arthur? Possibly, but not the medieval knight of legend, but rather a sixth-century Scottish tribal chief who died in battle. A failure. Was there a Mohammed? Likely not, not unless some otherwise forgotten cult leader was merged into Abbasid fabrications, but further removed from truth than King Arthur is. 

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/01/let_s_aim_for_historical_accuracy.html

    So my new Etsy store with blank “Mohammed” teeshirts is a go?

  41. drwilliams says:

    Ukraine’s Zelensky: Trump ‘Can be Decisive’ and ‘Capable of Stopping Putin’

    “His qualities are indeed there,” Zelenskiy said of Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/01/ukraines-zelensky-trump-can-be-decisive-and-capable-of-stopping-putin/

    Trump to Zelensky: “You want to butter something up, get a dinner roll. You and the rest of your ashholes have 30 days to return the billions in U.S. aid you have stolen. I’m feeling generous, so make it every nickel over a million each and we’ll call it square. Hell, half the Dems in Congress are over ten mill. Thirty days, Z. Show me the money, or show me corpses. And I want detailed records on any kickbacks. tick tick tick.”

  42. drwilliams says:

    Shock and Awe! MAGA Voters are Bracing for an Inauguration Day Blitz Like Never Before

    https://twitchy.com/warren-squire/2025/01/03/shock-and-awe-day-one-trump-presidency-january-20th-fox-news-n2406082

    Pound them flat, fold them up like a tortilla, and pound them flatter.

  43. Lynn says:

    “Why Movie Dialogue Is So Hard To Understand These Days”

        https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/why-movie-dialogue-is-so-hard-to-understand-these-days-163708191.html

    “How the evolution of technology, and cinema, has altered everything.”

    “If you find yourself wondering why dialogue is so brutally hard to follow just remember:”

    “Increasingly louder movies, that switch between slow and fast, quiet and loud with head-jerking velocity.”

    “The inability to “make dialogue louder” because it will make the explosions seem quiet.”

    “Audio is optimized for theater sound systems.”

    “Actors now mumble and talk softly into small hidden microphones.”

    “The lack of standardization in audio recording.”

    “Sadly, there are only a few solutions to this problem. One, buy a better sound system for your home TV, or watch movies on a device that has better sound quality. Outside of that, your only other option is just to turn on the subtitles, as so many people appear to be doing.”

    Bob Sprowl, it ain’t just you and me, it is 83% of us turning on the subtitles (Closed Captions).

    10
  44. Greg Norton says:

    “Audio is optimized for theater sound systems.”

    More likely optimized for the headphones the audio tech used to mix the sound in his jammies at home.

    The “Sonic the Hedgehog” sequel had surprisingly decent audio.

  45. drwilliams says:

    Adam Savage Levels Up His Workshop 3D Printer!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x78bJi-snrc

    Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W

    Hardware starting at $28,989.

    Sintered powder: Nylon 12

    An industrial tool suitable for prototype shops.

    Doubtful it will every be accessible to a hobbyist or maker. The print time is followed by hours to cool the mass consisting of the sintered parts buried in unsintered powder. After cooling the entire print stage is transferred to a separate glovebox unit, where the mass is broken apart and parts are manually brushed. Then the parts are transferred to another separate unit where they are tumbled and simultaneously sandblasted.

    A large shop could afford multiple printer units to feed a single glovebox and sandblaster.

  46. EdH says:

    That is an amazing printer.   

    I am still thinking Creality A1 or P1 myself, but the backlog in my current projects has me putting off buying for now.

    So tempting:

    https://www.analogsky.co/magic

    and/or

    https://www.pifinder.io/

    And then there are simple things, like a picatinny rail for holding a laser pointer for binoculars…

  47. Greg Norton says:

    “His qualities are indeed there,” Zelenskiy said of Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/01/ukraines-zelensky-trump-can-be-decisive-and-capable-of-stopping-putin/

    Everyone is going to get a big a** check, including Zelenskiy.

    We’re living on Ferenginar now, and, considering the alternative, maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

  48. EdH says:

    “Sadly, there are only a few solutions to this problem. One, buy a better sound system for your home TV, or watch movies on a device that has better sound quality. Outside of that, your only other option is just to turn on the subtitles, as so many people appear to be doing.”

    Actually this might be a good spot for AI … have it listen, and then come up with a decent balanced voice for each actor, in near real time.   And maybe even bg noise (music) reduction.

    The killer app for AI is probably not what we currently expect it to be.

  49. ITGuy1998 says:

    “Audio is optimized for theater sound systems.”
     

    We finally watched Deadpool and Wolverine this evening on the upstairs tv with 5.1 surround sound (mid-range Klipsch speakers). The audio was very good. I ran a little bit of the move afterwards on the downstairs tv with just a sound bar and the sound was very good as well. A lot of today’s movies and tv shows have really bad audio mixes.

    Btw, I was entertained. I’m not the biggest comic book movie fan, but this was pretty good.

  50. Nick Flandrey says:

    I own a powder sintering 3d printer.   We’re in the process of tearing it apart to get the 30w laser out of it.   We decided that the powder was too much a pain in the butt, and the requirement to have a nitrogen atm in the build chamber was kinda expensive.   The printer was about 10ft x 7ft x 7ft tall and pretty heavy.   The powder recovery sifter, shaker, and filter was big too.  I’ve got a dozen 30 gallon drums of virgin powder if anyone is interested.   $10/drum, FOB in Houston.  I think I have another dozen of sifted powder.   The powder cleanup stuff is all for sale too.

    ———-

    Just finished watching Red One.   Fun little movie.  I like the Rock in his Disney kid movies.

    ———-

    finished the Matt Bracken story.   There are several passages later in the book that are interesting reading, the castaway expat’s tale of the fall of the Carribean was good.    The ending seems forced and silly.

    ———–

    Read the JL Curtis “Rimworld” novel I hadn’t read yet, Diversions?.    I’m not a fan.  Liked his Grey Man series, don’t really care for Rimworld.   The male leads are the most passive action hero characters I’ve ever read and they are dominated by women.   Lot of “old man” out of date attitudes got written into the books too.

    ————

    Started a new series that was in the amazon recommended list.  Dungeon Crawler Carl.   Fun, funny, and snarky so far, about 11 chapters in.   Kinda silly concept, reminds me of Ready Player One on some levels.

    ————

    Headed to bed soon, will read  for a bit.   Going to some sort of swap meet Barn tomorrow, have to get up early.

    n

  51. Denis says:

    Pine flavored hard candy from Belgium is the weirdest so far… and yep, it tastes like pine.

    I live in Belgium, and have never heard of this.

    I have tried “Zirbenschnaps” in Austria (spirit flavoured with the fruit of the stone pine, pinus cembra). It tastes and smells like pine resin. Greek/Cypriot “Retsina” wine is along the same vein, but less unpleasant than the Schnaps, to my taste.

    Packing bags last night for loading the car and departure in the morning. The weather in the Alpenvorland has turned properly wintry after a week of blue skies and sunshine, with a fresh fall of 5-6 inches of snow, followed by a night of temperatures well below freezing. Good for the ski pistes.

    Fortunately, it looks like we won’t actually have snowfall during the drive home. Expecting around 5 hours’ drive tomorrow, then a night at W’s parents’ place, then around 3.5 hours from there to our BOL. Monday to unpack and do laundry before work on Tuesday.

    Positive news from our friend in hospital – he sent a photo of himself out of bed after the major surgery and moving with support of a walking frame. Thanks again for the continued prayers and good wishes for him.

  52. Alan says:

    >> “Landsman” is getting good reviews for its non-woke portrayal of the oilfields. Anybody seen it?

    We’ve seen all the available episodes (two more to go) and are enjoying it and can say the same for most everything that Taylor Sheridan has done. Plus I like Billy Bob Thornton and Michelle Randolph doesn’t look bad in a bikini.

    W2 lived in area years ago and commented that the presentation is pretty realistic. Non-wokeness is obvious in the show.

  53. Alan says:

    >> @craig, indeed, it’s 1/10ths 1/4s and halfs… and not exactly an oz.

    You pay a higher premium for the smaller units, but they offer more options if you are thinking of using them as money.

    I stick to stacking US ‘junk silver’ 90% coins – quarters and dimes. More storage space required but usually negates the need to ‘make change.’

    (Termed ‘junk’ as the coins have no numismatic value.)

  54. Alan says:

    >> “Mike Johnson Trump Gets Two Dissenters to Switch Votes, Wins Speakership”

    FIFY

  55. Alan says:

    >> “Judge Merchan Sets Trump Sentencing for Hush Money Conviction BEFORE Inauguration Day”

    The judge, Juan M. Merchan, indicated that he favored a so-called unconditional discharge of Mr. Trump’s sentence, a rare and lenient alternative to jail or probation. He set a sentencing date of Jan. 10, and ordered Mr. Trump to appear either in person or virtually.

    Who’s gonna serve him with the bench warrant if he’s a no-show?

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