Cold. Cold and dry, for the swamp anyway. It’s still something like 50%RH, I think. It got all the way to ‘comfortable’ in the afternoon. Hardly like a deadly global climate change killer polar vortex at all. Good thing the earth is warming, or we’d be well into the next ice age.
So I did some stuff. Mostly I did a pickup in Montgomery. That used to be a small town north of Houston, that was mostly out in the country. Now the amount of new development is staggering. Every couple of miles there were signs for a new residential development. The most telling aspect was the infrastructure upgrades, new power lines, and a lot of marker flags on the ground for where they pushed pipe for new gas and telcom. The infrastructure is long term… not flash in the pan.
I did make it home in time to get the kid from school, then did some domestic bliss. Not much. I ate too much baklava and the sugar made sure I had a nap… Tuesday is a busy evening with the kids coming and going and D2’s hobby meeting.
Today I’ll do some auction, some domestic bliss, and then some more stuff around the house. If I was a “real” prepper, I’d be bidding on a bunch of dentistry stuff, just in case. There is a “mobile dentistry” lot in the medical auction, and I’d need to sit at the computer and watch the bidding if I really wanted it. I keep telling myself it won’t get that bad. I sure hope I’m not kicking myself or pulling my own teeth in a couple of years. The question of what is prudent prepping and what is moonbattery does occasionally arise.
I already pick up a lot of low cost, low commitment, low probability stuff, with VERY high payoff if actually needed. But dentistry office tools? That’s a step beyond picking up medical books and references, and the odd surgical kit or suture tray…
Hope I’m not wrong. REALLY HOPE. Mainly because for that to pay off, about 6/10ths of the US population has to die. Only a deranged lefty would be looking for that to happen.
I have stacks. I have skills. I have friends. I don’t have a crystal ball.
You can always use more of those things. Get to work.
nick
Up early for no good reason. Except first post.
We are expecting 6-8″ of snow starting Friday at about noon. The roads will be a mess for several days as we will not get above freezing for three or four days. Fortunately, I don’t have to go anywhere and use my sphincter as a driving assistant.
@ray, you have opened a door and uncharacteristically, I’m NOT walking thru…
37F and a small breeze this morning.
Coffee, sweet elixir of life is in the cup. Still lacking bacon…
n
We saw “The Blues Brothers” last night at the local Flix Brewhouse.
The theater was sold out, but I felt like I was the only one laughing at many parts of the movie.
Austin. Well, Round Rock, just across the Travis County line.
I’d never seen the film big before so some things were new to me, particularly whenever the production design people managed to slip in just one more of the Illinois Nazis’ White Power stickers.
The older woman on the other side of me also seemed particularly annoyed that I was into the music in the big show scene.
I want the kids to watch Cotton Club for the performances captured, but it’s pretty intense. They love Blues Brothers.
Since they love The Producers, I’m hoping they’ll watch Gold Diggers of 1933 and some of the other Busby Berkley musicals.
Of course there are a million things I want them to watch…
n
Cue John Barrowman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca7063tXIP4
It is too bad Matthew Broderick was a stiff in that flick.
“Moulin Rouge” should be on top of the list once you think they’re old enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dW1ddAC_4
One of the greatest crimes of the Academy Awards ever is the failure to recognize that performance.
The Academy rarely reflects quality.
n
Had some of that this morning. I needed to catch an early train, so the wife drove me down. Only – it wasn’t supposed to snow last night, but it did. Being mountain roads, there are a couple of places where you head steeply downhill into a curve. Miss the curve, and your car learns how to fly.
Thankfully, it was only snow on the roads, and only a couple cm, so it wasn’t all that slippery.
Medium overcast and it’s a degree or two cooler now than earlier.
Doesn’t look like a nice day.
n
Eek. The joys of living in the Alps!
We too had a couple of inches of global warming overnight, and more is forecast to arrive soon. The plows were out from the wee hours, so the main roads were practically clear and the side roads navigable by the time I had to get to my 07.30 appointment in the next village. Fortunately there are no ravines or “learn to fly” gorges between here and there.
That is a real sphincter event.
People here are stocking up on the usual stuff. I really don’t expect the roads to be drivable for three, maybe four days.
Some rednecks with 4 wheel drive will be out thinking they can get around. They can go easier, but stopping is the same as everyone else.
I see where Los Angeles county is burning down. It will be blamed on climate change. The reality is it is due to poor planning, over building in known fire areas, and probably budget cuts in major fire departments to support the welfare population.
Of course, this will cause everyone’s insurance rates to jump. Some insurance companies will become insolvent, others will simply refuse to renew insurance in the area and pull out completely.
James Woods, whose house burned down, posted that insurance companies cancelled a lot of policies in that area four months ago.
>>There is a “mobile dentistry” lot in the medical auction, and I’d need to sit at the computer and watch the bidding if I really wanted it.
Hmm, can’t you just set a maximum bid and either you win or you don’t?
Hope I’m not wrong. REALLY HOPE. Mainly because for that to pay off, about 6/10ths of the US population has to die. Only a deranged lefty would be looking for that to happen.
You do not need to add the word deranged, that is the default condition of lefties. All of the lefties that I have met are deranged. Several of the ones that I have talked to want a 90% or more population drop. One wants more than 99%.
Just like you do not have to add the words socialist and communist for lefties.
Apocalypse LA
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/apocalypse_in_los_angeles.html
Read it all. This is not an accident. It’s not even incompetence, it is malfeasance.
Hmm, can’t you just set a maximum bid and either you win or you don’t?
– technically, yes. The system lets you set a max bid, that is supposedly secret. I’ve seen lots of evidence on other platforms than the one that lot is on, that the auctioneer can see the maxbid and will “shill bid” until reaching the max. You still win, at a price that was “OK” for you, but it’s the max of what you’d like to pay. This is unethical and in places illegal, but it goes on.
This has taught everyone not to put their “REAL” max into the systems.
So if I really really want something, I have to watch and bid live so I don’t get taken advantage of, or beat by one bid increment. I am willing to bid more for something for my personal use than I am for resale, as I can “spend” what I’d hold back to leave room for profit. That changes the dynamic too. There are other factors I consider, like the cost and difficulty of pickup. Do I need a trailer? Is the day/time convenient? Is the seller located close or far? Can I combine trips? Where will I store the item? Is there something particularly onerous about pickup? (I don’t bid on the prison surplus anymore as they have a dress code and you have to disarm yourself, and your vehicle, which means I don’t have so much as a pocket knife for the WHOLE trip.)
All this is why I encourage everyone to start now, and get used to the secondary economy BEFORE they find that they need or want to use it.
n
LOL! tRump trolling Mexico. Glorious.
Winds here in the high desert gusted yesterday to 55mph, as measured at the nearby airport.
Blew down an old horse corral lean-to (that I don’t use) sometime last night.
The pile of Christmas cardboard outside my back door, that I was planning on cutting up and throwing in the trash? All over my yard, and probably the neighbors….
A former co-workers’ brother, a heart surgeon, had to evacuate from the fire down below. No word yet on whether his house still exists.
Of course, this will cause everyone’s insurance rates to jump. Some insurance companies will become insolvent, others will simply refuse to renew insurance in the area and pull out completely.
Insurance, what insurance ?
“California Residents Sound Alarm After Insurance Companies Removed Fire Protection In Recent Months”
https://www.infowars.com/posts/california-residents-sound-alarm-after-insurance-companies-removed-fire-protection-in-recent-months/
“A woman speaking to ABC 7 amid the ongoing Palisades fire disaster revealed her parents home recently had its fire coverage removed by an insurance company after living at the home for 75 years.”
Plus the Los Angeles mayor, vacationing in Ghana at the moment, cut the Los Angeles fire department budget by $23 million in 2024.
Vacationing in Ghana ??? Must be getting a payoff.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Karen Bass is a hardcore Castro groupie, one of the reasons she was dumped from the short list of potential running mates for Biden in 2020.
“Republicans, now in control of Congress, move to put limit on how long members can serve”
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/rep-norman-and-sen-cruz-introduce-term-limits-legislation
“Under the amendment, a senator could serve two services and a House member could serve three terms.”
I would put the House term limit at six terms to make it equal to the Senators but, this sounds good to me.
“L.A. Mayor Karen Bass In Africa As Firefighters Discover Empty Hydrants Amid SoCal Inferno”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/la-mayor-karen-bass-africa-firefighters-discover-empty-hydrants-amid-socal-inferno
“Meanwhile, emergency responders are facing an alarming shortage of water as reports emerge that several of the city’s hydrants are running dry. “The hydrants are down,” one firefighter said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “Water supply just dropped,” another firefighter added, the paper reported. The Department of Water and Power later confirmed that some hydrants were empty but refrained from providing an official count of how many were affected.”
This is what happens when no one is in charge and checking things like, pressurized water in the fire hydrants.
“”Unprecedented Fires” Scorch 3,000 Acres In Los Angeles Area, Forcing 49,000 To Evacuate”
https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/evacuate-now-fire-tears-through-upscale-pacific-palisades-los-angeles
““In California, nearly 500,000 people have turned to the state’s insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, which has doubled in size over the past five years. The state is now exposed to nearly $458 billion in potential damage, Mark Gongloff writes for Bloomberg Opinion. The neighborhoods in the path of the Palisades and other fires burning this week have been among some of the hardest-hit by insurer defections in recent years.””
Apparently everyone in the Los Angeles city management is a DEI graduate.
There are a COUPLE of term limits that we need to impose.
First, we need to limit how long people suck on the government teat. Starting from age 20, anybody who wants to run for public office needs to have spent at least half of their adult life working for a paycheck with a PRIVATE enterprise. By age 40, the candidate must have spent at least 10 years in the private sector. Government SERVICE isn’t supposed to be a lifetime career; serve the nation for a FEW years, and then go back to the farm.
Second, there are 330 million people in America; we shouldn’t keep electing the same losers. No candidate may run for ANY Federal office who is a close relative (spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, 1st or 2nd cousin, child or grandchild) of any President, VP, Governor or Senator. No more Kennedys or Shrubs or Clintons or Romneys or Cuomos. We need NEW “elites”!
And finally, we need a maximum allowable tenancy in Washington, D.C. Every government official of ANY kind may reside within 100 miles of Washington D.C. for a maximum of 30 years. Work for the government for a SHORT WHILE and then GO HOME.
“Judge approves Tesla directors’ deal to end excess pay case”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/judge-approves-tesla-directors-deal-201255108.html
“WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA) directors including Chair Robyn Denholm and James Murdoch got court approval on Wednesday for a settlement worth up to $919 million that requires they return compensation to the carmaker to resolve allegations they overpaid themselves.”
“The settlement requires Tesla board members including Denholm and Murdoch to return roughly $277 million in cash, $459 million in stock options and to forgo stock options for 2021-23 worth $184 million. The settlement was not covered by insurance, according to a court filing by the shareholder who brought the case.”
So the directors are suppose to work for free ?
Wizard Of Id: Pigs In A Blanket
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2025/01/08
Dragon humor.
Don’t forget the landsharks, er, lawyers.
Pearls Before Swine: Uncle At The Door
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2025/01/08
I figure before this nightmare is over, they will come for all of our savings including 401K, IRAs, and the cash in our mattresses. Hopefully not my gold crowns on my back teeth.
“NEW: Joe Biden Announces Another $500 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine as California Burns”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/biden-announces-500-million-ukraine-as-california-burns/
“Since the war began, the U.S. Congress has voted through five bills that have provided Ukraine with ongoing aid, doing so most recently in April 2024. The total budget authority under these bills—the “headline” figure often cited by news media—is $175 billion.”
Unreal. I wonder what the real amount is. And how much that Biden and his family got slipped under the table in return ?
So I did some stuff. Mostly I did a pickup in Montgomery. That used to be a small town north of Houston, that was mostly out in the country. Now the amount of new development is staggering. Every couple of miles there were signs for a new residential development. The most telling aspect was the infrastructure upgrades, new power lines, and a lot of marker flags on the ground for where they pushed pipe for new gas and telcom. The infrastructure is long term… not flash in the pan.
I wonder if Montgomery is just like Sugar Land and Fort Bend County which have turned hard lefts into very liberal areas now controlled by thieving democrats.
This is why I want to move out further to the West into areas still controlled by conservatives.
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2025/01/08/supreme-court-distributes-safs-challenges-to-conference-n1227309
“the loss of
First AmendmentConstitutional freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury,”There, SCOTUS, FIFY.
The left-wing playbook for decades has been to pass unconstitutional laws and regulations, and then enforce them with there boots on the necks of citizens until the court cases finally get decided, at which time the local and state governments claim “Sorry, immunity” and the feckless pols and bureaucrats scarper off.
Imposition of an irreparable injury should breach any claim of immunity, and just because the injury is irreparable should not mean that some sort of balance should not be attempted.
ADDED:
“The Maryland ruling, for example, argues that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect modern sporting rifles because they’re too similar to military weapon”
Modern sporting rifles are semi-automatic weapons. Military assault rifles are automatic weapons–they are not similar in the function that defines them as military.
Activist judges with novel theories undermining Delaware’s main legal product:
https://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/
All this is why I encourage everyone to start now, and get used to the secondary economy BEFORE they find that they need or want to use it.
From your keyboard to God’s ears.
I am now routinely taking inventory of the household goods as my beloved wife cannot do so anymore. I purchase or order twice as much as we need in hope that we will not run out before I remember to inventory again.
Most things I purchase at HEB if I can. Otherwise I go to that crazy place known as Big River (Amazon). I have returned several items in the last few months as the seller lied to me what they were or the condition of the item sent to me. Amazon has yet to argue with me about returning stuff. Unfortunately, several items on Big River are only being sold by third party sellers, a generally unscrupulous lot.
The gross miscarriage of justice in the Chauvin conviction is slowly unraveling:
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/01/08/will-another-hoax-be-revealed-12-minneapolis-police-officers-claim-mpd-chief-lied-during-trial-n3798597
Minneapolis paid over $100 million to the family of George Floyd in a court case that amounted to willing extortion. If Chauvin’s conviction gets reversed and he files suit, it should be removed to a county far away from Minneapolis, and the jury should “send a clear message” by making the amount twice or an even higher multiple. Given that the perjury of the assistant chief was not the only misconduct, and in light of Chauvin being a target in prison that saw him barely survive a knife attack with more than 20 wounds, a round billion dollars would not be out of line.
Let’s hope the pace speeds up, and the Trump DOJ gets in the act by filing a RICO case against the corrupt City of Minneapolis. Who doubts that phone records will rope in Tampon Tim?
“Vital LA Firefighting Equipment Was Handed To Ukraine, Reports Show, As Americans Now Caught In Raging Inferno”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/vital-la-firefighting-equipment-was-handed-ukraine-reports-show-americans-now-caught
No water in the fire hydrants, “excess” fire fighting equipment being given away at great expense. Commiefornia is dying.
Zachary Young’s lawsuit against CNN and Jake the Fake Tapper is finally in court.
The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman has filed four good stories that are worth reading:
https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/06/here-are-the-best-moments-from-the-jury-selection-for-cnns-defamation-trial/
https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/08/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports/
https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/08/navy-vet-warned-cnn-it-had-false-info-cnn-aired-it-anyway/
https://thefederalist.com/author/briannalyman/
Yup, wait a week then give him the two-hour fake opportunity to respond before the ambush that destroyed his life and livelihood.
I predict that CNN tries to settle before a verdict, and I hope Mr. Young and his attorneys add a zero to the offer and give them a draft of a confession to everything bad since Jesus was arrested and tells them they have two hours to sign it.
“No water in the fire hydrants, “excess” fire fighting equipment being given away at great expense. Commiefornia is dying.”
Technology advances.
We don’t have to borrow the Ceaușescu Memorial Wall from Romania. A few minutes with a 3D scanning camera, send the file to a good software front-end, and make copies (we will need a bunch) using an architectural concrete printer.
I’d suggest using a combination of additives to increase strength and shorten cure time, following by steam curing to further improve properties.
Be prudent to have some color-matched fast-set for patches–thirty minutes between firing squads should be enough.
The communist government of Hawaii has been pretty successful in covering up the total number of deaths in the Maui fire. Not going to be repeatable in LA–people who die in $5 million house fires are going to leave large litigation footprints and it will be in the interests of the survivors to make sure that the sordid details–including numbers of deaths–are fully documented.
“Dave Ramsey Reacts to Amazon’s Return-to-Work Mandate”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Ieh6rYfVs
I love Dave Ramsey.
I just met the son of one of my friends at church over the holidays. He just left Amazon. I suspect that this is why he left.
“Fluffy’s Fattest Jokes | Gabriel Iglesias”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybhv0F5CbTQ
“Here’s a compilation of some of my biggest jokes. Enjoy!”
ADDED:
“The Maryland ruling, for example, argues that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect modern sporting rifles because they’re too similar to military weapon”
Modern sporting rifles are semi-automatic weapons. Military assault rifles are automatic weapons–they are not similar in the function that defines them as military.
– inherent in this argument is the idea that 2A protections don’t extend to “military” weapons. FALSE. The weapons the founders had, had just been used in a violent revolt to overthrow an occupying military force.
If you let your opponents define the terms and the battlefield, you will lose.
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED is pretty damn clear.
n
Hollywood stars whose homes have burned to the ground as death toll climbs after devastating LA wildfires ravage California
Fuck you DM. EVERYONE who lost their home is facing a personal tragedy. Not just the special pigs.
n
White and Asian males. They’ll find a way to give other demographics a pass.
Ramsey’s show would be history overnight if he said that.
As for Amazon, I stopped giving their HR the interview to fill the EEOC checkbox for “Old/White” about five years ago.
“Alex Jones: The Los Angeles Fires Are ‘By Design’”
https://rumble.com/v679dr4-alex-jones-the-los-angeles-fires-are-by-design.html?e9s=src_v1_upp
I was thinking earlier that the fires were set by the homeless.
I do not think that word means what you think it means…
n
@Nick
I chose to go no further than is necessary to refute the erroneous argument put forth by Maryland. That is the approach that SCOTUS usually takes with their ruling, and is sufficient to win this case.
Take the small bites and you will make a meal.
As I’ve stated before, I regret that I never asked JEP for the reference for his claim that Washington took the Continental Army’s cannon home to Monticello after the Revolution.
AFAIK, exclusively military weapons did not exist at that time. The distinction was created later, and as such has no basis in the constitution, except possibly as one of those flowery “penumbras”. Too much ground to cover in the topic.
There are a number of other small bites out there that need to be litigated. Ex.: Fedgov says guns must have serial numbers, but there is no constitutional basis.
Bowie County was Dry in 1977, but that didn’t stop the Bandit from loading a truck full of Coors in Texarkana.
a peek into genius
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnfEQjCf_70
obsession
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGyssg3OFEo
Two of my three sons are “sober”, abstaining from alcohol.
One because he can’t stay out of jail if he drinks, the other quit cold turkey after his wife developed severe liver issues, in sympathy. Though he really did drink to excess. He’s a pro musician and often free drinks were perqs of his gigs.
All three sons, and the two wives, are marijuana addicts. They live in states where recreational pot is legal, and one also has his medical card.
None of them, of course, would admit that weed is addictive.
All this is a factor in my estate planning. I’m doling out my legacy in small doses over a long time via trust, rather than a lump sum. I don’t trust their judgment.
I just looked at the results for the items I put in my auctioneer’s December warehouse auction. This is the guy who concentrates on more industrial stuff…
I lost money. Holy crep. Stuff that never brings less than $85 and usually goes for $150 sold for $25. He had unsold lots, which he never does. I wouldn’t have consigned anything if I knew he’d wait until the week between Christmas and New Year to have the auction close. That week is crazy slow and deader than a doorknob.
This is the second time I’ve been stuck in a dead week auction. The last time was a company I didn’t have any history with, and I didn’t know better.
Jeez, I’m glad I didn’t get the other items to him on time.
n
added– I REALLY don’t lose money. Unless something had hidden defects, I haven’t lost money on a group of items in a LONG time. I’m shocked and p!ssed at the moment.
How Trump can amend Canada’s constitution…with just one phone call
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/how_trump_can_amend_canada_s_constitution_with_just_one_phone_call.html
The Canadian constitution embeds racial discrimination. Typical French phuquery.
Trump should make it clear that the U.S. would welcome any Canadian province that desires to secede and join the United States, except for Quebec. And then require visas of all citizens of countries that practice racial discrimination, and additional tariffs.