Cool and wet, again. Winter in Houston. No surprise there. We’re back to normal. Kid asked me what the weather would be today. I told her I rarely look at the forecast, since you can be better than 80% right just by saying it will be like yesterday. That earned me a funny look, but it’s true. It’s rare that the weather changes dramatically from day to day. Give that we live here in the swamp, I was thinking about how few are the times we have to stand in the rain waiting for the bus. Even with heavy misty drizzle counting as rain, it’s still unusual for us to need an umbrella. And that’s pretty weird.
Did my thang yesterday. Finally got to chat with the manager at the auction that stiffed me just before Christmas by not letting me pick up my item a day late. He was surprised I didn’t come in and get it. I told him I tried twice, but got no love. He refunded the total, and then looked to see if they relisted the item or stole it. They did eventually relist it. I’m feeling better about that now. We had a good chat about the business in general, and making money as resellers, and the ecosystem of their part of the secondary economy.
Wife was home sick all day so I ended up doing more kid taxi than normal. Didn’t get to the grocery store. That will have to happen at some point today. Almost out of diet Dr Pepper, and that can’t be allowed to happen…
Today I’ve got more appointments, and I need to swing by my client’s house. He has a video source not working and I need to figure out why. I’m pretty sure I know, it’s happened before. With all the high quality gear in the rack, we have these cheap nasty chinese HDMI audio extractors to pull an analog audio signal out of the HDMI stream for some sources. They don’t last. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a better solution. I’m hoping that’s the issue because I’ve got spares in the truck and it’s an easy fix. It does cause him frustration and a service call, which sux, but it’s every other year or so… so pretty spread out.
That is a general problem that is actually much better than it used to be. Some things you can’t find a good expensive solution or product, only cheap crep. Most things you have a nice range of choices though. This is a significant improvement over the 80s, for example, when it seemed like quality wasn’t available in the US for any price. I can buy high end pro level gear, or cheap chinese crep that does the job, but barely and not forever; or I can choose from a wide selection in between. In this case, the chinese ignore some standards and protections and requirements that more reputable and professional companies can’t ignore, so the cheap crep actually does something that better quality gear won’t do. It’s a tool in the box. Just not a very well built tool.
In any case, my day is full… and other than the grocery store, and making money, and checking up on my health, won’t involve preps. Oh, those are preps. Ok, I’m good!
You all should stack something.
nick
Well that was weird. Today’s post was supposed to go live at 420am, and it showed it had on the dashboard, but it didn’t.
So here it is.
n
52F and damp. Not raining though. Might be a sunny day.
n
When he isn’t indulging his perversions, Paul Pelosi is a knowledgeable investor who is plugged in to what is going on in The Valley. Nvidia is a question mark until someone ships a B200 system in volume.
H200? No one cares about H series anymore. That’s a big problem for Nvidia if the B series doesn’t start shipping soon.
I suspect Mr. Pelosi was treated to some insider information. Either unintentionally, or intentionally.
Checking my flight booking to Europe in August. I booked on Delta as they have non-stop to, and from, Frankfurt and Atlanta. I booked Premium Select seats as they are much more comfortable and worth the extra cost. Especially for long flights. Other airlines did not have non-stop and the price was about the same. Also with Delta I get to accumulate miles.
What is stunning about the cost is the surcharges. 55% of the cost of my ticket is taxes and fees. Of particular interest is the “Carrier Surcharge” of $950.00. That is basically a fuel surcharge imposed by Delta. At least Delta spells it out, the other airlines just hide the cost within the price. These are the other fees.
United States – September 11th Security Fee(Passenger Civil Aviation Security Service Fee) (AY)$5.60 USD
Germany – Airport Security Charge (DE)$12.20 USD
Germany – Air Transport Tax (OY)$72.90 USD
Germany – Passenger Service Charge (RA)$45.00 USD
United States – Transportation Tax (US)$45.80 USD
United States – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Fee (APHIS User Fee – Passengers (XA)$3.71 USD
United States – Passenger Facility Charge (XF)$4.50 USD
United States – Immigration and Naturalization Fee(Immigration User Fee) (XY)$7.00 USD
United States – Custom User Fee (YC)$7.20 USD
The other major carriers to Frankfurt, American Airlines, Lufthansa Airlines, British Airway, were all priced about the same. American is not as good as Delta in my opinion. Lufthansa is OK but limits to one checked bag for the upgraded seats and no priority check-in. British Airways just seems crowded in the cabin regardless of where one is seated.
Priority check-in and priority boarding is a good deal on Delta. I will get to use the 1st class check-in line and avoid the generally long lines with idiots that don’t know how to fly. I will also get priority boarding and will board between Delta One and the coach passengers.
I have flown 1st class on that journey before when going to Frankfurt. The result of an upgrade because Delta messed up my schedule badly and only gave me 20 minutes to change planes in Detroit, with the arrival and departure in different concourses. The lay flat seats had more room. But laying flat to sleep on those seats is a myth. The seats are hard and the gaps where the joints are located are annoying. I have slept better in Premium Select than in 1st class. Or what Delta calls “Delta One”.
The Premium Selects seats for overseas flights in the Airbus are comparable to 1st class in the domestic flights.
Yes, it cost me some extra money. At this point in my life I can afford the cost and it is beyond time to scrimp and save by nickel and dimeing purchases.
I installed 3 x GU10 LED bulbs (NxtGen LED Non-Dimmable (22 piece SMD 5050, 390 Lumens, 50 watts equiv.) ( GU10-RCSPOT) (Warm White)) in 2012, which are in regular use. One is now showing intermittent failure.
I don’t know whether that is good or bad, but seems a reasonable life to me.
Geez. Captain America is rayciiissss:
Disney’s New ‘Captain America’ Just Decided to Set His Box Office Prospects on Fire
WWDD – What Will Disney Do about Mackie? He may have sunk another film. There was a time studios would shit-can an actor. Now they cheer the wokeness on. I wasn’t going to the theater in any event.
The new “Captain America” movie was already sunk.
The only Marvel project which might work for Disney in the next year is the new season of the Netflix “Daredevil” series.
My thoughts exactly when I started seeing promos for the release next month instead of this summer.
but seems a reasonable life to me.
– the LEDs themselves are usually rated for 20K-50K hours of use. The drive electronics are unfortunately not. They are generally the cheapest crap available. Comparing commercial quality LED fixtures and the consumer bulbs is like a daisy and a bowling ball. Usually the drive electronics fail long before the LEDs, resulting in blinking or more accurately “flashing”.
Heat is usually a contributing factor.
n
Disney is sunk.
“Google Says It Will Change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for US Users”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/tech/google-says-it-will-change-gulf-of-mexico-to-gulf-of-america-for-us-users-5799876?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily
“The name change would only be visible to users in the United States, according to the tech giant.”
“Google said on Monday that it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for users in the United States once the name change ordered by President Donald Trump is reflected in the federal system.”
“The tech giant said it will also rename Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to “Mount McKinley” on Google Maps once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.”
Oh Google, why are you so tied up in yourselves ?
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Texas lawmaker, others slam Trump for not ‘immediately’ lowering food prices”
https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-food-prices-trump-20061041.php
“During your first week of office you have instead focused on mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers.”
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) penned the searing letter to Trump sent on Sunday. It was co-written by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass) and signed by a total of 20 Democrats, including Casar, who leads Texas’ Congressional Progressive Caucus.”
All of these complainers are assholes. They know that Biden royally screwed everything up that he touched.
“TRUMP EFFECT: Frantic Denmark Invests $2 Billion in Greenland Defense, as PM Frederiksen Gathers Leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway for Dinner, Goes on European Tour for Support”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/trump-effect-frantic-denmark-invests-2-billion-greenland/
““This month, Trump said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island.”
Greenland controls a major portion of the Arctic. We need that control. It is time to work on new states and start expanding again.
“Galveston developers be damned, beloved ‘ghost wolves’ have island’s support”
https://www.chron.com/gulf-coast/article/galveston-ghost-wolves-public-support-20058174.php
“We have to decide if it’s more important to us to shoot animals or protect them.”
So, do you yell out “So pretty” when they are attacking you ?
“Wall Street hopes to get rid of a bad Elon Musk bet”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-hopes-to-get-rid-of-a-bad-elon-musk-bet-090039697.html
“Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC) are among the banks that plan to sound out investors in the coming days to buy portions of debt initially provided to Musk in 2022 to take over the social media platform now known as X, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Monetizing social media is tricky, very tricky. Shoot, monetizing software in general is tricky. I have made every mistake in the book.
“Visa partners with Elon Musk’s X to create new digital wallet”
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/visa-partners-elon-musks-x-161225260.html
“Visa (V) stock is in focus after the company struck a deal with X (formerly Twitter), owned by Tesla (TSLA) CEO and Trump insider Elon Musk, to launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment platform within the social media site.”
Huh. Sounds like Bitcoin / crypto.
Questionable Content: And the Weird Gets Weirder
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5492
Why would random girls want to be with Pintsize ? And no, I do not need details.
Worry not
youngold Jedi, find new ones you will..Worry not
youngold Jedi, find new ones you will..Yes, the book will become a series.
“Visa partners with Elon Musk’s X to create new digital wallet”
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/visa-partners-elon-musks-x-161225260.html
“Visa (V) stock is in focus after the company struck a deal with X (formerly Twitter), owned by Tesla (TSLA) CEO and Trump insider Elon Musk, to launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment platform within the social media site.”
Huh. Sounds like Bitcoin / crypto.
I wonder if this will be safer than Venmo ( https://venmo.com/ ) ? My 86 year old father uses Venmo all the time. I don’t because I am worried about screwing up the target.
“Diplomacy in action – Trump style”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/01/diplomacy-in-action-trump-style.html
“The diplomatic spat with Colombia over the past weekend about the repatriation of its citizens gave Cynical Publius pause for thought. He describes the way it would have gone under the old system, versus how it actually went this time.”
Trump was amazing in his first term and learned a lot. He is even more amazing now.
How long has been since we had a real businessman as President ? George W. Bush does not count.
Swan Eaters: Baba Yaga To The Rescue
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2025/01/27
Do not get on Baba Yaga’s bad side. She is incredibly powerful.
“Trump Cleans House at USAID After Failing to Follow His Orders”
https://www.independentsentinel.com/trump-cleans-house-at-usaid-after-failing-to-follow-his-orders/
You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
Five federal agencies down, 460 to go.
“Trump Freezes Billions in Federal Aid, Targets ‘Woke’ Programs Nationwide”
https://resistthemainstream.com/trump-causes-major-shake-up-as-leaked-memo-triggers-nationwide-panic/?utm_source=newsletter3
“Federal financial assistance exceeded $3 trillion in Fiscal Year 2024. The Trump administration believes significant portions of this funding were wasteful, particularly those supporting DEI initiatives, environmentalism and “transgender” advocacy.”
Are you kidding me ? Three trillion dollars aid in one year !
No wonder we are broke.
Truman, but he wasn’t very good at the private sector.
Contrary to urban legend, Truman did not co-found Jacobson’s.
Reagan was the last President who lived in real poverty at some point in his life.
That is a lot of Playstation 5 and OLED Switch consoles.
“What’s the Fastest Wireless Network in the US?”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/t-mobile-outranks-rivals-for-fastest-wireless-att-fiber-wins-for-wired
“T-Mobile is giving Verizon and AT&T a run for its money in the speed department. AT&T Fiber is the fastest fixed ISP, but Google Fiber is often on top for state- and city-specific results.”
Wow ! I can say this, dealing with the jerks at Verizon’s cell tower group was incredibly frustrating. I finally told them to go pound sand.
“Border Czar Tom Homan Declares War on Terrorist Cartels Following Rio Grande Firefight Involving Border Patrol Agents”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/border-czar-tom-homan-declares-war-terrorist-cartels/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
It is time for the Marines to setup .50 cal machine nests and 81 mm mortar squads on the southern border.
I think giving kill bonuses to snipers would be cheaper and more effective. I don’t know what a mortar round costs, but I’ll guarantee that it costs more than a .308 cartridge.
Gregorio Eduardo.
He will take on Cornyn next year.
Gregorio is not “Doors”.
Ghost “wolves” are coyotes born on the wrong side of the blanket. Having “some” red wolf DNA does not make them wolves.
If they’re native to the island I’d keep my pets inside and give the developers a middle finger.
“It is time for the Marines to setup .50 cal machine nests and 81 mm mortar squads on the southern border.”
New policy: Fire on us, where you stand belongs us.
Tell the Mexicans they can either control their side of the border or we will move it to Mexico City.
Republicans are now paying a buck fitty for eggs after getting the secret code word.
I think giving kill bonuses to snipers would be cheaper and more effective. I don’t know what a mortar round costs, but I’ll guarantee that it costs more than a .308 cartridge.
81 mm mortar has a 25 foot kill radius and 1.5 mile range with four rocket packs. The maiming and wounding radius is much higher.
We have a lot of 81 mm mortars. My son lost count at being the gunner for over 4,000 of them. He has serious hearing damage in his right ear from the overpressure event.
Republicans are now paying a buck fitty for eggs after getting the secret code word.
Hey, the secret code word “Trump” worked for me !
Here is my son’s squad firing off 81 mm mortar rounds in the Mojave Desert. He is the gunner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKndW86etjQ
Warning, Marines. Bad language.
Too Fat To Fit: Plus Size Rapper Files Lawsuit Against Lyft After Driver Refuses Ride
https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/28/too-fat-to-fit-plus-size-rapper-files-lawsuit-against-lyft-after-driver-refuses-ride/
Safety policy is you must wear the seat belt and shoulder harness. If you do not put them on, you do not ride.
Same for airlines: No seat belt fastened, no ride.
It’s all about safety.
“Hey, the secret code word “Trump” worked for me !”
and the hat.
The downside of custom ARM silicon to power a PC.
I use Firefox and Thunderbird on Mac OS, but my Apple Silicon machine is an M1.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/01/newly-discovered-flaws-in-apple-chips-leak-secrets-in-safari-and-chrome/
“If Trump Can’t Fire Them Then He’ll Pay Them to Quit; Offers Buyouts to All 2 Million Federal Workers”
https://thelibertydaily.com/if-trump-cant-fire-them-then-hell-pay/
“Update (1750ET): According to CNBC, the buyout offer is for all 2 million federal workers. One senior administration official told the outlet that they expect 5-10% of the federal workforce to quit, which could lead to roughly $100 billion in savings.”
““The government-wide email being sent today is to make sure that all federal workers are on board with the new administration’s plan to have federal employees in office and adhering to higher standards. We’re five years past COVID and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable,” said the anonymous senior administration official.”
This going to be a battle for four years.
I want to see the buyout terms.
They should include:
a) once out, you ain’t coming back
b) once out, no lobbying for ten years
c) probably more stuff
d) none of the above terms can be modified unless the buyout is paid back
New WH press secretary:
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/413436.php#413436
Wow.
Hegseth Pulls Milley’s Security Detail and Orders Review to Consider Grounds for Demoting Him
from the comments:
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/01/28/hegseth-pulls-milleys-security-detail-and-orders-review-to-consider-grounds-for-demoting-him-n2184927
Hegseth Strikes
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/01/hegseth-strikes.php
He belongs in front of a firing squad.
“BREAKING: Trump said he’s sending Elon to go get abandoned astronauts”
https://therightscoop.com/breaking-trump-said-hes-sending-elon-to-go-get-abandoned-astronauts/
Wait, is Elon himself heading to the ISS ?
D.D. Harriman was never allowed in space even though he owned all of the space ships. He had to sneak into Space and the Moon with a couple of old spacemen and an old junked space ship. “Requiem” by Robert A. Heinlein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(short_story)
and
https://archive.org/details/Astounding_v24n05_1940-01_dtsg0318/page/n79/mode/2up?view=theater
@denis, did you comment? I thought I saw your comment but now I can’t find it. There was some weirdness this morning when my post showed as “posted” from my dashboard, but it wasn’t showing on the site. I might have seen your comment then, but after I RE-posted my day’s post, I canae find it.
I dinna kill it in any case.
n
I just installed an old copy of Office 2013 on my Windows 7 x86 test PC. It took me hours !
The activation wizard in Office 2013 kept on crashing. I finally worked out that I could not longer use the activation string on the box and got a new one from Mickeysoft using my Mickeysoft account. This was not their shining moment.
Of course, the entire time they were trying to get me to install Office 365 even though I doubted that it would work on Windows 7.
I went to lunch at McDonalds, and then a Walmart, and then the range. Half-price on Tuesdays with an LTC.
McDonalds had new staff. Oddly, more black than hispanic. I had to train a new cashier how to use the alacarte menu for my 3 quarter pound patties, 3 slices of cheese order. With my large drink, just over $8.
I could have shot a ghosttown video in the Walmart, similar to what I’ve seen posted in the last week. The aisles were not empty, but very sparse. They seemed short-staffed; I was buying a knife from the locked glass case, and had to walk to the customer service desk to get someone to help me.
I fully intended to make another drive through the Home Depot lot, but forgot. I’ll have more opportunities.
That particular knife has been hot on the internet, especially YouTubers who are into camping/bushcraft/cheap knives. So I picked up two just to see what the buzz is about.
It seems to be worth at least double the $10 price. Not a great knife, not a bad knife, no loss if you lose or abuse it.
McDonalds had new staff. Oddly, more black than hispanic. I had to train a new cashier how to use the alacarte menu for my 3 quarter pound patties, 3 slices of cheese order. With my large drink, just over $8.
The blacks are getting pushed out of 3rd and 5th Wards in Houston by high property taxes. The land values under their 1920s shotgun shacks has become valuable with all the yuppies and dinks buying a property and building a 3 story McMansion on it.
So, MickeyDs will sell you just a quarter pound patty with cheese for $2. Wait, that sounds like a two dollar menu item. How in the world did you find that out ?
I’ll keep my Tinker Swiss Army Knife. Been carrying one for 55 years.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Victorinox-Swiss-Army-Tinker-12-Function-Red-Pocket-Knife-1-4603/1224706
The blacks are getting pushed out of 3rd and 5th Wards in Houston by high property taxes. The land values under their 1920s shotgun shacks has become valuable with all the yuppies and dinks buying a property and building a 3 story McMansion on it.
BTW, if the property is at least a half acre, Perry Homes will buy it and build a four unit townhome on it. Perry is making awesome profits on building these all over the inside 610 area. The first story is a double garage and maybe a bedroom / bath. The second story is kitchen / dining / living room / bathroom. Maybe a bedroom. The third story is multiple bedrooms and bathrooms.
People are buying the townhomes and renting them out to college students going to U of H in 3rd Ward.
Watched some vids about that knife, looks like good value for money.
===
Solved my client’s issue. It was the gear I thought, although it was the power supply not the actual box. Not much room for quality psu in a $12 item.
===
had a bit of misty drizzle this evening and it was 60F when the sun went down.
Now it is time for bed.
n