Cool, but warming. Mornings have been cool, 50s and 60s, but later it’s been low 70s and Saturday wasn’t an exception. Humidity was a bit high though so it was bordering on uncomfortable without a breeze. Today should be more of the same.
Spent Saturday morning in bed. Brain felt good when I got up, but my back was hurting. Some extra stretches made that better, but man, my torso hurts. Maybe from the stress test? I was leaning back, holding on to the treadmill, and none of that was normal body mechanics for me… dunno, but it keeps tweeking me.
Anyway, eventually got out of the house and did my pickups. Had D1 drive me around so she could get practice and coaching. I hope she’s getting the feeling that maybe she isn’t as good as she thinks she is and that maybe some more practice is a good thing. She’s WAY overconfident for her actual skill level. Lots of crazy drivers out and about.
I also went to my storage units and moved some stuff around. I misplaced my keys and haven’t been able to get in my units for a couple of weeks. Found them yesterday in my truck.
Spent some time on relationship maintenance with my wife later in the day. Went for a walk with the dog. Chatted a bit. Don’t forget your loved ones.
TODAY I’ll be doing some of the stuff I didn’t do yesterday, starting with getting out of bed earlier…
Really, I will……………………………………………..try anyway…
Stack something.
nick
A Lego Zamboni would sell even if the set only circulated in the arbitrage market.
I could see “Deadpool” fans buying the sets, not exactly the “Barbie” demographic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4bbzm3uQ5Y
“Official” “Deadpool” sets haven’t been made since 2012, but the character is a popular minifig from third party sellers at cons I’ve been to in the last few years.
Anyway, eventually got out of the house and did my pickups. Had D1 drive me around so she could get practice and coaching. I hope she’s getting the feeling that maybe she isn’t as good as she thinks she is and that maybe some more practice is a good thing. She’s WAY overconfident for her actual skill level. Lots of crazy drivers out and about.
10,000 or 2,000 hours of driving to become a good driver ?
The wife might tell you that I am not there yet as I drive my truck like I stole it.
56 F and muggy this morning at 7 am.
Dadgumit, how did Greg beat me ?
Both varmits been out twice. The dog is out again looking at the crows by the back fence. She almost got the fat one yesterday.
Spent some time on relationship maintenance with my wife later in the day. Went for a walk with the dog. Chatted a bit. Don’t forget your loved ones.
Sometimes on our daily walks, we actually converse rather than me ranting about something stupid.
Last day of the conference in Dallas so everyone is up and moving in the hotel room.
Plus, my digestive tract is a mess from work stress so I was up and down all night.
I missed a work Zoom call at 10 PM on Thursday night where the Hot Skillz disaster may have been put on my plate even though I’ve been clear with my objections.
You wanna be a Rocknrolla?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdpR8VuvbCM
4256 hits / 15890 batts is Pete Rose’s lifetime batting average at 0.268. Amazing.
More precisely – You wanna keep your job at 56, pushing 57?
They’re very careful about it.
The execs who got stock grants last year at this time are sitting on worthless paper after taxes. The stock would have to double from the current point just to pay the IRS, and that isn’t going to happen soon at that PE ratio.
Instead of Hot Skillz, I spent yesterday watching this interview with Bill Murray all the way through.
I’ve never done that with Rogan before, even with Trump’s appearance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_fM6v64-NQ
I originally searched to see Musk’s interview the day before, but the First Grifter was boring.
A new season of “The Lincoln Lawyer” airs soon. He is Bosch’s half-brother.
I drive my truck like I stole it.
— driving in a particular style is an intentional choice. Making mistakes and doing bad things because you don’t know any better is another thing entirely.
I want her to have confidence, but I want it to be based on actual successes and hard work.
————–
65F and sunny blue sky…
I should do some stuff.
But coffee is calling.
n
I was 59 when I got my last and final job. I was hired because I was already Epic certified, had 7 years Epic experience, 4 years as a consultant at various Epic clients, and had been through a go-live before. HM was trying to do an Epic install using mostly existing staff but realized they needed some knowledgeable consultants and outside direct hires. I’m sure the only reason I squeaked in was because they had a male HR person who was desparate to fill a bunch of new openings, and didn’t automatically reject an older white male.
It took me 5 years to financially recover from my divorce, and was finally doing some actual saving, in addition to building up my tax-deferred stuff. I consistently got bonuses in lieu of raises, being topped out in my salary range for my non-management, purely technical position. I had internal customers sending me flowers, cookies, and wine as Christmas gifts because I was so good at supporting them.
I was seriously considering my retirement options towards the end. Which was really 2 different considerations. When to collect SS, and when to quit the job.
The SS consideration for a working man is a formula based on how long you expect to live, and how long you want to work. I decided I’ll live to 90, so just wait ‘til 70 to start collecting. That’s where you maximize the payout. Regardless, if you keep working, there are income tax implications. Take it before your full retirement age, and they penalize you for your work income. Take it before 70, and they’ll charge income tax against part of your SS if you have other income.
I was working through all these issues, when HM took the decision out of my hands and said: “Get the shot, or there’s the door.” I used up all my savings and at 67 applied for SS earlier than I wanted, which cost me 24% of fmy planned payout.
I applied for jobs diligently over the next year, and to no one’s surprise, a 67 year old unvaccinated white male is basically unemployable. Regardless of skillset.
By the way, the 5th Circuit heard oral arguments recently on my appeal. While we are waiting for them to admonish the district court for blatant disregard of black letter law, it may all become moot since RFK Jr. is being briefed and will hopefully step in. If that happens, I expect HM will be motivated to start offering settlements. Along with Kaiser, Shriners, and all the other defendants in the many cases.
MrsAtoz (LtcAtoz) formed her company in 1996 after retiring from the Army. It is a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Working for yourself is freeing. I would hate working for some corporation as a beltway-bandit after I retired.
The next best thing MrsAtoz did was “let go” every employee except family. Many became successful independent contractors on their own. No more massive payroll, health insurance, pension plans, etc. Go do it yourself and see how hard it is to make a big payroll. We hire contractors as needed.
Data backs up the feeling.
n
Have you taught her “corner counting“? When stopped at a busy intersection you look at each corner in turn for pedestrians/bicyclists/crazies and count: 1, 2, 3, 4. If you are there for long then you repeat in reverse: 4,3,2,1.
It’s surprising what you see on a 2nd pass: that pedestrian hiding from the sun in a shadow, that bicylist that was a long way away, etc.
I don’t know if driving schools teach that.
Not quite. If you make over a certain amount of money, regardless of when you took SS, or your age, a portion of the SS income is taxable. In fact, up to 80% if you make too much. Fortunately, I have striven to keep myself poor, and so far, I am exceeding quite well.
If that bicyclist is crossing the intersection on a red light in their direction of travel, they become fair game. Bicyclists have to follow the same rules of the road as vehicular traffic.
When I get a green light I first look to my left, then my right, and back to my left before proceeding, then look back to the right. It has saved my hiney a couple of times.
Unfortunately being in the right doesn’t keep you from possibly spending years explaining to the police, the insurance company, and enough ambulance chasing lawyers to block out the sun that you were right.
-scoff- That thinking is so 20th century. Everyone’s a winner and all women are kah-weens and your truth is all that matters. Oh, and why work hard when OnlyFans or Sugar Babying is so much easier and sex work is real work and you’re not allowed to judge her past!
Neither The Child nor Spare Kid show any interest in such a line of “work”, which spares me the need of dope-smacking them. In fact, The Child doesn’t even like it when people look at her. Um, ok… You might want to get a cabin up on a mountain, where you can be known as that crazy recluse with fourteen cats and three dozen chickens.
Much easier to prove if there is a video camera in your vehicle recording everything. It is even possible that the cyclist will be cited, from the hospital.
What you say is true for most vehicle accidents. Even after a year, six different court visits, I was still shafted by the system which catered to the guy that caused my accident. Even though he tested positive for drugs, it was his fifth DUI charge (no conviction, yet), his insurance said I was 15% at fault. I was never made whole from the entire incident.
At this point in my life, if it would pay my bills; sign me up.
Yah, I was thinking the same, after I typed it. Solar panels and a starlink so I could earn a living. Go into town once a month for groceries and other supplies. Don’t see anyone else from a distance of less than 50 yards.
How much difference does it make if you take SS st 67 or 70? I am just barely over the minimum, having left the US 35 years ago, but I do still qualify.
Hmmmm
Beefing Up the Border: The Pentagon is Sending Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Sourthern Border
Boots on the ground. The Border Patrol has ”deputized” the military. I believe “pussy communist” does not apply.
It comes down to how long you think you’ll live, how long you think the SS system will continue making payments, and how long you think the SS system will continue making payments to recipients outside of the United States. Compared to those three issues, the couple hundred dollars per month are negligible.
If you assume you’ll live a long time, and SS will continue paying, you’ll maximize your payments by waiting until 70. This only works if you live long enough.
But if you choose 68 instead of 67, you get 8% more per month. 12 fewer months.
69 vs. 68, it’s 8% more. Compounded, because it’s 8% more of 8% more.
70 vs 69, it’s 8% more.
Also, every year there’s potentially a COLA adjustment. That’s some percentage over whatever your check size is currently. So if you take smaller checks, earlier, the size of your COLA is less as well. Compounding, again.
@brad
“How much difference does it make if you take SS st 67 or 70? I am just barely over the minimum, having left the US 35 years ago, but I do still qualify.”
Benefits increase 8% per year from full retirement up to 70.
https://financeband.com/do-social-security-benefits-increase-after-full-retirement-age
@brad
Another part of the calculation is when you actually need the money and how it will be used.
My FA suggests taking SS as soon as possible so that it could fund things you want to do while you are relatively healthy and mobile. For example, if you want to travel extensively or build hot rods (like someone we know), you may not want to wait until those things become more difficult due to age-related limitations.
@nick
I found that having some friends become hazard placers during the routine driving lessons helped a lot. They did things like roll a ball into the street while the new driver was going through a “random” neighborhood.
Also, manual transmissions take away a lot of the distractions for young drivers (at least once they learn the throttle/clutch dance moves.)
Yep. That’s why I took SS when fully vested.
I had planned to wait until 70. Until my best friend died about six months shy of being fully vested. Having never drawn SS. I decided enjoying life was more important than waiting and the extra money. That extra money, and time, would be spent horizontally in a nursing home.
The entire SS thing is a crap shoot, a gamble, betting on how long a person thinks they will live. Multiple scenarios are all correct, for the right person, but not for everyone.
And in other news on the VA front for getting TDIU. I had been scheduled for a C&P exam, where an independent agency examines me and sends the results to the VA. I was scheduled for an exam, in person. But that was squashed by examination agency as they will instead use the information from my last C&P exam in August. The same examination and examiner that got my back from injury from 20% to 40%. Based on my conversation with her regarding my back she seems to be on my side and not the VA side. Good news? Who knows. But certainly different than it has been in the past.
I have a couple of things on my side. During the appeal on the back the VA judge is the one that remanded the case to TDUI. I was rejected because it was non-schedular at that time. I appealed that decision because the judge said the back claim must be decided before the TDUI claim can be processed. I wrote in the appeal that the VA was not following the judge’s instruction and had made a mistake.
Whether that pointing out of the VA’s mistake now pisses the VA off and the VA wants to get even, who knows. With the judge’s decision, and the examiner reports and findings it may be enough. If the decision is not in my favor I will appeal again. The VA service person stated that appeals are not over until the veteran quits.
TDIU is a substantial amount each month, more than the maximum SS, and tax exempt from federal and state income taxes. TN has no state income tax so the state portion is irrelevant.
I’ve been bushwhacking out in the back yard for the last couple of hours. FIRST I had to get a trimmer head set up. Some very tough weeds have sprouted with a thick fibrous stalk that the string won’t cut. I’ve got lots of parts and pieces and several trimmer heads. Getting the old one off, and the new one with blades set up was more arduous than it should have been. I have an attachment now that will STAY with the sawblade cutter. I have other attachments to set up with the string heads.
I took a look at my push mower, and I think the transmission is shot. It isn’t turning the wheels in any case. I think that the random 22″ recycling Toro mower transmission that is in my auction this week might fit. My mojo sometimes gets the details wrong. I’m bidding anyway.
I’ll open the “transfer case” and see if there is anything obvious….
Now to decide if I want to run the pressure washer, work on the mower, or do something else…
I think I’ll have lunch first.
n
Getting high level Epic training is tough without an employer to sponsor your trip to Verona (Madison).
Preference would definitely be younger and, if possible, female.
@ nick, re D1’s driving, is W1 in agreement with you as to your assessment of D1’s driving capabilities? Hopefully so, otherwise you’re fighting an uphill fight, true? In either case, I presume you’d not like to hand over the keys unless she’s “ready? “
@alan, my wife is not a good driver. No major accidents in a long time, but dings and scrapes and dents on every piece of sheet metal. Can’t get out of the driveway without scraping the front air dam on the curb. Texts while driving.
She agrees D1 needs more practice, but is willing to put her in situations FAR beyond her current capability. Let her drive 2hours, 135 miles home from the BOL for example.
n
Drive issue with my electric walk behind mower is the “traction control” cable. It broke. I’ve ordered a replacement on amazon, deliver tomorrow. $10. Toro wants $36 and it will take days.
Sky is getting a bit cloudy and I might lose my window for outdoor work…
n
During a winter driving course many years ago, the class had a discussion on the difference between defensive, offensive and aggressive driving, provoked mostly by me because I had seen drivers so defensive, they created circumstances that made accidents more likely, rather than less. Things like not using your right of way because you wanted to be ‘courteous’, or not wanting to drive to even 80% of the speed limit, and other excuses for not driving as most people anticipate.
The other driving issue I’ve seen recently was by an ex, who posted a video (from a vehicle not involved in the accident) of her pulling out into traffic without enough room to merge into traffic and subsequently being hit by another vehicle. No injuries, fortunately, but she absolutely can’t understand that she caused the accident by pulling out, rather than the other driver not stopping to avoid her. The video makes it clear that the other driver could not maneuver around, due to another vehicle to the right, and had so little time to respond they may not have been able to make any braking attempt. Her fault, per the police, insurance and the video evidence, but still doesn’t get that.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I had an off-the-record exchange of information with an Epic employee at a conference a couple of years ago, and the employees believe they will end up as part of Microsoft when Judy Estrin passes.
God help us all. Hopefully Gates and his needle fetish are long gone before Microsoft has access to the majority of private patient healthcare records.
The Art of the Deal:
Zelensky says he’s ‘ready to sign’ minerals deal and says he just wanted Ukraine to ‘be heard’
Zelenskyy made himself look like an idiot.
Judy Faulkner, not Estrin.
I looked up Judy Estrin. Much more to admire there than Judy “I bribed Obama to gain advantage and own healthcare software” Faulkner.
Doh! Estrin was Cisco CTO at some point IIRC.
Neither The Child nor Spare Kid show any interest in such a line of “work”, which spares me the need of dope-smacking them. In fact, The Child doesn’t even like it when people look at her. Um, ok… You might want to get a cabin up on a mountain, where you can be known as that crazy recluse with fourteen cats and three dozen chickens.
Doesn’t she already have the chickens ?
How much difference does it make if you take SS st 67 or 70? I am just barely over the minimum, having left the US 35 years ago, but I do still qualify.
https://opensocialsecurity.com/
It comes down to how long you think you’ll live, how long you think the SS system will continue making payments, and how long you think the SS system will continue making payments to recipients outside of the United States. Compared to those three issues, the couple hundred dollars per month are negligible.
My wife just started taking SS, retroactive to last November when she reached Full Retirement Age since her SS is less than half of mine. I plan on taking SS when I reach my FRA of 67 in a little over two years, my wife’s SS will be adjusted to half of my SS at that time.
I could wait and get 24% more when I turn 70 but, why ? The end difference is not that much.
Every day you wait, you are rolling the dice. The SS actuaries have more data than you do…
n
BREAKING: Zelensky Tells BBC He’s Ready to Sign Minerals Deal the US Says Is Off the Table
https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2025/03/02/breaking-zelensky-tells-bbc-hes-ready-to-sign-minerals-deal-with-united-states-n2186192
Sorry/Not Sorry. Lunch isn’t the only thing off the table.
“19 Smart and Stylish Ideas for Putting a Tub in the Shower”
https://www.thespruce.com/ideas-for-putting-a-tub-in-the-shower-8399940
“If you love the idea of having both a walk-in shower and a bathtub in your bathroom but you’re working with a small space, putting the tub in the shower may be the solution. The technical name for this is a wet room, which is a bathing area that features a freestanding bathtub next to a stand-alone walk-in shower. Basically, you can think of it as sort of an open-concept bathroom.”
I may do this to our master bathroom. It looks to make too much sense. My “wet space” is 6 foot wide by 5 foot deep. Shoot, I could go 6 foot by 6 foot.
Well…. Aesthetically pleasing for sure. OTOH, you’ll setting yourself up to clean the tub after every shower too. The freestanding tubs are a chore to access the wall side as well.
Instead, my preference would be to have multiple shower /body /rainheads on separate mixers for a car wash effect without the rotating brushes.
The “touch free” option…
Every day you wait, you are rolling the dice. The SS actuaries have more data than you do…
n
Yeah, they sent me a letter last week that I could take Social Security right now with only a small “discount”.
Instead, my preference would be to have multiple shower /body /rainheads on separate mixers for a car wash effect without the rotating brushes.
You forgot the conveyor.
You know, I was never tempted to ride the coal conveyors at the coal power plants. Incredibly nasty things.
@Lynn
The SS actuaries have more data than you do…
So they think you will live forever.
Had a tiny little fire out by my ‘fountain’ or fish pond, or water feature. The burbling of the cascade is nice, and I read for a while. The wind picked up, and the damp soaked into me though, and I was pretty cold by the time I came back inside.
Time for a shower and bed. I’ve got bits of grass and weeds stuck to me from clearing the back yard, and I don’t want to go to bed stinky.
n
@Lynn
The SS actuaries have more data than you do…
So they think you will live forever.
I suspect that they know that my life will be quite the opposite.
“New Scientist: CO2 Emissions have Delayed the Next Glacial Period”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/02/new-scientist-co2-emissions-have-delayed-the-next-glacial-period/
I suspect that nobody has a clue what the future climate of the Earth is going to be.