Cool, warming later, possibility of rain… same as yesterday, but we didn’t get the rain. And it got into the low 80s F with fairly high humidity. Not a great day for yard work.
But that’s what I did. I was having some spasms in my middle back, which is unusual. It means I can’t take a fully deep breath without the “pinch”, and I can’t really hold my arms out in front of me, like to carry something… So I piddlefarted around the house all day, grabbing small tasks when I could. I got some stuff done, but it wasn’t a super productive day as most of those things didn’t need to be done right this minute. Still, they are off the list now.
Today I’m supposed to swap out the new tv at my client’s house. I’ll hit the chiropractor, then Costco for the TV, then head out there. I’ll make it work somehow. After that, it’s modify the control software to integrate the new TV, check that it’s all working, pack up the old tv, and hit the road. I’ve got a pickup that has to happen on the other side of town, so I need to wrap up at my client’s before 2pm. I’m picking up another 400W of solar panel. I think. Should be anyway. There are a couple of other things, but that is the main item.
Then it’s home to be a kid taxi service… that’s my life.
And it’s a pretty good one.
Of course it could use some tweaks, and It probably won’t continue forever, but right now, it’s good.
Preps and a preparedness lifestyle got us easily through many things that could have been bad. Most were just mildly inconvenient instead. I say that you should prep like your life depends on it, but really, hopefully, it’s mainly your comfort and peace of mind that depend on it.
Stacks help with both.
nick
We’ve been running “good enough” code for three years in our group’s part of the monkey trick.
Another group has been tasked with replacing all of the “good enough” modules in the system infrastructure, including ours, with something generated mostly by an AI in a Hot Skillz language, but they’re finding the task difficult in the face of the insane deadlines and even more insane customer asks which we’ve had to deal with for the last three years.
The other day, I heard one of the “bro” leads in the other group dismiss my work as “spaghetti”.
Whose code is shipping … bro?
Ask them if that is spaghetti before or after it is cooked? Not cooked is really quite straight.
Using the pasta dish analogy, the Hot Skillz code produced by Bro’s people is Fettuccine Alfredo – no one really knows what is going on underneath the creamy sauce, even the cooks who made it, but the product looks good on the plate when the waiter brings it to the customer’s table.
Bro lives in Seattle full time under a special arrangement with management despite the “return to office” order. Hot Skillz!
What the h*ll happened to Germany since the reunification?
Some Germans obviously know better. Cue John Williams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1q6qNYBbjg
Back is not better this morning. I called off my customer site visit. I’ll take another muscle relaxer and go back to bed for a while.
——–
60F and clear, it rained overnight. Started around 2am, and really got to howling and banging by 240. That was the last I remember.
——-
Half my coffee is onboard, tylenol and the other half of the muscle relaxer are on board, and now I’m gonna lay down for a bit.
——–
@alan, I sold my forklift! I needed the room and I wasn’t using it…
I’ve still got pallet jacks, 3, I think, and I will rent the trailer that drops down flat to the ground if I win them.
n
Truck brakes need work. Something is wrong and I don’t know what. The truck vibrates when stopping but the pedal does not pulse. On occasion I smell something hot. I suspect that one of the calipers is leaking and that is causing the vibration and the hot smell is the brake fluid cooking on the rotor.
Ford did the brakes the last time after that fiasco with the dragging brakes, caused by their incompetence. This time the truck is going to a local mechanic that I trust and has done work in the past with which I am satisfied. If it comes down to new rotors, calipers and pads, so be it. The Ford dealership where I bought the truck is no longer on my list of a place to take roller skates.
The Toyota dealership where I take the Highlander I have been using for 25 years without issues. That dealership has been more than upfront with me. One time they admitted a mistake and covered the entire cost of the replacement of the CV joints on my Camry, including the parts. And they did so with no hassle even though I offered to pay for the parts as the parts needed replacement anyway and the parts were not their fault.
Ant-2A 9th Circuit Gets Epic Dissent
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/03/appeals-court-judge-disassembles-gun-in-video-dissent-from-anti-2a-9th-cir-decision/
Read the written part and watch the video.
“What the h*ll happened to Germany since the reunification?”
The West declared victory, admitted millions of communists, and went to sleep, never thinking that it just might not be over after all.
This is a great video. It points out CAs flawed logic on magazines. It shows the arguments are based on an “agenda” and not safety. Where is the succint data showing a 10+ round magazine is more deadly than a 10 round magazine. This is just an end-around to ban all parts of a weapon to make a defacto gun ban. The CA attorney shows he knows very little about guns, but has decided something is bad. The same was done with supressors, except you have to spend money and legal rigamarole to get one. Why it still stands I have no idea.
SCOTUS will overrule this, oh, yeah, Roberts. Also banning bump stocks, cough, tRump, cough. Kneejerk reaction. “Turn in your magazines, maggots, or go to prison.”
Up and moving, marginally better. Time for a hot shower and visit to chiropractor.
n
Ford did the brakes the last time after that fiasco with the dragging brakes, caused by their incompetence. This time the truck is going to a local mechanic that I trust and has done work in the past with which I am satisfied. If it comes down to new rotors, calipers and pads, so be it. The Ford dealership where I bought the truck is no longer on my list of a place to take roller skates.
I had a front brake caliper fail closed on my 2005 Ford Expedition. I drove it 12 miles to the stealership. By the time I got there, the front wheel was smoking and all of the metal was noticeably very hot. Enough to sizzle spit.
Brakes systems are typically sized for 3X the motor peak horsepower. That means that each brake is ¾ of the horsepower of your motor. That is a lot of power to dissipate to the atmosphere.
My first incident was the emergency/parking brake dragging. There was a problem with the brake cable where it would corrode over time. Apply the emergency/parking brake and the calipers on the rear discs would stay partially closed. It was a known problem and Ford was of no help. $2000 later as the entire cable, all the way into the cab, had to be replaced.
A couple of weeks later I was in Costco, about 5 miles from the dealership, and noticed the brakes were again dragging. Back to the Ford dealer and when I arrived one of the front wheels was smoking as I drove into the service department. You could not get a hand within 2 inches of the front rim. It seems Ford had kinked one of the front brake lines during their original repair and the line was not properly replaced causing the brake line to collapse.
Ford replaced the shoes, calipers, pads and brake lines at no charge but I had to pay for the parts. Another $800.00.
I also, during one of the service visits, had the battery serviced. Or so Ford said. A month later the battery died. When I opened the hood there was a blob of corrosion about the size of my fist sitting on top of the battery. I cleaned it off and removed the battery and exchanged for another at a local parts house. This time I put on anti-corrosion and the pads. I really don’t think Ford even looked at the battery. When I when to the dealership they said they would redo the battery. Yeh, right. I would have had to have the truck towed at a cost that would have been almost as much as the battery.
The dealership says they cannot keep good people. They have had people show up for work in the morning, leave for lunch, and never come back. The dealership has to pay them for the half a day. It makes me wonder how people think that little of a job and are flush enough with cash to just walk away from the job.
The independent mechanic I am now using says almost the same thing. He cannot get people to work. He pays well and provides really good benefits. He and his son are doing most of the work and he is swamped.
We’ve been running “good enough” code for three years in our group’s part of the monkey trick.
Another group has been tasked with replacing all of the “good enough” modules in the system infrastructure, including ours, with something generated mostly by an AI in a Hot Skillz language, but they’re finding the task difficult in the face of the insane deadlines and even more insane customer asks which we’ve had to deal with for the last three years.
The other day, I heard one of the “bro” leads in the other group dismiss my work as “spaghetti”.
Whose code is shipping … bro?
I get so tired of “language lawyers”. They rarely add to the shipping product but man can they criticize the work of the people carrying the organization.
The dealership says they cannot keep good people. They have had people show up for work in the morning, leave for lunch, and never come back. The dealership has to pay them for the half a day. It makes me wonder how people think that little of a job and are flush enough with cash to just walk away from the job.
The independent mechanic I am now using says almost the same thing. He cannot get people to work. He pays well and provides really good benefits. He and his son are doing most of the work and he is swamped.
Drugs and Mom’s basement are calling them.
“Remember the Antifa/BLM riots? Looks like they may soon be back…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/remember-antifablm-riots-looks-like.html
“From a personal security point of view, with all this paid agitation going on (including organized efforts to burn down Tesla dealerships, key or otherwise damage Tesla vehicles, and so on), we can expect urban unrest (up to and including urban terrorism) to increase. The more success President Trump and Elon Musk have in breaking down progressive-left funding avenues and misappropriation of federal funds, the more stridently the latter will protest against them, and the more violent their resistance is likely to become.”
“This means we should all be considering our personal security arrangements, and those for our families and loved ones, and for our homes. I’ve written enough in these pages about firearms and security that I don’t proposed to repeat it all over again. Look in the archives, particularly the sidebar, for more information.”
“One thing I will emphasize, though, is that if we’re out and about, our weapons should be concealed and inconspicuous. The radicals are very likely to take even the sight of a firearm as intolerable provocation, and may try to rush us and take it away from us, or scream loudly and make a fuss that we’re “vigilantes” and “racists” and “troublemakers”, or simply open fire on us with their own weapons and then claim we posed a threat to them. This is not a security environment in which open carry is a good idea.”
Stay away from people. Especially crazy people.
(Until recently I only had a 9mm. PCC – a Ruger – but Smith & Wesson has just launched their new M&P FPC (Folding Pistol Carbine) series in 10mm, a much more powerful cartridge. I handled one of the first, and found it much better balanced overall than other weapons in its class that I’ve tried. I’ll be doing a full test on one soon, and I’ll let you know how I find it. It may be the best implementation of the late, great Jeff Cooper‘s “Thumper” carbine concept that we’ve yet seen, given that Cooper said on one occasion that the 10mm. round was suitable for that application.)
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/remember-antifablm-riots-looks-like.html
That is one sweet looking rifle.
A pair of 19 year old high school freshmen – read that again- 19 year old high school freshmen decided that they didn’t like something that their teacher told them and decided to ambush and beat him.
It happened in Broward county, which is one of the most left leaning counties in Florida, the site of a lot of election shenanigans. Of course it was the usual suspects, Amish Norwegian teens, in a Democrat stronghold, demonstrating that you can’t stop certain demographics from doing what they do.
https://areaocho.com/teens-7/
19 year old high school freshmen ??? Are you kidding me ?
The public stocks need to make a comeback. And canings.
“Elon Musk should purchase Harley Davidson next…”
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNGSfvZR3yH7H5pVjBDnuCxX3Aw9siDZvqAsyMsxWY3iHz4rUUOUrzj8HSKZZhhf6RmnwR0d8KTpMIAjJ8dVkoXlXLMT8AGKv7Vb-O6GsjH2sQ6vWoUpZFiTFLB91V8B2ypRNzVEHG1lLDTF2-ghpPhsyTp3etIDSXQiJ0b6Vi1uJfTuvZDsTH1nrDN8/s600/Meme%20-%20Musk%20buy%20HD.png
Hat tip to:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/memes-that-made-me-laugh-254.html
“Austin Tesla dealership bomb investigation; suspicious devices found”
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/austin-tesla-dealership-bomb-investigation-suspicious-devices-found
Oh Austin, you are way too crazy for Texas.
Let’s send all the Austin crazies to California.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Texas to become hub for world’s largest green-powered data center”
https://www.chron.com/business/article/energy-abundance-data-center-20237940.php
“It’s called Data City, Texas.”
“A Houston-based company is planning to construct a massive 50,000-acre data center hub near Laredo, Texas, dubbed “Data City, Texas.””
“The facility is set to become “the world’s largest behind-the-meter data center,” powered entirely by 100 percent green energy around the clock, according to Energy Abundance Development Corp. The project will be developed in multiple phases, starting with 300 megawatts of power and 1 million square feet of data center space in 2026, eventually expanding to 5 gigawatts of power and over 15 million square feet of leasable space.”
“Initially, the data centers will run on natural gas produced in Texas, but the company plans to transition to 100 percent green hydrogen sourced from its hydrogen salt dome storage facility in the future. This move aims to address the challenge of securing reliable, low-cost power for large-scale data centers while reducing their environmental impact.”
Also a lot of crazy.
Current text scam is people pretending to offer a (minimum wage) job from Temu….
“Holding Their Own VII: Phoenix Star” by Joe Nobody
https://www.amazon.com/Holding-Their-Own-VII-Phoenix/dp/1939473748?tag=ttgnet-20/
The seventh book in a series of nineteen alternate history books about the economic collapse of the USA in 2015 and onward. I reread the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2014 that I bought new on Amazon in 2014. I own the first eleven books in the series and am rereading the first ten before my first read of the eleventh book.
Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom was really getting cranked up. The book has crude oil at $350/barrel and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015. Not gonna happen due to oil well fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA is invalid for the book. That said, the book is a good story about the collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA. The book is centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a Texas resident.
The $6 gasoline was just the start. The unemployment rises to 40% over a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in Chicago that kills 50,000 people. The current President of the USA nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack. And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about. That shuts down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across the nation.
The accumulations of these serious problems cause widespread panics and shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities. The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at the plants. Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity.
It has been a year since the collapse and about half of the population in the USA is dead due to violence or starvation. The USA government is trying hard to hold on but the complexity of feeding the nation when the transportation networks stopped working is proving to be difficult at best.
The West Texas Alliance is strengthening and getting more and more members. The looming civil war with the USA looks more and more certain each day. Bishop, Terri, and their two month old son Hunter drive into New Mexico after Bishop is falsely accused of murdering a US Army squad of doctors. The murder of the US Army squad was actually a false flag event of the CIA.
The author has a website at:
https://www.joenobodybooks.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (526 reviews)
Lynn
“Weather balloon launch cuts: An honest look at how it should impact forecasts”
https://theeyewall.com/weather-balloon-launch-cuts-an-honest-look-at-how-it-should-impact-forecasts/
“Due to staffing constraints, as a result of recent budget cuts and retirements, the National Weather Service has announced a series of suspensions involving weather balloon launches in recent weeks.”
“On February 27, it was announced that balloon launches would be suspended entirely at Kotzebue, Alaska due to staffing shortages. In early March, Albany, NY and Gray, Maine announced periodic disruptions in launches. Since March 7th, it appears that Gray has not missed any balloon launches through Saturday. Albany, however, has missed 14 of them, all during the morning launch cycle (12z).”
The USA federal government is broke. A lot of things are going to suck.
“SpaceX Preps New Starlink Dishes, Including One for Gigabit Speeds”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-preps-new-starlink-dishes-including-one-for-gigabit-speeds
I would be happy with 100 mpbs. I just got 19 / 11 mbps at 25 ms latency here in congested Fort Bend County using:
https://speedof.me/
I just got 85/8/23 using that test on Starlink here.
Still about 5x my DSL.
Plus there’s the peace of mind knowing that robots aren’t screaming at each other through my home phone wires.
I just got 85/8/23 using that test on Starlink here.
Still about 5x my DSL.
Plus there’s the peace of mind knowing that robots aren’t screaming at each other through my home phone wires.
Oh yeah, I am getting 10X more upload over Starlink than my 12/1 mbps DSL lines. Uploading a new 180+ MB patch for my users is way better now.
Cue the circular firing squad:
ABOVE THE LAW? NY Gov. Hochul Says State Police Will Not Cooperate With ICE, Slams Counties That Do
Not another dime of Federal money to NYFS. The only way to rid our country of crimmigrants is to punish Blue States. Who would’ve thunk crimmigrants are the sword Dumbo’s will fall on.
Just for reference, I routinely achieve 200-300 Mbps down and 100-200 Mbps up with my T-Mobile hotspot. I travel with it, and just put it in a window wherever I am.
The downside is the newer versions don’t allow specifying your own DNS servers, etc… That needs to be done at the client level, or one could live with whatever T-Mobile is getting for your your website history.
“Not another dime of Federal money to NYFS. The only way to rid our country of crimmigrants is to punish Blue States. Who would’ve thunk crimmigrants are the sword Dumbo’s will fall on.”
Suspend all highway construction and law enforcement grants immediately. Drop the immigration enforcement hammer on adjacent states. Be too bad if the crimmigrants ran to NYFS and started preying on the population.
Just for reference, I routinely achieve 200-300 Mbps down and 100-200 Mbps up with my T-Mobile hotspot. I travel with it, and just put it in a window wherever I am.
The downside is the newer versions don’t allow specifying your own DNS servers, etc… That needs to be done at the client level, or one could live with whatever T-Mobile is getting for your your website history.
I have a Peplink 30 at the office that is both a triple WAN box and a NAT box. It allows reassigning any service that you want to such as primary and secondary DNS servers.
https://www.peplinkworks.com/Balance-30.asp
Central Alabama Electric Cooperative is my ISP and I just got 360MBS down and 260 MBS up.
Did the one pickup that had to be done today, and man, 460 W panels are BIG. Like 3ftx6ft big.
Got the kid from school and hit the chiropractor. There was movement in all the right places but it wasn’t an instant fix. I’m going to take some more pain meds and go back to bed.
Family is on its own for dinner tonight.
I’m going to do a generic opening post and schedule it, if I get up later I might do more but don’t worry if you just see a minimal effort.
n
You would think that Fox 7 Austin would have more important things to report this weekend.
Like how we have arrived at the halfway point in the regular session of the Texas Legislature, and the House has not passed a single bill.
the House has not passed a single bill.
– you say that like it’s a bad thing…
They should be busy repealing them.
n
The average retirement savings for my generation is $40k according to the last number I saw in a Forbes article, which is kinda scary when you consider that the oldest of us is turning 60 this year.
Most of the people I work with are clueless about the 401(k) plan which is kinda surprising since it is the only decent benefit the company offers beyond the paycheck.
I had $40K retirement savings when I was 35 and moved into management. I have been saving my entire working career. Most, not all, of my investments worked out well. But just because they are well today does not mean that they will be well tomorrow. I highly advise reading the Mandibles book to see just one scenario of what can go wrong.
https://www.amazon.com/MANDIBLES-FAMILY-2029-47_PB-171-POCHE/dp/000756077X?tag=ttgnet-20
My dad established a profit sharing plan for his primary business back in the middle 1970s. One of his employees went on an alcohol and drug binge around 1982 and passed away. The office manager called the guy’s wife about six months later (the wife had never even called the office for his effects) and asked what to do with his profit sharing share. His wife demanded the money that day. The office manager said that if she would wait a couple of months then the annual reapportioning would be done (it was a common pot) and his share would be more money. His wife demanded the money that day. The office manager gave up and told her she would call back with the information. They had a check for her the next day. Incredibly short sighted.
I have a Simple IRA for my primary business. I match dollar for dollar up to 3% (the federal max) and vest immediately into a Fidelity account that the employee owns. I put in over 10% and tell my employees that they should do the same.
“This Canadian with a possible brain tumor just reminded us why socialized medicine is an absolute nightmare”
https://notthebee.com/article/this-canadian-woman-with-a-possible-brain-tumor-just-reminded-us-why-socialized-medicine-is-an-absolute-nightmare/
She will get an MRI in January of 2026 ? That is criminal. Oh wait, it is “free” heath care.
I’m going to do a generic opening post and schedule it, if I get up later I might do more but don’t worry if you just see a minimal effort.
Dude, I would be pleased with just a new date. Anything else is icing.
If you don’t feel like doing it then I can throw something up there when I get my lazy butt out of bed around noon.
“The Agony of John Roberts” by Kurt Schlichter
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2025/03/24/the-agony-of-john-roberts-n2654296
“Pity poor John Roberts. No, he’s not corrupt or compromised. He is simply a man who has found himself at a pivotal time and place in a position of great responsibility for which he is utterly unsuited. He’s not a dumb man. He is, in fact, a very smart man – Hugh Hewitt knew him personally in the Reagan administration and testifies to that. I have no doubt it’s true. I know many smart people who have similar flaws. As objectively intelligent as John Roberts is, he is unwise, and he is endangering the institution he wants to preserve because he does not understand human nature or the times he finds himself in.”
“But John Roberts better understands that if it comes to obeying the courts or neutering the executive branch and defying the will of the people, as expressed in the last election, the courts are going to lose. They don’t have any cops. They don’t have any Army divisions. All they have is their respect, and John Roberts’s underlings are busy squandering it.”
“Sadly, so far, John Roberts has shown no indication that he is wise enough to put a stop to this runaway train of out-of-control judicial election interference. He believes he’s acting to protect the judicial branch. He is not. His George Costanza-like gut instinct is always wrong. He would be better off interrogating his gut and then doing precisely the opposite.”
Kurt Schlichter books are awesome, highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1539018954?tag=ttgnet-20
Interesting. My last employer matched 100% of my contributions up to a maximum of 6% of my salary. The organization was considered tax exempt educational, state and federal level, if that makes a difference.
Interesting. My last employer matched 100% of my contributions up to a maximum of 6% of my salary. The organization was considered tax exempt educational, state and federal level, if that makes a difference.
That is a regular 401K. Those are expensive to administer and there is much liability with them. I chose a Simple IRA a long time ago since it only costs my business $200 per year to host with Fidelity. They now have a Simple 401K but it looks like a Simple IRA to me with a maximum of a 3% match. If it had a 6% match, I would move to it.
I regret not doing a Roth IRA when we qualified.
If your employees are not going to contribute more than what you match, a Roth is another option worth considering.
Tylenol wore off, I woke up.
Had a snack, feel bit better. The adjustment worked. I hope to have a mostly normal day tomorrow. Well, normal as can be with whatever pain remains. No lifting stuff for a couple more days.
Took my next dose and now it’s back to bed.
n
>>“Sadly, so far, John Roberts has shown no indication that he is wise enough to put a stop to this runaway train of out-of-control judicial election interference. He believes he’s acting to protect the judicial branch. He is not. His George Costanza-like gut instinct is always wrong. He would be better off interrogating his gut and then doing precisely the opposite.”
Also known as the “do the opposite of Jim Cramer” investing method.