Tues. Mar. 25, 2025 – nothing but filler today

By on March 25th, 2025 in cooking/baking, culture, personal

Probably still cool and clear. Despite the forecast for possible rain, yesterday was sunny and clear by noon. It even dried out some. Today should be similar.

I was really hurting yesterday, so I took some meds and went back to sleep. Got up in the afternoon, did my auction stuff, and my kid taxi stuff. Went by the chiropractor, got adjusted, and felt better, but came home and went back to bed.

Today I either feel better, in which case I’ll go to school with D2 and do some audio or lighting stuff, or I go back to bed after taking more meds. We’ll see what happens.

Grid up, meds and treatment available. So I’m using them.

Stack some alternatives, just in case. You’re unlikely to regret it.

n

72 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Mar. 25, 2025 – nothing but filler today"

  1. brad says:

    Chaotic week with a lot of one-off stuff. Complicated vet appointment. Make-up exams. One-off meetings. Not really that much work, but somehow keeping track of it all is a mental load.

    Today, I get a couple of hours of student presentations, followed by an unknown amount of time for make-up exams. Allowed, because they were (conveniently) sick on precisely the days of the exams.Unknown amount of time, because some kids missed two (out of two) exams, so if they show up, then they have to make up both of them. Two hours per exam, so I may be sitting around for four hours after class. Of course, those students may also just not show up…

  2. Greg Norton says:

    >>“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.

    Roberts has a consistent philosophy of protecting the Court from another Robert Bork/Clarence Thomas media circus nomination process.

    Kavanaugh’s nomination process was bad, but the RINOs let it get that way. No one wanted to really get into the credibility of Christine Blasey Ford because the “That could be my daughter/grand-daughter!” works on white Republican men.

    Even the slightest hesitation helps Dems.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    Up and moving.  Trying to decide on my level of activity for today.

    I’m supposed to go into school for my volunteer stuff.   There are a couple of things that need to happen so they can rehearse.

    My client has a couple of new issues as well as the TV swap.

    I think I’ll go to school as that shouldn’t be too physical.   Then see how I feel.

    ————

    55Fand the ground is dry.    Can’t really tell what the sky looks like yet.

    n

  4. Ray Thompson says:

    I regret not doing a Roth IRA when we qualified.

    I am in the same boat. I have a couple of IRA’s that are going to face significant tax issues in the next couple of years. The boatload of anal discharge that I was sold by the government when I got the IRA’s did not help. The myth that a person would pay less in taxes in their “golden years” is just not working out that way. I am now facing taxes on the principle and the interest where with the Roth I would only have paid taxes on what I placed in the Roth.

    With the changes in the IRS rules I am paying more in taxes now than I was when I was working. I had a mortgage which was deductible, which the IRS has removed. No matter as I don’t have a mortgage. I now have more interest income and the IRS, or rather congress, thought it was a good thing to now tax my Social Security income.

    And it is tax season. I already have done all mine and have the refund.

    I know of several people that use H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt to do their taxes and get that instant refund. The people pay these companies $200+ for simple taxes. A couple of W-2’s, a 1099 or two, and that is all they have. That $200 for the instant refund is an expensive advance on the refund.

    These people use these services for two reasons, well maybe three. One is that they are so afraid of the IRS and getting their taxes wrong so they use these services. Second is the unreasonable desire to get the refund money 7 days earlier. Third is these people are generally incompetent with money and have no concept of how the tax system works.

    Then there is that lady, with two kids, not married but living with a fella, on food stamps and welfare, who paid nothing into the system, that gets a $8K “refund”. That was not a refund as nothing was paid to the IRS. That is a massive welfare check from the government taxpayers. Her next adventure is applying for SSI because she hurt her back while working at food city while lifting a box of Cheerios. A job she only had for two weeks. And she brags about it. And schooling her kids in the same scam operation. Someone needs to knock the remaining 5 teeth from her mouth.

  5. drwilliams says:

    Columbia Students Return—Looks Like Compliance WasLipService 

    https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2025/03/24/columbia-students-return-to-a-changed-university-n3801112

    Wait until Wed, then announce the first $400 million is gone, never to come back, and the second $400 million has been withdrawn. 

    If I were chairing a STEM department, I would call a meeting and ask for a mandate to open discussions with other institutions about moving the whole department.  

  6. Greg Norton says:

    I know of several people that use H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt to do their taxes and get that instant refund. The people pay these companies $200+ for simple taxes. A couple of W-2’s, a 1099 or two, and that is all they have. That $200 for the instant refund is an expensive advance on the refund.

    I‘ve never used a service. Is he fee collected via a credit card.

    A lot of people don’t seem to “feel” credit card transactions until they get in too deep to meet the monthly nut. Then they wonder where that huge balance came from.

  7. Ray Thompson says:

    Is he fee collected via a credit card

    There are several ways. Some just have the fee taken from the refund. The “instant refund” is actually money from the tax preparer. The actual refund is paid to the preparer’s bank account. In my way of thinking it is a scam based on fear of the IRS and instant gratification.

    Some car dealers will prepare the return and use the refund as a down payment. Generally putting the buyer immediately under water on the loan.

  8. Ray Thompson says:

    people don’t seem to “feel” credit card transactions until they get in too deep to meet the monthly nut

    Been there, done that. I made a commitment to never let that happen again. The stress on finances and personal well being is enormous. 

  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    Home for lunch.   Stuff got done at school.   Back is a bit looser, and I hit the chiropractor on the way home.

    Gotta do some errands, then kid taxi service…

    n

  10. Lynn says:

    I regret not doing a Roth IRA when we qualified.

    I am in the same boat. I have a couple of IRA’s that are going to face significant tax issues in the next couple of years. The boatload of anal discharge that I was sold by the government when I got the IRA’s did not help. The myth that a person would pay less in taxes in their “golden years” is just not working out that way. I am now facing taxes on the principle and the interest where with the Roth I would only have paid taxes on what I placed in the Roth.

    With the changes in the IRS rules I am paying more in taxes now than I was when I was working. I had a mortgage which was deductible, which the IRS has removed. No matter as I don’t have a mortgage. I now have more interest income and the IRS, or rather congress, thought it was a good thing to now tax my Social Security income.

    Tax infested investments.  Me too.

    One of the Sunday radio financial guys around here has been sounding the alert for over a year about paying more income taxes in retirement than in our working lives.  His solution is to start taking out funds from your IRAs the minute you hit 59.5 years of age.

    My wife is RMD’d on a $150K IRA that she inherited from her dad so we have been taking it all out and will finish this year. We spent it all ! Actually, we paid off the mortgage on the office complex.

  11. Lynn says:

    “Boeing wants Trump to resolve its biggest legal problem”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-wants-trump-to-resolve-its-biggest-legal-problem-130751500.html

    “Boeing (BA) wants President Trump to let it out of a guilty criminal plea agreement the jet maker reached with the Biden administration, according to a report.”

    “The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Boeing is pushing Trump’s new Justice Department officials to allow it to withdraw that 2024 plea, in which it admitted that its workers conspired to defraud aviation regulators.”

    “Avoiding a criminal conviction would be a major victory for the company that could allow it to avoid compounded headwinds as it tries to show progress on several fronts more than one year after a door plug blew off a Boeing-made Alaska Airlines (ALK) 737 Max 9 jet.”

    “Criminal convictions can foreclose or suspend a company’s right to contract with the federal government and frustrate its ability to secure loans, according to Eddie Jauregui, a white-collar defense attorney with Holland & Knight and former federal prosecutor.”

    This is a real quandary.

    On one hand, we desperately need Boeing to design and build advanced aircraft for us.  On the other hand, they have let their quality slip on purpose as a cost cutting move.

  12. Lynn says:

    “Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett calls Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels””

        https://notthebee.com/article/texas-rep-jasmine-crockett-calls-greg-abbott-governor-hot-wheels-in-low-blow-of-all-low-blows/

    This woman is sick in the head.  She needs to go for some mental counseling.

    Hat tip to:

        https://thelibertydaily.com/

  13. drwilliams says:

    A Third Of All DC District Judges Were Not Born In United States [5 of 15]

    former President Barack Obama appointed Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan, born in Kingston, Jamaica. She was in the U.S. by 1979, attending George Washington University. Before sitting on federal court, she had no experience as a judge.

    Obama also appointed Judge Amit P. Mehta  to the D.C. court. Mehta also had no previous  experience as a judge. Mehta was born in Patan, Gujarat, India. He and his parents came to the U.S. when he was a baby, age one. He was raised in Maryland.

    Judge Ana Cecilia Reyes was nominated in 2021, also with no prior experience as a judge. She was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and moved to Spain, and while still a child, moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she grew up. She is the first openly LGBT Latina to be appointed to this court.

    The first Muslim and Arab American in the D.C. district court, Judge Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali was born and raised in Canada to Egyptian parents. [NB: Also no experience as a judge]

    Before slinking out of office, Biden and his handlers got Judge Sparkle Sooknanan confirmed. She was sworn in Jan. 2, 2025. Born in the dual-island nation Trinidad and Tobago in 1983 [NB: Also no experience as a judge]

    https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/25/a-third-of-all-dc-district-judges-were-not-born-in-united-states/

    Prima facie evidence of DEI, and all have demonstrated a thorough lack of constitutional knowledge.

    Let’s just impeach them as a lot and toss in Thomas as a chaser.

    6
    1
  14. Lynn says:

    Pearls Before Swine: Gulf Of America

        https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2025/03/25

    Oh Rat !

  15. Lynn says:

    “A tragedy leads to a safety recommendation”

        https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-tragedy-leads-to-safety-recommendation.html

    “I heard some terrible news yesterday.  A friend and his wife had a daughter in her late teens or early 20’s, I don’t recall exactly which.  She was severely asthmatic, and had been so from an early age.  They were driving through Arizona and New Mexico, heading for Texas, when they encountered a very heavy dust storm, which reduced visibility so much that they had to stop on the roadside.  Unfortunately there was also a brush fire in the area, driven by the fierce winds of the dust storm.  To make matters worse, their vehicle’s ventilation system malfunctioned, letting in the smoke and dust.  The combination caused their daughter to suffer an asthma attack.  They tried to call for help, but the poor visibility and road conditions prevented any from reaching them before their daughter went into cardiac arrest.”

    Wow.

  16. Lynn says:

    Let’s just impeach them as a lot and toss in Thomas as a chaser.

    Clarence Thomas ???  Hopefully not.

  17. Lynn says:

    ” Netflix announces it is adding HDR10+ support for videos”

        https://thestreamable.com/netflix-adding-hdr10-plus-support

    “Customers with HDR10+-compatible devices can now watch Netflix in greater detail than ever.”

    Uh, I guess.

  18. drwilliams says:

    Roberts. 

    I’d chip in the clone Thomas a new body.

  19. Lynn says:

    “Federal Judge Blocks Voter ID Requirement for Texas Mail Ballots”

        https://texasscorecard.com/state/federal-judge-blocks-voter-id-requirement-for-texas-mail-ballots/

    “Judge Xavier Rodriguez has ruled against several provisions of a comprehensive election integrity measure enacted in 2021.”

    “The voter ID requirement will remain in effect for the upcoming May elections. Federal court precedent prescribes that voting rules should not be changed close to an election.”

    Get ready for some mail in ballot scams in Texas if this fake judge is not overturned.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    “Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett calls Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels””

        https://notthebee.com/article/texas-rep-jasmine-crockett-calls-greg-abbott-governor-hot-wheels-in-low-blow-of-all-low-blows/

    This woman is sick in the head.  She needs to go for some mental counseling.

    I still occasionally see “Stand With Wendy” bumper stickers while driving around Austin, leftovers From the 2014 election for Governor in Texas.

    The Davis campaign claimed the stickers were a ”mistake”, but c’mon.

    Nasty woman. Abortion Barbie.

  21. MrAtoz says:

    Get ready for some mail in ballot scams in Texas if this fake judge is not overturned.

    What? Was this judge sitting on his thumb for four years? SCOTUS better get cracking or the gallows will be outside THEIR courthouse. Activist judge who wants illegals to vote probably.

  22. MrAtoz says:

    Tax infested investments.  Me too.

    tRump should wave his hand and issue an EO “no tax on ANY retirement account including SS.”

    Pay into SS your whole working life for a retirment and get taxed on it.

    Save in an IRA your whole life and get double taxed on it.

    The Ghost of Bernie Madoff is laughing at us.

  23. Ray Thompson says:

    Pay into SS your whole working life for a retirment and get taxed on it.

    SS contributions are deducted before payroll taxes are calculated. Technically the money has not been taxed.

    Save in an IRA your whole life and get double taxed on it.

    Money placed in an IRA is not taxed until it is withdrawn. When the money is withdrawn it is not double taxed.

  24. Lynn says:

    “BIG BREAKING: 9th Circuit just gave President Trump huge a victory in refugee admissions case”

       https://therightscoop.com/big-breaking-9th-circuit-just-gave-president-trump-huge-a-victory-in-refugee-admissions-case/

    “The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just blocked an order by a lower court judge that would have forced President Trump to restart refugee admissions, allowing Trump to continue with his pause on refugee admissions.”

    The ninth circus has cleaned up its act.

  25. MrAtoz says:

    Money placed in an IRA is not taxed until it is withdrawn. When the money is withdrawn it is not double taxed.

    You are taxed on the money you make to put in it.

  26. lpdbw says:

    You are taxed on the money you make to put in it.

    You need to fire your tax advisor/preparer.

  27. MrAtoz says:

    SS contributions are deducted before payroll taxes are calculated. Technically the money has not been taxed.

    I meant when you get it. If you aren’t taxed on it, you is poor.

    My pension is taxed and is high enough to break the SS ceiling.

    Military pensions shouldn’t be taxed, either. I want all that money to live on.

  28. MrAtoz says:

    Get rid of Federal income tax, too.

  29. Alan says:

    DOGE, DOGE, DOGE…

    ‘Over 1 Million’ People Wanted a Cybertruck. Where Are They?

    Grandiose predictions excite Tesla bulls who believe him when Musk says, “I know more about manufacturing than anyone currently alive on Earth,” but back in the real world Musk is in charge of a car manufacturing company that can’t even spec the correct grade of panel glue.

  30. Lynn says:

    Hey lpdbw, when you are counting sugars, do you include honey ?  Like honey roasted peanuts ?

  31. Lynn says:

    Get rid of Federal income tax, too.

    There you go.  Or reduce it to 10% for everyone and make that a Constitutional amendment.

    I read the other day that the people who wrote the federal income tax constitutional amendment were going to limit it to 3% but they all said that no Congress would ever raise it that much.
    https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-16/

  32. Lynn says:

    DOGE, DOGE, DOGE…

    ‘Over 1 Million’ People Wanted a Cybertruck. Where Are They?

    Grandiose predictions excite Tesla bulls who believe him when Musk says, “I know more about manufacturing than anyone currently alive on Earth,” but back in the real world Musk is in charge of a car manufacturing company that can’t even spec the correct grade of panel glue.

    Elon knows that number well, all those people gave Tesla $100 for a reservation.  After he released such a goofball vehicle, a lot of them backed out.  Like my father.

  33. MrAtoz says:

    You need to fire your tax advisor/preparer.

    I haven’t been under the floor for 34+ years. Basically my whole savings life.

    Pro Tip: Don’t marry a wife who makes tons off of goobermint cash.

  34. lpdbw says:

    Hey lpdbw, when you are counting sugars, do you include honey ?  Like honey roasted peanuts ?

    I count carbs, not just sugars.

    Read the label.  For honey, treat it like the equivalent weight of pure sugar, and you won’t go wrong.  There are people who assign some magical properties to honey, but I’ll stick with chemistry.

    Some keto dieters look at labels and only count “net” carbs.  That’s the total carbs minus the fiber content.

    Serious keto dieters count all carbs, in all forms, including indigestible fiber.  I split the difference:  I don’t count non-starchy veggies at all (broccoli, cauliflower, letuce, cabbage) but if it comes in a package, I count it. Don’t expect me to be consistant; I’m a human being.

    Peanuts are legumes, just like beans.  Legumes are a problem if you’re cutting carbs.  Honey just makes it worse.

    Having said all that, I eat peanuts, pistachios, and dairy.  I try to keep my carb count below 50, but I have occasional cheat days.  

    I also have stalled my weight loss for months now.  Something needs to change.  I still need to lose between 20 and 50 pounds. 20 for a personal adult low weight; 50 gets me to the ideal BMI or ideal height/weight chart line, which I’ve never seen in my lifetime.  I am considering one or more of:  fasting, sardine challenges, pure carnivore, cutting out dairy altogether.

    Knowing what to do, and doing it, are two different things.

    My ex-wife, XW1, was a Weight Watchers leader (ironic, I know), and one of her favorite stories goes like this:

    Three turtles are sitting on a log, and one decides to jump off into the water.  

    Question:  How many turtles are sitting on the log?

    Answer:  Three turtles.  Deciding to do something, and doing it, are two different things.

    Weight Watchers appears to be in the GLP-1 business these days, from a cursory reading of news items.

  35. Lynn says:

    Weight Watchers appears to be in the GLP-1 business these days, from a cursory reading of news items.

    Everyone except SOTA seems to be getting into the GLP-1 business.

        https://www.sotaweightloss.com/

    I considered SOTA before I decided to go to salads for lunch and dinner four days a week.  But I am doing ok for now.  I am down 15 lbs since last Nov 1, 248 lbs as of last Saturday.  I am back into my 17.5 inch neck oxford shirts which I was going to have to get rid of.

  36. Lynn says:

    I also have stalled my weight loss for months now.  Something needs to change.  I still need to lose between 20 and 50 pounds. 20 for a personal adult low weight; 50 gets me to the ideal BMI or ideal height/weight chart line, which I’ve never seen in my lifetime.  I am considering one or more of:  fasting, sardine challenges, pure carnivore, cutting out dairy altogether.

    I got down to 205 lbs in college when I was jogging 10 to 15 miles a week and working out with the TAMU football team.  That is a BMI of 27.0 for me.  A 36 inch waist, 34 inch inseam jeans.  17 inch guns.  Able to bench press 330 lbs, squat 560 lbs a dozen times each.  So to me, BMI does not matter to me.  I would love to have the 36 inch waist again though, I am back to a 40 inch waist for now.

    My middle brother snacks on sardines. He is up to 190 lbs. But he has a medium frame, not my XL frame.

  37. Lynn says:

    Dadgumit, summer is on the way.  It is 93 F out there.  It was 90 F yesterday, 83 F when we walked our two miles at 7 pm.

  38. Lynn says:

    “7 Changes Congress Should Make Before Restoring D.C.’s Bloated Billion Dollars in Funding”

        https://thelibertydaily.com/7-changes-congress-should-make-before-restoring-d/

    Tell me why again why the feddies are supporting DC ?

    A city where 95% of the people vote dimocrat ?

  39. MrAtoz says:

    I’m still in Vegas. I was going to finish up the house in SA, then some of those sweet, sweet, goobermint cash gigs came up and MrsAtoz and the Twins hit the road.

    I thought I’d work on getting ebooks deDRM’d and off a Kindle now that Amazon won’t let you download and transfer by USB. Then I remembered I didn’t bring a Kindle with me. I have a basic Kindle and an Oasis, both 2022 editions.

    I bookmarked and was reading a post in a mobilereader forum on how to use the Kindle app to download any Kindle book, then find it, drop into Calibre to remove the DRM. This doesn’t work on a Mac since the app sucks. So off to Windows land.

    I traded my MacBook for a M4 Mac Mini Pro and travel with that, using my iPad pro for a monitor and a small BT keyboard/trackpad.***

    I have Parallels on the Mini, fired it up, downloaded a W11 ISO, and installed it on an attached M2 drive. No problem, but it is the ARM version, so I was not sure what would work. I installed Calibre and it ran fine. The post has links to a Kindle For Windows 2.X version you should use. The latest KFW app is bolluxed by Amazon and won’t let you download and extract the azw file. The post also has links to the latest deDRM plugin in and KFX in plugin, which are required. There is also a link to a bat file someone created that keeps the KFW app from updating. Apparently, Amazon will update it even if you deselect updates. I got all that installed. The hardest part was activating the KFW app with my Amazon account. There were three different “prove you are you” captcha’s, a 2FA code, and your credentials. Make one mistake and you have to start again. I finally got KFW registered and my Kindle covers all showed up. I picked a recent book, downloaded it, found the azw file, dropped it into Calibre, and it worked.

    So, I bought four Kindle books I was holding off on and ran them through the process and all were deDRM’d I use Parallels in continuity mode, so there is a shared downloads folder between W11 and the Mac. I exported the epubs to there and closed W11. I fired up Calibre for Mac (using Tailscale to mount my NAS in SA) and imorted the books into my master Calibre library. Connected the new Boox Color and Bob’s your Uncle. It sounds complicated, but I’m familiar with Calibre. The biggest problem was getting KFW activated.

    A YouTuber, How To Do Stuff, made a summary video on how to do this, with links to everything you need. Digging it all out of the mobilereader forum takes a while. I found this link while searching and it is a lot more convenient. A good, clear instruction video.

    Best Way to Remove DRM from Amazon Books in 2025 (Method 1/2)

    The same guy has a follow on video for getting books off of older Kindles, but I don’t have mine with me. Amazon is trying to cripple new Kindles so you can’t extract books. Probably some new hardware/software DRM.

    ***I have an HDMI IN USB C dongle and free software that lets me connect the iPad directly to the Mac. That works good. I also have Jump software and can connect over the net. I use this if I’m on a home network.

  40. Greg Norton says:

    Elon knows that number well, all those people gave Tesla $100 for a reservation.  After he released such a goofball vehicle, a lot of them backed out.  Like my father.

    The sheeple gave Tesla $100 for a reservation on a $40,000 truck before a $7,000 tax credit.

    Even if the Jesus Truck was the second coming of the Pontiac Aztek – a much better vehicle mechanically BTW – a $33,000 half ton class pickup was something worth gambing $100 on.

    Besides, it was free money from the government behind most of the reservations. What the heck!

    $40,000 was not a number arrived at by accident, as I’ve explained before.

  41. Greg Norton says:

    “The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just blocked an order by a lower court judge that would have forced President Trump to restart refugee admissions, allowing Trump to continue with his pause on refugee admissions.”

    The ninth circus has cleaned up its act.

    Sure.

    Hermione Granger Kagan has responsibility for the Ninth. The next stop will be her desk.

  42. Nick Flandrey says:

    Did my pickup and kid ferry duty.

    Lots of heavy traffic today.

    Time to get some sort of dinner cooking…  

    dang kids, want to eat every day.

    n

  43. drwilliams says:

    Trump Signs Executive Order to Secure Elections, Including Proof of Citizenship

    It has the following provision:

    • Requires documentary, government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship on its voter registration forms.
    • Conditions federal election-related funds on states complying with the integrity measures set forth by Federal law.
    • Directs the updating of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 and security standards for voting equipment — which includes requiring a voter-verifiable paper ballot record and not using ballots in which the counted vote is contained within a barcode or QR code.
    • Directs the Attorney General to enter into information-sharing agreements with state election officials to identify cases of election fraud or other election law violations.
    • Takes appropriate action against states that count ballots received after Election Day in Federal elections.
    • Revokes Biden Executive Order 14019, which turned Federal agencies into Democratic voter turnout centers.

    Looks like federal judge in Texas just got overruled.

  44. Greg Norton says:

    Even if the Jesus Truck was the second coming of the Pontiac Aztek – a much better vehicle mechanically BTW – a $33,000 half ton class pickup was something worth gambing $100 on.

    With lots of interior space, a standard V6, and simple, reliable, four speed transmission, GM could sell a ton of Azteks for $30k these days.

    The big problem with the vehicle IMHO was the association with Richard Hatch as one of the prizes he won at the end of the first season of “Survivor”.

  45. Greg Norton says:

    Directs the updating of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 and security standards for voting equipment — which includes requiring a voter-verifiable paper ballot record and not using ballots in which the counted vote is contained within a barcode or QR code.

    The polling places in our county use the barcode encoded vote.

    Bring back Vote-o-matic.

  46. Greg Norton says:

    Today’s Cutie Pie obvious plant caller was talking up how her son wanted to do something to help Elon Musk so he bought TSLA shares.

    Buy the dip, sheeple! Retail is 50% of outstanding shares and climbing.

    Hannity’s gone full shill for Elon.

  47. Nick Flandrey says:

    Dirty Brown Snow – not doing well in theaters;

    As far as figures go, the film opened at the box office with $87 million worldwide, with top brass at Disney now evaluating what went wrong. 

    Originally given the green light with a budget of $210 million, execs at Disney were left underwhelmed by the first cut and ordered reshoots. 

    In doing so, the budget soared to $270 million which didn’t even include their marketing campaign. 

    The figures place the film below Disney’s Little Mermaid remake, which premiered in 2023 and made $95 million during opening. 

    Disney’s 2019 Dumbo remake made $2.6 million in previews and profited a total of $45 million on opening weekend. 

    However, Dumbo only required $170 million to make, while Snow White cost over $250 million, excluding marketing costs. 

    n

  48. dkreck says:

    With lots of interior space, a standard V6, and simple, reliable, four speed transmission, GM could sell a ton of Azteks for $30k these days.

    The big problem with the vehicle IMHO was the association with Richard Hatch as one of the prizes he won at the end of the first season of “Survivor”.

    No. Ugly. Like the Chevy Avalanche or Honda Element.

    course Hatch didn’t help.

  49. MrAtoz says:

    In doing so, the budget soared to $270 million which didn’t even include their marketing campaign. 

    If they would have hired seven little people to play the dwarves, they could have saved $100 million, and, given a nice paycheck to the actors.

    There are plenty of reviews on YT and the CGI dwarves are fugly and the animation is clumsy looking. I guess they had to get a bunch of lower continent artists and scraped the bottom of the barrel.

  50. Greg Norton says:

    Disney’s 2019 Dumbo remake made $2.6 million in previews and profited a total of $45 million on opening weekend. 

    However, Dumbo only required $170 million to make, while Snow White cost over $250 million, excluding marketing costs. 

    “Dumbo” was a Tim Burton flick. His fans were going to go out of curiosity.

    Burton had a long creative dry spell from “Dark Shadows” until Warner greenlit “Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice”.

  51. MrAtoz says:

    If they would have hired seven little people to play the dwarves, they could have saved $100 million, and, given a nice paycheck to the actors.

    Famous dwarf, Peter Dinklage, has said the dwarves in Snow White are f*cking backward and they should be axed. The majority of other little people actors have told him to suck it. He made his millions playing dwarf characters, why shouldn’t they. I don’t think Dinklage was hired for GOT for his “acting” ability. Or Elf. Or Thor. Or… He comes across as kind of a dick in real life.

  52. drwilliams says:

    No. Butt-Ugly. Like the Chevy Avalanche or Honda Element.

    FIFY

  53. drwilliams says:

    Watch: JD Vance Gets the Last Laugh As He Announces He’ll Join Wife Usha on Visit to Greenland

    Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede piled on by calling the visit “a big mess” and stating emphatically that he would not be meeting with the second lady.

    https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/03/25/watch-jd-vance-laughs-off-criticism-decides-to-join-wife-usha-on-visit-to-greenland-n2187088

    Vance decided to go after Trump told him he wouldn’t have to meet with their dick PM.

  54. drwilliams says:

    Maxine Waters Pushes for Melania Trump’s Deportation Despite Her Legal U.S. Citizenship

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/03/25/maxine-waters-wants-to-deport-melania-trump-n2654484

    How about we give Slash Mouth and her whole grifting family one-way $100 each and one-way tickets back to their ancestral homeland as “reparations”.

    With a little research we could probably put them right into the hands of the descendants of the Arab slavers that sold them to the boat.

  55. drwilliams says:

    Best New Name for ‘Trans Women’: The Unbobbed

  56. Ray Thompson says:

    You are taxed on the money you make to put in it.

    SS is taxed to a maximum of 80%, the level depending on the amount of money that is made. IRA contributions are a credit on the tax form of the taxable income, thus making such donations tax exempt, until such time as the money is withdrawn.

    I managed three years with taxable income that was below the SS taxable income limit of $25K. I was living off savings and contributing to an IRA to reduce the taxable income. I played the IRS game

    The truck is in the shop. There is an oil leak on the right valve cover. There is an air pump of some kind that is leaking oil and needs to be replaced. All four brake rotors need replaced as they have been machined down to the service limit. The pads are OK and will be deglazed. The leaking air pump is a known problem by Ford and is not considered a safety issue so no recall.

    I am really ticked at the Ford dealership. Ford said they replaced the rotors when I had the brakes worked on. Twice, to the tune of $2800. Yet it turns out all that Ford did was machine the rotors. Since it has been three years since the dealership forked up, there is nothing I can do to go after the dealership. It is just a urinating contest at the point. Ford has a bigger pee-pee.

    Another $1800 bill for repairs. It will take two days as some of that time is waiting for parts (I think it is the air pump). Yes, I trust the current mechanic.

  57. MrAtoz says:

    Geez:

    Federal Judge Rules That Trump Administration Must Continue Funding Voice of America

    Another unConstitutional ruling. tRump must have some tactic up his sleeve. Waiting for Roberts to act will be four years of getting little done. A comment said fund it at 1$. Each employee would get a penny. 

    Why would we fund a US propaganda station designed for WWII? Cut, hack, cashier all this shite.

    I bet VOA only broadcasts/reports on ORANGE MAN BAD and Dumbo’s good. To who?

  58. MrAtoz says:

    IRA contributions are a credit on the tax form of the taxable income, thus making such donations tax exempt, until such time as the money is withdrawn.

    See my above post on about not being below the floor for most of my investing career for IRA credits.

  59. drwilliams says:

    “I am really ticked at the Ford dealership. Ford said they replaced the rotors when I had the brakes worked on. Twice, to the tune of $2800. Yet it turns out all that Ford did was machine the rotors. Since it has been three years since the dealership forked up, there is nothing I can do to go after the dealership. It is just a urinating contest at the point. Ford has a bigger pee-pee.”

    It’s not the size of the pee-pee, it’s how loud a noise they think they can ignore.

    If the paperwork from the repairs states new rotors were installed, make the complaint to the Ford District Manager.

    Document the fraud to the state AG.

    Start asking around to find other people who have been scammed–you know you’re not the only one. Find two and ask the AG if he wants to take the case or if he prefers a private class action.

    And in future always, always, always get your old parts.

  60. drwilliams says:

    Anyone want to start a new website?

    Keep track of Trump’s days off, weekends at the beach, and naps, compared to FJB’s at this point in his “presidency”.

  61. MrAtoz says:

    When I look back at how much I could put in annually to my IRA, my investments have really performed. That is after my original Fidelity Mutual fund was going nowhere, the investment manager did nothing, so I fired him, took all the money out and found an independent financial advisor. 5 figures invested gave me 7 figures out.

    Anybody can do this. Find a good advisor. Put in the max each year. You can be comfortable in your golden years. 

  62. Lynn says:

    The truck is in the shop. There is an oil leak on the right valve cover. There is an air pump of some kind that is leaking oil and needs to be replaced. All four brake rotors need replaced as they have been machined down to the service limit. The pads are OK and will be deglazed. The leaking air pump is a known problem by Ford and is not considered a safety issue so no recall.

    How many miles on it ?

  63. MrAtoz says:

    Speaking of car repairs:

    The Subie needed new shoes. I went to a nearby Tire Works to check out prices. Reasonable with a good warranty. They put the Subie on a rack to inspect everything (one of those 18 point free checks) and I bought four tires on a Friday. They came in Saturday and waited in the lounge for the install. About 45 minutes later, the tech comes in “gee your rear brakes are shot and your rear struts are leaking and the coils are bad. We can replace all that for $2,100 over two days.” You have to be kidding me. The classic upsell scam. They didn’t find that during their 18 point inspection? I said no, I always have Subaru do stuff like that. Twenty minutes later, the manager comes in to try and sell me again. His reasoning: the car is unsafe and their mechanics, warranty, and prices are better than Subaru. I said no again and walked out into the viewing area until the car was done. The tech then tried to sell me an oil change. I get free oil changes at Subaru for life. No, thanks. Walking out, the “boss” says I can still come back and get the work done at the quoted price.

    Since MrsAtoz was heading out soon on the gigs, I scheduled an oil change at Subaru. I asked them to check the brakes and shocks, showed them Tire Works quote and safety write up so they could check. Brakes are good to go for another 5K. They wiped down and checked the shocks and springs. No leaks, just dirty. The Subie tech said they lied to me and I agree.

    There was a young gal waiting longer than me at Tire Works. I wonder what they sold her.

    Tire Works has fair prices on tires, tire repair is free, good warranty on tires, everything else is pirating.

  64. MrAtoz says:

    LMAO:

    It’s OVER: Tulsi Gabbard Says Climate Change Is NOT a Threat and Democrat Angus King Can’t Deal

    Since Climate Change isn’t on the National Security list anymore, there will be no green electric main battle tanks or fighter jets using old cooking oil for fuel.

    The Dumbo’s have no end to their grift. And many Redumblicans, especially RINOs.

  65. drwilliams says:

    more b.s. from the Warminista’s

    Climate skeptics have new favorite graph; it shows the opposite of what they claim

    https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/climate-skeptics-have-new-favorite

    Several things to note:

    First, note that the present geological period is shown as the lowest CO2 and coldest the planet has been in half a billion years. Hve they been honest about that?

    Second, there were no thermometers or CO2 meters for any but the last 100 years or so, meaning that all of the plotted data are due to “proxy” measurements. They do not have the dating accuracy or the global coverage to yield the sharp inflection points or the error ranges shown. 

    Third, notice anything about the Fig 4a graph? Note that the upper graph (T) has a linear y-axis, but the lower graph (CO2 ppmv) is log.  Rescale that lower graph and add some grid lines in both directions. Those peaks and valleys don’t line up that well, much less the stated “lock step”.

    Fourth, we have much better dating accuracy for recent glaciation in the Quaternary Period (aka Age of Glaciers) and one of the many chicken bones that sticks in the throats of the Global Warming Zealots is that increases in CO2 lag temperature increases by about 800 years, making the former not very likely to be a drive of the latter.

  66. Ray Thompson says:

    How many miles on it ?

    140K.

  67. Ray Thompson says:

    not being below the floor for most of my investing career for IRA credits

    What is this ”floor” of which you speak? Those of us just above the poverty basement have no knowledge of such lofty levels.

  68. Ray Thompson says:

    The Subie tech said they lied to me and I agree.

    Finding a good honest auto mechanic is difficult. I have been pleased with the Toyota dealership I use. The mechanic for my truck is honest and does good work.  I pay more for honesty and integrity. 

  69. EdH says:

    Trying the Brave browser on the iPad.   

    So far it seems to be blocking, without messing with extensions, a number of popups that Safari lets through.

  70. Nick Flandrey says:

    Whew, made it thru the day.   I’m going to bed.

    Plenty to do tomorrow too.

    n

  71. Nick Flandrey says:

    Whole bunch of “died suddenly” on the front page of the DM today.    And two of this month’s featured “In Memorium” guys in one of my trade magazines were younger than me.   

    Starting to feel a bit old, and nervous.

    n

  72. Lynn says:

    I read the obits in our local paper every other day to make sure that I am in not in them.

Add Your Comment

We are glad you have chosen to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).

Use the buttons to format your content. Use Shift+Ctrl+V to paste text. Use Ctrl+RightClick to see spelling suggestions. We suggest that you keep any fancy formatting to a minimum.

Please carefully review your comment before submitting.