It’s been slowly warming, so I’m going to guess that we start the day in the low to mid 60s, and get warmer during the day. I switched to shorts yesterday, because it was pretty warm and sweaty by afternoon, and I expect today to be the same. Nice and clear too.
Weather was nice, and I drove around with the windows open. (in fact I just went out to close them..)
Did my local pickup. Tried to help a guy jumpstart his car, but it didn’t work. I think it was a problem with the starter, as you could bang on it, and it would do a couple of groaning, slow turns, otherwise there was just clicking. I hit my auto mechanic skill maximum pretty early in the process. I did have the jumper cables in the truck, and a tool set to take his terminal connector off his battery, in case his battery was shorted. He ended up calling someone to help him.
Then it was off to get D1 and then a brief period at home, before heading back to school to watch a performance. It was ok. Audio was not great, but the young man didn’t get enough rehearsal time. At least it wasn’t painful.
Leftovers for dinner, a check of online auctions, and then bed. An ordinary day, albeit a bit busier than normal.
Today I’ve got two pickups on opposite sides of town. I really didn’t plan that well. Then it’s home to load the truck and move stuff around. We’re headed to the BOL this weekend, and trying to leave tonight. My non-prepping hobby meeting Saturday got bumped from its room, so we had to cancel. Next weekend is Easter, so not the best time to reschedule to. That means I could head up tonight if I’m not too tired, and if I get the truck loaded. We’ll see how it goes.
I’ve been stacking stuff for the BOL for a couple of weeks, so it will be good to get it up there. I’m probably taking the two new 460W solar panels and an inverter up too, if I can fit them on the truck with all the other stuff.
I keep stacking. You should too.
nick
62F and looks clear so far.
D2 has a field trip today. Then another show, and strike, followed by the cast party.
D1 just has school.
I can haz chezburger?
n
I’m getting used to my new work schedule. Like lots of others, my company cut out teleworking*, so it’s back in the office. I’m on a 4 day work week. I’ve settled on working 11 hours Monday, 10 or 11 hours on Tuesday, and 8 hours Wednesday and Thursday. I make up any shortfall in hours (40) with PTO. I have almost 400 hours accrued, and that is the max. I accrue 3.7 hours a week, so that’s what I apply every week.
After the UK trip, I’ll be down to just under 300 hours (panic!) so I might modify my work schedule to get back up to around 350 hours or so. Luckily, work is very flexible in work schedules.
*Well, kind of. No teleworking for gov contractors. Overhead still gets to stay at home. HR, accounting, etc.
Ten weeks of accrued PTO? That’s a lot. Are you in a state where they have to pay you out if you separate from the company? Are you sure the company will be there when you want to take the time, or get the money?
I’ve been cheated out of my vacation time before, and it sux.
n
What a world.
n
Get busy and use the time for actual “away” activities. You’re playing their game using the time as it accrues.
Getting the vacation time paid in a layoff situation will probably involve signing paper obligating you to certain conditions you may not like. The big one lately is “Non Disparagement” agreements, but you may have to answer the phone for a while to get that check.
Greenland Commander’s request to be terminated is granted
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/04/10/top-us-commander-in-greenland-disavows-trumps-position-to-us-and-danish-troops-n2187734
@Rol Grunsky
“Gee… I wonder where the NHL started?”
Kids playing with a frozen turd on a frozen lake?
Ideal for Cuban expats in Miami wanting to burn Fidel Junior “in effigy”.
Flying to South Florida last year to bend the knee at Mar A Lago had to be nerve wracking for Wee Pierre. Sure, the trip is only the length of the causeway, but he isn’t popular in South Florida, and the expats never forget.
We studied this topic at Command & Staff School at Fort Leavenworth. No, the VP is not in the military chain of command. Any time POTUS is down, then the VP assumes the CinC hat. But disrespecting the VP is tantamount to a courts martial.
Also, as noted, the Greenland chick bites the dust. Another PLT gone.
LOL
Trump Posts Viral ‘Landman’ Clip (Billy Bob Trigger Warning for the ‘End Fossil Fuels’ Crazies)
A great episode. I hope a second season comes out. Only tRump could post this clip.
Small plane crash in Boca Raton, Fl.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14599729/boca-raton-plane-crash-florida.html
n
I don’t at all find it unusual that in a country that has twice voted for a president and a party that gives trillions of dollars away to billionaires (while these same folks bemoan how deeply in debt their government is) concerns are expressed about the financial future of millionaire owners and millionaire players of kids games. Perhaps you should be serious?
Before sports became “sports entertainment” hockey players, even some of the league’s stars, had to have a summer job as it didn’t pay all that well and certainly was not a sinecure once retired. Sports salaries probably used to be that way in all “professional” sports and still is in the minor ones. Paying someone half a billion dollars to hit a baseball for a few years (and yes that was the Toronto Blue Jays just a few days ago) is nuts. But please worry about poor, poor Vlad’s future, and not your own. /Snark over.
NFL Hall of Fame player Lee Roy Selmon worked his way up from teller at Sun Trust in Tampa while simultaneously pursuing his NFL career.
That was the 70s, however. Plus the Yucs under Culverhouse family ownership.
cf. Tammy Duckworth
If This Is What It Looks Like, NY AG Letitia James Is In a World of Trouble
https://pjmedia.com/athena-thorne/2025/04/11/if-this-is-what-it-looks-like-nyag-letitia-james-is-in-a-world-of-trouble-n4938806
Dear Pam: Please use the biggest BFH available.
@tv
“I don’t at all find it unusual that in a country that has twice voted for a president and a party that gives trillions of dollars away to billionaires (while these same folks bemoan how deeply in debt their government is) concerns are expressed about the financial future of millionaire owners and millionaire players of kids games. ”
Don’t try to sell a series based on that fiction until someone corrects your math errors.
Bondi won’t touch it.
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/04/11/pam-bondi-gouging-out-the-roots-of-the-deep-state-at-doj-brings-howls-of-pain-and-improved-results-n2187752
They not only signed up for the job but they are required by ethics rules not to “throw cases” or do other things contrary to the interests of their client.
“Ruthlessly” should include seeking the disbarment of anyone who violates those rules.
“Tesla Just Released a Much Cheaper Cybertruck”
https://www.motor1.com/news/756354/tesla-cybertruck-base-model/
“You can still buy a high-end F-150, Silverado, or Ram 1500 with 4WD for the same price.”
“Amid tariff chaos and sharply declining sales, Tesla has announced its latest version of the Cybertruck. This is the Long Range single-motor trim, slotting in as the base model for the lineup. It doesn’t exactly have a base-model price tag, though. With destination fees included, it still costs $71,985.”
“What do you get for that price? The least-expensive Cybertruck has the longest range of them all, going an estimated 350 miles on a single charge. That’s approximately 25 more miles compared to the All-Wheel Drive trim, which costs an extra $10,000. The single motor drives the rear axle, and though a horsepower figure isn’t mentioned, Tesla claims it can reach 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds. A locking rear differential is included to help with traction.”
Nope.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“16 Small Churches Plead With Colorado Megachurches For Help Against Radical Trans Bill, To Dismaying Results”
https://protestia.com/2025/04/11/16-small-churches-plead-with-colorado-megachurches-for-help-against-radical-trans-bill-to-dismaying-results/
“The primary object of their ire is House Bill 25-1312, known as the Kelly Loving Act, which recently passed the House and proposes sweeping legislation to radically change the way all citizens interact with and relate to trans people, including teachers with students and parents with their own children.”
What the heck is wrong with Colorado ? Since when do trans rights become elevated over religious rights ? We have had at least two SCOTUS decrees over this nonsense already specifically for Colorado.
“Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Signs Insanely Unconstitutional Gun Control Law With Huge National Implications”
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/04/10/colorado-passes-and-gov-jared-polis-signs-monumentally-unconstitutional-gun-control-law-n2187732
“If you care about preserving the Second Amendment, what just happened in Colorado needs to be on your radar.”
“On Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis signed a law that bans the production and most sales of semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines. That means the gun control measure not only covers semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 (which would be bad enough on its own) but also makes essentially all modern-day handguns illegal as well.”
“To say this is blatantly unconstitutional is an understatement. The Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia vs. Heller that firearms in common use are protected under the Second Amendment for “traditionally lawful purposes.” That includes self-defense. Semi-automatic handguns and rifles with detachable magazines are the most commonly used guns in the United States. It’s not even a question that this gun control law runs afoul of Supreme Court precedent. That means that Polis signed something that he has to know is illegal, making this move all the more insidious.”
Colorado again breaking our Constitutional rights !
Arlo and Janis: Crowbar Review
https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2025/04/11
Sigh. I have seen people like this online tearing apart perfectly good products.
Yesterday I get an e-mail with the subject line of “Your Facebook Internet Tracking Settlement Payment”.
Straight up spam at first glance. But the headers look legit. The message body looks legit and not full of <div> and MS Office stuff.
I remember filing a claim. It’s been a while but I deleted the saved mail a couple of months ago with the “ain’t happening” thought. After a year and a half or so, well. I logged into PayPal today. Did not use the link in the e-mail. What do you know? I do have $40.67 added to my balance.
I didn’t expect to get anything.
Bill Ackman:
other X’er:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/04/11/president-trump-has-china-hanging-over-a-massive-tariff-cliff-n2655393
“Some People Need a Lesson in What Self-Defense Is and Isn’t”
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2025/04/10/some-people-need-lesson-in-what-self-defense-is-and-isnt-n1228269
“Self-defense doesn’t mean that you can just wantonly kill people because they scare you. It doesn’t mean that you can escalate to lethal force simply because you don’t want to take a butt-whooping.”
A Girl And Her Fed: Triplet Rock, Paper, Scissors
https://www.agirlandherfed.com/1.2240.html
No such game.
I didn’t expect to get anything.
– found money is the best money.
It doesn’t mean that you can escalate to lethal force simply because you don’t want to take a butt-whooping.”
— yes it does, in anyplace sane anyway. No one is obligated to take a physical attack. Presumably he has some specific case in mind, but I’ve got to get the kid taxi moving so I’ll have to read it later. There are multiple “one punch” deaths every year. There is something called “disparity of force” as well.
n
“Iran’s Supreme Leader Caved Under Trump Pressure: NYT”
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/04/11/irans-supreme-leader-caves-n3801690
“This weekend, the US and Iran will hold their first semi-direct talks in years, despite the previous insistence of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in barring such talks. What changed? First, the Iranian security situation has degraded rapidly over the last few months, thanks to their stupidity in attacking Israel directly as well as indirectly through their proxies. That has left the mullahs more exposed than ever before in their 46-year run as theocratic tyrants in Iran.”
“That’s not the only reason, the New York Times reports today. The Iranians may have finally realized that Donald Trump returned to office with the goal of settling scores — and that a squadron of B-2 Stealth bombers in Diego Garcia aren’t waiting around just for show. The government pressured Khamenei to end the ban and allow them to try to talk their way out of destruction:”
I will believe it when I see Iran capitulate.
Of course there are no absolutes, but the company isn’t going anywhere. Neither is the contract I work in. The company has had it exclusively for 40 years.
I usually don’t get this high in PTO. I usually take 3 weeks or so a year in week long segments, plus a day here and there. I just made a point to save a little more since I’ll be using 114 hours or so next month. I’ll also likely use another week or so this summer.
I’ll probably get the balance down to around 200 by the end of the year.
It doesn’t mean that you can escalate to lethal force simply because you don’t want to take a butt-whooping.”
— yes it does, in anyplace sane anyway. No one is obligated to take a physical attack. Presumably he has some specific case in mind, but I’ve got to get the kid taxi moving so I’ll have to read it later. There are multiple “one punch” deaths every year. There is something called “disparity of force” as well.
n
I would like to see the video that the police reputedly have. The murderer was reputedly asked to move to his school section by the victim, the murderer refused to move, the victim reached out and pushed the murderer in the chest, the murderer pulled a knife out of his bag and stuck the knife in the chest of the victim. That was not self defense.
I do not know why the victim was asking the murderer to move to his section. But, it does not justify the escalation of force. Was the victim getting ready to punch the murderer, I have no idea.
I read somewhere that each school had a canopy or tent. For shade and as a place to stash their backpacks. The murderer (a) doesn’t go to that school and had no business there and (b) he was rummaging through backpacks.
I haven’t read anything about what anyone said.
Ah, so despite his credentials, and writing experience, Tom Knighton can’t really write cogently. I’ve seen links to him and was vaguely familiar with his name as a gun culture/2A guy.
The pull quote has nothing to do with the rest of his stories. It’s overly broad and wrong on it’s face. He got sloppy and was going for emotion rather than reason.
His points about the accused are valid, and his conclusion that it wasn’t self defense appears accurate, but his cultural frame of reference is just plain wrong. The accused brought a knife to a track meet. He was willing to use it to attack. A “fistfight” was never on the table or in the cards.
All the rest is a jumbled mess.
n
“March Deficit Unexpectedly Tumbles To 5 Year Low As DOGE Cracks Down On Democrat Money-Laundering Schemes”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/march-deficit-unexpectedly-tumbles-5-year-low-doge-cracks-down-democrat-money-laundering
“Bottom line: While March was the first month in which we saw the budget-busting effect of DOGE finally come to the fore, the Sisyphean challenge for the Dept of Government Efficiency is just starting, because while a $50BN drop in “Income Security” and a $76 billion decline in the deficit YoY is a terrific start, the reality is that this is a mere drop in the bucket for the unsustainable trajectory which the US is on, and if Trump, Musk, DOGE and the majority of Americans truly hope to rightsize the US balance sheet, a lot more work – and as the last few days have shown – a lot more pain is coming.”
Every expenditure of the USA must be examined in detail. This includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment, Aid to Families, Food Stamps, etc, etc, etc.
And Congress needs to pass a stinking budget to reflect all this and with a drop in federal workforce of 50% or more.
From Nick:
His points about the accused are valid, and his conclusion that it wasn’t self defense appears accurate, but his cultural frame of reference is just plain wrong. The accused brought a knife to a track meet. He was willing to use it to attack. A “fistfight” was never on the table or in the cards.
From Paul:
I read somewhere that each school had a canopy or tent. For shade and as a place to stash their backpacks. The murderer (a) doesn’t go to that school and had no business there and (b) he was rummaging through backpacks.
Now it sounds like this was an interrupted robbery. There is no self defense while committing a robbery.
DOGE at the Pentagon
If neighborhood legend is true, the female half of my Colonel Bat Guano neighbors in Florida used to run the snake torture at Gitmo under the cover of “IT services” at one of the companies listed.
Ironically, she drove a customized plug-in Prius before Toyota made them officially.
Save the planet … she needs the snakes.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-terminate-51-billion-it-contracts-with-accenture-deloitte-others-2025-04-11/
“USPS To Hike Stamp Prices By About 7.4% To 78 Cents Effective This Summer”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/usps-hike-stamp-prices-about-74-78-cents-effective-summer
USPS needs more money for all those electric trucks that only work for half of the routes.
I dropped my Costco Visa because mailing the check a week out to someplace in the boonies of Kentucky (?) didn’t get the payment there in time. They stopped budging on the late fee.
“Pay online.”
“And give Citibank my checking account number? Would you?”
[crickets chirping]
Amex is almost as bad, and the check goes to Dallas.
Amex did budge on the late fee recently, but it had been a year since the last late payment.
https://thefederalist.com/2025/04/10/look-at-beef-to-understand-why-u-s-trade-needs-a-makeover/
Yeah, so we export steaks and import 2000-lb stainless steel hoppers with trimmings from all the edges of different cuts. Parts of hundreds of beef in one container, destined to make that 80/20 or higher fat beef. Each bite of a burger made from that probably contains the DNA from a dozen of more animals.
Wonder if we get Canadian pink slime, too?
Caught the first 12 minutes of STOS “Mirror, Mirror”.
Nazis every one, according to the PLT’s hysterians.
Probably coded messages in there, too.
skip to 2:26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9xN0Ol5vZQ
“No one is obligated to take a physical attack.”
Twenty-something comes at me with intent you can subtract 45 from my age and call it even.
Thug family goin’ for payday on slander. The deceased boy’s parents need a pipehitting attorney who can get the fundraisers frozen until the death is litigated, then claim them as damages.
We’ll make sure the screen door hits you, on your way out:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/04/judge-says-trump-can-deport-mahmoud-khalil/
About 34% of applicants to California’s Community College system were likely fake in the last calendar year, and have been scamming millions of dollars in state and federal financial aid.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/04/millions-in-financial-aid-fraud-discovered-in-californias-community-college-system/
Cacafornia facilitating fraud?
I love the smell of federal chargebacks in the spring reducing the deficit.
>>D2 has a field trip today. Then another show, and strike, followed by the cast party.
“…strike…”?
Kinda early to unionize??
I think I send 3-4 “letters” per year these days. We bought 100 “Forever” stamps several years ago, and haven’t used them all yet. If the USPS wants to save money, I recommend alternate-day deliveries of mail, and REALLY bump up the price of “junk” mail to something that will discourage junk mailers to the point that they’re paying the actual cost of service. I DO NOT need to receive junk mail 6 days a week. 90% of all my USPS mail is junk, and most of the rest is magazines.
“Strike”, as in take down the sets and clear the stage for the next performance. Which is why the cast party is AFTER the set has been taken down; to prevent non-workers from attending the party.
>>Trump Posts Viral ‘Landman’ Clip (Billy Bob Trigger Warning for the ‘End Fossil Fuels’ Crazies)
A great episode. I hope a second season comes out. Only tRump could post this clip.
Season 2 is already filming…
https://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/article304025856.html
“Strike”, as in take down the sets and clear the stage for the next performance. Which is why the cast party is AFTER the set has been taken down; to prevent non-workers from attending the party.
– this. Load in. Setup. show. Strike. Load out. Beers on the bus…
Strike can also be used on objects individually or in groups as in “get the crew to strike the table and chairs, we need to set up for Scene 3.”
Strike as an event is always taking down the whole show.
The stage hands’ mantra. “Done is good. Gone is better. Paid is best.”
n
(Warning: disturbing image ahead)
TIL that when a cat ALMOST catches an anole, and the tail gets pulled off onto the floor…
It writhes for a while.
I saw it, now you have to share.
I think I send 3-4 “letters” per year these days. We bought 100 “Forever” stamps several years ago, and haven’t used them all yet. If the USPS wants to save money, I recommend alternate-day deliveries of mail, and REALLY bump up the price of “junk” mail to something that will discourage junk mailers to the point that they’re paying the actual cost of service. I DO NOT need to receive junk mail 6 days a week. 90% of all my USPS mail is junk, and most of the rest is magazines.
Do you pay your bills online if you do not mail them ?
USPS needs to drop Saturday deliveries. That will make Mondays even more mail though.
One of my greatgrandfathers was a rural mail deliveryman during the Depression in north Texas. He delivered the rural mail twice a day, six days a week.
>>Before sports became “sports entertainment” hockey players, even some of the league’s stars, had to have a summer job as it didn’t pay all that well and certainly was not a sinecure once retired. Sports salaries probably used to be that way in all “professional” sports and still is in the minor ones. Paying someone half a billion dollars to hit a baseball for a few years (and yes that was the Toronto Blue Jays just a few days ago) is nuts. But please worry about poor, poor Vlad’s future, and not your own. /Snark over.
(emph. added)
To reasonably look at this requires examining both sides of the equation. I don’t fault the players (and their agents) from taking whatever is offered. But who is putting up the money is what’s missing – LeBron et al can ask for many millions but the team owners, the various TV networks and the fans all put their money in the pot. Capitalism at work.
Of course, sometimes smart people do dumb things. Please don’t make Mark upset anymore.
Yes, almost all of them. USAA Federal Savings Bank has a excellent online banking interface.
They aren’t paying millions to someone to play a sport. They are paying an ENTERTAINER millions to entertain people. The sport is incidental. The merch, tie ins, sponsorships, lux suites, naming rights, and all the rest are where the money comes from. Ticket sales are only a small part of the picture.
The broadcast rights are another level, even more meta, as they get paid to be used to get eyes in front of another level of selling and abstracted wealth creation.
I’m completely in favor of those players who are distinctive enough that enough people recognize the name and care what happens to them getting as much money as possible, since they are being used as part of a massive enterprise that generates astonishing amounts of money for other people.
n
>>NFL Hall of Fame player Lee Roy Selmon worked his way up from teller at Sun Trust in Tampa while simultaneously pursuing his NFL career.
And he has a (tolled) expressway named for him in Tampa.
Completely agree. The situation (insane amounts of entertainment dollars) is not of the making of the athletes. Since that is happening anyways (and of course the are not unhappy about this) they might as well get the most out of it. Better the athletes than the team owners – those playing contact sports are sacrificing health and longevity for maybe a bit of glory – makes sense they as much for the sacrifice as they can. (How to justify why golfers do so well???) Worrying about whether that will change due to the current governing debacle – not worth the words we have already typed.