Yaknow… It’s Houston. It’s a swamp. In winter it rains. In summer it rains. I decided shortly after I moved here that if you were going to do stuff in Houston, you would have to get used to doing it in the rain. Still sucks when it’s coming down at 1″ per hour or more, the streets are flooded, and you are soaked. So these last few days of rain have been unpleasant, and not much work got done on my part. Today should start changing that, as the forecast is for clear.
We’ll see.
I did drive around and do pickups. A couple of my auctions will only hold your winning lots until Wednesday, so that’s kinda my ‘drop dead’ for picking up. I threw a couple of black and yellow bins in the back of the truck to keep stuff mostly dry, and it mostly worked. Some small stuff fit in the cab. Despite needing to hustle to get all my stuff done, I spent a bit chatting with one of the new guys. VERY red pilled. Clearly reads the same news, and follows the same stories. Two of the big auctioneers have massive preps in place. One has asked me for advice and links to getting caught up on prepping. This guy is politically aligned but IDK where he is in prepping. That’s a lot of people in one field all doing the same thing…and sharing similar attitudes.
Today I’ll be doing a couple of things around the house. No pickups that absolutely need to be done, no chores from the family, and yet, the best use of my time is probably staying home… Gah. Can’t get out of the house some days when I need to, can’t STAY at home others. And then choosing to be home on the remaining days.
—————–
The border thing, and sharing the pain, and now a possible Constitutional crisis brewing… can you all guess what I’m going to advise?? Class? Bueller? Yep. Get prepped up. Keep stacking and be ready for some more crazy shite to be zooming toward a fan.
It takes a long time to get all the pieces moving in the same direction. Read Germs Guns and Steel for a discussion of the run up to WWII for an example. Then SUDDENLY everything changes. We’re headed toward a Pearl Harbor moment. Or Tomkin Gulf. Or Kent State. or Day of the Jackal. Be ready to pull in and wait to see where the chips fall. You should be able to stay home for at least a week, and better if it’s a lot longer than that. Or be ready to go, if you have somewhere to go to. Better too early than too late.
No matter what happens, and something will, it’s just building and building, you can feel it, having stuff, being self sufficient in most things, at least for a while, will help.*
Stack it up. Touch base with your friends and relations. Gather the clans.
nick
*whew, that’s a sentence….RBT always poked me for using too many commas…
Nobody, but nobody, understands the rules for using commas in English. After pondering the issue professionally for many years, the best advice I can give is to put a comma where you would pause in a spoken sentence, or where you would draw a breath. Usually, “too many” commas is better than not enough, unless you happen to be writing legalese, in which case no commas at all might be right (or wrong, as the case may be). As I say, nobody knows.
My understanding is that you did not purchase the software. You purchased a license to use the software. Does that still give the vendor the right to modify the software, as in deleting apps, with nothing you can do about it?
Can the vendor revoke your license and leave you with a computer that will no longer function? Is removing an app removing some of the functionality that you paid for?
If the vendor does remove functionality, what are you going to do about it?
Microsoft and Apple hold all the cards and can almost do what they want with their software. Apple has always provided an OS with their hardware because they control both. Microsoft sort of does that with OEM licenses but those cannot transfer to a different machine.
High 60sF already, with the sun poking above the horizon. Some small low clouds but mostly clear skies.
Hooray. Maybe stuff will dry out a bit.
n
Rain today, same as yesterday. It is helping to melt the snow along with temperatures in the high 50’s today. Schools in the area are still closed. Eight days of closures. No school last week (4 days plus the holiday) and probably only one day this week. The schools only have 11 snow days in their schedule. Any more snow and I expect that spring break will be cancelled, much to the ire of parents with trips planned, and paid for.
The back roads here are the problem. A lot packed snow which became ice, about an inch thick. The stuff is hard as a rock and cannot be removed by snowplows. Some roads have been impassable until today, almost 10 days. People have not been able to get out of their homes.
The south is not equipped to handle such events. It makes no sense to spend millions on snow removal equipment that only gets used every 15 years. The best defense is just to stay off the roads and wait until it warms. Usually within a few days. This event, with the snow, and days below freezing, was unusual.
Legal? We don’t need no stinkin’ legal with whom we’re composting.
Here “where the buffalo roam(ed)” it’s been 35℉ (2℃) and foggy/misty with 95% RH for a few days now. A little sunshine would be welcome. When the temps fall below freezing overnight you wake up to slippery sidewalks and streets. I have a scraped knee as a result.
I had a English composition professor that said Microsoft Office had a short attention span because its grammar checker often flagged perfectly-acceptable lengthy sentences as “too long” or “run-on sentence.” The unintended side-effect was students changing their writing style to use more, but shorter, sentences and to use more commas in their sentences.
There’s a joke, “When in doubt use a semicolon. Most people have no idea what the rules for a semicolon are. So, you’ll probably get away with it.” The same is probably true for dashes.
That was sort of my thinking. Their right to do that is probably in the EULA to which we all click “Accept” but never read. 🙂
I read (skimmed, really) “The American Way of Death” 50 years ago.
Besides its abject abuse of grieving families, the funeral industry also dominated all the legislatures to control competition and allow them to increase costs. Things like legally mandated concrete vaults, and obstacles to cremation and requirements for caskets (even for cremation).
No state has any valid reason to require embalming, vaults, coffins, or even deep burial.
I’m not sure I would want to be composted, but I see no reason to stop it from being a valid, legal choice. I should be allowed to choose to forgo embalming, and be buried in a shallow grave in a forest wrapped in a shroud. As long as true health and safety are maintained.
But state legislatures don’t allow that. And people see THAT as normal.
Six states allow human composting now.
The approved method avoids anaerobic decomposition and ensures that the bacteria involved in the process are killed off before the remains enter the environment.
@Norm – Tree sheets
I followwed the link, liked what I saw, then down loaded and installed it. The tutoral was well done until I got to the Images and Styles cell. It took several minutes and nuymerous tries for me to get it to open. And now I can’t get it it to close. I don’t know what key stroke got me in and I can’t get back. I closed it and again can’t figure out how to get into Images and styles.
I think this mght be a useful tool for my Gasser project which has three spread sheets and a half dozen docs so far, and I’m really only into the early planing stages.
I ended a post last night with:
“OTOH, they use the fentanyl, he dies–who has standing to file a lawsuit? “
Of course, if he’s merely turned into a vegetable, it’s still a win for society and caretaking is probably cheaper than traditional incarceration .
And no, his family gets nothing for the vegetabilization of a murdering scum.
I agree totally. How stupid to keep Manson family in slammer for five decades and then parole after conviction for multiple murders? Our tax dollars at multiple thefts!
Superhighways documentary: Nice Texas segments!
https://youtu.be/t1I49pQVdhI
Time for another distraction.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/tesla-shares-plunge-to-wipe-out-73-billion-in-market-value-after-dour-earnings-call/ar-BB1hfYbS
This caught my eye:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/alabama-set-to-execute-inmate-with-nitrogen-gas-a-never-before-used-method-1.6741757
I’d suggest using helium and starting it while he’s making his last statement.
Re commas…
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html
Use a comma, save a life…
https://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Punctuation-Wooden-Kitchen-Decorations/dp/B0BYCS145Z/ref=asc_df_B0BYCS145Z/?linkCode=df0&hvadid=652391635092&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8629885701203256622&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9030238&hvtargid=pla-2187564984390&psc=1&mcid=bc9f9412984937f9bac36ac4eeb13319&tag=ttgnet-20
RE: Oxford Comma
It’s been awhile since I research the whole Oxford comma debate. IIRC, if the Oxford comma would prevent confusion then use it. Otherwise, it’s not needed, so don’t use it. That being said, I’ve always used it as far back as I can remember. In my early years I used it because I thought it looked weird to not use it. Now, it’s habit. My mother-in-law was a high school English teacher and she and I were discussing it one day and she said, “It doesn’t hurt anything to use it and not using it could potentially create confusion. So, just use it.”
Emphasis added…which says it all…
Then there is the legal case where a comma in a labor agreement tied two clauses together resulting in an “and” situation instead of the “or” that the company believed they had… iirc. Too busy to look it up.
n
The Republicans will need another Speaker of the House soon.
Too many commas:
For years, the anti-freedom people have argued about commas in this text. As if it matters to the idea. If the founders had known, they would have dropped the first 13 words. Maybe even added “all” after “bear”. And we never would have had the NFA, or the various gun control acts.
Ha, ha(Muntz laugh). Butto raises his ugly fake-Mexican head:
Kurt Schlichter Goes THERE Dropping Beto O’Rourke for Demanding Biden and the Feds Punish Gov. Abbott
Has-been loser says WUT?
This may be of interest:
https://tldavis.substack.com/p/texas-rebellionTime to eat mother.
Time to eat, mother.
If “Rah” Morris can get another head coaching job, then there is a chance that the “Fired Lovie” NFL team club could see another member before Smith retires.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39387574/sources-falcons-hire-rams-raheem-morris-coach
>>Then there is the legal case where a comma in a labor agreement tied two clauses together resulting in an “and” situation instead of the “or” that the company believed they had… iirc. Too busy to look it up.
Alan says:
25 January 2024 at 14:33
Re commas…
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html
BC: Chemistry
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2024/01/25
Why yes, that is chemistry. Most of the good stuff blows up in the processing if you are not real careful.
“Hugo Awards under fire over censorship accusations, and SFF writers want answers”
https://www.polygon.com/24049021/hugo-awards-controversy-china-censorship-babel
“The 2023 awards, held in China, saw several nominees mysteriously declared ineligible”
I don’t know why people are upset, it is just standard communism. Surely they knew that would happen when they located the WorldCon in a communist country.
“Tesla Eyes Late-2025 Rollout for Next-Gen EVs, Possible $25K Version”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/tesla-eyes-late-2025-rollout-for-next-gen-evs-possible-25k-version
“‘We will start production towards the end of 2025,’ Elon Musk says on an earnings call.”
I don’t think that I could even get in the door of that vehicle, it looks so small.
“Electricity Demand for Data Centers, AI, Crypto Could Double by 2026”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/electricity-demand-for-data-centers-ai-crypto-could-double-by-2026
“Renewable energy sources are currently growing at a faster rate than electricity demand, but AI and its power needs show no sign of slowing down.”
Not good unless we can cut them off during weather events in Texas.
“Why yes, that is chemistry. Most of the good stuff blows up in the processing if you are not real careful.”
The original DuPont gunpowder factory buildings along the Brandywine River in Delaware were small buildings with three stone sides and a wooden blow-out wall facing the river.
Boeing: Fixed it !
https://twitter.com/StephHoover8/status/1749901411914031293
Hat tip to:
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/alaska-airlines-found-loose-bolts-many-boeing-737-max-9s-and-757-just-lost-wheel
Oh my. That is a huge roll of duck tape.
It is my understanding that the front wheel coming off a 757 was a maintenance failure. Boeing is not responsible for those.
The Hugos have been illegitimate for years. Fork ’em.
“Renewable energy sources are currently growing at a faster rate than electricity demand, but AI and its power needs show no sign of slowing down.”
Crypto is a zero-sum game, expending energy on useless computation to create a useless product. I’ll believe “renewable energy” is viable when the miners build an wind/solar operation off-grid that is not subsidized by taxpayers.
The only result is thermodynamic inefficiency, real global warming, and an advance on the heat-death of the universe.
Another budget item for zeroing in January 2025:
NPR Skips Fani Willis for Four-Minute Press Release for Kamala Harris on Gun Control
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/01/20/npr-skips-fani-willis-four-minute-press-release-kamala-harris-gun
“Warren Buffett’s company bought out a truck-stop business with bigger revenues than Nike, Coke, or Netflix”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffetts-company-bought-truck-224415372.html
“Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently bought the final 20% of Pilot Travel Centers. The truck-stop chain ranks among America’s biggest companies in terms of revenue and headcount. Pilot made $55 billion in nine months in 2022, more than Nike or Netflix’s annual revenue that year.”
If Buccee’s is an A then Pilot is a B. Another decent place to stop for a break.
Crypto is a zero-sum game, expending energy on useless computation to create a useless product. I’ll believe “renewable energy” is viable when the miners build an wind/solar operation off-grid that is not subsidized by taxpayers.
Crypto is how dark money is moved around the planet nowadays.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/miacathell/2024/01/25/fani-willis-hearing-jan-25-preview-n2634127
There are two major issues:
One is the potential corruption of the outside prosecutor being selected because of a personal sexual relationship with an elected official and paid with public funds which are then used for the benefit of the public official. Worthwhile to note that the latest tidbit is the absence of any reporting of at least one plane ticket bought for her.
Two, largely flying under the radar, is the coordination of the state prosecution of a political rival of the current potentate with federal officials acting for said potentate, as documented by the hourly billings of the prosecutor’s toy boy. Note the J6 committee assisted Willis office and have stonewalled any investigation into the particulars, which may also fall under this heading.
My prediction is that Willis will soon be told to “take this one for the team, you Silly T***”, as ongoing litigation is going to peel the lid back on Number 2 above and reveal yet another violation of federal law that Mad Dog Garland will quash.
“Crypto is how dark money is moved around the planet nowadays.”
I’ve never tried to count, but I can recall at least two episodes of the original Perry Mason tv series where Della was sent to the bank to get a $500 bill to bait some trap. Shortly after our government withdrew bills larger than $100 from circulation, supposedly to combat organized crime. Despite the fact that a $100 bill has the purchasing power of a $5 bill in the mid-1950’s, there are no plans to print larger bills, as this would upset the governments ability to track and tax.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/01/supreme-court-declines-to-stop-nations-first-execution-by-nitrogen-in-alabama/
I need to write for the Babylon Bee:
EPA Issues Emergency Order Regulating Deadly Nitrogen
Her dad did a great job dodging the law, until their luck ran out.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13005993/how-mom-survived-holocaust-nazis.html
My neighbor in the trailer park where I lived as a university student had the tattoo. She was a big strong woman, and I never heard her complain about anything. As they die, it gets easier for the deniers to spread their lies.
n
Pilot/Flying-J is part of The Gecko’s EV infrastructure play. He’ll probably have something to say about the plan in the annual report which is due in a few weeks.
I learned about KwikTrip in Wisconsin. Those are nice stores too.
Think Buc-ee’s but take away the general merchandise and brisket station. KwikTrip has its own dairy plants so the milk cooler section is stocked like a supermarket, including butter and ice cream.
I stopped at the KwikTrip near the conference hotel once a day for something.
Buc-ee’s is going to take on KwikTrip with a big store in Madison.
There’s a push to delete all bills larger than $20, for the safety of the children or some nonsense. They want to track everything we do.
It’s only a matter of time before some geniuses reason that:
–if too much nitrogen kills you then just enough will get you high
–those ag commercials talking about nitrogen must mean that farmers use it
–ammonia is nitrogen
–that pipeline is easy pickings
–if too much nitrogen kills you then just enough will get you high – True. Divers call it nitrogen narcosis. Dentists use nitrous oxide for that purpose.
–those ag commercials talking about nitrogen must mean that farmers use it – True.
–ammonia is nitrogen – False.
–that pipeline is easy pickings – Not so much, no.
Dr. Roy Spencer: New Article on Climate Models vs. Observations
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/25/dr-roy-spencer-new-article-on-climate-models-vs-observations/
The article is at:
https://www.heritage.org/environment/report/global-warming-observations-vs-climate-models
but the WUWT teaser has the money graph, which shows:
actual warming in U.S. Corn Belt States 1973-2022: 0.12 °C/decade
mean warming* from 36 climate models: 0.49 °C/decade
How low are U.S. government standards that $30 billion a year of U.S. taxpayer funds is spent to get garbage results like this? This is not a new effort, these fat basards have been holding international meetings all over the world for decades to pat each other’s fannies and proclaim doom.
*Median. All high, with the range about 0.20 to 0.90, or +60 to +650%
Well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.
@Bob, hmmm….. I’ll take a look and see if I can figure out what’s happening in Treesheets
@Bob, just had a play, I did the following;
Can you try the above and see if it works for you? If it doesn’t I’ll have more of a rootle around.
Cheers
Norman