Tues. Apr. 23, 2024 – time to make the donuts..

Cool again, and probably clear. The national forecast has some stuff south of us, and we’re on the edge of it, which usually means we don’t get the bad stuff. Lots of stuff blows up from the Gulf though, so we might get some rain after all. Say it with me, “We’ll see…”

I spent yesterday mostly cleaning, sorting, and piling stuff for the auction, stuff from my office, and just stuff. I also cut my hair and shaved. Picked up the kid around 3 and got to the chiropractor and Costco for my paper towels. I am making progress cleaning out my office and bedroom. I’ve piled stuff everywhere and it’s time to move it. Long past time really. As part of that I sorted and put away receipts from auctions, and in the process found some I needed for other stuff. Also refreshed my mind regarding what I paid for a few things, especially things I though I’d sell. Time to do that.

The rat traps haven’t caught anything. My wife says she heard movement in the attic, but I guess I’ve raised a local colony that won’t touch peanut butter. Everyone says they can’t resist the peanut butter, but these rats do. You have to kill them quickly before they warn their compatriots. That is hard earned wisdom folks. Or something anyway.

I was going to do pickups today but it makes more sense to delay until tomorrow. That way I can combine the longest trip with a bunch of shorter ones, and get the most efficient route. The longest trip wasn’t available for pickup today.

I’ll continue with my house clean/organize/get ready to sell stuff plan. It’s not often that I get three days of consistent effort on one task when I’m at home. Even now, I’m tempted to mow the back yard, or switch to garage or driveway cleanup… but pushing through inside makes the most sense. I will need to do one dropoff and I’ll likely do one pickup too. Kids will need rides earlier rather than later, so I need to be home to do that, which limits my excursion time too.

It’s Spring, so Spring cleaning is appropriate. It’ll make more room for stacking!

nick

77 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Apr. 23, 2024 – time to make the donuts.."

  1. brad says:

    Rats that learned to avoid peanut butter? They are evolving! There is only one solution: nuke from orbit.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    If you really want to rip a disc, you can polish them with something like a DiscDr or by hand, but is it worth it?  Probably not.

    Try CD Paranoia under Linux to rip the disc when all else fails. I’ve seen that software perform miracles.

    I always have to use cdparanoia from the command line when I rip my Robert Palmer “Don’t Explain” disc.

    I don’t believe that CD has ever been right. It is probably a bootleg based on the liner notes insert quality, but I’ve yet to see a copy of that album which looks genuine, even when bought new on Amazon.

    After one exchange, Amazon simply gave me the money back on the album and told me to throw it away.

    Damaged DVDs are tougher, but you can try mplayer under Linux Mint to get selected tracks and hope that the main movie is in the undamaged part.

    Unfortunately, with Disney, the copy protection games on the DVDs mean finding the main program can be tough.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Unfortunately, with Disney, the copy protection games on the DVDs mean finding the main program can be tough.

    Jar Jar Abrams “Star Trek” is also hard to rip until you figure out which of the 70+ fake tracks are safe to ignore.

  4. Greg Norton says:

    “Fusion will beat advanced fission to the grid: Type One Energy CEO”

         https://www.utilitydive.com/news/fusion-will-beat-advanced-fission-type-one-energy-ceo/713850/

    Something weird happened with the Type One CEO at his last gig.

    GE background. Fancy Lad University degrees, one a BA in Astronomy.

    My read on the Masters in ME from Drexel is Professional Development where the company simply writes a check for the paper for an exec. My undergrad alma matter pioneered those in the EE program for a couple of Home Shopping Channel bosses.

    The company originated out of U. Wisc Madison.

    Beer money.

  5. brad says:

    the copy protection games on the DVDs

    Ahoy, matey! Other people have already done this for you. Take advantage of their work. If you own the DVD, you aren’t even stealing. I copied all of our DVDs to our little media server – which is a lot more convenient to use – and those with annoying DRM came from the Internet.

    When the companies play stupid games, like selling particular content only to particular regions? I mean…why? One recent incident: my wife wanted to see a film that was released about 8 years ago. Not a big budget film, either, just a local Australian release. It was only available for download in (IIRC) the US and Australia, and my VPN was blocked. I tried a couple of different legitimate sites, but no joy. Well, I tried. Once again, “ahoy, matey!”

  6. Greg Norton says:

    The future of Disney rides on f-bombs and ED jokes this Summer.

    Better play with beer money there too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSkiQiqAsE0

  7. Greg Norton says:

    When the companies play stupid games, like selling particular content only to particular regions? I mean…why? One recent incident: my wife wanted to see a film that was released about 8 years ago. Not a big budget film, either, just a local Australian release. It was only available for download in (IIRC) the US and Australia, and my VPN was blocked. I tried a couple of different legitimate sites, but no joy. Well, I tried. Once again, “ahoy, matey!”

    “Rubbeldiekatz”, the German remake of “Tootsie”, never came to this country so when we started to explore the back catalog of Matthias Schweighofer after seeing him in one US flick, I had to resort to the high seas, merging the picture and audio of one disk with the *.SRT files of another, a bad airline print of the film with cropping.

    BTW, German chick flicks are weird.

    I’ve passed along the recommendation for Schweighofer’s “Army of Thieves” on Netflix before. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdbXnboJCVw

    The film is quality rom com and much more low key than the trailer portrays.

  8. Greg Norton says:

    The future of Disney rides on f-bombs and ED jokes this Summer.

    Before I forget – “Like A Virgin”. Madonna too?

    Disney tried that with “Dick Tracy” 35 years ago.

    Even “Dick Tracy” seems like “Casablanca” compared to what Burbank is producing these days.

    “They have a list.”

    Indeed.

  9. Greg Norton says:

    Fedora 40 releases today, followed by Ubuntu 24.04 later this week.

    These will both be important Linux releases, but Fedora 40 will be the basis of RHEL 10, a software base which, in theory will be supported for at least a decade.

    Fedora 40 will not completely drop X11 since it will be the basis of Red Hat’s next major release , which has to maintain backwards compatibility with the Fedora 28 API base of RHEL 9, but X11’s days are numbered moving forward in Fedora  and Ubuntu’s derivatives as well.

    Of course, it is convenient that IBM owns X11 and can force the issue across Linux.

    I’ve been running Fedora 40 beta on my 4GB i3 “road” laptop for a while, and the OS is very smooth.

    @Lynn — Time to get the intern busy on the Linux port.

  10. Greg Norton says:

    Dinner tonight with andouille sourced form this place.

    https://www.jacobsandouille.com/

    I had time to kill on the last morning of the conference of New Orleans, and since I wasn’t supposed to do “fun” things by myself, I took a trip to the boonies to buy sausage at the request of our son.

    We’ll see if the trip was worth it.

  11. MrAtoz says:

    “Boeing aims to bring flying cars to Asia by 2030”

    Are those the ones with the blow-off doors?

    How else are you going to bail out?* First we had “Johnny Cab” and now “Johnny Airbus”? No, thank you.

    *Bailing out will consist of “jump at the last minute, Wiley!”

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    56F but crystal clear and sunny.

    ———

    watching Grownups with D1 the other night, I had to see some commercials.   What a load of shite.

    AT&T with their weird and awkward “Gig-illionaire” concept had sexual innuendo (I hear they’re using EVERY room, if you know what I mean) and a d!ck joke (I could use some of that big gig energy in my life).

    I’ve forgotten the other main advertiser, but it was weird too.  Oh, right.  It was some sort of new toothpaste that was so tasty you’d want to take selfies with it.   And one of the characters tastes it and says “Oh shit” (which is bleeped, and the VO says “she meant to say ‘oh spit’”.  Putting aside the obscenity, who though tasting the product and saying “oh shit” would be a good idea?

    I need to move the pi-hole up the list.

    n

  13. MrAtoz says:

    Seven of the eight jurors found him not guilty:

    Mistrial declared in case of Arizona rancher accused of murdering Mexican migrant on his land – as his lawyer reveals how many jurors thought he was innocent

    I wonder if the “guilty” juror is an anchor baby?

    Next time, lock and load one 30-round magazine. Then, SSS.

    10
  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    Arrggg.   Today is TUESDAY.   All my pickups need to happen WED.  Today is the day the most distant pickup is unavailable.

    Planning ahead, not a strong suit.

    n

  15. Greg Norton says:

    AT&T with their weird and awkward “Gig-illionaire” concept had sexual innuendo (I hear they’re using EVERY room, if you know what I mean) and a d!ck joke (I could use some of that big gig energy in my life).
     

    The first Verizon wireless commercial ever ripped off Tarantino’s ”Jackie Brown” lingering shot on Pam Grier‘s profile in motion. The ad even used the same background music, Randi Crawford’s “Street Life”.

    @Lynn – GREAT Tarantino flick with a lower body count than most. A love letter to Elmore Leonard and Pam Grier.

    I’ve seen more of ”Lily’s” bustline in the AT&T commercials ever since the actress complained about being exploited.

  16. lpdbw says:

    I hesitate to make this recommendation, for fear you’ll go down the YouTube time wasting rabbit trail, but my go-to source for all things mouse and rat trap is Shawn Woods and his channel.

    Mousetrap monday is his thing.  He collects, builds, tests, and designs mouse traps and rat traps, and rates them.

    I took his advice when I had a squirrel problem in my attic, and got a Squirrelinator at Tractor Supply.   My problem was gone in a week.  It’s a live trap, but I also bought an air pistol with a built-in silencer.

    I used birdseed for bait, and it worked marvelously.

  17. drwilliams says:

    Seven-figure exploitation?

  18. Jenny says:

    @nick

    A friend counsels baiting traps with nesting materials rather than food. In their experience this leads to a rapid reduction of female varmints and a subsequent dearth of wee beasties. They find dryer lint to be particularly efficacious. 
     

    (woo – successfully fulfilled my twenty five cent word quota for the day -laughter-)

    I think I screwed up. My new to me bass recorder arrived yesterday. I was excited to hear it so assembled and played it immediately. Now I’ve got an uncomfortableness in my sinuses. I failed to clean or disinfect it. I don’t see or smell mold but that doesn’t mean there weren’t nasties. The sound is exquisite even though it needs the tenons recorked and a full repad. And disinfection apparently. 
     

    The cost of my migraine meds increased ten fold this year. Still worth it and we can afford it but aggravating. I’ll do a little shopping around. This is through Costco pharmacy. I’m not crazy about their service anyway – chose them by default when our long term pharmacy  stopped accepting our insurance.  This is my only prescription, I need it sporadically. I can manage without it but my quality of life and productivity are better when I have access to it. 

  19. lpdbw says:

    The cost of my migraine meds increased ten fold this year. 

    Have you tried GoodRx?  I have one prescription that’s not covered by my insurance, and I get considerable savings that way.

  20. Jenny says:

    Thanks lpdbw, I’ll take a look. 

  21. brad says:

    My wife plays the recorder, in various lengths. Well, played – I haven’t heard her toodle in a few years. Have to poke her, see if she would start again…

    Me, I used to sing in a choir. But the only thing around here are church choirs, and I’m not religious, so not really comfortable with that. Singing solo – fun enough, but I don’t like other people listening when I practice, and that’s a problem since we’re both always around. Dunno, maybe YARP (yet another retirement project). One more year before retirement, although I’ve already committed to a host of things for after retirement. I may be busier after than before 🙂

  22. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’ll count this as a win.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/04/seattle-childrens-hospital-withdraws-business-texas-response-investigation/ 

    Seattle Children’s Hospital has decided to stop providing gender-transition procedures and treatments for Texas minors.

    This decision comes following a request from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the hospital to submit records related to gender-affirming treatments administered to minors, as part of an ongoing investigation. 

    n

  23. Nick Flandrey says:

    Could just be a coincidence…

    but soon after reading this story

    Woman, 23, in Aspen is paralyzed from the neck down and on a ventilator after eating ‘CANNED SOUP’ contaminated with bacteria

    I get a health update email from CDC

    Adverse Effects Linked to Counterfeit or Mishandled Botulinum Toxin Injections

    Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network
    April 23 2024, 11:00 AM ET
    CDCHAN-00507

    Summary

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to alert clinicians about risks of counterfeit or mishandled botulinum toxin injections. CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state and local partners are investigating clusters of 22 people in 11 U.S. states reporting adverse effects after receiving injections with counterfeit botulinum toxin or injections administered by unlicensed or untrained individuals or in non-healthcare settings, such as homes or spas.

    hmmm.  Given that the young lady is pretty and fit, the chances she was getting botox seem small…   and there is the weird word “bartered” in the article.

    Reminds me of my rock climbing days when people would “scarf” food off other people’s tables while living out of their cars to climb all day…. if she was some kind of ski bum scavenging or trading for food…

    n

  24. Nick Flandrey says:

    may be busier after than before  

    – that seems to be the case for everyone I talk too, but it could just be selection bias.

    n

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    This article has some truths about the cost of cloud computing…

    How Optical Technology Will Save the Cloud

       

    RADHA NAGARAJAN, MARVELL TECHNOLOGY

    The cloud. It evokes an ethereal, weightless environment in which problems get whisked away by a breeze.

    In reality, the cloud consists of massive industrial buildings containing millions of dollars’ worth of equipment spread over thousands and, increasingly, millions of square feet. In Arizona, some communities are complaining that cloud data centers are draining their aquifers and consuming far more water than expected. In the U.K. and Ireland, the power requirements of data centers are crimping needed housing development. Even in regions such as northern Virginia where the local economies are tightly bound to data centers, conflicts between residents and the cloud are emerging.

    With the rise of AI, these conflicts will escalate.  

    between crypto mining, and AI and search, the world wide power budget is increasingly going to machines instead of people…

    n

  26. Nick Flandrey says:

    This one has some inadvertent and background info that the technically minded might find interesting…

    https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Advanced_Filters_Help_Space_Lasers_Deliver/p5/a69700 

    Internet from Above

       

    Advanced optical filters are improving laser-based satellite communications by enabling ‘more signal and less background.’

    JASON PALIDWAR, IRIDIAN SPECTRAL TECHNOLOGIES, AND DAVID SAMUELS, ADVANCED THIN FILMS

    Rapid, on-demand access to information is a necessary facet of daily life in the present “age of communications.” The reliable communication links that society necessitates support person-to-person and device-to-device communications at any time and, increasingly, in any place.

    Such assurances of connectivity owe to the massive technological strides of the past half century. Now, as with many technology hallmarks of the previous 50 years — spanning hardline telephony to the current ubiquitous smart devices — the pending evolution in the field of communications is poised to require a substantially broadened reach. Networks must extend beyond the existing and forthcoming physical infrastructure of wireline fiber optic networks and wireless cellular base stations. Anticipated advancements beyond 5G and machine-to-machine supporting the Internet of Things will require blanketing the planet with high-speed, ultralow-latency, secure networks.
     

    Free space optics in space, IE lasers for backhaul and meshing…

    It’s interesting how many of the articles ignore the elephant in the room and fail to mention or downplay the fact that the only one doing this at scale is SpaceX, and they will be the only ones for a LONG time.

    n

  27. Gavin says:

    @Nick

    Have you considered a tub / bucket with about an inch of coolant at the bottom? My go-to mouse trap for the garage (originally accidental) was just that.

    @Brad

    selling particular content only to particular regions?

    DVD ROM drives are cheap enough that a sufficiently motivated person could have a world’s worth of access for a relatively low price (you can change the region on the drive, but only a limited number of times).

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    I haven’t been paying much attention to “quantum computing” because it’s been very early days, but apparently people are really doing stuff in that realm…

    Taking Quantum Encryption into Orbit

       

    A German research team has completed the preliminary design for an ultracompact quantum communication payload that sends entangled photons to two ground stations simultaneously.

    ERIK BECKERT AND DANIEL HEINIG, FRAUNHOFER IOF, AND ANDREAS THOSS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

    Entanglement quantum key distribution (QKD) is a fundamental principle for securing future communication networks. For this type of QKD, entangled photons are generated and sent to two separate receivers, often referred to as “Alice and Bob.” These photons cannot be intercepted without disrupting their entangled states. And, because Alice and Bob are also connected by a conventional network, they can openly share information about the quality of entanglement that each photon shares, and thus convert a sequence of entangled photons into a secret key. Afterward, they can exchange data encrypted with this quantum key via conventional connections. Importantly, unlike other types of QKD, Alice and Bob do not need to trust the source of their entangled photons.
     

    –the particular experiment described as the focus of the article hasn’t flown yet.   But there is some background that astonished me…

    The photon source must generate at least 1 million polarization-entangled pairs per second so that the 256-bit key can be transmitted through the attenuating atmosphere to the ground stations, Alice and Bob, during each flyover. The team at Fraunhofer IOF, which has designed and built such sources for more than a decade, designed a palm-sized module for the CubeSat mission. The module comprises a wavelength-stabilized laser and a Sagnac interferometer.

    “more than a decade”

    maybe it is time to start paying attention to the field.

    n

    (tab clearing as I get caught up on some of my technical reading…)

  29. Nick Flandrey says:

    I have experimented with various bucket traps, tunnel traps, etc.   I watched the mousetrap guy the first go round with the rats…  his rats are not too smart.

    Given that I saw a half dozen last night, I’m thinking about the bucket again…

    n

  30. Jenny says:

    @nick

    getting botox seem small

    Botox is  an off label treatment for migraines, I believe. 

  31. Lynn says:

    BC: Spider Inferno

        https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2024/04/23

    I know people who would do this.

  32. Lynn says:

    “Huge Chunk of Gen Z: Israel Has No Right to Exist as Nation in Mideast”

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/04/huge-chunk-gen-z-israel-has-no-right/

    “Now a new poll shows 33% of Gen Zers, those ages 18 to 24, say that Israel does not have a right to exist as a nation in the Middle East.”

    Ok, this is not cool.

  33. Lynn says:

    Seven of the eight jurors found him not guilty:

    Mistrial declared in case of Arizona rancher accused of murdering Mexican migrant on his land – as his lawyer reveals how many jurors thought he was innocent

    I wonder if the “guilty” juror is an anchor baby?

    Next time, lock and load one 30-round magazine. Then, SSS.

    “They were armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflaged clothing, and carrying large backpacks. None of them were known to him. He hadn’t given any of them permission to come onto his land. Based on the foregoing, Mr. Kelly was understandably concerned and reasonably feared for his safety.”

    “Mr. Kelly then went to the porch with his rifle. The leader of the armed group of men saw Mr. Kelly and pointed an AK-47 right at him. ”

    “Mr. Kelly, fearing for his life and safety, fired several shots from his rifle, hoping to scare them away from his wife, his animals and his home.”

    Wait, these guys were armed ?  Screw that, why was he being tried ?  I would have shot them all. If he had not taken care of the problem then, they could have surrounded his house and killed him and his wife.

    Some of the states in the USA are getting a very peculiar definition of Self Defense.   Self Defense is Self Defense.

  34. Lynn says:

    @nick

    getting botox seem small

    Botox is  an off label treatment for migraines, I believe. 

    Yes, it starts with drilling your skull in a hundred spots.  I’ll pass.

    My daughter looked into it. The drill was the breaker.

  35. paul says:

    Wait, these guys were armed ?  Screw that, why was he being tried ?  

    He’s a white man.  Not a blessed/sainted brown person illegal alien criminal “looking for a better life”.  That’s why.

    The lesson is to leave no witnesses and obtain the use of a backhoe.

  36. Lynn says:

    “Why is Windows 11 so annoying?”

        https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/21/24063379/windows-11-ads-bing-edge-cruft

    “Show yourself, coward. I will never finish setting up my PC.”

    True, very true.  Lots of annoying things in Windows 11.

  37. dcp says:

    my migraine meds

    Jenny, in addition to checking goodrx.com, also check availability and prices at https://costplusdrugs.com/

  38. Nick Flandrey says:

    Love Charlotte Church’s voice.   Then she got political.   F that child.

    Guess I’m not the only one.

    Former child prodigy Charlotte Church, who was worth £25million aged 11, admits she’s ‘no longer a millionaire’ after swapping Welsh mansion for semi-detached home

    And she’s a bit of a spendthrift.

    n

  39. Lynn says:

    Love Charlotte Church’s voice.   Then she got political.   F that child.

    Guess I’m not the only one.

    Former child prodigy Charlotte Church, who was worth £25million aged 11, admits she’s ‘no longer a millionaire’ after swapping Welsh mansion for semi-detached home

    And she’s a bit of a spendthrift.

    She also converted to Islam, wears the head scarf, and sings the Slogan: “From the River to the Sea Palestine Will be Free”.

    I am still trying to figure out why any woman would convert to Islam.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/singer-charlotte-church-leads-choir-including-children-genocidal/

  40. Greg Norton says:

    I’ll count this as a win.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/04/seattle-childrens-hospital-withdraws-business-texas-response-investigation/ 

    Paxton is working out revenge against the Bush cabal by going after Baylor Scott & White/Texas Childrens’ for the “affirmation” treatments, but the Republicans in general are using the social issues to distract from the massive tax increase and surplus giveaway that they pushed through the Legislature last year.

    Still, a win is a win.

  41. paul says:

     Lots of annoying things in Windows 11.

    Every new version is full of annoying things. 

    WfW3.11 to Win95.  Lots of changes.  Lots of fun.
    Win95 to Win98 wasn’t bad.
    I didn’t like WinMe but that’s me.  It was ok.

    I had a beta of NT5 and oh, it was so sweet. Not quit the Win98 shell on top of NT.  Solid.

    I hated XP at first.  I didn’t like the mostly Me shell layered on top of NT.  It grew on me as I learned it.  Great Stuff.

    Win7, well, sort of like going from W95 to WinMe.  Solid solid solid.  I think I had all of five blue screens in six years across three machines.

    Win11 is pretty nice.  It has annoying things.  Wanting to connect to a MS account while setting up a new PC is my main complaint.  I want my taskbar at the top of the screen, for one irk.  I want Control Panel back…. sometimes I can’t find s(h)irt and it use to be “right there”. 

    It is interesting to find things buried deep that look like they came from Wfw3.11 or NT3.

    I think the most annoying thing is the dribbled out “updates”.  STOP IT.  Quit changing the OS behind my back with monthly updates.  Tell me what is changing.    Make it a Service Pack so I know things are going to change. 

    But that’s what I think.

  42. Greg Norton says:

    Woman, 23, in Aspen is paralyzed from the neck down and on a ventilator after eating ‘CANNED SOUP’ contaminated with bacteria

    hmmm.  Given that the young lady is pretty and fit, the chances she was getting botox seem small…   and there is the weird word “bartered” in the article.

    Bottle girl.

    Canned food exposed to freezing temperatures will go bad due to the microfractures which develop in the metal. If you don’t know where the cans came from, don’t buy/barter for them.

  43. Nick Flandrey says:

    when labor prices itself out of the market, ,,

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13341449/Fast-food-chains-minimum-wages-layoffs-kiosks.html 

    We’re going back to the automat

    n

    Ghai said over the past year, he had put prices up by between eight and ten percent – compared to between two and three percent in a normal year.

    ‘The majority of that is going to get absorbed in the inflation of our food costs,’ he told Business Insider

    ‘So we’re not even compensating for most of the labor costs that we’re going to be experiencing with this legislation.’

    He added that any more price rises are ‘going to result in a significant impact to our traffic’ – so he has found another way to cut wage costs.

    ‘We have kiosks in probably about 25 percent of our restaurants today,’ Harsh Ghai told Business Insider.

    ‘However, the other 75 percent are going to have kiosks in the next probably 30 to 60 days.

  44. Nick Flandrey says:

    Thinking of getting W1 a nintendo switch for our anniversary, anyone have recco on model?

    Is the OLED worth the extra money?   I think I want a full switch not lite as I like the detatchable controllers and it will work with all our existing cons and docks…

    n

  45. Greg Norton says:

    Thinking of getting W1 a nintendo switch for our anniversary, anyone have recco on model?

    Is the OLED worth the extra money?   I think I want a full switch not lite as I like the detatchable controllers and it will work with all our existing cons and docks…

    The OLED does not feature faster hardware, just the upgraded screen. That may not matter if the Switch spends most of its time on the dock.

    Beyond the better screen, the appeal of the OLED until the beginning of July was its unobtainium status.

    Once the Supreme Court handed down the student loan repayment plan decision, game console arbitrage was done.

  46. Alan says:

    >> Have you tried GoodRx?  I have one prescription that’s not covered by my insurance, and I get considerable savings that way.

    Another similar one to check is SingleCare.

  47. paul says:

    awesome.  long post about a lot of stuff and got a server error.

  48. Alan says:

    >> Have you considered a tub / bucket with about an inch of coolant at the bottom? My go-to mouse trap for the garage (originally accidental) was just that.

    Make sure any coolant is not placed where dogs might have access – they’re attracted to the sweet smell but it’s poisonous to them.

  49. paul says:

    Thinking of getting W1 a nintendo switch for our anniversary

    Err, I’d be thinking something like fancy crystal wine glasses or a mantle clock that will  be around twenty years from now instead of some electronic stuff that goes away in five years.  Maybe a new pair of diamond earrings? 

    Ya know, like an 800Mb  hard drive was a nice b’day present way back when….  but.

  50. Alan says:

    >> Botox is  an off label treatment for migraines, I believe. 

    On-label now… https://www.botoxchronicmigraine.com/

    But still similar potentially severe side effects as the cosmetic version.

  51. Alan says:

    >> Win11 is pretty nice.  It has annoying things.  Wanting to connect to a MS account while setting up a new PC is my main complaint.  I want my taskbar at the top of the screen, for one irk.  I want Control Panel back…. sometimes I can’t find s(h)irt and it use to be “right there”. 

    Last I set up a W11 machine there was still a “no MS account” work-around.
    https://www.process.st/how-to/setup-windows-11-without-microsoft-account/

    At least one of the W11 third-party Start Menu replacements lets you move it to the top of your screen. It also IIRC gives you Control Panel back.
    https://www.startallback.com/

  52. Nick Flandrey says:

    W1 has previously stated that she has enough jewelry.   That was my ‘go to ’ for years when I was making good money and working in Canadia… got my tax back and the exchange rate was favorable, and my client introduced me to her jeweler who was directly importing the pieces… they were really nice and I bought all I could.   Gave those for major gifts for years afterwards…

    I’ll probably get her something nice next year for 20 anyway.   

    The main issue is that neither of us needs anything, and all our extra goes towards the BOL.

    I don’t have the budget for a new Ipad, and she’s mainly using hers as a better kindle than the kindle.  Other than that, can’t really think of anything she’s even mentioned other than liking the kids’ switch.

    n

  53. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    from yesterday

    “The commercial auto insurance covers anything in that vehicle and anything in a personal vehicle owned or rented by any named employee on the policy.”

    I was really wondering about: anything in a personal vehicle owned or rented by any named employee on the policy.

    I don’t see what you’re getting for the money. Seems like it would make sense to either get rid of the vehicle or convert it back to personal use.

  54. drwilliams says:

    “Now a new poll shows 33% of Gen Zers, those ages 18 to 24, say that Israel does not have a right to exist as a nation in the Middle East.”

    If Gen Z were given the U.S. citizenship exam the failure rate would be over 90%, including most of those on the left side of campus.

  55. paul says:

    I’m bouncing off of the walls.  I can talk to Buddy the Beagle and Precious Puppy Princess Penny Poo but I sorta need more than a wagging tail.

    On an e-mail list where we have yabbered about everything for about 25 years it seems everyone is doing something else for the last few months.  Facebook is too public.

    So that’s why I’m yabbering here.  Got to talk to someone…..   

    12
  56. drwilliams says:

    @paul

    Yabber away. I do.

  57. paul says:

    I can post to the list and only a couple of folks reply.  The list use to be like using mIRC.

    Shrug.

  58. Nick Flandrey says:

    @paul, we’re here, and sympathetic, and we’re not going away…    do what you need to do.  We’re ok with it.   Wish we could be more help actually.

    n

    10
  59. Lynn says:

    @Lynn

    from yesterday

    “The commercial auto insurance covers anything in that vehicle and anything in a personal vehicle owned or rented by any named employee on the policy.”

    I was really wondering about: anything in a personal vehicle owned or rented by any named employee on the policy.

    I don’t see what you’re getting for the money. Seems like it would make sense to either get rid of the vehicle or convert it back to personal use.

    The problem is that is an employee has an accident on the way to work, while running an errand or getting some lunch, or on the way home, my main business must be covered for liability.  It does not matter if they are in their personal vehicle or my vehicle, we have got to have the coverage.  The only way that I can get liability now is to have a vehicle owned by the business and has commercial auto insurance on it. 

    The last company that sold liability auto insurance without a vehicle was Hartford and they stopped selling it three years ago.

    Lawyers.

    The thing is, I really want a trained lawyer to stand up for me in case something happens. And the insurance companies have the trained lawyers.

  60. Bob Sprowl says:

    I have a problem remembering names and locations those posting here.  Add family and work details also.  I wish we had a list…

  61. drwilliams says:

    The feebies have been trying for years…

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13341905/president-joe-biden-america-hunger-afford-food-inflation.html

    America is hungrier under Joe Biden with 17 million households now struggling to afford food due to inflation

    • The USDA revealed in 2022 there were 17M households struggling to afford food
    • Food insecurity is at the highest number since at least 2016
    • Americans have lamented of ‘meatflation’ and  rising food prices with inflation

    By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com In Washington, Dc

    Published: 16:15 EDT, 23 April 2024 | Updated: 17:46 EDT, 23 April 2024 

    Hunger is rising in the United States with 12.8 percent of Americans claiming they struggled to afford food in 2022 – a 2.6 percent increase from the year prior.

    Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released October 2023 reveals that there were 17 million households who had trouble putting food on the table in 2022.

    The increase can be linked to a massive spike in inflation following the end of the pandemic and President Joe Biden is likely to take the brunt of the political backlash for the growing issue.

    Americans have lamented for the last few years about the spiking price of several food products such as meat, eggs and milk. Some have even dubbed the phenomenon as ‘meatflation’ with the price of a ribeye steak doubling from $8.71 in November 2020 to $16.99 in November 2021.

    – the actual numbers are probably higher.

    n

  63. Lynn says:

    I’m bouncing off of the walls.  I can talk to Buddy the Beagle and Precious Puppy Princess Penny Poo but I sorta need more than a wagging tail.

    On an e-mail list where we have yabbered about everything for about 25 years it seems everyone is doing something else for the last few months.  Facebook is too public.

    So that’s why I’m yabbering here.  Got to talk to someone…..   

    Keep on yabbering, we are listening.

    I was serious about getting a part time job just for the social interactions.

  64. Lynn says:

    Kimber K6xs

        https://www.kimberamerica.com/k6xs-38-spl

    Papa wants a new toy !  But I want a external hammer.  But the internal hammer may be safer.

  65. Jenny says:

    @paul

    You are much on my mind. I sure wish there was something to ease the grief. 
     

  66. Lynn says:

    Henry Lever Action X Model .45-70

        https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/lever-action-x-model-45-70/

    Walmart in Port Lavaca, Texas had one of these for sale for $923.  I was sorely tempted.  If it had been $700, it would have been mine.

  67. Lynn says:

    Windows 11 keeps on daily changing my background on my office pc monitors.  Today’s background is an advertisement for Minecraft.  How capitalistic !

         https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/collectibles/minecraft-collection?form=MC13ER

    My daughter plays minecraft on the net and watches videos of people playing minecraft on youtube. It is so weird out there now.

  68. Denis says:

    Good morning, all! Dawn has broken in this timezone, and I was up to see it.

    Spring is sprung,

    the flowers is riz,

    I wonder where the birdies is…

    I am still really enjoying the Cornell ornithology Merlin app on my smartypants phone, that listens to the birdies and tells me who is singing. We have very vocal robins and blackbirds, with several varieties of tits, two different woodpeckers, a nuthatch, tree-creeper and wren. I haven’t seen a kinglet (Europe’s smallest bird) recently, though there are some hereabouts (they nested in the garden of our previous house, which is nearby).

    Nothing very exotic detected by the app yet, but I keep checking. In past (pre-app) years we also heard larks in the morning and nightingales in the evening, which is impressive for living in the city. The app provides a little blurb about each bird, which is nice. If they included some more in-depth blurb, that would be nicer, but I can always reach for my bird book if need be. I noticed the other day that the app did not register a cockerel crowing. Maybe domestic fowl don’t count.

    Paul, you are bouncing off the walls, and I can’t sleep. What a bunch we are, but we have each other. Hang in there, hang out here and yabber away all you like, that’s what we all do.

    @paul, we’re here, and sympathetic, and we’re not going away…    do what you need to do.  We’re ok with it.   Wish we could be more help actually

    What he said. With bells on.

    andouille sourced form this place

    That stuff looks decent, and actually appears to include pork meat, but I would have to smell it to be sure. I rather suspect that “andouille” in the US has evolved away from the use-up-every-last-molecule-of-the-pig French andouille, which both smells and tastes like shi(r)t, being made entirely from the beasts’ small intestines, probably unwashed. To say it is an acquired taste is a euphemism – it is absolutely inedible to non-Bretons, including me, despite the shared Celtic heritage.

    Maybe a new pair of diamond earrings?

    W1, like Nick’s, indicated she doesn’t want more jewelry at present, though I rather think she would like a new fancy wristwatch. Apparently, that is not jewelry. Saving my pennies to get her one for our 25th. Is that really next year? I have to save more pennies and faster.

  69. Denis says:

    Henry Lever Action X Model .45-70

    Very nice, Lynn. I don’t think you’ll find one for USD 700, though, but I hope you get lucky.

    I am currently after its 9mm cousin, the “Homesteader”:

     https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/homesteader-9mm/

    It’s a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing semi-auto pistol calibre carbine, and an ideal stealthy companion to my europellet pistols. The blued and wood look doesn’t scare the Fudds quite so much. I must figure out who imports Henry.

  70. Lynn says:

    Dinner tonight with andouille sourced form this place.

    https://www.jacobsandouille.com/

    I had time to kill on the last morning of the conference of New Orleans, and since I wasn’t supposed to do “fun” things by myself, I took a trip to the boonies to buy sausage at the request of our son.

    We’ll see if the trip was worth it.

    I always stop at Woody’s Smokehouse on the I-45 Centerville exit (both sides !, Buccee’s take note !) when traveling that way (North and South !).  Last year I got some Boudin sausage in addition to my normal two each of German Pepper Ring Sausage.  They had a note that there was jalapenos in the Boudin sausage.  Folks, they ground up a jalepeno per linear inch of the Boudin sausage !  I was on fire !  I could not finish my Boudin sausage due to the heat which saddened me greatly.

         https://woodyssmokehouse.com/

  71. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’ve been watching my two attic cameras to try and see some rats dying… but no luck.  One poked his head around the corner, but ignored the trap baited with turkey.   The other area where I put the bucket that was so busy last night was quiet as a mouse today.

    I’m going to bed.

    n

  72. Nick Flandrey says:

    Of course as soon as I wrote that a rat showed up.   He’s been circling, and probing, and exploring around the bucket but he hasn’t committed to the roller and fallen in.   Maybe he will overnight.   It’s got dog food and tasty beef fat …

    I can see that I need more compelling bait, and more cameras.

    n

  73. brad says:

    between crypto mining, and AI and search, the world wide power budget

    I was just reading a long article about the decline of Google search. In the end, it’s the kind of sad story one expected: Meteoric growth in the ad business was slowing, so the search team was forced to assist with ad placement instead of search quality. I mean, why shouldn’t you sustain 20% or even 50% year-over-year growth forever?

    The marketing-and-sales junkies are always finding more ways to screw up everyone’s experience. Apparently, AI is now being widely used in Reddit and other forums, in order to sneak mentions of products into discussion threads. Companies have been founded to do just this. The enshittification of the Internet continues apace.

    Maybe we should shoot the lawyers second. Shoot the sales-and-marketing types first.

    So that’s why I’m yabbering here.  Got to talk to someone…..

    Go for it. Even if we don’t reply directly, we’re reading. I mentioned some months back – for me, the feel here is like being in the pub with a bunch of friends. Lots of conversations, you can listen, you can chime in, whatever works.

    I was serious about getting a part time job just for the social interactions.

    Or volunteer for something. If you’re not the charity type, there are other places happy to have a helping hand. Libraries, for example.

    I’ve been watching my two attic cameras to try and see some rats dying… but no luck.  One poked his head around the corner, but ignored the trap baited with turkey.

    Nick is secretly breeding super-rats for the government.

  74. Alan says:

    >> Papa wants a new toy !  But I want a external hammer.  But the internal hammer may be safer.

    Nice wheel, like the six round capacity vs five. 

    No decock issues with the internal hammer.  And has the non-stacking trigger mechanism. 

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