Hot and humid again today. Boy it was unpleasant yesterday. In fact, the heat and humidity combined with my weariness, and left me mostly taking the day to sit in the blessed cool of the A/C and read.
That’s AFTER getting up, trying to get the gennie started for the day, eating breakfast, and starting on gennie repair. And looking out the window to see linemen doing their thing on my street… which led to getting my power restored in the mid-morning and only a few days after it went out. They really have done an outstanding job, considering that unlike a hurricane, they didn’t have a whole crew lined up outside the hurricane zone, staged and ready to jump in.
Once the A/C was on, I wasn’t motivated to bake my brain in the sun. I did do some pickup and clean up and putting away inside the house…
And I worked on getting my office and computers back up. With some success. I seem to have one damaged monitor. Not bad considering how many over and under voltage events must have occurred.
Then my wife and kids decided to come home for a few days before we head back up for the long weekend. They got in around 10pm. It’s good to have the pack together.
Today will be continuing to put everything back where it belongs, and maybe even make some inroads on the patio or driveway, since I should be out there anyway. Oh, and doing some gennie work. The carb didn’t arrive yesterday, but it’s supposed to arrive today. If this turns out to be one of those scammy drop shippers or china packet mail shippers, I’m calling amazon to complain. There were other sellers but this was the one at the top of amazon’s results. Amazon has allowed their platform to be overrun with scammers and chinese sellers and pure cr@p. It’s getting harder to find the good product every day.
The world gets cr@pier every day.
Try to make your personal world a little better. You can’t counter the whole world, but you can improve your situation.
And by now you know I think you should do it by stacking the stuff you need.
nick
The public schools, run by administrators with doctorates and professional teachers with master’s degrees, are so bad that any amateur can do better.
Brittney Griner.
Sure, but doing it properly would take an immense amount of time.
If I were in the US, and could afford it, I would choose a good private school. Failing that, at least a cooperative, where parents work together to provide the schooling. The hard part would be avoiding the ones populated by religious “the earth is only 6000 years old” fruitcakes.
I get contacted by the Ford dealership where I bought my truck 10 years and 1 month ago. Generally anew salesperson who thinks they can outsell all the other salespeople. They ask how much I want for my truck. I say I paid $54K but will consider $40K trade in. They say that is not possible to which I reply that is what it is worth to me. They generally hang up.
Happened to me for the first time ever this month. Amazon refunded all the money.
A couple of days ago I was photographing a softball game. It was supposed to be on Saturday, but torrential rains flooded the park. The game was played on the fields of a rivalry school. In spite of the rivalry, the small towns do come together when needed.
Sometime during the game my expensive Lexar high-speed card got an error. I did not know this happened because I do not look at the display screen that often. I thought I had lost a few hundred pictures. I have two memory cards in the camera, high-speed and regular speed. The camera switched to the second card without me really knowing it had done so. I don’t think I lost any pictures.
The card from Lexar has a lifetime guarantee. I have submitted a claim to Lexar to get the card replaced. The card, which I purchased 10 months ago, is priced at $116.00, on Amazon. Expensive but really fast with a second set of contacts. I need that speed because of the burst sequences that I use. The camera can do 20 FPS, I normally use 10 FPS. I can photograph continuously for about 20 seconds with that card without any buffering issues.
Off to the state tournament today. The local paper has requested press credentials for me. If the school wins today then I will be there tomorrow. The spousal unit is going with me and we are prepared to spend one night if necessary. I don’t think the team will get much further than that. Tomorrow, if they play, it will be against a team that has beaten them 4 times out of 5 games, with the one winning game the regional championship.
A team only has to peak during the tournaments. The rest of the season is merely a giant scrimmage. The way TSSAA has things set up, all the teams play in the district, top two teams going to the region, top two teams from the region going to state.
The average sale price of a new F150 is $60,000 right now, even with car paper at 9% with decent credit.
Still, the dealer wants to be able to offer something to Papi who rolls in with Mama holding a permission slip to buy a “man’s” truck provided the payment stays below $500.
Given those numbers, the dealer needs to retail your truck for $40k. They won’t find an equivalent at auction sans issues.
My brain must have switched to summer mode, or I think it’s the weekend… I didn’t wake at 6 for school, and then go back to bed.
Freezers are frozen. I have been nervously checking every few hours to make sure they are moving in the right direction. They never get as cold as possible running just 12 hours a day. They stay w/in 10 deg of zero, but are normally below zero F. They’re back down to ‘really frozen’.
Time to get some coffee in me.
n
LOL, “Biden’s Pier”:
Reuters Reports That Aid Coming Through Biden’s Pier Has Been Stolen
I prefer plugs’ “A Pier Too Far”.
“The public schools, run by administrators with doctorates and professional teachers with master’s degrees, are so bad that any amateur can do better.”
If a DIE dissertation is essentially worthless and has a high probability of containing plagiarized material, what is the probability that education dissertations are worth investigating?
My buddy’s PhD research found that students were notably worse off after 4 years in his ghetto high school than they were before it. District didn’t want THAT published, but told them “too bad, need it for my degree”. He’s like Dr Jill now, only he actually still works in the district.
n
That’s a fine question, drwilliams.
Biden’s peer would be what, a pile of rotten kitchen garbage teeming with rats and maggots?
Does that mean that they measured comparatively worse on standardized tests compared to their age group throughout the nation, or that the quantitatively knew less than they did four years earlier? Either is bad but the latter is cause to decommission the school and fire every teacher and administrator, with lifetime bans.
Most of the home schoolers I talk to find they can get thru the state mandated stuff in a couple of hours a day. The rest of the school day is filled by stuff like SEL (h/t MrAtoz) and teaching the invaders english, or makework.
WRT avoiding the religious extremes, that was one of RBT’s goals with the homeschool science stuff he produced. My (very fast and loose personal experience) suggests two things – there are a lot of homeschoolers that just want their kids out of the degenerate indoctrination machine, who are Christian, but mostly mainline/mainstream; and I would frankly rather have a “young earth” or creationist view taught than the SEL/DEI/woke/AGW/progressive crap that fills ALL the classes and not just the science classes. It’s easier to overcome with evidence and lived experience.
n
the latter is cause to decommission the school and fire every teacher and administrator, with lifetime bans.
– this, except that since it’s an LA area district they mostly get promoted.
My buddy does what he can, but he’s not the idealist he used to be.
And one of the objections to performance evaluation that the teachers always bring up, and actually has some merit, is that they don’t control what kids they get. And an awful lot of the kids are damaged long before they get to high school.
There is actually an interesting thing that happens. The teachers oppose performance testing and evaluation of their jobs because each kid is unique and most of them are not able to perform at even a much lower level (for various reasons) but officially as prog lefties the kids are a group, with no individual differences, and each one has full potential to be a superstar, and you can NEVER single out any causative factors that are under the control of the students or their “families”. The cognitive dissonance is extreme, but they have lots of practice with it.
n
Not sure if you meant pier, but peer also works. LOL.
Ka-Ching!
Catching up on stuff, including email.
Came across this from [a big company that offers investment advice and financial services] … in a newsletter from their investment side.
Irony alert, the page had a link to “subscribe to my newsletter”…
Russell Price, Chief Economist
– and that right there is a Master Class on how to write a newsletter article that says nothing while sounding authoritative.
Note that he doesn’t DENY a crash is possible or coming. If they are “often baseless” then they must also be “sometimes well founded”. The reminder that “it’s all relative, and when the dollar goes down something else goes up” maybe be true but it’s mostly irrelevant to a US investor, especially a retail one. Very few people own currencies outside the US and if the US dollar declines against everyone else, it’s a problem for those of us trying to buy stuff with US dollars… ie. everyone in the US.
NB that I read the newsletter for “fun” because of things like the above. Often they are hilarious (in a gallows humor kinda way) to read a few months later. I wouldn’t take advice from this guy.
(and if you are interested the other two points are contrarian about consumer debt levels, and credit card use, but given the obvious problems with #3,I’m inclined to discount them to “nearly useless.” use google if interested.)
n
>>The hard part would be avoiding the ones populated by religious “the earth is only 6000 years old” fruitcakes.
Ha! Everyone knows it’s 2024 years old. 😉
Belief in something untestable is religion.
Belief in an idea already found to be false, such as destroying the US economy to make unmeasurably small reductions in carbon dioxide, is delusion.
Imposing that false idea on society made pliable by a n non-functional educational system is evil.
What 2%-er is worth that fee?
Really worth it?
Question: I haven’t traveled much in a while, looks like my travel agency has gone away sometime in the last few years.
Is it better to use Expedia (or something like it) for booking hotel rooms, or just call the hotel (Marriott) directly?
Same question about booking flights.
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – Speach of The Devil”
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-speak-of-the-devil-2/
“A.F.Branco Cartoon – When Pope Francis said, “Conservatism is a suicidal attitude,” he insulted millions of Christians around the world, both Protestants and Catholics. As a known socialist/Communist, one wonders if he isn’t lending his ear to darker spiritual forces.”
Yup, the fake Pope (OFD would be all over this) lives in the lap of luxury in a walled garden, flies around in a private jet, and tells the rest of us to eat dog poop.
@Greg Norton
“Brittney Griner.”
Anyone do better than a convicted felon exchanged for a terrorist by a demented president in a forlorn hope of scrounging alphabet votes?
EdH, I’ve got about ¾ million air miles and used to average 200 days a year on the road…
NEVER use an aggregator like expedia. If you have an issue, it’s just that much harder to fix. I’ve had bad experiences with expedia, travelocity, and others.
I don’t call hotels directly unless it’s mardi gras, or some other extraordinary reason. I use the chain website, or if I have to, call using the member benefits number (if you are a member of their rewards program.) Ask for the “best available rate” and compare to the AAA rate if you are an AAA member.
I like Marriott business hotels-, the lower cost partner brands, and the same for Hilton. I almost never stay in a “Marriott” or “Hilton” branded hotel though.
You can save money going down market, and sometimes it’s ok, like any of the Comfort Inn associated brands, but they can be really sketchy, with people essentially living there. It’s hard to tell ahead of time if you are unfamiliar with the area. I avoid “motel” type properties if I can, I don’t want doors that open to the outside of the building.
Online search tools can help identify what’s in the area but so can simply using google maps and zooming in, or turning on “show local xxxxxx” ie. show hotels.
BTW, at any Marriott associated brand, if something isn’t quite right, you can just casually comment “that doesn’t seem like the ”Marriott Way”.” “The Marriott Way” is the name of the book and initiative that defines how they should be working from a corporate point of view. Using the phrase often makes them think you are a ‘secret shopper’ or undercover corporate drone. It’s gotten me extra consideration when I’ve had minor issues that they didn’t seem interested in fixing.
n
Of COURSE a crash is possible, and depending on the definition of “crash”, is inevitable. We’ll probably have a recession, major or otherwise, in 2026; as Trump tries to rein in inflation, or as Biden’s handlers try to deal with the out-of-control spending. (Remember there was a short, sharp, recession in 1983 as Reagan tamed the Carter era inflation, and the same is likely to happen again. ) We may even have a genuine depression, which is MY greatest fear.
I thought “the drug abusing entitled lesbian locked up in Russia” not her name, but she was the only one to come to mind, and then only because of her infamy not any talent for the game.
n
From yesterday:
Yes, as Nick mentioned, I rewrote the whole program to be web-based. Got it to ‘speak’ the phrases used, with the native computer voices available on your device. Used the same text/instruction sequence as in the original program. Set up a website, and various licensing levels (and cost) based on number of users. There was tracking of each user’s progress.
The rights to the program’s concepts belong to the Pournelle family, but the program (implementation, web site) belonged to me. But, since I didn’t own the concepts, the Pournelle family had to allow the program to be sold. We did that for three years (under contract), but there were minimal sales, probably due to lack of marketing on my part.
At that point, I proposed that the program be free, with me paying domain and hosting charges, and allowing for donations (which would be shared with the Pournelle family). The Pournelle family hasn’t responded to numerous entreaties to allow that concept.
I still own the domain name (readingtlc.com ) and the site is still there, but the actual instructions etc are disabled for now. I don’t have the rights to the concepts, just the implementation, so can’t do anything with it without the Pournelle family’s permission. The domain registration expires in Dec this year; I will probably let it lapse, unless the Pournelle family wants to keep it going.
In related news, the Pournelle family is still supporting Jerry’s sites and domain name (which was just renewed this week for another three years, along with hosting for another three years), so those sites are still active. Not much new content, though.
FWIW, I don’t know if I could name a current NBA or NFL or NHL “star” either, although I might recognize a name in conversation.
n
If you’re former military, be sure to ask for the veteran rate. The veteran rate is occasionally better than the AAA rate.
IDK these guys outside of their emails but the prices are good.
https://www.combatarmory.com/
they are “reorganizing their warehouse” and dumping stuff they find. If blems and shelf wear don’t bother you….
n
@EdH: Yes. as with shoe repair shops, travel agencies are also gone from my area.
If you come down to join me for a beer at Mother’s Tavern in Sunset Beach, I will not be able to show one, https://www.facebook.com/MothersTavern.
SIL and I are planning a short trip up to Lone Pine in the near future, we will reserve lodging online. We plan to stop for break at The Joint in Randsburg on the way up. Will let you and JimB know when we schedule it.
Of COURSE a crash is possible, and depending on the definition of “crash”, is inevitable. We’ll probably have a recession, major or otherwise, in 2026; as Trump tries to rein in inflation, or as Biden’s handlers try to deal with the out-of-control spending. (Remember there was a short, sharp, recession in 1983 as Reagan tamed the Carter era inflation, and the same is likely to happen again. ) We may even have a genuine depression, which is MY greatest fear.
In Texas, the crash started in 1982 and went through 1987. 1986 was particularly brutal, the price of crude oil dropped from $20 ??? to $6 / US Barrel and the price of natural gas dropped from $2.25 / mmbtu to $0.25 / mmbtu. The RIFs in the oil and gas industry across the USA were brutal, 50% across the USA and over 60% in Texas. Brutal. I worked for an electric utility from 1982 to 1989 and managed to escape the disaster.
Crashes in the energy industry always lead and follow the national crashes. We are in a perpetual crash in the oil and gas industry since 2008 in the USA. Crude oil was $140 / US Barrel in 2008, it is $79 now. Natural gas has dropped from $14 / mmbtu in 2008 to $2.50 now.
Employment in the oil and gas industry in the USA has dropped from 15 million in 2008 to 10 million now. And still dropping. We are selling about 20 to 25% of our crude oil and natural gas production in the USA to outside countries, mostly our two neighbors, Europe, and Asia.
BTW, a mmbtu is a million btus.
So, a crash is coming if you use the oil and gas industry as an indicator. I cannot tell you how bad it will be.
FWIW, I don’t know if I could name a current NBA or NFL or NHL “star” either, although I might recognize a name in conversation.
n
MLB ? I only keep up with the MLB as I still love baseball.
I am taking today off from work too, seven days so far. I have not shaved in a week and a half. My father and I are the only males in our family who do not have beards but I have had a goatee and mustache for decades. I am thinking about growing my beard out, it has been a few decades since the last one. Of course, the wife will have a vote in the actual happenings as I will do just about anything to keep her happy.
Of course, I review my business email daily. Most of it is just web nonsense and reports from my main website on usage and program crackers. I have about 500 emails to process when I get serious.
Of course, I am going to go get a haircut in a while and drop by the office to sign checks, make sure my office building is still there, etc.
My 40 year old son has lots of comments on his 16 inch beard this trip. Lots of ladies told him it was cool even though it is severely grey now (Cherokee / European heritage). And several guys were envious. When the wind on the river was blowing 50+ mph, his beard often was blowing straight with the wind.
I thought you were all confused, calling Caitlyn Clark a WNBA player, since her college career only ended in the last month. Pretty much everything I know about her I learned from the incessant yammering on ESPN in the locker room at the gym.
But I see she’s now a WNBA player, for a whole week.
She single-handedly boosted interest and ticket sales in women’s college basketball.
Let’s see what WNBA tickets do over the next 2 years. And for that matter, college tickets over the next year.
I have my doubts about her ability to drive demand long-term.
@lynn, just finished shaving and cutting my hair. I was looking a bit unkempt. I should have done it a week or more ago, but kept finding reasons not to, then I couldn’t.
Feels good to be neat again.
I’m regrowing my mustache and chin beard. I shaved them but didn’t like the result.
Every one of the linemen had a really nice beard going. It was striking.
n
@EdH: What Nick said. The travel sites can be useful for research, but book directly. Otherwise, if there is a problem, or if you need to make a change, the hotel or airline cannot help – you have to go through the travel site.
BTW, if you think things will get sporty, the 4 pack of G19 barrels, and a 4 pack of firing pins/striker pins might be something to invest in…
At the price listed, they’re “disposable”.
Just saying.
n
Wife suggested we test one of the solar panel kits I brought home. It has 4 flexible panels, in a hand cordura style fold open ‘case’, a charge controller and cables.
She wants to look at the USB charging, which is provided off the charge controller without a battery needed.
She’s running down her battery pack to see how long it needs to charge later.
n
“Israel Fuming At UN’s Moment Of Silence For Iran Leader: ‘What’s Next? A Moment Of Silence For Hitler?’”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-announces-interim-president-after-raisis-helicopter-hit-mountain-disintegrated
“On the same day that ICC issues arrest warrant for a democratically elected leader who is defending his country, the UN Security Council, including US representative, stands to honor Ebrahim Raisi, “butcher of Tehran”, who’s killed thousands of Iranians…”
Why is the USA still in the UN ?
So the ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli President. That will not go over well.
Bread and circuses.
Say it ain’t so JLo….
ha ha.
n
So the ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli President.
– clowny’s wife, and clinton BFF- amal
even with DDG it’s hard to find articles that aren’t puff pieces about the clownys
n
The WNBA benefits from the DEI initiatives at Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street, who, in turn, hold significant stock in the major media companies. The real market just isn’t there.
Ha ha!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13440231/Jamieson-influencer-Patsys-restaurant-backfired.html
Owners were not having it.
n
I’m regrowing my mustache and chin beard. I shaved them but didn’t like the result.
Every one of the linemen had a really nice beard going. It was striking.
Just about every man in Montana had a beard.
My beard started in 2020. I am retired, so don’t need to impress people.
Light trimming every couple of weeks, so not bushy or long. It is mostly brown, although there are gray areas (more than I want, but I am going with ‘distinguished’). I like not having to shave each day, possibly because I am lazy.
Family members haven’t complained. Or care, I suspect.
Many marriages are the result of “temporary insanity”.
I have a snow bird friend who has been living in hotels, preferably Hilton brands, for several years. She negotiates a long term rate directly with the specific hotel but branches out to the corporate site when she wants to travel away from home base. She is extremely knowledgeable about the corporate loyalty program and the nuances of various sub-brands. And has, post-Covid, been bemoaning the various penny pinching implementations of policy.
Staff is memorably aware of guests using Expedia or similar. To them, that guest is just an occupancy statistic. Non aggregator guests will get above and beyond service to the very limit of policy.
Calling Mr. SteveF! Calling Mr. Steve!
There’s one who calls himself King James. Don’t know the sport. Don’t know his last name. Don’t care enough to look it up.
There’s the football player who has a lot of Superbowl rings, whose wife left him and immediately was seen with a yoga instructor or something. I’d probably recognize his name if I saw it.
There’s that ungrateful piece of crap football player who started the kneeling craze. I’d probably recognize his name.
And, uh… that’s about it.
I’ve never understood the appeal of watching other people do things. Yah, sure, if my kid is on the team, I’ll go and try not to be too bored. If I owned a team, I’d go. The same applies to watching other people play computer games, play music, blow things up, or whatever. Except for learning how to do something, I don’t see the point.
Hey! I’m not not insane, temporarily or otherwise. Stupid, is what I am.
When I am the guest of my friend, she will book me my own room with her loyalty points. I make sure to bring an HDMI cable to use on the room TV as a large monitor for my laptop and downloaded video. Some hotel’s entertainment machinery make that project more difficult than others, locking out “Settings” from the non-manufacturer’s remote. OTOH, I succeeded the last time with the direct entry buttons on the TV itself.
I’m a low maintenance guest, eschewing Housekeeping for my stay and tipping when leaving.
It used to be possible to bypass the lockouts with a universal remote, and with a little exploration, one could clone the tv of another room. A perhaps not so surprising number of business travelers are watching the same sort of thing after 10pm.
That was all before modern times, when an internet connection works just fine, and even cheap hotels have bandwidth.
The last few places I’ve stayed didn’t even have in room entertainment options, and some even expected you to connect with an HDMI cable to the TV. Roku and firesticks are pretty small, and you can take your subscriptions with you.
n
“Dementia Joe Drains the Entire Northeast Gasoline Reserve in Desperate Bid to Lower Gas Prices as He Trails Trump by Double Digits”
https://thelibertydaily.com/dementia-joe-drains-entire-northeast-gasoline-reserve-desperate/
“(ZeroHedge)—Back in March, when reading the mammoth, 1050-page bill that was meant to avert government shutdown, but was yet another pork filled free-for-all bonanza authorizing $1.7 trillion in in discretionary spending, we stumbled upon something that was truly shocking: after Biden singlehandedly drained half of the US strategic petroleum reserve to avoid obliteration for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, Congress has snuck in a provision that would sell off and shutter the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, a move that while perhaps keeps gas prices lower for a day or two, would also leave the entire continental northeast defenseless to any true environmental catastrophe or shock. We were so shocked by the inclusion of this particular text, we wondered if it hadn’t been put there solely for the benefit of America’s enemies…”
“… because surely nobody in their right mind, not even the illegitimate senile occupant of the White House, would ever pursue such short-term gains at the expense of potentially disastrous long-term consequences to the entire nation.”
“We were wrong: earlier today, just two months after the bill was signed by Biden into law, the panicking administration announced that it would sell the nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline in the US managed stockpile in northeastern states, the Department of Energy said, effectively closing the reserve.”
How incredibly stupid is this ? If I did not know better, I would assume that we are being set up for an event.
If I did not know better,
what makes you think you know better?
n
In August of 2022, I bought a pack of 4 Feit LED light bulbs (Edison type)for a bathroom vanity light (it takes 3) from Home Depot. The stated warranty is 2 years. I had one fail in February of this year, and Feit replaced it. I just had another fail, and they are replacing it as well. Longevity isn’t great, but it’s nice to see them standing behind their warranty. The most difficult part of the process is getting the lot number off of the bulb itself. That print is tiny and faint.
@Nick & others: Many thanks for your advice.
Just went ahead and reserved 3 nights in Kemah directly from Marriott. Tho oddly enough I had to call them because online you can only reserve two nights at a time. Some weird middle management black pattern I would guess, to try to upsell.
A bit pricey, but it’s where the rest of the wedding party is staying, so it’s fine.
p.s. Tried on my business clothes last night … they seem to have shrunk around the chest and waist. Uh oh.
Per Tolkien canon, all Dwarves have beards, even the women.
Amazon’s showrunners ignore this in “The Rings of Power” series.
I have a snow bird friend who has been living in hotels, preferably Hilton brands, for several years. She negotiates a long term rate directly with the specific hotel but branches out to the corporate site when she wants to travel away from home base. She is extremely knowledgeable about the corporate loyalty program and the nuances of various sub-brands. And has, post-Covid, been bemoaning the various penny pinching implementations of policy.
On the last night in Helena, Montana, we stayed at the old Comfort Inn by the airport again. Last year, we found out that it had been bought by an Indian or Pakistani family that lived in the downstairs. Now we found it that it has been bought by the United Way Of Helena for “transitional living”.
https://www.ktvh.com/news/united-way-looks-to-raise-5-million-in-the-purchase-of-the-helena-inn
““Our statistics locally, concerning folks who need housing, we know that there are at least 100 people out there looking for places like this and to offer 48 units pretty quickly, it’s just an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Jeff Buscher, the Director of Community Impact at United Way.”
“One of the biggest problems we have in Helena right now is there are people who finally, after a long amount of time, qualify for a session eight voucher and they can’t find anywhere to use it,” Melinda Reed, a City of Helena Commissioner said.”
We figured that the copper pipes will be ripped out within the first week.
Pratchett’s Dwarfs as well.
n
Heck, I know several girls of middle eastern ancestry that shave more than I do.
n
If I did not know better,
what makes you think you know better?
n
I keep on assuming that the liberals and dumbrocrats still love the USA. Most days now, that faith is being shaken in me. I just cannot believe that they hate the USA. But the facts keep on proving me wrong.
“Disney’s Pixar slashes 14% of its workforce after series of flops including Lightyear and Onward that some critics deemed too woke
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13444135/Pixar-layoff-staff-flops-Lightyear-Onward-Inside-Out.html
It ain’t the fault of the people, it is the fault of management. But, they have been hiring the wrong people.
The Northeast receives gasoline via pipelines which have been proven vulnerable to hacking in the past.
All it takes is one moron with enough PC savvy to install TeamViewer.
EV owners shouldn’t be smug. In a real crisis which cuts off gasoline supplies in a region, how long do you really believe that the electricity will keep flowing?
Or should I spell it, “guzzolene”, “Mad Max” style?
Pixar has been doomed since Lasseter was fired, but they really seemed to lose their way after Steve Jobs died and wasn’t sitting in the dailies screening room on a regular basis.
The Disney Bankruptcy and dismemberment will be glorious to behold.
Tim Cook will take Pixar and rehire Lasseter.
Nothing today. Just puttering around. Yeah, it’s 90f and 58% humidity outside. A mix of sunny and cloudy and some thunder noise. It gets breezy and then dead still. Inside, at the moment it’s 84f and 69% humidity. A little sticky but not bad.
No stress today with sweating off my deodorant and then a sudden warp core dump a few hours later in the bathroom. Running the vent fan would have been nice. Sheesh, what did I eat? Yeah, I was a bit stressed yesterday. Never thought to check my BP. Shrug.
The dogs are being lazy today. As they should.
I paid bills. Enough, I think. Just look online and go clicky click at Frost’s site to pay. If the paper statements are more money, more clicky click. Spent some of his Cashback to send myself an Amazon gift card. He’d been saving it up for a gub of some kind but that’s not going to happen.
I suppose he could send me an $1800 gift card but I think increments are the way to go. Then again….
I have enough gubs. I have the .40 plastic model that fits either hand like a glove and I can hit the target. No glasses or fancy sights required. Just point with arm. Might not be a heart shot but close enough with hollow points.
I have an old .22 revolver for chicken killing coons.. My Henry .22. And a couple of 100 year old bolt action .22s. Tree rats don’t stand a chance here.
The boys are like I want this gub and that gub and I told them to chill out. You’re getting ALL of it, everything in this house, just not today. Ok? Let’s get his ashes first? Ya know? Oh, yeah, right. I stomped that feeding frenzy right down.
It’s all cool. They lost their daddy and I understand. Don’t wish your life away, right?
They forgot the coming reeducation of the Country Bears in Orlando, including removal of Tex Ritter’s performance of “Blood on the Sand”.
The announcement came eerily during the same week as the 20th anniversary of John Ritter’s death.
Starting with the board rehiring The Weatherman.
This is what happens when Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street control your entertainment industry.
I guess last weeks thunderstorms fried my “good” wireless charger for the iphone, the Mophie. I disconnected the computers & tv’s, but not the kitchen outlet wall warts.
I have another no-name brand, in my travel kit, that still works, but I will probably buy another Mophie. The wired charger connection has had issues for a while.
Pictures from the first round of the state tournament in 1A softball.
https://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/SFulton
Which end? Asking for a friend.
Now that’s a visual I don’t need.
But funny as heck.
An 80s movie nerd friend sent an email yesterday complaining about AMC putting a “non PC” disclaimer in front of “Goodfellas”, and, when I did a quick check, I noted that institutions hold 90% of AMCX.
There has been a growing school of thought in film circles that “Goodfellas” should have received an NC-17, but now I have to wonder where that talking point originates.
I’ve heard it first hand out of Bruce Campbell’s mouth, but he has a decent excuse with “Army of Darkness” released the same weekend as “Goodfellas” and receiving the NC-17 rating which doomed the mass box office of the film.
Of course, “Goodfellas” was fine to invoke for “Doors”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi6v4CYNSIQ
Most movie directors and TV “showrunners” are entirely ignorant of the source material that they’re “working” with.
“Microsoft rebuilt Windows 11 around AI and Arm chips”
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-rebuilt-windows-11-around-ai-and-arm-chips-173152776.html?guccounter=1
“There’s also a new emulator, Prism, for running older Windows apps.”
Microsoft is getting serious about this ARM thing. Somebody at Intel must have been a really bad boy / girl / it.
I have enough gubs. I have the .40 plastic model that fits either hand like a glove and I can hit the target. No glasses or fancy sights required. Just point with arm. Might not be a heart shot but close enough with hollow points.
I have an old .22 revolver for chicken killing coons.. My Henry .22. And a couple of 100 year old bolt action .22s. Tree rats don’t stand a chance here.
The boys are like I want this gub and that gub and I told them to chill out. You’re getting ALL of it, everything in this house, just not today. Ok? Let’s get his ashes first? Ya know? Oh, yeah, right. I stomped that feeding frenzy right down.
It’s all cool. They lost their daddy and I understand. Don’t wish your life away, right?
Did your spouse have a will ? Otherwise, Texas has a default will for everyone.
Even with a will, the J. Howard Marshall Memorial Full Bl*wjob for Geezers Assurance Act gives the “spouse” at time of death a 50% share of the estate minimum to avoid probate in Texas.
I use quotes because several categories of that term apply including common law and state certified marriages.
Of course the offspring will want possession of the guns which are not transferred and documented by a legal process.
>>Quick, name a women’s WNBA star besides Caitlin Clark
Breanna Stewart
Nikola Jokic if you want one for the NBA
Self inflicted wounds, Intel spent a decade, 5 development cycles or so, on going woke.
That said:
“In a single stroke, Microsoft has turned one of the largest advances in Windows laptops in years into a floating dumpster fire.”
https://ai.mee.nu/daily_news_stuff_21_may_2024
Basically, it sounds to me like they are planning scraping everything on your PC into their servers, for AI feed. Purely by accident, of course.
A dumpster fire for you, but nice 7 and 8 figure bonuses for Intel management and the big stock holders.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13440263/donald-trump-voters-joe-biden-hometown-scranton.html
Why on earth would anyone think of voting for someone just because of where they lived when he was 10 years old? If that’s driving your choice, you should abstain from voting. And why on earth would anyone assume that people would do that?
Like the extremely raciss idea that all blacks would vote for obammma because his daddy was black… wtf?
n
“Tried on my business clothes last night … they seem to have shrunk around the chest and waist.”
Improper storage.
Hah!
Hung on a rack and ignored is proper storage, after retiring.
It was always a tossup as to whether it would be a funeral or wedding to bring them out.
And there were actually a couple of deaths during Covid that should’ve brought them out, but it didn’t happen.
Self Correction for 20:47 post:
Real AI hardware, the kind which will allow the C-suites to fire people, still depends on Intel.
Intel was up my as much as 60% over the lows at the beginning of last year, but then the rumors started flying about who might buy AMD-based AI hardware and the stock tanked again.
Our AI server which is heralded in all the trades as the fastest ramping tech product in history will use the same Intel CPU and support chipsets when the AMD GPU version ships later this year.
Disclaimer: I own Intel. That’s my AI play. As for the specs about the AMD version of our server, those have been on the web site since December.
>>Amazon has allowed their platform to be overrun with scammers and chinese sellers and pure cr@p. It’s getting harder to find the good product every day.
If at all possible I stay away from items that are not both Sold By and Shipped By Amazon.
Yes, the Mar-a-Lago Raid Was Extraordinary, but the ‘Deadly Force’ Language in the Ops Order Wasn’t
https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2024/05/21/yes-the-mar-a-lago-raid-was-extraordinary-the-deadly-force-language-in-the-operations-order-wasnt-n2174491
First, there are very good arguments that the FBi is an unconstitutional organization.
Second, there is no section of the U.S. Constitution that authorizes agents of the federal government to use deadly force against it’s citizens at all, much less in searches that do not involve a capital crime.
January 20
Donald Trump
With an
axeExecutive Order pen.In Washington DC
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/05/21/forgotten-history-sliced-bread-the-invention-to-which-all-inventions-are-compared-n2174488
Pink guy from the heartland of America.
Another one for the cultural appropriation list.
“Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Triumphs-Daniels-Ilona-Andrews/dp/0425270726?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number ten of a ten book paranormal romance dark fantasy series. There are short stories and successive books to the series also. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2019 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. I have purchased several of the successor books for later reading.
Kate Daniels is a mercenary in Atlanta, Georgia and engaged to the former Beast Lord. All of her life, she has been running from her father, a 5,000+ year old all powerful mage currently known as Roland. In the Bible, he is known by another name. Roland has killed all of her brothers and sisters so she expected the same treatment when he found her. Now Kate is trying to figure how to live with him knowing where she is and popping up in her life constantly. But now someone from her father’s distant past has also awakened, an even more magical being than her father. And Kate and Curran have a son now, a half beast half magic son.
Kate Daniels’s universe sucks. Forty years ago, the tech world crashed over the entire Earth and was replaced by the magic world in the form of a magic flare. Guns don’t work, cars don’t work, electricity and phones do not work. But magic works. Good magic and bad magic. After a week, the tech world came back to a drastically changed world. And radically fewer humans. And the magic world came back after a while. And the tech world came back after that. And so on and so forth. Each world can last a few weeks or a few hours.
I liked everything about the story. I especially liked the very clear distinction between the tech time and the magic time. I had never thought about it that way. The series may be inspired by “Ariel” by Steven Boyett and “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling except those never interchange the tech time and the magic time, they just transitioned to the magic time.
The authors have a website at:
https://www.ilona-andrews.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (11,886 reviews)
Lynn
“After a full year of not thinking about printers, the best printer is still whatever random Brother laser printer that’s on sale.”
A Verge review…
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/2/24117976/best-printer-2024-home-use-office-use-labels-school-homework
Heh.
TBH, I haven’t bought another brand since my first Brother.
The really low end Brother printers have a lot of quirks, especially with regard to Linux and Apple.
If you are a mixed platform house, get one of the printers with BR-Script capability, Brother’s PostScript emulation. You’ll pay more, but it will save a lot of frustration.
The Constitution does not have any provision allowing for a federalized police force, so the FBI and the ATF must both be abolished.
95% of Federal law is unconstitutional.
“The Congress shall have Power To”
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-1/#article-1-section-8
AND THAT’S ALL!!!
Further, all laws are supposed to be written by Congress, in the Legislative branch. Nothing in any law gives agencies in the EXECUTIVE branch to usurp Congressional powers and prerogatives, nor is there any provision of the Constitution allowing Congress to DELEGATE legislative powers to the Executive branch.
Plus: “IS ADMINISTRATIVE LAW UNLAWFUL?”
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/04/is-administrative-law-unlawful-2.php
“Again With the Camps”
https://areaocho.com/again-with-the-camps/
“Now it’s Katie Couric who wants to put Trump supporters in reeducation camps. They keep saying it. They are coming right out and telling you what they want to do to those who disagree with their worldview.”
“If someone tells you that you are their enemy, believe them.”
The coming Civil War will be bad. I so will not go into a camp easily.
“Trump’s gonna do X, and Y, and Z too.”. He probably can’t eliminate any federal department without Congressional approval. He could, however, tell any federal department to fire 90% of its staff and make do with the rest.
He could have done that in his first term, when he promised to “drain the swamp”. He didn’t. He ain’t gonna. All show, no substance.
Mind you, I’d love to be proven wrong.
What a day. 12 rabbits processed with ample help from my husband this evening. I can’t remember if I’ve done that many all at once before. They were 10 weeks old today. Much easier to pull off the hide than at 12 weeks. Also fattier than I expected,so though they were smaller than the 12 weeks olds are, I think the size trade is worth the better pellet to muscle production ratio. I’m paying $28 for 40 lbs of 16% protein feed. They eat a lot. These are from the first breeding of the year. My second litter of the year are just over four weeks old and got moved into the vacated cages. My does are due to kindle their third litter next Tuesday so they’ll have a short break. They are maintaining their weight and condition well. I’m so impressed with these rabbits.
You may recall my Facebook friend having a medical emergency a month ago, and my part in her, well, rescue. She was diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, the terrible malady that killed our Daynotes friend OFD. I‘m pleased to share my friend has had a compariti good outcome. Her case was mild, caught and treated in time, and while her symptoms and limitations are still awful, she’s home and recovering and has help for her daily needs. When she posted that day last month GBS occurred to me but I figured I was being morbidly fanciful.
I‘m so glad I (eventually) listened to my concerns and called her local police for a wellness check. I think she may well have ignored her symptoms and died if I hadn’t raised such a stink. I’m really glad she’s still with us, and has the internal fortitude and personal resources to recover.
I cried when I read her FB post crediting me for my part today. It’s rare to feel like something I did genuinely mattered.
What a day.
A bad Seal On the Diff:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqncH54KnSdFzv7rJ_IfRMMmkgUdAXG0vkURoEzLHO3Ub468tDL2sKbRJDaPHHLs88CjdruMxzLuta8fje5CXPS-JtWdpwHB2BPxxMWU7kxEz1GR5KgS6fLC2i_umMrtgP1aP5HPNr8oVUZna-TlrFfkt7QpOKaF2bZk-MHt59jgEPf1QDlqz_N44F0Q8/s994/Meme%20-%20bad%20seal.png
From:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/05/memes-that-made-me-laugh-210.html
“Trump’s gonna do X, and Y, and Z too.”. He probably can’t eliminate any federal department without Congressional approval. He could, however, tell any federal department to fire 90% of its staff and make do with the rest.
He could have done that in his first term, when he promised to “drain the swamp”. He didn’t. He ain’t gonna. All show, no substance.
Mind you, I’d love to be proven wrong.
I am ready to run the experiment.
Biden was told by the Supreme Court that he has no authority to forgive student loans. He’s on what, his third, fourth, of fifth round of doing so?
He doesn’t need to eliminate any federal department, just slash budgets by 90% and mow it flat:
Transfer all of the management of the IRS and 90% of the staff to Level II field offices with new assignments. For example, Mr. Trump is very concerned about stolen Feed Our Future funds. 500 agents go to Minneapolis to investigate and identify all avenues to recoup those funds.
Transfer all of the management of the EPA and 90% of the staff to the Forestry Service at their new headquarters in Helena, Montana. Require all employees to complete the Boy Scout Forestry merit badge requirements and pass the Order of the Arrow initiation, ca 1965. (what was that list? string, match, square of foil, one raw egg…)
or
Re-assign the entire EPA to develop a plan in 30-days to clean up all SuperFund sites by June 2026. Evaluate performance after 30 days and terminate underperforming employees and those not involved in the cleanup.
Oh, yeah: Before anything else, all weapons and ammunition held by any non-military department outside of the FBI, Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals will be turned in and locked up pending review and transfer to U.S Army. Exceptions will be considered for some field agents such as Forestry Service if supported by pre-2000 job descriptions and monthly range qualification. (What? Haven’t been to the range in two years? No pistola for-a you!)
Another Conspiracy Theory Win; It’s Getting Depressing
[read the quote]
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/05/22/another-conspiracy-theory-win-its-getting-depressing-n3788799
contrast with:
Medical freedom vs. public health: Should fluoride be in our drinking water?
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fluoride-safe-drinking-water-cities-ban-rcna143605
Fun fact: Fluoride is added to drinking water at a rate that is about one million times higher than the level that has been suggested as the limit for the fluorine-containing PFOS chemicals.
The Hiroshima of Community Notes
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2024/05/22/is-this-the-greatest-community-note-of-all-time-n3788913
Marxist rag has just extended it’s name recognition by 100X.
Until next week, when Google Search has them back below old JEP posts again.