09:41 – Al was moved to a regular room yesterday. Frances called yesterday to tell Barbara that Al’s temperature was a bit elevated. They’re keeping an eye on that, obviously, but haven’t moved him back to ICU. We’re hoping that Al will be released later this week and can return home to recuperate.
I have the first-draft design of the earth science kit pretty much complete. That is, I pretty much know what’s going into the kit and have enough of those items either on hand or on order to build a prototype and an initial batch of 30 kits. Items may be added or deleted as I actually write and test the lab sessions, but at least I have a starting point.
One of the items that’ll be on the “You Provide” list is a tub of Crayola Air-Dry Clay, which is widely available locally and on-line. Among other things, that’ll be used to make a 3D landscape model for a lab session on topographical mapping. At least, I think it will. I need to do some testing first, not least to make sure that the clay model, once dried and hardened, will remain hardened if it’s reimmersed in water.
So I asked Barbara to put a tub of the stuff on her shopping list for the next time she goes to Wal-Mart. She informed me that she’s no longer going to Wal-Mart unless she absolutely needs to for something no one else carries. She’s boycotting Wal-Mart, which is fine with me. I don’t like how they do business, and I’d as soon not buy from them. Barbara says she now goes to Target instead. No problem. Target also carries the Crayola Air-Dry Clay, and I’d much rather buy from them.
The last week or so has been pretty chilly for around here. One day, the high was only 50F (10C) and the low was 28F (-2C). But it appears that Native American Summer has arrived. For the next week or so, we’re to have highs in the upper 60’s to mid-70’s and lows in the upper 40’s to lower 60’s. Still, it’s time to make sure the natural gas logs in the den are clean, tested, and ready to go. Every year, I have to use canned air to blow out the tube in the oxygen-depletion sensor. Even the tiniest bit of dust plugs it and cuts off gas to the pilot light. Unless that pilot light is burning, the bimetal strip it heats won’t allow gas to flow to the burners.
Indian Summer does not come every year but the criteria are that we have to have at least a week of solid frost first. Then, sometimes in November or even early December, we might see a few days, maybe a week, of abnormally high temps and sunny days; that’s Indian Summer. We haven’t even had the first night yet of frost.
44 right now and overcast, with the usual strong wind gusts off the lake.
My wife and I came to this same conclusion about 6 years ago and so Target has typically been our discount retailer of choice. I am not sure what is a bigger turn off at Walmart, the way they conduct business or their customers. There’s an interesting documentary called “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices” that is somewhat eye opening. For its employees, Walmart is eerily similar to the company stores from back in the day. The employees get their paychecks, they cash them at the Walmart customer service counter or deposit them at whatever bank has a branch open in that Walmart, they grab a cart, and then they give 75% of their paycheck right back to Walmart within 24 hours of being paid. Sad.
Bob, is there anyway you can add a link to your WordPress Daynotes to your homepage at ttgnet.com/index.html? I’ll occassionally end up there, click the Daynote Journal link, and end up at your 2011-06-27 entry. Perhaps change the old link to “Daynotes Journal: Archives 1998-06-15 through 2011-06-27” or something similar and then have a link “Current Daynotes Journal” that points to the WordPress site? Just a suggestion.
I have used the Crayola air dry clay. In my experience, it cracks quite a bit. Not sure if that matters for what you plan to do with it, but I thought I would mention it.
What’s wrong with Wal-Mart? Is it the way they treat their employees or cost?
The WalMart closest to us is an aberration. The employees are courteous, the store is clean and well stocked, and you do not see any People of WalMart.
There are 3 WalMarts in our area and the other two are more typical. I really think that it has a lot to do with location, location, location. The WalMart closest to us is right next to the “rich folks” golf club and mansion community.
Our Targets (also 3 in our area) are all really great, all around, and the prices are the same or less than at WalMart. Except for the food department which is on the high side.
Well, the link for the current page does work. I’ll have to think about that.
Thanks. I don’t think a bit of cracking will be a problem, but as always I’ll play around with it before I finalize the lab text.
I’m not sure if someone who can afford an iPhone wouldn’t be able to afford a good microscope, but if you can only afford one or the other:
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/10/25/turn-your-iphone-into-a-high-power-digital-microscope-for-around/
– Rob
I may play around with that for a fun thing to try in my “downtime” here; looks pretty slick.
My local Walmart and Sam’s work fine for me. Clean, nice peeps. The Sam’s gas is 40 cents cheaper than the nearby gas stations. Walmart must have cut way back though. 25 checkouts with about 4 manned. They added 8 self checkouts, but only at only end, that kind of sucks.
Could somebody splain how a single payer health care system can work here if only half the peeps pay taxes? Would there have to be some new tax or withholding?
@MrAtoz: what’s the problem, the government just prints the money!
I saw a survey back before the last elections – I don’t remember the details, but some huge portion of the population has no idea where the government gets its money.
WallMutt’s is infamous for having a long line of checkout stations with only a couple being manned or woe-manned at any given time, regardless of long lines at each one back into the merch aisles.
They will make whatever “healthcare” system “work” by having us pay for our own, which is going to be, on average, more than most peoples’ rent or mortgages; then, we will ALSO have to pay for the rest of the country. While simultaneously dealing with higher energy and food costs and an overseas clusterfuck war in every generation, plus whatever domestic Homeland Insecurity bullshit they gin up to “protect” us. We will do this with multiple part-time jobs, working all hours of the day and night, seven days a week, and being docile and obedient drones for whatever they want us to do, think and believe.
Those who don’t go along with the program will be dealt with accordingly. In fact, you, MrAtoz, are beginning to sound like a potential disgruntled malcontent of sorts and we will be keeping an eye on you.
There was an article from years ago when Obamacare was originally being debated in Congress. It quoted Bill Clinton as having told Obama something to the effect of, “Don’t worry about the details. Just get is passed. We can fix it later.”
The gist being that they needed to pass whatever butchered legislation (with whatever kickbacks) that they needed to get it passed and signed into law. Then they could legislate in whatever fixes are needed. The focus being on getting the country started down the path to European-style socialized healthcare being the biggest hurdle. So, do whatever it takes to legislate it now and we’ll fix it later was the approach the Democrats took in early 2010.
Now every administration for the next couple decades will pass additional “Healthcare Reform” legislation until we have a full-blown socialized health system in the country. The wealthy will continue to use private doctors and most of the rest of the middle and working class will have no choice but to use the public health system.
Related Article (NY Times – 2009-11-10)
There it is; it’s their camel’s nose under the tent project to establish total socialist control of the country with the least amount of war and bloodshed but if some bloodshed is called for, they have plenty of people champing at the bit to dispense it. Is there any doubt, for example, that if I and most of the people on this board, even, were sitting on trial in a court supervised by Holder, HILLARY!, the Mooch, Sebelius, et. al. that they would not immediately condemn us? Given the power, they’d love to see us dead. And at least since the Clinton years, they’ve demonstrated that they’ll take out people who are obstacles and that they’ll even betray and dump their closest long-term friends and associates.
If BJ becomes First Dude, I wonder if he’ll have a bowl of Viagra on his desk?
2014 will be make or break it for the GOP. I remember a couple of years ago Mr. Bob suggested the Libertarian Party should scoop out the husk of the failing Democratic Party and take over. Now it’s just the opposite. What do you do when both ends of the “stick” have shit on it? Run to Canada?
I’ve considered it.
Mr. OFD, you need to be a little less optimistic. You’re depressing everyone else.
Sorry, Ray; I’ll try to be more of a downer; Davy Downer.
Hey Bob, don’t consider Kanaduh; not if you don’t like the constant restrictions on us here, that is. Kanaduh is where you will never hear “they can’t DO that to me!” They make us look like crazy-ass libertarian radicals. We’re gonna annex them anyway, so you may as well stay put. Senator Feinstein has the plan and the maps.
I like your western NC mountains idea a LOT better.
Yeah, they still know what to do with revenoors up there.
Outstanding! There’s your ticket, right there! Start planning, son, start planning. Oh wait—caint call ya son, ’cause you older than me! But don’t everyone call each other son down there anyway?