60F and wet, indicated, and I believe it. My hands feel like paddles, my knees ache.
Last Friday of November. Time to get the Advent calendars out for the kids, time to get a visit from an Elf spy who lives on a shelf…
I find the Elf on a Shelf creepy in the extreme, and the idea of a sneaky little spy watching all the time is something I have problems with on any number of levels. The kids love it, and it can be a lot of fun too, and we started, so now we’re stuck for a while. 26 days.
Prepping this week was minimal. I’m feeling WAY behind the curve. I did make two big grocery runs this week, but that was mostly current and upcoming normal consumption. I really didn’t get much for storage.
I’m still coughing occasionally. I don’t know if it’s lingering crud from the vacation, or something new brewing but it’s right on the edge of developing into something. The elbow continues to be an issue. Without modern and powerful antibiotics, I’d have been in trouble. That’s worrying too.
So health is a priority, getting the holidays out of the way, while still enjoying the time with the kids is a juggle, and there is SO MUCH STUFF TO DO.
I better get started on today’s pile.
n
32º and cloudy. Supposed to get clouds, snow, and rain today, with warming through the weekend. 55º on Sunday. Something to look forward to.
MIL’s new phone is working well for her. I forgot something, and I was supposed to fix it this morning, but the spousal unit didn’t go to work today, so I got to come in early. If it’s important, she’ll call. I like doing things for her. I can, and she needs it, so…
Starting on the interior work – stairway to the upstairs, then rooms up there for the kids. They’re getting old enough to need rooms of their own. I can handle that. Good kids.
No elf on the shelf here. When the kids told me about it, I told them that there was no way on earth I would allow someone to spy on them. Trust starts at home, and I trust them. (I trust them to do dumb things, but that’s part of growing up.)
Have been away for a couple of weeks. When I left it was snowing in Memphis. This morning it is 66f and going into the 70’s. Winter sure was short.
Agree 100% on the “Elf on Shelf” issue. Never part of my Christmas tradition and I too find it disturbing and creepy. I won’t subject my grandchildren to that. If I ever find an elf on my shelf I will perform a summary execution of said tresspasser.
No Elf on the Shelf for us. Creepy little bugger…
Unfortunately, without much thought, my wife decided it was cute and introduced it early. Now it is part of the story for the kids. There is a bit of fun posing the silly thing every night (part of the deal is that it is never in the same place twice, and gets frozen in whatever it was doing at dawn.) It’s an extension of the “he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good….” song.
OFD would surely have some comments about Christmas moving away from the Church, and I’m inclined to agree with his sentiments. But we celebrate the secular traditions for the secular reasons, while teaching the religious reasons as well. We do live in a Christian society, no matter what people would prefer or believe, and it’s important for the kids to understand the myths and stories.
n
Read recently about 100 – 200 church closures per day.
Back to prepping. Given the way things are heating up in Europe, with the US media completely focused elsewhere, it’s prudent to be prepared. Lots of VERY DANGEROUS things going on in the world and all CNN seems to care about is a woman who dragged her children into a riot and got tear gassed trying to commit a crime.
I have been updating and re-organizing my get-home bags. Replaced all batteries with ENLOOPs (long shelf life and high power retention) and upgraded the medical kits. It’s amazing how fast Band-Aids deteriorate when stored in a hot car trunk for months. I have also repackaged the contents into separate bags based on use to keep everything tidy. Lastly, I have been playing with fire starters and settled on cotton-balls coated with Vaseline. The ones I have had stored for years have not shown any sign of deterioration and they catch easily and burn like crazy. I created little fire-kits in waterproof bags designed to keep your wallet dry while swimming. I have three ignition sources and a package of the Vaseline cotton balls. Fire is your friend (until it isn’t).
That reminds me of the story of Mr. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and the time he and some friends started a huge forest fire near Lake Tahoe. This is described in a short paragraph in his book “Roughing It”.
I have some fire starters that look like enourmous wooden matches. Got them in the BBQ aisle at the supermarket. They are treated sawdust.
We are in a period of world wide realignment. No way to know who will come out of this on top, or what horrors will be unleashed.
USUALLY when things get this sporty, 100 million have to die. Unless they were all in the third world, I don’t think our technological and interconnected society could survive that.
n
(influenza, wwi, wwii, purges in USSR, purges in China, purges in asia, starvation in Africa, and now what next?)
Well judging by storefront churches that might be right, but then the sum total would be about zero. They seem to come and go here like cannabis shops.
I find the Elf on a Shelf creepy in the extreme, and the idea of a sneaky little spy watching all the time is something I have problems with on any number of levels
My Chinese mother-in-law claims to be scared of the Elf on the Shelf to the point where the level of drama is suspicious.
We haven’t used the Elf since our first Christmas in Vantucky. I think he got tossed in the garbage after I became enraged one night at my mother-in-law’s antics about *a friggin doll*.
It’s amazing how fast Band-Aids deteriorate when stored in a hot car trunk for months.
The insulation on my decade-old jumper cables was cracked and falling off when I went to move the set from my old car to the new vehicle. I wanted a longer set anyway, but I didn’t expect the insulation deterioration to that degree since the vehicle spent most of its life parked in a garage at either the office or home.
Now that Gillum has been sent packing, the left is getting revved up in Florida about the state’s Supreme Court balance shifting to the right. This is what was at stake in the Governor’s race which the Progs didn’t anticipate losing.
I still think they would have won with Gwen Graham instead of Gillum. Ironically, Gillum probably cost them the most votes in … Broward!
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/11/30/florida-supreme-court-will-have-no-black-justice-for-first-time-in-nearly-four-decades/
Attention on the engineering deck ! Attention on the engineering deck ! This is the Captain speaking.
We’ve got 80 F outside with 90 % humidity conditions. All air conditioners ahead to the 1/2 stop. All air conditioners ahead to the 1/2 stop.
Aye Aye Captain !
ADD: This posting was inspired by Ringo Starr’s Yellow Submarine song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA
Sounds like the wrong one was thrown in the garbage. Jes’ sayin’.
We’ve got 80 F outside with 90 % humidity conditions. All air conditioners ahead to the 1/2 stop. All air conditioners ahead to the 1/2 stop.
Yeah, our downstairs AC clicked on for the first time in weeks last night.
That reminds me — I have to go upstairs and switch the thermostat when I get home.
We experienced a several hour-long blackout in Taylor the first day the cold set in earlier this month when everyone in town first switched on their heat. Ironically, a demand-based problem in the home of ERCOT HQ!
Of course ERCOT had power. That place is like a fortress lately.
Historic contributor, and mainly long time lurker from the UK …
On the subject of prepping. Used a ‘use by 2015’ can of corn today. Found it to be edible but not nice and sweet like I am used to. Just an observation.
Well that was quite the quake.
Well that was quite the quake.
We experienced a 4-something when I lived in Vantucky, but isn’t a 6 100x worse?
Funky Winkerbean: drafting
http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2018-11-30
I am fairly sure that it does not work like that.
We do live in a Christian society, no matter what people would prefer or believe, and it’s important for the kids to understand the myths and stories.
Read recently about 100 – 200 church closures per day.
Was that a net amount or gross amount ?
We experienced a several hour-long blackout in Taylor the first day the cold set in earlier this month when everyone in town first switched on their heat. Ironically, a demand-based problem in the home of ERCOT HQ!
Of course ERCOT had power. That place is like a fortress lately.
ERCOT does not handle distribution lines or meters. In fact, I am not even sure that they control transmission lines.
And I would bet that ERCOT has a couple of big diesels or small gas turbines at their facility along with a four hour battery backup bank. Shoot, they might have a twenty-four hour battery backup bank.
“Government now wants to seize your car for going 5 MPH over the limit”
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/government-can-now-seize-your-car-for-going-5-mph-over-the-limit-24330/
“We’ve discussed this on and off for several years now. Civil asset forfeiture is a legal process that allows the government to seize assets and cash from citizens without any due process or judicial oversight.”
This is horribly wrong. I hope that SCOTUS jumps on this with all nine pairs of feet.
Well that was quite the quake.
@Jenny, I hope that you and yours are OK. The pictures of the damage are incredible.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6447683/6-6-magnitude-earthquake-rocks-buildings-Anchorage.html
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
I’d just dropped my child at school and was stopped for a light at the C St /Dowling Intersectiom. I usually go Minnesota Drive but because it was slick today chose the C street route.
I knew it was a big quake. I was safe. I knew my daughter and husband and child were as safe as they could be. Husband was home, a few things fell, some glass broke and the dogs flipped out. All ok.
I continued to work (I was closer to work than home) to make sure the mainframe was ok. Did what was appropriate there and boogied our a bit later. Ceiling tiles, couple unsecured shelves, drawers out. Water doing bad things. Usual troubles.
Road conditions had deteriorated due to people placing their heads into orifices. I made a brief side trip to check an elderly friend not answering their phone. All ok. Took over an hour to go 4 miles to pick my daughter up from school. Hung out there for a bit. Not much damage to the school. Stuff tumbled from shelves.
Home now cleaning up.
Trying to figure out what part of Minnesota Drive fell down. Glad I wasn’t on it.
The link above referenced Vine Rd as only tie between Wasilla and Anchorage. Incorrect. It’s a tie between two other roads north of Wasilla and nothing to do with reaching Anchorage. It is true there is only one roadconnecting Anchorage to Wasilla, Anchorage to Seward / Homer. There could be problems, but Vine Rd having issues wouldn’t cut Wasilla off from Anchorage.
Don’t believe everything you read.
Fear sells.
I knew it was a big quake. I was safe. I knew my daughter and husband and child were as safe as they could be. Husband was home, a few things fell, some glass broke and the dogs flipped out. All ok.
@jenny, Great to hear that you and yours are ok !
Don’t believe everything you read.
Wow, is that ever true in these times.
Just talking about closures, nothing about opening new ones. About members drifting away with far few new folks coming in. Young people not coming in.
I just found that one source says 200 to 300 church closures per week and one says 4000 closures and 1000 new per year which is more like 8 per day. Depends on who is doing the counting I guess.
This is what happens when you cross Disney in Florida. Dimes start to drop about the skeletons in your closet.
Gillum wouldn’t have lasted a month.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-rick-singh-property-appraiser-fdle-inquiry-20181130-story.html
xkcd: “Alpha Centauri”
https://xkcd.com/2079/
Groan !
Yes, I had to read the explanation:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2079:_Alpha_Centauri
Hey Jenny, I just got home and heard the news, glad you guys are ok. I was in a bunch of quakes while I lived in Cali and they are UNNERVING.
n
Historic contributor, and mainly long time lurker from the UK …
On the subject of prepping. Used a ‘use by 2015’ can of corn today. Found it to be edible but not nice and sweet like I am used to. Just an observation.
I’ve run into this a few times. Then again, sometimes a brand new can is “off”.
Nice and windy this morning. From the South mostly. Temp made it to 73F and it was sunny for a while. Nice weather. The trees lost a lot of leaves today. The big Red Oak out the bath door lost ~70%, just a swag. It sounded like rain. Pretty cool.
Which is a good thing…. because with a North wind the leaves come over the house and land on the front deck. And then I have to sweep and blower the deck before it rains…. and rake up the leaves.
I’m sure another tree a hundred feet from the house with take up the slack.
I had a nice standing rib pork roast last week. I had vac sealed it and frozen it 3 years ago. Indistinguishable from fresh. I love them but costco only carries them at Christmas and Easter. So I buy them, cut them in half or even smaller (3 lbs for us, 5 lbs for if we have guests, with whatever is left cut to single chops.) Then I vac seal and freeze. That way I can have them year round 🙂
I do the same with beef ribeye roasts. Small and large roasts, with some bone on ribeye steaks out of whatever is left.
Yum.
n
[ On yesterday’s VW topic. ]
I had a VW Beetle (basically stock) that could burn
15 feet of rubber with both wheels!
Court testimony by a police sergeant.
Gas was $1.96 at HEB in Mable Falls, Texas, today.
Removing the gas cap did not give me a big “whoosh” so maybe my whacking with a socket extension and spraying carb cleaner into the charcoal canister purge valve worked. Eh, it’s just a $30 part. If the check engine light sets again I’ll replace the valve. The gas cap seems good and the system holds pressure.
The “dreaded” cloning from spinners to SSD went well. The i5 went from a 2TB drive to a 1TB. No problem other than a sneezing attack from the dust. About an hour and 15 minutes from start to finish.
The other box is an AMD. Two core. Er… anyway, it worked. D:\ drive is now E:\ drive. The optical drive is now D:\. No big deal…. but hey, while the right angle connectors are “cool”, they don’t work when you have two SSDs stacked in the space of one hard drive.
And maybe this is good. Seems like in the “old days” of wide gray ribbon cables you would want C:\ on one drive controller and your swap file on a drive on the other controller.
The AMD box complained about a CMOS error and still booted. I hit the “restore defaults” in BIOS and that went away. Today I had a look and I did change the drive stuff from the default IDE to ACPI. Everything seems fine. The “windows experience” thing now has the SSD at 7.9 instead of 6.9. So….
I left the spinners in the machines. If the the SSDs go “poof” it’s just a matter of swapping cables to get back to yesterday. If the SSDs never fail, well, I don’t have loose drives cluttering the place up. Win!
Mom always got the new cars. A Beetle in ’63 ish. After that a Renault R-10. Then the Mazda RX-2.
Meanwhile Dad is tooling around in a ’69 Seville. And a ’68 Toronado. That was an awesome car. “Used cars” for Dad.
I’m like 9 and I figured it out that if Momma ain’t happy….
The other box is an AMD. Two core. Er… anyway, it worked. D:\ drive is now E:\ drive. The optical drive is now D:\. No big deal…. but hey, while the right angle connectors are “cool”, they don’t work when you have two SSDs stacked in the space of one hard drive.
You can change your drive designates in the Disk Management tool if you want to. For Windows 7, bring up Control Panel, click on System and Security. In the Administrative Tools section, select “Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions”. Then swap one of the drive to M: or something like that. Then swap the other drive to the former drive designate. Then swap the original drive to the other drive’s former designate.
On the subject of prepping. Used a ‘use by 2015’ can of corn today. Found it to be edible but not nice and sweet like I am used to. Just an observation.
Was it “use by” or “best by” ? Most cans of vegetables that I see are “best by”.
I left the spinners in the machines. If the the SSDs go “poof” it’s just a matter of swapping cables to get back to yesterday. If the SSDs never fail, well, I don’t have loose drives cluttering the place up. Win!
If you have a really tight case, you might want to pull the old drive to improve airflow.
AMD runs hotter than Intel.
George H. W. Bush has died at the age of 94.
George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States passed away at 10:10: PM CST on Friday.
“Bush is survived by his 5 children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and two siblings,” the statement from the office of George H. W. Bush read.
George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States passed away at 10:10: PM CST on Friday.
Not in the top ten, not in the bottom ten of Presidents. Served the USA in many positions, military and governmental. Was smart enough not to invade Iraq yet he destroyed them enough to keep the middle east off balance. He expected people to deal with him on an honest basis and was disappointed when they did not. That naivety cost him his second Presidential term. Believed in the public good and lived his life that way.
@Lynn
You are correct, the can was Best before (not as I stated, Use by).
He expected people to deal with him on an honest basis and was disappointed when they did not. That naivety cost him his second Presidential term.
“Read my lips…” was the end of his Presidency.
In Summer 1989, I cooped at a place where I drove by a cluster of boat manufacturers in Pinellas County, FL every morning. As soon as Bush signed the asinine “yacht tax” as part of a package of small tax increases forced on him by the Democrats that year, the companies closed up, one by one, over the course of several months, either moving to the Bahamas or shutting down entirely.
That wasn’t even the big tax increase which came later.
An honorable man, but the poster child for Republicans as tax collectors for the welfare state.
You can change your drive designates in the Disk Management tool if you want to.
I hadn’t thought of that.
If you have a really tight case, you might want to pull the old drive to improve airflow.
It’s a large case. There are slots for four or five optical drives and perhaps six internal drives. It has one DVD drive, two HDs with three slots between them and center HD slot with the two SSDs.