Sun. Oct. 6, 2019 – home again, home again, jiggity jig

By on October 6th, 2019 in Random Stuff

Cold here. 68F indoors, much colder outside.

Eventually we’ll be home. Evening flight, so some more in law time today.

Saw lots of the wife’s relatives yesterday. Avoided most of the dancing. Ate too much. Chatted. Even found one cousin’s spouse who might be a bit right of center… Even in Boston. Who knew?

Maybe sanity could break out…. Naw.

N

40 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Oct. 6, 2019 – home again, home again, jiggity jig"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    Saw lots of the wife’s relatives yesterday. Avoided most of the dancing. Ate too much. Chatted. Even found one cousin’s spouse who might be a bit right of center… Even in Boston. Who knew?

    Maybe sanity could break out…. Naw.

    Maybe not sanity, but civility.

    Living in two relatively right-of-center suburbs to hipster towns over the last decade, I’ve come to the conclusion that, privately, Progs always want the safety valve to exist, especially during the phase in their lives when they have school age children.

    Beyond all the fuss, Trump governs like the liberal Republican Governors IL, MA and CA would occasionally put into office to restore relative fiscal sanity to their respective states. Doesn’t MA have an (R) Governor currently?

    As for MA, they knew what would happen putting Scott Brown into the Kennedy seat temporarily. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one on either side really wanted Doh-bamacare to pass as currently written, and the contortions necessary to get it through on reconciliation as “revenue neutral” would eventually get it thrown out by the Supreme Court, with the justices providing political cover.

    Roberts burned everybody.

    And I can imagine even the most hardcore Prog wants an occasional ear to bend about the non-stop Eilizabeth Warren scold. Can you imagine having that in your living room nightly?

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Driving home yesterday from an errand, my wife noted that, within the city limits, the nationally famous Austin urban outdoorsmen seemed to have received significant tent upgrades in the last few weeks. Things that make you say hmmm …

    Of course, that’s just within the city limits. The next toll road overpass, in unincorporated Williamson County, is tent/urban outdoorsmen free.

    The safety valve still exists for Austin in Round Rock.

  3. Ray Thompson says:

    Bought one of them new iPhone 11 thingies. Nice device. Got the Pro model with 256 gig. Went with the no provider option for the phone even though I have Xfinity wireless. Xfinity did not sell the model I wanted and I really, really don’t want the phone to be locked. Xfinity will lock the device until paid or two months have passed, whichever happens last.

    Old iPhone 6S will got to MIL to use with her new car. The car has some system where she can summon 911 or get directions or call for assistance, etc. That requires a smart phone and the MIL has a simple flip phone. MIL liked the car for the safety feature but was bummed with the device requirements. This should solve that problem. Wife is flying to SA to say goodbye to a friend that is dying, will be gone within a week, and will set the MIL’s vehicle up with the phone.

    I was having a problem in the 6S where the charging cable would sometimes not connect properly. While buying the new phone scheduled an appointment to have Apple look at the issue. Well color me stupid. The problem was lint in the connector, a significant amount of lint, which the tech quickly removed. So color me red, embarrassed, and basically stupid.

  4. SteveF says:

    No, Ray, just no. Haven’t you learned yet? In modern America, nothing is ever your fault. It’s global warming, or the patriarchy, or a legacy of white raci…

    Oh, wait. You’re a white, cishet man who has been productively employed at some point in your life. Yah, you’re pretty much to blame for anything you or anyone else has ever done.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    I was having a problem in the 6S where the charging cable would sometimes not connect properly. While buying the new phone scheduled an appointment to have Apple look at the issue. Well color me stupid. The problem was lint in the connector, a significant amount of lint, which the tech quickly removed. So color me red, embarrassed, and basically stupid.

    I had the lint problem with an iPhone SE, found by a tech at the Apple Store. Don’t be embarrassed — they said it happens all the time.

    The connector is another dubious achievement of Jony Ive. He was shown the door for a reason. Same with the former Burberry CEO who did away with the Genius Bar and turned the stores into the current chaotic mess you probably saw.

  6. pcb_duffer says:

    Brad,
    Yesterday you were talking about the threat of impeachment and the political machinations associated with it. The problem (for many people, and most Republicans) is that the Democrats have been howling for Trump’s head since the evening he was elected. The see his greatest crime as having defeated Empress Hilary, and from their point of view that was unforgivable.
    The various arguments about calls to foreign leaders are just a smokescreen, and happily they also conceal the media’s failure to ask hard questions about the Bidens. Also, the Libertarian question “Why, exactly, are we giving money and weapons to foreign countries?” is considered beyond the pale for both parties to have to answer. And let us not forget, 20 years ago the Democrats set a precedent that there are some crimes that the President should be allowed to get away with.

  7. Greg Norton says:

    Reprinted under the Tyler Durden byline at Zero Hedge, but someone at the Wall Street Journal put their name to this piece. The downside of unicorn blood running in The Street is that a lot of our pensions and 401(k)s are invested in the Lotus Eaters’ schemes right now, and the algorithms will all decide to head for the exit at the exact same moment.

    Pappy Van Winkle 23 pong. We only had frozen margarita machines in the office on Friday, and that was a special occasion.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/fictitious-letter-fictitious-employees-verge-modern-ipo

    (I don’t drink. I worked all afternoon on Friday then went home and worked this weekend. I only know about Pappy Van Winkle thanks to the idiot Prog husband of my wife’s associate in Vantucky. Of course in his job as a professional alcoholic, he was a fan.)

  8. Nick Flandrey says:

    Slept in. Feel hungover. Didn’t drink. Puzzling.

    N

  9. Greg Norton says:

    Slept in. Feel hungover. Didn’t drink. Puzzling.

    Dehydration on the plane?

    How many therapy animals on board?

    Did you stay with relatives or in a hotel? We all picked up something from the hotel room in San Antonio over Labor Day weekend.

  10. Greg Norton says:

    This story was prominent on the Tampa Bay fishwrapper’s site because of the USF Football connection. Otherwise, I’m sure it would have remained buried at the Dallas paper’s site.

    Things that make you say “hmmm…”

    No suspect description beyond the car.

    https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bulls/2019/10/06/peers-stunned-over-shooting-death-of-former-usf-defensive-back-joshua-brown/

  11. MrAtoz says:

    Oh, wait. You’re a white, cishet man who has been productively employed at some point in your life. Yah, you’re pretty much to blame for anything you or anyone else has ever done.

    Don’t forget Vet! Another stain on Mr. Ray’s record.

  12. DadCooks says:

    George Carlin on “Saving The Planet”

    It may be old (2007) but he is still speaking the truth today.

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    Weird, when I try to greet here from my Kindle fire I get a page not available or may have moved message.

    It hasn’t been updated recently, but did something change in the way the web works in the last year? That the browser needs updating?

    N

  14. DadCooks says:

    @Nick, to make my Kindle Fires really useful I have “upgraded” them with the Google Play Store and I use Firefox as my browser.

    How you add the Google Play Store to Kindle varies slightly by generation. Here is one method that has worked for my family’s Kindle Fires:
    https://www.howtogeek.com/232726/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-your-amazon-fire-tablet/

  15. Greg Norton says:

    @Nick, to make my Kindle Fires really useful I have “upgraded” them with the Google Play Store and I use Firefox as my browser.

    Firefox is available outside of the Play store. Just be careful to download directly from Mozilla and not one of the alternative APK providers.

    https://download.mozilla.org/?product=fennec-latest&os=android&lang=multi

    (The link is subject to change.)

    That’s how I install the browser on my (mostly) open source phone without any Google services installed. Everything else comes from FDroid, which you may also find useful.

    The APK either works for you or it doesn’t, depending on Kindle Fire. Mozilla reaches pretty far back with Android support, however.

  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    Stuff to do when I get home. I can’t even get to Mozilla on the fire…

    N

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well that’s interesting. on my phone that link gets me a download. even though I can’t install it because of security settings which I thought I changed but turns out it won’t let me change.

    On the Kindle typing that link just gets me a redirect to Mozilla’s main page and no download. No option to download either. Nothing like a walled garden…

  18. mediumwave says:

    Driving into old age:

    Worldwide the number of drivers over the age of 65 is increasing rapidly. As such, there is an urgency in the need to design vehicles that are ergonomically suited to this demographic to accommodate physical ailments and limitations that are usually not seen in younger people.

    Methinks that this is the issue that will usher in centralized automobile control .

  19. pcb_duffer says:

    I see Mr. Brown’s death as a warning, as explicit as that provided by Mr. Epstein’s death. Testifying against certain vested interests puts your life in danger.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    Well that’s interesting. on my phone that link gets me a download. even though I can’t install it because of security settings which I thought I changed but turns out it won’t let me change.

    On the Kindle typing that link just gets me a redirect to Mozilla’s main page and no download. No option to download either. Nothing like a walled garden…

    Whenever I have to install my open source phone’s OS clean, I activate the debugging bridge in the Developer Settings, download the Firefox APK, and side load the browser onto the phone’s file system using adb from Linux. Then I use the Files app on the phone to install the APK.

    I always deactivate the debugging bridge after transferring Firefox and rarely turn it on after that. I trust the OS I use (LineageOS) to ask about a foreign USB connection, but only to a point.

    I’m hoping that the Huawei mess inspires a lot more experimentation with Android away from the service provided by Google and Amazon. As they say, when the price is free, *you* are the product.

  21. Greg Norton says:

    More “Picard” trailer fun. And a release date.

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

    Riker!

  22. Greg Norton says:

    Methinks that this is the issue that will usher in centralized automobile control .

    Nah. People just don’t have the attention span anymore, and they’ll give up going when/where they please in return for the ability to stream “Game of Thrones” during the commute.

    Of course, the camps will have unlimited high speed WiFi and HBO Max for free.

  23. mediumwave says:

    I see Mr. Brown’s death as a warning, as explicit as that provided by Mr. Epstein’s death. Testifying against certain vested interests puts your life in danger.

    This “Mr. Brown”?

    The same thought occurred to me.

    (People wear T-shirts and jeans to testify in court nowadays? Jeez, I am so hopelessly old-fashioned. 🙁 )

  24. lynn says:

    Methinks that this is the issue that will usher in centralized automobile control .

    Nah. People just don’t have the attention span anymore, and they’ll give up going when/where they please in return for the ability to stream “Game of Thrones” during the commute.

    Of course, the camps will have unlimited high speed WiFi and HBO Max for free.

    So people will commute to the camps ?

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    Yep, witness for the prosecution, now shot to death…

    N

    Could be coincidence.

    Also, there HAVE been a rash of small plane crashes, with no published links to Epstein

  26. CowboySlim says:

    (People wear T-shirts and jeans to testify in court nowadays? Jeez, I am so hopelessly old-fashioned. )

    Not me, I’ll be wearing my George Strait signature Wrangler shirt, Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots.

  27. SteveF says:

    Straw hat, bikini, and a light coat of oil for me.

  28. CowboySlim says:

    WRT old f@rts driving, I drove about 8 miles on errands today and didn’t come close to accident causation.

    CowboySlim (YOB 1938)

  29. mediumwave says:

    Straw hat, bikini, and a light coat of oil for me.

    Bikini top and bottom? 🙂

  30. SteveF says:

    Climate Change Trans Counseling. Funny stand-up. Worth watching.

  31. Greg Norton says:

    (People wear T-shirts and jeans to testify in court nowadays? Jeez, I am so hopelessly old-fashioned. )

    I wear my “Star Trek” uniform, but to each their own.

  32. Ray Thompson says:

    I wear my “Star Trek” uniform, but to each their own.

    I hope it is some color other than red.

  33. Greg Norton says:

    So people will commute to the camps ?

    One way trip in your automated car.

    Your number will come up in the drawing, and, instead of taking you to work, the car will drive you to the camp.

    You will be free to walk home, but Internet and streaming services don’t exist outside of the camp WiFi. Dial telephone and broadcast TV/radio only.

  34. nick flandrey says:

    Home safe. House is fine too, with two goldfish still in the pond. Got the kids to bed. Package that was delivered 4 days early was still on the porch and a check for services rendered was still in the mailbox. All good things. Once the little dog is home everything will be right again.

    Easy flight but had to wait 15 minutes for someone to fix the jetbridge on arrival. Completely full flight. Good chowder in the United club in Boston.

    House is a mess, hot too as the wife turned down the AC while we were away. I think I’ll be spending Monday doing ebay listings and cleaning house.

    FWIW, looks like there are still Baofang UV5Rs listed on ebay, many from US sellers. I suppose if you have a warehouse full of them, the distant threat of FCC action isn’t TOO dissuasive…

    Now, a cold drink, some comfortable PJs, and soon, bed.

    n

  35. JimB says:

    Dial telephone and broadcast TV/radio only.

    Simpler times. I wish we could go back, but each of us could be able to keep a few of the things we have now. At any time, we can be content with what we have, because we don’t know what might come next. Going back, with the knowledge of the present, would be hard.

    Now, think about going forward…

  36. JimB says:

    Welcome home, Nick. I know that feeling; nothing like it.

  37. lynn says:

    Climate Change Trans Counseling. Funny stand-up. Worth watching.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo8qXxnFuRQ

    “There should be a lipstick called climate change. That way climate change would be on everybody’s lips.”

  38. Greg Norton says:

    “There should be a lipstick called climate change. That way climate change would be on everybody’s lips.”

    An Urban Decay cosmetics line already exists. IIRC, Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco, was an early investor.

    I belive Lerner is one of the interviews Cringely has held unaired for a decade or more, part of a series intended for the web as a follow up to “Triumph of the Nerds”.

  39. MrAtoz says:

    I wear my “Star Trek” uniform, but to each their own.

    I think about 25 years ago, in San Antonio, a woman showed up for jury duty in a ST uniform. Complete with Phasor. She said “it is non-functional, at this time.” We almost fell out of our chairs at the sooper secret assignment I was at.

  40. Greg Norton says:

    I think about 25 years ago, in San Antonio, a woman showed up for jury duty in a ST uniform. Complete with Phasor. She said “it is non-functional, at this time.” We almost fell out of our chairs at the sooper secret assignment I was at.

    During jury selection for one of the Whitewater trials (McDougals’?), one potential juror showed up in her ST TNG uniform.

    Texas has an option for jury trial divorce to assign blame so the main courthouse in our county calls in ~ 1000 people a couple of times a week. That always makes for good people watching.

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