75F and 99%RH. No cold front for me! It got pretty hot yesterday and the humidity never relented. Thankfully it was better in the shade with a breeze. Under a house is usually shady, the breeze part was a gift.
Got my flights to ORD. If you’re willing to fly at really bad times, short notice flights aren’t all rapacious.
No word yet from the plumber on when someone will be available to meet me. Oh, and the kids are off school today, so normally that means I’d have them all day. Wife will have to work from home to give me the flexibility I need. With the kids home, not much work will get done, unless she parks them in front of the netflix or a tablet.
Laying on one’s back, and working on stuff with one’s hands above the head, uses all sorts of weird muscle groups. One is quite stiff and sore today.
Well, my calendar is full for the rest of the month….
Better get started.
n
We got a cold front in Bastrop. 58 degrees F this morning, and very windy. I guess it’s time to break out the jacket.
We just had a heavy spatter of rain, from a mostly blue sky! Maybe 30-40 seconds worth, just long enough to say “hey is that rain? Jeez, it is. Wonder if we’re about to get hail?”
n
No wind here, my house, yet.
My SIL’s father lives 1 block from where 74 mobile homes burned out in Calimesa, he is OK. Dump truck driver noticed smoke coming out from back of truck, he stopped to dump burning refuse roadside. CA authorities too smart to arrest for arson. Others in CA DMV too smart to deny him driver’s license.
Really scary, when progs here start gun confiscation, which gov workers going to do paper work selections?
Funny, yesterday there were pictures in the articles about the Trump rally showing the full stadium, and massive friendly crowd outside. Can’t find them this morning.
Headlines about “jeering” crowds of supporters though….
n
NY is a shithole.
Anyone think the violently crazy man was held for any length of time? Committed to a hospital? Treated in any way?
So now a kid is in critical condition with brain trauma and facial injuries.
My daughter asked me why I responded so strongly to a vagrant coming up to us in the parking lot as we got in our truck. Back the beggers up with tone, or action. Don’t let them get close to you.
n
Really scary, when progs here start gun confiscation, which gov workers going to do paper work selections?
I imagine that the bureaucrats on the ground as well as the personnel deployed to do a house by house search will be drawn from distant parts of the country if not from overseas.
With so many major city first responder pension funds making the governing bodies technically insolvent, including Dallas and Houston here in Texas, it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine the cops rented out for the purpose.
Bracken thinks it will be empowered “community organizers” and street gangs. No hesitation shooting those types, where there might be hesitation shooting cops….
n
Cali just uses a special unit of their cops to do mental health seizures currently
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/preview-recognizing-responding-to-pre-attack-indicators
watch the short video. Mac has been training cops and civilians on this methodology for years. In this case, he’s talking about intentional violent crime. There are other forms with different motivations and techniques. (video got shortened to the point it’s just a bare intro, not the actual techniques.)
His work with Rory on violence is very common sense. When you read it, you get that weird feeling that a part of the world suddenly makes sense when it was a mystery before.
n
https://conflictresearchgroupintl.com/the-biggest-pre-attack-indicator-of-them-all-marc-macyoung/
Bracken thinks it will be empowered “community organizers” and street gangs. No hesitation shooting those types, where there might be hesitation shooting cops….
No, TPTB know that they’ll have to use professionals.
The increasingly generic appearance of city police forces in the US is not an accident, and given the increasing amount of regional animosity in the country, my guess is it will be extraregional authorities doing the raiding — Chicago Police rented out to do raids in Texas, Dallas and Houston cops storming houses in Seattle, Boston cops banging down doors in Atlanta, etc.
Of course if Americans get squeamish about targeting fellow Americans, importing armed forces under a state of emergency and UN declaration isn’t impossible, but I don’t see things going that far. Foreign troops would face a situation not unlike the Russians in Afganistan or the US in Vietnam — the enemy would be easy to identify and target. Regardless of what gets presented in the media, city cops in another part of the country don’t face the language and cultural barrier that would hamper foreign contractors.
Plus, UN action would expose the imported troops to the truth about the US compared to life in their own contries. Kinda hard to keep ’em down on the farm once they’ve seen an HEB or even a WalMart.
I give beggars one “No thank you” then escalate tone and body posture until they back off. Usually get a cuss word or two. I give solicitors two “No thank yous” and then threaten to call the cops for trespassing. A couple of years ago I gave a political solicitor the bum’s rush out of the front yard with chest bumping. Now that we sold our house and are living in our condo, NO SOLICITORS.
NYC is a shithole. Everyone in the family loves to go there. All I see is trash on the streets and homeless everywhere. Tons of nonEnglish speakers. Tons of traffic. Grocery stores in building basements with stairs only. Accommodations are tiny. The kids all want to get together in NYC for a vacay. I’m passing.
Had a company come out for an estimate to hook up my natural gas meter to the existing fireplace (formerly propane.) They have to run 30 feet of gas line due to the meter location. I’m supplying the logs. $1100 for everything. Not cheap, and if it was just for ambiance, I’d pass. I’m doing it though, as the primary purpose is a backup heat source for the heat pump. I’ll eventually connect an outdoor grill and fire pit as well. Possible a water heater down the road, though I don’t see how that will pay itself back after you factor in the installation. That will be at least 60 feet of gas line….
Now that we sold our house and are living in our condo, NO SOLICITORS.
We had a No Solicitation policy at our neighborhood in Florida, but it doesn’t mean much legally as I found out in a standoff with Horizon Foods(the meat delivery scam, not the milk company) over their salespeoples’ repeated attempts to prey on my wife.
The only thing that scared them off was me, wrapped in a towel and fresh out of the shower, shouting extreme profanity at a retreating rookie salesweasel, implying he frequently had unnatural interactions with farm animals, in front of all the neighbors after yet another knock on the door one Saturday morning.
Hopefully, he went back to the office and quit.
18.8 years of communist mayors and half a century of communist city councils will do that.
Was in the profanity which scared him off, or the dreadful possibility of the towel falling open?
18.8 years of communist mayors and half a century of communist city councils will do that.
Was in the profanity which scared him off, or the dreadful possibility of the towel falling open?
BC: shared leases suck !
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2019/10/11
Oh my. I’ll bet that the other tenant stinks too.
My daughter asked me why I responded so strongly to a vagrant coming up to us in the parking lot as we got in our truck. Back the beggers up with tone, or action. Don’t let them get close to you.
I was taught at the FrontSight school to put my hands up and yell “STOP” at the top of my lungs. Always assume that you are being recorded. Then as the person approaches to the magic 21 ft, pull and shoot. They were already warned to stay away. There will be repercussions though.
Really scary, when progs here start gun confiscation, which gov workers going to do paper work selections?
Definitely time to start burying gubs and ammo.
“GM appeals directly to employees as strike losses mount, riling UAW”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-labor/gm-appeals-direct-to-employees-as-strike-losses-pile-up-idUSKBN1WQ1O1
Not good for GM. Looks like they may be going down.
If you buy a GM vehicle right now, insist on 50% off since there may not be a warranty.
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
A little notice popped up when I logged onto the MacBook this morning: an Xcode update was available. This is about the fourth in two weeks. Clicking on “…more” brought up the helpful information that, “Oh, btw, it’s also the complete OSX Catalina upgrade“.
What sort of company wouldn’t put that front and center?
Not good for GM. Looks like they may be going down.
If you buy a GM vehicle right now, insist on 50% off since there may not be a warranty.
GM has been in trouble. The GMAC trucks rolling out of Arlington have been rental fleet fodder for at least a year, and Dodge moved into the #2 truck sales position with a design (1500 Classic) which went into the pipeline almost 20 years ago.
A little notice popped up when I logged onto the MacBook this morning: an Xcode update was available. This is about the fourth in two weeks. Clicking on “…more” brought up the helpful information that, “Oh, btw, it’s also the complete OSX Catalina upgrade“.
What sort of company wouldn’t put that front and center?
Keep Time Machine backups.
I’ve been avoiding the upgrade to Catalina on my 2012 MacBook Pro since I don’t want to pay for a new VMWare Fusion license. Apple tends to break Fusion with the annual upgrades as of late, as they drive towards locking down MacOS akin to what they have done with the various flavors of iOS.
Apple can’t completely lock down MacOS at this point in time, but they’re always testing the limits. Catalina eliminates the previously-deprecated OpenCL and OpenGL as well as various minor tweaks such as locking the MAC address of the Ethernet adapter.
Until recently, MacBooks would boot Linux and, in general make excellent Linux machines. I’m unclear about the newest models capability to boot Linux, but I’ve run Pop! OS on our Intel MacBooks with decent results.
Their marketing people took the design out for customer and public survey. Top management asked for results, the response was that only 25% liked it. Top management said that didn’t make sense to implement it. But marketing said that the 25% really liked it and then they were told to go ahead with it.
Yes, if I wanted to replace my Jeep GC it would be with a pickup, it would be the Ram 1500 with 5.7 Hemi.
“Take a Moment to Appreciate Donald Trump, Folks”
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/10/09/take-a-moment-to-appreciate-donald-trump-folks/
I do, I do !
We could have had the Hildebeast. Instead we lucked out and got the Trumper. I hope that we get to keep him, even with all of his faults and warts.
We could have had the Hildebeast. Instead we lucked out and got the Trumper. I hope that we get to keep him.
Pence could beat Warren if it came to that. Again, who *really* likes Warren?
Ted O’Baxter is predicting that Warren will select another woman as a running mate, turning it into a “girls stick together” campaign.
I still don’t believe the eventual candidate is officially in the race, however.
“The Lights Went Out in California: That Was the Plan All Along”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/10/11/the-lights-went-out-in-california-that-was-the-plan-all-along/
“The power has been out in Northern California. More than 1 million Californians were without electricity, one of modern life’s essentials that is frequently taken for granted. The blackout was done on purpose—to prevent sparks from powerlines that could ignite deadly wildfires.”
“On the surface, the blackout and its causes are simple to understand. But the deeper causes are complicated, span decades of public policy, and dozens of overlapping unintended—and intended—consequences of decisions, both related and unrelated.”
Shemp Smith leaves Fox News effective immediately. Over the years, his liberal side showed more and more. When he came out “I’m Gay!!!”, he sounded like a Maddow clown clone.
Shemp Smith leaves Fox News effective immediately. Over the years, his liberal side showed more and more. When he came out “I’m Gay!!!”, he sounded like a Maddow clown clone.
Gay? I’m shocked. Shocked!
“On the surface, the blackout and its causes are simple to understand. But the deeper causes are complicated, span decades of public policy, and dozens of overlapping unintended—and intended—consequences of decisions, both related and unrelated.”
Do they still import coal-fired electricity from NV?
I know they pull a lot of surplus hydro power from Oregon. When we left, the State of Oregon was planning to dynamite four “obsolete” dams on smaller rivers in order to restore the natural flow of water for the fish, and CA expressed concern about the plan.
https://www.americanexperiment.org/2019/04/no-state-imports-electricity-california/
This gives some answers.
“Women’s Rugby Refs Are Quitting Because Transgender Athletes Are Breaking Players’ Bones”
https://pluralist.com/transgender-athletes-wreak-havoc-in-womens-rugby/?fbclid=IwAR0RhkVBYLyvaqhRGugWu-D-dW70AptKgkyf0YdVH36KUFe5ivwFsiyf1C0
I cannot tell if this is real or not. The picture says it all though.
I would not want my daughter playing in any league where guys are playing too and colliding. The strength and weight disparity is just too much.
Wow, we are 54 F and dropping. Gonna make tonights walk brisk. We were 93 F yesterday.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/tx/richmond?cm_ven=localwx_10day
My wife passed away today from CJD. She would have donated her organs, but that is not possible due to what killed her. I have given permission for a brain autopsy as that will both completely confirm the diagnosis (though there is little doubt) and also provide more data for research (all permissions for research use are also approved). CJD kills 1 in 1 million every year, so 30-40 cases in Canada and 300-400 in the US. I don’t really expect a cure anytime soon as there are many more common and deadly diseases out there. A cheap, quick diagnostic test would be nice. It won’t change the outcome for anyone (100% fatal), but would give you time to say goodbye.
I am also the executor for her will and as this is a prepping site I have some thoughts. These may have been mentioned before:
1) Make sure you have a Will, Power of Attorney for Property and Power of Attorney for Personal Care (or their US equivalents). Do that ASAP. I have those for Judy and they helped.
2) Avoid probate if possible by putting as many assets as possible in both spouses names. The survivor keeps the asset and it is not part of the Will or subject to probate (Canada again, not sure about US). House was in both names which is good. Her car, bank accounts, retirement savings, etc… are not, which is not good. Where you can explicitly define a beneficiary, you should. Again, that places those items outside of probate.
3) I need to dig to find all the accounts and which banks / institutions they are at. We should have had an “If something happens…” file with all details. Need to create one for me.
4) Something I had not considered before: A goodbye video. Not just for the message, but for the sound of her voice. Photos I have in profusion. I may not have a single recording which in hindsight is something I would want.
5) Finally, in Canada you can apply to have a physician assisted death. However, you have to be able to ask for yourself at a time where death is immanent. You cannot ask that in certain situations, when you are unable to make decisions, someone else can request this on your behalf. The existing rules require that instead you have to watch someone slowly starve to death. This is needlessly cruel (in my recent experience). The law is evolving and I would be in favour of allowing someone you trusted (Attorney for Personal Care) make that decision. Not sure what US law is on this matter.
I may have a few other thoughts as I go through the process.
@TV – sorry for your loss.
@TV – sorry to hear this. Hopefully she passed peacefully.
5) Finally, in Canada you can apply to have a physician assisted death. However, you have to be able to ask for yourself at a time where death is immanent. You cannot ask that in certain situations, when you are unable to make decisions, someone else can request this on your behalf. The existing rules require that instead you have to watch someone slowly starve to death. This is needlessly cruel (in my recent experience). The law is evolving and I would be in favour of allowing someone you trusted (Attorney for Personal Care) make that decision. Not sure what US law is on this matter.
The rules in the USA vary from state to state. Plus there are federal rules.
We are watching my father-in-law waste away in a nursing home (5.5 years now). My trip to see him two weeks ago was a freaking disaster since I had not seen him since February. He has really declined since then. The wife (his second daughter) has not seen him since January but she does talk to him on the phone 2 or 3 times per week.
I watched the FIL’s girlfriend force feed him when I was up there two weeks ago and got slowly upset. He would say that he was full and she would force another bit of food in. I am not happy about that but not much I can do. The wife and her sister agree with me that we do not want him to get a feeding tube as I am worried that girlfriend is going to try to force it to happen. My wife has full POA and medical POA for him and would never agree to it.
I do not know how I feel about physician assisted suicide.
@tv, I’m so sorry. Your first mention was shocking, and the swiftness is too. Feel free to share whatever you’d like to or need to. Watching Bob talk about going through it with his parents was painful, but I knew I’d probably walk that same road at some point, and it helped.
Again, I’ve so sorry for your loss.
nick
Sympathies, TV.
Hi Lynn. My best wishes to you, your wife, and your FIL in this difficult situation.My father passed away due to Alzheimer’s 2 years ago (I watched this for years as well) as did my uncle 3 years ago. At a certain point, late in the disease, people just lose their appetite. In my wife’s case, she explicitly refused a feeding tube (which was what I would have expected) once she was no longer able to swallow (CJD took-out all her voluntary muscle control). With something like CJD or advanced Alzheimer’s, the body will get to a point where it neither wants nor can use the nutrition. The brain is shutting down and is shutting down those organs. At that point you are watching a slow death by starvation or desiccation (they might refuse water as well). I don’t know if this is peaceful for the person dying (and there are far worse deaths) but it is certainly Hell for anyone watching. My deepest sympathy for what may come next for your FIL.
Your wife and your FIL’s girlfriend need to have a discussion about this. As well, a discussion with your FIL, if that has not already happened, to ascertain his wishes (if that is still possible). In the end, your wife holds the POA and can make the decision. It is much easier if there is consensus. I had to make the call to stop IV fluids (hardest decision I have ever had to make) as all that did was delay the inevitable for Judy. I made sure to review this with her son and mother. You don’t want acrimony at the bedside if it can be avoided.
My condolences, Mr. TV. May your wife rest in peace.
@TV: You have my heartfelt sympathy.
Your wife and your FIL’s girlfriend need to have a discussion about this. As well, a discussion with your FIL, if that has not already happened, to ascertain his wishes (if that is still possible). In the end, your wife holds the POA and can make the decision. It is much easier if there is consensus. I had to make the call to stop IV fluids (hardest decision I have ever had to make) as all that did was delay the inevitable for Judy. I made sure to review this with her son and mother. You don’t want acrimony at the bedside if it can be avoided.
My wife and FIL’s girlfriend have had discussions. But the girlfriend is 95 and has Sundowners. She has trouble with reality sometimes. And she still drives. And her kids have asked her to stop taking care of the old man in the nursing home several times. Which, she refuses to do, vehemently. They have been together for almost 20 years, it is not easy on her part.
The girlfriend wants my wife to move back to Dallas and take care of her dad daily. That is not going to happen. We have a disabled 32 year old daughter who my wife is trying to move heaven and earth to keep alive (she has had Lyme disease for 17 years now). And this year has been bad.
And yes, the FIL is still cognizant. Somewhat. He does not remember when we come by. My wife’s sister lives in the Dallas area and sees him twice a week. FIL told me the other day that she had not been by in months. Not a lie but the short term memory is shot. And the wife’s sister has been through hell in the last 18 months. Her husband’s spine collapsed and they wired his T-1, T-2, and T-3 together. It worked but now he has Alzheimers at the age of 64. The anti-Alzheimer drugs are helping but he still needs a walker and is not stable at all. But he is speaking in complete sentences again which is neat.
The FIL filled out a DNR with no heroic measures allowed when he moved into this nursing home four years ago (this is number three nursing home). But he wants the girlfriend to come by daily, hold his hand, and tell him “you poor, poor man”. He was resuscitated twice 5.5 years ago. Once in his house and once in the ER. I just found that out two weeks from the wife’s sister. She wishes that she had let him go now. But hindsight is 20-20.
I have been telling the wife that she need to get guardianship over her father but she does not want to due to emotional issues.
This end of life stuff is tough, very tough. You have my sympathy, sounds like it was not easy.
My wife passed away today from CJD.
My condolences.
TV, my condolences.
My wife passed away today from CJD.
I’m very sorry. What a difficult end.
Yes, it is. Been through it with my aunt, dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s but cannot be confirmed without an autopsy. Tough way to waste away. Aunt last 10.5 years before finally succumbing.
Wife is in San Antonio for the week. Her friend of 40 years was diagnosed with cancer about six months ago. Some rare variety. The friend was on chemo treatment but on the last doctor visit was told the cancer was too advanced and could not be stopped. Friend was given just a few weeks to live. Wife went out to say her final goodbyes to her friend.
On the surface it may seem sad. But I would like to be told I had a month to live. That would give me time to say goodbye to everyone, plan my life celebration party (no disgusting funeral for me), make final arrangements with my property and money, and finally tell a few people to F-OFF. Then quietly sit back, take my pain medication to my heart’s content, and fade into the sunset.
TV, my condolences
@TV, my sincerest and deepest condolences.
Peace.
Fair winds and following seas.
Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts. Lynn, I had read but failed to put together the (my bad) the number of challenges you are facing . My best wishes to you in getting through as you appear to be the “filling” in the sandwich. (Not trying to be flippant – you are being squeezed to care for the generations before and after you.) That is a really tough situation with continuing and unending stress. What remains for me is dealing with Judy’s son – classic 29-year-old slacker still playing computer games in the basement. Her project, (her greatest joy and greatest frustration) now running years late. Men in my family (I am not his father) get Alzheimers / dementia in their late 80s. I have roughly 25 years left before I lose it, 30 if I am lucky. I don’t plan to spend much of it trying to get him to behave like an adult. It is a different and easier problem than yours. I can just walk away, he is healthy and should be able to make it on his own somehow (or not – at some point, he needs to take responsibility for his life).
My best wishes to you in getting through as you appear to be the “filling” in the sandwich. (Not trying to be flippant – you are being squeezed to care for the generations before and after you.)
Yup, I used to laugh at the Sandwich Generation joke. It is no longer funny.
Good luck on the 29 year old basement dweller. That may be a difficult situation.
One of my kin threw out her elder son when he was in his early 20s to give him a wake-up call. He bummed around for a while, mooching off friends, and then she drove him to an Army recruiter. He’s been in for about ten years. That’s not the solution for everyone, but it worked for one bright kid with no motivation and no goals.