Cool and damp. [70F and 99%RH]
Yesterday stayed overcast most of the time but never rained. Today has some rain in the forecast, which I’d like to be wrong this time.
Daughter got into the middle school program she wanted, which we do not have to be zoned to (lottery, nothing I did). I’m glad I won’t have to be looking for a new house before fall semester starts. Maybe a bugout location (lake house) looks more doable now, since any local moves would be to a neighborhood where home prices start at more than double mine, for a tear down. It would have been a stretch to get into the zone we wanted, and would have involved a bunch of disruption.
==============================================
Speaking of disruption….
The number of infected continues to creep up. The curve is leveling out, but there’s no way to know if that is simply under reporting,. We know China lies. The other countries’ infected counts are in the slow starting phase. We’ll know soon if they will be taking off too. Given things like the Japanese cruise ship with an infected aboard, I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing cases that don’t have a link to Wuhan in a week, two tops.
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I saw someone else using “WuFlu” yesterday, go me. And someone asked on the CDC call why they haven’t named it yet. The Dr was flustered in her response. Take the time to listen to the call and hear for yourself, but I think the CDC is shell shocked by this. At least the Dr was headed toward there.
Let’s list some issues- China lies. CDC has been kept out of China. Only reason to do that is if you are hiding something. CDC admits they are desperate to see the data so they can do their own math on transmission and lethality. Currently THEY DON’T KNOW, but they are scared. They invoked quarantine for the first time in 50 years. But like the Chinese, they are still making carefully worded statements designed to keep the public from reacting.
CDC doesn’t know where to put anyone who does arrive here and needs a quarantine. They say that is the state and local .gov’s job, and they should have already made plans, which CDC doesn’t want to countermand. It sounds like no one really made those plans, or they were paper only and unworkable.
CDC is trying to get more labs to do testing, as they are a bottleneck. RED TAPE is holding that up. Further to that, the test isn’t meant to be used for INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATIONS or diagnosis, but for monitoring the spread of the disease. Thanks guys. People without symptoms might pass the test but still be infected. NO ONE is being retested at this time. Dr was freaked that 20 days ago we had 40 cases and now we have 20k+… frankly that freaks me out and we can be pretty sure that number is TOO LOW.
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Fellas, I don’t know where this is going, but it could be very bad. Zombie apocalypse bad. I bet it feels that way in Wuhan. Certainly people living there have said so. The things we do see look very bad. Crews so inured to the situation (or so tired) they’re just hurling body bags into the van. People in scrubs and PPEs walking down alleys with rifles. Men barricading people into their homes. Video of people dropping dead without warning, or having seizures and then dying.
If this comes here in any widespread form, you will want to stay inside and hide. Imagine being in Wuhan or any of a dozen other cities right now. Crippled internet. No idea what’s really going on. Soldiers and armed men roaming around. No access to medical care for routine issues or emergencies. No transportation. No shopping. At what point do the people leave their homes? Why aren’t they in the streets right now? Where are all the people?
==============================================
I was discussing with my wife how many masks to sell to profit[eer] from the situation. I told her I was getting reluctant to let them go. “How many do you have?” “I was planning to keep at least 800…” “???!!!?!!?!?” “Well, that’s 200 days for the four of us.” “200 DAYS! !!111111!1 eleventy!” “Yeah, or 50 days if we go out at all. And what if our friends and acquaintances ask us for masks??” “——”
So I think I’ll sell a few boxes and get my total investment back. Then maybe sell a few more if the price keeps going up. I think I’ll keep the ones I found in the ebola supplies to give away to anyone who asks (that I can’t refuse), as they wouldn’t bring more than a hundred bucks or so anyway (while N95 and 3m, they are single strap and well out of date).
That doesn’t touch the full face respirators with cartridges, the potential for the forced air respirators (missing batteries and filters), the tyvek or bunny suits, and any masks I’ve got in my woodworking supplies. I’m pretty sure I’ve got some other boxes tucked away here and there too. I better start looking for them. And I better get some of the other stuff out of deep storage and see what parts I need to buy while I still can. I’m getting close to spending money on things that only make sense if the worst case is coming. That breaks one of my rules- nothing I do for preps can be irrevocable- if it takes the money away from other needs. I’d sure like to sell some stuff while people are still buying stuff they don’t need…..
I better check on a couple friends too, and see if they’re taking it seriously, and if not, find out why.
Keep stacking.
nick
Sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island:
Just sit right back
and you’ll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful vote
That started from a tiny state
with clueless candidates
One is an old and aged man
The other part indian
All the candidates had hope that day
For a win that day, a real victory
The voting started getting rough
The tiny server was swamped
If not for the touching of the old pervert
the campaign would be lost,
the campaign would be lost
The caucus ran aground on the the votes
No one knows who won
With Joe pervert
The Indian too
A millionaire and his cash
Mayor Buttigieg
A list of many unknowns
Here at the Iowa Caucus
HA! Pretty good Ray.
Here’s a survival story with a happy ending…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7964123/Four-children-including-two-year-old-disappeared-Alaska-blizzard-alive.html
n
Since the FAANG’s make up most of the gains in the stock market, what should this news do???? RIGHT! Ramp up prices!
–apple is not the only one that is going to have shortages.
n
Thanks. I did it myself. Just popped into my head.
People are taking real economic hits- this is serious guys. Countries don’t take losses like this on a whim.
n
Other good news–
The man is now recovering in isolation at his home in Snohomish County
There have been 10,000 deaths due to flu this season. Yet there was not nearly the same panic. Thus it leads me to believe something else is going on of which the general population is not being informed.
I posted my little tribute to the Iowa debacle on ARS Technica and it is getting down-voted. Just shows the kind of liberal thinking, humorless, undeserving punks occupy that site.
I was never much of a visitor to Ars. And I haven’t even followed a link in years.
n
Likewise.
Yah, that’s pretty much why.
(Though one might debate whether “liberal” and “thinking” belong together in today’s world.)
I stand corrected.
The caucus ran aground on the the votes
No one knows who won
Who was the genius behind the app that failed?
On the surface iOS apps seem easy to write, but a lot of old school C/C++ developers used to gobs of memory and storage on Windows and Unix are unable to wrap their heads around OO development and the memory management paradigm on the mobile devices. Often, the data model and/or the back end fail spectacularly as a result.
”
Who was the genius behind the app that failed?”
–people from the clinton campaign apparently.
The CGI team that built the Obamacare website was available…
Couldn’t afford them….
n
The CGI team that built the Obamacare website was available…
Yeah, it isn’t a good morning to be a CGI employee. They are a Canadian company, but the long-time legacy AMS (company CGI bought which became US operation core) employees were already unhappy.
I go back and forth debating whether leaving for my current gig was a good idea. I was set up to fail at CGI, but that failure would have been the catalyst to figure out something else while on the action plan leading to my eventual termination.
My current job featured the most insulting recruiting process I’ve ever experienced. OTOH, it was my ticket out of CGI.
Wait! Wait wait…
They’re not blaming Trump and the Russians?
Paradise? Yeah right…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2Mc6mLCCY&feature=emb_logo
meanwhile Screwsome intends to take over PG&E
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article239920693.html
The day is young grasshopper. Give it time.
My personal opinion is that cheating is rampant or they are figuring out a way to cheat.
The day is young grasshopper. Give it time.
My personal opinion is that cheating is rampant or they are figuring out a way to cheat.
The party doesn’t want to put Bernie up in November. Not that he will be the actual nominee, but the brokered convention will be more expensive.
Bernie got a lake house to go away quietly last time.
“Bernie got a lake house to go away quietly last time. ”
–and didn’t they drop a criminal investigation of his wife? Or was that someone else…
n
–and didn’t they drop a criminal investigation of his wife? Or was that someone else…
Yes, Mrs. Bernie. Most of the corruption flows through the wife, starting with the kickbacks from the media buys running for President. The allegations about what she did with the land deal running Burlington College is amateur hour in comparison.
The US Attorney halted the investigation, but that didn’t happen until late last year.
Bernie as the nominee will be a shellacking of biblical proportions. I’ve always believed Trump wants a Reagan-style reelection margin. He may get close running against Sanders (or Warren), but CA is hardcore Dem since 1992.
Oh the entitlement— we’re poor and you’re rich so we should be able to use your stuff for free….. nevermind that getting paid is HOW companies get rich…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7965347/Disney-charges-California-school-250-screening-Lion-King-fundraiser-without-license.html
—
—
n
I just read that Hyundai, world’s 5th largest auto company, had halted production in Korea due to supply chain issues in China. This is going to get real.
Ok, are the mail delivery people getting more incompetent by the day ? Yesterday, I got my west neighbors mail on our street. And I got their west neighbors mail also. I did not get any mail. So, I am wondering who got our mail ?
We are moving on Thursday. We’ve got packers here yesterday and today, this is the way to go. We had 50 boxes packed when they showed up, now we have 150 boxes packed. Maybe 200.
And the wife cannot throw anything away.
“How much electricity may produce a $1 Billion Solar Plant backed by the Obama Energy Department?”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/04/how-much-electricity-may-produce-a-1-billion-solar-plant-backed-by-the-obama-energy-department/
“Thanks to the savvy energy administrators of the Obama era, the US taxpayers have thus paid unpredictable electricity from the sun 2.38 $ per kWh.”
@CowboySlim, this molten salt solar power plant’s for you !
Here in Texas, we pay about 0.04 $ per kWh for reliable power from fossil fuels. Just about 50 times cheaper.
For everyone else, don’t worry, your federal taxes paid for this boondoggle. This is why we are going to get a Federal Property Tax of 2% so that unknowing and uneducated federal bureaucrats can pay for crap like this.
Sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island:
Just sit right back
and you’ll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful vote
That started from a tiny state
with clueless candidates
I suspect that Bernie won and the powers that be trashed the vote.
I have no difficulty believing that the incompetent coders f’d up the app.
That’s just par for the course.
n
“Wuhan medic says ‘there are many more coronavirus deaths and infections than reported’ because those who die while waiting to be tested are not considered victims of the virus
Hospital worker Jeisi Luo, not real name, warned about the dangerous situation
He said that hospitals are unable to test everyone that arrives for the virus
Figures from China claim there are 20,478 cases, but this has been disputed ”
–why would anyone think any differently? This is what we see everywhere, every time. Only officially diagnosed cases get counted.
n
Hey! This (and Unicorn farts) make for free charging of Teslas in Kalifornia, you, you, oil-Nazi!
I have no difficulty believing that the incompetent coders f’d up the app.
That’s just par for the course.
At $60,000 for the app, they may have paid about $5/hour. I’ve been wondering where else the Boeing plane contract programmers were working.
“I have no difficulty believing that the incompetent coders f’d up the app.
That’s just par for the course.”
At $60,000 for the app, they may have paid about $5/hour. I’ve been wondering where else the Boeing plane contract programmers were working.
This is the same crowd that wants general election voting by app.
Vote by mail has enough room for mischief. Just ask Perkins Coie.
Cramer and his buddies cashed out after convincing the retail sheeple to buy yesterday.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-stock-suddenly-plunges-much-100-seconds
Again, with Cramer, don’t even bet the beer money. He’s going to be enjoying a cold one while you’re drinking city water.
Yes, believable.
But it’s like vote recounts stretching over days. When all of the coincidences and mistakes and odd occurrences and sudden discoveries — individually plausible though they may be — when they all go the same way, it begins to defy belief.
Razorfist has an observation on the origin of the voting app. (Profanity warning, in case you aren’t familiar with him.)
“I have no difficulty believing that the incompetent coders f’d up the app.”
Yes, believable.
But it’s like vote recounts stretching over days. When all of the coincidences and mistakes and odd occurrences and sudden discoveries — individually plausible though they may be — when they all go the same way, it begins to defy belief.
A lot of tech is hype, and people want to believe Tony Stark is for real. OTOH, I don’t think the Dems really wanted to have a working app in this instance.
John Kerry … Who Served In Vietnam BTW (TM) … was overheard at a hotel in Iowa this weekend talking about how Bernie would take the party down.
https://www.westernjournal.com/john-kerry-heard-lamenting-possibility-bernie-sanders-taking-democratic-party-report/
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – There’s An App For That”
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-theres-an-app-for-that/
“Voters have reason to be suspicious over the Iowa Democrat caucus disaster given their history of voter Fraud. Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2020. debacle”
“Tech Firm Whose Half-Baked App Cocked Up Iowa Results Run By Ex-Clinton, Obama Staff”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tech-firm-whose-shadow-app-cocked-iowa-results-run-ex-clinton-obama-staff
“An app developed by a Democratic digital nonprofit group that botched the Iowa caucus results is run by former staffers for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, Obama’s presidential campaign, as well as Google, Apple and former DNC employees.”
“The app was created by Shadow, Inc., which was acquired in January 2018 by the nonprofit, ACRONYM and paid $60,000 by the Democratic Party for “website development” – which, according to the Huffington Post, was used to develop the app which caucus site leaders were supposed to use to upload the results at their locations. According to the Post, Shadow CEO Gerard Niemira, COO James Hickey and product manager Ahna Rao worked together on the Hillary for America campaign.”
Shadow, Inc. ??? Really ?
A metric without measurement. If we are comparing WuFlu deaths to regular flu deaths we need to know how long the flu season has been to date versus the 14 days of WuFlu activity. We need to understand how many people worldwide had contracted the regular flu compared to the (unknown) number with WuFlu. I hate useless metrics like this. You can’t use them for anything.
Maybe they hired a bunch of out-of-work coal miners that learned to code.
I just heard from Homeland Security that they offered to evaluate the app for security and suitability but the Democrats refused. This is a huge issue. Democrats claim to be super worried about vote security but refused to have their systems validated.
“Trump says he will award Rush Limbaugh with Medal of Freedom”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/politics/rush-limbaugh-donald-trump-medal-of-freedom/index.html
Nice, do it while Rush is still alive. I do not know what Rush’s prognosis is other than advanced lung cancer. I’ve had an a business acquaintance last five years. I’ve also had a friend last only eight months.
hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
WRT the cost of solar power, Roger that, lynn. 45 years ago we had a federal contract to work with a design and construction firm on the design for the solar plant in Daggett, CA. I was the guru for an energy and flow calculation that had steam tables. It was my task to accept incoming radiation, convert it to steam enthalpy and that to electrical energy. It was a total fraud from day one, but nobody else around could put that all together, so out of company loyalty, I could not decline. Nobody else was familiar enough to work with that computer program.
Google it, I think the plant only was active for a few years and then it was too costly to run. Don’t expect AOC or Greta to agree with me.
I may be crazy. Oh heck, I am crazy.
The water softener isn’t. Read around and it seems pretty simple to replace the resin pellets. While digging that deep into the machine, might as well get the full gasket kit. One time job, I figure.
After some Ducking and Googling, ah…. resin for about $250. Gasket kit around $90. Yikes. But Free Shipping!!!!
Do I want to drop $350 plus on an eight year old machine I can replace for $800 or so (last time I looked at Home Depot or Lowes) plus tax?
Shopped more. I found the resin pellets for $121 on Big River. The gasket kit elsewhere for $45. Yeah, might not need any gaskets and o-rings but it seems worth $45 just for possible time spent chasing parts.
Ok, why not? Drop $170 and fix it. Versus throwing the entire machine in the trash and dropping almost a grand…. because you _know_ the plumbing is going to be a big pain in the you know where.
I’ll find out how this works in a couple of weeks.
WRT to the old saying: If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try and try again.
I guess that just goes on here. The local municipal bus company is now converting, or replacing their CH4 fueled buses with ZERO EMISSIONS buses consuming liquid H2.
@lynn, please describe to our folks here the steam reforming process to produce H2 and how it is emission free.
CowboySlim, BS Chem Eng, 1962
Didn’t the DNC refuse FBI help with their Rooskie hacked servers? And Cankles with her toilet server? Seeing a pattern here.
Shadow, Inc. ??? Really ?
Maybe an “American Gods” reference?
Ok, why not? Drop $170 and fix it. Versus throwing the entire machine in the trash and dropping almost a grand…. because you _know_ the plumbing is going to be a big pain in the you know where.
What kind of softener? GE/Sears all-in-one job or something better, dual tank?
$800 should be a really nice unit, separate salt and rosin tanks.
The all-in-one models really cant be repaired once the screens rust out and rosin is blowing through your lines. I’ve replaced two in Florida and one here in Texas.
We spent $1200 on the last softener, dual tank, and it has been worth the cost IMHO. Way less salt hungry than the previous model, and the tech lives nearby when we have any questions.
Nice, do it while Rush is still alive. I do not know what Rush’s prognosis is other than advanced lung cancer. I’ve had an a business acquaintance last five years. I’ve also had a friend last only eight months.
My mother had an initial warning diagnosis in … 1995 IIRC, and a full “advanced” diagnosis along with surgery about a dozen years ago. She’s still alive.
At least, I think she is still alive. No one has called me for access to her checking account, which I co-sign even though we haven’t spoken in 15 years.
(Gotta double check that status this Spring when we’re near a SunTrust.)
My father also died from lung cancer, but his story is less clear. I believe he went from diagnosis to dead in a couple of years.
Oh jeez, this just dropped…
“Update (1845ET): At least 10 cases of coronavirus have been discovered aboard the Carnival Japan cruise ship “the Diamond Princess”, which has been quarantined at Japan’s Yokohama port since yesterday after officials learned that a passenger who recently disembarked tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong.”
That would be the ship they thought was clear.
And the new numbers have been updated, 23,915 sick, 492 dead, 858 recovered.
The 24K is pretty close to the progression that has been happening. About 1.5x every two days. If the number is at all representative, China is f’d.
n
The 24K is pretty close to the progression that has been happening. About 1.5x every two days. If the number is at all representative, China is f’d.
JB Lackland in San Antonio is being prepped as a possible quarantine facility.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/community/lackland-afb-designated-one-of-four-potential-quarantine-sites-in-us-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/285-5f50aabe-3781-4c52-bade-d3c9c9673997
If anyone was still wondering about the demographics of the shooting at Tx A&M Commerce-
n
Moms house finally listed. Lots of lipstick on a pig. Pics are gorgeous and cleverly taken to hide the size and age of house.
I am dubious they’ll get listing price. Hope I’m wrong.
http://www.201solarway.com/index.html#features
Folks bought the house in 1972 for about $18k
Growing up here was great – it was the absolute outskirts of a podunk town. Nothing but rolling hills and wildlife north of us. Hours in those hills. loved the independence.
No family left in the town. We’ve scattered to the nine winds. I left in 1993.
Home sick today. Sudden onset of chest congestion cough and fever. Not my usual illness. planning on doc in the box tonight.
Stocked up on everything. Shouldn’t need to hit a grocery store for fresh stuff for a couple weeks, and prepped for longer period. Ready for wuflu. Alaska is sensitive to supply interruptions.
5/6 classes left to complete bachelors. Motivation is currently low. Week one and I’m already behind. Suck it up.
Taxes are 95% complete. Itemizing this year – our charitable contributions are about equal to our federal tax burden. Kinda cool.
If anyone was still wondering about the demographics of the shooting at Tx A&M Commerce
A two year old living with his mother in the dorms?
Ok, I had time to read further, but the reason for the presence of the sister and the kid is still nebulous.
TAMU Commerce obviously needs a little media scrutiny. Sadly, this will get dropped.
@jenny, I’ve had a cough and sore throat for a couple of weeks now. Neither is bad enough to mess with, so I’m not. Since my Dr went concierge, I don’t really want to just see a doc in the box. I should get signed up with my Dr, if it’s affordable. Been putting it off. Shouldn’t.
FWIW, I looked thru my last couple of Costco receipts, and even though I usually spend around $500 per visit, I also usually save $40 – 50 per visit buying the stuff that goes on sale, only when it is on sale. I consistently save 10-15% at the regular grocery doing the same things, only buy boxed cake mixes when they are on sale, ditto for cans. Buy whatever meat is on sale, or wait. Use the in store coupons and hit the clearance shelves. It’s worth it to pay attention and buy in bulk.
n
Be careful. Charitable deductions are limited to 50% of your adjusted gross income. Also includes carry over from the prior year. Anything beyond the 50% of AGI gets carried over to the next year.
I have already started my taxes for 2020 using the 2019 Turbo Tax. Gives me a close guess. I have to pull some money from IRA’s and I need to play with the numbers to figure out what is the best scenario to limit the tax burden. Which is unfortunately going to huge after four years of paying zero taxes.
Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech at the end. What a class act !
https://twitter.com/SalHernandez/status/1224897251094532101?s=20
And Rush has stage 4 lung cancer. Trump gave him the Presidential Medal of Honor during the State of the Union speech. I like that.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/02/04/melania_trump_awards_rush_limbaugh_presidential_medal_of_freedom_at_trump_state_of_the_union_address.html
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
Yes, the Dumbcrats put on a full petty, childish display. Tomorrow they will project that all onto tRump. Is there any doubt tRump will get re-elected? Our goobermint at it’s finest. I can’t wait for Stretch to croak. Crone Ginsburg, too.
Blew right thru 24K to 24.5K.
New neighbors on the north side of us. Haven’t met them yet but they have a little dog that NEVER stops barking. All day long, and all night, if it’s out it’s barking. Short sharp little shrieks, not even proper barks. Jeez. We might have to have words.
n
Ok the thought of eating the fish caught in a Chinese river makes me kind of queasy but this technique is the awesome….
Grandpa’s various methods of catching fish–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuoXMqatglI
n
New neighbors on the north side of us. Haven’t met them yet but they have a little dog that NEVER stops barking. All day long, and all night, if it’s out it’s barking. Short sharp little shrieks, not even proper barks. Jeez. We might have to have words.
n
https://www.comicskingdom.com/baby-blues/2020-01-30
https://www.comicskingdom.com/baby-blues/2020-01-31
Read the comments.
Japan Confirms 10 nCoV Cases Aboard Quarantined Cruise Ship; Officials Warn Virus Could “Spread Widely Through Hong Kong”
Meanwhile, after unveiling the city’s first virus-related death, Hong Kong health officials warned Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak could “spread widely through Hong Kong.” Three newly diagnosed cases raised the total number diagnosed in the city to 18, with at least four of those cases being confirmed human-to-human transmissions, according to SCMP.
“It is highly probable the four were infected locally, so there could be invisible chains of infection happening within communities,” Chuang said. “We are not ruling out a large spread [of the virus] in the future.”
Can’t stop the signal.
n