Cool and somewhat damp. [50F and 99%RH]
Yesterday started rainy but did dry out later in the morning. Man I was tired. I should not stay up late reading.
I hope by now, everyone is prepping for WuFlu related disruptions. I don’t think this is going anywhere but ‘worse’. I’m thinking it will pop up here someplace no one is looking, like Minneapolis in the Somali population. Then the race is on to see who can go full retard the fastest.
Economic disruption is headed here no matter what happens with the virus. It’s a gift to certain folks to be able to crash and have something external to blame. Why waste the chance? Even without anything like that, the problems with supply chain aren’t going anywhere, and that will start having real effects soon.
There are very worrisome rumors that it’s already in Florida and being kept under wraps. Not good as that is my next family trip destination. It’s my bi-annual mouse house pilgrimage, and I am not interested in being in spring break crowds with this nonsense going on. Nor am I interested in being quarantined afterwards.
I better get started on the things I can control.
Keep stacking.
n
Grrr, got the date wrong and this post was set to go live tomorrow. I was tired last night I guess.
Well, not too late.
n
I never thought to see a headline like this in my lifetime….
“Line of people signing up for Medicaid and food stamps VANISHES as Donald Trump’s administration brings in crackdown on green cards for people claiming benefits
Phoeniz, AZ, pastor Antonio Velasquez says people used to line up from ‘3 in the morning’ to apply for food stamps and Medicaid at Maryvale district state office
But no one lined up one recent weekday morning, and there were just a handful of people inside
Velasquez says change is because of new rules that disqualify more people from green cards if they use government benefits
He fears immigrants, including citizens and legal residents, have dropped social services they or their children may be entitled to out of fear of being deported
But Trump administration says the change is ‘not a moral judgment on individuals, it is an economic one.’
Deputy Homeland Security secretary Ken Cuccinelli said the government expects immigrants to ‘be able to stand on their own two feet.’ ”
–and what is the interviewee worried about? All the ppppppoor people and illegals.
n
Not headed to Austin today. Perhaps tomorrow.
–even using official numbers, 12 of 61, and without correcting for lag, that’s pretty bad.
n
I am still of the strong opinion that the general public is not being fully informed about the Kungflu virus. More people are afflicted, and die, from the flu each year than have been inflicted, and terminated, with Kungflu. That makes me believe there is something about this virus that is being held back to avoid a general panic.
Maybe I am a cynical old fart that has been around too long observing government lies and cover ups by government officials. Some to save people’s jobs, others to control the population.
I am also of the very strong opinion that the Kungflu virus is a manufactured virus created by the Chinese. Something happened, either by accident, or on purpose, that released the virus into the wild. The consequences were more than what the Chinese anticipated and now are in damage control mode. Such mode being too little too late.
If a person is in this country illegally they have no entitlements. A bus ticket home is more than they deserve. A standing room only spot on a cattle truck heading south is a more fitting option.
If the person is here legally then their options should still be limited. And before someone is allowed here legally it should be required they can support themselves. Arriving and immediately going on the public dole should not be an option. Only citizens should be entitled to full benefits.
And in other news my appeal to the VA to increase my rating for my back is not going well. To get above 20% basically requires that a person not be able to move at all according to the VA. Lots of big words, 15 pages worth, in the response indicates the VA is designed to confuse and wear the applicant down.
I will file one more appeal as it requires very little time. Will state my case again and see what happens.
I have been given 10% for tinnitus, which was a significant victory. I was given nothing for hearing loss. The hearing loss is now classed as service connected at 0% disability (VA thinks strange) which is another small victory. I have little doubt in my mind that spending hours, sometime 24 in a stretch, for 3 or 4 days a week, over a period of 10 years, had a marked effect on my hearing. Those huge rooms were loud requiring shouting to be heard.
I have been told that in about a year I need to apply for disability increase based on the hearing loss. The current rating is 0% which should be increased. Tinnitus maxes out at 10%, hearing loss is generally 10% but can go much higher depending on severity. My loss is not yet severe but is getting worse with time.
Huh, FEMA dropped “Coronavirus” from their current threats list in their daily posture newsletter.
n
MaybeI am a cynical old fart that has been around too long…FIFY
I am starting to believe COVID-19 was being studied at the lab and sloppy work let it contaminate the fish market.
Plus, I’m already sick of the Kobe tributes. He wasn’t that great of a man.
There are very worrisome rumors that it’s already in Florida and being kept under wraps. Not good as that is my next family trip destination. It’s my bi-annual mouse house pilgrimage, and I am not interested in being in spring break crowds with this nonsense going on. Nor am I interested in being quarantined afterwards.
The Mouse is its own government in Florida, and they don’t screw around. If the virus was anywhere near the parks, the place would be under lock down in a heartbeat, and if a problem was being kept under wraps in the state, Disney — and Publix — would know.
If you’re worried, stay out of Dade and Broward. Fly Southwest through Tampa if you can. Orlando Airport TSA’s cattle pens are something to be avoided even without a virus.
OTH it’s Fat Tuesday. Party on Bro.
Well we are going to dinner. I don’t observe Lent myself but other family members do. Probably a couple of brews (and the next week and the next).
If KungFlu does come anywhere around here I might stay home much more than I already do.
From yesterday:
Jesus asked us to be kind to each other and I try to follow that. Sometimes.
He also used violence at least once, driving the money changers from the temple courtyard.
Yes he did. The priests running the temple were cheating the poor by making them pay their temple tax in temple coin only. The exchange rate was horrendous.
Jesus also told the apostles to carry a sword as they went preaching to the masses.
We just booked a big WDW vacation at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for June. I got the complete vacation insurance package after verifying that it covers disruption due to pandemic. Not taking chances. I am betting it won’t be a big issue by June but I am covering my bets.
My contractor is painting the house this week and doing minor external repairs. Then he will put up the security cameras and NVR I have had in a box since December.
Very happy today that I pulled everything out of the market two weeks ago.
@harold, which insurance company and policy did you use?
n
I heard a report on Fox last night that workers in the class 4 virology lab in Wuhan would often take lab test animals down the street to the live food market to sell for extra income. This is hard to believe unless you have lived in China like we did. I can certainly believe it.
I will have to look on my PC when I get home. They aren’t the cheapest but they have a”cancel for any reason” clause.
I heard a report on Fox last night that workers in the class 4 virology lab in Wuhan would often take lab test animals down the street to the live food market to sell for extra income. This is hard to believe unless you have lived in China like we did. I can certainly believe it.
That wouldn’t surprise me either, especially if it was an animal considered relevant to sexual potency.
My wife has one “Big Ayi” who spews questionable Chinese folk medicine advice constantly, and we came to the conclusion a long time ago that most of it is made up on the fly. Some of the advice is beyond strange. Still, the family members dependent on checks from the family dole go along with the strangeness or face the wrath of the “Big Achoo”, the Number One Son uncle in the family who enforces the groupthink. Even if Mainland China wasn’t Communist, the authoritarian culture dies hard, and the response to the virus wouldn’t be much different.
Then he will put up the security cameras and NVR I have had in a box since December.
So the NVR performs local storage of the video ?
Can you access the camera video over the Internet ?
My dad uses cloud storage for his cameras. They burn almost all of his 5 mbps upload bandwidth. He wants more upload bandwidth and cannot get it.
@greg, I’ve had a couple of classes in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and found the hands on stuff to be useful, and even the “energy” stuff useful or at least interesting.
The alchemist herbal preparations? Most were terrifying. Especially given their propensity to cheat, what might have benefit is often tainted anyway. There are many articles of TCM preparations being something toxic by DESIGN. The one I remember most was a medicine to calm a fussy child, that worked because it was full of mercury. And that one was imported into the US.
Some of the google hits make a distinction between TCM and CFP (Chinese folk prescription).
n
Lynn
Yes, the NVR has 3TB of local storage and can serve video and audio over my LAN and the Internet. I don’t trust cloud based services to (a) keep your data private and (b) be available when you need it. I bought a ReoLink 16 channel unit and 9 cameras so I can expand. This is a higher end system than sold in Walmart or Harbor Freight.
@harold, Our last trip we stayed at the DVC attached to the Animal Kingdom Lodge property. We paid extra for a “savanah” side room to see animals, but didn’t seem many.
Definitely take advantage of the free night viewing (off the back patio of the Lodge) with provided night vision.
I love the decor in the Lodge, and the restaurants there are great, with Jiko being one of my favorites. I love having drinks in the second floor bar with the Explorers Club vibe.
n
In Japan it’s out and among the people.
The last two days have wiped out about half of all the stock market gains for the last year. Is it down enough for the algos and tyros to ‘buy the dip’? I guess we’ll see tomorrow.
n
Nick – The wife won’t be going out much so I thought the Animal Kingdom Lodge would make a good place for her to be stuck in. I have never been to the Animal Kingdom park so it’s top on the list this time. We have a 4 day park ticket package and and 7 day stay. I paid extra for the Savannah views hoping to keep the wife happy. She will have dialysis Mon, Wed, Fri while there. I hope that they have a good concierge service to shuttle her to and back.
AK is a huge park with a lot of walking and it is typically very hot in the park. Take it easy, leave during the heat, and come back later (depending on hours). It pays to get there early as the animals are more active on the safari and it’s cooler.
We consider AK to be a “one day” park for us.
The character lunch at the Tusker House is fun and the food is really good (but different flavors and preparation- kids might just eat chicken and macncheeze.) BTW, every restaurant has their own macncheeze and some people like to “collect” or sample all of them.
My kids really like the train ride out to the ‘exploration center’ to touch real animals. They were doing re-dressing out there, so IDK if it’s currently open. The Bug’s Life 4D is a favorite of my kids NOW, but when they were little it was terrifying.
We will be doing the Rivers of Light thing on this trip. My sibling says it’s less cool than it could be, but they keep refining it. I have no ideas about the Avatar land, haven’t seen the movie, don’t know if we’re doing the land.
n
The CDC call today was interesting. From over at Aesop’s –
Anonymous nick flandrey said…
CDC is laying the groundwork for local and regional quarantine and Non- pharmaceutical Interventions, outlined in this PDF….
https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=801477
Listen to today’s call. The Dr is relating how she is having conversations with HER FAMILY about them getting ready for significant upsets in their lives.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0225-cdc-telebriefing-covid-19-update.mp3
They are literally telling us what’s coming. Get your preps in order.
nick
She literally said, “Now is the time to start preparing.”
add- she’s talking about closing schools, businesses, and blocking gatherings. Quarantine and isolation.
“WHO warns the rest of the world “is not ready for the virus to spread…”
CDC warns Americans “should prepare for possible community spread” of virus.
Germany confirms first case; traveler from Milan”
— on the call CDC reiterated that they ONLY diagnose and test people with a travel history from Hubei province or who are close contacts of CONFIRMED patients.
–CDC says they won’t change that until we have community spread here. That means we are almost GUARANTEED to get community spread from a traveler, and only THEN will CDC start testing others.
–I’m beginning to think they really DO want it to spread everywhere.
n
@greg, I’ve had a couple of classes in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and found the hands on stuff to be useful, and even the “energy” stuff useful or at least interesting.
What my in-laws practice isn’t even remotely real. It is interesting from a people watching aspect, however.
For those of us operating on smartphones this week. Aesop is at:
http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/
Iger fired?!?
Interesting. Like his predecessor, both his successes and failures will dominate the balance sheet for years to come. I think he would have been out sooner, but the board didn’t want “Lean In” to succeed Iger, as some influential shareholders wanted.
Sheryl Sandberg would have been a disaster.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/iger-out-disney-ceo-stock-extends-losses
Lynn, Just got around to this. The power steering on your 2020 F-150 apparently is electric. This is all I could find:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2019/11/14/ford-f-150-recall-steering/4190324002/
Ford Motor Co. has issued a recall for select 2019-20 F-150 pickup trucks that have an “improperly secured” part that may hinder braking, steering assist, instrument panel displays or cause the engine to stall or catch fire.
Too little detail, but a start. You should already have a recall notice if yours is affected.
Added: if your power steering is operating as designed, I don’t know if it would be possible to change the effort. Would probably require a software change.
Sounds like they just need to tighten the positive battery terminal and any wires attached. I would not waste time on a dealer visit and would just check it myself.
My vehicle has electric power steering. If it gets too hot it will alert on the dash and lower the assist by a huge amount. Steering is not impossible, but difficult. That is a clue to get off the road and wait an hour for the system to cool.
(What I want to say when I am at the back of a long line at the store checkout…)
Lynn, I only had a few minutes when I wrote about your power steering earlier. I wanted to add that there has been a trend in recent years to make power steering “heavier,” requiring more effort. This is especially noticeable in sports oriented and front wheel drive vehicles. Each of these has its own tradeoffs.
Sports cars emphasize feel of the road, sometimes to an extreme. Front wheel drive cars have some different characteristics, notably lower self centering tendencies. Some of these actually have hydraulic centering assist incorporated in the power steering system. Also, all cars need more assist at low speeds, and benefit from less assist at highway speeds. This is achieved by various means.
Rack and pinion systems have almost no resistance to “kick,” the effect that causes the steering wheel to respond to ruts and bumps. This resistance is supplied by the hydraulic system. Folks who have driven manual steering heavy trucks know about this, although these usually had recirculating ball worm gears, which resisted being back driven. It is a myth that “feel of the road” requires high effort; this is controlled by suspension geometry and other design factors.
As for electric assist, this was first used on mid engine (Fiero and MR2) cars, as well as electric (EV1) cars. The Corvette, with its space-constrained front end, also benefited.
Electric systems varied. Some simply used electric motors to drive a hydraulic pump, while others were all electric. The control systems also varied. According to what I have read, early production electric systems were primarily used to avoid long hydraulic lines from a rear engine, or to lower parasitic losses and improve fuel mileage. Some later ones were also designed as the main component of electronic stability control (instead of using the braking system.)
That is a brief history of modern power steering systems, which first appeared in production cars in 1951. I also looked up the subject, and was somewhat surprised to find out that the very first assist was used before 1900, and was electric. Wow. Hydraulic systems were developed in the 1920s and 30s, but were thought to be too expensive to be practical. A few big WWII military vehicles used power steering. Interesting.
As for what to do about yours, as someone recommended, see the dealer. A competent mechanic can tell you if yours is performing normally. Since it is electric, there might be an adjustment, although I doubt it. The once popular Saginaw hydraulic gear boxes used on GM, some Ford, and some Chrysler products, as well as the Chrysler built boxes, had sensing springs that could be changed to modify the steering effort. This does NOT apply to your unit.
Our 1971 Toyota Corona (yes, that is the correct model, NOT Corolla or Crown) had no power steering, but needed it badly. It had power brakes, but didn’t need them. Ah, the wisdom of the Japanese. I never understood that car.
Lynn, I only had a few minutes when I wrote about your power steering earlier. I wanted to add that there has been a trend in recent years to make power steering “heavier,” requiring more effort. This is especially noticeable in sports oriented and front wheel drive vehicles. Each of these has its own tradeoffs.
Thanks. This is the heaviest steering truck that I have owned out of 7 trucks over the years. Cars too. Most vehicles I can turn with one finger. Not this one. But this is the first 4wd that I have owned so I may just be sensitive.
My F-150 has very good steering. About what I would consider normal. The difference between mine and yours, other than the years, is yours is 4WD whereas mine is just RWD. 4WD requires more a little more steering effort but shouldn’t be significant.
My 300ZX had variable assist power steering. No much on the highway, one finger when parking. Great car. No the fastest out there, but handled like a charm.