Damp, overcast, sunny, and hot. [somewhat sunny, somewhat damp, def hot]
Yesterday was nice for a while, overcast, then gentle light rain, then nice again. High 80s, possibly into the low 90s.
Possible depression forming off the East coast next week, first of the season if so…
Spent the morning online, and shopping. Spent the afternoon cleaning, organizing, and finding stuff I’d put away literal years ago in the garage. I’m getting to the bottom layers of the stacks. At some point I tweaked something in my neck and shoulders. I’m still sore today.
Kid 1 had a “science” unit today that was all about changes to the environment. And while they kept saying that not all changes were bad, the only examples given were in fact bad. Then they used Silent Spring to justify the banning of DDT, with NO discussion of malaria, or WHY we were spraying DDT, or what the effect was on countries that still have malaria… and a whole page on acid rain. Again, no indication where the acid rain came from or why. No indication of the current conditions. Freaking old hippies with the same old chants, Silent Spring, DDT, Acid rain, draining wetlands…. and a section about deer. How they became a nuisance species- without any note that the ban on hunting contributed, or that HUNTING is how we control the population currently. Add in the poor grammar, and I’m pretty sure the science is sloppy, the editorial slant is most of the way to horizontal, and the worksheets are BS. At least with the sheet in front of me, I could go through it with the kid and talk about the parts they left out. What does the rest of the curriculum look like, I wonder?
Eventually, even a drip of water will wear away stone. The left has been all wet for decades, but they’ve managed to ooze into every nook and cranny of the world.
Dinner was sirloin steak from the last Costco instacart delivery, with boxed scalloped potatoes, and a can of Butter Beans. Scalloped potatoes were almost in date, only a month over. Most of my older ones rotted in the black crate that got damp. Easter candy for dessert.
More of the same today as yesterday…
Keep working, stacking, improving, and prepping.
nick
Possible depression forming off the East coast next week, first of the season if so…
Water temperatures in the Gulf are still too cold for anything serious.
I’d consult my usual bad storm metric, the bar cam at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West, but Joe’s has been closed since March due to the Wuxu Flu.
The media will go bonkers the first time the “cone of death” touches the US mainland, especially this year with a Trump ally sitting in the Florida Governor’s Mansion.
More than a few days out, the weather geeks working for the media outlets have no idea where a storm is headed, especially the UK tabloids trying to scare the h*ll out of expats in SW Florida.
First, thanks to Mr. Ray on all of his posts on corrective eye surgery. I had my LASIK done some years ago after reading all his posts.
Second, if you want to finance stuff not covered by insurance, there is a company “Care Credit” that has a year no interest financing. I used them for my LASIK. I walked in to the eye place and was approved in a couple the same day for $5K no problem. I set up an auto-debit and forgot about it.
I started setting up my home video security system last night. I’m using SecuritySpy for the Mac. They have several use cases, so I picked a cheap option and got everything on Big River. Two cameras connected right away to SS. Now, up in the attic to run Cat 6 to the PoE cams. My previous residences weren’t conducive to running cable, so I used Arlo cams. I’m pretty sure I can sell them online.
In the 80s in the UK, Mrs T called everyone to the left of her a “wet”.
Re: yesterday’s DNS… encrypting the DNS queries does help. May web sites are served from CDNs or transient IPs on AWS instances. Hiding the name of the site you visit helps protect your browsing from the FBI and your ISP.
OTOH Greg (I think) said yesterday that the NSA records everything for later decryption.
I heard a few years ago that the NSA asked google for the private keys from expired SSL certificates. There’s only one reason they would want that. Google allegedly refused. I’d bet FB turned theirs over.
OTOH Greg (I think) said yesterday that the NSA records everything for later decryption.
I heard a few years ago that the NSA asked google for the private keys from expired security certificates. There’s only one reason they would want that. Google allegedly refused. I’d bet FB turned theirs over.
From what I understand, the NSA records all AES256 traffic they intercept on the Internet. Even if they don’t currently have the capability to do brute force decryption — I don’t believe it is possible at this time — the time/date and endpoints are useful to analysts, especially when correlated with hard drive images using Hadoop.
The agency also occasionally gets lucky and receives keys through standard digital forensics techniques. An AES key in use has a distinctive memory signature which makes it amenable to isolation and extraction from memory dumps or swap files on PCs.
Three years ago, I was advised by my eye doctor that I had a mild case of cataracts. He told me that there was no hurry to have them worked on, but that there were no technological improvements on the horizon if I were to wait. He also explained that the surgeon he recommended, Dr. Rand, did excellent work, and that Dr. Rand had done his own cataract surgery. He even, earlier in his career, borrowed his VHS tapes of his surgeries so he could learn how he obtained such a high success rate. He also explained that he no longer did surgery and showed me his hands. Both index fingers were severed at the first knuckle.
As far as insurance coverage, there were three levels of replacement lenses. If you wanted the second or third, insurance would not pay for any of it. You would think that if it were determined that you need cataract surgery, you would get the option of putting toward the second or third level lenses what they would have paid anyway for the first level, but they would not.
My regular eye doctor was right, Dr. Rand was world class. The waiting room was full of people from around the world who came to see him specifically. After the evaluation visits, I was scheduled for two surgeries, one on Tuesday and the other on Thursday. I was put into twilight sleep and pretty soon I found myself in recovery. No pain. No itching.
Afterward, I was given a DVD of the procedure, and a picture of me, in twilight sleep, smiling for the camera with Dr. Rand, which I don’t remember them taking.
The best thing was that even though I got the lowest tier implants, I am now able to walk (and drive) around after 25 years without wearing glasses. Only 1.25 drug store glasses for reading the finest of fine print. My regular doctor told me in the follow up visit that Dr. Rand was able to give me extra correction by manipulating the laser, so it worked out better than either of us had hoped.
@Nick: I hear you on the science. The problem is twofold: First, the educrats who create the stuff, who are selected by people insisting on a particular political slant. As I understand it, Texas is the culprit here, having an oversized impact on school textbooks nationwide.
And, second, teachers who do not understand science, because all they have is an education degree. Hence, they cannot provide any sort of counterweight to the textbooks, because they have no idea what is missing.
FWIW it’s not only the prog/green agenda, but also the fundy agenda. Wait till you see some of the stuff about evolution. Last I heard, the material was close to the “intelligent design” line as they could get it, and evolution was “just” a theory, with no acknowledgement of what that word means in science.
Textbooks shouldn’t be written on a national scale. Each school system or group of teachers ought to pick the material that they want to teach. Get some competition going between schools, between textbook publishers, etc.. It could only improve things…
+1000
Yes, all of the male politicians with their meticulously cut and groomed hair have all maintained their haircuts throughout this ordeal no matter how locked down their particular states are and no matter how ardent a believer in lockdowns they are.
Also +1000
Many teachers just have a 4 year degree in being really good at telling the students exactly what is in the textbook and doing any labs also provided step-by-step from that same textbook publisher. Given that, almost anyone with a teacher’s edition of any textbook can teach any course. Though, as they say, “Those who can do; Those who can’t teach.” I suppose if someone was that passionate about science, for example, they’d be a scientist and not a teacher (not that you can’t be both).
In this particular case, it’s not the textbooks, because as much as I can tell, we don’t have any. No one will tell me flat out that we don’t use textbooks, but no one will show me one either. I do see them used in the thrift stores so I know SOMEONE in the area uses TX approved textbooks.
This was a supplemental handout with exercises. Pretty much all of their ‘at home’ work since they closed the schools has been what I would term ‘hand outs’. Each was produced by a different org or company. None have any sort of Imprimatur to let me know it accurately reflects what the district and state have decreed for curriculum. I find that a lot of the teachers just sort of google and then wing it when providing materials. Heck, it’s what I did when I was preparing my Hands On Science ppts.
I know we are paying a cr@pton of money to textbook publishers for electronic access to their materials, but I don’t see any being used. Even when I was in school there was resistance to actually teaching from the textbooks. That phrase has negative connotations even here and now. But if you don’t, you are just using random handouts from unvetted sources (and likely stealing them at that) that may or may not match the doctrine you will be testing too.
n
I’ve posted several times over the years, when child #3 was taking Algebra at Taft HS, here in SA, the staff decided they didn’t need a text book. They’d just hand out lessons each week. I asked “what about kids who excel and want to work ahead…I’ve got several good books…” “Go away uneducated, Veteran, Caucazoid loser. We know what we are doing.” I accused a teacher of just teaching the test. That got a harrumph and walk away. COVID might just introduce the next math genius since indoctrination is skipped. Maybe keep schools closed. People will start their own schools in their basements. Imagine the goobermint response to that. SWAT teams.
Neck and “yoke” all very stiff and sore. Nick is grumpy and short tempered.
Freaking Amber Alert went off early this morning and rocketed me out of bed. Undid any benefit I got from sleeping with a rolled up towel as a neck pillow.
I think I knocked something out of alignment when I kept banging my head on low hanging objects in the garage yesterday. That coupled with too much time at the PC for the last several days, and I’d normally be visiting the chiropractor. That’s unlikely to happen ATM.
n
Situational awareness, head on a swivel… or get stabbed in the neck, your choice.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8318497/Horrific-moment-60-year-old-man-stabbed-neck-Brooklyn-sidewalk-unprovoked-attack.html
n
When are these asswipes going to stop thinking that they are President ? “Virus whistleblower tells lawmakers US lacks vaccine plan”
https://apnews.com/8aeaca61de22fc20907c192c75cb9448
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
When are these asswipes going to stop thinking that they are President ? “Virus whistleblower tells lawmakers US lacks vaccine plan”
Doctorate in Immunology. I’m guessing he’s never had a real job in his life.
Of course, neither have many of the people in Congress he was testifying before.
Took the trailer to Seiverville TN for a couple of nights in an RV park. We went upscale this time with a newer park. All concrete pads, water, sewer, electricity, cable TV, wireless and ethernet jacks at all the sites. I brought my own wireless router and have that hooked to the ethernet. During a walk around the park I spotted several WiFi antennas in just one area. Yeh, a little more expensive but I just wanted to give it a try. None of the state parks are open and most other RV parks have sites that are really close. This does not.
Warm today, 84 here. Last winter after I had to have the A/C replaced in the RV (under warranty) I decided to do something about the noise. I ordered a silencer kit that works very well. No more option to dump air into the main interior and everything must now go through the overhead ducts. Not a big loss and worth it with the reduction in noise.
Park is only about 1/3 full, lot of empty sites. Normally it would be almost full, if not full. Some really big RV’s making mine look like a slum unit. But we like ours, can pull with our truck, and it suits our needs quite nicely.
Will take a trip into Pigeon Forge this evening to see what is open. Last time we were in Pigeon Forge at another RV park it was that start of Covid-19. We specifically chose those dates to coincide with the openings of the activities, which did not happen. I suspect I will see more of the same with a lot of places still closed. A shame because this area survives on tourists.
CNN is really hell-bent on displaying it all over their homepage every time the COVID-19 death count is evenly divisible by 50,000. You’d think the COVID-19 stats were an arcade game.
My wife is suddenly interested in buying an RV. Or really a travel trailer. Hitch pulled, not 5th wheel, because I don’t want to buy a pickup truck. She’s looking at floor plans, and surfing sites.
I grew up camping every long weekend and for weeks at a time in the summer. We started with a popup (starcraft) and graduated to an RV built on a van chassis, with a bed over the cab. We went everywhere and saw 46 of the lower 48 in that camper.
I’d really like to do something similar with our kids, but the wife doesn’t get that much vacation anymore, and the yearly pilgrimage to family and to WDW cuts into that. Choices….
n
Re textbooks: about 8 years ago I needed a science textbook for an art project. Our town and school are VERY small. The local English teacher gave me a brand new Science/Biology textbook and told me to let her know if I needed any others, because, she said: “The textbook companies send us copies of their books as samples, so we always have plenty that aren’t used.”
Of course that was before digital textbooks, but I’m guessing since our school is so small (8 or 10 seniors each year), they can afford new books whenever they are ready for them, so our school is desireable to increase the number of districts that use a publisher’s books even if they won’t make squillions from us.
At that time, we had a teen living with us, and the textbooks in use were all written in infoblurbs: presented in blocks that were often unrelated to the other material on that page. Non sequiturs were frequent. Continuity was lacking, and there was little depth of information. Of course, my kids used to complain that I would “write a book” to answer any question they asked, so maybe my expectations were too high.
Wouldn’t that be a joy. All of our founders were home schooled. One of the children in our family has learned to play the piano during the quarantine, and called to play “Fur Elise” to me last week. 🙂
@Nick: re RV/trailers….
I’d researched some RV’s last year, mostly Class C (on F350+ chassis), because of reasons.
But in researching trailers, learned that you should aim for something that weights about 70-75% of the towing capacity of your vehicle. There will be an additional weight added in of all the stuff you drag along. And don’t fill up the water tanks before you go….water is really heavy.
Haven’t gotten one, probably won’t. HOA rules here don’t allow RVs on the lot; my lot is small, the garage won’t hold it either. So monthly storage costs were a factor.
There may be some used ones out there, although the best time to buy is in the fall, not the spring, but proceed with caution. I’ve seen recommendations that you should spend a couple hours in deep inspection of a used RV. And a no contact moisture meter (like this one https://amzn.to/3ctiCm5 ) is a good tool to have when looking at any RV – new or used.
Lots of googles/bings/ducks on inspecting new and used RVs.
My wife is suddenly interested in buying an RV. Or really a travel trailer. Hitch pulled, not 5th wheel, because I don’t want to buy a pickup truck. She’s looking at floor plans, and surfing sites.
I grew up camping every long weekend and for weeks at a time in the summer. We started with a popup (starcraft) and graduated to an RV built on a van chassis, with a bed over the cab. We went everywhere and saw 46 of the lower 48 in that camper.
Your Expedition will pull an awesome camper. If you have the trailer max towing option with the factory transmission oil cooler and five row radiator, it could tow 10,000 lbs up a long hill. My biggest concern with hitch towing is the brakes though. And with fifth wheel towing also (been there got the tshirt with burned out brakes here in Texas and 95 mph at the bottom of the hill).
“Weekly jobless claims total 2.981 million, bringing coronavirus tally to 36.5 million”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/weekly-jobless-claims.html
Folks, we are sowing the wind here. A lot of people are going to get good and upset.
All because the first model they showed to Trump claimed a death rate of 2.2 million in the USA which has been subsequently brought down to 120,000. Some people would call that fraud.
I wonder if anyone is going to die of the flu in the fall ? Looks like a lot of the borderline people have been taken out. My father-in-law in the nursing home for six years now is still alive so not all have been taken out.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
Getting paid well to hide in fear:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article242719216.html
One line of reasoning people give for confiscating firearms is that the police will provide protection for everyone. This is obviously not true. Soldiers put themselves at risk for something like one third to one half of the $138k that cop was being paid.
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – Underwater”
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-underwater/
“At the risk of total economic devastation, Democrats are pushing the Coronavirus lockdown for their political advantage. Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2020.”
Wow, is that ever true.
Flu deaths are classified as COVID deaths because the corpse *probably* had SARS-CoV-19. Why test a corpse when you can just sign off for the cash.
Anybody know if the TX DMV is open again? The site says NO, and I couldn’t get a phone answered at my closest DMV. I guess I’ll remain a NV resident for the duration.
You will never find the perfect RV. Each floor plan is a compromise. We opted for a slightly larger bathroom which sacrificed some bedroom space. We got a Mallard M25, a little over 24 foot. Length on the website includes the tongue which adds 5 feet. We found that getting much under 24 foot and you lose the bedroom door in exchange for a curtain.
My trailer is about 6K pounds with a max weight of 7.4K pounds thus allowing 1.4K of “stuff”. We don’t have that much stuff. My F-150 Ecoboost V-6 pulls the trailer fine running about 9 miles per gallon. The max towing weight of my truck is a little over 10K pounds so I am well within my limits.
I have the integrated brake controller on my truck. The trailer brakes are electric with the force modulated by the brake controller in the truck. I can lock all four wheels up on the trailer and have done so setting the gain on the brake controller. I also have tow mode on the transmission which locks up the torque converter. Going down hill if the computer thinks you are gaining speed it will down shift, all the way to second gear if necessary. I have never had an issue with hills using the brakes on the truck and the trailer.
I have the factory towing package, transmission cooler (and gauge), larger radiator, electrical trailer connection, etc. Just wish they had included a larger gas tank, something beyond 26 gallons.
If I was to tow much beyond 25 feet I would really like an F-250. Gas, not diesel. Diesel is too expensive to purchase, service and repair. Lose an injector on a modern diesel and all 8 have to be replaced at about $1,000 each as they are a matched set. Oil changes are super expensive as are the necessary filters (fuel and oil).
Anybody know if the TX DMV is open again? The site says NO, and I couldn’t get a phone answered at my closest DMV. I guess I’ll remain a NV resident for the duration.
They are all at home buying stuff off Amazon with their direct deposited government paychecks.
And in other news I have abandoned Chrome for Edge, the new version. Based on the same rendering engine but Edge is not associated with data collection used by Google. Installed on all my systems and Chrome removed.
TN has postponed all license renewals until a future date. Expired licenses will remain valid until the offices open again. Drivers licenses, carry permits, vehicle registrations, etc. When the offices open I do fully expect long lines and delays as the DMV people operate at their usual slow rate with only two stations operating out of 13 available stations.
I have never had an issue with hills using the brakes on the truck and the trailer.
I have. But the truck was an 1986 Chevy diesel one ton dually crew cab that weighed 10,000 lbs. And the trailer was a 48 foot gooseneck that weighed 28,000 lbs. We put everything but the kitchen sink in there. Three roof air conditioners. 480 V three phase 1000 amp to 120 / 230 volt transformer. Honeywell TDC 4500 data logging computer and historian. About a mile of data highway cable that was two inches thick (so the plant technicians could drive their trucks over it).
At the bottom of Ranger hill on I-20, a descent of 1,500 ft in elevation, I was going 95 mph. The electric trailer brakes smoked after 10 seconds at 70 ??? mph. Engine in neutral, I had shifted out of gear at 90 mph, 500 rpm over the redline. I then slowed the whole 38,000 lb contraption down gradually, parked on the side of the I-20, got out, and walked around the truck and trailer for 30 minutes until I stopped shaking. The other three guys followed me, all of us white and shaking. If one of the front tires had blown on that truck, we probably would have rolled. All of the other four axles (back axle on truck, three axles on trailer) had four wheels on them.
I should have started at the top of the hill at 10 mph instead of 45 mph. Live and learn. We had climbed that hill at 12 mph on the way from Dallas to Monahans, four weeks earlier. Redline on first gear was 12 mph, and she would not accelerate in 2nd gear on that 11% grade. In fact, we should have gotten a Class 8 truck to haul that overloaded piece of crap trailer. Something like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenworth_T600
If you ever see a Ford, Dodge, or Chevy one ton dually towing a gooseneck trailer with 20 cattle in it, stay far away from it. They cannot stop in less than a half mile.
I Want a New Drudge
https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2020/05/i-want-new-drudge.html
@PecanCorner, Thanks !
“Obamagate: Somebody Is Scared to Death of What Michael Flynn Knows” by Rush Limbaugh
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/05/14/obamagate-somebody-is-scared-to-death-of-what-michael-flynn-knows/
The rumor on the streets is that Trump is going to nominate General Flynn for Director of the FBI. The left is very scared of that and thinks if they force Trump to pardon Flynn then Flynn will not pass the Senate advise and consent.
The quotes for the ‘whistleblower’ have factual errors in them and I’ve only looked at the one’s I have first hand experience with. The article pull quote is hearsay, it’s the disgruntled guy quoting someone else.
More manipulative media.
n
(although there is plenty of blame to go around, the main thing people are guilty of is responding to CHINA’S need without considering where WE’D be in a couple of months- and even then, they wouldn’t have denied china..) I’d bet money that most of the people responsible for making sure there were enough masks assumed there were because there always have been. SOMEONE knew they didn’t re-order, but I bet most people didn’t even consider their own supply, having never actually looked at what it took to be sure there were masks in the exam rooms…..)
I don’t know much about trailers except I HATE to pull one.
However, my son bought a 42 ft 5th wheel with a garage for his motorcycles. He got it used for $42k and put some sweat equity into it. Very nice. He had to buy a truck to pull it, a 2009 Ford F350 diesel. He’s very happy with that. He now either lives on his sailboat or in the 5th wheel. Trailer living means you have to trim your stuff to the minimum.
“trim your stuff to the minimum. ”
— or keep a storage unit somewhere.
I’m not good at trimming my stuff.
n
That’s because you’re not RUTHLESS enough, Nick.
(I think I got the capitalization right.)
I could probably live in this trailer full time if I had to do so. I could not live in this trailer with anyone else. My aunt and uncle used to spend six months out of a year in south Texas, winter over. Pulled the trailer all the way from upper Washington state to Corpus Christi. I don’t remember how long it took to make the trip, or if I ever asked. Their small 5th wheel trailer was about the size of what I have. They initially pulled it with a Chevy C10 pickup, which was really too small for what they were doing. Later one they upgraded to a Chevy C20.
They traveled with an additional vehicle that his wife drove. One time they got separated. It took three days and the help of the state police in Utah (I think) to get them together again. This was pre-cell phone days. They should have had a plan where if they got separated to go to a specific exit and wait. But they didn’t. She called me a couple of times frantic, so did he. Never could figure out where they were located when they called. This was all pre-google, online maps, cell phones, etc. My how times have changed.
On one trip the aunt flew back to Washington. He and I drove the trailer from San Antonio to Riverside CA. It took us three days (two nights), multiple stops for gas due to the limited size gas tank. I did most of the driving. It was not a fun trip.
I have been pulling trailers for most of my life starting on the farm. Eventually graduated to a boat and trailer for 35 years. Then changing to this trailer. This trailer is a lot more difficult to tow. Turns are about the same. It’s the reaction to passing trucks and wind that are annoying. I have anti-sway on the hitch, truck is level, so load is balanced. Axles on the trailer are further apart than usual to make the trailer more stable. Seeing behind the trailer and on the sides requires great care. I have a camera on the back on the trailer with a display in the truck which really helps. Towing a travel trailer is not for the faint of heart.
“Novel #Coronavirus and Climate Change: A Tale of Two Hysterias”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/05/14/novel-coronavirus-and-climate-change-a-tale-of-two-hysterias/
“It did not take long after the onset of the global pandemic for people to observe the many parallels between the covid-19 pandemic and climate change. An invisible novel virus of the SARS family now represents an existential threat to humanity as does CO2, a colourless trace gas constituting 0.04% of the atmosphere which allegedly serves as the control knob of climate change. Lockdowns are to the pandemic what decarbonization is to climate change. In response to both threats, governments and their expert policy experts habitually chant the “follow the science” mantra. In everything from face masks and social distancing (1 or 2 meters, depending on the relevant jurisdiction) to the duration of lockdowns, governments were “led by the science”. California governor Gavin Newsom told protestors last month “We are going to do the right thing, not politics, not protests, but by science”. In banning the sale of mulch and vegetable seeds and such-like as non-essential, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed in a New York Times op-ed that “each action has been informed by the best science and epidemiology counsel there is.””
“But, beyond being a soundbite and means of obtaining political cover, ‘following the science’ is neither straightforward nor consensual. The diversity of scientific views on covid-19 became quickly apparent in the dramatic flip-flop of the UK government. In the early stages of the spread in infection, Boris Johnson spoke of “herd immunity”, protecting the vulnerable and common sense (a la Sweden’s leading epidemiologist Professor Johan Giesecke) and rejected banning mass gatherings or imposing social distancing rules. Then, an unpublished bombshell March 16th report by Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London, warned of 510,000 deaths in the country if the country did not immediately adopt a suppression strategy. On March 23, the UK government reversed course and imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. For the US, the professor had predicted 2.2 million deaths absent similar government controls, and here too, Ferguson’s alarmism moved the federal government into lockdown mode.”
I keep on getting the deja vu feeling all over again.
Can we sue Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London, for fraud ?
I note that the Turdberg is now a SARS-COV-2 expert on CNN. I am shocked. Not.
And I love this comment, “…so what does everyone think about their one world government 30 day trial?”.
The thing that bugs me about trailers and moving vans is that any jerk with a car-driving license can drive one with no training and no idea what he’s doing.
On the one hand, free citizens should presumptively be allowed to do as they wish, without needing the state’s permission in advance.
On the other hand, it’s a safety matter. I don’t know how many accidents and near-accidents I’ve seen from someone not realizing that visibility out of a 28′ moving van is a lot worse than that in his SUV, or that a truck with a trailer is not only slow to accelerate when merging onto a highway, it’s slow to slow down, or that semis make wide right turns for a reason and you would have taken out the pedestrians standing at that corner if they hadn’t gotten out of your way.
On the other hand, it’s a safety matter. I don’t know how many accidents and near-accidents I’ve seen from someone not realizing that visibility out of a 28′ moving van is a lot worse than that in his SUV, or that a truck with a trailer is not only slow to accelerate when merging onto a highway, it’s slow to slow down, or that semis make wide right turns for a reason and you would have taken out the pedestrians standing at that corner if they hadn’t gotten out of your way.
We have a few triple lane left turns here in the Land of Sugar. If you are turning with a tractor-trailer, watch out ! Most of them do go to the far right lane of the left turn so that they can clear the median in the middle of the freeway and see that they need to let a few cars and trucks scatter out of their way on the left side. Cause they cannot see squat on that right side.
We’ve got a couple of roundabouts also. The neophyte driver is always a bit unsure about those and tends to STOP at the YIELD sign even when no one is coming around.
That’s because you’re not RUTHLESS enough, Nick.
(I think I got the capitalization right.)
Yup, that is what OFD told me in 2012 and 2013. Of course, I did not listen to him. Now we’ve got crap everywhere in a 3,300 ft2 one story house and a 1,100 ft2 garage.
Heating up in Mexico and Brazil
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/mexico-cremating-bodies-industrial-scale
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/colombia-militarizes-brazilian-border-covid-deaths-soar
And maybe in Texas
Texas Sees Record Jump In COVID-19 Deaths 2 Weeks Into Reopening: Live Update
@Pecancorner: Kids’ textbook written as a series of blurbs. Yep. Information content: near zero. Big picture: nonexistent. Lots of pretty pictures: yep. Anything to do with people, and progressive content is…well represented.
The online content is always in publisher-specific websites, and their websites are just horrible. I see them on the college level, but occasionally look around at other stuff – they are universally horrible, probably because the publishers are so terribly worried that someone, somewhere might scrape the content. I just had a look at Macmillan, while writing this, and their site uses Flash, which was supposed to have been discontinued years ago due to all of its horrible security flaws.