Cold to start, continuing the nice clear days. Warming up later.
Yesterday was another beautiful day starting with an absolute light show of a sunrise. I get to see the sun come up while I stand on the corner with daughter 1 waiting for her bus. In the old days I’d have said that sunrise should come at the END of a good long day…
12 years and 24 days since I quit drinking. Missed the anniversary, but realized it yesterday. It’s not normally a big deal for me, I figure the running total out when I think of it- I’m not actually counting the days any more. Without any judgement either way, I can say definitively that it saved me a LOT of money be spent on other things. And probably saved my life and my relationships….
I made my drop off at the ‘industrial’ auction, so that’s another pickup load gone. Still lots more to go. Funny how the auctions and estate sales sometimes go in ‘waves’. No O gauge trains for a long time, then trains in every auction. Or loose wrenches and sockets. Or coleman lanterns. None for a while, then they’re everywhere.
Since yesterday was an ‘office’ day for my wife, I picked up youngest from school. 2:30 in the afternoon is not a convenient time. For anyone. And having the kids start at 7:15 makes little sense for most people. What it does do is let the district reuse the busses to pick up the high school kids for their later start time. One more example of the district running things for their own convenience and not the parents’ or students’. And the mid afternoon ending time created a whole industry of “after care” babysitter organizations. All of which cost money by the way, and almost none of which are running due to covid. Anyway, it puts a limit on what I can do in the afternoon.
Today I’m picking up auction stuff for my ongoing home remodeling and maintenance projects. Then I’ll see what else I can get done either on my list for home, or for my secondary location. Gnu g-noes there is plenty on the lists…
Meanwhile, our would be rulers are continuing to show their true nature. Some are now calling for the creation of a ‘ministry of truth’, while others want to purge the ranks of the military along political lines. I can’t see the leadership allowing that, but I don’t see them staging a coup either. It will probably just get slow rolled with everyone hoping someone else will deal with it. Everywhere I look I see the breakdown of the institutions and cultures that led to our great success. It’s much easier to destroy than build.
I’m focusing on Yoda’s advice for the nonce… “Save you what can.”
Stack it high.
nick
42F and saturated at the moment.
Woke up thinking about a two party system, and how everything we’re seeing right now means that we don’t have one, according to the insiders’ actions.
n
There were bluebirds at my birdbath yesterday… I’ll see today if they spent the night or if it was a brief stopover on their migration journey. That birdbath is only a foot off the ground, a one-piece cement one, and I highly recommend to anyone who wants to add to your view. It gets a whole lot more use than the traditional one out front… I guess the birds feel safer closer to the ground or in that locaton. I have to fill it daily because so many different birds use it.
The other nice thing about a birdbath as opposed to a bird feeder, is it doesn’t cost anything to keep it full, and so what if the squirrels drink there too? 🙂
We noticed that when we were active in the business. And, when we owned the antiques mall, we saw similar behavior from customers. Suddenly everyone would want the same things: we’d have ‘rolling pin week’ or ‘chair week’. It was enough to make one think the collective consciousness people might be on to something. LOL
“Sales of U.S. gold bullion coins rose 258% in 2020 while silver coin demand was up 28%, the U.S. Mint said Tuesday.”
Silver Eagles are 99.9% which makes them more portable than the gold coins and, thus, desirable. Still, $67/ounce is pretty steep even if they were available.
@Lynn — Is your tenant who shorts TSLA talking about buying silver this week?
My wife half joked that, at this rate of increase in silver, the “Chumlee” coin I keep in my laptop travel bag will get confiscated the next time we go through TSA. IIRC she paid $55 for it from the Pawn Stars shop as a Christmas gift one year.
I made my drop off at the ‘industrial’ auction, so that’s another pickup load gone. Still lots more to go. Funny how the auctions and estate sales sometimes go in ‘waves’. No O gauge trains for a long time, then trains in every auction. Or loose wrenches and sockets. Or coleman lanterns. None for a while, then they’re everywhere.
When does “American Pickers” return? 🙂
The conventions we’ve hit for collectible things my kids are into are still on track for this year, but C2E2 pushed back into December from its usual time a few weeks from now.
I’m watching upcoming Sherwood Forest Faire locally even though it isn’t an event we attend. I worked with one of the organizers of the event at my last job, a real whiny type, and whatever happens there with regard to cancellation/postponement will probably indicate what happens with geek-interest shows in Austin/San Antonio for the rest of the year.
As a data point, one of the gun accessory companies that sends me eflyers didn’t have anything gun related on sale this week.
They had LYSOL. A case of 12 ‘crisp linen’ scent cans of spray, for $100.
That’s an interesting decision process for their buyer.
n
@Nick
Congrats on the anniversary
A pretty good non-technical article on modelling the pandemic.
Ignores the biggest question concerning the Oregon model, and omits citing the biggest failure of the ensemble method, but well worth reading.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-hard-lessons-of-modeling-the-coronavirus-pandemic-20210128/
A pretty good non-technical article on modelling the pandemic.
Ignores the biggest question concerning the Oregon model, and omits citing the biggest failure of the ensemble method, but well worth reading.
The models ignore the FOMO, easily the biggest factor in the spread of the bug.
It’s almost like some sites go out of their way to block password managers from pasting the password. The really annoying ones actually require you to TYPE something, even though the password manager has pasted the password, before the Submit button is enabled.
@nick – congrats! – alcohol doesn’t control me, unlike coffee, which is a serious addiction that I may never kick.
I made a conscious decision to allow my addiction to caffeine some decades ago. The shop where I was working in Hollywood allowed employees to arrive and make a coffee before starting work. That meant 10-15 minutes of break before the day even started! Since the shop was unheated in winter, and it was something everyone did, I started too. I had previously broken a caffeine habit developed in another shop, so I went in eyes open. I find it to be pretty benign, and not particularly expensive the way I do it. One big cup of coffee to start the day, one glass of iced tea throughout the afternoon…
and unlike alcohol, caffeine is a performance enhancer…
n
They had LYSOL. A case of 12 ‘crisp linen’ scent cans of spray, for $100.
That’s an interesting decision process for their buyer.
Probably purchased at retail for arbitrage last year. Who is paying $8+/can for something only marginally more effective than the chlorinated municipal water in a lot of places?
The weird run we’re seeing right now is our cat’s preferred wet food, the individual Sheba portions.
How come we were never forced to wear face diapers during flu season? Isn’t it highly infectious and deadly?
Daughter #1 recently got her teacher certification in Knee-vada. Clark County (Vegas) is opening K-12 for in class learning. According to one article, it is because of the 12 suicides among kids since lockdowns and virtual learning started during COVID. It also means I’m back as the accountant for MrsAtoz’s company. Daughter #3 is gonna be a momma in March. That means I’m the head Zoom coordinator for the company. It takes a bit to set up a Zoom webinar with two language channels, panelist invites, interpreter, polls, etc. I’m gonna have to work for a living again.
and unlike alcohol, caffeine is a performance enhancer…
Caffeine is a key raw ingredient in the software industry.
My consumption is way down since I switched employers, however.
Which reminds me — my former employer is in so much financial trouble that new postings are for a base of operations in Lakeland, FL. Sheriff Grady Judd territory!
That will frost a few hipster Pop Tarts.
That means I’m the head Zoom coordinator for the company. It takes a bit to set up a Zoom webinar with two language channels, panelist invites, interpreter, polls, etc. I’m gonna have to work for a living again.
The new job is moving to Teams from Zoom. No explanation.
At the last job, we switched to Teams from Slack pre-pandemic due to a question about ownership of messages posted to the services, but that was because HR wanted access to private messages when building a case for firing people without paying unemployment for “policy” violations.
My direct experience in Texas is that the appeals process is 12 weeks behind and counting. I’ve heard 18 weeks is standard right now just to get a hearing scheduled.
What is there for them to say? Events are out of their hands. Silence is the best tactic for them – anything they say aside from routine business statements (i.e. management changes, quarterly statements, etc.) could get them in hot water. Best to hunker down.
And the beat goes on…
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-environment-173a0800088bc1c654dd7dfcddae901b
The day before yesterday. My wife is addicted to the show.
Reruns on “Discovery+”. Soon cable will be just streaming packages. Fortunately with our current Verizon Wireless unlimited plan we get free subscriptions to Discovery+, Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
Common sight (pre-COVID) in many Asian countries not only during flu season but year-round if they have really bad air quality.
This was the plan, not sure though if they’ve quite given up yet…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonconstable/2021/02/02/reddit-group-fails-in-effort-to-squeeze-the-silver-market/?sh=622e55643bcb
When I can I’ve been putting away pre-1964 90% silver dimes. Smaller unit easier for bartering when the time comes.
https://www.jmbullion.com/90-silver-mercury-dimes-100-face-value/
NOTE: Due to extreme order volumes, please expect shipping delays of 10+ business days. We also have a temporary $299 order min.
Without the help of Dr. Fauci, I have my COVID vaccination scheduled for tomorrow.
When I can I’ve been putting away pre-1964 90% silver dimes. Smaller unit easier for bartering when the time comes.
We half joke at our house that 1 ounce of silver is now a warehouse club pack of Charmin in the blue packaging, similar to the rule of thumb about 1 ounce of gold traditionally being equivalent to 10 barrels of oil or 10 bushels of wheat.
Pray that the dimes are never necessary. Control freaks exist all over the political spectrum.
But not in the FUSA. Back to Spanish Flu pandemic, I guess.
A quick survey of the Hive Mind: During your lifetime of clinic/hospital/doctor/sick call visits, how often were you greeted by doctor/staff wearing a mask? The only time I remember was when my late BIL was in isolation for a hospital born pathogen. We had to wear full PPE mask/head cover/gown/booties to visit him.
More and more doctors are popping up saying masks aren’t effective against COVID. I wonder if plugsy McSpongeBrain would even consider a study on effectiveness. Might ruin the narrative.
Update on the scam I was involved. Ordered a digital clock, got a cheap assed wallet. PayPal has been very uncooperative. So I turned to the credit card company. I checked with the post office and receiving something I did not order is mine to keep. This order was not even close to what I ordered and thus considered unsolicited by the post office. Since I did not receive what I ordered the credit card company considers that fraud. The credit card company is giving me my money back and will go after PayPal, maybe. $33.00 may not be worth their time. If PayPal get the transaction reversed, goes after my banking account, I will file fraud charges against PayPal.
Lot of effort for $33.00. Maybe a cheap lesson. But I am retired, have time, and sometimes someone just has to be an anal orifice.
Update on MIL saga. They are moving her today to the senior living. They packed what she wanted to take with her yesterday and the moving company is moving today. No packing or unpacking, just moving the items, which is OK. Another person is coming in tomorrow, Friday and Saturday to do a yard sale. That person will keep 30% of whatever he makes. Monday the keys to the house get turned over to the house flipper. No cracks in the foundation but one end of the house is 3.5 inches lower than the other along the length. Probably fairly common for a 60 year old house on a slab foundation in south Texas.
Wife was originally not allowed to enter the facility. But the staff contacted their management and got my wife listed as a caregiver so she can enter the facility and stay with her mother the next few days. Thursday night next week wife will stay with a friend so that she can catch a 9:30 AM flight from San Antonio to Nashville. Only non-stop flight. Two hours. Other flights, with layovers, were 5 to 8 hours, some arriving late at night in Nashville.
Fortunately I did not have to go on this trip and the plans we had for me driving out were not necessary. Paid a little extra for the flight, got her priority boarding, and the cost was still several hundred less than me making the journey.
Here’s the one I’ve used for 20 years
30 solitaire games for $10
Good luck if you can ever win some of them.
http://www.gamesforone.com/index.html
Thanks ! That looks like the proper card images. I am having trouble seeing the cards due to my eye floaters so I need something distinctive. The Microsoft Games for Windows 7 fit my need perfectly but they will not work on Windows 10. Jerks !
Well of course they will. They are the party of science, unlike the deplorables. All you have to do is pick the LEFTY scientists.
Haven’t we all noticed how everything offered as medicine or nutrition is confirmed by clinical studies? Just choose the lab you support.
Stupid web sites…
The texas toll tag people have a new web site, and my debit card recently expired and was replaced by a new one with the same number but a different date.
The txtag site won’t let me delete the original card, presumable because you must always have a card on file. If I try to add the new card, it tells me it’s a duplicate.
Really, no-one considered this possibility? Ridiculous.
@Lynn — Is your tenant who shorts TSLA talking about buying silver this week?
He and his girlfriend bought a new used house last Friday. They are moving themselves and their three kids in now. According to him, they have way too much stuff.
I don’t understand the philosophy of having kids with your girlfriend. Seems risky to me. And yes, his parents are divorced.
Thanks ! That looks like the proper card images. I am having trouble seeing the cards due to my eye floaters so I need something distinctive. The Microsoft Games for Windows 7 fit my need perfectly but they will not work on Windows 10. Jerks !
The Microsoft Games MSI refuses to install or the binaries don’t run?
Windows is, increasingly, an ad platform for Redmond.
Plus, big companies are probably fussing about the games being productivity hits.
One of my friends drove to DisneyWorld (Florida) last week from central Texas and gave this review:
“We felt pretty comfortable with the precautions. Disney strictly enforced the mask policy. A ride we were about to start on was stopped when a lady tried to pull her mask down. The ride operator told her to pull it back up and waited until she did before continuing.
We rode Rise of the Resistance— it was phenomenal! It’s the most involved Disney ride ever. It’s a blend of animatronics, projections, and actors (ride operators playing the part of the Resistance and First Order).
We also liked Smugglers Run. It was amazing to walk through the Millennium Falcon and climb into the cockpit. My wife and I piloted the ship on its mission while my youngest son and his girlfriend worked the guns and shot down Tie Fighters.
The whole Galaxy’s Edge experience is so cool. I built an R2 unit droid and programmed him. I didn’t build a light saber though; it was twice as much as the robot. My wife and the gang drank blue milk— it was rice milk with pineapple flavor.”
The Microsoft Games MSI refuses to install or the binaries don’t run?
Binaries don’t run. I set the compatibility to Windows 7 and it still does not run. I ran the compatibility tool and it said I was hosed.
I suspect that it has a hard version check in it.
“The Super Bowl is coming. And we’re running out of chicken wings.”
https://www.chron.com/business/article/The-Super-Bowl-is-coming-And-we-re-running-out-15917730.php
I love chicken wings cooked with Tabasco sauce.
Ok, I have a crisis. I cannot get my Spider Solitaire from Windows 7 to work on Windows 10 x64 Pro
@Lynn, I have the file of classic games that will work on W10 X64. I can place the file on my website and you can download.
There is a d/l from somewhere that packages everything in one place
I have the file. Everything works. I play Solitaire and Hearts when I am subbing.
@Ray, do you know who made it ?
I would like to try it though.
Update… txtag will get back to me within 5 business days!
“The Super Bowl is coming. And we’re running out of chicken wings.”
Raymond James Stadium is just across the causeway from the original Hooters restaurant in Clearwater. 20 minutes without traffic.
@Lynn — Is your tenant who shorts TSLA talking about buying silver this week?
He and his girlfriend bought a new used house last Friday. They are moving themselves and their three kids in now. According to him, they have way too much stuff.
BTW, his older brother bought a house last November here in Houston (they both rent the office warehouse from me). He got to closing and found out the house had a $3 million lien on it from the DOJ, he bought the house for $300K. Turns out the seller used to be a buyer for Enron and had an old judgement against him as part of the Enron fraud. They spent about three weeks and the seller and his real estate agent manged to get the DOJ lien lifted so they could close.
Be careful out there ! Lots of crazy stuff going on. And make sure you always get title insurance from a reputable firm.
One of my friends drove to DisneyWorld (Florida) last week from central Texas and gave this review:
I’ve heard mixed things from friends about Disney and crowd control during the pandemic. This time of year is usually slow at the Florida parks.
We’re supposed to be in Florida in about six weeks, but Disney isn’t on the agenda. Spring Break usually has the parks closing the gates for capacity issues daily in mid-March. I can’t believe the company will resist the temptation to pack ’em in.
We half joke at our house that 1 ounce of silver is now a warehouse club pack of Charmin in the blue packaging, similar to the rule of thumb about 1 ounce of gold traditionally being equivalent to 10 barrels of oil or 10 bushels of wheat.
I have not seen Charmin Blue (soft) at Sam’s Club since last Halloween. But my HEB and Kroger have Charmin Blue occasionally. And Bounty paper towels. And Bounty table napkins.
I am beginning to wonder about Sam’s Club staying in bidness. I have not entered Costco in over a year so I do not know about their inventories.
and unlike alcohol, caffeine is a performance enhancer…
And what performance are we talking about ?
I am the same way, big cup of black coffee in the morning and a diet Dr. Pepper in the afternoon.
I have read studies that Alzheimers can be delayed by caffeine. Of course, those studies were probably funded by the Coffee Institute …
Bought mine weekend before last and in freezer awaiting a good coating of Franks (I put that sh!t on everything!) Red Hot or Franks Wing which is milder. We either grill them on the bbq first or use the air fryer which works well. Must have mine the real way with bleu cheese not that ranch sissy stuff.
Coffee, two mugs every morning and an occasional iced in afternoon. Beer way down due the WuFlu. No more Friday afternoon at Riley’s Tavern where I regularly had four and sometimes more pints followed by dinner out. I kinda miss that. I truely miss the social aspect.
Going for an AB&B in Morro Bay for four days.
How come we were never forced to wear face diapers during flu season? Isn’t it highly infectious and deadly?
I was in Japan during the Swine Flu ? back in 199x ?. Everybody was wearing face masks except for me, the Gaijin. Getting on the subway or the train was interesting since there was about 3X the amount of people in the cars that they comfortably held.
“ExxonMobil reports fourth-quarter 2020 loss of $20 billion”
https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/article/14196740/exxonmobil-reports-fourthquarter-2020-loss-of-20-billion
Wow ! I wonder if they wrote off every one of their wells in the USA ?
@Lynn:
Did they have staff on the platforms pushing people into the trains?
G.
@Lynn: No, I don’t who made the games. But the games work with no issues. No virii involved. Looks like the original so maybe someone fixed the games to work. I am running the games on W10 X64 with no issues. Send me your email address to rayt (numbers please) four three five at comcast dot (fish catching device). I will either send you the file, in a zip archive, or place the zip file on my website and send you the link. It will be this evening as I am at my second part time job.
I’m trying to get someone to pay me to troll libtards, commies, and other morons. As they say, do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
I have not seen Charmin Blue (soft) at Sam’s Club since last Halloween. But my HEB and Kroger have Charmin Blue occasionally. And Bounty paper towels. And Bounty table napkins.
I am beginning to wonder about Sam’s Club staying in bidness. I have not entered Costco in over a year so I do not know about their inventories.
The Sam’s Club near our house seems to be doing okay. Walmart has seen big gains in business during the pandemic.
Long term, the big stores may not get the tax concessions they’re used to receiving to build in rural areas since the thinking behind the gimmies was that the stores would be there with things the locals needed in return for gutting the downtown business district. Instead, the stores in remote locations became targets for arbitrage buying.
We were in three different Publix stores in semi-rural areas of Florida in July during our trip, and the paper goods aisles in each were totally wiped out the entire time. *Everything* gone, even niche things like cocktail napkins. The proximity to Pensacola/Mobile, 60-90 minutes away, probably made the stores easy targets.
“TEXIT: A guide to Texas independence”
https://tnm.me/texit
Just a bunch of guys who want to turn Texas into their own personal fiefdom.
“Ain’t Gonna Be No Seceding”
http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2021/01/aint-gonna-be-no-seceding.html
“Secession?
Risible. (Common Core grads, look it up.)
Like winning the billion-dollar lottery, it’s free, and fun to dream about. And just about as likely to happen, ever.
One might as well suggest we build a new Mayflower and sail off in search of a new land to colonize.
First, the dead horse.
Now, the obligatory beating of same.
Exit is impossible, and the idea is beyond retarded.”
“Anything like Civil War 2.0 won’t be North vs. South, or even city vs. country; it’s going to be Bracken’s “Bosnia x Rwanda”. Think Beirut times 50 cities, and Hutu vs. Tutsis in 50 states. Even so-called “blue” states like NFY and Califrutopia are, at best. 60/40 propositions, and would be every bit as bloody an urban slaughter as you’d get if it was St. louis vs. the rest of Missouri, or Chicongo vs. Illinois. So who’s going to secede from whom?”
Yup, Aesop is very correct on this.
@Lynn:
Did they have staff on the platforms pushing people into the trains?
G.
Yes, but only during rush hour. They did not touch me, 6’1″ and 270 lbs at the time. But they did push people into and around me. 300 people in a 50 ft subway car.
“Design for Amazon ‘Helix’ HQ in Virginia Looks Like the Poop Emoji”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/design-for-amazon-helix-hq-in-virginia-looks-like-the-poop-emoji
Snicker.
Matt Bracken said…
http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2021/01/aint-gonna-be-no-seceding.html?showComment=1611703470598#c7247429623614864066
“Some folks have given me fresh nudges, and I’ve updated my formula.
Now I see Civil War Two as:
CW2 = Weimar X Yugoslavia X Rwanda
The guy in Apt B-3 vs the family in A-2 is exactly and tragically right.
The only good advice I can come up with, for some time now, is this:
GET AWAY FROM BLUE HIVES ASAP. Or any cities.
The killing zones are going to be the suburbs. If you live in a suburb near a blue hive, it’s going to be horrible. If you live in a state that’s dem blue from top to bottom, near a blue hive, you are screwed totally.
There will be degrees of worse. It will be less worse to be in rural Florida than the Chicago suburbs. In recent American history, plenty of folks have had to simply walk away from their homes and mortgages, for purely economic reasons. Start all over in a new state, with a bad credit score, yet they did it, and made it all over again.
How much more reason do you need to leave a blue state near a blue hive than the MUCH worse outcome than losing your home, that is, losing your life? Losing the lives of your family?
Weimar X Yugoslavia X Rwanda. My only advice is: GET AWAY FROM THE PREDICTABLE KILLING ZONES.
I home I’m 100% wrong, and everybody is laughing at me in a couple years. I really do.”
I hope that he is wrong too. I am not sure what happened in Weimar but I know what happened in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, those were blood baths with massive body dumps.
BTW, Matt Bracken writes incredible fiction requiring extremely high suspension of disbelief.
http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/
Just grabbed a three piece chicken combo for lunch at KFC. The lady gave me a senior discount without me asking for it ! Crap, I am getting old. I told her I was only 60 and she laughed.
–I’m going thru something similar with all my auction sites as my business card just renewed. The date changed, and the secret code, but I can’t just update those, I have to create a new card, delete the old, etc.
I’ll look for the win7 solitare files, I have it running on my dad’s old pc right here at my desk.
n
@lynn, you used this site in 2016—
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
n
Just a bunch of guys who want to turn Texas into their own personal fiefdom.
“Warlord” wannabes?
Some of the thought processes on the right are friggin scary. The fringe elements on both sides in this country seem to be interested in a genocide of some form.
@lynn, you used this site in 2016—
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
n
SWEET ! I now remember doing this.
Thanks !
De nada.
I found a really long comment I made about travel so I’m reposting that for tomorrow’s post. That right there ‘paid’ for the search.
n
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
SWEET ! I now remember doing this.
Playing Minesweeper is important Compter Science research since the game was proven to be NP Complete.
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
SWEET ! I now remember doing this.
Playing Minesweeper is important Compter Science research since the game was proven to be NP Complete.
Playing Solitaire is important for maintaining your drag and drop skills.
What is NP ?
@lynn, you used this site in 2016—
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
n
SWEET ! I now remember doing this.
Thanks !
It looks like somebody went into the executables with a machine code debugger and removed the operating system version check. Wow.
That is how people have gotten through the security code in our software. Both the Russians and the Chinese have done it to us. Lately they have been replacing our public key in the cryptography embedded with their own public key. That worked until we started encrypting our public key.
I’ve seen the occasional site that specifically disallows ‘paste’ for the “Confirm Password” field – they want you to retype what you just entered as your password rather than doing a copy/paste.
And always amused when people still disable right-click to prevent copying content – but I guess there are still some people that don’t know a way around it.
Ya can’t make it up:
“Rep” Mad Max Waters: “He (tRump) absolutely should be charged with premeditated murder because of the lives that were lost with this invasion, with this insurrection.”
This is Representative of the United States of America. That would be first degree murder, wouldn’t it. Congress Pukes get to say whatever they want. Think she’ll be reprimanded?
Geez.
Ya can’t make it up:
“Rep” Mad Max Waters: “He (tRump) absolutely should be charged with premeditated murder because of the lives that were lost with this invasion, with this insurrection.”
This is Representative of the United States of America. That would be first degree murder, wouldn’t it. Congress Pukes get to say whatever they want. Think she’ll be reprimanded?
Geez.
Does anyone with common sense live in Oakland ?
Sheila Jackson Lee lives in a very carefully built district that is guaranteed for a minority person. Since Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, they constantly send the stupidest person that they can find, Sheila Jackson Lee.
These are all pre-Covid experiences:
Once when my PCP thought he might be coming down with a cold.
Frequently at the dentist.
At the out-patient gastro center for scope procedures.
In the OR for minor surgery.
We’ve used N95 masks for just about all of the pandemic, sometimes double-masked (cloth mask on top of the 95) depending on the circumstances. If they’re good enough for the doctors and nurses treating Covid patients then good enough for me. Can’t hurt – at least as far as I know.
It looks like somebody went into the executables with a machine code debugger and removed the operating system version check. Wow.
Everybody uses the same chapter of Petzold.
The call and resulting test of returned value is so standard that Microsoft had to skip Windows ‘9’ to avoid breaking things.
Yes, I get around it. When I am wanting a picture but right click is blocked, I explore the HTML looking for the link to the video, copy that, and paste into my browser.
If you take one thing from the web it is stealing. Take multiple things from the web and it is research.
@Lynn: I sent you a link to the file on my server. But it appears you may not need the file I uploaded. No problem, I will just delete in a couple of days.
And in other news on getting scammed by the cretin in Hong Kong. PayPal has decided in my favor and will return the money. The credit card company (CITI) already decided in my favor and will be refunding my money. So I may get two credits. Do I go to the hassle to correct the duplicate? Is it really worth my time and the other issues it may cause? I say no. Let them sort it out.
Nice read.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/as-starships-crash-understand-this-is-a-stupidly-difficult-thing-to-do/
morning coffee
make pot
fill mug
drink half, refill
fill 30-oz Yeti cup with remainder
afternoon/evening coffee
repeat morning as needed
note: if coffee need is urgent, do not test auto shutoff until 4 cups have hit the pot
warm weather variation:
make coffee night before, cool, and refrigerate
in a.m.
ice with coffee ice cubes,
make another pot, cool, refrigerate
make coffee ice cubes
@Lynn: I sent you a link to the file on my server. But it appears you may not need the file I uploaded. No problem, I will just delete in a couple of days.
Thanks ! Got it !
And it is the same as that winaero website:
https://winaero.com/windows-7-games-for-windows-10-anniversary-update-and-above/
Coffee ritual using Nescafe instant coffee:
Get up between 6 and 7. Do first mug with 2 spoon full of sugar that are the real killer. Repeat every hour up to 5 or 6 in the afternoon.
Just started replacing the sugar with one spoon full of honey. I am getting very healthy now unless you consider the ciggies. 🙂
What is NP ?
Nondeterministic Polynomial Time. The problem is most likely too hideous to ever solve with a computer program that runs in a realistic amount of time consistently.
The fundamental unanswered question in Computer Science, P vs. NP, essentially reduces to whether or not it would be possible to devise an algorithm to play Minesweeper perfectly in Expert mode every time you try.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_versus_NP_problem
It looks like somebody went into the executables with a machine code debugger and removed the operating system version check. Wow.
Everybody uses the same chapter of Petzold.
The call and resulting test of returned value is so standard that Microsoft had to skip Windows ‘9’ to avoid breaking things.
Nothing surprises me anymore about programmers. Nothing. Me included.
I am debugging a Win32 redraw problem right now. Very difficult to debug since it jumps around in the C++ code so much.
Nice read.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/as-starships-crash-understand-this-is-a-stupidly-difficult-thing-to-do/
I wonder if everyone in the command bunker had a spare pair of underwear ?
The Space Shuttle failure rate, as designed and exhibited, was 1 in 99. SpaceX must have a failure rate of less than 1 in a million, the same as a Boeing 737 (before the MAX). I am not sure that SpaceX can get there. At what failure factor would you ride in a Starship ?
Sheila Jackson Lee lives in a very carefully built district that is guaranteed for a minority person. Since Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, they constantly send the stupidest person that they can find, Sheila Jackson Lee.
Ironically, Sheila Jackson Lee took out the dim bulb incumbent in the primary in 1994 as part of the blowback to the first two years of the Clinton administration that gave the Republicans control of the House.
Michael Berry used to be my entertainment for the drive home after class in Vantucky. Night time was the only time I heard the fringe conservative station out of Troutdale, OR which carried Berry’s new show starting in 2012.
Starship is relatively new. Look at Falcon 9. Falcon 9 will carry paying civilian passengers this year for a fun ride. I am confident they will get there and they will get the reliability of Falcon 9 with Starship.
I am not sure that SpaceX can get there. At what failure factor would you ride in a Starship ?
Starship is relatively new. Look at Falcon 9. Falcon 9 will carry paying civilian passengers this year for a fun ride. I am confident they will get there and they will get the reliability of Falcon 9 with Starship.
Do you think that the failure rate of Falcon 9 is better than 1 in 99 ?
I highly doubt that it is 1 in a million.
BTW, I am not trying to knock the Falcon and Starship. It is just that they are fighting against gravity with ultra high temperature rockets with very complicated systems. Any failure of anything is usually a catastrophic failure.
@MrAtoZ:
In UK, we have the principle of Parliamentary Privilege, which provides that an MP can say (almost) anything on the floor of the House, without fear of legal consequence. This even includes utterances which would be slanderous or defamatory in any other forum. I suspect you have similar rules.
The only sanction Rep. Waters might then face is from her own Party. But given that the entire Democrat group appears (to me, as a non-USAian) to be of one mind in this, I suspect a chorus of approbation, rather than censure.
G.
Small irritations this afternoon. Went and paid my sister’s rent on her mobile home space, took her debit card to go to BofA atm. Long line to walkup and drive up. Set in line about ten minutes, line splits about four cars from atms. I’m next in line and guy ahead of me indicates the machine is dead. Pull up and it is out of service. Not going back around as it would be a long wait with only one working and about 20 cars waiting so I drive to another that’s on my way back to her place. Wait was a little shorter and got up and withdrew $800. Pull away and check – 7 hundreds and 4 twenties. Can’t go in the bank. Would have to call and since it’s my sister’s account she would have to do it. Not simple, believe me. Also not worth my time. Can’t even guess how long that would take. Receipt showed $800. This may have been the second time I’ve been shorted $20 by their atms.
Wife doing laundry managed to push a whole box of dryer sheets in with a load. This is a large capacity Samsung top loader. I can barely reach the bottom. The sheets stayed together but the cardbox was everywhere. Little cardboard pieces. After struggling to wipe it down I just used the shop vac. Worked great so then ran the self-clean.
The sunset was fantastic
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15S1mYSqhMCKVE6KL01p-F033OSgBbz4-/view?usp=sharing
That’s what Monday’s dawn looked like here, a tiny bit more orange than red…
n
Buddy, you dodged a bullet there!
n
There’s a book about that:
https://www.amazon.com/Tired-Other-People-Dating-Myself/dp/0840748485?tag=ttgnet-20
One star. That’s harsh.
Fauci follow-up:
Eventually the full story of U.S. funding for the Chinese Communist Bioweapon Manufacturing facility
Wuhan Institute of Virologyand Fauci’s part in it will come out. Just bits and pieces so far.In other virus news, the vaccination rates per 100 people (note: 1 of 2 shots is counted as 1/2) for various countries as of the beginning of the week:
Israel 50+
UK 14.4
US 9.4
Denmark 4.7
Gemany 3.0
France 2.3
Off-hand it looks like the Trump vaccine has been administered to 3 times more people than have received vaccine in the EU.
Orange Man Nobel Prize.
Scanner has the cops working vice tonight. Prostitution. And coincidentally bikers and street racers tearing up the place…
n
“So… drones and hellfires?”
https://gunfreezone.net/so-drones-and-hellfires/
“Will Biden be droning American citizens on American soil?”
Will he ?
First comment is “only half” of us.
In other virus news, the vaccination rates per 100 people (note: 1 of 2 shots is counted as 1/2) for various countries as of the beginning of the week:
Israel 50+
UK 14.4
US 9.4
Denmark 4.7
Gemany 3.0
France 2.3
Off-hand it looks like the Trump vaccine has been administered to 3 times more people than have received vaccine in the EU.
Orange Man Nobel Prize.
So within two months of the release of the Chinese flu vaccine, 9% of the USA citizens have been vaccinated at least once ! That is amazing !
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
How have 50% of Israel’s citizens been vaccinated at least once ? They must have their own vaccine plant with a bioreactor.
Good news. There are 10s of millions of doses of the J&J and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in a warehouse in Baltimore. A third party vaccine company was paid to make them under license as a part of Operation Warp Speed. These vaccines are not as good as the mRNA vaccines in preventing catching COVID-19, but are just as effective at preventing hospital stays and death.
J&J will be filing for an EUA this week and the FDA may approve it faster than they did with the mRNA vaccines. (Those took 3 weeks!) As a link in the story above says, they probably could turn it around in 48 hours if they wanted to. Last week I contacted my Congress team and the White House, asking them to push the FDA for rapid approval. Literally 10s of thousands of deaths could be stopped. J&J may be able to release 100 million doses by the end of the month. This is a single shot vaccine, btw.
As an aside, Pfizer/BioNTech are approaching human trials of an mRNA flu vaccine. If it works like has been hinted at, it may be “universal” and not need to be tweaked for the “likely” new strains.
Yes, Israel has a very developed drug industry. They have R&D and manufacturing. Teva Pharmaceuticals is a top-15 drug company and the largest generic manufacturer in the world. I’ve gotten generics from them before from my mail order pharmacy.
India is also big in generics, and has the largest vaccine manufacturing company in the world. They are making one of the vaccines under license (Oxford, IIRC) and will be making 1 billion+ doses this year.
There was a tweet from a writer that said “dozens” of pharma companies could make the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. Here is why that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
(The TL;DR is that one of the steps, encapsulating the mRNA in lipids, is the choke point – it takes bespoke machines that are not off the shelf.)
@ech
Getting the J&J one shot vaccine out in quantity would have three effects:
1) It would place the bottleneck firmly at the state level and motivate the msm to find reasons it is Trump’s fault for their lack of planning
2) In doing (1) it would shut down the modeling industry which has made a run on taxpayer dollars with papers showing why we should consider turning the two-dose vaccine into a half-ash one-dose vaccine (lots of expensive hand waving to do what is essentially efficacy arbitrage between the 52% level of the first dose and the 94% level (42% additional) of the second)
3) It would put the case for Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize light-years ahead of any other candidate, excepting of course Hadji Ranjit’s New Delhi Aged Cow Rescue and Rehab, which will win unanimously even after it is revealed that all the idyllic photos of cows in the country were photoshopped after the bovines were made into dog food shipped to Chumikan.
from the link I posted earlier to the Quanta Magazine article on modeling:
What had gone wrong? The scientists had seemingly included so much room for error, so many contingencies for how students might behave. “What we didn’t anticipate was that they would break the law,” Goldenfeld said — that some students, even after testing positive and being told to quarantine, would attend parties anyway. This turned out to be critical: Given how COVID-19 spreads, even if only a few students went against the rules, the infection rate could explode.
Strict liability for negligent transmission of Wuhan flu, including immediate murder charges for any death, 7-days to a trial, 7-days for all appeals, followed by public execution on the lawn of the facility that held the party.
OTOH, why would we expect them to obey the law? A portion of their classmates are here illegally and getting educated on the taxpayer’s dime, and the school administration is discriminating against admission of Asians, whites, and Jews in favor of less-qualified poc’s.