72F and dewy. I think today will be like the last couple of days, and get up to 100F, at least here at my house. Sunny with fluffy clouds.
I’ve got to go to Austin for a pickup today, so I’ll be driving back and forth most of the day. Surplus store, here I come! And we’ll see, maybe the Goodwill Outlet, if I have time. I can’t believe what a mess it was, I’ll give it another chance.
Only one news comment for today– anyone else notice how little coverage the knife attack in Paris got? I guess we’re to the point where head chopping in the streets of Europe is the new normal. I don’t take that as a good sign.
nick
Oh yeah, and Jerusalem….
n
seems time for a little zevon- from 1982
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B544fVj1v_s
“Nuclear arms in the Middle East
Israel is attacking the Iraqis
The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
And Baghdad does whatever she please
Looks like another threat to world peace
For the envoy”
get out and stay out.
64º and Cloudy in Penn’s Woods. I really miss all those trees some days. Others I wish there were more farmland. It’s a dichotomy.
My truck wouldn’t start this morning. I suspect the fuel pump. I drove the wife’s car to work today and will swap with her at lunch. The metro bus will get me home an hour late, but that’s better than nothing. I can replace the pump tomorrow (along with the injectors, probably) and be back on the road for the weekend. That’s the kind of thing that happens at 130k miles.
Tomorrow is election day in PA. My congress critter is different than last year due to the PA supreme court redrawing the map for us. I suspect the next retention vote for supremes will likely result in a “no” for some of them. I liked my critter. Now I have a different one, and will likely again be in a different district in 2022.
Interesting races on both sides of the aisle. Dems will be voting for alternatives to incumbent Republicans, and Reps will be voting for alternatives to incumbent Dems. A few races (like my state rep) will be unopposed. I’ve gone over most of the candidates and have made decisions on most of them.
And I’ll be working for the county tomorrow. I handle hardware & some software problems at polling places, as well as helping collect equipment when it’s all over. I thought it would be volunteer work, but I’ll get paid a small sum for my troubles. Who can complain about that?
Finished with moving a site to another host. Got the process figured out, so next time will be easier.
Getting ready for a trip to CA. Nice drive……13 hours…. Not sure if I will be driving closer or farther away from the asteroid that is due tomorrow….
I’ve taken over migrating our user’s data. For 20 or so years, there have been a progression of servers, and data just thrown wherever there was space. I’ve finally got some decent storage in. Don’t have the budget for a real SAN, but got some Synology NAS units. I had one of my guys start the process of moving everything, and he fcked it up. Royally.
He focused on setting up dfs replication. The problem is, he didn’t have a good understanding of all the file paths. He just sort of threw crap together. I pulled him off the project and took over. What a nightmare.
I not only have to deal with copying 60 something TB of data. But that data is scattered on different servers. And with the botched replication, I als have to deal with multiple copies of that data, with replication partners that aren’t the same.
I’m biting the bullet and doing some reorganization while I do this. I have my new structure created on the NAS, and am essentially moving small groups of folders at a time. I do love robocopy though. I copy the location that I “think” is the primary, then I copy from the replication partner any other files or newer files. I then move the data in each original location to a folder called moved-data, which has permissions set to only admins…just in case.
Oh, and I have to figure out who the heck owns the folders and where they need to go. I’ve done most of the easy ones. I’m now send8ng our emails asking for help on who owns other stuff. For stuff no one claims, I’ll just move it and put it in an archive folder and let it sit for 20years and the next guy can deal with it.
Very tedious, but I’m kind of enjoying it in a perverse way.
It’s part and parcel of living in a big city.
It’s part and parcel of living in a big city.
Must be true. The Moslem Mayor of London says it’s so.
I had some useful junk mail last week. A Schlotzsky’s ad with a coupon for “buy one small sandwich and get one free”. Add a bag of chips and it’s lunch for two for $7.01.
_Emergence_ by David R. Palmer
https://www.amazon.com/Emergence-David-R-Palmer/dp/0553245015/
Book number one of a two book apocalyptic series. There are rumors of a third book in the series. I reread the MMPB that I purchased in 1985, one of my few books that survived The Great Flood of 1989. It may be yellowed and the back broken in three places but it is still very readable.
The second book, _Tracking_ was serialized in _Analog_ in 2008. I would love to get a copy of this book.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.arts.sf.written/mKHdP2vfEi4
Somewhere in the very late 1800s or early 1900s, the human race forked. The new race, Homo Post Hominem, was immune to all human diseases, faster, stronger, smarter, etc. And, the new race traits were dominant in breeding.
Candy Foster-Smith is a precocious 11 year old girl who was adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Foster after her parents were killed in a car wreck. She is one of the few survivors of a planet wide bionuclear war in the late 1900s. The book is her diary of surviving the war. And, she is one of the several thousand Homo Post Hominems on the Earth.
Candy does have a retarded, adoptive twin brother, Terry D. Foster, who also survived the bionuclear war. D is for Dactyll. Terry is a 36 inch tall Hyacinthine Macaw who adores Candy and follows her everywhere.
While the book was written using 1980s technology with typewriters and such, it is not hard to gloss over. True, the world has significantly changed since then but, people are still the same.
BTW, to quote Jon Schild’s and Kurt Busiek’s 2008 conversation on the availability of the _Emergence_ book:
“> Since the original post quoted above, I have looked for _Emergence_ but
> failed to find it. Any hints?”
“No idea. There are copies for sale at Amazon, but they’re frickin’ expensive.”
“You can’t have mine; I stole it from the Scott Meredith Literary Agency
fair and square.”
You cannot have my copy either. I paid $3.50 for it somewhere in 1985. However, the Amazon used book price is $50.61.
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (80 reviews)
GDPR will pop the adtech bubble
While we are on the subject of Schlotzky’s, wife and I stopped on the way to the wedding in Spicewood to grab a couple of small sandwiches. Used to have one in the Knoxville area but it closed. Wife was eating there three or four times a week while pregnant. Could not get enough of those sandwiches. After the kid was hatched, not so much anymore. Still like to indulge.
Wedding went well. The “staff” photographer, the one used by the venue was an idiot. Our friends spent $20K for an all-inclusive package, venue, cake, flowers, photographer, and meals for about 100 people.
I took a lot of pictures. Some the “staff” photographer had the people stand with their backs toward the sun, faces in deep shadow, no fill flash. Only way to get the faces to show will be to blow out the sky and background, such sky being a nice shade of blue with spotty clouds. I used fill flash and got what I think are excellent results.
“Staff” photographer also jumped in front on the audience, about 3 feet from the couple, while the ceremony was being performed. Her partner did the same thing. That is a big no-no in my book. I used my long lens and probably got better images. Many places required fill flash, which I used, “staff” photographer blissfully, and ignorantly, took images without any consideration for the bright sun and deep shadows. Oh well, not my money.
Wife did prepare a photo album using the images that I took for the couple and their family. Had it completed about 2:00p on Sunday and we gave it to the parents where they were staying.
I will post images on my website when I get back and post the link here so you can blast my work with any harsh critiques you see fit. I am an adult, I can take it. I can cry myself to sleep if it gets too rough.
Spent the day at the MIL’s house doing some repairs. Repaired the carb on the mower by replacing the primer bulb. Fixed the toilet by replacing the fill assembly. Replaced most her light bulbs with LED. Fixed a light socket in a ceiling fan. Fixed her clothes line as it was sagging too much. Replaced some exterior LED lights in her yard.
Another ceiling fan needed work as it would not turn off. Examined the switch area and it was a mess. An “electrician” she hired just cut all the wires to the switch and taped them together so the fan would stop spinning. Had to replace the switch and guess the correct wiring. Idiot should have just disconnected the hot wire and put a wire nut on the exposed wire. That took a long time to figure it out and make it right. Apparently the (now deceased) husband replaced the switch and messed up the wires thus not able to turn off. The “electrician’s” solution should be enough to lose his license.
Heading out tomorrow to spend the night south of Houston at spouse’s father ex-wife. Yeh, it’s complicated. Then head back to TN on Wednesday, spend the night in perhaps Birmingham, then on to OZ on Thursday.
Glad to be out of the Austin area. Did I mention Austin traffic sucks. So many housing developments in outlying areas with road infrastructure that cannot handle the traffic. And the roads have lots of traffic lights or the Beemers would not be able to get out of their subdivision. Such houses being about 10 feet from the next house with yards so small that they can be mowed with scissors.
San Antonio is not much better. A couple of the major intersections on loop 410 are being modified with really high flyover intersections. Major construction and major messes. Add in the road widening on 281 north of 410 and the traffic woes are significant.
A couple of meals at Taco Cabana (with home made flower tortillas), lunch at Bill Miller BBQ, dinner at Luby’s Cafeteria so I am ready to leave. Made a stop at Buc-EEs’s in Bastrop. Place is huge with about 60 gas pumping stations. Lot of stuff inside to take your money.
Ugh. That brings back memories of my wife’s pregnancy and associated cravings. The only saving grace is that that pretty well settled down after a few months. It was a busy and expensive few months, though.
I skipped the buc-ees and stopped at Hruska’s in Elinger. It’s just about half hour further down 71, where the speed trap is…
I didn’t enter or cross Austin today, was on the south side exclusively. The only traffic I used to hit, I can skip with the couple of miles of 71 with a toll road bypass. Worth the buck or two to miss the lights.
The Surplus store sucked $120 out of my wallet. A couple of knives, 5 magazines for a pistol someone I know owns (at $10 each for factory, I’ll buy what they have and replace the spring if it’s worn later) and some bits and pieces for ebay that should pay for all the mags, and then some. I’m shocked at what some TI graphing calculators sell for used. I picked up 3 for less than $4 each, one has a color screen.
The Goodwill Outlet store was a madhouse again. This time with less piss and dirt, but the same savages. When they brought out new bins of stuff it was like feeding time at the zoo. Swarms elbowing and shoving, like piggies at the trough. Mind you, I’d gone thru the old bins, that these savages had already swarmed and managed to pull at least $500 buck worth of stuff for resale. I could have pulled more, but my cart was full to overflowing. The pair of vintage B&W speakers was the crown jewel, and they were $9 for the pair. Savages. Miracle of miracles, the cones look intact. Grills are missing, but they will bring good money even if it’s just the crossover and tweeter pulled. Because you pay by weight, light stuff is basically free. Power supplies, cords, cables, and smaller electronics weigh next to nothing. $1.5o a pound goes a long way. Tiny vintage games are ounces at most….. just sayin’.
So I gave it a second chance, and I think I’ll make good money off a couple hours work. We’ll see if third time is the charm, or not, next time.
Lots of time with butt in seat. Not my favorite thing but needful.
n
Yep, lots of AIS the next three days. Already have spent a lot of time between trips from Cedar Park to Spicewood (three of them), New Braunfels for some smoked sausage from New Braunfels Smokehouse, then down to San Antonio (on 281, missed I-35). Currently in the Ingram Mall area. Will hit the road about 8:00A towards Houston on I-10. The thumper road once you get past Beaumont.
Then watch it in Louisiana as the speed drops to 65 and there are lots of police, local and state, just waiting for those who forget to change their cruise control. Really don’t like that long bridge in LA, about 20 miles worth with only a couple of exits. One little mishap and traffic is backed up for miles. That will come on Wednesday.
““Red Flag Laws” are really Gun Confiscation Orders”
“[Take Action] Stop Gun Confiscation in the Senate!”
https://gunowners.org/alert51518.htm
I can cry myself to sleep if it gets too rough.
My son was taught this phrase in the USMC (Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children) by one of his DIs (drill instructor) in boot camp. He now uses it frequently. And in the same context as his DI did. So, he did learn something in his eight years serving Uncle Sam !
Glad to be out of the Austin area. Did I mention Austin traffic sucks. So many housing developments in outlying areas with road infrastructure that cannot handle the traffic. And the roads have lots of traffic lights or the Beemers would not be able to get out of their subdivision. Such houses being about 10 feet from the next house with yards so small that they can be mowed with scissors.
I’d be willing to bet that those subdivisions you described are 80-90% Indian with the rest “investment” rentals to Californians. 4% mortgages and overseas money for down payments have distorted the market.
Austin is starting to run into the same problem as CA, however, with property tax deductions being capped under Trump’s tax bill. The sky is no longer the limit at new MUDs (metro utility districts) which provide the water and sewer services.
I’m not a great fan of Israel, but even less so of the Palestinians. If Israel says their capital is Jerusalem, which happens to be a city they are in physical possession of, they why shouldn’t other countries recognize that? The Palestinians can claim it for themselves if they like – they can claim lots of things – but it’s not reality.
Anyway, the Palestinians need to go read their history books. AFAIK, the deal was that their ancestors would be accepted into the surrounding countries, 70 years ago. The Arab countried reneged on the deal, and the temporary relocation camps basically turned into Palestine. Of course, that’s oversimplified, but it seems to me that they are mad at the wrong people.
Yup. And if you are still a “refugee” in “camps” after that amount of time, there is something wrong with you. Especially as the borders seem pretty porous from here.
n
And the news just points out some home truths.
Don’t throw rocks at armed men.
Don’t stand next to someone throwing rocks at armed men.
Just don’t be there. (applicable in this case)
That’s about where I am: Israel is the least worst in the area.
A bunch of Americans got all pissy about revelations that Israel was spying on us for decades. Well, duh. Everyone spies on everyone else, given the ability; it would be irresponsible of Israeli leaders not to spy on the US. What I have a lot of trouble forgiving is Israel’s refusal to share intelligence some years ago, resulting in American deaths. Well, fuck you all, then. Don’t come crying to the US next time your neighbors try to push you into the sea.
Our lot is that there will be turmoil in the Middle-East until Revelations completes. There is no way around it. There would be the slightest bit of hope if the “powers that be” really understood “biblical history” and how a solution is not just a matter of diplomacy.
Oh how I wish OFD was here to get a good discussion going.
Eh, an OFDbot for that conversation would be easy enough: Mention Pat Buchanan’s latest article and then say we need to be RUTHLESS in getting rid of unreliable allies.