Back to hot and humid I guess. edit— not so much. 72F at 7am, 68F and misty rain at 9am. I am a terrible forecaster.
It got pretty hot later in the day yesterday and the humidity stayed plenty high. Perfect day to swim in the pool and no one did. The kids played Skyrim, my wife and I did tax stuff. I never even got out to the garden. She’s motivated to clear the decks for a lakehouse purchase I guess.
All that just means I better be pretty productive today.
Wonder how that will work out?
nick
(stock up and stack it high…)
Cold front moved through Indian county last night bringing high winds and much cooler air. The wife woke me about 1am worried about a booming noise. At first I thought it was thunder but standing outside I couldn’t hear the sound. Then we were worried about a tree banging against the roof in the high winds but another investigation showed the noise was only in the bedroom and there are no trees on this side of the house. So I stood outside in the rain looking for the source when I noticed the giant outdoor clock was wobbling in the wind. It was lightly beating on the bedroom wall creating a booming sound inside. I’ll deal with it later.
When I had a boat on the Clinch and Tennessee rivers it was normal to get stopped by TWRA, Kingston Police and Roane Co sheriff who all had boats on the river. A source of revenue to trap people with not enough preservers, kids not wearing a PFD (stupid parents), whatever. One day I got stopped four times, twice by the same agency.
One of those times I got stopped they inspected my fire extinguisher (they always did when checking). I had two on the boat. My original was expired and I had purchased a new extinguisher. The officer got snippy because I kept the old extinguisher on the boat. He said I could be fined for having an expired extinguisher even though I had a good device on the boat.
The most senseless was the requirement for my wave runner. The extinguisher was under the front compartment which you had to reach over the handle bars to access, then screw open the water proof container that held the extinguisher. All while sitting on a 20 gallon fuel tank. I told the TWRA officer that in case of a fire I was jumping off, swimming away, and homing the fire would be a nice signal flare. He agreed. He also basically stated that in case of a fire on most boats on the river that the best course of action was get off, don’t attempt to fight any boat fire. Someone would see the flames/smoke and come to the rescue.
There is a nice, not quite scam requirement for annual extinguisher inspection in apartment houses here. The service tags each extinguisher for another year and always finds one to replace, recharge. They won’t touch any with a plastic handle/valve.
I purchased a three pack some while back from the ‘Zon and added various others as they came available. 2 BR apartment must have 7 or 8 near every door, sink cabinet. This year added a 40″ square fire blanket for the kitchen and each car.
My first car, a CJ Jeep had one mounted to the roll bar ’cause it looked cool. Came in handy when I found a MG sportscar on fire at the base of my parents driveway as I pulled in for a visit. The couple was VERY appreciative as it wasn’t their car. Fuel line split as it was an OLD MG even then.
Not my finest moment: Totally slept thru a gut job fire in my building as manager just down the hall. In my defense, I’d been up late/early for a midnight show, but… Two apartments wrecked by smoke damage, 1 left the door open to exit, the other was where the FD pulled hose to reach the fire apartment. ALL the hallway fixtures, lights, sirens, smoke detectors melted onto the carpets. Helluva mess. The college boys had left a pizza packaging on the stove when they passed out from their drinking binge. Fortunately, no injuries for anyone.
Way back in the day I worked on a TV show for Spring Break at Lake Havasu. Our first day on location, we watched a cigarette boat burn to an oily spot on the water. Surrounding boats went to rescue survivors from the water.
Fuel, air, spark…. gotta run the fans before starting the engines.
n
My uncle and aunt had a car dealership. One night, a guy was stealing oil after closing, and dropped a smoldering cigarette. He was burned in the ensuing fire, and sued the dealership for damages, pain and suffering, etc. Despite the fact that he was guilty of breaking and entering and burglary, the court found the dealership grossly negligent and gave him a significant monetary settlement. Maybe there was no fire extinguisher available.
This stuff always makes me wonder if the matrix needs debugging.
The bastages at Cheaper Than Dirt have stripped lowers for $300. And winchester white box 556 for $50. That’s for a box of 20. LIMIT 3 BOXES. $150 for 60 rds. Add another $16 for shipping.
Their eflyer says “Our Low Price $49.89 ”
That’s $2.75 per round, delivered, max of 2 mags worth. FFS.
I hope y’all stocked up when you could.
n
added- for comparison, PSA has complete lowers for <$200, several choices.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, one of the older conflicts on the planet just went hot again….
–one of those times of big changes.
n
Got my hearing aids back from the VA. 28 days. Idiots programmed both devices to the same side. Thus one aid is louder than the other. The button on each device does not function as before and I have no idea what the button (on each device). They used to raise and lower the volume. Not anymore.
Tried to get an appointment in Knoxville and the earliest is October 22. Almost another month with messed up devices.
I also think the VA just gave me new devices rather than repair the old devices. Need to check the serial which is buried in the battery compartment in 3 point type.
All that just means I better be pretty productive today.
Wonder how that will work out?
My productivity is inverting with age. Good luck on yours.
The good news is that the 560+ benchmarks are ok and I will be releasing a software patch later today. Then I will be fixing the code that I had to patch to fix the patch for the code.
Reminds me of an old joke by Larry The Cable Guy. “Some days you gotta wreck the truck to get the insurance check to make the truck payment.”
So are they changing out the lizard in the Joe Biden suit today for the Presidential Debates ?
Or some poor haitian kid is minus a quart of blood…
n
I’m glad my mom is out, I wish my siblings were…
Or some poor haitian kid is minus a quart of blood…
n
Or some poor haitian kid is minus all his blood…
Fixed that for ya.
“Seagate Confirms World’s Largest Hard Disk Drive on Track for December”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/seagate-confirms-worlds-largest-hard-disk-drive-on-track-for-december
“Seagate’s first HAMR drives will feature a whopping 20TB capacity when they debut later this year.”
That there is one big hard drive.
Isn’t one of the older file systems limited to 16 TB ? Or am I thinking 16 PB ?
WRT the Chicago shootings: My wife’s folks lived in the Englewood area which has a lot of the shootings. Her folks were smart enough to sell that home and move to western suburb when she started high school.
I had an aunt and uncle also lived in Englewood in late ’40s and ’50s and I used to stay with them overnight on weekends. They were also wise enough to relocate to Buffalo before it became hazardous.
It’s a shooting gallery.
https://data.cityofchicago.org/Public-Safety/Homicide-Map/53tx-phyr
n
Ray, I have a friend who is very seriously deaf. He is also a very smart tinkerer. He buys his own hearing aids inexpensively and programs them himself. Says he gets much better results that way compared to when he went to hearing aid places. I don’t know much beyond that. You, OTOH, have the expectation of good function, and the VA should make you happy.
I have never had hearing aids, but my 99YO aunt does. About a year ago, we were staying with her and noticed she was having a lot of trouble with her aids. She explained that she had never had really good results with them or previous models. This started my research into such things. What I found out was a bit surprising. The most frequent complaint is what you are experiencing: improper programming. I called her provider for an appointment and looked at reviews. I was not impressed. As it worked out, her appointments got mixed up, and we would up at a different local office. The tech there was really good, and fixed multiple problems while I watched. She has been going back since, and her experience is dramatically better.
What surprised me was that her hearing is fairly good, but the hearing aids actually seemed to make it worse. Hence the reason she did not use them. She spent a small fortune on a solution that did not work, until she got it turned around.
My thought is to do some looking around. I found some YouTube videos done by audiologists that explained what methodologies they use. There is more than one approach, and some are better than others. Because of software and service buy-in, a given shop is often tied into a solution that might not meet the needs of all their customers. One video I watched told about how the tech evaluates the customer and fixes the programming without needing new hearing aids. I learned a lot.
Ya know, I’ve noticed a shift in the Daily Mail coverage of trump over the years. There are many more favorable articles on what his female family is wearing, and they are more frequent.
Now I see articles about his rallies that are almost approving. And there are plenty of articles about slow Joe’s problems.
Funny how the world turns.
n
Wizard of Id: soaking up some Sun
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2020/09/28
So that is what caused the Little Ice Age.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age
NTFS can format to 256 TB. ExFat can format to 16 exabytes.
So are they changing out the lizard in the Joe Biden suit today for the Presidential Debates ?
Adderall plus whatever experimental drugs Pelosi brought back from UCSF’s dementia research lab on the jet this weekend. All that is required is for Biden’s mental abilities to be at “chucklehead” level.
Much like the undergrad from our CS program who went to work for Exxon, all Plugs has to do is make it through an hour looking reasonably healthy. I think the student was on Adderall too — who isn’t on that stuff in Austin?
–adderall is the drug of choice for the necromancer in the Eric Carter series of books .. . He often goes a whole book without sleeping.
I’ve heard of the ADHD kids selling their pills to normal kids who take them as a performance enhancer in school.
n
The VA did a good job on the original programming. Or maybe I was just new to the whole hearing aid thingy. I suspect in the case of sending aids to Denver some minimum wage clerk failed to change some setting in the programming interface. Paid by quantity rather than quality.
Before COVID all the of the VA hearing centers would take walk-ins. The programming is stored on VA servers and can be accessed anywhere. Now the VA is limiting visits to appointments only and limiting the number of those appointments. I could have gone to Johnson City, a two hour drive, or Murfreesboro, a three hour drive if I needed something sooner. Not worth it this case.
I would also be very leery of programming my own devices. Matching the frequency curve, gain, and several other factors would be problematic and may cause more issues. I am also unable to find a programmer for my devices.
I do have an app on my phone that can adjust the volume of each aid independently and three band frequency adjustment. That will have to do for now. Limited adjustments. Apparently the programmers can match an exact curve. When mine were programmed the audiologist stuck something in my ear along with the hearing and had me say a phrase into a microphone multiple times. I am guessing this makes some of response curve by measuring the ear drum and the results of a hearing test. It was actually annoying as it felt like a tickling sensation inside my brain.
It is amazing how much processing power is within the higher end hearing aids. Along with that power is the ability to amazing things. I can take phone calls on my devices through my cell phone. I can stream music from my phone and audio from my TV. The aids communicate with each other for some purpose as a button push on one is relayed to the other. All in a very small package that is half battery. And to get that device to operate for about 3 days (36 hours) on a single battery rated at 1.5V is just amazing.
Hearing aids are no longer just an amplifier but a highly tuned amplifier for specific response curves. Done digitally. And quickly to avoid audio delays.
“Siemens to build large CO2-free hydrogen production plant in southern Germany”
http://gasprocessingnews.com/news/siemens-to-build-large-co2-free-hydrogen-production-plant-in-southern-germany.aspx
“Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 GmbH signed a contract to build one of the largest hydrogen production plants in Germany. It will be built in Wunsiedel in the north of Bavaria. With a power intake of six megawatts in the initial development phase, the plant will run solely on renewable energy and will be CO2-free. The electrolysis plant from Siemens Energy will have the capacity to produce over 900 tons of hydrogen per year in this first phase. When fully expanded, it will be able to supply up to 2,000 tons. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of this year and commissioning at the end of 2021.”
“Germany has pledged to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050. To this end, all sectors that use energy, such as transportation and industry, must press ahead with decarbonization. The plant in Wunsiedel will serve as a model for all of Germany. It will convert the renewable energy available in this region, e.g., from photovoltaics and wind power, into storable hydrogen (H2), making it available for applications in mobility and industry. This is especially useful when, on sunny and windy days, more energy from renewable sources is produced than needed.”
You know, at some point Germany is going to go bankrupt from all this nonsense.
“When coffee makers are demanding a ransom, you know IoT is screwed”
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/09/how-a-hacker-turned-a-250-coffee-maker-into-ransom-machine/
“Watch along as hacked machine grinds, beeps, and spews water.”
The future is here now as all your stuff is hacked and comes after you. The Terminator movie was a documentary …
“Fall’s first real front arrives in Houston, and there was much rejoicing”
https://spacecityweather.com/falls-first-real-front-arrives-in-houston-and-there-was-much-rejoicing/
It is 75 F outside now. I am wearing a long sleeve button down oxford shirt to the office due to the cold.
You know, at some point Germany is going to go bankrupt from all this nonsense.
Giving my Solara some highway miles on I35 yesterday, I passed a broken down stolen Chrysler sedan design that Mercedes sells as one of their low end models. Antics like that make me wonder if Germany hasn’t already gone bankrupt.
They can pretend as long as the cashflow from loan payments keeps rolling north from the Mediterranean countries who are already technically insolvent.
I’ve heard of the ADHD kids selling their pills to normal kids who take them as a performance enhancer in school.
My wife never prescribed as much Adderall as she did in private practice in Austin, easily an order of magnitude more than she did in Florida or Washington State.
Resale is part of the problem, but, based on my experiences with students at the university and my kids’ friends’, I’d say a lot of the drug is legitimately used.
I wonder what’s in that necromancer’s eyeballs on “Raised By Wolves”. The show is hinting some ancient technology the Mithraic found but don’t really understand.
You know, at some point Germany is going to go bankrupt from all this nonsense.
Giving my Solara some highway miles on I35 yesterday, I passed a broken down stolen Chrysler sedan design that Mercedes sells as one of their low end models. Antics like that make me wonder if Germany hasn’t already gone bankrupt.
They can pretend as long as the cashflow from loan payments keeps rolling north from the Mediterranean countries who are already technically insolvent.
I think that Italy and Greece are financing the interest payments also.
“Germany has pledged to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050.”
–I wonder what they intend to do about the water vapor? Maybe turn the whole country into desert wasteland? And kill all the people so they don’t breathe out anymore. And the plants, wouldn’t want any transpiration…
in fact that would solve the whole issue wouldn’t it? Glassify the whole country and move everyone left into hermetically sealed underground cities… and maybe they could even be hooked to the grid and used as batteries? Of course you’d need some sort of shared cyber dream state… Hmm, have we seen this somewhere before? “Runner!” ” Carousel!!” or “I don’t give a fuk, I just want to taste steak again.”
n
After my dad gave up on the crap from the VA he got some programmable aids from Costco on my recommendation, based on what Jerry P and others here had shared. Couldn’t be worse.
His hearing was so improved that he began initiating conversations again. It was like he woke up and rejoined the world around him.
n
The costco exam told me that I wasn’t quite there yet, but I’m sure given my existing conditions, and the passage of time, I’ll get there.
“Germany has pledged to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050.”
–I wonder what they intend to do about the water vapor? Maybe turn the whole country into desert wasteland? And kill all the people so they don’t breathe out anymore. And the plants, wouldn’t want any transpiration…
It does not matter. China added 60 GW of new coal power plants this year. Yes, that is GW, not MW. That is about 2/3rd of the entire power supply in Texas.
https://www.reuters.com/article/china-energy-coal/corrected-china-to-cap-2020-coal-fired-power-capacity-at-1100-gw-idUSL4N2DV0ZE
“BEIJING, June 18 (Reuters) – China aims to cap coal-fired power capacity at 1,100 gigawatts (GW) and the number of coal mines at 5,000 by the end of 2020, the state planner said on Thursday, keeping up efforts to ease overcapacity in industry and boost consumption of clean energy.”
“The world’s top consumer of coal had 1,040 GW of installed coal-fired power capacity and 5,268 coal mines nationwide by 2019.”
The amount of hypocrisy is amazing here. Both on the part of the climate scientists in Europe and in the USA and in China’s willingness to sign a document that says they do nothing.
“They can pretend as long as the cashflow from loan payments keeps rolling north from the Mediterranean countries who are already technically insolvent.”
I think that Italy and Greece are financing the interest payments also.
Mediterranean countries. The PIGS — Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
They’re all long past the point where they went insolvent. Lovely places — absent Covid — but broke.
Haven’t you heard, Lynn? Xinnie the Pooh said that China is going to cut waaaay back on dread carbon. No details, of course, and no timeline that I’ve come across, and no actual commitments, but all the warmenists who can’t do math are wetting themselves with joy that China (which they now acknowledge as the world’s largest emitter of dread carbon) will be stepping up where Cursed America, led by Bad Orange Man, is letting down the world and the Paris Climate Accords.
“The world’s top consumer of coal had 1,040 GW of installed coal-fired power capacity and 5,268 coal mines nationwide by 2019.”
The amount of hypocrisy is amazing here. Both on the part of the climate scientists in Europe and in the USA and in China’s willingness to sign a document that says they do nothing.
During our Vantucky sentence, we lived uphill from the train tracks that parallel the Columbia on the WA State side of the river. The coal trains from Wyoming ran non-stop to the ports which loaded barges bound for China. If the coal trains weren’t running, it was wheat during the Fall out of the Midwest.
Oil from North Dakota was only limited by permitted capacity.
If I recall correctly, Seattle passed an ordinance prohibiting trains carrying coal to run through the city limits. Just us good citizens doing our part to stop global warming. (Like that’s going to help?)
I am not willing to pay the $4K for the devices plus the cost of supplies when I can get them from the VA at no cost to myself. Costco is the best place to go if paying out of one’s own pocket. Cost is better than other agencies and from what others have told me support is really good.
I have even thought about going to Costco and see if they will clean my devices even though I did not purchase the devices from them. They may even give me the hearing test and program the devices for no, or little, charge. Of course that would really mess with the VA and may in fact destroy getting devices fixed by the VA.
I suspect the VA will be back to normal once COVID passes, sometime around the middle of November. After that I will be able to get the devices serviced within a couple of days.
“As the left brags about how much Joe Biden paid in taxes, they missed one important question”
https://noqreport.com/2020/09/28/as-the-left-brags-about-how-much-joe-biden-paid-in-taxes-they-missed-one-important-question/
“But somewhere along the lines the left seems to have missed one of their favorite talking points. They vilify the rich on a regular basis as their one of their predicates for embracing socialism. To each according to his need, right? With that known, how exactly did Joe Biden, who has been a “public servant” for almost the entirety of his adult life, make so much money?”
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Federal income taxes paid in 2017 (jointly with spouse):
Joe Biden – $3,742,974
Kamala Harris – $516,469
Bernie Sanders – $343,882
Elizabeth Warren – $268,484
Donald Trump – $750”
You mean November, 2021, right?
If I recall correctly, Seattle passed an ordinance prohibiting trains carrying coal to run through the city limits. Just us good citizens doing our part to stop global warming. (Like that’s going to help?)
I am fairly sure that would violate the Interstate Commerce Clause of the constitution.
I suspect the VA will be back to normal once COVID passes, sometime around the middle of November. After that I will be able to get the devices serviced within a couple of days.
My IRS friend was just notified that they will be working from home until Jan 1, 2021.
“BOMBSHELL: Federal intelligence officials cloned phones to surveil and map entire structure of Antifa / BLM terrorist operations in preparation for mass arrests”
https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-09-27-federal-officials-cloned-phones-antifa-leaders-organization-mapped.html
“(Natural News) As you might recall, we’ve been reporting on Trump’s plans to invoke the Insurrection Act after the election, deploying military troops on the streets to halt the extremist left-wing political coup attempt that’s expect to be activated shortly after the election. Now, fascinating news has emerged that confirms US federal intelligence officials have, for months, been quietly identifying the participants and leaders of both Antifa and BLM terrorist organizations, including wealthy donors who are funding these operations.”
“It turns out that Trump’s DHS has been using sophisticated phone “cloning” hardware to impersonate the phones of Antifa and BLM extremists in order to eavesdrop on their phone calls and texts. Through this technology, they have assembled a complete organizational structure and hierarchy map of the leaders involved in today’s left-wing terrorist operations. More importantly, this information is being readied for a nationwide takedown of illegal insurrectionists once the Insurrection Act is activated.”
Don’t be an insurrectionist, don’t get your phone cloned.
And financing an insurrection is just as bad as the people committing the bad acts.
I think the feddies should seize the assets (money) of the BLM which is reputedly in the billions of dollars.
BTW, the political flowers (political yard signs) are popping up everywhere. I have three of them myself for our County Sheriff, CD (congressional district) 22, and our County Commissioner 1. I noticed something over the weekend. The Republicans are noting their party on their signs. The dum-bro-crats are not. Interesting. Looks like some shame is going on there.
Our municipal busses here have signs declaring CNG (compressed CH4). Gov. Gruesome plan to eliminate CO2 would replace CNG with H2 fuel cell produced energy.
Now, to store the same mass of H2 in the same volume tank on the busses, would not the tank walls be 8 times thicker and weigh 8 times more? Or, if the same wall thickness, the tanks have eight times greater volume? Either way, weight eight times more?
If anyone here is of an age to like Ronnie James Dio, there is a Finnish metal band with a female version of him called Battle Beast…. Great songs if you have any affinity to 80s metal. Great lyrics, very singable. (no sarc tag!)
n
@ray, it seems from several people’s comments (here and elsewhere) that the VA is actually finally giving people modern hearing aids. That was def not the case for my dad in the Chicago area. His were basically feedback machines and that’s about it.
n
It is amazing how much processing power is within the higher end hearing aids.
Yes, and it is even more amazing what processing power is in the brain. Possibly more than visual processing. I had a conversation with the tech I mentioned, and he explained some of the processing in my aunt’s hearing aids. Then, he said it is puny compared to what is in the brain. He used an analogy: hearing aids versus eye glasses. He said most people can adapt to new glasses in a week or two, but a new hearing aid program can take up to six months. He also said that can be frustrating for him, especially for some wearers who can’t seem to communicate their situation to him. I saw that with my aunt. He would make a change and ask her to describe the difference, if any. She sometimes had a hard time doing that. BTW, her mental abilities are very sharp.
I don’t look forward to hearing loss and hearing aids. I have thought about it, and in some ways would rather have poor vision than poor hearing.
I suspect the VA will be back to normal once COVID passes, sometime around the middle of November. After that I will be able to get the devices serviced within a couple of days.
Austin VA is slowly normalizing now. My wife was in the office last week and this week, but she returns to video visits next Monday for a while.
Of course, that is primary care. The specialists are going to drag the virus situation as long as possible.
That’s about 57% efficiency based on 6 MW in, 900 tons out. Not very good, electrolysis systems with heat reuse hit 80% according to Wikipedia.
With a power intake of six megawatts in the initial development phase, the plant will run solely on renewable energy and will be CO2-free. The electrolysis plant from Siemens Energy will have the capacity to produce over 900 tons of hydrogen per year in this first phase.
That’s about 57% efficiency based on 6 MW in, 900 tons out. Not very good, electrolysis systems with heat reuse hit 80% according to Wikipedia.
I suspect that it will run about a week and then be shut down for maintenance. Forever.
“Biden’s Texas Political Director Implicated in Massive Mail-In Ballot Harvesting Scheme in Harris County”
https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/28/bidens-texas-political-director-implicated-in-massive-mail-in-ballot-harvesting-scheme-in-harris-county/
“A Biden Campaign operative in Texas is attempting to rig the 2020 election with the help of others in a massive ballot harvesting scheme, according to two private investigators who testified under oath that they have “video evidence, documentation and witnesses” to prove it. With the help of mass mail-in ballots, the illegal ballot harvesting operation could harvest 700,000 ballots, one Harris County Democrat operative allegedly bragged.”
“The investigators—a former FBI agent and former police officer—claim that Biden’s Texas Political Director Dallas Jones and his cohorts have been “hoarding mail-in and absentee ballots” and ordering operatives to them fill out for people in Harris County illegally, “including dead people, homeless people, and nursing home residents in the 2020 presidential election,” Patrick Howley of the National File reported.”
Harris County is the main county for Houston, Texas. 700,000 ballots would throw all of the elections in the one ??? two ??? million voter county.
I am shocked ! Shocked I tell you !
In fact, 700,000 ballots in Texas could swing the entire state to the dum-bro-crats.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
VA gets top of the line hearing aids. Best you could buy anywhere yourself. VA redoes contracts every year and contracts for the best. I doubt the VA pays 1/3 of what the devices cost at Costco, maybe even 1/4 of what hearing aid stores charge. The VA is the number 1 supplier of hearing aids in the US. Costco is number 2.
That is what my uncle had 20 years ago. Basically just amplifiers set to a specific gain. Amplified all frequencies. Not so with the devices the VA provides today. Very specific frequency response. I can get my devices to feedback with some difficulty. When they do feedback the volume is significantly reduced.
I also was very reluctant to get the devices. I had been told five years ago I needed the devices. I have been pleasantly surprised with the devices. More importantly, the sounds that I have been missing.
The newest devices are very small behind the ear, almost invisible wire to the ear canal, receiver in the ear. Sideburns cover that quite nicely making it difficult for people to know that I have the devices. I wear them all day and unless I think about it, don’t even realize I am wearing the devices.
I never knew how much I need hearing aids until I got them, never realized how much I relied on them until I was without for 30 days.
Of course my decision was made easier when I found out because I was in the VA healthcare system due to a disability, the hearing devices would be at no cost to me. My visions of a AAA battery powered amplifier hanging around my neck were quickly dispelled when I saw what the VA provided.
If you need them, get them. Many places, even Costco, provide a 30 day trial. Don’t like them, give them back and get your money back. Or try a different model.
What I learned today:
– You can determine intent from a tax return
– You can determine net worth from a tax return
– Unrealized gains are the same as realized gains
– Paying the least tax you can may be legal but it’s immoral
– People run for president when their businesses fail
– Being president will make your businesses profitable again
– Not paying taxes because you lost money is immoral
– Not paying taxes because you don’t legally owe them is immoral
– Biden paid $3.7M in taxes but doesn’t have a job and that’s good
– We don’t need to know where the money came from that caused Biden to need to pay that much tax
– We don’t need to know if Biden offset gains with losses on his tax return
All are things I’ve read on the interwebs today.
Seriously though, what do the Bidens do that got them $11M in income in 2017?
If one were to bring in a recording of his wife’s voice, could that frequency be damped? Asking for a friend.
” Seriously though, what do the Bidens do that got them $11M in income in 2017? ”
–influence and access peddling. Not even bothering to disguise it with pallets of unsold ghostwritten books, or speaking engagements- the classic way.
n
Oh, and I left off insider trading which isn’t illegal for congressmen.
n
Yeah, I think you’re right.
I looked it up and the brouhaha was about a proposed coal depot north of here for the Pacific rim. The cry babies wailed about everything from climate change to traffic impact, but it finally got shot down on the grounds that the coal dust from the uncovered cars would pollute our precious bodily fluids.
Strange that I never saw covered coal barges working their way down the Ohio river. /sarcasm
Got two emails today, our elementary school had a teacher test positive for covid and had to isolate last week, and our pool had a lifeguard test positive Sunday after working Saturday.
No one in my family was at either of those places.
n
I don’t think they make devices that powerful.
Tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. Had some thick pork chops I didn’t season before freezing, so I looked for a new way to prepare them that wouldn’t take too long.
Ended up using a recipe out of the Fanny Farmer cookbook. Pan fried then cooked covered with shredded cabbage and caraway seeds in the cast iron. Last 10 minutes, added some sweet japanese rice vinegar. OMFG. Definitely a keeper. 30 minutes start to finish, did some sweet cornbread in the oven and got out the apple sauce as the sides.
Very nice to try something new. Kids even liked it.
n
if you have the ff cookbook, it’s the recipe for pork chops and sweet potato. The shredded cabbage is one of the alternates.
The cookbooks and recipe cards I use most often (when I’m not cooking off the cuff) make use of a lot of convenience items, especially canned this-or-that, but I have Fanny Farmer, Joy of Cooking, a century-old White House cookbook, and a few others. Including a few which give tips for such things as the easiest way to remove the feathers from fresh-killed fowl.
So, you either have a rechargeable or you got a smaller unit with smaller batteries….
I use Number 13 and they last at least a week. I suspect 2…
I am now trialling new one’s after a 10 year period with the previous units of which one went to God. It is day and night. Incredible how much they have progressed with these things. And I agree 100% about the guy that sets them up. In Oz it must be an Audiologist and you get them good and bad…
Wow, I’ve been researching Tragedy Hall, and it seems I named it well. I was looking at past building permits and thus found the names of the former owners. It had several outstanding permits for installation of a stair lift in 2004, replacing the foundation and new arctic entry in 2004, new roof in 2008, and a permit which was issued then canceled in 2019 noting that the new owner would reapply to reroof the house. This coincides with when we think the owner died. She had lived there over 60 years.
The tragedy part. Her husband worked as a plane de-icer for the military. He developed MS which worsned from the chemicals. She cared for him at the home, with minor children (they had 4 kids), for at least 10 years. I found licensing information for an assisted care facility at that address during that time period. She supported the family by grooming dogs and snow plowing. While caring for her disabled husband and at least one minor child. He became mentally incompetent and she applied for divorce. She got all of the stuff and 90% of his retirement. I found an obituary for him, none for her. His obituary mentioned children, whose names matched her records, mentioned him being married, no mention of wife name anywhere in obituary. I sense a bit of bitterness in the family.
Tragedy Hall changed hands in 12/2019, had a permit filed in 02/2020 for interior demolition to work on water damage.
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We viewed four lot models of Fleetwood manufactured homes. 2×6 construction, drywall, asphalt shingles. WAY nicer than what I’d expected. The models we viewed ranged from 1,300 sf to 1,800 sf, varied in luxury level, and in price from $100k to $175k. All could be dropped onto a lot with not a lot of fuss. Built to HUD Manufactured Homes standard and can be financed by HUD much like a conventional home. Interesting idea would be to drop a manufactured home on Tragedy Hall lot and tear out the tragicness that is that sad 3,500 water damaged mess. Place is probably haunted / cursed based off the rough ending that family endured.
In fact, 700,000 ballots in Texas could swing the entire state to the dum-bro-crats.
That was approximately Trump’s margin of victory in 2016 in Texas.
Size 213 batteries. VA offered rechargeable units but I declined. With batteries I just replace when they run down. I carry two with me on the key ring.
I replace the batteries every 3 days, usually wear the devices 12 to 14 hours a day. Experience has shown that sometime during the 4th day one of the batteries will become exhausted. I don’t try and get as much as possible out of the cells as the VA provides batteries. I get enough to last six months at a time, 120 each shipment.
@Jenny
Assuming the property is ‘worth it’, a purchase of the property (at a low price; just the value of the land), and then putting a manufactured home on it, seems to be a good choice.
Some funds required in razing the old house (or parts of it), maybe re-purposing areas into barn/stable/whatever (even just using the [I assume] concrete foundation), might also be an idea.
If the place has been on the market for a while, and there are no heirs (or heirs that just want the money), an offer based on the land price (or lower, for some negotiating room) might be accepted. Best scenario – they accept. And if they don’t, no loss to you.
Purchase contract carefully written, and offer price carefully researched, of course.
But I suspect you know this already.
My friends in military intelligence told me this is the technique used to map insurgents in Iraq and their funding sources. I knew we had the capability, just wondering who’s side it was being used for.
In fact, 700,000 ballots in Texas could swing the entire state to the dum-bro-crats.
That was approximately Trump’s margin of victory in 2016 in Texas.
What an amazing coincidence !
My wife says I do this naturally without any help.
The tragedy part. Her husband worked as a plane de-icer for the military. He developed MS which worsned from the chemicals. She cared for him at the home, with minor children (they had 4 kids), for at least 10 years. I found licensing information for an assisted care facility at that address during that time period. She supported the family by grooming dogs and snow plowing. While caring for her disabled husband and at least one minor child. He became mentally incompetent and she applied for divorce. She got all of the stuff and 90% of his retirement. I found an obituary for him, none for her. His obituary mentioned children, whose names matched her records, mentioned him being married, no mention of wife name anywhere in obituary. I sense a bit of bitterness in the family.
My wife’s sister, 65, is going through this right now with her 64 year old husband. He has Alzheimers from a spinal injury and rebuild of T-2 to T-4. He is 6’4″ and around 240 lbs. He is compliant when he is aware of what is going on. He is not compliant while trying to sleep and has trouble getting REM sleep. She is constantly dosing him with CBD oil which calms him down.
Their two sons, 28 and 25, live with them and make things bearable. I cannot imagine what it would be otherwise. He can be a real handful when confused.
We viewed four lot models of Fleetwood manufactured homes. 2×6 construction, drywall, asphalt shingles. WAY nicer than what I’d expected. The models we viewed ranged from 1,300 sf to 1,800 sf, varied in luxury level, and in price from $100k to $175k. All could be dropped onto a lot with not a lot of fuss. Built to HUD Manufactured Homes standard and can be financed by HUD much like a conventional home. Interesting idea would be to drop a manufactured home on Tragedy Hall lot and tear out the tragicness that is that sad 3,500 water damaged mess. Place is probably haunted / cursed based off the rough ending that family endured.
My wife’s oldest aunt lived in a 2,000 ft2 double wide on two ? four ? acres northwest of Temple, Texas way out in the sticks. It was really nice. Did not have the narrow hallways that the single wides have. I doubt it was 2×6’s, probably 2x4s. She loved it but sold it after her husband passed away.
https://www.fleetwoodhomes.com/
Texas does not allow manufactured homes along the coast for 40 to 50 miles inland now. They do not meet the 135 mph wind rating requirement for hurricanes. I guess that you are on your own for 200+ mph tornadoes.
I would be absolutely sure that Anchorage will allow the manufactured home before purchasing one.
Seriously though, what do the Bidens do that got them $11M in income in 2017?
Payoffs for eight years of favors while he was VP.
I suspect I am a real handful all the time whether confused or not… I think it is called assertive. 🙂
Dunno quite where to start today. All my work stacks are about equally high, which is to say, I’m equally behind everywhere. I know, I’ll read y’alls comments first, then figure it out…
I will never understand stuff like that. The guy caused the situation by his own criminal act. That’s all the court should need to know. Now, maybe some health and safety inspector should be tipped off, but that has nothing to do with the guy getting hurt.
Regarding income taxes: If it’s actually true that Trump only paid $750, that is a problem. However, it is no less of a problem that the others paid so much. Politicians should not all be rich – the fact that they are shows just how corrupt the system is.
@Jenny: That sounds like a really excellent idea!
+1Million!
It is a problem with the tax system, not Trump. Too many loopholes put into the system by congress to benefit themselves and their political buddies. Trump merely took advantage of what congress provided.
I have paid zero federal income taxes for the last four years. Even though I make more now than I did when I was working. While working it was difficult to avoid the taxes due to a salary. With no salary I can now take advantage of the loop holes.
Trump donating his salary is not out of the goodness of his heart. It is a way to avoid paying taxes. He does not need that money and provides a tax deduction that can be used to his advantage to offset other gains in a much higher tax bracket.
Blame congress, don’t blame Trump.
There was a case in Knoxville where a drunk, climbed a 10 foot chain link fence, got in a small airplane, started it, took off, then almost immediately crashed. His wife sued. Sued everyone. The airport, the plane owner, the fuel company, the people that last did maintenance on the plane, the fence company, the bar owner, the maker of the plane, the plane insurance company. Basically anyone she could even possibly consider.
All settled out of court for a few thousand dollars for each party that was sued as that was cheaper for the companies involved than going to court. The widow got a lot of money for her husband’s stupidity. If the system were correct the owner of the plane should have sued the drunk’s estate for the cost of the plane.
Of course the lawyer got a good chunk of the money. A real scam artist.
Not loopholes but intentional tax policy designed to promote investment. Rich and those who want to be, can structure income away from salary into intrest and dividends which are taxed at a lower rate to promote investments. If you want more of something you tax it less.
My concern are the politicians who are too stupid to arrange their finances to reduce the tax load. Paying g a higher rate of taxes tells me you hire bad advice.
Sounds very similar to cooking pork chops or pork roast in sauerkraut (cabbage, vinegar, caraway). Pork and sauerkraut love each other.
@Jenny: I’ve a friend living in a manufactured (to fed standards) home. He says it’s been OK, but that the floors are of some sort of OSB or MDF and started sagging after 25 years. Not a huge big deal – all homes have issues at 25 years. He and his brother replaced everything with marine plywood underlayment and nice oak veneer planking. His wife was delighted.
My understanding is that in general federal-standard manufactured homes are exempt from state and local zoning codes – California is pretty much run by realtors at the county level and they’ve tried their best to make them illegal, but Fed trumps State trumps County trumps City.
Lynn’s comment about being illegal near the Texas coast surprised me, but it may be that the Feds were in agreement with the 135mph wind rating.
There is a really good recipe on the back of the HEB store brand beef broth for smothered pork chops. Works best on thin pork chops.