Wed. Mar. 3, 2021 – half way through the week already

By on March 3rd, 2021 in personal, WuFlu

Cool and hopefully starting to dry out.  It did get very nice yesterday by late morning after starting as grey and misty.   It even got sunny with blue skies for most of the afternoon.  I think the high was around 74F.   Humidity must have stayed high though, I have lots of little puddles of water on the driveway that didn’t dry out.   It was 46F when I went to bed.

I took advantage of the nice weather and put down grass seed in the front yard.   Then I ran the sprinklers.   No problems in the front.   Stopped the test before the back yard zones ran as I wasn’t quite ready for that.   Did some more clean up inside.   Did some re-stocking- moved food into the house from the garage freezer, put paper products away, moved some stuff from the cold snap all the way back to where it lives most of the time.   Still not completely back together, but that’s due to a lack of effort at this point.

Still pretty sore in muscles and skeletal alignment, even though I slept with a rolled up towel as a pillow, and stayed lined up on my back.  I woke up feeling pretty good, most of the neck and shoulder stuff released and moved during the night.   If I catch it early I can save myself a bunch of pain and time recovering.   It’s a pretty clear sign I need to do more stretching and some strengthening exercises…  on top of everything else.

Body maintenance is starting to take work, and not just ‘happen’.  It’s a great life if you don’t weaken, right?

We’ll need our strength for whatever is coming, even if that is just celebrating a return to ‘normal’…  not that I think that is likely, but it is in my contingency planning.


Busy day today.  Oldest has an orthodontia appointment early this morning, then  I’ve got an auction pickup on the other side of town.   I’m meeting with an A/C guy at the rent house, and all the normal stuff too.  Wife will be working from home for the next two weeks.  They had two positive tests in her office today.   She doesn’t think she was exposed, but who knows.

Heard from an old friend last night that his dad just died from corona, and learned that another old friend in the Houston area had his own little super spreader event.   All 25 members of his family that got together for a party tested positive.   All but his wife have recovered, she’s a ‘long hauler’ and still isn’t back to normal months later.

It’s out there, and for some people it’s devastating.  Stay sharp.

And keep stacking.  No matter what’s coming, stacks will help.

 

nick

 

67 Comments and discussion on "Wed. Mar. 3, 2021 – half way through the week already"

  1. SFW says:

    @nick

    put down grass seed in the front yard.

    What kind of grass?

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Heard from an old friend last night that his dad just died from corona, and learned that another old friend in the Houston area had his own little super spreader event. All 25 members of his family that got together for a party tested positive. All but his wife have recovered, she’s a ‘long hauler’ and still isn’t back to normal months later.

    FOMO and “asymptomatic”. That combination has been the constant theme of the pandemic.

    No way I would trust the in-laws. The last time we saw them on the West Coast en-masse, the “boss” cousin showed up with his asthmatic child in visible respiratory distress to the point of contractions, looking to avoid a $1200 out-of-network ER copay from Kaiser by guilting my wife into providing care on the spot.

  3. Nick Flandrey says:

    @SFW, Ummm, seeds? 🙂 I’d have to go look at the bag. I bought it last year to fill in holes so it is probably a mix designed for that. I’m pretty sure there are several varieties in the mix, and what sprouts and survives is what matches the local conditions. The bag retails for about $80 which shocked me. No way should grass seed cost like that (says my brain, based on nothing but outrage.)

    The patches I hit last fall sprouted a thin, bright green, very delicate looking leaf, that stayed short and didn’t “fill in” yet. It did survive the freeze and snow, so there is that. It grew quite vigorously in the sidewalk cracks where it washed to in the back yard. It looked like moss it was so thick. In fact, I might go back and add a whole bunch more to the bare spots to get that same heavy growth…

    I’m not particularly good with the yard, but throwing down some grass seed, and applying a weed and feed once a year seems like the least I can do to have a nice looking home that fits into the neighborhood.

    Call it a ‘grey man’ approach if you will. I’ll never be Yard of the Month, but the HOA won’t be sending me nasty letters either. Keeping a nice looking healthy lawn is actually pretty tough on my block. Lots of shade, lots of intense sunlight, brown patch, various pests and invasive weeds, all spread by the lawn guys who do most of the yards in the subdivision…. my yard is the opposite of a monoculture!

    n

  4. Harold Combs says:

    39f and clear skies at dawn.
    Morning weather lady says to prepare for a high of 69f this afternoon.
    No problem. My only errands today are to take the wife to dialysis and fill a couple of ATMs. Maybe get a chance to catch up on listening to “The Alexander Inheritance” on my MP3 player.

    BTW: One requirement for selecting our retirement home was NO HOA or covenants. We lived under a tyrannical HOA in Mississippi who held personal grudges and made some lives miserable. Worked for years to get enough good people on the HOA to temper the crazies but a couple were run off by nasty gossip.

  5. SteveF says:

    What kind of grass?

    The kind that makes mowing the lawn fun.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    BTW: One requirement for selecting our retirement home was NO HOA or covenants. We lived under a tyrannical HOA in Mississippi who held personal grudges and made some lives miserable. Worked for years to get enough good people on the HOA to temper the crazies but a couple were run off by nasty gossip.

    I’ve beat the dead equine repeatedly neighbors about my HOA experience in Florida and the Bat Guano neighbors, the most tyrannical of whom were military retirees/contractors associated with the freak show commands at MacDill that make all the headlines for the extra-cirricular activities.

    When the tyrant’s day job is running the snake torture at Gitmo, commuting to “the office” by plane, there is no “off” switch at the end of the day.

  7. Greg Norton says:

    I’ve beat the dead equine repeatedly neighbors about my HOA experience in Florida and the Bat Guano neighbors, the most tyrannical of whom were military retirees/contractors associated with the freak show commands at MacDill that make all the headlines for the extra-cirricular activities.

    Ack. Noticed the mistake too late. Juggling too many things this morning.

  8. MrAtoz says:

    Got my 1st COVID shot. They did something different and interesting. Place a sticky membrane over the injection location. Doughnut shaped with sticky foam in a circle. Injection was made through the membrane.

    Was that in lieu of an alcohol swab? Or to soak up your “essential bodily fluids.”

  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    Collecting DNA for the database.

    n

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    Daughter has some new wire in her mouth, and I stopped at the ‘small’ HEB for bread and a few things I forgot on my instacart order.

    Bread aisle was smaller and had a limited selection, but the shelves were mostly covered (in the reduced area.) No specialty breads at all. Just the basics, but from several bakeries.

    Soup and canned goods had a couple of holes, but were stocked with basics. No ‘ten different versions of mixed veg in a can’ today. Ramen noodles had a whole empty section, but some brands were in stock. Again, just basics though.

    Good stock in the paper aisle. 3 kinds of Charmin, $1 / ”mega” roll.

    Meat was very limited. This store is low end anyway, but there was a lot of pork shoulder and beef stew meat in the coolers. Not many steaks, ribs, or chops. Mostly “value meat” stickers, but one lonely Prime steak. No hams, no turkeys, few chickens.

    Dairy and eggs were well stocked.

    The store was empty of shoppers at 930am though. Not my usual time to shop, so no idea if that’s normal. 930PM is JUMPING.

    Came home and ate breakfast, putting stuff away.

    n

  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    I believe Mr Lynn called this one….

    Texas electricity firm Brazos files for bankruptcy after getting a $2.1BILLION power bill following winter storm that left millions in the dark
    Bitterly cold weather in mid-February left millions without electricity across Texas as the Arctic conditions overwhelmed local utility companies ill-prepared for such weather

    NEW Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, which supplies 16 co-op members serving more than 1.5 million Texans, said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.

    n

  12. brad says:

    It’s been warm enough here that most of the snow is melted, and most of the mud has dried out, so I’m starting on our huge list of garden projects (new garden with the new house, basically nothing exists). I laid slabs as a foundation for two rainwater tanks today. Which also involved shoveling a lot of gravel.

    I ache in lots of places – haven’t done this kind of work in a while. Hope it gets better, but being 60 definitely makes it harder than the last time we started a new garden, 20 years ago.

  13. Ray Thompson says:

    Was that in lieu of an alcohol swab? Or to soak up your “essential bodily fluids.”

    They still did the alcohol swab, then put on the patch. I asked and they said was in case of bleeding. I have never seen the devices used before. Seems a bandaid would work as well. Even a blood donation is a simply gauze pad kept on by a stretch wrap.

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    –car has a black box. Wonder if the ‘nodding off warning camera’ saves images to the bbox?

    Cops recover black box from Tiger Woods’ SUV to determine whether or not he was speeding and if he committed a crime when he crashed

    Investigators used a warrant to retrieve the ‘black box’ from Woods’ crashed SUV
    Officials hope it will shed light on the the crash that saw Woods hospitalized
    Sheriff’s deputy said he did not consider it a criminal probe, just due diligence
    Police did not get blood samples as they did not have probable cause to collect
    Forensic experts say evidence points to Tiger Woods being ‘asleep at the wheel’

    –gotta wonder if it’s not a criminal probe, why a judge approved the warrant. If it’s not a criminal probe, then the black box is a fishing expedition.

    The 2021 GV80, made by the Hyundai luxury brand, is likely to have a newer version of event data recorders nicknamed ‘black boxes’ after more sophisticated recorders in airplanes.

    They store a treasure trove of data for authorities to review.

    There aren’t any US regulations requiring the boxes, but the government does require the recorders to store 15 data points including speed before impact and whether brake and gas pedals were pressed.

    The regulations don’t cover new partially automated systems that can control speed, brake, and steer cars on freeways, and they don’t address cameras and radar used in those systems.

    But some vehicles store some of the new systems’ data.

    n

  15. Chad says:

    Got my 1st COVID shot. They did something different and interesting. Place a sticky membrane over the injection location. Doughnut shaped with sticky foam in a circle. Injection was made through the membrane.

    Was that in lieu of an alcohol swab? Or to soak up your “essential bodily fluids.”

    They still did the alcohol swab, then put on the patch. I asked and they said was in case of bleeding. I have never seen the devices used before. Seems a bandaid would work as well. Even a blood donation is a simply gauze pad kept on by a stretch wrap.

    That doughnut-shaped sticky membrane probably costs the provider $5 but is billed to Uncle Sam at $15 and paid in full, no questions asked, because COVID.

  16. Alan says:

    “@nick; I presume they add a suffix or some other identifier so the plates on each vehicle are unique?
    eg W5XYZ -1 and W5XYZ -2”

    nope. not that I’ve seen or heard about.

    Hmm, never heard of a DMV issuing the exact same plate number to two vehicles. Could cause problems for example if you were out of state and went through a ‘bill by plate’ unmanned toll booth if their plate lookup to send the bill doesn’t expect two vehicles.

  17. Alan says:

    The Nexia thermostat on my downstairs AC system has a “Demand Response” menu entry with a current status of “not activated”. I strongly suspect an HVAC remote cutoff switch capability under control of ERCOT is coming, and that is the reason the manufacturers and installers push the variable speed systems requiring proprietary thermostat protocols.

    I keep the Nexia off of the Wifi to the point that I had the techs out to wipe its memory when I made the mistake of allowing the thermostat on my home network once and caught it port scanning my network devices.

    How soon until providing your WiFi password is required to get electric service established?

  18. Alan says:

    And everyone is requiring photo id from me nowadays. When I bought my new phone from Verizon last year, that started with a photo id event. And I have been a Verizon business customer for over 20 years.

    IIRC you can still buy a burner phone and an airtime card (for cash) at your local Quik-E Mart without showing ID. Dress accordingly for the CCTV cameras though.
    BTW, that reminds me that it’s going on ten months now that I haven’t used any cash or coin, and don’t miss it…though my credit card statement does tend to get lengthy. Only exception has been a couple of small items I sold through NextDoor, with the money quickly spent on lottery tickets.

  19. Alan says:

    There is a logjam of bank foreclosures that have been building since the CDC stopped foreclosures.

    How many of those are rental properties where, because of Covid-related eviction moratoriums, the tenants haven’t paid rent for months and the landlord can’t then afford the mortgage payment. I haven’t heard here that anyone who owns a rent house is in this situation, thank goodness.

  20. Chad says:

    Was the site offline for a bit? I could get to https://www.ttgnet.com/ but not https://www.ttgnet.com/journal/

    What the hell are you doing, Rick?! lol 😉

  21. Ray Thompson says:

    The local police have a habit of parking in the turn lane of a four lane (5 if you count turn) highway as it is coming down a hill. Looking for speeders. But it is very dangerous. They park with no lights and just over the crest of the hill so there is little warning. One time an officer was sitting in the turn lane, at night, no lights. Not only is it very dangerous, it may be against the law. Police don’t have the right to break laws unless on a call or an emergency situation. Looking for speeders is neither. One day one of the officers is going to get struck. Then who’s at fault? I would say the person parking in the road is at least 50% at fault.

    One time an officer went past me quite fast in a 40mph zone. He was doing at least 60. A half mile later I catch up with him at a stop light. So I called into the officer in charge of patrol. I explained what happened. The officer said the person in the vehicle was on an important call. I then asked which patrol vehicle because I had not given him the vehicle number. His response “all officers are on active calls”. He had been had and he knew he had been had.

    The local Oak Ridge police department seem to do what they want, when they want, how they want, doing things that would get us mere mortals ticketed or arrested. No wonder people get ticked off at the police.

    And this piece of advice still stands. Anytime someone identifies themselves as a federal officer, immediately say nothing. Not yes, not no, not even a whisper. Give your name if asked or “I want a lawyer” and say no more. Silence is golden. If an officer asks you to get out of your vehicle, roll the windows up, take the keys and lock the doors as you exit.

  22. Greg Norton says:

    –car has a black box. Wonder if the ‘nodding off warning camera’ saves images to the bbox?

    New Subarus record when you aren’t looking at the road.

    New Fords probably have the same capability buried in the nanny systems installed for the insurance discount program.

    My last employer was doing something with the Ford systems for tolling in Europe.

  23. RickH says:

    @Chad —

    What the ****are you doing, Rick?! lol

    Wasn’t me. I was off getting my ‘cootie stab’. About 1 1/2 hour ago was stabbed at the drive-through. No side effects yet.

    Although my Windows laptop now logs me in automatically as soon as I get within RFID range.

  24. MrAtoz says:

    plugsy McSpongeBrain, the great uniter:

    NBC News: NEW: President Biden calls Texas and Mississippi decisions to end mask mandates “a big mistake” and criticizes what he views as “Neanderthal thinking” after CDC warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants on Monday.

    Hello, fellow Neanderthals, welcome to Tejas.

  25. Mark W says:

    Although my Windows laptop now logs me in automatically as soon as I get within RFID range.

    You don’t need a credit card at the grocery store checkout either. They scan the rfid chip and bill your card automatically.

  26. Harold Combs says:

    Although my Windows laptop now logs me in automatically as soon as I get within RFID range.

    Your windows laptop logs your user ID on as soon as your RFID token is within range.
    No guarantees that it’s you, unless your RFID is implanted in your body.
    Spoken from a IT Security managers perspective.

  27. RickH says:

    @Harold …. well, yes, speaking as an ex-IT Security geek…

    Just a sly note for all of the conspiracy theorists that claim Bill Gates put a tracking RFID in the ‘cootie’ vaccine … (if that conspiracy theory is true, then the RFID *was* planted in my body…)

    🙂

  28. Nick Flandrey says:

    Also no guarantee the body part is still attached to you…

    n

  29. Nick Flandrey says:

    Rent house AC has a new control board and a new Tstat. The Tstat is a bummer because I’ve got some more, NIB, and I’m sure I’ll be charged something for the new one. Still, it’s in and working and I didn’t have to do it. <$300 too. Hit the goodwill on the way home. Nice pair of Tony Lamas boots, in brown, and in my size 10 1/2 EE. Fit like gloves. Need a polish but that's it. Funny thing is, I was wearing some Dan Post boots this morning, and thought, "It would be nice to have brown boots to go with this brown jacket." Bam. Brown Tony Lama's. Freaky. n

  30. SteveF says:

    [Pathetic fraud] Biden calls Texas and Mississippi decisions to end mask mandates “a big mistake” and criticizes what he views as “Neanderthal thinking”

    Better a neanderthal than a kiddie groper, by my way of thinking.

  31. paul says:

    CP900AVR AVR UPS 900VA/560W Tower

    Both are charged. One is installed. Same model number and ratings as previous versions. Not the same unit. The front panel is different… larger indicator lights as symbols instead of a light with off-white text next to it. Useful.

    Weight seems the same. Weight balance is different. When running the self test in their software, hmm…. no fan noise. Run time seems to be a lot longer than I recall.

    It says 152 minutes with 45 watts load. That seems like a huge improvement.

    My older model say 51 minutes with 58 watts. It and the two being replaced have always said about the same.

    Both PCs are the same model. Different monitors and I have all the
    network stuff too.

    I’m going to open the other new UPS before I install it. Just to see what’s in there. You can replace the batteries, I won’t be voiding the warranty.

    Yeah. I’ve got a splitting headache and I’m bored.

  32. paul says:

    Better a neanderthal than a kiddie groper, by my way of thinking.

    +1000 or so….

  33. Alan says:

    also could be the reason I started dropping Priority Mail at the UPS Store

    I presume not scanned into the USPS system until picked up from the UPS Store by someone from USPS? Not quite the ‘A students’ working at my local UPS Store – try not to trust them with more than the minimum required…

  34. Alan says:

    From my ISP:
    “MUST READ, IMPORTANT UPDATES”
    MASTER SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT UPDATED
    [snip]
    Hmm. What to say? I know! NO!!!
    I’m just a customer. Dealing with the FCC isn’t my problem.

    And they have the right to refuse your business (not that I agree with this ask).

  35. lynn says:

    “Watch SpaceX’s starship successfully launch and STICK THE LANDING — then explode :(”
    https://breaking911.com/watch-spacexs-starship-successfully-launch-and-stick-the-landing-then-explode/

    Apparently flying rocket ships is HARD !

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  36. lynn says:

    I am exhausted. I replaced three more of the 1,000 watt metal halide light fixtures with 200 watt LED light fixtures in the warehouse today. At one point I had the 35 foot boom lift fully extended and was two foot short so I had to go back down and move a log splitter out of the way between two tractors. The new lights are beautiful and turn on immediately (the old metal halides took 10 minutes to turn on). I plan to get one more metal halide fixture on the east side in the morning before returning the boom lift to Aztec Equipment Rental. That will leave me two more metal halides fixures inside the warehouse and two more outside the warehouse to replace.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DFQ84CM/?tag=ttgnet-20
    and
    https://www.winsim.com/warehouse_east_side.jpg
    and
    https://www.winsim.com/warehouse_west_side.jpg

    Those sliding doors are 16 feet tall. The peak of the roof is about 30 feet tall. Positioning the boom lift is dicey in there since the light fixtures are 23 foot and higher. You can see only one of the last of the metal halide fixtures on the east side as it is a big round bell that is four feet tall weighing about 75 lbs. The new LED fixtures are rectangular and weigh 15 lbs.

  37. lynn says:

    “Climate Scientists: Pandemic Lockdowns Needed Every Two Years to Meet Paris Agreement”
    https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2021/march/climate-scientists-pandemic-lockdowns-needed-every-two-years-to-meet-paris-agreement

    I am rapidly loosing any patience that I had with the so-called climate scientists. We may be to the point where I am ready to hang the lot of them. They are scourge upon mankind.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  38. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Funny thing is, I was wearing some Dan Post boots this morning, and thought, “It would be nice to have brown boots to go with this brown jacket.” Bam. Brown Tony Lama’s. Freaky.

    Don’t think about tigers. Or samurai. Or an old Starfleet Academy nemesis named Finnegan. And forget Ruth. But those green [Orion] slave girls…

  39. drwilliams says:

    [Pathetic fraud] Biden calls Texas and Mississippi decisions to end mask mandates “a big mistake” and criticizes what he views as “Neanderthal thinking”

    More Democratic racism.

  40. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn
    I sincerely hope you are:

    a) NOT working alone

    b) tethering yourself to the rail on the lift

  41. JimB says:

    Hey Lynn, what SPF is needed to be under those lights for 8 hours? 😉

  42. lynn says:

    There is a logjam of bank foreclosures that have been building since the CDC stopped foreclosures.

    How many of those are rental properties where, because of Covid-related eviction moratoriums, the tenants haven’t paid rent for months and the landlord can’t then afford the mortgage payment. I haven’t heard here that anyone who owns a rent house is in this situation, thank goodness.

    Our commercial office complex is fully rented. But the small office building, 450 ft2, is trashed due to two pipe leaks and the sheetrock ceiling falling in. I’ve got an adjuster coming Friday and the plumber is going to fix the other leak before then. The warehouse, 3,750 ft2, had three pipe leaks which the tenant fixed.

    Both sides of the duplex in Garland are rented. One side had a pipe leak under the house, that has been fixed and the tenant is back in.

    The rent house in Abilene had the tenants move out at the end of January so the power is off and the pipes drained for the freeze. The agent sent pictures to the wife who is contemplating a full rebuild after the 15+ year tenants. The wife is trying to remember the last time her father painted the house, maybe two decades ago. The agent is figuring out the value fixed up and sold as is as we want to sell it.

    We’ve had too many properties for the last five years. Now we can sell the residential ones since her father passed and ownership will pass to us in April.

  43. lynn says:

    Hit the goodwill on the way home. Nice pair of Tony Lamas boots, in brown, and in my size 10 1/2 EE. Fit like gloves. Need a polish but that’s it. Funny thing is, I was wearing some Dan Post boots this morning, and thought, “It would be nice to have brown boots to go with this brown jacket.” Bam. Brown Tony Lama’s. Freaky. n

    Cool ! I wear 11EEEs in boots now, 12E in tennis shoes. Wearing a pair of Justin work boots today. Very comfortable and diesel resistant since one of the tractors is leaking diesel all over the place.

  44. lynn says:

    @Lynn
    I sincerely hope you are:

    a) NOT working alone

    b) tethering yourself to the rail on the lift

    One of the tenants hung with me for two hours and then went to pick up his kids from school. Then his workers checked in as they brought their tools back to the warehouse. The tenants do commercial pool maintenance and commercial landscaping, mostly maintenance. They have 30 employees at the moment and will be adding 275+ life guards soon for the 41 pools they maintain.

    The only time that I had a lift failure was back in 1984 or so. Three of us were in a sky climber heading up 170 feet inside a 700,000 hp steam boiler that yours truly had blown the superheater on at my boss’s instructions, “run her wide open and see what she can do” after a full steam turbine rebuild. I got her up to 590 MW and she blew four superheater tubes on the way back down to reality. Spaghettied the rest of the tubes as they were shot anyway. Anyway, the guy who had put the steel cable on the south end of the sky climber only took two wraps around the motor. We got 20 foot up and it slipped and went vertical on us. No harnesses. I managed to hang on for dear life and climbed down after I stopped shaking. The leadman had a class on sky climbers. We never told the safety coordinator as he was drunk in his office after his liquid lunch of a fifth of vodka.

    In answer to your question, no harness today. Here I am replacing the first warehouse metal halide light fixture with a 150 watt LED two years ago. Note that the bucket top rail is a foot above my waist.
    https://www.winsim.com/lynn_replacing_warehouse_top_light.jpg

  45. lynn says:

    Hey Lynn, what SPF is needed to be under those lights for 8 hours?

    At least 15 ! The previous nine metal halide lights were 9,000 watts of heat and would turn the warehouse into a sweatbox in the summer.

  46. Nick Flandrey says:

    “I presume not scanned into the USPS system until picked up from the UPS Store”

    –they do have a scanner and will scan in Priority Mail and give me a receipt, most of the time. I don’t think it’s connected to USPS, but UPS got tired of dealing with complaints.

    Now at least they know if and when they took control of it.

    Our local PO is really slack. I can hand stuff across the counter and it never gets scanned. It’ll just appear at its destination. I can go to the big PO and hand it to them, but I still don’ tget a recpt or scan.

    The local storefront shipping place is terrible. They have lost my packages twice. Or someone did after I dropped it there. Haven’t used them in years.

    It’s all a bit of a crapshoot.

    n

  47. lynn says:

    “Majority of House Dems Support Ayanna Pressley’s H.R. 1 Amendment to Lower the Federal Voting Age to 16”
    https://mediarightnews.com/majority-of-house-dems-support-ayanna-pressleys-h-r-1-amendment-to-lower-the-federal-voting-age-to-16/

    Why not have five year olds voting ?

    And why can 18 year olds not drink beer but they can vote and serve in the military ?

    The USA is becoming the model of inconsistency.

  48. lynn says:

    “The real reason Dr. Seuss was canceled”
    https://gunfreezone.net/the-real-reason-dr-seuss-was-canceled/

    “I looked at the Nation Education Association’s recommended reading list. It is a woke nightmare.”

    “Top of the list is a story about a cross-dressing prince, then a trans boy who wants to be a mermaid, a biography of a child SJW activist, a book by the father of a soldier who used his son’s death to attack Donald Trump as a racist, a hagiography of an unaccompanied undocumented immigrant child, and countless books on how America is systemically racist and discriminatory.”

    Oh my. We are reaping the whirlwind.

  49. lynn says:

    https://www.winsim.com/lynn_replacing_warehouse_top_light.jpg

    I miss my old 2005 Expedition but I love my new 2019 F-150. I told the wife that I have had the F-150 in 4WD well over twenty times now since I bought it 18 months ago. She did not say a word (she told me that I could not have a 4×4 F-150 since they are dangerous and I would roll it, I vetoed that and bought a 4×4 anyway). Shoot, I had it in 4WD four or five times alone during the big ice storm two weeks ago as I was checking out the office complex every day. The first day of the snowpocalypse, it was solid ice for the four miles to the office.

  50. Greg Norton says:

    Oh my. We are reaping the whirlwind.

    Even Harry Potter has a cancel culture bullseye on him, and the last time we were at Universal, the SJW types were everywhere, waiving their friggin’ wands at the interactive elements of the themed areas.

    2
    1
  51. lynn says:

    At one point I had the 35 foot boom lift fully extended and was two foot short so I had to go back down and move a log splitter out of the way between two tractors.

    Now that I know that the warehouse tenants have a electric log splitter, I have some logs that need splitting ! I have some 8 inch and 10 inch oak logs that need to be split.

    And I have two 60+ foot tall Cypress trees at the office complex that have fallen and need to be cut up and split. Those trunks are at least two foot in diameter, maybe more.

  52. Nick Flandrey says:

    Wow, that book list is a horror show. Kids burning “agender” kid on a bus. A dozen books about iran or iranians. Almost no boys as protagonists. Two with boys cross dressing in the first half of the list. One with a white kid taken “back to the holler”- you can almost hear the banjos.

    dozens for latinos.

    NOT ONE CLASSIC. I didn’t even see any Newberry Awards…

    n

    ” The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali
    Read Across Americaby: Sabina Khan
    After Rukhsana’s conservative Muslim parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana , they whisk her away to Bangladesh and a world of tradition and arranged marriages. “

  53. Alan says:

    Luxury toilet paper is one of those things that the economic engine of western culture makes possible.
    speaking of, by my ‘trade magazine index’ of economic activity ™, we are F’d. Machine Design magazine, a wide circulation ‘trade’ magazine is down to 48 pages. It was 68 last month iirc. It was double and triple THAT before 2020. Several of the more limited interest trades I get have combined two complementary publications, or gone 100% digital. Photonics World seems to be the exception but it could be that they just have longer lead times and the slowdown hasn’t shown up yet.

    Besides, all those pages are @nick’s last gasp contingency TP.

  54. Nick Flandrey says:

    Hey, Kiddo
    Read Across Americaby: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
    In this raw graphic memoir, Jarrett J. Krosoczka shares his day-to-day life with his grandparents and his difficult interactions with his heroin-addicted mother.

  55. Nick Flandrey says:

    “last gasp contingency TP. ”

    –I’d rather use a finger! Those pages are sharp!

    n

  56. Alan says:

    Got to be an interesting field to be in. I have enough trouble designing web sites to work – takes tons of software changes to get things right. And then one change screws up something else that used to work just fine.

    When I first learned basic HTML years ago it all seemed so simple. Nowadays when I click “View Source” 70 percent of it looks foreign to me and I give guys like @RickH a lot of credit for what they do.

  57. Nick Flandrey says:

    The Music of What Happens
    Read Across Americaby: Bill Konigsberg
    When 17-year-old Max signs on to help fellow high school student Jordan run the food truck that may save Jordan and his mom from homelessnes, the boys find themselves strongly attracted to each other — but their romance is threatened by the secrets they are hiding.

    Frankly in Love
    Read Across Americaby: David Yoon
    Frank’s parents insist that he only date Koreans, so when he falls for Brit, who is white, he teams up with Joy so they can pretend to date each other in order to have the freedom to spend time to date who they like.

    The Bridge Home
    Read Across Americaby: Padma Venkatraman
    When Viji runs away with her sister Rukku, who has a developmental disability, they find shelter on an abandoned bridge in Chennai; work scavenging the city’s trash heaps; and a form a family of sorts with Muthi and Arul, two boys who are homeless.

    It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)
    Read Across Americaby: Trevor Noah
    Trevor Noah recalls his childhood in South Africa and shares stories of his parents’ illegal interracial relationship, apartheid, bullying, and poverty as well as dating, dancing, and daring entrepreneurship.

    Each Tiny Spark
    Read Across Americaby: Pablo Cartaya
    Emilia, who has ADHD, is trying to focus on rebuilding her relationship with her father, who is back from his deployment, and avoiding her overbearing grandmother. At the same time, she’s deciding how to handle the injustice and prejudice she discovers in her Atlanta suburb while working on her school project about the town’s history.

    Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
    Read Across Americaby: Jason Reynolds
    Using humor and a conversational style, author Jason Reynolds deftly reworks Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning, exposing young adult readers to the history of America’s racist past that textbooks leave out.

    It goes on like that for PAGES.

    n

  58. Alan says:

    “@nick; talk to your pain doctor (if you’re seeing one) about low-dose Naltrexon for chronic pain. I know several people getting good results with it.”

    —is that an off label use? It looks like it’s normally used for addiction treatment.

    Yes, it’s off-label. The referenced Wikipedia article mentions Crohn’s and MS, though my exposure is re chronic pain. In speaking with my wife’s pain doc he said results can and do vary by patient but it is helping her.
    Some manageable side effects while determining the right dosage and requires a compounding pharmacy to dispense. About $30/month on a Medicare Part D plan.

    https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/pharmacological/non-opioids/use-low-dose-naltrexone-management-chronic-pain

    Have you tried Voltaren? My wife had some relief for her knee pain with it. It’s now OTC in the US.

    My wife’s Medicare Part D plan still covers it 100% as a prescription item.

  59. Nick Flandrey says:

    51F and I’m headed to bed. Early to bed, I haven’t done, but the early to rise bit happens every day… I guess that’s why I’m not getting the traditional benefit…

    n

  60. Alan says:

    –gotta wonder if it’s not a criminal probe, why a judge approved the warrant. If it’s not a criminal probe, then the black box is a fishing expedition.

    Lots of ‘interested parties’…
    https://www.autoinsurancecenter.com/your-car-might-just-tattle-on-you.htm

  61. Alan says:

    One time an officer was sitting in the turn lane, at night, no lights. Not only is it very dangerous, it may be against the law. Police don’t have the right to break laws unless on a call or an emergency situation. Looking for speeders is neither. One day one of the officers is going to get struck. Then who’s at fault? I would say the person parking in the road is at least 50% at fault.

    See, you knew the correct answer is not 50% at fault but 0% at fault…

    The local Oak Ridge police department seem to do what they want, when they want, how they want, doing things that would get us mere mortals ticketed or arrested.

    .

    And this piece of advice still stands. Anytime someone identifies themselves as a federal officer, immediately say nothing. Not yes, not no, not even a whisper. Give your name if asked or “I want a lawyer” and say no more. Silence is golden.

    +100 … too bad Martha Stewart didn’t listen.

    If an officer asks you to get out of your vehicle, roll the windows up, take the keys and lock the doors as you exit.

    Also excellent advice, though probably best to first open the door and then close the window, should make the officer less nervous.
    Other tips if pulled over: don’t stop in the traffic lane of a busy road – either pull fully onto the shoulder if there is one or turn into the next side street; put on your flashers, turn on your interior lights, roll down all the windows, turn off the car, put your keys on the dashboard and both hands on the wheel (at 11 and 1). Don’t go reaching into your glove box or console while the cop is approaching your car, wait for him to ask for something that you have in their (eg registration) and tell the officer you’re reaching there to retrieve said papers.
    Car stops can be dangerous for cops, especially if they are driving solo and the above can only benefit your safety (and the cop’s). If he asks, tell him you saw this on “Adam-12”.

  62. Alan says:

    “Watch SpaceX’s starship successfully launch and STICK THE LANDING — then explode :(”
    https://breaking911.com/watch-spacexs-starship-successfully-launch-and-stick-the-landing-then-explode/

    Apparently flying rocket ships is HARD !

    Duh, that’s why they’re always called “Rocket Scientists” :O

  63. lynn says:

    Got to be an interesting field to be in. I have enough trouble designing web sites to work – takes tons of software changes to get things right. And then one change screws up something else that used to work just fine.

    When I first learned basic HTML years ago it all seemed so simple. Nowadays when I click “View Source” 70 percent of it looks foreign to me and I give guys like @RickH a lot of credit for what they do.

    Me too.

  64. lynn says:

    “A.F. Branco Cartoon – The Love Gov”
    https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-the-love-gov/

    “The Media seems much less interested in Cuomo scandals than Republicans, bias much? Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021”

    And then there is this eye burning fact about Cuomo that I did not want to know:
    https://gunfreezone.net/the-warning-signs-were-in-plain-sight/

  65. lynn says:

    Other tips if pulled over: don’t stop in the traffic lane of a busy road – either pull fully onto the shoulder if there is one or turn into the next side street; put on your flashers, turn on your interior lights, roll down all the windows, turn off the car, put your keys on the dashboard and both hands on the wheel (at 11 and 1).

    I saw my motorcycle sheriff’s deputy buddy today and stopped to say hi. I asked him if he rode his issue Harley in the snowapocalypse and he said no way. He moved over to a cruiser and was working I-69. He saw a Cadillac Escalade stopped in the high speed lane and pulled up behind him. He got out the cruiser and immediately fell on the ice. A Rosenberg cop pulled up behind, got out and fell on the ice too. My buddy goes up to the Escalade’s window and tells the guy to pull over to the shoulder. And the guy argues with him and says that he has a flat tire and does not want to ruin the rim. He tells the guy that he has already ruined the rim when he bounced off whatever he hit. So the guy turns right and drives across the other lanes of the interstate freeway. David is just standing there watching him with his mouth open, so is the Rosenberg cop. The guy gets to the outer shoulder without anyone hitting him and then tries to drive across to the service road. He promptly get stuck in the mud. I had to leave as I was blocking traffic so I have no idea what happened next.

  66. Alan says:

    And then there is this eye burning fact about Cuomo that I did not want to know:
    https://gunfreezone.net/the-warning-signs-were-in-plain-sight/

    Thanks @lynn, I think?!
    Warning to others…
    You can’t unsee it 🙂

  67. Jenny says:

    Fooling around with PHP and MySQL on my website to practice on the purebred dog pedigree data I’ve been messing with. I’m a rank novice with PHP but the MySQL is familiar enough to be super fun.

    Also working on packing. CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes are packed. Haven’t touched the vinyl records yet. Have started on the books. Most of mine and my daughters clothes are packed as are most of her toys and all her books. I used Library Thing to inventory the CDs and DVDs, and am working on inventorying the books as I go. It doesn’t take long with a phone to scan the barcode inside the cover, or to manually tap in the ISBN. This takes the pressure off me for unpacking EVERYTHING and finding space for EVERYTHING outside of its packing box. Some precious treasures may not get unpacked.

    Movers are scheduled for next Wednesday. They’ve got piano moving experience, were recommended by several folks, and cost a fraction of the other guys. Not everything will get moved in one day. The garage will wait a bit.

    We’re not out of the woods but this is definite progress.

    As I was packing the books I found a slim volume published in the sixties called “The Privacy Invaders”. Talk about prophetic. Author did a follow up book in the eighties that I ordered, about keeping a low profile. I’ll read both out of morbid curiosity to see if any predictions did NOT come true.

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