Cooler and still nice, I hope. Yesterday was nice. It got to 90F in the sun, but was much more comfortable in the shade. Gentle breezes and low humidity made it very pleasant outside.
Spent the morning hanging out with mom, the afternoon doing my insurance filing, and the late afternoon cleaning out my truck. I took three bins of stuff out of the extended cab. A bunch of it will not be going back in, and some that will will be far better organized. Over the last year or two I got in the habit of just adding stuff to the stack, like I found 5 first aid kits. No spare flashlights though. Several tarps and rolls of big trash bags. Rolls of tape. Water bottles and civilian versions of MREs. 4 fire extinguishers and 4 smaller aerosol extinguisher cans. I lost track of the number of plastic rain coats and ponchos… and I’d stashed some LBE vests there and forgotten about them. 12 vests. 12.
While I had the stuff out, I decided to vacuum too. Might as well give it it’s tri-annual cleaning. I’ll be finishing the job today if the weather stays clear. It’s probably a good idea to go through your vehicle kit at least once a year. Jeez.
Family stuff today too, maybe a dinner out with mom. I haven’t done that in a long time now. Supposed to be time to reenter the world.
Didn’t get a Costco order in, won’t do it on a Sunday either. It’ll have to wait for Monday.
All the rest of you should be stacking it up though…
nick
“Dallas has had a lot of police retirement since the lone gunman killed five officers one day five years ago. City Hall pretty much glossed it over as just another day.”
They don’t let Dallas officers take a lump sum anymore. Not enough money in the retirement fund.
Dallas and Houston are technically insolvent now due to pension obligations. In the case of Detroit, the courts decided that the retirees are at the front of the line as creditors, but Texas is in another district.
The Supreme Court may well have to decide this when more cities follow Detroit into Bankruptcy.
AZ did not vote for Trump. That is not a red state. That is a purple state. ”
–depends how much fraud there was.
No fraud necessary. Some probably happened, but no more than usual. Cindy McCain signed on to Biden’s transition team in September 2020.
Hensley & Co. controls the Republican party in the state, and the the Chairwoman controls Hensley & Co., regardless of censure.
Mark Kelly was a sympathy vote. The McCain family may well let it stand depending on their payola in the next few months.
68F and sunny.
72%RH
n
They probably should have anticipated the scrutiny.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9507897/The-big-Pentagon-internet-mystery-partially-solved.html
shell companies, registered to rental mailboxes. Oh my.
n
It was a lovely and sunny spring day yesterday in the southern extension of the Great White North (around 60 F and sunny, light breezes). I did one of the few things I am allowed to do outside: I went for a 50km (30 mile) bike ride with some friends. First one this season, so tired last night and a bit stiff today. I will do more of this, it really improves my mood.
What do I mean by “one of the few things I am allowed to do outside”? We are in lockdown in Ontario with the populist idiot running the province deciding (about a week ago) that lockdown means almost no outdoor activities (in spite of all evidence showing that is not where viral spread is happening). Tennis and golf and playgrounds shutdown. He told the police they had the right to randomly stop and ask people where they were going and fine them if it wasn’t a good enough reason.
Truly an idiot, as well as his immediate political advisors. Uproar and pandemonium for the last week. The police chiefs said, no we will absolutely NOT do that – and why didn’t you discuss any measures with us first? Every parent screamed, and suddenly playgrounds were OK. (Clearly tennis player and golfers have less pull). He was told 2 months ago a 3rd wave was coming and ignored all advise for what to do or how to prepare. Maybe the illusive “common sense” is breaking out. He apologized publicly (though in a bit of a political weasel way – the scorpion remains a scorpion) and appears to now want to focus vaccinations on the hot spots, like the warehouses and businesses that are open and the communities providing most of their employees as he was advised to do. He is also about to provide sick-pay, so folks feeling bad don’t have to choose between the rent money or spreading the virus. The premier is still resisting closing down locations with outbreaks, so the public health authorities in the Toronto region have taken the lead and said, If any business has 5 cases in a short span of time, they are shutdown for 10 days. Toronto region school authorities closed the schools 2 weeks ago in spite of the premier insisting they open even though they are a major source of viral spread. Talk about retrograde leadership – the idiot is NOT getting re-elected. So I wait (maybe in lockdown) until about mid-June, by which time anyone in Canada that wanted a vaccination will have had at least the first jab. I am scheduled for the second one in early July. It can’t come soon enough.
They probably should have anticipated the scrutiny.
A lot of fuss over very little, and the bonus is the Mail gets clicks implying Trump’s involvement.
@tv, thanks for the update.
I’ve got dinner reservations at a fancy place. We’ve requested patio, but might not get it. Which means indoor is fully open.
I’ve been waiting for the ‘kaboom’ for a year… and we have had little bangs, but no ‘kaboom‘ yet.
Even I’m getting skeptical that there will be a kaboom here.
n
There was an attempt to get “pay at the pump” no-fault liability in California in 1996. The idea was you would get state minimum coverage via a tax on gas. Drivers would be batched up in blocks of 10,000 plates and “sold” to the lowest bidder to do claims processing. If you wanted collision or more liability, you bought it yourself.
The insurance companies really, really hated it. To the point that they conducted a smear campaign against the guy backing it (Andrew Tobias of “Managing Your Money” software fame). They even outed him as gay.
Yes, he’s a liberal D. But his software was really, really good and his investment advice was also good.
We got some other “reforms” to auto insurance when I was living in Cali that were all promised to reduce costs. The opposite happened. No fault, mandatory coverage, and something else, brought all the bad drivers into the pools raising rates, and people STILL drove without coverage so you needed to add un- and under- insured motorist anyway…
n
Yep, just a teen “boy”
Anyone want to be how long his rap sheet is?
n
–well that’s weird, not a single pic of the guy?
n
nothing on twitter either, at 230 in the afternoon with lots of witnesses.
Yes, he’s a liberal D. But his software was really, really good and his investment advice was also good.
Tobias “The Last Investment Guide You Will Ever Need” still has good advice, but, as DNC Treasurer, he was an apologist for various disgraced Dems including John Corzine and Elliot Spitzer. Tobias continues to look the other way while Cramer fleeces the sheeple nightly.
Isn’t Cramer the one who is a great negative example? If he pushes a stock it’s time to short it, for example?
n
There was an attempt to get “pay at the pump” no-fault liability in California in 1996. The idea was you would get state minimum coverage via a tax on gas. Drivers would be batched up in blocks of 10,000 plates and “sold” to the lowest bidder to do claims processing. If you wanted collision or more liability, you bought it yourself.
Florida proposed a similar solution in the 90s, but meaningful insurance reform never goes anywhere in the state’s Legislature, no outings necessary.
Florida does not require the carriers tapping the lucrative auto insurance market to offer homeowner’s insurance in the state, and, if you do have homeowners on property there, regardless of the name on your paper, chances are it is a state-chartered subsidiary which is technically insolvent.
Isn’t Cramer the one who is a great negative example? If he pushes a stock it’s time to short it, for example?
Most viewers don’t look at Cramer that way.
Not that it really matters over the last 10 years.
Next hurdle on the MIL’s estate. She has many certificates. Some of them have beneficiary so distribution should be no problem. But I have a couple of issues.
1. Who pays the tax on the dividends earned? The estate I am guessing and would be part of the final tax return.
2. Do the certificates mature on the date of the MIL’s demise? Or does the CU charge a penalty for cashing in the CD’s early? Who gets to deduct the penalty, estate or the recipient.
Then there is the issue of the estate. Everything is left to the wife, in the will, registered in Bexar county in Texas.
1. Is a copy of the will and the death certificate good enough to have the money transferred to my wife?
2. Will the CUs require probate? Should not be necessary as there is only one named beneficiary on the will.
3. Can this be accomplished by mail and phone calls? Or will the CU’s require us to make another trip to TX to show up in person to finish up the details.
4. Same question on the maturity of the CDs. Do they terminate immediately? Rolled over into wife’s name? Penalties if terminated early?
A lot of unanswered questions. We did finally get checks with my wife’s name as she is named on the checking account. That money immediately reverted to my wife as best as I can confirm.
Currently waiting on the death certificates which may take another four weeks due to the backlog from Covid deaths and personnel not staffed at full capacity.
Wife is going in and out of lucidity. She hasn’t eaten anything in over 2 days and is now having trouble swallowing water. Her surgeon refuses to do any more surgery until she starts taking nutrition as it would just be a waste of time. Even if he continues, best case is more surgery on the other leg and possibly amputation of both. Even that may not stop the calciphylaxis showing up in other places. I’ve been living here in the hospital with her. I fear she’s given up as her likely future is mostly agonizing pain. I am hoping for a miracle here but trying to prepare myself for the worst. Some of the family is pressuring me to authorize a feeding tube over her violent objections. Making these decisions is impossibly hard and I will always second guess myself.
A lot of unanswered questions. We did finally get checks with my wife’s name as she is named on the checking account. That money immediately reverted to my wife as best as I can confirm.
Did the hospice pass along a referral to a probate attorney they work with?
UT Southwestern referred us to a lawyer when my father-in-law passed. He did a decent job for the money as far as probate was concerned, but our mistake was trusting him with more.
@Harold: wishng you strength in this difficult time. You and your wife know best – everyone else can go hang.
Sympathies, Harold.
General advice which applies here: don’t make decisions under stress or duress. If you and your wife talked about heroic measures previously, go with what she wanted then. If you didn’t, and she’s objecting to a feeding tube now, follow her wishes.
Tough situation, you have my sympathy. Regardless of the decision you make you will always second guess. But don’t. Go with what the spouse wants. I am guessing you know what she wants having discussed such things in the past. Barring that go with your heart and gut. Do not listen to others as they have no dog in the hunt. The decision is yours and will ALWAYS be the correct decision regardless of what others think.
My opinion having been through a couple of these situations, none with spouse so I may just be blowing smoke out an external orifice. When the person decides it is time, gives up as you feel, they have made peace with the situation, their final journey is under their terms. To force the extension of life through extra ordinary means is going against their wishes.
Rely on the medical experts for advice. Get their input on quality of life, long term issues, patient discomfort, etc. Use that to help in the decision process. But still make your own decision. You have the most to lose, and yes, the most to gain. You lose your spouse but gain knowing that you made the best decision for you and your spouse.
No. My feeling is that probate will not be required. It is a simple will leaving everything to my wife where a beneficiary is not designated on the account. MIL’s husband’s will was a simple will, gave everything to his spouse (my MIL), and to quote “my undying love to my kids” and that was it. The kids got nothing. That never went through probate.
When my aunt died and my mother died there was nothing left to probate to anyone. I don’t even know if there was a will. It did not matter if there was such a document.
“Apple’s M1 Positioning Mocks the Entire x86 Business Model”
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/322120-apples-m1-positioning-mocks-every-x86-cpu-amd-and-intel-have-ever-launched
“On Tuesday, Apple updated the iMac with new SKUs, display panels, and various color options. The new systems are powered by Apple’s M1 CPU, which uses the ARMv8 ISA rather than an Intel or AMD x86 CPU.”
“That sentence is a bit more revolutionary than it might seem. The three new iMacs, which are priced at $1,299, $1,499, and $1,699, respectively, do not differ by memory (8GB) or by CPU core count. Apple calls the M1 an eight-core, and it nominally is. But it’s better understood as a 4+4 CPU architecture, with four high-performance CPU cores and four high-efficiency CPU cores. The only difference between the M1 you get at $1,299 and the one you get at $1,699 is a single GPU core.”
Interesting.
“Why Illinois Is In Trouble: 122,258 Public Employees Earned $100,000+ Costing Taxpayers $15.8 Billion”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/why-illinois-trouble-122258-public-employees-earned-100000-costing-taxpayers-158-billion
“Illinois public employees and retirees with $100,000+ paychecks grew from 109,881 (2019) to an all-time high of 122,258 in 2020 – costing taxpayers $15.8 billion.”
“Our updated analysis at OpenTheBooks.com shows that an Illinois family of four now owes more in unfunded pension liabilities ($98,000) than they earn in household income ($63,585). In a state of 13 million residents, every man, woman, and child owes $24,000 — on an estimated $317 billion pension liability.”
You have got to be kidding me. All with full benefits and pensions.
Re Illinois pensions: would be interesting to know how many of those large pensions are because of union membership.
My retirement from local government in CA is funded through CalPers, which has pretty good contributions/payouts – that are even better for police/fire employees. I worked there 23 years, so was almost fully vested.
Retired just a bit early (short of the 25 years) due to pending downsizing, which would have resulted in a reduction in pay (and therefore retirement pay possibilities) and job title. That local government was handing out an extra year of retirement credit if you retired early, so I took it.
“Sliding Scales (A Pip & Flinx Adventure)” by Alan Dean Foster
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345461584?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number nine (in reading order) of a fifteen book space opera with psi series. I reread the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Del Rey in 2005 that I bought new since I cannot find my copy in my packed books. I will continue to read through the series.
Flinx has his own FTL spaceship, the Teacher, built and given to him by the Ulru-Ujurrians. Flinx and Pip are visiting the planet of Jast, located outside the Commonwealth and influenced by the Aann empire. As usual, trouble both follows and precedes Flinx and his sidekick.
The reading order of Pip and Flinx:
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/alan-dean-foster/pip-and-flinx/
ADF has a website at:
https://www.alandeanfoster.com/
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (108 reviews)
Mr. Harold, my prayers are with you.
I’m with Mr. SteveF on making the decisions. My mother was adamant: No procedures or resuscitation at the end. She was given Dilaudid injections every two hours. She was in so much pain from kidney and organ failure she was unconscious and still moaning. After the Dilaudid, she just relaxed until she passed.
Mr. Harold, nobody but your wife and you knows better, best wishes
Thanks all for your wishes and advice. I reviewed the living will we had drawn up last year as part of our trust. She clearly indicated no Tube feeding in her DNI. I know I couldn’t have withstood the incredible pain she’s been through almost constantly for months. Her insurance company is arranging for psychological support for me and I know I will need it.
Harold, know that you have whatever support we can give. I agree with the others, go with what you wife wants, unless she’s no longer competent, then do what you feel is right. Let your love guide you.
best,
nick
You have got to be kidding me. All with full benefits and pensions.
CTA making $220k/year.
If you want to understand the hilarity of that number, the next time you go visit your sister-in-law, take the train to the science museum from Millennium Station. That’s a safe enough trip where you will still see some interesting things both on the train and during the walk to the museum.
Elections have consequences. Texas got a bunch of money too.
And any talk about haircuts for Illinois pensioners has ramifications far beyond that state’s borders. I remember IL benefits paper requiring a two inch binder when I worked in the drugstore in FL *in the 80s*.
Thoughts and prayers, Harold.
More Mormon’s during a prayer service:
WATCH: Brawl involving multiple passengers at Miami International Airport caught on video
The Prophet likes him some worship.
Re Illinois pensions: would be interesting to know how many of those large pensions are because of union membership.
My retirement from local government in CA is funded through CalPers, which has pretty good contributions/payouts – that are even better for police/fire employees. I worked there 23 years, so was almost fully vested.
Retired just a bit early (short of the 25 years) due to pending downsizing, which would have resulted in a reduction in pay (and therefore retirement pay possibilities) and job title. That local government was handing out an extra year of retirement credit if you retired early, so I took it.
Glad you got out with your pension ! I have no problem with pensions as long as they are funded and the public is not liable. In fact, I get a pension of $200/month when I turn 65 from Fidelity. My former employer went bankrupt and turned the fully funded pension plan over to Fidelity as the new trustee.
CALPERS appears to be 71% funded. Not horrible but somebody is going to take a haircut down the road. You chose well !
https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/newsroom/calpers-news/2020/calpers-preliminary-investment-return-2019-20
Illinois public pension funds appear to be severely underfunded. Less than 40%. That is a freaking disaster and they expect the feddies (you and me !) to pick that up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_pension_crisis
But, my original concern is the inflation of public sector salaries over private sector salaries. Illinois seems to have gone nuts.
What is a CTA ?
Chicago Transit Authority.
Make sure the CTA ticket app is installed and configured on your phone. The station serving the science museum, near the future site of Obama’s library, pulled the humans out of the ticket booths in late 2018, and the automated kiosks were all broken the day we went in March 2019.
You have got to be kidding me. All with full benefits and pensions.
CTA making $220k/year.
If you want to understand the hilarity of that number, the next time you go visit your sister-in-law, take the train to the science museum from Millennium Station. That’s a safe enough trip where you will still see some interesting things both on the train and during the walk to the museum.
What the heck is a CTA ?
No. In Texas, the will has to be filed with a court. Then, the executor has to appear in court and, under oath, answer some questions (are you a felon, are you over 21, etc.). If there are no other possible heirs, the judge can then order that “letters testamentary” be issued to the executor. That’s what is needed to start handling real property and items inside the estate. There is other paperwork that needs to be filed (asset listings, etc.) later. If the will is properly written and executed, no witnesses are required, nor is a bond required. The probate attorney you use can help.
As for the CDs, you probably need tax advice on that. The decedent may own taxes on the interest up to date of death and the beneficiary after that. The probate attorney handling the case can probably give pointers.
Illinois has a state constitutional amendment that prohibits cutting vested benefits.
@Harold; thoughts and prayers for your wife and yourself. Neither should be burdened with any (physical) pain during this.
Hey Uncle Joe, looks like we’re gonna need a third shift on those presses over at Treasury!
Personally, I would not take tax advice from an attorney unless he also had an accounting degree/was a CPA.
What is a CTA ?
Chicago Transit Authority.
Make sure the CTA ticket app is installed and configured on your phone. The station serving the science museum, near the future site of Obama’s library, pulled the humans out of the ticket booths in late 2018, and the automated kiosks were all broken the day we went in March 2019.
I ain’t going to Chicago.
Harold, my thoughts are with you and your wife. I just went through this a while ago with my wife passing. Do what she wants, and if she is becomes unable to communicate, do what you know to be her wishes and for those decisions only your judgement counts. There is nothing easy about any of this and you will second-guess yourself later. Let later take care of itself, do what you think and believe is best for your wife now.
What is a CTA ?
Chicago Transit Authority.
Make sure the CTA ticket app is installed and configured on your phone. The station serving the science museum, near the future site of Obama’s library, pulled the humans out of the ticket booths in late 2018, and the automated kiosks were all broken the day we went in March 2019.
Are you talking about the head of CTA making $220K/year ? Or are you talking about ticket sellers / takers making $220K/year ?
” In December Jovan Hutton Pulitzer gave a presentation with the Economic War Room, on how he and his company can detect many types of election fraud with a simple, easy examination of the physical ballots, by running them through forensic machines designed to detect physical signatures of the ballots.
Pulitzer is a pattern recognition expert holding over 200 patents. His patents are used on 12 billion handheld devices around the world.”
IIRC, I posted the link in Dec.
Now one process has been concluded through the courts, with the result that the ballots in Maricopa County, AZ are being forensically examined:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/breaking-happening-arizona-election-workers-running-ultra-violet-ballot-testing-maricopa-ballots-video
There are many reports documenting the Democratic fight to prevent this examination:
“As a rule, people who fight public disclosure tend to have something to hide. Democrats revealed how deeply they fear the discovery of ballot fraud in Arizona when they fought tooth and nail to prevent the audit now underway at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Monica Showalter explained how hard they fought – and lost – thanks to a judge with guts that demanded a million-dollar bond from them to cover costs they might impose through their efforts to delay the count.”
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/04/arizona_ballot_audit_that_dems_fought_is_underway_using_tech_to_detect_counterfeits.html
Most of them make the mistake of assuming it is just Democrats who were involved in election fraud. In Arizona in particular that may not be the case.
Back. Had a lovely dinner out. We ate on the covered patio. The place was not exactly jumpin’. One couple on the patio when we were seated, one new couple seated just before we left. Only a couple or two seated inside.
Restaurant is a ‘business lunch/business dinner/ date night’ kind of place. New American cuisine. All very tasty, generous portions, nothing too weird. Entree’s in the $35-65 range, with sides for the table extra, in the $6-12 range. It was nice to be out and unmasked. Waitstaff all wore masks. There was a very brisk wind due to architectural issues and it got a little chilly after sunset. Mom treated us for our wedding anniversary, and the kids for their birthdays.
n
“Disney and Star Wars author Alan Dean Foster appear to settle royalty dispute” by Michael East
https://winteriscoming.net/2021/04/23/disney-star-wars-author-alan-dean-foster-settle-royalty-dispute/
“Last November, Foster publicly published a letter to Disney through the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The letter accused Disney of failing to meet their obligations for several of Foster’s works, including the novelization of Star Wars: A New Hope, the first original tie-in novel Splinter of the Minds Eye, and the novelizations of the Alien movies, with Foster stating that Disney “never paid royalties on any of these, or even issued royalty statements for them.””
“Writing on his personal blog earlier this month, Foster revealed that a formal statement was imminent over the dispute, saying “the irritating imbroglio with Disney, which you may have read about, is moving rapidly toward a mutually agreeable conclusion.””
https://www.alandeanfoster.com/version2.0/updatesframe.htm
“26 Best Grimdark Books” by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/26-best-grimdark-books/
I have only read “Lord Foul’s Bane” of the 26 books.
I’ve got Lies of Locke Lamora- absolutely great, you want the sequels so badly, but they don’t come close to the first.
I read Lord Foul’s Bane a long time ago. I really dislike the White Gold Wielder series, even though I felt compelled to read them all. Well written, except for one phrase about the smell of roses that is repeated endlessly… but VERY frustrating as Thomas just never believes it..
The Grey Bastards was a compelling read, gritty doesn’t begin to describe it. Weird. Novel. and the sequel is FINALLY on my kindle and I hope it’s as good as the first.
I read The Annals of the Black Company, don’t know how that compares to the Chronicles. Loved it. Read them all more than once. Didn’t get thru a much later one that I picked up somewhere in the last year or three, maybe it wasn’t as good, maybe my tastes changed.
Interesting that I don’t know this particular sub-genre well enough to know if the list is as lacking as his other lists. Regardless, his lists are always a good starting point for the discussion that follows.
n
Interesting that I don’t know this particular sub-genre well enough to know if the list is as lacking as his other lists. Regardless, his lists are always a good starting point for the discussion that follows.
n
“Elric of Melniboné” by Michael Moorcock should be on the list.
https://www.amazon.com/Elric-Melniboné-Saga-Part/dp/1534445684/?tag=ttgnet-20
and “Monster Hunter International (Monster Hunters International Book 1)”
https://www.amazon.com/International-Monster-Hunter-Larry-Correia/dp/1439132852/?tag=ttgnet-20
I have been binging “Big Sky” on Hulu all day. It is a very very very dark crime drama on ABC with elements of humor. It is set in Helena, Montana which I enjoy due to my several visits up there.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11794642/