Cool and clear. Beautiful big moon last night and the night before. Mid 70s during the day with a really hot sun beating down.
I hung the last of what I am going to do this year. I had a few oversized plastic ornaments left after hanging a couple dozen on the eves, so I hung them in the tree in front of the house. They look nice during the day. Part of my strategy for decor is that it has to look pretty good during the day, as well as night. I think I achieved it this year.
Today is mostly getting ready for the fat man to visit and for the last of the presents to be wrapped. House needs a cleaning too.
Maybe we’ll watch some Christmas-y movies too. Well, the kids anyway. I’m sure my day will expand to fill the time available.
Meanwhile the world turns…
I’m sure there are bad guys out there that want to attack us when we are most comfortable. We might have our own ‘winter garden’ attack. It’s been a while, so they’re due. If you’re out and about, keep your awareness up. Have fun, these are the good old days, but keep one eye open too.
Take a break from stacking all the things, and live in the moment for a couple of days. You’ll be stacking up good memories to help with the hard times.
RBT would be checking the travel and load on his anti-Santa AA gun. I’ll probably be mixing up some reindeer food to sprinkle on the ground tomorrow night. It’s not legal to bait them, right?
nick
What you want to do is put up a sign: Attention, Reindeer! This food is for squirrels and chipmunks. Any reindeer eating it will be shot!
Merry preChristmas!
Plastic prayers,
Plastic cares,
Whatever happened to the Holy Spirit.
MWK
Heh. A miss is as good as a mile. 😉
I read plugs has extended student loan moratorium until May 1 due to OOOMMMIIICCCRRROOONNN!!!
We're all gonna die!!!
As I've pointed out before, the student loan program was nationalized to fund Obamacare so the bill could pass under reconciliation and squeak by in the Supreme Court.
Each extension of the moratorium monetizes more of the Obamacare debt as the Government issues bonds to cover the interest income short fall. The real goal of student loan amnesty is to completely monetize the Obamacare-related deficits which they could not do a decade ago.
We had to pass the bill to find out what was in it.
Of course, the Fed buys the bonds so it is all funny money regardless at this point.
Banks are still involved to collect the loan payments, but they don’t issue most of the paper. Just like mortgages.
AKA "seasonal colds".
With symptoms like "mild headache, fatigue, and scratchy throat", and with the textbook example of a coronavirus being the common cold, only the biggest imbeciles would fall for this latest round of panic. Of course, any number of would-be tyrants, including Kathy the Ho and Pedo Joe, are attempting to increase their own power by riding the common cold.
More than half of the country voted for Biden knowing full well what would happen.
Yeah, Biden … Trump tho.
Interesting claim, in light of strong evidence of fraud.
I'd say "undeniable evidence" but there's no level of evidence strong enough to overcome "la-la-la I'm not listening!"
Decorations improve the neighborhood! I miss the times of driving around looking at all the lights… maybe Christmas Eve after church we can do that on our town's four streets! 🙂
We are as ready as we'll ever be. Last trip to the store for fresh foods yesterday. Today is an easy day. Already gave Paul a haircut, made breakfast, laundry in the dryer, dishwasher emptied and refilled, the rib roast is thawing in the fridge, and the bacon is cooked for the Quiche Lorraine we are having for brunch tomorrow. And it's just now 9 am.
Most of my life, I was a night owl. When an acupuncturist cured me of insomnia, she rewired my brain and turned me instantly into a morning lark. Ever since, I spring awake and energetic by 6 am (5:20 this morning), and get to work. It's great. Except that I'm worn out by late afternoon, and that's when I wish I still had my old "stay up all night and paint the kitchen" energy. LOL it's always something!
Tomorrow, I'll make the French Onion Soup that we won't have until Christmas day around noon. I'll also make the croutons tomorrow for the Caesar salad we'll eat about 2 pm on the 25th … my husband makes the best Caesar dressing right in the bowl, I'm always sad to see the end of it.
Happy Festivus
The holiday for the rest of us.
Let the airing of grievances begin…
https://images.app.goo.gl/XwyGFTZ9AdPnfv8W6
Wow. "A fire occurred" and "At this time, emergency vehicles and smoke may be noticeable to the community.' "
That's some pretty passive voice statements in the press release…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10339141/Fire-breaks-Houston-area-Exxon-Mobil-oil-refinery-explosion.html
n
How do you like your crow Jen? Well done?
https://theintercept.com/2021/12/21/anger-jen-psaki-helped-americans-get-free-covid-rapid-tests/
By "police reform" they mean getting rid of them by defunding them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10337775/Democratic-Rep-Mary-Gay-Scanlon-CARJACKED-Philadelphia-phone-purse-ID-stolen.html
Two Dems who support police reforms are both CARJACKED just hours apart: Five are arrested after Rep. Mary Scanlon is robbed at gunpoint in Philadelphia while Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford and her husband are carjacked in Chicago
And how common must it REALLY be if two of such a small group get jacked the same day?
n
Oh yeah, 66F and sunny when I awoke. Kids and wife still in bed. Guess staying up late playing games takes its toll.
n
@Greg Norton
”More than half of the country voted for Biden knowing full well what would happen.”
That’s well beyond the capabilities of most Biden voters.
The vast majority were so ill-informed that they had no idea that they were pulling the lever for an unprincipled scumbag with a history of corruption, confabulation an order of magnitude greater than Trump could ever imagine, and a spirit so mean that he would abandon people to their deaths if he could gain so much as the scent licked off a spearmint gum wrapper.
ADDED: David Byne’s photo captions for Stop Making Sense are more principled, insightful, and generous than any thought that Biden has had in his life.
Bob, that is your F'ing JOB to say no to the kind of stupidity that destroys the value of your company. SOMEONE has to be the consistent rudder, guiding the ship.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10337237/Bob-Iger-said-knew-quit-dismissive-peoples-opinions.html
n
"Free" tests. Ain't no such thing. I'm paying for every one of the useless things, along with the bounties paid to hospitals for every person who dies "of" the Chinese Bioweapon and the salaries of the useless eaters at all levels of government.
My self-employment income has been negligible for the past several years so my total tax burden has dropped below 50%, but I'm still paying an awful lot: income tax, payroll deductions-which-are-totally-not-a-tax, property tax, sales tax, gasoline tax, telecommunications tax, mandatory premiums for health insurance which I can't use, and various government fees, usually small but multitudinous. Aside from the road network I'm not getting much for my money.
Tests by scientists that study aerosols. They used a breath simulator and visualized in and out flow of droplets and aerosols. They also did real and simulated coughs.
Something else was going on when Iger resigned. Go back and watch the announcement again. Look at Iger's face.
Bob Cheapek is in over his head. The problem is that the bench is empty. Getting rid of the possibility of Sheryl Sandberg succeeding him as CEO must have been expensive for Iger.
(I voted to eject “Lean In” from the board every year, but I never thought it would happen.)
Sony may well have a $300 million week from "Spiderman", and that's *before* Christmas. Disney sees 25%, but the Japanese just demonstrated who owns Marvel movies now.
Not that I'm a huge Sony fan. I tell parents not to let Funimation Anime into their homes. Even the original Japanese studios acknowledge something is going on with the dubbing — there is an agenda at work.
Maybe Bob lost it over the LGBFD agenda and used some bad words in front of the wrong people…
They hate you and want you to die.
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10340061/US-hits-second-daily-highest-average-diagnoses-rate-pandemic-began.html
Went thru the grocery store sale fliers this morning. No bargains there. Also missing were the two biggies, HEB and Kroger… All had MERRY CHRISTMAS at the top, no "Holiday Wishes" here. Of course, 4 were in spanish.
Apparently whole young goat is $13/pound, and hog's heads, 79c/ pound.
Pork butt still twice what I paid at HEB this week, even though it is supposedly 'on sale'.
Smart shoppers stack it high when it's cheap.
n
Doctors and "medical ethicists" might want to look into buying body armor. If they keep up that ad hoc death panel crap it's not going to be long before someone's surviving relatives take exception to her unnecessary death.
Speaking of covert chinese weapons unleashed on the US…
From one of my first responder newsletters…
emphasis added.
n
"I say, Millicent, these Americans are in quite a row over not wanting to do the proper thing and queue up for the jab. Not like we British. We do what we are told. What's on telly tonight?"
And the Royal Navy is not a haven for cannibals. 🙂
Guilty. 🙂
Not if they die with (not from) Covid. In which case everyone gets paid a lot more money and Fauci gets to keep his job.
Oh, Christmas Tree. Oh, Christmas Tree.
All eyes on the Gators. Across the SEC.
https://news.yahoo.com/complete-coverage-gasparilla-bowl-between-150644705.html
A loss in the Graspawillie Bowl will not sit well in Gainesville. The new head coach will start on the hot seat in the Fall.
So, no real study with controls and all that jazz? Just watching that YT video of the guy out in the cold showing how much vapor comes through a surgical mask (the mask of choice) tells me the study is of no practical use.
Funny how the cheap stuff eaten by the poor folks gets trendy and pricey.
London broil aka flank "steak" going for sirloin price–you have to be nuts and stupid to boot to pay that much.
Cabrito at $13 a pound is equally insane.
What can the tv chefs flog next? Chicken feet?
Heading to son's for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Will be spending the night in Hendersonville. He wanted us to get Covid tested. Scheduled at Walgreens, showed up and probed our nostrils, test results were back in 30 minutes. Negative. No lines, no waiting.
A LOT of money is being spent on these tests paid for by the health insurance companies and the FEDs. Mostly by the FEDs with Medicare probably being charged for the tests. The test creators, the suppliers, the testing units, are all making big money on doing these tests. The one test I had at my doctor back in October was billed to Medicare at $168.00 of which Medicare paid 100%.
Anytime big money is involved, as there is with Covid, I get really suspicious. Money both ways. Businesses going under and the property being sold. Who is picking up these properties? Money for the syringe makers, money for the VAX makers, money for the test makers, a huge cash cow funded by the FEDs and taxpayer money. A massive transfer of wealth. Visions of "The Music Man" dance in my head.
Cue Phil Hartman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM
I think that episode is more relevant today than when it first aired.
My favorite is still Hank Scorpio. That one is even *more* relevant now that most of the air has come out of The Legend of BillG.
If your son is vaxxed, what’s the worry?
"80% of Steam's top 100 games now work on Linux "
https://www.neowin.net/news/80-of-steam039s-top-100-games-now-work-on-linux/
80% is not 100%. Gotta get to 100% before the gamer crowd will head off to Linux.
Hat tip to:
https://www.codeproject.com/script/Mailouts/View.aspx?mlid=16232
"Anda Seat Kaiser 2 review — finally, a gaming chair for big people "
https://www.neowin.net/news/anda-seat-kaiser-2-review–finally-a-gaming-chair-for-big-people/
"Plus it has a nap mode, rated for heavier guys. What's not to like about that? I don't feel cramped and, more importantly, I can do long sessions in this chair and not feel aches all over. If I had to describe it to someone, I would say that it is like a directors chair, but not nearly as soft. The cushioning is exactly like how memory foam operates, not hard but also not so soft that it gives and leaves an imprint, you can see from all of the above images after a month and a half of use that the seat area is not showing any telltale signs like maybe an old couch or even a $500 directors chair would."
@Nick, here you go, a gaming chair that you can supposedly sleep in.
My shot won’t work if you don’t get yours!
Shocked I am, just shocked…
https://jalopnik.com/elon-musk-doesnt-actually-live-in-that-50-000-texas-ho-1848258812?utm_source=jalopnik_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-12-22
I have one of these, with leather, and a breathable cloth insert in the back.
https://www.ironhorseseating.com/IH-4100.ADCBBA.3BL1
They are built for up to 400 pound users in a 24/7 environment. The steel frame is 1/4" thick. They list between $2500 qyt >5 and $4400 qty <5. Ten year warranty on some parts.
I paid $50.
It HAS a tilt back mode I could sleep in, but if I was aware enough to engage it, I could just go to bed 🙂
n
We've been to Boca Chica. The facility is a good hour from anything resembling a normal grocery store so if Musk does live in that hut, he's getting meals delivered.
I’m curious about what kind of house the writer of the article was trying to buy in Austin which jumped in price by $100k overnight after the announcement of the Tesla factory.
“Fixer upper”? Really?
Microsoft definitely has the advantage with Windows HID, WHQL, and closed-source driver support. That won't change quickly. Plus, as long as you are willing to write a big enough check, Redmond will tell you anything you want to know about programming Windows.
The backend servers of all of the online games are Linux-based, but the Microsoft game subsidiaries' servers run on WSL and Azure even if the model is Docker container-based.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2021/12/23/the-biden-white-house-sucks-so-muchits-aides-cant-wait-to-flee-n2601001
President in mirror is a lot smaller than he's made out to be.
Well, I've got almost all the presents wrapped. Put some back in the emergency present bin for later too. Have to find one more, it's somewhere, just can't remember where. THINK it's one place… but I have to actually dig thru some stuff to check.
Think Jiminy "xxxxxx", but makes more noise, and needs special storage.
n
Can't speak for Kroger, but last week's HEB sales were still in effect. I got a pork butt for 88 cents a pound.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/23/1066871176/mask-n95-omicron-contagious?utm_source=pocket-newtab
And a run on N95 masks starts in 3, 2, 1…
It was jazzy. The control was an unmasked person. Which is how it should be.
@ech, if I had freezer space I'd go get another butt. Did they still have ribeye roast for $3.88/#?
That would be worth a trip.
n
The select? I think that was the price. I only buy Choice or Prime for Christmas. For steaks, I buy a whole section from Costco and slice it myself. (I just looked at their ad from last week. The prices go to 12/24.)
"RINOs PANIC as Poll Shows President Trump with a HUGE Lead Among Republicans in 2024 Presidential Race"
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/rinos-panic-poll-shows-president-trump-huge-lead-among-republicans-2024-presidential-race/
"PollTracker @PollTrackerUSA"
"2024 National Republican Primary Poll:
Trump 60%
DeSantis 11%
Pence 9%
Haley 3%
Cruz 3%
Rubio 2%
Christie 1%
Hawley 1%
R. Scott 1%
T. Scott 1%
Pompeo 1%
Stefanik 0%
Abbott 0%
Noem 0%
Sasse 0%
Cotton 0%"
That ain't even close.
"Texas board rescinds recommendation for posthumous pardon of George Floyd"
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/23/george-floyd-texas-pardon/
"The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles cited a procedural error for the decision but seemed to leave open the possibility that it would reconsider the issue in the near future"
Simply amazing.
If I’m going to break up a roast for steaks and roast, I like to have at least choice grade meat. Select will be fine for a slow cooked roast though. Prime ribeye hasn’t been deeply discounted in a while.
n
–no idea why this comment, or one very similar to it would trigger the 500 error, but it did.
Little Marco shouldn't even be considered a possibility until he wins reelection.
People are over masks.
Not in NY, they ain't. Kathy the Ho put out her order a few weeks ago and the sheep are baaaing right along. Legality? Doesn't matter, if enough sheep (and stupid pigs and judges, whatever animal gets stuck being compared to them) go along with it.
>> "2024 National Republican Primary Poll:
Trump 60%
DeSantis 11%
Pence 9%
Haley 3%
Cruz 3%
Rubio 2%
Christie 1%
Hawley 1%
R. Scott 1%
T. Scott 1%
Pompeo 1%
Stefanik 0%
Abbott 0%
Noem 0%
Sasse 0%
Cotton 0%
Okay, anyone that responded "Chris Christie," please report to the GW Bridge for toll collection duty.
Oh, and I saw something yesterday that Ducey wants to be the VP on a Pence ticket.
Got all but that one last present wrapped and under the tree. Tree smells nice, even if it's shedding like crazy and hasn't taken up a drop of water.
The rest of the family is in the spirit. Littlest one is starting to vibrate in anticipation. Older one is playing it cool, but counting presents.
got the wife what she wanted, and a couple of surprises. NO idea what I'll be getting, and that's part of the fun.
Wife and kids made some cookies today with more on the way tomorrow. Rice crispy wreaths, "haystacks"- chocolate covered lo mein noodles, and part of chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I don't think their making the mini-pecan pies that I love the best.
Maybe I'll make a pecan pie…. or some kind of pie anyway.
n
Whether or not they go along under threat of force, people are over it.
Another "shortage" of masks will just hasten the inevitable.
Stopping in Sam’s today, I was struck by the overabundance of cr*p third rate toys that Toys R Us never would have stocked even near the end. Those didn’t seem to have a problem finding their way through the supply chain
Toll collector jobs are going away. My last project at the previous previous job was a demo of a new high angle plate reading camera designed to be mounted on the tunnel exits leaving Manhattan, enabling automated tolling without new construction.
Wife and kids made some cookies today with more on the way tomorrow. Rice crispy wreaths, "haystacks"- chocolate covered lo mein noodles, and part of chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I don't think their making the mini-pecan pies that I love the best.
Maybe I'll make a pecan pie…. or some kind of pie anyway.
I bought a $14 gourmet pecan pie at HEB today. I love their pecan pie ! I bought one last week too. Yes, yes, I know, a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.
The wife makes awesome pumpkin pie with her own custom spice mix and Libby's pumpkin innards.
>> I bought an $14 gormet pecan pie at HEB today. I love their pecan pie !
My wife swears by the pecan pies from Wally Mart.
Cancelled my Tivo just now. Activated it in 2016. Activated the FIRST one in 2003. Feels weird, no more tivos in the house. They were so friendly…
I've got a couple of older Roku boxes, that I'll see if they still support the youtube channel. If they don't, a new one is $20-50, depending on features. The year sub for Tivo was $150. Even if I buy a $50 4K box, I'll still save $100 to 300 over the life of the box.
Heck it just occurred to me that I have an older apple tv too, that might support the youtube channel, if the older roku doesn't.
Iv'e got a couple of the chinese boxes with kodi loaded if I trust them, and I've got kodi loaded on my old appliance pc if push comes to shove.
In any case I need to build a pi-hole to block ads on the tvs and the kids tablets. That is on the list of pc stuff, but it's a fairly big list.
n
btw shortwave is pretty good tonight. I've been listening to Nashville for an hour with only a little fading and static, WTWW 5.085 mhz.
They are doing live requests thru their web page, and it's a mix of Christmas songs and classics.
There is a note where they used to list pending requests… "Due to, crazy political people, we have removed pending requests." WTH?
n
Of course as soon as I hit 'post' on the comment, WTWW faded out. That's radio 😉
n