Sun. Feb. 11, 2024 – The lawn is green, but it isn’t grass…

By on February 11th, 2024 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse, march to war

Cool here at the BOL and wet. Got some rain last night. Got some rain during the day. My part of Houston didn’t, but I did pass through some local light drizzle on my way here. Today is supposed to be rainy too.

Wonder how my Girl Scouts are making out at camp? It can either be fun, or a misery when it rains. Hope they have good councilors and attitudes.

After a fun and successful meeting of my non-prepping hobby, during which I was somehow convinced to assume some webmaster duties (and because of which I might be asking for help here…), I finished loading the truck and headed out of Dodge.

Got here without incident, put the 2 coolers of frozen meat away, unloaded some of the truck, ate, and fell asleep.

I’ve been tired lately beyond what is normal for me and my poor sleep schedule. I’m hoping it’s just poor quality sleep and too little of it, which should resolve as my chiropractic care gets my neck and back back into normal condition. If not, we’ll have to start looking for reasons.

Could just be getting old.

Today’s task list will depend on weather. Unload the truck, and reload with returning items is the only given. Other stuff will be targets of opportunity.

——————-
The post title is both a statement about the yard here, which is green but with clover not grass; and a metaphor. I’ll leave it to the reader to decide for what.

Keep your head on a swivel, and get ready. So much is not what it seems, and people are waking up to that. Some of them will get very angry. That will cause problems. Problems are the sort of thing we are expecting. The sort of thing one could prepare for. The sort of thing that stacks will help with.

nick

56 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Feb. 11, 2024 – The lawn is green, but it isn’t grass…"

  1. MrAtoz says:

    Wonder how my Girl Scouts are making out at camp?

    Oof. Please rephrase that, sir.

  2. SteveF says:

    Just hope that they’re not within a mile of Boy Scouts on a weekend camp.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Just hope that they’re not within a mile of Boy Scouts on a weekend camp.

    The Tex Lake Girl Scout camp west of Austin has a Scout camp nearby. 

    Remember, it isn’t Boy Scouts anymore.

  4. brad says:

    Lazy Sunday here. Took the dog for a nice walk. Played too many hours of video games. Still have some minor tasks to do, but nothing major.

    Next week is also a lazy week, except that I’m still chasing that Vivaldi bug with the help of a Vivaldi admin. Hope we can get it resolved – otherwise, I will have to switch all my bookmarks/profiles/etc. to Firefox. Which would be a needless PITA.

    Week after, the new semester starts…

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    Heavy rain overnight, continuing into the early morning.   The lake is noticeably higher.   Stopped now, and there are patches of blue sky. 58F.

    Coffee is in the cup.   

    Dog is acting weird, wants to stay in his crate.  Won’t go outside.  Wants to eat his breakfast, but he has to go out before I’ll feed him.

    —————

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    n

  6. MrAtoz says:

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    LOL3

  7. EdH says:

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    A friend’s wife says that L was the default among staff when she was in GS camps back in the 70’s.  California tho.

  8. SteveF says:

    Lesbians and furries, or “lesbians or furries or both”? Not that it much matters, I suppose.

    Just hope that they’re not within a mile of Boy male Scouts on a weekend camp.

    Reworded per Greg’s observation.

  9. Greg Norton says:

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    Furries are huge in Texas, something I’ve only discovered since moving here.

    The problem with GS in this part of Texas is that the troops tend to be dominated by the Colonist demographic and, increasingly, members of the Hijab of the Month club, both groups looking for an edge in college applications.

  10. Greg Norton says:

    Furries are huge in Texas, something I’ve only discovered since moving here.

    I’ve also received lectures to not talk about Furries in Texas.

    Of course, I’m Skippy. I don’t care. However, kids may feel differently.

    My kids took the jab so they wouldn’t be left out by friends’ paranoid parents in 2020/21.

  11. Brad says:

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    It’s a shame that people have let the fruitcakes take over youth institutions. Makes it harder to provide decent role models for kids.

    If D1 might have interest, maybe a good martial arts club? Our judo club had a solid group of girls and young women.

  12. MrAtoz says:

    Lesbians and furries, or “lesbians or furries or both”? Not that it much matters, I suppose.

    Does a furry lesbian mean what I think it means?

  13. MrAtoz says:

    I’ve also received lectures to not talk about Furries in Texas.

    Is that because of Butto O’NotAMexican?

  14. drwilliams says:

    Very blunt commentary in this link about the pressure on straight women in sports to become lesbian:

    https://www.outkick.com/sports/bitter-sheryl-swoopes-cant-handle-accountability-for-lies-about-caitlin-clark

  15. drwilliams says:

    Sony Is Erasing Digital Libraries That Were Supposed to Be Available Forever

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/02/11/fell-for-the-banana-in-the-tailpipe-sony-is-erasing-digital-libraries-that-were-supposed-to-be-available-forever-n3782725

    You don’t own it if someone else can erase it.

  16. Brad says:

    Trump says he would ‘encourage’ Russia to attack NATO allies who don’t pay up

    Trump being a fruitcake, again.

    Enforce the treaty, yes, certainly. Possibly even enforce it retroactively, I.e. force the laggards to make up their missed investments.

    But shitting on your friends in public, for clicks? Maybe he wants to become an influencer, instead of president.

    It’s seriously sad that this is the “better” candidate…

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    1
  17. drwilliams says:

    Best 1:26 you will spend today:

    14 Yr Old Girl Lets Durham City Council Have a Piece of Her Mind About Their Gaza Ceasefire Resolution

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/02/11/4-yr-old-girl-lets-durham-city-council-have-a-piece-of-her-mind-about-their-gaza-ceasefire-resolution-n3782724

  18. Greg Norton says:

    I’ve also received lectures to not talk about Furries in Texas.

    Is that because of Butto O’NotAMexican?

    Not specifically Robert Francis, but I was told that a lot of wealthy and powerful people are into the scene in Texas so it is best not to make wise cracks because you never know who might be offended.

  19. JimB says:

    Could just be getting old.

    NO!! Old is a state of mind. Sick is a physical state. Easier to fix sick. Best of luck.

  20. SteveF says:

    because you never know who might be offended

    That’s supposed to be a deterrent?

    Huh.

  21. drwilliams says:

    SCOTUS’ Disqualification Oral Argument (and a Deep Dive Into the Argument)

    https://twitchy.com/aaronwalker/2024/02/11/colorado-secretary-of-state-says-the-supreme-court-is-not-friendly-to-democracy-n2392779

    NOTE: I edited the title of the article in the link, chopping off the first five words, because the article is much more extensive than a few paragraphs about some silly **** that happens to hold elected office in Colorado.

    This is the best list I have seen in one place:

    Disqualifying Trump requires the courts to answer all of the following questions all as a ‘yes:’

    • Is the president covered by the section?
    • Is what happened on January 6, 2021 an insurrection?
    • Can a person be considered a participant in an insurrection if their only role is alleged incitement?
    • Did Trump incite the insurrection?
    • Can a state enforce this rule?
    • Can it do so without Congressional authorization?
    • If a person is disqualified from holding office under Section 3, is removing him or her from the ballot an appropriate remedy?
    • Did Trump get a fair chance to defend himself?
    • Did the Colorado courts rely on admissible evidence?
    • Did the Colorado apply the correct burden of proof before rendering its decision?

    We might be forgetting an issue or two but the point is that if the United States Supreme Court answers ‘no’ to any of those questions, Trump wins.

    and most of these are not even touched upon in the argument. Note, though, that the justices are free to find a “no” anywhere.

    But the bulk of the article discusses the two primary  arguments made by President Trump’s lawyer:

    Trump’s lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, focused primarily on two issues. The first is the claim that the Presidency is not even covered by Section 3 at all.

    The second major argument that Mitchell focused on in oral argument involved part of Section 3 that we admittedly didn’t pay much attention to. Toward the end of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, it says that ‘But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.’ It is the only requirement or disqualification that has that kind of wrinkle in it.

    It also clears up some semantic confusion that tripped up casual listeners, but also Justice Stomayer, who would have known better if she had read the brief:

    Except he [Mitchell] wasn’t talking about the term limit for the president, but rather the case called Term Limits, Sotomayor.

    There is also discussion of “collateral estoppel”, which is essentially the legal principle that other states could use to agree with Colorado and keep Trump off the ballot. That hasn’t seen much public discussion, but you can bet that there’s been a strategy conference called by the dungworms at Perkie-Cloaca or similar and including a number of swing-state officials.

    **** Although it’s true that a number of four-letter descriptives would fit, longer words and even phases are equally fitting, so use your imagination

  22. Greg Norton says:

    because you never know who might be offended

    That’s supposed to be a deterrent?

    Yes. I guess it would make a difference in the small towns here but the cities have too many transplants from other places for the deterrent to work.

    I’m careful at cons because a lot of shows have “zero tolerance” policies for harassment, and one person’s cracking wise is another’s micro-aggression.

  23. SteveF says:

    I’m careful at cons because a lot of shows have “zero tolerance” policies for harassment, and one person’s cracking wise is another’s micro-aggression.

    Obviously the thing to do is to use that against them. Complain to the con staff that you feel harassed by the freak strange and scary-looking person over there and you want the staff to make sure you’re safe.

    Hahaha. I make a funny. I’m well aware that such rules are enforced in only one direction.

    10
  24. Greg Norton says:

    There is also discussion of “collateral estoppel”, which is essentially the legal principle that other states could use to agree with Colorado and keep Trump off the ballot. That hasn’t seen much public discussion, but you can bet that there’s been a strategy conference called by the dungworms at Perkie-Cloaca or similar and including a number of swing-state officials.

    The vote was taken after arguments and carefully leaked. The strategy conferences at Perkins-Coie happened yesterday ahead of the talking head shows today.

  25. Lynn says:

    “”Garbage Deals”: Dealership Puts Customers In Cars With $3,000 Monthly Payments”

         https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/garbage-deals-dealership-puts-customers-cars-3000-monthly-payments

    “Another person bought a 2023 Sierra 2500 Denali with $3,000 monthly payments, locked in a 96-month term!”

    P.T. Barnum was right.

  26. Greg Norton says:

    “Another person bought a 2023 Sierra 2500 Denali with $3,000 monthly payments, locked in a 96-month term!”

    P.T. Barnum was right.

    96 months is where the finance company considers the vehicle to have zero recovery value.  That used to be impossible.

  27. Lynn says:

    Keep your head on a swivel, and get ready. So much is not what it seems, and people are waking up to that. Some of them will get very angry. That will cause problems. Problems are the sort of thing we are expecting. The sort of thing one could prepare for. The sort of thing that stacks will help with.

    Gonna be a hot summer with the political conventions and such …

    I am becoming convinced that if Trump loses the national election in November that if there is a hint of foul play that Civil War II will start then.  And there will be many hints of foul play knowing this bunch.

    7
    1
  28. Lynn says:

    D1 has said she doesn’t know if she wants to continue in GS because the councilors (older girls) “are all lesbians and furries.”

    Just because a girl wears a unicorn onesy, that does not make her a furry.  The other is a mess.

  29. Greg Norton says:

    Gonna be a hot summer with the political conventions and such …

    Gonna be a hot summer in Texas with the rolling blackouts.

  30. Brad says:

    Gonna be a hot summer with the political conventions and such …

    I’d better stock up on popcorn…

  31. SteveF says:

    Gonna be a hot summer in Texas

    Nick has two teenage daughters. He’s hoping it’s not going to be Hot Girl Summer in Texas. Come to think of it, Greg has a daughter in the target demographic, too.

    Y’all can attempt to get my goat on this subject but it’ll roll right off my back because a) I’m not in Texas and b) my daughter shows no interest in flouncing around to get boys’ attention or anything in that category of actions. I’ll bet you wish you had an introverted, mildly misanthropic daughter!

  32. drwilliams says:

    “Hahaha. I make a funny. I’m well aware that such rules are enforced in only one direction.”

    Remember, 

    Reacher’s Rule: Get your retalation in first

    is just a statement of the advantage of being first.

    Make your complaint, and anything after is just retaliation.

    Questions are good, too, like “Does the con insurance cover your actions or do you have a personal policy?”

  33. Lynn says:

    Questions are good, too, like “Does the con insurance cover your actions or do you have a personal policy?”

    What is con insurance ?

  34. EdH says:

    I’d better stock up on popcorn…

    Popcorn, 5,56, Med kits,  Iodine, jerky…

  35. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “con” is short for “convention”, as in AnimeCon or WorldCon (sf) or BoucherCon (mystery)

  36. Greg Norton says:

    Nick has two teenage daughters. He’s hoping it’s not going to be Hot Girl Summer in Texas. Come to think of it, Greg has a daughter in the target demographic, too.

    Yeah, but I don’t worry about that happening. She walked out of the house last night heading to a formal ROTC ball wearing an anime hoodie over her semi-dress uniform.

    My child has some hard lessons ahead in college.

    If I say anything, I’m Bad Daddy. 

    Half the country has a Bad Daddy issue they’re working out right now with Trump.

  37. Greg Norton says:

    “con” is short for “convention”, as in AnimeCon or WorldCon (sf) or BoucherCon (mystery)

    I’m sure they’re insured to the hilt with the number of civilians overwhelming shows these days  under the delusion that they will score a deal on Pokemon cards or rare video games.

    Megacon in Orlando had 180,000 people through the show floor last Saturday. Big business.

  38. nick flandrey says:

    Home.   Finished with my most minimal efforts at the BOL.   Fished for an hour.   Caught nothing.   Wrapped up and out.  

    The cold damp  is playing heII with my joints.   They all feel balanced on the edge of a knife, ready to snap into a bad place.  Given my current adventures with chiropractic trying to get back to normal, I’m chalking this up to ‘discretion being the better part of valor.’   Or a tactical retreat…

     I did do a couple of small things.

    Stopped for gas on my way home, and a small group of bikers pulled into the station behind me.   Serious looking guys, serious bikes.   Hardcore to be out in this weather, and while waiting for the bathroom, one of the guys came over, and since he looked at me, I said “ain’t it colder than F#kc on a bike in this weather??”    He laughed and said “yesterday it was raining.”   Yeah, not doctors out on $40K Harley’s for a weekend ride.   I did not recognize the club name or patch, which has me concerned.   The interwebs say they are 1%ers and at odds with the dominant MC in our part of the world… and have made news shooting up rivals. 

    The state highway that is my primary route to the BOL seems to be a MC corridor.  There is a MC clubhouse just outside the city limits of the nearest town to my BOL, on that same highway.

    Always good to collect intelligence.

    n

    added- the clubhouse and these guys today are both aligned against the biggest MC in Texas, but I’m not finding any info about how they might be aligned with each other…

  39. paul says:

    I’m cleaning out my file cabinets.   All of a sudden the drawers are stuffed…. and I don’t need Discover Card and Cap One bills going back to 2018.  I’ve never looked at any of it.  

    Keeping last year and the current year is enough.  That’s what I said in 2019!!!

    House and Car insurance policies.  A mess.  Make a specific file folder for insurance instead of “House” and “Car”..  Find the latest and toss the rest into the trash.

    So far, about five reams of paper.

    Bank statements, I don’t know.  How much to keep, I don’t know.  Throw it all away I suppose.  It’s my history of a sort  but I’ve never looked at it.  I can recall digging through for a canceled check a couple of times.  Since about 1981.  Yeah, toss it all.

    Next on the list is stuff like old video cards and sound cards and the like.  Clutter.  This is all in just one room of the house.  A few PCs are going to the trash, too.  

  40. Alan says:

    >> both groups looking for an edge in college applications.

    Is there an equivalent to Eagle Scout for the GS? 

    When my boys were in HS there was a lot of pressure from the BSA to have Eagle on your college applications. Both dropped out before they got there and focused on the their academics. Getting into one of the NYFC ‘by exam only’ high schools got both into their first choice of colleges.

    And I’m still paying off the last of the loans. Thanks Joe. 

  41. Greg Norton says:

    “I am Marvel Jesus.”

    Indeed. If it doesn’t work, Marvel and, possibly, Disney as currently structured are done.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJMCNJP2ipI

    Disney depending on a rated ‘R’ flick from Fox IP to stave off bankruptcy.

    Dogs and cats living together …

  42. Alan says:

    >> Does a furry lesbian mean what I think it means?

    It does on Pron Hub…according to a friend. 

    Any other questions?  🙂 

  43. nick flandrey says:

    Rule 34.

    n

  44. paul says:

    Does anyone use X-10 stuff anymore?  I have a lot of appliance and lamp modules.   The timer/controllers died and have been tossed.

    If interested, let me know.  Free for the postage.

  45. nick flandrey says:

    Man, let the gaslighting and retconning flow!

    DOMINIC LAWSON: Trump’s own grip on reality is almost as bad as Biden’s. What a choice for America at a time of war

     

    Shock news: the President of the United States, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, is ‘a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’. Everyone knew that. But it has shaken the campaign to re-elect Biden.

    – “everyone knew that”      RIGHT….  SURE they did.   Then why not say so?  Why not DO something?  Liars.

    n

  46. paul says:

    So far, Three Mini Controllers, 

    Two “keyfobs”, 

    Three 3-prong appliance modules, 

    One 2 prong appliance module, 

    Three lamp modules,

    Two Transceiver Modules, Model RR501.  I’m pretty sure there is another lurking around.

    There’s more, I have a few bits out in the EDC.  Probably a few more modules in odd places like my sock drawer. 

    Anyway.   All free for the postage.

    And yeah, “sell it on eBay”, I know. But they get their cut, Paypal takes a cut, and ya know, it’s easier to toss the stuff into the trash.

  47. Greg Norton says:

    Next on the list is stuff like old video cards and sound cards and the like.  Clutter.  This is all in just one room of the house.  A few PCs are going to the trash, too.  

    Goodwill accepts donations to recycle the electronics in one of their traning programs.

    I’ve been meaning to take some things down to the computer center in Austin, but I think any of the stores accept the donations.

  48. nick flandrey says:

    So I was waiting for more info on this but it hasn’t come, so I’m putting it here.

    Horrifying Mid-Flight Emergency: Passenger Dies After ‘Liters of Blood Comes Out of His Mouth and Nose’ 

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/horrifying-mid-flight-emergency-passenger-dies-after-liters/ 

    I can think of a couple of REALLY BAD things that it could be, and if the flight was out of Africa I’d be loading the truck for the BOL.    Torn esophagus will do this too, due to a lifetime of poor choices and an unfortunate cough or exertion.  REALLY hoping it’s a torn esophagus…

    n

    Watch for more  articles involving similar incidents.

  49. nick flandrey says:

    I used to use some X10, particularly the cameras.   Haven’t touched it in a long time.  Still have all the stuff, including a computer dongle and software to control it.

    I think all the cool kids are using zigbee these days.

    n

  50. paul says:
    Goodwill accepts donations to recycle the electronics in one of their traning programs.

    I’ve heard this before.  But taking stuff to the joint in Marble Falls, yeah, they scrap it for the metal. 

  51. Greg Norton says:

    – “everyone knew that”      RIGHT….  SURE they did.   Then why not say so?  Why not DO something?  Liars.

    They knew. Trump, tho.

    Plus, the suburban Dem women who decide these things anymore felt they could trust Biden where Bernie would have gone after their G Wagons and McMansions.

  52. nick flandrey says:

    Instead Biden’s inflation is eating their retirement, hollowing out their home equity, and ensuring that the sprogs will have to attend a state school…

    n

  53. Nick Flandrey says:

    The persona of the grey man, the inoffensive and easily overlooked dad, the guy who doesn’t do much- is great for a lot of things.   Sometimes though, you need to remind someone or school someone on your bona fides and that is both difficult and out of character at this point.

    It’s especially hard if they never knew you as anything other than the grey man.

    It’s probably for the best in any case, especially if you don’t want to re-enter that old life.   

    n

    there’s a movie, maybe staring Gene Hackman, who’s kid thinks he’s not much of a man, who won’t go to Europe or explain why, so kid and mom go to Europe, mom gets kidnapped, and the man has to come to  the rescue.   And it turns out he’s persona non grata because of being a seriously bad ass spy… who people are still trying to kill.   Can’t think of the name, anyone?

  54. Alan says:

    Maybe Liam Neeson rather than Hackman?

  55. Nightraker says:

    Google says “Gene Hackman wife kidnapped” is “Target 1985”.  Rated 5.9 IMDB.

  56. Greg Norton says:

    Instead Biden’s inflation is eating their retirement, hollowing out their home equity, and ensuring that the sprogs will have to attend a state school…

    Snowflake was going to SCAD on Parent PLUS loans anyway.

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