Mon. Nov. 18, 2024 – let’s get started on this new week.

By on November 18th, 2024 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Warm, wet, and gross. Or maybe it will be nice later, but it was warm and wet when I went to bed. Probably going to continue.

Didn’t get as much done yesterday as I’d hoped. The weather was poor, and my motivation was low. Carrying, lifting, and storing all the stuff I did on Saturday left me sore and stiff on Sunday. Getting older it teh sux. So I did small things I could do without needing to stress my torso…

Today I’m headed in to school to wrap up the show stuff, pull backups and put stuff away. I may do a mini-seminar or two for any interested kids during their morning “tech theater club” period, now that they aren’t working on a show deadline. The dance teacher has the theater for her show. I will have some gentle words with her about overall loudness and what’s appropriate for kids. I’ll also be working with the district guy to do some maintenance and updates to gear in the room, working around the dance recital. In for a penny, in for a pound…

Then I’ll do some auction stuff. I really need to get a couple of things fixed so I can get them sold. I’ve got a couple of things to do for my client too, both here and at his place. Hopefully I can get a couple of things done before the kid taxiing starts.

Speaking of getting things done, everyone here should have the basics of prepping for disaster covered. Think about taking some aspect to the next level, and start building toward that. Constant improvement, that should be a watchword and a goal.

And stacking. That too.

nick

60 Comments and discussion on "Mon. Nov. 18, 2024 – let’s get started on this new week."

  1. drwilliams says:

    Next week is Thanksgiving. Lots of people take extra time off, lots of grocery shopping, and of course, Black Friday planning. 

    Get it done this week if you can. 

  2. Nick Flandrey says:

    Still dark out but looks like it might be clear.  Not crazy humid or raining.

    Back and torso still stiff, but not as sore as yesterday.

    Coffee is brewing, kid’s lunch is packed, time to shower and dress for success.

    n

  3. ITGuy1998 says:

    Get it done this week if you can. 

    Quoted for truth. I’m doing my last Costco run of the year after work today and I am not looking forward to the experience.

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    73F so not particularly cool.

    n

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    And there are low fast moving clouds with a very light misty drizzle.   Joy.

    n

  6. Greg Norton says:

    “In this first term, Trump did not have a “wingman” as Attorney General. Fortunately, he will be returning to the White House and his second term is an opportunity to correct the few missteps of his remarkably successful first term.”

    Trump doesn’t need a wingman. He needs an Attorney General who is at least as experienced at political street fighting as Marc Elias and his former colleagues at Perkins Coie.

    Trump needs to make sure that what DeSantis started in Florida does not end in 2027. The Republicans have power for at least a generation, but many are squeamish about how that was achieved, particularly with regard to the crushing of Disney.

  7. MrAtoz says:

    This is wrong:

    ‘Ignoring the Law’: Here’s What’s Going on in Illinois and Pennsylvania 13 Days AFTER the Election

    If you think there are no shenanigans going on, you are full of shite. Just the fact these States are coming up with votes 2 weeks after the election is a pointer to fraud. Do you really think the Dumbos were so incompetent they didn’t get these votes counted?

  8. Brad says:

    First big snow of the year coming tomorrow. I put off last Winter preps a bit long, so it’s a bit of a panic…

    @Jenny: How’s the weather in Alaska?

  9. Greg Norton says:

    @Brad – I didn’t want to break opsec at the time, but I sat in on Michael Sipser’s “Theory of Computation” class last week at MIT.

    After the lecture, I politely asked him to sign my copy of his textbook for the class.

    He was very cool about obliging me being a total CS geek.

    I had never seen the PSPACE/LSPACE section of the text in a class previously so I had to prep the night before, reading the relevant sections of the book and watching the archived lectures covering the previous week’s material.

    I’m proud to say I was no more confused than the paying customers.

    Sipser works them hard, covering most of the text in a semester. Even in the classes I took at the grad level, the instructors ended things at P vs. NP. 

    MIT. I don’t know if the class is an elective. ABET used to require exposure to the material to certify a CS program in the US.

    A good CS program will require the class and use Sipser’s text. However, the text is geared towards using a specific system of homework, TA/instructor interaction, and in-lecture participation. Not every program wants to bother.

  10. nick flandrey says:

    Alex Jones reveals the secret mogul who saved Infowars from being sold to The Onion to repay Sandy Hook victims 

    – there isn’t any “repay” involved.    Nor is the money going to “Sandy Hook victims.”  They are no longer with us.   The BILLION dollar judgement, which is ridiculous on its face, is going to be split between the lawyers and the surviving family members.

    n

  11. nick flandrey says:

    I went into school this morning and did my cleanup.  Came home with a thumbdrive that should  have a stereo mix of the show on it.   Well, the mix outputted to the main FOH speakers anyway.  Not a mix for recording.

    Of the two shows, one isn’t readable in windows.  That might be because I tried to play it back thru the console, and there was some sort of error from skipping around in the timeline, or from ejecting the drive.

    The other, I’m working on in Audacity.   I’ve raised the level, done it again with a compressor applied to the whole timeline, and applied an EQ curve to put back some of what I had to cut in order to prevent feedback.

    Given the compromises, and the limits of the recording, it sounds ok.  Certainly useful for review purposes.  Dunno if the videographer will be able to use it with his video of the show.  It might give him something to mix in if his ambient sound recorded in camera is insufficient.

    It was an experiment after all, I just wanted to see what we’d get, and if we could  get anything useful.  It was a successful experiment.

    Amazing what technology can do, and how little it costs compared to just a decade ago, let alone two decades.

    n

  12. nick flandrey says:

    It’s the economy stupid.

    Nearly 40% Of Cars Financed Since 2022 Are Underwater

    by Tyler Durden

    Monday, Nov 18, 2024 – 11:45 AM

    The delayed day of reckoning has arrived for millions of Americans who purchased vehicles during the pandemic auto boom. Many are now finding themselves trapped in a shitstorm of negative equity and burdened by costly monthly payments, all while low- and mid-tier consumers face mounting financial strain amid elevated inflation and high interest rates.

    Game Over: Spirit Air Files Bankruptcy 

    by Tyler Durden

    Monday, Nov 18, 2024 – 09:45 AM

    Spirit Airlines entered into a restructuring support agreement with its convertible bondholders as part of a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring. This move follows a failed merger with JetBlue Airways and years of mounting losses.

    In connection with the restructuring support agreement, Spirit received a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders and will undergo a complete deleveraging transaction to equitize $795 million of funded debt. 

    Spirit filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to move forward with restructuring, listing assets and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion. 

    n

  13. Greg Norton says:

    It’s the economy stupid.

    Nearly 40% Of Cars Financed Since 2022 Are Underwater

    I bought my 2018 Camry SE for $20k on an end of model year closeout.

    Last week, in New England, I drove the equivalent 2025 model, base price ~ $30k due to the hybrid drive train now standard in every Camry to make Uncle happy.

    Sure, I averaged the requisite 52 MPG required by CAFE – suspiciously exact, BTW – but at what cost long term?

    I can get 46 MPG out of my 2018 with ethanol-free gas, and I don’t have to worry about the hybrid battery replacement at about 10 years.

    Trump has to put CAFE back at 38 MPG and force Congress to pass a law preventing the EPA from repeating the stupidity or cars are going away for about 95% of the population under the next Dem President.

  14. paul says:

    The electric bill arrived the other day.  $63.96 for 375 kWh.  That’s with no central air or heat.  I did make oven fried bacon and I used the air fryer several times.  But I was going to cook something anyway.

    This month last year was 532 kWh.  For two people.  It was a bit warmer this year than last year and it shows with an extra 15 kWh on the other meter.

    The only thing I can think of to use less would be a timer on the water heater.  I think the heater is pretty well insulated and a timer would be something to break in the future. 

  15. Lynn says:

    Questionable Content: AI On The Run

    Note: really bad language

       https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5441

    Yay has been a bad AI and now a bigger AI is interested in it.  This arc started at:

       https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5383

  16. Lynn says:

    “Just a reminder…”

       https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/11/just-reminder.html

    The financial apocalypse of the USA is still nigh.

  17. Lynn says:

    Wizard Of Id: Bird Feeder

       https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2024/11/18

    Um, no.  No, no, no, no, no.

  18. Lynn says:

    From a friend: “The unhinged segment in the US is going crazy with their posts.”

    “I just saw a great one. A young man posted how disgusted he was with the ignorant people who voted Republican. He can’t stand to stay in the midst of such ignorance, so he is leaving the US and moving to Hawaii.”

  19. EdH says:

    A wind storm overnight here in the high desert, mid-40s gusting to mid-50s.

    Yesterday morning I had leaves on the fruitless Mulberries, today there are none.

    We had some good freezes the previous couple of nights, T<25F, so they were dull and ready to go.

    The Yew still has its leaves, but they are changing color.

  20. Lynn says:

    The only thing I can think of to use less would be a timer on the water heater.  I think the heater is pretty well insulated and a timer would be something to break in the future. 

    Messing with infrastructure items does make them more unreliable.  Been there, done that.

  21. Lynn says:

    “Boeing layoffs so far total nearly 2,200 workers in Washington state”
       https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-layoffs-far-total-nearly-193546277.html

    Yeah, that is not good.

  22. Lynn says:

    “SpaceX Eyes 2 Gigabit Speeds for Starlink With Capacity Upgrades”

        https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-eyes-2-gigabit-speeds-for-starlink-with-capacity-upgrades

    “SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell says the company’s improvements to satellite communications are advancing at a rate similar to Moore’s Law for computer chips.”

    “Starlink is close to reaching 5 million global users.”

    “While Starship will still need more test flights before it begins commercial operations, Shotwell said in her talk: “I would not be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years… We want to fly it a lot. I have a lot of satellites to fly.””

    That is a lot of bits.  I hope that one of the Starlink satellites does not mistake me for an antenna and fry me.

  23. Lynn says:

    “INGRASSIA: Donald Trump Has A Mandate To Implement Nationwide Election Integrity Laws”

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/11/ingrassia-donald-trump-has-mandate-implement-nationwide-election/

    We need to have photo id for anyone to vote in the USA.

  24. Lynn says:

    “Trump Surpasses Taylor Swift in X Followers to Become Eighth Most Followed Account in the World”

        https://resistthemainstream.com/trump-taylor-swift-news-shakes-up-x/

    “In a stunning social media milestone, President-elect Donald Trump has overtaken pop superstar Taylor Swift in X followers.”

    “He now positions himself as the 8th most followed account globally as he rapidly approaches 95 million followers.”

  25. Greg Norton says:

    “Boeing layoffs so far total nearly 2,200 workers in Washington state”

    Yeah, that is not good.

    Eventually, Boeing will leave WA State entirely.

    We flew brand new A220 planes to/from Boston on JetBlue. Boeing is screwed for a very long time in that market segment.

  26. Lynn says:

    “In “Major Policy Shift” Biden Authorizes Ukraine’s Use Of US Missiles To Hit Targets Inside Russia”

       https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/major-policy-shift-biden-authorizes-ukraines-use-us-missiles-hit-targets-inside-russia

    Who has Nuclear ICBM exchanges on their predictions for 2025 ?

  27. Greg Norton says:

    We need to have photo id for anyone to vote in the USA.

    The race pimps claim that 25% of African Americans do not have ID for a number of reasons, the primary being access and cost.

  28. Greg Norton says:

    Who has Nuclear ICBM exchanges on their predictions for 2025 ?

    What happens when the Russians take out a US missile crew manning the launchers in a preemptive strike?

    What does Corn Pop tell the parents?

  29. Lynn says:

    “They have breached the grease barrier…again”

       https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/1gszfms/they_have_breached_the_grease_barrieragain/

    I put out two 24 oz jugs of Amdro this morning.  I need to buy stock in this company.

  30. MrAtoz says:

    Peppermint Patty say wut:

    Yeah, Go With That! Jen Psaki Pushes Dems to Double Down on Trans Messaging That Cost Them the Election

    Who is pulling her strings? She needs to be beat down on every media site she is on. Instead of encouraging her and saying “that is why tRump won” this trans nonsense needs to be crushed out of existence. Trans-Weirds have the same rights as everybody, not more.

  31. paul says:

    In Texas a d/l is $33 and valid for eight years.  An ID card for folks that don’t drive is $16 and valid for six years.

    The cost is trivial to the price of a bottle of whisky or case of beer.  The race pimps are basically saying AA’s are too stupid to figure out how to get an ID of some kind. 

  32. Lynn says:

    “SUSE & openSUSE leadership declare Conservatives to be “Rotten Flesh””

        https://conservativenerds.locals.com/post/4068315/suse-opensuse-leadership-declare-conservatives-to-be-rotten-flesh

    “Don’t actively wave the LGBT flag? The Linux organization hopes you are “unwelcome” everywhere.”

    Oh my.

    5
    1
  33. Greg Norton says:

    In Texas a d/l is $33 and valid for eight years.  An ID card for folks that don’t drive is $16 and valid for six years.

    The cost is trivial to the price of a bottle of whisky or case of beer.  The race pimps are basically saying AA’s are too stupid to figure out how to get an ID of some kind. 

    The race pimps will tell you that the $16 is a poll tax.

  34. EdH says:

    I put out two 24 oz jugs of Amdro this morning.  I need to buy stock in this company.

    I have the urge to write a short story, “Lynn Versus the Ants“. Perhaps I can get William Conrad to do an audio version.

  35. Greg Norton says:

    “Don’t actively wave the LGBT flag? The Linux organization hopes you are “unwelcome” everywhere.”

    Oh my.

    The last place I worked which used SuSE was the tolling company.

    Europeans go for SuSE. IBM did too until they bought Red Hat.

  36. lpdbw says:

    From a friend: “The unhinged segment in the US is going crazy with their posts.”

    “I just saw a great one. A young man posted how disgusted he was with the ignorant people who voted Republican. He can’t stand to stay in the midst of such ignorance, so he is leaving the US and moving to Hawaii.”

    If you have an account on X, or even if you don’t, you might want to look at Justine Bateman’s feed.

    She’s making bank by doing critiques of those unhinged social media posts using a professional filmmaker’s perspective.   I’ve become a fan, and eargerly anticipate each new arrival.

  37. EdH says:

    I kind of want an X account, but it looks like such an irresistable time sink….

  38. Lynn says:

    I kind of want an X account, but it looks like such an irresistable time sink….

    It is just as bad a time sink as reddit.

  39. drwilliams says:

    We need to have photo id for anyone to vote in the USA.

    “The race pimps claim that 25% of African Americans do not have ID for a number of reasons, the primary being access and cost.”

    We can help with that. Just have them put their hands on the fingerprint scanner and we can match their records and get them an ID. 

  40. drwilliams says:

    “What does Corn Pop tell the parents?”

    Send The Kamal: “I grew up middle class…”

  41. EdH says:

    I think the US gov’t could cancel some other giveaway and issue ID’s for free if requested.

    Obviate’s the poll tax argument.

  42. drwilliams says:

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/11/trumps-very-special-relationship-with-the-uk.php

    Yes, watch to the end.

    Really looking forward to the Trump DOJ demanding extradition of Christopher Steele.

  43. drwilliams says:

    During the murder trial of Laken Riley in a Georgia courtroom Monday, the roommate of Jose Ibarra – also an illegal immigrant from Venezuela – detailed receiving a taxpayer-funded stay at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. After living at the hotel, Ibarra traveled on a “humanitarian flight” to Atlanta. Once there, Ibarra brutally murdered 22-year-old nursing student Riley

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2024/11/18/a-roommate-of-laken-rileys-killer-drops-a-bombshell-at-trial-n2647941

    Bad writing, but it gets the facts across: The Biden/Harris administration has and is spending taxpayer funds to house and transport criminal illegal aliens who prey on those same taxpayers.

  44. drwilliams says:

    “Geert Wilders is celebrating today’s major victory, announcing that Prime Minister Dick Schoof has confirmed the Public Prosecution Service can now prosecute those responsible for the “Jew Hunt” in Amsterdam as terrorists. This means that upon conviction, these jihadis can be stripped of their Dutch citizenship, and no new law is required. But it gets even better. The government is now considering adding antisemitism as a direct, specific reason to revoke nationality. (Jihadis across the Netherlands are panicking) Wilders calls this “fantastic news,” as it directly supports his unwavering push for harsher consequences—including deportation and revocation of citizenship of dual nationals —for those hunting Jews in the Netherlands. ”

    https://x.com/TJVNEWS/status/1858157814142640218

    A contract prison in Haiti for the anti-semites to serve their prison terms before being returned to their countries would serve justice and be a jobs program for a poor country.

    Be a good place for Jew-hating American college students to get a real education, too.

  45. drwilliams says:

    Christopher Rufo is a highly accomplished reformer who is also a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. In response to Ms. Copp’s hit piece on Pete Hegseth, Mr. Rufo wrote, ”Wow: Journalist Tara Copp was flagged as a possible white supremacist because “AP” could mean “Aryan Power,” according to a tendentious and partisan distortion of the facts. This is seriously concerning.”

    https://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=412428

    Sauce. Goose. Gander. Baste thoroughly and often.

  46. Lynn says:

    “BREAKING: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Democrats to Immediately End Counting of Illegal Ballots”

        https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-pennsylvania-supreme-court-orders-democrats-to-immediately-end-counting-of-illegal-ballots/

    “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled before the election that mail-in ballots lacking formally required signatures or dates should not be included in official results.”

    “But Democrats in Philadelphia and surrounding Bucks, Centre and Montgomery counties last week openly admitted to counting disqualified ballots in defiance of state law and the court order amid a contentious recount of the state’s Senate race between Democrat incumbent Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick.”

    “The McCormick campaign then sued the Bucks County Board of Elections last week for counting 405 ballots that were misdated or undated and therefore invalid.”

    “Now, the state’s Supreme Court has sided with the McCormick campaign and ordered the Democrats to stop counting, effectively confirming McCormick has won the election.”

    About freaking time.

  47. Lynn says:

    “Trump’s idea to shut down Department of Education gets high five from top Christian evangelist”

        https://www.wnd.com/2024/11/trumps-idea-to-shut-down-department-of-education-gets-high-five-from-influential-conservative/

    “One of the targets he’s already identified is the Department of Education, which for the last 50 years or so has been expanding until it’s now spending some $240 billion a year of taxpayer money.”

    Are you freaking kidding me !  What a waste of taxpayer’s money !

  48. drwilliams says:

    The Dept of Education website used to have a couple of graphs prominently displayed, until they realized that they showed student performance going down as DoEd funding went up.

  49. drwilliams says:

    Report: Kamala Harris’ Campaign Is So Broke She Can No Longer Pay Senior Staffers

    So broke they can’t afford to get Harris photos Photoshopped.

    Democratic Party Union Ticked Off Over DNC Layoffs

    The DNC fired the permanent employees without severance pay.

    Among those now facing uncertainty are workers expecting new children and single parents who have dedicated their lives to our party. Scores of experienced staff, some who have been here as many as four decades, will see their institutional knowledge vanish overnight due to this rushed mass layoff. The individuals whose decision throughout the campaign created this situation remain on payroll, while these workers are left with nothing.

    Good life experience for some of the most deluded people on earth.

  50. drwilliams says:

    @Steve

    “This was a good evening and I enjoyed your company. Now I’d like to offer you a choice: …”

    Fraught with possibilities.

  51. Lynn says:

    “CongressWOMAN Nancy Mace to File Resolution Banning New Tranny Congressman From Women’s Restrooms”

        https://thelibertydaily.com/congresswoman-nancy-mace-file-resolution-banning-new-tranny/

    “Despite all of the amazing victories the GOP had on Election Day in the ongoing battle against wokeness, there was one conspicuous loss. Delaware elected “Sarah” McBride (born “Tim”) as the first trans member of Congress.”

    “Congresswoman Nancy Mace is calling on her GOP colleagues to pass a resolution banning men from using women’s restrooms in the U.S. Capitol. She intends to file the resolution for inclusion in the House rules package.”

    ““The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” she said.”

    That ain’t no chick, that is a guy !

  52. Lynn says:

    Report: Kamala Harris’ Campaign Is So Broke She Can No Longer Pay Senior Staffers

    So broke they can’t afford to get Harris photos Photoshopped.

    Democratic Party Union Ticked Off Over DNC Layoffs

    Just think, Kamala was going to do this to the USA but was thwarted by people taking an interest and voting their pocketbooks.

  53. nick flandrey says:

    Long day doing not as much as I wanted.  I’m going to bed.

    n

  54. Alan says:

    It was all a “misunderstanding,” yeah, that’s it, sorry, so sorry…

    https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/bucks-county-commissioner-diane-ellis-marseglia-20241118.html

  55. Lynn says:

    It was all a “misunderstanding,” yeah, that’s it, sorry, so sorry…

    https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/bucks-county-commissioner-diane-ellis-marseglia-20241118.html

    She needs to go to jail.  That was not a misunderstanding.

  56. brad says:

    Welp, no snow yet – just ice cold rain, which will be continuing… I’d rather have snow. At latest tomorrow night it will be cold enough to turn to snow, but turning cold while it’s raining is likely to also produce a lot of ice along the way. Bleah.

  57. brad says:

    Random thoughts on the topic of politics. Being one of the few conservatives in the area, I’ve been thinking about why it is so difficult to have political discussions. The problem, I think, is that conservatives view liberals as naive, which is a forgivable thing. A conservative can understand a liberal position and think – sure, that’s nice, but not realistic. You don’t dislike people for being “too nice”.

    Liberals consider conservatives to be not only wrong, but inhumane. They are unwilling to understand or accept conservative positions, because they view those positions as morally wrong, and even evil.

    Since few people want to be seen as evil and inhumane, conservatives are reluctant to reveal their views in the company of liberal friends and relatives. So what do we do, when political topics come up? Hem and haw and say as little as possible…

    10

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