Sat. Jan. 11, 2025 – non-prepping hobby day, hooray…

By on January 11th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Cold again, but maybe no rain… Yesterday managed to stay dry after starting out with nightime rain. Everything was still wet when I got up, but it must have stopped sometime after 1am. It stayed overcast all day though. Wind picked up and was throwing the trash cans around. That was BONE CHILLING cold. By southern US standards anyway. Some of you are laughing as you wear shorts and flip flops to cross the crunchy snow to get more firewood for the stove…

I did get a few things done. I made progress on my big item. I got it working by moving a serial number dongle to another USB port. Something is wrong with its normal port, and it’s nothing I can see. I might reflow the solder in case it cracked or whiskered, but then again, I may just disclose the issue in the listing. 15 yo tech always has some issues.

I did my pickup, and talked to them about doing some consignment with them. I’ll talk to the boss on Monday, and maybe I can get some stuff out of the house and the storage unit next week. The deal would have to be pretty bad for me to NOT take it.

Hit the HEB for fresh veg and sundries. Picked up ground chuck at $4.05/lb, but no other meat. Got a few Knorr pasta envelops for side dishes. They were on sale. Nothing major jumped out at me other than there were a lot of “placeholder” displays like in the wuflu supply chain issue days. They don’t normally have an open top cooler end cap just filled with bagged lettuce. It’s usually filled with a featured “meal deal” combo. There were several bins in the produce section that were filled with boxes instead of fruit and some bins had a layer of filler so the items were only one layer deep. Dunno if it means anything, just making the observation.

I added the pasta and some box meals to the stacks.

Gas was $2.49 at HEB. That’s low.

Today I’ve got my monthly meeting, and then a pickup and dump run afterwards. We’re home this weekend and still trying to get the Christmas stuff put away. W will be working that if she can get her nose out of the Dungeon Crawler Carl book…

We’re already almost half way through January, and that is amazing. Don’t slack off on stacking though. Still lots of ways for this to go wrong and they all seem to be pushing them.

Head on a swivel, stacks nice and high…

nick

40 Comments and discussion on "Sat. Jan. 11, 2025 – non-prepping hobby day, hooray…"

  1. Nick Flandrey says:

    31.8F in my driveway, with bright overcast.

    @alan, the “lake cam” is sitting in a box waiting for all the infrastructure to get pulled thru the attic.   Maybe next visit.  

    I’m headed out to be social.

    Gird my loins, and pickup donuts…everyone loves donuts.

    n

  2. Greg Norton says:

    The MUD (Metropolitan Utility District) collects Christmas trees today in theory so I was up before 7 AM, cutting our tree into two 4′ segments which got dragged to the curb.

    We’ll see if they actually take the tree leftovers. In previous years, the contractor has been overwhelmed, and, when that happens, the MUD has homeowners take the trees to the community center for mulching the following weekend.

  3. Ray Thompson says:

    I have 2, maybe 3, inches of snow. It is below freezing, roads are covered, so I am not going anywhere today, maybe the same tomorrow.

    12
  4. Greg Norton says:

    ZuckDroid 4.0 speaks. He’s still looking for root access on iOS.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/zuckerberg-trash-talks-apple-in-interview-with-joe-rogan/ar-BB1rfRkG

    Conservatives, you have no one but yourselves to blame if you’ve ever spent more than about five minutes a year on Facecrack.

    The Legend of Zuck, a business built on a film with a script so good even an old soap opera retread like David Selby looked like Olivier in the key deposition scene.

    If you have time to kill and want to see a good Rogan interview, he had Mel Gibson in the studio the day before. That is candid. Mel is slightly crazy in a cool way.

    Okay, a *lot* crazy.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    The money scene from “The Social Network” which is arguably responsible for making ZuckDroid a billionare.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mehUC5l-lGM

  6. Greg Norton says:

    Conservatives, you have no one but yourselves to blame if you’ve ever spent more than about five minutes a year on Facecrack.

    Even if you just click a link to that site, the meter starts rolling at Facecrack HQ.

    Flush your browser cookies immediately anytime you have contact with the ZuckDroid’s services.

  7. paul says:

    19F this morning.  No wind.  Clear skies.  Everything is covered with frost.  The dogs didn’t take long to do their business and that’s a good way to start the day.

  8. ITGuy1998 says:

    We ended up with around 4 inches of snow by noon. Some areas got some sleet afterwards, but not here. Lots of kids out sledding and I went ahead and shoveled a path on the driveway. I would just let it melt, but it is a decent slope and faces east. This morning the shoveled part is bone dry. Neighborhood roads are slushy, but reports of main road conditions are pretty good. I don’t have to go anywhere until Monday morning, so I’m staying put.

  9. Bob Sprowl says:

    Only rain here in the Montgomery, AL.   When we get ice our neighboirhood is isolated due to the steep and curvy streets.  Temps in the mid 30s all day.  

  10. drwilliams says:

    Newsome trying to throw the LA Water Czar under the buss

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/01/newsom-now-calling-for-investigation-into-limited-wildfire-water-supply/

    where she belongs, but it won’t help him.

    Meanwhile, the Mayor’s office denies the Fire Chief was fired:

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/01/11/lafd-fire-chief-and-mayor-bass-might-have-tussled-over-the-formers-remarks-about-shambolic-leadership-n2650364

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/01/11/lafd-fire-chief-and-mayor-bass-might-have-tussled-over-the-formers-remarks-about-shambolic-leadership-n2650364

    and the state DOT held up 60 fire engines and crews fom Oregon for “inspection”:

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/01/11/yo-newsom-ca-state-dot-stopping-oregon-fire-crews-and-engines-from-reaching-la-n3798708

    The only response to the latter is immediate termination for malfeasance. No severance and loss of pension to be transferred to fire victims fund. Investigation for criminal charges. Paint them blue and lead them around the town square in a dog collar and tutu.

  11. Ray Thompson says:

    Started my taxes around November of 2024, mostly finished them up today as I got my yearly report from my investment firm. All the other stuff is easily found online. I cannot officially file the taxes until about February 20 as that is when my last form arrives. I need to make certain all the numbers match what is on the forms.

    This year I am only getting a few dollars back, almost enough for the spousal unit and I to eat at Chick-Fila. Which is generally where I want to be with the taxes. I don’t like a large refund as that means the IRS/Congress had my money to waste on stupid stuff. Naturally, I don’t want to pay anything.

    It still amazes me the tax laws and reporting requirements are so vastly complicated. My return will be about 30 pages and that is absurd. Thanks congress for all your special circumstances to benefit yourselves and your friends in high places. Without the use of TurboTax doing my taxes would require an accountant. My tax situation is not that complicated relative to many people.

    Then there are the really stupid people that only have one, maybe two W-2s, cannot itemize, no investments, etc. They trudge to H&R Block to get their taxes done and get that “loan” from H&R Block so they get an early refund. It only costs them $200.00 to get their refund 10 days early. Which makes that a very high interest loan from H&R Block. A good profit for H&R Block for filling in a few fields on a computer screen.

    Most of these people could use an online tax firm, for free. But the IRS has made people so afraid of the IRS that it scares people to file their own tax returns. For a government agency to have the people they are supposed to serve, to be in fear of the agency says a lot about the IRS.

    Some people deserve the wrath of the IRS. If they are rich and/or famous, they can stall the IRS forever, and get special treatment. For the average person that makes a simple mistake on the overly complicated forms the full wrath of the IRS will be brought upon the person as they are an easy target. The IRS does target the difficult targets, the ones that can defend themselves, instead going for the easy targets that don’t have the resources to fight the IRS.

    I have fought the IRS three times in the past. In all three cases I was correct. In the last case I finally demanded a full in-person audit at their local office, after multiple back and forth letters, with the mileage being tax deductible. The IRS wanted to talk with me on the phone and I refused as I wanted everything in writing. The IRS finally said I was correct, sort of, but I was owed $400.00. I still think the IRS was wrong but I have a letter saying they are correct so if it ever comes back to haunt me there would be no interest or penalties.

  12. Ray Thompson says:

    DOT held up 60 fire engines and crews fom Oregon for “inspection”:

    Want to bet CA charged an inspection fee for every unit?

  13. drwilliams says:

    CNN is in court this week after having been caught destroying a man’s reputation and business with baseless accusations.

    But don’t worry, they are working hard to ensure the accuracy of their reporting going forward:

    https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/01/11/gov-gavin-newsoms-statement-makes-cnn-fact-checkers-claim-immediately-age-badly-n2406460

    NB: There is a claim included that the reservoir has been down for repairs to its cover since February, which would be 11 months. This is not only a ridulously long time, it is impossible not to know if you look for the infor.

  14. Greg Norton says:

    Tampon Tim, Master of 13-dimensional tic-tac-toe:

    https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/01/10/tim-walz-david-hogg-is-just-the-man-to-help-lead-the-dnc-n3798687

    Yes, please.

    David Hogg did so much for Florida Democrats that it is time he moved up to work the same magic at the national level.

    The last Democrat who occupied the Governors mansion in Florida died last week at 91. He left office in 1999.

    https://apnews.com/article/buddy-mackay-dead-former-florida-governor-obituary-23b9cbdc43b54b6d8d97dd4b2a6799ee

    Not that “Buddy” actually won the office. In the 1998 election, Jeb! defeated McKay, who was “Walkin'” Lawton Chiles Lt. Governor.

    McKay moved up briefly when Chiles died before his term ended..

  15. Ray Thompson says:

    The IRS does NOT target the difficult targets

    Brain fart.

  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    Home from a nice meeting.  More time talking with people than usual.

    There was frost on my windshield this morning, but the sun came out and it’s pretty nice out at 40F…

    Federal income tax was a temporary measure… to fund Lincoln’s unconstitutional power grab and war against half the country.

    https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/historical-highlights-of-the-irs 

    And it was unConstitutional until they passed the amendment to make it legal.

    The piggies will have their trough filled.

    n

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    Walgreens has announced they will be closing 12 of their stores across San Francisco in the coming weeks

    The pharmacy chain will start shuttering stories in the California city at the end of February.

    Spokesperson Marty Maloney disclosed that the closing stores would have their last business days between February 24 and February 27. 

    Maloney revealed the stores set to close are Bayview, Downtown/Civic Center, Ingleside, Inner Richmond, Marina, Mission, Nob Hill, Outer Sunset, Parkside, SoMa, and two at Western Addition. 

    The drugstore chain has been struggling financially for several years, leading to the closure of over 1,200 stores nationwide by 2027. 

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14273647/walgreens-closes-multiple-stores-major-west-coast-city.html 

    – hard to make money when anyone can walk off with your inventory for free.

    n

  18. Lynn says:

    And so the circular firing squad starts.  Will it end up at Nuisance ?

    No, but Newsom is done as a national figure.

    One can only hope.  The man is incompetent beyond belief.

  19. Lynn says:

    “Holding Their Own III: Pedestals of Ash” by Joe Nobody
       https://www.amazon.com/Holding-Their-Own-III-Pedestals/dp/1939473705?tag=azlinkplugin-20/

    The third book in a series of eighteen alternate history books about the economic collapse of the USA in 2015. I reread the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback published by Prepper Press in 2012 that I bought new on Amazon in 2014. I own the first eleven books in the series and am rereading the first ten before my first read of the eleventh book.

    Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom was really getting cranked up. The book has crude oil at $350/barrel and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015. Not gonna happen due to oil well fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA is invalid for the book. That said, the book is a good story about the collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA. The book is centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a Texas resident.

    The $6 gasoline was just the start. The unemployment rises to 40% over a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in Chicago that kills 50,000 people. The current President of the USA nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack. And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about. That shuts down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across the nation.

    The accumulations of these cause widespread panics and shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities. The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at the plants. Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity.

    Washington DC has been overrun by the food riots. The President barely made it out before the White House was torched but the Vice President did not make it. Bishop’s employer, the Colonel, has a briefing for the President but was hurt in the light plane accident. The President is moving to Fort Bliss at El Paso, Texas so Bishop agrees to takes the briefing to the President. But things do not go as planned as usual.

    The book publisher has a website at:
       https://prepperpress.com/
    with a long list of apocalyptic books at:
       https://prepperpress.com/post-apocalyptic-books/

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (487 reviews)

    Lynn

  20. Lynn says:

    Wow, my first Big River delivery today was at 4:50 am.  I have a nice picture of my front door in the middle of the night.  My second delivery was at noon.  I guess two different warehouses.

  21. Lynn says:

    “3D-Chess: Here’s an Obvious Reason Why President Trump May Want to Change the Name of the Gulf of Mexico”

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/3d-chess-heres-obvious-reason-why-president-trump/

    “President Trump held his first press conference on Tuesday after Congress certified him the winner of the 2024 presidential election on Monday.”

    “During his press conference from his home in Mar-a-Lago, President Trump made headlines when he announced he was changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico.”

    I am ok with this.

  22. Lynn says:

    Cool, I just got called a pacifist on another board for saying we need to stop sending money and war goods to Ukraine.

    We are going to get a Ferengi solution.

    Watch “The Siege of AR-558” episode of DS9. Quark explains.

    I watched the entire episode.  The only Quark wisdom I got was “Maxim 136: You cannot negotiate if you are dead”.

  23. Greg Norton says:

    And it was unConstitutional until they passed the amendment to make it legal
     

    Hearst activist journalism. 

    Income tax. Senate elections. Prohibition. 

    The last one was repealed. The other two should be as well.

  24. Greg Norton says:

    I watched the entire episode.  The only Quark wisdom I got was “Maxim 136: You cannot negotiate if you are dead”.
     

    Quark talks about the Ferengi “hammering out an agreement” that everyone could live with.

    Of course, the Ferengi would make the agreement work to their advantage, much like the Orange Man will with the settlement regarding Ukraine.

  25. Greg Norton says:

    – hard to make money when anyone can walk off with your inventory for free.
     

    Walgreens and CVS were also hardcore onboard with the agenda during the pandemic. People remember.

  26. drwilliams says:

    follow up from yesterday:

    The 117 million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty and down for maintenance when the devastating fire was sparked, perhaps in the brush, between the homes and the Pacific Coast Highway. You can see a map of the area in my story Good Intentions Might Be the Cause of Devastating Palisades Fire

    Friday, officials confirmed that the reservoir had been down for nearly a year —closing in February 2024—for maintenance to the cover of the reservoir. 

    https://pjmedia.com/victoria-taft/2025/01/11/why-was-pacific-palisades-reservoir-empty-n4935875

    The wiki page:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ynez_Reservoir

    117 million gallons on 9.2 acres.

    117 million gallons of water is 359 acre-feet

    117 million gallons is enough to cover about 4300 acres with an inch of water.

    That is 6.7 square miles.

    I don’t know what assumptions they might be making about the percentage availability and delivery rates, but the 3 tanks that were pumped dry and are usually refilled by the dry reservoir totaled about 3 million gallons. The reservoir could have refilled those tanks 39 times if totally emptied with sufficient time. 

    So maybe 39 times isn’t realistic. What is? 1 time would have given them twice the amount of water to fight the fires. That seems like a significant increase. 

    The water department has, for a surety, a dynamic hydrologic model that can continuously calculate the amount of water in the tanks as water is drawn from the hydrants and replenished form the reservoir. That worst-case scenario would have been run, reported, recommendations were made and further evaluated by experts. There’s a report, somewhere, and costing that report would have been part of the project costs for the $7.5 billion in improvements that the voters passed in 2014, and which the politicians have done diddly.

    It does not matter what color the skin, what birth gender, what “identifies as”, what sign of the zodiac or anything else, the only thing that matters is the ability of professionals to do the job they are paid to do. That includes the firefighters, the water department, the county government and state government.

    Every one of the blame-shifting, DIE-prioritizing imbeciles that contributed to this property destroying and life taking disaster needs to be dismissed, charged, found guilty, and imprisoned in genpop.

  27. drwilliams says:

    LA City Council confirms PG&E executive as new LADWP general manager — with $750,000 salary

    UPDATED: May 20, 2024 at 1:24 PM PDT

    According to the Mayor’s Office, Quiñones brings more than 25 years of leadership experience as a senior executive in utility and engineering industries, where she managed large-scale operations in order to deliver reliable service to customers, prioritized the safety of workers on the job and directed improvements that made electrical infrastructure more resilient.

    Quiñones had called it an “honor” to be nominated by Bass.

    Throughout my career, I have worked to make sure that communities have access to reliable, clean, safe and sustainable utilities, and I will continue with that same dedication in this role,” Quiñones said in a statement.

    https://www.dailynews.com/2024/05/14/la-city-council-set-to-confirm-pge-executive-as-new-ladwp-general-manager-with-750000-salary/

    Twice the salary of her predecessor, and a housing allowance in addition.

    She reportedly did three interviews explaining that the 3 tanks feeding the fire hydrants went dry, but conveniently omitted the vital piece of information that the primary reservoir used to fill those tanks was empty.  

    That is what is commonly called “guilty knowledge”. 

  28. lpdbw says:

    I listen to a lot of old time radio shows.

    Throckmorton Gildersleeve would have made a much better water commisioner.   And he was basically a bumbling moron.

  29. drwilliams says:

    The Great Gildersleeve!

  30. drwilliams says:

    Special Counsel Jack Smith Resigns From DOJ, Then Gets Arrested for Child Sexual Exploitation

    No, not really, I mashed two headlines together. 

    Hope his future fellow prisoners believe it, though.

  31. Lynn says:

    I pulled my new air compressor out of the box tonight to air up my truck tires.  I should have gotten it out a year ago, it compressed up to 120 psig in less than 10 seconds.  My old air compressor could not even maintain 75 psig, the seals were shot.

  32. Lynn says:

    Just watched Deep Space 9: s1e1 on Paramount.  Quark propositions the Bajoran female officer Kira who demands that he remove his hand from her hip or she will break his hand off.  Then she walks off.  Quark then says “I love a woman in uniform.”

  33. Lynn says:

    “Stupid”

       https://areaocho.com/stupid-2/

    “A few questions for this dip****:

    1. Who is going to invite in this ‘global coalition’ of armies?
    2. What will the force composition be?
    3. How exactly will you get the US police, military, and the courts to sit idly by and watch as all of this unfolds?”

    Just another wannabe gun grabber trying to intimidate gun owners on X.

  34. drwilliams says:

    Forgot basic question:

    0. Where do you live?

  35. Nick Flandrey says:

    People like that on any social media are living in a complete fantasy world anyway.  The violent triumph over those they don’t like is just one more deranged fantasy stacked on a mountain of fantasy.    

    So it’s just life as normal to them.

    n

  36. Nick Flandrey says:

    From FEMA

    Wildfires – Southern California

    Situation: Southern California is facing multiple uncontrolled fires, fueled by an ongoing Santa Ana wind event. Red Flag Warnings in effect until later this afternoon. Critical fire weather conditions will remain despite the
    Sana Ana Winds beginning to lower through this afternoon. Through the middle of the week, weak to moderate Santa Ana winds are expected and there continues to be a high likelihood of critical fire weather conditions.

    National Watch Center

    Lifelines: (FEMA Region IX SLB, as of 11:15 p.m. ET, Jan 10)

    Safety and Security:
    ▪ 144.5k (-6.5k) mandatory evacuations for LA County
    ▪ 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew in evacuation/warning zones
    ▪ 5,178 Fire Fighting personnel deployed

    Food, Hydration, and Shelter:
    ▪ 9 (+2) shelters open / 1,529 (+814) occupants
    ▪ 28 40ft containers of bottled water staged at March Air Reserve
    Base for any future state requests

    Health and Medical:
    ▪ U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a
    Public Health Emergency for California
    ▪ Air Quality Index (AQI) ranges from Moderate to Unhealthy for
    the Palisades Fire and Moderate to Hazardous around the Eaton
    Fire
    ▪ 20 (+5) healthcare facilities evacuated; 71 (+20) facilities are
    being monitored; 7 (-8) clinics closed in LA County

    Water Systems:
    ▪ Boil Water Notice for LA Department of Water and Power and LA
    County Water Works District
    ▪ Do Not Drink Notice for Kinneloa Irrigation District and
    Pasadena
    ▪ Do Not Use Notice for Lincoln Avenue Water Company, Rubio
    Canon Land and Water Association, and Las Flores Water
    Company

    Energy: (Eagle-I, as of 8:30 a.m. ET)
    ▪ 64k / 3.5% customers without power in the areas below:
    o Los Angeles County: 57k (-67k) / 1.5% (-1.5%)
    o Ventura County: 7k (-11k) / 2% (-4%)

    Transportation:
    ▪ Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) Transit reports that all
    Commuter Express and DASH routes are subject to delays and rerouting
    ▪ Closures have been reported on CA-1 from Malibu to Santa Monica, CA-27
    from Topanga Beach to Woodland Hills, and CA-2 from La Cañada Flintridge
    to Red Box Gap; I-210 is now fully open in both directions
    ▪ 2 metro lines are suspended; 5 (-8) metro lines are experiencing detours 

    State / Local Response:
    ▪ CA SEOC is at Full Activation
    ▪ CA Governor declared a State of Emergency for Los
    Angeles and Ventura counties
    o Major Disaster FEMA-4856-DR-CA Approved

    FEMA / Federal Response:
    Region IX: (FEMA Region IX SLB, as of 11:15 p.m. ET, Jan 10)
    ▪ Region IX RRCC activated to Level III
    ▪ Pasadena Area Office open
    ▪ Region IX IMAT-1 deployed to the Pasadena Area
    Office
    ▪ 1 LNO deployed to CA SEOC; 2 LNOs deployed to
    LA County; 2 LNOs deployed to LA City
    ▪ FMAGs approved for Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst
    Fires
    HQ:
    ▪ FEMA NWC is Monitoring
    ▪ Response Geospatial Office (RGO) is coordinating
    with Region IX on imagery requests, including
    ICEYE wildfire insights and commercial satellite
    from NGA.
    ▪ US&R Blue IST is Rostered; US&R Branch
    identified available US&R Task Forces
    ▪ Staging Management Team (SMT) Bothell, SMT
    Tracy, and Incident Support Base (ISB) Team Alpha
    deployed to March Air Reserve Base
    ▪ National Responder Mobilization Team deployed to
    FEMA Region IX to establish Personnel Mobilization
    Center (PMC) light
    ▪ National Fire Preparedness Level (PL) – 2
    ▪ Operations Coordination call conducted with FEMA
    The NWC will continue to monitor in coordination with FEMA Region IX, NWC Liaisons to SPC, Region IX 

    n
     

  37. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m calling it a night.  I’ve got books to read, and a comfortable bed.

    n

  38. Alan says:

    >>The 117 million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty and down for maintenance when the devastating fire was sparked, perhaps in the brush, between the homes and the Pacific Coast Highway. 

    When it was obvious that the fires were going to be bad, couldn’t TPTB have started filling the reservoir (he said not knowing the source of the requisite water.)

  39. Alan says:

    Seconding the comfy bed idea.

    Good night all.

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