Tues. Jan. 14, 2025 – even more of the same, with even less of the different…

By on January 14th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and damp. Yesterday was cold, but so clear, and a beautiful sunrise with pinks and oranges… at least I get a light show while waiting for the school bus. Still dang cold at 42F though. And there were puddles on the ground so despite the clear air, there must have been quite a lot of humidity. Of course at 42F that’s relative.

I’m expecting pretty much the same today. I am hoping things dry out a bit more so I can put them away. That was one of the things that didn’t happen yesterday. I got several auction pickups done though, and because D1 came home sick, I didn’t have to be home at 3pm to get her from school. That helped me get more done. Did a dump run, with some debris from the BOL that was in the driveway.

Spent some time talking with the auctioneer I use most often to sell, and they’ll be ready for some of my stuff next month. I’m calling the other auction house today to try and move some stuff this week. I need to get it out of the house, and I’d like to have some selling options. One of the houses I used to use left the business, and the first one has been focused on their own inventory, while my industrial guy hasn’t been taking consignments and when he did, I lost money. It’s a mess. Time to start cleaning it up.

I need to do some ebay selling on my own too. And maybe some Craigslist. I’m trying mightily to avoid fakebook marketplace.

Today I’ll be working on all those things and MOAR! I sometimes wish I was in mom’s basement cranking out dank memes and getting on watchlists… and playing video games until I got motion sick. Then I remember how much I like my life.

Stack some things to like. So that you can remember.

nick

72 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Jan. 14, 2025 – even more of the same, with even less of the different…"

  1. Lynn says:

    My wife called me a little while ago and the chicken wire on our double back gate fell off today.  Of course, the dog found the hole and went adventuring.  The wife found the dog before she adventured on the road so no harm done.  I will be rechicken wiring the double back gate in the morning.

    We have a four foot tall horse fence (mandated by our POA – property owners association) around the back yard with chicken wire on the inside.  I double chicken wired the fence in the past because of my escape artist.  I am going to have to replace this 26 year old fence some day.  Maybe next year.  Lots of things needing time and money all of a sudden.  Just realized that the water heaters turn ten this year and I have resolved to replace them at ten  years since I have had two water heaters split in the past and make a real mess since we put our water heaters in the attic space.  Our water around here is terrible with lots of iron and calcium carbonate.

    And I need to have our master bath rebuilt.  I am thinking about ripping out the 6 foot wide spa tub that we do not use and moving the 32 inch by 32 inch shower to its place.  It is only money ! I will make the new shower a roll in shower of course. We are old and getting older.

  2. drwilliams says:

    “Rechicken wiring”

    heh

    Put that on a test for DIE hires. 

  3. Greg Norton says:

    We’ll see what happens in the damages phase, but the wider consequence is that Blackrock is probably vulnerable as asset manager of other retirement accounts and may be more than “involved” in the next round of lawsuits.

    Even if the name at the top of the statement reads “Fidelity”, most company 401(k) plans are heavily involved with some combination of Vanguard, State Street, and Blackrock, hence the institutions’ size and power.

    The Death Star’s plans were handed over to State Street ~ 20 years ago, but Fidelity prints the statements so everyone has a warm and fuzzy.

    What? That didn’t happen to your plan? Really? You probably haven’t been reading your prospectus mailings — the only paper they still send on a regular basis anymore.

  4. Greg Norton says:

    The Death Star’s plans were handed over to State Street ~ 20 years ago, but Fidelity prints the statements so everyone has a warm and fuzzy.

    Fidelity prints the statements and includes the account access on the Fidelity Benefits web page.

    Don’t worry – the money is safe. It is with Fidelity.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    When this is over we’ll see who is “unemployable”.

    We haven’t discussed it in detail with him, but I think my wife’s nephew is learning the limits of the value of his J school degree. His plan had been to transfer to the area and get in with the Army Futures Command boondoggle in Downtown Austin, but that doesn’t seem to be working out like he planned.

  6. Ray Thompson says:

    Fidelity prints the statements and includes the account access on the Fidelity Benefits web page.

    Fidelity at one time held the retirement money from National Bancshares Corporation (NBC) where I worked in ’80’s. I get my measly $118 deposit each month. I guess I shouldn’t complain after only working at the holding company for six years.

    The money has bounced around, a lot. Whomever absorbed NBC had the plan for a while and I was not yet receiving money. Then another big bank got the money. When I started drawing the money about 24 years ago, Bank of America held the money and plan. Since that time there have been three different companies that have acquired the plan. Now the money is with Metropolitan Life Insurance and has been for the last five years.

    The last statement I got showed the plan having almost $20B in the plan. I know that amount of money did not come from NBC. It is obvious that NBC’s plan got combined with others. I suspect the retirement plan was combined with BofA,  and probably others. It is amazing how that money bounces around. It is also amazing that the law firm that administers the plan gets paid $20M a year.

  7. Nick Flandrey says:

    40F this morning, with a gorgeous sunrise.  Lots of pink and orange…   pretty while waiting for the bus.   Pretty chilly too.

    ———

    I guess I let today’s post go earlier than normal?  Not used to seeing Lynn as an early commenter.

    n

  8. Greg Norton says:

    Just realized that the water heaters turn ten this year and I have resolved to replace them at ten  years since I have had two water heaters split in the past and make a real mess since we put our water heaters in the attic space
     

    Get the moisture detector alarm boxes for the water heater drain pans. Cheap insurance, and I speak from experience when I say that they prevent problems.

    The tanks develop minor cracks and leak small amounts well before they split.

    Just check the batteries once a year.

  9. Greg Norton says:

    I moved my home server up to 16 GB from 8 GB previously. That s the new minimum for current Linux kernel versions with a GUI doing useful work IMHO.

    I purposely run that machine as tight as possible. I’ve had the new memory for more than a year.

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    It’s like a monday in here…

    n

  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    @greg, will popOS or any linux variant run well on one of the little atom machines that were designed for winXP?   low power, low ram, I’ve got a couple lappys sitting here that run, just run very slowly.

    n

  12. Lynn says:

    Just check the batteries once a year.

    Just one more thing for me to forget to do each year.

    Just wait until you get in your middle 60s.  I am forgetting some much stuff that I should be doing, I will be 65 in a couple of months.  The wife is forgetting more stuff, she will be 67 next month.

  13. Lynn says:

    I guess I let today’s post go earlier than normal?  Not used to seeing Lynn as an early commenter.

    You drop it, I mark it.

  14. Lynn says:

    It’s like a monday in here…

    It was like Monday yesterday, all day long.  I had to get Junior Senior Programmer to look over my shoulder to help me fix some very obvious stuff.

  15. Lynn says:

    I moved my home server up to 16 GB from 8 GB previously. That s the new minimum for current Linux kernel versions with a GUI doing useful work IMHO.

    I purposely run that machine as tight as possible. I’ve had the new memory for more than a year.

    Why so tight ?

    And I thought that Linux x64 was a lot smaller than Windows x64.  I guess that 64 bit is taking a lot more room than I realized.  

    Bring on 128 bit programming !  I hear that the test versions are performing well other than blowing the cpu ram caches early and causing extra wait states.

  16. Lynn says:

    I am doing well on my weight loss.  I have lost 9 lbs since Nov 1.  No visiting Shipleys Donuts anymore.  I am so sad.  But I can wear my 17.5 inch neck oxford dress shirts again.

    10
  17. Greg Norton says:

    Bring on 128 bit programming !  I hear that the test versions are performing well other than blowing the cpu ram caches early and causing extra wait states.
     

    RISC-V has a 128 bit extension in the standard.

  18. Lynn says:

    And I need to have our master bath rebuilt.  I am thinking about ripping out the 6 foot wide spa tub that we do not use and moving the 32 inch by 32 inch shower to its place.  It is only money ! I will make the new shower a roll in shower of course. We are old and getting older.

    BTW, the master bath total gut and rebuild is $49K.  The wife and I are very hesitant to drop that on our $650K, 3300 ft2 house in the sticks.  The contractor is anxious to get started.

    I have dropped the idea of building the $200K house in the backyard for the daughter.  Just too much money.

    The 15,000 ft2 house being built behind my house is proceeding with the foundation work.  It is going to be HUGE.  I now suspect that were I to sell my house, somebody would bulldoze it and build a monstrosity.  So any additions are worthless to most buyers.

  19. Greg Norton says:

    I purposely run that machine as tight as possible. I’ve had the new memory for more than a year.

    Why so tight ?

    And I thought that Linux x64 was a lot smaller than Windows x64.  I guess that 64 bit is taking a lot more room than I realized.  
     

    The memory clock speed on the older AM4 motherboards slows down as more and larger DIMMs get added. I may step back to 8 GB and get a new motherboard later, but RAM is cheap at these speeds.

    Java is the big issue on my server. I use abuse for torrents on that machine.

    Once the Java JIT finishes, I don’t have any issues, but loading the program takes forever.

  20. Lynn says:

    “Chaos Erupts at Hegseth’s Senate Hearing as Confirmation is Hijacked by Protestors”

        https://resistthemainstream.com/chaos-erupts-at-hegseths-senate-hearing-as-confirmation-is-hijacked/

    “The Senate confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was thrown into chaos Tuesday as protestors disrupted the proceedings multiple times. The drama unfolded as Hegseth began his opening remarks, which were immediately interrupted by loud voices from the audience.”

    “As Hegseth began outlining Trump’s vision for the Department of Defense, a protester at the back of the room shouted, “You are a misogynist!” according to Trending Politics.”

    Unreal.  The dumbrocrats probably let them in.

  21. Lynn says:

    I purposely run that machine as tight as possible. I’ve had the new memory for more than a year.

    Why so tight ?

    And I thought that Linux x64 was a lot smaller than Windows x64.  I guess that 64 bit is taking a lot more room than I realized.  
     

    The memory clock speed on the older AM4 motherboards slows down as more and larger DIMMs get added. I may step back to 8 GB and get a new motherboard later, but RAM is cheap at these speeds.

    Java is the big issue on my server. I use abuse for torrents on that machine.

    Once the Java JIT finishes, I don’t have any issues, but loading the program takes forever.

    The fastest thing that you can do for any PC nowadays is upgrade to a M.2 drive such as a WD Black 1 TB.  But you have to have M.2 support on the motherboard.  They are incredibly cheap at $95 each for 7,000 MB/s.  The 2 TB is only $160.

       https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN770-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B0DN7CYYSD?tag=ttgnet-20

  22. Lynn says:

    “Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker, in blow to insurgent GOP movement”

        https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/dustin-burrows-david-cook-texas-house-speaker-vote/

    “Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes.”

    Just great.  The RINO took the Speaker seat in the Texas House.

    “Burrows, a school voucher supporter, told the Tribune last month that he believes “the political winds have shifted, and the votes are there” for vouchers. He made clear he would not stand in the way of voucher legislation supported by “the will of the House.””

    We will see about the school vouchers. We desperately need to privatize the public school system in Texas.

  23. Greg Norton says:

    Bring on 128 bit programming !  I hear that the test versions are performing well other than blowing the cpu ram caches early and causing extra wait states.
     

    The CPU cache limitation is a huge deal to certain three letter government agencies.

    Anytime Linux kernel people start talking about elimination of the x32 ABI, debate is quickly squashed.

    The ARM 32 bit ABI equivalent may be deprecated soon, however.

    2
    1
  24. Greg Norton says:

    Java is the big issue on my server. I use abuse Vuze for torrents on that machine.

    Damn AI.

  25. Lynn says:

    new weapons systems.  Just one of the indicators that it’s coming.

    ‘Today is not the day to start World War III’: America’s chilling warning to China as US Air Force unveils its next generation bomber 

    I heard on the radio yesterday that China is building landing craft for tanks and soldiers for the Taiwan beaches.  So not good.

  26. MrAtoz says:

    The Dumbocrat Party continues to go off the rails:

    206 Democrats Vote Against ‘Cruel’ House Bill Banning Men from Competing in Girls’ Sports

    I got a great laugh reading Jerry “Pedo” Nadler crying about how the bill is cruel to transgirls. Let’s see if the Redumblican Party has enough of a spine to get this to tRump’s desk.

  27. Lynn says:

    Just realized that the water heaters turn ten this year and I have resolved to replace them at ten  years since I have had two water heaters split in the past and make a real mess since we put our water heaters in the attic space
     

    Get the moisture detector alarm boxes for the water heater drain pans. Cheap insurance, and I speak from experience when I say that they prevent problems.

    The tanks develop minor cracks and leak small amounts well before they split.

    Just check the batteries once a year.

    BTW, the new natural gas water heaters have electric plugins.  I saw the box for one in my neighbors yard.  Not good.  

  28. EdH says:

    Get the moisture detector alarm boxes for the water heater drain pans. Cheap insurance, and I speak from experience when I say that they prevent problems.

    I just ordered one from Amazon, $12, wow.

    My water heater is almost 15yo.  I started researching a pre-emptive replacement a couple years ago and discovered that new units have only a one year warranty. Some models will allow you to purchase a second year for about $100.

    So, since I have to relight the unit every six weeks when I change propane bottles I am just looking at the drip pan for leaks, so decided to punt on the expense until needed.

    In addition California had to decide (not really, they just like to rule) between efficiency and low NOX, and choose low NOX (for everywhere, not just the LA basin).  So if I want a new water heater that doesn’t burn 30% of my propane with a pilot light I now have to drive out of state and buy it somewhere else.

  29. Denis says:

    It’s like a monday in here…

    It was like Monday yesterday, all day long.  

    Yesterday, Friday the thirteenth fell on a Monday.

  30. Lynn says:

    One of my customers in Israel just emailed me that they are shutting down the company due to long effects from the Hamas war.  And of course they are not able to pay their outstanding invoice.

    The world is getting crazier and crazier.  And more wars on the horizon as people fight over resources.

  31. Greg Norton says:

    I got a great laugh reading Jerry “Pedo” Nadler crying about how the bill is cruel to transgirls. Let’s see if the Redumblican Party has enough of a spine to get this to tRump’s desk.

    Just wait until Oscar season starts rolling.

    The fix is in for Best Actress.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/trans-star-of-emilia-p%C3%A9rez-delivers-powerful-speech-at-golden-globes-i-am-who-i-am/ar-AA1x1fbj

  32. Lynn says:

    In addition California had to decide (not really, they just like to rule) between efficiency and low NOX, and choose low NOX (for everywhere, not just the LA basin).  So if I want a new water heater that doesn’t burn 30% of my propane with a pilot light I now have to drive out of state and buy it somewhere else.

    I am confused.  How does a low NOX burner affect the pilot light efficiency ?

    I would not run a water heater past 15 years.  But, that is me.

    I told the wife last night that I am going to replace both water heaters at the house due to their ten year age and she was unhappy.  $3,000 with labor.

  33. Lynn says:

    Just wait until Oscar season starts rolling.

    The fix is in for Best Actress.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/trans-star-of-emilia-p%C3%A9rez-delivers-powerful-speech-at-golden-globes-i-am-who-i-am/ar-AA1x1fbj

    So, how many of Hollyweird still have a house ?

    I saw that over 90% of movies are made outside of California now due to their bureaucratic laws and strong unions.  I know that the industry can get to 100% if they really try.

  34. Lynn says:
    Jan 13, 2025 1:00:00 PM ERCOT is issuing an OCN for the predicted extreme cold weather event impacting the ERCOT Region starting noon, Sunday, January 19, 2025 through noon Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

    I have no idea what OCN means but I do know that we are predicted to be 25 F Tuesday morning with snow flurries.

  35. Lynn says:

    xkcd: Radon

       https://www.xkcd.com/3037/

    You should wait 100 billion years to build a house if Radon is detected in the ground.

    Explained at:

        https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3037:_Radon

  36. Greg Norton says:

    The fastest thing that you can do for any PC nowadays is upgrade to a M.2 drive such as a WD Black 1 TB.  But you have to have M.2 support on the motherboard.  They are incredibly cheap at $95 each for 7,000 MB/s.  The 2 TB is only $160.

    The motherobard doesn’t have an M2 slot.

    Even if it did, I run the server on spinning metal and replace the drive when the warranty expires.

    At this point, I’m primarily CPU bound with what I’m doing on the system.

  37. EdH says:

    In addition California had to decide (not really, they just like to rule) between efficiency and low NOX, and choose low NOX (for everywhere, not just the LA basin).  So if I want a new water heater that doesn’t burn 30% of my propane with a pilot light I now have to drive out of state and buy it somewhere else.

    I am confused.  How does a low NOX burner affect the pilot light efficiency ?

    I don’t know. 

    Since having experienced the LA basin in the early 80s I don’t really have a beef against getting rid of pollutants, but they keep lowering and lowering the allowable emissions numbers (think CAFE standards) and somehow that affects the overall efficiency.

    If I am going to spend $1000+ on a water heater with a miniscule warranty I want it to be the best possible.

  38. Greg Norton says:

    @greg, will popOS or any linux variant run well on one of the little atom machines that were designed for winXP?   low power, low ram, I’ve got a couple lappys sitting here that run, just run very slowly.

    If you have 4 GB on the machines, try Fedora running from an SSD 2.5″ drive.

    My “road” laptop is an i3 with 4 GB running Fedora on a Crucial SSD.

    The big problem with Atom CPUs and Linux is that Chipzilla crippled them with a 2 GB memory limit.

  39. Greg Norton says:

    The fix is in for Best Actress.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/trans-star-of-emilia-p%C3%A9rez-delivers-powerful-speech-at-golden-globes-i-am-who-i-am/ar-AA1x1fbj

    So, how many of Hollyweird still have a house ?

    That … actress … lives in Mexico IIRC. She was a fixture on telenovelas for years before the movie role.

    I often say that my ex-brother-in-law acts like a character out of a telenovela, and he’s the whitest person I know.

  40. Greg Norton says:

    The big problem with Atom CPUs and Linux is that Chipzilla crippled them with a 2 GB memory limit.

    Well, crippled most of them. You might get lucky and have one of the few which is not limited.

    If you really want to try Linux on 2 GB, use a 32 bit distribution.

  41. Greg Norton says:

    ERCOT is issuing an OCN for the predicted extreme cold weather event impacting the ERCOT Region starting noon, Sunday, January 19, 2025 through noon Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

    I have no idea what OCN means but I do know that we are predicted to be 25 F Tuesday morning with snow flurries.

    ERCOT HQ in Taylor will be deserted after noon on Thursday with the holiday weekend.

    Anyone working Monday? Oh Cr*p No!

    You might find a few employees out at the Taylor Icehouse around 5PM on Thursday.

    That’s where my follow up interview was conducted. By that point, I no longer wanted the job, but what happened at the tolling company was inevitable so I accepted the invitation to lunch.

  42. Ken Mitchell says:

    You should wait 100 billion years to build a house if Radon is detected in the ground.

    Easier fix; don’t have a basement. Radon is a HEAVY gas, and settles in the lowest part of any structure.  Make sure that the lowest point of your structure has a door to the outside, and every week or so, open the door and let the radon flow out the door and downhill. 

    If that’s not possible, then a ventilation fan drawing air from the lowest level of the building to be vented outside will mitigate most of the risk. In the Rocky Mountains, many of the aggregate sources used in making cement contain trace concentrations of uranium, so it’s possible that the basement walls are slightly radioactive themselves. 

  43. Ken Mitchell says:

    ERCOT  Operating Condition Notices (OCN)

  44. Nick Flandrey says:

    Had another storage unit broken into and robbed.   I have insurance this time.  Now I need to remember what is in the 5-6 bins they stole.  Ebay stuff mainly.

    The facility is once again under new management, so this time they called the cops, are looking at video, and will prosecute.  They’ve been hit several times in the past month, so someone is passing the word that they are an easy target.   New manager is adding cams too.

    ——-

    Time to take D2 to her extracurricular activity.

    then home for dinner.

    n

  45. Nick Flandrey says:

    ATF is trying to make felons out of 10s of thousands of legal gun owners.

    https://www.tacticalshit.com/atf-says-all-braced-pistols-are-sbrs-because-they-just-feel-like-it/ 

    ATF Says ALL Braced Pistols Are SBRs – Because They Just “Feel” Like It

    ATF Says ALL Braced Pistols Are SBRs, In Violation Of The Law In a Dec. 20th letter to a GOA member, the ATF’s Firearms Industry Programs Branch (FIPB) took the position that any pistol with a stabilizing brace attached is considered to be an NFA item under federal law. This is concerning,

  46. EdH says:

    21F predicted tonight, but light winds also, from the ENE, the most unprotected house aspect.

    The pellet stove on low will normally keep the great room at 65, the mbr at a comfy 60.

    I am down to a couple of gallons of backup/garage kerosene, need to pick some of that up.

    The little diesel/12v heater should arrive this week, should probably run at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of kerosene (which oddly is the same price per gallon as last year, no inflation increase).

  47. Lynn says:

    ATF is trying to make felons out of 10s of thousands of legal gun owners.

    https://www.tacticalshit.com/atf-says-all-braced-pistols-are-sbrs-because-they-just-feel-like-it/ 

    ATF Says ALL Braced Pistols Are SBRs – Because They Just “Feel” Like It

    ATF Says ALL Braced Pistols Are SBRs, In Violation Of The Law In a Dec. 20th letter to a GOA member, the ATF’s Firearms Industry Programs Branch (FIPB) took the position that any pistol with a stabilizing brace attached is considered to be an NFA item under federal law. This is concerning,

    This has already been decided by SCOTUS.  I don’t think the ATF is fixable.  

    Shut it down.  I am not kidding.

    10
  48. Lynn says:

    “I Live in Pacific Palisades and I Know Who Caused the Fire”

       https://californiaglobe.com/fr/i-live-in-pacific-palisades-and-i-know-who-caused-the-fire/

    “As officials investigate what caused Los Angeles’ devasting fires, I know the answer. It was the homeless. The LA Fire Department reports that 54% of fires in 2023 were started by homeless. They responded to almost 14,000 fires that year alone related to homelessness!”

    I have been suspecting that.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  49. Lynn says:

    “Get Ready to Pay for Paris Hilton’s New House [Podcast]” by James Hickman 

        https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/get-ready-to-pay-for-paris-hiltons-new-house-podcast-151973/

    “California has long relied on federal bailouts to fund all these idiotic policies. Their COVID lockdowns were paid for with federal tax dollars, and they’ve received bags of cash from the Biden administration to help pay for migrant care.”

    “The damage from these fires could easily exceed $50 billion, and again, since they have chased away insurance companies, I have a funny feeling that California is going to have its hand out to the federal government once again to help people rebuild form a crisis that was not only preventable but a direct result of political incompetence.”

    Yup.

  50. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “Just wait until you get in your middle 60s.  I am forgetting some much stuff that I should be doing, I will be 65 in a couple of months.  The wife is forgetting more stuff, she will be 67 next month.”

    In Time Enough For Love. Heinlein threw out some terms purportedly describing techniques used by the Howards and other rejuves to keep their memories organized and accessible. Pity no such research has actually been done.

    My brain is full–very little day-to-day stuff goes in. Heaven help me if I move anything that has been in the same place for a decade or two. 

  51. Ray Thompson says:

    The Mooch will not be attending Trump’s inauguration. I am certain that breaks Trump’s heart.

  52. Greg Norton says:

    “The damage from these fires could easily exceed $50 billion, and again, since they have chased away insurance companies, I have a funny feeling that California is going to have its hand out to the federal government once again to help people rebuild form a crisis that was not only preventable but a direct result of political incompetence.”

    A lot of retirement money is invested in CA real estate, either directly or via fixed income instruments.

    Remember, one person’s asset is another person’s debt.

    California will get another bailout. Trump is looking for a deal with Dems on the debt ceiling.

  53. drwilliams says:

    “The damage from these fires could easily exceed $50 billion, and again, since they have chased away insurance companies, I have a funny feeling that California is going to have its hand out to the federal government once again to help people rebuild form a crisis that was not only preventable but a direct result of political incompetence.”

    Nope.

    Bass cut the FD budget and wanted to cut more. Newsome cut $100 million out of the fire prevention budget. The State last resort insurance is grossly underfunded, and they supposed have the right to levy the actual insurance companies to make up the difference. Other states should file suit in opposition–the only way the insurance companies can pay half a trillion dollars is to goose premiums in other states.

    Not just no, F*** No.

    And Trump needs to close the federal spigot the day he’s sworn in .

    Let them levy Calpers.

    Self-inflicted wounds:

    https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2025/01/14/californias-insurance-problem-comes-into-sharper-focus-n3798804

    https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/01/14/kvetching-about-a-vetch-now-fetching-a-retch-n3798796

  54. drwilliams says:

    What is the truth about alcohol consumption

    I take a deep dive into the question: How much alcohol should a person drink?

    Vinay Prasad

    Overall, this paper [randomly chosen by a colleague at Prasad’s request] is emblematic of the literature. Old data. Shitty data. Confounded data. Weak definitions. Measurement error. Multplicity. Time zero problems. And illogical results. Calling this paper science is a stretch. Belief in it’s results has more in common with religion.

    The meta-analysis is a collection of studies like this. It looks fancy and cool, but it is putting a bunch of rotting fruit in a juicer and calling it a smoothie.

    https://www.drvinayprasad.com/p/what-is-the-truth-about-alcohol-consumption

    Another crock from the medical establishment. Why do I think that this is an attempt to justify more tax?

    Scroll down to the last section to get Prasad’s “principles for alcohol. The advice I tell friends and family.”

  55. drwilliams says:

    A lot of retirement money is invested in CA real estate, either directly or via fixed income instruments.

    Remember, one person’s asset is another person’s debt.

    California will get another bailout. Trump is looking for a deal with Dems on the debt ceiling.

    I have an idea: Take the money that would have gone to bailout California. Give half of it to retirees hurt by California pols malfeasance.

    Use the other half to investigate the California pols and find a reason to send them to prison. 

    And get busy. When the 2030 Census rolls around, we want an accurate count of the illegal invader population, and House reapportionment excluding them.

  56. Ken Mitchell says:

    Too bad that Congress couldn’t revoke California’s statehood and make them a territory again. Then the President could appoint a new territorial governor, and start cleaning house.

  57. drwilliams says:

    Whistleblower: A Year Later, LA Paramedics Are Still Left Working With Expired Medication As They Respond To Fires

    https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/14/whistleblower-a-year-later-la-paramedics-are-still-left-working-with-expired-medication-as-they-respond-to-fires/

    I bet the LA County Government medical plan could save money if it specified outdated meds only.

  58. Nick Flandrey says:

    Too bad that Congress couldn’t revoke California’s statehood and make them a territory again. Then the President could appoint a new territorial governor, and start cleaning house.  

    – would you believe there is a secession movement in Cali?   They think they are currently getting a raw deal.

  59. drwilliams says:

    WATCH: Markwayne Mullin Spills Tea on ‘Drunk’ Senators Showing Up to Vote in Wild Hegseth Hearing Moment

    “Things got even wilder when a fed-up Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) took to the mic, absolutely shredding the Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, calling out their outright hypocrisy on some of the things they’re criticizing Hegseth over (including the “drunk” allegations) and in the process spilling the tea (and raising eyebrows in the process) on how often some of them have allegedly shown up for votes on the Senate floor drunk:”

    “How many Senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked him to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And then how many Senators do you know have [gotten] a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No. But it’s for show.”

    “Oh, my my my!

    Mullin finished his commentary by thanking Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, for sticking with Hegseth through the mistakes he’s made. “The only reason I’m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too,” Mullin also said, which led to applause from some members of the committee.”

    https://redstate.com/sister-toldjah/2025/01/14/watch-markwayne-mullin-spills-tea-on-drunk-senators-showing-up-to-vote-in-wild-hegseth-hearing-moment-n2184332

  60. Greg Norton says:

    Too bad that Congress couldn’t revoke California’s statehood and make them a territory again. Then the President could appoint a new territorial governor, and start cleaning house.  

    – would you believe there is a secession movement in Cali?   They think they are currently getting a raw deal.

    California was never an organized territory.

    The State of Jefferson succession movement waxes and wanes in NW California and SW Oregon.

  61. Greg Norton says:

    California was never an organized territory.

    That isn’t a smarta** joke on my part. I’m serious.

    California went from being part of Mexico to full statehood in about two years.

  62. Gavin says:

    Prasad’s “principles for alcohol.

    I find myself in agreement with some of these, notably 1, 12 and 16. The rest strike me as ranging from arrogance to elitism to misinformation.

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    Alcohol guy has some shirty recommendations.   

    n

  64. Nick Flandrey says:

    Kids are hi-larious.   D2 was trying to school me about tattoos tonight.   Arguing and getting upset about it because I’m generally against them.  She watches a 35yo tattooist on youtube that critiques them and explains about them… so she knows better.  MY tattoo is older than her expert, but I just don’t know anything.  Especially not about changing styles, subjects, the fickleness of fashion, or how most of the people I’ve talked to about it regret their choices later in life.

    Some of them are even still pro tattoo, just not the ones they have.

    She can’t conceive of ever changing her mind about something she’s thought long and hard about…

    oy

    n

    10
  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    I bought a package of double edge razor blades to keep at the BOL, and I swear, it says “for external use only” on the package.

    F me.

    n

  66. Alan says:

    >>“Texas Sues Allstate For Secretly Tracking Drivers Through Apps, Using Data To Raise Rates”

        https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/texas-sues-allstate-secretly-tracking-drivers-through-apps-using-data-raise-rates

    “In addition, Texas has accused Allstate of purchasing data about vehicles’ whereabouts directly from automakers in order to more accurately determine – not based on cellphone locations – when policyholders are actually driving.”

    “Participating manufacturers allegedly include; Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, and Stellantis’ Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati and Ram.”

    We need a right to privacy in the USA Constitution.

    We “gifted” that right to Page and Brin and the Zuc. Good luck getting it back.

  67. Alan says:

    >>I bought a package of double edge razor blades to keep at the BOL, and I swear, it says “for external use only” on the package.

    F me.

    n

    Well, there is this…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4UgcyYJnA

  68. Alan says:

    >>nick flandrey says:
     

    13 January 2025 at 23:30
     

    Hmmm, buy a bunch of dogs with other people’s money, make sure you and your partners get paid,  and eventually when the free money runs out, dump the junk off on others.

    Had to read this a few times before I realized you weren’t going all ‘Michael Vick’ on us.

    😉

  69. Nick Flandrey says:

    Nah, he ended up in prison, the other guys will end up with yachts. 

    \n

  70. brad says:

    Bring on 128 bit programming !

    There’s just not a lot of need for it in general computing – hence, no pressure. In special applications, you already have 256 bit processors (and probably more), but for general use? 64-bit integers are finally “big enough” for most purposes.

    The Senate confirmation hearing for …Pete Hegseth

    I was reading the leading Reddit post about this. Totally different echo chamber, where they cannot imagine how a mere Major could be qualified for such a post.

    However, he doesn’t have to lead the department by himself: he has a staff. He just has to lay down the guidelines: combat ready, no more DEI. It would be cool if he could also limit the Congressional influence on big-budget items. The amount of money he could save would be ridiculous.

    206 Democrats Vote Against ‘Cruel’ House Bill Banning Men from Competing in Girls’ Sports

    206 misogynists?

    My water heater is almost 15yo.  I started researching a pre-emptive replacement a couple years ago and discovered that new units have only a one year warranty. Some models will allow you to purchase a second year for about $100.

    Crazy. In our last house, the water heater must have been 20-30 years old, maybe older. Really hard water – the plumber serviced it every couple of years by hauling out buckets of accumulated crud.

    No idea how well our water heater in our new house will fair. The water is generally heated by the heat pump that also heats the house, but the water heater can add to that as needed. We only heat the water to 53C (so about 128F), because that’s hot enough for hand dishes and showering. Any other appliance that cares, like the dishwasher, heats its own water anyway.

    Just wait until you get in your middle 60s.  I am forgetting some much stuff that I should be doing, I will be 65 in a couple of months.

    Gawd, yes. We’re the same age, and I had a terrible memory to begin with. Additional downgrades due to age are not funny…

    I bought a package of double edge razor blades to keep at the BOL, and I swear, it says “for external use only” on the package.

    Random factoid, maybe of interest: I read a long and detailed article on why razor blades get dull. Turns out it’s not usage, it’s corrosion. Blow the water out, and dry the razor off after shaving, and the blades should stay sharp a lot longer.

    I’m experimenting…

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