Wed. Jan. 15, 2025 – oh, so you wanted it to dry out a bit…

By on January 15th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Another cold wet day is in the cards, if today will look a lot like yesterday. It started clear enough, but progressed to overcast and then scattered drops by nightfall. Never really got rain at the house, but had to use the wipers running the kid around town. Since the national forecast showed a rain blob encroaching on SE Texas over the next couple of days, I’m going with “cold and wet” again. C’est la vie.

Did some stuff. Did a couple of pickups. Talked to some cops. Adjusted my storage unit rent. Got the senior discount. First time for that…

Yep, while I was out doing pickups, I got a call that one of my storage units had been burgled. Turns out they broke the latching mechanism since they couldn’t cut my lock, rolled up the door, and took the first stack of black and yellow bins. That was ebay stuff mostly. They looked at a stack of books but didn’t take any that I could see. They took some stuff that looked like vintage electronics, but was not worth much, and left stuff that would have been an easy sell… They robbed 5 units in half an hour while the manager was off property for lunch. Turns out I have insurance, so I’ll make a claim. No deductible, and I won’t get near my limit. It’s better than a sharp stick in the eye.

That put me finishing my errands during rush hour which cost me extra time due to traffic. I’m not thrilled.

Today, youngest gets her braces off her teeth. She’ll be bouncing around all day. It’s me taking her to that appointment and then back to school, so my morning is full. My afternoon is catching up with stuff that I didn’t do yesterday. And I should probably cook something nice for dinner. Domestic bliss. Honestly wouldn’t miss it for the world, but it does mean I’m fooling myself with some of the other stuff.

It’s good motivation for stacking though. I’ll include some, even if just a little bit. Do what you can, when you can.

nick

52 Comments and discussion on "Wed. Jan. 15, 2025 – oh, so you wanted it to dry out a bit…"

  1. Denis says:

    Congratulations to D2 on beautiful teeth!

    It is cold here, but a smidge above freezing, so the snow layer is disappearing from places that get some insolation, though there is not much of that, as there is a haze of mist. Might be the snow subliming?

    Porridge for breakfast. Fresh tea. Beethoven on the radio. Magic. Wishing you all a good day.

  2. Greg Norton 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.

    Black Kow used to have a precaution like that on the outside of the bag.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    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.

    The Defense Secretary position is supposed to provide an informed civilian point of view or, at the very least, an opinion not tainted by the political games necessary to become a “flag” officer in the United States armed forces.

    The current Defense Secretary was a DEI hire General whose record included a stint at one of the freak show commands at MacDill in Tampa before going through the revolving door at Raytheon.

    Freak shows. I’ll stand by it. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the United States leading lights on Korea.

    https://mugshots.com/US-States/Florida/Hillsborough-County-FL/Brandon/Glen-Alan-Nagy.4695502.html

    Arrested after the Pentagon tried to sneak him back into the country at a small airport in … Loudon County!

    The civilian who brought the charges was pressured into dropping her case. The rest of the records are sealed by court order, but, on the Interwebz, everything lives forever.

    He’s not alone. The perp was one of about a half dozen like minded retired military-turned-contractors and consultants in my neighborhood outside Tampa with serious booze problems (based on recycle bin contents every Wednesday) at a minimum. The military needs civilian oversight.

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    why razor blades get dull. Turns out it’s not usage, it’s corrosion 

    – I agree.   I have always blown mine out, and air dried them.   I use the same 3 bladed gilette cartridge for months without issue.  I only shave once every three days or so, but still, I don’t remember the last blade change, maybe a year ago?  My cheeks are baby butt smooth if I take the time, and no “pulling”.

    ———-

    Chilly this am, but I didn’t look at the thermometer.    Had to hit the fridge in the garage for milk, eggs, and sucralose.   Coffee will be ready soon, and then the day can start.

    n

  5. Greg Norton 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.

    128 bit integers mean 128 bit pointers.

    Only Redmond sees the need for 2^128 address space.

    Lets see Windows on ARM really work first.

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    JUST IN: Biden SEC Sues Elon Musk Over Twitter Stock Purchase, Accuses Him of Underpaying Investors by More Than $150 Million

    Cristina Laila

    Jan. 14, 2025 7:20 pm

    – that would be the sale that the DoJ strong armed Musk into when he tried to get out after learning the true numbers?   The one that since has dropped in valuation dramatically?   Because an efficient market always finds the “true” value of a stock?

    n

  7. Nick Flandrey says:

    ah, cool not cold.   Dripping wet, very light misty drizzle.  Streets are wet, and a bit of damp on the face.   No actual drops that I can see.

    Just grey and yucky.

    n

  8. Ray Thompson says:

    Let’s see Windows on ARM really work first.

    I run Windows on ARM using Parallels on my MacBook. Does that count? Is that the same thing as what you stating?

  9. Greg Norton says:

    I run Windows on ARM using Parallels on my MacBook. Does that count? Is that the same thing as what you stating?
     

    Win32 code running on ARM Windows with only a slight performance hit.

    We can start with Lynn‘s software.

    To be fair, we will use one of my employer’s laptops running Windows ARM natively.

    Those sell like the proverbial ice water in Alaska.

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    Beloved craft store chain files for bankruptcy and sparks fears all 800 shops face the ax

    By DANIEL JONES, CONSUMER EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

    Published: 09:35 EST, 15 January 2025 | Updated: 10:54 EST, 15 January 2025 

    A beloved craft and fabric retailer with a history spanning over 80 years filed for bankruptcy Wednesday morning for the second time in two years.

    And experts warn it is now set to go out of business entirely after it made a big blunder while it was reorganizing its business after filing for Chapter 11 last March.

    Joann, which operates in nearly every US state, shut zero stores and tried to soldier on – rather than cutting loss-making shops and ending pricy leases. 

    That was a huge blunder and leaves it open to being bought by the same asset-stripping firm that scooped up Toys R Us and Gymboree – and seeing all stores close.

    — w-w-w-w-wipeout-t-t-t  !1!!1!!

    Speculation at this point but probably not going to suddenly get better.

    n

  11. lynn 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 first mainframe that I wrote software, Univac 1108, had 36 bit integers and 24 bit pointers with 1 MB addressing.

    The second mainframe, CDC 7600, had 60 bit integers and 26 bit pointers for 4 MB addressing.  

    The third mainframe, IBM 370, had 32 bit integers and 28 bit addressing for 6 MB addressing.

    Note that I am pulling these out of my memory.  I may be off by a bit or two.

    The first IBM PC had 16 bit pointers with base registers for 1 MB addressing.  Some guy named Bill Gates famously said that we would never need more than 640 KB of ram.  This has been superceded three times with 16 MB of addressing, then 4 GB addressing, and now 64 bit addressing.

    Dont worry, 128 bit addressing and 256 bit addressing will be coming along for the general populace.  These things grow over time.

  12. Ray Thompson says:

    Those sell like the proverbial ice water in Alaska.

    Send it to my brother. He could sell condoms to nuns.

  13. Greg Norton says:

    Speculation at this point but probably not going to suddenly get better.
     

    Academy was grim when we went in two of their stores before Christmas.

    With RTO, the HR droids don’t need as many pairs of yoga pants and Columbia vests.

  14. Lynn says:

    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.

    The water heater in your old house sounds like one of the old steam boiler types that had an accessible manway so the plumber could get inside of it.  Those require an ASME pressure vessel stamp per vessel and are very expensive and large.  Difficult to install and lots of space required.

    I set my water heaters at 120 F (49 C).  Anything higher than that can be dangerous for the young or the aged.

    Your new system should be very efficient during the air conditioning season (if you have one).  During the heating season, it should still be efficient above an outside temperature of 20 F (-7 C) or so.  Even below outside temperature of 20 F, most heat pumps still have a return of 2X for the electricity used.

  15. Lynn says:

    128 bit integers mean 128 bit pointers.

    Only Redmond sees the need for 2^128 address space.

    Lets see Windows on ARM really work first.

    Not necessarily.  Many older machines used smaller pointers than their integer size.

  16. Lynn says:

    Academy was grim when we went in two of their stores before Christmas.

    With RTO, the HR droids don’t need as many pairs of yoga pants and Columbia vests.

    RTO ?

  17. Lynn says:

    “Dilbert Reborn – January 13, 2025 – Posted for free on X”

        https://www.reddit.com/r/dilbert/comments/1i12slq/dilbert_reborn_january_13_2025_posted_for_free_on/

    I wonder what Dogbert’s plan is.

  18. Greg Norton says:

    Not necessarily.  Many older machines used smaller pointers than their integer size.
     

    68000. Doh!

  19. nick flandrey says:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/preventable-deaths-and-vitamin-d3

    – I’ve been taking large doses of D3 daily since the beginning of wuflu.    I reduced slightly a year or so ago, and my bloodwork has my level at the higher end of “good”.   I have noticed a significant reduction in colds and other sicknesses.    It’s inexpensive, there isn’t a real downside, and I believe there is a significant benefit, since I have kids in school to bring home the nasties.

    Dr told my wife she should take D3 daily, so she raids my supply when she remembers.    Seems to help her too.

    n

  20. EdH says:

    With AI grading job applications now the suits aren’t going to need as many HR droids.

    Down the road I imagine that being “in office” will be the only way up the corporate ladder.

    If told you are suddenly WFH your career would effectively be over, no chance to smooze and impress the suits above you.

  21. Ray Thompson says:

    Dr told my wife she should take D3 daily, so she raids my supply when she remembers

    The VA has me on a weekly pill for vitamin D. According to my primary physician (not the VA) an hour in the sun daily is enough for most people to get enough vitamin D. Which is sometimes difficult in the winter.

  22. EdH says:

    Dr told my wife she should take D3 daily, so she raids my supply when she remembers.    Seems to help her too.

    I just put mine in the daily pill case alongside the other meds.  My Dr. was astounded by my initial bloodwork, said I should have rickets.

  23. nick flandrey says:

    enough for most people to get enough vitamin D  

    – enough to do what?   If the answer is like in the article – “prevent rickets” I’ve got that covered.     It’s a bit like emergency food that provides “enough” calories.   Enough to only lose 1 pound per day until you are rescued?  Or enough to do the physical work you need to do to survive on your own?

    n

  24. Lynn says:

    “Tesla fails yet again to nab federal funding for charging infrastructure”

        https://www.chron.com/culture/article/tesla-california-texas-charging-20033545.php

    “The Department of Transportation won’t be giving Tesla millions of dollars this time around.”

    “Tesla’s request first came about in 2023, following the $1 trillion infrastructure deal that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021, which included a charging and fueling infrastructure program. Using $24 million of its own money, Tesla would’ve used the funding for nine semi-truck charging stations between northern California and Laredo, Texas.”

    Everyone involved in this decision needs to be fired.  Either they are going to subsidize electric vehicle charging or not.  This proves that electric vehicles are political items, not desperate needs.

  25. EdH says:

    The moisture sensor/alarm someone mentioned a couple of days ago arrived, tested it -Loud! – and stuck it in the pan under the water heater.

    I was concerned that the metallic contacts on the bottom would make it go off when touching the metal pan, but so far so good.

  26. Greg Norotn says:

    Academy was grim when we went in two of their stores before Christmas.

    With RTO, the HR droids don’t need as many pairs of yoga pants and Columbia vests.

    RTO ?

    Return To Office.

    The rumors are that we will be told to go back to five days a week in February.

    There is also talk about zeroing the annual bonus for some people over nitpicky things.

    We will see who is left in March.

  27. nick flandrey says:

    Yeah, this year a lot of people will be let go early.   Financial sector, and legal.   They did bonuses, and didn’t fire before Christmas because of the optics, but massive cuts are coming according to my sibs.

    Also bonuses were low, and there were punitive aspects to the numbers.

    n

  28. Greg Norton says:

    Also bonuses were low, and there were punitive aspects to the numbers.

    Yeah, that’s what’s going on at my employer.

    There is no money in the monkey trick for anyone except Nvidia.

  29. Lynn says:

    “Transvestite Congressman “Sarah” McBride Caught on Camera Sexually Grooming Kindergarten Children”

       https://rumble.com/v69ibq1-transvestite-congressman-sarah-mcbride-caught-on-camera-sexually-grooming-k.html?e9s=src_v1_upp

    And there you go, trying to get the kids say that they want to be trans.

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

  30. Greg Norton says:

    I was concerned that the metallic contacts on the bottom would make it go off when touching the metal pan, but so far so good.

    No, but the circuit is sensitive. If the flue for the water heater is anywhere close to the pan, you may get a false alarm on occasion when the wind blows just right during a rain storm.

    Fortunately, my water heater is right at the top of the ladder to the attic.

  31. Greg Norton says:

    “Transvestite Congressman “Sarah” McBride Caught on Camera Sexually Grooming Kindergarten Children”

    I don’t understand. Did McBride not have the final “confirmation” surgery?

    Again, just wait until Oscar season. If there is an Academy Awards this year.

  32. Greg Norton says:

    BTW, coverage of the Cotton Bowl outcome has been non-existent here in Austin, even on Sunday night.

    The NCAA dropped the dime on Coach Sark, but my guess is that the TV people didn’t think Touchdown Jesus would be the Ohio State opponent in the final game rather than Georgia.

    Great ratings coming right up … in Ohio and Indiana.

  33. Lynn says:

    “Google Is Allowing Device Fingerprinting”

        https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/01/google-is-allowing-device-fingerprinting.html

    “Lukasz Olejnik writes about device fingerprinting, and why Google’s policy change to allow it in 2025 is a major privacy setback.”

    I am surprised that it has taken Google this long to do device fingerprinting.

  34. Lynn says:

    “Top comics distributor Diamond files for bankruptcy”

       https://boingboing.net/2025/01/15/top-comics-distributor-diamond-files-for-bankruptcy.html

    “Diamond, the comics distributor that came to dominate the direct-sales business between publishers and retailers, is entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Locus reports that it secured a $41m loan to keep it running while it sells itself off for parts. Company president Chuck Parker issued what he called one of the most challenging messages of his career.”

    Wow, what a long strange trip it has been.  I used to read Spider Man and X-Men whenever I could back in the 1960s and early 1970s.

  35. nick flandrey says:

    HEB had ribeye steaks on sale for $6/lb.  It’s only “select” grade but we’ll give it a go.

    n

  36. drwilliams says:

    The Synergistic Interplay between Vitamins D and K for Bone and Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review

    Int J Endocrinol. 2017 Sep 12;2017:7454376. doi: 10.1155/2017/7454376

    7. Vitamin D and K Supplementation

    Based on the current body of evidence, there is not enough evidence to recommend combined vitamin D and K supplementation for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Most trials studied low-dose vitamin D in isolation (400–800 IU daily), which demonstrated only modest or null effects on BMD and fracture prevention in mostly ≥65 years postmenopausal women [6-8]. Large clinical trials of moderate–high dose (≥800 IU daily) vitamin D supplementation (cholecalciferol) are currently in progress.

    The most widely used vitamin K form for supplementation is vitamin K2 and more specifically menaquinone-4 and menaquinone-7. Menaquinone-4 is more used in trials with bone outcomes, while menaquinone-7 is more in trials with cardiovascular outcomes with dosages between 90–360 μg. Menaquinone-7 has a higher bioavailability and may be of particular importance for extrahepatic tissue [83]. No cut-off value for vitamin K status nor vitamin K supplementation is available yet. Future studies are needed to determine whether vitamin D combined with vitamin K rich foods or vitamin K supplementation could improve bone and cardiovascular health.

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5613455/

    Two questions:

    1) 7 years later, is there a more recent examination of the ongoing research?

    2) What are yous guys taking?

    My current is D3 50mcg (x40) or 2000 IU / no K. I backed it down from 5000 IU previous.

  37. Greg Norton says:

    Wow, what a long strange trip it has been.  I used to read Spider Man and X-Men whenever I could back in the 1960s and early 1970s.

    Comics went Woke and then broke before the movies.

    The indie publishers will keep the artform alive, but that won’t do anything for the comic shops in the short-medium term.

    Marvel and DC will need new owners.

    I went to see Dean Cain when he was signing at a con in Dallas, and I took my Vol. 1 of “Dean Cain All American Lawman”, a Kickstarter I supported after hearing his collaborator’s story on a podcast.

    We snickered like schoolboys over the cover of the next book.

    https://www.bigmancomics.com/campaign/dean-cain-all-american-lawman-vol-2-the-hong-kong-connection/

    Cain may have been doing schtick, but he was very cool. That’s how comics will get rebuilt.

    BTW, the line to see Cain was very diverse for a non-Woke Superman. Like “Star Trek TNG”, “Lois and Clark” was family and inspiration to a lot of people in the early 90s.

  38. Lynn says:

    2) What are yous guys taking?

    My current is D3 50mcg (x40) or 2000 IU / no K. I backed it down from 5000 IU previous.

    Nada for me.  My skeleton size is off the charts which went to 2.75 inches at the wrist for XL.  I am 3.0 inches at the wrist, XXL.

    Nada for my wife.  My wife has the typical Cherokee Woman frame, short and wide, XL.  She is tall for a Cherokee woman, 5’4″.   Her sister is 5’1″.   Her mother was 5’0″ and her mother was 4’10”.  My wife lost 10% of her bone density during chemo in 2005 but gained some of it back in the ensuing five years when they had her on a prescription bone drug.

  39. Lynn says:

    “The US officially bans red food dye over possible risk of cancer”

       https://endtimeheadlines.org/2025/01/the-us-officially-bans-red-food-dye-over-possible-risk-of-cancer/

    “Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced a ban on Red Dye No 3, a controversial food and drug coloring long known to cause cancer in animals.”

    Regulators gotta regulate.

  40. nick flandrey says:

    I do 5000 IU of D3 daily.   An extra 1k or 2 if I’ve been around snifflers or had to shake a lot of hands, or was traveling.

    n

  41. Ken Mitchell says:

    The “Recommended Daily Allowance” for most vitamins is “barely enough to prevent a vitamin deficiency disease”.  The RDA for Vitamin C is barely enough to prevent scurvy, so I take 1000mg of it. I take 10,000 IU of vitamin D3. 

  42. Lynn says:

    The “Recommended Daily Allowance” for most vitamins is “barely enough to prevent a vitamin deficiency disease”.  The RDA for Vitamin C is barely enough to prevent scurvy, so I take 1000mg of it. I take 10,000 IU of vitamin D3. 

    I take 1,000 mg of chewable Vitamin C daily.  I love the taste.

       https://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Vitamin-Orange-Chewable-Tablets/dp/B00C1RGR1Q?tag=ttgnet-20

  43. nick flandrey says:

    vitamin c makes my throat itch and swell so I don’t take it.

    n

  44. nick flandrey says:

    I do however eat a lot of things that have vitamin c in them, like onions, brusselssprouts, broccoli,  etc.

    Not much citrus though.

    n

  45. Lynn says:

    “Mike Pence Tries to Block RFK Jr’s Confirmation”

       https://americafirstreport.com/mike-pence-tries-to-block-rfk-jrs-confirmation/

    Well, that confirms it.  Mike Pence is still an asshole.

    4
    1
  46. Lynn says:

    I do however eat a lot of things that have vitamin c in them, like onions, brusselssprouts, broccoli,  etc.

    Not much citrus though.

    I also eat 2 or 3 Mandarins a day.

       https://cutiescitrus.com/products/cuties/

  47. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m gonna guess that you can prevent rickets with very little vitamin c.   

    n

    I do stack multivitamins for the worst case scenario.
    n

  48. Lynn says:

    I’m gonna guess that you can prevent rickets with very little vitamin c.   

    Scurvy ?

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

    Rickets is low vitamin D.

       https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rickets/symptoms-causes/syc-20351943

  49. Lynn says:

    “Those Climate Apocalypse Predictions Have Worn Thin”

        https://granitegrok.com/national/2025/01/about-those-climate-apocalypse-predictions-this-has-worn-thin

    “As I have had to say WAY too many times here at GraniteGrok, I’ve been around since before the first Earth Day. I’ve lived through the mainstream media’s yammering that “We’re all gonna die” – not from Global Warming but from an incipient Ice Age that was descending upon us. For well over 50 years, I’ve been listening to the huge number of dire predictions about “Climate Change” (as if Earth’s climate has been status quo for, oh, hundreds of years (no, it hasn’t – only joking) that will wipe us all out.”

    “And the only prescription has been to:”

    • “trust the experts”
    • “look to Government for salvation”
    • Pay more taxes

    “And lately, from the WEF (World Economic Forum, aka “the Davos Tyrants”), we get “You’ll own nothing but be happy”. Eat your bugs.”

    “And one of the most odious of them all has been that Boston Brahmin, living off his second wife’s first husband fortune, has been Lurch. Otherwise as known as John F. Kerry – former Senator, former Secretary of State, Special Climate envoy to the UN, and general overall blowhard. You can just imagine his “forcefulness” that we MUST, as one of our betters, believe him:”

    Me too.  I am so tired of all of the failed predictions.  We need to stone a few of these so-called prophets. Make the rest of them scared to just throw crap predictions out there.

  50. Ken Mitchell says:

    I’m gonna guess that you can prevent rickets with very little vitamin c. 

    The vitamin C  RDA is around 75 mg/day. Much less than that, and you run into the risk of scurvy. Dr. Linus Pauling spent the last third of his life trying to get the RDA raised, because ascorbic acid is required in a number of metabolic processes. He was recommending 1,000 mg/day. 

  51. Nick Flandrey says:

    Of course, I conflated the mention of rickets earlier, and the vit C conversation.

    Jerryp used to say that he might be extending his life and health, or just making expensive urine.  It was his choice to do so though.   

    I”m not much for supplements, but the D3 and B12 and the one for better vision seem to be working for me.  

    n

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