Somewhat less hot today, at least to start. Supposedly whatever mixed stormy weather blew through yesterday will bring us more of the same, and a bit of a cool down. That’s ok with me. It’s been a pretty wet year so far though. Yesterday was one of those weather days when your experience depended entirely on where in town you were. Some people didn’t get anything but blue sky and sun, while Hobby Airport had enough storm to cause delays. I rearranged my pickups to avoid the massive storm cell over Pasadena and the south and east sides of town. I let the storm chase me north and west, and while I got a little wet, I completely missed the torrential downpour some places got.
After taking the kid to band clinic in the morning, and getting her back after noon, I went out to do pickups. Boat stuff, BOL household stuff, and some stuff for the house here, but nothing too interesting.
Today will be more of the same with the possibility of dropping stuff off at the auctioneer, if it’s not raining. I may do some ebay listings in the morning too. And I’ve got some office stuff to do. Basic life day.
Doesn’t mean YOU can slack. FFS, the whole world order is changing right in front of us. If you aren’t nervous, I want to know why.
Stack, work, or build relationships. Any and all will help, no matter what happens, or doesn’t.
nick
Granted, there have to be safeguards against greedy relatives, but: The assisted dying legislation that exists in a few countries needs to be extended to cover cases like this. At the moment, the patient must be able to give informed consent. Someone like your aunt is no longer able to do so.
I certainly don’t want to continue on as a living broccoli. And the costs – financial and emotional – can be devastating for the family. If there’s no reasonable life left, there needs to be a way to end it.
I think the problem is this: About 10% of people in any profession are actually really talented. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about doctors or plumbers. Some of the rest can do good work, under controlled circumstances, or with guidance from the 10%. However, at least half of the practitioners are placeholders, at best able to follow simple rules about how to do their jobs, at worst making a complete muck of things.
Around here, we also have a serious age problem. The majority of the GPs are nearing retirement age, or already past it. The only dermatologist in the area is in his 70s. The young up-and-coming Swiss doctors all want to go into high-paying specialties. No one wants to treat granny’s warts.
I keep having way too much to do – or, at least, more than I want to have. Problem is: I’m not much good at saying “no”. Neighbor needs a cord of wood sawn to length? Sure. School needs “one last” course covered? Sure.
I’m expecting August-to-October to be kind of nuts again. After that, some degree of sanity might return. If I say “no” to any new requests…
In the US, if the would-be doctor lacks family money, the student loans involved for medical school to eventually become a GP are exactly the same as they are for a high-paying specialty.
Ironically, dermatology is a popular field among the graduates with family money since the residencies tend to be mostly “armchair” medicine and most surgeries minimally invasive.
The downside of dermatology is that it will be among the first to be mostly automated by a camera linked to an AI.
As for the GPs in the US, the AMA has been plotting their replacement with MBBS (Masters degree) graduates from India and Pakistan.
I doubt my wife will ever go back to private practice in the US except as part time after she retires.
She is eligible for a FedGov pension now, but more time means a bigger check. 10 years seems to be the magic number, and she will hit that in 2029, at 59.
I certainly don’t want to subsidize the practice again. I always end up despising the functionally illiterate staff and most of the patients because the cr*p I tend to get from both strikes me as inappropriate given that I contribute financially towards their household incomes and care, respectively.
After nearly going Bankrupt in Vantucky I am the b*chiest doctor’s wife on the planet. My role model is Christine Baranski as Maryann on “Cybil”
People are selfish and tend to be possessive about my wife because she really does want to help them. As the brilliant John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox (another role model) noted on “Scrubs”, “People are not nice. People are bastard coated bastards with bastard flavored filling.”
“Cybil” ended on a cliffhanger, with Maryann arrested for the murder of “Doctor Dick”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSLsswy6VI
I just want the power to fire staff. I don’t want to kill anyone.
RIP.
https://newsroom.fedex.com/newsroom/global-english/frederick-w-smith-visionary-founder-of-fedex-dies-at-80
I got my letter from the Board of Veterans Appeals from TDIU claim.
There were 20 pages in the courts decision. Most of the pages were legalese, lots of medical stuff about limits, ranges, determinations, some past legal opinions, almost all of which I did not understand. I did pick out the key points that I did understand.
I was denied an increase in my back beyond 40%. The VA had given me 40% back in October of 2024 so no loss there. I had not applied for anything beyond 40% anyway. The board did give me 20% for each shoulder which I had not asked for in the claim. Interesting. Then the board combined the three claims (back and two shoulders) thus giving me a single claim at 60%. That along with the knee (30%), hearing (10%) and tinnitus (10%) gave me a rating above 70% which qualified me for TDIU. In fact, running the numbers with the VA math, I am now at 84% which the VA rounds to 80%. That is 10% more than I was prior to the decision.
Now comes the interesting part. The back pay date. The board states that the appeal period begins on March 17, 2017. The original claim was filed in March 2018. Apparently with TDIU there is a “look back” period of one year or when the injury occurred, whichever is later. The injury was sustained in 1974 making the “look back” one year. This makes the actual appeal period a year further back than the original claim.
I have learned through much research that TDIU claims are really not a claim for compensation, but a claim for an increase on an existing condition. The back injury is that existing condition. That spawns the one later date on the appeal period.
That means, I think, that the VA will pay me the difference between what I received during that time frame (April 2017 to the current date) and the 100% rating. The VA does not pay partial months so even though the appeal begins in March, I will only be paid from April forward. That is going to be a big chunk of change, well over $150K, according to my spreadsheet.
The best thing I did in the service, beyond getting married, was breaking my back. None of what I have claimed, exam movements and comments, were false or misleading. Exams have to reflect the worst days and that is what I reported. I was as honest as I could be during the exams.
It irritates me that I was lied to when I got out of the service and was told by the VA that I was entitled to nothing because the back injury occurred when I was “off duty”. In the military one is never “off duty”. I missed out on 20 years worth of benefits from the VA. I have no qualms about getting this TDIU rating.
I can now no longer earn more than approximately $15K a year, the poverty level. That is earned income. Interest , dividends, etc. don’t count in that number. That is not a big deal as I am retired. Social Security, retirement (which I don’t get), age, military pension (which I don’t get), do not factor into the TDIU decision. I quit work for two reasons. My back was hurting me and I was considering retiring. I enjoyed the job and the money so I kept working. I would take breaks and go lie down for 30 minutes a couple of times a day. Or more. When my friend died that sealed the decision to retire.
Moving forward I will be rated at 80% disability, which is significant in the eyes of the VA, and will be receiving compensation at the 100% rate due to the TDIU.
I would not have know about TDIU if that first federal judge had not turned down my increased rating claim and instead remanded the entire issue to TDIU.
It will take several weeks, maybe months, before I finally get the rating on the VA website and the back pay. That will be a good day indeed. And I will be done dealing with the VA claims system. Any further issues or claims would be just “poking the bear”.
That spawns the one earlier date on the appeal period.
Sunny and hot already. Kid is marching around a parking lot. She won’t wear a hat because it’s not “cute”. Neither is heat stroke kid. I told her this morning that if she gets a heat injury, she won’t be able to do marching band at all in High School as the effects take years to heal. Most of the other band kids are wearing hats, mostly variations on boonie hats. Stubborn brat.
———
Some office things to do, then go back and get the kid.
Meantime, coffee so good.
n
More of DoD’s wish list…
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/uncrewed/article/55298467/armored-combat-vehicles-defenses-against-small-uncrewed-aircraft
n
Skynet became active on . . .
Unmanned combat has been coming for, decades, yet we are just now thinking about how to defend against it. Short cited on our part.
Uke is a practice war and proving ground for nextgen irregular warfare. They are evolving new attacks and defenses to be used later.
n
Another win.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14842187/missing-kids-rescued-human-trafficking-operation.html
Two weeks. and they got 60 kids back. Imagine what they could do if they really spent some effort.
n
Anymore tRump admin wins and the Dumbo’s may just disappear themselves.
Ukraine is the first time Russia or China have faced an opponent with Western logistics such as cell phone networks, daily FedEx deliveries and infrastructure to support McDonalds.
Taiwan has far more Western infrastructure than Ukraine along with Japanese influence from the Formosa colonial era and real Rule of Law democracy. Plus, Taiwan had an active nuclear weapons program into the early 90s.
The generals are always fighting the last war.
“OneDrive user locked out of “30 years worth of photos and work” without any support — calls Microsoft a “Kafkaesque black hole””
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/onedrive-user-locked-out-of-30-years-worth-of-photos
If you store your stuff on another person’s device, I would expect your access to that stuff to be compromised exactly at the moment that you want it. Even if you are paying to store your stuff there.
“‘Expect Fireworks Today’ — Stephen Miller Vows Trump Admin Will Hold Rogue Biden Judge Accountable for Defying Supreme Court on Deportation Ruling”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/expect-fireworks-today-stephen-miller-vows-trump-admin/
“A Biden-appointed leftist activist in robes has declared he will ignore a clear ruling from the United States Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to deport criminal illegal aliens to third-party countries.”
“U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, appointed by Joe Biden in 2021, declared Monday evening that his May 21 ruling—which blocks the deportation of violent illegal aliens to third-party countries—remains in full effect, even after the nation’s highest court ruled against him in a decisive 6-3 vote.”
I feel an arrest of a black robe is coming soon.
“the cloud” is just “other peoples’ computers.”
———-
This is interesting. Last thirty days for us.
Top countries – visits
1.United States
2,713
2.United Kingdom
186
3.South Africa
162
4.Belgium
83
5.Canada
66
6.Australia
55
7.Singapore
20
8.Argentina
9
9.India
9
10.New Zealand
9
Top 10 Referrals
1.areaocho.com
33
2.fritchman.com
30
3.mojeek.com
2
4.online.seranking.com
2
5.icgo.net
1
6.commanderzero.com
0
I suspect that some of the foreign country visits are really VPN redirection, but it’s a broad reach…
It’s hard to know what metrics Google uses to decide if a visit is a real person or a robot, and IDK how they keep track of new and returning… since
seems nuts.
I’ve only had the metrics running for a couple of months. Before that nothing was running for a long time, and any stats were very suspect. All the way back when I took over full time, there was some google stat stuff running, but again, it was hard to know if there was any reality behind the numbers. BUT given a bunch of caveats, unique sessions have remained about where they were. That’s very gratifying.
And while some of you are still coming in via the home page, a really consistent number come every day of the week, directly to the daily page.
Thank you for your continued interest and support! YOU guys (and gals) make this place what it is.
n
I dump cookies frequently with Firefox restarts on various personal systems, which range from once a month to weekly.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/real-estate/article-14839107/florida-condo-law-home-values-hoa.html
So you can’t give away a condo in an old building because of new laws after the Surfside collapse.
One part of me is thinking “that’s what you get when you buy shoddy construction in a boomtown” and “that’s what happens when you defer maintenance” but another part, the part with the tinfoil hat is thinking “nothing happens with the law in FL without the big property owners knowledge and consent, so who benefits?” And the answer is – property developers who get to buy up the old buildings for pennies, and tear them down to build new luxury condos. Luxury condos that will sell very well, being new and compliant construction…
The state basically condemned all the existing old stock, wiping out the condo owners, but eventually enriching political insiders and property developers.
IDK if it’s the Law of Unintended Consequences, or a cynical and underhanded ploy.
n
That would be:
“Cynical and Underhanded Ploys”
for $100 Billion, Alex,
BANG! THE DAILY DOUBLE!!!
It’s Shaping Up to Be a Long, Hot Summer for Student Loan Borrowers
https://redstate.com/beckynoble/2025/06/24/student-loan-borrowersmay-be-in-for-a-cruel-summer-of-garnished-wages-n2190844
Being out of office is not an impediment. Impeach Biden now.
I’ve been blocking stuff on the pi-hole. A few are:
login.live.com
ecs.office.com
config.edge.skype.com
http://www.msftconnecttest.com
mobile.events.data.microsoft.com
All together about 2400 attempts in a 24 hour period from one PC. The PC is running fine.
Live has to do with Outlook.
Ecs for Office and such.
Skype is easy.
Msftconnecttest is a way Windows knows if it has an internet connection and may affect Windows Update, I’m not 100% sure. Connecting every five minutes seems a bit much.
Mobile.events has to do with Teams.
I don’t have any of that stuff. None of it has ever been installed. I read that un-installing the Microsoft Store would usually stop most of this stuff. Nope.
I’m drawing blanks looking for the Services that are running this stuff. I think I’ll block at the PC’s HOST file. Just to clear the clutter on pi-hole so I can see what else is trying to connect.
time.windows.com connects twice a day. I found that service if I want to disable it.
Huh. Penny wants something. My guess is a cookie.
With corrupt politicians in the back pockets of developers? Why must one even put forth the statement?
ICE Nabs Over a Dozen Iranian Nationals As Concern Over Sleeper Cells Deepens
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/06/24/ice-nabs-over-a-dozen-iranian-nationals-as-concerns-over-sleeper-cells-n2190845
No new charges, just criminals who have been in the U.S. illegally due to Democrat malfeasance. Note the ones “residing” in Democrat sanctuaries.
Accurate time is critical for the cryptographic routines to work properly in the age of “SSL Everywhere”.
If the domain bothers you, you can try pool.ntp.org.
Or you can run a GPS-based Stratum 1 server on your home network.
https://timemachinescorp.com/product/gps-time-server-tm1000a/
Currently ~ $90 billion annually out of the economy, with much of the paper issued since 2010 the Federal Government’s most lucrative income-generating asset.
The upside of nationalization is that being an asset of the Feds with the bill passed under the reconciliation agreement for Obamacare, true forgiveness of the entire student loan debt would be a *very* complex act of Congress.
Don’t forget AirBnB landlord wannabes and military people milking offbase housing allowances to build their “portfolio” of properties.
FL-1, Matt Gaetz’ Congressional district is possibly the most dependent on military spending in the entire country. The last time we went out there, the entire drive between Fort Walton Beach and Panama City was obvious AirBnB-oriented construction.
Texas Teen Karmelo Anthony Indicted for First Degree Murder in High School Stabbing Shocker
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/06/24/karmelo-anthony-indicted-murder-n2414704
They raised over $500k for his defense, and apparently have been spending it on grand thug life ever since. Be interesting to see how soon they tap out the reminder and cry poverty.
If there was any possibility of additional money, Benny Crump would already be there.
>>https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/06/24/karmelo-anthony-indicted-murder-n2414704
Karen Read’s defense attorney should be available…
There is video of the act, although I didn’t watch it or grab the link. From the initial description it was NOT self defense. I’m always a bit offended when people talk about using deadly force in “self defense” with ZERO understanding of what that means. What offends me is that I”VE studied the stuff, it’s literally life and death, and they can’t be bothered. It’s like foreigners demanding their Miranda rights in some foreign shitehole.
n
Just heard some thunder grumbling outside. It was sunny and not crazy hot most of the day.
n
Ohh, umm…hey, look over there, those are COWS!!!
Israel-Iran live updates: Early report says US strikes only set Iran’s nuclear program back months
https://apnews.com/live/iran-israel-war-updates-6-24-2025
Israel-Iran live updates: Early report says US strikes only set Iran’s nuclear program back months
– well if that’s the case, then clearly we need to hit them again, and fire anyone who was involved in the intel gathering.
n
The WWII code breakers were of inestimable value. Otherwise, from Pearl Harbor thru 9/11 till present day, I’d rate US intelligence services as incompetent maroons.
Maybe. Only the (some) Iranians know for sure.
And the Mossad, if we are lucky.
There has to be a reason they left the nuclear sites alone for a week. Record who went in, and who went out, and where?
Last of the fresh brats for dinner, with sauteed onion. Yum. Simple too.
Had an ‘off’ day. Didn’t get anything done after getting the kid from band clinic. I better do better tomorrow.
I will try for an early bedtime to facilitate that.
n