Mon. July 14, 2025 – life is but a dream, shaboom shaboom

By on July 14th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

And…… another couple of days of mixed sun and storm. Yesterday had the same on again off again storming as cells moved through the area. Today will probably have them too. The national forecast shows it finally clearing over Texas on Tuesday. If it doesn’t rain too much, and it lowers the air temp, I’m ok with it. But the whole flash flood thing has got to end.

I got nothing done. Woke late, felt all out of sorts with some sort of weirdness in my head, so I did auction stuff all day, which mainly means sitting at my desk looking at listings. Ok, one load of domestic bliss happened. Not much else.

Today I’ve got one kid visiting with grandma, one at Girl Scout camp, and no reason to get out of bed except the huge to do list… Hmmm, how motivated will I actually be? Really I’ve got some auction pickups that have to happen Monday and Tuesday, so even if I really wanted to, I can’t blow off the day. Plus, I’m already behind. WAY behind. And if I stay in bed too long, my back hurts.

Poor poor pitiful me. 😛

I will get out of bed, and I will do some things. Maybe without any kid taxi demands I can do MORE than usual? We’ll see.

It is weird not having them in the house or due home later. “The future awaits you in an offworld colony…”

Now I’m just rambling. Get out and do something, meet someone, or learn something new. And stack.

nick

46 Comments and discussion on "Mon. July 14, 2025 – life is but a dream, shaboom shaboom"

  1. EdH says:

    I will get out of bed, and I will do some things. Maybe without any kid taxi demands I can do MORE than usual? We’ll see.

    It is weird not having them in the house or due home later. “The future awaits you in an offworld colony…”

    An early taste of retirement.

  2. ITGuy1998 says:

    Re: wills and such. My dad put me on the title to his Ford Ranger to ease transfer if he died. After seeing him drive, I’m not sure I want that liability. He’s not dangerous, but he is almost 79. He is getting a new Maverick next month. I’ll just tell him not to bother adding me to the title on the new truck and the problem fixes itself. 

  3. Ray Thompson says:

    TSA lines would move faster if not for stupid people. 

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  4. Greg Norton says:

    Re: wills and such. My dad put me on the title to his Ford Ranger to ease transfer if he died. After seeing him drive, I’m not sure I want that liability. He’s not dangerous, but he is almost 79. He is getting a new Maverick next month. I’ll just tell him not to bother adding me to the title on the new truck and the problem fixes itself. 
     

    Don‘t let him put your name on the title of the new truck. A clever PI lawyer could argue that you were negligent letting your father drive the vehicle at 79, especially if he gets the turbo Maverick.

    I’ve been through this recently with Geico regarding my daughter’s accident in December. Fortunately, my name was not on the title.

    The truck title will transfer with a death certificate.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    TSA lines would move faster if not for stupid people. 
     

    TSA lines would also move faster without crotch gropings.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    @Ray – Have you done the train excursions out of Chattanooga?

  7. EdH says:

    Men of my father’s generation (he was born in 1923) seem to hang on to driving long after it is unsafe.

    He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t turn his head more than 15 degrees, and slower than molasses would be an overstatement of his reflexes.

    Each time I visited his car had more nicks and dents…

    But eventually he stopped, but that was more because of mobility issues involved with getting in and out of the vehicle than the fact that the DMV refused to license him because of his eyesight at about 80 yo.

    Such a relief to the family.

  8. Ray Thompson says:

    @Ray – Have you done the train excursions out of Chattanooga?

    No, not yet. Maybe one day. We have done the train through the Nantahala River Gorge, and also a train excursion out of North Georgia to Copperhill TN. Then there was the Durango-Silverton and the train operation out of Ely Nevada.

  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    TSA lines would move faster if not for stupid people. 
     

    TSA lines would also move faster without crotch gropings. 

    – wait  time for TSA lines would fall to zero if they were eliminated.   No one will ever again be able to take over a US plane.   The pilots followed doctrine, the doctrine has changed.   PASSENGERS have changed.   I can’t be the only one that carries giant zip ties in my carrryon bag.

    —————————–

    10am and 89F.   Sunny.  Very damp.   

    Time for tea.

    n

  10. Ray Thompson says:

    Security line at Las Vegas took almost an hour. I guess a lot of people catch early flights, especially going east. We ate breakfast in the airport, two of us, $55.00. Ugh. What are you going to do? They have you trapped and they know it. Bunch of crooks. Of course, most food in Las Vegas, in the hotels, was expensive. Alternatives were the typical fast food places but those are difficult to get to without transportation.

    Anyway, on our way home. We should be in our own cave by about 8:30 PM. Then we have to adapt to a new time zone. Three hour changes seem more difficult than six hour changes. And it is always harder going East than going West.

    We spent almost all of yesterday in the hotel. I took a couple of long naps as I was really sleep deprived and tired.

    The hotel room was about $55.00 a night. But then they tack on that annoying resort fee of $45.00 a night. Yeh, I knew it would be that much as that was figured in the total price. That price is about right for any decent hotel in Las Vegas. It can go a lot higher. Next time, if there ever is one, I will stay at the MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay. A little more money, but a little better place.

  11. MrAtoz says:

    Security line at Las Vegas took almost an hour.

    Since I am still flying regularly for the biz (ugh), I have Clear and Global Entry. Vegas can suck dead bunnies. I can’t count the number of times the preCheck line was closed because not enough TSA maggots showed up for work. Tough potatoes that you paid for preCheck, you ain’t getting it or a refund. Clear at least gets me to the front of the line, but it is only worth it if you fly regularly in/out of high density airports like Vegas, LAX, Miami, etc. It is gold at those places.

  12. Ray Thompson says:

    I can’t be the only one that carries giant zip ties in my carrryon bag.

    Sort of useless if the plane goes boom. That is the real problem.

    No one would be able to physically take over an airplane as the passengers would destroy the takeoveree. I personally would prop his/her feet on a seat, butt on the floor, knee facing up, and jump on the knee. Then do the same with elbows. And it would a coincidence if they survived with only one eye. If the person survived they would have to carry the torso off the plane and watch for broken ribs while stopping the limbs from flopping around.

    People were told at one time to cooperate with hijackers. That no longer exists and almost any male on the plane would make certain the person attempting to take over the plane would be hurt, really bad, in painful ways. In my opinion, no holding back in inflicting personal damage to any body part.

  13. MrAtoz says:

    …I have Clear and Global Entry.

    Get Global Entry if you fly in/out of the country. You also get preCheck and it is only $100. Walking through to the ID camera is a breeze. Especially if you only have carryon. But, it can be a crap shoot during the “interview”. MrsAtoz had a big, fat, white, racist DHS fuck during the interview. Basically mocked her browness and Mexican heritage. That guy deserved a baseball bat to the knees. Not much you can do since the ”interview” is private.

  14. MrAtoz says:

    Alas, I think tRump has “poked the pooch” on the Epstein files. He could have ended all of this speculation by releasing as much as possible. It could hurt during the midterms. The only reason for not releasing the files is tRump is in there, or, more likely, some powerful people are in there. Trying to bury them is no better than what plugs The Last did.

    Bye, bye, Bondi.

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  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    If trump was in the files in any significant way, we’d have heard about it.  His enemies have had control of the files for years.

    It’s got to be political allies.    

    n

  16. lynn says:

    We managed to get Dad’s pc up and running on the network.  We isolated everything on the network with Alexa crying and complaining all over the place.  How many Alexas can one house have ?  BTW, if Alexa controls everything, then you control nothing.

    In the process of snooping around Winders 10, my brother found a button that said “reload all network device drivers and reboot”.  He clicked it and we had networking with all of Dads passwords.  We now know where all the money is and where the money is going.  For instance, Dad did not pay cash for the new car last year, he put 50% down with an $1,800 per month payment and a balloon. 

    I am back home exhausted.  The trip to Walmart Friday was exhausting pushing Mom in a wheelchair who was pushing a buggy.  My shoulders are killing me.  I now know what incontenent old women buy and wish that I did not.

  17. Lynn says:

    My brother and I grabbed all of Dads guns.  I got my BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) .308.  But the five round magazine was not there.  We still have huge pile of stuff to go through so hopefully it is there.  Otherwise, a new Browning 20 round magazine is a cool $100.

  18. Lynn says:

    I am trying to decide whether to shave the beard for the funeral or not.  I will keep the goatee and mustache of course.  Mom says keep it and the wife says do whatever I want.  That snarky comment in June of “yeah that looks like a homeless man on a one month binge” comment bothers her when I repeat it.

  19. Lynn says:

    “The Browning Automatic Rifle: A Combat Chronicle”

        https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-browning-automatic-rifle-a-combat-chronicle/

    “The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is one of the most hotly debated military firearms in American history. John Moses Browning’s genius design from 1918 still has the power to evoke powerful emotions from small arms reviewers. Working with the editors at American Rifleman, I’ve assembled a group of comments from the troops who used in combat from World War I until the Korean War. Read More

    And it kicks like a freaking mule.  Five rounds and you want to want to lay down somewhere and cry.

  20. drwilliams says:

    “I will get out of bed, and I will do some things”

    I have been told that scratching and peeing do not count. YMMV.

  21. drwilliams says:

    You Can’t Spell California Without FO

    The societal decay from the legalization of pot is on display in the Golden State, along with every other state that has decided to legally partake, despite what federal law has to say about it. There is simply no place in America that has legalized pot that can honestly report that crime, drug use, and homelessness has gone down. It hasn’t. In the decade preceding legalization of pot in California, homelessness statewide decreased from 140,000 to 110,00. But post-2016, when the Golden State began going up in reefer smoke, there has been a 42% increase in people living on the streets. Mental illness cases have skyrocketed, and there are 53% more emergency room visits that are cannabis-related. Youth use of pot has increased, and the black market legalization was intended to wipe out has more than doubled. It’s been a disaster everywhere you look by any measure, unless you’re Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democrats. It’s been pretty good for business and political donations. 

    https://hotair.com/generalissimo/2025/07/14/you-cant-spell-california-without-fo-n3804757

    “Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in the U.S., and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision”

    “In the United States, the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the category reserved for drugs that have “no currently accepted medical use”, is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. After being proposed repeatedly since 1972, the U.S. Department of Justice initiated 2024 rulemaking to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The majority of 2024 public comments supported descheduling, decriminalizing, or legalizing marijuana at the federal level.”

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

    Fact is that medical uses have been known for a long time. As our understanding of the chemistry has involved considerably over the past few decades, we should be in a position to determine how best to use the many compounds that may have therapeutic value.

    I hope that HHS has someone compiling data to inform the debate. If the data is available the societal effects of legalization should be readily apparent. One of the problems, however, is that the states legalizing are dominated by urban blue shiiteholes which have been underreporting crime for decades.

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  22. Ray Thompson says:

    I have been told that scratching and peeing do not count. YMMV.

    Add in a good fart and the trifecta is achieved. And counts as a good day.

  23. drwilliams says:

    ” I can’t be the only one that carries giant zip ties in my carrryon bag.”

    Nope.

    “And it would a coincidence if they survived with only one eye.”

    So many friends with similar DNA.

    “If Alexa controls everything, then you control nothing”

    teeshirt!

  24. MrAtoz says:

    How many politician have promised to get rid of the Dept. of Education:

    Promises Made, Promises KEPT! SCOTUS Hands America 1st ANOTHER Win, Trump Admin Can Purge Dept. of Ed

    Who actually accomplished it? tRump. The ProgLibTurd judges voted against, of course. Another soup rice bowl eliminated from the Dumbo slush fund.

  25. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “In the process of snooping around Winders 10, my brother found a button that said “reload all network device drivers and reboot”.  He clicked it and we had networking with all of Dads passwords.  We now know where all the money is and where the money is going.”

    Major win.

    “I am trying to decide whether to shave the beard for the funeral or not.”

    I’d say the upside is that a number of people who have not seen you for a long time will get your best non-scruffy side. Is there a downside? 

  26. Greg Norton says:

    – wait  time for TSA lines would fall to zero if they were eliminated.   No one will ever again be able to take over a US plane.   The pilots followed doctrine, the doctrine has changed.   PASSENGERS have changed.   I can’t be the only one that carries giant zip ties in my carrryon bag.

    A mechanism exists in the law for an airport authority to boot the TSA, but only one facility has even dared to explore the possiblity, Orlando-Sanford.

    After 9/11, Americans weenied out once again and demanded Federalization of airport security. Now that it is here and staffed with union labor, the agency is not going away.

  27. Greg Norton says:

    In the process of snooping around Winders 10, my brother found a button that said “reload all network device drivers and reboot”.  He clicked it and we had networking with all of Dads passwords.  We now know where all the money is and where the money is going.  For instance, Dad did not pay cash for the new car last year, he put 50% down with an $1,800 per month payment and a balloon. 

    I just saw a report that 20% of the vehicles financed in the US in Q2 had payments of $1000 or more.

    This will not end well.

  28. Greg Norton says:

    We managed to get Dad’s pc up and running on the network.  We isolated everything on the network with Alexa crying and complaining all over the place.  How many Alexas can one house have ?  BTW, if Alexa controls everything, then you control nothing.

    Pulling the plug on an Alexa device is the only way to make sure she isn’t reaching out to the mothership.

    Kicking her off of your Wifi does not make a difference if she has a 5G tower or neighbors’ Alexa devices within range.

  29. Alan says:

    It’s got to be political allies. 

    Got to protect the deep, deep pockets who control the big, big money. 

  30. nick flandrey says:

    Home after my pickup and a quick stop to thrift.

    Did some troubleshooting at the shop, and there is no power coming out of the electric company meter.   The meter is on, it’s display works, so I think there is an admin or payment issue.   Buddy who I took the unit over from is on vaca in France, so can’t do anything for a few days yet. 

    It’s always something.

    n

  31. EdH says:

    I’d say the upside is that a number of people who have not seen you for a long time will get your best non-scruffy side. Is there a downside? 

    I can imagine a scenario:

    Relatives you haven’t seen for 20 years: “You know, Honey, that Lynn looks like he has money … maybe he can help us with our $200k (each) chef college student loans?

  32. drwilliams says:

    OTOH, maybe when they hear that their young-looking relative has some property for sale…

  33. Greg Norton says:

    Relatives you haven’t seen for 20 years: “You know, Honey, that Lynn looks like he has money … maybe he can help us with our $200k (each) chef college student loans?

    Chef college? That might actually be useful.

    No, more likely it was $200k to earn a “B-” average studying Art History at Brown.

  34. Bob Sprowl says:

    I read the threads where DMSO was good for your health.  I was tired and have numb feet and that was one of the things it was used for.

    So I ordered some.  A bottle arrived today.  No instructions or dosage recommendations.  The enclosed pamhplet said to go online.  I did.  Absolutely nothing about how to use it.  Lots of how wonderful it is.  

    I think I wasted my money.  

  35. nick flandrey says:

    @bob, you can try rubbing a few drops on the affected area and see if it does anything.  Increase the number of drops each time,  try to reapply when you notice any good effect dissipating .

    n

  36. drwilliams says:

    Saw ‘Superman’ and It’s Both Not What You Think, and Still Everything You Expected

    Personally, I’ve never read many Superman comics, I’ve never seen the 1980s Superman movies, and I actually think superhero movies can still be a fun time in the theater if done right. Moreover, I love James Gunn films. I think the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is one of the best things Marvel produced during its heyday. I think his Suicide Squad take was right on the money.

    As many of you know, Superman is sent to Earth by his Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van as a way to help Superman escape the destruction of his home planet. Traditionally, his parents were benevolent and good, but in this one, it’s discovered that they actually sent Kal-El to Earth to rule over it and breed with Earth women to create a new Kryptonian species. 

    https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2025/07/14/i-saw-superman-and-its-both-not-what-you-think-but-still-everything-you-expected-n2191610

    So the reviewer has insufficient background to draw on, and the producer is another soyboy that doesn’t have the talent to do a good story within a universe that someone else has created, or write something new.

    That’s the movie biz, and CGI is still a flying monkey flinging poo.

  37. EdH says:

    Chef college? That might actually be useful.

    Actual experience, sadly.  

    The secretary at a place I once worked had a boyfriend who graduated from a cooking school with about that much debt. He couldn’t get a job so he decided to go get a $50,000 loan to get a masters on top of that.

    The funny/sad thing is that she was smart, hard-working, and had a good head on her shoulders. He was a tatooed…something. Girls like the bad boys…

  38. lpdbw says:

    Girls like the bad boys…

    Saw a meme yesterday with a picture of a young girl saying:  

    Top of pic:  “My dad told me I should be a cop, and I said I didn’t want to”

    Bottom of pic:  “He said since we were both chasing the same guys I should at least get paid for it.”

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  39. Lynn says:

    Girls like the bad boys…

    Saw a meme yesterday with a picture of a young girl saying:  

    Top of pic:  “My dad told me I should be a cop, and I said I didn’t want to”

    Bottom of pic:  “He said since we were both chasing the same guys I should at least get paid for it.”

    I saw that meme here:

       https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/07/memes-that-made-me-laugh-269.html

  40. Greg Norton says:

    As many of you know, Superman is sent to Earth by his Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van as a way to help Superman escape the destruction of his home planet. Traditionally, his parents were benevolent and good, but in this one, it’s discovered that they actually sent Kal-El to Earth to rule over it and breed with Earth women to create a new Kryptonian species.

    There’s only one ‘p’ in “rapist”.

  41. Lynn says:

    “Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1) by Jack Campbell
       https://www.amazon.com/Dauntless-Lost-Fleet-Book-1/dp/0441014186?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number one of a six book military science fiction series. Plus several sequel series consisting of fourteen books total. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2006. I have purchased the five sequel books in this series and plan to read them soon.

    I did not know John G. Hemry was the real name for Jack Campbell as I purchased the Stark series quite a while back and enjoyed it also.

    The Alliance sent a war fleet into the Syndic home star system via the new FTL network to defeat the Syndics once and for all. However, the Syndics knew that they were coming and destroyed many of the Alliance space warships. Now the Alliance warships need to leave or be destroyed one by one. 

    The Alliance admiral left Captain John “Black Jack” Geary in charge of the Alliance fleet before he and his staff were murdered by the Syndics in the negotiations. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary was found by the Alliance fleet on their way to Syndic space, in stasis in an old emergency pod. A hundred year old emergency pod.

    Captain John “Black Jack” Geary may be a hundred years out of date but some things like tactics of war spaceship fleets never go away.

    The author has a website at:
       https://jack-campbell.com/

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (6,060 reviews)

    Lynn

  42. nick flandrey says:

    I’m headed to bed.   Sleep is catching up with me.

    n

  43. Lynn says:

    “Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County Dandelions”

        https://www.facebook.com/groups/1084827671602309/?multi_permalinks=24136995742625509

    “Time flies, a penguin doesn’t…”

    New Bloom County daily strip.

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  44. lpdbw says:

    I saw that meme here:

    Thanks.  I would have given credit and linkage, but I didn’t remember where I saw it.

  45. paul says:

    I read the threads where DMSO was good for your health.  I was tired and have numb feet and that was one of the things it was used for.

    So I ordered some.  A bottle arrived today.  No instructions or dosage recommendations.  

    No one wants to be busted for impersonating a doctor. 

    DMSO dosing: https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/i/167577883/dmso-dosing   Dang it, now you have to mess with Substack and subscribe for the entire article.   I happened to save the part I wanted.

    Legs/Feet: 50–80% (70% typical).  I dab it on full strength.  It makes my skin feel dry but not too bad.  Ears range from 20 to 50%.  I went with 33% to make measuring easy.  I use RO water to dilute.   Try a few drops as a “test patch” because folks vary. 

    I bought from the DMSO Store.  They are in Florida. It’s sold as 99.98% pure.  They have a website at  https://dmsostore.com/  Or via Big River: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HN9S5C5?tag=ttgnet-20  There are many options for number of and size of bottles 

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