Cold again. Mid 40sF and not getting much warmer during the day. Add in grey sky and possible rain, and today could be cold and teh sux. Yesterday was a clear, sunny day, and with long pants and long sleeves, I got by without a jacket for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Probably won’t be that way today.
I did my pickups, after some computer stuff in the morning. I’ve got more to do today. I also hit the HEB for some veg. I did get 10 pounds of pork shoulder for carnitas and pulled pork. Beef is crazy expensive. Choice tenderloin steaks (filet mignon) were $23/pound. Hamburger was $5.50 for 73/27. Other than the shoulder, I am eating meat out of the freezers.
Today I’ve got stuff to do around the house, of course. I’ve got a choice of doing a couple of pickups too. I don’t want to forget about the generator I need to make a special trip to get either. W was thinking of going to the BOL this weekend so I might finally get some stuff out of the house and my shop. It would be nice to have the room ready for the tree tonight…
We’ll see what we get to and what gets done. There’s always something. Stack.
nick
Wednesday. Sun is up, but not visible. Half a day’s work done already, now getting outside of some porridge and tea. Wonderfood, or at least good for one’s mood.
Trains were under discussion yesterday. Trams are good in cities, and light rail works for commuting distances, from dormitory town to the big smoke. Long distance high-speed passenger train travel works well only if the planners are ruthless about eliminating frequent halts and doing only really long distances at speed, like in France or Japan. The Germans dropped the ball, with their ICE, that stops at minor towns.
Have a beautiful day!
re trains, it’s too bad Kamala Harris didn’t win the election. She knows all about trains. Especially pulling them.
I forgot to mention, high-speed passenger service means it is not viable to run the passenger trains on the same lines as freight and/or local and regional services. Having a second, partially independent, train network is probably not economical. In Europe, it is heavily subsidised by the public purse.
In the U.S. none of the passenger service is economical. I haven’t seen recent subsidy figures, but twenty years ago it was typically $15-20 per passenger per trip. All out of the taxpayer pockets to sacrifice to the green weinies.
The Monkey Trick runs on x86_64.
It isn’t just about the CPU. Building a world class server platform is challenging.
Intel won’t be able to sell the M1 to other customers. Apple does not want to replace Wintel as hardware R&D for Linux.
43F and the sun is poking out. Looks dry so far.
Coffee is ready to start, lunch is made. Kinder are moving around.
The day is starting.
n
The impact of DEI and other HR brain farts on the promotion/raise decision making is far more devastating than the affect on hiring.
Bad new hires get bored and leave quickly, especially at legacy tech giants such as my employer or Intel, which Wall Street likes to paint as circling the drain in order to game the stocks.
My standoff this year with my employer regarding Go was about paygrade and being asked to cover unqualified individuals above me using my skills and 30 years of experience.
I learned last week that the salary difference going one level above mine is a mid-five figure dollar amount, a little less than the total annual cost of running my household.
Yeah, I’ll get right on those C++23 core dumps.
I had just ran the household numbers, something I do every six months to make sure we have a year of expenses in a CD at the credit union which receives the part of my direct deposit I don’t want my wife’s employers to know about.
I don’t care if my wife knows about the account. She actually griped when I took her to the credit union to sign as co-owner.
Worse is when they don’t. They’re just self-aware enough to realize that they have a sweet gig, better than they can expect if they leave.
But they’re not self-aware enough to overcome their boredom, so they stick their uninformed or incompetent hands in others’ work and mess it up or screw with productivity.
Being beaten with hammers is too good for them. But beat the hiring managers first.
Sounds like some citizenship enforcement going on this morning on the scanner. The Gulf Coast Interop channels have multi vehicle surveillance going on on what sounds like landscaper trucks, then they pull them over and chase the occupants.
At least two groups working on different channels.
n
Ah one is working north houston, one working southwest central houston. And they are waiting for someone to pick up day labor, then they bust them.
n
Again thanks for the travel feedback – appreciated.
Any particular recommendations for accommodation in Nashville and Chattanooga?
The cops in north Houston were going after a specific guy. That guy got his legal status in order though, so “we can’t touch him.” Their other target wasn’t around.
It was the guys in southwest central that were going after the day labors.
n
Still dealing with minor issues from scrapping the old boat last month, namely getting it off the Ventura county tax rolls by January 1. I finally broke through to an actual person at the county assessors office (not the tax office!) and they are going to send me a form.
They’re a little confused because it’s not California registered but rather a federally documented boat and so the standard disposal form from the DMV isn’t available. But she agreed that it was very old (47 years) and mentioned it would probably have dropped off the tax rolls soon due to depreciation causing it to fall under their minimums.
The wrecker sent me an invoice & disposal document to review & I will just attach that and send with their form back to the county.
TBH, I am reluctant to look at it because I really don’t want to see any attached pictures of the boat being destroyed. Call me sentimental.
“Glenn Beck’s fiery response to Mark Kelly’s tantrum over Hegseth’s Franklin meme”
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/glenn-becks-fiery-response-to-mark-kellys-tantrum-over-hegseths-franklin-meme
“On November 28, the Washington Post published an explosive report accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of war crimes connected to the Trump administration’s controversial military strikes on alleged drug trafficker boats in the Caribbean — a claim even the New York Times refuted with five official sources.”
“Hegseth then trolled his critics by posting an AI-generated meme parodying the children’s book franchise “Franklin the Turtle.” The image depicts Franklin dressed in military gear firing a rocket launcher from a helicopter at drug-smuggling boats, the fake book cover reading, “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.””
I love it !
And Mark Kelly “The Turtle” shows up again in controversy. The senator is a seditious jerk.
Depends on what you are willing to pay. For Nashville the top of the line is the Opryland Hotel. Top notch place. Top notch price. The interior is outstanding.
Otherwise, I am partial to Hampton Inn. Reasonable price, good breakfast, good rooms, good service. Any decent hotel will cost from $150-200 a night. I don’t stay in places with external entrances to rooms if I can avoid such facilities.
Try using Hotels.com to search for rooms. La Quinta off Briley Parkway is OK in Nashville. I have stayed there. There is also one near Lookout Mountain.
For Nashville:
https://www.hotels.com/Hotel-Search?destination=Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America®ionId=637&latLong=&d1=2025-12-04&startDate=2025-12-04&d2=2025-12-07&endDate=2025-12-05&adults=2&rooms=1&sort=RECOMMENDED&theme=&userIntent=&semdtl=&categorySearch=&useRewards=false&children=&pwaDialog=&daysInFuture&stayLength
For Chattanooga:
https://www.hotels.com/Hotel-Search?destination=Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America®ionId=637&latLong=&d1=2025-12-04&startDate=2025-12-04&d2=2025-12-07&endDate=2025-12-05&adults=2&rooms=1&sort=RECOMMENDED&theme=&userIntent=&semdtl=&categorySearch=&useRewards=false&children=&pwaDialog=&daysInFuture&stayLength
Another option is Mount Juliet just east of Nashville. Hampton Inn is a good place to stay.
https://www.hotels.com/Hotel-Search?destination=Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America®ionId=637&latLong=&d1=2025-12-04&startDate=2025-12-04&d2=2025-12-07&endDate=2025-12-05&adults=2&rooms=1&sort=RECOMMENDED&theme=&userIntent=&semdtl=&categorySearch=&useRewards=false&children=&pwaDialog=&daysInFuture&stayLength
A lot depends on your needs, wants, and money willing to spend. One night in the Opryland Hotel, while expensive, is really an experience. Especially with all the Christmas lights this time of year. But traffic is a real mess getting in, and out, of the area this time of year.
Paul should get the full local experience by sleeping in a cardboard box in an alley. What’s the point of traveling if you’re just going to stay in a hotel which looks like any other hotel room anywhere in the world?
I did my pickups, after some computer stuff in the morning. I’ve got more to do today. I also hit the HEB for some veg. I did get 10 pounds of pork shoulder for carnitas and pulled pork. Beef is crazy expensive. Choice tenderloin steaks (filet mignon) were $23/pound. Hamburger was $5.50 for 73/27. Other than the shoulder, I am eating meat out of the freezers.
Just remember, we will call these the good old days in the not so far future. My farming / ranching friends are reporting that their costs are skyrocketing. Of course, 70% of beef eaten in the USA is imported and tariffed.
I learned last week that the salary difference going one level above mine is a mid-five figure dollar amount, a little less than the total annual cost of running my household.
Wow, you are incredibly frugal. My household is running $150k per year. It is one of the things keeping me from retiring.
Of course, I just paid $50k of property taxes and insurance for the office complex.
Plus $6k of cataract expenses this year. That is one for the wife and two for me.
Putting aside the new roof, pool leak repair, and the new Cowboy Cadillac, we get by on less than $50K a year. That includes property tax, insurance, food, utilities, etc. Having no debt, credit card debt or house, payment really makes a big difference.
We could get by, if we really cut back, on $30K a year. But that would not be a good existence.
In light of some current events, would not surprise me to see an American Occupation of Venezuela anytime soon. It would end an immensely corrupt regime and some untoward foreign influences by the other global hegemons.
Occupation would put new teeth in a PetroDollar 2.0, making Treasuries more valuable. Texmen would not be pleased though with new competition and no doubt a local insurgency would develop.
There are also gold and emeralds there.
He could split the difference & do stealth camping in the rental car, Walmart parking lots at 2:00am are quite the happening place…
Humor aside I found the La Quinta Inn’s to be “OK” on my to/from California/Texas trip last year. There was noticeable variation between different cities but nothing like a Motel 6 experience.
None had kitchen’s – which is normal in the USA, but has surprised foreign guests before.
Wednesday bedtime.
I spent the afternoon redoing some really awful IT hardware installation work in my office, which involved a lot of crawling around on the floor, lying on my back, and working overhead.
The paid installers did, of course, the bare minimum to get a phone, a docking station and two screens running. They routed all the cables the easiest and fastest way, and paid no attention to the ergonomics of the desk layout. It was unusable.
A lot of extra effort later, I have a layout that I can at least work with, cables routed tidily (velcro tape for the win), and electrical sockets in sensible places for peripherals, phone chargers and such.
One thing that really struck me is the small size and poor picture quality of the flat ThinkPad-branded monitors that were provided by my employer. If I am going to spend much time at this desk, I will buy myself a couple of good, big, curved Samsungs…
Only surpassed by a night at the YMCA in the homeless district.
We did Motel 6 in Richland WA. because we were stupid. Never again. Even Super 8 in Spokane was marginally better. Super 8 would have been better being called ”Dull 7”.
Our most recent trip in September:
Cleveland, TN – Fairfield Inn – Reviews are mixed, but the hotel has been undergoing renovations over the last year. We didn’t have any problems.
Downtown Chattanooga – Hilton Garden Inn – Central location and has self parking not valet.
Nashville – Omni – We had a convention rate. Extremely nice but a long walk to the entertainment district if you plan to imbibe.
Previous trip in 2022:
Chattanooga – Hampton Inn near Lookout Mountain – Decent for the money and really convenient to everything on the mountain.
Nashville – Holiday Inn Express behind the Opryland complex next to … I’m not kidding … Cooter’s Place – again decent for the price.
All of the above places had continental breakfast except the Omni. The Hilton Garden Inn in Chattanooga was a bit more upscale so bring a cash tip if you stay there.
“The Young Ones” was 1984, not 1980.
Still, the UK has been waiting 41 years for Mike to bring home The Cure. All they got instead is Madness on repeat play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjvlkErrw_M
Before I forget. All three locations are time capsules from a completely different era.
https://cootersplace.com/
Budget hotels near Opryland more than 15 years old were likely flooded in 2010. We didn’t have a problem with the Holiday Inn Express, but it was new.
The Green Room at the Grand Ole Opry still has the water stains on the walls showing how high the water reached inside the building.
The number I cited does not include food or the kids college expenses. Forget extras.
The college expenses get set aside in CDs nine months in advance.
@25F predicted for tonight, with a NE wind (this places’ most unprotected aspect) of 15 gusting to 25mph.
I went by the local market and picked up some diesel for the little truck heater, and some milk and veggies (and a package of small chocolate donettes that somehow fell into my cart, but then these things happen).
Unfortunately I became busy with some tax stuff and phone calls from friends and never did get the truck heater set up. It’s not a big deal, I have the pellet stove I normally use, and backup electrical, propane, and kerosene heaters. I admit to not having started the little inverter-generator since this spring.
Say Mr. Lynn, how is the vision today?
No more Crucial RAM builds thanks to the Monkey Trick demand.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/after-nearly-30-years-crucial-will-stop-selling-ram-to-consumers/
Hmm, cloudflare seems to be down again and still. I can’t bid in my auctions because it goes thru cloudflare “prove you’re a human”…
n
I’m surprised they lasted this long.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/go-woke-go-broke-designer-behind-ridiculous-jaguar/
n
DNS. It’s always DNS.
Except when it’s a refactorization into Rust.
Except when it’s Bad Orange Man.
Time enough to give the board that oversaw this a chance to cover their butts?
Maybe they thought that, like communism, the wokening hadn’t been tried hard enough?
Part of the ‘getting the room ready for the Christmas tree’ activities involved getting one of the 3d printers out of the box and onto the bench.
I now have a Flashforge Adventurer 5M and I printed benchy in about 10 minutes. It’s a lot faster than the open frame creality one, plus it has self level and heated plate. The box can now go back into the attic.
———
Turns out the group home is for recovering addicts. Presumably they will graduate from their program and move out at some point.
Across the street neighbor is NOT thrilled.
n
Or someone violating workplace security policy by “working” from home via TeamViewer.
Scanner has been busy all day.
After the illegal roundup, there was a group doing a drug buy and follow home. There was another group serving warrants. And tonight I haven’t figured out what they are doing yet but at least one group is on the air.
n
Yuck, rain started.
n
Do the owners have a mortgage on the property?
Call the mortgage company.
I am watching the “Atlas Shrugged” movie series on Prime. It is like watching the theatre of the absurd. So many government laws and incompetent / thieving government bureaucrats.
Who is John Galt ?
So it’s a documentary?
Yeah, the mortgage and making the payment is why they were desperate enough to lease to the org that is running the home.
n
At least one of t he groups on the scanner tonight was working illegal street racing. Given the rain, they are packing up for the night though.
n
Say Mr. Lynn, how is the vision today?
20/20 in both eyes. Putting 3 drops in my left eye four times a day at least 5 minutes apart is a total pain. But, I like my eyes and want to encourage the left eye to heal correctly.
My readers are working much better now that I have stereo vision. I have to wear reading glasses for near and intermediate vision. My distance vision is awesome uncorrected. I have yet to test my night vision with oncoming vehicles. Especially those horrible LED highlights.
Turns out the group home is for recovering addicts. Presumably they will graduate from their program and move out at some point.
Across the street neighbor is NOT thrilled.
Don’t worry, there are many more recovering addicts. Is it just drugs and alcohol or are there sex addicts there also ? Rush Limbaugh talked about meeting all three types when he was in rehab. He said his drug addiction treatment was easy compared to the sex addicts treatment.
Yeah, one of my best friends in LA did AA, then NA, then SA and mostly met other enablers.
n
The movies from about 10-15 years ago or a whole new Prime series?
The movies got progressively worse in terms of budget, production quality, and reviews.
I’d be surprised if someone tried a new production, but Holllywood is out of ideas and audience.
I was surprised that the latest run at “Chappaquiddick” went anywhere near the suffocation theory.
Byron Allen’s production company too!
I am watching the “Atlas Shrugged” movie series on Prime. It is like watching the theatre of the absurd. So many government laws and incompetent / thieving government bureaucrats.
Who is John Galt ?
So it’s a documentary?
Yes.
Medicare paid my eye surgeon $505 to operate on my eye yesterday. My BCBS supplement kicked in another $101. Generous, aren’t they ? BTW, he paid for his staff out of that money. I paid him $1,500 to use his laser and another $350 to use his OAR machine to size my lens properly during the surgery. Isn’t it nice that the government decides how much to pay him ?
Divemedic recommended Atlas Shrugged a couple of days ago.
I watched “Laura” tonight on Prime. Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price.
I followed it up, as I usually do these days, with Barney Miller S5E2 or E3 “The Search”. On Tubi this time. All for the last gag.
Hal Linden is still alive at 94.
The movies from about 10-15 years ago or a whole new Prime series?
2011 and on. Part 1, 2, and 3.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/?ref_=fn_t_2
My employer is brutal on smokers. The boss’ name is on the local childrens hospital, but I don’t think the health concerns are the issue as much as the cabal that develops in tech workplaces among the nicotine addicts.
The rain continues with thunder and lightning too… awesome. Not. We needed rain but it does complicate my life.
I’m calling it a day. I’m tired and just want to lay down.
n
The mortgage company may not care as long as they get paid, but the insurance carrier might have a different point of view.
In Florida, circa 2009-2010, the banks let a lot of “owners” remain in distressed properties, essentially making them slave labor to keep the houses maintained under terms of the paper.
I saw Part I and II. I didn’t go back for Part III.
That isn’t rural Wisconsin BTW.
Look! Is that the Vasquez Rocks formation?!?
No wonder Hollywood lost the location for decades.
My employer is brutal on smokers. The boss’ name is on the local childrens hospital, but I don’t think the health concerns are the issue as much as the cabal that develops in tech workplaces among the nicotine addicts.
You can get your nicotine in many different forms. Many people nowadays use a patch or two and then slip a pouch in their gob to top themselves off.
“President Trump Terminates “Horrible” Biden-Era Auto Fuel Efficiency Standards, Brutally Mocks Joe Biden”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/president-trump-terminates-horrible-biden-era-auto-fuel/
““CAFE standards as an example. Who signed CAFE? Ask Biden, what’s a CAFE Standard. He’d have absolutely no idea. He’d say, ‘where is the cafe located?!’” Trump said to laughs.”
The next dumbrocrat socialist head of state will revive them immediately and retroactively.
Stay away from dumbrocrats, they are dangerous.
Thursday. Dark. I conked out early last night, but woke around 1am really needing to eat something. A bowl of fruit salad and one of cereal later, I went right back to sleep. Breakfast before bed.
I must have been ravenous. Does anyone remember a SF novella called “The Apocalypse Troll”? Something like that…
Only a short work day today, thank heaven. I’m looking forward to the afternoon off, although I have a long list of things to do.
If the temperature stays reasonably clement, so I can open the up-and-over door, I will attack tidying the work-space in the garage, where stuff has been piling up on every horizontal surface, to the point that working there became impossible.
I would particularly like to find my reloading bench under all the accretion. W1 has a list of honey-dos for me too. That goes better when I can find my tools…
Wishing you all a great Thursday!
Christmas is coming. I just turned on BR Klassik radio, and was greeted by “A Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson. I used to play it in Band as a young person. Beautiful, happy music. Nice.