Cold to start, but clear and warming later. Then chilly. That was yesterday, and probably today too. Winter is firmly here. Heat at night, A/C in the afternoon. Houston.
Did my pickups. Chatted with my auctioneers. Dropped a vintage hat off to be resized. I had three with me, but one needed repair, and the other, a bowler made in England, she determined was too well made to stretch. It’s brim is a bit small for me anyway, but it’s the only bowler I’ve got and the only one I’ve come across in the estate sales. One of the perks of being an “old man” is wearing hats that aren’t ball caps. Might as well have some nice ones.
We did get the tree decorated last night so that is off the list. Now to make some progress on other list items…
And of course, there will be stacking too.
nick
Saturday. Good morning!
Prepper fail. When I went to use it, my big bottle of the fantastic sinus inhalation mixture
Tincture of benzoin, 30 grams
Eucalyptus tincture, 30 grams
Balsam of Peru 0.5 gram
Gomenol (Niaouli oil), 1 gram.
was empty.
Fortunately, W1 had some in her travel bag that I could use. Time to visit the apothecary and get some more made up…
Have a beautiful Saturday!
Thte “Battlestar Galactica” reboot made Stage 8/9 “Star Trek” suddenly feel very old and out of date to the more casual viewer, and “Enterprise” ratings fell off of a cliff just as that program, like all the “Star Trek” of that era, got interesting in the fourth season.
Ironically, Stage 8/9 “Star Trek” is more approachable to a new casual viewer, and those series are more available than ever, airing six nights a week on broadcast TV in many markets without any signs of going away soon.
Plus, unlike the new “Galactica”, you can put a kid in front of the nightly “Star Trek” block on H&I, and chances are they aren’t going to see anything traumatizing.
The Borg? Ever see “Captain EO” at EPCOT?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwMfeKFp2H4
They even got around to stealing the queen concept eventually. Ironically, the pilfering masterminded by Ronald D. Moore who created the “Galactica” reboot.
Yes, Anjelica Huston. Bet ya forgot about the Huston family being in that creative mix.
REITs are key pieces of a lot of investment plans and insurance company balance sheets, including the exact kind of broad based index mutual funds Dave Ramsey recommends for his listeners’ retirement savings.
Ending the REITs would be easy in Texas – stop subsidizing the property taxes feeding the bond ghouls from the state surplus. No more “rate compression”.
And end the Fed buying mortgage paper.
Market forces.
Of course, no one wants to go that far.
The Market deciding things.
Ah say mah house is a tenbagger and no long hair is gonna tell me different. What are you, son, a Communist?
My “cr*p money” fund has been an interesting experiment and very educational.
A REIT is the biggest single holding, and I’ve seen a 12% annual return over the last year, consistent with the benchmark for funds of this type.
Unrealized gains have been less than 1% over that period, however.
Gotta wonder how many two percenters and annuities have client money in funds of this type.
Maybe our troll can provide some AI generated insight on this matter.
Or maybe even share their own two percenter’s strategy in general terms.
After all, that two percenter makes their money the old fashioned way. They *earn* it, right?
Who remembers that EF Hutton commercial?
Or that the founder’s money was the other fortune behind Mar A Lago’s construction?
No more ID Buzz.
https://www.carscoops.com/2025/12/vw-cancels-id-buzz-for-2026-as-dealers-warn-it-might-be-over/
Not without doing some homework.
https://electrek.co/2025/12/18/elon-musks-spacex-bought-tens-of-millions-worth-of-cybertrucks-tesla-cant-sell/
The irony is that I see very few EVs at Space X’s Boca Chica facility anytime we drive out there.
I do see a lot of big RAM pickups made by Stellantis, who arguably provided much of the R&D budget for the Jesus Truck.
Of course Ford F150 but not the Lightning model.
Saints and beghorra that’s a fine Irish family surname belonging to the student from Loyola Marymount willing to speak on the record about their job situation after graduating from a Fancy Lad school in the age of the Monkey Trick.
No H1B sponsorship problem there. Nosiree. None whatsoever.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/they-graduated-from-stanford-due-to-ai-they-cant-find-a-job/ar-AA1SFxR3
Gonna need a state university CS program graduate diploma mill like my Masters program was for international students, Colonists in particular.
Went HOME to Turkey…
Anyone who has worked with the visa crowd will see Turks thru the same lens and not want anything to do with them without the benefits of the visa. The hijab probably doesn’t help (assumed).
“Learn to code” they said. A lot like what happens EVERY SINGLE TIME they say to go after a job market, I remember teaching, coding, finance, law, even truck driving – the result is too many new workers and compensation levels lower. IE it works wonders for controlling business’s biggest cost – labor.
———————
66F and looks pretty sunny. I’m moving, fed W, but kinder still slumber. Coffee so good.
———————
BTW, software writing software. Does no one read SF anymore? Does no one watch movies? We are the carbon they want to reduce.
n
Government Minister Steps in to Defend Met Office as Fake Temperature Scandal Escalates
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/12/20/government-minister-steps-in-to-defend-met-office-as-fake-temperature-scandal-escalates/
When the government controls the data that is used to justify enslavement of the people it is no surprise the they are feeding you sh*t and demanding you like it.
How quickly the situation changes.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/man-caught-camera-trying-execute-police-officer-inside/
video.
Cop responds by kicking him in the nuts and two quick uppercuts to the face.
W@lmart guy jumps in wearing a “Not today Karen” t shirt. 🙂
n
I bet that “loss prevention team member” takes his pat down a lot more seriously from now on.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15401781/missing-children-rescued-florida-operation-northern-lights.html
Nice job Marshals.
n
Oh, I got the IR floodlight to work last night by using a bigger power supply. I was pretty sure the first one was underrated but it was close at hand. Now I need to dress the wires and make sure the psu is sheltered from the rain. Didn’t want to do that at night.
More stuff that wasn’t on the list.
n
Hijab isn’t an automatic with Turks. Or, at least, it wasn’t the case until the current leadership rose to power.
As Dr. Pournelle pointed out many times, the army used to keep things strictly secular in Turkey.
A Cuban expat I know who is a maintenance expert on the F16 says that Turks are his favorite NATO group to work with. They don’t go for BS.
Cubans are not fans of Muslims, especially fanatics. Club Gitmo is there for a reason.
So when SpaceX goes public, think about it having two billion customers within ten years. Or not, I could easily be very wrong.
T-Mobile has satellite capability for supported 5G phones for a couple of months.:
SpaceX and T-Mobile have an agreement for satellite capabilities in cellphones. I doubt that this agreement runs into perpetuity. SpaceX has many options in the future. Shoot, T-Mobile and SpaceX could merge into one huge corporate behemoth is just one possibility.
Just remember, predictions are hard to make, especially about the future.
“Snowfire” emollient ointment deals with that. Let me know if I should send you some…
Travelling on the German Autobahn today. The Dutch people heading south for skiing are a curse on the roads. The maximum permitted speed on roads in the Netherlands is 100 or 120km (60 or 75 mph).
The Cloggies are so used to chugging along at those speeds in their own country, they do it even on the Autobahn, where there is no speed limit. What is worse, they do it in the passing lane, and remain oblivious to traffic approaching fast from behind.
Usually the adaptive cruise/distance control in our Toyota handles it gracefully, slowing down gently before running right over some moron cheesehead, but there were too many times today when one of them pulled into the passing lane without checking what what coming from behind at twice his velocity. I had to do a lot of my own braking. Some rude words might have been said.
My next RAV4 better have a front rail gun or GAU-8.
Everything is finance. The US doesn’t actually make much anymore, and even opening the shipping containers from China is not something Americans want to do post-Covid because it isn’t possible to do that job across a TeamViewer connection.
I’ve seen more articles out of the EU lately that concede Trump may have had a point with regard to stopping the sh*t from entering the country via De Minimis packages. Of course, they won’t say that Trump was correct in clamping down at the beginning of the year.
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/how-eu-plans-crack-down-low-value-e-commerce-goods-china-2025-11-19/
Texas freeways are generally 75 MPH and the toll road running around Austin is 85 MPH, but that doesn’t stop people from riding in the passing lane at 65.
Colonists are particularly bad because many join the “diaspora” (their term) here in Texas not knowing how to drive but realize that learning how is important if they are to become the new ruling class.
That cop was fast. Impressive.
Of course, his guardian angel spared him the bullet that was intended for him. He was lucky that his insufficient initial pat-down didn’t cost him his life.
The lefties and tariff doomsayers had to choke on it, live on air, when the new numbers were releases. “no other way to spin this”
Of course I don’t trust the numbers. Every administration has lied with those numbers, quietly revising them later. Markets treat the numbers as real though. At least the people in the markets do. Even though they have to know better, they know that the OTHER guy will be acting on the numbers too.
The amount of cynical self delusion the catch 22 causes must warp their minds.
They KNOW the numbers are lies. They KNOW that the OTHER guys know they are lies. But each knows the other will ACT as if the numbers are true, and reacts accordingly. Someday, someone will call out the emperor, and there will be a rush to act on the real numbers. That won’t be a good day for anyone.
(privately and long term, there are guys acting on the real numbers. publicly and short term is what I’m talking about.)
n
Colonist women are particularly bad. Even if their families are uber rich – most are wealthy – the women view driving as something for the servants until they move here and come to terms with the US minimum wage.
Texas freeway traffic is strange, especially coming from Cali.
There are people who speed all the time, and for whom 85mph isn’t enough. BUT. Every freeway drive I’ve ever been on here has people calmly driving along much slower than the limit.
Distances are large here, and if you have 2-3 hours to drive, speeding will get you there faster. Not a lot, but sometimes 15 minutes sooner is enough.
On my drive to the BOL I have about 50 miles of mostly 2 lane state highway, and at night, I’m maxxed out at 65-70 even on the sections that are marked 75. I am always under when going thru towns.
n
I’m sure Ray can speak to this, but rural Tennessee was really bad about small towns setting 30 MPH speed limits where the same grade of road in Texas would be 70-80 MPH.
Cruise control systems in new European cars have to deal with mandatory speed limit enforcement systems in the theme park countries, and, even in the US, the car “knows” the speed limit on any given stretch of road thanks to GPS and a continuously updated database provided even if the owner does not subscribe to the mapping feature. The cars will not allow “Set” for a number greater than the speed limit on any given stretch of road, and exceeding the limit requires repeatedly pressing the ‘+’ key on the steering wheel.
The sort by feature of amazon search is completely broken.
“featured” will show low cost matches for the search term, but “price- low to high” gives nonsense, starting much higher priced than what you see in ‘featured” and usually not even a match for the search terms. High to low isn’t any better, starting with crap that might be same category but isn’t close to the search terms.
And I haven’t found a way to force strict terms like the “ ” marks.
n
Try searching for Audio-Technica ATN600L stylus replacement to see my latest frustration.
The cars will not allow
– that sort of crap is why I will fix my Ranger.
n
@Lynn
That sucked.
Cruise control systems in new European cars have to deal with mandatory speed limit enforcement systems in the theme park countries, and, even in the US, the car “knows” the speed limit on any given stretch of road thanks to GPS and a continuously updated database provided even if the owner does not subscribe to the mapping feature. The cars will not allow “Set” for a number greater than the speed limit on any given stretch of road, and exceeding the limit requires repeatedly pressing the ‘+’ key on the steering wheel.
My Moms 2024 Mercedes E350 continuously complains at you when the cruise control is set more than 5 mph over the speed limit. And it watches the speed limit signs. The complaining is very annoying as it blinks a speed limit sign right in the middle of the dash.
@Lynn
That sucked.
Huh ???
BTW, does anyone want to buy a 2024 Mercedes E350 Hybrid with 15,000 miles on it that my dad paid $78,000 for in 2024. It gets 25 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway using only super unleaded. It has 300 hp turbo 4 and an 70 ??? hp electric motor with a small battery. I was passing a car with Mom and heading to San Antonio on a country road, looked down and I was going 120 mph. Very fast car that is tight for me and too dadgum low, the driver seat is six inches below my knees, making it difficult for me to get in and out with my bad knees and long legs.
It has about 5 or 6 screens in the dash. The 17 inch screen in the console has a very strange menuing system and it does not like me talking to it.
“The EU Warns Elon Musk and X Are a Threat to Democracy”
https://www.independentsentinel.com/the-eu-warns-elon-musk-and-x-are-a-threat-to-democracy/
“The unelected bureaucrats of the EU want to protect democracy from Elon Musk and his free speech platform. However, they are appointees and no one got to elect any of them. That isn’t democracy. There is no democracy to protect.”
The EU is a danger to democracy.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
The screens will be done in 10 years in a marine environment like Port Lavaca.
The Starlink mini has arrived. The FexEx site says 5.5 pounds but it feels heavier. Smallish box. 13 x 17 x 3 inches. You get the dish, it’s about 10 x 12 inches. Easy to fit into a laptop bag with the power supply and the power cable. A pole mount i also included.
By the pictures, it’s wi-fi. From the dish. There is an Ethernet jack.
I’ll play tomorrow. Weather permitting.
“RUNNING FOR DEXIT ☙ Saturday, December 20, 2025 ☙ C&C NEWS”
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/running-for-dexit-saturday-december
“The program will lower some popular drug costs to below co-pay prices (but only if the drugmakers give their drugs long, ridiculous-sounding, and difficult-to-pronounce names. Oh, wait.). Standout examples include:”
“Boehringer Ingelheim will reduce the price of its Type II diabetes medicine, Jentadeuto, from $525 to only $55.”
“Merck will reduce the price of its diabetes medication, Januvia, from $330 to $100.”
“Sanofi will reduce the price of its prescription blood thinner, Plavix, from $756 to $16, and its insulin products at $35 per month’s supply.”
“Those were remarkable. But one drug captured the headlines— a medication used by millions of Americans: Eliquis, the most prescribed blood thinner on the market. Get this (and I am not making this up): Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer agreed to provide Eliquis for free to all Medicare patients. (Pfizer has certainly made a lot of concessions this year so far. It’s almost like Trump has something on Pfizer. I couldn’t say what, exactly.)”
My mother has been paying $200/month for Eliquis for her afib. However, I question why it is free now.
@Lynn
That sucked.
Huh ???
Yup, this is probably my Aggies who just lost AT HOME to the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the College Football Playoffs.
Yes, that sucked.
“Huh ???”
I watched the last 6 minutes of Miami vs. Texas A&M.
@paul, there are a variety of mounts available, including some vehicle mounts.
Mine is still in the box. I was going to take it to the BOL, but then realized it should stay here as a backup, or go with us if we are mobile.
If that ignorant auction seller had allowed me to complete my purchase, i’d have a nice motorola mobile ethernet switch to put together a mobile 12v system with PoE…
n
I was going to power wash the undercarriage of my Ranger, to see if the brake fluid was really leaking, but the carb is shot. Full of rusty water. I gave it a quick clean but broke the seal of the carb bowl to the carb into three pieces.
And for some reason, the float isn’t shutting off the fuel fill, although it did when I tested it.
I have carbs, and one of them might have the right sized O ring, but they are at the BOL. Maybe I’ll just order a carb on amazon.
n
“‘A Lot of Americans Are Going to Die’ Warns Former Navy Seal and GOP Rep Eli Crane [WATCH]”
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/12/a-lot-of-americans-are-going-to-die-warns-former-navy-seal-and-gop-rep-eli-crane-watch/
“Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona raised alarm during a recent interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, citing testimony he said was provided to the House Homeland Security Committee regarding the number of known or suspected terrorists who entered the United States during the Biden-Harris administration.”
““There were, there were 18,000 people on the known terrorist watch list. Led into this country under Joe Biden and suicidal,” Johnson said.”
When you do not vett people and just let people cross your borders without documentation, you get what we are having happen now. Legal and illegal immigrants are killing USA citizens right, left, and sideways. Many more USA citizens will be killed by these terrorists.
Georgia Mom Fighting for Life After Acid Attack Ambush
https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/12/20/georgia-mom-fighting-for-life-after-acid-attack-ambush-n3810047
This is third-world shiite and needs to be stopped.
I’d support a federal death penalty for such an attack and require that any attorney wishing to represent the attacker get 5ml of 30% sulfuric acid (battery concentration) on the forearm for 5 seconds before it is washed off.
Upon conviction death should be by feet-first acid immersion, with an option to select necklacing with a gasoline-soaked tire.
Virginia Murder Suspect is Illegal Alien Who Had Been Released From Jail Hours Earlier
We don’t need to prosecute them, we need to find them guilty as an accessory to murder and execute them.
And we still need a rendition team to snatch Soros père et fils and drop them in an ocean.
I know there are a lot of different mounts if I need one. I’m just going to play with it. I mean, why not? See if it actually works. Run some Ethernet into my router and see what happens.
I read somewhere, might have dreamed it, that even if you don’t activate the mini, hey will start charging you after a month.
I might as well get it pre-configed in case my Starlink pukes from age or defect or nearby lighting.
@Lynn – re Eliquis pricing – I’ve mentioned this before. The US price for Eliquis (5mg twice a day) for 90 days (I think) is $550 using my Humana Part D supplement.
Through a Canadian Pharmacy, the cost for same dosage/days is around $80 (including shipping). The cost went up a bit due to tariffs (from about $65) on the last order.
All that is needed is for your doctor to fax the prescription to the Canadian pharmacy of your choice. Shipping times are about three weeks, so you do have to plan ahead for refills. The last shipment of pills came from Europe (Belgium? Wales?) My cardiologist told me about using the Canadian pharmacies for Eliquis.
There are many Canadian Pharmacy stores available; all ordering done on-line. I use CanadianPharmacyStore(dot)com. They have a page where you can look up current pricing. I’ve ordered from them three times now without problems.
Even with His Majestie’s latest ‘deals’, still cheaper via ordering through the Canada pharmacies. I’ll believe the ‘free Eliquis’ when I see it. Not all of His Majestie’s deals turn into reality.
“Yes, that sucked.”
Tied 3-3 with 6 minutes left. Aggies stall, punt, Miami marches (including a 55-yard run), scores, up 10-7.
Aggies respond, have ball inside 5, can run, can’t pass, get intercepted in endzone. At Home.
Dead bunnies through a straw.
The jabs are not safe and effective.
Of course, we already knew that, but RFK Jr. now has the paperwork.
The drug companies also need the advertising on linear TV.
And linear TV needs the money from the drug company ads so the Ellisons will play nice too.
Oracle isn’t as stable as Wall Street makes it look right now.
Life imitates “The Abominable Dr. Phibes” art.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15395001/Doctor-notorious-Sarco-euthanasia-pod-shows-new-suicide-collar-kills-patients-applying-pressure-neck.html
The first victim of Vincent Price’s Dr. Phibes is strangled using a similar mechanism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg0YaQK6XQ4
Watch how Vincent lets you know what’s coming.
Beware.
My neighbor bought a replacement carb off Amazon for his old Ford Tractor, 9N?, couldn’t get it to run reliably, surges, stalls, etc. A mainland item, two moving parts, about as simple as could be imagined.
We went up to Fresno and bought a actual carb from a company specializing in antique tractors and it now works fine. $30 instead of $7.
The Teasips still have to watch Quinn Ewers start for the Dolphins tomorrow and think about what might have been.
The Faux News last night had a report that “Arch” volunteered to take a pay cut to help Texas next year.
A “student athlete”.
Things have changed with Draft Kings as Disney’s “partner”, and I’m not sure it is good.
@edh,
the main difference in this case is the original carb was made in china and I can get the same brand.
I ordered it for $17 and it’s due to arrive Jan 9-20th… I could have paid double and got it in a few days, but it’s a “Black Max” walmart brand washer, isn’t high power or throughput, and doesn’t run great anyway. Harbor Freight quality.
I have a good pressure washer at the BOL, new from Costco, subaru engine, electric start (although I didn’t buy the battery because it has always started on the first pull anyway.)
This one was a cheap backup, somewhat better than the electric it replaced.
I can spray the undercarriage at a car wash if I decide I have to do so…
n
Talked to my neighbor for a bit. All the young moms on the street are very pissed about the group home. Seems they can have up to 9 residents, and residents graduate to the next step and are replaced with new.
So instead of a stable situation, we’ve got a revolving door of addicts next door.
HOA can’t do anything. Too many protected class… but they can send nastygrams when you leave the trash cans out.
All the moms are furious with the owner for leasing, she was one of them and betrayed them by putting a safety risk and strike against their home values on the street.
n
I ran errands in a part of town I don’t often go to, so I stopped by Total Wine and spent $200, and then stopped by Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) for a snack.
At least 2 masked idiots in there.
Although, speaking of idiots, I forgot the Cognac, which was the primary reason for the stop at Total Wine. Oops.
I technically left my property three times today, for, I believe, the tenth through twelfth times doing so since late August. I headed out for some errands and the tire pressure light came on within a hundred yards. Turn around, check them all, pump up the very low one, head out. Daughter needed some mail which was delivered here rather than to the campus mail room (which is really dumb, because the mail was from the college, which should know that she’s living on campus), so I got the mail.
Had several near accidents because of people going through red lights or changing lanes without seeing if anyone’s there. Yes, I understand that it was getting near dusk, but that’s no excuse for driving like a retard.
All of my
Christmasnon-denominational gift-giving day shopping was done online, all was for The Child, and the last of it was delivered today. I’m going to give half of it to my wife to give to The Child, because The Child doesn’t talk to her mother more than she can avoid and my wife had no idea what to give her.Family drama. Wherever would we be without it?
I got back too late to give the chickens some of the lettuce I bought specifically for them – we’ve been without lettuce for most of a week! This is a war crime! – but I’m sure they’ll enjoy it tomorrow. I also picked up a can of baked beans for them. I’ll stir it in with cooked rice so they can have a nutritious treat for a change of pace. Yes, they’re very spoiled.
Yesterday, once the rain finally let up, I let the chickens out, thinking that I could lead them to the front of the house to sit in the sun (such as it was) and I’d work on my laptop nearby to keep an eye on them. Instead, they wandered to the side yard where their Summer run sits, and all wandered in. -shrug- Fine. I closed them in. They can scratch in the dirt and be safe from hawks and I don’t need to sit with them. That was all fine. The difficulty came when I went out toward dusk to bring them to the coop on the patio. The dumbheads simply could not comprehend that they should follow the shaking treat bag to the place where they’ve been living for a month. I ended up having to get them back into the run, go in myself, and catch them one at a time to carry them to the patio enclosure. And ignore the panicked awwwking from most of them, as if I weren’t the one who brings them treats and takes care of the problems they encounter. (Like getting trapped in the boxes and stuff I put in their new area for them to jump on and walk around. Sometimes I think that my chickens are not geniuses.
For fun with chickens, buy a watermelon. They’ll eat every scrap. It’s funny to go check on the chickens and a couple are neck deep in the watermelon….. a watermelon with a chicken body attached.
Hmm. I could buy a couple of small watermelons to give them whole.
My wife likes watermelon and picks them up as often as her and her mother’s pre-diabetes allows and gives the rinds and a bit of the flesh to the chickens. They eat the white part but not the rinds, which I usually eventually pick up and toss into the compost pile.
RE more stuff not on the list:
I often add things not on the list, to the list and then cross them off so I later know what I’ve done. This includes correcting things or finalizing those that needed more work or couldn’t be done until some other task was completed.
I want a record of what I’ve been doing.
For example: I’m wiring the race car. Discovered that the brake light pressure switch is bad. I ordered one and will change it and then have to bleed the brakes – again. Added that to my list so I can cross it off.
Also: couldn’t get the starter solenoid to work. Trouble shot it and found that the nut that holds the activating wire in place was badly corroded on the outside face; easy fix replaced the nut, but i spent over an hour isolating the problem (new wires everywhere, old switch, several connections) and I wanted my son to know what I had done
Just little chores today.
One was airing up the truck tires so that they don’t read 7psi low in our cool weather. One of the TPMS didn’t reset, but I inflated the tire to the same PSI as the rest so I’m not going to sweat it.
Another task was deepening the hinge pockets on the french doors so that they finally, after 7 years, close properly. Now that they don’t have to be slammed shut I can put the keypad lock on, and be able to get into my own house if I lock myself out. I have become more attentive to keeping doors I’m not actually using locked and have come close a couple times.
No good deed goes unpunished: up close a lot of the weatherstripping is failing or gone, I need to pick some of that up.
Vacuumed the MBR by hand, since the AirRobo struggles with the 1/2′” carpet.
Failed task: Getting Hoopla to work. It knows my email, knows my library sytem, but won’t let me log in, and doesn’t send a new password on request. Maybe I’ll take my phone to the library and make them do it.
There is one road running west out of Oak Ridge that changes the speed limit 4 times in the space of 8 miles. Three of those changes are on the distance of 5 miles. A real revenue generator.
Oak Ridge also runs the school zone flashing lights in the school zones when there is no school. When a holiday falls on a weekday, the school zones are active. Another revenue stream.
Oak Ridge at one time was installing red light cameras. Suddenly, with no input from the citizens, the cameras were also speed cameras. One at the bottom of a steep hill where the speed limit at the top is 55 MPH and the limit where the cameras were located is 40 MPH.
My wife did get a ticket. I printed, on my computer, The fine was $50.00. This was before I knew I did not have to pay. I printed 40 checks for various amounts that totaled $50.01. Once I printed those checks I ran them through the laser printer again applying the signature. I sent the checks certified, return receipt. Yes, it cost extra money, but money wasn’t the issue, it was to annoy the company that processes the payments, The company kept 50% with the rest going to the city. Because of that arrangement, a commission based system, the company set the cameras to take the picture two seconds before the light turned red and the city dropped the yellow time by 2 seconds.
Those cameras were removed because people found out they did not have to pay. And didn’t pay.
The Oak Ridge city council can be easily impressed and swayed by a fancy powerpoint presentation and some shiny baubles and beads.
Two lane roads in TN max out at 55 MPH. That same road in Texas is 70 MPH The Texas roads have shoulders, the TN roads have no such thing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15402459/leprino-foods-california-mozzarella-closing-plant.html
Moving that production to Texas. Lower taxes. Lower payroll. Lower cost of land.
n
I’m grumpy today. No particular reason. It was a nice sunny day, made it up to 81f. Barefoot time. Not quite shirtless weather. Warm enough my toes are not tingling or burning like they are asleep.
I took a shower and put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Clean, and underwear too, even. Flip flops on the way out the door. HEB wasn’t bad. Said hi to a few folks. They were out of Eggnog. Dang it.
HEB isn’t doing Christmas this year. Before the store was remodeled there was an area between the check stands and produce. Once there was a Dodge Neon or similar sitting there and would you like to buy a raffle ticket for $1? The big space had displays like cases of Budweiser beer stacked to look like the US flag for July 4th. Hay bales and scarecrows with a couple of witches on brooms hanging from the ceiling for Halloween. With a fan off to the side to make the witches “fly”. Fun displays. Fun to watch kids look and go “wow”. A huge, 20 feet tall fake tree for Christmas. Sucker had like 8000 mini lights with half twinkling. Standing on a stack of eight wood pallets covered to look like a giant present. Fake packages under the tree. Pretty. The check stands were decked with garland and such. Christmas music on the PA.
Heck. We decorated the Business Center. We being the ladies in Cash Control and Business Center. I would buy a few strings of lights and whatever. Maybe $50 worth outta my pocket. What they wanted to use, bring it to me and I’ll pay for it. Just don’t get crazy. Why? It made them happy and they had hours of fun getting it all “just right”. Girls, right? And crazy thing, they knew why I bought the stuff for them. I didn’t keep it a secret. Good times.
The folks in the Deli and the Meat Market got into it too with their own decorations. Heck, even in Receiving, they would have a big inflatable Santa sitting on a pallet of beer.
One time some idiot so important manager from out of the store strutted through and wanted to know how the Business Center decorations were paid for. His misfortune to spout off at me. I had all of the packaging and the receipts stashed in Cash Control. Paid for with my credit card. Being The Cash Controller had privileges. Dude was stunned I paid for the stuff. Looked at me like I was nuts when I said it makes the ladies happy and when they are in a bad mood life is miserable.
Today? Nothing. Might as well be January or March or June.
Maybe that’s part of why I’m grumpy. Maybe part is I mailed a dozen Christmas cards a few weeks ago and I’ve received one. Just one.
Dunno.
Texas banned red light and speed cameras, but the contracts with the various county and city governments meant that the vendors could keep trying to trick people into paying.
IIRC, the Legislature finally stepped in and passed a bill ordering all of the hardware removed.
“The Scale of the Diversity Lottery Visa Is Massive”
https://conservativeplaybook.com/the-scale-of-the-diversity-lottery-visa-is-massive/
“For decades, Americans have been told that the Diversity Visa Lottery is a small, symbolic program designed to promote fairness and opportunity. The reality is far different. The program has quietly become a massive immigration pipeline, importing nearly half a million migrants into the United States every decade with minimal public debate and limited scrutiny.”
“That scrutiny ramped up this week after it was revealed Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente — accused of murders at Brown University and MIT — arrived in the U.S. in 2017 after being awarded a diversity visa. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump have since paused the program.”
“According to recent reporting, the Diversity Visa Lottery has brought in close to 500,000 people over the last ten years alone. That number rivals or exceeds many immigration programs that receive far more attention from lawmakers and the media. Unlike employment-based visas tied to specific skills or family-based visas grounded in existing relationships, this program relies primarily on random selection, with eligibility determined largely by country of origin rather than merit, skills, or assimilation potential.”
You have got to be kidding me.
determined largely by country of origin
– I’m too weary to look but I’d bet money that none of the countries are majority white or christian.
n
The current 2025 U.S. population is approximately 342 million, so 500,000 represents about 0.15% of the total population (over the 10 year period mentioned).
In 2023, there were 46,728 gun-related deaths in the United States. With a current population of approximately 333 million, this means that about 0.014% of the population died from gun-related injuries that year.
so 500,000 represents about 0.15% of the total population
– 50K per year is more than150% of the population of the town I grew up in. Even 10% of that number, relocated to the same area, would be 1/5 of my home town, in one year (5K added to the 20K). And the second year, when another 5K arrive, because there are already 5K of their countrymen there, now they are ⅓ (10K out of 30k) and pretty soon, you have Minneapolis St Paul, or Dearborn MI.
In other words, they are not evenly distributed among the total population of the country. NGOs like Catholic Charities relocate them into areas that “need” more diversity, then keep doing so so the immigrants can “feel more comfortable.”
When the immigrants can self select their destination, they pick places that already have a beachhead, so they know they can buy food, rent housing, and hear their own language spoken. We used to call places like that “Chinatown” or “Koreatown” but now we call them “Stafford” or “Missouri City” or “Dearborn”.
Hartford CT went from majority white to black to hispanic in my lifetime. Really just the last 40 years. And the change from black to hispanic was quick.
Gun deaths is an interesting choice of metric because of the voodoo nature of the statistics, what gets included, what not. Drunk driving deaths is a similar number, but less fraught with political reasons to manipulate the numbers.
n
added– just so my point is clear, it doesn’t take millions to significantly change the nature and character of a place.
Try harder, troll. Most gun deaths in the US are suicides, 58% in 2023.
Try harder, troll. Most gun deaths, and violent crimes in general, are by persons other than Whites of European heritage.
A report found on ammo.com (link) focused on ‘mass shootings’ (bold text from the article; not added by me):
Another report from Pew Research (here) does state that 6 in 10 gun deaths in the US in 2023 were suicides (as noted by SteveF). Most reports found by a quick search include ‘mass shootings’.
Another interesting report is here https://davidmasters.substack.com/p/the-big-white-lie-data-reveals-race , which concluded (again, based on mass shootings):
I suggest, if you are interested, additional research, including careful reading of the various articles found (not just a ‘quick read’), if you are interested in determining a balanced and objective look at the issue of gun violence – and of the perpetrators. You might find a difference from a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to simple numbers.
My original point was that 500,000 sounds like a lot of people (and it is), but one needs to consider the context in that number: that number is over a period of 10 years, and a small value compared to the overall US population, which further dilutes the overall impact. One needs to look beyond just the numbers to the overall impact of those numbers.
As to where those 500K people went, I am not surprised that people of similar ethnicity (or interests) tend to live with others of their ethnicity. It has always been thus over the history of the US.
Puzzled I am.
From the ammo.com source (my bold at the end):
Your point, you claim, is:
In a sense, it’s telling that you link the immigration with mass shootings. The undesirability of the 3rd world immigrants isn’t limited to mass shootings. I’d think all shootings are bad, but you’re allowed to think it’s ok as long as less than 4 are shot, or as long as it’s gang related, or as long as it’s only knives and rapes and child molesters we’re talking about. You do you.
In a sense, it’s telling that you link the immigration with mass shootings.
That was not my intent. The two items (immigration and shootings) are unrelated, as you imply. But that comparison is often made by others here: too many immigrants are causing too many problems – such as shootings and other acts of violence.
But the numbers don’t support the supposition (often espoused here) that immigration is causing all the crime. It is often implied here by others that the increase in immigrants (or the immigration policies of political parties) caused an increase in violent crime. While it is true that some violent crimes are committed by immigrants, I don’t think there is a direct correlation that all of the increased violent acts are the result of past immigration policies. The reports I mentioned seem to support that belief, with the example of the ethnicity of mass shooters. But gun violence causes is a complex issue that cannot be explained just by immigration levels. I do not think that any shooting is a good thing, no matter what the number.
My other point is that complaining that an ethnicity tends to group together is not a new thing. It has always been that way – not just here, but other countries.
Many commenters here often show their bias against immigration. And that bias is often right-leaning political belief. I do not equate mass shootings with immigration levels. But that is often expoused here by other commenters.
too many immigrants are causing too many problems
– please see the examples of Sweden, notably wrt grenades and bombings, Germany and problems with rape, and the seasonal rioting and car burning in France. See also the grooming and rape gangs in Jolly Olde.
Closer to home, search for machete or dismemberment and you will find far too many examples in the US, particularly the heavily populated East Coast.
Cartels and immigrant gangs are openly running sex trafficking in NYC and surrounding areas with many published stories complaining about it.
The rise of MS 13, and Tren de Aragua in the US is well documented, among other Cartel activities.
Just in Houston in the last year we had a young girl raped and murdered 15 miles from my house by two illegals who had recently entered the US. A couple of years ago they busted a cartel stash house 2.5 miles from my house where the women slaves were used for sex trafficking, ie rape for profit, and the male slaves were sent out as day labor and beggars. ALL of those involved were immigrants, most illegal.
———-
Any sane person, one who wished for safety and prosperity, would be concerned about immigration, legal and illegal.
We are importing the third world, and by doing so we are becoming the third world.
n
I do not equate mass shootings with immigration levels. But that is often expoused here by other commenters
– you know how the search tool works, you will need to provide evidence to back up this statement.
n
Sunday morning. Last Sunday of Advent. Light the fourth candle, listen for distant sleigh bells.
Lynn, watch out for the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. The Helmut Brandstätter quoted in that article, is not a bureaucrat, and he is elected, which is exactly the opposite of what the author is telling you.
Lots of authors don’t let facts get in the way of their narrative, and they are seldom called on it.
Who let the troll back in?