Wed. Mar. 18, 2026 – so who has China moves on Taiwan on polymarket?

Cool and clear again, but not cold like yesterday. My guess anyway. 52F when I went to bed. It was a beautiful day, if you don’t mind long pants and a jacket. I even took the jacket off in the afternoon.

I did my pickup. Then met the fumigator. Then did my troubleshooting at my client’s house. Then took the pickup and unloaded at the shop. Chiropractor. Dinner. Kid taxi. Busy day.

Today I will rest if I still hurt, and get another adjustment. If I feel better, I should head to the shop and do some intake on the stuff that is piling up.

One of the things I won was a manual pump lift table/cart that should make working on things like generators much less painful and a lot easier on my back. I also got an industrial belt sander/grinder like the knife makers use. I had a tiny one, but now I’ve got a bigger one.

I’ve got a list, we’ll see if we get any of it done.

Could just be a stacking day.

nick

35 Comments and discussion on "Wed. Mar. 18, 2026 – so who has China moves on Taiwan on polymarket?"

  1. Denis says:

    Wednesday. Good morning!

    I hope you will feel better quickly, Nick.

    Sunny and springlike here. I will need to run the petrol lawnmower over the edges of the lawn that the robot doesn’t catch. Future lawn planning will take the limitations of the robots into account to avoid manual trimming.

    Speaking of which, I got a much-needed haircut yesterday. My usual lady is not available, and neither was her usual replacement, so I went to a barber who has been there for ages, but from whom this was my first cut. A trifle longer than the ladies do, but W1 pronounced herself satisfied, so that’ll do.

    It has been suggested that people have severe difficulty communicating across 2 or more standard deviations of IQ.  

    Me no understand. Big words too big.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    @greg, I’ve got an 84″ monitor.  No apps.   No tuner.   Lightly used in a corporate boardroom.   Beautiful 4K. Wall mount included.   $2k delivered.

    You are looking for “digital signage”.  Planar is the king but all the majors have offerings.    They are not cheap, because they are not subsidized by the spying.

    “Dumb” TVs have disappeared from brick-n-mortar stores, however.

    Even Best Buy Insignia brand sets have spying.

    Big TVs are another variation of $20 Reebok Dream.

  3. Denis says:

    Grr. All tasks are fractal.

    Lawnmower had no fuel. Find the empty jerrycans, add some fuel stabiliser, bring them to the petrol station for a fill with 98 octane 5% ethanol. Note that I need more stabilizer.

    What is all this stuff on the lawnmower? Aha, a critter got into the lawn seed on the shelf and made a bed in it. Find gloves, dustpan and brush. Clean shelves and lawnmower. Apply remaining seed and detritus to lawn. Fill lawnmower and mow the edges.

    Ah well. At least the mower started first pull. Running it dry before winter for the win.

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    @greg, try Office Depot online, with store pickup.   There were carrying the 84″ monster.

    —-

    46F.   

    My usual remedy for my back worked.   I feel 100% better this morning.  Not 100%, but 100% better.    Today will be coddling my back to prevent triggering the spasm again.   It’s a bit achy and sore, but the acute pain is better.

    I’ve been dealing with , and managing this since the ‘90s, so I have a pretty good idea what to do.  I don’t always do it, or get a chance to do it.  I really don’t like taking that particular med.

    I don’t think of myself as “blue collar” but a lot of what I’ve done over the years is “blue collar” work.   Cook, carpenter, welder/metalworker, machine operator, stage hand, electrician, rigger, installer, field service tech.   Even construction supervisor is mostly “blue collar”.   I did them in industries that aren’t thought of as particularly “blue collar” though. 

    I do see a war on blue collar work, and the men who make up the majority of that workforce.   Access to pain meds (the lack of) is just one way they control and demoralize the white middle class.   A lifetime of blue collar work HURTS, and it leaves you dependent on others for relief.

    And that’s control.

    n

  5. dkreck says:

    Not even spring yet. Weather predictions for San Joaquin Valley low to mid nineties for rest of the week. 25F above normal. Warm yesterday at about 90F and even though the pool water was only 71F the gks were in the pool. W1 and I can’t remember that ever happening this early. 

    SPD and I didn’t even have a beer. Can’t recall that happening either. I did pout a Negra Modelo in the instapot with the corned beef. I wasn’t going to waste a Guiness on that since I really not that fond of the dish.

  6. Gavin says:

    SPD and I didn’t even have a beer.

    Same, although I realized a few weeks a go I fell onto the wagon in early January. The key takeaway is that my routine is unchanged, with tea replacing beer and whisky at night. Hmm.

  7. SteveF says:

    A lifetime of blue collar work HURTS, and it leaves you dependent on others for relief.

    A couple of workmen and I talked about this a couple years ago. (I’d hired them to take care of stonework, a job I’m not good at. Would rather pay them to do a good job than do a poor job myself as practice and then have to tear it out and maybe do a good enough job the second time.) They were in their 30s, 25 or so years younger than I but more beat up, despite my military and other misadventures. Less than 20 years of carrying heavy things, sledgehammering, kneeling on stone, and working in the sun or the cold and they were already having to think about what they’d do for a living when they couldn’t do this anymore.

    11
  8. Alan says:

    >>I do see a war on blue collar work, and the men who make up the majority of that workforce.   Access to pain meds (the lack of) is just one way they control and demoralize the white middle class.   A lifetime of blue collar work HURTS, and it leaves you dependent on others for relief.

    Or TPTB look the other way when they know better the neurological impacts of Round-up, paraquat, benzene, etc.

    If you’re you’re young enough to afford it, or better yet, can get it through your employer, get yourself Long Term Disability insurance and Long Term Care insurance. Consider it stacking.

  9. Alan says:

    >>Would rather pay them to do a good job than do a poor job myself as practice and then have to tear it out and maybe do a good enough job the second time.)

    The hardest part is often finding workers that will do a good job and not rip you off. As my abilities to do some of these home repair / improvement task diminishes, I need to do better than angi.com.

  10. Lynn says:

    We were on the genny four hours this morning.  They replaced the new one month old wooden power pole in the backyard with one of the new fiberglass metal composite poles.  The sucker is huge, two feet diameter at the bottom and ten feet taller.  They got my neighbors wooden new pole too.  One wonders if they plan to replace all wooden poles eventually.  This time it was a contract crew, not a Centerpoint crew.

  11. Lynn says:

    xkcd: Landscape Features

        https://www.xkcd.com/3221/

    Yup, landscapes are caused by something.  Just hope that you are not there when the landscape is being changed.  The super volcano at Yellowstone will manipulate the landscape in the west and central USA significantly in the geologically near future.

    Explained at:

       https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3221:_Landscape_Features

  12. Lynn says:

    “Facing reality over Iran” by Peter Grant, science fiction author 

       https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/03/facing-reality-over-iran.html

    “I’m getting more and more fed up with politicians, commentators, journalists and so-called “experts” all saying that President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was misguided, wrong-headed and stupid.  The same goes for all the European and other nations refusing to provide support, military or otherwise, for the joint US-Israeli campaign in that country.”

    “The blunt fact of the matter is that for almost half a century, the West has wrung its hands, expressed dismay and shock, and uttered pious platitudes every time Iran did something evil.  Whether it was murdering tens of thousands of their own citizens, or exporting terrorism to many parts of the world, or bombing Israel, nothing Iran did elicited a suitably strong response from the West.  All they did was talk.  They did not act.  With every incident, they kicked the can further down the road, for future politicians and leaders to do something about it – but they never did.”

    “President Trump and his leadership team recognized that the can could not be kicked any further.  The time had come to act, to stop Iran potentially wreaking havoc all over the world.  The key moment of decision probably came during negotiations in Switzerland in late February.”

    Iranian officials told their US counterparts during crunch talks last month that the Islamic Republic possessed enough enriched fuel to build 11 nuclear bombs, President Trump’s special envoy claimed Monday night.

    “Both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly with, you know, no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium],” Steve Witkoff told Fox News host Sean Hannity, “and they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs, and that was the beginning of their negotiating stance.”

    It was time to do something.  President Trump has solved the Venezuela problem, he is solving the Iran problem, and he will solve the Cuba problem next.

    9
    2
  13. Lynn says:

    “Texas armadillos are on the move, invading new parts of the U.S.”

        https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/texas-armadillos-spreading-north-carolina-22083251.php

    “Scientists say climate, adaptability and rapid reproduction are fueling the spread.”

    Armadillos are cool until they dig up your garden.

  14. Lynn says:

    https://x.com/angelaroosee/status/2034080510717399095

    “The Muslim population is growing rapidly, expected to exceed 2.7B in 2050 (about 30% of the world’s population).”

    “Massive Muslim exclusive communities are popping up across the United States.”

    “There were 1,209 mosques in the year 2000, and now around 3,000.”  I have five mosques within 10 miles of my house, two of them have over 5,000 members.

    “Muslim population in the USA 1.9 million in year 2000”

    “3.45 million Muslims in the United States in 2017”

    “4.4 million Muslims in 2020  ? in 2026?  ? in 2030?”

    “Islam is expected to be global religion by 2070. What world will our kids and their kids grow up in?”

    Hat tip to:
    https://rumble.com/v77a3bs-the-muslim-population-is-exploding-in-the-united-states-and-across-the-glob.html?mref=1wxk5&mrefc=2

    Lynn

  15. nick flandrey says:

    Armadillos are cool until they dig up your garden.  

    – or undermine your house slab.   I am looking forward to seeing what the game cameras caught digging under my house at the BOL.   Maybe we’ll get up there this weekend.

    ————

    Spent some more time in bed, consolidating my gains.   Eventually got up and started doing stuff.   It’s in the high 70sF right now and a bit more in the sun.  Clear and beautiful.  Maybe I should just sit in the shade for a while.

    Nah, W would kill me.   

    n

  16. Lynn says:

    “Israel faces stiff Hezbollah resistance as it attempts to push deeper into Lebanon”

        https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/18/fighting-intensifies-israel-hezbollah-southern-lebanon

    “IDF engaged in intense fighting with militants in at least three key areas in battle for control of border towns”

    I had no idea.  Israel is just going for the gold, aren’t they.

    5
    1
  17. drwilliams says:

    Cesar Chavez under the bus

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/03/lefties_throw_their_vaunted_idol_cesar_chavez_under_the_bus.html

    Child molester and r*pist.

    Name going to be coming down off schools all over.

    And what about this?

    https://www.nps.gov/cech/getinvolved/upload/CECH_newsletter_insert-508.pdf

    So who was his Ghislaine Maxwell?

  18. SteveF says:

    The hardest part is often finding workers that will do a good job and not rip you off.

    I’d watched them working on a neighbor’s walkway and some other stonework one day – one of the advantages of working on my laptop in the front yard while sitting with my chickens. (Another was the young mother who jogged almost daily to lose the baby weight. Kind of chonk when she started, totally not chonk by the end of Summer.) Even though I don’t know the difference between various concrete mixes used for holding down slate steps, I can spot competent workmen by the way they move.

  19. Ken Mitchell says:

    Cesar Chavez is being thrown overboard because the UFW ONLY represented AMERICAN CITIZENS and LEGAL RESIDENTS. Chavez detested illegal immigrants.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    Child molester and r*pist.

    Name going to be coming down off schools all over.

    Austin has a major road downtown named after Chavez.

  21. SteveF says:

    Chavez detested illegal immigrants.

    Thass rayciss!

  22. paul says:

    Thass rayciss!

    No it’s not.  Spics can hate on spics.  2Gs can hate on 2Gs.  Whitey ain’t allowed to mention any thing because Thass rayciss!

    It’s really gotten old.

    10
  23. paul says:

    I’m cleaning out my saved mail.  Ok, yeah, I might make that yummy recipe someday.  The one I save 20 years ago.

    I pretty much sorted my Recipes in various ways and started deleting.  Slow cooker?  Gone.  Lots of other stuff is gone.  Much more needs to be gone.   But the folder is down to 580 messages.  And I deleted 2860 from the Trash folder.

    Crazy. 

    Have no fear!  I have back-up copies of my T-Bird profile.   I have 22 “starred” items in Recipes.  Stuff I’ve made several times that was real good.  Stuff that I could happily eat on for a week.  Stuff dating back to 1996.  The rest needs sorting.   I have “my jerky recipe”.  Uh, 40 variants from other people can go away.

    Hey.  Anything to put off crawling under the desk to get an Ethernet wire through the wall and getting a nose full of dust.  

  24. nick flandrey says:

    @paul, that is some pro level work avoidance mode.

    🙂

    n

  25. nick flandrey says:

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DiiPufA3YqM?feature=share 

    One of my favorite out of the box thinkers on youtube, on why going faster doesn’t get you there faster.

    n

  26. EdH says:

    Cesar Chavez under the bus
     

    Ask yourself, why him, and why now?

    Insty shares a tweet suggesting that it is internecine politics, other Dems out to get his daughter who is running for office.

  27. paul says:

    Yeah,  Pro Level I guess.  I’m down to 49 messages in that folder.  

    And really, that’s all I need.  I know what I’m cooking, just need a list of parts so I don’t forget something.

  28. paul says:

    Cesar Chavez?  I thought he died a few years ago.

    So now the commies are starting to dig up and hang the bodies of the dead?

  29. drwilliams says:

    1 Relax, you’re going to be late. Call your appointment.

    2 Leave sooner next time.

    3 Retire, then you have an excuse for being late all the time.

    4 The only way to never be late is to die.

  30. lpdbw says:

    I’ve seen him before, and I agree.   Mostly.

    Smart and incisive he may be, but he’s as stupid as any PLT on gubs and crime.

  31. EdH says:

    Gas went up 20 cents over the last few days (since Sunday), $5.99/gal now.  Diesel is even higher.

  32. paul says:

    I’m cleaning out old e-mail because who, other than I, gives a shit?   Or would have a clue of what to look for?  

    I saved a lot of recipes in t-bird because search worked.  I don’t know how search works in Mint but there’s a ton of stuff in Documents  to delete.

    I have lots of eBay saved mails.  I can think of a few I want to save.  Like the first thing I bought, the the Sony DirecTV system.  History!!!!  And my stereo.  And the water softener.  A few more things.  The “save the receipt” stuff is going away.

    Yeah.  New OS.  Time to clean out thirty years of stuff. 

  33. Ken Mitchell says:

    Of course, the REAL reason that Chavez is being cancelled, now, at this late date, is that he was dedicated to providing labor protections ONLY to American CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants.  The UFW never allowed illegal aliens to join. 

    The rapes and sexual abuse of children has always been ignored by most left-wing politicians, from Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King to Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy. But opposition to illegal immigrants is the new heresy for the Left. 
     

  34. nick flandrey says:

    In a civil war/sectarian war, old scores get settled.

    n

  35. Nick Flandrey says:

    And now I’m off to bed.  What new affront will tomorrow bring?

    n

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