Well, it wasn’t entirely clear and sunny yesterday. Some parts of town got a lot of rain, but it didn’t last long. I saw the result but not the actual rain… W got rained on though. Nothing at my house. I’ve got a feeling that today will be similar. Some people are gonna get wet. Some of us will just sweat.
Got a little nap, then headed out. One pickup, client’s house – success, second pickup, shop to unload, home. W made dinner. I wasn’t in the mood.
Today won’t be anywhere near that busy. I have to make a trash run, go to the shop, and I’ll try for the cat recycler if they’re open. All in the service of the list… and if it’s not raining, I’ll do more cleaning and moving with the goal of getting more stuff out of my storage unit. It’s cost me $500 more than it should have, but I keep finding other things to do.
Lists. I’ve got ’em. We’ll see if that makes a difference.
Stacking never lets me down…
nick
Into what does one recycle a cat? A dog, or food for other cats? Fur hats?
GTE Data Services spent millions of dollars in the 90s attempting to develop a system like that to schedule phone company tech service calls on a per CO basis, but the software actually worked as designed.
Data Services existed to launder GTE Telops profits from being the local carrier in places like Tampa Bay, however, so it didn’t really matter up until the mid-90s, when the Florida PSC caught on to the scheme and company General Counsel William Barr — cough — cleaned house at our division prepping for the “merger of equals” with Bell Atlantic.
The problem is NP Hard, optimization NP Complete. You may have been lucky with approximations applied in a rigid military command environment, but, in the civilian world, people can quit over p*ss poor scheduing without penalty beyond loss of income/benefits, especially in “at will” employment states.
In a union environment? Fuggedaboudit. You wouldn’t believe the weirdness of the rank and file techs at the phone company and their odd hangups which factor into the scheduling. I heard it from people on that project all of the time.
One guy likes to be less than 15 minutes from home at the end of every shift while another is a heavy smoker who favors one convenience store for his habit because the girl behind the counter has a “big rack”. The list goes on …
Bang Bang! Back in the News!
What’s the problem with an acknowledged compromised politician sitting in the Governor’s Mansion of the most populous state in the country?
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/swalwell-threatens-fbi-legal-action-patel-reportedly-weighs-fang-fang-files-release
Setting aside the obvious espionage, the Asian kink dies hard, and, after cataloging all of my late father-in-laws -er- candid photography of his female co-workers as part of probate, I think there is a very fine line between guys willing to risk careers and families to indulge the interest and having a taste for “yummy pizza”.
One of my father-in-law’s best friends at AT&T, who married one of the co-workers, was a manager who ultimately pled guilty to what was, at the time, Orlando’s most notorious child molestation case, spanning over a decade of abuse.
Currentlly, the manager lives out his retirement in Davenport, FL, where Grady Judd frequently runs his pedo sting operations, often snagging Disney managers among others.
And, no, not a single day of jail time.
73F and overcast. Still a bit groggy from the meds, but my body isn’t stiff and sore, for the most part. Well, not more than normal.
Kids are out the door. I’ve had “first small breakfast” which is what I’ve been trying, to see if it smooths out my blood sugar and afternoon sleepiness.
Small cup of coffee, and something minimal to eat when I get up with the kids, then the other ⅔ of my coffee and ‘real’ breakfast later. Today was half an apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Yesterday it was one hard boiled egg. Real breakfast will be one or two eggs, some bacon, maybe a small piece of toast.
This seems to spread things out and helps with my caffeine crash in the afternoon.
Getting the real time feedback makes it all easier. Sensors for all!
n
@paul
My family’s tuna salad recipe is similar to what you wrote, with a few additional ingredients. Adjust proportions to taste, but start with:
Tuna 12 ounces, drained
Mayonnaise 1/3 cup, plus more as needed for texture
Sweet pickle relish 3/4 cup
Celery 1/2 cup of pieces chopped small (size of little fingernail)
Green onion 1/4 cup of pieces minced, both the white part and the green part
Nuts 1/2 cup of pieces chopped small (size of little fingernail)
Ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon
Lemon juice 1 Tablespoon
Mash the tuna to small pieces in a large bowl.
Stir in the mayonnaise and pickle relish to make a smooth paste.
Mix in the lemon juice and black pepper.
Add the celery, green onion, and nuts.
Mix well.
Cover and chill before serving. (At least three hours in the refrigerator.)
Sometimes I use Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise.
Sometimes I use sweet onion instead of green onion.
Sometimes the nuts I use are pecans. Sometimes roasted unsalted peanuts. Occasionally walnuts.
Sometimes I like it sweeter. Sometimes I like it crunchier.
Sometimes I’ll add more stuff to it later.
As Justin Wilson said, “What goes in it? Whatever you have.”
My mom used to make tuna salad a lot growing up, but somehow I haven’t ever made it. Paul and dcp have spurred me to correct that error. I need to dig through her recipe books and see if I can find her version, but I’ll try these too.
Aussie April Fools Day. The video is funny:
April Fool’s Day Fun: Police Introduce Elite Unit of SAUSAGE Dogs
I love wiener dogs. And drones!
Subbing today, first time in three months. I really don’t care as I don’t sub for the money, just to help the school and give me something to do.
The “lesson” today for the classes is a visit from the Navy recruiter. He is a local lad, which I why I suspect he wanted the assignment. His group is called “Navy Talent Acquisition Group”. In his talk to the students I was significantly impressed with the current offerings.
When I went in the USAF in late ’69, my first duty assignment was Langley AFB. I was placed in a room with three other guys, two of which smoked heavily. There were two bunk beds, metal frames and mattress support, and a really crappy mattress. There was no TV in the room. The bathroom was a shared facility down the hallway.
Now they get their own room with their own private bathroom with a shower. Actually wood product furniture of a desk and a dresser and wardrobe closet. A bed with a frame, foundation mattress, and a mattress, about the same as can be purchased at a bed store. Sort of like a small hotel room. There is WiFi available in all the rooms although certain sites are blocked. The starting pay for an E-1 is now $2,406.00 a month. When I was in it was $141.00 a month.
That is the Navy so I don’t know about the other services. I would expect the Air Force to be about the same. The Army a little less with maybe a shared room. The marines, who knows.
There’s still time for the Artemis recovery crew to get their Planet of the Apes costumes ready to wear when they open the capsule when it returns.
But how do we get the capsule to land in New York Harbor where they can see the Statue of Liberty knocked down?
Duuuudes! April fool’s was yesterday. You can stop trying to get people to eat tinned cat food. We’re on to you…
Busy day at the in-laws’ today. Shopping for supplies for replacing the garden pond liner on Saturday, replacing failed ceiling lights, cutting the grass, bringing cuttings and other garden waste to the recycling place, buying grass seed and compost, plants and fertiliser. MiL is a garden enthusiast, but the heavy work is beyond her these days.
A brief break for afternoon tea, now it is time to get started on the evening meal. I did the shopping, and I will be cooking, so dinner is going to be pork loin and fries with oyster mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce. Maybe some princess beans with bacon bits and roasted almonds. The wimminfolk want a salad. They can figure that out themselves.
I sometimes used canned tuna or chicken breast for one dish or another and would save a bit in the can for my cat. He’d attack it more eagerly than most canned cat food. The only exception was canned chopped fish, which was exactly what it sounds like: small fish cut into 2-inch pieces and crammed into a can. When I took the lid off, there was a good chance that an eye would be glaring up. To me it smelled like corruption and poor life choices. To my cat, it was heaven on earth and he’d go ballistic, more or less literally, jumping up and hoping to grab the can out of my hand as he passed by.
How interesting that tuna salad is under discussion today! Today is the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Jewish Exodus from Egypt some 3,500 years ago. Most Jewish holidays have the same theme; “They tried to kill us. We won! Let’s eat.” The “ritual food” for Passover is matzah, or “unleavened bread”. This is, basically, a giant cracker, baked quickly from flour and water. The Jews were forced to leave Egypt quickly, and could not wait for their (essentially) sourdough bread to rise, so it was baked quickly and packed up. For 8 days, we don’t eat any “leavened” bread, so nothing with yeast, or could have risen. We eat nothing made of wheat except matzah, no oats, or barley or rye. So no beer, which some people think is the hardest thing to give up.
One of my favorite treats during Passover is tuna salad on matzah. My recipe is simple; a can of tuna, well drained, and like SteveF, I “donate” the tuna water to the cats. Miracle Whip, chopped hard-boiled eggs, chopped onion, some pickle relish, with salt and onion salt to taste. Delicious!
When we were first married, I’d occasionally make my new bride breakfast of tuna salad baked in tomato bowls. I’m not a big fan of canned tuna in any form, but that was palatable. She told me months later that she didn’t particularly like tuna salad. Saves me making it…
n
This entire train of conversation is getting fishy. I despise eating fish, of any kind. I despise the taste, smell, and texture. In fact, I despise eating any water living creature, fresh water or salt water.
“Pam Bondi’s Two Gigantic Failures Overshadowed Her Middle Management Skills or Fox News Appearances”
https://discernreport.com/pam-bondis-two-gigantic-failures-overshadowed-her-middle-management-skills-or-fox-news-appearances/
“By every measure of institutional loyalty, she delivered. She fired officials connected to the prosecutions of Donald Trump. She gutted the Civil Rights Division’s most ideologically compromised corners. She bent the levers of the Justice Department toward the priorities of the administration and, on paper, seemed to be doing the job. And she was never shy about doing interviews, especially with friendly Fox News hosts. But in the end, she boarded a plane back to Florida without her job.”
“She was good at middle manager tasks and loved to be on camera, but there were two major failures she couldn’t overcome.”
“The first reason she’s gone is a bit complicated. She couldn’t get any high-profile indictments or arrests to stick. None of them. And even though she did a very poor job at executing, the justice system moves like molasses. President Trump and his team know this, so if that was the only thing not going for her she would have likely been given another few months, at least until the midterms. But the lack of arrests and convictions wasn’t the reason she was canned so early.”
“The second, bigger reason she’s gone is not complicated at all, and it has nothing to do with the usual Washington parlor game of “palace intrigue.” Bondi was removed because she committed what is, in this administration, the cardinal sin: she managed a high-profile political liability with all the grace of a man trying to defuse a bomb with oven mitts.”
“The Epstein files debacle — a slow-motion disaster of mismanagement, contradictory statements, and stagecraft that backfired spectacularly — illustrated that competence at institutional loyalty is not the same as competence at governance. And in the end, the president needed someone who could demonstrate both.”
I think she did a good job. But she was the proverbial one armed paper hanger in a 100,000 ft2 mansion.
And, she needed to be meaner.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Oh joy, more bad stuff in the illegal drugs.
n
Today won’t be anywhere near that busy. I have to make a trash run, go to the shop, and I’ll try for the cat recycler if they’re open. All in the service of the list… and if it’s not raining, I’ll do more cleaning and moving with the goal of getting more stuff out of my storage unit. It’s cost me $500 more than it should have, but I keep finding other things to do.
My junk seller youngest brother could not pay for his storage units one month and they got taken away by the owner(s). I have been careful not to ask any details from him if he saved anything because I will get a long rambling dissertation on how unfair the world is.
As Justin Wilson said, “What goes in it? Whatever you have.”
One of my favorite things about the first four books of the “Dies The Fire” series is “the everlasting soup” where the hunters and gatherers just throw in to the huge cauldron whatever they bring in. That is real life in tough times.
https://www.amazon.com/Dies-Fire-S-M-Stirling/dp/0451460413?tag=ttgnet-20
If they were delisted, made in properly maintained and inspected pharma plants, and sold in drugstores, not only would the adulteration problem be eliminated, almost every nation south of the Rio Grande would go into economic freefall. The US would still have to machine-gun invaders, but at least they woudn’t be smuggling drugs when they came in.
“Thousands of Houstonians could have to switch their doctors soon”
https://www.chron.com/news/article/texas-memorial-hermann-bcbs-22185860.php
“Healthcare standoff in Houston could delay surgeries, appointments for BCBS members”
I am tired of this crap. And I am tired of the prequalification nonsense.
Can we get rid of the health insurance companies ?
“Strait of Hormuz Closure Impacts Much More Than Just Oil”
https://thelibertydaily.com/strait-hormuz-closure-impacts-much-more-than-just/
“(DCNF)—The world’s main focus related to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian government over the last month has been its impacts on flows of oil. It’s a natural reaction given that fully 20% of global crude supplies exited the Persian Gulf via the Strait each day prior to Feb. 28. The denial of those oil flows has resulted in a historic price spike for oil and refined products like gasoline and diesel, along with shortages in an increasing number of importing countries.”
We, the USA, just need to walk XXXX float away and let the rest of the world solve this problem. And just continue to bomb Iran until the problem is solved.
About 60F with winds at 40mph at noon. I have yardwork to do and free dumpster, but it’s just impossible to work outside.
Annoying.
—–
Speaking of winds the damaged Metagaz natural gas tanker in the mediterranean, which was taken under tow earlier in the week, is adrift again, the tow couldn’t stay connected in 50kt winds and seas.
That seems reasonable, although the video a couple of days ago of the guys boarding it looked like amateur hour: slacks & polo shirts, no personal safety equipment, no lifevests, no safety lines…
Someone should be looking at a contingency plan to sink it by rocket or torpedo before it gets too close to shore and becomes a hazard to life and property. The natural gas cargo will burn off in a strike, so the only real damage prospect from that is the bunker fuel Leaking. That isn’t good but the sheer number of ships sunk in World War I and World War II in the Mediterranean shows this isn’t exactly an extinction level thing.
—–
I did my Fed & state taxes yesterday, the SR form only took a couple hours to fill out. I am getting a little bit more back compared to last year due to some of the new federal tax breaks.
I also have a form I filled out to get a break on my county property taxes. They require a photo ID (!) and a copy of the AGI page from my federal/state tax forms. You are allowed to obfuscate your DL and SSN ID numbers, so the whole thing is kind of funky/pointless.
I can’t help feeling like it’s probably some sort of stalking horse for LA county to get their fingers on income tax returns to review.
Over The Hedge: Who Is Dementia ?
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2026/04/02
If I don’t get my coffee then we will find out.
I have several things to do outside but the rain makes some of them annoying and the soaked ground makes some of them basically impossible. None of the chores is critically time-sensitive but all need to be taken care of before too much longer.
xkcd: Creation
https://www.xkcd.com/3227/
Whatever you do, do not select “Space Opera Mode”.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3227:_Creation
Crude Oil for May delivery is up to $111 per US barrel.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CL%3DF/
You know, if this goes on then somebody is going to get hurt.
Me, I can afford gasoline at $10 per US gallon. Most of the USA populace, that will be a severe hardship.
I think he got Greyscale and Dorian Greyscale backward.
“About those “donut” spare tires and wheels…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/04/about-those-donut-spare-tires-and-wheels.html
“It seems that a lot of motorists never think much about the space-saver spare tires fitted to many modern vehicles, and abuse them far beyond their design limits when they use them. I learned that when I went to a local tire dealer to replace my twelve-year-old donut tire, which was showing signs of oxidization as the rubber perished.”
The only thing that I hate worse than the donut spare tire is the no spare tire with run flats. One of my parent’s cars had the run flats and no spare tire. Was great until they ripped a four inch hole in the side wall of one of their tires. They called AAA and had their vehicle and themselves delivered to my office building for me to fix. They then took an Uber to their destination.
RE: Tuna Salad
RBT had a recipe here: https://web.archive.org/web/20070811205000/http://recipes.dutchgirl.net/bobmain.html
“Muslims Set To Push SBOE for Islamic Classroom Materials”
https://texasscorecard.com/state/muslims-set-to-push-sboe-for-islamic-classroom-materials/
“When the State Board of Education meets next week, Texas’ social studies curriculum will be on the agenda.”
Oh hell no !
The coming world war between muslims and Christians is getting closer and closer.
Here’s what my tuna salad has evolved into over the years:
1 can of oil-packed Tuna, excess oil drained.
Half of a small Shallot, finely diced
Half a stalk of Celery, finely diced
Teaspoon of Capers, drained
Teaspoon of Sweet Relish
½ Teaspoon of freshly ground Black Pepper
¼ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
Enough Kewpie mayonnaise (the Made in Japan stuff, not the Made in USA stuff) to bring it all together.
Combine the first 6 ingredients with the mayo. Add more or less mayo depending on desired consistency. Refrigerate for 30 minutes so the flavors can “marry.” If storing for awhile then maybe reduce the amount of shallot as the onion flavor will get stronger with time.
Serve on toasted white bread with a thin spread of mayo on each slice. Top with a slice of aged Swiss Cheese.
Measurements are all approximate. I usually eyeball everything and I’m sure not two batch ever taste exactly the same.
I finely dice most vegetables as I’m rarely a big fan of biting into some huge chunk of veggie.
So, is Artemis II essentially Apollo VIII v2.0?
“Applications Top 274,000 for Texas School Choice Program After Extended Deadline”
https://texasscorecard.com/state/applications-top-274000-for-texas-school-choice-program-after-extended-deadline/
“Some Islamic schools have been allowed to participate while litigation proceeds.”
“According to the comptroller’s office, 274,183 applications were submitted for the Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) program—more than double the number lawmakers initially budgeted to serve in the program’s first year.”
Yup, everyone knew this was going to happen. Gonna be a lottery now.
So, is Artemis II essentially Apollo VIII v2.0?
Yes. And Apollo XIII v2.0. Hopefully warmer for the astronauts though.
Do you know why Mohammedans are so pushy in the US?
Because we haven’t played Cowboys and Muslims yet.
We did play sailors and barbary coast pirates, but it was a long time ago and no one remember.
n
“Potential”
Bondi needed better vetting. Having lived in Hillsborough County during her rise to prominence there, I could have done a better job than Trump’s people.
After Bondi moved up to FL Attorney General, she gave the world “Trayvon”.
Plus her ties to that “church” in Clearwater, FL.
I brought the chickens out for 10 min or so, despite the rain. Most went up to the front yard and driveway, discovered the worms, and filled their fat little bellies. One went up, then got scared and ran back down. I carried her up and put her down by a worm in the driveway and she was all “What? What’s this treasure??? and joined the rest in gobbling. The other two got dumb and ran the wrong way and hid in the bushes near the orchard, then when I tried to lead them up they got scared ran into the patio run. Eh, no problem. They’re not likely to starve. Got everyone back to the run, quite wet but full of yummy yummy worms.
Not terribly productive but it beats beating my head against the for-pay work I’m supposed to be but am failing to do. Too tired to make sense of the requirements. I look at them and understand every word as I read it but forget the previous sentence as soon as I start the next.
The SS buffoon on “Doctor” Jill Biden’s protective detail, the one who shot himself, reportedly was attempting to use the light on his pistol to find his phone.
If that’s true, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by carrying a FLASHLIGHT. But I suppose that would have been too professional.
“Academic Study: Why Won’t German Women Mate With Migrants?”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-04-02/academic-study-why-wont-german-women-mate-migrants
“The ongoing Western social engineers’ jihad to deracinate the white race by herding European women into the warm embrace of Third World migrants has not, so far, gone as swimmingly as the architects of globo-homo race communism had hoped.”
“Indeed, the majority of the migrant-native sexual relations in Europe appear to be the non-consensual type.”
You know why.
Standards? Like, avoiding mating with subhumans?
Kill, convert, or extract tribute.
Harmony Schools are theirs. If you have one near you, look at the windows carefullly.
Uh-huh. You can almost hear the call to prayer.
I forgot to add that the order to prosecute came from (then) Governor Rick Scott, RINO-FL.
Remember that when you see Scott trying again for the Majority Leader position.
Or Minority Leader. That would be far worse.
I hit the HEB for a few things today. Went by the Deli and got a bit over a pound each of roast beef and corned beef. I didn’t notice any price tags.
The corned beef was a bit over $18. Ow. Tastes good and I wanted some.
Tomorrow I go back for a tomato or two and some hoagie/sub rolls. Because why take a shopping list?
“About those “donut” spare tires and wheels…”
Dangerous crap. A full-sized replacement is cheap insurance. If you have a vehicle with tire pressure sensors that may be a problem. Sell the vehicle and get something that isn’t designed to f*ck you over at every turn. Don’t buy a Ford–they stole $10 billion from their ICE customers to play in the EV wet-dream sandbox.
Tuna salad is an abomination.
The only way to eat canned tuna is to open the can, drain it, and put it directly on a toasted bread or bun .
White bread.
Ketchup makes it wonderful.
Big glass of whole milk.
Ketchup makes it wonderful? ?? !!???
Yikes.
———
Both children have busy social engagements tonight so it’s just me and W eating leftovers.
NOT tuna though, unless you count the grocery store sushi roll she brought home.
Time to put some waffle cut potato fries in the oven.
n
Ukraine Becomes World’s AI Weapons Laboratory
–yup, practice war.
n
Massive DC Sewage Spill Caused by Environmental Review That Dragged on for Years
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/04/02/massive-dc-sewage-spill-caused-by-environmental-review-that-dragged-on-for-years-n3813523
Criminal charges for everyone involved .
Civil charges to extract the cost of the cleanup.
And dip them all in the shit they unleashed.
Need I point out that the trees and bats were disrupted when the pipe was originally installed, and seem to have recovered just fine?
“MN fraud: Rochester woman gets 6 months in prison after guilty plea”
https://www.fox9.com/news/mn-fraud-rochester-woman-gets-6-months-prison-after-guilty-plea?taid=69ceab2772732b000138091b
“ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) – A Rochester woman who admitted to laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in the massive $300 million Feeding our Future scheme has been sentenced to six months in prison and is being forced to pay back more than $491,000.”
“Zamzam Jama, 50, was sentenced Tuesday to serve six months in prison and must pay more than $491,000 in restitution for her involvement in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.”
Unreal. And it took a year to sentence her.
Why is she still here in our country ?
Why isn’t she in jail in some third world armpit ?
“Hegseth Asks Army Chief Randy George To Retire Immediately”
https://libertyonenews.com/hegseth-asks-army-chief-randy-george-to-retire-immediately/
Nothing to see here, just some spring cleaning.
Someone observed that you don’t fight a war with the leadership that you have when you start the war. Dunno how accurate that is.
—–
74F and very damp. Sat out and had a tiny little fire while waiting for eldest to get home. Wind had some pretty good gusts. No gunfire tonight.
Past time for a shower and bed.
n