Cool, then warm and humid here in Houston. Probably some gloom too. Maybe even rain. Who really knows? The shadow might.
I was at the BOL yesterday, and didn’t get much done. I did get the truck unloaded and the mower powerwashed. I even got some stuff load on the truck to bring home. Kid wants some water toys for her swim party, and I sold one of the big floating foam pads to someone, so that stuff needed to come home.
I stayed later than I was hoping but did eventually get home.
Today I’ve got stuff to do. Gotta do some grocery shopping for the kid, and some present wrapping too. Already have the cake and card, so that’s covered.
There is other ‘real’ work to be done too. We’ll see how much of that happens.
It’s a great life if you don’t falter…
n
(stack)
Monday. Good morning!
Another beautiful Spring day here. Clear skies, so low temperatures overnight, but blue skies and sunshine now. I am going to profit from the nice weather and do a couple of loads of domestic bliss and dry them outdoors (probably just to catch all the fresh pollen, ah well…).
No roebucks sighted yet. I might go for a wee mooch in the woods on my lunchbreak. Roe are sun lovers, so are often active during the daytime in nice weather. This is the time of year for the bucks to shed the velvet from their little antlers, sort out and mark their territories, so they are busy running around bashing bushes and chasing off rivals. They lose their usual sneaky caution, and can be spotted on account of the noise and the vegetation moving on an otherwise still day.
Not to be a raging nationalist or anything, but I agree with that “gold standard” assessment. French butter from Normandy and Brittany comes a respectable second – their dairy cows have basically the same biotope and weather as in the main dairying region of southern Ireland. For reasons I don’t understand, British butter is not a patch on either Irish or French. Maybe the cows are sad.
Kerrygold is the cooperative overseas marketing effort of the Irish dairy industry. One brand, known worldwide, instead of lots of inconsequential tiny ones, and very strict quality control. A total stroke of genius from the 1960s, I think.
Absolutely indispensable! Thanks, Norman.
My head is stuffed full of useless information!
But it lets me make jokes and puns, multilingual puns, even, so it’s not totally useless.
Thanks to Dr. Strange Love and President Merkin Muffley I learned the term at an early age.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove
what 13 yo wouldn’t be impressed? better toss in Playboy for offering reference material in 1964
Go look at the name of the current CEO of AT&T.
He is part of the mid level PacBell management who literally inspired the Dilbert comic strip.
And “Nair” for teaching us what a “bikini line” is.
n
77F and overcast. Kids are up and moving. Wife is up. I’ve had a bowl of Golden Grahams cereal, so I’m headed back to bed soon. Just for a short nap.
n
CA Billionaire Tax is a Trap
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/04/27/california-billionaire-tax-bait-and-switch-n2675105
New simplified CA tax firm:
How much you got?
Send it in.
A nice morning, 42F and a lot of clouds. Only trace amounts of rain here this am, possibly more elsewhere as the air felt damp.
I noticed yesterday that the gas at the little market here had jumped to $6.30 a gallon, up from the $6 line that the owner held for the last month. It appears as though he only changes the price when he gets a new shipment of fuel, which is odd for a small business owner.
I had dinner at the neighbors place and someone mentioned that Costco was currently selling regular for $5.89 a gallon. Well, the market here doesn’t have quite the marketing edge that Costco enjoys, and the convenience of it keeps me buying local.
“Who wears short shorts?” “We wear short shorts!”
That will be in my head all day.
In case anyone’s wondering:
Could you pass this 8th grade test from 1912?
(I did pretty well; it’s been a long time since I took civics, US geography was never my long suit–and of course things have changed somewhat since 1912.)
The typical collegian of today.
This one’s for you, @Greg:
Frustrations of the software industry
If you know too much, you’re considered incompetent
Those have been the case for decades. Several times I’ve annoyed the Kewl Kid technical architect by pointing on that Kewl New Thing is functionally the same as something that’s been around since I was in college except that now it has a REST API. (And several times I’ve annoyed allegedly technical headhunters by pointing out errors in their job requirements. No, the customer clearly wants XSL experience, not XLS. “We’re professionals and don’t need you to tell us our job.”)
“Are We Subjects or Citizens? Birthright Citizenship and the Constitution” by Edward J. Erler
https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/are-we-subjects-or-citizens-birthright-citizenship-and-the-constitution/
“This summer, Americans will celebrate the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence—our nation’s 250th birthday. Also this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court will render a decision in the case of Trump v. Barbara, a class-action lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive order ending the practice of birthright citizenship. The two are connected, because Trump v. Barbara involves issues fundamental to the meaning of the Declaration and the future of the American experiment in republican government. It is worth the time and effort of every citizen to understand its importance.”
“Birthright citizenship—the policy whereby the children of illegal aliens born within the geographical limits of the United States are entitled to American citizenship—is a great magnet for illegal immigration. Many believe that this policy is an explicit command of the Constitution, consistent with the British common law system. But this is simply not true.”
Yes.
“Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow”
https://therightscoop.com/big-breaking-melania-trump-scorches-jimmy-kimmel-for-violent-rhetoric-calls-on-abc-to-fire-him/
I am without words.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Questionable Content: Stanford Prison Protocol
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5816
I don’t put sugar in my coffee. Except on Saturdays when I put in non dairy White Chocolate Mocca. Which, is liquid sugar.
https://www.instacart.com/products/89948-international-delight-white-chocolate-mocha-coffee-creamer-16-0-fl-oz
(And several times I’ve annoyed allegedly technical headhunters by pointing out errors in their job requirements. No, the customer clearly wants XSL experience, not XLS. “We’re professionals and don’t need you to tell us our job.”)
X-onyms are so very Nineties.
Monty: Anti-gravity Testing
www.gocomics.com/monty/2026/04/27
Yup, that testing may be worse than creating the device itself.
Remember when it was e- this and eTHAT? And until apple stole the ‘i’ it was just as likely to be i-this and i-that.
I’m having some mental stress because I’m old enough that I’ve seen some of this shite 3 or 4 times now, and my patience with the kids just noticing it for the first time is wearing thing. I don’t WANT to be that guy, but time and a modicum of paying attention conspire against me.
n
Gotta love AI’s that think on their own….
Full story here.
Age and experience lead to pattern recognition and the ability to handle new situations by analogy to previous situations. Time was, this was called wisdom and was respected.
This seems to no longer be the case. At least not in the fast-moving tech world, in which old mistakes are new again every few years.
Of course, if age and experience don’t lead to pattern recognition and wisdom, then it just means you’re getting old and foolish.
I’m impressed by the “agents’” ability to put together plans and perform actions to reach the user’s goals.
I’m even more impressed by users’ trust in the ability of the “AIs” to plan correctly and to carry out actions correctly.
Not favorably impressed, mind you.
“ Is it time to upgrade your Roku device?”
https://thestreamable.com/should-you-upgrade-roku
“We’ll explain how to recognize when a device is aging beyond its usefulness, and how to upgrade here.”
“BYD reveals the ‘world’s longest-range EV’ that can drive 1,036 km on a single charge”
https://electrek.co/2026/03/02/byd-reveals-worlds-longest-range-ev-that-can-drive-1036-km/
IIRC, BYD vehicles do not meet USA safety standards. I guess that they could remove a wheel and call them motorcycles.
So where is my electric replacement for my 2019 4×4 F-150 with the 36 gallon gasoline tank that can go 700 miles on a single tank ?
Clickbait.
Clickbait.
The whole internet is clickbait.
“BREAKING: SCOTUS allows Texas redistricting map to go forward”
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-scotus-allows-texas-redistricting-map-to-go-forward
“The Supreme Court has struck down a lower court’s order that barred Texas’ new congressional map, which would likely result in five new Republican seats in the House, from taking effect.”
“In a short order issued on Monday, the court stated, “we reverse the District Court’s judgment,” noting that justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.”
We really need to get rid of three dissenters.
A 2010 Mercedes S Class does not meet the current standards either.
“‘The threats are real’: Glenn Beck issues urgent call for courage as violence against conservatives escalates”
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/the-threats-are-real-glenn-beck-issues-urgent-call-for-courage-as-violence-against-conservatives-escalates
“Death threats and political violence against conservatives are no longer rare incidents — they have become a dangerous daily reality, creating a climate of fear designed to silence dissent.”
“On April 14, Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, announced that she was backing out at the last minute from a TPUSA event in Athens, Georgia, where she was scheduled to interview JD Vance, due to “very serious threats” directed at her.”
“Just a few days before that, TPUSA Frontlines reporter Savanah Hernandez was brutally attacked by a violent anti-ICE mob in Minnesota while she was simply trying to video a protest.”
Eh. My career is almost over. I work because, for now, I can, and I learned the lesson of the downside of not having my own income stream in WA State.
Watching “How I Met Your Mother” reruns on E! Network last week, I noticed commercials for a bikini line razor which showed as much of that area as they can get away with on basic cable.
Strangely, I don’t remember the commercial running during this episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNRPywfegW4
Season 6. Episode 9.
In the before times.
RIP Alan Thicke.
I voted today.
What I read on the Web said 2 million for “IT Infrastructure”. Sounds like a lot of high end Cisco hardware and “experts” to configure it all. Plus another 133 million for Stuff. Like, re-roofing (always with the needed new roofs) and oh, gonna tear down the Middle School because it has room for 800 kids and rebuild newer and gooder for 1200 kids.
And some yabbering about how this isn’t really going to raise taxes. Because they can only go up x% a year. What? Editors, what do they do?
Ah. School is crowded? Portable Buildings. Embrace them. Need to cut expenses? Get school buses without a/c.
So I went to vote. Two items. BOTH, first line said “this will increase your property taxes”.
Duh.
Then I went to HEB and the 2 for $6 coupon for dog cookies is still there. So I did that. Plus eggs and half and half.
The dog cookies at HEB that are $3.98 a box? Almost $8 at Tractor Supply for the exact same thing.
Mayhap I need to investigate the price of cat food. $29 for a 44 pound bag is ok price wise. But if HEB has similar feed for less, and smaller bags, well, suddenly that’s a new feature, too.
Direct from the main ceremonial chamber of the Masonic Temple of Hollywood, its … Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Kimmel’s day of reckoning is coming.
The entire Robin Sparkles subplot was pure genius.
Direct from the main ceremonial chamber of the Masonic Temple of Hollywood, its … Jimmy Kimmel Live!
You misspelled Hollyweird.
Is it too much to hope it will be like Braveheart? Nah. That’s too quick.
Then I went to HEB and the 2 for $6 coupon for dog cookies is still there. So I did that. Plus eggs and half and half.
The dog cookies at HEB that are $3.98 a box? Almost $8 at Tractor Supply for the exact same thing.
Mayhap I need to investigate the price of cat food. $29 for a 44 pound bag is ok price wise. But if HEB has similar feed for less, and smaller bags, well, suddenly that’s a new feature, too.
HEB has excellent pricing. Usually.
“Hilarious: Trump Endorses an ICE Rebrand That Would Drive the Media and Dems Insane”
https://www.westernjournal.com/hilarious-trump-endorses-ice-rebrand-drive-media-dems-insane/
““I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day every day,” “alyssa” wrote.”
That series was headed towards the biggest syndication deal in TV history until the finale aired.
More fallout from David Letterman’s firing.
BTW, today’s Letterman YouTube clip is a reminder of why Dave was fired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYZ0-cqHVs
Like a TV show broadcast from inside a Masonic Temple isn’t weird enough.
Literally.
“This Old House” repurposed a deconsecrated Mormon Temple into a house for a Gap exec, but that’s the closest thing I’ve seen elsewhere to the bizarre situation with Kimmel’s venue.
In person, the studio facade is creepy.
“Eh. My career is almost over. I work because, for now, I can,”
Well. You’re adding to your SS. And to your savings. You can fund trips to Florida w/o any noise of it being expensive. Other than that speed trap.
Besides. What’re ya gonna do? Sitting around the house in your underwear and playing on the computer is fun. AFTER the house is paid with a new roof and new central air. And no car payments or credit card balances.
Cough. Works for me. As planned.
New roof? We went with metal. The heavy gauge. 30 years warranty on the paint. And well, the metal is galvanized. Easy a 100 year roof.
Observation and pattern recognition is racist. Best not to notice.
Actually, it was a church meeting house, not a temple. It was located in San Francisco:
More recently, John Scalzi (author) bought an old church and converted it into a personal space that he says will also be used for community events. See here. (from a post on his site in 2023). He has other posts about it that are more recent.
6% matching on the 401(k), cash, no vesting period.
Monday (now Tuesday) bedtime.
A busy work day, followed by a trip to the woods. Poor Bambi.
When I got home, my neighbour was finishing doing some maintenance on the lawn between our houses, so I offered him beer and a chat. That was nice.
Roofs: I rather fancy having a copper or lead one, but I am sure the cost must be prohibitive. That is why only churches and public buildings have them…
Goodnight!
Florida was expensive, but some of it was offset by the continuing education reimbursement.
I used bonus money for our trip to see the current state of where I will be when Y2038 hits.
https://www.muckyduck.com/beach-cam/
Hermione Granger Kagan is looking rough lately. Too many smoke breaks.
The Wise Latina has lots of health problems and grouses about the money, being worth “only” $4-6 million.
Take it from someone who knows the Washington Hilton.
https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/27/john-hinckley-says-washington-hilton-not-secure-after-shooting/
Ping
upright and breathing choking a little on the stress of being in the Sandwich generation. My elderly MiL has serious health stuff that started about a month ago and is currently in SNF. First two hours of my day are supplementing her care and facilitating her eating, drinking, exercising with goal of getting her home. Teen daughter provided us some well timed drama I did -not- have on my Bingo card.
State of the world is hard on my optimistiam. Getting thru it. Not much time for anything but spinning the plates of competing responsibilities.
Yee haw. That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
… said the man whose brain was rotted by the syphilis which killed him.
In my experience with a bunch of Roku boxen, you don’t need an article to tell you. They eventually load up the box with so many ads, apps, and tracking bots that menus get too slow to tolerate. Then you update to a Firestick for a while, until something amazon does makes it unusable, then switch to apple tv, or one of the KODI chinese pirate machines. I’m currently using a google tv stick, and while I can access netflix, I can’t add the link/app to the home page to make it easier. At least youtube works and is on the home page.
n
Fried chicken turned out really good. I used lard for the fat, mixed fish and chicken breading packages to get a lighter but still cornmeal based breading, and used my Wagner chicken fryer pan. Kid was very happy with the resulting “big juicy chicken legs”.
For me and W, I added baked beans and some corn.
Cake was a fudge mousse cake from Costco, which is our favorite.
Kid got presents tonight too as there are other conflicts and other nights.
Lots of presents as I cleared out my present closet.
n
The most gruesome images in Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” involve a syphilis patient.
@Jenny
Thanks for checking in.
Arrivederci: European Ally Extradites CCP-Controlled Super-Hacker to US to Face Long Arm of the Law
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/04/27/arrivederci-european-ally-extradites-ccp-controlled-super-hacker-to-us-to-face-the-long-arm-of-the-law-n2201754
Try, convict, sentence to life. Then give him a choice of serving his sentence with a roommate who really likes China Dolls, or spilling his guts and helping direct operations against the ChiComs he once worked for.
Take the teen to see “Project Hail Mary”.
I have issues with the movie, but it is very well made.
We’re going to see a 35th anniversary screening of “Silence of the Lambs” on Wednesday night.
Something happened to me on that front while we were in Florida which I’m still trying to process. When I can break opsec in about a month, I’ll talk about what happened.
My father said that his grandfather once told him “the world is going to hell!” That would be the Civil War generation.
So, don’t stress too much.
Oh man, I need one of these but it does not fit my Ruger GP100 7 shot .357. Bummer.
https://www.crossbreedholsters.com/product/chest-rig/
Ping
upright and breathing choking a little on the stress of being in the Sandwich generation. My elderly MiL has serious health stuff that started about a month ago and is currently in SNF. First two hours of my day are supplementing her care and facilitating her eating, drinking, exercising with goal of getting her home. Teen daughter provided us some well timed drama I did -not- have on my Bingo card.
State of the world is hard on my optimistiam. Getting thru it. Not much time for anything but spinning the plates of competing responsibilities.
Yee haw. That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
SNF = Skilled Nursing Facility ??? We had my wife’s father in a SNF for 6.5 years when he turned 81. It was always temporary until it was not.
Yeah, the teenage years are rough. Lots of energy and the belief that they are immortal. Our son rampaged through school with the wife homeschooling him for 10 – 12. Then he joined Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children when he turned 20 while a sophomore at TAMU. He burned his bridges at TAMU walking out the door because he did not say goodbye and took an F in every course that semester.
If you really need it, they have a contact us page and I bet they’d do custom work. For a price.
I need to do a little bit more holster shopping. One of the problems with obscure tools like the CZ82 and P-64 is concealment holsters.
I do love my 9×18 cartridges.
I’m going to get ready for bed and read a while. Maybe I’ll fall asleep early. I’m certainly tired enough.
n
“that soon to be a widow glow”…
– you can’t hate them enough.
n
California proposition to tax billionaires gets onto the November ballot with just one problem: Everyone gets to be the ‘billionaire’
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/california_proposition_to_tax_billionaires_gets_onto_the_november_ballot_with_just_one_problem_everyone_gets_to_be_the_billionaire.html
Those tax board appointments are going to be real popular with the HOA board veterans.
“All New Vehicles Sold In The U.S. Will Soon Be Equipped With An AI Kill Switch That Will Determine Whether You Are Allowed To Drive Or Not”
https://endoftheamericandream.com/all-new-vehicles-sold-in-the-u-s-will-soon-be-equipped-with-an-ai-kill-switch-that-will-determine-whether-you-are-allowed-to-drive-or-not/
“Imagine that you just received a very alarming phone call and you are in a panic to get home. Unfortunately, since your eyes are wide and full of alarm because of the phone call that you just received, the AI kill switch in your vehicle will not allow you to drive anywhere. This is not a scenario which may or may not happen someday. This is already federal law. Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed by Joe Biden directed the NHTSA to establish permanent standards for impaired driving safety equipment on all new vehicles within three years. Fortunately, Congress gave the NHTSA some more time in 2024, but now another deadline is looming. If Congress does not act, very soon all new vehicles in the U.S. will come equipped with systems that determine who gets to drive and who does not get to drive.”
“Automakers are arguing that the technology still isn’t ready because it makes way too many mistakes.”
“Some drivers just naturally have eye or head movements that make them appear to be impaired in some way.”
Are they going to add a breathalyzer to it also ?
And technology like this will never work properly for some percentage of the populace since they have familial tremors, Parkinsons, etc.
“Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin and His MAGA Girlfriend Confronted Gavin Newsom Over Billionaire Tax”
https://economiccollapse.report/google-co-founder-sergey-brin-and-his-maga-girlfriend-confronted-gavin-newsom-over-billionaire-tax/
“When one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, who built an empire on American innovation and free enterprise, publicly invokes his family’s flight from Soviet oppression to denounce a proposed wealth tax, it ought to command attention. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has done exactly that, delivering a rare and pointed rebuke that exposes the deeper folly of California’s latest experiment in class warfare.”
“Brin, whose estimated net worth hovers around $270 billion, did not mince his personal history. In a statement to The New York Times, he declared, “I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place.””
“The proposed measure, which qualified for the November ballot with over 1.6 million signatures, would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires. For Brin, that could translate to a $13 billion bill.”
Dude, just move Google out of California to Texas or Florida. That will make a statement.