Wed. May 6, 2026 – it was pretty quiet last night, maybe no one wanted to attract the attention of ICE?

Warm and damp to start, and then more. It was pretty warm yesterday, and overcast for most of the day. I think we’ll get a bit more moisture today. But I could be wrong if the balance between the fronts moving down from the NW and the air moving NW out of the Gulf changes. It doesn’t have to move much for Houston to get or not get weather.

I didn’t get much done yesterday. I did hit HEB for groceries and did some office type stuff. Had a D2 thing in the evening at school. My time sitting out at night wasn’t marred by a lot of gunfire, only a few distant rounds, and a few squealing tires. Not much Sinkhole de mayo celebrating that I saw. No media pushing it reached me either.

Today I’ll do a couple of pickups, some office stuff, and some more errands. I’ve got plenty of stuff piling up. Sometimes, I’m just not that motivated. And then some days, I get a lot done. It evens out but I’m not catching up or getting ahead.

I suppose not falling farther behind is a win of sorts.

Stack. Improve. Do what you can.
n

80 Comments and discussion on "Wed. May 6, 2026 – it was pretty quiet last night, maybe no one wanted to attract the attention of ICE?"

  1. Denis says:

    Wednesday. Good morning!

    Up at 04:30 this morning with sibling to bash Bambis before work. 7C/44F, fog and rain. Wintry. Not nice. Sibling saw a hare, I saw neither hide nor hair. Pity about the weather, the past two or three weeks were glorious, but this week is what we have…

    Time now for a lunchbreak snooze to catch up on some Z’s. Work this afternoon, then back to the woods. Hope springs eternal.

    Have a lovely day!

  2. SteveF says:

    All gun laws are unconstitutional.

    Nick, Nick, Nick… Your understanding is so simple and unnuanced. Unsophisticated, even.  “Simplisme” as the highly nuanced and sophisticated French might say. You need to go to Yale or Harvard Law School to be properly educated in why “shall not be infringed” does not mean that a right shall not be infringed.

  3. Denis says:

    AR-15s for everyone !

    I have recently bent my personal no-poodleshooter rule, and arranged to buy a semi-auto .223/5.56.

    Why? Because there are people who want to ban me from having one if I so choose. Poke them figuratively in the eye.

    If things get really bad, I might even have to get an AR-pattern rifle and an AK, neither of which I want, just because those two will be the first to be forbidden, because “scary”.

  4. Greg Norton says:

     Maybe a third one in Florida that will need a new job soon as he is term limited to be governor

    I’m thinking that a bright young lawyer like DeSantis might like to have a post on the Supreme Court. 

    The current Junior Senator from Florida, Ashley Moody, would be better suited for The Court if she doesn’t run for Governor, but I still believe Barbara Legoa is a lock with Aileen Cannon also on the short list for that district.

    DeSantis will be in the VP calculus for Florida at a minimum, but his Kenny Boys need to be vetted.

    The problem with Little Marco is that his Kenny Boys are well known and smell of Jeb!.

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    76F this morning.  Brightening sky but I think we’ll be overcast for a bit.

    —-

    I’ve got a doctor appointment in the middle of the afternoon, so I need to plan my day a bit more carefully than usual.   We’ll see how that goes.

    Anyway, I’m up for now, and everyone has been poked.   Lunch is made.   

    n

  6. ITGuy1998 says:

    I have recently bent my personal no-poodleshooter rule, and arranged to buy a semi-auto .223/5.56.

    Why? Because there are people who want to ban me from having one if I so choose. Poke them figuratively in the eye.

    That was the prime motivation for me getting one as well. The fact that it is fun to shoot is just a bonus.

  7. Nick Flandrey says:

    I wouldn’t mind having a wood stock rifle in 556 or 223.  Or the same in 762…   something less “scary” than the real versions…

    n

  8. SteveF says:

    Are Woodstock rifles optimized for shooting hippies?

    11
  9. brad says:

    A neighbor keeps suggesting that we visit a shooting range. I keep saying yes, but it hasn’t happened yet. I haven’t shot my guns since moving here, more than 30 years ago. Might be time. Probably ought to have them looked at by a gunsmith first, just in case…

    It’s been a chaotic week. My wife jokingly asked me how many part-time jobs I have, now that I’m retired. The answer is either 3 or (if you count working for free) 4. Maybe that’s not the right definition of retirement, dunno…

    10
  10. MrAtoz says:

    Are Woodstock rifles optimized for shooting hippies?

    That would be ineffective. As soon as the round entered the “stench shield” around the hippie, it would turn around and go back in the barrel.

  11. Jenny says:

    @Denis

    Because there are people who want to ban me from having one if I so choose

    My husband and I have been known to make purchases based solely on someone else’s desire to ban. Contrary of us, I know.

    10
  12. Jenny says:

    @brad

    suggesting that we visit a shooting range. I keep saying yes, but it hasn’t happened yet

    Anticipate the invitation recurring. Have a response other than Yes ready.

    Yes – would Tuesday at 10 am or Thursday at 4 pm be better for you?”

    I‘m sure you know this. It’s become my tool to schedule on invite at this point because people have become such flakes at scheduling. 

  13. Jenny says:

    FIFM

    have become such flakes at scheduling

  14. SteveF says:

    have become such flakes fakes

    FIFY

    NB: The comment editor got flaky (DYSWIDT?) when I highlighted only the ‘l’ and hit the strikeout key, to the extent that I had to reload the web page to get it working again.

  15. Greg Norton says:

    My husband and I have been known to make purchases based solely on someone else’s desire to ban. Contrary of us, I know.
     

    I am currently testing a “banned” TP Link tri-band router at home. I don’t trust it to sit between my home network and the cable modem, but the 6 GHz channels it provides are useful and fast.

    I wonder what the real problem is that motivated the manufacturer being flagged.

    4
    1
  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    Be interesting to find out.   Lot of TP Link gear in the returns auctions for the last few months.

    —-

    Huh, FEDEX  had weather in Indy and Memphis last night bad enough to impact ops…

    —-

    86F at the moment.

    n

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    Maybe the bad weather was the wind swirling when the gates of Hell opened to welcome Ted…

    BREAKING: CNN Founder and Liberal Billionaire Ted Turner Dies 

    n

  18. drwilliams says:

    Thanks. 
    Now Jane. 

  19. Greg Norton says:

    Be interesting to find out.   Lot of TP Link gear in the returns auctions for the last few months.
     

    Build quality is garbage to start. I returned one router to Amazon because it kept losing the LAN connection every 30 seconds.

  20. OldGuy says:

    Ion rocket engines pass first test:

    A new ion engine has been tested in a lab, proving itself to be 25 times more powerful than NASA’s current state-of-the-art one. This advanced technology could one day assist humans in reaching Mars.

    Ion engines are very different to the usual sort of thrusters that burn chemical propellant. Using electromagnetic fields, they accelerate ions — charged atoms — out through a nozzle to provide thrust, hence they are often described as using “electric propulsion.” Though they are slow at first, these engines’ thrust can build up incrementally to achieve high velocities, and because they use 90% less propellant than chemical rockets, ion engines also reduce the mass of a spacecraft and make launch less expensive. Currently, the most powerful ion engine on a spacecraft belongs to NASA’s Psyche mission to the asteroid of the same name. Its engine has been able to ramp up to a velocity of 124,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) per hour.

    “This marks the first time in the United States that an electric propulsion system has operated at power levels this high, reaching up to 120 kilowatts,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “We will continue to make strategic investments that will propel that next giant leap.”

    link here.

    7
    1
  21. Ken Mitchell says:

    I might even have to get an AR-pattern rifle and an AK

    I had long resisted buying an AR-15, figuring that a .223 bullet probably would not be enough to get the job done.  But like Denis, I have bowed to the will of the majority and purchased not one, but TWO identical AR-15 style rifles.  (Because “two is one and one is none”.) I will NOT purchase an AK-style rifle; if I wanted a .30 cal rifle, I think I would purchase one of the AR-10 models chambered in .308. But that would mean stockpiling an entirely new caliber of ammo, and I don’t want to do that. 

  22. SteveF says:

    I always liked the AK-47. I’m talking about the military variant with the selector switch, made in whatever Soviet-bloc country. They’re pieces of crap, but it’s because they’re pieces of crap that they are able to take all sorts of horrific abuse and keep functioning. If I were going to bury some weapons, AKs would be high on my list.

  23. paul says:

    The forms arrived from Computerserve whatever to transfer the 11 shares of Warner Discovery shares.  There’s something called “Medallion” and look on the site to find a location.  

    But!!! If you are transferring less than 13 million shares or some such silliness, you can send a check for $50.

    Hey, If I had 13 million shares I’d have Staff that would have dumped the Warner Discovery shares years ago. 

    Ok.  Eleven shares.  They have not paid a penny of dividends, ever.   The Duck says $27 a share.   Call it $300.  Minus whatever for some medallion stamp or pay a non-refundable $50.

    I’m not seeing the value here. 

    Pay $50 to have $300 worth of stick changed from his name to my name? Nope.

  24. Lynn says:

    “Your Windows PC’s security foundation could expire in 8 weeks — Here’s how to check if you’re eligible for a new Secure Boot certificate”

       https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows/secure-boot-certificates-expire-how-to-check

    “When Microsoft first implemented its Secure Boot feature on Windows PCs in 2011, the potential issues surrounding the expiry of associated certificates seemed like a far-off problem.”

    “Well, the future is here 15 years later, and there are countless Secure Boot certificates set to expire in June 2026.”

    “This is the first time that the certificates have come up against a cutoff date, and the effort on the part of Microsoft and its OEMs to smooth the transition to new certificates is enormous.”

    Sigh, this security stuff is becoming a real pain.  I still have four machines running Windows 10.  In fact, I still have three machines running Windows 7.  And one machine running Windows 8.

    My new Dell mini tower budget i7 Windows 11 Pro PC rebooted last night and installed a new BIOS and a new Intel Management Engine operating system.  Looks like I got the new Secure Boot updates.

  25. Lynn says:

    The forms arrived from Computerserve whatever to transfer the 11 shares of Warner Discovery shares.  There’s something called “Medallion” and look on the site to find a location.  

    But!!! If you are transferring less than 13 million shares or some such silliness, you can send a check for $50.

    Hey, If I had 13 million shares I’d have Staff that would have dumped the Warner Discovery shares years ago. 

    Ok.  Eleven shares.  They have not paid a penny of dividends, ever.   The Duck says $27 a share.   Call it $300.  Minus whatever for some medallion stamp or pay a non-refundable $50.

    I’m not seeing the value here. 

    Pay $50 to have $300 worth of stick changed from his name to my name? Nope.

    Isn’t Paramount buying Warner Discovery ?

        https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-warner-bros-buy-reaffirms-deal-close-timing-1236585033/

  26. Lynn says:

    Pearls Before Swine: Best Creative Work

       https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2026/05/06

    I am 65 on the ramp sliding downhill getting butt burns.

  27. Lynn says:

    https://questionablecontent.net is hacked and down per https:// http://www.jephjacques.com/

    “If you’re reading this, it’s because questionablecontent.net got hacked and blown up. While we work on fixing it, you can see the most recent comics by clicking here, or get access to comics 24 hours early by subscribing to my Patreon. Thanks for your patience.” 

    Why do people have to do this to innocent websites ? 

    Lynn 
     

    https://questionablecontent.net is still down.  Not good.

  28. lpdbw says:

    Your bank or credit union should offer medallion services for a pittance.  I’ve done it a couple of times, and never paid a cent.

    But I’d double check first, because I believe Paramount will reach out and I think the price is $30/share.  I own way more than 11 shares.

  29. lpdbw says:

    I have owned AR-15s and Mini-14s.  The original wood stocked Mini-14 is near perfect.

    Ok, it’s not super accurate, hard to mount an optic, and changing magazines is not speedy, but it just FEELS right.  Like an M1 carbine.  I regret giving my M1 carbine away.

    I also once had an AR-180, which was a big step up from the AR-15.  It was Stoner’s improved version of the AR-15. Magazines are unobtainium.

  30. OldGuy says:

    Why do people have to do this to innocent websites ? 

    Running a website takes some effort. Security of the hosting place, keeping software updated, keeping site content secure, etc, all takes some time. If the site has some custom programming, then the programmer needs to ensure that the site programs (and infrastructure) are properly written and secured. 

    Hackers go after low-hanging fruit. They don’t care about which sites they attack, the attack any site that they can, hoping to get one that will allow them to run processes that will make them money in any way (and there are many ways). 

    The website owner has to make sure that they do all they can to get their ‘fruit’ higher up the tree. If your house has open doors (bad programming) and is in a bad neighborhood (insecure infrastructure), don’t be surprised if the miscreants will attack your house. 

  31. EdH says:

    A new ion engine has been tested in a lab, proving itself to be 25 times more powerful than NASA’s current state-of-the-art one. This advanced technology could one day assist humans in reaching Mars.

    Not mentioned in the article (or the NASA PR): the two most important things for spacecraft mission designers: the specific impulse and the net thrust.

  32. Lynn says:

    I wouldn’t mind having a wood stock rifle in 556 or 223.  Or the same in 762…   something less “scary” than the real versions…

    n

    I love my Ruger Mini-14 stainless.  I got it 40+ years ago.  Mine is so old that it is .223 only.  No 5.56 NATO as that round has a higher pressure, 58,000 psi, than mine was designed for, 55,000 psi.

       https://ruger.com/products/mini14RanchRifle/specSheets/5802.html

       https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

       https://www.reddit.com/r/ar15/comments/1jwkkkv/if_you_fire_a_556_out_of_a_223_it_will_damage_or/

  33. Ray Thompson says:

    I just got an email from TVA, the electrical supplier to my utility district. I can save $65.00 a year by allowing TVA to control my thermostat during times of high demand. Uh, no thanks.

  34. lpdbw says:

    Why do people have to do this to innocent websites ? 

    @OldGuy:  I, too, often answer rhetorical questions.

    I believe the actual answer is that some people are evil, and we aren’t allowed to kill them.

    I should be able to keep my front door unlocked and live in any neighborhood (in America, at least) without fear.  Your answer implies it’s somehow my fault if something bad happens.  I reject that.

    At the same time, I realize there are evil people.  I just accept no guilt that they exist, or that they may act in such a way it requires me to shoot them.

  35. Lynn says:

    “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch between Microsoft and IBM organizational structures” by Raymond Chen

       https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260505-00/?p=112298

    I’ve written in the past about the cultural mismatch between Microsoft and IBM during the collaboration on OS/2, with the Microsofties viewing their IBM colleagues as mired in pointless bureaucracy and the IBM folks viewing Microsofties as undisciplined hackers.¹”

    “One of many points of mismatch was the organizational structure.”

    “A colleague recalls that while he was assigned to the IBM offices in Boca Raton, Florida, there was a dispute over what key should be used to move from one field to another in dialog boxes. The folks at IBM were not happy with my colleague’s decision to use the TAB key, so they asked him to escalate the issue to his manager back in Redmond.”

    Ok, that resolution is funny.

    I often wonder how life would have been if I had taken that job offer with Microsoft in 1987. Raymond Chen makes it sound like it would have been a totally crazy job.

  36. Lynn says:

    All gun laws are unconstitutional.

    Nick, Nick, Nick… Your understanding is so simple and unnuanced. Unsophisticated, even.  “Simplisme” as the highly nuanced and sophisticated French might say. You need to go to Yale or Harvard Law School to be properly educated in why “shall not be infringed” does not mean that a right shall not be infringed.

    First, lets kill all the lawyers. The Eagles wrote a song about this:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2uRRDV63ns

    BTW, I own the book that the former band member wrote in response to this song.
    https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Hell-Life-Eagles-1974-2001/dp/1681626519

  37. SteveF says:

    Kind of wet today, to the extent that I’m wondering about building an ark.

    Chickens aren’t happy, but there are plenty of things to sit on under the cover of the tarp on the run. They can deal with it. They were happy when I brought them treats – eggshells and leftover cooked rice, then later a handful of dried black fly larvae – but still wanted to be let out, even though they got wet and bedraggled just from the time they were rained on when they ran to the door when I came up.

    I’m not happy, either. There’s a blockage in the gutter under the deck, so the patio has gallons of water of runoff. I put a few buckets under the worst of the drip spots but they’re barely helping. One more thing for the to-do list. If the rain ever stops.

  38. Lynn says:

    “New: French Carrier Charles de Gaulle Now Headed for Hormuz for Possible Free Passage Role”

         https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/05/06/new-french-carrier-charles-de-gaulle-now-headed-for-hormuz-for-possible-free-passage-role-n2202067

    Interesting.  I wonder if it has planes on it ?  And bombs?

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  39. Greg Norton says:

    Be interesting to find out.   Lot of TP Link gear in the returns auctions for the last few months.

    Build quality is garbage to start. I returned one router to Amazon because it kept losing the LAN connection every 30 seconds.

    I have the AXE5400 router, and the firmware quality is another problem.

    Every minute or so, the router attempts to renew the DHCP lease with my ASUS primary router, and something in TPLink’s interpretation of the DHCP protocol is wonky, forcing renegotiation after the 60 second timeout.

    Still, getting the 6 GHz band for $120 was a decent bargain for our work laptops. Try pricing a mainstream router which will do 6 GHz now, following the Orange Man’s ban on all new imported router models.

    Most people with a 1 GHz or less cable/fiber modem connection will do fine with the base model dual band WiFi 6 ASUS router that sells for $70 or less.

  40. paul says:

    Save only $65 a year?  Nah, stick a zero on the end and we can make a deal.

  41. Lynn says:

    “Muslim University Opens in Dallas”

       https://texasscorecard.com/state/muslim-university-opens-in-dallas/

    “The university markets itself as the first in the nation to require courses in Islamic studies for STEM degrees.”

    Uh, the TexAM name probably infringes on the Texas A&M University trademarked name.

  42. paul says:

    I wouldn’t mind having a wood stock rifle in 556 or 223.  Or the same in 762…  

    762 as in 7.62R?  Like my 1896 Russian rifle?  Nice piece of machinery.

  43. paul says:

    Why do people have to do this to innocent websites ? 

    A polite way to say it is “they get a thrill”.   Because they don’t have a girlfriend.  Or boyfriend. 

  44. Lynn says:

    “DOJ Sues Minnesota to Block State’s Climate Lawsuit Against Big Oil”

        https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/industrynews/news/55375536/doj-sues-minnesota-to-block-states-climate-lawsuit-against-big-oil

    “The federal government says Minnesota’s effort to hold Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute liable for climate damages illegally encroaches on federal authority — but the state’s attorney general is calling the complaint frivolous.”

    Yes !

  45. Greg Norton says:

    Maybe the bad weather was the wind swirling when the gates of Hell opened to welcome Ted…

    BREAKING: CNN Founder and Liberal Billionaire Ted Turner Dies 

    Turner had his good points and bad.

    For every Lynne Russell or Don Harrison he hired at CNN, there was a Christiane Amanpour.

    Turner changed the TV industry, but, ultimately, cable TV committed suicide.

    Broadcast TV is on life support.

  46. SteveF says:

    Do you suppose that dropping a small sun on St Paul, MN, would get the state over its “climate change” idiocy? Show them what real rising temperatures are.

  47. Greg Norton says:

    I often wonder how life would have been if I had taken that job offer with Microsoft in 1987. Raymond Chen makes it sound like it would have been a totally crazy job.

    Microsoft went public in 1986, and the productivity packages were also rans while the languages rivalry with Borland was fierce. No one really knew if Microsoft would survive IBM and OS/2.

    “The Russian Flu” episode of “Northern Exposure” has a dream sequence which offers a pretty good look at Seattle standing in for New York circa 1990, before Windows, the Internet, and Amazon destroyed the city.

    You will even see the front of an Egghead Discount Ponzi Scheme store featured prominently, probably a paid promotional deal between CBS and Ponzi … “management”.

    The Ponzi and its return policy were critical to Office revenue once upon a time. We had one copy at my store which I became an expert at re-shrinkwrapping every time it came back.

    Until it came back with all of the manuals removed and replaced with copies of the Tampa phone book cut to fit. Cash purchase/refund.

    I remember BillG appearing in the Ponzi Christmas videos in 1987 and 1989, and, as late as 1992, Gates would travel to user groups across the country to give talks.

  48. OldGuy says:

    Why do people have to do this to innocent websites ? 

    A polite way to say it is “they get a thrill”.   Because they don’t have a girlfriend.  Or boyfriend. 

    Although that is true for some, defacing/etc websites is big business with the potential for big (sometimes huge) monetary rewards. 

    There is also big bucks in the infosec industry to prevent and recover from attacks. And there are companies willing to pay the price. Although the cost of prevention is often much less than the cost of recovery.

  49. SteveF says:

    Although the cost of prevention is often much less than the cost of recovery.

    Prevention comes under the same accounting category as maintenance: an unwelcome cost which can be minimized and deferred in favor of more important expenses. Like new chairs for the executive conference room.

  50. Greg Norton says:

    “Muslim University Opens in Dallas”

       https://texasscorecard.com/state/muslim-university-opens-in-dallas/

    “The university markets itself as the first in the nation to require courses in Islamic studies for STEM degrees.”

    UT Dallas is heavy Colonist, but I get the impression that they are not part of the Muslim sub demo.

    Dallas has a serious problem with that sub demo, however, part of the bigger issue with the area from Richardson north being dominated by the Subcontinent working at Texas Instruments and the financial firms out in Westlake.

  51. paul says:

    There is also big bucks in the infosec industry to prevent and recover from attacks. And there are companies willing to pay the price. Although the cost of prevention is often much less than the cost of recovery.

    “Nice store ya got there.  Be a shame if it burned down some night.” said no-one in the Mafia ever.

  52. drwilliams says:

    I’m ordering a “NICE” hat just as soon as they finalize the logo.

    …except clothing/hats/etc with an agency’s official logo can only be worn by agency employees. There’s probably a federal law that has significant penalties for non-employee usage.

    I guess you could design your own, though. As long as it’s not similar to the official one. But not something I would risk.

    Ever seen the tasteful velvet knockoff prints of the dogs playing pool?

    The jackets worn by InterContinental Express drivers in the 60’s?

    Maybe I should sop carrying my Junior G-Man badge.

    Is this man real?
    https://www.progressive.com/commercials-campaigns/dr-rick/

  53. Nick Flandrey says:

    For every Lynne Russell or Don Harrison he hired at CNN, there was a Christiane Amanpour. 

    – I don’t recognize the first two, so IDK if Christi’s comparison is good or bad.  I do know she said in an interview that she felt it was her job to bring down the President.

    So she’s on my general ‘collaborator’ list and in a just world would end up standing in front of a pock marked wall…

    n

  54. Lynn says:

    “Fani Willis Tried and Failed to Take Down Trump, Now She’s Trying to Hide How Many Millions Were Wasted in the Process”

        https://thelibertydaily.com/fani-willis-tried-failed-take-down-trump-now/

    “The report comes even as the prosecutors office there in Fulton County, Georgia, is facing up to $16 million or more in additional costs because of a state law that requires prosecutors to reimburse defendants when their case is dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct.”

    She should be required personally to pay Trump back.  Maybe he can sue her personally.

  55. SteveF says:

    Lynne Russell was on either CNN or Fox in the late 1980s. Sometimes when I went home for a visit I’d watch some of the news when my brother did. She had big boobs and looked pretty good for an older woman (I was in my mid-20s), which I suppose is the only reason I remember her name.

  56. drwilliams says:

    New Jersey Mikie, State Legislature Landing on FIFA World Cup Like Buzzards on Roadkill

    The first thing she did was drop the bombshell that the NJ Transit train ticket to Met Life Stadium at the Meadowlands for those ticketholders staying in NYC would be a smidge more than the usual fare.

    https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2026/05/06/new-jersey-mikie-state-legislature-landing-on-fifa-world-cup-like-buzzards-on-roadkill-n3814668

    Interstate transportation fare jacked up 1250% by the state of New Jersey.

    They would freak out if a private company did it.

    Maybe they should get a records retention letter from the FTC and another from congress inviting them to an investigation.

  57. drwilliams says:

    “a state law that requires prosecutors to reimburse defendants when their case is dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct.”

    The Trump defense team should simply ask for an amount equal to what Fulton County spent.

  58. Greg Norton says:

    For every Lynne Russell or Don Harrison he hired at CNN, there was a Christiane Amanpour. 

    – I don’t recognize the first two, so IDK if Christi’s comparison is good or bad.  I do know she said in an interview that she felt it was her job to bring down the President.

    So she’s on my general ‘collaborator’ list and in a just world would end up standing in front of a pock marked wall…

    The history is deliberately vague, but Christiane Amanpour’s sole qualification for major network star was having JFK Jr. for a … “roommate” … yeah, we’ll go with that … during their college years in Connecticut.

    Ted Turner bought it, but, as I said, he had a lot of different personalities and points of view on the payroll at Techwood in the early days.

    The Ol’ Plantation House.

    And, think about it this way – No Techwood campus, no final debate between Trump and Biden which led to Plugs withdrawing from the race.

    A few weeks before the debate, in early May, I saw the proverbial “pallette of bricks” neatly dropped off at a major corner of Fort Worth in the median, between UNT’s medical school and the Cowtown Coliseum.

    Someone was prepared for a big night if the handlers had packed Corn Pop with enough meds that he was more coherent.

  59. Greg Norton says:

    The history is deliberately vague, but Christiane Amanpour’s sole qualification for major network star was having JFK Jr. for a … “roommate” … yeah, we’ll go with that … during their college years in Connecticut.

    The handlers were prepping JFK Jr. for a run at the Presidency when he met his demise. They couldn’t monitor him 24/7.

    Meanwhile, in the UK, the 100 year plan inspired by JFK Sr. continues on schedule with much tighter control of the lives of all the players.

  60. Greg Norton says:

    Lynne Russell was on either CNN or Fox in the late 1980s. Sometimes when I went home for a visit I’d watch some of the news when my brother did. She had big boobs and looked pretty good for an older woman (I was in my mid-20s), which I suppose is the only reason I remember her name.

    CNN exclusively until the new regime showed her the door in 2001.

    Russell went to Canada for a while and then did media consulting after being booted off CNN.

    The last time I saw her on the air was in the Atlanta airport in early 2000, reporting on David Letterman’s brush with death and Dan Marino’s retirement, both happening within a 24 hour period while I was unplugged from the world at an Amazon interview.

    As recently as 25 years ago, it was possible to unplug to that extent, even at the old insane asylum Amazon used as an HQ at the time.

    I’m not kidding.

    When I first got off of the plane from SeaTac, I remember thinking, “What is Lynne doing on the air? This is Saturday. Something bad must have happened.”

    I believe that Letterman’s obit real was ready that afternoon. His passing would have been big news back then, probably more than Clinton getting shot.

  61. Lynn says:

    “JD Vance Wants to Take Food Stamps Away From Dead People”

       https://rumble.com/v79h38e-jd-vance-wants-to-take-food-stamps-away-from-dead-people.html?mref=8g74p&mrefc=3

    I am beginning to think that half of the expenditures of the feddies go to fraud.

  62. Greg Norton says:

    The last time I saw her on the air was in the Atlanta airport in early 2000, reporting on David Letterman’s brush with death and Dan Marino’s retirement, both happening within a 24 hour period while I was unplugged from the world at an Amazon interview.

    Marino didn’t officially retire until March, but the Dolphins lost to the Jaguars in a playoff game that afternoon 62-7.

    What a crazy weekend.

  63. Greg Norton says:

    I am beginning to think that half of the expenditures of the feddies go to fraud.

    Go watch the Nick Shirley videos on YouTube, especially the one in California talking about Hospice fraud.

    California has 10 times the per capita Hospice patient rate than Florida does, despite the latter having a higher percentage of the population over 65.

  64. Greg Norton says:

    For every Lynne Russell or Don Harrison he hired at CNN, there was a Christiane Amanpour. 

    – I don’t recognize the first two, so IDK if Christi’s comparison is good or bad.  I do know she said in an interview that she felt it was her job to bring down the President.

    Don Harrison was an original Headline News anchor, but you probably knew him better from the Turner Broadcasting voiceovers.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbtxEtlL2Hc

  65. ech says:

    I always liked the AK-47. I’m talking about the military variant with the selector switch, made in whatever Soviet-bloc country. They’re pieces of crap, but it’s because they’re pieces of crap that they are able to take all sorts of horrific abuse and keep functioning. If I were going to bury some weapons, AKs would be high on my list.

    There was a guy that was in our wargaming group that was a Marine that served in Vietnam and fought in DaNang during Tet. He said they usually carried a few AKs in his squad, useful for fooling VC and NVA in an ambush. He said that the Russian AKs were great, the Chinese were mediocre, and the North Vietnamese ones were POS.

  66. drwilliams says:

    “I am beginning to think that half of the expenditures of the feddies go to fraud.”

    Good working number to start.

  67. ech says:

    Not mentioned in the article (or the NASA PR): the two most important things for spacecraft mission designers: the specific impulse and the net thrust.

    They expect Isp in the range of 50,000 to 60,000. That’s 5 to 20x the best gas ion engines. The thrust doesn’t seem to be available, but this is a first prototype that ran at 120 kW power, with megawatt power levels the goal.

  68. Nick Flandrey says:

    The AK may not be a sniper rifle, but its worth as a battle rifle has been proven all over the world.  Especially for semi or illiterate foot soldiers and irregular forces.

    n

  69. Lynn says:

    The AK may not be a sniper rifle, but its worth as a battle rifle has been proven all over the world.  Especially for semi or illiterate foot soldiers and irregular forces.

    n

    From:

    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/03/looks-like-us-armys-new-rifle-isnt.html

    “I’ve personally dug a half-buried AK-47 out of hardened African red clay laterite mud, dumped it in a stream to wash off the worst of the external dirt, kicked the action open with my boot to flush out internal mud, inserted a loaded magazine that was also filthy with mud inside and out (and had just been rinsed in the same stream), and fired off all 30 rounds without a single malfunction.  No lubrication, no detail stripping, just stone cold reliability.  You could see it kicking dust and dirt out of the barrel and the ejection port as it fired, abuse that would destroy just about any other rifle – but it kept on shooting.  Amazing!)”

  70. SteveF says:

    I’ve personally dug a half-buried AK-47 out of hardened African red clay laterite mud…

    Exactly. I haven’t done anything like that myself but I’ve seen the level of maintenance – ie, none – provided to gear by, ah, illiterate, inbred savages who I didn’t actually see having carnal relations with goats, and the stinkin rifles kept working. They’re not much more accurate than a thrown baseball (that is, thrown by me, not someone who didn’t suck at throwing) (I can’t really throw anymore because of shoulder damage. Can’t really swim, either.) but if you have a few dozen savages firing more or less in the same direction, some of the bullets will probably hit whatever they’re firing at.

    Joking, sort of. An AK-47 maintained to a reasonable standard isn’t that inaccurate. I don’t know as they’d reliably hit a man-sized target at 300m, but they’re perfectly fine at 100m or less. The AK-S, the folding stock variant which I think was originally intended for paratroopers and then was used for urban combat, is great for close-up. Better than the grease gun (?), the .45 submachine gun carried by American tankers in the 80s. I’ve never used an M4, so I can’t compare the AK-S to it.

  71. Greg Norton says:

    The AK may not be a sniper rifle, but its worth as a battle rifle has been proven all over the world.  Especially for semi or illiterate foot soldiers and irregular forces.

    “Its so easy, even a child can use it, and they do.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4TOYp0_6lc

  72. lpdbw says:

    One more thing for the to-do list. If the rain ever stops.

    The Pa Kettle approach:  Can’t patch it if it’s raining, don’t need to patch it when it’s not raining, ‘cause it’s not leaking any more….

    Side note:  I bought the Ma and Pa Kettle DVD collection on Amazon, because I wanted to watch “The Egg and I” with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert.  It’s the movie that introduced Ma and Pa, and the collection was cheaper than buying just “The Egg and I”.  Or at least within a buck or two.

    Still haven’t watched any of the Ma and Pa movies.  Maybe that’s next on my list.

  73. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well, that was a nice little nap.   Taco night, with some homemade chocolate chip cookies…    Harder on my blood sugar than I’d have thought.

    Think I should just get ready for bed.

    n

  74. Nick Flandrey says:

    BTW, Doc confirmed that low readings from the sensor on the arm you sleep on top of are normal.   Called them “compression errors”.    There is an implanted sensor that isn’t susceptible to the problem.  Sensor and reader last one  year, but you have something in your body, and the reader is bigger than a nickel.    Lot of people going that way though.

    Also confirmed I should keep monitoring and learning about what affects me and how.

     I got my questions answered, and next visit is 6 months.

    n

  75. EdH says:

    Also confirmed I should keep monitoring and learning about what affects me and how.
     

    I know you have  your reasons, but have heard of people giving up on the monitoring, or as they call it the “tyranny of the sensors”.

    It’s a bit like checking social media, you can get addicted..

  76. EdH says:

    They expect Isp in the range of 50,000 to 60,000.
     

    Wow, that is huge.   My knowledge of ion engines dates to a couple days in a propulsion class 40 years ago, but a specific impulse of 10,000 was considered very good. 
     

    If I recall right there was a optimum value for that, roughly double the max velocity of your vehicle for a given mission, but it’s been a long long time. There were a tremendous number of trade-offs and of course the elephant in the room was the weight of the electrical generation and handling systems.

  77. Gavin says:

    Your former reporter Lynne Russell (now married) is apparently also a very cool person under fire.

  78. Nick Flandrey says:

    Sleep eludes me.    Tired, but brain is awake, and laying in bed isn’t helping.

    ———-

    It’s a bit like checking social media, you can get addicted.. 

    – yeah, I can see that.   I don’t check obsessively, but I do check often.   The point is to quantify the effects I’m already feeling (or not, and if not, why not?) and it’s not life threatening for me as it might be for someone with diabetes.   I’m not trying to game the system yet, taking steps to manipulate the numbers, I’m just looking at the numbers and trying to draw correlations.  

    I guess if I fall asleep while driving it would be life threatening, and I sometimes have to fight that, with varying success.   That is really my biggest concern, and the biggest impact on my life.  I’ve been planning meals around when I have to drive, and when I get it wrong, I’m probably a danger to myself and others.

    ————

    Speaking of which, I think I’ll have  a little snack.

    n

  79. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well, I may not be sleeping but I did get my camera configured.   This is the cam to watch the side of the house closest to the halfway house.   I ran the cat cable a few days ago, and today I drilled the hole in the soffit and terminated the cable.  

    Got the camera set up tonight, and it will only take a couple of minutes to mount the camera.   

    Seems like all the residents got in a car and went somewhere this evening, and since W saw them leave, thought it would be a good time for me to do the outside work.   So I did.

    I’ll get it mounted soon.

    ——

    time to try sleeping again.

    n

Comments are closed.