Welcome foolish mortals.
I think today might clear up and give us some good weather for Trick or Treating. It clouded over and started raining around 4pm yesterday, and tapered off around dusk. Temps stayed around 70F, and that would be fine for today,if it dries out a bit.
I decided to go to the class session with the kids yesterday morning. If Ms.P can get up and go in every day, I guess I can too. Gave the crew a pat on the back, and some coaching on effective communication and being part of a crew, and part of a show. Then I finished up my organizer rack. I think it will work well, and help give them back some time that they need for other tasks. I spent the afternoon doing pickups, and then did a little grocery shopping because I had a prescription waiting for pickup. The rain meant I wouldn’t be doing decorating outside.
Today I’ll sleep in a bit, then if the weather permits, I’ll do a bit more decorating with traditional store bought stuff. I’ve got a few blow molded pumpkins still to get out, and maybe another inflatable. Some flaming cauldrons and a smoke machine will probably finish the decor. I might have time to knock out another soft sculpture animated witch if I’m efficient. Or I might move the golf cart into the yard and stage an “accident” with the big tree and put some skeletons with solo cups and some flame and smoke around it. We’ll see.
It’s a fun way to connect with the neighborhood, and a bit of protective coloration – I’m just a normal fun guy, see? Not at all one of those preppers…
Stack while you can, but don’t forget to build relationships.
nick
Saturday. Happy Samhain!
Nick’s Hallow’een production sounds top notch. My efforts will probably confine themselves to a pumpkin, some candles, and sweets for the kids. It’s not traditional here, but it is getting some traction, as kids realise there are goodies to be had. Better to have something for the kids who get into the spirit.
Big plans today to get another shelving unit assembled in the garage and more stuff off the floor. No time to waste. The weather is really too nice to spend time he day in the garage, but needs must…
But first, breakfast.
Well done! One is none, two is one, etc.
Too bad there isn’t a Swiss Army LiqShop near you. The two NOS military toolkits I got in summer are simply magnificent. I would have bought more, but dared not test the limits of W1’s patience too far.
In other news, my favourite radio station, the Bavarian state classic channel has geofenced their internet livestream, with the result that my internet radio can’t play it anymore.
I had to install their app on my phone, stream the channel, and pair the phone to the radio on the shelf via Bluetooth. Now it drops packets if I take the phone into the next room with me. Grr. I hate unnecessary technology.
Now I will have to figure out how to feed the radio internet via a VPN. I don’t really want to go the whole-house VPN route. Maybe I will have to bite the bullet and figure it all out, as I want the radio to just work. Probably also time to install the pi-hole that is in the cupboard. All not previously on my list, or not near the top, at least. Grr.
The late, great Paul Frees. I also have a track of an extremely weak late career Vincent Price doing the bit as a test for Disneyland Paris which was never used but still brilliant.
From what I understand Lightning Lane and Disney Adults have ruined the ride experience of “The Haunted Mansion” in Florida.
We are off to see “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” tonight at 9:30.
Austin has surprisingly stiff crowds for that flick, even on Halloween night.
Not for you, or others already on SS. It might be for future recipients, well into the future for your needs. To me, what is annoying, is getting taxed on a good portion of my SS money. The government giveth, and the government taketh away. It is just another way for the government to take money from one bucket and move the money to another bucket.
Flashlight, I use this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YM5S28F?tag=flandrey-20 The price was $6.95 for four including batteries. It’s enough to see where I’m walking and what the dog is doing over there. Has a lanyard so dropping it isn’t a worry. Bright enough for my use and if I turn it off I’m not blind. If I lose it, I have three spares.
Android, 16 is the latest. I might on some cold rainy winter day try the Gamin app that can talk to my watch. It wouldn’t install on the old phone.
New phone is a Moto G 2026. I paid the extra ~$50 for Android 16 vs Android 15 and a slightly larger battery. For a change I bought the latest model instead of a three year old model.
I have a couple of head lamps. Great for working under the sink or when needing both hands. I don’t like using it to walk the dogs. I feel like I have a target on my head.
It’s suppose to be around 75f and a bit of sun today. I know I have something in the freezer saying “grill me”. Plans….
It just keeps getting better:
https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2026/10/31/more-trouble-for-ilhan-marriage-application-to-brother-surfaces-with-multiple-name-cross-outs-n2208850
“Omar” fills out a sham marriage application using “Omar”, crosses it out and writes “Elmi”, then crosses that out and writes “Omar” again.
Decades of blatant fraud with a room-temperature IQ.
The $8k first time home buyer credit put a $240k floor under just about any house that would pass inspection and located within an hour commute of the downtown core of a major metro. Until that firewall is breached in any significant way, prices will only decline around the edges.
People would have to literally be starving to lose money on their 3/2 stucco cr*p shack sarcophagi right now. The Tenbagger dream dies hard.
I have friends in Florida trying to sell a house for mid-six figures who have dropped below their break even point when taxes and insurance are factored in with what they paid 20 years ago during the bubble, but they are continuing to ride the numbers down because they have faith. Hallelujah!
My friends also blame Fox News for the current market.
The rain has been sputtering, but you still have to watch for flash flooding in Vegas low areas.
A couple of more decades of rain like that might fill Hoover.
Plus the expectation that Whitey will continue to give “people of color” a pass out of guilt over slavery.
And kill, convert, or extract tribute. The Congressional seat can be viewed as belonging to the last category.
Same sin as with other modern societal issues: We didn’t hang enough politicians.
while taking a portion for themselves as processing fee.
Where rulers fear the people, liberty. Where people fear the rulers, tyranny.
Lightning Lane and Disney Adults have ruined the ride experience
– Walt had the idea of the pre-show areas and the queue itself being part of the experience. That’s where the “theme” part of “theme park” comes in. Skipping thru the preshow areas, racing from ride to ride, trying to get every single ride you can, that’s what ruined the experience.
You were meant to be submerged into this whole experience, see what they wanted you to see, move the way they wanted you to move, etc. Every detail was designed toward that end, and DESIGNED is the right word. The loading, queue design, capacity of the preshow areas, were all designed for a certain number of guests.
The initial ticket system forced guests to self limit, self selecting what to see and what to miss with their limited resource. And they would close the park when it reached a certain number of guests to limit the crowding and wait times. But in order to shear more sheep, they started allowing more and more people into the park, and expanding the parks at the same time. EPCOT is GIGANTIC. The idea was for people to spread out, distribute density, and still manage waits.
However, they didn’t expand enough to match the increase in guests, and they took away the self limiting ticket system. They also worked hard to create events that drive year round demand. A cast member told me that they don’t have an “off season” anymore, not really. They have more desirable dates, like holidays, but they now have a base level all year.
The expansion of the Orlando area also meant that people were staying off property, which increased the “pool” of potential guests, and decreased their visibility into the number of potential guests.
LOT of stuff contributed. Walt and the Old Men not being there to enforce the original egalitarian approach made it possible. Now there are two tiers of guests, divided by willingness and ability to spend money.
————
Currently 79F with bright overcast. OpenWeather forecast says, only gonna get cooler, and while there is a fairly high chance of precip, over 60% rising to 99% at 9pm, the amount looks like scattered drops or heavy mist.
I hope the kids have a dry night,
I’ve eaten, coffee is mostly consumed, and I think I’ll start getting a few things out of the garage attic.
n
Hallow’een! Dusk outside.
The Jack O’Lantern is lit, with a little display of pumpkins and a big orange bucket of sweets, mostly Haribo, adorned with glow-sticks in putrid colours. If there are kids out, they will find it.
Yours truly is off to the range for a beer and a chat. Haven’t spoken to anyone all day, but the garage is starting to look better. I even found some floor!
I can infer than my garage has a floor, most do, and something is keeping the stacks of ‘stuff’ from descending to the depths of HeII…
n
Please. There is only one tier of guest now.
Single day admission is now $249 in Forida, and the Lightning Lane can easily add $200 on top of that.
The Mouse deserves what’s coming in Bankruptcy Court.
Kroger’s had soft drinks on sale. Buy two 12 pack bundles, get three 12 pack bundles for free. The 12 pack bundles were $11.99 so with two bundles and tax it worked out to $25.60 for 60 cans. I bought 10 bundles, 120 cans. The sugar free stuff, regular Dr. Pepper, Cherry Dr. Pepper, Black Berry Dr. Pepper, and Strawberry Cream Dr. Pepper. I managed to get them all in the refrigerator in the basement apartment. It will take a while to cool them all down. There are about 5 cans of citrus flavored carbonated drinks from a prior Costco run in the refrigerator.
That refrigerator is 30 years old. Just a compressor, simple thermostat and a circulating fan. I had an issue within the warranty period where the circulating fan went out and was replaced under warranty. Purchased the thing from Sears. Contrast that with the three refrigerators we have had upstairs in the same time frame. Something always failed on those devices that made it not worth repairing.
We bought a $385 Kenmore badged Whirlpool refrigerator when we moved to Texas broke 14 years ago, with the intent of replacing the appliance when it died and we could afford something better.
It hasn’t needed a major repair yet.
I replaced the ice maker myself, and we had the circulating fan replaced when the part failed under warranty.
I could probably do the fan myself too.
“Sears” will have to be rebuilt as part of the process of relearning retail in the US.
I managed to get to that point a couple of weeks ago, then lost momentum. I almost had some today, but the power supply on my desktop machine tried to set itself on fire this morning. Also sometime yesterday, and the day before, but today something shorted the multitap transformer inside which desoldered itself from the PCB and melted itself to the fan body. I’m not going to do a formal root cause analysis much beyond that but I’ll admit I’m impressed with the damage. Also the smell. I’m just glad the horrific smell yesterday turned out to not be my furnace, which would be much more expensive. I’ll be dropping another power supply in to see if anything else was damaged.
@gavin, I’ll bet on a failed cap spraying flammable electrolyte on the board and then igniting. Good thing the boards themselves are fire resistant.
I had a CRT monitor burst into smoke and flames not long after I moved to Texas. The smell let us know there was a problem very quickly. That was exciting.
I’m glad you didn’t have a bigger fire or more damage.
n
Holy cow, how’d it get to be almost 2pm?
n
@nick thanks, it could have been much worse. I’m currently waiting for the BIOS to reset so I can determine if I need to replace more than just the power supply.
Today I’ll sleep in a bit, then if the weather permits, I’ll do a bit more decorating with traditional store bought stuff. I’ve got a few blow molded pumpkins still to get out, and maybe another inflatable. Some flaming cauldrons and a smoke machine will probably finish the decor. I might have time to knock out another soft sculpture animated witch if I’m efficient. Or I might move the golf cart into the yard and stage an “accident” with the big tree and put some skeletons with solo cups and some flame and smoke around it. We’ll see.
It’s a fun way to connect with the neighborhood, and a bit of protective coloration – I’m just a normal fun guy, see? Not at all one of those preppers…
I slept until 11 am this morning after getting home at 2 am from work and turning out the light at 3 am. I am still behind on my sleep that I guess that I will get when I am dead.
I hit my third code point last night, I think, and will be testing my progress to date next week after cleaning up a few trouble spots that have crept in. I have made several design changes in the four years since I started this project and have to update some code first. I have around 40 to 45% of my F77 code converted to C++ now. I am hoping for zero bugs but we all know that will not be the case. I entered this third phase back in February and thought I would be complete in May, my estimating sucks.
We won’t be making any special accommodations for Halloween. No one has come trick or treating to our door in the seven years that we have lived here in the sticks. Our house is set back from the country road quite a ways and street packing is non existent along with sidewalks and street lights. The wife has bought some candy just in case and is steadily nibbling on it.
Back on the primary desktop. The only potential issue is that the monitors did not want to autodetect what video signal I was feeding them, so I had to do some cable switching and then manually set the feed. I don’t know if there’s an actual problem and if there is, it’s not worth doing anything about. Otherwise, I haven’t noticed any issues. Considering I built this machine about 12 years ago, I think it’s doing fantastic.
“Valor’s Stand (Children of Valor #5) by Kal Spriggs
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1091964491?tag=flandrey-20
Book number five of a ten book young adult science fiction series. There is also a two book sequel series and a seven book sequel series, nineteen books in all. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2019 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I now own books #6 and #7 in the series and the first books in both of the sequel series.
Jiden Armstrong is the older child of two archaeologists on the dry, dusty planet named Century, so dry that it does not have any oceans. Jiden is eighteen planet years old which is equivalent to twenty Earth years and was forced by her parents after her misbehavior to attend and graduate from the five month military prep school that her grandmother runs for the planetary military. She then interned at a logistics and supply company which blew up in her face when she notified the planetary authorities that people in the company were selling stored military spare parts off planet. Now she is attending the Century Military Academy as a fifth year cadet. And the academy has made it mandatory to have computer implants installed in your brain which enhances her capability as a warp fighter bomber pilot.
The universe of the far off future is amazing and deadly. Humans have spread to thousands of star systems, most live on planets but quite a few live on space stations or space ships. As is par for the course, not many get along. And some star systems are expanding and taking other inhabited star systems by force. And there are many aliens in star systems also who are not friendly in the slightest. There is the UN Star Guard but they have their own objectives and goals and are rarely a help against the constant threats of invasions and pirates.
This is a great story about making mistakes and overcoming difficult situations to make something of yourself. Somebody online recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Heinlein juveniles then you will probably love this series also.
This book is followed by two separate books. The sixth book in the original series, “Valor’s Inheritance (Children of Valor #6)” and the first book in the Forsaken Valor series, “Lost Valor (Forsaken Valor Series #1)”. The Forsaken Valor series is about William Armstrong, Jiden’s younger brother, who was kidnapped by the people trying to steal their parent’s archeological work and taken to another star system.
The author has a website at
https://kalspriggs.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (288 reviews)
Lynn
I bought a 17,? cubic ft Kenmore way back in ‘82 or ’83. I’m too lazy to walk across the room to look at the receipt. It wasn’t inexpensive for a guy making $5.25 an hour. I bought the ice maker kit separately. They install it for $150 or I buy the kit for $70? Easy job.
The blower fan rattled. A friend was tossing a similar fridge for some reason so I liberated the fan. Still fine more than 25 years later. Liberated the shelving, too.
Then one day the fridge was dead. Only lights. I guess it’s old. I went to the Sears Outlet in Marble Falls and bought the floor model. Freezer on the bottom. Fancy, moving on up like the Jeffersons. Yes, the floor model. “Hey, please deliver this one today or tomorrow morning I go to Home Depot or Lowes in Austin. I’m not waiting a week for a brand new in the box fridge delivered from San Antonio. I went through that huge stupidity when I bought the dead fridge sitting in my kitchen.”
They delivered it that afternoon. About three hours later. Had it wrapped in mover’s quilts. Offered to take the old fridge, no charge, away. I kept it, I wanted the shelves to use in the barn. Nice guys. The dogs liked them.
I had it plugged in because the light worked. My screwdriver slipped and thumped the back wall near the temp control and the fridge turned on. The defrost timer. Like $30. It’s run great ever since.
The new fridge is on the third ice maker. $45 or fill ice cube trays? Easy. It had a spell where it was freezing up. Google said the defrost heater. I bought one on eBay. And installing this? No way. Past my skills for something that looked like it was the first thing installed in the freezer. That was a wasted $50, still out in the shed for some reason.. More Google. Ok, a mechanical temp sensor that snaps onto one of the large freon lines in the back of the freezer compartment. It’s been fine ever since. Another $30 part.
Oh. New Fridge. I was looking in the file cabinet a few months ago and the New Fridge is 24 years old. Huh. That explains ice maker number three.
I have fun fixing my appliances. A lot of the fun is the puzzle of figuring out the problem. Some folks do crossword puzzles….
No grilling today. The package of fajitas I pulled from the freezer is still like a rock, just a little bit thawed. The “sunny” part of the weather forecast has yet to happen.
“Europe”
https://areaocho.com/europe/
“What is going on in Europe? First France, then the problems in the UK, then:”
A lot of crazy things going on.
And sounds like prep for taking down the USA.
Not for you, or others already on SS. It might be for future recipients, well into the future for your needs. To me, what is annoying, is getting taxed on a good portion of my SS money. The government giveth, and the government taketh away. It is just another way for the government to take money from one bucket and move the money to another bucket.
The question is, what will happen when the feddies go bankrupt? Promises have been made that can never be kept.
I’m done. They are pushing a Part C plan. They waffle and “transfer to a supervisor” and don’t answer the big question. How much do I have to pay?
Seems I qualify for a pre-paid debit card good for groceries and transportation. I think that’s what the Indian said. Then a transfer. I didn’t grok his accent but he ain’t in Texas. I qualify for Vision. Of course I do.
Groceries? Does that include beer? Transportation doesn’t exist here.
Vision? The Wal-Mart doc charges about $80 for an eye exam. Add $15 if she needs my eyes dilated. Seems fair. And I walk out with a prescription for glasses. I just have to make the appointment. Real soon.
How much? The fourth guy said I should receive an information packet in the mail in a few days.
I just want to know “how much are the benefits” and “what is my cost”.
Nah. Ain’t doing any of it. I’m staying with Medicare A and B and D for drugs. I don’t use any of it. I take a couple of aspirin every couple of months and a Tums about every two weeks. That’s all of my drugs beyond the monthly Vit-I and the daily Vit-beer.
No, I’m not giving a stranger the numbers from my “red white and blue Medicare card”. I might look stupid. Ain’t giving my SS number, either.
I don’t want to be tied to some doctor system in Cedar Park or where ever. If I’m sick enough to go see a doc, driving 30 miles isn’t happening.
The food benefit? I’m just curious about that.
5:30 and now the sun comes out. It’s suddenly real nice outside.
Too late for me to eat supper. I’m not a fan of burping acid in the middle of the night. One of the joys of getting old.
The answer is “don’t worry, be happy”. Because there ain’t anything you or I can do about it.
Congress is the final authority on what gets paid out under SS according to Fleming v. Nestor.
They could decide to pay nothing.
If the Federal Government simply hits the debt ceiling, SS falls under General Welfare on the list of priorities.
The older you get, the less a life sentence is a deterrent.
The kompletely kewl kids use rust.
For now. Once the proles start using it the KKK will move on.
Getting the AI to write the code from customer requirements is the next Hot Skillz.
I suspect that most software developers will be laughing at that idea. The customer requirements always need a bit of massaging before they’re usable, where “a bit” often means a complete rewrite.
I already told Lynn that he should be rewriting his application in Rust. He rejected the suggestion without even giving it serious consideration. My self-esteem is shattered. Shattered, I tell you.
A co-worker abut 20 years ago went out to a client site to collect the “customer requirements” for a new billing database. The program had been around for a while, but each customer had their own idea of “requirements”. So he started the meeting, and described the basic functions of the program, and asked “Exactly what do you need it to do?” There were a dozen client representatives who knew EVERYTHING about their process.
The first rep explained, “Well, we collect this and do that with it”, when the second rep said, “No, we do THIS OTHER THING with it, and the other reps started arguing – about THEIR OWN PROCESSES. The manager turned to my co-worker and said, ”Why don’t you go off to the cafeteria for a half hour, while we discuss what we THINK we need to do.”
The fact is, most “customer requirements” are bogus, even when the customer(s) have thought through every step.
Good system analysts are artists. Yes, there are rules and guidelines and methods, but the best of those involve a lot of playing detective on the existing systems to discover where the data really comes from, who really modifies it, and who actually uses it.
I used to be decent at that, but there are always surprises. The first time I did it, I failed a people problem. Big Man On Shopfloor had an idea that we needed some field on the data collection sheet, because “we’ve always done it that way”, when the data was derived from other data we were already collecting. I argued to eliminate the field. Vigorously. To stupid extremes.
An older version of me would have said “Fine, we’ll put the field back on the form” and had the data entry people skip it. Stupid young me went to the mat to remove the field.
As I’ve said before, I used to be young and stupid. I’m older now.
And maybe, maybe, not quite as stupid.
Ah, an expert. Someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know all there is to know about nothing. Or is that a specialist?
Light rain tonight. So far about 25 T&T. We don’t get too many as we are on a short connecter block with only four houses on one side. Three don’t give out anything. Plenty of homes on the side streets. Halloween Grinches.
Took a bit longer than usual for the stream to stop. I don’t know how many we ended up getting but there is candy left, and some of the little toys we offer as well. It was pretty steady without big surges. We get car and truck loads of kids at a time, not busloads. With all the young families moving into our neighborhood, we have more and more houses giving out treats every year.
I managed to get a good looking display put together. Skipped the fog/smoke this year. Skipped a big new improvised display. Could have done a decent effort centered around a golf cart crash, but wasn’t super motivated this year. Didn’t get a new soft sculpture/animated witch done either. Meh. Still looked good. About half was commercial stuff, and half was stuff I made in the past.
Still got compliments.
—–
Turned off the lights, and I’ll sit out with my tiny little fire for about an hour. Currently 77F and the misty rain never got here. It’s crazy humid too. There is a little bit of a cooler edge to the breeze but there is dang little breeze at the moment.
n
An expert is a guy who knows all there is to know about women–but doesn’t have a girlfriend.
An expert is a drip under pressure. Ex – spurt.
The kompletely kewl kids use rust.
For now. Once the proles start using it the KKK will move on.
I looked at rust a year or so ago. A complete ass backwards language IMHO.
We won’t be making any special accommodations for Halloween. No one has come trick or treating to our door in the seven years that we have lived here in the sticks. Our house is set back from the country road quite a ways and street packing is non existent along with sidewalks and street lights. The wife has bought some candy just in case and is steadily nibbling on it.
I was wrong! I put a plastic bowl of the candy in the chair on the front porch when we went for our two mile walk. We got back after talking with several neighbors, went inside, and I remembered to grab the bowl about 10 pm. When I opened the front door, a juvenile possum jumped away from the bowl that he had been sifting the candy in and ran away.
So we did have at least one guest. I was really tempted to leave him some candy but it was all chocolate based.
Remember, Fall Back tonight.
This one is not so bad. The Spring Forward is pure hell.
I was at my old school buddies for Halloween tonight, and despite light sprinkles all evening we had a decent turnout. Probably 100 or so, which is decent for weather like this.
Book number five of a ten book young adult science fiction series. There is also a two book sequel series and a seven book sequel series, nineteen books in all. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2019 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I now own books #6 and #7 in the series and the first books in both of the sequel series.
I was wrong, there are three sequel series to the first series of books.
There is an excellent bookline of books at:
https://kalspriggs.com/star-portal-universe/
I didn’t say it worked. No one wants to say that it doesn’t work, however.
The front must have moved in as the temp dropped to 74F and the breeze picked up, and is cool.
Quiet night. Lots of cops out and about for the holiday. No gunfire, and only one thing flew overhead. Sounded like a fixed wing low and fast but could have been a jet helo. The tree blocked me from a good view.
No further trick or treaters either, just one very big black cat who sauntered by.
I’m having a sandwich and chips before my shower and bed.
——-
Without consciousness, how can a machine trained by humans, even expert humans, be MORE than the humans training it. Especially when dealing with humans, even humans routinely get it wrong.
——
n