At least it’s a cool November. It was 74F and slowly falling when I went to bed, so I’m wondering how cool it will be today. Yesterday was warm, but the air was saturated so I was soaked with sweat just putting out the last of the Halloween decorations. It was oppressively humid. At least that eased off last night.
Had a good Halloween. Got enough decorations out that I felt like it was a good effort. Not as crazy as previous years, but still looked good. We had a fair number of kids come by, mostly young. Couple of neighbors came by before dark with very little ones. I had a box of small plush toys (like little beanie babies, but not branded) and the little kids loved those. I’d run them through the laundry, and I washed all the little toys we offered too. I heard from some of the parents that other people in the neighborhood were offering toys as well as candy so my idea is spreading. One on the street was offering little Playdough cups.
I also found time to leave a long and detailed comment over at Commander Zero’s about food storage. He’d linked a video that was a good jumping off point for discussion, and the comments should develop into something interesting.
Today I’ll take down some of the decorations. I like to see them up, so I leave the ones that are least objectionable for a while. If there is rain and they are wet, they stay up until they can dry out.
Then I’ll be back to working on the list.
Stacking is good. So is being part of your community.
nick
Sunday. All Saints’ Day. Not Hallow’een any more.
Woe is me! Nobody came around dressed up, so my entire bucket of sweets went untouched.
I can’t eat them all myself or I’ll have diabetes. Will have to think of another occasion to distribute them. Maybe one of the big shoot days in November…
Ah well. Breakfast has been breakfasted, so it is time to get back to looking for the garage floor.
Have a good day!
Last night I was drooping by 2100, following a long and strenuous day. And then got an unwanted second wind and couldn’t get to sleep until after 0100. And then woke at 0430. Bah. The only real issue now is the assignment of blame. To wit, how is this all Denis’s fault?
Didn’t do anything for Halloween. The last several years there were few kids coming by and most of them were driven up, came to the door, got candy, and went back to the car. Why bother, when there’s no one to impress with decorations and few neighborhood kids to give loot to? The Child was going to wear her plague doctor costume to class on Friday but ended up not bothering. I accused her of laziness and she didn’t reply, which constitutes agreement whether she actually agreed or was simply too lazy to reply.
Yesterday I did more toward getting the family house ready for The Child and her friend, mainly hauling up my big desk (finally out of my van! hooray!) and fixing a handful of things. Finally managed to get the gas/elec bill paid. Sheesh. One would think they could make it easier for me to give them money, since that’s the corporation’s reason for existence.
Addendum to the above: I didn’t realize we’d gone off daylight saving time overnight; thought it was next weekend. That means it was “really” 0530 when I woke. I’d wondered why I wasn’t more tired.
Because you can’t, in good conscience, blame the chickens!
@SteveF
”My self-esteem is shattered. Shattered, I tell you.”
Extra time with the chickens today will fix that.
The ones I don’t like are the ones that charge $2.00 to mail a statement and a payment envelope. Then want to charge 3% to pay by credit card. Send a check, another $1.00 to process the check. All they will accept, without fees, is an electronic funds transfer which gives them access to your account. That way they can rip the money out of an account even when there is a billing error and have overcharged by $382.00. Then send a paper check three weeks later to correct the error.
Equally brainless is West Virginia sending me a toll bill for $0.89. It cost more to mail that bill than was collected. The cost of the postage, the credit card minimum transaction charge, far exceeded $0.89. A better system would be to accumulate the toll bill until the amount reaches $5.00, then send a bill. After two years if that amount is not reached, just void the toll charges.
https://townhall.com/news/josephchalfant/2026/10/31/sorry-liberals-the-visa-lottery-isnt-coming-back-n2685666
This is a procedural win on standing. Expect more challenges.
55,000 meritless legal immigrants is a drop in the bucket. There should be another plan anticipating that some other foreign-born judge is going to try to reopen that door.
I have proposed a way to do that in the past which has other benefits: categorize illegal immigrants by country of origin* and subtract those numbers from the official allowances—including merit-based, temporary, H1B and other special programs. I strongly suspect that there would be a number of countries that would have zero immigration to the U.S. for decades—their fair share is already here.
*In addition to country if origin there are the facilitating countries that assist the flow of illegals to the U.S. Mexico is easily the worst offender. I would additionally propose that granting entry of ant kind—including tourist visas—be throttled. Made it difficult for the Mexican elites to visit McAllen Texas for shopping and visits to their safehouse mansions and the pressure will build to be good neighbors.
What do insects have to do with immigration? 🙂
Devil’s Advocate here:
A decent turnout, despite sprinkles.
One unique aspect of my friends Halloween is that his wife puts out books, free books on (low) tables. Trick-or-treaters get told they have to pick a book to get their candy.
There are boxes for different age groups, picture books and read along books and other books that go right up to Harry Potter and Dune and such. Anne of Green Gables seems to be popular among the younger female set.
It is remarkably popular, perhaps one kid in 100 will refuse outright but there are a number that simply delight in it. She has been doing it for over a decade and it’s become an institution, last night when the tables were covered with tarps a number of trick-or-treaters coming up asked if they could look under, it has become a regular thing with them.
Even the older crowd, teenagers who show up just before closing, remember and will be delighted to pick something out.
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I didn’t see any real trends in costumes this year, certainly nobody dressed up as a character from Dune, just the usual princesses and witches and teddy bears and such.
The AI is superior at pattern matching and information retrieval than human developers, which make the systems better suited for writing boilerplate code for tasks like web server interaction or GUI controller code. Where the machines fall short is developing code to do something new.
The radomization necessary to prevent the AI from hallucinating sometimes results in innovation by accident in a process similar to DNA mutations in evolution, but, most of the time, the systems just regurgitate what has been done before.
Have you been to McAllen recently?
It is in the best interest of the US to have Mexican elites visiting there and spending lots of money.
Spend their money and LEAVE. And not have their kids cross in the morning to attend school, then cross home in the afternoon.
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77F and at least partly sunny. Slept in. D2 had a friend stay over, one that has been to the lake with us, so W is making real breakfast. And xtra kid’s 10am pickup is the only reason we’re on a schedule.
———-
Time for me to start the coffee.
n
Private school, maybe. My guess is that the public schools suck.
@Greg Norton
“Have you been to McAllen recently?
It is in the best interest of the US to have Mexican elites visiting there and spending lots of money.”
Not since 2007 or so.
I’m sure it’s in the best interests of the locals, but I doubt it outweighs the interest of the rest of the U.S. population in using the lever to reduce the influx of criminals into the U.S. How do you weight one murder committed by a criminal illegal? One family wiped out in a traffic accident by an illegal alien without a drivers license or insurance?
Or even diffuse economic impacts like the depression of wages and the elevation of rents and other costs? When as the last time you saw a crew of roofers, drywallers, or swimming pool plasterers composed of legal U.S. citizens?
If the U.S. is to remain a sovereign country it has to control the borders, and doing that requires laws and the enforcement thereof. I have no sympathy for U.S. companies from Apple and Microsoft all the way down to Joe’s Shingling and Snow Removal who are enriching themselves by gaming the system, breaking out laws, and distorting the economy at the expense of our citizens.
I don’t know about McAllen. I liked my first month of 10th grade at Sharyland High. Then someone figured we were half a mile on the wrong side of the highway. So I got to spend a few months at Mission High. I liked it. Felt like I fit. Not as snooty as Sharyland.
Then the last two months of 10th grade and 11th and 12th at LaJoya. I graduated. I got my pretty piece of paper that is so “important” that no one anywhere has asked to see it.
I don’t think I had many good teachers. Not their fault, it was a little 2A school and probably didn’t pay like a big school. A “Practice teaching High School” place. Maybe three or four good teachers and the Principal was great to talk to about anything. Same with the two different Librarians.
I turned out ok. I think.
Yes, but your school years were 40 years (?) ago.
My high school in Florida went through a recent period of being an ‘F’ school.
I have an app on the old phone called Simple Shopping List. It, along with a few more apps, did not transfer to the new phone. Never expected the process to be perfect.
I went looking. They have vanished. None in my Play list of apps at all. But they are on the old phone and seem to work.
I downloaded a couple of Notepad type apps and a couple of Shopping List apps. I’ll play and perhaps keep one of each.
Odds are I’ll keep using scraps of paper for grocery shopping lists.
BUT!!!! I got a smartypants phone and shopping lists are cool…. I think because you get to wave your phone around in the grocery store to show how cool and hip you are. But that’s me not being impressed.
And maybe the Notepad app can simply be a draft e-mail. With IMAP my PC and Kindle can edit the file. Nope. Just tried. A common draft message doesn’t IMAP from webmail or phone. It was a thought.
Lots of pushing to download stuff like Facebook, Instagram, TicToc, Pintrist, and the like. Just a few to download X. I didn’t see Substack at all. I don’t think I want any of that stuff on my phone. I just found it interesting, like odd, that reichwing site apps seemed demoted.
Bicentennial Seniors!!!
The school colors were red and white. Graduation tassels that one year were red white and blue. It was kind of cool. With a brass colored Liberty Bell. Still have it, too.
Last time I went to the Valley it seemed all of the orange groves are now houses. The east west highway, 81?, seems to still be there with a parallel Interstate highway.
Ain’t no way in hell all them folks living there are Americans.
LaJoya was a 2A school with 650 kids. Now it has five or six 6A campuses? No way my classmates made that many kids.
“No way my classmates made that many kids. ”
Not for lack of trying, I bet.
Student Who Took GREAT PLEASURE Reciting Poem Celebrating Charlie Kirk Murder Suddenly VERY SORRY
http://www.ttgnet.com/journal/2026/11/01/sun-nov-1-2026-suddenly-its-november/#comment-332657
Green card be damned, some jobs should be off limits. Let’s just start a list of jobs that require citizenship:
POTUS
U.S. Senator
U.S. Congressman
Any judge of any kind*
Attorney.
Any elected office
Any municipal position that involves making decisions that affects the lives of citizens, or just make it simple and say anything over 2X minimum wage.
Military officer
Police and highway patrol
and since we can’t ride herd on every lefty communist little bullcrap municipality, let’s just make it a federal cime to put any non-citizen in a such a position, with mandatory jail time for those that do, from the Minnesota officials that passed Ilhan Elmi’s original application o run for state office to the multiple examples of illegal aliens that have been found on everything from police departments to school boards. And make any action that they took null and void back to the beginning, with strict liability for damages and costs to the offending government entity.
*They get citizenship, fine, be a judge in traffic court. But forever ineligible to serve on anything higher, most certainly including federal judgeships were it has been statistically shown that they are hostile to U.S. values.
Not just citizenship, but sole citizenship of the USA. Dual citizens who cannot decide on their loyalty prima facie do not pass the “public trust” test.
My high school doesn’t exist anymore. The county closed it and three others and built a new one for all and convenient to nobody.
My elementary school doesn’t exist either. My old middle school is now the elementary school. Actually, it was a high school originally but was converted to a middle school (grades 6-8) while I was still in elementary school.
The concept of neighborhood schools is dead. Easier to cram as many students as possible in as few buildings as possible. Probably so more money is available for administrative staff.
AP’s CA Noncitizen Voter Story Sounds Devastating for DOJ, Until You Read the Fine Print
https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2026/11/01/whats-up-with-that-story-about-40-percent-of-noncitizens-on-doj-list-not-on-voter-rolls-n2208895
The responsibility for determining voting eligibility should rest with the voter, as should the consequences, and voting without being eligible to do so should be subject to mandatory jail time as a minimum and as much as the death penalty. UNLESS, someone ineligible contends as part of their defense that an official incorrectly certified that they were eligible, in which case the penalty should apply to that official, with a finding of treason and the death penalty being mandatory in cases where multiple voters are involved.
And a dirty voter roll should be ipso facto proof of treason for any secretary of state that has not used every tool available to keep those ineligible off the rolls.
I had an odd half awake dream last night. My Dad’s name was August. No middle name. I have the same name but with a middle name.
I was never called August. Always Paul. Ok, sometimes August Paul and I was very near an ass whipping when that happened.
I asked once. Dad said he didn’t like being called Gus or Gussy or variations like Auggie. Oh. Ok. We pronounce the g. Aw Gust.
Silly dream wanders off to somewhere and hey, maybe that guy called Goose in Top Gun first name was August. And it slid into Goose. Ah-goose.
Then I woke up wondering what the hell is my brain doing. And thinking Goose would be a cool nickname. And wondering what Dad would think about it.
Time for bedtime potty walk. I’m being “looked at” by a certain beagle named Buddy.
For notes/scratchpads I use “Note Everything.”
For my grocery list, I use “Google Keep.” (I don’t care if Google sees what groceries I’m looking for.)
The Apple ecosystem has a notepad app that syncs the notes across all of your devices.
I keep track of my blood pressure using machines at HEB and Sam’s, entering the readings on my phone. Then, when I have a GP or cardiologist visit, I print the note from one of my MacBooks.
I looked at Keep. Nice. Seems like more than I need.
One of shopping list progs I downloaded stores your stuff on Google drive. Seems handy. Shopping list, saved text? Same thing.
I’ll give Note Everything a look. My shopping lists will probably keep being on scraps of paper.
Well, I finally got moving and got more body work done on the cart. I also wired up the new solenoid, so it’s ready to go in. I should have enough of the body work done that I can install the electrical components tomorrow. There is still the inner fender liner which had two holes melted in it. It keeps dirt and water out of the electronics area so it’s important.
New they are about $40 delivered. I’m thinking that for $40, and the time to remove and replace, I can just glue a couple of patches in place. Maybe add a pop rivet or two. I am trying to do it on the cheap…
————-
I turned most of the decor lights back on. I’ll enjoy it for a couple more days.
n
Make that also Born of Citizen Parents. No anchor babies.
Heck yeah! Pop rivet some scraps of plastic in there. Anyone looking That Close is thinking about stealing it.
Don’t forget some silicon caulk on your popped patches.
I looked in the Help on my phone. I just clicked something avd and there it was.. IMAP mail? Use Gmail.
Duh. It works swell. It’s an Android phone so I figure Google is reading everything already.
Come the revolution we’ll be passing notes like my shopping lists.
Buddy cracks me up. I’m in MY chair. Sure, the dogs sit in a lot of the time. It’s cool.
Buddy is pacing. He was just out. No, he’s looking at the other rocker recliner. And at me. The leather lazyboy they are not allowed on. But I’m in his chair.
His grumpiness finally got up on the loveseat and is now snoring.
He’s a trip.
“Don’t forget some silicon caulk on your popped patches.”
I used to recommend 3M Marine Adhesive 5200. It’s the best, but it’s too spendy at over $22 for a 10-oz tube, and the 3-ounce squeeze tub is an outrageous $18. It’s a moisture cure polyurethane, so best to have enough need to use the tube on one project or several smaller projects.
OSI Quad is a great alternative at about $7 for 10-ounce tube. Comes in a ton of colors, but beyond clear/white/gray/black you may have to go order a case of 12. Good if you need to match siding.
As with any such project, the bond is only as good as the cleaning. I usually use both alcohol and acetone. In the case of a melted hole I would scuff the heck our of the area to be covered with a wire brush.
New 9/11 Memorial Vandal Underscores Left’s Deep-Rooted Hatred of America
The paint was removed the same day, but the images live on. Everyone whose loved one was painted over should join together to file a lawsuit against this little turd, claiming damages for extreme mental anguish as the images will live forever on the internet. He should be required to establish an email address to receive notifications with links to of any images of his vandalism that are found on the internet, to which he must then find a physical address and send a handwritten note by certified mail requesting the image be removed or blurred, acknowledging his guilt, and including a copy of the judgement against him. Copies to the court and the plaintiff’s attorney, all certified mail.
“VIRAL VIDEO: Woman Blocking ICE Vehicle Has the Ultimate FAFO Experience”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/10/viral-video-woman-blocking-ice-vehicle-has-ultimate/
WOW! That is going to bruise real bad.
And I get the feeling that she did not learn her lesson.
She is lucky they did not run her over as that is legal here in Texas and several other states now.
If your pronouns are y’all and all y’all, you might be a redneck.
– Jeff Foxworthy
youtube shorts are like channel surfing used to be. You sit there and keep hitting next, until you realize 3 hours have passed because Discovery is restarting their programming for the West coast.
Or you get to the end of the internet.
n
Access to the knowledge of *many* experts. Of course, we have the same access via the Internet. So, really, it’s about speed.
Just as an example, I have had a couple of weird computer issues. I could have figured them out, after doing a lot of searching online for information. Would have taken me most of a day.
ChatGPT? Already has a lot of compiled knowledges. It then searched for more information in seconds, instead of 10s of minutes. It figures out what’s relevant, again in seconds. It also knows a lot of abstruse Linux commands that were more efficient that whatever I might have come up with. Result: with it’s help, the problems were sorted in 10-15 minutes.