Well, maybe today will be cold. Yesterday was pretty nice. Hot even in the sun, and late afternoon. Sunny, warm, clear… But today we’re supposed to get that cold front. Still in the 70sF when I went to bed, but the wind was gusting. It might have gotten here, I’ll see when I get up.
Did a couple of things on the list yesterday. See yesterday’s comments if interested. I woke with a very sore back, but something moved, and I felt better – just ordinary pain. So of course I spent the afternoon kneeling, sitting, laying down, and working in the dark dim.
Today I’ve got a pickup in the morning, and then I might switch trucks and head to my client’s house. He’s having an issue I need to see to troubleshoot. It’s the end of the quarter, and I promised myself I’d bill quarterly this year. I figured I might get one more service call in…
There’s some office stuff I need to do too. I am getting an alternative quote for my insurance that I need to go through, and I’ve got some hobby stuff to do too. I might shift my client visit to Tuesday. We’ll see.
The world isn’t getting any saner, so get some stuff stacked.
And carry your defensive tools, and a stop the bleed kit.
nick
Monday. Good morning, for certain values of “good”. If you’re in Ireland, it is probably a day off, seeing as tomorrow is the feast day of Glorious Saint Patrick.
Have an excellent day!
Might have to check today to see if Guinness is on sale.
It will be sld out tomorrow, but since the Irish never plan ahead there should be plenty today.
The economy of Temple-Belton is tied to pork spending, primarily DoD/VA and Medicare.
Colonists are developing their own communities north of Georgetown, however, and, sooner or later, one of them will make a serious challenge for that district.
Liberty Hill just got its own Costco, right out the back door of Santa Rita Ranch, a huge Colonist development at the point where the tolled section of 183 ends … for now.
Thass rayciss!
Best Sound
It wasn’t about the cars going “vroooom”.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gG_pqOektG0
Filmmakers need to rediscover the big room at Skywalker Sound. Even Kevin Smith took his comedies there back in the day.
A youtube short I saw last week blamed studios for not spending money on ADR anymore, using hidden lavalier mics instead of boom mics (lower and more likely muffled), and cheap speakers in ad subsidized TVs.
A certain style of mixing might contribute, as there is a generation now using noise blocking earbuds.
There is also a lack of respect for the way things used to be done.
n
49F with wind variable and gusting between 8 and 13 mph. I did switch to heat in the house. Cold water is cold!
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St Paddy’s day is another amateur drinking day where I stay off the roads as much as possible.
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Saw a meme about headlines that said “Julius Caesar Statesman and writer, died surrounded by friends” or something similar. Must of been the NYT 🙂
n
Double checked my pickup, and it’s tomorrow, so today will be office and client.
n
The sound people are trying to mix at home in their jammies using headphones.
Everyone wants a “work” from home job since the pandemic. It just isn’t possible.
Shh. Dude. I have daytrading to do and the kid has soccer at 2 PM.
Hey, I resemble that remark!
I did tell you today that tomorrow is Paddy’s day. That ought to be enough planning for anyone.
BTW, it’s either “Saint Patrick’s Day”, or “Paddy’s Day”, but never “Saint Paddy’s Day”. Don’t give yourselves away as faux-Irish!
It is a small world. I watched two YT videos during the past week about making first-rate Peking Duck. One of them, a restaurant in Hong Kong, said the best ducks for the dish come from Ireland. The other, in Chinatown, Manhattan, said they get their ducks from Long Island. The big duck producers on Long Island are Irish Americans. Whoever would have guessed that Glorious Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Peking duck?
https://hotair.com/headlines/2026/03/16/famous-stupid-last-words-n3812900
Perfect.
When I was in Shanghai, we went to a restaurant famous for Peking Duck. It was on the 20-something floor in a tower building with one shabby tiny elevator to get there. Anyway, seems that if you make a lot of Peking Duck, you have a lot of leftover duck parts. If you are chinese, you make those parts into appetizers.
Turns out, duck lung is delicious. At least if it’s battered, deep fried, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and dipped in sauce. We ordered a second round.
That’s probably the second weirdest thing I’ve eaten after cod tongues in Newfoundland.
n
FIFY.
Birds nest soup made with a real nest.
Nasty.
I was in the Philippines back in the early 70’s, Angeles City. I got totally wasted and was “walking” back to the Clark AFB. I was hungry and bought something from a street vendor that I thought was chicken. Nope, it was dog. When I found out I hurled.
I woke up the following morning by being beaten by the lady that cleaned the bathrooms and showers in the barracks. She wanted me to move so she could clean around the toilet, the one I was hugging.
That is the last time I have ever been drunk. There were other problems on the trip back to the base where I really could have lost my life.
“Turns out, duck lung is delicious. At least if it’s battered, deep fried, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and dipped in sauce. We ordered a second round. ”
Readers Digest Condensed Books are also excellent when similarly prepared.
I’ve had haggis, which isn’t that weird except by first world muscle-meat-only standards. It was just a strongly-flavored stew, with meat which had odd textures, not the strands expected of muscle meat.
Haggis is delicious. Blood sausages too.
n
Haggis scotch eggs. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried them.
I like haggis, even better if it’s made from venison than mutton.
Not weird, but perhaps unusual. Whale. Tastes like beef.
Oh yes, whale is delicious. Went back for seconds.
n
I didn’t care for blood sausage – the texture is what bothered me.
I’ll try haggis when we make it to Scotland. Thanks to Denis, I’ll add haggis scotch eggs to the must try list.
I have had whale in Norway. I was not impressed, with the taste or texture.
I have also had Reindeer in Norway, prepared three different ways. I found that quite good.
So Rudolph is okay but you draw the line at Rover?
Another Billionaire Leaves California to Avoid the Wealth Tax.
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/03/16/another-billionaire-leaves-california-to-avoid-the-wealth-tax-n3812910
A couple of thoughts:
1 These hypocrites are largely responsible for the sorry state of California. Maybe Texas and Florida should enact their own 10%“remembrance tax” on billionaires coming in to the state in 2026, just to remind them that they don’t need to bring their woke neo-socialist bullshit with them.
2. California pols think they are clever, and will inevitably come up with their own definition of residency for wealth tax purposes that will rope a bunch of money back into the state. If they try it it will set up an interesting system where the state defines residency after the fact when it is to their advantage, while at the same time ignoring long-established legal definitions of residency when it benefits powerful Democrat pols. Looking at you, Stallwell.
And what happens when the current state accepts the new resident as a legal resident and the former state tries to hang on? Disputes between the states go directly to SCOTUS, bypassing any liberal judges trying to drag their fat heads through the door.
I’ve had reindeer a couple of times and it was cooked too dry both times. Not something I’d go looking for again.
n
Ugh, Dehydrated squid tentacles heated up on a potbelly stove. In a small, out-of-the-way Soju hut in Seoul. Think of eating a rubber band. A quart of soju mixed with yogurt made it go down.
We got our accounts receivable under $200K finally. That is a relief that people are finally paying their bills. I’ve still got some biggies out there.
You do not want to know what my accounts payable is.
And I got my Sub S Corp income tax, Form 1120S, filed today and accepted today by the IRS. No need for an extension this year for first time in a long time.
34 F predicted for the morning. The wind is still gusting to 30+ mph. I had to take in the lightweight stuff on the northside, back, patio last night to the garage since it was scooting around the place with the 40+ mph wind.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/tx/richmond?cm_ven=localwx_10day
Haggis is delicious. Blood sausages too.
n
Blood sausage is nasty. The one I had was barely cooked.
I think that I have had haggis as a young teen in Scotland but I am not sure.
Sir, the alarm clock is innocent. And so are the people on the other side of the alarm clock.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-z4qMeKyaCsk9rOS50PhVuHET_NbQO5XNqiT0F2uTK5tbLo6yiUvM71r00DSnSmixhyRzi7h91EkTmzLZ91R65O6PDKXGvSQ2MAqCZ-5TtraYdy0jIJibzbR1M3T-VRmu_wTNmMnrQG5H5qCs0QjGkHLhs4zLY9XddY8BYM_anfpY0h_ieyRA0A1JFc/s600/Meme%20-%20shot%20alarm.png
Hat tip to:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/03/memes-that-made-me-laugh-303.html
Please, start telling people on the very long dirt roads in Arkansas that they need to move into a city. Just ignore the long bearded guys in overalls with deer rifles at the entrance to the compounds.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkb9xZj45whI4K9wpXKzKHQa3Zb4jKGQNGxFxNuV9YwVSGWM160fFXmvsgUBzaLqS4lc58VSEbUVN-uT3a6ymr5tKr_2iOROYDik7nW3sUwqRffLTcXTmM3rh0JKIOYAY-4CQ4cXdgdCYJ5yiW8-2xB-_53VTP__pkaFbvfjzZUDCZJcIFkkCAeUExnxw/s628/Meme%20-%20reduce%20car%20dependency.png
Hat tip to:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/03/memes-that-made-me-laugh-303.html
“Trump orders restart of California offshore oil transport to support US military operations in Iran”
https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/news/55364283/trump-orders-restart-of-california-offshore-oil-transport-to-support-us-military-operations-in-iran
“Sable Offshore resumed Santa Ynez operations following a federal directive that cited national security needs despite California’s legal challenges and opposition.”
Works for me.
“The Save America Act is Dead… John Cornyn Proves it in One Slip Up that Says it All (VIDEO)”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/save-act-is-dead-john-cornyn-proves-it/
Cornyn is dead senator walking. Paxton will mow him over in the runoff. And then Paxton will run over the dumbrocrat in the November election.
My primary credit union changed software vendors or something that has caused account numbers to change. For credit unions a person has one account, the share account. The checking, savings, certificates, etc. are all sub-accounts. The sub accounts maintain the same account number with a two digit suffix. Or that is the way it used to be.
Now the suffix is a prefix placed on the front of the account number. The old account numbers work, but I don’t know for how long. My preprinted laser checks, with the old format, work but do not show the check image in the account history. Newer, manual checks, with the new account number format do show properly as do the ones from the bill pay the credit union provides.
I have spent the better part of two hours going through my external accounts, such as credit cards, changing the account number to the new format. Of course the account number cannot be edited. The “bank” must be deleted, then added back. I have had to change Social Security and the VA.
New pre-printed laser checks are on order. I cannot order the laser checks through the credit union because I don’t have a business account. Pre-printed laser checks are considered belonging only to the realm of business. I have been using pre-printed laser checks for 25+ years. I used to print my own checks with the MICR line from blank stock. The software to do that has gotten more expensive than ordering checks online from a 3rd party.
The credit union where I used to work, and my primary credit union, no longer have their own computers and IT staffed. It has all been outsourced to a large company that process multiple credit unions. Cost saving measure I guess.
“Singularity Update: You Have No Idea How Crazy Humanoid Robots Have Gotten”
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/singularity-update-you-have-no-idea-how-crazy-humanoid-robots-have-gotten
“We’re not talking about concept robots. We’re talking about fully autonomous humanoid robots running neural networks end-to-end, doing kitchen work, unloading dishwashers, organizing packages – for hours at a time, with no human intervention.”
“Today? Figure’s robots are doing 67 consecutive hours of autonomous work. One error in 67 hours. That’s not a demo. That’s a product.”
“And here’s what most people don’t understand: the gap between “doing one task really well” and “doing every task a human can do” is collapsing at exponential speeds.”
Hmm, am I going to pay $300 per month to have a domestic spy in my household ? No.
The Buffy reboot is dead. That doesn’t bode well for the Firefly cartoon. Money must be tight. Maybe Buffy couldn’t be made woke enough for “The Modern Audience”.
Money is tight all over. China has been financing lots of movies, and they probably stopped with the tariffs.
n
I saw a short on FB explaining that his famous final line was mistranslated more-or-less as “not you, Brutus” when it should was in a more informal style that is closer to “See ya in Hell, kid”
Cloudy today. No shadows. Almost 50f but the wind is like a blade of ice between the shoulder blades.
I’m going to put the new Pi running the music server on the shelf next to the PiHole. All I need is an Ethernet cable, about six feet long to allow for slack, that I can snake through the wall from here into the next room. I finally found a cable. One cable.
I’m wondering where the other cables are stashed. I “upgraded” all of the cables in the EDC to CAT8 several months ago. CAT6, CAT8, meh, an extra $25 to future proof. I didn’t throw any of the old cables away. The EDC is sorta getting to be a rat’s nest but I find no Ethernet cables that are not in use. Shrug.
If in Scotland, you must try Stornaway Black Pudding – the best Black Pudding in the UK (that’s what I think, anyway). If you can accompany it with scallops, you might just find a piece of heaven.
“AWESOME VIDEO – US embassy system successfully defends against incoming attack in Baghdad”
https://therightscoop.com/awesome-video-us-embassy-system-successfully-defends-against-incoming-attack-in-baghdad/
“A US C-RAM system at the US embassy in Baghdad successfully defends against an incoming attack via a missile or a drone.”
That is awesome.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/03/megyn-kelly-mark-levin-feud-heats-up-im-sorry-you-have-a-micro-penis/
One small correction.
Owens and Tucker are unhinged–possibly merely psychotic or host to alien brain worms–and as they disappear over the event horizon Kelly is increasingly looking like the next to start circling.
Censored, Dismissed, Confirmed: History of Blood Clots & COVID Vaccine Debate
Dig Fauci up and hang him again…
Oh, sorry–wrong timeline. This week the class is here on Earth 437 (Enpussified USA) to study the success of the ChiComs and their PLT tools in bringing about the Second Dark Age and the extinction of the human race.
Next week we’re off to study Earth 458 (Elon Goes to Mars)
New Ice Core Study Shows Moderate Warming Happens Every Few Centuries
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/03/16/new-ice-core-study-shows-moderate-warming-happens-every-few-centuries-n2200279
Now the science is settled: Time to round the climate zealots up and throw them in the volcano.
Good job. But…
That was an awful lot of shots to shoot down the attacking object. The missed shots landed somewhere.
Occam’s Razor suggests money or blackmail, but I suppose it could be brain worms.
Apparently not.
“the C-RAM uses the 20mm HEIT-SD (high-explosive incendiary tracer, self-destruct) ammunition, originally developed for the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System. These rounds explode on impact with the target, or on tracer burnout, thereby greatly reducing the risk of collateral damage from rounds that fail to hit their target.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-RAM
Climate change is real, but it’s a CYCLE a thousand years long. At the peak of the LAST cycle, Vikings grew barley and had dairy farms on Greenland – and it was green! We’re about to the peak of this cycle, so the next change will be COLD, probably by 2050. Keep your heavy coats!
“The Best Quote on Islam That You’ve Never Heard – Winston Churchill Predicted Europe’s Fall to Islam All the Way Back in 1899”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/best-quote-islam-never-heard-winston-churchill-predicted/
““Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world,” the quote said.”
““Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome,” it continued.”
The muslims last tried to take Europe through Austria in 1683.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna
This time they have gone around Austria and have penetrated every country in Europe.
Couldn’t figure out why I’ve got a youtube shorts full of speed queen and ‘top loaders are better than front loaders’ content. Then I remembered that I spent an hour putting in my tenant’s washer and dryer and chatting with her dad about our experience with Speed Queen. Yeah, not a coincidence.
I might have mentioned selling some electronic scrap too, even naming “sell us your boards” so now I’m getting scrapping and gold recovery vids too.
Took a week longer for that to show up. Appliance vids must pay more or be of more interest to the marketers.
n
I am looking at buying this Dell on Amazon for home use. “Dell Pro Tower Plus Desktop Computers, Intel 20-Core Ultra 7 265 (13 Tops NPU), 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Copilot AI Business PC, DVDRW, 3 DisplayPorts, 2 Type-C, Windows 11 Pro” for $1,300. Note the DVDRW drive which I think is a internal drive.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1YBBSXF/?th=1&tag=ttgnet-20
Is there any way that a Intel Ultra 7 265 PC could really run on a 260 watt power supply ?
Or should I buy direct from Dell for $1,997 ?
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop-computers/dell-pro-tower-desktop/spd/dell-pro-qct1250-desktop/gcto_qct1250_usx?redirectto=SOC&configurationid=3dc16e5e-202d-46e8-b7d5-118fdf2b9999
12000 years ago there was a glacier covering most of the land south of Chicago, right to within a block of the house I grew up in. Then it receded and left Lake Michigan behind. The largest open pit limestone mine in the US is a few miles from there too. That was a big inland sea.
Yup, climate changes. It’s been hotter and colder than right now.
n
@lynn, I’m writing this on the Dell I bought directly from their small business line, 15 years ago. Other than the power supply failure a year or two ago, it’s been ROCK solid. I rarely turn it off. The drive that came with it lasted thru ripping 1200 movies and 2400 CDs.
I don’t know if the amazon Dells are built to the same spec, or if like the Costco Dells they are stripped and minimal down to the mb not having enough SATA ports…
If you can get the config you want, and you want it to last, I’d strongly consider buying direct, and from their small business line. As a bonus, SMB line used to come with US based support, dunno if that’s still true.
n
Auctioneer left the fake trijicons in this week’s auction. He removed the pics that show the bad logo, and the incorrect patent statement.
I think I’m done bidding with him and I’ll tell him so on my last pickup. Removing the pix is sleazy as heII.
n
Eldest has returned from babysitting so I can go to bed.
Enjoy the Feast of St Patrick.
n
Haggis – yum. Having ties to Scotland (not least, through our former whisky business), I’ve enjoyed Haggis a lot. Really, though, it’s just sausage. In the “good old days”, sausage was where a lot of offcuts and organs landed. The Scots, being poor, added a lot of grain in the mix to stretch it farther. Voila –> Haggis.
What was the latest racket? Saying any athlete who plays a game in California is subject to income tax on their entire income for the year? Yeah, California is doing itself no favors.
Their latest law, nothing to do with money: require your computer to verify your age on login – that’s going to be a sh!tshow. For nebulous reasons, the big tech companies are apparently behind the lobbying for this, in California and elsewhere. Meta alone invested $2 billion.
1984 was supposed to be a warning, not a guide.
– – – – –
The war in Iran is having some unexpected effects. Apparently, the super-rich in Dubai are getting worried, and some of them are moving to Switzerland. Dubai doesn’t much like that, so they’re making it difficult for the rich to get their money out. That’s going to destroy a lot of trust. The damage to Dubai’s reputation may be permanent.
Meanwhile, for us, it’s a mixed blessing. Sure, more money in the country can be a good thing. But: (1) The Swiss franc is already too strong, negative interest rates are coming again, (2) $billions in the banks does not help the average Joe, and (3) more money flowing into the real estate market will drive high prices even higher, and anyway (4) the international super-rich are not known for being nice people who add positively to the local culture.