Weather is beautiful here. Not at all beautiful in Houston. No idea if it’s having any direct impact on my stuff. Eventually we’ll find out. Nothing I can do from here.
Had a travel day, ending in an arrived where we were going day. It’s nice so far.
Looks like I will probably be able to open the door and turn the lights on most days but I’ll leave the stubs in place just in case.
Stack! you know I’d want you to.
nick
Sunday. Good morning.
It looks like Nick has purloined all the good weather for his holidays. It is grey, cold and windy here. Brr. Making myself porridge for breakfast, like in November. Maybe I should also write to Santa.
Have a lovely day!
I’m sure Builder.ai isn’t an isolated an isolated case, but I haven’t seen the floodgates open. I’m sure Vanguard/Blackrock/State Street are hiding similar cases.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/this-15b-ai-company-goes-bankrupt-turns-out-it-was-never-ai-just-700-indian-engineers/ar-AA1OALGr
Even if the Monkey Trick works as intended, the costs are going to spiral out of control. Beyond the well publicized water, power, and location issues, the hardware goes obsolete much faster than the traditional datacenter-class server products, and we haven’t even seen a full replacement cycle yet since the first generation servers are still in production.
I deduce that we have a sky because something has to be holding up the 100% cloud cover. On-again-off-again windy, either pretty much nothing or a bit on the breezy side. Not that cold, above 60F, but it’s normally warmer for this time of day and time of year.
It hadn’t occurred to me that this is Nick’s fault but I have been convinced by your impeccable logic. Bad Nick! Naughty Nick!
This is pretty typical early June in Central Florida. The question every June is about when the high pressure sets up over Bermuda for the Summer and the daily thunderstorms begin.
Fortunately, skies should be clear when we fly out of TPA today.
I no longer have to maintain opsec so it is safe to say that we were in the area for my mother’s … “life celebration” … ? … yesterday, her passing having taken place six weeks ago while we were in Orlando for a conference.
Once hospice starts pushing the morphene, the end always happens quickly. What we are still wondering about is the timing. How convenient that we happened to be within a two hour drive when the decision was made to start the process by the siblings who weren’t estranged.
As far as the family knew, we were scheduled to be in Central Florida for a conference at some point in the Spring and could be in Tampa quickly from Austin via multiple daily flights on SWA otherwise, but the first text from the family arrived six weeks ago as we were waiting for rope drop at Universal.
Things that make you say “Hmmm…”
@Nick – The remodeled Alessi’s Bakery on Cypress in Tampa is worth the stop if you are through the city again before flying back. We went to the second day of the reopening six weeks ago, and we picked up cupcakes for the “life celebration” yesterday after placing an order by phone on Thursday.
Sadly, the third generation family owner, Phil Sr., who my wife met ordering our wedding cake thirty years ago, passed in 2018, but the fourth generation owner, Phil Jr., has maintainted the high standards.
We may squeeze in one more stop at the bakery before leaving today.
Dinner last night with one sibling’s family was at La Teresita on Columbus, where we had our wedding reception. Also, highly recommended, even for picky eaters.
My nephew is way too informed about a variety of things for his age.
At one point, my nephew was sharing how the family suspects a neighbor of “woman trafficking”, and he gave my sister a complete rundown of the importance of cracking Enigma when the subject came up.
I believe the kid starts high school next year.
Greg, I am sorry to hear of your bereavement. My condolences.
Off for one more trip to Alessi’s before boarding the plane.
@Greg: My condolences on your loss. Life is a terminal disease which none of us can escape. A life well lived is the best one can hope for.
And in other, probably worthless news, and my just rambling, I have found out that Taco Bell is arriving in Germany. First in Munich with two stores planned and eventually 15 throughout the country.
Why is this significant? Because every one of our German exchange students favorite place to eat was Taco Bell. When they returned for a visit the first place they wanted to eat was Taco Bell. However, in Germany, based on other places, I am thinking the sauce packets will not be free and most certainly no free refills on soft drinks. They might even serve beer.
Of course McDonald’s is in Germany. I have seen a Burger King outside of Frankfurt. I have seen Subway in a couple of places. I have eaten in McDonald’s in Switzerland and Germany, just see if they are the same. It does taste a little bit different. I have eaten in Burger King in Austria and it too tasted different.
Twenty-odd years ago, McDonalds was the place to go in the PRC. Very expensive, at least for the wages earned by non-elites. When my stepson first came to the US I took him to McDonalds every day after school for a week. Took pictures showing him wearing different clothes and eating different meals to show that he was able to go on different days, not just pretending that a single visit was five. His mother emailed them to a couple of his friends’ parents in the PRC. Big bragging rights for an eight-year-old even if he wasn’t going to see those school friends again.
Ditto.
I have a relative who is afraid of “funny foreign food”. She has travelled around the world, always eating at McDonald’s.
I once asked her why she bothered; why she didn’t just save her money and stay at home, instead of eating the same junk in different places. She had no answer, but then she always eats the same boring food at home too.
For me, part of the joy of travel is discovering the local cuisine.
I haven’t been to a Taco Bell yet! There used to be a chain of faux-Mexican places here called ChiChi’s. They were rubbish.
My condolences on you loss, Mr. Greg.
They are/were rubbish here, too.
Fast food chains: enabling autistic travelers for over 50 years.
Got up with a horrible stomach ache at 645am. Skipped Church and went back to bed. The pain was horrible and woke me up several times. Got up for real at noon. The wife thinks that I am having a gall bladder attack. I am still very sore.
Just woke from my nap. Too many carbs at breakfast, and a late night, took me out. Time to catch the end of lunch.
@greg, we were in Tampa at least one day at the same time… funny how small the world is. We will have some time to kill in Tampa on Thur.
Good weather here, some rain this morning but clear and moderated temps at the moment.
If I want to eat, I better get moving.
n
You’ve been warned. MrsAtoz waited too long, and her GB burst. Emergency surgery. Since it popped, a drain was put in for two weeks. I emptied the juice twice a day until it was under 10 ml.
You’ve been warned. MrsAtoz waited too long, and her GB burst. Emergency surgery. Since it popped, a drain was put in for two weeks. I emptied the juice twice a day until it was under 10 ml.
My father died of a burst gall bladder last year at age 86. He lived with the burst gall bladder for two months until he had raging sepsis. We even went to Montana to go fly fishing during that time. He was kinda quiet and not eating much.
My mother had her gall bladder out at 62 or so after it burst. She spent five days in the hospital with sepsis.
I’m sorry to hear about your Mom, Greg.
When my uncle Jim was in the hospital (coma, no chance of recovery) they were pretty straight with the family.
He was on morphine: and when it was going to be stopped it was almost certainly going to stop his heart as well. When did they want to stop the morphine?
Thanks.
It wasn’t unexpected, but the timing was suspicious.
I maintained opsec until today because at least one member of the troll cabal lives within two hours of the site of the “life celebration” yesterday.
When my Mom entered total organ shutdown, she was unconscious but still groaning; the pain was so bad. I had her put on Dilaudid every two hours until she passed. As soon as the drug hit her, she looked at peace, just sleeping. She lasted a day until she went. The doctors wanted to start dialysis, but she signed a DNI/DNR. Good for her.
If you also find a pan of simmering water, it’s poachers!
The bakery’s deli has very good hot food, but they are only open during breakfast/lunch hours.
https://www.alessibakery.com/
Picky eaters will be fine.
For dinner, find La Teresita.
Picky eaters will be fine there too.
My mother’s brother, my other uncle, was in hospice and was on Morphine and was given two weeks to live. He made it 10 days. The state limited the amount of Morphine he could get because “the state was concerned he would become addicted”. Yeh, well, really, who cares if he became addicted. It’s not like he was going to get out and live on the street as a junkie. He passed while in pain, having used his daily allotment of Morphine, which to me was unacceptable.
People in a severe terminal condition should be put on a Morphine pump. Let them push the button as often as they want. Even if it kills them. At least they go out under their own rules, and pain free.
People in a severe terminal condition should be put on a Morphine pump. Let them push the button as often as they want. Even if it kills them. At least they go out under their own rules, and pain free.
The War on Some Drugs has done an incredible amount of damage to the nation. And to individuals in severe pain.
At a minimum, I believe the Hospice people wanted my wife to be in the room so she was obligated to sign the death certificate. On the Monday of the week we were in Orlando, they made the determination that my dementia-addled mother was in pain and needed to start on the high morphine doses.
When I didn’t take the bait and bring my wife with me on Wednesday to see my mother before she stopped breathing, Hospice stretched out the passing two more days until that Friday, waiting to see if I had sufficient compassion to bring my wife to visit her poor, dying mother in law.
When I still didn’t budge, Hospice pushed the fatal dose on Friday morning and their doctor signed the death certificate that afternoon.
Another possibility is that Hospice wanted my wife in the room earlier in the week to witness the fatal morphine doses being pushed and expose her to the liability in case my brother or sister changed their minds about the terminal care.
The problem with my wife being tagged with the liability is that she does not have malpractice insurance covering civilians anymore, and I would then be exposed in any lawsuit my siblings would bring, including all of my personal savings and non-401(k) investment holdings.
The situation was a mess, but it resolved in the way that exposed us to the least liability and/or hassle with the death certificate.
My mother and I were severely estranged going back more than 15 years.
As I’ve described before, if you want to see what my mother was like in her glory days, watch “iTonya” and pay attention to Allison Janey as Harding’s mother.
There is a reason Janey won the Oscar. A lot of my generation with War Baby mothers dealt with that exact personaly, complete with cigarettes, Sophia Loren glasses frames, and “easy maintenance” haircut.
I had to laugh when my brother’s … wife … ? … described how my mother used to threaten her with a beating during stubborn moments.
“That poor lady. Her dementia was so bad.”
She didn’t know my mother before the dementia.
I am guessing you really believe the siblings would do that. Sad, indeed. Either that you have been led to believe that, or that they would.
I guess I was fortunate in the MIL’s estate. Everything went to my wife. No one in the rest of the family asked to see the will. The wife’s brother got $67K, each of his kids got $15K, my son got $45K. All from certificates that had different returns and dates. That is why my son got more, he was the first born grandson.
I kept very detailed records on the rest of the money, expenses I incurred because of the death. All in a spreadsheet. The 50/50 split between the wife and BIL, is carefully documented. The split was not in the will, but was a verbal instruction which to me is more important than the will. That split amount has been kept secret until recently, again on verbal instructions.
No one has asked to see the accounting in the spreadsheet, and I have not, and will not provide it. The spreadsheet was for my own calculations and following the MIL’s verbal instructions. Everyone seems to trust me.
I’m beginning to understand Greg a little more now. Between his own family and his in-laws, it’s a rough life. It sucks to be forced to be defensive all the time.
Sorry for your loss, anyway. There will be memories, and I hope there are good ones.
I still dream occasionally of my mother, and she died in 2002.
Another possibility is that Hospice wanted my wife in the room earlier in the week to witness the fatal morphine doses being pushed and expose her to the liability in case my brother or sister changed their minds about the terminal care.
The problem with my wife being tagged with the liability is that she does not have malpractice insurance covering civilians anymore, and I would then be exposed in any lawsuit my siblings would bring, including all of my personal savings and non-401(k) investment holdings.
Sounds like you grew up in a rattlesnake den.
Had a nice lazy day with more good food.
@greg,it’s always hard and comes with surprise emotions and thoughts. I’m sorry for your loss and the situation.
I’ve heard it said that puns are the lowest form of humor, but since I started reading John Wilder, I’ve changed my mind. I now enjoy them. Of course that could just be an indictment of my sense of humor.
Beach day tomorrow, I better get to bed.
n
Puns, like sarcasm, are the apotheosis of humour, next to Dad jokes. The problem is, like with sarcasm, lots of dull people don’t understand them…
That sounds at least plausible, in terms of what the hospice might have wanted to achieve. Your wife, being neither the patient’s physician nor a member of her care team, has on the face of it no professional involvement or liability whatsoever. However, her not having been present obviates any discussion. Wise move by you both.
Greg, I hope your mother’s death gives you closure and peace for you in what sounds like it was a difficult relationship.
Greg, I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you have peace, and enough to share with your loved ones.