GlibFit 4.0 – Coronavirus Edition XLVI: Rainswept

by | Jan 31, 2021 | GlibFit | 155 comments

This was not a great week for gym visits thanks to rain, doggarhea, and high winds.  I blame my governor for two of three.  I’ll let you guess which ones.

This was the week that brought home to me how f***ed up my governor’s order requiring gyms to operate outside is.  Southern California does not have a long rainy season, but we do have one.  Two days this week it was pouring when I would have been working out.  No way was I going to lift outside in those conditions.

The silver lining is I managed to get in more sessions jumping rope.  I have gotten much more adept with the Crossrope system.  The quarter pound rope is no longer the serious challenge it was when I first starting using it.

Midweek I decided I was going to use the half pound rope for 5 minutes of the day’s routine.  That sucker was a challenge.  Physics nerds help me understand what is going on.  The weight of the rope doubled but I would swear the force/torque/angular momentum/tell-me-the-right-term more than doubled.  Seriously, I am trying to understand the physics behind this.  Help a brother out.

Anyway, I made it 5 minutes and was feeling it.  I was ready to switch it out for the quarter pound rope for my final 5 minutes.  No can do.  It was 37 American degrees out and my middle-aged hands could not detach the rope to do the switch.  I gutted out another 5 minutes with the half pound rope and called it.

I will write a full review when I have used the one pound and two-pound ropes.  In the meantime, I like this product and recommend it to anyone considering jumping rope for exercise.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I know DEG coined the term Clown Prince for Governor Sununu but just for this week I’m stealing it.  My Clown Prince did everything this week but walk around naked asking us to admire his beautiful suit. Without warning, he dropped his stayathome order.  Supposedly, that couldn’t be done until ICU utilization dropped to 85% or less.  In my county it is currently at 95%.  Los Angeles is at 93%. San Diego is too.  Orange County is at 95%.  So, the four most populous counties in the state are using well over 85% of their ICU capacity but the stay-at-home order magically disappeared.

Maybe the Clown Prince is just making up numbers. Maybe he realizes his political future is very much in jeopardyMaybe he is hoping to distract from an unfolding scandal that cannot be hand waved away.  (I’m still waiting for anyone in local media to do basic math and point out the Clown Prince has allowed 15% of the annual budget to disappear due to fraud.)  I didn’t think it was possible to harden my cynicism about state government.  I was wrong.

​​This one is for you Gavin.

I think I depressed myself.  Here, have this as a pick me up.

About The Author

Chafed

Chafed

I'm looking California but feeling Minnesota

155 Comments

  1. pistoffnick

    SP is doing GlibFit? This is HIGHLY unusual!

    • limey

      And living the progtopian dream in California.

      • pistoffnick

        ‘course Wapner comes on at 5

      • pistoffnick

        *fidgits*

      • limey

        Aaaaaaaaaah *slaps side of head*

    • Chafed

      You’re telling me. I’ll just assume last night’s hijinks and a lack of sleep lead to this misattribution.

    • SP

      *sigh* WordPress kept logging me out and not saving my changes. Took me 8 tries to even get the links inserted in the right spots.

      Sorry, Chafed.

      • Chafed

        Sorry you had to deal with that.

  2. Don escaped Qanon

    anyone swim?

    I hate the idea of going to a club, the driving and dressing and fuss.

    But I’ve got three feet problems and need to save the six good miles, tops, I can walk a day and need to save those for something other than flouncing around basketball courts or whatever passes for exercise.

    • Chafed

      Gender Traitor is our resident swimmer. Maybe she can chime in.

    • Gender Traitor

      I’d been swimming once a week at one of our local YMCAs but hadn’t been to the Y at all since Mr. GT’s little health adventure last month. We’re inside, but you have to reserve spots for classes and swim lanes. Went back this past week for a once-weekly fitness class but not to swim. Still undecided about whether I’ll try to start swimming again – it is more cumbersome to prep for swimming and to clean up after, and even with a swim cap, the chlorine is rough on my hair. On the other hand, it often serves as my Happy Place, and I could use some of that.

  3. juris imprudent

    I have been slacking, as usually happens with less agreeable weather (and reduced daylight). So yesterday I did some wood splitting and today helped my neighbor drop a tree. Ibuprofen is my drug of choice. I do get to follow up with snow removal (mostly riding the Cub Cadet with the snow-blower, but some shoveling) tomorrow am and probably Tues morning as well.

  4. pistoffnick

    Shoveling snow yesterday did a number on my bum shoulder. I got out the snow blower this morning. The thing is a 9.5 HP beast, so that was my exercise.

  5. DEG

    I know DEG coined the term Clown Prince for Governor Sununu

    NEIN!

    Heroic Mullato coined it.

    I referred to the Clown Prince as “King Sununu” (or might have just been the King) based on some signs I saw at a Reopen NH protest. He said something along the lines of “he’s more like a Clown Prince”, and it stuck.

    Sorry about what Newsom is doing to your gym and California. It’s good you got some work in.

    I had a weird week with my weigh-in. I did not get to the gym as much as I should have last week. According to my food tracking, I ran a caloric deficit every day last week. And… my weight went up slightly. 280 lbs, a gain of about a quarter pound. My body fat analyzer says I increased body fat and decreased lean mass. Odd. Clothes feel a little looser in the waist and tighter in the arms/shoulders than they did two weeks ago.

    • Chafed

      My apologies to HM. I’m sure I picked up the phrase from you since HM doesn’t comment on GlibFit.

      • Heroic Mulatto

        I’m always watching you when you sleep, though.

        I like how your chest moves up and down.

      • Chafed

        They are a fun live band. I saw them at a local winery. Great show.

      • Gender Traitor

        Had to get this in ahead of Ted’S.

      • Chafed

        Don’t copy his bad habits!

      • Ted S.

        I would have linked this

      • Chafed

        Genuine lol.

  6. Master JaimeRoberto (royal we/us)

    Did about 40 miles on the trainer including rides “in” Russia, Oregon and the UAE which included a 2300 ft climb. Did another 20 miles in real life. Might do another ride with my wife this afternoon to a local brewery now that it’s allowed to be open, but I seem to have misplaced her.

  7. DEG

    I’m surprised YouTube hasn’t pulled the song you linked.

    The baby rhino video was cute.

    • Chafed

      #MeToo

  8. grrizzly

    Covid: Australian city of Perth goes into snap lockdown after guard tests positive

    The Australian city of Perth has begun a snap five-day lockdown after a security guard working at a quarantine hotel tested positive for coronavirus.

    Western Australia – the state of which Perth is the capital – had not had a case of locally acquired coronavirus for 10 months.

    The lockdown began at 18:00 (10:00 GMT) and runs until Friday night.

    Schools, restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms have been ordered to close.

    Only essential travel is allowed and masks must be worn.

    People in the city of two million – along with people living in the nearby Peel and South West regions – must stay at home, except for essential work, healthcare, food shopping or exercise, said Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan.

    I think I’ve already posted about snap lockdowns in every single Australian state but Tasmania.

    • But Enough About [this space intentionally left blank]

      If Western Australia hasn’t had a case in 10 months but one just showed up, then by definition it’s had cases all along and they simply haven’t shown up on any health practitioner’s radar (and I wouldn’t blame the infected for not wanting to bring up a possible infection — Australia’s likely to lock ’em up for an unspecified period of time, or do other things that violate their human rights).

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        If Western Australia hasn’t had a case in 10 months but one just showed up, then by definition it’s had cases all along and they simply haven’t shown up on any health practitioner’s radar[.]

        Exactly this.

        Shit doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. That person has it, who caught it from someone who caught it from someone….

        Being that foreigners are not allowed in, it’s a safe bet they never eradicated anything at all.

        These types of places (Australia, NZ, etc) are going to have a very rude awakening once they do let travel start again.

    • Chafed

      I remain astonished the local population willingly goes along.

      • grrizzly

        From the replies to Tucker’s tweet:

        Preemptive lockdowns are in fact how Australia did it right, yes.

        I don’t get why people have such a hard time understanding this. If you want Australia’s rock-bottom death rates, that’s how it’s done.

        The locals are convinced that this is the right strategy.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Not all of them. Just the Karens.

      • rhywun

        I… guess?… never-ending whack-a-mole might work assuming no one ever travels into or out of the continent ever again. Good luck with that, mates.

      • Raven Nation

        The covid czar in Australia has already floated the idea that, even if most of the population gets vaccinated, they should keep the border restrictions in place.

        Right now, only Australian citizens and family members can get in. Once you enter, you’re quarantined for 14 days in a government-selected hotel room (no, can’t even leave the room) that you pay for. At the moment, there’s a waiting list of c. 35k Australians trying to get home.

        So, I probably won’t be seeing my “early stages of dementia” mother this year either.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Fucking sociopathic assholes

      • DEG

        So, I probably won’t be seeing my “early stages of dementia” mother this year either.

        Sorry.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        The police in Australia have been especially brutal with resistors. I saw a video of a mother being pulled from her vehicle and beaten by several officers in front of her young children. Her crime was either not wearing a mask in the car or refusing to answer where she was going when pulled over at a checkpoint, can’t remember which.

        There was another video of a police violently breaking apart a legit peaceful protest against he restrictions. There was a protestors laid out unconscious on the floor and a cop cracked his skull just for fun before walking on to the next target.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Funny how that happens after they confiscate all the firearms.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Isn’t it though?

      • DEG

        Aussies have guns and the gun owners are fighting back.

        From 2019: Gun ownership in NSW is growing

        There are now more than 1 million registered guns in NSW, and 90,000 have been registered in the past two years alone, according to NSW Firearms Registry data released under freedom of information laws.

        That means there is now one registered firearm for every eight NSW citizens, according to Gun Control Australia (GCA).

        The figures show one gun owner in Eastgardens has 305 registered firearms, while one Mosman resident owns 285, and one in North Sydney has 268 in their possession.

        GCA, which released the data, said the numbers were worrying.

        “It paints a picture of significant concern at the rising number of guns and the introduction of greater gun culture in NSW than we see as being healthy,” vice chair Roland Browne said.

      • rhywun

        JFC.

      • hayeksplosives

        The Aussie personality varies greatly among individuals of course but also in regional trends. They have “flyover” country too, and those types had boating accidents when the great gun “buyback” occurred several years ago, etc.

        The southeast coast there is lousy with what we would consider the US northeastern types. The state of Victoria has been jaw droppingly awful about cracking down on individuals in the name of “safety.”

        I’m pulling for the Flyover Country Aussies to prevail.

    • rhywun

      Destroying your society over one case is not at all any kind of mass hysteria. Couldn’t they just hustle him to a secret detention centre happy camp like Canada is doing?

      • But Enough About [this space intentionally left blank]

        Further developments there: appears that no-one from the provincial government was involved (Alberta Health Services hasn’t got any enforcement mandate at all), and the Federal witlings who jumped the gun early, taking the pastor’s wife into custody and whisking her off to a “secret location” forgot to confiscate her cellphone. Her husband (a pastor in Edmonton) tracked the phone to a hotel that’s one of several that partially rings the outer edges of Calgary International. Various hijinks have ensued.

        The Hair That Walks Like A Man™ has stated that these 72-hour detainments would be at the detainees’ expense, and would sum $2,000 CDN.

        The spousal unit and I have stayed in those hotels as recently as 18 months ago — their average price is well under $100/night (and pretty decent suites, too!). The Feds appear to be padding their pockets once again.

      • rhywun

        Nice racket.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        The false pretense that government policy, short of tyrannical rule, can have more than a minimum effect anywhere besides the margins is maddening.

    • Raven Nation

      Yeah, the Greater Brisbane area did the same thing early in January. 2.5 million people locked down on 12 hours notice for one case.

  9. Gender Traitor

    OT: Just went out to clean the snow off my car before I have to go to work tomorrow. Discovered that SOMEONE had shoveled most of my half of the driveway. Tom T suspects our sweetheart of a neighbor who has done this sort of thing before. (He knows I’m the one who needs to get out in the morning.)

    With the exception of the guy directly across the street who’s obsessed with lawn care and leaf blowing, we have great neighbors.

    • Tres Cool

      This lovely weather got Jugsy’s flight(s) out cancelled. I had to make an emergency call to c̶a̶n̶c̶e̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶o̶o̶k̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶l̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶i̶v̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ order DoorDash (since I didnt expect her here this afternoon).

      • Tres Cool

        …by DoorDash I meant Donato’s. Even DoorDash closed shop earlier today

  10. IRBE

    Hi Chafed SP.. Thanks for this sedition and greetings from NOCal. We had winter this week. Cold and rain. Now it is over and onto spring. Perfect hike today. 7 miles 1200 ft elevation. Some terrified looks from masked n00bs…perfect.

    G-fit update: Sleep was OK. Food was OK. Had some banana bread (crypotonite). Reduced hike mileage to 22 miles this week (too much work..need to reprioritize) . Wim Hoff/meditative “ancient man” techniques, missed a couple of days. No weight gained but still outside weight range. Didn’t do any HIIT. Didn’t fast.

    Bottom line: Too much work and not enough time to hike and workout.

    Re: Gavie Newsome-Science Baby. He sucks but who will replace him. Someone needs to corral those grifters in the legislative…that’s the real problem! It was the only thing Jerry Brown had going for him. He had the goods on the crazies to keep them in line. I guess the book of blackmail on those grifts did not get passed down the nephew..and I thought these political syndicates were a family business..maybe he was caught between families (Brown’s and Pelosi’s). Wonder what the Pelosi family syndicate earns per year. I bet it is similar to LeBron numbers in the $100s MM. Forget about it..it’s too broken.

    De todos modos, ¡tenga una gran semana y sáltese una comida o tres!

    Tengo que irme … tengo que limpiar la piscina.

  11. Tundra

    Chafed! SP!

    Too bad about the weather. Lifting outside in the elements would be pretty badass.

    The rope thing is above my pay grade, but I do remember this song. Oh, and this one.

    Great comment from that second one:

    Brady Thomas
    4 years ago
    remember kids dont trust strangers unless they lay some funky beats

    Loved the rhino video!

    I had a decent week. First week of a 30 day program to dial things back in after a wild and wooly holiday/vacation season. More strict diet and no booze. I’ve been walking at least 4 miles every day, rain or shine. I think that’s done more for my melon than anything else I’ve tried.

    Been lifting at the ‘speak MWF. I really dig it. No masks and no restrictions against chalk – what more could a guy ask? The program is going well and I continue to improve each week.

    Hockey started up again Friday night after a really long layoff. 90 minutes of 4v4 with only one guy on the bench. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t die. Looking forward to layering that into the mix.

    Good luck this week, peeps!

    • Ted S.

      I remember the second song, but not the first.

      The first one, recorded off a music video program, includes a promo for the the Communards, who are slightly fabulous.

      • limey

        Remember when Richard Coles lied to Jimmy Somerville about having AIDS? That guy is a vicar now, with a long and successful career in TV and radio. It’s kind of dismal music. Pro-Soviet, wasn’t it? Definitely pro-commie, hence the name. Jimmy Somerville was the talent, right?

  12. Mojeaux

    Resident Alien on SyFy is starting out promisingly.

    • Tres Cool

      Jugsy has found some streaming c̶e̶r̶v̶i̶x̶ service that has all seasons of Sanford & Son. Its been on most of the weekend.

      “Esther ? You so ugly, I could mash your face in dough and make gorilla cookies!”

      Try doing THAT on network TV in 2021.

  13. SP

    BTW, if any of you get to meet Chafed in person, you’ll love him even more. It was so cool that he came to our party!

    • Chafed

      *blushes*

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Forced Monkey Labor is the name of my third album.

      • But Enough About [this space intentionally left blank]

        Ah yes, the one you did during your Blue Period.

    • rhywun

      Monkey labor? Color me skeptical.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Monkeys are certainly smart enough to be trained to pick coconuts from trees.

        They’re probably more efficient at it than humans.

    • limey

      You mean calling out the Chinese? I think they probably do on various things. China has pretty poor standards for animal welfare. Libertarian paradise.

  14. trshmnstr the terrible

    Down to 287 from a smidge shy of 300 on new year’s day and from 292 last Sunday.

    The diet part is working really well. I have more energy, and I’ve gotten past the craving carbs stage.

    The workout part has been more challenging, but I’ve put in the time (4x45min this week) and have tweaked things to make it more effective. Rather than spending 30 minutes per day pounding the treadmill and 15 min lifting weights, wife gave me some 45 minute weightlifting workouts to use instead. After two days of those workouts, I feel like I’m making progress again.

    • Tundra

      Good work! How’s the sleep?

    • Tres Cool

      When I started my low-carb adventure in August 2018 (<50g-carb/day) for the 1st few days I would wake up with an annoying "ice cream headache" while my brains some adjustments, but that faded in about 20 minutes. For the initial 3 weeks, some weight loss but not a lot happened. I was walking 3-5 miles a day, and dusted off Jugsy's elliptical that Id use for 30 minutes or so. After the 3rd week, the weight came off fast- like 25 lbs. in 6 weeks.

      *YMMV- we're all individuals, like little snowflakes

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Sleep is good, the the baby is getting better at sleeping for longer stretches.

  15. mrfamous

    This week’s weight 176.5, 175.5, 174.5, 174, 173.5, 176*

    *The 176 was this morning, and it’s water weight after the party last night. It should drop off quickly.

    I have a six pack starting to take a little shape. Guessing I’m hovering near 15% body fat at this point, but that’s just a guess. Store most of my fat from my knees to the bottom of my stomach.

    • Chafed

      That explains your tight pants.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Rumblings

    California Republicans have consistently blasted Newsom’s actions on the coronavirus as they wage a campaign to oust him from office. Yet increasing and loud disapproval from those typically aligned with the governor in response to his ever-shifting course on vaccine policy and regional stay-at-home orders, his inability to reopen schools and poor communication on major decisions has exposed a vulnerability for Newsom. With the potential of a statewide recall election looming, the unhappiness expressed by Democratic officials and interest groups could be an indication of dissatisfaction among his base.
    Advertisement

    The presence of a campaign gathering signatures to force a special election in the fall has placed enormous pressure on Newsom and left his frustrated allies in a no-win situation. They can continue to privately voice frustrations over COVID-19 response to an administration they say doesn’t listen, or publicly call out Newsom and run the risk of adding fuel to the recall campaign.

    ——-

    “I would have loved to have a better understanding of the rationale behind a lot of these decisions and the data behind them, and I think the public should know that data as well,” Friedman said. “It would make people feel much more comfortable with the different executive actions that are handed down and the different orders. I would have loved it if months back, we really understood what was coming and that the public understood a little bit more.”

    Friedman said she’s not concerned that, by criticizing the governor’s actions, she could be boosting the recall campaign against Newsom. She opposes the recall and supports her fellow Democrat, but said she also has a responsibility to “voice the concerns of my community.”

    “I think that what’s going to hurt Newsom in the end more than anything is not people speaking out, but him failing,” Friedman said. “So the best way that I can keep him from being recalled is to help him succeed.”

    Kimberly Nalder, a political scientist at Cal State Sacramento, said recall proponents could try to tap into discontent among some organized labor groups, Democratic lawmakers and others, but noted that will be extremely difficult because many perceive efforts to oust Newsom solely to be the work of far-right groups. If that perception changes, however, Newsom’s base of support could erode.

    Nazis. Just remember, the answer is always Nazis.

    • rhywun

      It sounds like California needs to learn a thing or two from Cuomo on how to properly run a one-party state. “Recall elections”? *snort*

      • hayeksplosives

        The hypocrisy is what is starting to sink him with his base. Getting caught keeping his own winery open when the others had to close, getting caught living the dolce vida at a swank restaurant while his vassals crowd into shanty towns built on sidewalks and alleys for “outdoor dining”, closing down all public entertainment except for his own private concerts etc.

        It’s pretty blatant.

        What has my democrat coworkers pissed off at him are the school closures imposed by the state even when schools and parents had figured out distancing and sanitation pretty well and were ready to open in September.

        He’s fucking up.

      • limey

        *Dolce Vita

        /TedS

      • juris imprudent

        Fucking up? He’s giving them exactly what any sentient creature could’ve expected. The problem is non-sentients dominate CA voting.

    • Ted S.

      There are Republicans in California?

    • limey

      Smash all of them, assuming #30 is a bad photoshop and can in fact digest solid food.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Hnngghhh…

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      1 and 15.

      All of them are hot, but I need cute too. The willingness to look like a real woman instead of an Instagram model.

      Someone who looks like the girl next door instead of a girl trying to become an influencer.

    • DEG

      #27 has a nice iChive gallery.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Kimberly Nalder, a political scientist at Cal State Sacramento, said recall proponents could try to tap into discontent among some organized labor groups, Democratic lawmakers and others, but noted that will be extremely difficult because many perceive efforts to oust Newsom solely to be the work of far-right groups. If that perception changes, however, Newsom’s base of support could erode.

    “People want someone to blame for how uncomfortable their lives are right now,” Nalder said.

    I blame the Nazis.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Icky people… icky people everywhere

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Kimberly Nalder, a political scientist at Cal State Sacramento, political scientist at Cal State Sacramento, professional liar

    • blackjack

      How about we blame all of the government’s problems on the people in charge of the fucking government? How about we blame the homeless problem on the people who enable the homeless and steal our money so they can give it their well connected friends? How about we blame the people who keep promising to spend ever more of OUR FUCKING money on the winos who are stealing our sidewalks and shitting in our yards? How about we blame the people who let a bunch of convicts steal 30 billion fucking dollars? Yeah, there’s plenty enough blame to kick that douchebag out of office. That’s why they are getting so many signatures. No, let’s blame right wing kooks, it’s working well for the feds right now.

  18. hayeksplosives

    Chafed, It’s always good to hear other Californian prisoners share their woes so I don’t think I’m going crazy.

    We are hitting the 30s for overnight temperatures routinely now too. Lots of rain last week and even yesterday. Unfortunately I seem to have a leak in the roof: a little water is getting in and running along conduit in the wall, dripping slowly off a light fixture that’s mounted to said wall. Got a guy coming out tomorrow to assess the damage.

    Gavin’s rather arbitrary actions are starting to chafe even the liberals about here. I’m afraid that the reason Newsom continues to be a cunte is that he has the recall qualification rigged or has the vote itself rigged.

    It will be very instructive to observe whether, if the petition qualifies to trigger a recall, they insist on mail in votes again or require people to go to polling places in person.

      • Chafed

        Absolutely. This state can’t maintain what it built. Our aqueduct system is aging badly. I won’t be surprised if at some point we have a sudden crisis that was decades in the making.

      • hayeksplosives

        Even if a new tax passed for the purpose of repairing roads, bridges, power lines, water reservoirs etc, the money would just be used to pay double and triple dipped pensions for the old noble public servants for the rest of their days.

      • rhywun

        If your state is anything like mine – and I think it is – your dedicated public servants who were supposed to be maintaining that stuff over the years were instead watching TV, lounging on beaches, and other variations of not doing their fucking jobs because why would you do work when you have zero chance of losing your job.

      • hayeksplosives

        Yup. Public sector unions are from de debil.

      • juris imprudent

        The big one is going to hit that old, decrepit infrastructure hard.

        Which will be blamed on Republicans.

      • hayeksplosives

        Well, duh. Republicans cause global warming, and that upsets Gaia so she takes her revenge out through earthquakes.

        Don’t you even science, bro?

      • blackjack

        Meh, that shit’s been happening for all of my life. Pch is a precarious fucking highway. There’s alway a portion of it falling like that. What’s news is how uncommon it’s been for awhile.

    • Chafed

      I think he knows there is a slow, subtle erosion in his base. He is concerned it will gain momentum and turn into a landslide. The former Facebook executive who called him out and will run against him is one indicator. I have no illusions we will get good government. Only that we will get rid of this prick.

      • rhywun

        This has to be eating him up. He desperately wants to be president and this shit is just getting in his way. The poor thing.

      • Chafed

        When bad things happen to bad people.

      • zwak

        Most people vote dem because they expect things to get better with a, generally, liberalizing political environment. But that isn’t happening anymore. Things are just getting worse. Tech, which funds a lot of this BS is starting to pull up its roots now that the damage is showing and no new business base is coming in. I give CA no more than ten years before it has a complete Republican take over, as long as the eGOP doesn’t get involved.

    • commodious spittoon

      Gavin’s rather arbitrary actions are starting to chafe even the liberals about here.

      But they’ll continue blaming the conservatives in their midst, all eight of them.

  19. hayeksplosives

    I’ve never grown tomatoes from seed before; always bought plantlets about a foot tall already.

    But i just planted a bunch of seeds in those starter trays with the peat pellets. Three kinds of tomato, some basil, several pepper varieties, and cilantro, basil, and fenugreek.

    I am not sure I have enough light for them as they germinate indoors.

    Question: do the non-incandescent grow lights do any good? I don’t want to crate a warm spot that the car will want to lie in where my seedlings are.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Seriously, get a grow tent with lights. How you wish to grow them (in soil, hydroponics, aeroponics, etc) is up to you.

      You can use any type of lighting you wish.

      Yes, it will be warm, but the tent will keep the cat out.

      • hayeksplosives

        A grow tent?

        I’m off to search the web! Thanks.

      • pistoffnick

        I have a portable greenhouse that I usually start my seeds in. It keeps the cat and dog out. I think it cost less than $30. The problem is that my south facing windows still don’t get enough light, so the plants are all spindly.

        I recently bought an aluminized grow tent and a couple of Mars Hydro lights. I’m going to try starting my seeds in that this year.

        *jealous that you are starting seeds already,* I still have about 3 weeks before I plant pepper seeds

      • Fourscore

        I’ll wait ’til about mid-March on the peppers, April 1 for the tomatoes.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Yeah.

        It’s basically a small, closet sized tent that blocks external light.

        Some are fancier than others, with ventilation routes, heavier frames, etc.

        But as long as it blocks light, can hold your lights, and doesn’t put off toxic fumes that kill plants, you’re good.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I may or may not have grown, uh, flowers in one of these for several years.

    • Fourscore

      I use ordinary fluorescent tubes, actually the cheap shop light fixtures, but also in a warm spot, near a wood furnace. No natural light at all, ’til I start to harden them off. I stopped using the peat pellets and have gone totally to the peat pots (10s or 12s) I prefer the 10s.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        If you can move those lights to within 2-3” from the top of your plants you’ll have decent results.

        The problem with fluorescent lighting and plants is that they don’t have good lumen ratings, and don’t have good penetration. There just isn’t enough plant-useable light.

    • robodruid

      Not to mention Jack Spirco. He has a video on Kratcky hydroponics,
      It has a led grow light system that i am using now, works well.
      Asparagus, salad stuff in there right now.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    I won’t be surprised if at some point we have a sudden crisis that was decades in the making.

    Utterly unforeseeable, as well.

    • hayeksplosives

      Such a waste of a beautiful chunk of land truly blessed by God with natural bounty.

      It took super shitty government quite a while to find that spot where they made it no longer worth living here for thousands of people, but by cracky, they managed to find that spot alright.

      So what’s the next move?

      • limey

        Probably building a wall/militarised border to keep people in? People will be shot dead from watchtowers while trying to escape into Nevada.

      • hayeksplosives

        Many illegals have gone back to Mexico because they can’t get a job in this locked down society and the accompanying recession.

        People who lost their jobs or now have to pay for daycare, etc no longer can pay for luxuries like having a gardener/landscaper, painter,dogwalker, manicurist etc. So those guys go home.

        Fucking stimulus checks aren’t doing a damned thing.

      • juris imprudent

        beautiful chunk of land

        There is a joke among the French that God looked at France and realized He had created a perfect place, so he put Frenchmen there to make up for that.

  21. Part time punching bag

    Down almost 10 pounds this month. Holiday eating and, due to a back injury, a drastic reduction in activity right before Christmas had my weight up to 227. I’ve successfully rehabbed and have been able to start running again. The weight loss is mostly due to having doubled down on intermittent fasting and a significant reduction in drinking and desserts. I topped a 48 hour fast off with a 20 minute run around a local soccer field on Friday.

    Side note: my town installed a decoy wolf/coyote to discourage geese from landing in the playing field and it fooled me. In my defense it was dusk and a fog was settling in. I was frightened enough to keep an eye on it as I ran around but not smart enough to just leave.

    • hayeksplosives

      Lol@ the coyote decoy.

      At my old job in Minnesota, they put fake coyotes near the building for the same purpose. Most of the decoy was plastic, but the tail was some sort of brushy material so it moved a bit with the breeze.

      In the right light level, that slight movement gave it some realism.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    Twatter lynch mob, assemble!

    Supermarket chain Publix is seemingly trying to distance itself from heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli, who is one of Publix’s founder George W. Jenkins’ seven children, following reports that she was a key funder in the January 6 rally, which culminated in rioters storming the United States Capitol.

    ——-

    Following the article’s publication, some people called on Publix for a response to the heiress’ reported involvement. From the @PublixHelps account on Twitter, the company has distanced itself from Fancelli.

    The company’s official response, received by Newsweek, said that Fancelli isn’t an employee or a representative for the chain. It also denounced the violence at the Capitol. Publix’s statement can be found reads:

    Mrs. Fancelli is not an employee of Publix Super Markets, and is neither involved in our business operations, nor does she represent the company in any way. We cannot comment on Mrs. Fancelli’s actions.

    ——-

    Despite Publix attempting to distance itself from the heiress, some people on Twitter have still called for a boycott. “[P]rofits from this supermarket chain were used to fund Trump’s illegal & seditionist efforts at stealing the election & overthrowing our Constitutional Democracy,” reads one tweet that’s been shared over 1,000 times.

    Ineffectual rage. It’s the American way.

    • hayeksplosives

      Does this mean I have to get rid of my Buffalo Lodge hat?

    • Q Continuum

      OVER. 1,000. TIMES!

      Well shit in my Corn Flakes, a microscopic slice of the users of a service that represent a microscopic slice of the general populace agreeing with something a basement dwelling lunatic shared on said service is definitely worth a feature in Newsweek!

  23. limey

    Question: if you graduate from Hillsdale, or Texas A&M, or Brigham Young, or Jebediah Jovan College of the Appalachians, then go out into the world looking for work, is there a heavy discrimination against you especially in terms of positions at large companies, given the apparent culture shift therein? I may understand it wrong, but I have come across some pretty nasty stuff about Texas A&M being “a bunch of dumb rednecks”, etc, and Brigham Young facing similar dismissals from leftoids. Hillsdale is something I don’t fully understand, because there you have this institution that is absolutely, outwardly conservative, and classically liberal turning out all these graduates, and then where do they all go? They can’t all go and be junior research fellows at the Manhattan Institute, or the Heritage Foundation.

    • rhywun

      There are a zillion jobs in the private sector for those folks. Most companies don’t have the luxury of a Google or an Amazon to cherry-pick only wokesters.

    • Drake

      When there are people like me screening interns, resumes from those schools find their way to the top of the pile.

    • hayeksplosives

      Brigham Young has lots of non-Mormons enrolled, partly due to having good sports, but also the quality of the education. (85 Bears QB and “bad boy” Jim MacMahon is a BYU guy.)

      Different recruiters look for different attributes. The intelligence community gets interns from Texas, Oklahoma, and other “patriotic” states. Certain engineering employers get people from A&M and other land grant Universities that have traditional hands-on experience as part of the degree.

      It amazes me that Stanford U still has lots of good economists.

      In short, I don’t think people hold it against a candidate if he went to Patrick Henry U or something, as long as the college has a good reputation in the relevant field.

      Then again, I’ve only hired (and been hired) at technical companies.

    • juris imprudent

      Son has a PhD from A&M in bio-chem and has to shoo away recruiters. That’s without even touching on their alumni network.

      • hayeksplosives

        Tech sector tends to be a bit more pragmatic about seeking no-shit useful skills.

        Where to journalists come from nowadays? There used to be good journalism programs at some tech schools too but now that good research and reporting is all but dead, woke credentials are just as important (or more so) than skilled reporting.

      • DEG

        Where to journalists come from nowadays?

        Columbia School of Journalism. Duh.

      • Chafed

        So much this.

    • Mojeaux

      BYU grads have no problem much of anywhere. It’s got a bit of prestige to it. Furthermore, all those returned missionaries who speak foreign languages like a native come in very handy at CIA recruiting time.

    • Cowboy

      I guess it depends on the industry. I’m an Aggie, and all the engineers in my group are Ags. Plenty of representation from LSU and Texas Tech, and other lesser Texas schools in the other business groups. This is in chemical manufacturing.

      I will say that the Texas recruiters are doing a much better job pulling fresh grads than the others, though. Which is unfortunate because those folks are insufferable.

  24. Drake

    My wife made me chauffeur her to the mall due to the snowy weather. I just walked through Dick’s for the first time in probably 2 years. Not only is the gun counter gone, they don’t even sell bows, targets, or cleaning kits any longer.

    • hayeksplosives

      Same with Gander Mountain.

      I’m going to have to get creative about buying ammo for use in California.

      I looked into getting a license as a curio collector so I can buy here, but then I’m basically advertising that I have at least an inclination to purchase ammo, even though I don’t have any registered firearms.

      Even road tripping won’t work since I have a California driver’s license and some dealers won’t sell to us.

      My husband still has his Minnesota DL, so maybe…

      • Tejicano

        Maybe I haven’t been paying attention – are you sure you have to register firearms where you live? As I understand it you are still legal to bring them into the state when you are moving your residence although they cannot be one of the banned types. I have a buddy who lives up north of the bay area and we were trying to figure out the details of what handgun types are allowed and what are not – that still seems rather murky. But widespread registration did not seem to be an issue yet.

        Be aware that CA LEO’s have been known to drive over to gun shows in Nevada, looking for CA license plates in the parking lots. They then broadcast the license plate numbers to be pulled over and searched when those cars are back in CA. My buddy told me that people he’s heard about will park their cars someplace else then take a taxi to/from the gun show.

      • blackjack

        Yeah, that’s creative! It’s not illegal to possess ammo or even guns that are not registered. It’s illegal to import them. If one were stopped in his car ( minus the proof he attended a gun show hours earlier in a bordering state) and had a reasonable amount of ammo, it’d be a hard sell that that’s a violation of the ammo law. I know all of my guns that I lost in the boating accident were purchased in the early nineties, when the 2nd amendment still had some minor effect in CA. Therefore, no registration required and the worst one faces is enhanced penalties if caught violating some other gun laws.

      • blackjack

        Btw, I see no reason that anyone would have trouble buying a reasonable amount of ammo in any other state. The bordering states have no restrictions on sales. They might know what you’re up to, but I doubt they would care. They don’t require ID to buy ammo. I would recommend paying in cash, however. AND, driving the speed limit all the way home.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Man, fuck that.

        Get out now. I know it’s pretty. I know the weather is great.

        But get out. There are other pretty places with good weather.

      • Tejicano

        I’ve lived in California three times. The last time was so long ago that when I left I was driving my pick-up with a Norinco semi-auto AK in the gun rack – i had bought that AK at a San Jose gun show with all the standard extras (bayonet, sling, three 30 round magazines). No combination of love, sex, or money could get me to move back there now.

      • hayeksplosives

        But not ones willing to pay me for a full time job that will last for a couple more decades like I have here.

        There’s just something about giving up and leaving that the rebel in me resists.

      • Tejicano

        It didn’t feel like giving up when I left. It felt like getting free.

        And I’m probably the hardest hard-head around. Other Marines were calling me a die-hard long before anybody knew who Bruce Willis was. At my 20th high school reunion, while catching up with the wrestling team, they (the team) turned to me and each of them who had been near my weight class all talked about how they hated wrestling me because I simply never gave up.

        But I get the career issue. You have a specialty skill that probably only pays well in the geo area where you are. Like being proficient in Japanese – it doesn’t really payoff unless I am in Japan. And I have accepted the trade-offs for that.

    • Tejicano

      Yeah, if I ever feel the need to wander through a Dick’s while back in the US I’d be sorely tempted to tell the manager that the apostrophe is superfluous.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Oh man this guy is funny.

  25. westernsloper
  26. Muzzled Woodchipper

    Jeopardy has garbage for years, but hadn’t yet risen to the level of dumpster fire bad.

    And with this news, perhaps it’ll keep from turning in to one in the coming years.

    It’s seems exceptionally rare that someone would be disqualified for being too much of a liberal douche bag, but here we are….

    TV news journalist Katie Couric “lost out” on a bid to permanently host the venerable game show “Jeopardy!” amid backlash over her comment asking how to “deprogram the cult of Trump.”

    https://knewz.com/katie-couric-jeopardy-host/?link=TD_nypost_articles.7c7e0f416376f79f&utm_source=nypost_articles.7c7e0f416376f79f&utm_campaign=circular&utm_medium=KNEWZ

    • The Hyperbole

      They need to find someone, Ken Jennings is horrible.

      • creech

        I think he’s doing a fine job.

      • The Hyperbole

        He’s nervous, nerdy, and trying to be something he isn’t. Trebek was comfortable in the position of smug ‘know-it-all”, Jennings is forcing it and it shows.

    • limey

      I read something about LeVar Burton being considered, perhap?

      • commodious spittoon

        Don’t take his word for it.

    • rhywun

      I found it unwatchable the last time I tuned in ten or twelve years ago. Just too many stoopid laffy questions.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I haven’t seen it in years either. At least 10.

        But from what I gather, although the quality is down, it hadn’t yet devolved in to the Leftist Trivia Show that I’m sure a cunt like Couric would force.

        It’s also slightly encouraging that ABC won’t choose her BECAUSE they know that’s what she’d do, and they know their audience.

        Although it’s hard to see amongst the fog of war, but the left can only alienate and demonize 1/2 the country for so long. It simply can’t last forever. As much as companies are bending over backwards now, they still have a bottom line, and they’re not gonna risk 1/2 the country not being customers because of politics. We’re not talking about isolated groups of “white supremacists”, were talking about 1/2 of the country. That’s a lot of market share.

        It’s rampant now, but I’m confident there will be a swing, and those companies that are so eager to tow the left’s lion will at some point be left holding a wet bag filled with dog shit, as they cede their businesses that step in.