167 Comments

  1. Nephilium

    There are advantages to being locked into a mortgage.

    /grumbles about taxes and insurance still going up most years

    • UnCivilServant

      Mortgage? Oh yeah, I remember what that was like.

      You really should pay that off.

      • Rat on a train

        There are advantages to owning without a mortgage…

      • Nephilium

        Meh. The interest rate is low enough, inflation is high enough, and the returns on my investments are doing better than the interest I’m being charged. I’m in no rush.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        With a 2% mortgage and high inflation I’ll just stick to the regular payment plan.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Even online savings accounts are over 4% right now. That is a 2% spread.

    • SDF-7

      That and having to pay for the repairs yourself. Houses tend to appreciate… but Lord, they can drain funds in the nonce.

      • Rat on a train

        So far roof, hvac, driveway, …

      • WTF

        Having just spent $8,000 on a new roof, my wife asks me “So, is the house all done now?” I had to explain that houses are never “done”, they always need something or other to be worked on.

      • Banjos

        My favorite part of owning a house is improving it.

      • Rat on a train

        My favorite part of owning a house is improving it.
        A pending kitchen remodel will lighten the wallet significantly more than the patio we put in a couple years ago.

      • SDF-7

        Holy shit… where are you and what materials? $8k seems really low from my impressions (I need to get the roof done for the GA house and was mentally assuming it would be in the $20k range more likely than not… not a very big house, single story…). If I’m way overestimating, it would be good to know!

      • ZWAK came for the two-fisted tentacle-fighting, stayed for the crushing existential nihilism.

        Hell, there are a couple major ones I would like to do, but the wife freaks out at any proposed change. It’s a house, not an egg shell.

      • Banjos

        I did a partial kitchen remodel. The cabinets were driving me crazy, but when I saw how much new solid wood ones cost, I decided to just have them professionally painted and repaired instead and changed out a few appliances. It made it look like a whole new kitchen.

      • ZWAK came for the two-fisted tentacle-fighting, stayed for the crushing existential nihilism.

        A roof cost us around 10K here in Oregon, about 6 years ago. But, a 20′ fence section is costing me 4K six months ago.

        Covidiocy fucked up everything.

      • Rat on a train

        We extended the life of our kitchen years ago by painting the cabinets. We’re replacing to change the layout and swap the bottom cabinets for drawers. Half-shelf bottom cabinets are not good.

      • WTF

        SDF-7 – I’m in NJ about 10 miles outside of Manhattan. House is not very big, about 1,500 SF. The roofers stripped off the old roof, repaired some rotted wood, and got the new roof on all in one day.

      • SDF-7

        Thanks, WTF — I’ll definitely have some plywood to replace and flashing to install / re-install around the chimney and eaves. Hopefully much closer to your experience than my fears. Much obliged.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Last year was the Deck From Hell project. If my good friend hadn’t been the contractor, I would have been convinced I was being swindled. Everything went wrong that could go wrong. Didn’t help that 75% of the shit that went wrong was to comply with stupid housing regulations and a dick of an inspector.

        This year was a bathroom remodel. Everything went pretty well, but a major inconvenience.

      • Mojeaux

        My POS house drove me into bankruptcy, so I’m a happy renter.

      • Nephilium

        Pope Jimbo:

        The girlfriend and I have decided that the basement (aka secondary) bathroom is getting remodeled before we do anything to the main bathroom in the house. The problem is figuring out the best way to get it remodeled, as it was basically shoved into an area (the door frame that they put in is a non-standard size to make things more complicated).

      • Sean

        Just had the house and deck pressure washed. I think it was $700 ish. Pre covid it was under $300. Same people.

      • SDF-7

        Just had the house and deck pressure washed. I think it was $700 ish. Pre covid it was under $300. Same people.

        We really need the Biden “I did that!” pseudo-emoji available for mere mortals to embed in posts at times like this.

      • DEG

        Houses tend to appreciate

        Translation: The dollar is worth less.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Neph:

        The one thing wrong about our house is that it only has 1.25 bathrooms. So while the main one was getting worked on, we could still shit and piss, but had to go to the gym to shower.

        If I ran my house, I would have put in a new bathroom before remodeling the other one. But as you have heard, we remodeled first.

        The weird thing about this remodel was scheduling. If we had waited for a time where we could get all the various people (plumbers, drywallers, electricians, etc) at the same time it would have been in late July or August. Part of that is that the people we got were all reputable and in demand.

        So instead, we sort of got them as they had a day or two. My buddy is a contractor and did a lot of the work and managed the rest. Still we had almost a month of “rustic” bathroom.

      • Gustave Lytton

        $6k is the lowest quote so far to remove two trees.

  2. UnCivilServant

    Texas Asks Court to Block Federal Workplace Guidance on “Gender Identity”

    It’s going to be another case decided on procedural grounds rather than reviving Freedom of association and disassociation, isn’t it?

    • Drake

      Got revoked good and hard in the civil rights legislation.

  3. SDF-7

    Fani Willis to face hearing on removal from Georgia Trump case in October

    The wheels of justice turn slower than molasses in Alaska in January… sheesh, how hard can it be?

    (Yes, yes — I know this is actually good news for OMB as her show trial is paused until this is settled and there’s no way it will be done before voting starts which makes it a moot point in the lawfare scheme… but really — would it be so hard for judges to pick up the pace on things that need to be settled in a timely fashion instead of dragging things out? See also the Supremes taking 7 years to get to obvious rights violations by laws repeating things they just ruled against because “that’s the process!”)

    Morning Banjos… morning in memoria Harold Lloyd. Morning the rest of ya non-dead reprobates (and to our Undead Pie as well, though that’s probably “Evening”).

  4. SDF-7

    Ex-NIAID director passes buck on puppy experiments, weak evidence for COVID rules

    Ugh… thanks for that reminder. So, so many reasons to despise that lying sack of shit.

  5. UnCivilServant

    🥳

    I have lavender sprouts. Now if I can keep them alive…

    • SDF-7

      I’m sure there’s a pharmaceutical for that. Ask your doctor if LavSproutnic is right for you!

  6. SDF-7

    Texas Asks Court to Block Federal Workplace Guidance on “Gender Identity”

    As much as I despise the Jim Crow era laws and the past blatant racism of humankind (well, and both the blatant and more subtle racism today, because humans are inherently fallen jerks unfortunately) — the Civil Rights Act and the expansion of “harassment” it has led us to (“hate speech isn’t free speech!”) should really have fallen afoul of the obvious “Congress Shall Make No Law”. Good intentions trump the letter of the law too often — and we end up in shitholes like this where one political wing decides not indulging in someone’s mental delusion is harassing them. Yay.

    • ZWAK came for the two-fisted tentacle-fighting, stayed for the crushing existential nihilism.

      Shit ain’t subtle today, it is as blatant as Jim Crow.

  7. trshmnstr

    Renters and Owners Live in Separate Economies

    I imagine this effect always exists to some degree, but it’s not at all a surprise that the effect would be amplified in an environment of high inflation and interest rates. There’s another split hidden in the data. Those who bought their house pre-pandemic are doing much better than those who bought during or after the pandemic.

    Turns out that having a housing cost that’s 25% of take home is much more manageable than 55%.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Agreed. Since we are effectively two state homeowners, with the lower interest rate home being rented to teens, we are stretched but not thin. The minute they don’t pay though the house goes. Vegas market is still stupidly high but that is good for us especially since it’s Cali expats coming in with cash

  8. Not Adahn

    “And we now have four White men running three newsrooms.”

    Cope and/or seethe.

    • WTF

      Lefties shocked to discover being a white male is not being treated as an automatic disqualification.

    • Vida Hobo

      Was coming to post exactly the same line. Gee, maybe these sorts of biases have something to do with the huge drop in readership.

    • juris imprudent

      Since when does white, particularly for male, get capitalized? That sounds like the Freudian slip of a closet white-patriarchal supremacist!

      • Not Adahn

        It’s Faux Nooz letting their white supremacist flag fly.

  9. OBJ FRANKELSON

    WaPo boss sounds alarm over dwindling audience in heated staff meeting: ‘People are not reading your stuff’

    We told people to eff off, whycome they effing off?

    • juris imprudent

      Struggle sessions work much better at gunpoint WaPo, or at least with people that want to submit to your stupidity.

  10. Not Adahn

    This week’s match is going to be brutal. First shots at 08:00, end at 18:20. With 20 minutes for lunch. I really hope there is shade.

    • ZWAK came for the two-fisted tentacle-fighting, stayed for the crushing existential nihilism.

      That’s nutz. Are you officiating it?

      • Not Adahn

        Shooting it on Thursday, officiating it Fri/Sat/Sun.

        The paying competitors have the option of shooting it over the course of two days. Evil Sheldon is shooting it in one day Sunday.

      • EvilSheldon

        I’m seriously thinking about swallowing what’s left of my pride, and getting a range cart. Christ, I feel old…

      • Not Adahn

        For a match this size, I gotta bring a beach wagon to carry everything.

      • EvilSheldon

        Well, I just did it. My Zuca disc golf cart should be here Thursday.

      • Not Adahn

        Ah, you went with them directly rather than S3?

  11. juris imprudent

    Oh so Menendez’s wife isn’t getting the Democratic nomination? Shame, that would’ve been amusing.

    Running as an independent (even incumbent) strips him of the stupid blind party loyalists, so the majority of his support. NJ may just elect themselves a Republican. Thanks Bob! [For all the good another establishment Republican in the Senate does.]

    • Nephilium

      You’d be surprised, both Kucinich and Trafficant got solid numbers as independents. And both were at least as retarded as Menendez.

    • Drake

      That would be very funny. Is he in the long seat?

    • WTF

      No Republican will ever get elected senator in NJ. Way too many automatic D votes.

      • R C Dean

        Votes, or ballots?

      • Drake

        They had to manufacture an extra 30k votes for Murphy in Bergen County to get him “re-elected” in 2021. Split the Dem vote 2 ways and it might be too big a deficit to fudge.

      • Drake

        My point is that if Russia or China staged a coup in Mexico and started building bases there, we wouldn’t tolerate it for a day. But we’re too stupid to understand why the Russians are upset about the same thing.

  12. cavalier973

    “Democrats are demanding jail time for Trump.”

    “Oh, please, please, don’t throw me into that briar patch!”

    • WTF

      “Democrats are demanding jail time for Trump.”

      I wonder if that could be the thing that actually starts the ball rolling toward a real civil war. Or at least the start of a national breakup.

      • cavalier973

        It doesn’t need to go kinetic.

        The best thing to happen would be for people to start ignoring the rules that aren’t really rules, and to maintain their tempers.

        “I don’t care what you say. Good bye.”

      • R C Dean

        Irish democracy.

        The Dems really have their ass in a crack, here. Defer sentencing, or even house arrest (maybe), and their hard left base goes nuts. House arrest or jail, and Trump’s numbers go through the roof.

        I am amuse.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Irish democracy.

        Is that like regular democracy, but with whiskey?

      • Nephilium

        OBJ FRANKELSON:

        Just in case

        If regular democracy isn’t doing so well, maybe it’s time to fall back on “Irish Democracy.”

        That’s what Yale political scientist James Scott calls the passive resistance of a society that doesn’t like what its rulers are doing to it. In his book “Two Cheers for ­Anarchy,” he writes, “One need not have an actual conspiracy to achieve the practical effects of a conspiracy. More regimes have been brought, piecemeal, to their knees by what was once called ‘Irish Democracy,’ the silent, dogged resistance, withdrawal and truculence of millions of ordinary people, than by revolutionary vanguards or rioting mobs.”

        And not everything Irish involves whiskey. I mean, there’s cabbage and beer too.

      • trshmnstr

        Irish Democracy requires people who are willing to feel a pinch in furtherance of a greater goal. I see zero evidence that the right has that particular character trait. How many capitulated and got the shot to avoid the being laid off? And we expect them to hold a blockade against fedgov for some loudmouth on their TVs?

  13. Ownbestenemy

    Netherlands, Denmark and the US all tell Ukraine bomb Russia..

    At least some of my facilities have cinderblock/concrete and lead paint for me to hide out in.

    • rhywun

      Amused that Russia is currently banned from a big soccer tournament (Euros) but I don’t recall same from any other country in recent memory who started shit.

      Amusingly, their tennis players are listed as being from “World”.

      • Drake

        I’m sure their Olympic athletes will catch similar crap, which didn’t stop Macron from proposing a ceasefire during the games.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        In cycling races the standings usually show a country flag by the rider’s name. Russians get a blank space. So stupid.

      • trshmnstr

        I’m sure their Olympic athletes will catch similar crap

        They already have due to the state sponsored doping system in Sochi.

    • Drake

      The plan is to outsource losing the Russian war to the Euros while we lose a war to China. It’s all 4d chess, don’t try to understand.

      • WTF

        Hey, the Chinese may be able to kick our asses, but they are WAY behind on pronouns!

    • Not Adahn

      Bidens position on UKR and Israel are the same: claim to support them, give them weapons, then forbid them to use them in a way that would let them win. This is called “being a statesman.”

      I can’t wait for him to announce “Ukraine’s” plan to end the war: give Russia everything they want, plus we shovel money at them to rebuild.

      • Drake

        There are no weapons in existence that would allow the Ukraine to win. There are some that would turn it into a world war, possibly nuclear.

      • rhywun

        “we shovel money at them to rebuild”

        We’re gonna need a bigger laundromat than just Gaza.

      • Not Adahn

        I have no idea what Putin’s “this ain’t worth it” threshold is, but letting him stage everything conveniently close to the border keeps the Ukes from approaching it though. Ships are a fuckton more vulnerable to ground-based weapons than the other way around, though the Russian navy hasn’t needed to worry about that.

      • Drake

        What would be our “it’s not worth fighting it” threshold to let China and Russia put military bases, some with nukes, in Mexican bases along our border?

      • Not Adahn

        You think we’d annex Chihuahua, Sonora and Coahuila, while making a push for Mexico City?

        Work on your analogies.

      • Not Adahn

        I mean, fuck, this isn’t even a theoretical! This already happened and when it did, we did NOT attempt to capture Cuba.

      • juris imprudent

        Heh-heh-heh Drake, the gloves would drop quicker than an NHL game.

      • Not Adahn

        What’s your argument here Drake? Because Russia can’t tolerate having NATO on their border, they’re entitled to conquer territory to move their border to NATO? Do you even make sense to yourself?

      • Gustave Lytton

        letting him stage everything conveniently close to the border

        See also: training camps and CSS in Poland and Germany that aren’t being shelled daily

      • juris imprudent

        We told Putin we wouldn’t expand NATO in the direction of Russia. We lied. NATO existed to counter the Soviet Union. When that Union dissolved, so too should NATO have gone away. Instead it found a new reason to exist, and why should Russia (not just Putin) quietly accept that?

      • Not Adahn

        NATO moving to Russia = bad. Russia moving to NATO = good? Really?

      • Drake

        We did

      • Drake

        Damn threads.

        We went to the very edge of nuclear war over Cuba.

        If they staged a coup in Mexico, our Leaders would cry “Monroe” and send in the army.

      • Not Adahn

        We threatened war with the USSR. We did NOT conquer/annex Cuba.

        There is a difference between “will not tolerate” and “therefore everything we do is justified.”

        It’s that same kind of “He violated the NAP therefore I can murder him, rape is wife and burn down his house with his kids trapped inside” nonsense that I presume(?) you wouldn’t tolerate in other circumstances.

        Should NATO invade Russia to take revenge for the atrocities to member countries perpetuated by Ivan and Catherine? We can’t tolerate that sort of thing, after all.

      • Contrarian P

        Ummmm…we did try to conquer/annex Cuba. The mission failed and we didn’t try again.

        I’m pretty sure that we would have invaded during the Cuban missile crisis but for three things:

        1. The possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. If we had attacked Cuba there’s a very real chance the USSR would have come in and nuclear weapons would have been deployed.

        2. The failure of the Bay of Pigs. We figured out that Castro actually did have the support of the country and any invasion would be very difficult. It also eliminated the fig leaf that Cuban nationalists did the invading. Couldn’t do that one again.

        3. The timetable. The crisis unfolded over a short period. There simply wasn’t time to plan, stage, supply, and execute an amphibious attack before the whole thing was over.

  14. Not Adahn

    ES:

    Package arrived, I called the hotel and they’re holding it.

    • EvilSheldon

      Excellent, I hope they do the job for you!

      • Not Adahn

        I’ll bring a production box to make sure, and thank you so much!

  15. Derpetologist

    Random science idea:

    A Tesla coil makes a high-voltage arc of electricity. If that arc crossed a spark gap and entered a torus-shaped antenna, it would create an electromagnetic pulse. The range would be limited by the inverse square law unless it was mounted on a missile that passed near the target.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-electronics_High_Power_Microwave_Advanced_Missile_Project

    ***
    On October 22, 2012, Boeing announced a successful test of the missile.[3] CHAMP disabled seven different targets before self-destructing over empty desert.[4][5]

    The U.S. Air Force expected to have technology for a steerable counter-electronics weapon “available” in 2016, when a multi-shot, multi-target, high-power microwave (HPM) package would be tested aboard an AGM-86 ALCM. By the mid-2020s, HPM weapons are expected to be integrated onto a “JASSM-ER-type weapon,” and on small reusable platforms like the F-35 Lightning II and unmanned aerial vehicles. HPM weapons may be desired in situations where one target building needs to be engaged and shut down, while not affecting the buildings around it. Other potential improvements could include increasing autonomy and putting it on hypersonic missiles.[6]

    The CHAMP is superior to other electronic warfare weapons because it destroys electronics, rather than jamming which temporarily affects systems that come back online when it stops being applied. Congress has suggested repurposing excess cruise missiles demilitarized under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to turn them into CHAMP weapons without violating it.[7] On 14 May 2015, the Air Force nominated the Lockheed Martin JASSM-ER as the optimal air vehicle to carry the CHAMP payload.[8] CHAMP is capable of up to 100 shots per sortie.[9]

    In May 2019, it was revealed the Air Force had deployed at least 20 CHAMP-equipped missiles.[10]
    ***

    So basically my idea is to use a Tesla coil rather than a magnetron to make the EMP.

    • Derpetologist

      from phsyics.stackexchange

      ***
      The Tesla coil is technically an air gap resonant transformer, So as a transformer you have a primary and secondary side of the transformer and the respective circuits. The primary side of the Tesla coil consists of the transformer coil (inductance), a capacitor and some means of switching or commutating of the primary circuit high voltage current. And it’s in this switching mechanism that determine if you can obtain EMP output from your coil.

      In some Tesla coils the switching is done electronically; a semiconductor switch is operated by an oscillator to interrupt the high voltage through the primary circuit. For this type of switching you may be able to create EMP, but if the LC time constant of the primary is significantly larger than the oscillator switching frequency, the EMP may not be of sizable strength.

      Other coils create switching using a fixed spark gap. By these means two high voltage electrodes complete the primary circuit by arranging two high voltage electrodes (tungsten or carbon are often used) so that the voltage is able to jump the gap continuously. The gap produces essentially wide band, random switching, but the LC primary acts as a resonant filter, admitting primarily the design frequency of the circuit. For this design you essentially do not get a ‘pulse’ but rather wide band electromagnetic noise.

      A third mechanism is a mechanically commutating switch. A motor drives a circular arrangement of high voltage electrodes that rotate and periodically approach a fixed electrode where a spark will fire. Like the electronic switch commutation, this means of switching also, if not matched to the LC of the primary may not produce a sizeable EMP. But if the rotational rate adjusted just right a sizable EMP can be produced.
      ***

  16. Necron 99

    Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer

    She emphasized that her office will continue to deliver the constituent services they “deserve and expect.”

    Good an hard, I’m sure. I don’t wish that horrid disease on anyone.

    • Nephilium

      In the spirit of cooperation, I want her to only have the best medical care. I nominate Dr. Fauci (as the SCIENCE) to be her only doctor during these difficult times so that she can truly trust that she’s under the best of care.

    • The Last American Hero

      I vote we ship her to England so she can experience single payer healthcare.

  17. pistoffnick (370HSSV)

    On this day in 2004, a man finally had more than he could take. He slowly backed the Komatsu D355A bulldozer which he had armored with steel and concrete out of his muffler shop. He then plowed through the Granby, Colorado town hall and the mayor’s house.

    I don’t know if Marvin Heemeyer should be celebrated or not, but I think there are lessons that politicians and others could learn from this incident.

    • creech

      Well, twenty years on there is no dearth of pols acting evil, and a shortage of “woodchippers” being employed, so I guess no lessons were learned.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Lessons were learned; alone in your crusade and the State will crush you.

  18. DrOtto

    I assume by “independent” Menendez means ‘the highest bidder’.

      • juris imprudent

        The bigger question for the bidder – will he stay bought?

  19. Sean

    I played https://squaredle.com/xp 06/04:
    *20/20 words (+3 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 3% by bonus words

    I played https://squaredle.com 06/04:
    *28/28 words (+14 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 1% by bonus words
    🔥 Solve streak: 355

    • SDF-7

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 06/04:
      *20/20 words
      🎯 Perfect accuracy

      I played https://squaredle.com 06/04:
      *28/28 words (+4 bonus words)
      🎯 Perfect accuracy
      🔥 Solve streak: 173

      Solve streak must be cookie based somewhere that didn’t really translate over…. trying to use Linux more (in anticipation of Windows Recall coming out and then being made mandatory… no thank you, Redmond) and while everything else seems to have auto-tracked just fine, that value is much lower than it should be. Ah well.

      • Sean

        I thought it was account based.

        I seem to get consistent tracking between my Kindle and my work PC.

    • R C Dean

      I was just thinking, literally minutes ago, that I might include a car detailing section in my next Random Thoughts piece. Trying to keep a black car from looking like absolute crap will do that.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Not to steal your thunder, but just watch a chrisfix youtube video on detailing.

      • Sean

        I’m pretty well situated for vehicles at the moment, but I don’t think I’ll ever own another black vehicle. I understand the struggle. 😉

    • Timeloose

      I use this stuff to wash my motorcycles instead of a hose and sponge. I also use it on my helmet visors. It is great on decal racing stripes instead of wax.

      https://a.co/d/g6LnqCP

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Hurtful words

    Santino Ferrucci is apologizing for his fiery comments spoken to NBC after Saturday morning’s practice session at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

    The testy words were in response to on-track clashes with Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta, and a heated pit-lane exchange with Kirkwood, that included a dig at Herta, who the A.J. Foyt Racing driver referred to as Kirkwood’s “little boyfriend teammate.”

    Ferrucci’s shot at Herta drew the ire of the series, which admonished the 26-year-old and “expressed its displeasure” with the Connecticut native.

    “Man, I just apologize for the comments,” Ferrucci told RACER. “I was very out of line, very out of pocket, especially in Pride Month. It’s not at all what I want to convey as myself, and I’d like to hold myself in a better light.”

    What do you expect? He drives for A J Foyt.

    • R C Dean

      “My bad. I meant to call him a little bitch, but in the heat of the moment it just came out wrong.”

      • juris imprudent

        Wait a minute, we are talking Formula “un”, right?

  21. The Late P Brooks

    “With all the tensions going on, after all that stuff happened, I just let my emotions get the better of me in that interview,” Ferrucci added.
    “And now I just want to really apologize to the [LGBTIQA+] community, and to Colton and to Kyle for that.”

    Ferucci isn’t exactly the he-manly-est guy in the pit lane.

  22. The Other Kevin

    Fauci really is worse than a cartoon villain. He spent the whole pandemic in front of cameras gloating about how he’s “the science” and what he says goes, then when it’s time to take responsibility he’s just poor little Anthony who didn’t know about anything. What total POS.

    “Congressional Dems Apparently Want To ‘Biden-Proof’ Their Campaigns”
    This isn’t going to work, for the same reason replacing Biden won’t work. Every shitty Biden policy is a Democrat policy, and they fought tooth and nail to back him up at every turn. Now they’re going to denounce every one of their own policies? I don’t see them doing that, and if they do, nobody’s going to fall for that. Plus they’ll piss off their own base if they do.

    • The Last American Hero

      Biden wins slightly on Election Day, resoundingly after fortification efforts, Dems retain the senate and the house is a toss up. Who’s not falling for something?

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Profits are for capitalists

    At a turbulent staff meeting Monday, Lewis said it would be “nuts” to continue doing business as it has been done. He pointed to the losses the paper has endured of late — $77 million last year, by his account, leading to layoffs of nearly 13% of staff during 2023.

    “We are going to turn this thing around, but let’s not sugarcoat it: it needs turning around,” Lewis said. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience is halved. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.” While praising the integrity of the Post’s news reporting, Lewis also ripped the paper’s handling of social media.

    The Washington Post isn’t written for the general public. It’s the in house newsletter of the Deep State.

    • Translucent Chum

      I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Malaysia Flight 370 is delayed.

  24. The Other Kevin

    Good morning everyone! I’m back from the North Woods and our final hockey tournament of the season. It didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. We went 1-2-1 and ended up fourth out of eight. On our last game our team imploded and everyone got pissed at each other. Not good teamwork, so we need to work on that. But we did have a nice time and hit all the good restaurants (and found a few new ones). Next year we’re planning on skipping Nationals and sending two teams to Minnesota.

    I did get to see our own Pope, who watched us lose twice. But we finally got to sit down and have lunch and chat, and I found out all the good things Tundra says about him are true. Thanks for coming out Jimbo, I appreciate it.

    • R C Dean

      “Thanks for coming out Jimbo, I appreciate it.”

      Well, it is Pride Month.

      • Sean

        *snicker*

      • The Other Kevin

        Oh, you two…

      • Pope Jimbo

        They’re just jelly TOK. Don’t pay them no mind.

    • Pope Jimbo

      lol. I disavow anything Tundra might have said. I don’t even need to know the specifics, just my blanket policy.

      It is always fun watching you guys. I’ll take the full blame for your misfortunes. Any team that has me for a fan is doomed to failure and disappointment. It’s my superpower.

      For the rest of you, if TOK is ever around make time to meet him. Great guy. His charity work with the lowest of the low (aka we had lunch) is sure to make him a first ballot Saint.

      The sled hockey is pretty fun to watch. They were playing at what is known as the “Super Rink”. Last weekend there were several tourneys going on. While I was watching a game a normie walked buy and stopped when there was a big check in the corner. He started watching and asking me questions. His comments were:

      “Holy cow, they really hit don’t they?”

      “That little girl out there gives as good as she gets doesn’t she” (He had just watched one of TOK’s teammates take out an opponent as he was trying to break away for a shot. She was about half his size, but she still managed to ride him off the puck.

      My only disappointment was that TOK’s team was really nice and pretty wholesome. I expected lunch to be a bunch of animals drinking beer out of a dirty helmet or something. Instead it was a bunch of nice kids (and TOK) who were really nice and didn’t haze me at all.

      • Nephilium

        My only disappointment was that TOK’s team was really nice and pretty wholesome. I expected lunch to be a bunch of animals drinking beer out of a dirty helmet or something.

        They only do that when they win.

      • The Other Kevin

        As I mentioned to Jimbo this weekend, we’re mostly playing on someone else’s dime. Our team pays for tournament fees, our travel expenses, and hotels, we just have to buy our own food. There have been a few unfortunate incidents over the years that make great stories, but make our program look bad, and our coach’s threats have apparently been taken to heart.

        That being said, our locker room talk is plenty vile and we do enjoy a few beverages (or 6) back at the hotel. One guy is all about red wine, another is really into whiskey. And one guy brings the edibles (only as a sleep aid, of course).

    • DEG

      t didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. We went 1-2-1 and ended up fourth out of eight.

      Ouch.

      But we finally got to sit down and have lunch and chat, and I found out all the good things Tundra says about him are true. Thanks for coming out Jimbo, I appreciate it.

      Excellent.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    That new division — called the “third newsroom” after news and editorial pages — is to focus on new revenue streams such as micropayments (such as for individual articles), the paper’s coverage of climate and wellness, and new forms of journalism, such as video narratives on social media.

    They’ll be awash in revenue in no time.

    What they really need is an organ grinder and a monkey in a bellhop’s uniform.

    • Not Adahn

      First they’ll need a lie-sonce for the minky.

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Huzzah

    California politicians already enjoy close relationships with their Mexican counterparts and have agreements in place to work on a host of climate issues, including drought, land conservation, recycling and cross-border truck emissions. But Californians are hoping Sheinbaum — an engineer by training who worked on the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports — will bring more of a sense of urgency to the issue, especially around clean energy and transportation.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom was among the California officials sharing snaps of themselves Monday with Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor who has California ties. As a Ph.D. candidate in the 1990s, she spent four years at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researching energy use in Mexico’s transportation sector while her then-husband, Carlos Ímaz, pursued graduate studies at Stanford.

    Mexico has been a top target of Newsom’s international climate diplomacy efforts. The state has signed four climate agreements with Mexican officials since he took office in 2019.

    The governor of California negotiates international treaties?

    • dbleagle

      Of course he does. Just like with Obama there is no need to submit them to the Senate for ratification.

    • rhywun

      Might as well. California-crazy always goes national anyway.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Textbook

    Former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said the “levels of vitriol” in the county and in Congress, particularly Tuesday’s incident with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), is “really quite unfortunate.”

    Facui joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to discuss his Monday testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. He was the face of the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response while leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

    “I have testified literally hundreds of times over the last 40 years over Congress, and there’s always been differences of opinion, differences of ideology, criticisms and things like that,” Fauci said.

    “But the level of vitriol that we see now, just in the country in general, but actually played out during this hearing, was really quite unfortunate. Because the purpose of hearings [is] to try and figure out how we can do better so that next time, if and when we are faced with a pandemic, we’d be better prepared and we could benefit,” he continued.

    Yes, of course, you narcissistic sociopath. You are the One True Scientist, sent down to save the lower beasts, however ignorant and ungrateful.

    That guy should be in a padded cell, in a straitjacket.

    • SDF-7

      He was the face of the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response

      Oh, nice try disassociating him with the PPP crowd there…. Yes, I blame Trump (the germaphobe, so not that surprising) for a lot of the reaction, not reining in those assholes and still touting Warp Speed as a great idea (it was his, and nothing he does is bad I expect is the logic)… but he did a lot more shit under Biden too.

    • Sean

      But the level of vitriol that we see now, just in the country in general

      Yeah, who got us here? Huh? No mention of that, eh?

      • The Other Kevin

        It’s a real mystery why so many people are so angry at him. Must be those right-wing conspiracy nuts getting people riled up.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Congress dropped the ball here but I know its just for grandstanding and media clips. Real people testifying right next to that asshole would have been more effective at least in terms of pulling some “well I still believe” people onto the side that he is a creepy medical monster.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I mean one wonders why when you and your best buds are along watching a ball game while you advocated and demanded we could not. So fuck you.

    • juris imprudent

      Hubris isn’t a mental illness, just a persistent human condition. How is that the ancient Greeks understood this better than we do?

  28. Dr. Fronkensteen

    Sister and BIL’s dog passed away. I’m a sad dog uncle.

    • SDF-7

      Sorry about the pup, Doctor.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Not about his sister?

        Poor Fronksy. His sister and his BIL’s dog passed away and all you jerks do is talk about the dog.

      • SDF-7

        Well, obviously — she’s presumably not here to read my condolence notes is all. 😉

  29. Derpetologist

    News you can use: the phosphorus in cola is bad for kidney health

    ***
    Cola beverages, which are acidified with phosphoric acid, have been associated with urinary changes known to promote kidney stones. Current recommendations for patients with kidney disease or kidney stones include avoiding cola beverages,17,18 but there is limited evidence to support this recommendation.
    ***

    ***
    Does phosphorus damage the kidneys?
    Over time this can cause an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, or death. Aside from these dangerous effects, studies have also shown that high phosphorus levels may directly harm the kidneys and cause a loss of kidney function. This loss of function increases the risk for kidney failure.
    ***

    • Ownbestenemy

      High water intake can damage your kidneys. Stop drinking 3 44oz Super Big Gulps in a day.

    • rhywun

      1930’s teenagers in Kansas City hardest hit.

      • juris imprudent

        Well it did lead them astray.

  30. Nephilium

    NEVER FORGET!

    One brewery is doing their (second… third?) anniversary release for the day. Two 12 ounce beers (per person) of any of their sub 7% ABV beers for $0.10. Take that inflation numbers!

  31. The Late P Brooks

    Rhetorical sleight-of-hand

    The logjam on multiple fronts means that it may prove impossible for the US legal system to account for the alleged attempt by a former president to stay in power against the will of voters before he has the chance to win another mandate. In itself, the delay represents a significant threat to American democracy’s bid to save itself since it suggests that a future president who acted the same way Trump did might expect impunity.

    Trump’s avoidance of accountability over 2020 election interference — through a mixture of skilled litigation by his lawyers, some backfiring decisions by prosecutors and luck — would also hugely raise the stakes of November’s election.

    Things I dislike: the actions of an individual

    Things I want: the actions of “democracy” which are by definition righteous and just

    And of course, “skillful litigation” has nothing to do with being correct on points of law

    • Ownbestenemy

      The sluggish pace of Trump’s criminal trials contrasts with the efficiency of those facing Hunter Biden, who’s also due to face trial on tax charges in September.

      Well, no mention that they sat on them and timed them to all try to proceed once the election season started off in earnest. Nope, just was slow-walked.

      • The Other Kevin

        The recent “hush money” thing took place almost a decade ago. Look at how long that took to wind its way through the courts!

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I wonder if IndyCar will mandate rainbow flag stickers for all the cars, and have a drag queen kiss the winner at the next race.

  33. Pope Jimbo

    TPTB should be hiring only female squirrels to run the servers. They work harder and better and (I’m guessing) work for 72% of the acorns that the lazy males want.

    I start each morning with a workout to energize myself for the day. Today was no different. With my blood pumping, I played Beyoncé’s “Formation” and thought to myself, women are just really the best.
     
    So it seemed quite natural that today I also came across research from a team led by biologist Cory Williams of Northern Arizona University that examined the behavioral differences of male and female Arctic squirrels in Alaska. Published in Royal Society Open Science, their work found that female squirrels tend to spend less time above ground finding food, probably because they have to care for their offspring in nests underground. When they aren’t underground, though, they’re more active than their male counterparts.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      “It is not clear what [the males] are doing while above ground,” the authors write. “The additional time spent above ground may be simply to loaf/bask in the sun.”

      Good science.

  34. Derpetologist

    Today I learned:

    ***
    Not to be confused with Tesla coil.

    A Marx generator is an electrical circuit first described by Erwin Otto Marx in 1924.[1] Its purpose is to generate a high-voltage pulse from a low-voltage DC supply. Marx generators are used in high-energy physics experiments, as well as to simulate the effects of lightning on power-line gear and aviation equipment. A bank of 36 Marx generators is used by Sandia National Laboratories to generate X-rays in their Z Machine.
    ***

    ***
    The Z Pulsed Power Facility, informally known as the Z machine or Z,[1] is the largest high frequency electromagnetic wave generator in the world and is designed to test materials in conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. It was originally called the PBFA-II and was created in 1985. Since its refurbishment in October 1996[2] it has been used primarily as an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research facility. Operated by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it gathers data to aid in computer modeling of nuclear weapons and eventual fusion pulsed power plants.

    Due to the extremely high voltage, the power feeding equipment is submerged in concentric chambers of 2 megalitres (2,000 m³) of transformer oil and 2.3 megalitres (2,300 m³) of deionized water, which act as insulators. Nevertheless, the electromagnetic pulse when the machine is discharged causes impressive lightning, referred to as a “flashover”, which can be seen around many of the metallic objects in the machine.
    ***

    Unrelated thought: is there a relevant difference between populism and democracy?

    ***
    Populism is a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of “the people” and often juxtapose this group with “the elite”.[1] It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment.[2] The term developed in the late 19th century and has been applied to various politicians, parties and movements since that time, often as a pejorative. Within political science and other social sciences, several different definitions of populism have been employed, with some scholars proposing that the term be rejected altogether.[1][3]’
    ***

    • EvilSheldon

      Legit LOL.

    • DEG

      I like it.

  35. UnCivilServant

    Took my car to the wash to get the pollen off.

    By tomorrow it’ll be covered in bird crap.

    It’s a law of nature.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Experts baffled

    Far-right, populist parties are set to see significant gains, as a rising tide of euroskepticism ripples through the European Union, with major implications for the bloc’s future policy agenda, legislation and broader foreign policy.

    “We are seeing a rise in populist sentiment both in Europe and globally, which might result in the most right-wing European Parliament in history,” Tim Adams, president and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, told CNBC via email.

    Just look at all the awesome things Brussels has achieved!

    • Not Adahn

      Adorable baby cabbages?

  37. Evan from Evansville

    Evan has had a brainwave. There are several places around hiring and training phlebotomist. I’ve kinda thought about it for a while. Stable work and plenty of it. “Things are easier the less you know about them,” yes. I have terrible penmanship but fairly good hands. Really only worry is ‘hidden’ veins. I have no blood, squeamish side and I’m legit ridiculously good around folk (when I am not the initiator). I am largely clueless in life, like we all start, but I catch on quick.

    Hrm. It’s like $1000 total for 12-days if (Mon-Fri) training. It would be a long-term, can-find-anywhere gig, and for my sensibilities, pretty ideal for my abilities/sensibilities. I will investigate. On its face, it still sounds like quite a perfect fit for me. Full-time, reliable, valuable everywhere in the States+, and after the deed and paperwork, not much for Ev the Phlebotomist to decide. *Raises hand* Yep. That’s Me. I’m guessin’ I’m missing much, as everyone always does.