Busy weekend. Daughter had another birthday come and go, oldest son took driving lessons, somebody needed to clean the pool (me), and the City of Phoenix will be going to an “appointment only” system for collecting bulk trash so I needed to do a ton of yard work on Saturday to put all that crap in the alley so the city can pay ex-cons to collect my brush on the last quarterly collection day. Plus I had no choice but to go to the baseball game, because if I didn’t go some Dodgers fan would take my tickets and make an ass of themselves as they always to.
Joke is on them though, the AC at Chase Field barely works now, the media is not blaming a 26 year old air handler…nope its climate change.
¡enlaces!
On the surface, this sounds bad.
Also bad, the last time this happened the drug lord escaped from prison via a tunnel dug from an adjacent property the cartels purchased.
I too am waiting to decide on investments until after the election.
Brazilian court rules: MUST…GET…MUSK….
You likely heard Venezuelan gangs taking over parts of the Denver area. Apparently they found themselves in Chicago. No hilarity yet, but local residents have expressed concerns for the Venezuelans when the hilarity ensures.
Haven’t heard them in a while. Enjoy your Tuesday.
Best reply to the Chicago vs. Venezuela gang war.
https://x.com/3Sandy7_/status/1830822909394460852
lulz
López Obrador’s proposal for judicial reform is part of a package of constitutional changes he has been seeking, which have yet to be approved.
For certain values of “reform.”
Not our clown, not our circus. We have enough trash to clean up in our own house.
Spank me.
Mexi! You have a request over here.
No
I always liked that song.
The Venezuelans are overrunning Aurora, so let’ get the Hell’s Angels in there!
We live in a very retarded time.
OK, then. 🙄
Midtown too.
https://nypost.com/2024/09/02/us-news/migrants-flooding-nycs-justice-system-making-up-75-of-arrests-in-midtown-as-pathetic-sanctuary-city-laws-handcuff-cops/
Talking about the AC at the baseball stadium reminded me that I learned of this wonderful idea for baseball in the desert.
The architects, and anyone who signed off on that design, should be lined up along a shallow ditch in the Nevada countryside and buried alive.
Could be worse. The AC bill will be insane with all that glass. At least the new Texas Rangers stadium realized stadiums with lots of glass and arid temperatures are not a good mix.
Oh, no, to fight climate change, there will be no AC.
The A’s are moving to Vegas too?
Yes. Alameda County has completely and totally screwed the pooch.
The A’s moving to Vegas could, possibly, make visiting that shithole worthwhile.
Although it would leave the bay area with no baseball team.
Wait – did the Giants move? I haven’t paid attention to baseball for years, but still…
The Giants play in Santa Clara (?), just outside SF.
Giant’s? That is a football team in NYC.
Or, do you refer to the cheaters in PacBell park? They certainly aren’t baseball players…
That is a football team in NYC.
Excuse me? No football teams play in NYC.
Still, neither team claiming NYC affiliation has won an SEC Championship.
If they insist upon this design, they should be required to change the team’s name to the Armadillos.
Perfect idea.
Unfortunately, they’ll stay the Athletics, just as they were in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland.
Which is kind of a shame, since I assume the Pacific Coast League team will move out, and they could revive the cool nickname that squad had for years.
Better yet, swipe the name and logo of a defunct Florida State League team. That would toadally fit in with the desert theme.
Ooh, me like. Me like biggly!
Looks like they ordered a Sydney Opera House from Temu.
For the greenies how much energy will that consume? The same as how many thousand single family homes?
They should build the first underground stadium.
Out of nowhere
In a move that underlines the challenges facing Europe’s top legacy carmakers, Volkswagen warned on Monday that it would no longer be able to rule out plant closures in Germany.
The Wolfsburg-headquartered company also said it felt compelled to bring an end to its employment protection agreement — a job security program that has been in place since 1994 — in order to secure “urgently needed structural adjustments for greater competitiveness in the short term.”
Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said in a written statement on Monday that the carmaker would need to “act decisively” in order to future-proof the company.
“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation,” Blume said.
Who could have seen this coming?
The answer is more unions, clearly.
Happy labor day, bitches.
Rather than go into boring detail I would urge everyone to look at the history and demise of Goodyear in France.
When they threw up their hands and left the execs had to sneak out of the country to avoid being arrested for going out of business.
Weren’t several of them held hostage too? I seem to r4emember something about that.
It has been a while, I cant remember all of the details. I do remember thinking Goodyear must have had rocks in their heads for going there in the first place.
After all the nuke plants closed and we blew up their gas pipeline, they should have bought a few solar panels for their factory.
“The economic environment became even tougher, and new competitors are entering the European market. In addition, Germany in particular as a manufacturing location is falling further behind in terms of competitiveness,” he added.
No shit, Shirley?
The Biden administration has released a notorious Mexican drug cartel leader from U.S. federal prison and is planning to hand him over to Mexico, a U.S. official told NBC News.
The guy’s a major job producer and economic boon to Mexico. Can’t just leave a dude like that to languish in some yanqui prison.
Spank me
Turkey applies for BRICS membership.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/turkey-bids-join-brics-push-101621425.html
The EU strung them along for decades.
Turkey probably exits NATO soon as it does nothing for them now – and they have the 2nd largest army in the org that the Euros would use as cannon fodder.
Oh yes. Surprised that didn’t happen earlier. The EU is a useless bunch of whining losers who take your money and provide nothing of value.
The problem is that they still have a large enough influence on the world economy to force foreign manufacturers to make serious design changes in order to meet Euro “guidelines.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/1eyrc2c/chase_bliss_discontinues_five_pedals_because_of/
Yeah. At least for now. The EU’s time is almost up.
Some people will claim that this is a deepfake.
🙂
That baseball stadium looks familiar
Shocking!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/nyregion/linda-sun-arrested-hochul.html
https://archive.fo/VKC78
She lives in a Ferrari?
The comma is critical.
I . . . uh . . .
. . . poultry?
It was a fowl plot
Fried chicken!I
Best economy ever
“While still in contraction territory, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted slower compared to last month. Demand continues to be weak, output declined, and inputs stayed accommodative,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
“Demand remains subdued, as companies show an unwillingness to invest in capital and inventory due to current federal monetary policy and election uncertainty,” he added.
While the index level suggests contraction in the manufacturing sector, Fiore pointed out that any reading above 42.5% generally points to expansion across the broader economy.
Don’t worry, Joe and Kamala have got this.
They have not quite run out of other people’s money so yes, they could not care less about this result.
Where the hell were these things stored? They need a live host.
https://nypost.com/2024/09/03/us-news/bed-bugs-crawl-out-student-laptops-in-north-carolina-back-to-school-horror/
Both the adults and the eggs can go dormant until food comes along.
“Fumigated.” Hah. Bed bugs are very difficult to eradicate, especially in large interconnected spaces. My apartment got its second treatment of 4 [please, oh please, let it only be 4 and done] today. 220 units in the 8 story building. I’ve been here 2 years & this is my first infestation. Preparing the place for pest control is a nightmare, and it has to stay prepared for the 2 month duration (modulo little things like putting bed linens back on after thorough washing & high heat drying, etc.).
Will the students’ families homes get infested? Some will, of course. Will the school/taxpayers provide recompense? Bwahahahahaha! Thx, I needed a good laugh.
I’m pretty sure scorpions eat bedbugs. If so, we’ve got nothing to worry about.
It is my understanding that heat is the most reliable means of killing them, when compared to the alternatives.
@RC – You have scorpions in your house? I would have thought that was a bad idea and they should be kept outside.
Occasionally we get a scorpion* in the house. Oddly, we’ve seen significantly fewer since we put upgraded termite bait stations around the house. Termites can be a serious problem here.
*No, as far as I know, they don’t eat bedbugs
Oddly, we’ve seen significantly fewer since we put upgraded termite bait stations around the house. Termites can be a serious problem here.
That tracks with my experience. The only real way to get rid of scorpions is to get rid of the food source. I used to spray for bugs every few months, until my neighbors got chickens.
Yes, heat is the most reliable. It is also the most difficult to apply reliably.
A large portion of the P in this PITA pest control process is washing *everything* and drying at 1020* plus for at least an hour. Or at least the drying part. I’ve taken to leaving certain things in my car, parked in the Sun, using the solar heating in hopes of eliminating the pests from things that can’t go in the dryer.
The problem, in a nutshell?
In today’s hugely competitive automotive space, legacy carmakers must counter challenges foisted by upstarts, while software increasingly supersedes hardware to shape the experience, tariffs and tax credits affect the bottom line, and industry futurists struggle to discern what consumers truly want. Amidst this disarray, the 2025 Volvo EX90 offers a quiet, capable, and safe respite—yet this new luxury electric SUV exemplifies the fast times of today’s automotive world.
If I correctly disentangle this word salad, nobody knows what they’re doing.
Of course they dont. How could they? EV’s are the dumbest idea since the square wheel yet people who know better are being coerced into making them, all the while knowing that the whole scam is going to collapse. How to string along the capability of IC cars and their increasing impossible regs while keeping your head off of the block for the EV grifters. They dont know whether to shit or go blind. Who can blame them?
Yeah, I’d be happy to blame car manufacturers for their own stupidity, and perhaps it’s their stupidity that got in this predicament in the first place, but at this point they’re fucked. Gov is down their throat about EV, the ability to actually build them notwithstanding. If they don’t comply, they’re screwed.
It was insurance companies that got us into this mess, inadvertently. They began lobbying for safer cars and urging for more regulation because deaths per accident were terrifyingly high. Cars catering strictly to customer’s wants really were very unsafe.
Here we are being micromanaged by The Good Intentions Paving Company.
“while software increasingly supersedes hardware to shape the experience,”
Bullshit.
That’s true ICE or EV in my opinion. Buyers shop based on tech not mechanicals or even the driving experience. The makers are responding to that demand.
The new Mustang is screen centric. It what customers want.
It’s not what I want, but I’m part of a shrinking market.
Don’t discount the claim so quickly – Software can easily cripple the experience, which does shape it significantly.
“I’m sorry Sean, but Disabling Eco Mode is not permitted at this time.”
“You have driven too much for today, this unit will park until your driving credits have renewed in roughyl 2.5 years.”
UCS I don’t know how the new for 24 Mustang is selling compared to prior.
“industry futurists struggle to discern what consumers truly want”
Couldn’t you just, fire the “industry futurists” and just ask your customers what they want? Or even take a look at what they’re buying?
I think the whole software/screen focus is largely because the regulators have squeezed the life out of everything else on cars – engines, bodies, you name it. There’s not much left for automakers to try and differentiate with.
Concur. Sadly.
The corporate guys all think they’re going to pull a Steve Jobs with the iPhone and go “The customers don’t know what they want until we sell it to them”
I don’t know about that. I’m still in the loaner Tiguan. I’m pretty sure it’s in a similar segment as my Compass. Similar pricing. It’s not even close to me which I prefer for styling and drivability. The Jeep, hands down.* And I’m definitely an Audi/VW fanboy for 2+ decades.
*Yes, my SUV is the top level from vs. mid level on the loaner.
I think there’s still distinctive attributes across the manufacturers.
Trim, not from.
Is anyone familiar enough with Salt Lake City to recommend a restaurant? I’m leaving for Reno tomorrow, but haven’t made up my mind regarding dinner today.
When I visited I was told Utah cuisine consists of funeral potatoes and green gelatin. I did go to a good taqueria in Ogden.
I ended up making a reservation at A Metallic Vegetable
*Yawn*
The youngest son of the late Sen. John McCain had already been moving away from the Republican Party — just weeks ago, he changed his voter registration to Democrat and plans to vote for Kamala Harris in November, he told CNN in an exclusive interview this week.
But he is speaking out now for the first time about Trump because of the former president’s conduct at the hallowed ground where several generations of McCain’s family, including his grandfather and great grandfather, are buried.
Okay, prissypants.
The youngest son of the late Sen. John McCain had already been moving away from the Republican Party
To be fair, his dad spent three decades moving away from the Republican Party, too.
My first thought too.
LOL CNN cannot get enough of this “story”.
Never mind that Biden did the same fucking thing.
Who cares about the whelps of unlikeable dead politicians?
Couldn’t you just, fire the “industry futurists” and just ask your customers what they want? Or even take a look at what they’re buying?
The customer an only buy what’s available. I’m back to wondering how many [people would buy a current version of the 1990 Honda CRX if it were available. Of course, it would have been reimagined as a three row 4800 pound all wheel drive hybrid crossover by now.
At a museum in Dayton, we passed by a two-door low profile (sedan heightish) light truck from Chevy, and I lamented that they didn’t make that kind of truck anymore, because it’s the sort I might actually use.
I didn’t like driving the behemoths taller than me.
Crossover – the black pajamas of the auto world.
“The customer an only buy what’s available.”
True, and the carmakers have to ask the regulators what they can make available. The current SUV thing, after all, is a creation of the fuel economy requirements (and a great example of truly unintended consequences). Left to their own devices, people bought cars. The regulators shit all over cars with their fuel economy demands and lo!, people switched to not-cars exempt from those demands.
Here’s a thought. I wonder what would happen if a manufacturer released a “design your own car from scratch” game. Somehow I doubt it would be as heavily weighted toward massive SUVs and trucks as the average dealer’s inventory.
No.
https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
Kidding aside, you do that you get the crap GM spit out in the 80s. Compare that to the Ford Taurus. People either loved it or hated it, but at least it was innovative. Ford actually gave them something they never considered.
I’m not sure a generic 30 something at this point can imagine much more than a CUV.
I prefer SUVs. I like being up off the road a little. A sedan makes me feel like my ass is dragging on the road. I like trucks too, but no longer have a need for one.
I do wish it wouldn’t come with all the bullshit GPS stuff that’s basically a full time tracker.
Take the Volvo XC70 or Audi Allroad and make them less sexy (i.e. boxier to hold more), add a manual, power with a diesel and ditch the nanny shit. Perfect and fun vehicle.
At a museum in Dayton, we passed by a two-door low profile (sedan heightish) light truck from Chevy, and I lamented that they didn’t make that kind of truck anymore, because it’s the sort I might actually use.
One of these, possibly?
The SSR had promise, but they fucked it up by overcomplicating it with a bunch of technogewgaws.
I want my El Camino! No touch screens please.
We can do better than that.
“Linda Sun, who also worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was accused of using her position to benefit the Chinese government in exchange for payments that went toward homes in New York and Hawaii, and a Ferrari.”
She thinks she’s Thomas Magnum ?
Ford Taurus. People either loved it or hated it, but at least it was innovative. Ford actually gave them something they never considered.
It was still a sedan. It was repackaged, but not really a category buster like the minivan. They even made a wagon.
We owned two because I didn’t want a minivan.
GM had a minivan concept ready to go, but as usual, let Chrysler beat them to market.
Shocking development
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers issued a resolution on Tuesday ordering a partial halt to the servicing of its obligations on Eurobonds, sovereign GDP warrants and other loan instruments, driving the country one step closer to formal financial ruin.
Starting September 3, Ukraine will stop servicing its roughly $700 million debt to Cargill Financial Services International, a Minneapolis-registered agribusiness giant. From November 9 on, Kiev will halt servicing state national power company Ukrenergo’s ‘green and sustainability-linked’ Eurobonds, issued in 2021 and worth about $830 million.
Payments on GDP warrants – a financial instrument linked to economic growth, will be stopped May 31, 2025. Ukraine owes some $2.6 billion on this instrument, according to US banking giant JPMorgan.
The above debt reportedly fell outside a large-scale debt restructuring agreement announced earlier this month and designed to allow Kiev to stave off defaulting on its obligations.
“We’ve blown all the money you’ve given us. Give us some more or you hate Democracy.”
When will Biden cancel those debts?
Never. It is key to the money laundering operation.
This is just one of the many reasons why, as talked about in the dead thread, Trump will not be allowed to be president. The votes don’t matter. The rig was in the second they replaced Biden with Kamala.
Yeah, this election may be a hinge point. A solid 35+% of the population will believe the losing candidate was robbed, regardless of which one it is. One of those cohorts is prone to violence and believes that unless they win, they will be persecuted. The other is primed to believe they are permanently frozen out of electing a candidate they support, and also that, unless they win, they will be persecuted. At a macroish level, these two cohorts live cheek by jowl.
The word “unprecedented” is overused, but I think this is unprecedented. I’ve bailed on the markets until after the election.
Says was robbed and believe was robbed are a bit different. One will say they were robbed knowing full well they simply failed to rob the election themselves.
Agreed.
Look at Germany right now.
The “far right” party won in a couple of areas highly. Like double the next closest. No viable way to fortify it, especially as the anti-establishment party. Yet the left is there burning the streets and rioting proclaiming the end of democracy and how it was rigged by Nazis.
Suthen, I would not underestimate the effectiveness of the propaganda that Trump has, and is, “interfering” in the election by colluding with foreign countries and by Republicans “suppressing” the vote. It may sound absurd to us, but a lot of people believe it, and that’s what I’m getting at.
@Muzz, re Deutschland: That’s exactly what I confidently predict if Trump wins. Team Blues Useful Idiots will riot away, natch, and lesser pawns, dyed-in acolytes, may be terrified enough to join in themselves.
I’m not sure what’ll happen if The Fortification ensures the Cunt ‘in’ Command. ‘Twill be interesting, to say the least.
I got this stuff that solidifies used cooking oil, and it’s awesome
Dirt?
Cold?
Bowels?
Hydrogen?
Is it Xantham gum?
Someone’s ‘stuff’ is another person’s junk. (Another person’s junk is just…stuff!)
A slow rub can make some junk solidify. (I held off as long as possible, KK. I figured someone else woulda.)
Possibly cat litter or diatomaceous earth?
baking soda? I have to ask, why would anyone throw away bacon grease?
Talking about the size of pickups and why the new Ranger is larger than the 1990’s F150
https://youtu.be/azI3nqrHEXM
Surprise surprise it’s the EPA.
They do have the Ford Maverick.
Honda CR-Z Curb weight: 1,211–1,236 kg (2,670–2,725 lb)
Honda CrX: 760–860 kg (1,676–1,896 lb)
1000lbs porkier for the spiritual successor or the CRX
Dad is currently in an Urgent Care ward, likely (hopefully) with cellulitis. It apparently sparked in his foot last night and it’s gotten up to his calf or so. Mom is hoping it isn’t a blood clot. He’s waiting for a travelling ultrasound van, which I’m unsurprised exist, to get there and check him out.
I’m quite sure he isn’t taking it well. He does have a long history of plantar fasciitis so the former hypothesis is fairly likely, from a cursory search. Regardless, it will change none of his behavior. He is fanatical about his fitness and workouts, without concept of “rest.” (Hard as hell for me, too.) I’m sure all will be well, though interesting.
Cellulitis is no joke, and that sounds like it’s moving fast. It can turn into something really nasty. Hope they get it knocked down.
Blood clot. DVT. Mom says docs “require sedentary activity for at least the next week.” And blood thinners.
That will not go over well. He doesn’t understand the concept of sedentary. I hope it’ll be an eye-opener to realize he shouldn’t accelerate into Age’s final curtain. He is incapable of processing such. Much piss ‘n moanin’ will follow. Meh. So Life and Age go. None is pleased by what they reveal.
That sucks.
Show him the video of that captain in the Deadliest Catch getting the pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot traveling through his heart into his lungs. That should scare him.
I am on blood thinners because I had several blood clots. I dodged a bullet during the COVID times. I got a DVT, a bad one, right after I got the second clot shot. I was doing jiu jitsu actively, underground (i.e. our school continued training in little groups in each others basements on the QT). Long story short, a couple of chunks of clot got broken loose during a roll, went through my heart, and finally came to rest in my lungs. The pain was unbelievable, along with weakness and shortness of breath. I thought I was having a heart attack. This was happening during a heat wave, and my friend’s house had incredibly anemic AC. I discounted it as getting overheated.
I thought the DVT pain was a pulled muscle. My wife kicked my ass and dragged me to urgent care, who then sent me to get a CT scan, and those guys called me as we were driving home and told me to get to the ER ASAP, and I found myself hospitalized.
Tell your dad to rest his ass. Enlist your mom to be his jailer. It feels really stupid, because when you are in a comfortable position, there is no pain, and you feel right as rain. But, you have a time bomb in your veins, and until it dissolves, you need to not mess with it. The other thing, if he gets chest pains, go to the ER. Do not worry about looking stupid because the marinara gave you heart-burn. You want to err on the side of caution, not on the side of risk. I’d rather go to the ER and have it be nothing than have a preventable stroke that ruins the rest of my life and imposes the life sentence of nursing me on my wife.