Saturday Open Thread - 7/6/24: Odds and Ends

Good morning, friends!

I hope you all had a safe and fun holiday.

Mine doubles as a Federal holiday, and personal anniversary. Our original plan was to spend 4 days in our favorite condo on the beach at South Padre Island. Weeks ago, we cancelled the booking. Here is what we missed, an event that happened very close to where we were going to stay:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/07/05/shark-attack-south...

Next up, the Temu scam. My secretary buys clothes and gee gaws for her kids from that online store. Well, I need a brown skirt, looked everywhere, shopped online, and Temu had exactly what I wanted. I ordered from my computer, no app involved. Good thing, it seems.

https://www.lawinc.com/arkansas-temu-privacy-lawsuit

There are numerous ways of looking at this. It could be that Arkansas is so anti-China that they would not care that China stopped doing business with Walmart. Almost everything on the shelves is made in China. It could be that the Waltons asked the AG to get rid of this online store because it is hurting their brick and mortar stores. Does anyone think for a single split second that any Arkansas elected official is not thankful to have the Waltons as their donors? I have overheard Walmart shoppers say they preferred Temu over Walmart for the majority of their purchases.

It won't hurt my fee fee's if you cut off the sound and just admire the scenery in Monaco.

There is a huge lake, and near-broken dam in the general area where we live. I know people in 4 counties that are directly affected by any floods, or any disruption of the water flow, which provides 30% of Houston's water. I have many friends who live in "the bottoms", below the damn. If it does break, they will likely lose everything they own, and likely their lives. The danger is being downplayed by the company that owns it, but investigations show it is extremely serious. And Beryl might be the event that causes the final breach.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/07/04/satellite-company-sp...

This is what a mosquito bite does to me. Age? Modified skeeter? Either way, it was 1 1/2" diameter, puffed up 1/16th of an inch, stayed that way from 1pm until the next morning at 7am. Itch doesn't quite do the misery justice.

bite.jpg

Without actually analyzing the legal precedence of the recent Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity from prosecution, I would like to comment on what the court was dealing with in the big picture. Lawfare has the real potential to destroy the country. Tit for tat prosecutions by the administration that won against the one that came before. In that environment, it's all over but the crying. In their zeal to end weaponized lawfare, did they in fact create the very real possibility of a possible murderous dictator?

While I have no respect for most, if not all, of the individual Supremes, I do respect the enormity of the responsibility they took on. I actually think they attempted to do the right thing, but in large part, blew it.

We sometimes laugh, often scratch our heads about the break up of civil discourse regarding COVID vaccinations and other protocols. Well, we did not do well with our overall societal cohesion. We took a side, became cohesive with that side, disdainful of the other side.

It does not matter if your received a jab, much less why. You should get full benefit of the doubt for doing what you felt was necessary. That is a vice versa situation. We stopped giving respect to people if they did what we did not, and it affected all of us, our social engagement, and our families.

Well, it is coming again. Same timing, new pandemic, to erupt right at the moment of a new swearing in at the White House.

I hope we stay safe and healthy, that we display no hatred toward others this time, that we respect the "others" this next go round.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-146284250

Don't get tricked into hatred, friends. Friends are priceless.

Your turn! This is an open thread, so let 'er rip!

Share
up
15 users have voted.

Comments

I hope you all (yall) are doing great!
Remember I told you probate, the fight over Granma's $30k estate could get someone killed?
Well, I had to throw a hysterical woman out of my office this week over such an event. She was way bigger, way younger then me. I had a strategy, but...
She left when I threatened her with calling the cops.
That is why this 4 day office closure is awesome possum!
Your turn, friends!

up
11 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

QMS's picture

-
-
not sure if you have seen this prediction image from the NWS,
but they are predicting 10 to 15 inches of rain.

091932WPCQPF_sm.gif

good luck!

up
7 users have voted.

@QMS We will be in the 2in to 4in range.
Who knows if that will crack the dam.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/07/04/satellite-company-sp...

up
8 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cassiodorus's picture

@QMS 111 degrees. Should be fun!

up
7 users have voted.

“The Democrats and Republicans want you to believe they are mortal enemies engaged in a desperate struggle when all the time, they are partners with a power-sharing agreement.” - Richard Moser

@Cassiodorus Wtf? Be careful, friend!

up
2 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

when it comes to rain. We were happy to get 1.1" yesterday, and it looks like we'll get some wrap around moisture from Beryl as it move north. The NWS has us in D1 moderate drought.

Screenshot 2024-07-06 at 08-07-10 Alabama U.S. Drought Monitor.png

Yesterday and next week should provide some relief. Here's wishing you and your neighbors safety from flooding as Beryl dumps buckets on TX.

Thanks for the OT!

up
11 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout It doubles the work in a garden when a drought is on, doesn't it?
I hope you have plans to enjoy your weekend.
Hunker down in the holler!

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

QMS's picture

-
-

I like your message about working together to fight the man.

up
8 users have voted.

@QMS mass argument about "the science".
Maybe this next go round will demonstrate to TPTB that we are not as malleable as they wish.

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

usefewersyllables's picture

@on the cusp

there will be less arguing when (not if) they try it again. A lot of people who went along for what they thought were good reasons last time, now realize that they were utterly scammed, and will not comply. I’m among them.

Nothing health-related that comes from any government source can ever be trusted in the future. They have sown the wind: let them reap the whirlwind. Their credibility was nearly nonexistent before, and is well below zero now.

up
11 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables of drs. My own local dr., who is a casual friend of ours, was open and pronounced about his early, extremely successful, application of Ivermectin saving his patients' lives. Then, he succumbed to pressure from the state licensing board, and the lure of money dangling in front of his eyes by government and Big Pharma.
The fissure happens in typical post-divorce child parenting differences, where one parent sneaks off and gets a child vaccinated without the other parent's consent. That causes huge problems. To reform the court ordered particulars about health care decisions post divorce, you have to know your judge's position on vaxxes.
It didn't have to be this way, and we just can't go through this mass anger and blame again.
I hope you have had no adverse effects, and that you have researched protocols on ridding yourself of spike proteins.
Whatever you do, don't be angry at yourself, and be glad you are alive and among us, friend.

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

usefewersyllables's picture

@on the cusp

solely at Da Gummint. They have denigrated science itself, and turned it into a punch line at best, and a pejorative at worst. For that, they can never be forgiven. They have cynically redefined the concept of a “vaccine” for political expediency. For that, they can never be forgiven. They continue to double down, and think that they can cynically sell another pandemic (presumably of their own creation) for political gains, and for that, they can never be forgiven.

I know many people who have now stopped giving any vaccines to their kids. There was a measles outbreak here locally, last winter. Measles! A kid south of here just died from tetanus- which is utterly preventable, or used to be. Collateral damage. If an actual non-gain-of-function, natural-causes pandemic were to occur now, millions would die- because now, nobody would believe it, including me. And for that, they can never be forgiven.

Oh, well. As many people have told me: why concern myself with things that are intrinsically beyond my control? The anger will just kill me faster than the bombs or the bugs. I have to just accept that the time of my death will be whenever my Betters decree it, as it has always been for we serfs. It’s the New Amurkan Way.

up
9 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables and skeptical whenever I hear some billionaire WEFFER speak in terms of overpopulation and climate change at the same time.

up
7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

QMS's picture

@on the cusp
-
-
to keep their fortunes without the responsibility to feed the hungry masses.
So they invent some convoluted plan to rob us of sustainability and blame it
on the earth, or sun, or god or whatever feeds their fear de jour.
Much to our detriment. Hard to believe nobody sees this scam for what it is.
At least here we can talk about it, in all its ugly consequence. Can't fix it but
maybe understand it a bit more.

up
5 users have voted.

@QMS got away with with passing out vaxxes that caused sterilization in African women is beyond me, other than some of TPTB speak of those poor nations as "shit holes". I mean, sterilized black Africans, move along, nothing to see here.
I know people who believe climate change is a scam to give cover to some depopulation plan.
There was a time when I would think those people were ct nuts, but when I see the great pairing of cc-overpop lectures, I completely understand their skepticism.

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

so here is New York Post's which is not Joe's biggest fan take on it.

up
8 users have voted.

@humphrey It was past painful and reached all the way to insane very quickly.
Who is in charge? It damn sure ain't Biden.

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

dystopian's picture

Hi all, Howdy OtC!

Our hopes for some Beryl rain have been fairly dashed. We will likely just get spit on, or worse, be in the hot ring of subsidence around the low where temps go up 5-10 degres f. Which gets us on a lot of the 'canes that go into upper coast area.

If all the skeeter bites do that, you have a sensitivity to them. But if you get bit in other places, say far away from home and that does not occur, it could be your skeeters there are 'bad'. Having been bitten by many thousands of mosquitoes in about 40 states, I occasionally have experienced that type of reaction. Since not normal with me, I can presume that was a 'bad skeeter'. It had probably been biting in things with bad something. Which our immune system goes into overdrive to kill. The swelling is the white blood cells attacking the foreign invader,

One morning I woke up with a numb lip swollen so much I drooled trying to drink coffee. Mumbling unable to speak clearly. Fountainbleau St. Pk. north shore Lake Ponchatrain, LA. Awesome place, would very highly recommend. Watch out for the skeeters. My love seemed to think it inordinately funny, besides feeling bad for me. There were three volcanoes on my lip and it looked, in today's terms, like I OD'd on botox. I was a Duck-billed Mumblepuss for hours.

Almost all Texas shark bites are Bull Sharks. Which are a fairly ill-tempered species, with poor eyesight. Most are not full grown adults, but some are, and almost all are in very shallow water where they are cruising for fish. Generally Texas coastal waters are very turbid with poor visibility Sharks are like trigger fish, a swimming set of teeth, through which they view the world. They bite anything they swim in to. Usually with humans they quickly release, however if an animal of size, lots of damage can be done. Deaths are very rare here.

At South Padre... go to the convention center. It is a can't miss stop. There is a little bit of nature garden there with a butterfly aspect, all the native trees, and a boardwalk out into the marsh that I see endless awesome bird photos taken from. There is a drip somewhere in the trees all the birds come in to. It is world famous for what has been seen there. There are also some VLF Valley Land Fund lots that are left native, restored, I think a couple hidden drips... Sheepshead Dr. lots are the ones most famous for rare Mexican birds. Look for weirdos with binocs and often lenses that give mere mortal photogs envy, and ask if they have seen anything interesting (they are harmless).

The wildlife drive at Laguna Atascosa Nat. Wildlife Refuge is outstanding too. Although mostly nocturnal, people have seen them in the day, most of the U.S. population of Ocelots lives there. I never got lucky. Nice short nature trail and feeders around HQ, great place. Green Jays. Take binocs. On the SPI beach itself you can drive a long, and I mean Texas long, way up it, have done it with big campers, no problem. It will be signed for where to stop if not 4 wheel. Used to be a South Padre Is. Nature Tours, that did boat tours, dolphins, etc., Capt. Scarlet Coffey, she was a great birder.

A friend in LA just told me how much he loves Temu.

I saw Led Zeppelin do 'Levee' in 75 and 77. Thought I was gonna die of aural ecstasy.

Well there went my morning, I have to do some biz work now...

Have good ones all!

happy trails!

up
8 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian So sorry you will be even hotter than usual.
We are keeping a close watch on the weather. The plan is to go toward Beaumont, catch a Creole/Zydeco band tomorrow afternoon, but getting into a flooded bayou bridge might unravel said plan.
So, wifey thought your boo boo lip was funny, eh? Well, LOL!
It seems I get a normal reaction when bitten at home, but a skeeter bite at the office, 2 miles away, causes this giant, itchy whelp. This one actually had a red streak going up my arm, like you see in blood poisoning.
I blame Bill Gates.
Have a wonderful weekend and don't work your fingers to the bone!

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

QMS's picture

@on the cusp
-
-
About 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City is the US government's top-secret bioweapons lab. It's called the Dugway Proving Ground. The 77-year-old facility covers about 800,000 acres. That's just a little larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. And it tests some of the deadliest chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive hazards on Earth.
~
Dugway launched a second experiment, called Project Bellwether, in the 1960s. Only this time, mosquitoes were injected with inert diseases, inert bacteria, and inert viruses. But get this: Those mosquitoes were released upon several groups of human volunteers, who were bitten again and again during the trials.

Naw, let's blame it on Wuhan Wink

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-government-tests-deadly-chemical-warf...

up
6 users have voted.

@QMS Damn our government for juicing up some mosquitoes, then turning them out to bite humans, just to see if their juicing worked.
Now, that's a democracy that makes us proud, uh, if it doesn't kill us first.

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

This NBC article isn't too bad and has a video as well. It says there isn't any evidence of Chinese mistreatment of Pu Bao, the giant panda shipped back to China under the terms of an agreement with South Korea.

'Toxic' panda fans in China call for keeping the bears at home

Fu Bao, South Korea’s first naturally bred panda, was born in 2020 to a pair of pandas in the city of Yongin. A single video of Fu Bao has over 26 million views on the Everland theme park’s YouTube channel, more than any other.

The 3-year-old bear left South Korea for China in April, in accordance with the rules for pandas born overseas. After her departure, allegations began to spread in the country that Fu Bao was being mistreated in her new home at a panda reserve in Sichuan province.

Though Chinese officials shared photos and videos showing Fu Bao in perfectly good health, Korean fans began a social media movement to “save Fu Bao” and “return Fu Bao,” even taking out an ad in Times Square in New York.

Some Fu Bao fans in China went to Sichuan to harass the panda experts and keepers, uploading their photos online to incite cyberbullying.

This video above is in Korean and shows the Mr. Kang, who was responsible for Pu Bao's upkeep in South Korea going to the Chinese zoological center to see Pu Bao. It does appear his visit was quite restricted. He had a minder and was limited to calling the panda's name once. The video mentions that Mr. Kang had even made efforts, while the panda was still in Korea, to "teach" Pu Bao some Chinse words in an effort to facilitate her adaptation to her new home. It appears that Kang didn't argue with the Chinese staff about the restrictions on his visit because he wanted to be able to come back in the future.

The South Korean keeper Kang was restricted from any direct contact with the panda, who seemed to recognize his voice and came to the wall of his holding area but did not recognize his former South Korean keeper and apparently couldn't recognize him by smell either, which is the subject of some speculation. Panda's are myopic and have poor vision. Anyway the online/social media buzz on all this is extreme and reminds me of South Korean/ China cultural wars such as "we invented kimchi not you" and the Hanbok (Korean traditional dress). I think the Chinese keepers think it might be upsetting to Pu Bao who is adjusting to a new environment to actually have direct contact with him again. Someone (who raises or cares for horses) referred to the in the South Korean video said that any appearance of hair loss or nervous behavior on Pu Bao's part documented on video wasn't unusual and was likely the product of stress from the changed environment.

I looked at this unrelated video below on some Confucian sayings first for the translation and characters and the more I studied it, the more I realized how its message was carefully tailored for western audiences. The dismissive CGTN is Chinese government supported media warning label should take care of that.

I got a few laughs out of it.

(edited once to delete repetition, and for clarity)

up
7 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

QMS's picture

@soryang
-
-
projection of tension between rivalries
the panda bear is a lightening rod

in accordance with the rules for pandas born overseas

seems legit to me?

edited to add - BTW, you inspired me to research Mak-kimchi (막김치).

up
4 users have voted.
soryang's picture

@QMS

Yes, that's not a good choice of words, it's actually a reciprocal contractual obligation. I don't know all the details, but if the parents are in your custody, then the offspring should be returned to China after they are raised to an age certain. There is also a payment, paid by the parents' consignee. The pandas generate revenue. I understand Pu Bao has two younger sisters. They will have to go back also. The purpose is to breed more pandas as they were in jeopardy as a species.

Aawhh, they're so cute, we don't want to give them back! Nobody can treat her as good we do! The keeper actually did bond with Pu Bao, the people visiting the zoo, and watching on social media, bond vicariously I guess. Whenever I see projection of tension like this, I think maybe intelligence trolls promote these. Quora is rife with these sorts of disputes.

up
5 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

soryang's picture

@QMS

Oh, that's a new one for me. Ms. So knew it. I don't think the dictionary I'm using had it. Mak Mak is randomly, so I think I get it. When I put it in the Korean wiki it referred me to 덤불김치:. Deombul kimchi, Kimchi made with radish leaves and stems or cabbage scraps. Radish (moo) kimchi isn't my favorite, I like regular kimchi not too spicy, and oh ee kimchi, pickled cucumbers which is probably my favorite.

Lately, we have a lot of sweet potato vines growing all over in the back yard, but no sweet potatoes, so Ms. So has been making a kind of kimchi from the leaves and stems which is kind of similar I think in concept to mak kimchi. Make it with whatever is hand I guess. But I'm not the expert, Ms. So is the chef.

Thanks QMS

up
4 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

QMS's picture

@soryang
-
-
for years now, and have found kimchi offered locally
since I love my kitchen, thought to give it a whirl.
The Korean version is a bit spicier with the red pepper.
It is mostly about the fermented cabbage and the wonders
produced in the belly to balance the digestive system.

Glad your wife has the method down. I'm a beginner.

up
6 users have voted.

@soryang gripes about China, now they are gonna toss in pandas, too? How damn petty is that?
I visited one panda habitat in China, did not have time to visit the one that allows you to hold a baby panda for a few minutes.
BTW, the "do unto others..." sounds like something I have heard before, attributed to a guy westerners really admire, to the point of worship, oftentimes.
Giggle giggle.
Have a wonderful weekend and give Smokey a big hug from aunt OTC.

up
7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

@on the cusp @on the cusp

Appreciate the Odds and Ends. I guess JC thought it was a good line too. I liked the one about the mean spirited person being on edge all the time, and the generous minded person being relaxed. And the three people traveling together, the smart one learns from the other two.

Hope everyone there in Texas gets thru Beryl safe and sound.

(on edit) Envy you having had the experience to travel in China. I said that before didn't I?

up
6 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

@soryang It was just a dream come true.
I think my travel partner put it best when she said, "I love China, but am not in love with China."
I am a history (freak) buff. Theirs is all around. Under foot, in hand, in the distance, in the sky.
Hey, good enough for Marco Polo, good enough for me!
It was where I experienced as close to some mystical journey, dreaming of people, seeing and hearing things in my dreams, seeing them in the distance in my imagination when fully awake, as I have ever come.
Maybe transcendent is the term.

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

@on the cusp

That's very much my state of mind or perspective on China and East Asia generally. But China is the heart of it. That's why it's zhong guo 中國 center country. Koreans call it choong guk. Same thing. I have to say that I am in love with the culture.

I've had a serious obsession with history and international affairs since I was a teenager. In my old age I've been fortunate to revisit my obsession. Life is what happened when you were planning something else. Can't remember who said that.

up
5 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

@soryang about history began by the time I was 4, and could read.
If we cannot visit Machu Piccu and "see" what was happening on those pyramids, or visit the Mayan football fields and "see" what was happening...how do we learn? How do we put our lives into any perspective?
I just remembered sitting in the stadium seat where Hitler had that immense flag waving crowd and military marching in Nuremberg. I imagined the field of marchers and Nazi flags.
In Paris, standing on the steps of the Notre Dame Cathedral, I could clearly "see" the guillotine in operation across the square.
One has to even know about these events to appreciate being in the place where they occurred.
Let's admit it, soryang...we suffer from misspent youth!

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cassiodorus's picture

up
7 users have voted.

“The Democrats and Republicans want you to believe they are mortal enemies engaged in a desperate struggle when all the time, they are partners with a power-sharing agreement.” - Richard Moser

@Cassiodorus Thanks for bringing it to us.

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

and links when our power went out (6:57 am local) so I checke and tested somethings and reported it about 7:30, at which time it did not officially exist yet. I then proceded to work on major garage project until time for farmers' market and returned to find the power on, When I turned my computer back on, my primary and favorite browser wouldn't start, with probably 70 tabs full of in process stuff. Have tried off and on all day to sort that and cannot. I can't fix it, and I can't uninstall it. I'm also having trouble installing a near clone of it, so I'm trying to set up a new never-tried-before browser to be my new fave.

Sorry about your mosquito bite, looks like it really sucked. Meanwhile it is finally cocktail hour here, so I think I'll grab one and get back to work on something.

be well and have a good one

up
5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris Or, should I say, to your garage?
We don't have a farmer's market, exactly. One store got set up in town, and we haven't done a walk through yet. It is on our list.
So, I drink a low cal, low alcohol content beer that beer connoisseurs consider to be like drinking cold, bitter water. Miller Lite. In a bottle. I can get an 18-pack at the local grocery store, cold, for $19.98. No room temp bottles are sold. At Walmart, I can buy it room temperature or cold for $17.27. Cold beer has to be kept cold, room temp can be stored. I can store a lot of beer.
Now, it seems some states are averse to stocking Miller beer. If hard pressed, I will buy Michelob Ultra. If harder pressed, Coors Lite. With travel, it's always something! I save the fancy beers for overseas travel.
My secretary was freaking out about the mosquito bite, watching it grow. She took the picture.
I am just glad I didn't have to appear in court. I would have gone home, found some jacket to wear to cover it up.
I wish you da best on all things browser fix.
Love ya, man! Behave yourself!

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

that either Pacifico or Corona would fill the bill.

The garage is pantry (we shop at costco a lot), laundry room, extra cookware storage (inadequate kitchen storage), tool and hardware storage, lumber and other raw material storage, odds and ends like bicycles, and my workshop. The project is to rearrange and condense all the storage and shelving, workspaces, workbench areas and such sufficiently that we can get a car in there too. It is, to my surprise, doable, but a massive project involving both construction and destruction, rearranging and more.

be well and have a good one

be well and have a good one

up
5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris uses a garage to park and protect their autos. My garage was a barn when I had horses. Now it is for storage of lawn mowing equipment, and file cabinets from the office. I never once parked a vehicle in it!
We have made a pantry out of a clothes closet. We have been "stocking up" our food supplies for several years, and I highly recommend that everyone stay prepared for a disaster of any kind except running short of food.
I am inspired now to go to the barn, retrieve a wire 3 tiered shelf on rollers. It would hold a lot of bags, boxes, and can. I just have to fight off copperheads and scorpions, assorted webs of brown recluse and black widow spiders...Other than that, easy peasy.
Can't wait to hear your garage project is done!

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

myself. First time for everything, they say.

be well and have a good one

up
4 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris
-
-
our one car garage was built for the size of vehicles in the early 1900's. Or even before
that. A bit impractical now with the behemoths being churned out by Toyota et.al.
Bicycles still fit tho. Wink

up
2 users have voted.

@QMS by my late fil, around 1968. When I moved to the property in 1986, the best use was to convert it to a barn. Decades later, to a storage shed.
What we are building is a car port, at least we will do it when autumn comes.
Seems the bitching about garages made it to the lyrics of some song...

up
4 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS
No way it will hold 2 of today's full size units, but we just acquired a hybrid Camry which is 16'2" by 6' and my wife says it WILL live in the garage. I understand why, so I just have to make it happen.

be well and have a good one

up
5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris with your wife on the Camry. It deserves cover.
I have a friend who had a hybrid Camry, and she said it was a great car.

up
2 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

we should be feeling the effects of Beryl come Monday. Rains could be damn heavy from Monday through Wednesday. It remains to be seen about high winds.

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

I couldn't make this up. I just came across this article looking for Korea news headlines on google.

Kimchi blamed for mass sickness in South Korea

Officials in Namwon City, in the south-west of the country, announced on Friday morning that there had been 996 confirmed cases - although local media reports say that number had climbed to 1,024 by early Saturday afternoon.

Authorities said the popular fermented cabbage dish had been distributed to those now sick through school meals in the city.

They added that students and staff from 24 schools were among the patients with vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains.

Norovirus is very contagious and can be caught through touching contaminated surfaces - such as toilet flush handles - and from people who are already infected.
Most people recover in a few days without needing hospital treatment, but some become very ill.

I don't eat "company made" kimchi. If Ms. So or some other kind agima in the local community didn't make it themselves, I wouldn't eat it. The quality of store bought isn't as good as home made anyway. Some Korean restaurants can be trusted to make good food, but one needs to check around with people who know or are familiar with Korean food and with the restaurant you may want to try. Home made is best.

up
5 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

kimch @soryang Might take the time to do it at home. Good stuff, huh?

up
3 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

@on the cusp

...for many westerners. There is a kind of tradition on the reality talk shows of people from Europe usually young men, but sometimes with some women, one of whom works or lives in Korea for business reasons, invites his buddies from the home country to visit for a vacation in South Korea. The broadcaster producing the program picks up the tab I think so they all come for a vacation.

When not hiking in the mountains, doing site seeing, and other touristy things, they spend much of their time visiting restaurants doing "meok bang" which means eating a lot of Korean food. The big laughs for the Korean audience usually come when the kimchi is served. The reactions of foreign visitors is usually good for some laughs, particularly if the kimchi is too spicy. The red pepper paste or powder is put in a lot of Korean dishes, so it might not just be the kimchi that gets the reaction. Ms. So knows my spicyness limit, so I don't react that way. I'm somewhat acclimated to it. Also, kimchi that has been stored awhile has that old cabbage smell sometimes that many people don't like. Sometimes it's like Whew! And then burning and sweating after one eats it. I remember when I was in Texas I had a similar reaction to authentic Mexican chili. I don't notice the kimchi smell anymore unless it has definitely passed its time. But our kimchi is fresh, homemade, refrigerated, etc. There was a time when I could smell it as soon as I opened the front door.

up
5 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

QMS's picture

@on the cusp

https://www.beyondkimchee.com/wprm_print/easy-kimchi-recipe-for-beginners#

easy-cabbage-kimchi-H-728x486.jpg

Probably a bit more than I would do, what with the kelp, shrimp and anchovies,
but fish sauce, water and chili flakes will work in their stead. The key is to brine the
cabbage to bring out the goodness.

Have done "white " kimchi before, good on Reubens and a base for Asian dishes.
If you like the heat, this can be very pleasant.

up
6 users have voted.

@QMS that is doable, sounds great.
I am not a fish/seafood lover, so when I went to the Thai cooking class in Bangkok, they substituted soy and basic oil for me to cook in my dish in my dish. In fact, fish oil would require us to go to Houston to the part of town known locally as Chinatown. Maybe a World Foods about 40 miles from home.
I am sure it would smell up a home! Wow!
Chili can be too hot to eat. Depends on where in Texas you buy it.
Mexican chili is meat and spices cooked in water. As you drift into TexMex tradition, you see sliced onion. Then tomato sauce or crush or diced tomatoes. Drift further, you see pinto beans.
I confess to preferring the extreme TexMex chili con carne, onions, diced tomatoes, and pintos.
It is pretty hot, but won't cause coughing and teary eyes.

up
5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

soryang's picture

@QMS

I was looking for Maangchi a South Korean cook on youtube and found her website with this youtube on mak kimchi, which she calls easy to make kimchi. The video has 19 million hits. She's a professional Korean cook.

How to make Easy Kimchi (막김치)

up
5 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

janis b's picture

@on the cusp

to simply try putting some Kimchi in between slices of preferred cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich.

up
6 users have voted.