phdhorn

More not good (Heather Long WaPo columnist, their main U.S. economics correspondent:

OUCH. 8.6% YOY CPI (expected about 8.2-3%). Largest increase since 1981. Yeah, May wasn't gonna be a good month. No way, no how. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

I said back here somewhere, and I think, that May's numbers are going to be bad. Not record bad, but trend bad (again). Mostly because gas shot up after the little April fart (er, breather) and has begun to screw everything (truck transpo (diesel fuel), supply chains, etc. And, as stagflation guys have been saying, eventually the spending will go down, eventually the demand decline in goods = less revenue and job loss. So, last week's job #'s are out, and it's the biggest weekly decline since January (and the latest jobs surge): chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf (+229K, plus the last few weeks' reports were revised up a bit). This isn't necessarily the beginning of the jobs decline spiral - I think it'll take through the summer to really see actual losses if trends continue - and this could be just a small burp in otherwise great job news for 2022 so far. But, keep an eye on this as it could just as easily accelerate if the stagflation double whammy really begins to take its toll. Which it absolutely will if gas stays high for > one more month. If gas comes down, this indicator could reverse. I think we're about to enter the Mines of Mordor. Hope not.

I see this as a bit of tough luck for you, but the 2 huge issues for any homes are 1) mold, and 2) termites - in my book, when you're selling (or buying) any house, these two things must be looked for, period. No one should neglect the Big 2, even if they've seen no evidence. Those are deal killers the most. But anyway, now you have that identified and can fix and list it as such (if needed). Usually when a buyer hires an inspector (perfectly legit) the idea is that you either trade $ value or pay for remedy as the seller (tacked on to the contract). It wasn't bogus of these pseudo-buyers to hire an inspector after preliminary deal. It was bogus of them to try to price the house beyond what the value of the repair might be (and indeed, the appropriate repair itself). I don't know if ripping out half the beams is the solution, but if it's recommended, unfortunately you have to do it - or discount the house price to accommodate it. But the good news is now you have that bit of info and the next buyers can't blindside you with that. One other remedy you have is to hire your own inspector. They'll work for you. So if the buyer's guy recommends reconstructing half the house for something, but your guys says only a few nails are needed, you have negotiating power (i.e. you've got your own pro). On old houses I would recommend this more. If you think the termites are the biggest "ghost" now revealed, you might feel good it's all been found out. If not, hire a guy and they'll help a lot when a buyer tries to lowball you. In this market, even with your old house, I'd think you have some clout over this stuff and can demand a good/fair price.

Man, you're not looking on the bright side. Now you know the microwave works like a charm!

Wow, rare forcefield in usually-tropical-drenched Bee Cave... most of this went north/south of us. Only getting wafer-thin mint of rain on streets/grass:

Functionally an incapable idiot, thanks for asking, but able to give a better synopsis of the Bible than you, obviously. At least I got that going for me. But I do believe in the Bible. I can buy one at any bookstore. Hell, I can even find one still in some hotel nightstand drawers. Yes I've actually seen and even held real Bibles! They exist and I'm a believer in their existence!

Lol Mittites vs. Hittites sounds kinda

This is Kemune in Northern Iraq, just NW of Mosul. The lake created by the Mosul Dam on the Tigris has receded due to drought, and archaeologists found this amazing discovery. A part of it was actually first discovered in 2019 but they only had a faint idea that this much of the ancient city was preserved. Dating all the way back to the late Sumerian era. This is likely from the Mittani Empire, a largely-forgotten (mostly due to lack of evidence) but powerful force in 1.500 B.C. Sumeria. A palace is likely the core of the ruins, with enormous storehouses, that suggested that this culture did frequent trade with Egypt and other pre-Assyrian powers. Where I dig this especially is that the Mittanis were most likely a Hurrian-speaking people, which is Biblically significant. The Hivites and Horites of Genesis 14 were Hurrian speakers, and the Hivites were one of the seven nations which Joshua had conquered during his Canaan campaign (Deut. 7). But maybe most significantly, when Abraham's family (father Terah) left Ur, they settled in Haran (Gen. 11). Haran was a majority Hurrian-speaking city and likely either Mittani or in close contact with them. And in fact, many of the "weird" practices we find in most of Genesis concerning Abraham and the culture (app. Ch. 15-31) were not specific to the Hebrew culture, but rather freely exchanged as a part of Mittite culture. (one of my "big things" in history is to study how esp. in the Old Testament, what we determine as "weird" or "bizarre" customs or incidents in the accounts of the Israelites, were actually quite common and understood as long-forgotten customs in contemporary cultures that they picked up, and anything but "bizarre" to those peoples... e.g. Sarah giving her slave Hagar to Abraham, and his reluctance to send them (Hagar and Ishmael) out once Sarah was pregnant with Isaac, was very much based on Nuzi law regarding barrenness and the substitute procedure. We tend to think of Israelites as living in "their own" culture, and while that's certainly true in part, it's absolutely not the entire truth. Joseph flourished in Egyptian culture, and Abraham had to come from some earthly culture, so it's pretty likely that he adopted a lot of his habits from these Mittite customs and laws). Anyway it's not out of the realm of possibility to think that this city, although dating slightly before Abraham's traditional dates, was likely in existence in some form and that Abraham would almost certainly have known about it, if not visited it.) https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/after-drought-3-400-year-old-city-in-iraq-resurfaces

Man, it's trying, but I don't think it's gonna make it - or at least very little of it.

Race against time/evaporation. Big nice line of solid rain heading this way - but weakening ever so slightly. Made it so far from the Panhandle. Will it hold together? Man, I don't know, it's trying though. I hope so, because this is it before the Deep Heat Blast coming up for the next week.

Bee Cave had a solid .001 this morning. Rescue crews/choppers out now as I write.

Decent (but not that decent) chance of rain this afternoon and then possibly tomorrow morning. After that:

Best intro in Disco, this has to be top 3, plus it's a damn good arrangement, yeah although it's disco:

Not to mention once you hit the water (if you don't squash yourself), if it's moving fast enough, the water pressure makes it extremely difficult to maneuver your arms or hands to unfasten this or unhitch that, or whanot. You're basically a rag doll being pulled inside of a bunch of jello pudding. But not as nice smelling.

I was on a parasail being towed by boat. Winds died suddenly and I dropped like a roast beef turd. I got dragged for about 15 sec. under, then above, then under the water. Easily could have drowned. Fortunately wind picked me back up. So... been there, done that. Don't need to go again.

Your avatar is perfect for this topic.

Apparently the Washington Post or Daily Mail has no culpability. Would there be a separate trial for them? After all they chose to run what turns out to be a malicious opinion with intent to damage.

Well, it was kind of like 66-3. She got one little FG in the middle of an otherwise total rout.

#depptoo

Oh ok. I thought this was "homeless guys open mic night." Thanks for clarifying. Crowd reaction: - Portly gent(?) upper left of stands looks bored or hungry. - Lady in Red (hey, great song title!) looks uncomfortable but needs pic. - Guy to her left looks like he's about to throw up. No really, nauseous. - Girl to his left looks relaxed but content, almost in a trance. Perhaps the Ecstasy is about to kick in. - Guy with glasses in row below is about to kick someone's ass. Man he REALLY HATES Johnny Depp music. - Girl in front of him is snapping a pic - only it doesn't look like it's aimed at him. Maybe she likes the amp setup. Well, at least Johnny's having fun... isn't he? Right, Johnny? Are you having fun? You look... engaged. I know I know bad word after the last few weeks, but...

I think that's a great idea. Just because it's not so far from LA to San Diego doesn't mean you can't stay overnight and soak in one of the little coastal towns. Wife and I did this last fall and I really enjoyed the drive. Personally I liked Encinitas, then Del Mar. Cozy little beach towns and something about Encinitas just warmed up to me. Lots to eat and shop. Perfect for a night stay then couple hour look-around, and then back on the road. Plus it's near Cardiff State Beach which is a wonderful place to stop for an hour or so and just kick around with your feet in the surf. Encinitas has a variety of 2-3 star places for $150ish. Don't regret making the stop although I probably wouldn't now that I know what it's like. But for a first-timer I think it was really fun.

Posted pa's pics before. At noon I'll go out and wail some Taps on the sax, and raise the flag to full staff, as is the Memorial Day custom after having it at half staff in the morning (plus after having it 1/2 staff after Uvalde the past 3 days). RIP those who died so that we might live.

Yeah, but I don't anticipate needing much more than that. However, like I said, if I know they're forecasting a freeze or particularly bad storms, I'll load up about 80 gals - if I'm lucky enough to get warning. The 60' isn't the distance from my house to the generator, once set up. That's the distance I have to wheel it around the house from storage to the plug. It's sitting 3 feet outside my window around the back part of the house... anyone trying to steal that puppy will need to drag it 2/3 of a football field to their vehicle. Trust me, I'll know. Plus I can lock the wheels. Anyhoo, even with our deteriorating infrastructure, > 1 day of needing this thing to work seems very unlikely - for now.