phdhorn

The Dean of Students andor the Texas IFC should publish lists of documented infractions (both legally, and of University sanctions) against every fraternity and sorority at least in the last 25 years, if not the entire history and distribute it at freshman orientation. That might help.

Yeah someone sent me a vid they took of one last year:

So is the smoke from New Mexico fires. Another good round this afternoon.

We're moving (as usual) into a late May pattern of rainier (didn't say "really rainy") weather. The big high that parked over us in May (not unusual for that, except the degree of heat of course was a never-before) is finally moving SE and E. Will we have summer weather which means the high will shortly re-strengthen and sit on us again? Too early to tell, but not for at least another week. With the high gone, the lows will swing south and although probably not drench us, put some rain here/there, enough to green things up. I said it before, and I'll say it again - the weather in the spring doesn't necessarily foretell the weather in the summer. I have no idea how bad the summer will be (nor really does anyone else except maybe the CPC, and they can only use past data to roll the dice). Last year we had a dry spring and then June went nuts into August, one of the cooler/rainier summers in the past 25 years or so. I don't expect that this year. In fact it could get bad, well duh. But don't know. Hopefully if any rain can re-wet and re-cool the ground and keep June temps moderate. (Thankfully this beatdown high hit while the stuff was still green, mitigating the temps, that why we "surprisingly" haven't hit 100° yet, despite numerous predictions by now - and we won't probably until Friday, which is almost certain - then the cool-off). Yeah this has the potential to shape up like a 2011 inferno summer, no doubt (though there were differences between now and 2011 springs). But I remain cautiously optimistic that it might not be so bad. And if it is, maybe those frickin' Calis will move out. That would be the best thing to happen from this. Stay tuned.

More like

Here's a bit of good news: Retail spending continued to increase in April. My guess is that people saved $$$ from the pandemic and now have opportunities to spend on stuff that they couldn't when padlocked into their homes. But I dunno. This is a tricky number, as the prices weren't adjusted for inflation, so reflect increased prices. But it's still stubbornly hanging on. One possible bad sign is that gas spending decreased 3% from March. Energy, especially gas, is often the first sign of a spending slowdown. But again, it's kind of a mixed bag. Anyway that's the one stat that's a little not to be expected - at some point high prices will drive spending down - but not yet: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/retail-sales-april-2022-up-0point9percent-vs-1point0percent-estimate.html

Каждую минуту рождается лох! (cf. P.T. Barnum for translation reference)

Meanwhile on Mars, the clearly-defined mining tunnel which the Martians dug to mine out the Pluridium to power their giant death ray weapons and space ships, foretells the horrific invasion that's coming. They're even holding Congressional hearings on it this week!

Never happened...

Once they legitimized Bernie Brewer, they fell down that slippery slope of crime.

I think it's pretty simple (which probably means I don't understand it). But the May report will tell us where we are, more towards an accurate triangulation of degree and possible length of inflation. I expect May's report to be more like March's, a stabby increase in the YOY and trend. I think this mostly because energy and food prices clearly shot up from April's reprieve (esp. gas/diesel). Plus the Europe natural gas situation with Russia made it go way up, which of course will reflect down the line in global markets. If May's report is markedly worse, I think we're Stagflated and in deep, sticky shit for 4-5 more months. If it withstood the battering it seems to have gotten, then I think a strong case could be made that barring some unforeseen force acting upon the economy in the summer, we might be heading down towards 5 or even 4 percent, which to me would begin to show up in prices by mid-summer. That May crop report is a biggie/extra-influential for the rest of '22:

You know things are shit when you have a "good day" with the Dow "only" losing < 200 pts. And like ninelives, shit, I would kill my grandmother for only a few hundreds $ lost the last 4 months. This is relevant and you oldies will understand it:

No it's not. Unless you're Derka and have no life.

Busted. Gotdammit my phone sometimes puts two year old "news" in my feed. Well, Roger Moore's still dead, if that helps. FML.

Roger Moore. 89. Peace. Rest in peace.

Expected "respite" hit as prices in April kind of farted to near break-even. But as said, a little worse than predicted (always "surprisingly" isn't it? LoFkingL). So the hammer peen was less pointy in April but still hit hard. Upward pressures though have seemed to increase dramatically this month, so my guess is a larger climb next month. In any event, it ain't goin' nowhere better (downward) for most of the rest of the year. Gas esp. diesel (hoo-boy) prices out front shoulda told ya. They can chainlink-trigger a lot of CPI hikes, and probably are, this month.

Well, this is the inflation thread. 1,800 ft in 1990 equals 3,700 ft now. I think the inch was 30% smaller in 1990 as well.

Heh. In other words,

She gone. Sad I guess. I don't know.

- Outer Banks are nice - as said here, see the Wright site. There's a Visitors Center but it's not really a museum. But they've really preserved the dunes and beach. Nags Head is the big stop on the OB - expect it to be crowded in the summer. You're close enough to Roanoke (Ft. Raleigh) to check it out since you're there. Not a lot to see but fascinating anyway. - Williamsburg is cool but if you're not into the history, it's kind of boring. But I'm a history buff, so I always liked it. I also really liked Jamestown maybe even more, it's eye-opening to see the conditions they lived in, but again not a lot for non-history buffs after a few glances. - Montecello is great as is UVa. Do them. There are also quite a few wineries within a few minutes' drive of Montecello if interested. - Shenandoah NP - very nice, but keep in mind it's a camp/hiking park, so by car it can get old after an hour or two. If you're going up 64 from C-Ville, take the U.S. 250 exit into the park (north is Skyline Drive, South is Blue Ridge Parkway - same road, different names at that point). Once you're in, the next access out is U.S. 33, about 30 miles up the road. Take it if the family has seen enough - the next egress road is U.S. 211 - about 40 more miles. The drive can have traffic and is a little wind-ey... most of the length of the park is the same essential views across the valley, which are all nice - but you don't need more unless you camp/hike (IMHO). - Richmond - nothing there really. - D.C. way too much to talk about, but obviously if first time do all the "tourist things" - historical/political sites, museums. It'll be humid and fairly crowded. You mentioned Alexandria, very nice town, worth a stop, especially the older part down near the harbor. Other than that I'd have 35 paragraphs on how to do D.C. Way too much here, ask if you want specifics. - I-81 is just as bad as I-95 - maybe even moreso, as it's very crowded (more traffic than 95!) and essentially a 4-lane highway. LOADED with semis, trailers, etc. Hilly and a lot of cars in the summer = tension. I'd turn right on 33 out of the park (not left to get to I-81) to get U.S. 29 (about 15 mi.) and go to D.C. that way. Very pretty, a bit slower granted (but not that much!) and not nearly the traffic. If you've laid out 8+ days for your loop, that's pretty good. Any less and you'll be pushing it. That's a lot of miles driving (more than you'd think) and a few of those places really aren't good overnight destinations. But it should be nice. Starts getting humid about late June and man it can be a sweaty armpit if not used to it. Take talc or whatever doesn't cause cancer nowadays. Good luck, we're all counting on you.

Why in god's name are you wasting all that time digging when you can order portable holes from Acme????????

Well, I'm satisfied...

That's not what their wall says!!1!11!1!11

Which team is this now?