Horn of Gabriel

Not that he looks that different but I never realized that John Ratzenberger was in Empire Strikes Back...

This seems very un-CDC like to roll out a big announcement like that without having all the various stakeholders already looped in and standing next to him. Either that, or Austin and the Travis County Commissioners were verbally on board and wanted to let CDC float the trial balloon announcement so they could come out later and be "surprised."

LOL, let's go to the OP! ...learn to read bud!

EMP has a "fallout" radius, just like a nuke, depending on size and altitude of detonation.

We're literally discussing a hypothetical, hop off your high horse. So we have more cropland but we're more technology dependent than ever in ag production, from H20 control to harvest. Not sure how that farmer is going to do it when his tech dies, no GPS automation, etc. And even if he is able to do it all manually, in this scenario trucking and distribution is also knocked way down in capacity. Who knows what a full on EMP attack can actually affect? I hope we never get to find out. Maybe it's half as bad as I speculated above...we only lose 100M people. The point is polite society is more on a knife's edge than people appreciate, as illustrated by the COVID panic shopping, the Texas gas "shortage" a few years back, Katrina, and a million other examples. Only in this scenario the devastation isn't localized to city or state like a hurricane, it's much more far reaching. The expert who wrote the book I and someone else linked above says (with data to back it up) that a properly executed EMP could knock out a lot more than we think. Then again, if I were a terrorist with the ability to do an EMP attack, I'd probably just go straight for a nuke attack in a major city; maybe less impactful geographically but more impactful psychologically.

This shit is my wheelhouse. There are 2 questions: How likely is an EMP attack to occur? How bad would it be if it did happen? On "How Likely," I think the answer is "not very likely," although the % goes up each year. To perform a high-altitude EMP (HEMP) requires state-level sponsorship, sophistication, and technology. Right now that means an ICBM or something close to it. Near peer states like China know it would trigger a MAD scenario, along with how intertwined they are to our economy. If you're looking for something different to worry about, it's not China doing an EMP, it's the delivery and technology becoming commoditized enough that a shithole country or terrorist group is able to execute it. Who do we fire our nukes at when some anonymous terror group pilot a container ship in the Pacific or Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico right up to our doorstep and fires off an EMP from there? Container delivered nukes/EMPs are very possible right now. I'm a lot more worried about a country with nothing left to lose than I am China. Which is why it's in our interest for Russia's economy to be better and not so petrol based, but that's a different thread... On "How bad," the answer is "really, really bad." At least for a HEMP. Basically, 90% of the U.S. population could die within two years. Think about it: our population is completely, totally dependent on technology. Technology drives crop production, distribution, factories, trucks, internet, everything. A really strong EMP that fries transformers, sidelines trucking, knocks out farming and production equipment...and what are we back to? An agrarian society circa early 1900's. That level of technology doesn't have the carrying capacity for 330M+ people. You saw what happened with COVID-19 and people freaking out over toilet paper, that's was nothing. Trucks go down and stores are empty in 2-3 days. Refrigeration and air conditioning, done. If you're like me and require temperature controlled medicine like insulin, you're dead within a few months. The rest die in food riots and civil unrest before the succumb to famine, and then disease. All those wonderful medical technologies and drugs we've developed? Useless or inaccessible now. Live in or near a major city? The government isn't coming to help, you're on your own. Oh, you have your own farm/ranch? Great, I hope you're more than a tank of gas from any major population center because guess who is coming for your shit - everyone. Anyway, it's not a good picture and I try not to think about it. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole on this, read the One Second After book trilogy by William Forstchen. Just don't be surprised when you turn into a prepper.

I had 2 different d2d salespeople come by over the past week. We've been in COVID-19 self-quarantine after testing positive. They did the normal bullshit of spewing their words and getting halfway through their spiel before I had the door open and I just said "Oh, sorry man we're COVID positive in here right now." One guy literally RAN back down the walkway, lol. I think we'll remain "COVID positive" for awhile here.

Hopefully my last update... M-Th last week was shitty. See above updates. Friday I started feeling better. Energy was back up, nausea went away. By Sunday and through to today Tuesday, I'm feeling like a million bucks relatively - my energy is 95% and the only lingering symptom I have is a light and intermittent cough. I did work out with some light weightlifting last night and felt pretty winded, but I also have been nursing a groin pull so I've been off for several weeks and it's hard to say how much is COVID and how much is just being off. I do feel like it's hard to take a really deep breath, if I try to force my lungs full of air, it starts a coughing fit. When things calm down if I'm not back to 100% I'll see about getting a scan to look for damage, but just sitting around the house, playing with the kids or working on the computer, I feel fine at this point.

These apparently aren’t compatible with my system. Paid $129/ea, selling for $50/ea. Link to this model on ecobee's website: https://www.ecobee.com/en-us/smart-thermostats/certified-refurbished-ecobee3-lite/

Thanks - tell me more about your experience. I’m about to enter week 2.

Day 4/5 update... Got worse before i got better. Day 4 took a big dip in terms of every and nausea. Was probably in bed for 16 hrs. Something as simple as getting to the bathroom and back to bed was really draining. Sleep is really fucked up because you’re so drained you HAVE to be in bed, but you’re in bed so much that you are uncomfortable no matter how you’re positioned. Finally on Thursday night I was able to get some real sleep. Woke up today and felt a lot better. Cough is down 80%, but still there. Aches are down 60% but no pounding headache. Appetite is coming back. My energy is probably only 30-40% of normal. Seems like these symptoms come in waves so one day you’re up and the next you’re down.

Did I stutter? I said "wife"

We're still alive! Days 1-2 I couldn't tell you much about, because I basically slept. Seriously I slept almost 24 hrs from Monday around noon and work up Tuesday at 11am. I was up for a few hours Tuesday but really drained. Full body aches, headache, low-grade fever, dry cough, nausea, diarrhea. The worst though I just feeling like you got run over by a truck. Now today, Wednesday, my cough is less but my energy is just shit. Just getting out of bed to sit at my desk and browse surly I can only do for an hour or two before I need to lay down again. I'm not out of breath or have any issues there but I have low appetite, and no energy. It's hard to sleep at night because of the aches and when you're in bed 16 hrs a day you get uncomfortable. But...better today than day 1. Wife is 3-4 days ahead of me in terms of symptoms - she's got some energy back, still low though. She's also lost her taste and smell.

Welp the wife (no pics) and I tested positive today. We both feel really achy, sore, small cough, headache. She has a Lo grade fever and diarrhea, I don’t yet. We’re both early 40’s, no underlying for her...I have hashimoto’s thyroidosis and type 1 diabetes. My blood sugars have been bad today, really high, which happens when I get sick. Any ideas what we are in for from here?

According to VintageAir it's a Sanden compressor, people refer to it as rotary but it's actually axial 🤷‍♂️

I applaud your fine taste!

‘Cuda update! Engine installed back into the bay, vintage air compressor installed. New pullies, brake lines are in, FI tech is on but not yet configured, new master cylinder installed, new fuel pump and filters installed. Still waiting on steering box.

I did, yes

nm, I found the CarPlay2Air USB device...unfortunately doesn't support the 2020 GMCs yet.

Cameras look amazing, one of my favorite features. This thing has something like 10 cameras - forward facing on the hood, both side mirrors have forward and rearward facing cameras, one facing down on the bed, one facing the hitch, one looking rearward. It can use all that to give you a "tops down" eagle eye view of the truck which is useful as you're getting into and out of tight spots. One annoying thing is that the system locks down when you're driving, so you can't flip around the cameras as you drive, because, safety? The HUD at night is super bright and visible. You can also customize what you see on it and it's multi color. It's not the gimmick HUD of a few years back, it's actually really nice when you're in traffic to see speed and not have to take your eyes off the road.

Are you talking about a new aftermarket radio or some addition to the OEM system to allow for wireless CarPlay? Link?

One other thing: it doesn’t have wireless CarPlay. This is totally unacceptable; it has this awesome wireless charging pad for the phone but you have to hardwire in to get CarPlay. Just dumb. Supposedly it will come in the 2021 model maybe....

Wish I had a big list to give you but I really like it. My biggest complaints so far: The center console is huge and just a big pit unless you spend another $100 to get an organizer for it (I have one on order) The touch screen is (relatively) small as compared to competitor trucks, if that matters to you. It's big enough for me #thatswhatshesaid I love the HUD, get it. But if you're wearing polarized sunglasses it's hard to see. The metal is soft, I got a shopping cart ding @ home depot that was way bigger than it needed to be - but the PDR guy took it out so well I can't find it now. Maybe that's all new vehicles now Shifter on the column; some people hate that some like it - it doesn't bother me It's a 2020 engine, meaning it's totally computerized and covered in plastic, and crammed in there. You're not doing the maintenance yourself, you're taking it in - but again, true for any modern vehicle. I found the acceleration to be a little underwhelming, then again it's a big heavy truck and I'm coming from a sports car. OTOH I used to have a Cummins Ram in 2006 and when I mashed the pedal it would ***GO***. However this truck is a lot more efficient. I didn't get it to drag race so I'm OK with that tradeoff.

LOL, my electrician might be! Age has given me perspective on which jobs to hire out, and installing heavy lights on swaying poles 20+ ft in the air with live wires is something I'm not interested in at this point!

I have been using Troy Davis at Austin City Hot Rods off of McNeil/Spicewood and 183. Small shop, only a few guys and 2 bays but knowledgeable and good work. They’d rather do it once and do it right. Been happy so far with the work on the ‘Cuda.