The New Coffee Room

@Horace said in Powell: "I won't quit":

I hope our national nightmare of cost overruns in the federal reserve construction project will be over soon.

Certainly, a top priority for all Americans.

Gone at 71

I've been a lifelong fan of Lin Yutang. He was also a student of religions. I first encountered him as the author of a book on Taoism. He did a nice job of explaining some of the challenges of translating early Chinese. There's a nice Wiki biography of him.

@Horace said in The Epstein File:

There is no right wing deep state conspiracy theory more laughable than whatever theory explains Biden's handlers not releasing dirt on Trump being a pedo.

When trying to explain something political and having to choose between decency and respect or self-interest - always choose the latter.

There's a force in the universe. Decades ago, the woman I was dating and I decided to attend a concert at a local music festival. We sat in a 2000+ seat outdoor theater. We took our seats. The person sitting immediately in front of her was her ex-husband and next to him was his date. There was no communication, no plan - just the universe doing what it does so well.

I'm hoping I see George in the next week or so. I'll see if I can advance the cause.

Jolly contributed so much to this place. Miss him. We didn't always agree - and that's part of the reason I think we're here. As much as anyone, I love to be right - but even more important I want to know when I might be wrong - or at least what the reasons other people think I'm wrong. Ain't the same place without him - and George. I know some folks come and go - but they're the regulars at the bar.

@Renauda said in RIP Bob Newhart:

For some reason I thought he passed a couple of years back.

In any case, RIP droll jester!

Yes, he did. Back in 2024

lol!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15vKZBBfB1/

We really don't have a lot of details about the situation. I can imagine the idea of taking scores of young girls out in a blinding rain storm in the middle of the night doesn't sound like such a great idea - and we don't know what it would have taken to get them to higher ground. I did read that the head of the camp was in favor of a better warning system - but lacking that one would have thought of a plan B as LuFin has suggested.

My understanding is that they took $10M - but just wanted to use it for their Sheriffs dept - not those damned sirens - which traditionally are louder than wind turbines.

Aged well

Just verified with AI a story that sounded unbelievable - but the lovely people in that county in Texas were offered equipment to warn of flooding - and decided against it. Most of the surrounding counties went for and installed the equipment. Reliable reporting confirms that Kerr County, including the town of Kerrville in Texas, had long declined proposals for installing a flood warning system—even as officials recognized the high flood risk. One plan in 2016 called for a nearly $1 million system, and despite offers of federal funding, the county never moved forward due to a desire concerns primarily focused upon sirens

That flood system could have included outdoor sirens, gauges, and redundant notification methods. However, debates during the county’s commissioners court meetings included dismissive remarks such as preferring the status quo river‑camp “phone‑call” alert system, with one commissioner quipping:

“The thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of night…”

In short:, equipment that would have delivered warnings (sirens and monitoring systems) was proposed multiple times but ultimately rejected.

@Mik said in Got to love AI:

I have found AI invaluable for deciphering various error messages and their resolutions, and figuring out how to do technical things I may not have done in the past. Manuals typically tell you everything but what you need to know.

Yeah - and mixing equipment/software from different companies - and getting things to play well with one another. Manuals are either light on helpful instructions and provide no helpful informaiton or provide information for every conceivable situation but the one you're interested - yet which still require you to spend a few hours searching.

With AI - one gets an immediate answer and if that's inadquate, one can querie again - and get another immedaite reply. Best of all, I can test false assumptions/delusions that I might have - and know instantly if I'm headed down the wrong path before buying something or getting frustrated.

Sorry for you and your family's loss even if a partial blessing. My father suffered from dementia - and my brothers and I fear our futures. All of us would rather die too soon than too late. I really can't say when I lost contact with the person I thought of as my father - though it seemed to come post surgery, perhaps from some mini-strokes.

On one particularly long and steep downhill on a century run - back in the day - I was passing cars - and it was a 50 mph speed limit. I was TERRIFIED thinking that almost anything on the road or any mishap would send my splattered for a long distance. I kinda decided to avoid doing that kind of speed on hills after that. Once you're past warp 10, there's nothing to be done - even touching the brakes would be quite dangerous.