No, not the Susan Cooper series that is a hell of a lot better than Harry Potter. (I highly recommend it; The Dark is Rising and The Grey King each can be read on their own and are masterpieces).
Rather, C-t-D reminds us of the darkness to come. Have you stocked up?
Getcher Lawn Signs here.
Or you can get ’em by visiting Caleb (and Phil) in person this weekend.
Finally, in apparent breach of its own issuance policy, the County grants CCWs to members of the Honorary Deputy Sheriff’s Association (“HDSAâ€) – a private, civilian entity, wherein membership is achieved merely by being sponsored by a current member, passing a background check, making a “donation†and paying annual dues – while at the same time the County denies other law-abiding, non-HDSA-members who are similarly situated. That arbitrary difference in treatment also violates the Equal Protection rights of Plaintiffs.
–From partial motion for summary judgment in Peruta et al. v. San Diego County, just filed by California’s NRA/CRPA Legal Action Project attorney and longtime Calgunner Chuck Michel. Bolded emphasis mine. Yes, you need to bribe the San Diego sheriff to get your CCW.
The New America Foundation shows you how!
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, a debate over Social Security is heating up. This debate raises fundamental questions about the kind of society in which Americans wish to live. So far, the debate has been between deficit-busters who say Social Security must be trimmed back to reduce government indebtedness and others who want to maintain it as is.
But the New America Foundation just released a study that proposes a different approach: doubling the current Social Security payout, and making it a true national retirement system. Creating a more robust system of “Social Security Plus†not only would be good for American retirees, but also would be good for the greater macro economy.
They are essentially admitting that not enough people are dependent upon government, and that they aim to fix that dilemma.
Their next “great idea” will probably be along the lines of making the retirement age a mandatory 55.
Don’t worry, we’re not going to drag ourselves through the Glowball Warmening debate here.
This is just the economy. Nothing important.
I have a very disturbing email that came in this evening. It alleges out-and-out fraudulent reporting of home sales in one of the regional MLS systems. That is, prices paid that are in fact much lower than the “sold” prices reported in the MLS.
The person in question claims to have seen over 100 of these in his area. I have copies of two, and it appears, from the evidence that I have, that at least for those two the claim is accurate.
One in particular I was able to pull the auction data on. It “sold” under reserve, is listed as sold in the MLS at ~25% higher than the “sold” bid, and the premium is disclosed as 5%. This property also has a 90-day “anti-flip” provision on it, implying that the paper may be held by one of the GSEs. (It’s a nice-looking place, incidentally.)
The original writer warns that if you are working your way through any real estate transaction that involves using comparable prices (aka: 90% of real estate transactions), you need to check out the comps used for yourself. Do not believe anyone in the market area until you do or you could be paying way too much for your region/area.
And to think, they used to teach spelling in school.
Oregon seventh-graders and high school students will now be able to use their computer’s automated spelling checker when taking the state writing test, the Oregon Department of Education announced today.
The test asks students to write an essay in response to a prompt. Their writing is judged on six traits, including organization and sentence fluency. Conventions – which includes spelling, capitalization and similar features which spell check can detect and fix – is the single most important element in a student’s score, with conventions score counted for twice as much as any other trait.
One more actual life skill tossed out the window so that little Johnny and Suzie don’t get their feelings hurt by their report cards and the teachers can have even more “planning days”.
FerFal’s been on a roll with some good posts in recent days. Today he’s got a long one about QuikClot, including a link to this video (warning: graphic).
Some years ago I bought several QuikClot packs for home and car and the trauma kit in my get-me-home bag. They’re hitting their “Use By” dates and I need to replace them (they’re the old style that caused the exothermic reaction anyway, so they need to go). I’ve thought about switching to the CavArms Personal Trauma Kits sold by Dillon — they use Celox. However, the newer QuikClot supposedly doesn’t have the exothermic 2nd-degree-burn-in-the-wound problem.
Thoughts?
If you’ve ever read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker, you’ll want to read the prequel — a deleted first chapter, really — also by him. It’s pleasure I’ve returned to every Fall for the last few decades. Enjoy.
Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker
When we started for our drive the sun was shining brightly on Munich, and the air was full of the joyousness of early summer. Just as we were about to depart, Herr Delbrück (the maître d’hôtel of the Quatre Saisons, where I was staying) came down, bareheaded, to the carriage and, after wishing me a pleasant drive, said to the coachman, still holding his hand on the handle of the carriage door:
‘Remember you are back by nightfall. The sky looks bright but there is a shiver in the north wind that says there may be a sudden storm. But I am sure you will not be late.’ Here he smiled, and added, ‘for you know what night it is.’
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More of the usual brilliance from The Last Psychiatrist.
