We did the corned beef in cabbage in the pressure cooker. Along with that, various chef shows and some nice $2 Chuck Merlot.
The wine made Barb flush, not unusual in such a fine vintage. The meat came out real good, 90 minutes in pressure cooker, then another 3 minutes with the cabbage.
It was a quiet day. It's cold right now and there is a prediction of hail tonight. We moved some plants just in case.
Food stocks remain ok. We ate through a lot of the corned beef tonight. It tasted well and we were hungry. Basically, we may have to replenish our proteins at some point.
That's about it for now. Stay safe my friends and family!
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
St. Pat's Day
When we went shopping yesterday, all the meat was gone except for a couple of hams and a lot of corned beef.
I grabbed one of each and when I got back to the cart, Barb had grabbed a corned beef too. We did put the second one back.
We have some cabbage and we're going to cook it up in the pressure cooker today.
One of the big problems we are having is in which order to cook food. Normally there is not a lot on hand so we tend to go out a lot. It's been nice to cook more and we're getting better at making the cleanups and washing less of an onerous task.
The sun is shinning today and I'm going to get some exposure. It is still very cold in the high 30s at the moment. It's about 9am. I've been doing a keto type diet and that's led to vitamin research, etc. D3 is on the top of the list and I've even bought some pills! A first for me. Keto diets seem to be lacking in magnesium and potassium and, ready?, sodium. I've got pills for those too. How about omega-3 fats? Ok, add those.
I don't want this to be a diet blog, so if there is interest, let me know and I'll pass on what I am up to. Quite interesting actually in terms of new information.
We are sheltered, we walked around the neighborhood each evening. There is a family that's playing tennis - I may introduce them to pickleball. My pickleball group seems to have shut down. The golf courses are closed. I may hit some rubber golf balls at the school or get out the Frizbees for some exercise.
March 17, 2020
I grabbed one of each and when I got back to the cart, Barb had grabbed a corned beef too. We did put the second one back.
We have some cabbage and we're going to cook it up in the pressure cooker today.
One of the big problems we are having is in which order to cook food. Normally there is not a lot on hand so we tend to go out a lot. It's been nice to cook more and we're getting better at making the cleanups and washing less of an onerous task.
The sun is shinning today and I'm going to get some exposure. It is still very cold in the high 30s at the moment. It's about 9am. I've been doing a keto type diet and that's led to vitamin research, etc. D3 is on the top of the list and I've even bought some pills! A first for me. Keto diets seem to be lacking in magnesium and potassium and, ready?, sodium. I've got pills for those too. How about omega-3 fats? Ok, add those.
I don't want this to be a diet blog, so if there is interest, let me know and I'll pass on what I am up to. Quite interesting actually in terms of new information.
We are sheltered, we walked around the neighborhood each evening. There is a family that's playing tennis - I may introduce them to pickleball. My pickleball group seems to have shut down. The golf courses are closed. I may hit some rubber golf balls at the school or get out the Frizbees for some exercise.
March 17, 2020
Monday, March 16, 2020
Shelter in Place
The whole area is now under a shelter in place order. Wente, a high end course, has closed. Probably others. It seems to be essential services only.
Barb and I went shopping today to pick up a few things as we are supposed to be shutdown for three weeks.
The store wasn't real busy, but there were a lot of empty shelves. They had Coke and even their generic cola, which can be rare in the best of times. No toilet paper and limited paper towels. The check out gal said that if one came by in the morning, you could get TP.
Barb bought some Donuts, powered sugared, of course. The gal in line in front of us has some too along with a fifth of Jack Daniels.
It looks like we have enough food and stuff. Bought a ham and some corned beef and we have lots of eggs. Father used to say, "The definition of eternity is one ham and only two people to eat it." We'll see!
Stocks took another beating today. As long as all this doesn't last too long, I can't see it as a permanent condition. The economy will come back and the market will rise. Now there is also an oil war going on. The barrel price is about $30 and the gas prices around here are coming down.
So maybe this is a short, bumpy ride. It's too soon to tell, of course.
Barb and I went shopping today to pick up a few things as we are supposed to be shutdown for three weeks.
The store wasn't real busy, but there were a lot of empty shelves. They had Coke and even their generic cola, which can be rare in the best of times. No toilet paper and limited paper towels. The check out gal said that if one came by in the morning, you could get TP.
Barb bought some Donuts, powered sugared, of course. The gal in line in front of us has some too along with a fifth of Jack Daniels.
It looks like we have enough food and stuff. Bought a ham and some corned beef and we have lots of eggs. Father used to say, "The definition of eternity is one ham and only two people to eat it." We'll see!
Stocks took another beating today. As long as all this doesn't last too long, I can't see it as a permanent condition. The economy will come back and the market will rise. Now there is also an oil war going on. The barrel price is about $30 and the gas prices around here are coming down.
So maybe this is a short, bumpy ride. It's too soon to tell, of course.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Lock Down!
The governor had decided that all old folks, thank you very much, should stay home and not mix.
Is a walking golfer mixing? Hard to say.
Also restaurants and bars are supposed to be closed. Take out is supposed to be ok. I've seen anything official, so do not rely on me for accurate information.
Exxon is now mid 30s... Just saying.
Is a walking golfer mixing? Hard to say.
Also restaurants and bars are supposed to be closed. Take out is supposed to be ok. I've seen anything official, so do not rely on me for accurate information.
Exxon is now mid 30s... Just saying.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Putting in a Time of Cholera
As things with the covid-19 virus are unfolding, it seems that it might be a good time to jot down what's happening around my life, and Pleasanton and the small sphere I call home.
First anecdote: Barb says, "Go over to Trader Joe's and get some mixed nuts and a small cake and some ice cream for my investment club." Sure, no problem...
I wander over and it's yesterday, March 13, 2020, and the parking lot seems busy. This is nothing too unusual, but it's only 2:30 and it does seem strange. It's crowded a lot after 5 to 7 or so as folks shop after work.
I go inside and it's crowded. Every check out line is running and the lines are long. And there are a lot of empty shelves. I've seen this before, but it was in Budapest... I was astounded. I'd heard about toilet paper being horded, but I've not seen TJ's sold out of soup, most meats, all the milk, and all the eggs. Yes, eggs were on the list too.
I was looking for salted mixed nuts -- sold out of what I wanted. I get to the check out counter and the guy in the checkout line next to me has a cart with 50 bags of nuts in it -- and nothing else, he just bought all the nuts. "So that's where all the nuts went," I say with maybe just a touch of disapproval in my voice. The guy looks at me and says nothing.
I took a picture and a couple of videos of the store shelves and meat counters.
So, did I stock up? No, I did buy a couple of things not on the list, but I made no attempt to hoard.
Today, Saturday, we stopped in Safeway after a cup of coffee. They had almost everything. No TP, those shelves were cleaned out. Some of the fruits and vegetables were in short supply and avocados were $2.50 each. Not sure if supply lines are an issue at this point and it's raising prices.
We bought $100 worth of groceries, which is a lot for us. But we are going to do some cooking and it will get eaten.
I've not heard of any restaurants having supply issues. At this point it all is strange, perhaps/hopefully pointlessly strange. I'm not worried about the future at this point. There are no reported cases of the virus in our area. People are being careful touching things and shaking hands and the post golf luncheon discussions touch on this topic. And except for the TP issue, everything is available.
Future thoughts: It might be a nice time to replace the cars if things get bad. We bought on the dip in 2008/9 and saved about $5000 each. I probably have one more car purchase in my life time and it might be useful to do it now. The same can be said for the stock market. It's been jumping and dipping. Business has to be slower due to government actions, so quarterly news is probably going to be lower. For example I looked at Exxon the other day. It's down about 50% in cost and the dividend yield is over 8%. I have a long window and one might expect that investment there would have long legs. I'm sure there are other stocks that have been punished.
That's the news for the moment.
First anecdote: Barb says, "Go over to Trader Joe's and get some mixed nuts and a small cake and some ice cream for my investment club." Sure, no problem...
I wander over and it's yesterday, March 13, 2020, and the parking lot seems busy. This is nothing too unusual, but it's only 2:30 and it does seem strange. It's crowded a lot after 5 to 7 or so as folks shop after work.
I go inside and it's crowded. Every check out line is running and the lines are long. And there are a lot of empty shelves. I've seen this before, but it was in Budapest... I was astounded. I'd heard about toilet paper being horded, but I've not seen TJ's sold out of soup, most meats, all the milk, and all the eggs. Yes, eggs were on the list too.
I was looking for salted mixed nuts -- sold out of what I wanted. I get to the check out counter and the guy in the checkout line next to me has a cart with 50 bags of nuts in it -- and nothing else, he just bought all the nuts. "So that's where all the nuts went," I say with maybe just a touch of disapproval in my voice. The guy looks at me and says nothing.
I took a picture and a couple of videos of the store shelves and meat counters.
So, did I stock up? No, I did buy a couple of things not on the list, but I made no attempt to hoard.
Today, Saturday, we stopped in Safeway after a cup of coffee. They had almost everything. No TP, those shelves were cleaned out. Some of the fruits and vegetables were in short supply and avocados were $2.50 each. Not sure if supply lines are an issue at this point and it's raising prices.
We bought $100 worth of groceries, which is a lot for us. But we are going to do some cooking and it will get eaten.
I've not heard of any restaurants having supply issues. At this point it all is strange, perhaps/hopefully pointlessly strange. I'm not worried about the future at this point. There are no reported cases of the virus in our area. People are being careful touching things and shaking hands and the post golf luncheon discussions touch on this topic. And except for the TP issue, everything is available.
Future thoughts: It might be a nice time to replace the cars if things get bad. We bought on the dip in 2008/9 and saved about $5000 each. I probably have one more car purchase in my life time and it might be useful to do it now. The same can be said for the stock market. It's been jumping and dipping. Business has to be slower due to government actions, so quarterly news is probably going to be lower. For example I looked at Exxon the other day. It's down about 50% in cost and the dividend yield is over 8%. I have a long window and one might expect that investment there would have long legs. I'm sure there are other stocks that have been punished.
That's the news for the moment.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
MLJ Part 3
John had done some research for the Monday lunch time walk.
As they strolled the sidewalks through the buildings, John described the basics of the California FastTrak system.
"Here's the deal. The FastTrak box is a transponder that is operating in the 900 megahertz band. There is a battery in the original models -- I didn't think they had one -- the new ones are wired to the car's power."
"900 megahertz ought to sound familiar as it's used for cordless phones. The speed traps do a couple of things. They send a pulse to the transponder and read the reply. The transponders send an account number and the speed of the car. The speed trap then sends that information and the value of the speed limit to a database. Software is there looking for violations and recording location and time information along with the account number."
"The account number is connected to a human and if there is a violation, you get a notice and a fine. If it's a bridge toll, then it just pulls money from your account and if needed will pull money from the credit card attached to the account."
"Now, the amusing part of this is that we can easily tap broadcasts in the 900 megahertz range. That hardware has been around for a long time. It's a frequency dedicated to local communications and standard HAM gear can tune to it."
"What's the next step"" ask Mark.
"We have to do a couple of things. We need some kind of portable recorder to read some messages. The transponder reader passes the data off to another network which provides the connection to the database."
"What are we going to do to the system?" asked Luke. They were looping around Lake Houseman, just off the main cafeteria. It was really a flood control pond. Pond being a generous term. But it provided reeds and some birds and it was rumored to contain a few of the red legged frogs, which were high up the list of endangered Californian species. The walkers would see them dead on the path on occasion, victims of the hot California sun.
"That's the million dollar question. If we can get into the system we can do normal database things, like deleting items and searching, etc. But we can't just erase our speeding tickets. There should be log files that would record deletions and that would lead back to us. And there have to be backups. So they could restore the database if we just destroyed it. No, if we want to make the system obsolete we need a different approach."
Lunch was over as they returned to building 350. They grabbed afternoon beverages from the snack bar and got back to work.
As they strolled the sidewalks through the buildings, John described the basics of the California FastTrak system.
"Here's the deal. The FastTrak box is a transponder that is operating in the 900 megahertz band. There is a battery in the original models -- I didn't think they had one -- the new ones are wired to the car's power."
"900 megahertz ought to sound familiar as it's used for cordless phones. The speed traps do a couple of things. They send a pulse to the transponder and read the reply. The transponders send an account number and the speed of the car. The speed trap then sends that information and the value of the speed limit to a database. Software is there looking for violations and recording location and time information along with the account number."
"The account number is connected to a human and if there is a violation, you get a notice and a fine. If it's a bridge toll, then it just pulls money from your account and if needed will pull money from the credit card attached to the account."
"Now, the amusing part of this is that we can easily tap broadcasts in the 900 megahertz range. That hardware has been around for a long time. It's a frequency dedicated to local communications and standard HAM gear can tune to it."
"What's the next step"" ask Mark.
"We have to do a couple of things. We need some kind of portable recorder to read some messages. The transponder reader passes the data off to another network which provides the connection to the database."
"What are we going to do to the system?" asked Luke. They were looping around Lake Houseman, just off the main cafeteria. It was really a flood control pond. Pond being a generous term. But it provided reeds and some birds and it was rumored to contain a few of the red legged frogs, which were high up the list of endangered Californian species. The walkers would see them dead on the path on occasion, victims of the hot California sun.
"That's the million dollar question. If we can get into the system we can do normal database things, like deleting items and searching, etc. But we can't just erase our speeding tickets. There should be log files that would record deletions and that would lead back to us. And there have to be backups. So they could restore the database if we just destroyed it. No, if we want to make the system obsolete we need a different approach."
Lunch was over as they returned to building 350. They grabbed afternoon beverages from the snack bar and got back to work.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Mark, Luke, John Part 2
John was in his office.
"Got a couple of minutes?" Mark asked.
"Sure," said John.
Luke and Mark walked into the office and closed the door. Doors didn't get closed much in building 350 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It was building of labs, but no classified work was done there. Office doors were supposed to be closed if you were not there for security reasons, but otherwise no rules to close them.
"What's on your minds, guys?" asked John.
"We have a little project in mind. But it's not work related and maybe it's not something you want to get into. We need some hardware help and some radio-frequency monitoring," said Mark.
"I can get all the gear needed for that. But what's the problem with the project?" asked John.
"It would be declaring war, just a bit mind you, on the State of California. But it would make things better for the population and Luke and I are bored enough and ready to give it a try," said Mark.
"Wow. Well, I always wanted to see what warfare would be like. Are we talking bullets?"
"No, just some magic dust for a database, but it might do something about the speed traps."
"Why don't we take our usual post lunch walk and discuss this. I'm up for an adventure," said John.
John was in his fifties, like Mark and Luke. They were all settled in their careers and feeling that urge to grab a rifle and head for the hills once while they still could.
On the walk around the lab, Mark and Luke laid out their unhappiness with the speed monitors and what they might be able to do about it. John was all in. Who hadn't been caught by the monitors?
"Ok, I'm in. But if we are going to become felons we probably ought to have some rules about all of this. No talking to spouses, no meeting outside of work. We can take advantage of the lab security and pretty much know that the state can't spy on us. Don't be Googling about the system. When the shit hits the fan, we want no connections to show up. Don't write anything down or toss it into the lab burn bags. Let me look into the echnical specifications and I'll see what's possible.
They agreed to do nothing until John had done his work. The luncheon walks were the norm and they decided to discuss everything then.
"Got a couple of minutes?" Mark asked.
"Sure," said John.
Luke and Mark walked into the office and closed the door. Doors didn't get closed much in building 350 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It was building of labs, but no classified work was done there. Office doors were supposed to be closed if you were not there for security reasons, but otherwise no rules to close them.
"What's on your minds, guys?" asked John.
"We have a little project in mind. But it's not work related and maybe it's not something you want to get into. We need some hardware help and some radio-frequency monitoring," said Mark.
"I can get all the gear needed for that. But what's the problem with the project?" asked John.
"It would be declaring war, just a bit mind you, on the State of California. But it would make things better for the population and Luke and I are bored enough and ready to give it a try," said Mark.
"Wow. Well, I always wanted to see what warfare would be like. Are we talking bullets?"
"No, just some magic dust for a database, but it might do something about the speed traps."
"Why don't we take our usual post lunch walk and discuss this. I'm up for an adventure," said John.
John was in his fifties, like Mark and Luke. They were all settled in their careers and feeling that urge to grab a rifle and head for the hills once while they still could.
On the walk around the lab, Mark and Luke laid out their unhappiness with the speed monitors and what they might be able to do about it. John was all in. Who hadn't been caught by the monitors?
"Ok, I'm in. But if we are going to become felons we probably ought to have some rules about all of this. No talking to spouses, no meeting outside of work. We can take advantage of the lab security and pretty much know that the state can't spy on us. Don't be Googling about the system. When the shit hits the fan, we want no connections to show up. Don't write anything down or toss it into the lab burn bags. Let me look into the echnical specifications and I'll see what's possible.
They agreed to do nothing until John had done his work. The luncheon walks were the norm and they decided to discuss everything then.
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