Monday, December 4, 2023
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Trump Era Tax Cuts Are Set To Expire — Here’s How Much More You’ll Pay
What's that old saying? There are only 2 things that are certain in this life, Death and Taxes.
I think that is wrong. I think taxes are both of the things that are certain. I think Taxes are Death.
Taxes suck. Big giant cockroach testicles.
How did this country ever survive before the income tax amendment became law?
Regarding the tax rates, here is what they should be. 1% of your gross annual income. Income being only what you earn from your job. No taxing of capital gains from the sale of your house, etc. Federal tax only, no state or local income taxes. And the amendment should say no new fees can be applied either.
So for each $100,000 of gross income you will pay $1,000 to the tyrannical government.
That is all the damn money they should get. I realize a lot of the "services" will go by the wayside.
It is about damn time for that to happen.
T-Shirt Rates
I used to be a boiler repair mechanic. This t-shirt reminded me of a story my last boiler repair employer told me about his early days of working in Los Angeles area. My time of work for him was 1990 to 1992.
He was trying to repair a boiler that would not fire up. It was located on the rear dock of the building and was critical for this places production.
He had just arrived and was just starting to troubleshoot the unit, when he glanced around and saw, he said, about 10 to 15 people just gathered around the boiler watching him. Weird.
So he gets up to go to the back of the boiler and look thru the sight glass, and he had to physically move around 2 or 3 of the watchers.
When he came back to the front, he continued walking out to his truck. Standing there, he lit up a smoke and was enjoying the smoke and the day.
I used to smoke, and I definitely enjoyed a relaxing moment with my smoke.
So he is just standing there. In that day there were no cell phones, so to occupy your time you stood there, twiddling your thumbs.
Finally one of the observers saw him just standing there. He snarked at him, Aren't you going to fix this?
My employer replied, Fix it? I can't even see it!
When he said that I started laughing, hard. I don't remember if there was any more of the story. I had been in similar situations, that's why I laughed.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
This is probably the real reason George Santos was expelled from Congress
McCarthy wants to expel Matt Gaetz
I believe the bakersfield Kevin McCarthy representative is a large scale RINO.
I believe he hates Matt Gaetz with the passion of a thousand fleas making babies.
This expulsion of Santos is probably driven by mccarthys hatred, simply to get to Matt Gaetz.
I could be wrong. Not impossible. I thought I was wrong once, but I was wrong about that.
I have no proof of anything, but this is my gut feeling. Or gas.
Republican George Santos expelled from Congress in bipartisan vote
Embattled GOP Rep George Santos expelled from House
Republican representative Santos was voted out of congress today.
How the hell does that happen? The asshats that voted him out are NOT his constituents. In my opinion his constituents voted him in, and should be the only ones who can vote him out.
What law gives congress this right? I don't think there is one. I think it is only the rules of congress that allow this to happen.
In my opinion, it isn't right. Now this guy may be a scumbag, I don't know. But shouldn't he be afforded due process? Just like we all hope we get if something happens to us?
In this case, he hasn't been convicted of a damn thing, only accused.
Congress has lost what this country is supposed to be about. Freedom, fairness, right to a trial, etc, etc.
The democrats are using this as an opportunity to try to even the numbers in the house. They could care less about Santos ethics. To them it is all politics.
As for the republicans who voted to expel, I think they are just light weight democrats.
Friday, December 1, 2023
Rant
I have a couple of pickups, and they are both old and have a lot of miles on them. My 2003 Dakota has 291,000 miles on it. And my 1999 Dakota has 349,000 miles on it.
I have been thinking about selling both of these and getting a different truck with less miles on it. But after perusing craigslist and facebook marketplace and seeing the prices people want for used trucks these days, I have put that on hold for now.
2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500hd diesel 4x4 - $25,000
Too much money in my opinion.
So I decided to get my motor rebuilt in my 2003 Dakota. Good idea, right? Not so much in practice.
First place I went to said, We don't rebuild motors. We will replace them. I said can you send it out for rebuilding? And he replied, That takes a long time.
So I left, as it seemed obvious to me he wasn't interested in my money.
Second place I went to said, We don't rebuild motors because it is not cost effective any longer. We can put a new one in. So I asked for him to give me a price on that. The inevitable, I thought.
Didn't hear from that place until a week later. They gave me a price on a new motor of $4500. But they didn't have a clue how much labor to do the work was.
I mean, how can you not at least have an estimate of the labor??
So yesterday I went to a third place. This guys place looked very professional, so I was hopeful. He calls me back 2 hours later with pricing, for parts AND labor.
A remanufactured motor, installed parts and labor, he wants $9000. Not including any accessories that may be necessary.
A used motor at 120,000 miles 3 month warranty, installed parts and labor he wants $6000. Not including a new timing chain, which he calls part of the accessory work, more money.
Well crap. So I called a supposed engine rebuilder in fresno. At 11:30 AM, and was told call back at 1:30 to talk to Wayne. 2 hour lunch, huh.
This morning I called at 9AM, asked about getting a price to rebuild the motor in my truck. The guy said you mean engine? I said yeah, he said motors are electric, call back in 10 minutes and talk to wayne.
Okay. I give it 30 minutes, got ahold of wayne. He said give me a minute to wake up, then said I gotta go to the front. He said okay, now, what do you want. I repeated I wanted a price to rebuild the Motor in my truck. Took about 5 minutes for him to write down the very simple info of 2003 Dodge Dakota, 4.7 l engine. And I am not exaggerating about that, this guy was not firing on all 8 cylinders.
He finally got that wrote down, then asked why are you wanting to rebuild, and I repeated because it has 291,000 miles on it. He laughed at me and then raised his voice and said, It's just getting broke in!
Now I realize he was trying to joke, but I was already PO'd and frustrated. So I said okay thank you and hung up.
So now I'm thinking I will just do it myself as I probably should have from the git go. But dammit, I don't wanna. Picture a crying baby with gigantic crocodile tears.
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Artificial Intelligence, AI, Sucks
Check out this over at Wendy's Place
There is a video called Slaughterbots there. Take a few minutes to watch it.
Think of the implications of this video. Holy shit, better be careful what you post.
308 Win vs 277 FURY: We Have A PROBLEM!
Another Dream to Make Me Wake Up to Go Pee
If a bean is a bean, what is a Pee? Answer: Relief.
Before I awakened at the buttcrack of night to go pee, my mind was dreaming a weird dream in an effort to make me get up and go pee.
This particular dream started off with my wife or my mother locking the front door so we could all go to bed.
Then I hear a noise outside and go to investigate. Two guys are by my old green truck and I go to yell at them, but my voice catches and all I do is croak. Then I get my voice back and yell HEY!
The two guys drop down to hide. I notice a guy sitting in a lawnchair in the front yard of the house across the street, talking on a cell phone.
Then a 3 story apartment house magically appears across the street and the two guys by my truck and the guy on the phone all rush to the stairs and go up to the 3rd floor and enter one of the apartments while the guy on the phone is glaring daggers at me.
I go over to my old green truck. The front of the truck is just a blur, but I can see the two have broken out the side window of the camper top and unfastened the top from the truck bed and had it slid about halfway off.
Immediately next to my old green truck is my neighbors lawn, and two guys are mowing the lawn. And in the dream I'm thinking why are they mowing the lawn in the dark?
So I ask them if they saw anything and they say no. So I yell at one guy, and then in my dream he sits down at a folding table that appears, and I am asking him to write his name and phone number down so I can give it to the cops as a witness they can talk to.
But he isn't answering and then the back yard gate opens and a neighbor comes out I recognize as living there some years before. And she says the guys name and I tell him to write it down.
Now here comes the part where my mind wants me to wake up. Across the street in front of the apartment house is a gigantic old oldsmobile sedan. And about a dozen cartel members come out of this apartment, all of them carrrying AR's or AK's, and all of them get into this gigantic old sedan.
And then they all get out and start firing at all of us across the street.
And the people on my side of the street start firing back. Where the heck did they get the guns to do that all of a sudden? But there were only 4 of us before, now about 20 or 30 guns are firing back at the cartel members across the street.
Except me, I don't have a gun. Why the hell not, Dream? So I go running around the front of my truck to get to my house and get my AK to join in.
But somehow a big concrete porch has materialized in front of my house, and there is a belt fed machine gun set in place and going BOOMBOOMBOOM as fast as it could at the cartel guys across the street.
Then I finally wake up to go pee.
Okay, it won't be a big movie in hollywood. But maybe stallone can make this a scene in his next expendables movie.
2:47 AM and I'm Wide Awake
I'm wide awake and as I was laying there trying to force myself to sleep of course my mind starts wandering.
And I remembered an incident that happened last century. Isn't it weird to be able to say that?
About 2:47 AM one fine morning in the late 80's early 90's I was in a deep heavy sleep. When I was awakened by the sound of a large vehicle screeching to a stop in front of my house. Then a large sound of whoosh as air was released.
Look out my bedroom window and I see a very large firetruck with lots of red flashing lights parked on the street.
Son of a bitch. Now I am very much awake thank you very much.
Throw on some pants and then, barefoot and shirtless I haul ass outside to the firetruck. The firechief is coming out of the truck yelling at me Where's the fire?
My brilliant response was, What fire?
He said, we got a 911 call that said there was a fire in the backyard of the house at this address. I said, MY BACKYARD?
I turned and went to my side gate and unlocked it and went to my back yard followed by 3 or 4 firefighters and there is no fire in my backyard. WTF?
And then, this voice comes out of my neighbors backyard. It says, Hey guys the fires over here.
Holy crap. The firefighters turned in formation like they had practiced that move all day long, the neighbor opened his gate and we all filed into HIS backyard.
My neighbor's house had a beautiful fireplace/barbecue grill area.
And this jackwagon, at 3AM, was burning a buttload of chinaberries in this fireplace, and that's what this anonymous caller saw.
You see those brown things? I guess those are seeds, and these trees spread about a blue million of these things in the yard. I had two of those in my backyard and took them both out. I used to fill 30 or so 30 gallon garbage bags a week of those things to get rid of them.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
I like VDH, but I think he is offbase with this one.
I declare BS on this.
None of the biden crime family will ever go to jail. They may get investigated, but definitely no punishment will come down.
I don't know the in's and out's or the why's and wherefore's, but I firmly believe they are never going to jail. They are in the club. Until we kill everybody in the club, nobody goes to jail.
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Lovers Quarrel??
The most intense fight I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/TCXXO98ijp
— a guy (@apiecebyguy) December 4, 2018
Friday, November 24, 2023
Black Friday
This morning I decided to go get a few items from the target store. I needed to mail my property taxes anyway so kill two bugs with one can of spray.
Mailed the bill went to target. Parked way the hell out in the back 40 cause that's where I always park. Only way I get any exercise is by doing that. Paid no attention to the blue million cars in the parking lot.
Get inside get a cart and think, Damn. It's busy today. Walking along I notice EVERY register is open. EVERY register is at least 3 deep in checkouts.
And then it hit me. Today is the day after. Holy Shit what was I thinking!!
Slowly I turned. Step by Step, Inch by Inch I return my cart to the cart center and nonchalantly make my way to the door. Where I proceeded to run like hell to my truck and go the heck home.
What was I thinking?
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Smog Check Time
My 1999 Dodge Dakota is up for registration, due Nov. 30. It has to have a Smog Check this year, said in a classic doomsday voice.
So my 1999 vehicle has to have the tailpipe emissions checked, fortunately they won't be checking MY tailpipe emissions. I would definitely fail in that arena.
So anyway, as usual I go looking on the internet to see how many readiness monitors for the OBD II system here in Calif. can be Not Ready and still pass smog so I can get registered. And it looks like things are still as they were a couple years ago: Smog Tips
The Bureau of Automotive Repairs has reduced the number of allowable incomplete OBD II readiness monitors for both the new BAR-OIS (for 2000 & newer vehicles) and the BAR-97 (1999 & older) smog inspections systems. The new criteria is as follows: Gasoline vehicles: - 1996-1999 model year vehicles will be allowed one incomplete readiness/emission monitor - 2000 and newer model year vehicles will need all emission monitors in READY or COMPLETE status, with the exception of the EVAP monitor. AN incomplete evaporative monitor will not cause a smog check failure. It will be the only monitor allowed to be incomplete on a 2000 & newer vehicle. Diesel vehicles: - 1998-2006 model year vehicles are required to have all monitors complete or ready. - 2007 and newer model year vehicles are allowed only an incomplete exhaust after-treatment system monitor (e.g., particulate filter, NOx/SCR treatment, catalyst, etc.) |
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Unexpected Consequences
You ever have one of those unexpected consequences things?
I did last night.
I went to add a piece of wood to my fireplace insert to keep the flames going. I picked up this piece of wood and it felt like a splinter was digging into the base of my bird flipping finger on my left hand.
It started getting mightily uncomfortable so I transferred the wood to my right hand and immediately a little sucker just like that in the picture fell to the floor. A damn wasp stung me.
Where the hell did it come from. It was just sitting on the wood all that time from when I brought it in the house?
Sheesh. Cold water and neosporin fixed it right up though.
The wasp died a horrible death I guess cause when it fell to the floor it did not move a muscle. That's what biting me gets ya. Probably afraid of bacterial infection.
When I was 10 years old I was farting around outside, and all of a sudden it felt like I got poleaxed and I fell to the ground. A wasp or something stung me in my right temple and I am here to tell you that cottonpickin flat out HURT!
I farted around a little bit more then I started getting uncomfortable, and my whole body started swelling up. Next thing I know I looked like the pillsbury dough boy.
My arms were so swelled they stuck out about 45 degrees from my side and my legs the same. I was tremendously uncomfortable. It subsided in a few hours.
That is an experience I don't care to repeat.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Saturday, November 18, 2023
A few more pics of my recent visit to my family
During my recent visit to my family in Levelland, Lubbock, and Ralls, Texas, we had a semi get together at Rudys barbecue joint in Lubbock. After that, my sister and I just kinda drove around for a while, and she took me to this Veterans Memorial in the middle of town.
I had never been there before, and I was quite impressed. Here are a few pics of that. You may need to increase the viewing size of your web browser to get a better look:
Names of Veterans can be memorialized on the bricks:
Here is a view of the small lake they have there:
And last, but not least:
Doin the Job of the Feds is a Full Time Job
Well, holy shitake mushrooms! The State of Texas is going to do what the federal government is supposed to be doing.
Well Done!