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Re: Yer not immune for your acts of treason, Donnie - 5 days ago

QuoteRAMd®d Which federal appeals court made the ruling and how many judges is a 'full panel'? This was a typical 3 judge panel of the DC Circuit. One was a Trump appointee, fwiw. All 3 judge panels can be reviewed by an "en banc" panel of 'all' the judges in the circuit (though usually it is not all, just maybe 9). However, as the article suggests, this is a choice made by t

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Re: Anyone using Amazon Pharmacy or Mark Cuban's pharmacy for meds? - 6 days ago

QuoteHow does the Costco pharmacy stackup against the others? We have been happy with Costco mail and the warehouse service. However we only have generics, so have not really challenged them. My spouse did get a script for an absurdly priced antibiotic from an urgent care doc. The Costco pharmacist raised a flag ('Did you know that this will be $8000?') before things got very far. I appre

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Re: delayed Social Security - 7 days ago

fwiw, I believe benefits increase 8% for each full year past retirement age until age 70. (There is no monthly increment.) The curves cross around 80 depending on your birth year and spousal benefit. Some advisors argue that 8% is pretty good "return".... But as others have argued, it comes down to life expectancy. The government actuaries have priced this in to the 8%. And they

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Re: Anything new in a simple to use podcast app for iPhone? - 16 days ago

Overcast for sure

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Re: Biden forgets who is president - 26 days ago

fwiw, at this time in 1983 only 35% of Americans thought Ronald Reagan should run again in 1984. And at this time in 2011 about that many people thought Obama should run....

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Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison: looking at CT scans - 7 weeks ago

These guys were doing a marketing post about their CT tech. They were not really trying to do an 'ifixit'-like look at the universe of cables. I thought their post about the Apple cable was interesting in the context of complaints about how expensive it it. It is not really surprising to MRF folks that true TB4 cables are expensive, but to look at the engineering is interesting.

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USB-C head-to-head comparison: looking at CT scans - 7 weeks ago

Lumafield uses precision CT to look at products. This marketing piece examines a few USB C cables to uncover the underlying engineering. They start with Apple's TB4: QuoteOverall, the Thunderbolt cable is a stunning piece of precision engineering. The others: not so much. Maybe it is no surprise that the 3.99 cable from Bezosville does not support 40Gbs...

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Re: time to nuke and pave ... unfortunately - 7 weeks ago

Remember that in Monterey the system is sealed and cannot be the problem. (If it was the problem it would not boot.) With the sealed system, 'nuke and pave' can be limited to 'Erase all Content and Settings' and then reinstall your data backup. Unless is the backup is bad also bad. If so, then migrate the data by hand (arghhhh!)

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Re: This man is going to run for president... - 7 weeks ago

KFF says that less than 1% of abortions happen after 21 weeks. This is usually because of non-viability and maternal health. See also, the various recent cases in the media of women with dead fetuses being forced to wait until birth. The whackos have argued that 'liberals' line up to abort babies because they 'want to' for decades BECAUSE IT POLLS WELL FOR THEM. And restrictions on early ab

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Re: Looking for AI photo restoration software - 2 months ago

Hmmm, well I am involved in the same kind of task. Recently had my brother, who works at Adobe, use the PS process...and the results were meh. My son asked a redditor for help on the test case and it was perfect. But the redditor will not tell us what he used? (People post photos for help all the time, eg, 'can someone help me with this shot of my mother?') I tried five different "A

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Re: PSA: Howard Oakley says we really do not need to do clean install on modern hardware - 2 months ago

I think his argument is oriented against what we used to call 'nuke and pave' where we were concerned about accumulating 'cruft' in the system software (from old extensions and so forth.) Since Big Sur, the system volume is locked. But there is also cruft in user data. Old apps, old app support files, etc, can be eliminated. Migration Assistant will still bring most of this stuff under the

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PSA: Howard Oakley says we really do not need to do clean install on modern hardware - 2 months ago

Howard writes: QuoteConclusion There are several ways in which you might ‘clean’ install a modern version of macOS on an Intel Mac with a T2 chip, or an Apple silicon Mac. Each has its uses, but none of them brings the advantages that a ‘clean’ install had in the past. There is seldom any need now to go to those lengths, thanks to the way that macOS works, its thorough integrity che

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Re: ‘ Invasive mussel discovery in Idaho puts Pacific Northwest on alert ‘ - 2 months ago

And in Tahoe: Invasive New Zealand mudsnails found in Lake Tahoe QuoteSOUTH LAKE TAHOE — They’re tiny, they live in fun shells with whorls and grooves, and they don’t need males to reproduce. They’ve also spread through waterways across North America — far from their native land in the South Pacific — including rivers and lakes up and down California and were finally spotted

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Re: Explain the current budget crisis - 2 months ago

Biden and McCarthy agreed to overall budget numbers in the Spring deal over the debt ceiling. There was some pain shared out, but the numbers were clearly stated. Bipartisan agreement in the Senate to the deal meant that the spending bills have been passed by the Senate already (for the most part.) With quite bipartisan numbers.... But the "Freedom Caucus" claimed that McCarthy

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Re: RANT: Parents and Tech Support - 2 months ago

Quotevicrock so thanks for the teamviewer referrral! fwiw I used "free" Teamviewer for years to provide occasional Mac tech support to family. Over the last couple years I found them cutting me off with the claim that I was using it commercially. I had to abandon it. We have had several discussions of remote support here. I have used Messages very successfully (but the Apple

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Re: "The Blind Side" Family claims they are the victims of an attempted shakedown - 3 months ago

This was a Michael Lewis book before the movie was made. Like Moneyball, etc. The negative reviews then were mostly that Lewis suggested that athletics was the only thing that mattered. That was not my take from the book. Really unfortunate.

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Re: Smoke Alarm 10 year battery life - 3 months ago

fwiw, in Cali most detectors are considered hazardous waste--instead of e-waste--because of the tiny amount of Americium in the detector. The battery is also hazardous, but there are more sites for those. We have to take the old detectors to a special drop off.

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Re: Does your family turn in bottles and cans to collect the deposit? - 4 months ago

Battles over 'bottle bills' started when we were all young. I remember the battle in Oregon in 70's. Grocers and beverage companies funded huge efforts to prevent deposits and still show up when someone proposes a new effort. I cannot imagine it getting through Congress now. Return rates are a bit higher than you think. Maybe 10 years ago California raised the deposit amounts to create m

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Re: MORE new felony charges against Trumpo - 4 months ago

Quotethirty-second document to the tally Apparently this is the 'missing' Iran war plan that Trump showcased in Bedminster. One of the TV lawyers pointed out that having it charged will prevent Cannon from disallowing the recording. It is/was Top Secret.

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Re: 200W Renogy 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel Bundle (2x 100W Panels) $179.99 - 4 months ago

Quotebtfc the grid tie setup. This is the issue with DIY. All the solar installs that pump power into the house require a safety ('transfer') switch (generators as well) so that in outages there is no power flowing back to the grid. It is a safety issue for linemen. In many places the building code/inspection requirements for DIY are, well, challenging. The "pros" do not get t

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Re: Gen Z voters are skewing left big time - 4 months ago

I heard Della Volpe interviewed and I believe he said 4m Gen Zers are aging into voting every election. And 1m Boomers are dying.

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Re: What does a pro guide do when a bear charges? - 5 months ago

QuoteSmote I've worked a lot up there when I was younger, and I can assure you, the protection they brought was more than bear spray. It is a real visceral experience when they charge. I have spent some time in Alaska as well and have family there. No Alaskan goes into "Brown bear"--aka Grizzly--territory without a firearm. In Southeast they know which islands are "Brownie&quo

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Re: any "natural" spray to keep squirrels off of fruit tree? - 5 months ago

Yeah, no. Surrender is the best course. None of the deterrents had any effect. The one thing that worked for me to protect a cherry tree was to build a 10 foot cube with PVC and cover it with bird netting. My retired neighbor had a good laugh, but then proceeded to help scare them away when they were atop the cube reaching down. He thought it was great entertainment.

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Howard Oakley reviews MacOS security changes by Apple - 5 months ago

On his blog, Howard presents the history of internal MacOS security since Apple stopped updating MRT a year ago. His summary: Quote As of June 2022, Apple retired its old MRT and replaced it with its new XProtect Remediator. XProtect Remediator only runs on Catalina and later. Older versions of macOS effectively no longer have built-in protection from malware. XProtect Remediator performs p

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Re: IF Donald Trumps legal issues prevent him from running for President ... - 5 months ago

In addition to the code btfc posted above, this provision of the 14th Amendment would prevent Trump from serving if Jack Smith charges and convicts on J6 sedition: QuoteSection 3 No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously tak

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Re: macOS 14 Sonoma - 6 months ago

QuoteHow about macOS Death Valley? Blythe? Baker? I think Tim said "iconic California places" when they launched Mavericks. They have gone in a circle from Bay Area coast, to the Sierras, to the desert, back to the coast (Catalina) and up the coast...and then back to the Bay Area. Probably 'upper California' next? Tahoe Lassen Shasta Trinity Eureka! (also state motto =) Me

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Re: Texas penalizes EV owners... - 6 months ago

fwiw, I meant to post this on an earlier thread about road damage. The Texas charges are a true penalty...but charging commercial trucks on similar diesel tax is a problem. And not going after overweight trucks is a travesty. Virtually ALL the road damage is caused by trucks. Commercial trucks should probably pay 98% of road wear. And overweight trucks are worse. The damage is a power law

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Re: Isn’t some Dem going to step forward? - 7 months ago

Governor Justice is very popular and has announced he is running against Manchin. Money will be no object on either side. Trump will matter in WV.

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Re: Isn’t some Dem going to step forward? - 7 months ago

As to the Senate, the Cooke folks think the biggest Dem risks are Manchin Tester Brown WV, MT, and OH have gone sooooo red that it will be a challenge. They are not too worried about AZ since Gallego is a pretty good candidate. They were willing to say that Cruz might be the fourth most vulnerable given Colin Allred. fwiw, Never Trumper David Frum wrote in the Atlantic (paywalled

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Re: Propublica finds more undisclosed gifts from Harlan Crow to Thomas - 7 months ago

Quotepdq One wonders if not reporting these things (or, in essence, lying on his financial disclosure forms) is against the law. When the Thomas housing transaction story dropped, several of the TV lawyers pointed out that there is a post-Watergate law that every federal employee must disclose real estate transactions. Propublica covered it: QuotePropublica A federal disclosure law passed

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