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Re: ‘ Fry’s Electronics going out of business, shutting down all stores ‘ - Yesterday

I used to go to the Frys in Manhattan Beach, CA. I remember that the store's inventory went way down during a lull in trade with a big eastern Asian country. Something about a trade dispute if I recall. Didn't seem to get much better after that. It was the place to go if you wanted a hard drive or an SSD. The last time I was there was to get cables for the refurb MacBook Air, and although they

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Oy. Math problem. - Yesterday

TheCaber is correct, assuming that these are right angles. This defines a right triangle which fits the Pythagorean theorem.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: 'Nurses' - NBC show features disgusting words written for Haredi Jewish character - Yesterday

One of my best friends got a heart from somebody -- all he learned initially was the age of the donor. The heart gave him another 6 years of life, for which he and his family were very grateful. I'm guessing that this show was a takeoff on an episode of MASH in which a wounded soldier worries about getting a transfusion from a black soldier.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Embarrassing question: Why can cows, horses, cats, dogs interbreed but birds, snakes, big cats, cannot? - 2 days ago

The argument gets a little circular, in the sense that animals that can breed with each other are, by definition, of the same species. But if you separate populations from each other, there is a certain amount of genetic drift over the years, and eventually the populations become different enough in biochemical and genetic ways that attempts at breeding do not work well in terms of viable or fert

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet and founder of City Lights, dead at 101 - 2 days ago

I remember going into the City Lights with my dad on a trip to Frisco -- so probably in the late 50s or early 60s. Went there many more times over the next 20 years or so, but haven't been there lately. The city has really changed a lot since the days when North Beach was a cultural capital.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Microwave apparently just died, worth trying to repair? - 3 days ago

Bought a new Sharp from Best Buy (I know) for just under a hundred dollars. It's probably a little smaller and weaker than the former Sharp, but the new one doesn't cause the electrical outlet to give off sparks and smoke, and it heats food. Does the rotate thing for 1100 W and probably the 1.1 or so cu ft. Have several old microwaves in the lab which I used to use to melt agar etc but not doi

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: "It's déjà vu all over again." - 3 days ago

The LA Times had a sports columnist named Jim Murray who got a kick out of calling Williams "Toddy Triplecrown." Murray used to say that good hitters collected batting titles but great hitters collected pennants. I think this is a good point, and nowadays could be stretched to saying that great hitters collect world championships.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: DNA labs may not be giving you accurate ethnic ancestry? Are they "Science entertainment"? - 5 days ago

QuoteWags Not surprising when you factor in epigenetics and the resulting variation in methylation patterns. What would this have to do with ethnicity, particularly when averaged over several generations?

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Save those parts! Someday you can build your own 777 - 5 days ago

QuoteC(-)ris Gives you some perspective on how big those engines really are. Yeah. You can stand up in the front of that engine.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Save those parts! Someday you can build your own 777 - 5 days ago

Correction: Apparently those are pieces of the engine casing.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Save those parts! Someday you can build your own 777 - 5 days ago

I would like to see what AskThePilot has to say about this. It looks like the engine took part of the top of the wing with it. You can recognize the front circular piece of the engine in one picture and what appears to be the wing fragment in another. It would be impressive if the engineering protected the aerodynamics enough to keep the plane flying after that much damage.

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: CPAC to host Traitor Trump - 5 days ago

Will he invite them to come to his inauguration on March 4? And will he be going to Washington D.C.?

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Got our second shots today - 7 days ago

I had an appointment for tomorrow for the first shot. Then yesterday afternoon I got a text and an email that they had to postpone it for 3 weeks. I suspect that the excuse is legitimate, whether it's the shipping problem what with the weather or a slightly slowed down supply line. In any case, I have an appointment for the second week in March. I had been hoping to put up my own good news --

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Dem on Dem violence: NY Senate plans to remove Cuomo's emergency unilateral powers - 7 days ago

I tend to think that the Newsom recall effort will probably get to the ballot but it won't be another Arnold phenomenon. The Republicans are a relatively small fraction of the voters in California, as the most recent elections show. And by the time the issue comes to the ballot box, the Covid-19 crisis will be much abated and restaurants and bars will be back open, and the impetus for the recall

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Rush Limbaugh dies from lung cancer - 8 days ago

He started bad mouthing the global warming group back in the early 1990s. He was a college dropout who didn't understand anything about climate science, but built the anti-global warming movement into a part of "conservatism." I neither mourn him nor celebrate his death, and point out that he had retired from radio a while back, if I understand correctly.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Trumpie bear comes out of hibernation swinging for Mitch's head - 9 days ago

This could also be a pretty good predictor of the next Trump rally speech, except that it will include the name calling and what you referred to as nicknamery (good term, that). It can't be long before some pundits start mentioning the book 1984, since the enemy has switched 180 degrees almost overnight. Note: I never read that book, but people are always referring to this.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: "Giuliani no longer representing Trump 'in any legal matters,' adviser says" - 9 days ago

Considering that Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt were from the state of New York, the average has certainly been dragged down over the past couple of years when it comes to public service. A quick search found that Van Buren and Fillmore were also from New York for a total of five. The current crop are pretty weak, even by comparison to Millard Fillmore.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Trumpie bear comes out of hibernation swinging for Mitch's head - 9 days ago

It does follow the Trump style of taking credit for everything positive, casting blame on somebody else for everything negative, and basically showing no dignity or class. Here's a remarkable phrase: "and likewise, our economic recovery after Covid ..." What amazing blather. But it's interesting that the Republicans really are engaging in their own civil war, what the scholars

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done? - 10 days ago

Used a lot of radioactive phosphorus back in grad school. Like 25 millicuries at a time. Didn't seem to have much effect and its been a lot of decades. I suspect that the 17 years of playing rugby and the 150 or so open water dives were actually more dangerous. Driving in Boston. Going downhill in the original Ford Explorer on a gravely dirt road in the Death Valley area and the slightly top-heav

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: "Tennessee lawmakers propose bill that would let biological fathers stop abortions" - 10 days ago

Their talk radio hosts claim that they are the party of freedom. They seem to have different versions of freedom than some other folks.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Poll: do you think Trump will be president again? Yes/No, no ifs, else, buts, etc. - 11 days ago

There is no mystery or suspense left to the voters regarding his personality, character, or governing style.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: "Biden’s stimulus gamble: Massive cuts to Medicare, farm aid" - 11 days ago

That would be one way to convince the Democrats to get rid of the filibuster now rather than later.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: What's the real story about insulin going back up under Biden? - 11 days ago

My guess is that Lilly and Novo are increasing prices because they always do, and also because they are anticipating some attempt by Democrats to put some controls on their prices -- so this is the time to get a leg up on the inevitable round of negotiations.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Don't count Dump out! - 12 days ago

I think Ted King makes good points. It is hard to maintain that sort of political enthusiasm when many of your loudest leaders are under indictment or under investigation. There is also the strong tendency in this country to treat defeated presidents as totally out of the running, the one and only exception being Grover Cleveland at the end of the 1800s. I wonder how the most ardent Trump supp

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Will there be a resurrection in March of insurrectionists? - 13 days ago

OK, so I understand that March 4 was a traditional date for the president to assume office until the 20th Amendment (1933) changed the moment to noon on January 20. Do the insurrectionists and militias somehow believe in an originalism that totally ignores amendments? Something else? Like, how do they explain this particular date, other than that they didn't get what they want the first time a

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Do folks have local owned doughnut shops nearby? - 15 days ago

Acacia bakery in San Pedro, CA at 235 S. Pacific Ave We also have sandwich shops like Busy Bee

by Ca Bob - Tips and Deals

Re: Managers: Impeachment managers laying out the facts - 15 days ago

There were reports that White House staffers saw Trump do nothing to stop the riot, even though he was aware of what was going on. I wonder if there has been any attempt to subpoena some of those people to testify to the senate. I don't think Trump has the authority to forbid them to testify, so the complication is knowing in advance what somebody would actually say in such testimony, and what wo

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Georgia opens criminal investigation into Trump phone call - 15 days ago

QuoteS. Pupp YEAH! TAKE THAT, CRIMINAL SOB FORMER PRESIDENT DIPSHT! Hmm. I seem to have fairly strong opinions on this matter. Wins the internet award for the day

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Manafort beats the state rap - 17 days ago

I think I see the point on double jeopardy but agree that it's a bummer.

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: 'In America’s ‘Uncivil War,’ Republicans Are The Aggressors' - 17 days ago

I wonder if it's because the right wing authoritarians are largely on the Republican side. They think differently from non-authoritarians, and they are much more susceptible to right wing demagogues. I think it was Bob Altemeyer who best explained this -- at the time it was the Tea Party being built out of the authoritarians, and now it is simply the Republican Party. There are some non-authorita

by Ca Bob - 'Friendly' Political Ranting