The stellar doldrums continue. The only thing of interest will be Saturday when the rubber chicken/bicycle horn effect that comes when Mercury and the Moon team up happens.
Aquarius: Queen of Swords reversed – Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, bale, deceit.
Pisces: 4 of Swords reversed – Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.
Aries: 9 of Cups reversed – Truth, loyalty, liberty, mistakes, imperfections, resources used to prevent bad things from getting worse.
Taurus: King of Swords – Power, command, authority, law and the like.
Gemini: Knight of Wands reversed – Rupture, division, interruption, discord.
Cancer: Judgement – -Change of position, renewal, outcome. Also read as total loss though lawsuit.
Leo: The Lovers – Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.
Virgo: King of Coins – Valor, realizing intelligence, business and intellectual aptitude.
Libra: The Emperor reversed – Benevolence, compassion, credit; also confusion to enemies, obstruction, immaturity.
Scorpio: Queen of Wands – In isolation, a dark woman, rural woman, love of money, success in business. However when drawn next to a card representing a man or woman it takes on meaning relative to that card. In this case we’ve got two dudes: The Emperor and The Fool. Which means that no matter what reading I give you, I can never be wrong.
Sagittarius: The Fool reversed – Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.
Capricorn: 7 of Wands – Valor, wordy strife, holding your own against multiple opponents.
NO WAY ELWAY
NO WAY ELWAY
Sagittarius: The Fool reversed – Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.
Business as usual.
Leo: The Lovers – Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.
Have the first three in my wife, no trials to overcome (other than a pesky botanical report we haven’t been able to finish).
Is “botanical report” code for “ordering weed” ?
No, it really is a writeup for a botanical survey we finished up last year that started October 2024. Detailing what we found on a property and where, etc. etc.
… and did you find weed?
When I lived outside of Madison, WI, I’d run into feral hemp regularly while deer hunting. We had some on our property, but I got rid of any I found. Periodically, the local po-po would announce that they had burned X acres of “marijuana” that was always feral hemp, left over from when it was grown for rope.
I, err, heard, yeah, that’s it, that it didn’t have any THC in it, so don’t waste your time.
We also had a lot of wild mint plants in one area. Some of them had the most wonderful citrusy flavors.
Scorpio: Queen of Wands – In isolation, a dark woman, rural woman, love of money, success in business. However when drawn next to a card representing a man or woman it takes on meaning relative to that card. In this case we’ve got two dudes: The Emperor and The Fool. Which means that no matter what reading I give you, I can never be wrong.
So this will either be a good week or a bad one? At least there’s just the two options. I’m interviewing for a higher management position this week, so we’ll see which it winds up being. Part of my interview involved creating a Powerpoint presentation outlining goals for various timeframes, and a description of ‘Core Values’ for the workcenter I’m to oversee. First time I’ve had to do that for a job interview.
“a description of ‘Core Values’ for the workcenter I’m to oversee.” <– FUCK. You've been there a bit, at least, but that'd make my brain broil. Are they asking for what *your* Core Values would be to fluidly run the center, or are they asking if you 'match' *their* "Core Values" and wanna make sure you've got them memorized and won't stray from Their mission?
I suppose, are they asking how you'd run the place, or seeing if you'd be a reliable cog in their machine? I'm sure, or hope, it makes sense to you, but I'd be wondering that the entire time, "How would they *like* me to respond?"
Best of luck on your upward spiral!
Yes, having been there even longer than my current manager, I know the business unit well and what they want to hear. Fortunately it aligns with me quite well or else I’d have moved on to greener pastures. Safety first mindset, management being supportive of employee development, accountability without bias, fostering a welcoming work environment (I use ‘inclusive’ here to just mean anyone is welcome and all input is encouraged). The BU in this company has developed a reputation among production floor personnel of being a place where people want to be hired into because we tend to keep things lighthearted while still being mindful of company goals. Our productivity metrics have improved and our production floor has been where executive management wants to conduct tours for customers and the occasional Congresscritter.
“The Core Values that I plan to implement is “show up on time” and “do what you’re told”. “
HR folks don’t like that kind of stuff, Dean. They want to hear about your five year plan to increase the number of females on the floor and such.
Parnell, Grumbletarian
Decades ago my wife once actually stumbled upon a small pot patch during a survey. But all the other times it’s been one or two badly tended potted plants. And not often.
I remember years ago when I was a kid down in Florida seeing hemp growing wild in gardens and waste plates. But it can’t handle the weather in the northeast.
“Taurus: King of Swords – Power, command, authority, law and the like.” I had authority over 5yo kicking a soccer ball back and forth, and that was plenty of fun. Now the three of them I think I’d like to stumble upon Scorpio: Queen of Wands – In isolation, a dark woman, rural woman, love of money, success in business.
^^ Reminds me of this lovely scene in The Library, talking about the librarian: “Look at her. This is a lonely woman looking for companionship. …A spinster. …Maybe a virgin. …Maybe she got hurt a long time ago. She was a schoolgirl. There was a boy. It didn’t work out, so now she needs a little tenderness. She needs a little understanding. She needs a little Kramer.”
I hope Evan gets the help he needs.
The drugs are going to fall out of his ass arent they?
In the form of a helping hand?
This Evan doesn’t need to be “taken to a local hospital to receive “comprehensive help” from mental health professionals.” Was he goin’ lefty in his vid to bring a li’l ‘stranger’ danger to his auto-erotic exploits? Or just a very firm “don’t send dick pic” lesson?
Is “Dawn” hot? I’m guessing she said something a bit more than just offering congratulations to that Evan. Preliminary conclusion? Don’t send unrequited dick pics, and stop blabbing to the press for attention. (Boiled down? Stop being childish.)
I mean, I could see it having gone down either way. I have known dudes who are very proud of their dick and just want to share it with anyone and everyone willing or not. I have also known more than a few women who like to downplay leading a guy on and that pesky thing called accountability.
News I can not really use.
I’m so, so tired of the dramatizing of shit like this. I don’t condone sending videos of you masturbating to almost random women for a host of reasons to include it’s pretty skeevy in general, but she appears to be of age and I doubt she’s a virgin here. Can we just not pretend as if he actually violated her in some way?
And the sad reality is that if a relatively famous individual sends dick picks to a lot of females, they are down. Because plenty of women are skeevy, too.
Oh, like the actresses that were fine with Weinstein (and a cast of thousands before him) as long as it advanced their careers?
That’s one example.
My favorite is on social media you get all these 30-something year old women lecturing men and to be blunt even younger women about age gaps in relationships. Specifically, older men with younger women. They seemingly obsess over it and clutters up my feed (I don’t want to hear nonsense about algorithms – they aren’t the perfect reflection of what you interact with let alone care about especially on Facebook).
They are always silent on the agency of the 20 something year old girl dating the 40 something year old man. Always. The man is a predator. A creep. The girl is being manipulated/gaslit/what ever other attack they want to level at the guys.
I don’t tend to wan to date younger myself for a host of reasons not the least of which is young people are fucking obnoxious, but:
1. Consenting adults, not really my concern
2. These women are not children and they are making a conscious choice as much as some people want to infantilize them in this scenario.
3. No one ever talks about the younger dudes who have a smaller dating pool because a decent portion of women LIKE to date older and how that influences how those same men behave when they are older.
I’ve seen it get as ridiculous as attacking a 23 year old male for dating a 19 year old. There’s literal science saying that male brains “mature” or develop at a slower rate. It’s something like 25 before the male brain is fully developed. With regards to young women, these hags are the first ones to point out that the female isn’t fully mature but no such grace is extended to the guys in these scenarios. They’re just predators.
To add to all this, there are no shortage of 20-something progressive white girls clogging up the rest of my feeds telling me how their political positions are just oh so righteous. And then the dopey broads clapping for them. ICE BAD! IMMIGRANTS GOOD! SAVE act racist/misogynistic! It’s all these dumb young girls who I’m told are children when it comes to dating lecturing me on reproductive “rights” (aka abortion) and anything and everything under the sun.
It’s enough to make a sane man snap.
Random thoughts
It’s infantilizing all over. 18-19 year olds are teenagers.
Celebrating high school (or younger) students bravely walking out to “protest” ICE with zero consequences and often assisted or encouraged by faculty.
My wife is older than I am. Now that would be grooming I guess. “I’m a victim!”
Well, to be fair most husbands could claim to be victims.
*ducks, closes tab*
Okay, so about age gaps and who’s skeevier than whom.
I cut my teeth on the May-December romance when I was a teenager. 18yo ingenue (“mature for her age”) and the jaded 36yo jabillionaire (“reluctantly attracted”). I mean, it sold for a reason. I used to love the May-December romance when I was the May, but now I’m December and there is no way in hell I’d put up with a young man.
Okay, anyway. I tripped over romancelandia when I put out my first book, 2007ish, and found it to be full of 30- 40-something proggies who wanted an excuse and validation to like romance novels, so they were defiantly “please don’t hate us for this, Ms Friedan.” Well okay, whatever. But they had a running list of romance tropes they found pRoBlEmAtIc and said, “Yeah, we WE don’t read shit like that, and we are good little feminists and we will rid our shelves of these misogynistic abominations and shame everybody else into ridding THEIR shelves of them too.”
One of these was the May-December romance, especially when the inherent power imbalance of age is amplified by being student-teacher, employee-boss, ward-guardian, etc. This was verboten (or should be) because of that power imbalance. Yeah, I get your point and IRL, that’s kinda oogey but don’t trash the fantasy. That’s THE WHOLE POINT.
So one day on a blog, the subject of Monica Lewinsky came up and all these SAME WOMEN started dragging her. I stepped in and said, “Oh, hey, wait a minute here. You can’t in one breath say this trope is horrible and awful and evil because of the power imbalance and she’s under pressure, and then blame MONICA IRL for this mess. She was a 22yo intern with stars in her eyes being dazzled by a charismatic [I’m also told handsome, but yuck] man twice her age who was arguably the most powerful man in the world and SHE’S the one at fault, gets thrown under the bus, her life ruined, and the only consequence HE has is to define the word ‘is’ on TV? Pick a side and be consistent, because this is REAL LIFE. You sympathize with the heroine in fiction, but here you are, defending a predator and dragging the ingenue.”
This did not go over well.
FURTHERMORE! I will always respect the hell out of Mira Sorvino.
I remember Monica telling Linda Tripp that she had her general officer knee pads already and was gunning for the presidential ones.
There were no heros there.
I couldn’t imagine dating someone in their 20s now that I’m pushing 50.
5-6 years younger than me is what I married. We’re generationally the same even though we talk about things that either of us missed.
I’m near the end of Gen X and she’s at the beginning of melinial but has more of a Gen X sensibility and musical tastes.
I’m not saying Monica had no choice in the matter. I’m saying don’t bring the double-standards to the ideological fight because nobody can take you seriously.
Effete egghead disdain
There is an undeniable appeal to the hard hat and the grease-stained overalls; to the sweat on the brow of hard men in vintage posters; to the virtue of a hard day’s labor on the production line. But the American political class would do well to overcome its nostalgia for the past and forget about promises to make manufacturing great again.
The promises make little sense.
We’re a high functioning service economy now. College professors, management consultants, hairdressers, dog walkers, ass wipers… the list goes on and on.
This is the best version of Rusty Cage, and I liked the original.
Not meant to be a reply dammit!
Hard to take an author seriously that references the ‘…supposed “giant sucking sound”…’. It happened exactly as Perot predicted.
Yeah, dirty jobs are for third world peasants. We have better things to do in the first world than make stuff.
Lol did the author take a shower after writing that ode to sweaty men?
It was gettin’ awfully feverish in there, wasn’t it? Deep down, that author wants it hot and hard, all the grease and grime, from all that physical labor, men coming home steeped in such healthy *sweat,* the steam visibly rising as they return, wanting a cool towel, and hands, *hands,* to wipe it all off, that sweat coursing lines in his ripped abs, chiseled face, exhausted from such productive work…
He was a farm boy. There was a girl. It didn’t work out, so now he needs a little tenderness. He needs a little understanding. He needs a little Kramer…
Oh, they probably had to clean up a little, yeah.
Not just the dirty jobs, but all of the environmental impact of mining and refining the materials for modern gadgets – yeah keep that shit in countries where we’ll never see it. /progs
The decline in manufacturing, however, is less a story about policy blunders than one about the long progress of the US economy, which has to a large extent graduated out of producing stuff like phones and cars and into the delivery of services, like finance and healthcare – a process similar to that followed by other countries that moved up the ladder of success.
…
It is true that manufacturing workers earn more, on average, than those employed in the service economy. But that is an argument for policies to raise wages for low-wage service sector workers.
Factory unions drove up the costs of making cars and widgets, making those companies no longer competitive with places with cheaper labor. So we ‘graduated’ to providing services. But we need unions to drive up the wages those workers are paid.
Healthcare is a growing “service” because of an aging population. The demand is directly tied to demographics. I don’t think anyone with a shred of common sense would point to that as a sign of an economy improving and getting stronger. It also simply isn’t inherently productive. Keeping Grandma alive for an extra five years isn’t really adding economic value to society and you could really argue the opposite pretty easily.
At the end of the day there needs to be an underlying product involved and it’s really fucking creepy to me how progs shift their opinions over time to completely contradictory things. They used to be first in line to mock the entire notion of a purely service based economy for a country the size of the US. We can get into the underlying questions of why’s, but I don’t care to. It’s just yet another piece of evidence to drop in the bucket that you are dealing with people who don’t just lack principles, but also intellectual integrity. They are NPC’s. The most heavily propagandized idiots out there.
Health care is (also?) a growing service because of hundreds of billions of government dollars flooding that sector.
Throw in osha, epa, and a hundred other parasitic agencies driving up costs.
that moved up the ladder of success
Is that ladder found on the right side of history?
J-F-C what morons.
Duh. How come nobody thought of that before?
The dream of greasy overalls and hard hats does not justify protectionist policies that harm American consumers or other wasteful incentives that are failing both to generate jobs or to produce anything of value.
What value did hammering out this drivel produce?
These euphemisms . . . .
Dunno about you, but I’m still looking around for the harm to American consumers of Trump’s tariff deals.
harm to American consumers
My favorite wine cost me 20% more this year.
Spanish wines are no longer a great bargain.
1st world problem I suppose.
How much of that is (a) baseline inflation and/or (b) supply/demand/wine market volatility?
Although the tariff is 20%, which does seem something of a coincidence.
Right here RC. Every time I order tools from overseas, I get to pay tariffs plus a handling fee (excessive to extortionate relative to the tariff amount), shipping is slower. Oh, and any food stuffs now require prior FDA approval to import. No more ordering German candy directly. No more sunscreen that’s legal in other first world countries.
Fuck the tariff apologists. This was a long term goal of the deep state to collect data on everything being sent to this country (and not just subject to inspection as everything already was).
Wine demand has been falling for more than a decade. The price has been stable for 20ish years. Meaning the price I paid 2 years ago was basically the same as what I paid16 to 18 years ago. Note, that the wine did become unobtanium after the first few years I bought it. But I’ve been buying again for the last 6 or so years (I have a nice vertical going in the cellar).
This year, I couldn’t find it online at any distributor in the US for going on 9 months. When I did find one distributor a month ago, it was 20% higher for some strange reason.
Now, my 2nd favorite wine (from Napa) was 20% cheaper this year. The wine glut continues.
My welding alloy is up 71c a pound.
Lora is the alloy comes from South Africa.
Some of it is only mined there in quantity.
Some of it is to be blamed on mining restrictions in crap places like California where they could and have mines but can no longer do so due to the CA DNR and CARB making it impossible to be profitable.
Tariffs on Canadian product cost me a $2,500 dividend in December. Expecting the same every quarter this year.
kinnath:
I’ve been reading (and hearing) that wine (and associated products – brandy, vermouth, etc) has dropped enough in Europe that there’s talk about pulling some of the vineyards up and converting them to something else. To me it seems the RTD (ready to drink) trend has legs, and is growing. I have less optimism about the RTD “mocktail” market, which people keep trying to get into, and I get why. They price them at the same level as the RTD cocktails, when to me, they’re amazingly overpriced pop/mixers. There appears to be a solid market for overpriced mixers though, I mean Simple Times still exists and I see their $17/32 ounce mixers for sale.
I have no doubt that examples of the new policy affecting individuals can be multiplied. Hell, I had to fill out some kind of import form when I bought our Murphy Bed.
I’m looking for something showing a broader negative impact.
Neph, they were tuning plonk (cheap wine) into ethanol for fuel two decades ago.
Peak wine was right about when I got started in it 20ish years ago. It’s been on the decline ever since.
But the youngsters are destroying everything. 😉
Wine is fucked.
Beer is fucked.
Cider grew like crazy for a while, but then started it’s major decline recently.
Hey R C, my personal experiences trump anyone else’s benefits.
kinnath:
Personally, I think beer is more a bubble popping than a full retraction. Even locally, there’s a couple breweries that are still in operation that surprise me. Most of the ones that have gone under have done so for clear reasons (over expansion being a big one). The breweries shifting to THC seltzers I think are going a diversification route instead of a growth route.
Wine, beer, and cider markets will contract back to the point when it’s down to the people that actually care about making and care about drinking it.
I look forward to the days of trendsetters and trend-chasers being run out of the business.
I just want to see a well-made sour ale in a classic style instead of a lineup of some fucking pastry, mildshake, exotic fruit chick-bait kettle sours.
I think the stout guys and porter guys and pale ale guys feel the same way.
Yeah, I’m in the boat that is actively being hurt by tariff policies. I used to order all sorts of musical gear from Europe regularly. I don’t do that anymore, and there is no equivalent for most of it made here, and so I either pay a tariff or don’t get it. These are generally items from very small companies; sometimes as small as 1 man.
There is a valid case for a nation like the United States to nurture some manufacturing industries – especially those that will prove important for national security, like advanced semiconductors, or advanced energy technologies needed to reduce carbon emissions.
But the many campaigns Washington has embarked on over the years to restore manufacturing to some image of past glory are largely driven by misplaced nostalgia. It is true that manufacturing workers earn more, on average, than those employed in the service economy. But that is an argument for policies to raise wages for low-wage service sector workers. The dream of greasy overalls and hard hats does not justify protectionist policies that harm American consumers or other wasteful incentives that are failing both to generate jobs or to produce anything of value.
One must recite the obligatory green catechism and genuflect to the high priesthood. And every right-thinking person knows consumer preference is a terrible means of determining value.
Value creation is an outdated capitalist myth. Just pay the people what they’re worth.
I love it when people with masters degrees make me coffee on my way to the rock quarry.
Is this where China is going to conquer the US with windmills and battery-powered tanks?
“Just pay the people WHAT I think they’re worth.” Builders, miners, repairmen, farmers excluded.
If its delivered by B52s I’m OK with it.
Otherwise, no.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-5-billion-pledge-gaza-aid-board-peace-members
Kate Pierson for Ambassador to Gaza?
The gazans would love to entertain her and all of her fans.
That is going to refurbish a lot of tunnels.
Cancer: Judgement – -Change of position, renewal, outcome. Also read as total loss though lawsuit.
Like going from cowgirl to reverse cowgirl.
SHE’S CONNECTING THE STRING ON THE TACKS ON HER BOARD, PEOPLE. POWERFUL PEDOS BE AFRAID.
Tangential thoughts of an insane person never connect.
On Gaza: My prediction is that no real estate development and no peace will ensue. Build it, they will destroy it. The instant they have enough manpower and resources they will use it for another murder spree. They will never quit.
Yep
Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.
Sounds like a build-up for a sufficiently large pile of shit coming.
A new record. This is the earliest that I have ever opened the windows to cool off the house. It’s 80 degrees in my dining room.
The dining room has a 17-foot ceiling with two stories of glass facing south. Free heat when the sun is low in the sky during the winter months. It is quite common that my furnace does not run from 9 am till 4 pm in January even when the temps outside are in the single digits. Thank you passives solar engineering.
But, it’s February, the sun is climbing in the sky, but still quite low. And it’s 64 degrees outside. Too much free heat today. 😉
It is unseasonably warm here also. I dont expect that to last. We normally get another cold snap before spring.
’91? ’92? We had an ice storm in mid April after the flowers were all blooming. I freakin’ inch of ice on everything for a week. No fruit or nuts that year. I will hold my breath until May.
Making predictions is hard, especially about the future.
December was a bitch. I was fearing a long, brutal winter. But January was tame and February is following suit.
It can still fucking snow as late as April. So, no wishful thinking allowed.
That sounds like a fantastic room.
I drooled over conservatories last week.
I want one.
I do not however want to pay the property tax on one
https://www.fromeuropetoyou.com/custom-conservatories
It is a great room. Roughly 16 by 20 with a 17 foot ceiling. We’ve seated 20+ people for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and it does not feel crowded.
My office is on the second floor with a railing looking out over the dining room. So even though the office is on the north side of house, it is full of light during the day in the winter time.
I have no idea what this would cost to build now. I probably can’t afford my own house if I wanted to build it now.
*drools over Threedoor’s link*
Ohhhh that sounds amazing, my office has a view of my heat pump through a little window.
Wife and I are talking about moving and building.
We can afford to do both.
The property taxes would kill us so we’re likely stuck with the new neighbors and their LED lights shining in our bedroom window all night.
Slum.
This one and build a dispersed house within it.
https://www.fromeuropetoyou.com/product-page/victorian-style-iron-crystal-palace-conservatory
Alright, this (purported) Iranian propaganda vid is just hilarious:
https://x.com/LionsOfZion_ORG/status/2022750514723590573
That’s what you call fucking stealthy.
Consider that most of the population of Iran is ignorant enough to believe that. How cynical would being the leader of such people make a person?
I remember when the Indians landed on the moon and showed purported video of the lander landing with a camera giving the perfect perspective. The lander itself looked straight out of Space Invaders, flame and all.
I remember seeing Modi on a Dias of some kind watching the cheering masses with a dead pan face that said “I cant believe they are buying this shit.”
That is a thing of beauty.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dim8elzo5vE