The Boss is Away

Posted on by hollyfrostgoldportpress

Hi Huns, Hoydens, and other Creatures! Sarah’s taking a much needed day-off-ish and said I could put up a post!

First of all, please to share the links–see the sidebar, or the top menu, or if you’re on mobile the very bottom–for No Man’s Land pre-orders. If you’ve read the eARC, a review on your website of choice would be much appreciated. These are referral links, and therefore Sarah gets a tiny additional cut of the Amazon pot.

Second, a WordPress housekeeping note. No, we did not deliberately put you in spam, for almost all values of you, and if you are a regular here we definitely did not (drive-by crazies may have). WordPress decides based on some known criteria (certain slurs) and some unknown (WPDE) to spam people. Some people more than others. There are three or five regulars who ALWAYS go to spam. It doesn’t help to resubmit the comment, that just means we have five identical comments in spam when we open it up. You might as well give us a day to fish it out, unless your internet is super-flaky and you really think it never left your computer. WordPress has also been ‘upgrading’. Yay?

Since the cats were being suspiciously civilized this morning, and the dog went with the neighbors for a hike, I poked around the internet a bit, and discovered no inspiration. It’s flooding and burning: normal American summer weather. All the kiddos are getting ready for county fair. The farmers are concerned about either too little water (my area) or too much water (quite a lot of the rest of the country). The media is screeching as usual. Dog days of summer, right? Too hot and too busy for much. We here at the Frost Household are operating under nature-imposed water restrictions, which is going to make the septic grumpy, but better a grumpy septic than a dry well.

Now’s probably as good a time as ever to prognosticate wildly about the future? I suspect we have both a stock and a housing crash coming at some point, but then, we always do, so that’s a gimme. No, I’m not stupid enough to suggest timing. I suspect there are hurricanes and tornadoes coming, sooner or later: there always are. Winter is on it’s way, have you looked at your weather stripping? How’s your roof? Power outage supplies set? Local friends nearly lost their house to a wildfire this week–they got it out fast–they had a scraped strip between the house and the field that burned which saved the house. They didn’t have go-bags ready and just grabbed kids and fled. Got your go-bag ready? Fires and floods both benefit from having your go-bag prepacked. (So do tsunamis, as a special category of flood, per a friend in Hawai’i.)

I’m afraid I’m generally the relentlessly practical side of this relationship, so I’ll also remind you to eat, drink, exercise, and generally take care of your body, mind, and soul, while we’re at it, and don’t forget to pet the dogs and cats in your life. (And have their needs in your go-bag, too.) It’s the time of year for grilling (it always is, after all) so go cook some meat over fire and maybe give the pets some of that as well. I am reliably informed that dogs and cats like meat very, very, much. Also chicken skin. Especially chicken skin. And then, as a special favor to those of us in the burning part of the world, please double check your fire is out and cold. Have fun!

43 thoughts on “The Boss is Away”

    1. Too late, WP rolled out another update.

      Like buttons.

      …. yes, I tested it, and it didn’t make the page reload. I don’t know how it’ll work when there’s another 1k+ comment feed.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Not only didn’t reload, didn’t crash my browser or my computer, sour my milk or burn my toast.

        Maybe WP Did Something Right? (Until the next update …)

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        1. I tried the like button, and I am now suspicious of my toast. I believe it is suspicious back. Otherwise everything looks okay.

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    2. The Boss is away, the aardvark does play.

      Bonbons for everyone! And he keeps the ant ones carefully away from the rest, so he can hog them all.

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      1. The Boss is away, the dragon does play.

        Fluffy is starting up the BBQ. Chicken and shrimp and the beef for later because he’s BBQ an entire cow.

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        1. The Boss is away, the serpent does play.

          The minion pool is all set up for a pool party, with the sea serpent providing some floatable dragons and aardvarks for the fun.

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  2. Play Time!

    Seconded, “Not wreck the Diner!”

    In other news. Do not know why the delay, but the new ePubor release works (I suspect, but haven’t researched). “2-JailBreak” folder is now empty, all are DRM-less and in Calibre! Yea!

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  3. Be careful about the chicken skin and only dole it out in small quantities. It’s unbalanced for cats and too much can be bad for their system. (This is also why you should make sure all chicken parts make it to the outside trashcan ASAP; they love it and the bones are a problem as well as the skin.)

    Of course, also make stock from the carcass. It’s SOOO good and all it requires is a pot of water and time. Seriously, put it on low, lid it, and leave it on all day, checking occasionally to make sure it hasn’t boiled off. Then you strain out the bits, let it cool, and freeze in handy sizes.

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    1. I do something rather similar with turkey thighs, using the meat for various entrees, but saving the broth. After I’ve used the same liquid for three or four sets of thighs it’s amazingly rich and makes a dynamite chicken and rice pasta soup.

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  4. I second the exercise bit. I have had to remind a family member (and myself) that you put your O2 mask on yourself first. Even when things are going to heck, and emotions are storming, at least take a walk, get fresh air, and breathe. If you have the option, go to the gym and lift, or do something similar. Grousing to yourself about “this is heavy and I don’t like it and I’m hot and stiiiicky,” can give you a necessary emotional break.

    Go bag, check. Also, in tornado country, do you have good, hard-soled shoes ready? If you have to get through debris, thin, soft soles are not your friend. (Watched someone else learn that when we were helping with clean-up.)

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  5. I’ll go get the matches and kindling

    for those interested, todays jobs report makes interesting g reading for those who know how to read it, there are actually two, the headline report out of the establishment survey and the other through the household survey. In the long run, after adjustments, they converge . in the short run they often diverge because of differences in how they’re calculated.

    Recently, the headline number has been largely driven by assumptions about immigration. Funny enough the most recent plunge is also about immigration. What the numbers are showing is the reversal of all the fake immigrant jobs as well as the reduction in inflow of new immigrants.

    The household survey (non headline) showed a decline in employment that bottomed in November 2024, and has been rebounding sharply since, especially since January. A recessionary decline as it happens Again, funny that. Connoisseurs will know that exactly the same thing happened in 2016 with a recessionary decline in employment masked by adjustments —different ones — that made its so the light bringer had no recessions despite there being arguably two during his reign of error.

    the truth can often be found if you look for it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maybe it just means I’m slow, but I started realizing either the data or the people who present it to us were deeply fucky when the legacy media “experts” started talking about how we were seeing “jobless recovery” from the Great Recession. Just one of the many miracles of the Lightbringer’s time in the Oval Office. (Eh, no…pull the other one, it’s got bells on.)

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  6. PS. Trump just fired the person responsible for calculating the jobs number, That’s probably unfair, but she is a Biden appointee and ….

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    1. Way back when (1980s) I started looking at the BLS employment numbers, I soon learned to put a +/-25% error bar range around the reported changes.

      But this has been creeping up – if I really was paying the same attention now, I would have to put at least a +/-80% range into my analysis.

      The one he just fired was overseeing reports that were even worse than that.

      (For more than two decades now, I don’t even bother with the inflation indexes – I run my own based on what we actually use.)

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  7. May be an image of text that says 'IF A MIND FLAYER ATTACKED YOU... 温 mgflip.com- .IT WOULD STARVE'

    Sarah’s taking a break? Excellent. She deserves one. Oh, and to start the memes early, here’s one that actually credits the Democrats with saving the United States.

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    1. I suspect if a mind flayed did try to much on any of us, it would put us back with a little note in Flayer saying ‘do not eat, run screaming’ then proceeded to follow its own directions, but maybe that’s just me?

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  8. You can make a fairly compact bag for the vehicle with socks, underwear, and toiletries for the family. Add a 1.5q water bottle per person and you have an escape kit. Just get in and -go-.

    A small daypack under the bed can suffice for a go bag. Just the real minimal basics, sustain you until you can get to a store. Go shoes right there. Grab and go.

    For the pet carrier, put the necessities in the carrier ahead of time. Then stuff the critter in last. Note that a small tent may solve a variety of “we are here, now what?” for pet keepers. I know one plucky traveler who had a “children’s play tent” to conceal the cat box, carrier, and bowls when forced to use a “no pets” hotel. Note that if you can make a tolerated game out of “stuff the cat, treat the cat”, you may save precious minutes during a real emergency. (My Miz Kitty will sleep in the dang pet carrier, but if I move it, or even bump it, she will be under the couch with a trailing sonic boom.) Note: if desperate, stuff the poor thing in a pillowcase and move on.

    Practice? What a great idea. I have used my go bag for weekend travel. Also helps ensure things stay useable and correct size.

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    1. By luck, we got Kat-the-dog willing to get into her crate with a Milkbone marrow treat. Started the second night (first had zero prep, and she stayed up with $SPOUSE all night. Turned her into a TV addict, though. :) Bedtime ritual has me getting the treat, and she makes a beeline for the crate. Should work.

      I’ve been reluctant to do go-bags; most of the natural disasters we get are better if we stay home (pretty well protected against wildfire, he said hopefully), and we’re far enough in the boonies to reduce the chance of unnatural disasters. What I do need is a get-home bag. Not sure I could do the 40 mile walk home at my age and condition, and a trek from west of the Cascades would be… , but if some of that could be driven, or if I had to leave Westside quickly to get home, supplies would be helpful.

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      1. And how you leave your home behind. If time permits, valve off the water at the meter. Valve off the natural gas or propane at the meter or tank. Pull the main electric breakers. Empty the fridge/freezer and any other perishable items (they can spoil better in the garbage can rather than in-situ). If time does not permit, get yourself, family and pets out. Anything you leave behind is just stuff.

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      2. We started Pepper with an Xpen with the crate in the Xpen from the time we brought her home, at 4#s (8 weeks). Food and water in the Xpen. Now she has free run of the house at night, sleeping with us (includes ramp to get on the bed, she’s small -ish – see my profile picture).

        Even traveling she shared the bed with us, since I needed her to alert at night. In the car she was clipped into a doggy car bed, so she could alert. Now that she’s retired (from public access) I use a light kennel instead.

        She’s kennel trained, we just rarely use it. What is funny is the cats do use the open kennel (plural when the car kennel is in the house) which causes her to come to us and very clearly complain that the cat is “stealing” her kennel. They do the same for the dog bed we have out in the living room. It is hilarious.

        I have a very big xpen that I got for our latest feral to introduce to the house, that we can put three of the five cats in with litter box, etc., longer term if we must. I need two other smaller xpens for the other two cats, who won’t “share” with the other three. Have 6 kennels to transport cats, three hard sided, and 1 soft side (the dog car kennel), and two collapsing larger soft sided kennels. The last two can hold two of the cats each, not a good idea, but they can.

        The challenge isn’t having transportation options for our animals, it is catching them to put into the kennels. One of them is a huge “maybe”. The fifth is a huge “not a chance”, I’m the evil lady despite I’m the one who makes sure the kibble and water bowls are clean and full, and the litter box is cleaned every week.

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      3. Go bag and get home bag aren’t that different. Keep it in the car. For go-bag, include a smaller bag with medications and a jump drive with copies of necessary documents. Keep it loaded and near the door to grab on your way out.

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    2. Go-baggy stuff …

      A lot of that depends on whether you actually have a place to go.

      Sometimes, of course it’s ‘Bad here! Must go away!’ and pretty much anywhere is better. That’s the fire consideration, for me, and I chose to be in town because the forest is out on the edges (though I’m at one of those edges).

      Quite a number of emergency shelters are NOT pet friendly, and almost all of them are not gun-friendly. Evacuate without a gun? Not me. And all by my lonesome, I wouldn’t have any support in a mass shelter, so they don’t look attractive. (I have no pets.)

      I don’t have a ‘grab and go NOW’ bag, but I do have 2-hours warning ready. Need to print the checklist. My MRE-like food is past its prime and needs replacing.

      Like I was taught in cold regions: drive the top of your gas tank. You never know when you’ll need those extra couple miles or hours in traffic.

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      2. “number of emergency shelters are NOT pet friendly“

        –

        Huge problem. *Most people won’t evacuate if they know they can’t keep their animals with them. We won’t. Not. A. Chance.

        “almost all of them are not gun-friendly“

        –

        Because leaving guns at home for looters, even in a safe, is such a gooooood idea. Leaving ammunition in a house, even in a safe, when wildfire is approaching? Is even stupider. Not a fire fighter worth their salt wants that.

        (*) There are those who have, who are now being prosecuted for animal abandonment and endangerment. There are others who had to be rescued and still wouldn’t leave because animals were going to left behind. I thought that had been handled by new regulations requiring shelters to allow people to have their pets because of this.

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Just about any disaster has had looters. Even the wildfires. Given one of the current Oregon laws in no way would firearms be left behind. Even in a safe. Oregon law states if a gun is stolen, no matter how fully secured, no matter the circumstances, and subsequently used illegally, the legal owner can be held liable. You think TPTB will say “but we didn’t mean …”? Yea, I don’t think so either.

            FYI, not admitting there are firearms, even in a safe. The boating accident, alas.

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      3. I like the XMRE 3000XT brand of portable food – each pouch is a full day (3 meals, 3000 kCal) so I just reordered a 6-pack. Maybe I’ll try the expired ones – new ones are supposed to be good until 2030 with decent storage. Expensive, of course. Reputed to be better than any US MIL MRE, but that’s a low bar, I seem to see.

        I have other food stuff for ‘bugging in’.

        And, decided a screw-top urinal for car trips/evacuations was a good idea.

        Recently added an NAR small-worksite (3-5) first aid kit to the car. Gave one to my security guard son for his car. Nothing restricted in those, but I’m an RN and know what to do with all the stuff that is there. Wouldn’t hurt to refresh my first aid training; not ACLS, too advanced for what I can handle alone (took that class once).

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    3. I can feel the claws just imagining trying to stuff my cat into a pillowcase, which is inconsistent because he loves being made into the bed, but cat.

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  9. Re: prognositication, and wild eyed claims

    I suspect that behavior forecasting is a hard problem, if you care enough about quality or reliability or fine detail fidelity.

    I think that I really can not prove this very effectively, and some of that is difficultly of proofs with the sort of fuzzy not-maths stuff involved.

    I had some good productivity today, but have also hit a tired level where I am silly. I made progress through my list, until I hit I required step where I was feeling deadline pressure for the subsequent, and also not sure about doing the current step correctly. So I paused from my fussiness, and did some other stuff to settle down a touch.

    I have done some overdue cleaning of my room/office this week.

    I had restarted an exercise situation, and have not done so in the past few days. So I should, the temperature is fairly reasonable.

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  10. ‘Like’ buttons for the comments have suddenly appeared on Sarah’s web site.

    Used to be they only existed in the WordPress web site reader, which has been FUBAR’d for months.

    So, thumbs up for WPDE today! I’m sure it will earn more Middle Fingers soon enough.

    Liked by 3 people

  11. Oh, by the way, concerning WPDE things that have stopped working – “Cannot load blog information at this time.” Relatively minor new glitch, but there’s always something…

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