Oh, they're not overlapping but side by side. We're just the first house on the older circuit. The houses to our north have always been on the newer circuit. The houses to our east and west were later added to the newer circuit. It used to be a lot more rural in this very spot!
So I just called my power company as they have an automated way of finding out when your power is slated to be back on, and I wanted to see if we've moved up the list at all. Halfway through the automated process a human picked up! So I ended up talking with a very nice Vermonter about how we both have people around us who have power and we do not. We chatted for 5-6min and traded tips. I love Vermont! Unfortunately, it looks like it really will be Saturday before power is possible here. There are apparently 50 of us on the circuit who are waiting. C'est la vie.
AND: Washington Post: “Democrats fret that President Trump might try to shut down the inquiry. Republicans worry that their last best hope for a legislative win, a tax overhaul, could fall victim to the scandal. And the president’s denial that his campaign worked in any way with Russia continues to be tested by new disclosures.”
“The only person with any significant control over events, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, offered no hints Monday on his next move beyond the day’s bombshells — legal filings that included the indictment of two former Trump campaign officials and the guilty plea of a third.”
“And the possibilities seemed only to grow as the day wore on.”
I re-quote: “The only person with any significant control over events, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III…" nice.
--Alan (who needs to get moving--lots of unexpected work at the lab starting today, cleaning up the mess left by the sudden closure of our only significant nearby competitor on Saturday)
The immediate cause was that the hospital that bought them some time back got into a huge financial problem because of an expensive, unfinished and perhaps ill-advised or poorly-managed physical plant expansion. About a week ago they weren't able to make payroll. The hospital board and the administrative group have been in a big fight about who is responsible for the financial problems, and the board voluntarily suspended the hospital's license before the state did it for them, giving them the ability to break the agreement with the administrative group before it is scheduled to expire, and (the board hopes) a somewhat faster re-opening. Then all the workers (including those in the forensic toxicology lab) were laid off. None of us think it is likely the tox lab will be reopened. Earlier this year the one remaining private forensic toxicology lab in the SF Bay Area closed. This leaves our lab as the only private forensic toxicology lab in California between the Tehachapi range (which marks the limit of southern California) and the Oregon border. It has been an unpopular line of work for a long time, so attracts few young workers. On top of that, it is a very capital-intensive, low margin type of business.
No, the lab itself has very long-standing problems which are ingrained in the employees; far better to hire kids straight out of college and train them, even if it takes a couple of years and a lot of them wash out.
And I realized I exaggerated a bit--there is one very small forensic toxicology lab up near Sacramento, but they only serve the private defense bar, and send the testing they can't do to us. We serve most of the counties in California in one way or another--coroners' toxicology (our real specialty), district attorneys, and the defense bar.
This article is long but so, so excellent. Tempts me to copy the whole thing, but I'll restrain myself. I did, however, download the "Autopsy" for later reading.
From the article:
A revealing example cited in “Autopsy” of the Democratic Party’s self-congratulatory mentality (and its cluelessness) is the fund-raising mailer it sent to donors in the summer of 2017—eight months after its spectacular wipeout. The mailer was “designed to look like collection letters to its supporters,” the critique notes. “The DNC team scrawled ‘FINAL NOTICE’ across the envelopes and put ‘Finance Department’ as the return address. The message it conveyed, intentionally or not, was: you owe us.” The upstart critics observe: “That, not coincidentally, is a message the party leadership has been sending to core constituencies through its policies and campaign spending priorities.”
And one more bit:
The Clinton partisans who remain in charge of the party machinery will no doubt reject the conclusions of “Autopsy.” The report suggests that the Clinton-Obama crowd tilted the action away from the party’s core voter blocs—labor, people of color, and young people—in order to court suburban voters and maintain the party’s alliances with high finance and multinational corporations. This might also explain why the DNC decided not to undertake its own postelection review. Suspicions are already circulating: As Politico reported, “Party officials involved in fund-raising say donors repeatedly turn them away with a ‘try again next year,’ especially since it became clear there won’t be an official party autopsy from 2016.”
Interestingly enough, I am just the sort of person the "New Democrats" decided to target: suburban, upper middle class, graduate degree--and I think they are a bunch of stinkers. Always have. Maybe it's because I remember where I came from; or maybe it's just that I'm cursed with good taste. [tongue in cheek emoji goes here]
So, I was woken this morning by my phone ringing. I ignored it. It rang again immediately, but I didn't recognise the number so I ignored it thinking they'd leave a VoiceMail if it were important. A half hour later the same number called again. No Voicemail. So I googled it and found it belonged to a man two towns away who owns a small energy company. Wondering if it were a contractor trying to reach us about our power, I called the number back. "Oh," the man, said, "I dialed a wrong number. Sorry about that." !!!
listener, I tried to forward an email to you, but given my ineptitude I don't know if it got there. I know you don't have power right now, but it should still be in your email if I did anything right.
Hi Susan, I did receive it! I think it came in yesterday, but I haven't read it yet as I was conserving time on computer and was at my son's to help with childcare and see the Grands do Trick or Treat. Now that I have power back and am home, I could actually read some articles again! Whoo hoo!!
BTW, I've been meaning to tell you that finally I have begun reading the DT is Nuts book (The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump), and it's FAR higher quality than I even hoped. I *highly* recommend it!
Utah nurse gets $500,000 in blood arrest row [Click] The policeman was sacked last month. His superior was demoted.
ReplyDelete--Alan
Hurrah!!!
DeleteIt works for me.
DeleteAlan
P.S.: Nice response you got about your electrical supply; so odd that there seem to be overlapping circuits.
Oh, they're not overlapping but side by side. We're just the first house on the older circuit. The houses to our north have always been on the newer circuit. The houses to our east and west were later added to the newer circuit. It used to be a lot more rural in this very spot!
DeleteSo I just called my power company as they have an automated way of finding out when your power is slated to be back on, and I wanted to see if we've moved up the list at all. Halfway through the automated process a human picked up! So I ended up talking with a very nice Vermonter about how we both have people around us who have power and we do not. We chatted for 5-6min and traded tips. I love Vermont! Unfortunately, it looks like it really will be Saturday before power is possible here. There are apparently 50 of us on the circuit who are waiting. C'est la vie.
ReplyDeleteRussian Actors Sought to Undermine Trump After Election [Click]
ReplyDeleteAND: Washington Post: “Democrats fret that President Trump might try to shut down the inquiry. Republicans worry that their last best hope for a legislative win, a tax overhaul, could fall victim to the scandal. And the president’s denial that his campaign worked in any way with Russia continues to be tested by new disclosures.”
“The only person with any significant control over events, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, offered no hints Monday on his next move beyond the day’s bombshells — legal filings that included the indictment of two former Trump campaign officials and the guilty plea of a third.”
“And the possibilities seemed only to grow as the day wore on.”
I re-quote: “The only person with any significant control over events, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III…" nice.
--Alan (who needs to get moving--lots of unexpected work at the lab starting today, cleaning up the mess left by the sudden closure of our only significant nearby competitor on Saturday)
Why was the other lab suddenly shut down?
DeleteThe immediate cause was that the hospital that bought them some time back got into a huge financial problem because of an expensive, unfinished and perhaps ill-advised or poorly-managed physical plant expansion. About a week ago they weren't able to make payroll. The hospital board and the administrative group have been in a big fight about who is responsible for the financial problems, and the board voluntarily suspended the hospital's license before the state did it for them, giving them the ability to break the agreement with the administrative group before it is scheduled to expire, and (the board hopes) a somewhat faster re-opening. Then all the workers (including those in the forensic toxicology lab) were laid off. None of us think it is likely the tox lab will be reopened. Earlier this year the one remaining private forensic toxicology lab in the SF Bay Area closed. This leaves our lab as the only private forensic toxicology lab in California between the Tehachapi range (which marks the limit of southern California) and the Oregon border. It has been an unpopular line of work for a long time, so attracts few young workers. On top of that, it is a very capital-intensive, low margin type of business.
Delete--Alan
Wow It sounds like your lab may want to hire some of them, to handle the volume coming your way for the foreseeable future!
DeleteNo, the lab itself has very long-standing problems which are ingrained in the employees; far better to hire kids straight out of college and train them, even if it takes a couple of years and a lot of them wash out.
DeleteAnd I realized I exaggerated a bit--there is one very small forensic toxicology lab up near Sacramento, but they only serve the private defense bar, and send the testing they can't do to us. We serve most of the counties in California in one way or another--coroners' toxicology (our real specialty), district attorneys, and the defense bar.
--Alan
https://www.thenation.com/article/what-killed-the-democratic-party/
ReplyDeleteThis article is long but so, so excellent. Tempts me to copy the whole thing, but I'll restrain myself. I did, however, download the "Autopsy" for later reading.
From the article:
A revealing example cited in “Autopsy” of the Democratic Party’s self-congratulatory mentality (and its cluelessness) is the fund-raising mailer it sent to donors in the summer of 2017—eight months after its spectacular wipeout. The mailer was “designed to look like collection letters to its supporters,” the critique notes. “The DNC team scrawled ‘FINAL NOTICE’ across the envelopes and put ‘Finance Department’ as the return address. The message it conveyed, intentionally or not, was: you owe us.” The upstart critics observe: “That, not coincidentally, is a message the party leadership has been sending to core constituencies through its policies and campaign spending priorities.”
And one more bit:
The Clinton partisans who remain in charge of the party machinery will no doubt reject the conclusions of “Autopsy.” The report suggests that the Clinton-Obama crowd tilted the action away from the party’s core voter blocs—labor, people of color, and young people—in order to court suburban voters and maintain the party’s alliances with high finance and multinational corporations. This might also explain why the DNC decided not to undertake its own postelection review. Suspicions are already circulating: As Politico reported, “Party officials involved in fund-raising say donors repeatedly turn them away with a ‘try again next year,’ especially since it became clear there won’t be an official party autopsy from 2016.”
Interestingly enough, I am just the sort of person the "New Democrats" decided to target: suburban, upper middle class, graduate degree--and I think they are a bunch of stinkers. Always have. Maybe it's because I remember where I came from; or maybe it's just that I'm cursed with good taste. [tongue in cheek emoji goes here]
DeleteAlan
So, I was woken this morning by my phone ringing. I ignored it. It rang again immediately, but I didn't recognise the number so I ignored it thinking they'd leave a VoiceMail if it were important. A half hour later the same number called again. No Voicemail. So I googled it and found it belonged to a man two towns away who owns a small energy company. Wondering if it were a contractor trying to reach us about our power, I called the number back. "Oh," the man, said, "I dialed a wrong number. Sorry about that." !!!
ReplyDeletelistener, I tried to forward an email to you, but given my ineptitude I don't know if it got there. I know you don't have power right now, but it should still be in your email if I did anything right.
DeleteHi Susan, I did receive it! I think it came in yesterday, but I haven't read it yet as I was conserving time on computer and was at my son's to help with childcare and see the Grands do Trick or Treat. Now that I have power back and am home, I could actually read some articles again! Whoo hoo!!
DeleteBTW, I've been meaning to tell you that finally I have begun reading the DT is Nuts book (The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump), and it's FAR higher quality than I even hoped. I *highly* recommend it!
DeleteWho knew that tax reform could be so complicated?[Click]
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the Republicans have forgotten how to legislate; or the functional anarchists in the party have never known.
—Alan
BREAKING NEWS:
ReplyDeleteWE HAVE POWER⚡️!!!
💖 Heartfelt thanks to the awesome utility crews who have been working around the clock since the Frankly-Phlippin' Storm blew through! ⚡️
Great news!
DeleteExcellent news about your electrical power, listener! And here are a few items for everyone's delectation.--Alan
ReplyDeleteWhite House Aides Now Fear Impeachment[Click]
Anyone like some pure creamery butter on their popcorn?
Court Docs Reveal Fight Over Manafort’s Lawyer Testifying To Mueller Grand Jury[Click] A preemptive attack by Mueller…
Georgia AG Quits Representing Election Officials In Lawsuit After Server Wiped[Click]
Despite Trump, the world is turning a corner on climate change[Click]
ReplyDelete-Alan
Alan wrote:
ReplyDelete"White House Aides Now Fear Impeachment[Click]
Anyone like some pure creamery butter on their popcorn?"
LOL! I liked the way you said that.
Nothing salty on my popcorn, thank you. And I'm not interested in pure fat either.
Delete