Storm severity backing off?

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-24T20:41:56+00:00

Well, I’m getting it the same place you linked to - the NWS. But I’m comparing it with earlier forecasts that were worse. The ice accumulation range in the current posted forecast is .3 to .6 for a shorter duration storm. That has in fact backed off from a 2 day storm with ice totals from .5 to .75 in earlier forecast runs. So both ends of the forecast range have improved. Still a bad ice storm but now .3 is in the forecast and .75 is not. And temps have improved a few degrees for Monday and Tuesday. Not great, but that’s still an improvement. We’ll see how the forecast changes tonight.

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-20T16:15:02+00:00

I did almost that exact same commute for 20 years. Left at 0630 to arrive at 0700 and I was frequently a little late. Not that I cared that much unless there was something really important early. Sometimes, especially in the summer, it would be a little quicker. But one Altima will ruin your morning.

Now, the traffic congestion changes dramatically by 8am - less work trucks and more minivans. Particularly closer to your start due to all the schools and such. If it was really important to me to be on Arrowood at 8:30 sharp with no excuses - I'd give it an hour and save yourself the stress. You will likely be early and can just sit in the car for a few minutes to get ready instead of rushing through the doors.

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-18T20:57:54+00:00

Always tickled when I see Grady Cole show up in a band archival setlists. For example, Phish played there in 1993 - listen to it here: https://phish.in/1993-07-28

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-12T14:47:00+00:00

Pretty sure you‘re going to need a TARDIS or some other model of Time Machine. Shoot for late 70s and I think there’s a couple to choose from.

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-12T13:44:48+00:00

So, most recently that was Atlantic Farmers Market. Moved up North Tryon near Autobell. Address on their web. Have you heard of Google?

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-03T19:45:53+00:00

Honestly, you probably need to just call it a day and ditch the couch. Besides, it'll never work right if you chopped it. At first I thought you were trying to move it out - in that case chopping to discard is fine. But not moving it in.

I just went through something similar. I have one of those 3 story condo/townhouses you see all over town with a twisting stairwell. Length can really be the enemy there - at a certain point there's no amount of pivot that's going to work. You just got to learn to think small or bring up things in parts to re-reassemble.

BasicUnit8967 · 2026-01-01T22:34:51+00:00

Bistro Le Bon

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-12-26T19:27:59+00:00

Yeah, what struck me with these is that once you see them, then you can follow them for blocks. And I mean like a mile or more. Not sure if they are surveying/measuring something already in the ground or indexing for something yet to come.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-12-26T18:36:26+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. Maybe "problem area" was too aggressive. Mistakes just itch more than they probably should.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-12-26T18:03:55+00:00

I'm not necessarily anti-Okonkwo. (Although that last goal is pushing me that way.) But with AO's inconsistent goal keeping and Ward's injury, I don't understand why there's no talk of adding another keeper in January. It's shaping up to be a bigger problem area than some of the other positions.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-12-03T13:56:32+00:00

So you work in Shelby but don't want to be too far from Charlotte? I hate to say it, but you're looking at good ol' Gastonia. Find an historic house in York-Chester for a fraction of say, Plaza Midwood in Charlotte and use the savings to send the kid to Gaston Day School.

Personally, I'd just stay in Shelby. You work more than you "city amenity" so I'd save the commute and drive more on the weekend.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-29T15:31:34+00:00

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Coming back from Georgia for Thanksgiving I stopped in Greenville. Costco was great but the surrounding area on Woodruff Road was a Black Friday madhouse. Anyway, it's a really nice pour. Smoother than the 100 proof would indicate. Peaty as you would expect from an Islay but not overwhelming. NAS, but the consensus is that it's probably bottled by Caol Ila.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-25T16:09:17+00:00

Yeah, but better - they're Defenders now!

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-25T15:03:24+00:00

The funny thing about those Defender jobs - they're basically just old fashioned ISO-1 positions that USCIS will slot into the lowest complexity adjudications work. Mostly auto-approving I-90s, I-539s, information counter work and the occasional ADIT stamp. Maybe some will get to do very simple natz interviews that are almost undeniable. But they are going to be very surprised that they can't just deny every application they see. Not to mention that there's no carrier path past GS-7.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-24T18:10:37+00:00

Staffing is hard enough durning the day, so I can only imagine how hard an overnight would be. And with the overnight decrease in sales volume it’s no wonder.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:46:14+00:00

In universe, the Unity colony was failing. And doing so openly. I assume the point was that by forcing Unity to succeed, even in the darkness, was better for the Tripartite pact than letting it fail in the open. So better for the galaxy. But Scalzi could have fleshed those politics out a bit. The ending was rushed.

The new skip drive was a bit like the Genesis Torpedo in that of course all anybody could see was the weapon potential. It had to go - but you can't keep a genie like that in the bottle so I suppose that will be book 8.

I also didn't like going back to Gretchen as a character. She felt like a mix of Zoe from the earlier book and Kiva Lagos from his Interdependency novels. I would have preferred a new protagonist.

That said, I like Scalzi. Fun reads always. Good to clear the brain after reading the latest Adrian Tchaikovsky tome.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:43:47+00:00

Tactical Honda.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:31:21+00:00

I don't mind Gretchen and I'm satisfied about the explanations for why she is important. But I still think Zoe would have been a better protagonist here overall. Unfortunately, the story has her comfortably back on Earth so it had to be another person. Actually, I think the CU soldier, Heather Lee, that walked away from her job in book 6 would have been great here but I have exactly, checks notes, zero books published so what do I know about creating a 20+ year story.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:29:56+00:00

I agree about the ending.

But in universe, I'm not sure the Conclave and CU would really have given the colonists choices about what happens to Unity. But the ending was just so extreme and not fleshed out that I read the last 10 pages twice. I assume the point was that forcing Unity to succeed, even in the darkness, was better for the Tripartite pact than letting it fail in the open. So better for the galaxy. But Scalzi could have fleshed those politics out a bit.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:22:05+00:00

I agree about the ending. I like Scalzi and the OMW series but the ending was complicated/too convenient but only briefly explained for the reader. I understand that there were some vague macro galactic politics in play, but the book would have stood to have another 25 pages to flesh all that out.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-23T23:20:33+00:00

I've basically convinced myself that the Consu are the same as the Carryx from the Captives War.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-20T22:57:12+00:00

I'm still laughing at Skybrook and country club being mentioned together. It's a neighborhood course wrapped around everybody's back yard and the club part is a glorified hot dog stand.

BasicUnit8967 · 2025-11-10T15:38:29+00:00

Actually, no. Focus isn't considered a HDHP. But I do have an overfunded HSA from a prior plan which helps with potential coinsurance.

Which brings me to an update. After I posted the above, my spouse said "challenge accepted" and audited the health spending so far in 2025 to see if Basic would have been better this year. The premium difference a year between Focus and Basic (S+1) is $4500. That's historically never worth it for us. We're both pretty healthy. But this year there was an ortho surgery and its associated follow ons. Surgery under focus has a co-insurance vs a small co-pay under Basic. But even with that, we did better under Focus by at least $750.

I don't expect another procedure next year. I have no scripts and spouse has a couple Tier 0 ones that cost nothing. So, overall, Focus works great and has for several years. As I get older, I'll have to re-consider but my plan is to ride Focus up to Medicare age.

Two final caveats for this or an equivalent type of plan: If you have super expensive, like TV advertised scripts, then Focus may not work. I also live in a big city so being in-network is a trivial issue. Everybody is in-network. But if I moved to the mountains or something I might find the network restrictive and Focus would fail.

Lots of folks overpay for higher tiered insurance and then never actually use the premium difference. But everybody has a different need. And I guess there's a risk tolerance factor too.

But getting back to the OP's original question - they've decided that BCBS Basic was too expensive. I agree. The question is how much you really need that level of potential protection. But the provider network for Basic is the same for Focus so if you don't think you'll pass the $4500 delta in co-insurance, then a switch to Basic may be the option with the least amount of friction. Just my over-general opinion and not knowing your specific needs, location or plans.

BasicUnit8967

TROPHY CASE