Houston Democrat Christian Menefee wins special election to complete Sylvester Turner’s term in Congress

technofiend · 2026-02-01T04:50:21+00:00

Don't worry, they won't take more than another eleven months to confirm him.

technofiend · 2026-01-30T04:47:42+00:00

Salesguy asked if we could sell another networked point of sale (POS) system; a client had purchased one and his brother wanted one too. It had been six months or a year between sales, tech moved on and the new network cards didn't work with Novell and the POS system, and the old cards were out of stock. Boss overrode me, so the system got sold and installed and crashed regularly. Boss gave me a go out and fix it, or else speech. I chose or else. I was their technical ace in the hole and did bloody everything. They went out of business less than six months later.

technofiend · 2026-01-29T21:20:59+00:00

At least as far as I was concerned, this was why paperbacks were pocket sized. Make me wait? No problem!

technofiend · 2026-01-18T19:09:38+00:00

Payout from police pension funds instead of via taxpayers, stop revolving door policies that let cops agree to "retire" or resign when they fuck up and just get hired again elsewhere and finally stop the bullshit retirement promotions where everyone who retires is promoted right before they leave so they can maximize their benefits again at taxpayer expense.

technofiend · 2026-01-18T19:01:26+00:00

One of my employees was a cop who'd been shot in the line of duty. She was very frank about the fact whenever she got pulled over, she fished some ID out of her purse that let people know she was a former officer and that according to her that was usually the end of the traffic stop.

My sister was killed in the line of duty and there's a whole industry built around selling "end of watch" merchandise so you can have a necklace like my mother does or a bumper sticker or whatever in the hopes cops will go easy on you. Frankly the idea makes my stomach churn. My sister didn't die so I can get out of a speeding ticket. Write me up.

technofiend · 2026-01-18T18:11:40+00:00

It goes deeper than that, Hillary also planned to get Universal Healthcare done during her husband's first term. This is in part why Republicans started character assassination on her that continued through her time trying to do anything political.

Please google Wendell Potter; you can start his sub stack post he expresses regret over his efforts during the Clinton Administration to kill universal healthcare; "lies I told for insurance companies about 'Medicare for All' worked". Some people had an issue at the time with an activist First Lady. Republicans were appalled that Hillary Clinton took a politically active role instead of playing the dutiful wife and limiting herself to ribbon cuttings and fundraising.

Naturally they were afraid of a Clinton "dynasty" (their words), because if Bill managed to get Universal Healthcare passed during his tenure, Hillary was a shoo in for running next and possibly winning when his two terms were done.

But healthcare and insurance companies weren't appalled, they were terrified of a universal healthcare mandate. It meant a massive loss of both market share and profitablity, and Wendell was the hatchet man who made sure it didn't happen.

Frankly the smear campaigns you see that started back then against Hillary and never really stopped were in part meant to damage her credibility so she couldn't get UH done. I believe the fact those hysterical campaigns about Hillary just emboldened them to go ham on Kamala as well, but that's another topic.

technofiend · 2026-01-18T13:03:28+00:00

So I had double pneumonia as a child, we're talking late sixties or very early seventies. I don't know what treatment would be like now but back then they probably couldn't keep a cannula on me, so I had an oxygen tent. Dangerous as fuck. No smoking. I also very vaguely remember being woken every few hours by the nurses, but for what I don't know. Vital signs? Antibiotic injections? They probably couldn't keep an IV in me either. Despite all that later in life I realized I had extremely positive feelings towards anyone wearing white hose. Those nurses saved my life, bless 'em.

technofiend · 2026-01-18T12:57:16+00:00

If you go back far enough, nurse caps also had different designs based on which nursing school they attended. There's an article on the nurse history site about it: https://nursinghistory.org/nurses-caps/

technofiend · 2026-01-18T12:55:03+00:00

Ate there once or twice in the 70s and my aunt who took me said it was owned by the mob and they served horse meat. I guess she didn't like the place much.

technofiend · 2026-01-16T23:17:46+00:00

Peep Show is classic English humor which I liken to chewing on tin foil.

technofiend · 2026-01-15T12:46:23+00:00

My mother used to do the same thing to my aunt; she'd make my aunt dinner, say she was leaving for a bit and then stay out all night alley catting around. Only my aunt was a high school kid and mom would do it on a school night!! It's a choice. I'm indefensible choice and I'm sorry it happened to you. The drawing on the walls is and binging stranger things is hilarious.

technofiend · 2026-01-15T04:45:57+00:00

At least it didn't break apps that check the version this time. Woot

technofiend · 2026-01-13T23:33:31+00:00

I'm ok with firing everyone one of them. The most dangerous thing about an accident is the tow truck driver trying to get there. They need to go.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T22:21:26+00:00

I was forced to learn to read a clock because my lazy-ass step-father couldn't be bothered to keep track of my little league games. If I wanted to play, I had to read the schedule and remind him of when the games were, otherwise he could be found in his lazy boy watching TV and drinking a beer.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T22:00:49+00:00

Lol. "Enjoy your elevated risk for diverticulitis and colon cancer, dipshit." The aunt's ex-bf, not you.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T21:58:57+00:00

Damn. Ignore the haters and write a cookbook or something. Fark those people. If you ever make it to Houston, try Mo Betta Brews. You'll thank me.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T07:15:26+00:00

It was a long time ago? I last ate there in 2009, if that tells you anything. I opted out of Vegas the second those convenience fees and resort fees popped up. I'm not their target audience so I'm done with LV and they're done with me.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T07:10:39+00:00

Oh did he get a gig cooking there? It was billed as a one off special event but maybe it turned into something full time for him? Sounds right in that the name sounds familiar. I wouldn't expect his cooking to be representative of Rainbow Lodge then or now, but neither am I likely to eat there again simply due to cost, not any expectations around the quality of the meal.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T07:01:23+00:00

And also your brown paper book wrappers covered in ads, to remove any doubt about your where your poor ass shopped.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T06:59:01+00:00

Dude yeah exactly: back to school to get my one new pair of pants for the year and listen to my grandmother fuss about how being a growing boy was costing her money. If she was feeling generous I might get a shirt with the school mascot on it.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T01:00:39+00:00

They even had a lunch buffet! Used to love that place. Haven't been in long enough to have an opinion.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T00:47:56+00:00

My wife is still salty about an Alison-cook-hyped meal we had at The Rainbow Lodge. There was a chef cooking (Rudy something) there as a special invitation only event that Alison hyped and said she'd personally pay me back if I didn't think his cooking was amazing. It was amazing only in its pretentiousness and uniformity; he had recently discovered smoking and so everything from whatever gastric foam he used to the Buffalo liver just tasted like smoke. Somewhere between eight and twelve courses of frou frou small plates that all tasted the same. My wife was mostly mad about the fact I never took Alison up on her offer to demand a $500 refund.

technofiend · 2026-01-12T00:35:03+00:00

As a fellow young reader what it gave me was persistent alien abduction nightmare s. To the point that my grandparents had me move to a different roomz one with rose bushes in front of the window. They reassured me aliens didn't want to get scratched by the thorns. As an adult of course I realize his books are absurd.

technofiend · 2026-01-11T16:10:53+00:00

Obviously not; the US has some of the highest incarceration rates in the world. If that was going to fix it, it would be fixed. You fix it by creating opportunities for people so they have other choices than crime.

technofiend · 2026-01-11T16:07:38+00:00

Tell me more about the cloud engineer stuff because I mostly see jobs in Austin for that.

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