The Capital Region Trump Association (CDTA) is forcing me to buy a new Navigator card before tomorrow because I had mine for 10 years. What bullshit, such greedy bastards. I don’t care it’s only two bucks, my existing card works absolutely fine.
The bus is fine, beats driving my F-350 SuperDuty to work, in the pouring rain. I was hoping the rain would end earlier, but if I am downtown I can probably get my balance moved over on Navigator Card at either the library or the Plaza Vistors Center some day today. I know shouldn’t complain about a two dollar government fee, when I just spent $59,725 on a SuperDuty when all taxes and fees were included but whatever. The money is gone, but fucking hell of it, my net worth declined another $40,000 or so due to market declines last month, mostly due to the Trumpster and the Iran War. How many gas stations were $4.20 a gallon yesterday to celebrate the Iran War and April Fools Day?
Eventually the markets will recover, and economic growth will pay for the SuperDuty. It’s not a real nice truck, but it’s a good fit for me that should be quite reliable. Honestly, though I feel guilty as hell about blowing so much money on a 1-ton axle truck, but I want something good and reliable, able to survive the shit roads I take it on, and able to get me out to Midwestern National Forests and West Virginia with no issues. I think the hill descent control will be so awesome in West Virginia, especially heading down from Dolly Sods.
I actually haven’t started up Old Smokey since I drove him home on Wednesday evening, but it’s fine, I’ve been assured that SuperDuty will start bombarding my phone with messages from the Ford App if the two starting batteries become depleted. I think it’s insane that you can remote start the truck from anywhere in the world, along with unlock the doors using the Ford app. I was happy to discover on the key fob I can also remote start, which is important for camping, when I’m in a place where I have no cell service and it’s cold or the battery voltage drops and I need the engine to start up from the comfort of my truck bed or next to campfire, to turn the lights or the diesel heater back on. No having to get up, go into the cab, and turn the key to make sure I have power. Plus it’s good when the truck has been parked all week and I want to get the oil flowing through the engine before I head out.
So yeah, just a rainy day. Catching the early bus to work. I guess I could drive said HD truck to work, but yeah not with the gas prices. I am quite okay keeping the 51 miles on the odometer for now, at least through Sunday when I go out to visit my parents on Sunday, and maybe hike Bennett Hill in the rain, assuming it’s not too sloppy and wet out. I got my farm boots out of my old truck a few weeks ago, so I can use them if hiking in the slop is bad. I am sure water will remain excessively high for trout fishing in the first half of season, but honestly I don’t want to bother with cleaning trout at home, much rather do that up at camp where I can just toss the smelly bones and guts into the fire.
Tomorrow is Good Friday, and my office is closed so I’ll probably stay home or just ride out to Five Rivers for a while. At some point I’ll ride down to probably Hannaford and Wally World to get groceries. While I have SuperDuty, gas is expensive, and I don’t want to put miles on the truck unnecessarily. Riding the bike is good exercise, plus it limits how much food I buy as I can only put so much weight on the bike basket. Saturday looks to be the nicest day of weekend, and I’ll have to consider where I ride to do and what to do that day. I just don’t feel like starting up that big ginamous truck until Sunday.
We have a saying here at Bloomberg, and it’s one we brought with us to New York City Hall: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” The federal government is now in danger of proving just how much truth those words hold.
For more than a century, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on the need for objective data to inform their debates. In the 1890s, when the Senate commissioned a novel study of prices and wages — partly to assess the impact of the McKinley Tariff Act — Senator Nelson Aldrich, a Republican and staunch protectionist, explained the rationale:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has temporarily paused testing for rabies and pox viruses, the family of viruses that includes smallpox and mpox, according to an update to the agency’s website on Monday.
The C.D.C. offers testing for dozens of pathogens to assist state and local public health laboratories that are not equipped to conduct them. The organization began evaluating its tests in late 2024 as part of an agencywide review.
But widespread layoffs, hiring freezes and resignations have shrunk the number of qualified scientists who can assist state labs. The C.D.C.’s rabies and pox virus teams have lost many of their members. By July, the rabies team will be down to just one person with the clinical expertise to advise state and local officials, and the pox virus team will have none.
The teams already have too few members to offer after-hours advice for states as the agency has long done, according to an official with knowledge of the situation who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation.
beats driving my F-350 SuperDuty to work, in the pouring rain. I was hoping the rain would end earlier, but if I am downtown I can probably get my balance moved over on Navigator Card at either the library or the Plaza Vistors Center some day today. I know shouldn’t complain about a two dollar government fee, when I just spent $59,725 on a SuperDuty when all taxes and fees were included but whatever. 
The money is gone, but fucking hell of it, my net worth declined another $40,000 or so due to market declines last month, mostly due to the Trumpster and the Iran War. 
How many gas stations were $4.20 a gallon yesterday to celebrate the Iran War and April Fools Day? 
It’s not a real nice truck, but it’s a good fit for me that should be quite reliable. Honestly, though I feel guilty as hell about blowing so much money on a 1-ton axle truck, but I want something good and reliable, able to survive the shit roads I take it on, and able to get me out to Midwestern National Forests 
and West Virginia with no issues. I think the hill descent control will be so awesome in West Virginia, especially heading down from Dolly Sods.
I’ve been assured that SuperDuty will start bombarding my phone with messages from the Ford App 
if the two starting batteries become depleted. I think it’s insane that you can remote start the truck from anywhere in the world, along with unlock the doors using the Ford app. I was happy to discover on the key fob I can also remote start, which is important for camping, when I’m in a place where I have no cell service and it’s cold or the battery voltage 
drops and I need the engine to start up from the comfort of my truck bed or next to campfire, to turn the lights or the diesel heater back on. No having to get up, go into the cab, and turn the key to make sure I have power. Plus it’s good when the truck has been parked all week and I want to get the oil flowing through the engine before I head out.
Catching the early bus to work. 
I guess I could drive said HD truck to work, but yeah not with the gas prices. I am quite okay keeping the 51 miles on the odometer for now, at least through Sunday when I go out to visit my parents on Sunday, and maybe hike Bennett Hill in the rain, assuming it’s not too sloppy and wet out. 
I got my farm boots out of my old truck a few weeks ago, so I can use them if hiking in the slop is bad. I am sure water will remain excessively high for trout fishing in the first half of season, 
but honestly I don’t want to bother with cleaning trout at home, much rather do that up at camp where I can just toss the smelly bones and guts into the fire. 
so I’ll probably stay home or just ride out to Five Rivers for a while. At some point I’ll ride down to probably Hannaford and Wally World to get groceries. While I have SuperDuty, gas is expensive, 
and I don’t want to put miles on the truck unnecessarily. Riding the bike is good exercise, 
plus it limits how much food I buy as I can only put so much weight on the bike basket. 
Saturday looks to be the nicest day of weekend, and I’ll have to consider where I ride to do and what to do that day. I just don’t feel like starting up that big ginamous truck until Sunday. 
