Hot enough for ya? 🥵

Actually cut the grass at noon. Just went outside to put new air filters in both our cars. It was so hot I lost my concentration and had to step over into a shadow.

99 degrees- feels like 106 according to the Weather Channel app.

The Wallace interview- sorry to toot my own horn but....

Between that interview and Mary Trump’s book I think we can see that what I’ve been saying for more than 3 years is apparent:

He’s only a few steps from Howard Hughes territory.
Late stage Howard Hughes.
There were no cameras on Howard though.

I’ve seen this administration described here on DU as “late stage Elvis” in that those who aren’t running away are covering their tracks for when it all ends. Badly as it must. I think that apt too.

Howard though never had a police force to use or whatever the hell is going on in Portland.

We can’t take this for granted though. As weird as it’s going to get the media still needs two horses in this race. They will keep he up regardless of how over the edge he goes. Especially with so many people still at home and watching TV - this could be a ratings bonanza. Local TV stations heavily rely on these ad sales.

Going back to the tissue boxes on his feet, I expect his “executive time” to get longer and longer with some sporadic screaming on the front lawn.

Apple stores not allowing masks with filters inside the store

I was just at one for an “appointment” and while in line one of the employees brought me a disposable blue mask. Apparently this came from the top and it’s “new”.

???

Battery is pretty much dead on my iPad Air. I’m getting a new one for $100. It should arrive midweek.

"Pandemic Pods" groups hiring teachers to teach at home.

For parents who can afford it, a solution for fall: Bring the teachers to them


Fed up with remote education, parents who can pay have a new plan for fall: import teachers to their homes.

This goes beyond tutoring. In some cases, families are teaming up to form “pandemic pods,” where clusters of students receive professional instruction for several hours each day. It’s a 2020 version of the one-room schoolhouse, privately funded.


This is a thing now'
Across the country, families are gathering with strangers in Facebook groups and friends over text messages to make matches. Teachers are being recruited, sometimes furtively, to work with small clusters of children. A Facebook group dedicated to helping families connect and learn how to do this drew 3,400 members in nine days, with at least seven local groups already spun off.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/fall-remote-private-teacher-pods/2020/07/17/9956ff28-c77f-11ea-8ffe-372be8d82298_story.html

She said the prices start at $25 or $30 an hour for a college or graduate student. A trained tutor would cost $50 to $100 per hour. The premium option — poaching a teacher from a public school — could cost as much as $100,000 for a year, she said.

The Price is ......WRONG

NFB wins in IRS Ruling. National Federation for the Blind.

San Francisco (July 15, 2020): Today, as millions of taxpayers file their income tax returns, the IRS is announcing that it has agreed to develop and implement a process to allow blind taxpayers to request post-filing tax notices—such as notices about additional taxes or penalties owed—in Braille, large print, or electronic formats. The new alternative media process (AMP) will be in place by January 31, 2022. The agency will also consider whether it can add audio notices to the alternative formats that can be requested, work with third-party entities to improve the accessibility of tax forms and documents, and take other steps to improve the accessibility of interactions with the agency and its partners.

The actions to be taken by the IRS resolve a lawsuit filed last year by individual blind taxpayers, along with the National Federation of the Blind, alleging violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which the agency denies. The legal team in the lawsuit included attorneys from Brown Goldstein Levy LLP and Disability Rights California, the protection and advocacy system for the state.

“ Everyone should receive information about the taxes they pay in a format that is accessible to them,” said Autumn Elliott, senior counsel at Disability Rights California. “We are thrilled that the IRS has committed itself to sending notices to blind taxpayers that they can read independently


https://www.browngold.com/wp-content/uploads/2020.07.14-IRS-Settlement-Joint-Release-ACE.pdf

100 days without a smoke.

As of yesterday.

Today I walk in a convenience store.
There’s a guy buying a carton of Marlboros.
Me: it’s been 100 days since I smoked a cigarette.
Cashier: You want one? 😏

We both laughed.

"We manned it...womaned it" still watching Trump on Fox

He’s actually talking about the virus.
That quote was about the “two thousand eight hundred beds” at the Javits Center.

“We have the military. Generals. That’s what they do distribute things”

Back to Biden.

I got 1 of the 2 in the vending machine.😄 Cafeteria is closed. ☹️

Three things I learned this weekend - $$$

First - I’ve needed a new battery for my iPad since the beginning of the shutdown. Apple stores are back open so I went to get an appointment. Next Saturday. Apple isn’t replacing batteries, they are replacing the whole iPad.

Second - horrible day yesterday. Car wouldn’t start at a gas station. Me, wife, child, & dog. 4 hours waiting for a fix/tow. I’ll spare you the details other than Liberty Mutual sucks. They are clearly outselling their capacity. You get what you pay for.

Third (related) - riding to the garage with the tow truck guy. Insurance companies had everyone working at home so they totaled everything. Smashed headlight? Totaled. Hit a deer? Totaled. They didn’t want their people out in the field. Should be a lot of scratch and dent cars available soon I’d think.