Swap the keyboard and Control-C, Control-V and Delete work again

This is Win 10 Pro, running on a reconditioned (used) Dell Optiplex 990.  Changing out the Dell USB keyboard for the old Compaq  keyboard with the old PS2  connector  and everything works!!  I was unable to find anything useful on the net to fix the problem.  Youngest son was up for the weekend and he suggested trying a PS2 keyboard.  That did the trick. I'm still looking for info to get the new USB keyboard to work, it has a nicer keyfeel than the aging Compaq keyboard. 
  I think this is a Win 10 or a driver problem.  The PS2 keyboard uses a different driver.  I don't think the problem is defective hardware, 'cause both Control AND Delete were broke on the USB keyboard.  That's an unlikely hardware failure. 
   Strange that I could not find anyone else on the net complaining about the problem.

Beat the Press.

Chuck Todd had the day off, some newshen I don't know filled in for him this Sunday morning.  All they talked about was the Mueller report.  Apparently nothing interesting has happened anywhere else in the world.  A lot of grieving on air that the Mueller report failed to nuke Trump.  More opining about impeaching Trump.  Not a word about the horrible massacre of Christians in Sre Lanka (Ceylon it used to be called).   Not a word about the engine explosion on the Space-X crew capsule.  Stick with the Drudge Report, you will gt some real news, rather than NBC longing to nuke Trump.

NH Senate doings week of 22-26 April 2019

Ed Committee Hearing.  23 April.  Five bills were heard.  We started off with HB 383 “Relative to the prohibition on unlawful discrimination in public and non-public schools”.  Couple of interesting phrases in that title.  “Unlawful discrimination”, is there any other kind?  Does “lawful discrimination” really exist?  And “non-public schools”.  In plain English those are called private schools.   I asked the representative introducing the bill if “discrimination” included preventing boys from using girl’s restrooms, locker rooms and showers.  She said it did.  She also said preventing boys from competing in girl’s sports would be discrimination.  I plan to speak against and vote against this bill when it reaches the Senate floor.  Can you say stealth transgender?  The bill makes no attempt to define  discrimination, which means it could be anything.

    Now for HB 435, this is a harmless paperwork bill, changes a few names, but otherwise harmless. 

    And HB 447 “Relative to school calendar days”.  This bill merely states that local school boards can set the school calendar as they please just so long as they squeeze in 180 school days.  This is what the law is today. This bill is to kill off a Senate bill passed earlier, that required all schools to start AFTER Labor Day. Most NH schools now start in August.  Administrators and teachers like that.  Personally, I feel that starting school before Labor Day is child abuse.  But that’s just me. 

   And HB 448 another harmless paperwork bill of no consequence.

   And finally, HB 652 which would require two hours of suicide prevention training for everyone, teachers, administrators, bus drivers, secretaries, everybody except coaches.  No funding was provided.   Training could be merely watching some instructional video on the Internet.   No requirement for training students to recognize suicidal thoughts in their friends, or what to do should they feel a friend might be suicidal.   

Short Senate session today.  Started at the usual time, 10 AM and we had all the business on the calendar done by 11 AM.  Opened the show with the Fast Track (consent) calendar.  Ten bills were Fast Tracked.  All of them were harmless and no account.  One was amusing and makes you wonder how anyone does business in New Hampshire.  That was HB 259 that now requires that building inspectors writing up a building or job must quote chapter and verse of the fire code that has been violated when they write up a violation.  Dunno how we have gotten along without that all these years.  Anyhow one quick voice vote and ten more bills, already passed by the House, are passed by the Senate and off for the Governor’s signature. 

   Now for the regular calendar.  We killed (Inexpedient to Legislate, ITL in legitative speak) HB 309 which made complicated changes to the procedures about foreclosing a mortgage.  We passed HB 511 which subjected vaping to the same controls as ordinary cigarette smoking.  No vaping on school property, no vaping in no smoking areas.   Seemed reasonable to me.  Did not get into taxing vaping stuff as hard as we tax cigarettes.  And we voice voted HB 684, concerning rent disputes about “manufactured housing: Ought To Pass (OTP).  I asked the bill’s sponsor if “manufactured housing” was what ordinary people call house trailers.  He conceded that it was.  I then asked him why rent disputes over house trailer rentals deserved special protections at law that ordinary landlord tenant disputes don’t get.  Answer was so vague as to be no answer at all.

   And then HP 663 concerning some obscure language changes about the definition of agriculture and agricultural land use.  We used to call that farming and farms.  Dunno what the lawyers dreamed up to complicate life and raise their billable hours. 

   And HB 118 which would require notifying a child’s doctor of reports of abuse.  This could be a little touchy.  Down in Massachusetts they have a lot of doctors reporting ordinary child accident injury from falls and such as child abuse.  Anyhow HB 118 passed on a voice vote. Zap.

   And HB 396 requiring the bureaucracy to get the lead out and respond to right to know requests within 5 days.    OTP voice vote. 

   And HB 427 made some opaque change to the law about filing protective orders on behalf of minor children.  OTP voice vote.

    And HB 437 concerning “family alienation” was tabled on a voice vote.  This bill would have allowed divorced parents to sue each other for bad mouthing each other in front of the children.  Let’s leave it on the table forever. 

   And a weird one, HB 518 which allows the state to recover the costs of imprisoning someone from that someone.  Apparently we have a wealthy prisoner in slam right now and we want to sock it to him harder.  Senator Lou D’Alessandro spoke in favor of this.  I never heard of this before.  We send a guy to jail, he serves his sentence, or is a good little boy and gets parole, and he is out.  I never heard of a state dunning such a person for room and board in the big house before. 

   And we closed by passing HB 700 concerning taxes on utilities.  I did not understand just what the deal was in HB 700.  I do know New Hampshire utility rates are totally unreasonable, partly due to taxes on utilities, RGGI, another hidden utility tax and more such.   

    

Name Signs for Pundits.

What’s in a name?   I watch a lot of TV talking heads, opining upon nearly everything.  Camera will cut in on one or another of them as they talk.   Leaving me wondering About the name of the speaker.  Some names I know and respect.  Other names I know are turkeys.  A lot of names I never heard of. 

   What the TV people ought to do is place a good sized name sign on the table in front of each participant.  Then the news junkies in the audience, like yours truly, would know who is who and be able to sort out good opinions from the not-so-good opinions presented.  And perhaps learn a few new names in the process.

Talking to people with information on your opponent

Now that Mueller has fizzled out, the democrats are scratching around for something else to throw at Trump  (dump on Trump).  They are talking up a meeting at the Trump Tower in New York back in 2016.  A woman, later identified as a Russian agent, turned up, claiming to have some dirt on Hilary.  They listened to her.  They decided that her information wasn't good enough to use, or leak, but they did listen to her.  Which is perfectly normal.  When you are running for office, and someone offers dirt on your opponent, you listen to them.  You may decide, like the Trump people did, that the dirt isn't solid enough to use, but you want to know what is on offer.  Nothing wrong with this.  Except to democrats and the MSM (democratic operatives with bylines)

Words of the Weasel Part 55

Blanding down the language.  Must not offend snowflakes, or anyone.
Substance.  One of the most general nouns in English.  Any solid or liquid is a substance.  So now the newsies use "Substance abuse" or Substance abuse disorder"  in place of the more informative and straight forward "Drug Addiction".  Makes you think they are in favor of drug use. 

Rogue One 2016

There is talk about yet another Star Wars flick coming out for Christmas.  So I thought I might re watch the last batch of them, the later ones after the three "revival" ones of some years ago.  Started with Rogue One.  I had the DVD.  I saw this one live in theater, with my daughter, back in 2016 when it came out.  Medium speed for a Star Wars movie.
   No names.  Watched the whole thing and when the credits finally rolled, I could not think of any character's stage name.  Not like the good old days when names like Leia, Skywalker, Obi-wan, Vader, and Han Solo were on everyone's lips.  Major problem is no character ever addresses another one by name.  Secondary problem, junior sound men who aren't very good at their jobs and the dialog is often inaudible.  Good sound requires good microphone placement, good mikes, and actors who don't mumble their lines.  And good sound mixing.  They must mute the score and the sound effects when dialog is happening.  Anyhow, the sound in Rogue One was mediocre to poor.
   As bad as the soundtrack was , the camera man was worse.  It was 2016 and the cult of the unlit scene was raging thru Hollywood.   A good third, maybe a half, of the scenes were dark, so dark I could could recognize who was in the scene.  Just plain annoying. 
   And the writers missed a few good ideas.  Opening scene where slimy Imperial Count whats-his-face, dressed in white, swoops in to arrest the father, a high powered scientist involved in Death Star development, who has fled the project and is living on a remote farm with wife and young child.  Didn't get his name either.   If the old man is such a hot shot scientist, he should have brought some wonder weapon into play and vaporized Count whats-his-face, rather than submitting to arrest.
   Young chick protagonist acts a pretty good part.  Didn't catch her name either.  Handsome guy is OK but his acting is no better than ordinary.  The writers left out a scene that I would have enjoyed, a scene were the two of them get a chance for a quiet talk, uninterrupted by bad guys with guns,  where we hear what she thinks of him, and vice versa. 
   The was an A movie, huge budget, great box office.  But re watching it makes me understand why Hollywood is dying.