Month: May 2018

Another typical and beautiful day here in the swamp. Just gonna be a bit hot and humid…. starting out almost exactly like the last 3 days. NOAA has us clear for 3 days. I’ll be watching. They’ve been all over the map for the last month after months of accurate forecasts. I know it’s gonna be hot. I know we will get some rain. All I ask of a forecast is what day will we get the rain? Will there be a LOT of it?

More surveillance traffic on the scanner yesterday, although different part of the city. They did a drug take down just a few miles up the road from my rent house. Lots of coordination, LOTS of cops. No idea if it was the same team or same targets.

I’ve put in a call to a friend in law enforcement to discuss it with him. Either they forgot, someone mis-configured the radios, or they just don’t care/ can’t do anything about it. If it’s either one of the first two, they need to know, or they’re gonna get an undercover officer killed.

We’ll see how it goes.

Despite the family drama, I did get some work done on the rent house yesterday, so hurray for me. One step closer.

And more work to do today…

n

78F and rising…… summer in Houston.

As I do a quick survey of the headlines, looking for a topic to toss into the ring, I’m struck by how far things have gone in just a year or two.

A journalist in Britain is jailed for reporting on official malfeasance and dereliction of duty, under the flimsiest of excuses, and despite it being a certainty that his treatment in prison will be MUCH worse than his ‘crime’ warrants.

A comedienne who has made a career out of her abrasiveness and insulting people has her livelihood destroyed (and hundreds of others too) because she insulted a public figure, and in the ‘wrong’ way.

Everywhere you look states and countries are being destroyed by years of bad economic decisions (often driven purely by ideology) that ignore reality and are based on mostly wishful thinking.

We see the results of really poor policy choices, that no one seems to support, yet they continue… “Muslim Mob Storms Maine Park – Beats Park Goers with Sticks and Fists While Laughing”

These are Somali immigrants in MAINE. http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/05/shock-video-muslim-mob-storms-maine-park-beats-park-goers-with-sticks-and-fists-while-laughing/

I can’t think of anywhere in CONUS that is LESS like Somalia than Maine (or the MSP area which is also home to a huge Somali population.)

MS-13 gang members have murdered over 50 people in LONG ISLAND, NY and places like Maryland. This isn’t an issue confined to Cali or the border states, they are EVERYWHERE.

Regarding the Maine attack, the mayor had this to say ” “When you have large, diverse groups of people in the same place you are bound to have incidents. Lewiston is no different in that respect than any other medium to large city,”

So what is the benefit of diversity again? And what does accepting a lie, and living as if it was true, do to one’s mental state? The residents of the former Soviet states spent decades acting as if they believed the lies, under threat of force. How is our current PC (which used to be a joke, used with a sneer) culture any different from living under soviet propaganda? We are making a generation of psychotics.

I know I tend toward doom and gloom. But just cast your mind back, two, five, and 10 years. Think about the really vast changes that have occurred during that time. In your opinion, do things seem to be getting better or worse? Are we moving toward freedom and prosperity, or away?
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Got preps?

n

76F, 88%RH and headed for another hot one. I’d say, summer is firmly here in Houston, I don’t expect it to be much cooler from here on out.

Last week of school in our district. Testing is over, and now they’re just running out the clock. No idea what our family will be doing this summer, but it will involve some day camps to keep the kids in a learning mood. I’ve got some ideas too, but we’ll see if I get the time.

Can’t believe how quickly this year is passing. Common theme, I know, but still true.

I guess I better get started on today’s pile o stuff….

n

A day for remembering our fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. There is a cost. A sometimes terrible cost.

ARLINGTON, VA (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) Mary McHugh

And they paid it- willingly, grudgingly, reluctantly, or heroically- they paid it for us. Remember them, honor them, and enjoy what they bought us at the ultimate price.

nick

Already 90F at 9am….

Never got much storm after the warning last night. Looks nice and hot out now.

Kids let me sleep, and I’m stiff and sore 🙁 but there’s plenty to do today.

Guess I better pull up my panties and get to it….

n

Looks like it’s gonna be another hot one, just like all week. 77F and humid. Sunny, scattered clouds.

Good day for a pool party. Daughter number one is having her birthday party at our Rec Assn Pool. After Swim lesson, and Swim Team practice, of course. I’ll be busy with drinks, ice, burgers, hot dogs, and rigging the pinata. Can’t skip the pinata down here.

The time spent on my knees grouting tile has caught me this morning. Sore buttocks, sore arms, just sore. Getting old is not for the weak.

Enjoy your day!

n

72F with blue sky and puffy clouds. Forecast calls for thunderstorms. We’ll see. There was a storm forming and headed into the Gulf, just in time to wreck the opening weekend of summer. Our weather here in Houston is unpredictable in general, because of onshore flows from the Gulf, and in specific due to weird little microclimate areas. One area can get 2inches of rain, another can be dry. We’ll see.

This week I worked on getting my rent house back on the market, which is a prep as it’s an income stream. I also worked on getting some heat management so I could work outside and not swoon (portacool, big fan.) My fan motor might arrive today, and then I get to figure out how to mount it. It’s not a drop in replacement.

I have grapes on one of the vines, blueberries on some of the plants. The zukes are hanging in, but have been attacked by ants. I sprayed but then the rain came…. I’ll spray again. Meyer lemon bloomed and smelled fantastic for a week, so we’ll eventually get some lemons. Mint, basil, sage, and oregano are all doing very well. I’ve got so much dried basil I didn’t plant any this year, but it volunteered anyway. Tastes and smells right… The chives are so vigorous, I could used them as ground cover, or a garden border 😉 Don’t think I’m getting any more tomatoes, it’s too hot. Get some kind of garden going, even if it’s just herbs and salad….

I put away the 9 water containers I bought. They are going to the off-site location. I think I’ll move 2 of my 100L tanks there too, as soon as I make some room for them.

If you stored bleach last year, it’s time to refresh your stores. Use the old to clean your deck, driveway, or siding. Put some fresh away. Bleach is always handy and we’ve got ebola on the rise, and the always potential need for sterilizing water or stuff. It’s cheap insurance.

Hurricane season is coming. Time to go thru your stuff, change batteries, start storing more gasoline, think about that gennie purchase, etc. Or think of it as spring cleaning if you’re northern.

While ebola isn’t a threat to us at the moment, all it takes is one case on a plane to change that. The entire US medical system has about 20 beds available for treating something like Ebola. It was a very near miss last time. Think about what you need to have at home to isolate yourself for 45 days. Think about your work situation, child care, etc. in those same terms. Start taking steps. One thing I can guarantee, if it gets here in the immigrant community, it’s gonna blow up before it hits the hospitals.

Time to buy some ammo and get some shooting practice in too! If you haven’t gotten out all winter, time to dust off and touch up those perishable skills.

That’s what I’ve got for today,

nick

added- super busy weekend with a child birthday pool party, opening weekend at the pool, and Memorial day. Lots of scrambling starting today…

73F and damp. No prediction about later, I’ve been wrong the last three days. It did get nice yesterday late in the afternoon.

I’ve got to leave the house today and get some stuff done. Got to. Seriously. Really need to leave……

n

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we’ll see………………..

74F and clear, sunny blue skies. Gonna be another hot one here in the swamp.

Coverage of the Santa Fe murders has dropped off, and some things don’t add up. I’m starting to suspect some official shenanigans. Eyewitnesses say half hour between the shots fired and the surrender. The police say their guy ‘engaged’ the murderer immediately (and got shot) and that they ‘contained’ him in the art classroom area. Then they say he dropped to his knees and surrendered immediately upon being confronted. Eyewitness accounts had him taunting the students in the closet, with time for reloads, and time for people to find out there was a problem and try to call their kids. 20 people got shot.

Keeping in mind that initial reports are almost always wrong, this still doesn’t add up.

Then there’s the ‘none of the bombs had explosives in them’ / ‘yes they did’ back and forth.

But I’m assured by our district superintendent that

“Since the Parkland shooting in February, we have revisited our safety and security protocols, updated our safety plans and continued to conduct drills at our schools. Our central office staff has reviewed and updated our response plan in the event of an emergency. SBISD Police continue working with federal and other local law enforcement agencies to improve and enhance our security efforts. ”

“we take very seriously our responsibility for the safety and security of your children.”

So, which of the district response plans saved lives in Santa Fe? Which of them prevented the murders? Which of them mitigated the damage? I think I might have to attend our next school board meeting.

nick

71F but humid and wet, with sunny clear skies. I’m hoping for a nice day.

We’ll see if I get any work done today.

n