50-something and damp. Usually.
Goal for today, get the house cleaned up for my wife’s return. Get some of the Halloween decor up. No more delays!
That is all. And yet it’s soooo much!
n
Sun. Oct. 27, 2019 – getting ready for Halloween
55 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Oct. 27, 2019 – getting ready for Halloween"
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It pains me to admit that the EU bureaucracy gets (some) things right. However, they recently passed legislation that requires companies to make their devices repairable, and to provide spare parts for those repairs. Obviously there will now be endless wrangling on the definition of “repairable”, but it is a blow against the “throwaway society”, and for sustainability.
We got elder son moved out yesterday. It’s strange to my wife and I: we wanted out from under our parents. Our kids definitely don’t, so this was a bit of an emotional battle for him, convincing himself that he’s really leaving, packing, and moving. So now he’s in an apartment with no ceiling lights (because you have to install your own here), and no Internet (because he put off ordering it) – but he’s there. Now we’ll sort the details together.
Younger son moves next weekend, into half of my temporary apartment. Two weeks after, the wife moves into her temporary quarters next to the building site. We’re getting there – it’s going to be pure chaos for the next 3-4 weeks – but we are finally getting there đ
Congrats on making progress Brad. Remember that a major home construction process is about as stressful on a marriage as the death of a spouse. You both will need to actively work on mitigating the stress together.
n
Remember that initial reports are almost always wrong….
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/homecoming-horror-leaves-2-dead-14-injured-mass-shooting-texas-am-campus-party
OFF CAMPUS party, unsanctioned by the school, BRANCH CAMPUS, hunting rifle caliber, And this bit of weirdness — “With no descriptions of the shooter, Oxford said many of the attendees are “not being cooperative” in aiding investigators with details of what exactly happened. ”
n
added- “no description, and not cooperating” usually means black on black gang related violence. I guess we’ll see as more reports come out.
@nick: thanks, and you’re right. We’re dealing with the stress ok. It’s going to help a lot having the two younglings out of the house.
Remember that a major home construction process is about as stressful on a marriage as the death of a spouse. You both will need to actively work on mitigating the stress together.
We gave up on a construction project in Florida 10 years ago because not everyone was on the same page.
On top of being a manipulative liar in general, the contractor was a patient of my wife’s, and he would tell her anything she wanted to hear in order to keep his de facto gratis concierge level care flowing. I finally called his bluff after a year.
We got off lucky. The contractor’s other client, a single woman with a family similar in age to us, got manipulated with a remodel on her house to the point that the project finished in foreclosure because she couldn’t convert the construction loan.
Never again. The next time we try it, the contractor relationship will be purely business, and I refuse to deal with any home improvement service who plays to my wife’s emotions. I just gave a face push to a creepy window vendor who wouldn’t put together a quote at my house with me alone.
Six months ago:
“Why?”
“We want you both involved with the process.”
“You want to break my b*lls to get the upper hand in the sales process.”
“[Silence. No denial] Can your wife make it home for a meeting?”
“No. If you can’t give the quote with me alone, we’re not doing business.”
“Okay, thanks for your time sir.”
Amazingly, they called back just recently:
“You’re still not getting us meeting with the salesperson together. Lemme guess — almost retirement age Boomer sales guy who will play on my wife’s emotions about her dad passing. The door-to-door X er saleswoman playing ‘Girls Stick Together’ who made initial contact didn’t get the deal done; time for heavy artillery.”
“[Silence. No denial.] Thanks for your time sir.”
Anyone aware of an alternate location to view this (from Barbara’s journal)?
Hmm, trying one of the online downloaders, the first one I tried failed.
n
and the second one.
n
The short answer is apparently “use a vpn that lets you choose your country” or a proxy service. I don’t want to do either, and I can’t find the downloader/converter that worked seamlessly for me on other files.
Search results changing dramatically in a short time is a problem if you think you can re-find stuff by searching for it again. NONE of the google hits on downloading or converting youtube videos are the link I found last time.
n
added- âno description, and not cooperatingâ usually means black on black gang related violence. I guess weâll see as more reports come out.
If authorities were looking for a white male suspect, the shooting would have been front page news this morning.
The only reason the wire services picked it up is that the story makes Texas, a Trump state, look bad.
Deceptive headline too, it was a party, near a school, with Homecoming as an excuse… 3:15am- “don’t be there” fully applies. If affiliated with a frat, I know which ones I’m betting on as sponsors….
n
wrt window salesmen… my wife has even less tolerance for the BS than I do. Renewal by Anderson finally quoted us $40k after burning our evening.
I understand that they want both present, so that you can’t play them off with “I’ll have to check with my spouse and get back to you” which means “no”. I didn’t even notice any attempted manipulation, but I wasn’t looking for it as I thought I understood their motivations.
n
First reports….
wrt window salesmen⌠my wife has even less tolerance for the BS than I do. Renewal by Anderson finally quoted us $40k after burning our evening.
I don’t even talk to Renewal reps when they call or knock on the door, but at least they’re manipulative in the old tradition of home improvement shills.
Tam has a second or third hand post with some very interesting thinking in it
https://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2019/10/failed-state-next-door.html
It is time to update our mental models of Mexico.
n
Door to door sales: we don’t have that here. Could be the dirt roads… or maybe the moat. đ
Deceptive headline too, it was a party, near a school, with Homecoming as an excuse⌠3:15am- âdonât be thereâ fully applies. If affiliated with a frat, I know which ones Iâm betting on as sponsorsâŚ.
Was it a frat and not a sorority? 750 people makes me wonder.
Walking to/from the science museum in Chicago, we passed the national headquarters of AKA, appropriately right across the park from where Obama’s library will be built.
AKA always lost control of their parties back when I worked for campus housing as an undergrad. The KKK could never have wreaked as much havoc on that organization as “A Different World” did in the 80s. If AKA threw a party, most of those in attendance would not be on a single class roster on campus.
wrt window salesmen⌠my wife has even less tolerance for the BS than I do. Renewal by Anderson finally quoted us $40k after burning our evening.
I understand that they want both present, so that you canât play them off with âIâll have to check with my spouse and get back to youâ which means ânoâ. I didnât even notice any attempted manipulation, but I wasnât looking for it as I thought I understood their motivations.
To buy the new windows for my new used house, I had to pursue the window salesman. I regarded his price of $16,000 for 36 windows installed with three of them being six foot by six foot as a good price. And he makes the windows along with installing them. They install on Wednesday and Thursday so we will see how good they are.
Hunt County Sheriffâs Department is searching for gunman near Greenville
Sheriff Randy Meeks said they do not know who he is, or what he looks like
Meeks said he walked into a party venue attended by 750 Texas A&M University-Commerce students and opened fire after midnight
I am a 1982 graduate of Texas A&M University and have never heard of Texas A&M University-Commerce. Of course, things have changed in 40 years.
https://new.tamuc.edu/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University%E2%80%93Commerce
Ah, junior college.
Ah, junior college.
Junior college? I assumed it was similar to A&M Amarillo.
At CGI, we had an intern through from Amarillo A&M campus, and she placed in the top five of IBM’s collegiate mainframe programming contest.
Hopefully, she didn’t end up back at CGI.
@everyone,
The Video about RBT is visible here in UK, and the latest version of 4K Video downloader (unregistered) will download it.
I have done so, and will send it via @Nick, whose e-mail I have, if AOL will accept an 11.6MB attachment – video at 720p.
Geoff
Thanks, Geoff. Would it be easier to put it up on BitChute?
Here is a link to my DropBox for RBT’s Youtube tribute:
Link remove.
Thanks for hosting, Mr. Nick.
Let me know if there are any problems. You should be able to download or just watch it in your browser.
Worked for me.
It does come up with an attribution on the right side…
n
@Geoff, thanks for the info. I guess someone didn’t like the song playing in the US.
It’s pretty cool that someone was so moved that they made the vid.
n
added- nothing in my aol inbox, so I think it’s too big. I think there is a 10mb limit.
DL worked fine, MrAtoz, on my Linux box with protections out the wazoo. I didn’t check online play because media players are normally blocked in my browsers and I didn’t feel like enabling one. Thanks.
RBT Tribute Video
Hosted here at the link.
n
someone please check that it plays and doesn’t have any extraneous personal info attached….
The MSM twisting to avoid complementing Trump wrt al bagdadi becoming a good terrorist is sickening to watch.
If there was any proof needed that they are beyond deranged, this should do it.
n
I did enjoy conversing with the door-to-door solar rooftop panel yappers. I was interested in verifying my opinion of their stupidity of thermodynamics.
Yes, they are as stupid as I thought
Actually, the door-to-door has now been stopped here.
MrAtoz’s link seemed to be a stub of some kind.
Nick’s version works. Thank you.
Is that the Sugarcubes for the music? Or just BjĂśrk? Nope. I installed Shazam and it is Alanis Morrisette.
Thank you to who created the Tribute. đ
from JimB:
Or, maybe, front doors in you area are not 60′ apart as in my locale.
We are planning a trip to my SIL’s mother’s homestead in Dec. , about 32 mi WSW of Ridgecrest. Probably no door-to-door with no paved roads and houses a mile or more apart. Turn south off SR 178 at Kelso Creek Rd. and go south about 8 miles. Last time we did Sat. night at Kernville Saloon.
@Nick
I didn’t send, waiting to hear if your inbox was big enough to accept the file. Glad the info was of use.
@Paul, Alanis Morrissette was credited in vision. No need to hit Shazam for an identification. And it looks like someone at Warners got their panties in a wad. I will retain my copy as an insurance policy – you can never have too many backups.
G
Actually, the door-to-door has now been stopped here.
Neighborhood “No Solicitation” signs posted by the HOA aren’t worth much.
The cops won’t enforce absent documented repeat violations with warning correspondence from the HOA, and even then the dollar amounts would have to be really significant. They might roll out for a roofing scamster working a neighborhood full of seniors, but they’ll get quite a chuckle if you call about someone shilling $30 boxes of “prime” chicken breasts door to door.
That one is more of a “shame on you to fall for that pitch” response.
Ah, junior college.
Junior college? I assumed it was similar to A&M Amarillo.
I am totally assuming. The only colleges that I know in the Texas A&M system that are equivalent to the main campus in College Station are Moody in Galveston and TAMUK in Kingsville. Everything else in the system such as Prairie View are really junior colleges that may offer four year degrees. I have no knowledge on the specifics of each college though.
I missed the credit.
Shazam IDed in four or five seconds. Trippy, to me.
The MSM twisting to avoid complementing Trump wrt al bagdadi becoming a good terrorist is sickening to watch.
If there was any proof needed that they are beyond deranged, this should do it.
Yup. When Ruben Navarette, an ultra liberal journalist, notes that his fellow journalists have TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), then things are really bad. âOpinion: How Wreck-It Donald broke the mediaâ by Ruben Navarrette Jr.
https://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/How-Wreck-It-Donald-broke-the-media-14559788.php
Tam has a second or third hand post with some very interesting thinking in it
https://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2019/10/failed-state-next-door.html
It is time to update our mental models of Mexico.
I find it very difficult to get paid by organizations in Mexico. Especially ones working for Pemex.
Almost no door-to-door sales folks here. A mile down a dirt/gravel road from the paved road. No Trick-or-Treaters either which is a good thing with a somewhat “bitey” dog.
I’ve have one salesman since 1993. A water softener seller. Uh, well, kind of cash strapped from just moving and fixing up the place, so, no. That his demo equipment really needed to be doused in vinegar to de-lime did not impress at all.
The Watch Tower folks hang their pamphlet on the gate every couple of years.
Our constable pointed out that HOA rules like “no soliciting” only apply to HOA members. That said, the constables have evidence that a lot of the door to door pamphleteers are actually casing the joint for a burglary. They rattle door knobs, look for TVs and other valuables, listen for dogs, look for alarms and cameras, etc. They’ve found burglars with lists of addresses and details like above. So our constables will harass them until they leave. Very few want to work while a constable sits there watching them.
n
Iâve have one salesman since 1993. A water softener seller. Uh, well, kind of cash strapped from just moving and fixing up the place, so, no. That his demo equipment really needed to be doused in vinegar to de-lime did not impress at all.
The new used house has a Kenmore water softener on the side of the house. I have no idea what to do with it. I have no idea if it is even working. It has an electrical line drilled through the brick wall and plugged into a bedroom electrical plug. Do these things typically “soften” all of the water in the house or just some of it ?
There is also some sort of weird filtration system under the kitchen sink with a small outlet line on the sink. I’ve been wondering if the two are connected.
Do these things typically âsoftenâ all of the water in the house or just some of it ?
Depends. Some folk plumb them to the water heater. Some to all internal plumbing. I plumbed to everything.
Under the sink is probably a reverse osmosis system. It may also feed the ice maker in the fridge. Hopefully the sellers will tell you what is what.
edit…. if they have r/o under the sink I think the softener is treating the whole house.
Re: Tribute
Lot of stuff scraped from the web. If you take one thing from the web it is stealing. If you take many things from the web it is research.
The new used house has a Kenmore water softener on the side of the house. I have no idea what to do with it. I have no idea if it is even working. It has an electrical line drilled through the brick wall and plugged into a bedroom electrical plug. Do these things typically âsoftenâ all of the water in the house or just some of it ?
They generally soften all of the water in the house except for the outside taps. You want to have this checked out thoroughly by a plumber, however, since putting soft water into the pool can wreak havoc on the newer liner materials, and we had one outside tap in FL which was actually on the “soft” line.
(When the “Col. Bat Guano” neighors helped themselves to 20,000 gallons of our house water after we left town before the FL house closed, I hope they used the “soft” line to fill their pool. Ha ha — I’m sure PenFed Credit Union will happily finance another liner. Everybody has four mortgages.)
Is the softener currently on “bypass”? In my experience, the single tank Kenmores last about 6-7 years and then they’re done in places like FL and TX. If there isn’t salt in the tank and the softener is on bypass, chances are the unit doesn’t work anymore. I went through two in FL and replaced one here in Texas.
A quality dual tank softener with expert installation is about $1400. That’s what we currently have now, and it makes a huge difference with laundry and scale buildup in our water heater.
If the softener is on “bypass” turn the valves and run the tap to fill the nearest bathtub from the cold line. If you have what appear to be little plastic beads in the water, the Kenmore is definitely done. The screens rust out in heavy limestone formation states, and the cheap GE/Sears units are toast, spewing the rosin into the output lines.
There is also some sort of weird filtration system under the kitchen sink with a small outlet line on the sink. Iâve been wondering if the two are connected.
Unless you plan to have it removed, you definitely want to have a plumber check that out too, especially if you aren’t sure the previous owners used the filtration tap regularly. People get tired of dealing with the filters and just buy bottles, but the remaining reverse osmosis system can get bacteria in the output line if left unused for a long time.
Family is all home and accounted for. Females all had a good time. I had a good time too. Hooray.
Got some of the Halloween decor set up. I’ll do some more tomorrow and do some tweaks to the lighting. I’ve got a big fog machine to look at and diagnose too, but if I don’t get to it, I’ll use my small one. And I’d LIKE to add a piece to my display this year, and have two ideas ready to go, but IDK if I’ll have time. Got to do some real work too.
n
Nick, the video like works for me, but I get no sound. LinuxMint 19.2
“The Real Climate Crisis Is Not Global Warming, It Is Cooling, And It May Have Already Started”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/10/27/the-real-climate-crisis-is-not-global-warming-it-is-cooling-and-it-may-have-already-started/
“The Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (âCAGWâ, aka âGlobal Warmingâ, âClimate Changeâ, âClimate Crisisâ, âClimate Emergencyâ) scare is a failed hypothesis and the greatest scientific fraud in history. Global warming alarmism has been promoted by political extremists and believed in by their gullible acolytes for decades, even though there is no credible evidence that catastrophic global warming exists in reality, and ample evidence that the CAGW hypothesis has been falsified.”
“Despite accelerating combustion of fossil fuels, especially since 1940, and increases in in atmospheric CO2 measured since 1958, the world has experienced only hugely beneficial increases in crop yields and mild, beneficial global warming.”
“Atmospheric CO2 concentration is not too high â it is far too low for optimal plant and crop growth, and far too low for the continued survival of terrestrial life on Earth. CO2 reduction and sequestration schemes are not just wrong; they are costly, destructive and imbecilic.”
“Solar Total Irradiance is now close to 1360 W/m2, similar to the lows of very cold periods circa 1700 and 1800. Atmospheric temperatures should be cooling in the near future â maybe they already are.”
“Cold weather kills about 20 times as many people as warm and hot weather. Excess Winter Deaths in the USA average about 100,000 per year â equivalent to two 9-11âs per week for 17 weeks EVERY YEAR.”
“It is notable that planting of crops has occurred one month later-than-usual in North-central growing areas of North America in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019, there were many more record U.S. all-time daily low temperatures than record highs for the last 30 days, 365 days and year-to-date. These events may just be weather, not climate, or they could be the early indicators of global cooling.”
And another article talking about crop failures in the USA due to unusual circumstances. Is it time to start hoarding food and cooking fuel ?
The new used house has a Kenmore water softener on the side of the house. I have no idea what to do with it. I have no idea if it is even working. It has an electrical line drilled through the brick wall and plugged into a bedroom electrical plug. Do these things typically âsoftenâ all of the water in the house or just some of it ?
They generally soften all of the water in the house except for the outside taps. You want to have this checked out thoroughly by a plumber, however, since putting soft water into the pool can wreak havoc on the newer liner materials, and we had one outside tap in FL which was actually on the âsoftâ line.
We ain’t got no expensive pool at the new used house. I am thinking about getting a hot tub though when I financially recover in 2022.
And the softener installation looks homegrown. The electrical line drilled through the bricks is a big no-no. That is not even a GFCI plug.
And the softener installation looks homegrown. The electrical line drilled through the bricks is a big no-no. That is not even a GFCI plug.
Yikes.
The previous owners at my house had Sears do the install on the Kenmore softener. Other than PEX, it was nicely done.
Moving things out for the new softener, we found a bunch of dry wall that had been damaged by a big leak in the area of the drain at some point. Maybe that was a botched install.
“Is it time to start hoarding food and cooking fuel ?”
–yes
And pork. Despite the piggy ebola in china, and all the demand, locally pig is cheap. HEB has pork roast and tenderloin on sale for about a dollar a pound. Shoulder/pork butt is about the same. That’s super cheap. Costco has spiral sliced ham for $2.20/lb.
n
Tuning around the bands tonight, 40m is open and active. I’m listening to the shortwave, 5.085 WTWW with their popular music show. You can go to the website WTWW.us/pages/requests.php and schedule a request if it’s in their library. Lot’s of stuff that commercial radio isn’t playing.
n
speaking of radio,
this is worth a read. It’s like an alternate history….
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/forgotten-media-purges-great-depression
n
re the media purges article, yes, I’m reading that, too. Came across a link to the same article on unz.com. I knew only a fraction of that. That is, I knew Hoover was a Progressive more than a Republican and I knew FD Roosevelt was tyrannical scum through and through, but I didn’t know hardly any of the details provided in the article. I’ll need to spot check these details; it’s happened before that a new and surprising telling of history turned out to be slanted or outright fake. I doubt that’s the case here, as Unz Review had a good reputation, but “trust but verify” is a good policy.
I saw more coverage of the homecoming party shooting in Greenville last night on the news.
I doubt any of the people interviewed were active college students.
Thanks Mr. Ray. Iâll have to name my âsemi-automated torrent download setupâ to ARE: Atozâs Research Engine. So, I donât need my VPN anymore?
And, wow, a lot of good articles posted on this day.