Cooler, with rain later?
Yesterday was hot and muggy until the thunderstorms, then it cooled off. Not sure how much rain we got at home. I was at my secondary location cleaning and organizing. We got hammered there so bad it shook dust from the ceiling. There was a LOT of water in the bayous I drove past on the way home.
Home looked pretty wet too.
So I did get some cleaning and organizing done, just not much. I also picked up a couple of auction items. I let a lot more go, that I probably would have bid more aggressively if it weren’t for the CV issues- like no one has money for cr@p on ebay.
I’ve been spending money on ebay. Amazon too. I’m possessed with the urge to buy some small things, but they add up. In the last week I’ve bought some leather working tools. I’ve been collecting leather working and cobbler stuff for a year or more. I didn’t have any of the hand stitching stuff that you need for heavier things. You can also use the heavier needles and holders for stitching web gear, or similar things. I hope to do craft projects, not shoe repair for the foreseeable future. But that’s the problem isn’t it? It isn’t really foreseeable, and what I can see doesn’t look good.
I also bought a bunch of machine and hand sewing needles. I’ve got a couple of sewing machines, including a serger and an embroidery machine. I have had some training in the fabric arts, including making my own trenchcoat from scratch as my Costume Shop practicum while at university. It’s been a while, and I don’t have much experience with making patterns, but I can run the tools.
I don’t knit, crochet, cross stitch, or weave, but the kids are interested in all those. I might have to learn. In the mean time, I bought 6 new pairs of merino wool socks. I wear thin wool socks exclusively and it makes a real difference in foot health and comfort. I have worn my heals and Achilles tendon area threadbare on most of my current pairs. I like the Kirkland Hikers but have to buy them on ebay when they aren’t in the Costco, or if I don’t really want to go into the plague factory… Fortunately, I’m not the only one who likes to buy this seasonal item out of season, and there are a lot of retail arbitrageurs to make it easy for us. (yea interwebs and ebay)
It’s all part of my desire to have repair stuff at hand for all the sorts of things I might want to repair. Oh, I’m going to use the embroidery machine to work with the kids on computer skills, robots, etc. and the sewing machines for realizing their paper designs into physical clothes for their dolls, but I have them to fix things. (and so that my personal makerspace – mad scientist workshop – would be complete.)
Speaking of fixing things, I finally thought of a useful item to print on my filament printer- the cover caps for my lawn sprinklers. They are mostly flat and round, but have enough detail in them with reliefs, holes, and a beveled edge, that printing makes more sense than reductive machining. It also makes sense to create the missing pieces because the $40 heads will last longer with the covers in place. Whether I ever get to actually making them, that’s up for grabs, but it probably won’t be soon.
Today should be more cleaning and organizing, with a few tiny projects thrown in. Forecast calls for more T-storms in the area. That will keep me inside. My freaking neck and shoulders are keeping me in too. I’m moving at half speed because of the pain, which is better than a day ago, but still not recovered. FFS, I’m taking tylenol, and I almost never add anything to my normal daily regimen. I stocked pain meds and OTC snivel meds DEEP. Because pain control is one of the modern marvels.
Dinner was frozen battered tilapia. Yeah, I know it’s the pool skimmer for the catfish tanks. Wife likes it, I like it, kids will eat it if they scrape off the seasoned batter. Canned corn, and leftover mac n cheese rounded out the meal (with sliced avocado for green color) and fresh from the oven frozen cookie dough chocolate chips were dessert. Not many of those bad boys left on the cooling rack before bedtime…
If you’re prepped up, fill in some gaps. If you aren’t, fill in some shelves. Keep stacking.
nick
I let a lot more go, that I probably would have bid more aggressively if it weren’t for the CV issues- like no one has money for cr@p on ebay.
The pendulum has swung back in favor of sellers recently on EBay. I am once again classified as being “abusive” in my buying and use of the return policy even though I haven’t really changed how I use the service. There’s lots of junk out there.
@Nick (and others) – you refer to Tylenol when describing that particular type of pain killer – why is this? In the UK the leading brand (equivalent to Tylenol) is Panadol, but nearly everyone in the UK would refer to Paracetemol (the UK generic name). Google tells me the generic is acetaminophen in the USA – so why is it not referred to? Also, do you (USA) buy generic or branded? Just all out of interest. Thanks.
Paul, it’s probably for the same reason that people Xerox a paper, Hoover the rug, and so on.
@Nick (and others) – you refer to Tylenol when describing that particular type of pain killer – why is this? In the UK the leading brand (equivalent to Tylenol) is Panadol, but nearly everyone in the UK would refer to Paracetemol (the UK generic name). Google tells me the generic is acetaminophen in the USA – so why is it not referred to? Also, do you (USA) buy generic or branded? Just all out of interest. Thanks.
Tylenol is a trade name. The parent company, Johnson & Johnson spent a lot of money on TV advertising in the US in the 70s and the term stuck. I believe those ads were the origin of the meme, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV…”, with Robert Fuller of the landmark US series “Emergency” as the pitchman.
Acetaminophen is a mouthful. Prior to the ad push, Americans simply asked for “an aspirin” for a headache even if they would accept acetaminophin. Interestingly, referring to the pill as “a Tylenol” survived a poisoning scare in the US in the 80s, when someone replaced the contents of the capsules with cyanide and put the tampered medication back on store shelves. Johnson & Johnson spent even *more* money on ads after that, but substituted the fake doctor with a fake “Mom”, actress Susan Sullivan, who c0-starred as a beleaguered “good” wife/mother on one of the big prime time American soap operas at the time, “Falcon Crest”.
Back in the day, in the early 80s, Americans watched “Falcon Crest” and rooted for the “good” mother to prevail against the “bad” mother, portrayed by actress Jane Wyman — President Ronald Reagan’s ex-wife!
Susan Sullivan also portrayed a research scientist in the TV movie pilot for the US “The Incredible Hulk” series in the 70s, so that lent extra credibility to her role as Tylenol spokesperson, but most people were only aware of it subconsiously. Sullivan’s character dies in the pilot; it is her stunt double’s body that Lou Ferigno carries out of the burning building in the opening credits of the weekly episodes.
Also, Mother of Spock!
Also, Mother of Spock!
That’s Jane Wyatt from “Father Knows Best”.
Jane Wyman spent most of the 60s and 70s semi-retired.
As Governor, Ronald Reagan signed what I believe was the first “no fault” divorce law in CA partly out of bitterness over the end result of that marriage. Wyman kept a low profile for 20 years, beyond doing the obligatory “Love Boat” episode.
Oops.
Oops
Easy mistake, like Powers Booth and Joe Don Baker. 🙂
@paul, It took me some time to figure out paracetamol was acetaminophen when I’d hear it on britcoms or other TV… and I wondered why people took that when tylenol or aspirin was available 🙂 I guess you do carry some things from your childhood.
Tylenol became indelible as a name during the public health crisis Greg referenced above. It’s the reason there are “tamper evident seals” on everything now. Several subsequent public poisonings from tampering were all attempts to cover up murders, but I can’t remember if the original Tylenol case was random murder or distraction….It’s funny and also a testament to the power of advertising that the name Tylenol survived the bad press, and was even more firmly established.
Bob would have been a stickler to use the generic name, but it’s very long to type 🙂
I also use it consciously because ‘tylenol poisoning’ from overdose is a common tragedy here, as well as the history of the Tylenol Poisonings. It reminds me how dangerous it is to have in the house in quantity if you have moody or depressed teens around.
(A lot of things are dangerous, but this has effective substitutes and appears to be innocuous since it’s sold as Over The Counter, in jars of 500 and 1000…..)
n
What I remember from a TV show is that someone wanted to kill their neighbor. He or she poisoned a few Tylenol in the neighbor’s house. In an attempt to cover tracks, then spiked a few bottles at stores around town.
First egg hatched a day early. I’ve read an over warm incubator can lead to early hatch, however I’ve got two thermometers, a fan, and even tested the thermometers prior to hatch. Temp stayed was in range each time I checked. Noisy little beast. I’ll open up the incubator Monday and move the hatch into a brooder in our laundry closet. It has a door to keep the dogs out and buys me a week to complete the hen house / run repairs / updates.
Daughter is ecstatic and her face wreathed with smiles.
Rabbit project is coming along. First doe did not palpate pregnant so brought her to one of the bucks. He was enthusiastic about his duties but did not finish the job with the characteristic grunt and drop. Brought her to the second buck and he performed all the expected antics complete with a very dramatic grunt and thud.
Doe not impressed with me or my assailing ways.
Haven’t been able to find more cages locally for a reasonable price. Two are arriving next week via an Amazon vendor (the Amazon shipments are 4-6 weeks out). locally available wire is too light a gauge to make good flooring. I can’t even find J clips locally. Alaska has gotten soft. And being at the end of the supply chain isn’t great.
I’ve got a parts list together to expand the chicken run with a 4’x6’ bump out to provide shelter for the rabbits. That’ll get done this weekend. Hen house has been repainted. I need to clean up where I slopped the trim. Need to redo a door to the run and replace some wire. Need to figure out how to get a 12’ sheet of polycarbonate corrugated roofing home and cut into 3 4’ sections. About $100. Two pier blocks are $22. The corrugated sheet is $25. Most of the wood I have on hand, ditto screws. The joist hangers, clips, wire is another $30 or so. I considered using para cord and knots but that’ll suck for maintenance and increase the amount of time to do cleaning chores. I am having a hard time finding the right kind of nails to fasten the poly and looks like I’ll have to go with a screw option. I’d say screws last longer, but the original roof is 12 years old with no nail pops so not concerned about nails. Faster to install.
Also have plans to roof the ShelterLogic greenhouse. 12’ x 12’ and tarp is done. Can’t find another tarp cover for love or money. More 12’ polycarbonate, 2x4s and a little red-neckery. About $200. Building supplies are expensive up here.
Will fill the 12’ 30” pool for kiddo this weekend. Also get the potatoes planted. I have 3 yards of soil to mix with a bale of peat and sack of perlite. That’ll take a few weeks to get thru. Goal is planting done by memorial weekend (traditional first day of planting up here).
I’m on week 6 of 8 for my final classes then finals. University of the People emailed last night they’d made my requested corrections – saga that started February? So these two classes really are the last I must take. For insurance I’ll take one more term of fluffy non-proctored classes. I’ll apply for my Bachelors in June, should be approved by my 50th birthday, and in hand by October. Nearly all volunteer organization and things move glacially. Not a complaint. Lots of trade offs going this route for a degree, in my particular case worth it.
Kid and I did her first bike ride on busy streets, first long ride (4 miles), and first bike ride to school. All yesterday. Strong evidence of urban outdoorsmen. Finished off with a stop for a shake at our local burgerman. She was sore and tired and slept well. So did I.
Good grief, the jokes that ran through my head!
As a child, I nicknamed my sibling’s two PET rabbits, Dinner Rabbit and Lunch Bunny. Sibling was not amused, but what are older brothers good for?*
n
*according to comedian Andy Andrews, ‘torture’.
Tylenol became indelible as a name during the public health crisis Greg referenced above. It’s the reason there are “tamper evident seals” on everything now. Several subsequent public poisonings from tampering were all attempts to cover up murders, but I can’t remember if the original Tylenol case was random murder or distraction….It’s funny and also a testament to the power of advertising that the name Tylenol survived the bad press, and was even more firmly established.
I worked in a drugstore before the poisonings. Tylenol packaging was hideously easy to open to the point that we never kept returns, assuming the contents had been contaminated.
IIRC, alcohol and acetaminophen don’t mix.
Here comes the fun…
n
“Here comes the fun…”
Tropical system Arthur forms off the coast of Florida and is the first named storm of the hurricane season with four inches of rain expected to hit parts of Sunshine State.
Rainmaker, but not much more. FL is back on water restrictions this Spring so they could use the free irrigation for the St. Augustine.
Every storm is going to be hyped as “Sharknado” bad this year. The HEB near my house will be cleaned out as soon as the “Cone of Death” touches Austin.
lol. The “Coronado” storm.
@PaultheManc as a brit in the usa, I’ve definitely noticed that people are more attached to brand names here. My wife is bad at this and will refer to even something as basic as a blanket by its brand name.
I refer to my vehicle as “Jeep” and my beer as “PBR”. I refer to my pants as “jeans” rather than “Wranglers”.
I needed a replacement battery for my Guard Dog flashlight (TR 18650 2800ma 3.7V). Current battery didn’t charge.
Whilst looking for batteries on the Zon, found this FLASHLIGHT https://www.amazon.com/Skywolfeye-Tactical-Flashlight-Camping-Battery/dp/B082FYDVYS/ref=psdc_2445457011_t2_B07XDHMHTH?tag=ttgnet-20 , two-pack FLASHLIGHT which comes with 4 batteries and charger for $21.
So, of course, I bought it. Because, FLASHLIGHT. Ended up buying two batteries from the Guard Dog site at $9.00. All the TR18650’s I found on the Zon didn’t appear to be the right size (it’s larger than a AA).
Never can have too many FLASHLIGHTS …
I just bought 3 X 12 packs of streamlight branded CR123A batteries for some FLASHLIGHTS and some night vision. Auction item, about half off retail.
n
I saw another story about SLS being delayed again within the last few days. Late 2021. Maybe.
After the single flight, NASA will get another 3-4 years of full employment at Kennedy removing the tooling from the three high bays they retained in the VAB and dismantling the the launch towers (plural). That’s all that really matters.
Mesh networking is a well-understood concept. The problem for SpaceX will be providing the promised bandwidth. The Wall Street guys will probably still have to depend on the company Internet and TeamViewer for the secure lunchtime sessions with the dominatrix.
Man, is NASA just a bunch of semi-retired geeks like me now ?
Mesh Networking is well understood concept for objects moving under a hundred miles an hour. Starlink’s satellites are moving at 20,000+ mph ??? They are going to be handing off the client every 2 or 3 seconds. Shoot, I don’t know, sounds tricky to me.
Dilbert: Upgrading a Server
https://dilbert.com/strip/2020-05-16
Oh yeah, living with Dogbert is an adventure every day.
Mesh Networking is well understood concept for objects moving under a hundred miles an hour. Starlink’s satellites are moving at 20,000+ mph ??? They are going to be handing off the client every 2 or 3 seconds. Shoot, I don’t know, sounds tricky to me.
The people I worked for in Seattle in 2013 had a concept for mesh networking provided by military aircraft flying orbital routes over the battlefield at 600 MPH, relaying packets to ground stations and/or satellites. They used a custom verson of Quagga, but that would scale like cr*p for the satellite numbers and speeds.
I don’t doubt that they found something to scale the routing, but at what bandwidth?
In regard to FLASHLIGHTS, does anyone ever use the strobe/SOS setting? I find it annoying to have to cycle through those to get to the setting I want. I would prefer that my FLASHLIGHTS have a dial that progresses from dim to bright to strobe/SOS (if they really have to include those to sell them). That way I could choose what I want before turning on the light. If I want the dim setting, I really don’t want to have to cycle through the bright, let alone the strobe/SOS. I doubt that anyone has gotten any effective use from the strobe/SOS settings on normal FLASHLIGHTS.
Man, is NASA just a bunch of semi-retired geeks like me now ?
NASA has been semi-retired since Apollo ended. If they were serious about ever flying their own hardware again, they would have asked John Young to pull out the rolodex 20 years ago.
I don’t. One of my favorite FLASHLIGHTS is by Nitecore (alas, they don’t make it anymore). 2 x 18650. It has a bezel around the barrel. You turn it for variable low to high White, then it clicks to UV, Red, Blue, Green, Red+Blue flashing, flashing beacon White. I mostly use the variable White. Red+Blue flashing when I play “fake cop”. The UV works, but has little output for locating bio-waste and bugs. For that I have my uvBeast Black Light UV FLASHLIGHT.
The UV works, but has little output for locating bio-waste and bugs. For that I have my uvBeast Black Light UV FLASHLIGHT.
Don’t check into Motel 6 without it. 🙂
I sometimes use the fast blink setting to save battery if I’m not sure the charge will last long enough if I keep the light on steadily. “Sometimes” means “once”, but considering that I’ve kept a flashlight on for more than a few minutes only once in the past year or so, it may be statistically significant.
I’ve never used the SOS setting on a light except to check that it works. I guess I’m glad it’s there, in case it’s ever needed.
Oh yeah, living with Dogbert is an adventure every day.
I made a semi-rare trip down to the office yesterday to leave a copy of my development VirtualBox VM for one of our Senior developers after he nuked his build environment.
Now that management cancelled raises/promotions for the year, the only people who can be assigned to mentor the Seniors without pushback are the other managers, most of whom have hands on experience predating our latest tech, going back further than my hire date.
I’m mildly curious about the hilarity behind the build environment getting nuked, but I don’t get involved since that might mean a trip to NYC. I just left the VM copy on a flash drive. I probably won’t see that flash again.
Apollo was a fraud wrt science. Its time was during the cold war; consequently, it was an Olympic style contest: Beat the Russians to the moon. Never any scientific results of value at all.
JimM, WRT FLASHLIGHT user interfaces, I agree with you. I have a modest collection of lights, and some have better UIs than others. The best I can offer you is to read the reviews and judge for yourself. One of the places I look is:
https://www.batteryjunction.com
They have decent reviews, and some good lights. Their selections are not cheap, but often are the best price for a particular light. There are many other places that have reviews, but many neglect the UI description. I also have found that the manufacturer’s site might have descriptions and user manuals, which of course vary in usefulness.
MrAtoz mentioned Nitecore. I have one of their lights, and am impressed. I would buy more, but they have such a bewildering number of models it is hard to decide. I have most of what I need… for now.
Since I live in a remote area, I have rarely bought lights at retail stores. I find their selection very limited.
@PaultheManc
@MarkW
Another bit of pharmaceutical nomenclature you may run across is Demerol/meperidine in the US and pethidine across the pond.
I’d be curious to know if you know of any others.
@JimM, I’ve carried flashlights for work for 35 or more years, and as EDC for at least the last 8… and I’ve never used that feature. I like my Pelican 1920 (2 AAA cells) because it doesn’t have the ‘feature’. I think of it as a low end light indicator, like a gimmick.
My Peli has a bright and a dim, but you can access either and lock them on, and go straight to black.
n
Um, no denying this, they were tested, and the management is trustworthy. The tests might still be faulty, but that many of them?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8327109/8-sailors-aboard-US-ship-test-positive-second-time.html
Seriously not good if nothing ends up disqualifying this.
n
I can’t believe no one has noticed the passing of Fred Willard. I remember seeing this hysterical movie called _Balls of Fury_ with Christopher Walken and thinking the only thing that could have made it better would have been Fred Willard. I even remember him from Fernwood 2 Nite and at 16 I thought he was funny. Never cared much for Martin Mull, however.
I can’t believe no one has noticed the passing of Fred Willard. I remember seeing this hysterical movie called _Balls of Fury_ with Christopher Walken and thinking the only thing that could have made it better would have been Fred Willard. I even remember him from Fernwood 2 Nite and at 16 I thought he was funny. Never cared much for Martin Mull, however.
I can’t remember a time when Fred Willard wasn’t working, and he was always around leading edge material and people too, right up until he passed. He was relevant from “Get Smart” all the way to “Milo Murphy’s Law” — quite an accomplishment.
Americans and brand names. Rather, Texans and Okies and brand names:
“Want a coke?”
“Sure.”
*Hands the other person a Dr Pepper *
Every soft drink is a “Coke”. If one wants the iconic bottle, one asks for a “Coca Cola, please”.
Here in Texas, we are currently engaged in a battle with a few weather presenters (aka meteorologists) who want to rename the dust storms we’ve had for a hundred and fifty years. They think it is cute to rename them after a special storm that only occurs in a region of Sudan, Africa. So they call our dust storms “Haboobs” and the fight is on.
When I was young, we called them all “Levis”. Now, we all use “jeans” for general denim too.
I put in another 100 ft of 4 ft tall 14 gauge chicken wire on the inside of the fence today. That makes a total of 300 ft installed so far. I’ve got another 100 ft to install and that should be it. All for Miss Lily, aka Miss Escape Artist, 25 lbs of tough little girl for whom 3/4 of acre backyard is not good enough for her to roam in. And she is mostly an inside dog.
The fence is 4×6 inch 4 ft tall posts on 10 ft centers with three 2×6 inch stringers with 20 year old chicken wire between the posts and the stringers.
I refer to my pants as “jeans” rather than “Wranglers”.
When I was young, we called them all “Levis”. Now, we all use “jeans” for general denim too.
When I was young, we called them Sears jeans. Cheaper than the Levis by far. I did not get any Levis until I was 15 or so.
Um, I haven’t worn a pair of jeans of any style or brand in at least 10 years, and probably more like 13 or 14, and then only black. Before that, probably another 7 – 10 years since the last pair of blue…
n