Hot and humid, although we’re supposed to get a break.
Yesterday my weather station peaked at 107F in the sun on the driveway side of the house. I was working in the driveway most of the day, but I tried to only work when the sun was behind clouds. I got my hat and vest on too.
It was still hot hot hot. I felt pretty good though, not like last year. I think I’m finally recovered from my heat injury of a couple of years ago. I better be careful and not re-injure myself.
I still didn’t get everything done in the driveway that I wanted to. More work today.
Swim team practice this morning, then pickup a DC benchtop power supply. I hope it works, as I’ve needed a good one for some time. There is a lot of troubleshooting that requires a current limited source, which I haven’t had.
I spent some time in the afternoon in the shade trying to MacGyver a pool vacuum. The pump that came with the pool (which we swapped out for a more powerful pump/filter) won’t actually draw the water in. It relies on gravity to get the water to the pump, then expels it. This is a subtle difference but it means that it won’t draw water through a hose to vacuum the pool like an in-ground system. After messing around for far too long, I just set up a garden hose as a siphon, tied it to a long handle, and used that to suck up the worst of the dirt on the bottom. It ran out to the street and isn’t the cheapest or most enviro-friendly thing to do, but that’s what I did. I didn’t run it for long, and I don’t have any idea how many gallons I lost and replaced. Oh well, no one said pools were cheap.
On the plus side, no riots broke out during the public viewing for the career criminal. Local news says over 6000 people came, including the Governor. There really weren’t good photos to show the crowd size so I guess we’ll take their word for it. It didn’t look particularly crowded. It was gloves and masks for everyone with a temperature check at the door (after standing in the sun, in 90F+ heat) and a metal detector…
Nice to see this in the rag–
According to The Washington Post’s database of fatal police shootings, police have shot and killed about twice as many white people as black people since 2015. Yet there about six times as many white people as black people in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Proportionally, black people are much more likely to be shot and killed by cops, according to the Washington Post’s database.
Although they left off the part about that 4% of the population being responsible for 40% of the violent crime, according to FBI data, at least they mentioned what they did. It would be nice to see a list of his crimes in the article but at least they mention him being in prison.
According to that same rag, Houston is seeing a spike in Covid-19 hospitalizations, and the biggest single day increase in cases in Texas was Saturday. That timing sounds about right for hospitalizations from the easing of restrictions here. Pretty sure we’ll be seeing a bunch more cases soon. I know some of you guys are anxious for a return to normal. Hugs and handshakes in church, breakfast with the club, monthly meetings of whatever, but it’s not over. We’ve had over 2M cases in the US, with over 113K deaths. Adjust that number by your preferred fraud factor, but even if you use 20%, that is still a REALLY big number, and it isn’t stopping. Even with 20% over reporting, which would be ridiculously high, we’ll be over 100K deaths before too long. New cases are not decreasing yet. Don’t blow it. Stay with what you’ve been doing. Let those other guys prove it’s ok to go back out. If there is evil taking a hand in this, don’t let them succeed.
I’m going to continue as I’ve been, relaxing my contacts with others just a bit but still including mask and gloves where appropriate. I’ll still be cutting my own hair, and not shaking any hands or getting up close and personal with anyone.
Dinner last night was frozen cheeseburgers, canned corn, and avocados. I was beat from being in the sun. Did I mention that night before’s dinner of leftovers included me making gravy from a packet with bb of 2015? It was fine. As were the breakfast hash browns from 2015. Use common sense, but things last a lot longer than you expect. That might be REALLY important if things keep going downhill.
Keep stacking,
nick
On the plus side, no riots broke out during the public viewing for the career criminal. Local news says over 6000 people came, including the Governor. There really weren’t good photos to show the crowd size so I guess we’ll take their word for it. It didn’t look particularly crowded. It was gloves and masks for everyone with a temperature check at the door (after standing in the sun, in 90F+ heat) and a metal detector…
Six hour viewing. 1000 people per hour. I saw some video on the Austin news last night, and that number seems a bit fast, especially with VIPs, but ok.
Overreporting in my experience is people claiming they’ve “already had it” when they did not. LOL I’ve been focusing on local numbers, which we know to be trustworthy. Our county of about 35,000 has had 1156 individuals tested (some still pending), 1052 indiividuals negative, 59 cases tested positive, 40 fully recovered, and 10 deaths. Those tested include every staff member & resident at all local nursing homes. So, a low contagion rate, but a high death rate once someone has the disease. Some of the sick don’t know how they caught it. I think there are still unknowns about the method of contagion. Why do some people get it from a mere passing contact, and others don’t catch it from a contagious person they live with?
Something wonderful to behold: the massing of law enforcement to protect The Alamo during and after the riots. San Antonio PD seems to have excellent leadership. They dispatched the rioters on Saturday night with teargas and it didn’t hairlip the governor or the mayor. After a goon defaced the monument on the preceeding Thursday (and the SAPD has arrested the alleged perp), patriots converged to prevent any further damage. Although officials are pretending they weren’t there, a news report from a liberal publication credited them with standing between the mob and the FOUR police officers the city had set to watch the Cenotaph during the May 31 riot that followed the Brown Beret organized protest. The patriots’ defense was effective at preventing damage without unwanted incident.
The city and state stepped up: installed barriers and sent out the troops: SAPD, the Alamo Rangers, TX DPS, and the National Guard. It does my heart good to see actual law enforcement actually doing their actual job to defend our heritage and maintain order. Kind of restored a little faith. Great photos at the Alamo CEO’s Facebook page.
Having just moved back to SA, that is good news. I’m in doubt of the Commie Mayor and City Council, OTH. I’ve watch for several years while they tried to dick over Chik-fil-A, passed nonsense “Chinese Flu is raycissss” crap. I live north of the airport in a nice neighborhood, so it has been quiet through this whole Floyd is a Saint thing.
I just saw the video of the Dumbocrats trying to get up after their kneeling stunt. Half of them almost croaked and Stretch couldn’t make it on their own. Career politicians. We need a Constitutional Amendment to limit them to two terms. Maybe cap the age at 60.
Oh, yeah, NO PENSION. Including the President.
My term limit proposal for decades has been: one elected office term for life, period.
San Antonio PD seems to have excellent leadership.
Depending on your point of view. Mayor Nirenberg is the new Prog power broker in the city, having supplanted the Castro brothers over the last few years. The Alamo is special, however, and having it destroyed in a riot on Nirenberg’s watch would not look good.
Plus the state’s plans for Alamo Plaza are a political battle which could allow Nirenberg to square off with George P. Bush. Both have ambitions to the Governors Mansion once Abbott departs.
I can see it both ways. There’s something to be said for having experienced politicians in certain places and certainly some Congressional committees benefit from experience. On the other hand, 40+ years in the House of Representatives is a bit absurd.
Just watched a former car dealer’s YT. He says there is a new car shortage, and wholsale used late model car prices are up. Not a good time to buy. Maybe wait a month or two.
Reason: demand is unexpectedly constant, but factory shutdowns have caused a stock shortage that is also affecting used car prices.
Note, like him I use the term car to mean all vehicles. He made one mention of pickups, and said they are in very short supply at the auctions.
Just watched a former car dealer’s YT. He says there is a new car shortage, and wholsale used late model car prices are up. Not a good time to buy. Maybe wait a month or two.
Depends on the brand and whether you want a car or a truck.
I haven’t checked Hertz recently to see if the inevitable fire sale has begun, but the crazy movement in the stock price suggests no one is home in Fort Myers. Maybe after the 4th of July.
There are plenty of videos of car storage lots overflowing with cars.
Did he mention Hertz et al selling off stock?
Tomball Ford, north of Houston, was the one giving the huge incentives I mentioned a week or so ago. I don’t associate $12,000 off list with a shortage of stock… nor the other offers of $9, $10, $11K on other models. There were 840 pickups in stock with those big discounts, so it wasn’t the typical weekend loss leader that no one with ‘qualify’ for.
It’s interesting to see a contrary position though. Maybe it’s regional?
n
added– insurance companies are rebating customers because they aren’t driving as much. If you don’t have a job, and you aren’t driving, you won’t typically buy a new car…
He is in the East, maybe somewhere around D.C. He just watches auction and wholesale prices.
I want a 2016 or so very specific car, and might have to resort to a specialty buyer to find it. I have time, and am not particularly price sensitive. Condition and low miles are extremely important. It pains me that used cars are more and more in the grubby hands of dealers, not private parties.
Oh, I’m referring to the chief. We all know about their various Mayors and the Representatives they send to Austin. Back during the patriot rallies in 2016, the SAPD really stepped up and didn’t allow Antifa to start any trouble. Surprised me then because I figured they’d act like Austin or Houston but no, they were fair and professional – just as SAPD has been throughout these riots.
But thinking about it… Chiefs of Police who are truly effective are going to be able to manage their mayors and their unions, and won’t allow the mayors to interfere with good policing. So those Chiefs who stand down “because the mayor said”, or who don’t have manpower because of union “flu”, are really either supportive of those things, or else aren’t effective enough to have the job.
For most people, buying and selling vehicles is an infrequent and mysterious process, with serious downside risk of you get it wrong. Much better to let a dealer do it, especially when most people don’t own the vehicle free and clear when they sell it. Lots of financial stuff they don’t fully understand needs to happen.
Viola, no hassle trades and much more wholesale auction selling.
N
Did he mention Hertz et al selling off stock?
No, but that inevitable fire sale is going to crush used prices, especially Nissan, which is already in trouble, and Chevy/GMC trucks.
Say what? In what universe would it make sense to sell a car before you’ve finished buying it?
In the land of 7 year auto loans.
@brad, I’ve seen articles in the last 6 months describing it pretty clearly. People are just rolling over loans, losing money on every deal….
Dealers seem desperate to move inventory and will do crazy things.
n
There is a company, craighill.co, that crowdsource some cool metal 3D puzzles I backed and received. They just emailed their “we support BLM, White Supremacy exists, Patriarchy exists, Systemic Racism” screed. I emailed back I disagreed with their whole screed and to stop virtue signaling. I won’t purchase anything from them and unsubscribed. I hate this trend of taking a knee and kissing ass. I’ll never do it.
I worked for an auto group for a year. I had done IT consulting for them for years, and they were growing. They were going to grow to 20 dealerships in a coupe years (were at 5 at the time.) This was in early 2007. Yeah…. Needless to say, they went belly up. I was able to get out before I lost my job.
During that year, however, I learned a ton about the car business and people. The majority of people are broke. Seriously. They don’t have any money for anything unexpected (think $100 or more). They don’t even look at what something will cost them overall, just what is the payment. It was truly unbelievable how many people rolled 2 or 3 or more years of a remaining old loan into a new vehicle purchase. It was there I first learned what gap insurance was.
“Say what? In what universe would it make sense to sell a car before you’ve finished buying it?”
In the land of 7 year auto loans.
7 years. Thptpth. Some of the dealerships here in Austin are occasionally offering 90 month loans. Eight years will be the limit, however, because at that point, the finance companies consider the vehicle to be worthless … at least the way the rules currently work.
They will still be able to move cars, though. Before the virus, the dealer F&I weasels were structuring new finance packages which included repossession of the vehicle as part of the arrangement if the buyer was hungry enough. Since the local auctions are essentially rigged, the dealer wouldn’t have any trouble getting the repossessed car back at a predetermined price to sell at full retail and could afford to be flexible about selling “at invoice” … well, depending on which invoice you saw.
Would that ruin the buyer’s credit? Nah. Not for long, anyway. The Fed buys all the paper regardless. IIRC, they still own a big chunk of Ally (formerly GM and Chrysler’s finance operations).
+1,000,000
According to that same rag, Houston is seeing a spike in Covid-19 hospitalizations, and the biggest single day increase in cases in Texas was Saturday. That timing sounds about right for hospitalizations from the easing of restrictions here. Pretty sure we’ll be seeing a bunch more cases soon. I know some of you guys are anxious for a return to normal. Hugs and handshakes in church, breakfast with the club, monthly meetings of whatever, but it’s not over.
Ain’t no hugging and shaking going on here. Anytime anyone sticks out a hand, I recoil and jump away. I have not hugged or shaked with anyone (except the wife and daughter) since the end of February, right before I had that horrible cold with fever and loss of taste. Not even the son since he runs around with a bunch of crazy guys all the time.
Had a plumbing emergency this morning. The daughter stopped up her toilet and overflowed it for the fifth time since we moved in on Feb 6. This is a brand new Vormax toilet with a three inch outlet. I went to Homeless Depot and bought this for $50.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-K6P-6-ft-Toilet-Auger-56658/303528922
I do not understand what she is doing to plug up a 3 inch outlet. My plumber says:
“drop a bomb, flush the toilet,
drop a bomb, flush the toilet,
wipe, flush the toilet,
wipe, flush the toilet”
The wife literally threw clorox in her bathroom floor, it was so nasty and then used two rolls of Bounty to clean it up.
My plumber buddy told me that his record for a blocked toilet is 12 tampons. He had to pull the toilet and fish them out of the drain line. He then laid them end to end on the back patio and told the lady to come see the plug. She said that they were not hers and her daughter came out and said “mine have a blue and yellow string, these are all white strings ! Yours !”. Oh my goodness !
During that year, however, I learned a ton about the car business and people. The majority of people are broke. Seriously. They don’t have any money for anything unexpected (think $100 or more). They don’t even look at what something will cost them overall, just what is the payment. It was truly unbelievable how many people rolled 2 or 3 or more years of a remaining old loan into a new vehicle purchase. It was there I first learned what gap insurance was.
I bought the wife’s Highlander on Dec 30, 2018. I wrote them a check for $10,000 and financed the rest. Earlier this year, I called them and dropped the comp and collision on the 2005 Honda. And then the lady asked me if I wanted to add gap insurance to my new truck since I had it on the 2019 Highlander. What ? I owe less than $20K on that vehicle. Why would I have gap insurance on a vehicle that is worth at least $25K. She apologized and removed it. I tell you what, Amica Insurance is not what they used to be. If they are going to play these games then I am going to move my vehicles off them too.
Oh, yeah, NO PENSION. Including the President.
Especially Jimmuh Carter. What is he now, 175 and still gets a half salary of current President pension and a Secret Service squad ?
Breaking Cat News: the new cat bed
https://www.gocomics.com/breaking-cat-news/2020/06/09
Uh, I don’t think that is a cat bed.
Had a plumbing emergency this morning. The daughter stopped up her toilet and overflowed it for the fifth time since we moved in on Feb 6. This is a brand new Vormax toilet with a three inch outlet. I went to Homeless Depot and bought this for $50.
I’ve had an auger since our first child was born and replaced them whenever we’ve moved, even living in rentals. Since we moved to Texas, my son has issues with diameter which have stumped the doctors; I’m not sure why he isn’t yelling in pain when he’s using the facilities.
I gave one as a housewarming gift to a co-worker a few months ago. She thought it was strange at first, but I said, “Keep it in a safe place in the garage. You won’t know you need one until you need one.”
Hit Youtube for the how to video before using the auger for the first time. Your wife won’t be happy if you scratch the porcelain learning the hard way.
New satellites from Plante will cover the earth up to 12 times a day, with 50 cm (that’s 1.6 feet) resolution.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/09/planets-skysats-will-take-images-up-to-12-times-a-day-launched-with-help-of-spacex.html
I just a nice email from Instacart on how they are supporting the Black Community and how *you too* can support it. Virtue signaling late comer. Will it end when the 10-13% run the country? In to the ground, that is.
Perfect chance to employ a MOAB:
‘Now leaving the USA’: Militant protesters in Seattle have set up barricades and created the ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’
“Aging Wind Turbines Pose Recycling Challenges”
https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/articles/2020/aging-wind-turbines-pose-recycling-challenges/
“Report looks at alternative recycling technologies that tackle composite waste”
Just one blank blank problem after another with all of these supposed renewables. Disposing of carbon fiber is non-trivial.
I just a nice email from Instacart on how they are supporting the Black Community and how *you too* can support it. Virtue signaling late comer. Will it end when the 10-13% run the country? In to the ground, that is.
Too late, the country was run into the ground long before this. Long before Trump became president. All we are doing now is arguing about the scraps.
Just wait until the other countries show up with ships demanding a piece of the action.
New satellites from Plante will cover the earth up to 12 times a day, with 50 cm (that’s 1.6 feet) resolution.
Nice, but nowhere near as versatile or sexy as an SR-71.
I know your daughter has health problems. Nonetheless, the obvious solution suggests itself: She cleans up her own toilet overflow. Unless she is physically unable to do so, I really can’t see why your wife should, um, bail her out. That would provide a certai motivation to not let it happen again.
A vaguely related, but ultimately more practical question: I recall as a kid that our toilet tank had a larger capacity than the bowl. Meaning that a stopped toilet was guaranteed to overflow, and often did.
I haven’t seen a toilet like that in years. Any toilet I’ve had the pleasure of unstopping in recent times, the toilet bowl could hold the entire contents of the tank. No overflow.
Long way of asking the question: how is it with your daughter’s toilet? Is it a design that overflows with one flush? Or is she flushing multiple times, in hopes the stoppage will magically go away?
And on that pleasant thought, it’s time for bed…
Toto, top of the line. ~$330 with self close lid. Tall, elongated bowl. WILL NOT CLOG.* Totally worth replacing an existing toilet with one so you never have the issue again.
n
*barbie dolls and newspaper might, but if it fits thru the hole it will go down.
Pre existing clog? Call Roto Rooter?
Oh, and tampons DO NOT get flushed on a septic system. When I was a kid I could tell when it was Mom’s time o’ monthly “fun”. She had a box of pop-up like Kleenix aluminum foil and hey, that went into the kitchen trash.
Sisters did the same.
*barbie dolls and newspaper might, but if it fits thru the hole it will go down.
I am not sure what was produced fits through the waste hole. Drugs do horrible things to your intestines after a few years.
I am fairly sure that the Vormax works as well as the Toto. But if you flush multiple time without the waste going down, the bowl is going to spew. Brain damaged people are horrible burdens to the rest of us.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Standard-VorMax-Plus-Tall-Height-2-Piece-1-28-GPF-Single-Flush-Elongated-Toilet-in-White-with-Slow-Close-Seat-708AA101-020/301379318
I have thought about putting her into assisted living (and she has asked me to do so) but the $3,000+ per month expense and the eventual divorce are just not in my long term plan at the moment. My wife would be over there taking care of her 24×7 and I just cannot deal with that.
I do not understand what she is doing to plug up a 3 inch outlet.
Pre existing clog? Call Roto Rooter?
The clog was in the J trap.
I am DELIGHTED to hear that, since we’ve just purchased a house on the outskirts of San Antonio.
Lots of folks say Toto are the best toilets. Perhaps.
The hall bath had a 5 gallon flush that just worked. Like a 30 year old cheap-ish toilet would. It’s stored in the barn. Dunno exactly why but you can still get the parts and hey, a septic system does need water to work.
The master bath had a low water flush toilet I bought for the old house, that sat in the pump house for many years before I installed it. It wasn’t cheap, either. I bought it at Furrows around 1990. If you really un-loaded, where the paint is peeling off of the walls, oh…. please please please go down. It always did but there were a few times….
Both are gone. Now we have Kohler. 1.6 (or less) gallon flush says the hall toilet. Not much water….
The hall bath has the high toilet (for Mom) with the soft close seat. The other bath has a standard height seat. They were about $100 different in price… I think I caught the hall toilet on sale…. for about $250. Seemed like a good price for the features.
Have you shopped the soft close seat assemblies? $35 is the lowest I have seen.
But, anyway. Some times you just ruin the bathroom and look in there and think “all that came out of me?”. The Kohlers? ALL gone, first flush. Every time. No “please please please go down!” panic.
Yeah, I’m weird. You should know that by now.
And I flush again after ruining the bathroom after I wash my hands. Just to make sure everything gets to the septic tank.
I don’t mind working on water pipes. Water pipes are like electric wiring. I sure as hell never want to touch a sewer pipe. I’m not sure I understand the whole “gravity flow” concept to make it work.
Bill and Ted!
I wondered how they were going to replace George Carlin. Holland Taylor works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hAL7emClFM
What part? That is, North, etc. Just nosy. 🙂
Err, I honestly don’t understand this. Constipation? A defective toilet that didn’t get the entire water way glazed? I’m just guessing.
edit: I like San Antonio. Most of the the town I have seen is pretty mellow. But I moved from McAllen to Austin for a few reasons that may sound stupid now but life has worked out well for me.
And somehow I ended up near Burnet. Who would have ever guessed that happening?
Lots of folks say Toto are the best toilets. Perhaps.
We have a pricey Toto low flow toilet that actually works, but the valve is already sticking after just a few years.
‘Now leaving the USA’: Militant protesters in Seattle have set up barricades and created the ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’
That’s ok. I’ll avoid it. I didn’t want hepatitis anyway.
Paul: Western edge, just outside the 1604 beltway. Which technically is not in SAPD’s jurisdiction; it’s in Bexar County Sheriff’s territory.
My sister is in Austin, I have one brother in Plano, and my son and his wife just moved to McKinney, which is a little north of Plano. So we’ll be within a day’s driving if we want to visit, but far enough that we won’t be in each other’s pockets.
I’ve loved my house near Sacramento, CA for 35 years, but the state is sliding off the left edge of the sanity map. Fortunately, selling this place (on 1/6th of an acre) will enable me to buy the new house, on a full acre, and give me the room and cash to have a large-ish greenhouse built.
We’ll see how it all works out.
Out towards Helotes and Bourne is nice country.
I’ve loved my house near Sacramento, CA for 35 years, but the state is sliding off the left edge of the sanity map. Fortunately, selling this place (on 1/6th of an acre) will enable me to buy the new house, on a full acre, and give me the room and cash to have a large-ish greenhouse built.
Welcome to Texas as long as you vote conservative. Just kidding, welcome anyway.
There are so many California refugees here that it is very common now. Hope you don’t get a pension from Kali, apparently they make you pay income tax anyway.
I live outside Rosenberg, Texas, outside Houston. It is obvious that no one is quarantining anymore, all of our traffic jams are back to normal. I am beginning to wonder how many people are going to go on summer vacation.
Paul: Yeah, we’d been “looking” in Helotes, but there wasn’t anything available in our price range. We’ll be a little south of that.
It’s tough doing househunting from 1500 miles away, but my wife trusts the realtor there; we’ve actually never seen the house except on Zillow and Google Street View. But the house inspector said that it’s a solid house with only a few problems, so we’re rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
I just heard on the radio that 120 companies are now working on a vaccine for sars-cov-2. I just do not see it happening any time soon. After all, we do not have a vaccine for the cold virus or aids. And the flu vaccines suck.
Hopefully I am wrong. And I want somebody else to to test it for me. I like my kidneys !
Anyway, I think that we are all going to get covid-19 anyway. There are at least 2 variants out there, maybe 30.
My old $1000 truck came with a leaky heater core. That was fixed for a little more than I paid for the truck.
Ok, yes, had the controller for the air flaps replaced at the same time.
Anyway. It started to leaking freon. I added. And more. I added a couple of cans of the stop leak stuff, too. All goes away and no A/C in a dark blue truck during Summer in Texas is not cool. I can’t find a leak, I’m assuming the evap coil under the dash has gone bad.
But I don’t smell anything.
So. Back to the shop. The controller for the air flaps was clicking. I now know the Mopar part number, just need to read how to replace an $88 part. Because there will be a next time.
The A/C problem was a leaking Schrader valve. So, after dropping $532 the truck has cold A/C and the flaps move the air as wanted without the ticking/ratcheting noise. They did evac the system and refill it. Perhaps that cleaned out the A/C stop leak stuff? I have little clue.
And now I know that when my A/C goes flat again, to get out my valve stem tool and see if the core is loose. And maybe just go to NAPA for new cores and vac the system down our self. We have the tools. We, like Paklets, lack knowledge.
As for my 25 or 26 gallon gas tank, when I got into the truck today the needle never moved from E. I stuffed almost 28 gallons into the tank. Can’t complain, the last fill up was November 24.
Welcome to Texas. Y’all will get use to the Summer heat. 🙂
Lynn; Thank you. For your information, I haven’t voted for a Democrat in 50 years, so I think I’ll fit right in. I’ll probably be MORE conservative than San Antonio itself, with a lefty mayor and a Democrat Representative. 🙂
My real estate agent tells me that two agents are writing offers on our house for sale. I hope that they are good offers.
After we sell our old house, the wife wants to refinance the new used house to a 15 year note with a 2.5% interest rate. I told her that I will think about it. I do want to pay off the vehicle loans and get the garage single door widened from 8 ft to 10 ft. And the wife wants to build a 1,ooo ft2 cottage for the daughter behind our house. Gotta think about that for a while.
Our triple pane windows that I put in last October to block the train noise are paying off another way. The May electric bill was only $220. Pretty good for a 3,300 ft2 one story that we keep at 72 F.
Paul: We’re used to the heat; what we’re NOT used to is the humidity. But that’s what air conditioning is for.
I suspect that the only thing I’m going to miss about Sacramento is the “Delta breeze”. Cold air from the Pacific frequently blows in through the Golden Gate into San Francisco Bay; that’s why San Francisco itself is so chilly. Mark Twain once wrote that the coldest winter he’d ever seen was a summer in San Francisco. That cold ocean air flows inland in the evening, and follows the Sacramento River, spreading out over the “Delta”, and cooling everything. Yesterday was 98; last night was 62. North of here, Redding, CA is often in the 80’s, sometimes 90’s, all night; same for Stockton and the southern cities in the central valley.
Most of the folks in the central valley are pretty conservative; a lot of them are farmers. The valley has some of the most fertile soil in the world, and if only they had enough water, would be the breadbasket of the world. But left-wing idiots in the legislature (most of whom live in the deep blue coastal cities) are starving the farms for water by flushing LOTS of water through the delta to preserve the “Delta smelt”, a 2-inch long bait fish. Aggravations like this are one of hundreds of reasons why I need to leave California, to preserve my sanity. If my A/C bill goes up a little – well, electricity in San Antonio is substantially lower than here in Sacramento.
We refinanced our place in April – 30 year/ 3.49%. Rates are a bit lower now, but that’s OK. Had to go though at least 1″ of paperwork with the notary – which was done with him on the front porch and us inside. Minimal paper handling between us.
Took out $20K for the refinance; that plus other savings is going to pay 2/3 of the cost of the used 2019 Highlander we’re picking up tomorrow. Looked at the RAV4, but like the extra space and power of the Highlander over the RAV4.
We don’t need the extra space during day-to-day (now week-to-week) use, but it is useful when we head off to the grandkids – the wife likes to bring presents, and the extra room will be easily used for those trips.
Spent most of my life in Sacramento – mostly NE (Rockin, Loomis, Newcastle). That evening ‘delta breeze’ was always nice. Liked living in the area, if you can ignore the politics.
My co-worker friend moved to Nevada from Californication after retiring from Boeing. NV will not collect state income tax from pension earned in Kali and send it to Gov. Screwsom.
Welcome Ken to the Great State of Texas, from another Cali bailout…. (I grew up in Chicagoland, and have been and lived in a lot of other places.)
I lived in the LA area for a couple of years, then San Diego for more than a decade. Houston and TX have been VERY good to me. I sometimes miss the weather in SD, but I’ll trade no state income tax for Cali’s weather and 9% of my Federal any day of the week. We do get nice fall and spring here, the only question is how long they’ll last.
There are some weird things about Texas that took some getting used to, but I like it.
When you go out for dinner on the Riverwalk, and you can’t believe they let people just walk along it at night with no lights or railings, well, that’s the Cali Nanny in you… Fight it, and revel in your new freedom. 🙂
n
(part of my problem was a career in public events/concerts/parties/etc, where EVERY safety decision has to be made with the drunk, clumsy, litigious attendee in mind. Colors your whole worldview.)
First the flags, then the houses,
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/arsonists-target-california-homes-displaying-american-flags
n
If the police are defunded, then it might be open season on the arsonists and looters.
Notice to all: be careful what you wish for.
I imagine that if “peaceful protesters” were shot outside some middle-class homeowner’s house, the police would be johnny-on-the-spot. It’s safe to go hassle and probably arrest him, you see, and not politically controversial.
See also: statistics on ticketing drivers for speeding, running red lights, and so on, differentiated by frequency of offence and by race of the car occupants. (Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if those statistics are no longer published or are difficult to find. Like several others they don’t tell the correct narrative, so they might’ve been pulled from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and other sources.)
Back from the trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park. Left late today rather than tomorrow which was the planned day. Supposed to rain hard and I had no desire to hook up the trailer and disconnect from the services while pouring rain.
Found out that little hill that gave my F-150 grief was in fact a 9% grade for a distance of two miles. Took a little trip following the same route (sans trailer) to get some supplies in Sparta TN. On the way back encountered the same hill. Highway 111 south of Sparta, a four lane divided highway. A couple of 18-wheelers were navigating the hill going at most 15 mph so they were struggling. Steepest hill I have ever encountered for that distance.
Most of the folks in the central valley are pretty conservative; a lot of them are farmers. The valley has some of the most fertile soil in the world, and if only they had enough water, would be the breadbasket of the world. But left-wing idiots in the legislature (most of whom live in the deep blue coastal cities) are starving the farms for water by flushing LOTS of water through the delta to preserve the “Delta smelt”, a 2-inch long bait fish. Aggravations like this are one of hundreds of reasons why I need to leave California, to preserve my sanity. If my A/C bill goes up a little – well, electricity in San Antonio is substantially lower than here in Sacramento.
And this is one of the many reasons why the USA is going to starve next winter.
Welcome Ken, I think there are 3 of us in SA now.
3 or 4 in Houston, same near Austin, but we’ve got friends as far away as Switzerland, and Alaska too 🙂
n
Shit-congo.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8403347/Chicago-Mayor-Lori-Lightfoot-says-rioters-f-ing-lawless-meeting-panicked-officials.html
n
I imagine that if “peaceful protesters” were shot outside some middle-class homeowner’s house, the police would be johnny-on-the-spot. It’s safe to go hassle and probably arrest him, you see, and not politically controversial.
Is that the point that you shoot at the cops ?
If they drag you away from your home to a jail cell then that could be a death sentence. And nobody will be there to protect your family.
First the flags, then the houses,
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/arsonists-target-california-homes-displaying-american-flags
This is civil war stuff.
“This is civil war stuff. ”
–it’s what the socialists do, Nazi germany stuff, Papers please, guns next, then the progroms start.
Shit-congo.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8403347/Chicago-Mayor-Lori-Lightfoot-says-rioters-f-ing-lawless-meeting-panicked-officials.html
n
Eleven dead? Isn’t that, like, a typical Chicago weekend tally nowadays?
11 dead would be a quiet weekend.
n
S***-congo.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8403347/Chicago-Mayor-Lori-Lightfoot-says-rioters-f-ing-lawless-meeting-panicked-officials.html
Nobody should be surprised. This is the natural progression of things. We, the USA, will look like Mexico soon as we cut the police forces to the bare minimum and beyond.
BTW, HEB had signs up tonight that their supply of aluminum can drinks will soon run out due to to an aluminum shortage in the USA. Looks like Alcoa and Kaiser shutting down all the aluminum plants in the USA due to illegally priced aluminum from China was bad for us. Who knew ?
I used to work at the Alcoa plant in Rockdale, Texas occasionally back in the 1980s on the power side. My fellow engineers and I hated the plant with a passion but it was a money making son of a gun until China underpriced the plant. Eight of the pot lines made 2,000 lb aluminum pigs for resale in several hundred pots. The nineth potline made 99.999% aluminum for the DOD. There was over 3,000 people working there back in the 1980s. Maybe 4,000.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2018/07/08/their-coal-plant-is-gone-the-golden-age-is-over-what-s-next-for-the-people-of-milam-county-texas/
Hi from Switzerland. Ex-Texan, now living in the “Texas” of Switzerland: the mountain region called Valais, where the attitudes are (relatively speaking) pretty similar. The time-zone is why my comments usually appear either at the very end or the very start of y’alls threads.
Hi Mr. Ken. I just moved to SA. Wife and I maintain a condo in Vegas so we can *milk* the education system in Kali for their sweet, sweet tax bucks. Vegas isn’t bad, but the Covidaclypse may kill it.