Hot-ish and humid. Maybe rain.
Got some rain yesterday. Lots in the afternoon. Buckets full. By late last night it was down to 76F. Shockingly low temp. We may be over the hump of summer and on the downward slide toward “winter”.
I reported on my trip to the grocery store yesterday. Basically, most of the stuff that wasn’t in stock before is now, but selection is down, quantities seem to be down, and there were gaps on the shelves. Prices seem to be half again, or double what they were before this all started. I took the opportunity to hand pick my veggies, and to load up on some other stuff.
For what it’s worth, 45 pounds of sugar fits in a 5 gallon bucket.
And I think I’m set for cake mixes for a while.
Plans for the day? Same as every day Pinky, ….
Keep stacking,
nick
I reported on my trip to the grocery store yesterday. Basically, most of the stuff that wasn’t in stock before is now, but selection is down, quantities seem to be down, and there were gaps on the shelves. Prices seem to be half again, or double what they were before this all started. I took the opportunity to hand pick my veggies, and to load up on some other stuff.
We stopped at Kroger in Arlington this weekend, and the cleaning products aisle was stripped clean. The situation was particularly bad in upholstery/carpet care.
Venturing into North Dallas for dinner, we were surprised to see a big Penny’s in a nice neighborhood with signs up indicating that the store was closing — that close to HQ in Plano isn’t a good sign. Private equity and the Simon Group have both encountered difficulty negotiating with Penny’s management over buyouts so the end may be nigh.
Driving to dinner, I also saw high end Lexus SUV in Dallas with Texas “Gator Nation” vanity plates.
Sacrilege! I’ve also seen FSU Seminole Texas plates, but I know GM recruits out of the school for the tech center in Austin. Yesterday was a first for UF.
I went to South Florida. No vanity plates available here, but the alumni thank the taxpayers of Texas for a season and a half of decent football coaching out of Charlie Strong on their dime before his weaknesses resurfaced in Tampa, including a “War on I-4” game which was one for the history books.
Don’t worry — we don’t want Jimbo. He’s a Texas probem, now. I wouldn’t doubt the FSU alumni have that Christmas tree stored in a room somewhere … waiting.
We finally got rain! Nearly 6″ here on Wednesday night/Thursday, overcast and reasonably cool , with occasional sprinkles since. I mowed yesterday for the first time since June 22nd. Our poor yard. Between the drought, heat, and grasshoppers, even bermuda grass has had a time keeping alive this year. Our water costs too much so I don’t water the lawn.
I am going to have to break down and buy a new mower I guess. Mine is a Toro self-propelled mulching mower, 13 years old. The self-propelled mechanism gave out about halfway through yesterday. I spent $100 on it at beginning of summer – too much – and the guy couldn’t get but one of the wheels working, now that one is free-turning too. The motor is still good, it still starts right up, but I need the help to push it. If I have it worked on again, I would have to take it to Abilene and just not certain I should put more into it when there is a new one at Home Depot for $320. Seems to be The Year Of Mechanical Objects around here.
We had a cord and a half of oak leftover from last year, and my dad cut me about another third of a cord of dead wood a while back. And I cut up the fallen limbs which made up about 1/4 of a cord of small stuff – great for those days with cold mornings and 80F afternoons. That will do us unless it is a particularly cold winter. I’d like to have another cord on hand but he won’t cut that until it cools off some. He has been poisoning mesquite trees all summer, so I know what we will be burning next year!
Prices here on things I buy seem to still be fairly normal. The gaps, even on the internet, are weird. Bob’s Red Mill Barley Flour is unobtainium. If anyone uses barley flour, there’s a company called Joseph’s Mill that sells their own – go to their website rather than Amazon, as their price is cheaper and they still offer free shipping. But the Joseph’s barley flour is ground with husk on, so it is really “rustic”. I sift it before using to clean it up a bit but it still has a whole-wheat effect. Also, store it carefully to prevent weevils/moths, because they haven’t irradiated it: I use bay leaves in an air-tight container.
Prices here on things I buy seem to still be fairly normal. The gaps, even on the internet, are weird. Bob’s Red Mill Barley Flour is unobtainium.
Bob’s had a Covid outbreak in the factory in May. Figure that they were also shut down when the various winter grains came in during the Spring.
Bob’s is also based in the Portland Metro, and during our time in Vantucky, Bob sold the mill to the employees, which I remember being something of great concern to the distributors.
CGTN, but in my own defense, they had the best video of the Molotov Cocktail Party in Portland.
Kids, The Mythbusters are professionals. Don’t try this at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNad2IlPBvE
This sort of thing is why I read Daily Mail. The followup on articles is much better than anyone else I’ve seen.
” they had the best video of the Molotov Cocktail Party in Portland.”
—meh. They had a clear, close up, well produced video, but I like the ones set to music better 🙂 and they fail to point out that it was a COP who sprays the little fire extinguisher and actually puts the fire out. Which supplies a tidbit of intelligence, the cops are carrying personal sized fire extinguishers….
https://theferalirishman.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-new-soundtrack-for-antifa.html
https://gunfreezone.net/sunday-music-yakety-sax/
n
The cop with the fire extinguisher should first have quizzed the guy on his views regarding defunding the police.
LOL.
White Portland soy boys and girls harass a Black woman. Nothing screams KKK than Whitey in a mask and helmet:
https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2020/09/07/the-most-2020-thing-so-far-portland-mob-tried-to-prevent-a-black-woman-from-driving-down-the-street-guess-who-won-this-brief-standoff-video/
Well yesterday’s predicted 111F only reached 105F. Just like a month ago a mixed bag as the high was most likely curtailed by smoke. This morning the sunrise was a dark red due the the smoke coming from the Shaver Lake fire. It smells like smoke. Today 108F prdicted. It’s either stay inside running the a/c and the PG&E bill even higher or go lay in the pool and enjoy the smoke.
Meanwhile a small group of idiots show up at Kevin McCarthy’s house at 4:30 am. Who is organizing this? As usual the demands are more than crazy.
http://www.bakersfieldobserved.com/2020/09/smoke-from-creek-fire-near-shaver-lake.html
Before using said extinguisher, of course.
“The most effective way to combat racial discrimination…”:
From the comments (referring to the tweeted video):
Paging Dale Carnegie! Mr. Carnegie to the white house phone!
I maintain that if you keep calling white people ‘racist’ no matter who they are or what they do, sooner or later they will get tired of it and embrace it. “Yeah, so fukking what?” As well to hang for a sheep as a lamb…
n
Ha. Great minds think alike: http://www.dailypundit.com/dailypundit.wordpress/2020/09/06/paypal-me/comment-page-1/#comment-64026
I started watching Raised By Wolves last night. Necromancer androids are awesome. I also started Away with Hilary Swank about a mission to Mars. Not bad, but a lot of personal drama for the characters. S02 of The Boys starts today. I really like that show.
I have been binge watching “Away” on Netflix. Hilary Swank is very good, lots of excellent supporting known actors. I am on episode eight, the space ship to Mars has been Apollo 13 over and over again. Eight months in space and 20 million miles to Mars is a long time to spend in 2.7 K. I like the international crew of five idea, the concept of the USA, China, India, England, and Russia cooperating is good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_(TV_series)
The future of space exploration is way, way, way different from when Christopher Columbus set off for the unknown. When CC left home, he and has crew had no means of talking to their loved ones for years, maybe a decade. The people on the way to Mars will be less than thirty minutes away by text, email, or voice mail. The crew will have their own drama plus the drama of their loved ones on the ground.
The first time my son went to Iraq with Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children, he got to call home every six weeks or so. We only got good news from him. When his convoy was attacked, we heard about it the next day from other parents. When a terrorist tried to drive a bomb car into his FOB and was blown up by the Marines on duty, we heard about it the next day from other parents. When an Iraqi soldier shot and killed his buddy, and he exchanged fire with the Iraqi soldier, we heard about it the next day from other parents. Communication is a big deal and not always a positive for either side.
“Sorry Houston, no strong front is coming this week”
https://spacecityweather.com/sorry-houston-no-strong-front-is-coming-this-week/
“We’ve got some good news and some bad news, and we’ll start with the latter. If you’ll recall last week, we were 50-50 on whether a fairly robust cool front would push through the region. Alas, we’re now pretty confident it won’t make it. Summer, such as it is in Houston, will continue for awhile longer, albeit with highs mostly in the low 90s rather than the mid- or upper 90s.”
Well, we got teased with a strong cold front last week for this week. But, not gonna happen.
We will get a cold front sooner or later though. Hopefully before October.
Thunderstorm and heavy rain at the moment. I guess the grass cutting will have to wait.
n
Two tropical depressions headed our way, expected by NOAA to be TS by tonight.
n
Hagar The Horrible: future plans
https://www.comicskingdom.com/hagar-the-horrible/2020-09-07
One should plan for future events.
White Portland soy boys and girls harass a Black woman. Nothing screams KKK than Whitey in a mask and helmet:
When anyone African American or LGBTQXYZ asks me about living in the Portland Metro, I always suggest the Vantucky side of the river, east of 205.
For all its faults, Vantucky is safe, especially close to the legacy HP campus and former Sharp Labs building turned high school. The backwardness in Clark County, WA is economic and equal (non-)opportunity.
My coffee maker broke this morning. It’s a Keurig 2.0 K350. The spike that pierces the bottom of the pod sort of snapped off. It’s on an L shaped arm, broke at the corner.
We were given the machine so I can’t complain.. I know it cost almost $200. It has “just worked” and it seems a waste to toss it in the trash. Yeah, I could go to HEB or Wal-Mart and shop for a new machine. Keurigs go for about $150, I think. I haven’t taken notes. Or buy another from Amazon or eBay.
I found the cup holder assembly on eBay for $25 and more. Used. New was $40 plus shipping and a week or so for delivery. Amazon had the same thing brand new, $42 with tax and it will be here Wednesday.
Beats driving to town for an all new machine. Buy a new machine from Amazon would run about $140 plus tax and be here “tada!” Wednesday. So, I saved a hundred bucks.
I’d rather go back to using the percolator. Get up, plug the pot in, then go do the bathroom and pet and let the dog out and pet cats routine while the coffee brews. Takes all of 12 minutes or so. Second cup is right there without the wait. But no. Someone insists on having the Keurig.
I miss Yuban coffee.
Two tropical depressions headed our way, expected by NOAA to be TS by tonight.
Paulette? Bermuda.
The other one probably won’t even make it that far west.
My 20 year old OBD scanner just saved me a few hundred bucks in diagnosing “Check Engine” on my Solara. Gas cap.
If you don’t have one of these among your preps, pick one up. The model I have isn’t even this fancy.
Thank God for YouTube and Google for the P—- codes the reader spits out.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071FSNL73/?tag=ttgnet-20
keurig machines are about $20 at most thrift stores if they are complete. The drip tray and water reservoir cover go missing…
Some people get weird about stuff like that, but you’re eating off someone elses dishes at every restaurant, drinking out of their coffee machine, and using their silverware. At least with the keurig, you clean it and run a couple of cycles thru it so you know it’s clean to start…
n
(as a backup plan… it’s great you’re fixing it Paul!)
I miss Yuban coffee.
I did for a while. I am about to finish a big can of something else, then back to Yuban. The something else is a dark roast in an all metal can that is about six years old, so I decided to use it up. Been drinking Yuban for many years. Occasionally try something else, then back to Yuban.
Never had one of those pod machines, but they are fun. I still like our drip machine. Almost as good as a French press, and more convenient. You might know that you can buy little gizmos that work in your Keurig and let you use coffee you can’t find in pods. Give one a try.
The United Nations:
The #COVID19 pandemic is demonstrating what we all know: millennia of patriarchy have resulted in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture which damages everyone – women, men, girls & boys.
https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2020/09/07/can-we-defund-them-now-u-n-says-the-covid19-pandemic-demonstrates-that-the-patriarchy-damages-everyone/
A big FU to the UN.
H/T Twitchy
The local thrift shop is run by the Women for the Library or some such. It’s all junk. They are proud of their loot and will follow you around like you might steal a candle stick. I’m cool, they gotta hate on someone. Dragons protecting their hoard of gold, same same. I shop there to support the library.
Across the street where Super S was, is an indoor garage sale…. rent a booth, set out your stuff and they take a cut. I have found a few neat things there. No stalking because it’s not their stuff.
The Goodwill in Marble Falls is mostly clothes, plenty of bad attitude, old DVD with no prices or tagged $6 for a 15 year old disk, lots of worn out paperback books. The stuff like dishes (that I have no need of) is depressing because it all looks like someone dropped off Grandma’s china cabinet and the scraps of her kitchen. Plenty of beat up cheap furniture that you can get similar but brand new at Wal-Mart for the same price.
I can’t recall seeing any appliances there but a couple of used dishwashers (and they look like they should go to the dump for the mold and rusty racks inside) (but hey, just $150!!!) and for some reason, well used waffle irons. Almost everything there looks like “you will get roaches if you buy this”.
I’ve bought a few things, shirts go right into the washing machine, other stuff right into the dishwasher… on Pots and Pans.
And I look, maybe I’ll find one those goofy hot dog cookers that pretty much electrocuted the hot dogs to cook. Def not OSHA approved. 🙂 But I want one.
A Keurig with a missing drip tray is fine. Fold up a paper towel and pay a tiny bit of attention. Missing lid? pfftt. I can McGyver something with tin foil or coffee can lids good enough to keep the dust out. Or just dump / rinse / refill the reservoir every morning. No big deal.
Using someone else’s silverware? Not ever likely. Not because of cooties but because I still have, minus a couple of teaspoons sacrificed to the Garbage Disposal God, the “Stainless USA by Oneida” I bought from Sears way back in 1978. Two settings of eight. I assume USA is the name of the pattern. Google shows nothing like what I have. Yeah, I do have an inventory sheet under the silverware tray. I’m weird, ok? It’s nice stuff. And should be, an eight place setting was about $75. The completer set, slotted spoon, ladle, etc, was $30 or so.
Hey, I take care of my stuff.
I can’t recall seeing any appliances there but a couple of used dishwashers (and they look like they should go to the dump for the mold and rusty racks inside) (but hey, just $150!!!) and for some reason, well used waffle irons. Almost everything there looks like “you will get roaches if you buy this”.
Cheap waffle irons never get hot enough but hang around for years.
Sorry about the Wall of Text.
Oh. My Mom chewed me out for buying the silverware. Dunno. It wasn’t her money. Maybe I should have bought a set for her.
When I bought my Dual 1264 turntable, jebus. $330. When I made $5 an hour. She went off. But hey, Dual makes good stuff, I expect to get 10 years of use. So, $33 a year by 52 weeks.
My Dad, him of giant sheet of paper that was Lotus123 before PCs existed, just grinned. And who knows, the old man liked Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”. Making up lyrics…. even. Yeah, Dad was cooler than he could let me know for some reason.
And lately, I’m really wanting to talk to him. Don’t know why, we hardly talked after he came back from ‘Nam.
Could be. My theory is that waffles suck.
Pancakes with creases.
Although I think I can come up with something like Eggs Benedict on a waffle instead of an English muffin. And no, the Hollandaise sauce mix in the packets just, no. Nasty.
Sacrilege!
Pancakes with syrup traps. Real maple syrup, not that HFCS garbage.
And done right they’re nothing like pancakes, either.
I seldom bother anymore, but when all three kids were home I’d not infrequently do up a full, big breakfast: big batch of waffles or pancakes (usually waffles because I needed the entire range for the rest of the food), three pounds of bacon, a pound of breakfast sausage, eggs, milk, orange juice, coffee, sometimes oatmeal or grits. Probably a PopTart for the preschooler. Sometimes there’d be something left but that wasn’t the way to bet, not with two teenagers and me.
With the sons moved out, the waffle iron doesn’t get as much use. My daughter and I will occasionally make a big batch of fancy waffles for her, using a recipe from IronBear, with whom some of you might be familiar. Big, in this case, means a dozen and a half eggs and sour cream and buttermilk and other ingredients in proportion. Cooking all the waffles takes well over an hour and then we freeze them and she’ll have one or two for breakfast for the next month or more. If there’s a sleepover I’ll sometimes do waffles and the rest but not as much as in olden days; believe it or not, four preteen girls don’t eat as much as two teenage boys.
We had waffles this morning. We’ve been eating less breakfast than I prepped for, because we’ve been getting up at different times. Now that school’s back in session, we’ll go back to normal.
I cook waffles or pancakes at least once a week, sometimes one of each. I’ve got both girls eating bacon crumbles in their waffles 🙂 They taste a bit like pecan waffles, but more bacon-y. Really good. Lots of soft butter, and yes, REAL maple syrup. I always make meat at breakfast time. Either little breakfast sausage links or bacon most mornings, but sometimes sliced ham. Every once in a while, sausage patties. You need some meat to balance the carbs and sugar.
And while the waffle batter starts as pancake batter, you add eggs and oil, so it’s not really just pancakes with syrup traps 😛
I also always add a capful of pure vanilla, and every once in a while, some powdered buttermilk, or powdered malt.
n
(for a special breakfast, I do hillbilly donuts)
Uh, what?
Pancakes: flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, eggs, oil, milk. Throw everything together and mix.
Waffles: separate eggs; whip whites. In a separate bowl mix flour, egg yolk, melted butter, milk, maybe sugar, maybe baking powder, then fold in the egg whites. The butter is close to pure fat, taking the place of the oil in the pancakes. You don’t need baking powder but some recipes call for it. You don’t need sugar but some people prefer it. (If you use it, use confectioner’s sugar; comes out better.)
Are you maybe talking about making pancakes and waffles from a mix? I think the pancake mix I used to use to make a single pancake every morning for one of the boys was just water plus the mix. I never made waffles from the mix but if it was possible they’d certainly need egg and maybe oil beyond the solids in the mix.
–yes.
I can make them from scratch but the mix is good and very convenient.
n
Speaking of big breakfasts, a couple years ago I brought The Brat up to a diner for brunch with my dad. One of her friends, also age 10 or 11, was staying with us for the school break (Christmas/secular mid-winter break, I think, or Easter/secular Spring break) so of course she came.
The girls were really hungry, they said, because all they’d had was one PopTart and a glass of milk each and they’d been up for hours and they were starving.
One item on the menu was the “Big Boy” breakfast: two large sausages, about four slices of bacon, two eggs, two slices of toast, three or four pancakes, one big waffle, hash, a dish of grits, and a pint of milk or juice.
Yep, that’s what they wanted. On questioning whether maybe their eyes were bigger than their bellies, they assured me that they were starving and yes they’d each eat a whole one.
Neither my dad nor I believed them but I let them order a Big Boy each. Plus one for myself.
I just wish I’d thought to take a picture when the waitress brought out the girls’ plates — two large plates, a bowl, and a glass.
Yes, I finished my breakfast, as did my dad. No, the girls did not. In fact, if they’d shared one Big Boy breakfast they wouldn’t have finished it. No problem. Packed up the leftovers and they got breakfast the next morning and I ate the leftover leftovers.
But I sure wish I’d thought to take a picture.
Could be. My theory is that waffles suck.
Pancakes with creases.
We leave it to the professionals at Waffle House.
We stopped there this morning leaving Dallas.
“We leave it to the
professionalsex-cons at Waffle House.”FIFY
n
Highs hit 92f here in Indian country with a low expected of 68. Tomorrow the cool front comes in the afternoon bringing storms and rain and lows in the mid 50s. May be almost time to empty and deflate the hot tub. I’ve been relaxing in it every evening from 8 to 9 watching the sunset and the stars come out. I will miss it.
“We leave it to the ex-cons at Waffle House.”
FIFY
I’m sure, but the older women who run the one in Dallas we frequent manage things pretty tight.
Today, someone obviously from corporate was in the store conducting training and ruffling feathers. I gather they haven’t been reopen for inside dining for very long.
“We leave it to the ex-cons at Waffle House.”
They make the best waffles.
Ahhh, so that is why they sometimes stick to the waffle iron.
Thanks
Jimminy Cristmas, I just spent over an hour reading comments on this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsa46CXwfdY
How Much Money Do Farmers Make?
1,836,434 views
•Jan 18, 2020
Cole The Cornstar
397K subscribers
—why do you grow GMO? –um so that people can afford to eat
—why don’t you just grow organic on 10 acres, that’s what I do, and I make more money than you. –so what do the other 329 Million people eat after they’ve eaten your output?
—why don’t you just sell it all? –um ‘cuz someone has to grow the food
—how can you possibly lose $250K every year and stay in business, you’re a liar. –um, ever look at pretty much any of the tech companies?
—you lie, farmers are rich. –yep, that’s why everyone does it, instead of just about any other job, anywhere.
—what about the youtube money? –HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAA
—what about the rent you get from the wind turbines? — oh, right, I forgot, wind energy is so costly because they’re paying the landowners soooo much rent…
—you had me until the Jesus stuff, fuck off god boy. –oh, so that’s how progroms start….
—I never watch anything longer than 10 minutes on youtube but I watched the whole 28 minutes! –srsly? you’d brag about that?
— and on and on
Those are actually the better of the comments. And it’s weird how many foreign farmers, especially from india are in the comments.
Also, it’s a bit terrifying how bad people’s comprehension is, and their lack of critical thinking. The inability to understand scale is a bit more understandable, but he runs a SMALL farm. People don’t seem to get that.
Well worth watching the video, like most places online, avoid the comments.
n