Moderate, rainy, with periods of clear. Like yesterday.
My wife had periods of good weather at camp too, and the timing worked well with their activities. They have been having a great time. I’ve just been dodging raindrops all day.
I spent the day mostly indoors, other than getting two pickups done. Cleaning supplies, and birthday presents, bought before need. And 8 new in box zippo lighters. Genuine made in the US zippos, for <$2 each. Yeah, I had to drive to get them. Drove to get the other stuff too, though so the marginal cost was low. Our ability to make fire separates us from the animals, right? So anything that helps with that is a good thing. (Although any wick based lighter will dry out if left alone, so they are not good for a 'stock it and leave it' bag or stash- use butane for that.) One thing I had a chance to catch up on is the last couple of essays by Sarah Hoyt. I’ve linked to her before. Her mood seems to fluctuate, and she has written about battles with depression, so there is always that to consider, but she has a way with words, and as an immigrant and naturalized citizen, she’s got a different history and perspective than most people on the right side of the blogosphere. Always worth reading. Anyway, her last two are much more specific and pessimistic than usual, and even I find myself shaking my head and saying “that can’t be right”. But it might be.
Specifically she’s writing about the Biden EO that has gotten a bit of coverage on the right, and how it sets up the ‘legal’ structure to unperson, bankrupt, and starve anyone they can pin the ‘russian agent’ tag on. American Thinker wrote about it too. It’s titled “Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation “. Consider it in light of this section describing who can be determined to be at fault- “(F) activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners;”.
Couple that with this restriction “Sec. 2. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and
(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.”
That is some pretty broad language. We know rule of law is dead, so don’t expect any meaningful challenges to this EO. The penalty for helping or taking money from the unpersoned is to have the order applied to you and your FAMILY too.
Read the whole thing at the Whitehouse . gov. It’s short.
Remember that the people who hid Anne Frank and her family were breaking the law, and the person who turned her in was following it.
Prepare yourself for what will happen when people begin to be affected by this EO. And if it could apply to you, or be MADE to apply to you, prepare for that too.
You probably don’t have enough stuff stacked, or sturdy friends. I am pretty sure I don’t. Keep stacking.
nick
(It’s always a day a-way…. until it’s not. Slowly, then all at once.)
Wow, my back is tired. A friend spent a week of his vacation here, helping me build stone steps and a stone wall. We used most of the 10 tons of stone I had ordered, plus endless quantities of gravel and loose rock. But we got the steps and the highest stretch of wall finished. The rest I’ll do on my own over the next couple of weeks. And, hey, more stuff happening: our rainwater tanks are showing up tomorrow, and our shed (a kit) should be delivered this week as well. Lots of progress!!
I pestered the people who installed our solar, because some of the configuration was simply wrong. It’s the job of our general contractor to get this stuff fixed, but I was tired of waiting. Took them 2-3 hours on Friday to fix most of the problems, but still some stuff isn’t right. They’re coming back tomorrow.
I had hacked the password on the solar system, because I wanted to know what was going on. Well, if you call “1234” a password. That’s how I discovered some of the errors – like, the system spent the whole winter *not* talking to the heating system. They ought to be embarrassed. Apparently they are, because they have now locked me out of the system. Cheeky as hell. That’s also going to change on Monday: It’s *my* damned system, I’m not renting it, and I insist on knowing those passwords.
Gas mask article, for those interested.
Count Samsung as another entity caught “swimming naked” (as Warren Buffett terms it) in Texas/Austin during the February holiday weekend storm.
https://www.statesman.com/story/business/2021/04/30/austin-fab-shutdown-during-texas-freeze-cost-samsung-millions/4891405001/
I thought that if anyone had backup power here in town, it would be that facility. Guess not.
Swimming naked is a problem when all the towel boys are “working” from home, as Texas found out. Of course, Warren Buffett has expressed a willingness to sell 24/7 concierge towel delivery … for a price.
Gambling in Apple? Warren is shocked! Shocked!
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/01/warren-buffett-says-robinhood-is-catering-to-the-gambling-instincts-of-investors.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME
(Gotta wonder how long my former corporate masters are going to let that film go uncensored.)
I watched the show for about an hour yesterday, up to around the point where, defending the investment in the evil oil companies, Charlie Munger stated that he would rather see his daughter bring home an SO who worked for ChevronTexaco than a PhD prof from Swathmore (I think I heard it correctly).
Nothing Earth shattering during the hour I watched, but Buffett once again danced around the subject of succession and how much BRK stock would end up in his current wife’s hands upon his death.
For those commenters here whose guns haven’t been lost in an unfortunate boating accident:
My 50 Cal Exploded
Son had his second Pfizer shot at noon yesterday. He started feeling off around midnight, and is dizzy and has a fever of 100 this morning. Wife gets her second Pfizer jab today. I get my second Moderna shot later this week.
Starting about 18 hours after my own 2nd Moderna shot, I had a fever off and on for 24 hours. My arm is still sore at the injection site 3 days later, but not sore enough to hinder motion.
73F and humid this morning but currently sunny too. Wife and the girls will be home later today. I hope they’re getting one last activity in.
–that 50cal blowing up is pretty dramatic as is the guy’s tale of self rescue. Some things to think about there, like having someone with you at the range, knowing some emergency care, having your trauma kit out and on the bench, knowing where the nearest hospital is…
And on the shooting side, if you’re gonna shoot exotics, especially very old exotics, you might want to take additional precautions. In this age of ammo shortage, and people buying baggies of loose rounds at auctions, there could be some dangerous rounds that get into the supply. Someone’s experimental hand loads could be mixed in, or simple errors could have occurred.
Be careful out there….
n
An amazing story of survival.
Review of PPE is in order. No more cheap plastic eye protectors, for sure.
All the campers are home safe. Beautiful day if a bit humid, 93F in the sun with ~50%RH.
n
“Garbage science is garbage”
https://gunfreezone.net/garbage-science-is-garbage/
“Political-driven science is just propaganda with technical vocabulary.”
“More than a thousand people reported lasting health effects after being exposed to teargas during protests in Portland, Oregon, last summer, according to a newly published scientific study.”
“Nearly 900 people reported abnormal menstrual cycles, including intense cramping and increased bleeding, that began or persisted days after their initial exposure to the teargas. Hundreds of others complained of other negative health impacts, including severe headaches, nausea, diarrhea, and mental health concerns.”
“Hundreds report abnormal menstruation after being teargassed during Portland protests.”
“Hundreds of what? Maybe we get a mention of gender somewhere?”
“Castaway Resolution (6) (Boundary)” by Ryk Spoor and Eric Flint
https://www.amazon.com/Castaway-Resolution-Boundary-Eric-Flint/dp/1982125322/?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number six of a six book young adult space opera science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Baen in 2021. I doubt that there will be more books in the series but, I would be welcome for more.
The weird planet of Lincoln is getting worse for the survivors of the wreck of the space colony liner “Outward Initiative”. In addition to the floating islands on the continuous 60 km deep seas, the star system is unstable with many comets and space rocks. And they collide with Lincoln on a far too often basis for those living there.
My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (71 reviews)
When you mix science and politics, you get politics.
To put it another way, when you stir together an omelet and sewage, you get sewage.
“”Bernie Sanders Has Won”: Munger Says Millennials Will Have “A Hell Of A Time Getting Rich Compared To Our Generation””
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/bernie-sanders-has-won-munger-says-millennials-will-have-hell-time-getting-rich-compared
“The Berkshire Hathaway Annual shareholder meeting which, saw a return of both Warren Buffett and his perpetual sidekick, Charlie Munger, to the podium after a one year covid hiatus, is over after almost six grueling hours of back and forth between the two billionaires, Becky Quick, and a cast of supporting characters, most of whom are probably also billionaires. We will do a full post-mortem shortly of all the highlights, but there were a handful of funny episodes (usually involving the traditionally outspoken Charlie Munger) as well as a selection of cringeworthy moments (also involving Munger).”
“One of these involved a lengthy discussion of how investing has changed in the past year, specifically with the flood of new, young retail traders pursuing some extremely crappy stocks whose outperformance has blown away Berkshire A shares with their modest 19% return.”
“However, instead of offering some support to these newly-hatched capitalists who dream of achieving Buffett’s success, however on a far more truncated timeframe, Charlie Munger had some stark words of discouragement when it comes to the next generation seeking to master the stock market.”
““Bernie Sanders has basically won,” the 97-year old said. “He did it by accident, but he won.””
Pearls Before Swine: Boxes Of Stencils
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/05/02
Yes, a Star Wars pun !
@lynn
— https://www.lso.cc/auction/1387/item/2008-ford-expedition-suv-42391/
n
and the beauty of auction buying is you pay tax on the sale price not the book value.
n
“Of 70 people bailed out of jail since last May by six social-justice activists, 25 have been charged with 108 felonies and 49 misdemeanors or municipal code violations alleged to have occurred after they were freed…”
““Bernie Sanders has basically won,” the 97-year old said. “He did it by accident, but he won.””
Of course, Buffett and Munger helped. The Keystone Pipeline was cancelled … again … as payola.
Charlie Munger comes off as more conservative, but Wesco was a key early investor in Costco with Charlie continuing to hold a board seat despite Berkshire’s recent dumping of the stock.
Sam’s run today. Gallon size water bottles remain in short supply around Austin.
Canned green beans at almost $9/12 pack.
Also, I saw my first “E Mustang” abomination in the wild. I gotta wonder if they would have done that if Iacocca had been alive and lucid at the time of the announcement.
My father always believed that Iacocca influenced the last-minute decision in the late 80s to cancel moving the Mustang to the Mazda platform that became the Ford Probe instead. Chairman Lee held a lot of sway at Ford even after his firing and subsequent career resurrection at Chrysler.
Cut the grass. SWEATY hot in the sun. Soil is really too damp but we could get more rain M, T, so wanted it done.
My wife was making noises like she’d drive me to pick up my new truck today, but the dealership is closed on Sunday. Bummer. Understandable, but bummer.
n
Dr. Ryan Cole, CEO and Medical Director of Cole Diagnostics
https://independentdocsid.com/RyanColeMD
“Technically Moderna and Pfizer are medical devices, not vaccines.”
“They shifted the verbiage in the Federal Register back in October so they could approve this.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPbxOeYAC7s
My wife was making noises like she’d drive me to pick up my new truck today, but the dealership is closed on Sunday. Bummer. Understandable, but bummer.
Texas Blue Law.
Interestingly, the Texas law does not prohibit Sunday opening like many states with similar laws, but the business has to choose, Saturday or Sunday. I thought I saw somewhere that The Real Life Tony Stark (TM) was trying to get the law changed to exclude his showrooms because he technically cannot run dealerhips in Texas.
Got the bird netting over the blueberry bushes. Some of the bushes (twigs really) are heavy with berries, some not so much. I’ve got several varieties with the idea of a longer harvest season but they mostly come to fruition at the same time anyway.
The orange and grapefruit don’t look like they’ll be coming back. The grapefruit has splits in the bark and grey wood under the splits. The orange sounds kiln dried when you bang on the trunk. The grapefruit sounds about the same, it’s the difference between hard dry wood and soft wet. And JUST when they were finally starting to produce. Damn freeze.
n
The orange and grapefruit don’t look like they’ll be coming back. The grapefruit has splits in the bark and grey wood under the splits. The orange sounds kiln dried when you bang on the trunk. The grapefruit sounds about the same, it’s the difference between hard dry wood and soft wet. And JUST when they were finally starting to produce. Damn freeze.
We lost plants here and there, but the sprinkler system is no worse than it was last Summer. The front yard really just needs to have a pro in to take care of the big oak tree. The back yard will be work, something I want done before the rains end at the beginning of June.
The MUD/development lost a *lot* of trees planted along the main roads and in the medians.
@Nick
If you have to take the grapefruit down, it might be worth keeping some of the wood. Main use would be for smoking meat. The trunk could yield pieces large enough for woodworking–it’s novel but not exotic.
I read somewhere not too long ago that in some orchards what they do is to actually sprinkle them so they get a cover of ice. That ice in fact would be a thermal barrier. Worth a thought and possibly a search for next time. It should keep the water from freezing inside of pipes and creating an ice shield on the trees.
“If I were the Governor of Texas I’d order the TxANG to bomb Austin”
https://gunfreezone.net/if-i-were-the-governor-of-texas-id-order-the-txang-to-bomb-austin/
“These people are carrying Hammer and Sickle flags and posters or Marx, Stalin, and Mao.”
“If I were the Governor of Texas on Saturday, I would have seceded from the Union and ordered the TxANG to napalm the rally.”
That is a lot of commie flags. I wonder if these people have a clue what people in Texas think of them.
TxANG – Texas Air National Guard
The orange and grapefruit don’t look like they’ll be coming back. The grapefruit has splits in the bark and grey wood under the splits. The orange sounds kiln dried when you bang on the trunk. The grapefruit sounds about the same, it’s the difference between hard dry wood and soft wet. And JUST when they were finally starting to produce. Damn freeze.
I read somewhere not too long ago that in some orchards what they do is to actually sprinkle them so they get a cover of ice. That ice in fact would be a thermal barrier. Worth a thought and possibly a search for next time. It should keep the water from freezing inside of pipes and creating an ice shield on the trees.
I had a 1/2 inch of ice on all my bushes, plants, patio, and yard. I lost all of my bushes in the back (north side). My bushes in the front (south side) are marginal at the moment.
South Texas just does not handle 11 F very well. My parents hit 16 F and they are on the ocean on Lavaca Bay. Our plants and bushes are just not selected for this deep freeze (below 25 F).
“Apple flowers can survive up until temperatures of -1.5 °C [29.3 °F]” the agency stated. “By spraying water when temperatures are still between 0.5 and 1 °C [around 32 °F], we create a thin layer of ice that keeps flowers at that temperature.”
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ice-as-insulation
Protects a little bit below freezing for a few hours at most. Less than that on a clear night.
That was done in southern Oregon for the pear trees in the spring. Smudge pots used to be used, burning low grade oil. Too much smoke. The orchards switched to big fans, as in huge, like a wind turbine, but smaller. Moving the air kept the frost from forming.
Sprinkling coats everything with water, which then forms ice. The process of the water freezing into ice releases a small amount of heat. Not much but enough to keep the blossoms from freezing.
Apple bud kill is 10% at 28F and increases to 90% at 25F.
That is a lot of commie flags. I wonder if these people have a clue what people in Texas think of them.
Saturday was an election day in the City of Austin proper. The usual May Day antics were amplified.
The results were a mixed bag for both sides, but Mayor Adler won’t get the expanded executive powers he sought for the office, probably the most important result for sanity to eventually prevail in the city.
I read somewhere not too long ago that in some orchards what they do is to actually sprinkle them so they get a cover of ice. That ice in fact would be a thermal barrier. Worth a thought and possibly a search for next time. It should keep the water from freezing inside of pipes and creating an ice shield on the trees.
Strawberry farmers in Florida protect their crops with ice, but that creates problems in the neighboring citrus groves … at least the few that are left which haven’t been turned into housing developments or, along I-4, Amazon warehouses.
The trees could go one night below freezing, 20 degrees F for no more than 5-6 hours, but Texas had 50+ hours everywhere below freezing except the coast and extreme southern points.
I love this site and the cooperative attitude of contributors with facts and observations for a more informed view of mostly any subject. 🙂
The depth and breadth of knowledge and experience is quite stunning.
Which is why I can’t understand no one helping me with the two albums/bands I couldn’t get out of my head yesterday! Slackers!
Or maybe no one else was listening to obscure side projects in the mid 90s??
n
Yeah, I think my citrus is gone. I’m very sad. It took a lot of work to keep them alive to that point, and the effort was JUST starting to pay off.
The apple tree is budding and seems to have survived, as well as the peach. I’ll need to get another apple though so it can cross pollinate, I think. I remember buying two different varieties based on the info on the tags. Don’t know which one survived though…
n
I love this site and the cooperative attitude of contributors with facts and observations for a more informed view of mostly any subject.
A bunch of nerds !
Better than a bunch of carrots 😉
Nerds rule, jocks drool!
Nerd girls are sexy!
n
Nick, the only one I can think of was Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum. It was wonderful, but perhaps more mainstream than what you are remembering?