Sat. July 24, 2021 – the pack will be reunited…

By on July 24th, 2021 in dogs, ebay, personal, WuFlu

Hot and humid, but maybe no rain. Forecast says we’re dry today. We were dry yesterday although it did get stinking hot. 103F in the sun is hot.

Spent the morning keeping the puppy calm while the cleaners were here, and doing some auction stuff.

Spent the afternoon cutting stuff up and pulling it out of the stacks at my secondary location. I got another 3ft x 5ft x 4ft tall cubic volume opened up. Only about 10 like that left to go. I am using the sawzall to good effect though.

Today I’m headed back over to work on more of that. First thing though, my wife will be collecting the girls from camp. I think I better be home to greet them after being gone for 8 days. The whole pack will be together for the first time in over a week. Doggy will lose his little mind to have his girl back home.

Even with clearing out space, I think I’m still going to explore having my first pallet load auction at their warehouse. If I clear enough space for 6 pallets, and then fill it with pallets, that will stop me working further for a month while the auction process runs its course. If I get those pallets OUT of the way, then I can continue setting up the next six for the auctions after that. Then I should have enough space to get more stuff set up. I’ll lose time and money by doing it that way, but it will move the process along, and I’m already months behind.

While that is going on, hopefully I’ll have a bunch of stuff in another local auction too. Maybe several, although I’ve given up on my ‘industrial’ guy. The stuff I sent him last time made up the last few lots of the auction, wasn’t well described, and brought no money. It was very disappointing.

Other than adding some meat to the freezers and some other food to the shelves, it was a slow week for prepping. I did have one ebay sale this week, after a couple of months of no sales at all, and on an item I’ve been selling occasionally for a couple of years. I’ve got a few left, and it was a surprisingly good score for me. It’s only $10 profit on each sale, but I’ve sold a pallet load of them over the years.

All the usual admonitions and observations are in place, you know what you need to do….

nick

71 Comments and discussion on "Sat. July 24, 2021 – the pack will be reunited…"

  1. Ray Thompson says:

    Up early, still quite painful, did take the pain drugs, help some. Biggest issue has been urinating. I peed about six times I have gotten home. A lot each time. Very little water intake. Only thing I can surmise is that I am getting rid of the IV solutions. I have no idea how many bags I went through. I have to wake up the wife to disconnect the cooling pad, pee, then hook the pad back up again. Last time I told the wife to leave ice pack off. I was able to get out of bed by myself this morning, with great difficulty, but I have to do it. There will be a lot of discomfort and pain in movement the next three weeks which is what therapy has scheduled.

    And I am being good with the wife, not screaming at her when she moves the leg when I don’t ask, or moves it wrong. I also need to get something to eat as I have not eaten since noon yesterday when I was leaving the hospital.

    That is all.

  2. Denis says:

    Hang in there, Ray!

  3. Greg Norton says:

    A lot of the new ten to thirty story buildings built in the last 30 years have parking for the first five to eight stories. Even though they have deluge sprinklers on every floor, having a 130 kwh battery go up might set off a dozen gasoline cars around it in a circle. That would be bad, very bad. Tens of millions of dollars in damage.

    Even here in Austin, most of the high density residential construction lacks the electrical infrastructure to charge EVs on a large scale unless the building is high end or very new.

    As a co-worker at CGI learned the hard way after closing, the legacy residents in older buildings dreaming of tenbagger returns on condos to pad retirements are *not* interested in paying for the required upgrades if they don’t have an EV. Just provisioning one parking space with the capability to overnight charge a Telsa-class vehicle means rewiring electrical service for the entire complex, and that’s only possible if the local grid has the capacity.

    At the old job, the converted phone company switch building where we rented space only had *one* EV charging parking spot. Things got interesting on the days temps in Austin never got above the low 40s and all the Tonymobile drivers who lived in the suburbs needed to “top off” just to drive home.

  4. ~jim says:

    I peed about six times I have gotten home. A lot each time.

    I hope you are standing. I imagine trying to sit down is awfully painful.

    Which reminds me of another bathroom addition in my dream home: a urinal. I knew a plumber who had one in his bathroom. For guys you figure the pee/poop ratio is 6:1 and it seems to me it’s worth it to save on water, cleaning, not to mention convenience. And wall mounted toilets! Yeah, you’ve got a snake a sewer line through the wall, but just think how easy it would be to clean the bathroom.

    (And a sprayer, like they do in India. But you guys like your red/green/blue Charmin, lol)

  5. Greg Norton says:

    I also need to get something to eat as I have not eaten since noon yesterday when I was leaving the hospital.

    They kicked you out of the germ factory!

    The upside of Covid is that everybody delivers now.

    Yesterday’s science experiment involved our new gas grill, my wife’s pizza stone, and the cheapest store brand frozen pizza we could find. I fired the grill up to nearly 600 degrees with the pizza stone on the rack, dusted stone with corn meal, and placed the semi-thawed pie directly on the stone. I let it sit, lid closed for 10 minutes and then checked occasionally until the cheese started bubbling. Another five minutes later, we sampled the experiment and declared it a success. Filed for future reference.

    If your wife is handy with the grill … But after what you’ve been through, I’d probably want a slab of dead animal that keeps well as leftovers in the fridge so I could eat as much or little as the meds allow at a sitting.

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    84F, 81%RH and sun this AM. Wife should be about half way home with the childers.  I’m sore and stiff like the half crippled up old man I should be, given my history.  I am not going to want to go lift and carry at my secondary.  Got to though.

  7. MrAtoz says:

    Keep your spirit up, Mr. Ray!

  8. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, they’ll drain you like a bota bag at a hippy love in…..

    Drink plenty, you’ve got drug metabolites to get rid of, and all the stuff you body makes when it’s injured.

    It’s great that you’re moving around, and extra great you are taking the help with grace. You absolutely DON’T want to p!ss off your nurse 🙂

    n

  9. drwilliams says:

    Thanks for the update, Ray

  10. JimB says:

    Good news, Ray. The work begins soon…

    We miss your clever XXXXX snarky repartee. Good thing they didn’t work on your fingers. :-))

  11. Ray Thompson says:

    Majority of my right leg is tight as a drum. Hard to move when swollen but give it what I can. Therapist said don’t make movements in therapy that cause excruciating pain, there will be some pain but shouldn’t do it the point of cracking teeth. OxyContin makes me sleepy which I don’t like. No bowel movement since Thursday morning. Now eating prunes. If nothing moves by Monday I will get something prescribe. Antibiotics tend to make stool very firm (TMI). I am mostly just venting.

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    sounds like you’re NOT venting to me! Dehydration will make it hard to poop too. if you’re dumping fluid you need to intake some too.

    n

  13. lynn says:

    Other than adding some meat to the freezers and some other food to the shelves, it was a slow week for prepping.

    Water. Do you have a water plan ? Clean, potable (drinkable) water. The deep freeze in Texas froze all of the above ground water storage. And the power outages contaminated many municipal water supplies.

    We were able to drink, cook, brush teeth, and flush our toilets using our stash of thirty cases of bottled water. Inefficient but emergencies are typically horribly inefficient. We blew through fifteen cases of water in four days for three people. I shudder to think of what a long outage would entail.

    We don’t drink the water in our private water system we share with four hundred homes. There are three water wells and the wells have issues. We do brush our teeth, cook, and shower in it though. And using the bottled water for drinking allows me to circulate the bottled water. In fact, we are drinking the bottled water that I bought in April now.

    My son and I went to Port Lavaca, Texas last weekend to spend two nights with my parents. I told my son that they were under a boil water alert again due to a long term failure of their municipal system. My son replied that he has lived significant portions of his life under boil water status in the Boy Scouts and US Marine Corps. Iraq was particularly challenging as they brought in all of their water in a hundred thousand Nestles 24 bottle cases from Kuwait across the desert for their entire seven month tour of duty.

    Did you know that 20 Marines can manually lift a pallet of water containing almost a hundred cases ? The 1,500 Marines and Sailors ran out of water five months into the tour and they had to go to an Army base and “borrow” some water in the middle of the night using their seven ton Peterbuilt trucks.

  14. lynn says:

    Majority of my right leg is tight as a drum. Hard to move when swollen but give it what I can. Therapist said don’t make movements in therapy that cause excruciating pain, there will be some pain but shouldn’t do it the point of cracking teeth. OxyContin makes me sleepy which I don’t like. No bowel movement since Thursday morning. Now eating prunes. If nothing moves by Monday I will get something prescribe. Antibiotics tend to make stool very firm (TMI). I am mostly just venting.

    Four Philips stool softener pills will open the worst blockages.
    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Phillips-Stool-Softener-Constipation-Relief-Liquid-Gels-30-Count/10316156
    or
    https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/phillips-stool-softener-liquid-gels/ID=prod2630227-product

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m good on water. I can always use more, but online right at the moment,

    –225 gallons captured and treated rainwater (filter as used)
    –140 gallons rainwater in my “garden” barrels (filter in extremity)
    –400 liters treated tap water in stainless tanks

    I have two additional 40 gallon poly tanks on wheels that can be filled with rain capture or city water. I have 5 of the plastic 5 gallon water bottles and 4 of the 7 gallon aquatainers that can be filled (need to refill at least three for this season.)

    I have at least 10 food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids that could be used for water.

    There are a miscellany of other water storage containers available too.

    I have bleach, treatment tablets, camping and hiking filters, and lifestraws for the whole family.

    I can boil water in the turkey fryer for domestic use or sterilization.

    I have a propane fired on demand hot water heater, and 12v pump, if needed.

    There is a BOB under the sink in the bathroom.

    I have a 10ft inflatable pool for capture and storage if the zombies come.

    When the water stopped running during Ike, I seriously upped my water storage. We really didn’t even need it during the days we were dry due to the freeze.

    Water is your “first need”.

    n

  16. Alan says:

    “Israel says Pfizer Covid vaccine is just 39% effective as delta spreads, but still prevents severe illness”

    CDC, in its infinite (maybe infinitesimal is better) wisdom is not tracking all Covid ‘breakthrough’ cases, only those that result in hospitalization and/or death.

    https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/covid-delta-variant-risk-vaccinated-breakthrough-cases.html

    Florida leads the country in daily average of new cases, topping 10,000. You guys in Texas rank a poor third place.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/07/23/as-covid-cases-climb-experts-question-floridas-pandemic-data/

    As mentioned recently, back to wearing my mask indoors except at Costco and Lowes. At restaurants we try for outdoor seating.

    Heard from a friend on the ‘Street’ that there will be more mandatory vaccination requirements once there is full FDA approval. Friend at another company was preparing to be back in the office on Monday but was told by his manager late Friday that someone on their floor has just tested positive and ‘jammies time’ was extended another week. With so many unvaccinated people out there, trying to orchestrate any semblance of a normal RTTO (return to the office) must be driving senior management/HR nuts. This is far from over.

  17. Alan says:

    Majority of my right leg is tight as a drum. Hard to move when swollen but give it what I can. Therapist said don’t make movements in therapy that cause excruciating pain, there will be some pain but shouldn’t do it the point of cracking teeth. OxyContin makes me sleepy which I don’t like. No bowel movement since Thursday morning. Now eating prunes. If nothing moves by Monday I will get something prescribe. Antibiotics tend to make stool very firm (TMI). I am mostly just venting.

    My doc insists on a minimum of 64 oz/day to keep things moving (ymmv).

    And no worries about the venting, keeps this place lively.

  18. drwilliams says:

    @Ray

    Oxy is helping to stop you up

  19. drwilliams says:

    @~jim

    You might look into dual flush valves.

  20. ~jim says:

    400 liters treated tap water in stainless tanks

    Wow, that’s cool! So where did you pick up the tanks? I can almost imagine you scrounging them from somewhere and repurposing them. It’s something I would do.

    BTW, didn’t you have some oily tanks you were having trouble cleaning a long time back? Did you ever get the oil out?

    @lynn

    Everyone uses countertop RO units for drinking water in India. I rather like the idea from a political point of view because it means fewer of those notorious water bond issues and leaves the responsibility up to the consumer. Besides, drinking water is one thing and showering and toilet use is another. So is irrigation, which probably accounts for the majority of water use.

    At any rate have you looked into those or does it matter much? They are pretty cheap and only the size of a big coffee maker.

  21. pecancorner says:

    A little something to take your mind off of Covid…

    https://cdphe.colorado.gov/press-release/plague-activity-identified-in-colorado

    We have plague in Texas too, although I haven’t seen any recent updates. Lots of prairie dog towns in the western half.

    That article has good information about what to do to help mitigate the risk.  Even though we don’t have any animals, last summer we had to have our yard professionally exterminated for fleas…. thanks to every neighbor around us having multiple dogs, and the preceding winter (2019) had been very mild.   It took three visits, but we didn’t have further problems.  Hopefully, the cold winter and VERY cool summer will mean no repeat this year ( in Brown County, we have not yet had a single day of 100F, and hardly any in the 90s until this week. Coolest summer I ever remember anywhere in Texas).

  22. pecancorner says:

    I don’t know why no one ever mentions it, but a diet containing beans (pintos, butterbeans, blackeyed peas) every day without fail is a good remedy and preventative for constipation.

     

  23. Ray Thompson says:

    Another workout with movement. Pain medicine makes it better. Still made me break out in a sweat. Lot of grunting and huffing. Gaaaaaaak, this hurts. Tonight’s goal is a shower. Bandage over the incision is water proof, can’t swim with it but showering is OK. Surgeon gave strict instructions that he is the only one allowed to remove the bandage. Good thing on the bandage. When my wife had hip replacement surgery her bandage had to be changed every day. Those long bandages were $7.00 each. And hurt to take off as I had one in the hospital.

    Tomorrow I will be going downstairs to my office. I have been up stairs once and figure I can do it if I take my time. Going up the good leg goes first, going down the bad leg goes first. Another small step in mobility.

    My first football game is August 20. I don’t if I will be ready, and if I am can I last the entire game.

    Surgeon stated that complete, full recovery takes 6 months as the bone has to grow around and into the bearing shaft that was drilled into the bone. Cone shape and slightly porous the bone fills the voids. That takes time.

  24. lynn says:

    xkcd: dual USB-C plugs
    https://xkcd.com/2493/

    Oh, nothing could go wrong with that.

    Explained at:
    https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2493:_Dual_USB-C

  25. lynn says:

    @lynn

    Everyone uses countertop RO units for drinking water in India. I rather like the idea from a political point of view because it means fewer of those notorious water bond issues and leaves the responsibility up to the consumer. Besides, drinking water is one thing and showering and toilet use is another. So is irrigation, which probably accounts for the majority of water use.

    At any rate have you looked into those or does it matter much? They are pretty cheap and only the size of a big coffee maker.

    I am a lazy man. I like stashing a case of water bottles in my refrigerator where I can grab one or five cold ones and go.

  26. ech says:

    Heard from a friend on the ‘Street’ that there will be more mandatory vaccination requirements once there is full FDA approval.

    Yes. The military will be able to require it at that point. In any case, a private employer (like the NFL) can insist on vaccination and has for much of the non-player staff (management, coaches, etc. that have player contact.) Obviously, religious or medical exemptions are honored. “I don’t want to” doesn’t have to be honored.

    Pfizer has their application in as of July 16, and the latest a decision can be rendered is January, but they have said that it will take no more than two. Moderna is supposedly filing the last paperwork soon.

  27. JimB says:

    xkcd: dual USB-C plugs: this goes too far. Not funny. OK, maybe I am in a bad mood. Caution!

    Yeah, I have read how superior the UK outlet design is. Good for them. I still like our system. It has adequate safety and is inexpensive. It also can fit a lot of connections in a small space. The one part I don’t like is the two blade polarized male plug (NEMA 1-15P.) These are an abomination. I much prefer the three contact system (NEMA 5-15P.) Even if a ground is not needed, I wish there would be a dummy plastic “ground” pin to make it easier to orient the plug in difficult areas.

    And don’t even mention the USB A plug. There is no easy way to tell which way to insert it without a FLASHLIGHT or just poking until it magically goes in. At least it is reasonably rugged.

  28. JimB says:

    I am a lazy man. I like stashing a case of water bottles in my refrigerator where I can grab one or five cold ones and go.

    Bleah. I don’t like bottled water. Our tap water is excellent, and the best of any place I have ever lived. It is just about all I drink, except for the occasional beer and wine. I tell folks I don’t trust water unless it comes from the tap, but am mostly kidding. Also don’t like cold water, except once in a while, usually at restaurants. My wife refills store-bought water bottles, and I worry about contamination, but so far no problems. If I have no choice and get a bottle of water, I usually pour it into a glass. Just me. ~:-)

  29. paul says:

    That you’ve had a knee replaced are already walking just blows my mind.

    When I had my motorcycle wreck along with my poor imitation of The Flying Nun on a Friday, I had traction over the weekend.  They operated on Tuesday and put it all back together with four 6″ pins way up there where the thigh bone narrows to go into the socket.  50/50 of keeping the leg.

    I spent almost four weeks in the hospital.  They stopped the Demerol just as I figured it was fun.  🙁  Then they went on a kick about how I haven’t pooped.  “Do you need an enema?”  Creepy.  I go in at 160 pounds and left at 125.

    But one day, after three weeks, before the PT lady came, I suddenly had to go.  Ok, off the bed and in the wheelchair.  Across the room to where my crutches were.  Roll over to the bathroom, get on crutches, fight the self closing door, do my business of passing what felt like a chunk of firewood, back into chair and just barely back to bed just before the PT lady showed.  I was soaking wet.  Hair on head, pits, even my shins.

    She scolded me.  I said don’t go in that bathroom without a gas mask.   She sort of smiled.

    PT was mostly “how to use crutches” and “no and zero weight on your leg”.

    Good times.  Err.  Sort of.   1978 was a long time ago.

    I don’t limp unless I’m real tired.  I do favor my left leg.  But when it aches when the weather changes, hey, I have a working leg….

     

  30. paul says:

    Bleah. I don’t like bottled water.

    It tastes like plastic. Sometimes smells like old Tupperware.

    As for cold water, what comes from my well is cold enough. It’s too cold to do more than rinse off grubby hands and feet. And splash on you face in the morning after brushing teeth. Take a shower? No way.

  31. paul says:

    Someone had the Olympics on.  I’m not very interested.  Sure, I like to watch the swimming and diving and gymnastics.  I can’t do any of that very well any more.

    Now comes a slew of commercials.  Hey, ever watch “Blazing Saddles”?

    So.  “Boys, where’s the white wimmin at?”

    None in the commercials I saw.  A couple of Oriental looking folks.  Everyone else was very much genetically tanned.  One would think there were no white folks at all.

    I can gripe.  For now.  Right?

     

  32. ~jim says:

    (USB) There is no easy way to tell which way to insert it…

    A design a failure, for sure. I use a hot glue gun and drip a dot on the top side. Tactile feedback.

  33. RickH says:

    (USB) There is no easy way to tell which way to insert it…

    Don’t most USB  cables have that USB icon on the top side of the connector (and not the bottom side)? With USB icon pointing up , it should be correct for insertion. Of course, the icon is difficult to see sometimes, so the ‘glue stick dot’ technique might be helpful to some.

    You could use the ‘white-out’ marking technique on the raised icon  (also useful for tools with embedded markings). Slap some white paint/permanent marker on the engraving, then use your finger to wipe off the excess. The paint should stay in the engraved part, making it more visible.

    I figure if I get a USB cable inserted the right way the first time, that’s an indicator of good things happening the rest of the day. Maybe. YMMV.

  34. JimB says:

    A design a failure, for sure. I use a hot glue gun and drip a dot on the top side. Tactile feedback.

    Great idea. I have also put a dot of Sharpie ink on the body of the plug. I can usually see the plug easily. BTW, I use silver ink in addition to black. Sometimes use white correction pen paint, which is good for a lot of uses.

    My problem is I can never remember which way the socket faces on a computer that is kinda buried and infrequently used. I usually resort to an ever-present FLASHLIGHT. I should mark the computer socket, but sometimes I am reaching around where I can’t see without a mirror, and that won’t work.

    Another way to mark things is to make little pieces of colored tape or Post-it tape. I also have some very old paper reinforcements that have their centers still attached to the backing card. These work very well; they stay put and don’t leave residue like masking tape. Maybe a hot glue dot would also work well. Sometimes I can feel instead of seeing. No jokes… 😛

  35. Alan says:

    A little something to take your mind off of Covid…

    https://cdphe.colorado.gov/press-release/plague-activity-identified-in-colorado

    And a little something to take your mind off of the Plague…

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/superbug-fungus-candida-auris-texas-washington-dc/

  36. Ray Thompson says:

    That you’ve had a knee replaced are already walking just blows my mind.

    The hospital staff had me walking two hours after surgery. Back and forth in the room. Two hours after that a short trip in the hallway. Day of discharge make the hallway loop. A big part of the therapy is walking. It seems to be going a little better but that may be just me learning the walker.

    I can stand, put reasonable weight on the leg. Part of the movement problem is the skin being so tight. And there is one move the therapist want where the muscle fully refuses. No matter how hard I try and strain.

    Got the shower, felt good. Was able to stand and move around. We have a six inch lip on the shower that I had difficulty getting the leg over without help.

    None in the commercials I saw.

    I noticed the same thing. Lot of non-whites anymore in commercials, reporters, commercials with bi-racial couples, etc. I don’t care except it is blatantly racist, the very thing to be eliminated. Even the local “feel good” news stories almost always involve non-white people. It’s like the white heterosexual male disappeared. I also notice that any story involving black people is always done by a black reporter as if a white reporter is incapable of proper reporting.

    Next thing will be Carlos Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” will be called “Person of color illusionist non-binary Person”.

  37. Alan says:

    Yes. The military will be able to require it at that point. In any case, a private employer (like the NFL) can insist on vaccination and has for much of the non-player staff (management, coaches, etc. that have player contact.) Obviously, religious or medical exemptions are honored. “I don’t want to” doesn’t have to be honored.

    Friend #2 says medical exemption requires detailed note on physician’s letterhead, scribbles on an Rx pad not acceptable. He didn’t mention about any religious exemption requirements. Hmm, somewhere I must still have my Universal Life Church ordination credentials…

  38. Alan says:

    A design a failure, for sure. I use a hot glue gun and drip a dot on the top side. Tactile feedback.

    Come on guys – you got a 50% chance of having the right side up on the first try 😉

    Oh man, now the wife wants her bottle of nail polish back – brb…

  39. ech says:

    Right now, if you are a female redhead, you can get lots of commercial work.

    Also, lots of commercials that have a kitchen scene have a blue LeCreuset dutch oven on the stove. (There’s on in a Capitol One commercial with Samuel Jackson in the kitchen, and the Geico “Scoop, There It Is” commercial. The set decorator probably wanted one, bought one for the commercial, took it home.)

  40. Alan says:

    Right now, if you are a female redhead, you can get lots of commercial work.

    Which reminds me of this song (don’t play it when kids are around unless you want to interpret some of the slang for them)…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5c-tGH-J4M

  41. Ray Thompson says:

    Come on guys – you got a 50% chance of having the right side up on the first try

    Then why do I try three times? First doesn’t go in, flip it, still doesn’t fit, flip it again, look at the port, realize I had it correct the first time.

  42. Alan says:

    Also, lots of commercials that have a kitchen scene have a blue LeCreuset dutch oven on the stove. (There’s on in a Capitol One commercial with Samuel Jackson in the kitchen, and the Geico “Scoop, There It Is” commercial. The set decorator probably wanted one, bought one for the commercial, took it home.)

    Looks like they also gets to take home six matching blue bowls.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDAg3VkZPg8

  43. Alan says:

    Then why do I try three times? First doesn’t go in, flip it, still doesn’t fit, flip it again, look at the port, realize I had it correct the first time.

    Have trouble making your putts too? 😉

  44. ~jim says:

    Oh man, now the wife wants her bottle of nail polish back – brb…

    Lol, that works too. Especially the pearly white kind. On tablets and phones the short side of the trapezoid is always up.

    Ain’t touching the putter stick jokes. Poor Ray, it probably still hurts to laugh.

  45. ~jim says:

    @Geoff

    RE: urinal

    “Your – eye – nal”

    or

    “Urine – all”

    Inquiring minds want to know!

  46. Nick Flandrey says:

    I used to do a lot of commercials when I worked in the scene shop in LA. We once had a whole set built around the Ikea cabinets with cherry doors and wavy glass that the art director wanted for his house. On the one hand, it feels scam-y. On the other, the whole set goes in the trash after the shoot, so why not get use out of it instead?

    Half the crew got new front yards when we wrapped on the Bud Bowl shoot one year, we had a couple of acres of sod on a soundstage. Easier and cheaper to let people take home as much as they wanted than dispose of it.

    Did that with a couple acres of carpet on a Naval Air Station after a gig too. HUGE pile just ‘vanished’ once the word got out.

    n

  47. Nick Flandrey says:

    @lynn, the stainless tanks I use for water storage came from a neighbor. He imports olive oil and private labels it.

    https://www.kronosint.com/en/products/100lt-26-gallons-stainless-steel-olive-oil-container

    Looks almost exactly like it.

    The oily tank will never be a water tank. I’ve left it sit, and all the oil is in one corner, but the stink and chemistry set will never come out. I’m still thinking of possible uses.

    n

  48. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well it was a vehicle issue day for sure.

    Pickup wouldn’t start, just click click click. Battery probably died in the heat. I’ll be trying to replace that tomorrow.

    Jumped in the Expy and headed out. I just have to stack all my trash on a pallet in the parking space instead of just loading the pickup to take it to the dumpster. Extra handling but I can keep moving.

    I got 2 more trade show shipping containers cut up and emptied. I’m getting some floor space back. I built a unit of metal shelves to hold the stuff that was on top of the shipping containers. So much cr@p.

    https://american-image.com/trade-show-shipping-cases/ the “scrate” in the middle of the page is what I’m cutting up. I tried selling them several times, but couldn’t even get $1000 for 10 of them. I don’t think anyone will be eager to do trade shows this year or next. Could be wrong, might be pent up demand, but most exhibitors hate doing shows.

    Anyway, on the way home on the freeway, I heard one wheel throw something up into the wheelwell. I started pulling over right away, and hit an exit just as the truck started ‘bong’ ‘bong’ bonging…. pulled onto a side street and stopped. Front tire flat. Bong was for low tire pressure. No problem, I’ve got a full size spare and I’ve done this before. DIG out all the stuff in the back, lower the tire, get out the jack and lug wrench, go to break the nuts loose before raising the truck….. and the lug wrench doesn’t fit on the lug nuts. Call AAA for roadside service. Didn’t take long, about a half hour. Guy changed the tire and was gone in 10 minutes. There is a big puncture hole that might be too big to repair. I’ll take it to my tire guy and see what he says.

    I’ll be putting a BIG ratchet and the correct socket and extender in the truck until I can get a proper lug wrench. I’ve got upgraded rims, they must have come with larger nuts. F me. At least I was able to get off the freeway.

    AAA save the day, again. Good value for money in my book.

    n

  49. lynn says:

    And don’t even mention the USB A plug. There is no easy way to tell which way to insert it without a FLASHLIGHT or just poking until it magically goes in. At least it is reasonably rugged.

    I have had several USB A plugs fail. Both sides. The spec for USB A is only 50 insertions. Anything beyond that and you are past the design spec.

  50. Greg Norton says:

    Florida leads the country in daily average of new cases, topping 10,000. You guys in Texas rank a poor third place.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/07/23/as-covid-cases-climb-experts-question-floridas-pandemic-data/

    Tampa’s fish wrapper. DeSantis tops their enemies list so take their reporting with a grain of salt.

    But, yeah, the country went on vacation to Texas and Florida at the beginning of the month. The numbers reflect it.

  51. lynn says:

    I am a lazy man. I like stashing a case of water bottles in my refrigerator where I can grab one or five cold ones and go.

    Bleah. I don’t like bottled water. Our tap water is excellent, and the best of any place I have ever lived. It is just about all I drink, except for the occasional beer and wine. I tell folks I don’t trust water unless it comes from the tap, but am mostly kidding. Also don’t like cold water, except once in a while, usually at restaurants. My wife refills store-bought water bottles, and I worry about contamination, but so far no problems. If I have no choice and get a bottle of water, I usually pour it into a glass. Just me. ~:-)

    When the Brazos river set a new high record during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, many of the low elevation water wells were covered by the river. We now have E coli in our aquifer from river water going down the well tubing. So they put chloramines in our water which tastes horrible and cleans out your digestive system if it is not diluted well.
    https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/crests.php?wfo=hgx&gage=rmot2&crest_type=historic

    You would fit in just fine in Germany. They used to freak when we asked for cold water back in the 1990s. “Cold River Water ?”. “No, cold pipeline water”.

  52. Greg Norton says:

    Heard from a friend on the ‘Street’ that there will be more mandatory vaccination requirements once there is full FDA approval. 

    Approval would be pure politics. Like the Alzheimer’s drug. The government won’t be able to sweep the VAERS numbers under the rug much longer.

    Interestingly, as I pointed out a couple of months ago, the Biogen hookers-n-steaks conference to push the Alzheimer’s drug ended up being a key superspreader event, with 600,000+ infections tied to the bacchanalia in February 2020 even by the most conservative estimates.

    Now, that’s some FOMO.

  53. lynn says:

    “Tesla Pilots ‘Virtual Power Plant’ Using Powerwall Owners’ Spare Energy”
    https://www.pcmag.com/news/tesla-pilots-virtual-power-plant-using-powerwall-owners-spare-energy

    “Tesla is encouraging Powerwall owners to contribute their excess energy to California’s power grid.”

    Contribute ? Contribute ? Bite me ! No, pay me for my energy ! Those solar panels and the Powerwall were not free.

  54. lynn says:

    “America Is Only One Step Away From a South African-Style Social Implosion”
    https://americanconservativemovement.com/2021/07/24/america-is-only-one-step-away-from-a-south-african-style-social-implosion/

    “On the global news front I have been watching one event with special attention, mainly because it seems like almost no one else is – I am speaking of course about the social and economic collapse in South Africa that has been escalating over the past couple weeks. What is strange to me is that certain parallels between South Africa and the US are being summarily ignored.
    Basically, the South African situation is a more exaggerated version of what is happening in America, and we need to consider if it is merely a preview of future events as the extra financial protections in the US begin to fall away.”

    I hope that this guy is wrong. I have been very unsettled by the number of whites in the BurnLootMurder riots here in the States.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  55. ~jim says:

    The oily tank will never be a water tank. I’ve left it sit, and all the oil is in one corner, but the stink and chemistry set will never come out. I’m still thinking of possible uses.

    Sodium hydroxide or potash is your friend. In fact, don’t they make soap out of just that and olive oil?

    @Nick

    I have been querying an old friend about knitting wool socks. She says it’s as easy as it gets for a beginner. Cornershop says start up cost for one pair, including needles and yarn, is about $23.

     

  56. Nick Flandrey says:

    The oily tank has some sort of brown oily sludge in it. Smells strongly of petrochemicals. It’s a rectangular rotomolded thing with a big screw on cap. No idea what it was meant to be used for, but I think the original owner used it for waste oil storage. Usually you can tell the intended use for a tank by the shape, fill cap or inspection cap, any bungs or spigots, etc. Not this one. It’s sitting in my secondary location, stacked on top of other stuff up and out of the way as the oil settles to the one corner.

    n

  57. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m a fan of wool socks, but I’ve shifted from the Ragg wool style (thick with ‘big’ stitches) to wool blends that are much thinner. They are more like dress socks than hiking socks. I still have the thicker ones for boots, was wearing some today.

    Soaked to the skin with sweat too, shorts were stiff with salt. And in case anyone was wondering, little liver dog treats in the pocket that becomes soaking wet are kinda squishy and gross….

    n

    reminds me I need to start the washer….

    n

  58. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Forget the lug wrench. 24” breaker bar and the correct impact socket will do the job faster and safer. Less cost, easier to store, and useful in other emergencies.

  59. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’ve got to dig out the ‘big boy’ socket sets. I’ve got at least one 3/4 drive somewhere… and several impact sets. I don’t use them often so they are a couple of layers deep…

    but I have to get the situation straightened out. AAA is a prep, and a back up plan, and there are backups beyond that, but the whole thing would have been a non-issue with the right wrench.

    Sporty wheels look great, but they won’t go back up in the underbody spare carrier, and you might need some special tools to remove them.

    n

  60. Alan says:

    So they put chloramines in our water which tastes horrible and cleans out your digestive system if it is not diluted well.

    Hey, @Ray could use a few bottles of that water right now, clear out the ‘clogged pipes’ so to speak…

  61. Alan says:

    AAA save the day, again. Good value for money in my book.

    +1
    And if not done already, consider upgrading to the “Plus” level, gets you 100 mile tows. “Premier” adds on one 200 mile tow per cardholder per year. I’ve had Plus for several years and my son has used the extended tow a couple of times with no issues.

  62. ~jim says:

    I’m just so easily amused… earlier today the prospect of knitting wool socks turned me on. And tonight I’ve been playing around with the new phone and Google Assistant.

    “Hey Google, what is the last digit of pi?”

     

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ha, that’s funny.

    n

  64. Greg Norton says:

    I spent some time at the game show yesterday talking to the publisher of this Switch game, and I compensated him for his time by making a purchase. Definitely rated ‘M’ for 8-bit gore. Nintendo is surprisingly less “woke” than Sony these days, but the game is available for PS4.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1LSG4UBe4

    I’m not a huge 8-bit or sports game person, but I learned a few things about Switch development and the Nintendo development ecosystem so I shelled out the cash for the education. The hockey game takes advantage of the better hardware now available with a more accurate physics model behind the retro facade, something that didn’t happen in old games until 32 bit CPUs appeared in the late 80s.

    Which reminds me — 8-bit Guy was there with his new titles for retro IBM PC and Commodore … PET?

    I generally try to support the indie developers who work the shows, but when I went by his booth, he was discussing the freeze with someone instead of talking up his games.

  65. MrAtoz says:

    Question for the hive mind:

    What is that paint/finish you see on industrial machines/motors that is a shiny, greenish patina look?

  66. Greg Norton says:

    What is that paint/finish you see on industrial machines/motors that is a shiny, greenish patina look?

    Baked enamel?

     

  67. Nick Flandrey says:

    8 bit guy’s million plus subscribers are very interested in the freeze, because it interrupted his studio rebuild. His latest vid was about the remodel finally going forward, so it’s topical and timely.

    n

  68. Nick Flandrey says:

    “shiny, greenish patina look? “

    –enamel. Or hammertone. There are some modern paints that come close, vintagewoodworkingmachinery.org and vintagemachinery.org have lots of info.
    n

  69. MrAtoz says:

    Thanks for the info.

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