Sunny and hot, with or without rain. Like Saturday. We got clobbered at various times and places yesterday, but you would hardly know if you weren’t in the right place at the right time. The slightly lower humidity and the sun helped to really dry stuff off much more quickly than usual.
I got my pickups done, and got over to my secondary location. I broke down the last two shipping crates and disposed of the contents. It has really opened a lot of room, which I must now fill. I’ll be ‘tetris-ing’ stuff into the newly created space to make room for the pallets of stuff I’m auctioning. I may also find more stuff for the recycler or dumpster. Scrap prices are up, so I may scrap some things myself.
Once I really make some space over there, I can move a bunch of preps back over. I moved them home when it looked like we might be facing real movement restrictions. It’s conditioned space, so a better place to store stuff than my garage or patio. And it’s spreading the eggs to more than one basket. Looking at pix of tornado devastation, it’s very important to have some of your stuff elsewhere, even if that is just a storage unit or a black bin in a friend’s garage.
Don’t know what I’ll get to today. I have a bunch of small tasks stacked up at home. Little things with the kids, like hanging paintings, or fixing stuff, and they have asked if we can do some of that. Probably a good way to spend the day…
Stack up some love and time with the family too.
nick
Laugh of the day: T-Mobile crapped out on the data connection about an hour ago. I had to manually select 3G/2G instead of LTE/Auto to get it working again. Of course this wasn’t mentioned when I called tech support…
Ironically, the carriers are working on dropping support for 3G/2G in order to repurpose the bandwidth for more Baby Yoda streaming. The Real Life Tony Stark (TM) is late delivering the part of the plan where the remaining broadcast TV and radio spectrum gets auctioned off to the highest bidder(s).
I received the heads up this week that my 2nd gen Kindle will no longer have wireless access to the Amazon online store after the end of the year due to 3G/2G support ending. This isn’t a big deal to me personally since most of the books I have stashed on the device were sourced elsewhere and moved into the memory with Calibre, but a whole lot of devices are now headed to the landfill.
Progress.
It is somewhat disturbing that TurboTax still has updates long after the tax season for most filers has closed. What if one of these updates changes a persons tax liability? Will Intuit foot any penalties and interest?
It is somewhat disturbing that TurboTax still has updates long after the tax season for most filers has closed.
That’s partly why I have a CPA do my taxes. He deals with that cr@p.
Only 88F and almost 1030am, basically freezing cold this morning 😉
n
n
Jerry’s house https://www.dailynews.com/2021/07/30/studio-city-home-of-late-sci-fi-author-jerry-pournelle-seeks-1-8-million/
Our local scrap dealer is up to 55 cents/pound for aluminum soda cans, highest I’ve seen in a while.
We donate our cans to a local non-profit that helps support the county animal shelter.
They’ve even started collecting #1 plastic (primarily water/soda bottles) for which they’re getting 20 cents/pound.
Some ‘pandemic’s over’ dogs being surrendered at the shelter now that RTO (return to office) is starting to take hold and no one home to take care of the pooch.
Surge? No, no, nothing to see here folks, just move along, beach is to your right, bars to your left…
Florida reports highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the start of the https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-covid-cases-record-high/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag7e
Surge? No, no, nothing to see here folks, just move along, beach is to your right, bars to your left…
The whole country went on vacation to Florida, Texas, and Branson at the beginning of the month.
At least, as I’ve noted before, it seemed that way in South Texas, where we spent the week. Every restaurant had lots of big parties with no shortage of Karen first-born daughters haranguing host staff to seat parties of 12, 15, and, in one case we saw, 20 relatives. Every rental house looked packed, and the hotels had to actively police parking for guests-only. I can’t imagine what Orlando looked like or even some of the out of the way places we go.
DeSantis has no real opposition for reelection at this point, but the Dems are going after the comparatively weak Little Marco with the conventional wisdom being that they can flip his seat running Val Demings, whose court-created Congressional district will probably go away this fall.
Plus, another lockdown is in the works.
About the SUUURRRGGGEEE!!!! I don’t see *death counters* on all the fake news sites. Is it worth crushing the country again? I got the double gene-splicing-mechano pseudo experimental vax well after deaths peaked. I didn’t get COVID before that (maybe), should I be afraid of the “variants” now? The goobermint never pushed flu shots this hard. I don’t want, nor will get a COVID shot every year. I blame all the stinky crimmigrants bringing in their turd world cooties.
Constitutional scholar FauxXI:
It’s for the children!!! So screw *my* rights.
I liked the “Jungle Cruise” movie, but it won’t be a block buster in any sense. I’m also getting weary of watching “The Rock” again. Maybe he should take a year off. More and more, Hollyweird movies are becoming worse than a *made for TV* movie. Where’s all the money coming from to make these flops?
It’s been two years since the last season of Stranger Things. I’m having trouble getting psyched for the new season. Whenever they decide to release it. I’ll have to watch the previous season to remember what happened. The ST “kids” will be working on their Masters degrees at this rate.
Same with the latest James Bond movie. Wasn’t it finished two years ago? Geez.
Black Widow was OK. Being out of sequence with the MCU just kills it. The best MCU’s I watch multiple times. Even in the theater. BW is already out of my mind.
Where’s all the money coming from to make these flops?
–china. Has been for years.
n
It’s been two years since the last season of Stranger Things. I’m having trouble getting psyched for the new season. Whenever they decide to release it. I’ll have to watch the previous season to remember what happened. The ST “kids” will be working on their Masters degrees at this rate.
Finn Wolford has been busy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR-WxNVLZhQ
Wolford has the “Aykroyd” part on the new team.
Where’s all the money coming from to make these flops?
–china. Has been for years.
The Chinese also own AMC.
Black Widow was OK. Being out of sequence with the MCU just kills it. The best MCU’s I watch multiple times. Even in the theater. BW is already out of my mind.
Disney is handing their entire year over to the pirates.
This is fun. They have a wonderful selection… despite much trying by local Chambers, no chain grocery store will build a full-sized modern supermarket in our county. And Kroger deliberately shut down. They all say a population of 50,000 is not enough, despite it being 75 miles to the nearest larger town. So, I’m envious of the shopping options folks in Siberia have.
Cucumbers and tomatoes are staples here, too. When Russia opened up some decades back, all of their wonderful varieties of seeds for cold weather versions of vegetables became available to American gardeners. And garlic! Russian garlic opened a whole new industry almost of specialty garlic.
SIBERIAN GROCERY STORE | An Australian family’s Russian shopping experience | supermarket in Russia
Speaking of movies, Tombstone showed up on Amazon Prime today. I’ll finally get to see what you guys have been recommending!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HMCVVVG/?tag=ttgnet-20
Ok, well now it’s 105F in the sun.
38%RH makes it a bit better.
n
No shirt sherlock…
–kinda late to the party AP. Inventories are just now starting to creep up and prices are a bit down off their highs.
n
Larry for Guv!
https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2021/07/i-could-vote-for-larry-solely-on-virtue.html
LOL! I love Larry Elder. What a wild ride if he becomes Gov of Kali.
Voting. In Cali. Ain’t gonna happen. I suspect the vote hasn’t been honest in Cali for at least 20 years.
n
Gangs always seem to have enough ammo, they must be closet preppers!
Practicing for 2024??
DeSantis takes action against Ben & Jerry’s for ending sales in Israeli-occupied areas
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/564897-desantis-takes-action-against-ben-jerrys-for-ending-sales-in-israeli
LOL! I love Larry Elder. What a wild ride if he becomes Gov of Kali.
It doesn’t really matter who is Governor as long as the Dems hold the supermajority in the State Assembly.
The Govinator learned this the hard way.
California is gone, and Texas isn’t far behind. Robert Francis spent all weekend in town shaking babies and kissing hands at the “March for Democracy” in Downtown Austin.
Even Willie Nelson put down the bong long enough to sing a few tunes.
All right, all right, all right!
Oh, wait, no word on if McConaughey was there. Maybe that would be too obvious if they decide to run him in the Republican primary next Spring.
Larry’s job will be to veto every bill that comes to his desk. Make the Dumbo’s work for it. Travel around Kali making speeches on how the Dumbo’s are a bunch of victocrat dooshnozzles.
“The rent is due and I wonder how dicey things are going to get (brace for violence in the streets)”
https://gunfreezone.net/the-rent-is-due-and-i-wonder-how-dicey-things-are-going-to-get-brace-for-violence-in-the-streets/
“It’s like Democrats in the White House and Congress forgot the date.
Now it’s the first of the month and rent — and back rent — is suddenly due for millions of Americans who have been shielded from eviction during the pandemic.
Millions of households could face eviction over the next month — when lawmakers on are on their annual August recess — and some have predicted a full-blown eviction crisis, just as a surge in Covid cases from the highly contagious Delta variant may be prompting renewed calls for people to stay home and keep their distance.
The Biden Administration only asked Congress do to something about this last Thursday, and they didn’t.
The Supreme Court rejected the White House making any more extensions on the eviction moratoriums.
So as of today, August 1st, people who did not pay their rent can be evicted.
It needs to be understood that there is about $13 Billion in back rent due, so landlords are being hurt badly by this.”
I cannot believe that anyone has not been paying at least some of their rent due at this point. I wonder how many people took their rent money to their local Ford dealership.
Aesop lays down his marker:
Full Disclosure:
Pearls Before Swine: Find All Twenty, Baby
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/08/01
Yup, I got all 21 state abbreviations.
I cannot believe that anyone has not been paying at least some of their rent due at this point. I wonder how many people took their rent money to their local Ford dealership.
The big Chevy dealer in town, Capitol, had someone writing 90 month paper pre-pandemic. IIRC, they are independent and hungrier than the dealers outside of town.
Obama decimated the Chevy and Chrysler dealer networks in return for the bailouts.
The big Ford dealer, who shall remain nameless, is Group 1. They pay money to Costco for buying program referrals and work that racket.
Plus one Canadian province abbreviation.
Or Best Buy for a new TV, cell provider for new cell phones for the family, hair braids, fake nails, maybe even a gold tooth or two, rims for the Caddy. The majority did not use their stimulus money for rent having no real concept of simple economics.
There will be a lot of whining about how it is not fair.
Plus one Canadian province abbreviation.
–I automatically grabbed that one too!
n
Or Best Buy for a new TV, cell provider for new cell phones for the family, hair braids, fake nails, maybe even a gold tooth or two, rims for the Caddy. The majority did not use their stimulus money for rent having no real concept of simple economics.
Playstation 5. Graphics cards. Pokemon. Anything that could be turned for quick cash online. Game Stop is going broke because they are the wholesaler in the pandemic economy.
Jerry Pournelle used to note that the US had turned into an economy based on opening shipping containers from China. In the last few years, we’ve even outsourced that work.
Aesop lays down his marker:
https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2021/08/full-disclosure.html
Full Disclosure:
I don’t want to write this post, but I don’t think I can duck the issue.
I was unofficially informed that apparently it will be the policy of my employer to require all employees, presumably including myself (they think), who have not received any COVID vaccinations, to submit to twice-weekly testing for COVID. This would involve shoving a swab up both nostrils two times a week, indefinitely.
Um…no.
His job, his choice. He talks braver than me.
I also saw this on his website, “From Sea To Shining Sea”
https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2021/07/from-sea-to-shining-sea.html
“This isn’t just going to get uglier than you imagine before it’s over.
It’s going to get uglier than you can imagine.”
I can imagine a lot.
Is this in Houston? I got 40 cents/pound a couple weeks ago.
I’ll be taking some dirty aluminum to the scrapyard tomorrow… I’ll let you know what it brings.
n
@Greg, “Group 1” ?
Going forward, I expect new rental agreements to be much more cafeteria style with a basic rental for the apartment and separate agreements for:
1 cable/internet access
2 parking
anything else that can be split off. Sunlight, maybe?
If I had owned a building, one of my responses would have been to hire a couple of non-english speakers to re-cable the premises. S-l-o-w-l-y. After parking their truck behind deadbeat tenants.
“The big Ford dealer, who shall remain nameless, is Group 1.”
@Greg, “Group 1” ?
Group 1 is a big chain of dealerships out of … Houston?
California eviction moritorium remains in effect through September. The renewal will be almost automatic.
Next comes the bailout. They didn’t just let this slip by.
Going forward, I expect new rental agreements to be much more cafeteria style with a basic rental for the apartment and separate agreements for:
1 cable/internet access
2 parking
Cable usually has a rep from the local provider who handles the complex separate from the property management. You can only buy the packages through him/her.
In theory, parking should be sufficient for the number of adults permitted to be on the lease for the units and one guest, but the new complexes around here skimp. It really becomes a problem when Subcontinent dominates a complex and they’re hiding extra adults in the apartment who aren’t on the lease but still sharing the rent.
Some of the apartments near me rent 1200 sq ft for more than my mortgage. Yeah, right, there are only two people living in those units. We’re 10 minutes from Dell HQ.
At my crash pad outside Seattle, if I got back from weekend furlough after 10 PM on Saturday night, I didn’t get parking and had to park across the street at the Safeway under construction, praying I didn’t get towed before I got up the next morning.
Microsoft ran a bus to the nearby park-n-ride every 20 minutes. The buses always left full in the mornings.
@Greg
Every jurisdiction is different. Just have to read closely and be creative.
They already are and always have been, at least in this Midwestern market. Heat, gas and water are included in multi-family buildings that don’t have provision for separate meters or equipment. I have seen units with their own furnace and water heater and laundry equipment with the tenant paying the utility to run them. Those tend to be of MUCH newer construction. Cable, Electricity, Internet, Phone are at tenant’s di$cretion.
Parking might or might not include 1 space. Many buildings in high density urban neighborhoods have no parking at all or charge dearly if they have a lot/garage. Many residents there don’t own automobiles. I went 18 years without a car living close to downtown.
Last year the management company for my building intended to pro-rata the water bill, but Covid kiboshed that idea, for now.
The credit report was the best screening tool way back when I approved applicants. This state has a web enabled court records site, but similar names made it difficult to be certain of just whom we were looking at. Any eviction action or judgement on the credit report was an automatic rejection. You MIGHT get around that with double or triple the month’s rent security deposit.
Where should one go to purchase some eight or ten inch pvc for reasonable costs ? You know, something that one could get a four or five foot long pipe with end caps to be glued on. You know, to be waterproof in case you needed to bury something in the ground for a while. And purchased anonymously.
–it’s not until they get to the politician that the word “gun violence” is used.
–so Councilman Moya, just who do you think is doing the shooting?? That would be “people of color”.
–yep, same old failed shite from before, basketball. What does it say that you believe your constituents murder each other out of boredom?
n
Try an ag irrigation company. Might have some short rems they’ll sale. Or buy 20′ and make four or five.
–the only thing ‘massive’ in the article is the hypocrisy of the headline. Not one similar headline for the St Floyd of Fentanyl protests…
— the “precautions” are just for show anyway. A 72hr old test proves nothing except that 3 days ago you didn’t have it. And since the vaccinated can get, have, and spread wuflu, it makes no difference to other people that they are “fully vaccinated”.
–a city of 2 million has 192 “cases” but hospitalizations are “drastically lower” than that.
–I wonder how many people are actually hospitalized and how that number compares to alcohol poisoning, suicide attempt, domestic violence, or traffic accidents.
n
(and holy crack, Lollapalooza is 30 years old? I remember when it was new. Iv’e got friends who have ridden that pony for THREE DECADES. I’m old.)
Speaking of hypocrisy,
–I can’t think of a modern rapper who isn’t primarily about misogeny, or who doesn’t degrade women in the lyrics, the lyrics of Megan Thee Stallion are degrading to anyone who hears them, but that’s ok with lollapoluza. Offend the gay mafia and you are DONE. Except that this guy doesn’t seem to care.
and for some unintended insights into the mindset and culture, read the tweets later in the article.
n
And purchased anonymously.
—look for some along side the road, or at a jobsite. Pay cash, or grab and dash.
n
Last year the management company for my building intended to pro-rata the water bill, but Covid kiboshed that idea, for now.
Water is tough to do properly without a meter on every apartment. We lived in a complex that attempted it without meters twenty years ago in Florida, but every unit had full size washer/dryer and dishwasher along with full size second baths in the two bedroom units.
Some people used a lot of water. Some very little. Everyone paid the same. That lasted a couple of months before the complex gave up.
I think the place went condo in the mid 2000s bubble.
You could also try one of the used or surplus building materials places. Since about half their inventory probably fell off trucks or disappeared off jobsites, they aren’t gonna have many cameras or good record keeping.
n
Habitat ReStore might have some too but you won’t know until you look.
https://fortbendhabitat.org/restore/
And purchased anonymously.
—look for some along side the road, or at a jobsite. Pay cash, or grab and dash.
n
I figure that I will find some 8 inch or 10 inch pvc for sale somewhere. No grab and dash here.
https://www.amazon.com/Spears-P100-Pipe-Fitting-Coupling/dp/B009H4NMNM/
$130 for a 10 inch coupling on Big River.
The reStore in cyfair has big pipe fittings. Don’t know about the actual pipe. Didn’t notice end caps last time I was up there.
https://www.habitatnwhc.org/restore/our-store.html
I was at the Fort bend store on Tuesday, and I don’t recall any big pipe.
Haven’t been up to Cypress in a while but they used ot have the pipe fittings.
n
https://houston.craigslist.org/grq/d/used-pvc-pipe-x-16-various-shorter/7357282648.html
Any closed container, whether PVC or, better, metal or glass, should be swept with dry nitrogen before sealing. Small amounts of water vapor can cause lots of havoc to contents. Don’t forget that the contents themselves can outgas harmful products.
This is more challenging than it seems. It is a subset of the corrosion control field. There is probably a lot published on the subject, and a lot not published.
I used to know a couple experts, but one died, and the other got out of the field. One favorite saying was, “seals don’t.”
Did Jenny ever check in? Worrying. That earthquake was a few hundred miles away, but it was big.
No she didn’t.
n
There is another largish company that sends out water bills to tenants that their office determines what is owed. Bitching and moaning will get it reduced/eliminated, but most just pay.
The lukewarm hot that is supplied here takes a long time to get to my shaving sink. So, since I became aware of the plan to charge, I turn hot full bore when I step into the shower and use it when I get out. Similar things. Beyond petty, and I don’t care.
Fell off the planet for a couple weeks. Back at it. Two weeks of reading comments is going to take awhile.
Took puppy to her first conformation dog show. A good time was had by all.
Got chastised by the Assembly Chair when I coughed (loudly) into my hand, not so subtly said my subdivision name, and coughed again, as my assembly person was telling lies about the ways they involved community in placing homeless shelters. Sadly I’m still best remembered for calling one of their ordinances a dog poop sandwich (except I didn’t say poop). Local press and leftist assembly are predictably working against our new conservative mayor and the knives are out.
We very much miss our oldest dog who died a couple weeks ago. It has sucked all of my motivation out and it takes enormous effort to do more than the minimum. This too shall pass. Been there, had that grief. It gets better.
Crossing fingers for two litters of rabbit kits around the ninth. The buck this year has been a colossal failure and replacing him has proven impossible. I’ve got a plan b. Good thing we aren’t relying on these rabbits for food.
I -think- we will be out of the old house, though not the garage of the old house, this week. Our third 15 yard dumpster has been filled. Yikes that’s a lot of ‘precious treasures’. Once we are out we will turn the insides over to our real estate agent for repair. And focus on getting out of the garage.
I’m six weeks into the new database job and love it. Today I took six children to see a rebroadcast of the Bolshoi ballet performing Sleeping Beauty at our local movie theater. They were very well behaved however I did down a sturdy G&T when I got home.
Hope nothing exciting is happening in anyone else’s world.
Very glad to hear from you Jenny, thanks for the update.
my much longer reply got eaten by the the 500 error, so I’ll take that as a sign and just say–
Be of stout heart.
n
Sorry gentlemen – just saw the call to check in. All ok. Fell off the planet.
Didn’t feel the earthquake. No local damage, and nothing in the news about places closer to the quake. Not much out there for a quake, even that side, to hurt. And Anchorage is virtually tsunami proof due to our geography.
Vacation over, back to work: the big slog through Christmas. So I’ll start the first day by reading yesterday’s comments here 🙂 Then catch up on email. Then clean up the desk. Then start in on serious course prep for the Fall.
If your data connection is dropping on two completely different networks, it sound more like a phone problem…
The messaging in Europe is a lot more coherent than what I see in the US. The mRNA vaccines are still effective against the variants, just slightly less so. However, they are still very effective in keeping any illness mild. The ER patients and new deaths here are mostly unvaccinated people.
The government here is likely to push for a lockdown again, but the general populace seems to agree that it’s not worth it. People have made their decisions regarding vaccinations. For some activities and some jobs, either vaccinations or regular tests will be required, that’s just the way it’s going to be. Aesop is about to discover that an employer can impose such conditions on employment. A drug test is not fundamentally different from a Covid test.
Beyond that, it’s time to learn to live with the Covid, alongside the flu.
– – – – –
In other news, our neighbor is in the hospital, with what appears to be a really nasty kidney infection. He and I were going to pick up a huge pile of building material on Saturday (he’s building himself a garage/workshop). We’ll see if we can get it delivered, or if the wife and I can pick it up. The thing is: it really is a lot, and I have no idea how he planned to fit it all into one pickup and one small trailer. Have to think about that…
Erf, I just read Aesop’s post in detail. I shouldn’t have. If he doesn’t want to get vaccinated, that’s fine. But he doesn’t need to write a steaming pile to justify himself. Bloggers referencing bloggers, in a game of telephone tag, until the information has been completely distorted.
Just to take one example: He says that VAERS reports 11,000 deaths from to the COVID vaccination. In fact, VAERS reports 6340 deaths, with the important note that dying after receiving a vaccination doesn’t mean that you died from the vaccination. Just like Covid itself, many of the deaths were older people or people in high risk groups, some of whom were due to shuffle of the mortal coil anyway.
The rest of his points are similarly distorted. Aesop really ought to know better.
To me, Aesop’s screed is about anger at our elites. Yeah, he could just say “I ain’t gettin’ no stinking shot.” If stores and goobermint offices require masks again, that’ going to suck.
JimB
I opened containers items from WW2 and inside was the part brand new, same as Vietnam, both electronic parts, and yes, Nitrogen