Fri. Aug. 6, 2021 – this time for sure…

Hot and humid, chance of rain. Again. Like Thursday. Overcast all day, then some sprinkles, and it got cooler later in the day.

Wife and kids hit the road for the airbnb lakehouse, and I set out on my errands. First stop was my mechanic with my Ranger. I have the feeling it’s going to be a bunch of money. All the rubber bushes are ‘perished’. I’ve got a stuck caliper. I’m guessing new rotors and pads all around, and at least one caliper. I’ll know more Monday.

Then it was switch vehicles and off to my buddy’s gun store. Had a couple of people in waiting for their checks to come back, and a couple of random ‘concerning’ people. Crazy angry chicks that talk a lot can take up a lot of your attention. I lost track of a HUGE sketchy guy when I got distracted. Fortunately it was because he got done casing the joint and left. Lot of people case the place, none come back. I guess I should add “so far”. They had a few guns in inventory, but not many. No ammo.

Then it was on to my secondary where I spent about 4 hours moving stuff around and literally stacking some stuff. I can see floor, which is a big change. I intend to head over there today and do some more too. I want to be able to lot up some pallets of stuff next week.

I am hoping that my newest possibility of an auctioneer will be back from his mom’s funeral and back at work next week also. That way I can move a whole bunch of stuff to his place and out of my places. Having some sales from that would be nice too.

At some point during the day, I’ll head home, shower and hit the road for the lake. After all, it’s possible (I rate it ‘unlikely’) that I’m wrong and the world isn’t about to puke up its guts and rearrange things for the next period of about 70 years. I wish I could ask my grandmother how it felt in 1939, or ’40, or ’41. How she felt about the world, and if all the preparation and groundwork the government was doing affected her. I wonder if she saw what was happening in Europe and recognized that big change wasn’t done yet. I’ve got a feeling that these are ‘the good old days’ and I need to do my best to be sure the kids know what ‘good times’ look and feel like. Yeah I know, sounds overly dramatic and maudlin. But the US Civil War happened. The nazziz rose to power in Germany. Mussolini rose to power. Japan made their hubris filled miscalculation… there is absolutely no reason why similar things can’t happen again. History hasn’t stopped and humans are pretty much the same as they were 70, 700, or 2000 years ago.

The pace of change and the vitriolic rhetoric seem to be heating up. I’ve been feeling some urgency for the last couple of years to get all my unnecessary stuff out of here and the rest sorted out, but now I’m REALLY feeling it. Nobody is going to be buying any of this stuff if the world suddenly goes pear shaped. And it will be sudden.

Use the time you have to get squared away. Stack needful things.

n

72 Comments and discussion on "Fri. Aug. 6, 2021 – this time for sure…"

  1. SteveF says:

    –surprised by the use they are putting it to and WHAT they are looking for. … Didn’t know they were looking for illegal content. and there are lots of deplorable things out there, why don’t they also look for them?

    Oh, they are. I don’t have insider knowledge but I’ve seen this movie before.

    Child porn is one of the four horsemen of the infocalypse, the all-purpose justifications for encroachments on privacy and liberty and for theft of property. After all, no one can object to cracking down on kiddie porn, right? What are you, a pedo? And while they publicly announce that they’re scanning for illegal images, they’re quietly scanning for deplorable images of Pepe or of μολὼν λαβέ.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Administration officials said the new Biden standard would be 52 miles per gallon by 2026, calling it “the most stringent federal greenhouse gas standards in U.S. history.””

    Congress could step in at any time and pass legislation to override CAFE. They choose not to do so.

    Private ownership of cars is the target, not greenhouse gases. 52 MPG isn’t remotely possible with the current pipeline, and Plugs in his addled-minded state, Scranton Joe, son of a Chevy dealer, knows this.

    Even if you can afford the car in 10 years, the tolls for that motorized skateboard to leave your driveway will be steep if it isn’t your “day” to drive. MaaS.

    5
    1
  3. drwilliams says:

    Witness coercion in the Floyd case confirmed by prosecution records

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/08/stunning_new_floyd_case_exhibit_confirms_witness_coercion.html

    3
    1
  4. pecancorner says:

    https://survivalblog.com/

    Rawles site is down. Has been for a while. Hope it’s back up in the morning.

    He’s up at 7:15 am, announcing a SurvivalBlog writing contest with some nice prizes, and some historical blurbs:

    An interesting side note is Tsutomu Yamaguchi was 3 kilometers from the Hiroshima blast, but survived. Along with a few other survivors, he made his way to his hometown, Nagasaki, and was again within 3 kilometers of the second blast yet also survived this one.

    Some time ago, I started discovering how many people had survived and lived healthy to old age from those. It was surprising.  Concrete walls seemed to have offered more protection than we imagine.  Always brings back memories of the time when I was young, when every public building was an official “Fallout Shelter”  well-stocked with canned water and crackers in the rafters.  The Fallout Shelter signs are long gone.  Now, it’s as though no provision at all exists for protecting the public.

  5. lpdbw says:

    It turns out that nuclear blasts are very survivable with enough distance and shelter, and the parameters are known, and have been for decades.

    You can get Cresson Kearny’s book, “Nuclear War Survival Skills”, developed by and written for Oak Ridge National Laboratory at this link: https://www.oism.org/nwss/ and other places.

    I have a hard copy, which I recommend to make sure you get the scale right on the diagrams inside.

  6. Clayton W. says:

    There was some discussion yesterday about HEMP effects.  HEMP is real and will absolutely destroy unshielded operating electronics, but popular media the effect is entirely overblown.  Anything that is well-shielded from ESD is also protected from HEMP.  Many vehicles will be OK after a cold restart (Battery disconnect) and anything not powered at the time will be unaffected.

    The disruption will be huge, especially since the grid will likely need a black restart.  There are people here that can better explain the issues in that scenario.  The disruptions will last days or weeks.  Many electronic devices will become more unreliable.  Blue screen of death more often, that sort of thing.  But the concept that every electronic device will be totally destroyed?  Fiction.

    Heck, we tested an unhardened computer for Flash-Bulb of God effects (LD50 <24 hours) and it was almost functional.  Some power supplies went slightly out of regulation and the HDD was destroyed.  But replacing the hard drive got the computer to boot, briefly, before the BSOD.

    All we had to do was switch to a SSD and put in a detector to shut down the power when the event happened and we were fine.

  7. pecancorner says:

    I have a hard copy, which I recommend to make sure you get the scale right on the diagrams inside.

    Yet another reason for print copies of good books.  Thanks for the recommendation!

  8. Chad says:

    Having this discussion right now…

    Does your vehicle really need a cabin air filter? Most vehicles didn’t even have them until about model year 2000 or so. Now that they have them it’s just something else that needs replaced. So, why not just leave it out or cut out the filter element and insert the empty frame (since you sometimes need the frame to keep the air from leaking out where the filter would normally go)? Obviously, if you have one it needs replaced regularly as it will plug. However, next time it’s due for replacement why not just leave it out altogether or just insert a hollow frame?

  9. Ray Thompson says:

    However, next time it’s due for replacement why not just leave it out altogether or just insert a hollow frame?

    In my opinion it makes a difference in the quality of the air, especially when dusty. It will also keep the evaporator coils cleaner so they are more efficient. I notice that my cabin filter will collect small leaves and other small debris over time. Along with dog hair, people hair and other unidentifiable stuff.

    It’s like getting an ice maker and wondering why I did not have one before. Now that I have it, I like it.

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    @chad, or self darkening mirrors, heated side mirrors, self folding mirrors, electrically adjusted mirrors? Oh, I forgot ‘puddle lights’ in the mirrors.

    The cars all come with carpet and half the buyers spend more money on weathertech rubber floor mats to protect the carpet…

    My expy lets you select the color of the interior accent lighting. There is a whole rainbow to choose from.

    Most of it isn’t necessary. 90% of it is mandated or the result of mandates though.

    n

    (also relates to my interest in ‘infrastructure’ and how things are shaped by what’s come before and may not even be there anymore, like cigarette lighters. Shaped by the coil, now firmly embedded in the universe as the shape of power points in vehicles.)

  11. Chad says:

    In my opinion it makes a difference in the quality of the air, especially when dusty. It will also keep the evaporator coils cleaner so they are more efficient. I notice that my cabin filter will collect small leaves and other small debris over time. Along with dog hair, people hair and other unidentifiable stuff.

    I can see the evaporator coils being kept cleaner by having one, but as for everything else I find them mostly useless. If somebody is smoking near your vehicle and that smoke comes in through the A/C and passes through the filter it still smells very much like smoke. They’re useless for odors. As for everything else I can see how they may remove larger particulates but I find that mostly unnecessary. I drove cars with decades old heating and A/C that never came equipped with a cabin air filter and they heated and cooled just fine. Sure, the occasional piece of a dry leaf might blow out a vent, but that was a rare occurrence and hardly concerning. It feels like something that was added to cars to fix a problem that didn’t really exist.

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    Oh, and cabin air filters work best when all the windows are closed, which you only do if you have ac, and get over any conditioning you have that ac robs power and gas mileage. Modern cars NEED the windows to stay closed to get the mileage rated, so then the air gets funky, and needs cleaning when it didn’t before… see what I mean?

    @ggmacct, I like Frank Horton’s books too. His skill as a writer improved quickly, and he had some interesting preps in the books. I haven’t read any of the Angry American’s books. I’ve got a couple of the classics on my TBR pile, but I haven’t been doing much reading lately. I’ve been spending that time watching vids on youtube. I’ll swing back to reading soon though, I can feel the itch growing. I’ll probably take a path that goes thru video gaming though, since the kids are playing new games, and I haven’t done any gaming in longer than it’s been since I did much book reading. (I read constantly, just not books lately.)

    @pecancorner, I remember the fallout shelters too. Of course they decided that local organizations out of their control were bad (Jerry Pournelle wrote extensively on the end of the Civil Defense program) and that money was needed for gimmes to favored groups. CERT is an attempt to put some of the organized and trained aspects back, more generally focused on all disasters, but it isn’t the same. At the same time, we’ve lost most of the ‘social’ clubs that also provided hierarchical structures that could be used to organize a community (the ‘fraternal’ organizations and their ladies auxiliaries.) Pretty sure I’ve written a bunch on how I feel about that too.

    n

  13. JimB says:

    I wish we could abandon that stupid power receptacle that was designed for a cigar lighter, the official name. It is huge and not very reliable. Cell phones and other electronic devices regularly get new connector designs, why not cars? There are already 12V connectors, but a newer design might be better.

    Is the “smoker’s option” still available on new cars?

    What will be the first state to declare itself no smoking?

    I remember our original host railing against cigarettes, while declaring a pipe OK. I worked with a pipe smoker who was so addicted he bought cigarettes whenever he had to fly on a commercial plane. Before that, I didn’t know only cigarettes were allowed. He died of a heart attack at age 43. Great guy, still miss him.

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    What does it say that I didn’t even link this earlier?

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9865867/Moment-woman-leans-car-window-AK47-illegal-speeding-event-San-Francisco.html

    -btw that would be street racing… illegal speeding event, ffs.

    and this one in Rhode Island…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9868775/Mom-dragged-car-beaten-group-ATV-dirt-bike-riders-daughter.html

    n

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    Jeez, it started raining.

    82F this morning. I knew I should have put the spare back under the truck in its carrier yesterday. I guess it’ll have to stay in the back for this trip.

    n

  16. drwilliams says:

    re: auto cabin air filter
    Unless it is a HEPA filter, it will not stop diesel smoke particulates, which are largely of a size that they will not get caught by the human body before getting into the lungs.

    But if you drive dusty unpaved roads they will certainly help.

  17. Greg Norton says:

    Does your vehicle really need a cabin air filter? Most vehicles didn’t even have them until about model year 2000 or so.

    Dirty coils will make the AC system less efficient, and the systems are designed with the assumption that the owner will follow the maintenance schedule and change the filter as recommended.

    Do not push the limits with a dirty filter. That will kill your blower prematurely, and the last thing you want with a modern car is a typical dealer mechanic attempting to disassemble/reassemble your dash. The dash will never be right again, and, even if the job is done properly, the job will be expensive out of warranty.

    And good luck getting warranty coverage if you do push things too far. AC filter is prominent in the Toyota maintenance schedules.

    The air filters aren’t expensive.

  18. Greg Norton says:

    What will be the first state to declare itself no smoking?

    None in the near future. All of the states heavily depend on the tax revenue from cigarettes, especially “blue” states.

  19. Rick H says:

    Re: backups of this place —

    There is a scheduled backup of all data daily; emailed to me. I also have backups of custom theme files (a child theme that I modified) on my local computer.

    There is also a backup at the host level that is available. Weekly, I think, of files and data.

    So content (in the databases) is recoverable in case of hosting death. I can, with some minor effort, recreate the site on another hosting place if needed. Email accounts can also be recreated, although email content might be lost. But email accounts are not actively used; Barbara’s email is someplace else.

    There’s only minor file data (think WP media library) here. I’ve even got a local copy of all non-WP content.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    I wish we could abandon that stupid power receptacle that was designed for a cigar lighter, the official name. It is huge and not very reliable. Cell phones and other electronic devices regularly get new connector designs, why not cars? There are already 12V connectors, but a newer design might be better.

    I know several anal parents, including one of the Chinese relations, who keep a 12 V vacuum in the car which they use frequently after even short trips like the grocery store.

    Another increasingly common use of the plug on high end cars is to provide external power to the vehicle electronics during a battery swap out since the receptacle can handle the higher currents and sits on the other side of the fuses.

    The only time I’ve seen that receptacle prove to be an unreliable connection is with cheap USB adapters like Best Buy’s Insignia brand or the cr*p sold at the rental car counters my wife ends up buying every other time we travel.

  21. pecancorner says:

    Small rant:  Health Insurance company calls us, uninvited, unexpected, on our land line, then says “Can you verify date of birth for security purposes?”

    Me: No, our policy is that we don’t give out identifying information on calls we didn’t originate.

    Caller: “Well we need this to be sure of who we are talking to.”

    Me: If you can’t verify who you’ve called from the phone number you used to call us, then you’ll need to send something in the mail. It’s not safe for us to give out info to random people who call us.

    Caller: “but but but”

    Me: Send it to us in the US mail.

    Caller: “Alright, we will.”

    I’ve had doctor’s offices do this, too.  It’s no wonder people get snookered into giving out TMI to people claiming to be the IRS or Social Security or Microsoft…..  They are trained for it by companies that are supposed to be looking out for them.

  22. JimB says:

    Re cabin air filters, restricting air flow to a forward curved sqirrel cage blower wheel (just about all cars) reduces the load on the motor. Only if the filter is totally blocked will the motor overheat, and then only if the motor is cooled by the air stream. That is most of them, but there are a few motors that are cooled by ambient air, and they will be just fine.

    As for dirt on the evaporator or heater core, that was usually not a problem before cabin air filters, but who knows what the new housing designs have become. When in doubt, keep it stock. That filter probably protects the car more than its occupants.

  23. Chad says:

    I’ve had doctor’s offices do this, too. It’s no wonder people get snookered into giving out TMI to people claiming to be the IRS or Social Security or Microsoft….. They are trained for it by companies that are supposed to be looking out for them.

    I’ve always been amused by the signs at pharmacies that say something like “For privacy, please wait here.” As if the whopping 4 feet of open air creates some sort of sound proof barrier where I won’t be able to hear which antipsychotic the customer is front of me is out of. lol

    Likewise, I’ve been in several exam rooms where it’s so dead quiet I can hear almost every word being said in the exam room next to mine.

    🤦🏼‍♂️

    You need to be like the mafia these days. Meet in person. Discuss everything vaguely on tiny slips of paper, under a cupped hand, burning each one after it’s read, and then scattering the ashes. Anything less and someone is listening.

  24. lynn says:

    https://survivalblog.com/

    Rawles site is down. Has been for a while. Hope it’s back up in the morning.

    @rick, we’ve got good backup of the site, right?

    I’ve got a bare wordpress install at flandrey.com if I did it right. I guess it’s probably time to announce that, and if this site is ever down for more than an hour, check there.

    n

    https://survivalblog.com/ is definitely up.

    And I just noticed that flandrey is spelled with an e. How long have you had this domain ? Just about all of the single word domains are gone now.
    http://www.flandrey.com

  25. Chad says:

    I have a domain name of my own hosted in privacy-obsessed Norway. So, if this site is ever taken down by the thought police then give me a shout and I’ll happily host it until other arrangements can be made.

  26. SteveF says:

    Why Chad, do you think thin-skinned people will take offense at comments or links posted here?

    5
    1
  27. Chad says:

    Why Chad, do you think thin-skinned people will take offense at comments or links posted here?

    lol

    That link is blocked by my employer’s proxy and categorized as “Extremism.”

  28. SteveF says:

    I’ve heard, though not seen myself, that many employers, kid-safe blocking software, and portals consider gab to be a hate site.

    Check the link when you get home. I came across a bit of information and made something of it.

    3
    1
  29. nick flandrey says:

    Yikes, and people talk shite about the south…

    n

  30. lynn says:

    Wife and kids hit the road for the airbnb lakehouse, and I set out on my errands. First stop was my mechanic with my Ranger. I have the feeling it’s going to be a bunch of money. All the rubber bushes are ‘perished’. I’ve got a stuck caliper. I’m guessing new rotors and pads all around, and at least one caliper. I’ll know more Monday.

    I had a stuck front brake caliper on my 2005 Expedition at about 150K miles. Of course it was stuck closed hard, not open. In the 10 miles I drove to the dealer, the entire front wheel heated to over 300 F (using the spit on the wheel test with the resulting sizzle). I had to press the foot feed about half way down just to maintain 50 or 60 mph (normally that was an easy lope for that 5.4L V8). The fix was about $300 if I remember right (maybe), and that was a decade ago.

    I did not replace the other front brake caliper on the theory that the truck would die first and I was right.

  31. nick flandrey says:

    Ok, did a bunch of cleanup so the wife doesn’t come home to a messy house.

    Got a bunch of stuff out of the truck.

    Tested a couple of vintage stereo pieces I picked up, at least to power on.  Some winners, some will be ‘parts or repair’.

    Got the spare back up under the truck and put a 4 way lug wrench on top of it.   I’ll be able to change a flat now.

    Heard from my mechanic, $350 for brakes, mostly in the front.  Caliper is probably ok, needs lube and cleanup.  He’ll look at the suspension  bushings after that.   Need to have him look at the AC and power steering system too while he has it.

    Email for business domain seems to have transitioned ok, and now I get to see ads for MS office 365 whenever I look at my mail.   It looks like they just changed the front end so I’ll be looking at other solutions for reading it.  Mostly it forwards to my phone anyway and I rarely actually use the webmail except to delete and organize.

    headed over to secondary soon.   The sun came out and it’s 100F under the solar onslaught.

    n

  32. Chad says:

    Yikes, and people talk shite about the south…

    This brings up an interesting debate in classification. Is Texas “the South,” the “West,” or its own thing? I’m leaning toward the third. Texas doesn’t have quite the Dixieland vibe that Georgia, Alabama, and the like do.

  33. nick flandrey says:

    Texas is Texas.

    n

  34. nick flandrey says:

    NSA or no such agency, has released a pdf on securing wireless device in public

    https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/07/30/nsa-releases-guidance-securing-wireless-devices-while-public

    Should be interesting.

    n

  35. lynn says:

    Heck, we tested an unhardened computer for Flash-Bulb of God effects (LD50 <24 hours) and it was almost functional. Some power supplies went slightly out of regulation and the HDD was destroyed. But replacing the hard drive got the computer to boot, briefly, before the BSOD.

    All we had to do was switch to a SSD and put in a detector to shut down the power when the event happened and we were fine.

    Huh. I figured that the cpu would be toast but the spinning hard drives would be ok.

  36. lynn says:

    Freefall: Losing Muscle Mass
    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff3700/fc03628.htm

    I figure that the space ship to Mars must have some sort of gravity mechanism. Of course, the best gravity mechanism on a space ship is to fire the motors all the way there. That takes the six to nine month trip to Mars and cuts it severely. A one gravity boost all the way there could be as short as just a week of travel depending on the current placement of Earth and Mars.

  37. lynn says:

    @ggmacct, I like Frank Horton’s books too. His skill as a writer improved quickly, and he had some interesting preps in the books. I haven’t read any of the Angry American’s books. I’ve got a couple of the classics on my TBR pile, but I haven’t been doing much reading lately. I’ve been spending that time watching vids on youtube. I’ll swing back to reading soon though, I can feel the itch growing. I’ll probably take a path that goes thru video gaming though, since the kids are playing new games, and I haven’t done any gaming in longer than it’s been since I did much book reading. (I read constantly, just not books lately.)

    I like Frank Horton’s books also but after five or six of them I started seeing the same story in each of them. I’ve got three or four of them in my SBR (strategic book reserve) right now.
    https://www.amazon.com/Borrowed-World-Novel-Post-Apocalyptic-Collapse/dp/1511974419/

    Angery American’s first book was awesome but then they noticeably declined after that.
    https://www.amazon.com/Going-Home-Novel-Survivalist-American/dp/0142181277/

  38. lynn says:

    Yikes, and people talk shite about the south…

    This brings up an interesting debate in classification. Is Texas “the South,” the “West,” or its own thing? I’m leaning toward the third. Texas doesn’t have quite the Dixieland vibe that Georgia, Alabama, and the like do.

    Yup, me, ech, and Nick live in south Texas. Greg and Paul live in central Texas. West, Texas is a little town in central Texas and west Texas is a whole nother matter. Them folks in north Texas are about half crazy, especially my relatives. East Texas is a fun place to work if you do not mind working HARD.

    My 80+ year old uncle knew his great grandfather who was a 12 year mule skinner for an east Texas artillery unit in the Civil War. Confederate of course. They marched and towed their guns all the way to Virginia. When the retreat to Texas started after a couple of years, they soon abandoned their guns, ate the mules, and some of them ended up back in Texas. My uncle put flowers on his grave a couple of years ago. That is the vibe of Texas.

    BTW, Confederate war widows got a $10 a month pension from the State of Texas after the Civil War. My great great great (I am not sure about the number of greats there) grandmother Daisy was one. I am not sure if the Union war widows in Texas got anything or if there were any of them. That is also the vibe of Texas.

  39. Nightraker says:

    Laundry stains via Everyday Cheapskate:

    For fresh or old oil-based stains such as lipstick, grease, butter, motor oil, cooking oil, and most pen inks—even stains that have made it through the washer and dryer multiple times—apply full-strength Dawn liquid directly to the stain. Allow to sit for a bit then launder as usual. For really tough challenges, apply Dawn then scrub with a small brush or toothbrush until the oil is removed.

  40. JimB says:

    Stains and Dawn. What is in Dawn that other dish liquid detergents don’t have? I grew up using Joy, and it seemed OK. Now, we get Dawn from the Dollar Tree store. I haven’t put it on anything challenging.

    Waaay back in the late 1960s, I discovered enzyme laundry additives. Soaked some white Levi’s in some for a week, and it removed Rust Oleum paint stains. Great stuff – the enzyme cleaner, not the Levi’s, although their fabric was durable.

  41. lynn says:

    Laundry stains via Everyday Cheapskate:

    For fresh or old oil-based stains such as lipstick, grease, butter, motor oil, cooking oil, and most pen inks—even stains that have made it through the washer and dryer multiple times—apply full-strength Dawn liquid directly to the stain. Allow to sit for a bit then launder as usual. For really tough challenges, apply Dawn then scrub with a small brush or toothbrush until the oil is removed.

    I am wearing the oil stained $45 pair of light tan Dockers today (since Wednesday). Turns out that you cannot see the two oil stains since they are so low and the Dawn really cut the intensity of them even after the stains were set in the clothes dryer. I am a cheapskate XXXXXXXXXX frugal XXXXXX just don’t like to buy new pants.

    4
    1
  42. Greg Norton says:

    I am not sure if the Union war widows in Texas got anything or if there were any of them. 

    Pensions or Union widows in Texas? I’m sure there were a few Union widows in Texas since it is a big state and the last Civil War soldiers died in the 1950s.

    The last recipient of a Union survivors’ pension just died last year. It was a big deal at the VA.

  43. JimB says:

    Oh, stains on concrete. I have tried various things to remove drip stains on concrete. Most detergents remove the oil component and leave behind the grey carbon stain. Many years ago, I used Portland cement in a thick paste to good effect. If I had a need today, I would probably start with a strong surfactant mixed with naphtha or cheap paint thinner. Let soak under a sheet of polyethylene for a few hours, then rinse and apply the cement paste before the concrete dries. The cement paste just colors over the stain, but can be surprisingly effective if it matches the concrete’s color. If the stain in exposed to the sun, it will gradually fade over some months.

  44. nick flandrey says:

    All right, headed out.  Will combine the trip to secondary and leave from there.  Saves 40 minutes.

    n

  45. lynn says:

    I am not sure if the Union war widows in Texas got anything or if there were any of them.

    Pensions or Union widows in Texas? I’m sure there were a few Union widows in Texas since it is a big state and the last Civil War soldiers died in the 1950s.

    The last recipient of a Union survivors’ pension just died last year. It was a big deal at the VA.

    Knowing Texas, I doubt any of the Union war widows in Texas got a pension from the state.

  46. lynn says:

    “Student loan repayment pause extended to January 2022 by Biden administration”
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/student-load-repayment-pause-extended-193813837-200013743.html

    Biden is just having a field day, isn’t he ? Shut down evictions and all kinds of stuff this week. I am hearing that he is considering shutting down utility payments now.

  47. Ray Thompson says:

    Minor setback on the knee. Bumped the knee with a bucket and busted open about a 3/4 portion of the incision. Trip to the surgeon, he said it was mostly superficial. Installed a couple more steri-strips and most annoying a leg brace to keep the knee from bending. Also when in therapy next week no bending past 90 degrees even though I was up to 110 degrees.

    Wife was pissed, said I was trying to do much. Maybe so but I want to return to a sense of normalcy. It was a freak incident. Surgeon said if I had fallen on the knee the damage would have been significant. But I did not fall, just banged the knee.

    A lot of blood initially which quickly subsided. Cannot get the knee wet until Monday after the doctors appointment. So sponge bath here we come.

    7
    1
  48. Alan says:

    NSA or no such agency, has released a pdf on securing wireless device in public

    https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/07/30/nsa-releases-guidance-securing-wireless-devices-while-public

    Don’t worry folks, no one will be tracking that you clicked the link. Really…

  49. lynn says:

    “FERC must revisit climate analysis of South Texas LNG plants”
    https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/lng/article/14208228/ferc-must-revisit-climate-analysis-of-south-texas-lng-plants

    “The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the FERC failed to adequately analyze the impact of the proposed Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG plants’ GHG emissions on climate change and minority or low-income communities in Cameron County, Tex.”

    “The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) failed to adequately analyze the impact of the proposed Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG plants’ greenhouse gas emissions on climate change and minority or low-income communities in Cameron County, Tex. The court, however, did not vacate the orders allowing the projects to proceed.”

    You have got to be kidding me. There is no way that one can honestly perform a 30 year analysis of CO2 effects on the local area. Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area.

    3
    1
  50. Greg Norton says:

    You have got to be kidding me. There is no way that one can honestly perform a 30 year analysis of CO2 effects on the local area. Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area. 

    What about the CO2 from The Real Life Tony Stark’s big kerosene-burning rockets?

    Cameron County is also home to the Starport.

    3
    1
  51. lynn says:

    You have got to be kidding me. There is no way that one can honestly perform a 30 year analysis of CO2 effects on the local area. Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area.

    What about the CO2 from The Real Life Tony Stark’s big kerosene-burning rockets?

    Cameron County is also home to the Starport.

    Starship and Booster both use LNG and LOX.

    2
    1
  52. Alan says:

    What’s the over/under on how long he remains as CEO? Or maybe the CIO takes the fall?

    “When we reach this level of disruption, being able to recover does require a lot of resources, we’re not built to deal with this level of disruption and I think there’s some learning in there about how we might create variability in staffing so that we can deal with it,”
    (emphasis added)

    https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/spirit-airlines-expects-flight-cancellations-to-continue/

    1
    1
  53. lynn says:

    “FDA Reportedly Planning For COVID Vaccine Booster Shot Approval By September”
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-defies-who-plans-start-doling-out-booster-shots

    “Update (1640ET): Confirming what we have all suspected (and The White House, France, and Germany all confirmed), The FDA has tonight confirmed, according to people familiar with discussions within the agency, expects to have a strategy on Covid-19 vaccine boosters by early September that would lay out when and which vaccinated individuals should get the follow-up shots.
    The Wall Street Journal reports that the Biden administration is pushing for the swift release of a booster strategy because some populations – people age 65 or older and people who are immunocompromised, as well as those who got the shots in December or January shortly after they were rolled out – could need boosters as soon as this month, two of the people said.”

    I am going to pass for now.

    The wife just got her Shingrex booster and is all vaccinated out for the year. She was fairly sick the day after.

    And I am still waiting for the Omega Covid variant that the great and wonderful Fauci was talking about.

    2
    1
  54. Greg Norton says:

    What’s the over/under on how long he remains as CEO? Or maybe the CIO takes the fall?

    “When we reach this level of disruption, being able to recover does require a lot of resources, we’re not built to deal with this level of disruption and I think there’s some learning in there about how we might create variability in staffing so that we can deal with it,”

    He will keep his job.

    Ever flown Spirit? I have. Once. There is a reason the Spirit gate was across from the microbrew at Portland airport.

    A sign at the brewery read, “Fill a Growler for the plane.” I’m not kidding. After disembarking at the destination, I understood why you might want the large quantity of alcohol.

    The corporate motto might as well be, “You got yer cheap ticket so sit down and shut up.”

    2
    1
  55. Ray Thompson says:

    And I am still waiting for the Omega Covid variant that the great and wonderful Fauci was talking about.

    Fauci has got his team working as fast as possible to get the virus ready for Thanksgiving release.

    5
    1
  56. ~jim says:

    The wife just got her Shingrex booster and is all vaccinated out for the year. She was fairly sick the day after.

    Correlation is not causation, but I had a Herpes outbreak just days after I got the Shingrix jab. Hadn’t had one in ages. No ill effects otherwise.

    2
    1
  57. pecancorner says:

    Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area.

    Looks like they are.

    In the early 1990s, more than 80 percent of county land was in farms and ranches, with 50 percent of the farmland under cultivation and 90 percent-more than 200,000 acres-irrigated. The county was among the state’s largest producers of cotton and sorghum. Other leading crops included corn, sugarcane, hay, soybeans, onions, cabbage, cantaloupes, bell peppers, watermelons, cucumbers, carrots, honeydew melons, tomatoes, grapefruit, oranges, and pecans. Cattle and hogs were also raised in significant numbers.

    https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cameron-county

  58. lynn says:

    “Does Joe Biden’s CDC Own Your Home?”
    https://www.clayandbuck.com/does-joe-bidens-cdc-own-your-home/

    “BUCK: I want to start with a very basic question. Clay and I are gonna dive into this one together. Do you actually own your home? Do you? I don’t mean this in the sense of, “Well, do you rent?” or anything else. I mean, if you’re a homeowner, do you own it? Do you have property rights? Are there things that the government can’t just do to you when it comes to the sale of your property, using your property as you see fit?
    Better ask those questions and start to look for the answers because right now, the CDC… That’s right. Apparently, the CDC is somewhere on your deed for the house that you own, that you rent out, or the house that you own that maybe you rent out the basement or you’ve got a guest cottage or whatever, or maybe it’s an investment property. CDC wants you to know that you don’t really own it because they think that 18 months of an eviction moratorium is not enough.”

    This is definitely a violation of the fifth amendment and posibly the third amendment.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

    If the feddies are going to take something that belongs to somebody else, then they have to pay the market rate for it and no giving up your rights if you take the money.

    There will be lawsuits on this until the end of time.

    7
    1
  59. lynn says:

    Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area.

    Looks like they are.

    In the early 1990s, more than 80 percent of county land was in farms and ranches, with 50 percent of the farmland under cultivation and 90 percent-more than 200,000 acres-irrigated. The county was among the state’s largest producers of cotton and sorghum. Other leading crops included corn, sugarcane, hay, soybeans, onions, cabbage, cantaloupes, bell peppers, watermelons, cucumbers, carrots, honeydew melons, tomatoes, grapefruit, oranges, and pecans. Cattle and hogs were also raised in significant numbers.

    https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cameron-county

    Then all that CO2 is a benefit to growing crops in the county.

    5
    1
  60. lynn says:

    “Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raises COVID-19 threat level to red, urges unvaccinated to stay home”
    https://houston.culturemap.com/news/city-life/08-05-21-harris-county-threat-level-red-severe-lina-hidaglo-august-5-sylvester-turner/

    “Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised the county’s COVID threat level Thursday, August 5 from orange “significant” to red “severe.”
    Severe is the highest level and calls for unvaccinated people to stay home unless they need to leave for an essential reason such as going to the grocery store.”

    This lady needs to change her name to Karen.

    2
    1
  61. Greg Norton says:

    Unless, they are growing cotton and corn in the local area.

    Looks like they are.

    The Rio Grande Valley? Cameron County? Oh, yeah, especially west of I-69.

    Lots of cotton.

  62. dcp says:

    failed to adequately analyze

    Translation: “you did not deliver the result we wanted”

  63. ~jim says:

    Lol, who is doing the thumbs-downs? He/she/it used to be fairly predictable but now it’s helter-skelter. Still, it’s amusing in an odd sort of way.

    Equity= The value the market assigns to a capital investment or the number of snowflakes needed to camouflage a lump of coal.

  64. Nick+Flandrey says:

    Arrived safely at the house. Very nice. Lake is bathwater warm. A bit choppy, and chocolate milk colored, but it’s a lake!

    N

  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    “Judge” Hildago is a mask confiscating private property stealing, socialist who is manifestly unqualified for the job, but got voted in on the last straight party ticket ballot.

    @lynn, I’ve spelled flandrey this way since high school. I mispelled it, on purpose, yeah that’s the ticket. . . Shockingly it turns out to be pretty unique online. I only got that domain this year. I have nickflandrey . com too, but no hosting set up.

    I only worry a little, but with the spiteful cancel culture running amuck I do worry. john wilder had an issue. some others in my daily reads folder have had issues. IDK if Rawles had an issue or it was just normal internet ‘hey sometimes it be that way’, but I worry. Didn’t used to. Times have changed.

    n

  66. Nick Flandrey says:

    I looked in the kitchen cabinets and they are packed with canned goods. I told my wife this is the owner’s bug out place. She didn’t think so. I was looking in the book shelves, and along with the old school Scifi, there is a copy of J Wesley Rawles Founders novel…

    And a copy of the book that provided my nom de plume….

    I think I’m right. No one stocks cans of spam for fun unless they’re filipino…

    n

  67. Nick Flandrey says:

    Hey has anyone read the Flashman series? This house has about a dozen books in the series. Looks interesting and fun.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00CJDEXF4/?tag=ttgnet-20

    n

  68. lynn says:

    “The Real Reason Big Oil Is Betting On The Hydrogen Boom”
    https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Real-Reason-Big-Oil-Is-Betting-On-The-Hydrogen-Boom.html

    “Japan has been making headlines with its plans to significantly increase its reliance on hydrogen to satisfy its energy needs. Right now, it is demonstrating its transformation into a hydrogen economy by showcasing hydrogen buses and cars used in the Olympics. But there is a problem with that for those nit-picky enough to notice. This hydrogen is not green. In a recent article for Forbes, tech journalist James Morris noted that the hydrogen used in Japan right now is made from natural gas rather than through the electrolysis of water. Green hydrogen—the one produced through hydrolysis using electricity from renewable sources—is an ideal case scenario, he said, but it’s still far in the future. So Big Oil is pushing the other kind of hydrogen.”

    I have been trying to figure out the current push on “green hydrogen”. 99% of the worlds hydrogen is “grey hydrogen”, made by steam reforming natural gas with CO2 as a product. Now I understand what is going on. Just more market distortion going on by HUGE government subsidies. And I do mean HUGE.

    Hydrogen is not a good fuel. It is too light and hydrogen just wants to be free. Do not enclose hydrogen in any kind of building, it will leak from the container and go boom.

    Hat tip to:
    https://survivalblog.com/2021/08/06/economics-investing-preppers-526/

  69. lynn says:

    Just more market distortion going on by HUGE government subsidies.

    We have got to stop these market distortions going in the USA and in the world. They are going to end up killing us. I attribute the failure of the Texas grid last February to market distortions. The so-called renewables that they are trying to replace our reliable coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants with are not reliable. Basically, if you need reliable power then you need to seek another source than the grid as it will be decaying more and more.

    And I don’t even want to think about what they are doing to our transportation, both people and cargo. They are wanting to replace our reliable gasoline and diesel vehicles with very expensive electric vehicles that need charging every 100 to 300 miles. Not good if you are driving across Texas for any distance at all.

  70. Marcelo says:

     They are wanting to replace our reliable gasoline and diesel vehicles with very expensive electric vehicles that need charging every 100 to 300 miles.

    and they also go boom.

  71. Greg Norton says:

    And I don’t even want to think about what they are doing to our transportation, both people and cargo. They are wanting to replace our reliable gasoline and diesel vehicles with very expensive electric vehicles that need charging every 100 to 300 miles. Not good if you are driving across Texas for any distance at all. 

    Replace? MaaS means you don’t have a vehicle of your own.

    The masses are distracted by the belief that everyone will have a Tesla Model 3 at a minimum.

Comments are closed.