Cool and kinda damp today, with the possibility of some real hard rain according to openweathermap.org. I guess we’ll see…. Sunday was nice, cool but sunny and decently warm in the sun.
This January took forever to pass by. Usually I feel like the days are flying by, but with 5 weekends, this month dragged. I don’t know why I want it to be past, but I do. I don’t think great things will be happening in February, but at least it won’t be January.
Spent yesterday watching auctions for stuff for the new place, while also doing other stuff around the house, and I blew it. I let something go that I really wanted and would save both time and money at the new place. Got distracted…
Then made dinner. Which brought me this thought. I can talk briefly about one of my storage options, the freezer.
I freeze bread. I find that bread products keep really well for me in the upright freezer. I don’t do anything special, just put them in the way they come from the store. I freeze regular loaves of Sara Lee white sandwich bread, with at least 2 and usually 3 in the freezer at a time. We use about 2 loaves in three weeks, so they do turn over regularly. I like the Sara Lee because it holds up to spreading peanut butter. A lot of the white breads don’t.
I freeze naan bread. (indian flat bread) It’s pre-baked, and just needs to be warmed up, so it’s a quick and easy way to get a bit of bread with a meal. It does come in a sealed plastic bag. It lasts for a year or more in the freezer, doesn’t take up much space, and is a solid “go to” for me. Very easy to warm for use too, spritz with water and throw on the grill or in the oven (whichever you already have hot) for a few minutes each side. I think if things get really shirty, flat breads will be the way to go vs leaven breads. Much less time and energy to cook than baking.
I freeze english muffins. Thomas’ to be precise. Again, I just chuck them into the freezer in their store packaging. They store well for a long time.
I freezer a 300 pack of wheat tortillas too, but also have a 300 open in the fridge for normal day to day use. They last in the fridge for months.
I thaw the white bread, and the english muffins all at once for the week before use, but the naan I heat from frozen.
Hamburger buns and hotdog buns do well too, but do get ‘freezer burned’ if left too long.
It is very convenient to have bread in the stacks and to not have to head to the store every week.
One other option deserves mention, my Costco has 3 packs of shelf stable bread. They are loaves of sourdough and are vac packed with some sort of absorber packet. They just need to be heated to ‘crunchy’ and they are great when you are looking for a crusty hearty loaf in a hurry. They are still good after the best by date, but the absorber starts to stain the crust black. I just cut that part of the crust off and ate the rest.
Of course, you can bake from scratch, kit, or with a bread machine. I’ve done the machine and still do for holiday breads. It’s very easy and a great way to get good bread on demand, and save money while cycling through your stored bulk. I’ve found the loaf doesn’t last long once made though, and if we don’t work hard at it, we don’t eat it before it gets hard. So the store bought breads are a better value as they last long enough to get eaten.
There it is. Compelling content! Exciting discussion! Friendly folks! Random factoids! Red Lectroids!
If you haven’t been stacking bread or bread-like food items, I hope you can throw some in the freezer now. They’ll probably be good later too.
Stack all the things! Including bread.
n
re homemade bread, look at making smaller loaves. Most home bread machines make two or three sizes.
Or you can run the dough cycle and then make hamburger rolls (typically 8-10 from the two-pound batch) or cloverleaf rolls (24 fat ones from two pounds or 24 skinny ones from a pound and a half). You might find that if you have a basket of nibble-sized rolls on the counter that they'll be snagged and eaten in passing. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is yet to be determined…
We freeze bread too. Much of it holds well in the deep freeze. I've never eaten much bread, and now that Paul watches his carbs, most of what we freeze are low-carb tortillas and partial loaves of various kinds. Sunbeam's Texas Giant loaf. United's fresh french bread freezes amazingly well, as does Oroweat's pumpernickel. We've not had much luck with burger buns… they don't keep long in the freezer, and they get stale in the fridge.
When the boys were in their teens/preteens, we used a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and a dozen eggs every day. I bought ten loaves at a time at the day-old bread store and pulled one out of the freezer each day. I don't see how anyone can raise a family without a freezer!
Bought a Logitech case for my iPad Air yesterday. $200.00. Nice case, provides protection, detachable keyboard and trackpad with illuminated keys. Problem is the case doubles the weight that needs to be carried and doubles the thickness. So I am returning the case. I just don't see myself typing on the iPad when I have a Surface Laptop. The iPad has generally been used as a consumption device, not a creation device. I will watch movies, visit websites, check and occasionally compose or respond to an email. In retrospect I really don't need a case as I don't envision the iPad leaving the house so protection may be a moot point.
John Bigboote!
@ray, the kids have a sort of clear plastic case for their ipads. It snaps over the back and around the edges like a phone case. It really helps keep the screen intact when dropped because the edges are covered. other than sitting on them, I think the biggest breaker of screens is an impact to the edge.
The cases they use are minimal, but they do seem to work.
n
When I was a teenager working on the farm that was almost my daily consumption by myself. There was also my younger brother involved plus my uncle. We had a freezer and froze a lot of bread. It was not unusual for my aunt to come home with 20 loaves of bread every couple of weeks. Milk was from a cow as store milk would have been too expensive and too much quantity. Working on the farm, and growing, I was probably consuming 5,000 calories a day. Only weighed 140 when I graduated high school.
I am going to do some more looking. Apple used to make a really nice case with edge protection and a magnetic cover. No longer made. My last iPad lived four years without a case and no damage. And I am not a kid when it comes to devices.
I will do some more searching. I
needwant something light, thin, with edge and screen protection.Sam's was running thin on Coke products again yesterday. No 2L of some varieties.
Dealers in the US generally work on a lot of borrowed money to keep a wide selection of vehicles on the lot, trading with other dealers where necessary.
Manufacturers with strong financing operations like Ford have more control over the dealers in the US than is widely acknowledged due to the dependence on borrowed money.
That may be coming to an end with the pandemic, where the "chip shortage" has been a convenient excuse for the dealers to keep inventory thin and prices high.
I recently got an Otterbox for my iPad Mini. I haven’t put it on yet, but it has a snap on/off screen protector. I plan on doing some urban exploring, so it’s for protection.
EDIT: They have some models on the Zon, but not all.
They make all sizes, so a consideration.
After plug's public statement of nominating a Black female as a replacement for Breyer on the Supreme Court, note there was no negative comments on CNN or MSNBC regarding this.
However, how much negativity and screaming would there have been assailing tRump of racism and sexism had he announced nominating a White male prior to Amy Barrett's nomination?
I was doing my weekly shopping Sunday morning, and took a swing by Albertsons looking for some chicken breasts – $6/lb. Yikes.
But they had spiral cut ham on the shank for $0.99/lb, so that’s what I went home with.
I understand that the USDA reported that food cost increases in 2020/2021 were 3.5%…
Don't forget those reported increases are averages. You just need to include more 'unchanged' to bring down the average, when some things are up FAR more than 3%.
Like bacon, up 25-50% at my local store. I see too much variation in steak and other cuts to make a definitive statement, but hamburger is up by the same or more. From $3 to $4.50 or more.
I don't actually look at the prices for milk bread or eggs, since I'm buying them no matter what, and the last time I compared I picked which store to buy at to get the best price, or the best packaging. I'll look this week though, and compare to some old receipts.
n
That is traditionally the case, but I dropped in to my local Toyota dealership here in Texas last week (Macgill Toyota of Katy), and both their used and new inventories were way down. They were parking their displayed cars widely spaced and at angles, where before Biden/Plandemic, they had to squeeze them in close together.
We had a bunch of small used car lots disappear in the last 6 months. I don't think they could get inventory, and they could sell off their entire stock wholesale to bigger players. Good time to cash out for them.
n
The dealership business is a strange one, with lots of unpleasant, dark corners. My best friend in college was the son of a guy who ran a huge GM dealership in Dallas. The guy died unexpectedly, and the son and mother took over. But they apparently didn't have the political connections, and other dealerships conspired with GM: within just a few months, their contracts to sell most of the GM brands had been terminated and transferred to those other dealers.
Nothing directly to do with the car business, but I also remember when they built a new building, and the city inspectors came around for final approval. They nitpicked and fussed and found endless trivial stuff… They let it be known that this could go on for a long time, unless… Approval was immediately forthcoming, after an envelope with a few $thousand cash in it was "accidentally" left lying around.
I'd be terrible in that kind of business environment. I hate corruption and dirty politics…
FWIW, and probably irrelevant today, I spent my early years around the auto industry. Most of my family and friends worked for the Big Three or their suppliers. This was in the 1950-60s, and then I left. Of the people I knew, it was rare for them to buy a car “off the lot.” They all ordered and got exactly what they wanted. It usually took about six weeks to get delivery. Prices were fair, and there were deals to be had, same as buying from stock. That seems to have gone away.
I attribute that to the growing market share of the imports. It would take a lot longer to order a car from one of the brands that manufacture far away. Eventually people got used to buying that way, even car enthusiasts. The industry adapted to this new way of doing business. Options are packaged, and cars ordered in bulk.
I also remember when GM tried to resurrect ordering, some time in the 1980s IIRC. They had a nice (Sun?) workstation with a big monitor in dealerships. The prospective buyer could “build” a car on the screen, and then order it. Wasn’t popular, probably for many reasons, and went away quickly. A big reason was likely that the dealer didn’t push it because he wanted to sell from inventory.
More lately, as was mentioned here, dealers work together and can quickly get cars from a broader stock of regional dealers. Everything is in a database. This even works for used cars. I live in a small isolated town, and the few dealers we have seem to be able to get some cars from several states away. I have a cousin in Michigan who wanted a specific older car. He went to his local dealer and gave them a list of what he wanted, and they “found” a car from several hundred miles away. He likes cars in excellent condition, and was used to buying new, but he had always wanted this particular one. He told the dealer he would reject it if it wasn’t up to his standards, and was told no problem, they could just put it into inventory. He got what he wanted, and was surprised to find such a car in like-new condition.
I tell these stories to friends who have never considered unconventional options. It requires patience, luck, and they might have to pay a little more, but they can get something they want. This whole situation is fueled by volume, and some of us benefit from the majority who walk in and drive out with a new car.
Yes, times have changed, and inventory is thin, but that special car just might be out there for the dedicated buyer. Dealers, Auto Trader, Bring a Trailer, and the others are in business to help like never before.
Toyota is moving a lot of units right now unless the vehicle is new/strange like the Corolla Cross. All of their eight cylinder vehicles went unobtainium before the last model year ended since the Tundra and Sequoia lost the option for 2022.
Last year, the RAV4 had briefly supplanted the F150 as the best selling vehicle in the US, but I don't know if that continued.
Katy has a lot of California transplants like Austin. I joke that it may be the affordable housing for the Tonyfactory at the Austin airport, but that doesn’t seem as funny as it was a year ago.
>> The dealership business is a strange one, with lots of unpleasant, dark corners. My best friend in college was the son of a guy who ran a huge GM dealership in Dallas.
Just look at how ferociously they fight Tony's direct-to-consumer model. IIRC if you want to buy one in Texas you have to pick it up in a neighboring state.
Someone I've never heard of before jumped to her death in NYC, which I don't particularly care about, but what struck me was the caption info under the picture.
WT actual F?
Kryst wrote about being trolled online and how winning Miss USA at the age of 28 made her a target for ageist bullies.
— trolling has become a synonym for abused. I hate when a word with a specific meaning gets broadened and misused to the point the original meaning is lost. Especially when it happens in a couple of years.
–and so what? Anonymous strangers called her names online. Why does she care?
She was the oldest person to have won the pageant, and she also strayed from the norm with her passion for social justice – she was a trained lawyer and Black Lives Matter advocate.
— As far as I can remember every pageant winner wanted to 'help the poor' or some other vague SJW goal
–are there untrained lawyers somewhere? Trained dental hygienist makes sense. Trained lawyer does not.
In recent TikTok videos, Kryst revealed that she no longer wanted to practice law because she had become sick of what she called constant microaggressions and a lack of diversity.
–HAHHAAHHAAA Tiktok videos. And what a way to increase diversity in law practice- remove one more darker skinned female from the pool.
In a video six days ago, she explained to a fan that she struggled to meet billable hours requirements, and that it felt like 'trading in hours of my life in order to get paid.'
— yeah, most lawyers struggle to get billable hours. Too bad. There are far too many lawyers chasing too little work. And as for 'trading your life to get paid' WTF did you think work WAS?
Writing ahead of her 30th birthday for Allure magazine, she said hauntingly: 'Each time I say “I’m turning 30,” I cringe a little. Sometimes I can successfully mask this uncomfortable response with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting…turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I’m running out of time to matter in society’s eyes
— poor lass, always defining herself by what others think. Bought into the trolls lines about being too old too. Someone failed this girl-child in a big way.
— and it’s infuriating.'
— so jump? I think you were looking for another word there.
WTF. Didn't know that work is trading your life for money, didn't know it took effort and struggle, let others define her her whole life. Despite her accomplishments felt nothing.
I hope I do a better job with my daughters.
n
I'm jumping when I hit 70.
Right into a Cyber Truck!
From SRW in the Fort Bend Journal, "Time To Vacuum":
"I know it's time to clean out my car when my car tells it has turned on the passenger side airbag because someone is apparently sitting in the passenger seat."
I find many young people have been taught to think like this; mainly by parents (who love their children so much they can't tell them off) and woke teachers.
I talk to my young relatives about the realities of life, and find as they get older they do begin to understand 'real' life. I also introduce them to Scott Peck's 'The Road Less Travelled' which very much summarises my view on such matters. Particularly the opening paragraph.
"Life is difficult.
This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."
They deliver it IIRC.
Austin doesn't have a Tesla dealership, but there is a corporate store out on 183 not far from my house. I assume that's where service happens and the new car deliveries are staged.
In theory, Austin will also soon have a factory producing the cars. I assume the buyer can take delivery there since they are planning an elaborate visitor center … or at least were when they pitched the Gigafactory plan to the school district who sold its soul in terms of tax breaks on what was previously an old quarry.
— trolling has become a synonym for abused.
I used to troll for fish 🙂
How times have changed. We will never get back to simpler times… or cars.
I was doing my weekly shopping Sunday morning, and took a swing by Albertsons looking for some chicken breasts – $6/lb. Yikes.
But they had spiral cut ham on the shank for $0.99/lb, so that’s what I went home with.
I understand that the USDA reported that food cost increases in 2020/2021 were 3.5%…
It is not just food. My favorite Softsoap, Aloe, in the disposable sink dispenser just changed from $0.99 to $1.24 at HEB. I bought two more last night.
It is $1.49 at Kroger.
This January took forever to pass by. Usually I feel like the days are flying by, but with 5 weekends, this month dragged. I don’t know why I want it to be past, but I do. I don’t think great things will be happening in February, but at least it won’t be January.
I suspect that in a year or two, we will call these the good old days.
I have gone back to Google DNS servers. I was using Adguard DNS servers to block adds. At my internet speeds I only saw a small difference except for heavily ad driven sites. There was a problem. I got a message on my iDevices that encrypted DNS requests were being blocked. Went back to Google DNS servers and the message is gone. Hrrrmmpppphhh.
And in other news. Spousal unit and I will be heading to Texas starting about March 7. It will be a trip of about 20 days with several stops. Will take the southern route starting out and the northern route on the return. Stopping in Atlanta GA, Orange TX, then Baytown TX, Pearland TX, Conroe TX, Boerne TX, Austin TX, Round Rock TX, Bryan TX, Valley Mills TX, Memphis TN, Nashville TN, then home. No more need to go to San Antonio.
Re inflation: shipping inflation has been happening for a while, but it is rapidly becoming untenable for private persons to mail any package. My mother mailed me a 13.4 oz package, 6"x5"x3", from Oklahoma to Texas, and it cost her $9.10 USPS.
I just packed my son's birthday present. Going from Texas to Ohio, about 8 lbs (10 lbs at most), 22"x15"x12", the post office will charge $39 and change for their pokiest parcel rate. UPS, $38 and change, but delivers faster. So I'll take it to the UPS store.
No wonder people are eager to keep Amazon Prime. And in the cities, they can get same-day delivery. My son loves that.
I can't remember what I did on my 70th birthday.
My favorite Softsoap, Aloe, in the disposable sink dispenser just changed from $0.99 to $1.24 at HEB.
Hmm, IIRC that is stocked at my local Dollar Tree. Used to be a dollar, now $1.25. Coincidence?
My wife and I have been shopping at our local Dollar Tree since it opened about ten years ago. It is the largest Dollar Tree I have been in, and very well kept. They have great deals on some things, and don’t meet the competition on others. It pays to shop and to have a good memory. I also sometimes stock up on some of their items that are one-time deals. Some of their stuff is closeouts, and will never be seen again.
Same for Grocery Outlet, a small growing chain.
Re shipping, yes, expensive. I blame the big shippers like Zon with their leverage that we dirt people don’t have.
Last week I had to ship a 33 lb box to a neighboring state. I have free accounts with the USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Usually, FedEx wins on large heavy items going long distance, such as halfway across the US, but this time UPS won. It was $67.86 compared to $73.74 FedEx Ground and $77.80 USPS Parcel Post. But wait.
UPS hasn’t won for many years, but my account has been active for way over ten years. As I was updating the account and doing the shipment, a special discount flashed on the page. It offered me a substantial discount: $67.86 was reduced to $54.29. All I had to do was click Accept. There was a coupon code: SOAR. Might work for others.
Why did I get a deal? The breathless promo text said it was because I was a “nice person,” or some such. Right. This was actually a package for a quilter that was getting it from a local estate of a deceased couple, so I wasn’t paying for it. I passed on the information, and word got around. I told the above back to my wife, and one of the other friends wanted to know how I got the deal. I told her it was because I am a “nice person.” 🙂
I just got the SOAR discount on UPS. I thought it was the "coupon discount" extension (Safari on Mac) in the browser that found it. Maybe not.
Or you can run the dough cycle and then make hamburger rolls (typically 8-10 from the two-pound batch) or cloverleaf rolls (24 fat ones from two pounds or 24 skinny ones from a pound and a half). You might find that if you have a basket of nibble-sized rolls on the counter that they'll be snagged and eaten in passing. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is yet to be determined…
Sister Schubert's Frozen wheat rolls is a VERY dangerous thing to leave on a counter top in my house after they have been warmed up and the leftovers in a ziploc bag. They will not make midnight.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/sister-schubert-s-wheat-dinner-yeast-rolls-10-ct/1586728
"AOC: Corporate 'price gouging' is fueling inflation"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aoc-corporate-price-gouging-is-fueling-inflation-185623394.html
Gotta have a monopoly and suckers in order to gouge a market. Neither is true in the USA. Yet.
In fact, the dumbrocrats want to create guaranteed winners in all markets so they can fleece those markets. That is fascism.
>> Re inflation: shipping inflation has been happening for a while, but it is rapidly becoming untenable for private persons to mail any package.
@Pecancorner, four shipping tips…
1. Buy your postage thru PayPal (search on PayPal postage hack for the instructions) and you'll get a discounted rate. You will though need to know the package's weight.
2. Uses USPS Priority Mail flat rate boxes (if your item fits). Boxes are free at your local PO, or can be ordered online from the USPS website. You can also order USPS packing tape, also free (well free as in our taxes pay for it).
3. For small items (up to 13 oz including the packaging – think padded envelope), the first class parcel rate is still somewhat reasonable.
4. If you can buy it on Amazon and you don't have Prime, you can still get free shipping if the item(s) totals $35 or more. All my grandkids have Amazon wish-lists and I only pick from those for gifts.
They deliver it IIRC.
Austin doesn't have a Tesla dealership, but there is a corporate store out on 183 not far from my house. I assume that's where service happens and the new car deliveries are staged.
In theory, Austin will also soon have a factory producing the cars. I assume the buyer can take delivery there since they are planning an elaborate visitor center … or at least were when they pitched the Gigafactory plan to the school district who sold its soul in terms of tax breaks on what was previously an old quarry.
My cousin bought his Tesla 3 in Vegas. And he picked it up at the Tesla store in the Dallas area. They also maintain Teslas at the Tesla store in Dallas. But, he had a door trim piece come loose and they sent a guy out to his house to fix it.
My favorite Softsoap, Aloe, in the disposable sink dispenser just changed from $0.99 to $1.24 at HEB.
Hmm, IIRC that is stocked at my local Dollar Tree. Used to be a dollar, now $1.25. Coincidence?
My wife and I have been shopping at our local Dollar Tree since it opened about ten years ago. It is the largest Dollar Tree I have been in, and very well kept. They have great deals on some things, and don’t meet the competition on others. It pays to shop and to have a good memory. I also sometimes stock up on some of their items that are one-time deals. Some of their stuff is closeouts, and will never be seen again.
Same for Grocery Outlet, a small growing chain.
I suspect that HEB price shops Walmart and keeps their prices the same or close. Walmart is the price leader in all of their chosen markets. Rush Limbaugh used to call Walmart a Godsend to the poor in the USA because their prices were the lowest possible for everything in the store.
re bread and keeping:
I'm working primarily with home-made breads, sourdough. I also put much of it in the freezer because I make more than we eat in a few days (I make bread one week, muffins one week, etc.), although I double-wrap it inside another wrapper that I've saved from store loaves. I make my own English muffins and freeze them the same way. While I slice a whole loaf at once I do not do so until we are ready to use it. By packaging the loaf as soon as it is cold and putting it in the refrigerator it will usually keep a couple of weeks, left out wrapped it often molds in a few days. The powers that be say do not refrigerate bread because it gets stale quickly or something, we have found that a few seconds in the micro-wave or toasting brightens ours up just fine.
"ExxonMobil to move headquarters as part of continued restructure"
https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/article/14232911/exxonmobil-to-move-headquarters-as-part-of-continued-restructure
"ExxonMobil Corp. will move its corporate headquarters to its campus north of Houston from Irving, Tex. as part of a continued restructure."
More and more consolidation in the oil and natural gas industry.
I think that crude oil will have to go above 100 $/bbl and natural gas above 8 $/mmbtu before any expansion in the crude oil and natural gas industry in the USA occurs.
We are going to have a hard freeze in south Texas this week on Thursday night, down to 28 F. Nothing like Feb 2021 though. People are starting to gear up though. North Texas is looking at 17 F with possible sleet and snow.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/tx/richmond?cm_ven=localwx_10day
The gas station at Sam's yesterday looked like the apocalypse was nigh. The high predicted for Friday in Austin is just above freezing.
Thankfully, Lunar New Year is tomorrow and not Thursday or Friday.
It goes both ways for almost everything. My flavor of beer is a buck and a half less at WalMart. WalMart sells the toothpaste I like . HEB sells the soap I like.
Canned goods at HEB seem a notch above WalMart. Example: Canned tuna. HEB's cheap brand is just like WallMart's Chicken of the Sea. Last I looked, why pay 15¢ extra for Brand Name.
The k-cups for coffee suck at either store. I get the Donut Shop at WalMart. A lot of the HEB stuff is just ick, "Pecan Butter" coffee? How about something like Yuban? Or whatever the stuff a decent restaurant serves? Grumble,….
HEB is no slouch here.
Man, I'm grumpy today. My stupid leg is throbbing enough that a pair of crutches might be handy. But someone borrowed the pair I had a few years ago and when they were done, tossed them in the trash. Dude, wtf part of "borrow" don't you understand?
@Alan, thank you! That 13 oz cut off is where my mother's package went wrong. I like to mail little 'care packages' throughout the year, and I'll have to start being sure they are lightweight or fit in one of those Flat Rate envelopes.
I'll look up the Paypal thing.. seems like I used to have it and lost or forgot it. My little grands are getting old enough now that I can ask their parents to create an Amazon wish list for me. Plus, I usually get parents' ok before buying anyway.
The forecast for here: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?textField1=30.76&textField2=-98.22#.XRDT-f5RdaQ
Unlike last year, I know to leave the dish washer door open and trickle the faucets, even in the EDC. The dishwasher is a KitchenAid. Very quiet, the fridge is noisy in comparison. So with all the sound proofing and lack, still, of insulation under that part of the kitchen floor, yep, lesson learned. But last year's 1F and 8" of snow was a first in my 30 years in this house.
I'm going to make a pot of Hot and Sour Soup. I can post the recipe. Just need to buy some tofu and ginger root and the shrooms. Might slice up a steak instead of pork chops. Turkey stock that I made instead of canned chicken broth. But other than that absolutely authentic. Grin.
Shipping is getting to be like healthcare insurance, a couple of big players are setting the rates, and the little guys are subsidizing the discounts.
I thought my UPS account had a pretty good discount, but my UPS thru ebay is even cheaper. USPS thru ebay is cheaper than my online account too. Both services have raised rates lately btw.
Currently the ebay shipping calculator is adding crazy amounts, like 60% over actual rates, and it's scaring away customers. I've ended up doing big shipping refunds to close the deal a couple of times.
n
I shop eBay and Big River. And well, anywhere. I know "free shipping" ain't actually a thing. You have to look at the total price.
Some sites and some eBay sellers seem to see the Shipping Cost as a profit center.
Sure, boxes and packing supplies are not free, but still.
"The Epic Road Trip That Inspired the Interstate Highway System"
https://www.history.com/news/the-epic-road-trip-that-inspired-the-interstate-highway-system
"On the morning of July 7, 1919, the great “motor truck train” slowly rumbled due west out of Washington, D.C., following an elaborate dedication ceremony for the Zero Milestone, the point from which all highway miles to the nation’s capital are to be measured, just south of the White House. The 81-vehicle convoy—which included ambulances, tanker trucks, field kitchens, passenger cars carrying reporters and automotive company representatives, searchlight trucks and even a five-ton trailer hauling a pontoon boat christened Mayflower II—traveled all of four hours before problems began. A kitchen trailer broke its coupling, a fan belt broke on an observation car and another truck suffered a broken magneto before the convoy made camp for the night in Frederick, Maryland, where Eisenhower joined the more than 250 enlisted men and two-dozen officers. The troops had covered only 46 miles in seven hours—a snail’s pace of barely over six miles per hour."
"Over the following days, unexpected detours arose when the roofs of covered bridges proved too low for the military’s shop trucks. The convoy halted repeatedly for stripped gears, boiled-over radiators and vehicles stuck up to their hubs in mud. The custom-design Militor tractor truck, which cost the military $40,000, quickly proved its considerable worth in towing vehicle after vehicle out of roadside ditches and mud holes with its power winch. One night the Militor even arrived in camp with four trucks in tow."
"Once in California, the convoy returned to pavement and hit top speeds of 10 miles per hour. After being transported by ferry to the city’s docks, the vehicles paraded through the flag-festooned streets of San Francisco to the terminus of the Lincoln Highway six days behind schedule. The caravan had traversed 3,242 miles through 11 states in 62 days, an average of 52 miles per day."
The federal interstate highway system has been a boon to the USA. So much so that many people take it for granted now. I had no idea that Eisenhower led this effort in 1919.
I find it about a wash. There are some things cheaper at one or the other.
The HyVee chain is expanding into the US South, but is going to avoid Texas because of HEB.
I (sort-of) knew that, at least that he made the trip and it influenced him mightily as president.
I'm going to argue with the "boon" part, though. I appreciate and value the freedom we gained through the Interstate system, but the federal highway system it replaced actually would have served us very well. I grew up 3 miles from Route 66. It may be that the interstate system destroyed much of the small-town independent community that is one of the archetypes of what it means to be American, by bypassing and marginalizing most of them, and actually killing several.
I think railroad fanatics are idiots, but I also think we lost a lot when we lost our nationwide passenger railroads. The billions invested in the interstate highway system could be viewed as money spent with 3 major aims: Destroy railroads, fund GM, and put money into politicians' and contractors' pockets. After all, there's a quote attributed to Ike's secdef: "What's good for General Motors is good for America". He didn't say it, but what he said was pretty close.
My wife does all the food shopping. She is a coupon shopper. We have Albertsons, Stater Brothers, Walmart, Grocery Outlet, and some independents. She has preferred Albertsons for many years, and does most of her shopping there. She buys specific items from the others, plus Dollar Tree. When I asked why she doesn’t buy more from Walmart, she said their prices are higher than she pays for similar items at Albertsons using coupons.
Careful. Similar, not identical items. Coupons. She has this down to a system, and doesn’t mind going to three or sometimes more stores. We can drive all the way across town in about six miles, and about half that for the groceries, so time and gasoline are not much of an issue. She is good about combining trips. She sometimes “saves” 50% on her total tab, usually about 40%. She cooks a lot of our meals, but sometimes uses prepared items. I have learned that some prepared items are just as good as homemade, and can cost less. No matter what, variety. My only worry is that some prepared foods contain stuff I wouldn’t want to eat, such as sugars.
One thing about coupon shopping is that it forces variety, and that suits me.
When we go to the LA area, she goes to stores we don’t have. Interesting to compare. Some of the fancier stores are… fancy. Food can be better, but not much, and prices are higher. We have noticed that our local stores are a little better than the same names in the city. I think our clientele demands better, and the stores deliver.
Works both ways. 20 or so years ago we had a Vons, but that closed. That was her favorite store. It was old, not well maintained but clean, and the merchandise was very good, the prices fair, and the employees dedicated. We heard it was closed by corporate edict, not because it did not do good business. She still misses it.
My take on the Interstate System is much is designed so it can be used as air strips. Try that on US281 between San Antonio and IH20.
According to Reuters, who quote a government agency:
Granted, things were different in the 1950's, but consider how many municipal and general aviation airports there are along the various highways and byways today. In dire need of places to stage air operations, the Army and Air Force could find a way to make it work.
Speaking of coupons, I went to Harbor Freight yesterday to get two items with coupons. While there, I found a more expensive item on a clearance shelf. Its packaging was damaged, but the item was OK. It was about 15% off, not bad, but might have been better for a clearance item. Of my two coupons, one was for a specific item, and the other was for xx% off any one item. I was surprised to find that the cashier (actually, the automated system) applied the xx% off to the clearance item, which was the most expensive item of the three. Win!!
The impulse item was something I had been waiting for to go on sale, so yet another win. It was a 100’ rubber air hose. I have used HF air hoses for decades, and found them to be about as good as any, but lower cost. There is one kind of rubber hose I have found to be better, but it costs at least twice as much, and only lasts about 20% longer by my experience. So much for quality.
I get a lot of use out of air hoses, and when they fail I cut them up for shorter hoses. I would like to use self-locking hose, but it is very expensive. Neat stuff, but pricey. Instead of that, I need to look into getting a crimper and ferrules. That way, I could have the smoothness of a self-locking hose with low cost. A little more work, though.
I just got the SOAR discount on UPS. I thought it was the "coupon discount" extension (Safari on Mac) in the browser that found it. Maybe not.
Chrome on Windows, so maybe not. I don’t have any coupon extension. Will have to look into those. Didn’t know they existed, thanks.
Way back I used the heck out of coupons. I'd go through the ads in the Sunday paper and make my shopping list. In order of how the store was laid out.
We'd hit the Skaggs-AlphaBeta (Oltorf and US183) and then across the street to the Tom Thumb. Sometimes we would go to the Tom Thumb at Lamar and Airport.
This was before scanners were a thing everywhere.
Go to HEB? Hell no.
HEB would have three check stands open. Period. Never mind there are ten folks in each line. Skaggs and Tom Thumb would have three check stands open, just idling, but if it got busy all of a sudden they would have eight check stands open.
There's a grocery store up by Lake Texhoma. David's. Small store. When a surge of folks ready to check out happened there were all kinds of folks running registers.
HEB? Nope.
Oh, and it's clear I have too much time on my hands. Sorry.
I don't like noticing that I have "Someone is wrong on the internet!" syndrome. I'll try to do better.
My take on the Interstate System is much is designed so it can be used as air strips. Try that on US281 between San Antonio and IH20.
"Day and Knight" with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz tried landing a 757 on a US Highway. Worked until the lake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGPl86DBNNs
I had no idea that Eisenhower led this effort in 1919.
https://www.amazon.com/American-Road-Story-Transcontinental-Journey/dp/080506883X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643667877&sr=1-4&tag=ttgnet-20
(nitpick)I've read the book. Ike was either a CAPT or LT in 1919, much too junior to lead the expedition.(/nitpick)
Is that aimed at me?
I didn't intend to come across like "you need to die heretic". I agree with you about the Interstates screwing up a lot of towns.
I was just tossing out the "land really big airplanes almost anywhere" idea.
I recall reading that before the Internet. Before anyone had a PC. Say, 1970. Popular Science, Popular Mechanix, Readers Digest, some various edition of Britannica.
Never heard how they planned to refuel the planes…..
Oh. "According to Reuters, who quote a government agency:" Yeah, I'm going to file this in the pile of stuff next to the pile of stuff of "all the stuff the government lies about".
Right there in the pile of "lower taxes" and "control the border" and on and on and on. Miles of lies.
https://www.amazon.com/American-Road-Story-Transcontinental-Journey/dp/080506883X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643667877&sr=1-4&tag=azlinkplugin-20
(nitpick)I've read the book. Ike was either a CAPT or LT in 1919, much too junior to lead the expedition.(/nitpick)
Lieutenant Colonel.
"In the early summer of 1919, Dwight Eisenhower was in a funk. With his wife and infant son living 1,500 miles away in Denver, the 28-year-old lieutenant colonel stationed at Maryland’s Camp Meade wasted away his considerable boredom by playing bridge with his fellow soldiers and drowning his sorrows about being kept stateside during World War I. Needing a way to break out of his doldrums, the future president found excitement in an endeavor still undertaken by millions today—the great American road trip."
And no where in the article does it say that he led the 68 vehicle Army convoy so I probably got the leadership wrong.
Lieutenant Colonel.
Well, it has been a number of years since I read the book! 😀
Aren't Swiss highways designed to double as runways?
Last Wednesday night, I drove back from my brother's house after dropping off my Dad to my house, about 30 miles. As usual for me after rush hours, I got on I-610 heading north and planned on taking the exit that traveled under I-610 to hwy 59 (I-69). I got on the 610 loop, came over the hill and noticed that there was a new sign for the hwy 59 (I-69) south exit. The I-610 – I-69 interchange is one of the biggest interchanges in Texas with over a million cars a day going through it.
So anyway, I decided to take the new I-69 south exit as the signage said. All of sudden, I am going up and up and OVER the existing I-610 bridge over I-69. No longer under the I-610 bridge that I have been driving for over 45 years. This new overpass is about two miles long and 150+ feet above ground and totally freaking me out. I had no idea this change was coming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnDUYVrTZcY
Lieutenant Colonel.
Well, it has been a number of years since I read the book!
Dwight David Eisenhower was a Lt. Colonel at age 28. And a few years later, the Supreme Commander of the European invasion. A superstar !
Used to be, our presidents were superstars. Not any more.
Tanks. My friend who drove those in Gulf War I said that they could move the M1 tanks anywhere *fast* on the Saudi freeways with the engine governors removed. The only limitation was fuel — the tanks get 1/2 mile per gallon on the freeway.
The New York Times bought the "Wordle" game from the developer, at a price "in the low seven figures'. Here, among other places : https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/31/22911274/wordle-new-york-times-free-word-game-acquisition
Nice return for the guy that wrote it. I wish I had his publicity engine for my projects …
I had shopped last week, but did a quick run for my short list yesterday to beat the storm. Stopped at the water kiosk and filled 10 gallons. Today, I cleaned the ashes out of the stove, and brought up double amount of wood we normally use for a week. Left the second load in the back of the truck.. lazy. My dad and brother called to see if I needed them to bring some up, nice of them!
We rode the train between small towns all the time when I was a child. And for long trips. It was great. We could catch a train a few blocks from home, and go anywhere in the country. We'd ride from Ardmore down to Gainesville and spend the day shopping downtown. My mother took us to New Orleans on the train. And we'd travel the 18 miles to visit our other grandparents.
I had not known, but learned a while back that we can thank the post office for that. When the Post Office decided to switch to contract trucks to carry mail, the railroads told the government they would no longer carry passengers as the passenger traffic didn't bring in enough to warrant stopping at all these towns. So the US government invented AmTrack, and still does not serve the small towns.
I don't use coupons, but I shop like that, going everywhere for different things and catching sales. I would use coupons but have never been in a place to get enough of them to matter… small towns, I guess. Yesterday, I went to Big Lots, Aldi, United (a small version of Albertsons), and Dollar General. Everyone is out of prunes! I did find Paul's sugar-free Sprite at DG but nowhere else.
Albertsons is a great store, I did most of our weekly shopping at one when we lived in Midland, and I like United. I always found HEB to be higher priced on many things, but their selection of brands is to die for. Wish we had one – we actually travel to shop the HEB in Stephenville sometimes, and always stop when we go to Austin, in either Lampassas or Lakeway. And Walmart I avoid. It's become difficult to get around in, and long waits to check out. I walk through once in a while to price check, and they rarely meet the prices I pay at other stores. I go there for Earl Campbell's hot links, and Old Folks sausage… that's it.
The I-610 – I-69 interchange is one of the biggest interchanges in Texas with over a million cars a day going through it.
Very impressive spaghetti bowl. A million cars a day?!! Talkin’ real numbers.
CA used to do things like that. Now we try to build trains from nowhere to nowhere. We took a left turn somewhere.
Oh Rick, the site and editor work very well on my desktop computer running W10 and Chrome. Haven’t tried my Android phone in a while, though. Just thought: I should try Chrome on Android instead of Brave. Might be better. I have it installed, but only use it occasionally.
My needs of the editor are simple. I usually compose in Word because I have a lot of autocorrect text settings that I like. Word has always been good at that and other things. Makes writing a pleasure. Can’t expect an editor with no persistent settings to compete.
Let's Go Brandon!
This statement, like so many, can be completely true and yet completely misleading.
the myth that one in five miles of the Interstate is straight so airplanes can land in emergencies is false.
— the fact that there is a flat straight section of a certain length every so often is true. I've watched for them while driving in the mid south mountains, and some of them make no economic or engineering sense. It may vary by region. "the myth" – it's not a myth, at best it's a poorly formed assertion. "one in five" – ah, specificity. One in five could be false, while 1 in 20 is true. "land in emergencies" – red herring. It's so the Army Air Corps/Air Force can land planes ON PURPOSE while moving troops and materiel around CONUS in the event of a war here.
— so for fact checking on the intarwebs, the statement quoted can be both completely true, and yet completely misleading if the ACTUAL statement is "the requirement is in the enabling legislation that periodically there must be a flat straight section, of a certain length, capable of allowing landing and takeoff of xxxxxx type of aircraft.." It was a DEFENSE appropriation after all. National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1957
it also served to"make it easy to get out of big cities in case of an atomic attack." according to teh History Channel.
n
Amtrak doesn't do such a hot job with the big towns either.
The Cascades line from Portland to Vancouver, BC kinda sorta works, but that's because Canadians take the train south to shop.
The further south they travel, the bigger the taxes they are trying to avoid.
The Portland Apple Store is the busiest in North America.
The wikipedia entries are slightly incorrect in the post-WWI dates. The Ambrose biography is given as a reference. I don't have a copy to hand, but I doubt the error originates there.
Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower received a brevet appointment major and then to lt. colonel during WWI and held that rank during the trans-continental expedition in 1919. He reverted to captain in the general reduction in rank in June 1920, but in August was promoted to major and held that rank until 1936.
https://www.nps.gov/features/eise/jrranger/chronomil1.htm
https://history.army.mil/brochures/Ike/ike.htm
My comment about having too much time on my hands wasn't aimed at anybody but myself.
I "corrected" a commonly held belief of no importance, and caught myself doing so after the fact.
Nick, it's not true that everything Reuters, Snopes, Wikipedia, and .gov says is a lie. Just everything important (due to politics) and half the rest (due to incompetence and ignorance). And I agree about the specificity issue. There could have been a requirement for some landing strips, and also not a requirement for 1 mile in every 5. The agency in question says "no", but no one there now was present when the whole thing kicked off.
Is the dead horse beaten enough?
When I am driving on any long and straight part of the Interstate, I always keep an eye out for landing planes.
Just in case.
@Nick
https://www.ijbhtnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_4_July_2014/7.pdf
Here's the real justification:
The tax money flows to Washington and thence to the cities, where most of it fuels graft and corruption and a little bit goes to actual roads.
Fast forward fifty years and you get talk of "shovel ready" projects that get funded but never built. A few years later, all you get is "infrastructure”; on the bill to shovel trillions to the blue shiiteholes.
You're, like, all cynical n stuff. Why, next thing we know you'll be claiming that the infrastructure money sent "from the feds" to Pennsylvania for bridge repair was diverted for bike paths and State Police salaries.
I suspect it's cheaper to build a highway in a 'rural' area as opposed to an 'urban' area. So there's that.
Blame Ronald Reagan. Bridges and other "infrastructure" on state and county highways were not the business of the Federal Government until Reagan struck a bargain with Tip O Neil to get something important through the House in the 80s. Now every rusty bridge is the problem of DC.
Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower received a brevet appointment major and then to lt. colonel during WWI and held that rank during the trans-continental expedition in 1919. He reverted to captain in the general reduction in rank in June 1920, but in August was promoted to major and held that rank until 1936.
Around fifteen years ago I read Vol I of Ambrose's two-part Eisenhower bio:
https://www.amazon.com/Eisenhower-Soldier-General-President-Elect-1890-1952-ebook/dp/B00HOFG5N0/ref=sr_1_13?crid=3976QYPRIBMEK&keywords=eisenhower+biography+ambrose&qid=1643678316&s=books&sprefix=eisenhower+bio%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-13&tag=ttgnet-20
in which the author no doubt mentions Ike's brevet appointments. Two memorable takeaways from the book were that Ike missed WWI because he was both a superb organizer and thus more valuable on the home front, and also because he was an excellent football coach, which made his stateside superiors reluctant to release him for combat.
The 1955 defeat led the Eisenhower Administration to craft a revised bill in 1956 that addressed the concerns of opponents.
What a novel concept. We should try that today. 😉
Ah rabbit hole….
DDE himself addresses a couple of the points in one of the meeting summaries in his library, and in his note to congress. He complains that what they designed ISN"T what he wanted or supported.
The part about the spending and money flowing to the cities was based on the number of people in the cities and that they pay more taxes…
And it's worse than 90-10 split, it's up to 95-5 in states with a lot of federal land…
And it was supposed to be done in 13 years.
n
A shout-out to the Canadian truckers.
Rasmussen Reports:
50% Support Biden’s Impeachment
Monday, January 31, 2022
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/january_2022/50_support_biden_s_impeachment
…and counting.
Not the 81 million voters for The Most Popular Candidate in American History, of course.
Our society seems to be pretty dang near to Peak Cruft.
Transgender woman who also identifies as a WOLF claims she's 'spiritually' an animal – but insists she would not howl or bark at her 'serious job' or in public
Gonna take a big fire to clear out all the dead wood in this forest.
n
And it was supposed to be done in 13 years.
No federal work projects are ever done.
And it was supposed to be done in 13 years.
No federal work projects are ever done.
I forgot my second comment.
There are guys now working on I-45 from Galveston, TX to Dallas, TX whose grandfathers built the original road 60+ years ago. And I like that ! Road projects are good for the country.
"Arctic Blast Puts Texas' Power Grid At Risk"
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/arctic-blast-puts-texas-power-grid-risk
Nah. Now if we were going to drop below 25 F here on the Gulf Coast and stay below freezing for 24 hours, yes.
Just the same, I do have my generator. And some propane for my BBQ pit. And some firewood.
Overhaul season starts in two weeks. Then the pucker up factor starts until the middle of March.
Why does overhaul season start on Feb 15 ? Because there are only 8,000 welders in Texas. If you start overhaul season on March 15 then they won’t be finished until June 15. And thats with all the welders working 80 hour weeks. Mmmm hmmm, love that overtime !
No federal holiday this weekend.
Plus, Abbott is done if the fiasco repeats with rolling blackouts.
>> I suspect it's cheaper to build a highway in a 'rural' area as opposed to an 'urban' area. So there's that.
Yeah, the unmarked brown envelopes can be a little lighter out in the sticks.
Any port in a storm…
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/31/harris-supreme-court-00003788
Not horribly popular… yeah, and completely unqualified, but I guess that's not an obstacle.
n
Just noticed this from Monday's entry, Nick, and I can't not say something…
"this month is finally on it's last day…" = "this month is finally on it is last day…"
I do that one all the time myself. 🙂