Hot and humid, so two more reasons to get out of the Houston metroplex.
After a short morning routine, I hope to be on the road soon.
We’ll see.
Stack it high, while you can.
n
Sat. Jun. 4, 2022 – headed for the BOL– but only to do work…
38 Comments and discussion on "Sat. Jun. 4, 2022 – headed for the BOL– but only to do work…"
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Apple could be looking to cobble together a low bandwidth message service of which satellite would be part of the overall picture, but running a public ISP has legal restrictions, particularly with regard to employee email privacy, which Tim Cook may not find appealing at a time when tech workers seem ready to revolt over a general order to return to the office.
“Redneck” is accurate in my case, with most of my family tree spread across Mississippi and Georgia. Dunno about “hillbilly”, however. It is possible.
Thanks to our late host’s influence, I own more boxes of decking screws than rolls of duct tape.
OK2, groomer2.
Anyone carrying student loan debt while maintaining a non-401(k) investment portfolio, counting on forgiveness to make their long term financial plans work, is a thief. You do know what that means, right?
OK, groomer.
What does Nick say about meatspace? Today is…liverspace.
Annual cleanup day for the town, which means clearing and repairing all the local hiking trails. This is handled by the “tourist club”, which I joined specifically to have more contact with local folk.
My working party consisted (except for me) entirely of locals, who were born and raised in this tiny town. We worked our section of trail fast, then it was time for a beer. Or two. On the way down from the mountain, we met a farmer family bringing their cows up. Have to stop for a chat, of course, and either a beer or a glass of wine. Then lunch, also well lubricated. Tonight, the annual meeting of the club, which will certainly involve more wine, and probably spirits.
The hardest work is being handled by my liver cells. I can already feel tomorrow’s hangover, but it’s an annual event, and – aside from keeping the hiking trails clear – it really is all about meatspace, especially for those of us coming in as outsiders.
It’s interesting to see how the different groups interact. The real locals. The people who come here only for vacation, but who have done so for ages. And those of us who live here, but are not locals.
Tomorrow’s hangover may, possibly, be gone in time for next year’s event…
“Are you … local?”
n
Those
studentsleaches that get their loans forgiven are in for a nasty surprise from the IRS and the state tax collectors. That forgiven loan is taxable income. Forgive $50K and federal tax could be as much as $10K. States such as CA could tack on another $10K. If they can’t pay on the loan how do they expect to come with as much as $20K? Tax collectors are not sympathetic or understanding.Ryobi battery update…
I fully charged all 3 batteries that I now own. All read 20.5V, or 4.1V per cell, as compared to a fully charged Lithium cell at 4.2V. It looks like Ryobi deliberately undercharges the batteries, probably for longer life, and maybe for safety reasons also.
I also noted they have 3 batteries in the range. Lithium, Lithium+ and Lithium+HP. All are rated 4Ah and 72Wh. I guess the + and +HP batteries have a higher discharge rate (C rate), which makes them more suitable for high current applications.
My existing battery was a +HP and the new ones from the $99 package are the base model. I doubt there would be any performance difference except maybe when using the driver tool to remove a stuck bolt.
I’ll be keeping mine fully charged. My reason for buying the package with the inverter is for blackouts and you can’t (easily) charge a battery during a blackout.
When you take something from someone by force, that’s theft. Doesn’t matter if you do it directly or via an intermediary, it’s still theft.
So basically, the government gives you the money to pay for you education. As usual, screw the poor people and help out the rich.
Headed out.
Boy it got hot, 94F in the sun, but only 55%RH.
n
>> I’ll be keeping mine fully charged. My reason for buying the package with the inverter is for blackouts and you can’t (easily) charge a battery during a blackout.
So if you have the Ryobi inverter you can use it to power your chargers. Sorta like perpetual motion.
OK, groomer3.
The Jackwagon 2000 solar “generator” arrived today. As usual, no notification of shipping from Jackery. I do get texts because I signed up with Fedex for packages heading to my address. No charge on the battery and it looks new not refurbished. Maybe they just do a good job. I hooked up the four panels and got 40W in. Only two panels get sun the way I have them hung on the fence. Later today, the other two will get good sun. I washed them off since pollen really accumulates. W in went down to 8W. Even in full Sun, wet panels suck. As soon as they dried, W in went up to 150W.
I’m not going to charge with mains if possible since the charge controller sucks dead bunnies in this thing. Let’s see how long it lasts this time.
Don’t buy Jackery! There are other brands just as good or better.
“Meet the ‘King of Bitcoin Mining’—an ex-landscaper who is building crypto’s promised land in Texas”
https://fortune.com/2022/03/08/crypto-bitcoin-mining-texas-whinstone-riot-chad-harris/
750 MW for 100,000 bitcoin mining PCs in Rockdale, TX.
Speaking of student debt:
Our Twins both have Microbiology degrees and don’t owe a cent. We started a college fund when they were babies that paid for uni. Start young and use time value of money and it is painless.
I do not, however, miss a chance to remind them of who paid for uni.
LOL
They may supply their own power, but the garage operations that article inspires do not.
I’m wondering when “Supply and demand, baby” starts driving prices in Texas. After the election?
They may supply their own power, but the garage operations that article inspires do not.
I’m wondering when “Supply and demand, baby” starts driving prices in Texas. After the election?
All five of the coal power plants are long gone. Just the 345kv, 138kv, 69kv switching yard is still there at the old TXU Sandow Steam Electric Station. Three 115 MW and two 545 MW units co-owned with Alcoa.
The butcoin miners buy power off the grid. I am sure that they have contracts since they take power 24x7x365.
I do not understand your supply and demand. ERCOT is a Dutch auction every 15 minutes, had been for 20 years now. ERCOT favors cost over reliability every day of the week.
Those big long warehouses housed aluminum pots. Each one of the pots had a 4,160 volt potline going into it to make 2,000 lb aluminum pigs. I worked there for two months of my life back in 1986.
“SpaceX making good progress towards Super Heavy static fire campaign”
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-super-heavy-booster-7-static-fire-prep/
“That goal, same as it has been for half a year, is to qualify the first Super Heavy booster for flight. To do so, SpaceX must – at long last – static fire a Super Heavy with all necessary Raptor engines installed. For Booster 7 and its near-term successors, that means 33 new “Raptor 2” engines capable of generating a total of ~7600 metric tons (~16.7M lbf) of thrust.”
33 raptor engines just boggles the mind.
I thought that the big mining operations put in gas turbine generators.
In a couple of years, I have a hard time imagining even brief blackouts sitting well at Texas households where the owners bought Jesus Trucks along with the installation of 40 to 60 A of extra service required to charge the 131 kWh batteries to full every night.
Someone buys $10/gasoline in Mendocino.
Why wouldn’t the “Golden Rule” prevail where they who have the gold make the rules?
The SpaceX facility at Boca Chica is small compared to, say, LC 39 at Kennedy. I can’t imagine something on the scale of a Saturn V firing out there much less lifting off. The remaining homeowners are closer to the firing stand than the VAB is from the two moon rocket launch pads in Florida.
We’re scheduled to make another trip to the area for the 4th this year. I’m going to bring a better camera and we plan to book the dolphin cruise which passes the facility on the other side.
Comment down-votes against a person (or up-votes) just because of who they are are not helpful or informative.
Votes (up or down) should indicate that you agree/disagree with the comment, not the person making the comment.
It would seem that some votes here are directed against the person, not the comment. IMHO.
In a couple of years, I have a hard time imagining even brief blackouts sitting well at Texas households where the owners bought Jesus Trucks along with the installation of 40 to 60 A of extra service required to charge the 131 kWh batteries to full every night.
I have 400 amp service at my office building. I have pay an extra one cent/kwh for that. Those are big wires coming off the pole from my dedicated transformer.
If people have 200 amo service, they should be able to charge one Jesus truck with 50 amps. But momma’s electric suv is going to suck wind.
OK, groomer4.
BTW, there is 24,000 MW of new solar and wind turbines coming on line in Texas over 2022 and 2023. Plus a couple of new gas turbines.
@rick
no borrowers will pay income taxes on any student debt discharged by the federal government
——-
some votes here are directed against the person, not the comment
IMHO none of us are mind readers.
IMHO it is egregious to forgive the debt AND the income tax burden.
The money to do these things comes from the pockets of working stiffs. Yes, yes, I understand that’s an oversimplification, however it’s not untrue.
Hence my downvote.
I would really like to see more thoughtful input from NaN. The goading and sniping are junior high antics. Not seeing any useful or interesting contributions to offset the juvenile behavior.
I really think that we should not allow people to be outed here. If people want to out themselves then go for it. But to have a troll come in and start outing people is decidedly bad behavior.
I don’t agree. There is some useful discussion and information here. Not all of it, of course.
I also don’t agree that this place should be closed down. Barbara owns the place, and pays for the hosting out of her own pocket (about $180/year), as (she says) “a tribute to Bob”.
I don’t think that the site is “Nick’s tortured existence”. There are some right-leaning views here; most of the political/social commentary leans a bit ‘right’. That’s OK, different viewpoints can be instructive – when they are politely discussed.
Don’t really like the ‘name calling’ that comes from anyone, no matter what their political/social viewpoints are. Reasonable and thoughtful discussions are why I come here. I don’t agree with all the discussions, but they are, IMHO, useful reading.
Chances are that the forgivees (?) will simply end up in trouble again with a house or pricey car they can’t afford.
“The Problem” By Divemedic
https://areaocho.com/the-problem-2/
“So I asked in a previous post, what are police good for? Today we ask why mass shootings have become such a problem? The root of the problem lies with a movement that started out west in California during 1955. I am referring to deinstitutionalization.
“America doesn’t have a gun problem. It has a mental health problem, and it is getting worse. America is sliding into madness, a phenomenon that Heinlein referred to as “the crazy years.””
He outlines the problem well. But there are no good solutions.
Wow, Numb-a-Nuts discovered my name. That’s sort of like an impressive bit of hacking, especially the part about noting where I put my name on this site and put in links to Gab and other sites which have my name on display.
Numb-a-Nuts probably should give up its hacking career and go back to grooming.
Beautiful here at the lake. No fish biting though. I finished my dinner and will go down to the dock for a nightcap and a small fire.
I LOVE my life. I sincerely wish everyone has as much that they love in their lives as I do. It’s possible to get there. It takes flexibility and ability and some of what most people call “luck”. I didn’t always love my life. I was commiting suicide by lifestyle for a couple of decades. I can’t recommend it as a long term strategy.
Actually doing things helps tremendously vs just reading about them, or watching someone else do them. That might be a tortured existence, knowing that you’ll never be as good at something, or as happy. It might even result in being committed to an inpatient psych hospital…
Surrounding yourself with the right sort of people, ones that support you and want you to do well is a good start. Setting some reasonable goals and having a plan to work toward them helps. Recognizing opportunity when it knocks helps too.
Giving people who don’t help you toward your goals free rent in your head is a loser’s game. Picking at the scabs of past hurts and failures doen’t help. Remember them, learn from them, but then MOVE ON.
n
oh, and happy wife = happy life, it’s not just a cliche.
Nothing as dumb as pissing off the guy who controls 60% of the world’s access to orbit, and pretty much all of ours…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/biden-sarcastically-wishes-elon-musk-lots-luck-his-trip-moon
Something as simple as “work to rule” or a newfound interest in adding a layer of “safety” would destroy schedules for launches that DoD needs.
FJB
n
Little bit chilly down by the water. Lots of dew.
Nice black sky with a lot of stars. Saw a dozen shooting stars at least.
Shortwave bands nice and open, even with just the built in antenna on my sony. BBC, australia, cuba, Tennesee. After hearing australia low but clear I got up and touched the antenna to my 24 ft flagpole. BIG improvement in signal strength. I can’t wait to get a good antenna up, but for my next night, I’ll jury rig something to my flagpole.
n
>> I also don’t agree that this place should be closed down. Barbara owns the place, and pays for the hosting out of her own pocket (about $180/year), as (she says) “a tribute to Bob”.
I can’t think of a better tribute to Bob than to continue the intelligent discussions and the impressive knowledge sharing that drew, and keep, so many of us here.
And thanks @nick for the insightful post.
@NaN
dictionary check on “concede”
”admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resisting it.”
I cannot have been said to have conceded what I never denied.
I suggest “volunteered” as a more accurate word.
@nick
+1,000 on all your words tonight
happy wife = happy life, it’s not just a cliche
An important concept. In our home we use something similar.
“Happy spouse = happy house”