Mon. July 4, 2022 – Independence Day, 2022

By on July 4th, 2022 in lakehouse, personal, Random Stuff

Hot this morning  with more on the way.  Humid too.   But there is a lake down the hill…..

Yesterday was hot hot hot.  So I did mostly indoor stuff.  I knocked several small projects off the list.   Replaced the toilet flush stuff in the hall bath.  Found the water meter and shut off, and made the shut off actually work.   Because I looked under the hall bath sink and saw the pipes were glistening….

Old pipes shouldn’t glisten.   That means they are wet, and water should be on the inside not the outside of the pipe.  There was a drop on the bottom of the P trap.  Odd, since we haven’t really been using that sink, but the faucet does drip.  It’s the project I was finally getting to.

As I tried to disconnect the P trap, the whole tailstock broke loose from the sink.   That ain’t supposed to happen.  With all that out of the way, I can see the cold water supply line is wet.   And this is the point that finding the water service shutoff became really critical.   I actually couldn’t make the valve near the house move, so we dug out the main valve at the street.   Some judicious banging on it got it free, and we were able to shut off the house.

Which was really timely, as the pipe nipple and 1/4 turn valve under the sink fell off in my hand.   Rotted right through where the galvanized iron pipe was screwed into the brass T of the supply… So now I’m digging through my parts buckets and boxes looking for some way to get this all back together at least so I can get the rest of the house turned back on.

After much “skull sweat” (as a favorite author used to say) I finally figured out a combination that would actually work, and let me connect the new sink.  I just had to clean all the old pipe dope out of the fitting, use a sprinkler nipple, and reuse the old 1/4 turn valve.  What could go wrong?

Well,  MY stuff all held together, but banging and scraping on the brass T soldered into the 1/2″ copper supply line must have moved enough of the green corrosion around to open a pin hole.  Yep.   Water was coming out of the side of the fitting.

NOW I just need to cap the line, so I can get the water back on, and I’ve used what I had.  Gotta cut out the bad T, while not breaking any of the other sketchy solder joints, or flexing the other green copper fittings.

And as much as this tale of plumbing woes must resonate, and stir the passions of you readers…  meatspace.  6pm Sunday, small town America, no stores open,   BUT, my neighbor takes me to his “storage house”, really just a metal building used for all the stuff that won’t fit in his tiny lakehouse, and we find some copper fittings, pipe, and everything I need to solder it all together.

So I did.  Got the line capped, the water back on, everything held, and other than not having a sink in the hall bath, we’re back to normal.

It could have been very bad.   Had the pipe burst while we were away, it could have flooded for weeks, or until someone noticed the water running out of the back of the house…

But I got lucky and saw there was an issue.  Poked at it until I was SURE there was an issue, and got a solution from my own preps, and  with the help of a friend and neighbor.

Followed that up with a nice dinner, and front row seats for a great neighborhood fireworks show (all the neighborhood chips in, the fireworks are sponsored, and the money goes to the volunteer fire department.  Small town USA.)

A good day.

I was going to write about Independence, given the day and all, but that will have to wait.

Hard work, a lucky break, friends, and the community celebrating together happened instead.

So as I hope you (American readers) will celebrate Indepedence Day, and have a truly wonderful one, ask yourself “What are you doing to become independent?”

 

The question is a good one for everyone, not just Americans.   What are you doing to be not- dependent?  Stacking needful things is a great start…  enjoy the day.

nick

66 Comments and discussion on "Mon. July 4, 2022 – Independence Day, 2022"

  1. Denis says:

    Happy Birthday, USA!

    Best wishes to all you colonial cousins 🙂

    Nick, glad you averted that disaster. Your preps worked, along with a little help in meatspace. Good for you. Is the state of that pipework representative? You might want to get some rolls of pre-insulated pex and the tools to work it…

  2. Steve Mac says:

    I had a new whole house shut off valve installed when I replaced my water heater. It saved me when I had an issue with the washer cold water valve. I have become proactive with plumbing repairs in the house and will have several components replaced before they fail in the near future.

  3. Clayton W. says:

    Ray, I wish you well in solving your problem.  That’s a rough one.

  4. Geoff Powell says:

    @nick:

    It could have been very bad.   Had the pipe burst while we were away, it could have flooded for weeks, or until someone noticed the water running out of the back of the house…

    Exactly that happened to d2, a year or so ago. She lives in a block of 2 storey flats (we call them maisonettes) on the ground floor, and her upstairs neighbour suffered a leak in the only piece of galvanised pipe in the flat – luckily, it was (just) downstream of the stopcock.

    But before they could get it shut off, her flat was soaked – took 2 weeks with two dehumidifiers going full chat to dry it out, and replacement flooring and carpets throughout. Thank $DEITY for insurance.

    G.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    The #1 lesson which should have come out of the TX freeze is to locate and check the water cutoff before closing on a property. Plus get a detailed inspection. 

    Swimming naked in a Buffett sense is still a popular pastime in this state for just about everyone.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    Multiple work calls yesterday and some unplanned work scheduled on the fly at 1 am
     

    Database. Always at 1AM on a Saturday.

    An issue today during daylight hours will be network. This week is statistically the most popular vacation week in telecom.

    BTW, I learned this week that SQLite does not have “Insert Or Update”. Oh what fun figuring out an alternative that worked in our specific situation.

    SQL and relational theory isn’t my thing. I’ve even bombed recent interviews not being able to discuss X normal form beyond third or right vs left outer join (turns out they are the same). Of course I can always get it done in a pinch.

  7. JimB says:

    Nick, you have a knack for turning near disasters into teachable moments. Good for you.

    I once had a car that had characteristics similar to your BOL.

  8. SteveF says:

    Swimming naked in a Buffett sense is still a popular pastime in this state for just about everyone.

    About 90% of everyone: It’s never happened before* so it won’t ever happen!

    – it happens –

    About 99% of the ‘90% of everyone’: No one could have predicted this! We need to sue someone! The government needs to make sure it never happens again!

    * That is, recently enough to be in their immediate memory

    right vs left outer join (turns out they are the same)

    Eh? I believe that you have been misinformed.

    Ray, sympathies for past, current, and future travails. From some of your remarks over the past year or two, I thought I saw it coming but was hoping for the best.

  9. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    BUT, my neighbor takes me to his “storage house”, really just a metal building used for all the stuff that won’t fit in his tiny lakehouse, and we find some copper fittings, pipe, and everything I need to solder it all together.

    As one of my favorite bloggers says: “Meatspace, baby.”

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    After yesterday’s big adventures and late night I was inclined to sleep in today.  EVERYONE and the dog was determined that I did not.    I still managed “groggy doze” for longer than usual.

    86F and 66%RH with patchy clouds  (part sun), so very nice day today.  

    My body is really complaining this morning about the work under the cabinet yesterday.  My neck and low back in particular were abused.  

    I’ve got safety glasses that I wear when doing any cutting or grinding that have a bifocal lens on the bottom but you have to lift your chin a little bit farther than comfortable to use the lens to look forward.   They are great when working on something at waist or knee level.   I did switch to my normal reading glasses but I must have waited a bit too long.  

    I did cut the built in vanity away, removing the whole center section to get better access to the pipes, since we are going to replace it eventually.   The pipes are low on the wall though so I still was kneeling, crouching, and sitting on the floor in between the two drawer units.  

    Body is old and worn out and some days that is more apparent than others.  Still better than the alternative….

    Oh, and if you didn’t know, they make safety glasses with the bifocal magnifying lens at the top edge, for tradesmen who spend the day looking up, like electricians running wire in the ceiling or working on lights.    That might be something useful to have in a cabinet if you occasionally do that kind of work.

    n

  11. Greg Norton says:

    right vs left outer join (turns out they are the same)

    Eh? I believe that you have been misinformed.
     

    SQLite doesn’t have right outer join so the order of the tables are swapped to achieve it using a left. Right is arguably syntactic sugar.

    The interview question was a trick. The person asking it was being a jerk since the job did not touch on database work. The next question from him was Python 2 vs 3 minutia which was even less relevant. 

    In that particular interview situation, I believe the real problem was that I am not jabbed but would consider the option if I really wanted the job. They weren’t given a choice.

    Everyone who has left the mRNA trial control group wonders if they’ve done the right thing. No one likes “Skippy” as in “We took our medicine and you’ll tak yers and likes it Skippy.”

  12. drwilliams says:

    The Establishment Is Running Out of Cannon Fodder for Its Woke Military

    Kurt Schlichter    Posted: Jul 04, 2022 12:01 AM

    “I was there at America’s pinnacle, present temporally and physically, right at the very peak of American power. But I did not know it then. In fact, it would not become clear to me until decades later. On February 24, 1991, I was a few miles west of Hafar al Batin in the Saudi Arabian desert along Tapline Road, at the main command post of the mighty VII Corps with my chemical decontamination platoon ….  When President Bush declared the ground war over on February 27, 1991, after about one hundred hours, I did not understand what it meant except in terms of my approximately 20-man unit. We knew we had won—the vaunted Republican Guard, with its Soviet gear, had been swept away by the unstoppable power of the VII Corps’s American tanks and the attached Brit armored division. Not just swept away—annihilated, defeated utterly and completely, so decisively that our potential opponents around the world watched in stunned horror as it dawned on them what America could do. It could do any damn thing it wanted. 

    I was micro-focused on the platoon’s mission, so when the final victory was announced, I did not realize what was truly happening in the macro. I understood that I was an insignificant cog in a vast machine that had delivered our countrymen a remarkable triumph, but I would not fully appreciate the significance of the moment until 30 years later when, watching an unrecognizable U.S. military humiliated in the debacle at Kabul Airport, I saw America at its postwar nadir.” 

    https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/07/04/the-establishment-is-running-out-of-cannon-fodder-for-its-woke-military-n2609664

    The whole essay is excellent, but Kurt fails to connect the dots between:

    it dawned on them what America could do. It could do any damn thing it wanted. 

    and

    30 years later when, watching an unrecognizable U.S. military humiliated in the debacle at Kabul Airport, I saw America at its postwar nadir.” 

    Our enemies in Russia and China and, yes, the EU, spent those thirty years investing in the green movement, social justice, BLM, and every other weapon of American cultural destruction that they could think up and indoctrinate into our children’s minds using their finest conquest, the American educational system. (Randy Weingarten, president of the AFT, makes $560,000 per year, or $160,000 more than the President of the United States. That’s a clue, Bubba)

    They won the greatest military victory in the history of the world without firing a shot.

    So now we’re supposed to share our natural gas with Germany? Freeze in the dark, motherpockers. France? After Russia takes over Germany you can plan on setting a new record for “cheese eating surrender monkeys”.  Gulags going to fill up fast. 

  13. drwilliams says:

    SQLite doesn’t have right outer join so the order of the tables are swapped to achieve it using a left. Right is arguably syntactic sugar.

    Yeah, you don’t need to make left turns legal if you can get there with right turns.

    Reminds me of the story about the database programmer that got three wishes from the Genie of the Lamp. 

    His final wish was “I want it long enough it drags on the ground.”

    The Genie gave him 3-inch legs,

  14. MrAtoz says:

    They won the greatest military victory in the history of the world without firing a shot.

    As Mr. OFD would say: the commies took over without firing a shot. He had been saying that for years before he passed.

  15. drwilliams says:

    Breaking news:

    Shots fired at 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gunfire-erupts-area-fourth-july-parade-route-highland-park-illinois-sh-rcna36565

    Other reports of casualties including “bodies under blankets” are not confirmed.

  16. MrAtoz says:

    The Amish are coming! The Amish are coming!

  17. MrAtoz says:

    Bishop Mittens has an op-ed in the Atlantic. Let me summarize it for you:

    plugs good, tRump bad.

    plugs can’t get anything done because of tRump.

    Zelensky good, tRump bad

    tRump will destroy the World

    Also, tRump bad.

    RINO extraordinaire.

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  18. Clayton W. says:

    Shots fired at 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

    If only Chicago had implemented some common-sese gun control measures.  /sarc

  19. drwilliams says:

    5 dead, 19 injured, killer at large

    Sniper on a building roof.

  20. Brad says:

    Our enemies in Russia and China and, yes, the EU, spent those thirty years investing in the green movement, social justice, BLM, and every other weapon of American cultural destruction that they could think up

    The problem you have, is that those things are all very, very American. Europe is picking some of them up, certainly the social justice and gender stuff. Not BLM, US blacks are…unique, and you get to keep that mess all to yourselves.

    It’s the price of successful empire: the inevitable decadence that follows. History has yet to find a solution to this problem. 

  21. Geoff Powell says:

    @brad:

    It’s the price of successful empire: the inevitable decadence that follows. History has yet to find a solution to this problem. 

    Exactly. It happened to us here in UK, and the former British Empire. We never managed to find a solution, either, and now I fear American trends coming to UK. Not so much for me, I won’t have to suffer most of the fallout, but my daughters will.

    G.

  22. RickH says:

    I calmly read Mitt Romney’s article in the Atlantic – the whole thing. Not just ‘cherry picking’ parts.

    Overall, I will have to agree with his statements. 

    Others, of course, can have their own opinions. 

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  23. MrAtoz says:

    LOL, I calmly read it also. It’s only a page long. Lots of angst, no answers.

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  24. ITGuy1998 says:

    I ‘calmly’ read ’the whole thing’ too. No ‘cherry picking’ here.

    Joe Biden is not a ‘good man’.

    And for someone who has been part of the power elite for a long time, Romney sure is complaining a lot about what has happened on his watch. Insert ‘’ around whichever words you would like to over emphasize.

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  25. lynn says:

    “Microsoft finds Raspberry Robin worm in hundreds of Windows networks”

        https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/microsoft-finds-raspberry-robin-worm-in-hundreds-of-windows-networks/

    “Microsoft says that a recently spotted Windows worm has been found on the networks of hundreds of organizations from various industry sectors.”

    “The malware, dubbed Raspberry Robin, spreads via infected USB devices, and it was first spotted in September 2021 by Red Canary intelligence analysts.”

  26. paul says:

    I once had a car that had characteristics similar to your BOL.

    Same here.  1974 Imperial.  1975 Cordoba.  And then the fun of rolling the 75’s dash down to extract the power windows and locks wiring to put into a ’76 Cordoba. 

    The ’81 Imperial is in a class of its own.  Freaking Hydraulic Support Plate instead of a carb.  It was a nice car anyway.

  27. lynn says:

    I ‘calmly’ read ’the whole thing’ too. No ‘cherry picking’ here.

    Joe Biden is not a ‘good man’.

    Joe Biden is the worst sort of “Karen”.  He is willing to use force to make the rest of us conform to the world that he believes in.  He is willing to burn down our current world in order to make his “utopia”.  You will not like his utopia.

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  28. paul says:

    Gulags going to fill up fast. 

    Siberia is big.  I don’t expect Russia to bother shipping Moslem and various Africans to Siberia.  Back to where the came from, sure…. maybe. 

  29. paul says:

    The problem you have, is that those things are all very, very American.

    Ya know what?  All the screeching I heard while growing up about McCarthy?  Looks like the dude was on the money. 

    It’s Commies all the way down.  I’d prefer turtles but I wasn’t asked.  

  30. Greg Norton says:

    I calmly read Mitt Romney’s article in the Atlantic – the whole thing
     

    The timing and the outlet were poorly chosen. Romney has access to other publications at will but chose to publish in the magazine wholly owned by a left wing activist who also maintains significant control of current Disney/ABC editorial content.

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  31. paul says:

    I went shopping today.  Buddy was not amused that I left and while I was away he barked himself hoarse.

    Tractor Supply for dog food.  Diamond Lamb and Rice is now $40 for a 40# bag.  It wasn’t all that long ago the stuff was $26.  The dogs are worth it.

    I bought four 5 gallon buckets.  $5 each.  Lids are $2.50.  I tried one, snaps on and off like new Tupperware.  Not at all like the lids on paint buckets.  The Gamma lids are $12.99 each.  Really?  Yeah, I’m cool with Tupperware like lids. 

    The weevils came from somewhere and there went about four years worth at the rate we eat pasta into the trash.  Sure, you can sift the powder and bugs out and the flavor is the same.  It’s just the idea of having bug poop in my pasta.   Sure, just add more pepper and spices… I’m not that hungry yet.   Since I can still replace the pasta, I’m replacing the pasta with hopefully bug free stock. 

    Then to HEB.  I wanted some sausage links for the grill.  Gee, $13.99 for a package of 10.  One package of Beef, one of Jalapeno Cheese.  Yeah hey kid, you DO NOT take two bites and toss your plate into the trash this year.

    The Tortillas Aguliar (sp?) are up a buck plus.  Hint:  Look at the UPC.  If it starts with 41220 it’s an HEB brand.   That goes for the foo-foo stuff at Central Market all the way down to Economax. 

    The high point of the trip was passing by the briskets.  You know, just plain ol’ briskets that have the layer of fat.  The toss them into the smoker for a while while swilling beer briskets and then onto the grill, scrape the fat off for the dogs.   The $2.49 a pound stuff.   Not “market trimmed”.  Normal size.  Nothing special.   Just a brisket.  $95.    Ok, that’s special.

  32. lynn says:

    “Army awards Next Generation Squad Weapon contract”

        https://www.army.mil/article/255827/army_awards_next_generation_squad_weapon_contract

    “WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army announced the award of a 10-year firm-fixed-price follow-on production contract to Sig Sauer, Inc for the manufacture and delivery of two Next Generation Squad Weapon variations (the XM5 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle) and the 6.8 Common Cartridge Family of Ammunition.”

    “The value of the initial delivery order on the contract is $20.4 million for weapons and ammunition that will undergo testing. The contract includes accessories, spares and contractor support. It also provides the other Department of Defense services and, potentially, Foreign Military Sales countries the opportunity to purchase the NGSW weapons.”

    “The XM5 Rifle will replace the M4/M4A1 carbine within the close combat force, and the XM250 Automatic Rifle is the planned replacement for the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon”

    “Both weapons provide significant capability improvements in accuracy, range and overall lethality. They are lightweight, fire more lethal ammunition, mitigate recoil, provide improved barrel performance, and include integrated muzzle sound and flash reduction.”

    “Both weapons fire common 6.8 millimeter ammunition utilizing government provided projectiles and vendor-designed cartridges. The new ammunition includes multiple types of tactical and training rounds that increase accuracy and are more lethal against emerging threats than both the 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition.”

    Looks like the US Army has settled on the 6.8 mm ammunition with the ultra high pressure composite case for sure.  I wonder how they cost in quantity ?  I also wonder if they are going to move to a heavier side arm than the 9mm Beretta ?

    The new rifles look expensive.  I doubt that the $20 million will buy very many of them.  Maybe a battalion worth, certainly not  a division.  They will probably drag the rifles through the mud and sand to see how they perform.  Especially with the standard issue suppressors.

    I’ve got a 7.62×51 (.308) rifle, a BAR.  Too dadgum heavy and way too much kick compared to an AR-15.  I wonder if the new 6.8 mm composite cartridge has as much kick due to the 80,000 psi pressure.

  33. EdH says:

    Lastest locals leaving California: 

    (1). My neighbors son,  graduate with multiple honors Cal State Bakersfield, Teaching credential, Student teaching done, and a year of substitute teaching…and no offers of a full time job. Our best guess is that someone in the high school HR department realized he was a conservative.

    (2). Guy I bought some used metal roofing panels off of this am, a successful small general contractor who wants his family out of here, doesnt even have a place to live there yet, but just sold for $856k the property he bought for $250k here in 2016.

  34. Nick Flandrey says:

    99F in the shade, but only 33%RH and there is a nice breeze off the lake.

    Pulled down two big dead branches, one over the patio, one over the steps down to the lake.   They’ve been bugging me since the first day.   Too high to reach with the pole saw, to dry for the rope/chain saw, and the tree is too rotten to climb…    So I tossed a rope over the branch and pulled it down.   

    They came down easy, way too easy.   They were ready.   The hardest part is getting a rope over them.

    And not pulling it down on your own head.

    – wife is inside painting.

    – now I need another job.  There are plenty to pick from…  think I’ll hang a ceiling fan, inside.   In the A/C.

    n

  35. Pecancorner says:

    The weevils came from somewhere and there went about four years worth at the rate we eat pasta into the trash.  Sure, you can sift the powder and bugs out and the flavor is the same.  It’s just the idea of having bug poop in my pasta.   Sure, just add more pepper and spices… I’m not that hungry yet.   Since I can still replace the pasta, I’m replacing the pasta with hopefully bug free stock. 

      As you’ve noticed, the “potential”weevils come in the product when you buy it. Put several bay leaves into the bucket to prevent weevils or pantry moths. That will prevent the weevil eggs from hatching, and keep you from having weevils.  My grandmother told me about this and it works. 

    To kill any that might be in there before storing it, a quick run of the package through the microwave, just a minute or so, should do the trick. 

  36. lynn says:

    “Nick, glad you averted that disaster. Your preps worked, along with a little help in meatspace. Good for you. Is the state of that pipework representative? You might want to get some rolls of pre-insulated pex and the tools to work it…”

    Hey, I never knew that Uponor Pex came pre-insulated.  Seems overkill here on the Gulf Coast as the PEX itself should have some insulation qualities.  I’ve got some of the one inch Uponor PEX in my small office building already, my plumber swears by it.  He says that it will last an extremely long time even with many freeze cycles.  

        https://www.uponor.com/en-us/campaign/preinsulated

  37. lynn says:

    I calmly read Mitt Romney’s article in the Atlantic – the whole thing
     

    The timing and the outlet were poorly chosen. Romney has access to other publications at will but chose to publish in the magazine wholly owned by a left wing activist who also maintains significant control of current Disney/ABC editorial content.

    Crap, Romney is going to run for prez again. He won’t win against Hillary.

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  38. lynn says:

    100 F here with 39% (69 F) humidity.  Hot, hot, hot for the Texas Gulf Coast !  72 F inside the house.

  39. drwilliams says:

    “President Joe Biden is a genuinely good man”

    Mitt Romney is a U.S Senator. Joe Biden does not belong to his party, which does not mean that he has to be opposed at every term, but does relieve him of any obligation related to party loyalty.

    Joe Biden is a well-documented serial plagiarist who lost one campaign when his theft of another person’s words was discovered. He is a lifelong liar, and created a false narrative that the truck driver that was involved in the accident that killed his wife–who was not liable and not drunk–was caused by a drunk driver. That lie is notable because it was used to solicit campaign contributions.

    In addition to mundane lies, Biden is a liar and fabulist, He is on record myriad times making up personal history to show non-existent educational and other achievements that are easily disprovable. The press hardly bothers to note anything more than WTF?

    Joe Biden is a thief. 

    Joe Biden is a pervert.

    Joe Biden is an incompetent senile puppet not up to the task of being president, but tries anyway so that his wife can enjoy the First Lady vanity and his puppeteers can push their own agendas through his teleprompter.

    Joe Biden has destroyed the stability or our southern border, wasted trillions to feed the fires of inflation, continued Obama’s weaponization of the FBI, DOJ, and other parts of the government against his political enemies, and allowed the U.S. military to abandon their raison d’être in favor of enforcing a Baskin Robbins catechism of imaginary pronouns. He has single-handedly destroyed our energy independence, and caused the price of gasoline and natural gas to skyrocket. 

    The laptop owned and abandoned by Hunter Biden which has been in possession of law enforcement for two years has more hard evidence against Joe Biden than will ever exist against Donald Trump, despite two impeachments and another round of congressional character assassination.

    And Mitt Romney has been totally uninterested in any of this. I can only conclude that he himself is a liar, and has no regard for his oath of office.

    Donald Trump lives rent-free inside Mitt Romney’s head, which has been increasingly revealed to be small and barren indeed. Mitt Romney has secured his place in history as a miserable failure that contributed to the problems of the nation. The final denouement for Mitt Romney will come with the impeachment trials of 2023, when he will either do his job and look at the evidence without his NeverTrump-tinted glasses, or make the final descent into perfidy. 

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  40. drwilliams says:

    @Paul

    Ya know what?  All the screeching I heard while growing up about McCarthy?  Looks like the dude was on the money. 

    It’s Commies all the way down.

    We were treated for years with the saga of the poor Rosenberg boys whose parents were innocent of all charges but died at the hands of the evil American government.

    Then we got the Verona decryptions in the mid-90’s and the publication of information from the Soviet archives a few years later. Guilty, guilty, guilty. 

    Yet still they denied their mother’s guilt.

  41. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “the PEX itself should have some insulation qualities.”

    Polyethylene is about 1000x better insulator than copper, but there’s not enough thickness to matter much. PEX is going to give a bit and withstand freezing, but I think your plumber friend was optimistic at 1000 cycles.

  42. drwilliams says:

    Butcher’s bill in Illinois is now 6 dead and 30 hospitalized. 

    Police have the rifle and have released the name of the suspect.

  43. ~jim says:

    >> Hint:  Look at the UPC.  If it starts with 41220 it’s an HEB brand<<

    Ohh, that’s a good hint. I’m going to check it out for other store-bought brands at other stores.

    >> or make the final descent into perfidy<<

    Heh. Lovely turn of phrase, doc.

    *****

    Sci-fi movies coming out of Spain are often interesting. Containment  2015 comes to mind, but I’ve seen a few others so I try to check them out. La Sombra is currently in my queue.

    https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.e5b7160b-3949-41a2-b989-4d79a9e194b0&tag=ttgnet-20

    (hope that works!)

    But I ran across a real stinker yesterday, made worse by the fact I paid to watch it. The Cage 2018. Avoid.

    *****

    Gosh, the US dollar sure goes a long way these days. I made a present of a Samsung M32 smartphone to a friend in India and it ran about $177 through Amazon.in. It has better specs than the refurbished Samsung A516U 5G I bought about a month ago for ~$240. I sure like the A516U, though.  

  44. lynn says:

    I am watching “The Old Man” on FX on Hulu right now.  Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman.  Lots of CIA intrigue in the USA (near today) and Afghanistan (30 years ago). I love his dogs.

        https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-old-man

  45. drwilliams says:

    Race of Victim Race of Offender
    Total White Black
    White 3299 2594 (78,6%) 566 (17.2%)

    Black/African-American 2906 246 (8.5%) 2574 (88.6%)

    https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-6.xls

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  46. lynn says:

    “the PEX itself should have some insulation qualities.”

    Polyethylene is about 1000x better insulator than copper, but there’s not enough thickness to matter much. PEX is going to give a bit and withstand freezing, but I think your plumber friend was optimistic at 1000 cycles.

    I am fairly sure that we have not had a thousand hard freezes in the last 100 years here in south Texas.

  47. Nick Flandrey says:

    well, got the fan hung.  Put up two new ceiling light fixtures in the hall now that it’s mostly painted.   Between the white paint and the new lights, WOW it’s bright!  And it needed to be. 

    Spot watered the lawn and decorative bushes.   Dog goes insane snapping at the water stream.  He loves the stream when it’s arcing out solidly and breaking up into marble sized drops.  Snaps at it, then licks his lips, barking and zooming back and forth all over the yard.  He should be tired out tonight.

    Hung an “owl box” on one tree, and a ‘birdhouse shaped object’ on another.  Both built by D2 as girl scout projects.  I’d have thought that maybe owls had a preference which way their holes faced, but no one can tell me, so mostly north it is.

    I should be getting dinner started.   Our friends and their kids are supposed to come back for the end of the movie tonight.  Has to get dark for that though.

    Always more to do.   Friend suggested adding a rainwater collection system and a cistern….  so I mentioned I’d brought my 40 gallon water tank on wheels up this weekend.   Then we talked a bit about sand filtering the lake water, and then treating the water, either with bleach or an RO system.   Friend used to build water treatment plants for the carribean islands…and I’ve been collecting pumps, tanks, and pool filter systems…

    meatspace baby!

    n

  48. drwilliams says:

    sorry, table didn’t work

    Statistics are maddening because fedgov insists that hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race. It does the desired job in obscuring that blacks are no longer the largest minority in the U.S., but it makes comparisons impossible.

    Nonetheless, the figures show the disparity in rates for white/black vs black/white homicide

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  49. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    I am fairly sure that we have not had a thousand hard freezes in the last 100 years here in south Texas.

    You’re probably right.

    I’d be more concerned about any pex running through an area that was uninsulated because of the combination of heat and freeze/thaw. Heat accelerates the aging of the plastic. 

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  50. Greg Norton says:

    Crap, Romney is going to run for prez again. He won’t win against Hillary.
     

    Romney wants to be the great compromise VP if Biden passes before January  2025. The gambit may work, but my money would still be on Kerry.

    The Evangelicals won’t buy into Bishop Mittens schtick again if he tries for the Republican nomination.

  51. Greg Norton says:

    I’d be more concerned about any pex running through an area that was uninsulated because of the combination of heat and freeze/thaw. Heat accelerates the aging of the plastic. 
     

    Heat and humidity on the Gulf Coast and up to 50 miles inland. I saw plastics do crazy things after a few years in my garage in Florida.

    PEX is also noisy. Any insulation helps. 

  52. drwilliams says:

    The Highland Park shooter is in custody.

    Kid was definitely off-center, but appars to be from a normal family. Father is a small business owner who ran for mayor in 2020. My heart goes out to him.

  53. drwilliams says:

    reminds me of Paul Hornung escaping training camp lockdown

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI

  54. Alan says:

    >> Lastest locals leaving California

    Gavin needs more toll…err… tax booths on the roads leaving the state. 

  55. Alan says:

    >> Romney wants to be the great compromise VP if Biden passes before January  2025. The gambit may work, but my money would still be on Kerry. 

    Every time I read something that reminds me that the Kamel could be the POTUS I get nauseous. 

    https://mobile.twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1541520693535309826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1541520693535309826%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.powerlineblog.com%2Farchives%2F2022%2F06%2Fveep-thoughts-by-kamala-harris-8.php

  56. SteveF says:

    Biden is SPOTUS – Sock Puppet of the United States

    Harris would be KPOTUS – Knee Pads of the United States

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  57. drwilliams says:

    @SteveF

    Biden is SPOTUS – Sock Puppet of the United States

    Harris would be KPOTUS – Knee Pads of the United States

    Offered the full term along with the abbreviation it’s likely that 90% of Americans over 16 who are aware of the current officeholders names*  would be able to add the names 

    *Americans over 16 who are aware of the current officeholders names is a number too sadly low to discuss

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  58. lynn says:

    The Highland Park shooter is in custody.

    Kid was definitely off-center, but appars to be from a normal family. Father is a small business owner who ran for mayor in 2020. My heart goes out to him.

    Neck tattoos and face tattoos freak me out.  I know I should not judge but they seem to identify people with an insane amount of “look at me !”.

  59. JimM says:

    >”Rick, do you plan to ever exercise your administrative authority over this site”

    No one has any obligation to satisfy your desires.

  60. lynn says:

    >> Lastest locals leaving California

    Gavin needs more toll…err… tax booths on the roads leaving the state. 

    “Gavin Newsom airs anti-GOP ad in Florida. ‘Let’s talk about what’s going on in America’”

       https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article263142373.html

    “Gov. Gavin Newsom, fueling speculation that he’s interested in the White House, unveiled an ad Sunday that will air in Florida, pitting him squarely against former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.  Newsom, who is expected to win re-election to a second term as governor in November, urges viewers to “join us in California, where we still believe in freedom.”  The ad is scheduled to run Monday.”

    I can hardly wait to get past all this nonsense.  Gonna be a long two years.

    I just don’t see Newsom being attractive to the entire nation.  Especially flyever country.   Of course, flyover country elected Slow Joe.

    Hat tip to:

       https://drudgereport.com/

  61. Rolf Grunsky says:

    As a matter of reference, UPC codes that start with 2 or 4 and EAN codes that start with 02 are for store use. Trivia I acquired working for an inventory company.

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    I exercised my authority according to my whim, which is as I’ve previously stated.

    I am not inclined to kowtow to anonymous troublemakers vs commentors I’ve known for years, with thousands of posts contributing to the conversation.

    I don’t know why this is hard to understand.

    n

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    Had a power outage for the last hour, that will be tomorrows post.

    Watched “Pixels” with and by Adam Sandler out on the dock with friends.   REALLY liked it, fun movie if you grew up during the 80s.   Kinda disconcerting that my teen years are the subject of nostalgia movies now though.

    That’s life though.

    n

  64. Alan says:

    >> “The malware, dubbed Raspberry Robin, spreads via infected USB devices, and it was first spotted in September 2021 by Red Canary intelligence analysts.”

    It’s got to be at least five years since using USB devices at work was disabled. If you had a legitimate business need for one you had to requisition an encrypted USB drive that was $100(?) and had to get MD approval.

  65. Greg Norton says:

    I just don’t see Newsom being attractive to the entire nation.  Especially flyever country.   Of course, flyover country elected Slow Joe.

    2024 has been running in Florida since DeSantis wife‘s cancer went into remission. However I don’t think the Governor is the target of Newsom‘s ads as much as Rubio, whom the Dems believe is vulnerable.

    Friends in Florida say the ads are limited to the Fox Stations so far. 

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