Thur. Aug. 4, 2022 – Busy day.

Hot and humid because, well, because Houston in the summertime.   Even a couple hours north it was butt sweaty hot yesterday.   It was 104F in the shade at my BOL.  Fortunately it was cooler than that here by the time I got home, but it was still 85F at 11pm.   Same for today I think… although it keeps threatening rain.  It would be nice to get some rain, but maybe AFTER I’m done running errands.

Spent the day at the BOL with contractors.   We’ve got a tentative plan to spend a bunch of money and do a bunch of work.   It’s not happening instantly but to have it finally happening at all is a good thing.   We really must be in a recession as people are beginning to work again… or be available for work (although the guys I talked to this time all seem busy and hard at work.)  Something about if you want something done, get a busy man to do it, mumble mumble…

Today, I’m the busy man.  Or that is the plan anyway.   Tires for the truck, pickups, a drop off, and the normal shenanigans should keep me occupied all day.  And if not, I’m sure something will jump up and demand attention.

Prepping advice for today, check your tires.  Check your spare and jack.  While you’re at it, look at your brakes, and your fluids.   Check your stock of expendable maintenance stuff, like wipers, headlights, tire repair, and fluids.  I was able to find some tires that suited me, but many others have reported some difficulty getting what they wanted.   Tires will ‘age out’ so stockpiling them might not be indicated, but if you are close to needing them, you might want to go ahead and replace them.  You can even keep the take offs if they have any life left in them, just in case.  If you plan to drive around in an area affected by a hurricane or tornado, you  will want mounted spares, probably a full set, and a repair kit with a compressor.  Roofing nails go everywhere.

Stack up some spares, for all your important things.   Take a systems approach, not just a ‘things’ approach.   And commonality and redundancy are Good Things ™.

n

 

75 Comments and discussion on "Thur. Aug. 4, 2022 – Busy day."

  1. brad says:

    Back at work, catching up on the pile that accumulated over 3 weeks of vacation. Also working in the garden some, but it’s hot (for here). Today ought to be the last really hot day – temperatures should be dropping starting tomorrow. Also some bits of rain forecast – and we could really, really use some rain.

    Guess what, I now have the Wuhan Flu! … IF peeps would self-quarantine, this would have been much better.

    Hope you feel better soon. And you’re right about self-quarantining: when people are sick, they should make some effort not to spread it around. Goes for everything: colds, flu, stomach viruses, whatever.

    Of course, part of it is also on employers, who have to be willing to let sick employees stay home. Lots of retail managers won’t, or maybe they are afraid their employees will abuse sick leave. And maybe they would, but dealing with things like that is part of being a manager.

    This does not feel like the Germany I lived in. The Germany I remember was clean, safe, orderly.

    Being Germany’s neighbor, we do look at the country with some concern. They have made a number of mistakes over the past decades. German’s used to be known for efficiency – now they are known for bureaucracy. Massive taxation, funding endless layers of bureaucrats enforcing byzantine regulations.

    Meanwhile, they have serious infrastructure problems. The standard of living is not what it once was. They hitched their energy horse to Russia; simultaneously shutting down nuclear power, due to Fukushima. Brilliant. So now they are frantically bringing old coal-fired plants back online.

    France also has problems. While they have lots of nuclear power plants, many are down simultaneously for maintainence (poor planning), and many more have just been shut down due to corrosion problems. Currently less than half are actually online, and it’s not clear that this will change before Winter. France is normally a massive power exporter in the Winter.

    Life in interesting times…

    – – – – –

    I probably mentioned that we bought a studio apartment in the big apartment building behind our house. The idea is that it is mainly for our guests – who will then have their own space. Makes life better for everyone.

    Anyway, there’s an owners’ association for the apartment building, and a smaller group (6 of us) elected from among the owners to deal with all the little issues that crop up. Maybe important to understand: most of the apartments are vacation apartments – few people actually live in the building full-time. That’s why this little group needs to exist.

    Anyway, as one of the people who does live here, I let myself be elected to this group, and I am discovering that lots of adults have yet to graduate from kindergarten.

    Example: Someone has to clean the common areas: hallways, staircases, etc.. One of the residents offered to do the job – it’s a regular, paid job, even if it’s only a couple of hours a week. Fine.

    Well, it turns out that some people in the building personally dislike this particular woman, so they complain that she’s not doing her job. Others say everything is fine. Still others write nasty, semi-anonymous letters and leave them to be found.

    Seriously? WTF is wrong with people?

  2. Greg Norton says:

    BTW, when I was a junior engineer at Morgan Creek Steam Electric Station outside Colorado City, TX in 1982-1985, the C-130 bomber squadron at Abilene’s AFB used to use our 175 foot tall microwave tower as an aiming sight, at least once a week.  They would come over the hill at 300+ knots about 200 feet off the ground.  We would feel the entire plant ground moving a minute before we saw them.  All four engines would be smoking and when they got to the edge of the plant, the pilot would go vertical, the rear hatch would open, and a simulated 20,000 lb bomb would be dropped on us (simulated, nothing was dropped).

    “The jet exhaust … frying chickens in the barnyard”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yu38kXw7lk

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Anyway, as one of the people who does live here, I let myself be elected to this group, and I am discovering that lots of adults have yet to graduate from kindergarten.

    Example: Someone has to clean the common areas: hallways, staircases, etc.. One of the residents offered to do the job – it’s a regular, paid job, even if it’s only a couple of hours a week. Fine.

    Well, it turns out that some people in the building personally dislike this particular woman, so they complain that she’s not doing her job. Others say everything is fine. Still others write nasty, semi-anonymous letters and leave them to be found.

    Seriously? WTF is wrong with people?

    You never lived in Florida in an HOA governed by FS 720 or, even more draconian, the condo board equivalent which allows the cornpone Hitler wannabes to run amok.

    Beyond tenbagger return delusions among the owners, a certain segment of the population seriously desires to be Rolfe in “The Sound of Music” given a chance. That character is a very shrewd observation of human nature.

    Unfortunately, condo boards and HOAs were necessary in Florida as development outstripped local governments’ abilities to deal with provisioning services and infrastructure. I don’t know about Austria, but people are people pretty much everywhere so things often get out of hand in a similar pattern anywhere the laws allow the stupidity.

    Hopefully the condo board association requires a unanimous or very close vote of the *owners* to change the rules and set the fines. If you are at some ridiculously low number like 2/3, consider selling. Even 3/4 is dicey as I learned from firsthand experience.

  4. ITGuy1998 says:

    HOA’s suck. We purposely avoided moving to a community  with a known HOA Nazi regime. We did move into a neighborhood with one, though it’s covenants are fairly mild. Still doesn’t prevent stupidity. I’ve had a couple issues that I resolved to my satisfaction, but never should have happened in the first place. This is my first, and last, house in a covenant restricted community.

  5. brad says:

    Hopefully the condo board association requires a unanimous or very close vote of the *owners* to change the rules and set the fines. If you are at some ridiculously low number like 2/3, consider selling. Even 3/4 is dicey as I learned from firsthand experience.

    No real danger of that – there are around 30 apartments. There is also a professional administrator who handles anything with potential legal consequences. Basically, our role is to be a point of contact for apartment owners, and to suggest items for the annual agenda. So, if the cleaning woman really were doing a crappy job, people could complain to us. However, the complaints we’ve heard are just spleen, or personal dislike.

    Oh, and there’s a Swiss tradition that you don’t wear shoes inside. So many people just leave their shoes outside the door. We have a picture from one person of another person’s doorway. Why? Because there are “too many” shoes. WTF? Yes, there are several, but the apartment has two residents, and they currently have two guests, so it’s pretty expected. That was also anonymous, until I called her on it (it was obvious). So now she claims it must violate some fire code, or building code, or something

    I just wish some of the adults would behave like, well, adults. Not sure I’ll sign up for this group again, geez…

  6. ITGuy1998 says:

    In other news, the fan for my outside hvac unit arrived yesterday. I got it installed pretty easily. The fan came off without much fuss. I took a Dremel to the top to remove a little corrosion, and then soaked the shaft with PB Blaster. Mount it in the vice and some mild tapping made it slide off. Got the blade mounted on the new motor and installed. The capacitor was supposed to arrive yesterday by 8 P.M. Yeah, it didn’t. FedEx changed the delivery time from 8 P.M. to end of day. Yeah, I’ve seen that game before. This morning the delivery status is unknown. Last night I paid for a week of Prime at $1.99 and ordered a capacitor. Friday delivery. Want to bet which one gets here first? Btw, the first capacitor was ordered from northamericahvac.com. We’ll see how they handle this when I talk to them today. They don’t control FedEx, but they can refund my 2 day shipping fee and fight it out with FedEx for their reimbursement. 

  7. ITGuy1998 says:

    I just wish some of the adults would behave like, well, adults. Not sure I’ll sign up for this group again, geez…

    I wish for the same thing. If I were you, I would stay in the group. At least that way you have some semblance of control on how things go. On the outside, you are just screaming in the wind. 

  8. brad says:

    If I were you, I would stay in the group. At least that way you have some semblance of control on how things go. On the outside, you are just screaming in the wind. 

    Yeah, you’re probably right. And who knows, maybe one can slowly “parent” some of these people into behaving rationally…

  9. Ray Thompson says:

    maybe one can slowly “parent” some of these people into behaving rationally

    You ever heard of mud wrestling with a pig?

  10. CowboyStu says:

    Of course, Nancy Pelosi doesn’t drink alcohol.  OTH, her husband Paul is in court charged with a DUI after causing an accident in Northern CA.

    https://enewspaper.ocregister.com/?token=6ece7618dff14052a80ac21e17436357_62e99426_8eaa_0&selDate=20220801&goTo=A001

  11. Pecancorner says:

    RE HOAs: We deliberately refused to even look at properties in HOA additions.  And we had no trouble finding desirable homes, so it did not limit us at all.   

     Oh, and there’s a Swiss tradition that you don’t wear shoes inside. So many people just leave their shoes outside the door.

    LOL  If we did that here there would be scorpions and snakes or snails and frogs in our shoes!  

    I’d also worry about  germs or fungus from other people’s feet, so I’d probably have to carry slippers with me to change into when visiting.   

    Still others write nasty, semi-anonymous letters and leave them to be found.

    Seriously? WTF is wrong with people?

    I worked in housing for the elderly for some years. At one property, they had bullied the board into putting up a suggestion box for anonymous complaints.  After I came on board as ED, the board president came to me one day with one such. I told her firmly that I would not even listen to “anonymous” reports. If someone had a legitimate concern, they would need to have the courage of their conviction and be up front about it.  This is for practical reasons as well as to stop troublemakers: we couldn’t even properly investigate a complaint if we didn’t have the details.   

    The same thing happened among my team once in the tech industry. Someone came whinging that they had “heard” one member’s pay was more than others. I asked who told them, and they didn’t want to tell me. So I called them all together and said firmly that I do not listen to gossip, and they should not either. And “anonymous” is pure gossip.  Nipped that in the bud real fast.   

    Same goes for “Do you know what so-and-so said about you?”  No, and don’t bother telling me because I don’t care.   Gossipers love to stir up trouble.  They can’t get any traction if people refuse to play their games. 

  12. brad says:

    maybe one can slowly “parent” some of these people into behaving rationally

    You ever heard of mud wrestling with a pig?

    That’s where you get all dirty, and the pig enjoys it?

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    The fan came off without much fuss.    

    –that is great, because that is the hardest part of the job.  You will know you did it ok if it is still balanced when it runs.

    ————————————

    Already 87F and humid.  It will be hot and unpleasant today.

    I live in the biggest HOA in Houston proper, but the rules were set in 1965 and are mostly common sense.    Over time there were periods that the the board had more power and used it, and they would like to be there again.   They added a bunch of rules but didn’t publish them the month we bought here.   I have run into them several times over the years.   Mostly my attitude is “Prove it.”    They rarely put in the effort.   We are attempting to force changes in the composition of the board, and the mommy mafia is pushing back HARD on the current board.   It has had some effect but the rules are written to protect the long term insiders who have been recycling board positions among a small group for decades.

    Eventually they will all die, and mostly before I do, God willing.

    n

  14. ITGuy1998 says:

    As I guessed, northamericahvac.com is being less than helpful. They have a phone number listed, but it goes to only a message service that texts you back. Eventually. They refused to refund the shipping fee, so I told them to send me an RMA and I’ll return the capacitor if it ever arrives. I don’t recommend purchasing from this company.

    As soon as the one from Amazon gets here and it’s installed, I’m going to open the upstairs unit and get the info for that one so I can get a replacement ordered. I’ll get a fan too.

  15. Kenneth C Mitchell says:

    Hadn’t known that the Swiss didn’t wear shoes in the house; I thought only the Japanese did that. In Japan, it’s common to have slippers available for visitors, so you weren’t walking around barefoot. 

  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    In the midwest it’s not uncommon to take your shoes off, especially if the house is carpeted, at least it wasn’t when I was growing up.

    n

  17. Nick Flandrey says:

    Signed contract for foundation repairs, dropping off check later.

    Now off to get tires.

    Then pickups.

    then  more stuff….

    n

  18. CowboyStu says:

    As I guessed, northamericahvac.com is being less than helpful.

    I used to use this:  https://www.resellerratings.com/

  19. Alan says:

    >> I just wish some of the adults would behave like, well, adults.

    PA announcement: “Any Darwin Awards representative, please contact @brad.”

  20. EdH says:

    …maybe one can slowly “parent” some of these people into behaving rationally

    In theory.  

    But I have been on dial up Bulletin Boards, Usenet, Yahoo and Google Groups, and various forums and never seen it happen. Only moderated groups are worth visiting.

  21. EdH says:

    A more productive question: someone mentioned a wireless freezer temperature alarm a while back, what are people using again?

  22. ITGuy1998 says:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B9N71VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=ttgnet-20

    I’ve been using this since June 2020. Works great – I have a sensor in each freezer.

  23. lynn says:

    “NRC authorizes Southern Nuclear to begin operation of Vogtle Unit 3”

        https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nrc-authorizes-southern-nuclear-vogtle-unit-3-begin-operation/628843/

    “The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it has authorized Southern Nuclear Operating Co. to load nuclear fuel and start operation at Vogtle Unit 3, “the first reactor to reach this point in the agency’s combined license process.””

    “Vogtle units 3 and 4 are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over their initial budget. The total cost estimate for the two units is now more than $30 billion.”

    Cool !  Wow !  I could buy a lot of solar panels and gas turbines for way less than $12,000/kw for 2,500 MW.

    Of course, the GE LM6000 is now $65 million for one but I hear that they are $45 million in multiple quantities. That is 48 MW for $938/kw.

  24. lynn says:

    “Inflation Reduction Act would spur 42% US carbon emissions cut by 2030: Princeton-led study”

         https://www.utilitydive.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-carbon-greenhouse-emissions-princeton/628849/

    Which, will reduce the world’s temperature by 0.00000000001 F.  Or C, it does not matter.

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  25. dkreck says:

    I have that same  freezer alarm on both my inside and garage units. They have a magnetic back and I have them on the doors. I don’t use the alarm, just the ability to read the temps. The inside fridge is a big GE profile double door over freezer drawer. Both the wife and daughter throw open both doors and browse. By browse I mean stand there while the door alarm beeps. Open while the make a sandwich. Temp often goes well above 40F and takes forever to recover (thank you government low energy rules). Unfortunately this impresses neither of them and the daughter does it at home too on a like fridge. We lose more milk because of these habits.

  26. EdH says:

    Thanks, ITguy1998 and dkreck, went ahead and ordered one just now.

  27. lynn says:

    Oh man, it is nice to be back down to three vehicles.  The garage queen (2005 Honda Civic) is gone, the fellow showed up and gave me the balance.  The wife has promptly moved her 2019 Highlander to the middle of the double bay door (16 foot).  My truck is in its place in the extended single bay on the end (10 foot).  I dare not try to seize the double bay.

  28. Greg Norton says:

    The same thing happened among my team once in the tech industry. Someone came whinging that they had “heard” one member’s pay was more than others. I asked who told them, and they didn’t want to tell me. So I called them all together and said firmly that I do not listen to gossip, and they should not either. And “anonymous” is pure gossip.  Nipped that in the bud real fast.
     

    Did a real discrepancy exist?

    I’ve never seen disparate pay scales within a group managed well. 

  29. lynn says:

    “Life Hunt (Perry Rhodan #43)” by Kurt Brand, translated by Wendayne Ackerman
       https://www.amazon.com/Life-Hunt-Perry-Rhodan-43/dp/4416460260?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number forty-three of a series of one hundred and thirty-six space opera books in English. The original German books, actually pamphlets, number in the thousands. The English books started with two translated German stories per book translated by Wendayne Ackerman and transitioned to one story per book with the sixth book. And then they transition back to two stories in book #109/110. And the Ace publisher dropped out at #118, so Forest and Wendayne Ackerman published books #119 to #136 in pamphlets before stopping in 1978. The German books were written from 1961 to present time, having sold two billion copies and even recently been rebooted again. I read the well printed and well bound book published by Ace in 1974 that I had to be very careful with due to age. I bought an almost complete box of Perry Rhodans a decade or two ago on ebay that I am finally getting to since I lost my original Perry Rhodans in The Great Flood of 1989. In fact, I now own book #1 to book #103, plus the Atlan books.
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan

    BTW, this is actually book number 51 of the German pamphlets written in 1962. There is a very good explanation of the plot in German on this website of all of the PR books. There is automatic Google translation available for English, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, French, and Portuguese.
       https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Jagd_nach_dem_Leben

    In this alternate universe, USSF Major Perry Rhodan and his three fellow astronauts blasted off in a three stage rocket to the Moon in 1971. The first stage of the rocket was chemical, the second and third stages were nuclear. After crashing on the Moon due to a strange radio interference, they discover a massive crashed alien spaceship with an aged male scientist (Khrest), a female commander (Thora), and a crew of 500. It has been over sixty-nine years since then and the New Power has flourished with tens of millions of people and many spaceships headquartered in the Gobi desert, the city of Terrania.

    It has been sixty-nine years since Perry Rhodan found the Arkonides Thora and Khrest crashed on Earth’s Moon. It has been around fifty-five years since the Springers and the Mounders destroyed the Betelgeuse 3 planet, thinking that it was Sol 3, Terra. Perry Rhodan and the inhabitants of Terra have been building a new space empire quietly in the far corner of the Milky Way. In fact, Perry and Thora married along the way, producing a son which I find interesting due to the massive internal differences between Earthlings and Arkonides. But, Thora is now aging and Khrest is near the end of his life. Perry Rhodan has sent John Marshall, leader of the mutants, and Laury Martin to the Ara planet Tolimon, home of the huge Ara zoo. The Aras use the zoo for experimental drugs and there are rumors that a life extension drug for humans is being used there to keep Earthers alive for over 400 years.

    One has to remember that this book was written in German in 1962 and translated to English in 1974. Many items that came about in the 1970s and beyond such as cell phones are not reflected in the book. However, commercial aircraft commonly traveling at Mach 3 are not available to the public as talked about in the book. Niels Bohr’s saying “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future” comes to mind.

    Two observations:
    1. The publisher should have put two to four of the translated stories in each book. Having two stories in the first five books worked out well. Just having one story in the book is too short and would never allow the translated books to catch up to the German originals.
    2. Anyone liking Perry Rhodan and wanting a more up to date story should read the totally awesome “Mutineer’s Moon” Dahak series of three books by David Weber.
       https://www.amazon.com/Mutineers-Moon-Dahak-David-Weber/dp/0671720856?tag=ttgnet-20/

    My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars (2 reviews)

  30. Pecancorner says:

    Did a real discrepancy exist?

    I’ve never seen disparate pay scales within a group managed well. 

    It was none of their business.  One or two of them probably made more than I did as their manager.     It was one of those companies where HR determines the rate of pay, so I had nothing to do with it.  If they wanted to be sure they were getting paid the same as everyone else they needed a government or union job.  This was neither.  Key point was whether they liked the job – and they did, as it was a plum department and one of the few places in the company where they could work remote 25 years ago when no one else got that privilege.  So all grousing about pay would do was throw dissatisfaction into Eden.  

  31. Ray Thompson says:

    Sponge Brain declares MonkeyPox a public health emergency. I seem to remember that Aids was a public health emergency or some such panic. The common denominator is that both are primarily the result of guys playing with some other guy’s willy.

    From CNN:

    The CDC initially announced vaccines for monkeypox were being released from the Strategic National Stockpile and offered to the “high-risk” contacts of monkeypox patients, as well as the health care workers treating them. Federal health officials have since expanded vaccination efforts to focus on the broader community of men who have sex with men, the demographic that makes up most US monkeypox cases.

    Why is that a public health emergency? Risky behavior produces risky results. Tell the fags to quit boinking each other.

  32. Lynn says:

    My truck says that is is 104 F outside.  Hot !  And there are big thunderboomers on the horizon.

  33. CowboyStu says:

    Sponge Brain declares MonkeyPox a public health emergency. I seem to remember that Aids was a public health emergency or some such panic. The common denominator is that both are primarily the result of guys playing with some other guy’s willy.

    Doesn’t matter to me.  I’ll be going up to bars in West Hollywood this weekend and if I get it I’ll use Gov Screwsome’s tax collected money for medical services.

  34. lynn says:

    I just bought 26.1 gallons of regular unleaded at our local Shell station for $94.00.  Our gasoline is down to $3.599/gallon.

    Near as I can tell, people have cut back their discretionary driving.  No summer trips across the USA to go see Grandma.

  35. Pecancorner says:

    We’ve had both cars in the shop this month. The 2001 Jeep Cherokee needed a tune up. $111 including tax.  We can’t remember when it last had one.   I’ll be interested to see whether that improves its gas mileage. It was back up to 20 MPG with 10% ethanol before.   My brother put new brakes on in March and saved us the labor, $200 for parts. 

    Just picked up the pickup this afternoon, 2003 Dodge Dakota. It needed new shocks. The shocks were under warranty – nice surprise – so $135 for labor. 

     Two $50 oil changes and inspections.  Two $75.50 license plate registrations. 

    Pretty small maintenance costs, so we are happy.  

    Our mechanic shop is busy busy. Had a nearly two week wait with each of them before we could get an appointment.

  36. Pecancorner says:

    I just bought 26.1 gallons of regular unleaded at our local Shell station for $94.00.  Our gasoline is down to $3.599/gallon.

    It’s about the same here. Was $3.559 today in town, but it has been fluctuating a few cents from morning til evening.   Still awful high, but mejor que nada  , as they say. (“better than nothing”)

  37. Rick H says:

    Gas prices here on the Olympic Peninsula (WA) are down about 80 cents from about a month ago. Price at Costco yesterday was $4.35, and $4.25 today.

    Although I am not out daily, I have made a few trips on the last several Fridays to Poulsbo WA, on a main highway from Seattle area to Port Angeles – major touristy highway. Still seeing a lot of traffic, including RVs/Trailers. Doesn’t seem less than normal. So don’t think people are reducing vacations. 

  38. Greg Norton says:

    Why is that a public health emergency? Risky behavior produces risky results. Tell the fags to quit boinking each other.
     

    Primary elections are happening right now. Florida early voting starts next week IIRC.

  39. dkreck says:

    $5.19 at the Love’s in Tulare on Tuesday and $5.29 at Arco here in Bakersfield. About as low as you can find in California. Still overpriced.

  40. lynn says:

    It’s about the same here. Was $3.559 today in town, but it has been fluctuating a few cents from morning til evening.   Still awful high, but mejor que nada  , as they say. (“better than nothing”)

    Be glad you can buy gasoline and diesel.  I get the feeling that Biden would love to have shortages, real or man-made.  He really wants to hurt the people of the USA and be seen as the hero riding in to save the day.  He does not realize that most people already know that many of the new problems are due to him and his flunkies throughout the federal bureaucracy.

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  41. Greg Norton says:

    Key point was whether they liked the job – and they did, as it was a plum department and one of the few places in the company where they could work remote 25 years ago when no one else got that privilege.

    Yeah, these days the staff would be surfing Indeed on their phones the moment they caught hints of being underpaid relative to someone else in the group.

    Anyone not able to move on would zing management in the next employee satisfaction survey at a big company.

  42. Alan says:

    >> You never lived in Florida in an HOA governed by FS 720 or, even more draconian, the condo board equivalent which allows the cornpone Hitler wannabes to run amok.

    https://youtu.be/K5uthSOYNEo

  43. Alan says:

    >> Be glad you can buy gasoline and diesel.  I get the feeling that Biden would love to have shortages, real or man-made.  He really wants to hurt the people of the USA and be seen as the hero riding in to save the day.  He does not realize that most people already know that many of the new problems are due to him and his flunkies throughout the federal bureaucracy.

    So Chuckie Cheese cuts a deal with Manchin while sidelining Sinema and now she is not at all happy and making noises about scuttling SloJoe’s latest iteration of the Dumbos reconciliation bill. 

    More popcorn please. 

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  44. Greg Norton says:

    >> You never lived in Florida in an HOA governed by FS 720 or, even more draconian, the condo board equivalent which allows the cornpone Hitler wannabes to run amok.

    https://youtu.be/K5uthSOYNEo

    Try this link. Low tech, but thorough. I used to send them money every year when I lived in FL.

    http://ccfj.net/

  45. EdH says:

    A hair under $5.50 here In the Antelope Valley, for regular at the rural market.  It tracks the in-town mid-grade, which is fair enough. 
     

    103, 20mph wind, and humidity already above 25%.  Thunderstorms all around our little micro-climate. 

  46. Ray Thompson says:

    Some pictures of senior sports players. Waste a few minutes of your time.

    https://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/Seniors/

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  47. ITGuy1998 says:

    Well, google fiber went out. Earliest appointment is tomorrow at 13:30. It’s just me,as my neighbors are up and running. On a related note, did you know that a local Plex server, by default,  won’t run if it doesn’t have internet access? I didn’t. I’ll get that fixed real soon. At least the Roma connects to my phone just fine and I’m making use of me 1 week prime subscription.

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    1
  48. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “I dare not try to seize the double bay.”

    1. “Do or Do Not. There is no try.”
    2. “I Dare”
    3. Don’t need it anyway.
    4. Wisdom has been achieved.
  49. Alan says:

    >> Try this link. Low tech, but thorough. I used to send them money every year when I lived in FL.

    http://ccfj.net/

    “Low tech”? That’s being generous. At least there’s no flashing text :} 

  50. EdH says:

    Well, google fiber went out.

    Just out of curiousity I plugged in my land line (Frontier DSL here).  Yep, a dial tone. 

    Heh.

    Strange. Been years since I used it, and I  no idea what my own number is. There must be a way to find out.

    p.s. It just occurred to me, it’s probably on my bill.

  51. Ray Thompson says:

    I  no idea what my own number is. There must be a way to find out.

    Call your cell phone. Number should appear.

  52. lpdbw says:

    I  no idea what my own number is. There must be a way to find out.

    Just leave the phone plugged in, and when the nice lady calls you about your car warranty, ask her what number she dialed.  

    It should be less than 2 days before you get the call.

  53. Nick Flandrey says:

    Lots of little pocket storms across Houston today.  I drove thru or around about 3 or 4 depending on how you count.   We’ve got dark sky here and booming in the distance, and 91F.  If it drops to 81F I will know we’re gonna get hammered.

    Gas at Bucky’s near Alvin was 3.44 today.   That is pretty close to the best I’ve seen.

    Truck has new tires on it.  And my wallet is lighter by $540.

    Then I get a call from my tenant, water is dripping from the ceiling.   F me.   Water heater has rotted, and the overflow tray isn’t draining.

    And it’s REALLY hot in the attic.   SO now I’m meeting plumbers there tomorrow am to see how much it will cost to replace the heater.   The tenant did say they intend to stay put until next summer.

    n

  54. Alan says:

    Since when did we get to provide input on the judicial process of other sovereign nations? 

    Regarding Brittney Griner, US President Joe Biden said the lengthy sentence was “unacceptable.”

    https://youtu.be/Jes-iZzy_Tk

  55. Greg Norton says:

    Just out of curiousity I plugged in my land line (Frontier DSL here).  Yep, a dial tone. 

    Heh.

    Strange. Been years since I used it, and I  no idea what my own number is. There must be a way to find out.

    p.s. It just occurred to me, it’s probably on my bill.

    If you live in a legacy GTE territory, dialing any number should connect you with customer service.

    911 probably works too.

    Frontier is such a trainwreck that you may have a live local line. Though, the techs still take pride in their work with the regulated services.

  56. Nick Flandrey says:

    What number can I call to test my phone?

    One such toll-free service is one owned by MCI – 1-800-444-4444. This number (US only) is easy to remember and, when called, will read back the number after a very short message.

    I know there used to be local exchange numbers for the techs to call for a readback.

    n

  57. Greg Norton says:

    Then I get a call from my tenant, water is dripping from the ceiling.   F me.   Water heater has rotted, and the overflow tray isn’t draining.

    Did the tray alarm fail?

  58. lynn says:

    Septic guy and I walked thru the project and have a good plan.   

    Using this foundation tech separates the septic work, and the retaining wall work.   That means I can do septic first and retaining later.  As a cherry on top, he thinks they can stabilise the hill without tearing everything apart.

    It’s not cheap, or even inexpensive, but splitting up the work makes it all possible and suddenly the schedules work.   That’s if everything holds together….

    I was afraid he’d look at it and tell me it was too big, to far from Houston, to risky, and walk but instead his software produced a quote while he was sitting in the truck.  

    Hey, on your septic system controller, make sure that it has two switches.  The first switch should turn off the alarm buzzer.  Otherwise your neighbors will go nuts.

    The second switch should operate your septic sprinklers manually.  That is a good way to see if your septic sprinklers are operating correctly.  You can easily tell if broke off a septic sprinkler the last time you mowed.

    I have both switches on my office septic system.  I only have the septic alarm off on the home system.  Really torques me off because the septic controller at the house is primitive beyond belief.  Almost enough to pay the $1,000 to upgrade it to a new one that has a septic sprinkler switch.

    I can post a picture of my office septic system controller if needful.

  59. Nick Flandrey says:

    The hot water heater doesn’t have a float switch, and it backs up into the AC tray, which was draining (but also doesn’t have a float.   The AC tray has never overflowed, but the water heater has…

    9am mtg with the plumber.   We’re switching to on demand, to keep the weight out of the attic, and avoid water spilling down.

    n

  60. Nick Flandrey says:

    @lynn, I’ll have underground drip lines not sprinklers so I won’t know if they are running unless the grass above them dies.  (actually I think there is an alarm if the drip line doesn’t have 15psi back pressure.  Should be if not.)  An  alarm mute could get you in a lot of trouble if you forget to turn it back on, couldn’t it?

    My nearest neighbor to the system will be over 200ft away, and I might want them to hear an alarm, wouldn’t I?  How often does your system alarm?

    n

  61. Alan says:

    >> I know there used to be local exchange numbers for the techs to call for a readback.

    More than you want to know… 

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_announcement_circuit

    For NYNEX/Bell Atlantic/Verizon it was/is(?) 958.

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    Seems to me that if his lawyers screwed his case up by their actions, THEY should pay the settlement.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11082503/Alex-Jones-ex-wife-says-truly-mentally-ill-interview-following-4M-defamation-case.html 

    Jones, 48, has blasted his ‘incredibly sick’ lawyers for accidentally handing his phone and email records to the opposing counsel

    n

  63. Nick Flandrey says:

    More vibrancy.

    Illegal migrant is charged with kidnap and double murder after drugged girl, 12, chewed through her bedpost restraints, escaped and led cops to CHOPPED UP bodies of her mom, 34, and brother, 14, in Alabama home

    Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, drugged the girl with alcohol and has been charged with three counts of capital murder after police in Dadeville, Alabama, made the gruesome discovery.He has also been charged with two counts of abuse of a corpse and first-degree kidnapping according to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett. Pascual-Reyes reportedly had been deported from the United States previously, and it is not clear when he is believed to have re-entered the country. Sheriff Abbett confirmed that Pascual-Reyes is considered a ‘re-entry non-immigrant unlawful presence foreign national’.

  64. Nick Flandrey says:

    Democrat congressional staffer posing as an FBI agent to control MAGA crowd in D.C. escaped from cops on bikes in a fake police car – but was tracked down by an agent via his T-shirt

    • Sterling Devion Carter, 25, led bike cops on a chase through Washington, D.C. after impersonating an FBI agent
    • Carter had crafted a fake police cruiser complete with a spotlight and dashboard laptop mount 
    • He escaped the officers in the 2020 pursuit, but was tracked down weeks later in his parents’ home state of Georgia
    • He was also found to have raised his own salary significantly by forging signatures and submitting unauthorized documents

    –how they tracked him down is interesting.

    n

  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    “me, you, and everyone we knew”

    https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-whistleblower-leaks-bureaus-domestic-terrorism-symbols-guide-on-militia/

    Of note, under the “Symbols” section, is a prominent citation of the Second Amendment, where it explains that “MVEs justify their existence with the Second Amendment, due to the mention of a ‘well regulated Militia,’ as well as the right to bear arms.”

    Right below that, under the “Commonly Referenced Historical Imagery and Quotes” section, Revolutionary War images such as the Gadsden Flag and the Betsy Ross Flag are listed. Each flag displayed in the document comes with a brief description of what it means.

    Under the “Common Phrases and References” section of the leaked document, Ashli Babbitt is cited as a person that MVEs consider to be a Martyr.

    The same document also refers to Ruby Ridge, Waco, and even Timothy McVeigh, tying in traditional American ideas and symbols with radical and/or violent events in the past.

    n

  66. drwilliams says:

    –how they tracked him down is interesting.

    Pascual figured out Carter ‘could potentially be wearing a t-shirt manufactured by’ Florida business 13Fifty Apparel. Pascual worked with business owner, Christopher Lewis, to sift through his list of recent customers.

    Pascual ran the customer list through different databases and eventually narrowed down the possibilities to one ‘based on photos, race, and other demographic information.’ 

    Gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, dontit?

  67. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ayup.   Sorly do.

    All your purchases are belong to us…

    n

  68. Greg Norton says:

    The hot water heater doesn’t have a float switch, and it backs up into the AC tray, which was draining (but also doesn’t have a float.   The AC tray has never overflowed, but the water heater has…

    9am mtg with the plumber.   We’re switching to on demand, to keep the weight out of the attic, and avoid water spilling down.

    When our current plumber first visited our house in 2016 to trace a leak in our master bathroom, he saw our water heater install in the attic above the closet and put a cheap tray alarm in the drain pan with his phone number written on it. “That isn’t the problem today, but call me when you hear this in six years.”

    Sure enough, right on time. Fortunately, the alarm prevented a big problem.

    On demand was more than three times the tank heater installation but only twice the warranty. We passed on “having the conversation about tankless” as he put it.

  69. lynn says:

    @lynn, I’ll have underground drip lines not sprinklers so I won’t know if they are running unless the grass above them dies.  (actually I think there is an alarm if the drip line doesn’t have 15psi back pressure.  Should be if not.)  An  alarm mute could get you in a lot of trouble if you forget to turn it back on, couldn’t it?

    My nearest neighbor to the system will be over 200ft away, and I might want them to hear an alarm, wouldn’t I?  How often does your system alarm?

    n

    The office system alarms once or twice a year when the aerator blower clogs with toilet paper or we get 4 or 5 inches of rain and it all drains into the tanks setting off the high level alarm. The 20 inch diameter tank tops are not sealed and leak rainwater since the tanks are in a low area.

    The house system was alarming once or twice a month until I got it pumped a year ago.  It was having flow problems since it was overfull with solids.  It would overfill the finishing tank and wait for midnight, alarming all this time, for the sprinklers to go of and drain the finishing tank.  Now it does much better until the chlorine tablet grate plugged last Memorial day at 3 am.  No alarm, just backing up into the house so the toilets did not flush.

    I did not understand that you are having drip lines instead of the sprinklers. I thought that you were having both.

  70. drwilliams says:

    On demand was three times the tank heater installation but only twice the warranty.

    I’ve yet to see a reasonable economic analysis that shows that operating cost savings pay for the increased installation cost. 

    The figures being used for service life of both are inconsistent and the handwaving is obvious. Most of the short-life claims for conventional water heaters seem to be based on no maintenance being done, shortening the service life, whereas servicing a tankless is a given. 

    The longer life claims for tankless seem to be based on hope rather than reality. As mentioned above, the claims are not supported by the warranty. If the industry was sincere about service life they’d have some real data.

  71. EdH says:

    We’re switching to on demand, to keep the weight out of the attic, and avoid water spilling down.

    Interesting.  

    I’ve  been considering it. My reason for tankless would be less propane usage – already expensive and climbing, here in California. Currently I get it from Costco, but if they ever shut down the price/# will double (at least) overnight. 

  72. lynn says:

    The figures being used for service life of both are inconsistent and the handwaving is obvious. Most of the short-life claims for conventional water heaters seem to be based on no maintenance being done, shortening the service life, whereas servicing a tankless is a given. 

    I just want to have my water heaters on the ground instead of in the attic of every building that I have owned for the last 30 years.  The A/C units too.

    We had a 1,400 ft2 3/2/2 Fox&Jacobs house in Carrollton, TX back in 1985 to 1990.  I turned it into a rent house when we moved to Sugar Land in 1990 and sold it in 2001.  The water heater and the a/c / heater were in a closet between the garage and living room.  Was noisy but super easy to service.  Any problems were almost instantly noticeable.

  73. lynn says:

    I’ve  been considering it. My reason for tankless would be less propane usage – already expensive and climbing, here in California. Currently I get it from Costco, but if they ever shut down the price/# will double (at least) overnight. 

    There are two of the twenty LNG plants out of service until next year.  When those LNG plants come back online and the other 8 ? 10 ? LNG plants being built are turned on, the price of natural gas is going to jump again.  But there are new natural gas fields coming online next year and so.  But that idiot Biden shut down all new interstate natural gas pipelines by FERC sitting on the applications.  So, the price of natural gas is rising.  Maybe.

  74. lynn says:

    @lynn, I’ll have underground drip lines not sprinklers so I won’t know if they are running unless the grass above them dies.  (actually I think there is an alarm if the drip line doesn’t have 15psi back pressure.  Should be if not.)  An  alarm mute could get you in a lot of trouble if you forget to turn it back on, couldn’t it?

    Ah, I think I understand.  The drip lines will be pressurized instead of natural flow like the old leach fields.  Gotcha !

  75. Nick Flandrey says:

    Right, they are like garden drip irrigation, with heads every 2 ft, and hundreds of feet of hose, buried six inches deep.   The grass above pulls the moisture to the surface to evaporate rather than the moisture sinking into the ground, like an old style system.   I wanted simple and old style, but the soil isn’t allowable for that type of system.  Water actually has to sink in for that to work.   It’s what was installed 40 years ago, but not anymore.    Everyone with a new system in the area has either drip or sprinklers.

    We have yet to find the old field lines, and I’m beginning to think they are under a patio next to the house.  It’s really the only place they would fit.

    We’ll find out when we remove the concrete and trench to get the drip lines in the ground and past the house.

    n

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