Cold and damp. It was 44F when I woke up yesterday, didn’t get much above the mid 50s in the shade all day, and was 38F when I went to bed. I expect that to continue today. At least it is supposed to be clear for a couple more days.
Did my pickups. The damage to the scratch and dent freezers is less than I thought, so hooray. One is perfect, one has the dent mostly confined to the access panel over the mechanicals (easy to straighten), and the last one has about 6 vertical inches of the back corner edge pushed in a little bit. They should all work fine, with only one even having noticeable damage.
I’ve been chatting with various of my sellers and I think I can say that this economy is wearing on them. They look tired and beat up. I’m pretty sure that isn’t a good thing.
Today I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting in the morning. Then I’ll come home and take down the Christmas stuff that’s outside. I don’t have to be at the BOL at any particular time, and the decorations need to come down. I haven’t managed my time well enough to do it before now, but time is up. Then I’m headed out. I will probably stay until late Monday. The kids have Monday off, but my wife doesn’t, so they will not be joining me. It does make certain tasks easier if I can cut off power or water for an extended time. And if the weather gets any colder I’ll feel better about being up there and having an eye on the situation. It’s almost always colder there than here.
I’m moving some more food up there too, frozen and canned, and some bulk buckets. It occurs to me that salted pork would need a whole bunch of salt. And some buckets. Hmm. More for the list. If every bucket you have is in use, how do you replace one that you dropped and broke? Or what can you brine that ham in? Or put up some windfall food? The bucket is the unsung hero of prepping, but how many do you have that aren’t in use? What if you couldn’t just run to Lowe’s for another few? EMPTY buckets are important preps too.
So stack up a few!
nick
The sack or pouch was the unsung hero which allowed civilization.
Tools like the hand axe get the attention as sine qua non, and they certainly were that, but before the invention of the bag the protohumans were limited to what they could carry directly in their hands. This was bad enough when heading out on a hunt – the group could take some boys to carry extra spears or hand axes – but terrible for a tribe which needs to move around for its hunting and gathering.
I suspect that the sack didn’t get much attention because a hand axe could be dug up as direct evidence of artifacts being made. The stone could be held up on a TV show and the anthropologist could say “This is a 1.2 million year old tool.” A woven grass bag leaves only subtle traces, found only if you were looking for them, and nothing which can be held up for the camera.
Even today, I carry a plastic grocery bag or 2 in my outerwear pocket. Surprisingly useful in everyday life.
34F and saturated this am. Cold and damp.
Coffee is started, I’m headed for the shower and then my meeting.
Talk amongst yourselves…
n
(bucket’s just a sack that stays open…)
Cassettes and even CD sales are up too.
People forget what a wonder CDDA was at the time and, really, still is.
Put “Dream of the Blue Turtles” on a CD player with a really good set of headphones and listen to the whole thing. Then repeat. You can have that same experience an unlimited number of times.
(And “Turtles” is a DDD album, conceived, recorded, and engineered 100% digitial. Sting spent months in the Bahamas to escape civlization noise in order to get it clean. Anyone who says that album is better on vinyl needs their head examined.)
Compressed music is convenient but it sounds like garbage. MP3 and Napster were part of the $20 Reeboks dream my generation will pursue until they put us in our graves.
Just like the $100/month Pizza Box dream.
It was $40/month, but inflation.
Dan Fielding and Red Foreman back on the air in the same week?
I want to believe Woke is dead, but Disney’s emasculation of Indiana Jones is still on track for this summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7_ernyDLks
Hopefully, the writers of the new “Night Court” haven’t forgotten about Herb and June Wheeler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VboItM4UqtU
In case you’re wondering, yes it is him. Everyone starts somewhere.
Prepping items:
I have ordered a 12v 80Ah LiFePO4 battery. This weighs about 20 lbs (manageable by a geezer) and should run my pellet stove for 8 hours or so. If I like it I will get another.
I have an inverter, and will look at Craigslist for some inexpensive solar panels, generally plentiful around here. And a controller.
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I also tested the 23kbtu kerosene convection heater(in the garage), works like a champ, though not odorless. One’s sense of smell acclimatizes quickly, and it isn’t noticeable after a few minutes unless you leave and come back.
BTW: Kerosene is not inexpensive – drop shipped from Walmart seems the cheapest option at $11/gal. The big box stores and local feed/hardware stores start at $12 and go up from there.
In a grid down situation one can run a kero heater on diesel – farmers do it in barns and stalls – but its said to not be a good idea for inhabited spaces what with all the additives. And apparently the flashpoint is a little different and it might give off more CO.
Nick
Great advice on buckets. I have round 5 and 3.5 gal with gamma lids and square 4 gal. Epackagesupply.com is a great source on their small quantities webpage. They occasionally have sales and I think offer a discount to first time orders.
Steve Mac
LOL. While plugs is flying to Delaware, another batch of classified is found there. What to do, what to do?
seal the crime scene until the FBI can get there
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2023/01/14/breaking-still-more-classified-documents-found-in-biden-home-n523809
Read the last two paragraphs.
Yeah, they didny just get packed up in a frenzy—they were removed and scattered around. Someone(s) got them out.
If Biden’s attorneys don’t have security clearance, they committed multiple felonies.
I don’t believe the aides are doing anything to cover up this mess for the boss.
Biden is done as far was the handlers are concerned.
The new Plugable dock is a no go with my M1 MacBook Pro so it is going back today.
Thunderbolt docks are still a mixed bag in terms of compatibility thanks to Apple’s deal with Intel which made the technology exclusive to Cupertino for far too long IMHO.
Ironically, the Thunderbolt dock which seems to work the best with the M1 Macs is the one in the new hire kit from my current employer, where “Apple” is a four letter word and the hardware verboten inside the building beyond iPhones.
https://plugable.com/blogs/news/its-here-introducing-the-plugable-tbt3-udz-thunderbolt-3-docking-station
I can’t type.
Buckets? I’ve got LOTS of buckets. Big bright yellow plastic buckets; I pay about $14 for them, and they come pre-filled with kitty litter! (I have TOO MANY cats.)
Once empty, I can fill them with non-perishable foodstuffs in their original packaging; flour, sugar, oatmeal. The plastic buckets are sturdy enough to repel larger pets like mice, and can be sealed with a little duct tape to keep out most bugs.
And unlike clear plastic, these don’t degrade in sunlight.
Didn’t you read the terms and conditions? Seems like South Park meets reality.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/roomba-robot-vacuum-testers-find-intimate-photos-themselves-web
Just blame it on Global Warming. It can do anything.
I splurged on this one Thunderbolt 4 Dock for my M1. Works perfectly. Powers the M1 and connects everything through the same cable including my LG 40WP95C-W 40” UltraWide Curved WUHD monitor. I connect to my router with ethernet rather than use WiFi.
I went to my Plugable USB-CAM. It has some quirks with the M1, but, most importantly, the dock has a power switch, unlike the more expensive model.
A lot of Ethernet adapters on various docks did not work with the M1 up until last year, with the last major OS update from Apple.
David Rodham Gergen.
Biden’s done.
Who’s next up on “AC360”? Serpenthead?
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-clinton-adviser-david-gergen-says-biden-risks-being-creamed-by-docs-case-very-very-big-deal/
“Final Heir (Jane Yellowrock)” by Faith Hunter
https://www.amazon.com/Final-Heir-Yellowrock-Faith-Hunter/dp/0593335813?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number fifteen of a fifteen book dark fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2022. I will purchase and read future books in the series if the series is not coming to completion.
Jane Yellowrock is a full blooded Cherokee who walked the Trail of Tears when she was five years old. Somewhere along the trail, her parents were murdered and she became lost. Being a shapeshifter who could control her DNA, she shifted to a bobcat form and tried to attack a mountain lion for its food. She ended up merging bodies with the mountain lion and spent around a 100 years in merged form. She emerged from the wilderness as a human child in the early 1900s and then was raised as a human child in an Christian orphanage. She was apparently aged out and released from the orphanage where she became a vampire hunter for around a hundred years. But now she is the Dark Queen of the vampires in the US.
Jane Yellowrock killed the last known son of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, when she became the Dark Queen. All of Judas’s sons were vampires. But she did not know that there was an unknown son of Judas Iscariot, a final heir.
The author has a website at:
http://www.faithhunter.net/
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (3,029 reviews)
Boston removes 19th century Emancipation Memorial statue of Abraham Lincoln freeing a former slave from his chains, unveils new statue of giant penis honoring MLK:
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2023/01/14/boston-unveils-its-bronze-sculpture-honoring-mlk-and-people-have-questions/
So, is the adjacent cell in the Birmingham Jail finally going to get it’s own plaque?
“Activist Bookbinder Removing J.K. Rowling’s Name From Her Own Books to Protest Her Gender Views — For a Fee”
https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/activist-bookbinder-removing-j-k-rowlings-name-from-her-own-books-to-protest-her-gender-views-for-a-fee/
“An activist bookbinder is charging to remove author J.K. Rowling‘s name from her own books as part of a protest against her past comments on gender.”
“J.K. Rowling found her name trending on social media this week after a bookbinder in Toronto released a video replacing the binding on a Harry Potter book from Rowling, removing the author’s name entirely. Rowling’s name is also removed from the copyright and title pages.”
How strange.
How strange.
– the mentally ill often act in ways that puzzle the normal mind.
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back from my meeting, very well attended, lots of good talk with people. Human people in person.
Spent some time with my wife planning the next week, so I’m behind schedule. Gotta get the Christmas lights down….
n
“Hogwarts Legacy” is one of the most anticipated video game releases of the year, and this is not sitting well with Wokesters, especially with Universal actively building more Harry Potter attractions in Florida and being vague about the plans for the announced park in Frisco.
“Calls to Ban Gas Stoves are Anti-Science, Anti-Freedom, and Anti-Energy”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/14/calls-to-ban-gas-stoves-are-anti-science-anti-freedom-and-anti-energy/
“Honest scientists recognize that what causes asthma is unknown and might be many factors. Ambient air pollution was long blamed for asthma, but the data for ambient pollution and asthma anti-correlate in Western countries.”
“The gas stove banners are not honest scientists.”
This is just the latest false cause in the battle against fossil fuels.
There will be many more false causes against fossil fuels.
@Lynn – You didn’t share the news about Lovie.
If the Texans in the market for another retread Yucs coach, the sports writers want “Rah” Morris given another chance.
https://nypost.com/2023/01/08/lovie-smith-fired-by-texans-after-one-season/
All y’all a-holes saying gas stoves are nasty don’t know what they are talking about. Get yourself a kerosene stove and learn something new.
We had a two burner kerosene stove, mid 70’s or so. It had a glass jug for the kerosene, worked like a water dispenser but just a couple of quarts and not five gallons.
It had wicks, like a lantern. Soot? How about SS pots looking like cast iron? It was smelly, too.
Dad thought it was pretty cool. Me too. Mom? Not very enthused. I don’t know what happened to it but my guess would be that Mom s-canned it ASAP when Dad wasn’t looking. Grin.
You know what? Looking back at when at when I was growing up, and some of the stuff Mom and Dad did, yeah, they were growing up too. I reckon we are always “growing up”.
I’d like to have a gas range. Someday. Maybe. I’ve done well fixing burner sockets and t-stats on the electric range I’ve had for 30 years. But it’s probably not happening after pricing getting propane into the house. Tho…. back up heat is a thing to think about.
Eh? Isn’t your non-prepping hobby a mime get-together? How can you have “lots of good talk” without breaking character?
Sign language ?
More on getting propane . . . . if I do, getting a gas water heater would make sense. But that entails a chimney for the heater through the metal roof or putting it in the pumphouse and running an insulated water line. I would not be surprised if new water heaters need electricity to operate the pilot light.
Scratch that plan.
So it’s back to a gas range and a gas space heater. Perhaps a gas powered generator to power the pellet stove and eliminate the space heater.
That’s precisely my use for nat gas at the house. When we built, the fireplace was propane, as natural gas wasn’t available. A couple years ago, much havoc was created as the utility company installed lines all over. It cost $300 to have a line run to the house and a meter installed. They gave us a questionnaire of future uses to fill out so the meter could be sized appropriately. I made sure I got a 3 PSI meter. The only thing I have hooked up right now is the fireplace. I had to purchase new logs, as I couldn’t convert the ones I had. If I ever do a patio out back, we will do a fire pit. Adding a range or water heater will be expensive, as I would have to run gas line to the other side of the house. Educated guess would be 3-4K just for that, possibly even more now. Not worth it, especially since my wife said she doesn’t want a gas range.
They’re ventriloquist mimes. They talk through their puppets. Like these monks.
There was been a bit of talk here about * if * we get a big propane tank to plumb a line to the gas grill. To not mess with the little tanks anymore.
I can see the point. Dang things keep getting heavier and heavier. Oh, I ‘m the tank totter, too.
But for some reason, my saying “yer drunk ass will leave the grill on for a couple of weeks” didn’t go over so well. Like a lead balloon, actually.
Well. Been there. Fresh tank of gas, stuff was grilled. A couple of days later and “hey, we’re out of gas”.
End of that discussion.
More specs please. Part numbers, even.
I’d be totally cool with a couple of deep cycle batteries ala SeaRay Sundancer sitting there with a battery trickle charger and then an inverter to run the pellet stove. For all the rest, we have FLASHLIGHTS to see how to connect the generator so we have running water.
@paul, my 2 yo water heater at the BOL is propane, and runs without power. It gets enough from the thermocouple.
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“like private parts to the gods are we, they play with us for their sport…”
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plans. I got ‘em. Don’t get to USE them often… I’m home tonight. It just got too late and I’m too tired to drive up in the dark. Took a long time to get the decor put away.
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Mimes, I actually worked with a mime when in college. Grown man, professor, and a mime. He thought of it as preserving a dying art. I couldn’t think why you’d bother. It takes CRAZY physical strength when done right. I could admire that part.
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n
More on getting propane . . . . if I do, getting a gas water heater would make sense. But that entails a chimney for the heater through the metal roof or putting it in the pumphouse and running an insulated water line. I would not be surprised if new water heaters need electricity to operate the pilot light.
Yes, some of the new natural gas water heaters have an electric computer. The electricity is generated by a thermoelectric device in the pilot flame. They are total crap, I had two of them. The computer cannot stand the heat in your attic. My first one died at a year. The second one died within four years. Total crap. I paid my plumber $400 to retrofit an analog controller on the first failed water heater. The second time, I told my plumber that I wanted to replace both water heaters and he quoted me $3,500. I hung up on him and found another plumber to do the job for $2,200.
I grew up with GE appliances. Last time I had a need, I put in a GE natural gas water heater. At some point GE started having them made by Rheem under contract, much like Sears Craftsman.
Traditionally there are two things to extend the life of a gas tank water heater: replace the anode rod as needed, and use the drain valve once a year to get the sediment out of the bottom.
So now there’s a third thing–buy one without any useless electronic carp.
Tankless? No hot water in an electric outage and a 50-year payback on the higher cost. Let me think…
Court clears the way for takeover of Houston Independent School District
https://hotair.com/headlines/2023/01/14/court-clears-the-way-for-takeover-of-houston-independent-school-district-n523819
Most public high school graduates get what would have been about an eighth-grade education 100 years ago.
This week I read an article from a high school English teacher that quit. I can’t find it–I think it was in Kansas. The schools are not teaching the kids to think critically .
Re sediment in water heaters. A drain/flush may not be necessary for all locations.
Just look inside the toilet tank. If you see sediment there, then you probably have sediment in your water heater tank, so drain/flush as needed (once a year ought to be enough for most places).
In my various houses, I never got sediment in the toilet tank. And a drain/flush of the water heater didn’t show anything. So, being lazy, I use the ‘no sediment in toilet tank, no need to flush water heater’ rule.
In my current house, built in 1998, still on the original water heater (electric). It will get replaced when (if) it fails. It’s in the garage (a proper place for water heaters, IMHO), so a massive leak will be just an inconvenience. I look at it occasionally to see if there is any rusting. No problems so far.
I did have to replace the HVAC system (external heat pump and blower unit also in garage) 2 years ago.
The only other major expense will be the roof. Composite asphalt shingles. Although neighbors have replaced theirs (the houses built 1998-2000), a binocular inspection shows mine are still in good shape, as are the aluminum gutters.
No hot water in an electric outage and a 50-year payback on the higher cost.
– but with two teen girls, I’d never get a hot shower without one….
and I STILL need to buy and install the UPS for mine.
n
FWIW, never buy one for saving money. You offset any savings by using MORE hot water, because you don’t have the “water is getting cold” built in shower timer…. buy one for the endless hot water.
Real men don’t have that.
Someone needs to invent a device to throttle hot water to the shower after a set time period. Or maybe just pulse it to full cold…
@RickH
Some hot water heaters claim to have anti-sediment systems. If you have a water softener, the problem is probably non-existent. If you don’t, drain a couple gallons once a year and let it cool before taking a close look.
@RickH
If they are single-tab (not laminates) they probably have a 20-year “warranty”. Typical life sans hail is 12-15 years (shorter in Houston with hail and algae). It’s worthwhile to put a ladder up and take a close look, even if the garage is the only single-story part you can do so. Binoculars will tell you if shingles are curling or a tab is lost, but it’s hard to see if you have granule loss or spot damage due to hail. Also a good idea to check the attic for any evidence of water intrusion, particularly around penetrations like vents and stacks.
An asphalt roof ca 1998-2000 is much more likely to be fastened by staples. As shingles age they lose granules and sunlight deteriorates the underlying asphalt, making it more brittle and easier for a staple to tear.
When you get a new roof, if it is asphalt shingles, specify:
– laminate shingles with a better warranty
– “storm nailing” with six nails per shingle rather than four (and make it clear that it will be inspected for number of nails and placement)
– algicidal shingles if roof algae (dark streaks) is a problem in your area
It’s also likely that you have tar paper rather than one of the newer synthetics which are much better secondary protection. You don’t have severe winters in your area, but there may be newer code requirements for ice and snow membrane.
ADDED: If I were having a new asphalt roof put on in the NW, I would spec shingles from Malarkey Roofing Products.
@drwilliams When the neighbors got their roof done, the company stripped the old roof down to the underlayment (pressed fiberboard stuff), removed flashing, and replaced any damaged underlayment.
Then the plastic-type wrap stuff, layers properly. Then new flashing around dormers and on the edges and wherever. Then the new shingles (fiberglass? asphalt?). Nails were used; didn’t count the number of nails per ‘tab’, but seemed like five or six.
I was just up on the ladder today cleaning out one section of gutters that always gets most of the leaves. Was some grit in there – from the shingles or dirt in the air? But the shingles that I could see still had lots of granules left – didn’t see any bare spots. No curling either.
The north-facing / mostly shaded areas have a little bit of moss (small pencil-diameter on the edges), but I usually put some of the ‘Moss-Off’ stuff on it once a year. (My house is in the Olympic Peninsula, so roof moss can be common.)
I did look in the attic a couple years ago, and found no wet spots. Probably should take the time for another peek up there during the next heavy rain period (which happens often up here in the winter). Very rare to have hail here – maybe some pea-sized pellets for a few minutes.
I suspect there will be a new roof needed in under 5 years. Along with a new water heater. Funds are available to do both when the need arises.
I just paid $5.69 for an HEB 18 pack of large eggs.
We had moss on the roof in Vancouver, WA, in the areas where sun never reached, just outside the master bedroom window. I viewed it as the landlord’s problem, but she never did anything to treat the growth.
Again, a divorced woman’s settlement house. Never rent one of those.
Court clears the way for takeover of Houston Independent School District
https://hotair.com/headlines/2023/01/14/court-clears-the-way-for-takeover-of-houston-independent-school-district-n523819
I went to HISD for 7th, 8th, and 9th grades back in 1973 – 1975. It sucked back then as forced busing started in 1974. The kids would show up at our school hot and sweaty from riding an unairconditioned bus for over an hour through Houston traffic. They were pissed off and I did not blame them. Few of them could read or write and were all put into special classes as they were incredibly disruptive.
That’s about what I paid at Publix a couple days ago. Crazy.
In my various houses, I never got sediment in the toilet tank. And a drain/flush of the water heater didn’t show anything. So, being lazy, I use the ‘no sediment in toilet tank, no need to flush water heater’ rule.
I get so much sediment in my toilet tanks that I have to replace the flappers (I have the dual flapper American Standard Vormax toilets) annually. We have about about 500 TDS (ppm of total dissolved solids) in our water. I am thinking about installing a triple filtration system that requires $60 per month of filters.
https://www.expresswater.com/products/standard-whole-house?variant=
>> Even today, I carry a plastic grocery bag or 2 in my outerwear pocket. Surprisingly useful in everyday life.
Don’t worry, sooner or later, the ‘greenies’ will invade your town or city or state and finagle a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags.
I’ve heard the same from others in other cities. So busing didn’t fix “separate but equal”. Good job, meddling robed tyrants.
I live in NYFS…
I still have dozens, maybe a hundred, old grocery bags. Pack them in tightly and they don’t take much space and they’re useful for many things. (I’ll note that this was yet another item stockpiled over my wife’s complaints. “Why do you keep those? We can always get more!” Uh-huh.)
@alan: @stevef:
This happened some years ago in UK. And before that, the longevity of the bags dropped drastically. I used to use such bags for storage, but they tended to disintegrate due to mandatory additives that made them age out in later years.
We still have the so-called “bag for life” for groceries, but they’re for-pay, and also they’re much heavier-duty, so not so good for storage. But it’s pay once, get a replacement as needed, free.
G.
Several decades ago I worked with such documents, but never took any home or to another place of mine. Remember Clinton’s Sandy Berger did that and was seen doing it and was convicted. As Clinton did not order such, he was not guilty.
Now, if plug’s guy did it not knowing that he shouldn’t have, he was not guilty. But if he did know, then he was guilty and if plug told him, then he is also guilty.