Cool and clear, warmer laterly…. it started clear but turned overcast with a bit of light rain and some scattered showers. It cleared later, but not clear enough for good observation.
Spent the day doing plumbing. The dang things fought me all day, culminating in a 2 hour round trip to get 2 adapters. On the plus side, I drove through some areas that were just carpeted with bluebonnets. Beautiful.
Decided to push on through when I got home, despite most of the day being gone, but I really wanted to make some progress. And once I cut the lines, I was committed to getting enough done to get the water back on. I finally was satisfied it wouldn’t leak all over the place at about 10 pm. Long day.
Today I’ll finish the plumbing. If everything goes well, I should be able to decommission all of the old copper before leaving today. Some of it will be going home with me to the scrapyard. I made $57 on the last bunch of faucets and copper tube… There was some steel and aluminum mixed in, but it was mostly plumbing stuff. I can’t imagine anyone recycling pex in 50 years.
Didn’t do a fire last night, just went to bed. It was so late when I finished that I didn’t have the energy to lay a fire and sit out. It was hot enough in the attic in my coveralls that I was about worn out…
I did get some of the food I brought up with me stacked. I have a lot of canned peas for some reason. I will have to bring something for balance later. Still, it’s nice to see the cabinets filling up.
Big stacks are good, but some stacks are best. Do what you can with what you have.
nick
Mix them with canned corn and call the result porn.
Get some good will. Then you can have peas on earth and good will for all men.
I’ll see myself out…
Except Ray.
MrAtoz is kind of sketchy, too.
When I worked in Downtown Seattle, the northbound commuter rail trains run by BNSF … cough … were out of operation due to mudslides frequently enough that management kept signs stashed, just out of sight but visible if you looked, notifying passengers that they would need to find alternative transportation that evening or not get home.
On the map, Edmonds, Mukilteo, and Everett.
https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stations/sounder-train-stations
On paper, the system works great. In practice? Not so much.
Of course, The Gecko gets paid either way.
Reminds me of a bumper sticker from long ago: “Visualize whirled peas.”
Indeed. I don’t have a limp wrist for nothing.
I have met MrAtoz, he is OK.
And quickly.
As is Mr. Ray. I’m embracing my feminine side today. Where’s the door…
I like embracing the female side…
Cool and sunny clear this am. Wife got the kids out the door and to the bus on time, then waited almost 15 minutes for the bus. Happens.
Coffee is in hand, dog is out for walkies, and the day awaits…
n
I am shocked that you assume Ray and MrAtoz are of the male gender. Microaggression!
I had a colleague who, when distaff persons would get on their high brooms about gendered language, would calmly interject, “in English grammar, as in life, the male embraces the female”. Since he was gay, the perpetually offended didn’t know which way to look, so they always ended up just looking gormless. Priceless.
0930 appointment to have my CAC renewed. I arrived at 0920 And was given #41. After five minutes, # 19 was called back. I think I’m going to be here a while. At least I’m getting paid to be here…
Ordered my German Railpass tickets for the upcoming trip. $725.00 for any 7 days in a 30 day period, two people, 1st class, any train, all day. One of our train journeys is 8+ hours with three changes of train. Interesting tickets. A single piece of paper the size of a boarding pass. One just writes in the date on the day of travel.
German train system is excellent, when it is running. The Germain train workers are currently on strike for higher wages, along with the bus, taxi and plane drivers. I hope it is settled quickly, or at least by the time I make my journey.
The ICE trains are the best, especially if one of the high-speed trains is being used. Traveling at 300 KPH with no sense of motion is quite amazing. 1st class is nice with a one seat, aisle, two seat arrangement. Seats have plenty of room, foot rest, power at the seats (need a German to USA adapter), food is available at the seat, tray tables, and the occasional walk through of someone with small packs of Gummi Bears.
In excluding Ray and MrAtoz from “good will to all men”, I was focusing on the “good will” part. But the consensus seems to be focusing on the “men” part. Hmm…
I sometimes get frustrated working with my credit union. The people are friendly enough, but they seem to need to get advice from above whenever I ask for something out of the ordinary.
I recently opened an account at a bank. I was impressed with the level of proficiency and determination I saw on the part of the employees there; they didn’t have to get advice from above and they knew what to do, even for my unusual situation. Of course, banks still suck and levy fees for just about everything.
Now, a different bank to illustrate that point. I sold real estate, retired a mortgage, and thought I was done with that bank. Oh, no, not so. They sent me a letter, with several paragraphs of boldface threatening language, because I no longer had insurance on the property covered by the loan. Property I had sold. A loan that was retired the day I closed. On property that was now insured by the new owners.
I received this letter in Saturday’s mail, and couldn’t call the insurance department until today. When I reminded them they should check with the loan department before sending threats, the droid looked up my loan, and blurted that there was a three day gap between the closing and the loan being paid off.
When she recovered, she said she referred the matter back to the loan department and that I likely wouldn’t be billed for the 3 days of insurance.
I have gained appreciation for my credit union.
Do bankers wonder why people hate them?
Musk still has some housecleaning to do.
Twitter Source Code Leaked Online, Musk Hunts Perpetrator; Values Firm At $20 Billion
n
On the other hand, he’s about to get a free security review and bug report….
n
The Twitter server side source isn’t nearly as valuable as the apps’ source would be if it hit the wild.
Twitter itself couldn’t develop a decent app so they bought Tweetie fifteen years ago, which was free as in beer but not as in speech.
The app has the dopamine hit that keeps the users coming back to the pusher.
Three more days of interest that you were charged.
I go with my strength.
My friends returning from their Texas trip brought me a straw hat from Bucees (I say friends, but…).
They had a good time, really enjoyed the people and food.
0930 appointment to have my CAC renewed. I arrived at 0920 And was given #41. After five minutes, # 19 was called back. I think I’m going to be here a while. At least I’m getting paid to be here…
CAC ? Chicken all chances ?
They can charge all they want, but I won’t pay it, and the closing statement included the complete payoff of the loan.
Any date discrepancies are strictly internal to the bank, and if they come to me for money, they can pound sand. Perhaps the title company can explain it to them in simple one-syllable words.
Crankshaft: Birthday Cake
https://www.gocomics.com/crankshaft/2023/03/25
I’ve eaten a lot of birthday cake over the years. And I started reading Spiderman over fifty years ago.
Lol.
https://www.cac.mil/common-access-card/
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/28-year-old-woman-kills-6-nashville-christian-school-mass-shooting
n
“Why First Citizens got a $16.5 billion discount for taking over Silicon Valley Bank”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-first-citizens-got-a-165-billion-discount-for-taking-over-silicon-valley-bank-154218153.html
“To get a deal done, government regulators agreed to a series of concessions.”
I am surprised that the FDIC did not have to pay them to take over SVB.
Questionable Content: Robot AI Prehensile Tail
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5011
You know, having a prehensile tail sounds cool until you want to sit down.
>> I could get Gavin on board.
Get him on a waterboard, maybe?
I hear that the Governor of Idaho is looking for a “volunteer” for some practice.
The son’s 2019 Camry has zero refrigerant in his a/c system. He is going to borrow a buddy’s vaccum pump, recharge the system, and look for the leak. Toyota told him that after one year, he was on his own to fix the leak. They would fix the leak as a normal wear and repair item.
“John Kerry Says More Climate Mandates Coming From Biden Regime, Including Executive Orders and “Changes on Automobile, On Light Truck, Heavy Truck…” (VIDEO)”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/john-kerry-says-more-climate-mandates-coming-from-biden-regime-including-executive-orders-and-changes-on-automobile-on-light-truck-heavy-truck-video/
Lurch basically says that Biden is a dictator and can mandate whatever he wants to.
“Kerry then claimed that it’s fine for global elites to fly private jets because “they’re working harder than most.””
Of course, because some people are more special than other people.
Two legs good ! Four legs bad !
“Second Large Chain Closes All Locations in Portland: Cracker Barrel Permanently Shutters Remaining Area Restaurants”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/second-large-chain-closes-all-locations-in-portland-cracker-barrel-permanently-shutters-remaining-area-restaurants/
“The Gateway Pundit reported that Walmart is closing the last two locations it has in Portland, Oregon this month. The company’s official line about the closings is that it has to do with store performances, customer needs, and other corporate speak.”
Get out of the inner cities. I am not sure of the suburbs as our suburbs seem to be catching the same liberal diseases.
>> Oh, and the shower supply wasn’t changed over to feed from above, just the cold side. That means I’ve got to open the wall in the master to get to the back of the mixer, and to cap off the hot line coming out of the slab. Way more work than I was hoping for. I think I’m going to be here tonight.
@nick, I frequently see access panels installed to reach the shower mixer if repair/replacement ever becomes necessary. Have you considered that option rather than patching the wall?
Yeah, dealing with rampant shoplifting is gonna foul your “store performance” numbers.
I remember when Walmart was a new thing. First location I know of was next to Highland Mall in Austin.
I survived the horrors of life before Walmart. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive if every Walmart vanished tonight.
Depending on exact location, hang a picture to cover the access panel.
FIFY
“Dramatic moment Kia Soul is launched 10 feet into the air after a loose wheel plows into it on LA freeway… and the driver walked away with no injuries”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11906949/Kia-Soul-launched-10-feet-air-loose-wheel-plows-LA-freeway.html
I cannot believe that the Kia Soul driver walked away from the crash.
That was brief. When we left nine years ago, Cracker Barrel’s territory only extended as far west as Boise, along with that of Dillards and Chick-fil-A. All three were political, but Cracker Barrel’s history is particularly egregious with regard to race.
Also, Tualatin and Beaverton aren’t the inner city of Portland. Bend is a few hours south-southeast.
I saw that Cracker Barrel had a location on Jantzen Beach which they closed previously. That’s where Hooters was banished in the Metro when we lived there.
Did Austin have a big Service Merchandise presence instead of Walmart? The two companies had a kinda-sorta handshake non-compete until the late 80s.
I believe it is “Reamde” where Neal Stephenson speculates that there is only one Walmart and the storefronts across the country are actually wormholes to enter/exit the one store.
And he served in Vietnam … where Beau was killed.
The Mouse cuts 7,000. More to come …
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/disney-begins-laying-off-7-000-employees-ceo-bob-iger-announces/ar-AA198Wf0
Test screenings of “The Haunted Mansion” must not be going well.
“But Jamie Lee Curtis won an Oscar.”
“Yeah, but so did Key Han Quan on *the same night* for *the same film*.”
Maybe his cameo in the new “Indiana Jones” film is a secret. Yeah, that’s it.
@Lynn, having a refrigerant leak on a new car is rare these days.
Many newer cars, and maybe your son’s, have UV dye in the factory refrigerant. Have him buy or borrow a UV light to find the leak. Since this probably was a fast leak, oil might show up at the leak, making the UV light unnecessary. Be sure to check around the evaporator case condensate drain, and hope the evaporator core hasn’t sprung a leak. Those can be hard to replace.
I had a small leak in my 1994 Dodge PU that was a leaking Schrader valve core in the low side service port. This took years to leak enough to affect performance, and there was no oil stain. I detected it with an R134A electronic leak detector, a tool I highly recommend. I replaced the valve core and replaced the plastic dust cap with a positive seal metal one, something I routinely do.
Any time a system is fully or nearly fully discharged, it is a good idea to replace all fitting seals, even on newer cars. Use the highest quality ones you can find. I get mine from mail order places, as few regular auto parts stores carry AC components these days. He might be luckier in an urban area. Try an auto AC shop.
Finally, since this was a fast leak, if there is a sign of oil leakage, it might be good to add a small amount of the correct oil before recharging. There is a pretty wide tolerance for high oil levels, but being low enough to cause rapid wear will be expensive.
Oh, and he probably knows to do a leak check when evacuating the system. Just evacuate for at least a half hour, then close the valves on the gauge set. Carefully note the low side gauge’s reading (tap lightly to get a settled reading.) Wait a half hour and check for a change. Air leaks into an evacuated system faster than refrigerant leaks out, making this a good test.
Notice that all the above take some extra time, which a pro doesn’t have. They usually are in a hurry, and gamble on the small things. Helps their bottom line and hurts their customer’s.
@RickH, I couldn’t post for about an hour. Attempting to post got me an error that said teh site was inaccessible. Going back returned me to the site, but still couldn’t post. Seems fixed now.
Thanks.
@paul, I enjoy your sense of humor. A couple of your comments over the last few days cracked me up. Birds of a feather?
Yes, was aware of that. Happened shortly after the Kia post. Dreamhost issue with the SQL server we are on. About a 1 ¾ hour issue. Resolved now.
@RickH, I couldn’t post for about an hour. Attempting to post got me an error that said teh site was inaccessible. Going back returned me to the site, but still couldn’t post. Seems fixed now.
Thanks.
Probably a router between you and the ttgnet.com is flapping. The big long haul routers on the backbones between big cities like Houston and Dallas are really smart and will do partial reboots automatically but the small routers have to be noticed before they get attention. There is a reason why Comcast and AT&T reboot their suburban routers every Sunday night starting at 1am.
If you are running Winders, run “tracert ttgnet.com” in a CMD window. If you are running unix / linux, run “traceroute ttgnet.com” in a command window. If a router is flapping, you will see it.
Nope. Dreamhost hosting place. SQL server issue in their western data center. Resolved by them.
LMAO! He stabbed Kerry with a paper clip so he could get a second Purple Heart.
Police identified the attacker as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a transgender man who was assigned female at birth. Responding officers killed Hale, a Nashville resident, in a lobby area inside the school,
I’m calling it ‘suicide by cop’
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/breaking-nashville-police-release-surveillance-footage-of-transgender-shooter-inside-the-school/
Having a real female mass shooter is rare.
n
Random.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/breaking-rand-paul-staffer-stabbed-multiple-times-with-knife-in-broad-daylight/
n
>> My friends returning from their Texas trip brought me a straw hat from Bucees (I say friends, but…).
They had a good time, really enjoyed the people and food.
So Bucees as the vacation destination? Hmm, to each their own I guess…
Thank goodness.
However, running amok and murdering six is a wee bit over the top as a way of asserting one’s new-found masculinity…
The Walmart a small store compared to now. I bought some plastic lawn chairs there and well, one has a split that flexes open a bit so yeah, wear a pair of shorts or cover the seat with a towel. Walmart was on the i-35 side of Highland Mall, over by what ended up being Macys.
The Service Merchandise was on the other side of the mall, across the street from JCPenney’s / Firestone auto shop. SM was an interesting place to shop.
This was early ’80s. 1983 maybe.