Warm. Damp. Overcast. Big change from the BOL. Where it was nice all day yesterday. Here in Houston, not so much. Oh well, maybe it won’t rain.
Did my plumbing yesterday. Finished with the major tasks, there is now pex run to every fixture in the house. Still have the hose bibs to do, but the main thing is disconnecting the old copper completely. It’s still under pressure and just capped off at the outlets. I’ll do that next visit. I just couldn’t get there this time, too much stuff was fighting me.
I’ll have to use this short week to do stuff around here. Small inroads were made, but more ‘building on momentum’ needs to happen. Time is rapidly slipping away before stuff like Swim Team and end of term stuff gets going. And in the next couple of months there will be two birthdays and an anniversary as well. Socially, it’s going to get busy.
I can’t really predict the future, but I can’t see one where I am idle, with lots of free time to indulge in my hobbies and reading books all day.
Gotta take your joy when you can, and stack it up for the bad times.
Stacks are good ‘um Kay?’
nick
… you’d think he would have ducked.
“Idle” would be lovely… good luck!
Mrs Denis bought herself a fancy Asus laptop. The cable from the wall socket to the 90w solid-state power supply has a male end shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head or a cloverleaf. I am going to need a few of those to scatter around the place. Does anybody know what that connector shape is called so I can order some?
Denis, I don’t know what they’re called but suggest that you go to a computer repair shop or used computer store. They’ll probably have power supplies, or just the cords, that they’ll sell for cheap.
@denis, @stevef:
IEC C5, but unofficially “cloverleaf”. And Stevef’s suggestion is a good one.
G.
Try finding a parking spot at Buc-ee’s on a holiday weekend.
In the all-EV future, drivers will spend a lot of time at places like Buc-ee’s during any road trip, at least an hour every 200 miles or so. Interestingly, the corporate philosophy is “no loitering” so the stores don’t have seating/tables.
And, for now, EVs are banished to the far reaches of the parking lot at Buc-ee’s.
Asus doesn’t sell spares?
Does the laptop have USB-C charging capability?
More than $500, and I would have made sure it had USB-C charging/docking capability.
@denis, even amazon calls it a ‘mickey mouse’ plug… wife found that out when she left hers at home last week.
Thrift stores here often have bins of cords for a dollar each. Having a few scattered around is a Good Idea ™.
Weather station says 77F and 84%RH. I think it’s stuck. Time to change batteries?
n
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/03/irs-agents-visited-twitter-files-journalist-matt-taibbis-house-the-day-of-his-congressional-testimony/
People are honestly mystified by this situation and the woman’s income?
I could go deep with an explanation which would get me in a lot of trouble but offering an honest assessment, based on 30 years of watching Corporate America at mostly sh*t show jobs. However, I will leave it at this:
Meta. Lean In.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/former-meta-recruiter-claims-she-got-paid-190-000-a-year-to-do-nothing-amid-company-s-layoffs/ar-AA194iY7
I’m calling it ‘good riddance by cop’
Well, if you have never been to Buc-ee’s, it is definitely something to see. When the one in Crossville opened there were off-duty police officers during daylight hours for almost a week to control traffic. The newest Buc-ee’s locally will be at the main entrance to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, The Smokey Mountains, and Dollywood. It is already a traffic nightmare and Buc-ee’s will make the traffic worse. The site was carefully chosen by Buc-ee’s for the tourist traffic and a really good land deal with the Cherokee Indians that owned the land.
Does that even need to be said? All of my ideas are good. Great, even. If you don’t think so, you’re probably judging them by the wrong criteria. eg, you’d probably rate my suggestion that you do your grocery shopping in the nude as a bad one because you’d be arrested and might get frostbite, but it would give the police something to do other than write parking tickets and it would give the store employees some lore to pass down to the new hires. Everyone wins! Well, almost everyone.
The Beaver is all about the tax breaks.
I know the chain walked away from land and plans to build a store outside Fort Myers, Florida because government at some level wasn’t willing to give every concesson requrested.
The St. Augustine store is right across from the Murray Brothers Caddyshack restaurant. I gotta wonder if the brothers view that as more blessing or curse.
Just be the ball ….
IEC C5, cloverleaf, Mickey Mouse plug. Thanks, all. Online shopping I go, or down to the local PC fixit place too. I have, of course, buckets full of power cables, but none of that particular style.
Greg, the new lappy was a dear one, a 17″ Zenbook with lots of bells and whistles. Seems nice. I will turn it on presently to install Windows, Office and a few other bits and bobs. It is charging at present.
It looks like it has a USB-C charging port – there is one with a lightning bolt symbol beside it. Perhaps I will get a couple of hefty USB power adapters for it too. I need to leave a charging unit, USB multi-port adapter and a mouse wherever Mrs Denis is likely to go without them; around the house, the BOL, my siblings’ homes and her parents’ place…
No clue why power cords have different connectors but I used to keep a two wire and a three wire supply for my chromebook.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60320
of course the beauty of standards is there are so many to choose from
Check the spec rating on the USB-C charging and get a dock with appropriate power passthru.
If the laptop has Display Port capability through the USB-C connection, the dock will supply all the connections you need, even the simple ones, all through one cable.
Doh! That was Chevy Chase’s line.
“What an incredible Cinderella story …”
@SteveF
Please review all your previous shopping tips for us.
https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/city-of-huntsville-seeking-applicants-for-summer-internship-program/
Just…wow.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/03/irs-agents-visited-twitter-files-journalist-matt-taibbis-house-the-day-of-his-congressional-testimony/
An IRS agent showing up unannounced is a shooting offense these days. Thugs.
Go back 30 years, and it would be unimaginable that a Dem President would raid the house of a regular contributor to Rolling Stone magazine, even PJ O’Rourke or William Greider.
Just a decade ago, under the Jesus President, a raid on Taibbi would have been a nuclear meltdown in the press.
Silicon Valley is circling the wagons. The bottom will fall out of everything but the ‘A’ in the FANG companies when the truth about the advertising effectiveness goes mainstream.
And I’m not too sure about that ‘A’ company if AI becomes a thing.
Just a decade ago, under the Jesus President, a raid on Taibbi would have been a nuclear meltdown in the press.
– and thus we are habituated to the whip and the collar…
n
Interesting list at the top of the page http://comeandmakeit.blogspot.com/ no perma link.
I’d say “survival” in the same sense as “not dying while you wait for a saviour.” and not sufficient for our needs.
n
If you’re referring to my advice to get a teenage wife from Ukraine, don’t come whining to me if you didn’t move fast enough and Russian troops had occupied the village where you were going to do your shopping.
I flip-flop between thinking that things are not going to completely fall and that there will continue to be some infrastructure and some services and some goods, and thinking that we’d better prepare for complete self-sufficiency because this could get really bad.
Probably things will be closer to a(nother) Great Depression and that so long as we have enough on hand to get past shortages and curtailments we’ll get through.
BUT all of the systems and supply chains are much more reliant on some material available only from Dingleberrystan and if a civil war breaks out then 30% of the world’s manufactured goods can no longer be made. Multiply by three dozen Dingleberrystans around the world, each of which is essential to the global economy, and the system looks ready to collapse with a strong breeze.
The Russian troops want to go home. Russians do not desire a culture steeped in the traditions of the 8th century.
Some kind of negotiated settlement is coming, without the US involved.
I had mentioned it to them before their road trip, after hearing about them HERE.
Relatives in TX, Ms, Ok, and side trips in NM and Az. Even stayed in the Wigwam motel. They had a blast.
Buccees is kind of like the roadside attractions of old, at least it occupies some of the same position in the zeitgeist. Like the world’s biggest ball of string, you stop there because it’s not 100 more miles of open road…
n
I can’t really predict the future, but I can’t see one where I am idle, with lots of free time to indulge in my hobbies and reading books all day.
Idleness: noun. A theoretical construct based on the observation that sometimes one is less busy than other times.
See also: 0.0 Kelvin, World Peace.
Sun is finally poking out. There have been scattered drops of rain all morning, even though the sky was mostly clear. It was just raining on MY parade.
and I’m pretty sure my weather station is locked up, it’s not 77F and 84%RH
n
Have you tried turning it off then on? (or a battery remove/reinstall reset)
We used to use Ship Station to ship our products. I cancelled it last year since our shipping comes in spurts and didn’t pay to have a monthly fee.
Today, I used http://www.pirateship.com for the first time. I love it! Free to use and formats the label in whatever format you use. I have a Rollo printer and it worked perfect. Pirate Ships negotiated rate for a Flat Rate Envelope was cheaper than USPSs commercial price and about $1.50 less than if I used the USPS site.
Recommended.
Buccees is kind of like the roadside attractions of old, at least it occupies some of the same position in the zeitgeist. Like the world’s biggest ball of string, you stop there because it’s not 100 more miles of open road…
n
I just appreciate having a clean bathroom and a place to wash my hands afterwards with PAPER to dry my hands. Those tornado blowers do not work for me so I end up drying my hands on the seat of my jeans.
The BBQ sandwiches are just an extra. But the fact that they do not have pickles and onions anymore kind of pisses me off.
and I’m pretty sure my weather station is locked up, it’s not 77F and 84%RH
It is 72 F and a 10 to 15 mph wind at my house from the north. I have no idea what the humidity is.
Humidity Calculator:
Houston in late March:
Is it raining?—>100%
Not raining?—> Yes.
LOL. The PLTs are out in force blaming guns, WHITEY!, and Redumblican “hate” for the shooting.
Leading the charge is Chasten ButtPlug and George “Where’s Shatner” Takei. Even the LSM is joining in. “Bury the lede ASAP”. And of course, plugs is going after “assault’ rifles.
Any rifle used to kill, or shoot at, someone is an assault rifle. It was used to assault someone. Plugs and the rest of the PLTs have no idea what they are talking about. My old .22 rifle is an assault weapon in the right circumstance. A few of my farts on that one Delta flight could have been an assault weapon.
The problem is not the guns, never has been. When I was in school most of the pickups in the parking lot had gun racks with guns in the racks. The guns have not changed, the people have changed.
The system is producing a bunch of whiney p*ssies that cry when their delicate little senses get offended. They have been told they are all great, everyone gets participation trophies, there are no reality checks.
Social media has aggravated the situation. When I was youngen’ there was no way to broadcast to the world, get one’s face in the news around the world. Everything mostly stayed local or regional. Now when someone feels wronged, wants to get attention, they do something terrible to get in the news. Now rather than be a nobody, they are somebody who will be remembered. Regardless of the destruction of lives involved.
The problem is the p*ussification of the youth is the problem. No more are young aggressive males allowed to duke it out in the gym. Instead they are given crayons and told to color their feelings. That does not work. Aggression will still emerge, in a bad way.
Kids being confused about their gender. Not because of the child, but because of idiot adult psychologists that think they know better. Clueless dolts wanting the world their way instead of the real and natural way. If a young male is told he should be a female, is forced to assume that role, it is going to destroy their natural way of thinking. Thousands of years of evolution is not going be changed in 30 years by idiotic and incompetent psychologists trying to justify that worthless degree.
Making guns illegal will not stop the carnage. People will find ways to get guns. Drugs are illegal. How’s that working out? Illegal drug usage is at all time high. Felons still get guns and commit crimes even though it is against the law. Destroying the 2nd amendment will not stop the violent use of guns.
Tough laws on gun crimes with execution with a firing squad in 30 days when a life is involved. No appeals.
The BBQ sandwiches are just an extra. But the fact that they do not have pickles and onions anymore kind of pisses me off.
Understood. I just discovered the other day that our new, larger, Costco no longer has the pickles and onions for their dogs either. Also the dogs are the same and same size but the buns are about half that length now. I’m not supposed to be eating that much bread anyway, but.
I flip-flop between thinking that things are not going to completely fall and that there will continue to be some infrastructure and some services and some goods, and thinking that we’d better prepare for complete self-sufficiency because this could get really bad.
Probably things will be closer to a(nother) Great Depression and that so long as we have enough on hand to get past shortages and curtailments we’ll get through.
I think that the USA is going to go through a financial apocalypse in the next 5 to 15 years. I think that the USA will come out of the financial apocalypse separated into 6 to 9 countries, a balkanization. The real problem is that the big cities are not sustainable in the long term. The minute a city starts building “affordable” housing, that city is compromised.
Many of the science fiction books have gone down this route. The most famous is probably “Friday” by Robert Heinlein. However, the balkanization of the USA is more of a side note than the main emphasis of the story. The side note is that it is difficult to go between the various new countries of the USA with their different monies and prejudices. And their continual border wars. Much like Europe from the 1500s to the formation of the EU.
Our Costco dropped the onions but still have pickle relish. First they removed the chopped onion dispenser. Then provided little cups of onions. Now those are not available.
Sam’s Club has the hotdogs and drink for $1.38, slightly cheaper than Costco. Pickle relish but still no onions.
Wow, my very obtuse article on Code Project now has 12 five star out of five star votes. Someday I need to resurrect Paul DiLascia’s MSDN magazine articles. Paul was a great help to me in figuring out how to build the Folder Tab Ctrl MFC widget.
https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/5145/Folder-Tab-Control-for-Windows-MFC-like-MS-Excel
Our Costco dropped the onions but still have pickle relish. First they removed the chopped onion dispenser. Then provided little cups of onions. Now those are not available.
Sam’s Club has the hotdogs and drink for $1.38, slightly cheaper than Costco. Pickle relish but still no onions.
My Sam’s Club has the pickles and onions in little cups. Probably a Koof violation.
Kids being confused about their gender. Not because of the child, but because of idiot adult psychologists that think they know better. Clueless dolts wanting the world their way instead of the real and natural way. If a young male is told he should be a female, is forced to assume that role, it is going to destroy their natural way of thinking. Thousands of years of evolution is not going be changed in 30 years by idiotic and incompetent psychologists trying to justify that worthless degree.
Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina. This was explained in detail in the awesome “Kindergarten Cop” movie. God built you that way for a reason. I have no idea what the allocation algorithm is but, it is not meant to be messed with.
If you cannot accept the hand that you were dealt, you have a mental disorder. Please get help in dealing with this.
“Mattress Mack lays down another massive bet on Astros winning World Series”
https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/mattress-mack-world-series-bet-17862522.php
“Mattress Mack cashed out in a major way last November when the Astros secured their second championship in franchise history, with the win over the Phillies netting him a whopping $75 million as the result of multiple wagers across the 2022 season. With Opening Day now approaching, Mattress Mack is doubling down. He announced Saturday, in a video shot at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, that he placed a $1.9 million bet on the Astros to win the World Series again this season, with a potential payout this time of about $11.4 million.”
If I see Mattress Mack walking into my casino, I am shutting the place down.
And they know. All of the casinos have face recognition. My son was banned from ALL of them for counting cards back when he was in Uncle Sams Misguided Children. He can hold two decks in his mind and has a fighting chance with four decks.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Hate speech! #LiterallyShaking Someone arrest him! #Triggered
“Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee announces bid for mayor of Houston”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/sheila-jackson-lee-houston-mayor-17862189.php
She can’t be any worse than the last four mayors of Houston.
BC: Runit Island
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2023/03/28
Oh my.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runit_Island
Over The Hedge: AI Filters
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2023/03/28
I suspect that AIs will be banned soon. Energy usage, job loss, etc.
“Texas scientists name newly discovered ancient beaver after Buc-ee’s, the state’s wildly popular rest stop”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-scientists-name-newly-discovered-ancient-beaver-buc-ees-wildy-popular-texas-rest-stop
“Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have named a newly discovered species of ancient beaver after Buc-ee’s, the chain of convenience stores known for its namesake mascot. The new species is called “Anchitheriomys buceei,” or “A. buceei” for the rest of us.”
A 57 lb (26 kg) beaver ? That is a rodent of unusual size.
Ever looked at a picture of Hillary or the Camel?
Rodents of unusual size? I don’t think they exist.
Being called a liar pisses me off.
When I bought my used 2002 Dodge truck, I paid $1000.00 cash. Nope, the computer says it’s worth $1900 (about) and that’s what I was taxed on when transferring the title.
Truck has a bad head gasket, sort of. It seems they don’t use a gasket anymore so when you get a leak, coolant in my case, you replace the engine. About $9500 plus tax and shop supplies.
I gave the truck to a friend, he can use it for parts or whatever he wants. He decided to transfer the title. We made a receipt showing the price as $250.
Is that good enough? Nope. They said it’s worth $800.
So we are called liars and the tax folks are thieves.
Then folks working a .gov job wonder why folks do not like them.
You gave the truck to a friend. Assume for $0.00 ? And you claimed $250? Pot = kettle?
Most state governments use pricing guides to figure out car values on sale/transfer. To get the people that claim a lower sales price (and therefore lower sales tax/transfer fees) than what is actually done.
She can’t be any worse than the last four mayors of Houston.
–oh yes she can. She’s corrupt AND stupid. AND has a massive chip on her shoulder and a sense of entitlement as big as a Kardasian ass…..
n
A Congresscritter ain’t giving up a position unless they have a new one in their sights that grafts better.
A Senate seat or the key to a Governor’s Mansion.
Ukrainian teen brides???? What did I miss? Did SteveF start over?
>> Social media has aggravated the situation. When I was youngen’ there was no way to broadcast to the world, get one’s face in the news around the world. Everything mostly stayed local or regional. Now when someone feels wronged, wants to get attention, they do something terrible to get in the news. Now rather than be a nobody, they are somebody who will be remembered. Regardless of the destruction of lives involved.
Simple solution – the shooter’s name and/or picture are never mentioned on any media platform. Penalty for dissemination is one finger removed per occurrence from the offending company’s CEO via bolt-cutters. And no Wikipedia page either – as “it” never existed. Remains incinerated and disposed of in the landfill.
If you think C5 connectors are interesting, I went down a rabbit hole a couple of months ago at work. The data center provided 6x 208V circuits with L6-30R sockets. Most of the devices use C14 sockets, some have C16, and one is C20. The PDUs have F and J sockets, but all the literature calls them C13 and C19 outlets, even though they aren’t. Then you need “coupler” cables. Finally, inspecting every device to make sure it can handle 208V. Oh, and Wye and Delta. Electricians are worth every penny.
No, my good advice is for other people. I never take it myself.
Naw, he’s just teasing out his future plans.
My method is different: I’m going to need a native-speaking au pair for my Russian Blue kittehs.
Did I ever share here my remarriage plan?
I told my daughter that when she’s older and I divorce her mother, I’ll probably want to have more kids. For that I’ll need a younger wife. Much younger. Like, even younger than my daughter younger. Maybe one of her younger friends. And then I’ll make my daughter call her younger friend Mom.
Quite reasonably, my daughter’s response was, “AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! Why are you like this????”
Including any “manifesto” or other such postings. The cretin basically ceases to exist.
She is not alone in that response.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11913455/NC-woman-sells-1920s-Cartier-purse-7-500-picking-DOLLAR-online-auction.html
– there are treasures out there.
n
The proper backstory is “I’ve had this in my collection for some time and always thought it was special.”
Do not leave the door open for the attorney’s letter that claims this is part of his client’s property stolen blah blah blah.
Every time I hear the Antiques Roadshow story “We found this in the attic/basement/garage of a house we bought…” I cringe. There was a controversy in early years of the show about an Italian helmet that was found in an attic and appraised at $250,000. The person bringing the antique for appraisal left quickly, and I made the comment that she’s going to have problems when the house seller or her own family find out. Later the claim was made that the appraisal was staged, and they pulled the episode (and later edited the segment from it) because the woman refused to speak with the producers. I’ve always thought it was most likely that her attorney told her to zip it.
Peter is dead on with “Memes that made me laugh 152”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/03/memes-that-made-me-laugh-152.html
the seventh one is about costuming time travelers,
and later the “Alien” synopsis from a Hong Kong bootleg is a chuckle, too.
“Florida Governor DeSantis Signs Universal School Choice Bill”
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/florida-governor-desantis-signs-universal-school-choice-bill/
“Florida follows several other states who have also expanded school choice. Arkansas governor Sarah Sanders signed a bill into law earlier this month that does just that.”
Hopefully Texas will be state #7 for universal school choice.
Peter is dead on with “Memes that made me laugh 152”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/03/memes-that-made-me-laugh-152.html
the seventh one is about costuming time travelers,
and later the “Alien” synopsis from a Hong Kong bootleg is a chuckle, too.
Spider Robinson has a hard policy about time travelers, “Time Travelers Strictly Cash”:
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Strictly-Spider-Robinson/dp/0441812775?tag=ttgnet-20/
“A bicycle theft preventer”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-bicycle-theft-preventer.html
“Thank you, sir. Have a nice day. You’re not a virgin anymore.”
“I wish Adam and Eve would have been Cajuns.”
“They would have avoided the apple and eaten the snake.”
https://bustednuckles.net/avoided-a-lot-of-shit-now-a-days/
Just assume it applies to any product you buy there and you don’t have to search for the “warning”…
https://www.pcmag.com/news/frequently-returned-label-warns-amazon-shoppers-about-shoddy-products
>> Tough laws on gun crimes with execution with a firing squad in 30 days when a life is involved. No appeals.
Ray … Ray … I get the association (gun crime – firing squad) … but are you going soft on us? What’s wrong with ‘drawn and quartered,’ or if finding good horses its problematic, there’s always the good ‘ole wood chipper (feet first of course).
AI Programs Like ChatGPT Could Replace 7% of US Jobs, But Don’t Worry Yet
Investment Bank Researcher Jobs, of course, are too complex to be supplemented or replaced by AI.
It must be April. Continuous rainfall. Nice for the coming summer (fill the reservoirs), but…bleah.
SteveF’s daughter is either going to grow up to be an amazing woman, or she is going to need endless therapy.
Because … Amish …
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11913211/Texas-squatters-booted-property-changing-locks-forging-lease.html
Brazen serial squatter is forced to flee Texas home after changing locks, faking LEASE and going on camera to insist she was entitled to stay there with her family
Not mutually exclusive.