Cool and damp. Still some chance of rain though. Yesterday’s rain didn’t last long, but it dripped most of the morning. It was fairly dry by evening. It got a lot cooler too as the day progressed. So I’m hoping for cool and clear, not too wet.
I did what I needed to do yesterday, after the rain stopped. Hit up Costco for gas (saved $6 on a tank) and food (spent a bunch, didn’t even stock up.) Store looked ok. I didn’t walk the aisles, but things were on sale, and most of the usual items seemed to be there. I was there to buy a couple of bottles of wine, and the lamb for dinner. Lamb was not on sale.
Got home, cooked, ate, celebrated. Fell asleep.
Today I’ve got two pickups, in the same area but far south. The items were very cheap, but we’ll see if they were cheap enough. Then I’ve got to get loaded up, and head to the BOL. Wife will be carting the kids and their friends. It would be good if I could front run them a little bit and have the lights on when they arrive.
It would also be nice if it was dry and warm all weekend. The weather liars have mixed ideas about that. I can hope.
This week was about stacking up good times. Back to the grind next week. But for now, party on Wayne! Party on Garth!
n
(but do keep stacking good stuff too)
Over coffee in the morning, I skim the headlines and browse a bit of reddit. I came across a post about a trans person who ran a marathon and placed 6000th or so. This single instance is proof that males are not better athletes than females, and that trans people should be allowed to compete whenever and wherever they want. The moderators noted that any disagreement would get the comment deleted and the user banned. Why? Because this is all self-evidently true and any dissent is hate speech.
John Adams once wrote:
It took more generations than three, but we have arrived at the point where we have to ask: What do the children of the painters, poets and musicians study? We’re finding out…
@Brad, they study themselves.
n
Cool and a bit of cloud. Some sun poking thru though. May get lucky after all.
n
It ain’t thermo, baby.
It’s not even arithmatik.
And now the sun is out and the sky is clear. Hooray for me.
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12023575/Hero-7th-grader-saves-classmates-lives-hits-brakes-bus-driver-passed-out.html
Kid is a rockstar.
The source of our grief: Say vs Keynes:
https://www.goldmoney.com/research/statist-intervention-the-consequences
… and thermo. 🙂
Real Keynesian economics has never been tried!
… Which is true, I believe. Politicians are all-in on the “spend during hard times” half but seldom find it in themselves to cut programs and build up a war chest during good times. And every time we turn around something else is identified as “hard times” needing spending to rectify it.
Hmm. Fixing an air rifle today. Needed to cobble together a mainspring compressor. Simple as I could make it – a board, two-thirds of a C-clamp for the mechanical advantage, and a couple of other bits of wood to act as stops and restrainers. Luggage straps for hold-downs. My goodness, lumber has got expensive… over forty bucks for three boards. Ouch!
Careful, the Air Force leaker kid had some air rifles and is now reported by the LSM as having an arsenal. Don’t want a SWAT APV showing up in your backyard.
Totally confused by modern trucks.
Why would anyone want a 5.5 foot bed? I want to occasionally carry lumber, you know.
Why a 10 speed transmission? Why a hybrid engine? Why on earth a turbo engine? Aren’t you just asking for things to break?
Why so high in the air? Now you need steps and running boards just to get in and out.
Am I just a grumpy old man, or is there something just wrong about all this?
And the prices! During a budgeting session, I told my financial planner I wanted to buy a truck, and his question was “$40,000? $60,000? $70,000?”
My initial ideas was about $25,000 used. Now that I’ve done some shopping, I don’t think that will be happening.
I am rethinking all my options at this point.
@lpdbw: I hear you. While we’re happy with our new car (arrived on Tuesday), it cost north of $60k. Ouch. Hope it lasts 15 years, like our last car.
The amount of tech is contains is just mind boggling. Apparrntly, we skipped a couple generations.
Oh, update on our crazy neighbors. They sent us an email yesterday, with what is apparently their idea of a peace offer. They will arrange the repair of our street (that they damaged)…if we pay all the costs. Oh, and transfer them the money now, in advance of any work.
Right…
Maybe it’s different in Texas, but what I see is that fewer than half of pickup trucks are used as serious work vehicles. Similarly, only a tiny fraction of SUVs are driven off-road and need the 4WD. For the most part, both classes of vehicle are just cars for people who want to pretend to be rugged (men in pickups), to drive a big car and intimidate people in regular cars (women with penis envy in SUVs), or to drive a large car and get away from ordinary CAFE requirements. Yah, painting with too broad a brush, but there’s a lot of truth to it. And, as I said, maybe it’s different elsewhere.
Go back a few years, and a clever F&I room with a decent list of bank phone numbers could get a $40,000 truck moved for $500/month. Those days are long gone, but the prices remain high thanks to the pandemic.
Everyone wants what you want – a beater pickup.
Shoot, shovel, shut up…
or
Arrange a criss-cross with someone who needs a favor in return.
I wish I could have kept my Toyota Tacoma. 4WD with tow package. But, I got top dollar trading it in on the Subie. I got a lot of use hauling around biz stuff.
When I get the boy his used Mustang next year, I’m keeping the Tacoma he currently drives. It’s a 2014 with the 4 cyl engine. Yeah, not hauling anything big, but I don’t need to. Plywood, dirt, etc it will handle just fine. Plus it’s the access cab, so I can haul the dogs around in it. I will likely keep that thing forever as it will probably last forever.
Speaking of adopting Megyn Kelly, she’s been ripping the PLTs this week, a lot. I have to watch/listen to more of her poddies.
I have a 68. My wife loves it; it’s a bit cramped for me. Looks a bit dated, even here where there are more old cars than in most parts of the country. The dry climate and lack of slippery roads allow for this. I think it is still common to find special interest used car lots in the LA area. I know there are lots that exclusively carry hot rods of all descriptions. Some of these can be pricey, but lots are affordable. The real challenge is to find something that has been done well. There are lots of pretty cars that have major hidden problems. I stick with all-original cars that are unmolested, and try to buy from the owners. I also know a lot about most of the cars I buy, and am willing to take risks. One advantage of pre-1975 cars here is that they don’t need emissions inspections.
Poked around on eBay. The clock for my range is part #3183184. There is a -D version but that appears to me to be for an oven that can self clean.
So I bought the -B version. Looks identical to what I have. $34 and should be here in a week.
I think I see what failed… a tan disc capacitor, sized between a dime and a nickle, by the power supply transformer released the magic smoke. Real sooty, too.
Hey, 31 years…. I’ve replaced a few parts. Oven t-stat. A couple or three burners and the control switch for the big front burner that we use all of the time. Maybe all of $200 to total. Better than buying a whole new range times four like a lot of folks I know would have done.
As for the prices of pickups, older used ones can still be found at bargain prices, at least here. See above about weather. Patience is required. So is a lot of looking. It helps to know people. I have been surprised at how many older people have nice pickups used very little, and sitting in garages. Sometimes these can be pried from their owners, especially if there is something wrong with them. Fixable by a car nut, of course. Find one with a solid body, a good interior, and a good drivetrain. Expect to fix AC and little stuff. Other than that, these are simpler cars that can be fixed with affordable tools and a little patience.
One thought might be a rat rod pickup. Not one of the heavily modified ones with “patina,” just an old one that is solid. When I was looking for a full size, half ton, standard 8’ bed, standard cab PU a few years ago, all I could find were ¾ ton beaters that rode like buckboards. Not what I wanted. I had a 77 Dodge D100 short bed for 28 years. It was sound, but needed paint. In all those years, I only did routine maintenance. Sold it to a friend who loves it. We are still friends. Now he wants the one I found to replace it. I told him I would have to die for that to happen. He says he is patient.
I think that could be an MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor). Whether a disc cap or MOV, if it popped like that, there was likely a big surge that zapped the clock. You might try cutting it out of the circuit to see if the clock still works, but not likely. $34 is not bad.
WRT 68 cars: We bought a 68 Dodge Coronet, 318 cu in V8, station wagon for my wife and she loved it. Her third car was a 95 Jeep Grand Cherokee, yuup a 318 V8, which she also loved.
Did my pickups. Got home. Need to decide if I’m taking the open bed pickup truck or the closed in Expy. I might have some stuff in the back tomorrow and sunday…
Checking forecasts.. then it’s load up and hit the road.
n
Could be. I don’t know. I’ll try to figure it out. The surge took out the central air blower motor….
I need to have a pick-em-truck. There is nothing else on the market that will pull my travel trailer. I doubt any of the electrics would make it from my house to Crossville on a single charge. Pulling up Roane Mountain, an altitude gain of 1,000 feet would be a stretch for electric pickups.
Oh, there are plenty of reasons why someone needs a pickup or an SUV or a full-size van. Towing trailers, carting stuff around, off-roading for fun or work, and so on.
Under a quarter of the pickups I see are put to “proper” purpose, either towing or carrying, or at least having a company logo on the door even if it’s just one guy driving up the highway with nothing visible in the bed. The rest are driven by schlubs who could do just as well with a Corolla. But that’s not a rugged individualist car so it’s not acceptable.
It’s possible that some of the trucks are used for hauling a cord of wood or whatever, but the custom paint job and pristine, swept bed argue against that. If I happen to see inside and there’s a luxury interior, it’s almost certainly used as a car and the owner wouldn’t dare do anything that might ding it up.
My opinion on SUVs is even harsher. Aside from the statistics, which show that a plurality of SUVs are operated by the soccer mom demographic and the vast majority are not driven off the road, I’ve heard any number of women talking about how they love to drive the big SUV so they can intimidate other drivers.
Set aside that some fraction of modern SUVs are not built on truck frames, and so can’t be used for off-roading or towing any but a small trailer.
Full-size vans aren’t cool enough to attract the poseur, bully, or jackass demographic. I can’t think of any that I’ve seen lately which weren’t working trucks or otherwise bought for practical purposes.
>> Maybe it’s different in Texas, but what I see is that fewer than half of pickup trucks are used as serious work vehicles. Similarly, only a tiny fraction of SUVs are driven off-road and need the 4WD. For the most part, both classes of vehicle are just cars for people who want to pretend to be rugged (men in pickups), to drive a big car and intimidate people in regular cars (women with penis envy in SUVs), or to drive a large car and get away from ordinary CAFE requirements. Yah, painting with too broad a brush, but there’s a lot of truth to it. And, as I said, maybe it’s different elsewhere.
As evidenced by this place, which coincidently is in … Houston, of course.
@SteveF
It’s easy to tell a working truck.
If there’s a hitch ball it’s got grease on it from constant use and it’s on a solid mount that’s locked on.
If the receiver is empty or it has a cover, the mount and ball are with the cargo straps, either in the locked tool box or behind the driver’s seat.
Poser’s dead giveaway is a rusty cheap ball on a flimsy mount.
I judge a working pickup from the banged-up bed. If I can’t see the bed, see if the rear quarter is banged up from clumsy backing up or clumsily loading something heavy. The rusty trailer hitch is an easy thing to check which I hadn’t thought about.
“Working pickup” doesn’t have to mean a contractor’s vehicle. Nick’s truck works by hauling stuff.
>> My initial ideas was about $25,000 used. Now that I’ve done some shopping, I don’t think that will be happening.
I am rethinking all my options at this point.
@lpdbw, kind of an outside possibility but you might consider checking out what’s available at one of the upcoming Mecum auctions. I’ll watch some of the TV coverage when I just want some background sound and there are usually a number of older pickups that cross the block on the first day of the auction and sell for not big-number prices.
Random pick from the recent auction in Houston: https://www.mecum.com/lots/550989/1993-ford-f150-xl-pickup/
Sold for $4,950 (plus a buyer’s premium)
N.B. you have to register on the site to see the sales prices.
I clicked through, and I see it’s near one of my favorite place names, Mt. Houston.
Just for perspective for those of you outside the area, the highest natural elevation in Harris county is 249 ft. above sea level, at Hockley Mound. We’re basically a swamp that drains into the gulf.
There is no Mt. Houston, only a community with that name.
Maybe it’s different in Texas, but what I see is that fewer than half of pickup trucks are used as serious work vehicles. Similarly, only a tiny fraction of SUVs are driven off-road and need the 4WD. For the most part, both classes of vehicle are just cars for people who want to pretend to be rugged (men in pickups), to drive a big car and intimidate people in regular cars (women with penis envy in SUVs), or to drive a large car and get away from ordinary CAFE requirements.
I need a vehicle that can get me where I need to go and haul a ton of stuff or tow three tons of stuff. I have two balls and have also towed a trailer with a borrowed 2.25 inch ball. I also need to be to get in and out of 18 inches of mud. And I need a daily driver back and forth to work. After all, I live in a swamp also known as Houston.
In fact, I’ve got mud spray on both sides of my truck right now. The mud spray on the right side covers the entire back panel. I love my 2019 F-150 4×4.
Made it. Drove thru a storm. Lots of lightning and strong wind, weird clouds. Had passed by here by the time I arrived.
People are idiots. 2 lane highway is marked 60mph in daylight and good weather, and people by and large drive 60mph on that stretch. Tonight, in green weird light, mostly dark with driving rain and strong wind, people were passing me, flashing their lights behind me to pass, while I was doing the limit. All I ask of the universe is that they only take out themselves when they F up one too many times.
Two good reasons to drive trucks or big SUVs–
Wife has 7 people, overnight bags, and a dog in her minivan today. It’s not every day, but it’s often enough that we wouldn’t want to be without the 3rd row seat.
n
Oh yeah, you might be surprised how easy it is to find yourself on a dirt or gravel road, or an unmaintained county road that is worse than a dirt road outside of the metro area. I did both today.
And I drove over 225 miles today. Paid over $30 in tolls too.
n
But your wife keeps them under lock and key.
C’mon, dude, if you’re gonna lob a softball [sic], you gotta expect that someone’s gonna clobber it.
Likewise. Most of the time it’s just me or just me and my daughter but often enough I’m transporting a mob. Or fifty cubic feet of boxes, duffel bags, and a bicycle. Or a chest freezer. Or…
Once The Child is driving, I’ll probably get another car, probably a smaller car suitable for one or two people plus clutter. Have The Child drive the van by choice, as it’ll be safer.
If I haven’t mentioned it, I took my daughter to the local community college last month and signed her up for the Fall semester, in place of junior year of high school. There was a hiccup with clot shot mandate (not mentioned anywhere on their website that we could find, and discovered only after we went in to talk to an admissions guy) and it looked like she was going back to the school she’s been attending, but the mandate has been dropped. We’ll see about having her drive herself in my van; it’s only about ten miles, but lots of traffic for eight of those miles.
There’s also a hiccup with the paperwork to tell the local school district’s admin office that the kid is going to college. It’s not early admission, it’s not home schooling, it’s not private school. The people in each department denied knowledge or responsibility for registering her and kept passing me off to each other. The last person I talked to, the second time I was transferred to her, suggested that I not worry about the paperwork. Sounds questionable, but I kept notes and got names. To modify Lily Tomlin’s joke, We’re with the government. We don’t care. We don’t have to.
Last two cars have been an SUV – Toyota Highlander (2008 and 2019). Gave the 2008 to daughter and family when we got the 2019 in 2020. It went 350K before starting to fail – perhaps engine, not sure yet. But gave good service.
Just the two of us, but we travel from WA to CA and UT. Two large suitcases, one big oxygen concentrator (about the size of a small suitcase), plus two computer bags. Fills up the 2nd/3rd rows when folded down.
We also have to take a power wheelchair on a power lift that hooks to the back hitch, which is why we got the Highlander both times. Both are AWD, which have been useful in the rain and sometimes snow during trips. Last trip from CA to WA was in snow from mid-Oregon all the way to home (Olympic Peninsula). There were 2-5 inches of snow, some recently plowed, some fresh. And there is a 125 foot elevation change to get up to our subdivision.
The AWD plus ‘snow’ mode worked well on all trips. The 2008 got about 21mpg, and the 2019 gets 24-25mpg (more gears in the 2019). Pleased with both. The SUV has worked well for our needs.
In the middle of a big trip now. WA to CA last week, today was CA to UT -with two kids in the middle seat and everything we usually take (plus one extra small suitcase and one large gym bag) all fit behind the 2nd row. Still got 24.6mpg (at 70-85mph speeds with AC on).
Next leg of the trip will be UT to TX via Moab UT and Albuquerque etc to Katy/Fulshear. Staying with wife’s sister for a short week, then head to CA via Route 66/I-40. Side trip to Grand Canyon, then bypass Las Vegas into Bakersfield. Then north to Yosemite (if it’s not closed due to flooding) and back to WA. Total miles about 6K.
Plan on taking it easy for the long parts – less than 8 hours driving a day, with stops for touristy places along the way. (Suggestions are welcomed.)
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/404226.php#404226
Beware. Your computer camera tracks your eye movements and reports what makes you laugh to the government.
@RickH
Safe travels.
drwilliams says:
Difficult to do when my webcam is hanging from a hook on the wall, not plugged in to my PC.
@Ken Mitchell
You probably believe the off switch really does something.
Best short warning:
“Gahan Wilson was right!”
>> Then north to Yosemite (if it’s not closed due to flooding or debt ceiling nonsense) and back to WA.
F I F Y
>> You probably believe the off switch really does something.
Me, I hope the black tape over the lens is sufficient.
Ohh, hang on…what’s that? Sounds like someone pounding on the front doo
Maybe this is who Bud Light should have put on those cans…
Bring back Spuds McKenzie.
Spuds was the original trans spokesanimal – a girl dog pretending to be a boy.
I’ve suggested Luling for BBQ before.
Central Texas BBQ is a noon thing, and most places are BYOB unless you are fine with sodas or iced tea.
Which place in Luling depends on what you like. Kreuz Market has a decent array of choices, but avoid the sausage.
If you are very lucky, Kreuz will still have pork chops — slow smoked to the point that you can cut them with a plastic knife.
Also, if you head into Houston, the original Phoenicia on Westheimer for Shawara Wraps.
If you have picky eaters, suggest that they get the chicken without tomatoes.
Our cat friend of 14+ years passed tonight.
We were giving her a little food in a syringe when I felt her bladder let go, and she died while I held her.
Always tough, losing a pet. It’s nice that she passed while being held. Sympathies to y’all…
@Greg, my condolences. Never easy.