Sat. Aug. 19, 2023 – more whinging less work!

Hot. Check. Humid. Check. Houston. Check. Summer. Check. Good, glad that’s covered.

Maybe we’ll get a little break. It was all the way down to 87F when I went to bed. I’m not holding my breath though.

Did my pickups yesterday and not much else. It was crazy hot, and my head was still thick with whatever I was/am sick with. Could be the coof, got no idea. Not interested in testing.

I feel a bit better today, so maybe I’ll get a bit more done. I’ve got two pickups to do, stuff for the BOL and a small thing for D2. I forgot to get it for her yesterday. Wife decided to stay here and do work around the house instead of heading to the BOL. I was hoping for some time alone to really focus on work, but since my head is still a bit off, I guess that wasn’t going to happen anyway.

My plan is to do some of the stuff I keep putting off. We’ll see how that works out.

First thing is a decent night’s sleep.

And then the stacking and improving will commence…
nick

41 Comments and discussion on "Sat. Aug. 19, 2023 – more whinging less work!"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    Day two of a boil water alert in our MUD – Municipal Utility District for you non-Texans. The water/sewer co-ops which are established in fast growth areas when cities and counties can’t keep up with infastructure but still want the tax base.

    I was busy yesterday so I didn’t open my personal laptop or check my phone email app until late in the afternoon, after I had used several glasses worth of ice over the course of the day.

    No ill effects so far, but the alert continues.

    The Fancy Lad communities at the very south end of the MUD had pressure issues which the staff believes led to the contamination of the water supply.

    The most likely culprit is lawn watering.

  2. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Thanks for the Uri Tuchman link.

    Had to truncate a few characters at the end to make it work.

  3. drwilliams says:

    ‘He Literally Just Strolled in and Did It’: Female Powerlifter Vents After Trans Male Destroys Record

    During her appearance on the popular Fox News morning show, Hutchinson also took a jab at “ridiculous” genderless neopronouns, I term I had honestly not heard of until this writing.

    Riley Gaines and I were talking about the new neopronouns list the other day, where people are identifying as bugs and all this and that. You can do whatever you want, but you can’t make people do the same thing,” she remarked.

    Just last week, CNN released an article attempting to explain all of this nonsense, which includes “gender-neutral or nonbinary pronouns” like “leaf,” “sun” and “star.”

    Hutchinson summed up the thoughts of every single commonsense person on this planet when she said, “I’m not going to subject my brain cells to the thing. I live in reality. I’m not delusional… I call a spade a spade. It’s too much.”

    https://pjmedia.com/culture/michaelcantrell/2023/08/18/he-literally-just-strolled-in-and-did-it-female-powerlifter-vents-after-trans-male-destroys-record-n1720382

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eisa5AZ20W0

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    @drwilliams, glad you liked it, I fixed the link.  One of the several moving parts turned a space into the code for a space, which FFox and others don’t see as a space… 

    Up and moving.  Slept well but have some stiffness.   Woke up sleeping on my face, which generally causes all kinds of musculo-skeletal issues for me.

    Coffee is brewing.   Household is still mostly asleep, or in bed anyway.   Nice to sleep in.   Still not feeling 100% but better than yesterday.   It’s already hot out.  Like a furnace when I opened the door for the dog.

    n

  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    Hmm, the article doesn’t give me the background I was looking for.  Didn’t this same company have major issues not long ago?  Like fraud, or bankruptcy?   Didn’t it cause some resignations and financial upheaval already?

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/chinas-evergrande-files-bankruptcy-world-economy-dangerous-shape/ 

    China real estate behemoth, Evergrande, is filing for bankruptcy.

    The China economy is in trouble, like the rest of the world’s economies.  The Evergrande failure has been in the works for some time now.  Once one of the most prestigious firms in China, it’s now facing bankruptcy.

    n

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    didn’t even know people tracked this stuff, but I’ve been urging y’all to get comfortable moving and buying in the secondary market for a couple of years, at least.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/buying-second-hand-gaining-popularity

    n

  7. Brad says:

    Seen on Slashdot, referring to banning trans-women from the women’s competition.

    We’ve seen that play out in competitive sport, where a single male starts with a significant advantage over dozens or more females. While a turd may be a tiny fraction of the volume of water in a pool, it remains a turd in the pool. Mental illness and sexual fetishism cannot be universally accommodated.

    Surprisingly, the comment was uovoted. People are getting tired of the BS.

  8. Greg Norton says:

    @Jenny – If you feel the need to leave the house this week, this is a very beautiful film.

    Semi safe for kids, but some of the characters smoke and the film deals honestly with death and war.

    https://www.fathomevents.com/events/The-Wind-Rises-Studio-Ghibli-Fest-2023

  9. JimB says:

    Semi safe for kids, but some of the characters smoke…

    Starting at birth, I was surrounded by smokers, but there was always someone trying unsuccessfully to quit. Must have been an effective lesson. No one actively protected me.

  10. Lynn says:

    Pearls Before Swine: Principles and Principals

        https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2023/08/19

    Oh yeah, homonyms are tough.

  11. Lynn says:

    “A Soldier’s Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why Book 1)” by Jean Johnson
       https://www.amazon.com/Soldiers-Duty-Theirs-Not-Reason/dp/0441020631?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number one of a five book military science fiction paranormal series. I reread the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2011 that I just rebought new from Amazon. This is my third or fourth reading of the book and series. I have ordered two more of the books in the series, one new and one used since the third book is now out of print.

    Ia is a heavyworlder, born and raised on the independent colonyworld Santuary, a 3.2 gravity newly colonized planet in the year 2472. At 15 years of age in 2487, Ia experienced the awakening of her precognitive and telekinetic abilities. Being one of the strongest precognitives ever known, she watched the invasion of the Milky Way galaxy by an overwhelming force who proceeded to kill everyone and everything in the galaxy. 

    Ia traveled the 700 light years to old Earth and joined the Terran United Space Force Marine Corps on her 18th birthday. At one hour per light year, the trip took over four weeks and allowed her to finish making her 300 year plan to restructure the two billion person strong military forces of the Terran United Space Force to fight off the future invaders.

    Here is my 2011 review: “OK, totally cool book about a 15 year old girl waking up one day on her heavy grav (3.2g!) planet with visions of galaxy invaders 300 years in the future. Ia joins the Terran Marine Corps so she can change the future. She becomes known as Bloody Mary in the Corps fighting space pirates and weird alien species.”

    The author has a website at:
       https://jeanjohnson.net/

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars (I may add this to my six star list)
    Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (755 reviews)

  12. MrAtoz says:

    I don’t think this was justified. Unless Colorado Cops get NO training at all and the State is fine with it:

    Alysha Duran is shot dead by cop in Westminster, Colorado, after stopping car on wrong side of road and reaching for her gun

    He’ll probably use the “I feared for my life…” screed and run for the Union Rep.

    Cops have a dangerous job, but c’mon, he shot her through the back windo.

    6
    2
  13. RickH says:

    According to the article, the officer was at the drivers’ side window, spotted the gun, the driver reached for the gun. At that point, the officer quickly moved towards the back of the car (standard procedure – get away from the gun) and then shot through the left middle (2nd row) window, not the ‘back window’. 

    Maybe too quick; hard to tell if the driver was bringing the gun around to point at the officer before the driver was shot.

    3
    2
  14. MrAtoz says:

    You can tell by the Cops foul language he is unprofessional or doesn’t even care. Twenty years on the force and he didn’t even try to de-escalate. His situational awareness sucks.

    After pausing for only a few seconds, the officer opened fire, smashing the rear driver’s side window and hitting Duran. The bullet passed through her and ended up in the windshield of an innocent bystanders car. 

    Gee, I said “back window” instead of rear door window. Big difference.

  15. paul says:
    According to the article, the officer was at the drivers’ side window, spotted the gun, the driver reached for the gun. 

    Sure.  I believe every word of what the cop said.  Not.  Video is easy to edit.  But hey, he went home safe and can continue to collect time to get his pension. 

    Meanwhile, the video evidence doesn’t show a gun.  She could have been reaching for her phone or her wallet containing her d/l. 

  16. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    Have you read the entire series?

    I visited the website, clicked around, saw the photo of the author wearing an interesting t-shirt with a vaguely familiar line, did a search, and ended up at:

    https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/im-going-to-have-to-science-the-shit-out-of-this/

    And I did finally find the exact or very close to it shirt on Etsy, but I already got a new shirt t-shirt this weekend.

  17. drwilliams says:

    If you play with loud toys and value your hearing you doubtless are acquainted with various means to lighten the acoustic overpressure. 

    The most expensive means tends to be expensive and time consuming, and you should be aware that if you are in the market for such, one U.S. company that does not manufacture here has been getting a lot of discussion lately related to a high failure rate on a product released last year. Reports seem to indicate a failure rate in excess of 1 in 4, and customer service is unresponsive. At least there are no injury reports. 

    Lack of response in this case means that the problem gets worse, and the only end-game I can see is a sudden shuttering and the failure to deliver anything for goods in the order pipeline.

    Best to do careful research.

  18. paul says:
    At that point, the officer quickly moved towards the back of the car (standard procedure – get away from the gun) and then shot through the left middle (2nd row) window, not the ‘back window’. 

    What happened to the whole idea of “oh sh!t she’s got a gun” and ducking down behind her car until she actually shoots?  

  19. Lynn says:

    @Lynn

    Have you read the entire series?

    Yes.  A long time ago.  Plus the the other three book prequel series that goes along with it.

  20. paul says:

    While wandering past the living room, the news is on and it’s OMG We All Gonna Die about the storm hitting California.  For like 4 or 5 inches of rain. 

    I looked at the forecast this morning.  If this was hitting Galveston and into Houston, it would be “yeah, put the patio furniture away for a day or two.”.  

    One interesting thing, to me, was that all of the Dire Warning Expert Reporters were negresses.  No busty blondes or anyone else.   Which is interesting. 

  21. Alan says:

    >> Apparently https://www.dilbert.com is litigation.  Sounds like one of Scott Adams former business partners thinks that they own it now.

    Be careful who you do business with and the contracts that you sign with them.

    Not to worry, the lawyers will win…they always do…

  22. Alan says:

    >> ‘Reality check’ – Ford boss Jim Farley admits electric F-150 Lightning will ‘have to improve’ after he waited 40 MINUTES to get the battery up to 40% in $50,000 truck 

    NEW CEO Jim Farley set off on a road trip down Route 66 to showcase the company’s cutting edge electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck, but suffered a ‘reality check’ already familiar to his customers

    The lede fails to mention he was only using a Level 2 (220v) “slow” charger.

    FTA:

    Lauren Fix, analyst at the Car Coach, said: ‘A lack of charging infrastructure is a major negative factor and consumers are increasingly frustrated.

    ‘Charging stations are limited, very few fast chargers are available, and many of those that are accessible don’t work.

    Unless you own a Tesla, which obviously Lauren doesn’t.

  23. drwilliams says:

    Reminds me of the early days of automobiles, when gasoline was not readily available and the owners and manufacturers successfully lobbied the federal government to spend billions on the creation of a coast-to-coast network of filling stations and save the world from being buried in miles of horse poop.

  24. drwilliams says:

    Philosophical Question of the Day:

    How many moon landers does it take before we ask Elon to send one?

    (and will it look like a Tesla?)

  25. MrAtoz says:

    Well, my last post disappeared, is in moderation, or just plain deleted, so here it is again:

    A palate cleanser for PLT PC shite:

    If you have a right to burn my flag.

    I have a right to kick your ass.

    Creed Fisher

  26. Greg Norton says:

    The lede fails to mention he was only using a Level 2 (220v) “slow” charger.
     

    The F150 Lightning owners manual repeatedly cautions against using“fast” chargers in order to preserve battery health. Tommy Boy has to play the game or risk a class action suit.

    This will be Ford’s out on the battery warranty.

    Farley did talk up the deal with Tesla for the trade press covering the trip.

  27. drwilliams says:

    These 14 American Cities Have A ‘Target’ Of Banning Meat, Dairy, And Private Vehicles By 2030

    Fourteen major American cities are part of a globalist climate organization known as the “C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group,” which has an “ambitious target” by the year 2030 of “0 kg [of] meat consumption,” “0 kg [of] dairy consumption,” “3 new clothing items per person per year,” “0 private vehicles” owned, and “1 short-haul return flight (less than 1500 km) every 3 years per person.” 

    C40’s dystopian goals can be found in its “The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World” report, which was published in 2019 and reportedly reemphasized in 2023. The organization is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organization, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

    https://thefederalist.com/2023/08/19/these-14-american-cities-have-a-target-of-banning-meat-dairy-and-private-vehicles-by-2030/

    I suggest we outfit all “advocates” with necklaces that keep track of their oxygen consumption and cut them off until Jan 1 when they’ve used a year’s worth. 

    In the meantime we can just pass a law that makes the C40 Cities live up to their goals, starting with their alien invader populations. Be easy to do if we first build the fences around them that prevent any intrusion from non-green energy.

  28. Alan says:

    >> The F150 Lightning owners manual repeatedly cautions owners that using “fast” chargers, as Farley did, will shorten the life of the battery. 

    Is there anything in the Ford written warranty stating that fast charging will have any impact on the 8 year / 100,000 mile battery warranty? 

    Or for any other EV? 

  29. Lynn says:

    The F150 Lightning owners manual repeatedly cautions against using“fast” chargers in order to preserve battery health. Tommy Boy has to play the game or risk a class action suit.

    This will be Ford’s out on the battery warranty.

    Yup, I know a guy who fast charged his F-150 EV and towed his race car.  The battery died at 30K miles.  Ford wants $31,000 for a new battery.

  30. Lynn says:

    C40’s dystopian goals can be found in its “The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World” report, which was published in 2019 and reportedly reemphasized in 2023. The organization is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organization, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

    I guess that Houston will be canceling the wildly popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that over 1.5 million people go to every year.

  31. Nick Flandrey says:

    Even after dark it was hot and humid today.   Sweated thru my shirt just moving some boxes in my storage unit.

    Yuck.

    Family game night, don’t know what we’re playing tonight…

    n

  32. drwilliams says:

    “I guess that Houston will be canceling the wildly popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that over 1.5 million people go to every year.”

    It’s too bad the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo won’t hold their feet to the fire. They can quit posturing and choose. Walk the walk or quit doing the talk. 

  33. drwilliams says:

    “They were, in fact, introduced to the country during Nazi rule…”

    https://allthatsinteresting.com/german-raccoons-drinking-beer

    Raccoons are cute little animals with two bad habits: They destroy everything and then shiite on it. 

    Or is that one bad habit?

  34. Nick Flandrey says:

    From FEMA, sitrep for Maui

    Wildfires – Hawaii
    National Watch Center
    Current Situation: FEMA and federal partners continue to support the state of Hawaii in response and recovery efforts from Hawaii Wildfires. Mission priorities remain focused on Search & Rescue, fire containment, and
    damage assessments in the impacted area (Maui County). Congregate shelter numbers are steadily declining as survivors connect with temporary housing solutions, such as Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) and noncongregate shelters. Federal ESF 8, and State healthcare providers, are ensuring uninsured survivors’ medications remain accessible
    Maui
    Energy:
     2k (3%) customers remain without power in Maui
    Communications:
     Maui County:
    o 4 (-1) cell towers offline; industry partner personnel continue to restore
    cellular service in West Maui: 81% (+5) of cell towers restored
    o 2,194 landline/cable subscribers have been restored
    o Permanent fiber services repaired and restored between Kahana and
    Kapalua Airport area; cellular and internet services back online for
    residents in the area
    Lifelines Impacts: (FEMA Region IX SLB #9 as of 4:30 a.m. ET Aug 19)
    Safety and Security:
     Phased re-openings this week for most public schools
     Total of 94 (+10) deployed HHS responders in support of Hawaii
    Wildfires – Maui: 90 (+12); Oahu 4 (-2) (HHS Force Laydown, 6:44 p.m. ET Aug
    18)
     Multiple USAR assets on the ground continuing secondary low searches
    and beginning transition to secondary high searches in affected area
     Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team will active to address
    post-fire emergency stabilization, public safety, and mitigation efforts
    regarding post-fire damages in Maui County
    Food, Hydration, and Shelter: (ARC Shelter as of 6:50 a.m. ET)
     Shelters: Maui County: 14 (+2) shelters open w/1,224 (+466) occupants
     47 feeding locations in Maui coordinated by the Salvation Army
    Health and Medical:
     114 (+3) confirmed fatalities
     67 patients treated with fire-related injuries at Maui Memorial Center
     36 DMORT/Victim Information Center (VIC) specialists on ground in Maui
    DMORT has made 113 recoveries, 47(+19) exams completed, and 52
    identifications. (SOC IM SLB, 7:22 p.m. ET, Aug 18)
     VIC completed 207 (+7) family interviews, 70 (+4) DNA swabs, (SOC IM
    SLB, 7:22 p.m. ET, Aug 18)
     New Family Assistance Center (FAC) relocated is fully operational (SOC IM
    SLB, 7:22 p.m. ET, Aug 18)
    Water Systems:
     State ESF 10 personnel in conjunction with Federal partners will
    resample sites and perform additional testing
     USACE conducting assessments for back up generator installs at 7
    locations: 3 water wells and 4 water systems booster pumps 
    Transportation:
     3 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in effect for Maui County
     Access limited for Honoapi’ilani and Lahaina Bypass Roads for
    safety reasons
     USCG Safety Zone remains in effect; access authorized on a case
    by case basis
     Bus service resumed except for 4 West Maui routes which remain
    suspended 
     

    Format weirdness from the FEMA pdf and interaction with several different editors.

    n

  35. Ken Mitchell says:

    Format weirdness 

    Feds and their bullet points. 

  36. Greg Norton says:

    >> The F150 Lightning owners manual repeatedly cautions owners that using “fast” chargers, as Farley did, will shorten the life of the battery. 

    Is there anything in the Ford written warranty stating that fast charging will have any impact on the 8 year / 100,000 mile battery warranty? 

    Or for any other EV? 

    The battery warranty doesn’t make exception for fast charging explicitly, but the warranty doesn’t cover a battery which will charge to 70% or better capacity.

  37. Greg Norton says:

    Yup, I know a guy who fast charged his F-150 EV and towed his race car.  The battery died at 30K miles.  Ford wants $31,000 for a new battery.

    What was the reason the company gave for refusing to replace the battery?

    Did he want a new battery right out of the factory? That certainly wasn’t going to happen under warranty.

  38. Nick Flandrey says:

    We played a card game I don’t know called Hi/lo/jack or “pitch”…    Maybe I’ll do better next time, but since it’s unlike anything I’ve ever played, I had a hard time with strategy decisions.

    probably a good thing to try new games and keep the old bean percolating.

    n

  39. Denis says:

    Raccoons are cute little animals…

    I saw my first roadkill raccoon yesterday. They are certainly becoming more numerous. Bad news for native wildlife.

    If you play with loud toys and value your hearing…

    Could someone perhaps be less circumlocuitous about which manufacturer one ought to be researching?

    Sordin and 3M/Peltor spring to mind (I have Sordins), but there are also the Howard Leight and Walker’s / Game Ear brands.

    My favourites are some moulded in-ear plugs with passive (non-electronic) overpressure protection that I got made by the local hearing-aid place. They cost around 200 bucks, but are well worth it. 

    I wonder whether an Axil or other electronic / active module can be married to a set of individually-moulded plugs? Worth looking into, I think…

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