Mon. Sept. 25, 2023 – still working, still sweating…

By on September 25th, 2023 in decline and fall, lakehouse, personal

IDK yet if it rained, but it was still hot when I went to bed. The breeze had picked up and I had a nice night on the dock watching lightning on the horizon. Pretty light show. Supposed to be a little cooler today, but that is predicated on the idea it stormed. Dunno if it did.

I spent most of yesterday in the garage. It was motivated by needing to place the pool table, but you all have heard me talking about cleaning and organizing for several visits. This time, it got done in depth. And it took two days. But now it’s done for a while. There are still things to sort out, and a shed and ‘workshop’ to do the same thing to, which not coincidentally will get even more stuff out of the garage. What I didn’t get done was any exploration of why the irrigation pump stopped working.

So that will be today’s task, weather permitting. Cut the pipes, pull the pump, open it up and see if it’s nothing but GrapeNuts ™ sized pieces of metal, or if there is some other issue. The motor is spinning but the pump isn’t sucking. And that sucks. (ha, couldn’t resist.)

If it is raining I might just call it a day early and head toward home. Plenty to do there too.

There is always plenty to do.

And stacking. There is always stacking to do.

nick

77 Comments and discussion on "Mon. Sept. 25, 2023 – still working, still sweating…"

  1. drwilliams says:

    “no choice but to cut razor wire and let them into Eagle Pass after four-hour stand-off in searing 101-degree heat”

    Fire on the invaders and prevent them from crossing the border is my option and the one consistent with an oath to defend the United States. 

    The commanders removing that option should be put in front of a firing squad and executed.

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  2. Greg Norton says:

    “Shocking moment crowd of 100 migrants storm across Rio Grande, leaving Border Control guards with no choice but to cut razor wire and let them into Eagle Pass after four-hour stand-off in searing 101-degree heat”

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12553607/Cheering-crowd-100-migrants-storm-past-Border-Patrol-boats-Eagle-Pass-Texas.html

    Venezuelans and Nicaraguans.

    American conservatives are going to have to get over the notion that Venezuelan expats are like the wealthy Cubans who fled their home country 60 years ago. They aren’t going to get citizenship and start voting Republican.

  3. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    “I need a new air compressor for the house.”

    Look at the manufacturers with low noise options. California Air Tools is one.

  4. Greg Norton says:

    North Austin/Round Rock were pummeled by big hail last night around 9 PM.

    Lots of damage in my neighborhood. All of the windows on one side of my house have damage to the external pane of the two pane system. 30 year old house so the windows aren’t made anymore.

    We already needed a roof replacement going back to the February 2021 freeze.

    Unlike most of the neighbors, we had our main cars in the garage so auto damage is limited to the windshield on the Solara.

    The full extent of the mess won’t be known until the sun is up more.

  5. Ray Thompson says:

    The full extent of the mess won’t be known until the sun is up more.

    That, to use a phrase used previously, sucks.

    A friend of mine car was severely damaged in a hail storm eight years ago. Car looked like a golf ball but no windows were broken. Insurance paid for the value of the car, he bought it back for salvage value. He is still driving the car. He is required to get liability insurance but cannot get comprehensive as the car has already been salvaged.

    The motor is spinning but the pump isn’t sucking.

    Another possibility is a pinhole leak on the suction side that allows air into the system. It doesn’t take much of a hole. Another possibility is the foot valve will not close and is causing the prime to be lost. Impellers usually do not explode without other significant damage.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    A friend of mine car was severely damaged in a hail storm eight years ago. Car looked like a golf ball but no windows were broken. Insurance paid for the value of the car, he bought it back for salvage value. He is still driving the car. He is required to get liability insurance but cannot get comprehensive as the car has already been salvaged.

    I haven’t carried comprehensive on the Solara in years. Liability in Texas is expensive enough.

    The neighbors with EV Grocery Getters — Model X being the vehicle of choice — park outside. I know this situation is going to send rates soaring again once those claims start hitting Flo and her friends — The Lizard, The General, The Emu, …

  7. Ray Thompson says:

    Liability in Texas is expensive enough.

    I have maxed out coverage on my two vehicles, liability and comprehensive with a $1K deductible.  My house is insured to $500K with full replacement cost, plus 25% if necessary, with a $1K deductible. I have a $1 million liability policy to cover extreme liability. My travel trailer is covered under the vehicle policy. I pay $2200 a year for those policies.

  8. brad says:

    “no choice but to cut razor wire and let them into Eagle Pass after four-hour stand-off in searing 101-degree heat”

    Yeah, that makes zero sense. They came from somewhere, they can go back. The heat is completely irrelevant, seeing as they are crossing a river.

    What’s missing – just like in Europe – is an understanding that borders have meaning, and need to be enforced.

    After nearly four hours in the river and on the bank, guards were eventually forced to cut through the razor wire and allow the group through due to concerns for their welfare.

    The group can be concerned for its own welfare. Getting hungry? Go back. Getting thirsty? Go back. Getting tired? Go back.

  9. mediumwave says:

    Abandoned Steam Engine Brought Back to Life! – 1908 Industrial Time Capsule

    Executive summary: No potable water = no civilization. 

  10. Greg Norton says:

    “no choice but to cut razor wire and let them into Eagle Pass after four-hour stand-off in searing 101-degree heat”

    Yeah, that makes zero sense. They came from somewhere, they can go back. The heat is completely irrelevant, seeing as they are crossing a river.

    Corn Pop has maintained a “Y’all come” policy since shortly after the election in 2020 and word spread in South America with human trafficking becoming a big business along the Panama/Colombian border. The Feds have the authority via the Constitution, and the Ted Kennedy Memorial 20 year Amnesty bill is now pushing 20 years overdue, promoted by the Dems seeking new voters and big business interests in the US who want the cheap labor.

    As for Texas, this isn’t a Republican state anymore, and the Governor in particular likes positive press. He toys with the idea of running for President, but the decision makers in this state who put two Bush generations into the White House want to repeat the trick with a third, George P. (Diddly), Son of Jeb!.

    No typo with the punctuation there, BTW. “Jeb!” is how we spell it in Florida.

  11. Greg Norton says:

    No typo with the punctuation there, BTW. “Jeb!” is how we spell it in Florida.

    BTW, P. Diddly grew up in Florida, but the Bush cabal promised that Governor’s Mansion to a loyal servant and scion of an old citrus farming family, “Opie” Putnam. P. Diddly had to seek his political fortunes elsewhere.

    Read any Carl Hiaasen novel if you want to get a taste of how Florida works. Any will do, but the even numbered books with Governor “Skink” are expecially accurate.

  12. Greg Norton says:

    Any will do, but the even numbered books with Governor “Skink” are expecially accurate.

    Bah. I started to type “exceptionallly”, got distracted, and decided to use “especially”.

    Still, I think you get the idea.

  13. SteveF says:

    Greg, you just need another cup of expresso.

  14. JimB says:

    Esssspresssso!

    {Foam!}

  15. nick flandrey says:

    Slightly cooler this am, currently 78F, with water on most outdoor surfaces.   I haven’t checked the bucket yet, but it couldn’t have been much rain.

    Light overcast is keeping it cooler, and I’m sure the humidity is 100%.

    —————

    @Robert(bob), the forums at GarageJournal.com are very helpful for all things manly, but especially garage stuff.   It’s also an incredible time sink.

    —————————–

    It was surprisingly nice opening the door to the garage this morning to get a new package of coffee.   Instead of the crowded, jumbled state, the room is big, clear, and open.  And clean.   Makes a difference.

    ——————-

    WRT invaders.   WTH makes them think they will vote at all?  Their kids might, in an average of 22 years from now.   And WTH makes them think they’ll vote Democrat?   The Democrat party platform is antithetical to the beliefs of the vast majority from south of the border, particularly the LGBTEIEIO/trans/devil worshipers.   And since I’m ranting, they don’t seem to be at all concerned with voting in elections anymore.

    We need to re-evaluate our historical and learned responses in light of new information.

    I think they want serfs to man the haciendas after the fall.   All the mega rich seem to be buying ag land.   Without fossil fuels, which will become too valuable to burn as fuel, they’ll need a whole lotta backs to labor in those fields.   Backs already culturally broken to the work, so to speak.

    n

  16. lpdbw says:

    WTH makes them think they will vote at all?  

    Let me ‘splain it to you.

    They don’t need to vote.  They just need to exist, and be counted.

    Once counted, whether citizen or not, the Dems can vote for them.   They just need a name and address, not even a real name and address, and the corrupt crooked criminals in charge of elections can create ballots and fill them in.

    Do you honestly think all those blacks really took the trouble to fill out ballots for 81 million vote Joe?

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  17. EdH says:

    It was surprisingly nice opening the door to the garage this morning to get a new package of coffee.   Instead of the crowded, jumbled state, the room is big, clear, and open.  And clean.   Makes a difference.

    Mine is a mess, which slows down projects and mentally makes it more difficult to start new ones.  Plus it just bugs me.

    But while my back & the weather holds cleaning has to take a back seat.

  18. JimB says:

    It was surprisingly nice opening the door to the garage this morning to get a new package of coffee.   Instead of the crowded, jumbled state, the room is big, clear, and open.  And clean.  Makes a difference.

    Can you walk all the way around the cars with their doors open?

    Just moved the goalpost. 🙁

    Just kidding, but there is always something to strive for.

    An old friend said he could stack pallets to the moon with his forklift. I said I didn’t know his ceiling was so high. 🙂

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  19. drwilliams says:

    Cars?

    Shirley you…

  20. Brad says:

    Don’t call me Shirley!

  21. Greg Norton says:

    WRT invaders.   WTH makes them think they will vote at all?  Their kids might, in an average of 22 years from now.   And WTH makes them think they’ll vote Democrat?   The Democrat party platform is antithetical to the beliefs of the vast majority from south of the border, particularly the LGBTEIEIO/trans/devil worshipers.   And since I’m ranting, they don’t seem to be at all concerned with voting in elections anymore.

    Mexico has a small but viable middle class, an industrial base, and a kinda-sorta democracy. Marxism is not going to play well among the lower classes there, but the same is not true of other places further south.

  22. Greg Norton says:

    I have maxed out coverage on my two vehicles, liability and comprehensive with a $1K deductible.  My house is insured to $500K with full replacement cost, plus 25% if necessary, with a $1K deductible. I have a $1 million liability policy to cover extreme liability. My travel trailer is covered under the vehicle policy. I pay $2200 a year for those policies.

    We currently pay $3700 every six months for auto — four cars, two teenagers — and ~$1800 annually for homeowners.

    Texas.

    It could be much worse. My quote for homeowners in Florida to renew for 2011 would have been $5000 annually if we had remained in the state, and auto is expensive on a level similar to Texas.

    On the opposite end of the price range, I once asked a friend in Vantucky what he paid for homeowners, and he said, “My insurance bill is $800.”

    “Not bad. What do you pay for auto?”

    “That’s homeowners and auto covering two cars.”

    Of course, that was the WA State side of the Portland Metro, where real unemployment ran 30% when we left.

  23. nick flandrey says:

    I’d bet that whatever honest middle class there is in Mexico has either fled the failing narco state or is making plans to flee.

    The same goes for further south.    They are countries in name only and their “immigrants” are invading soldiers, infiltrating one at a time.   The women are camp followers or cover or slaves on the hoof, and the kids are trafficking victims and cover.   Anyone not already a cartel soldier is a slave to the cartels until they’ve “paid off” their new “fees”.   

    By admitting them under any circumstances, we are aiding and abetting trafficking, ie SLAVERY.     

    If eventually they become former slaves they will not think kindly of those that allowed it to happen.

    And speaking of former slaves, and their descendants, our schools are full of straight up active abusive racism from the hispanics toward the blacks.   Public and loud and unpunished use of the forbidden word, directed at other students, dismissive and derisive attitudes and expressions are common.   Other people have said it, but I’ll repeat, now that there is a hispanic majority, American Blacks are in for a rude awakening.   There is no racial guilt among hispanics, indeed they think they’ve been treated worse than the blacks, and they don’t put up with the entitled Black attitude.   They’ve been busy pushing blacks out of their traditional neighborhoods for 10 years or more.   See also Hartford CT, or Compton CA.   The area around my secondary location used to support a Magic Theater complex… it’s all spanish speaking now, and the blacks have mostly moved on.

    Whites have by and large not noticed the increase in hispanics because they live in formerly black neighborhoods, and massive apartment complexes.  Most whites don’t live in those places so they don’t see it.    What they do see is more blacks in their neighborhoods and shopping areas.   LOTS more.

    There is a huge migration going on, world wide, ahead of famine and social collapse.  Or maybe they are herds being driven by hidden actors for their own reasons.  Doesn’t matter.   The herds move, you get out of the way or get crushed.

    n

  24. Greg Norton says:

    It could be much worse. My quote for homeowners in Florida to renew for 2011 would have been $5000 annually if we had remained in the state, and auto is expensive on a level similar to Texas.

    BTW, if you challenge me with your Florida policy numbers, I will ask you if you are sure your carrier is solvent.

    Really sure? Go check.

    Yeah, I thought so.

  25. SteveF says:

    The herds move, you get out of the way or get crushed.

    Or you shoot enough to either halt the migration or change its direction.

  26. crawdaddy says:
    BTW, if you challenge me with your Florida policy numbers, I will ask you if you are sure your carrier is solvent.

    Mine is, but the numbers being discussed lack an ending zero. Many of my neighbors have gone bare -it would be cheaper to rebuild their homes every 15-20 years. Wx could not sleep if that was our situation, so we pay to play.

    And still, I hear that 10K former yankees are moving here every single day. (Yankees are anyone from North of the Thlathlothlaguphka.)

  27. nick flandrey says:

    Well I got the pump running.   No grinding noises suggested no turbine failure so I started looking for how to prime the dang thing.   There is a bleeder tap bolt on the turbine housing so I opened that and used another pump, a bucket of lakewater, a hose, and backfed the system until water came out of the bleeder.

    Then I closed that, and ran the pump while running the backfeed pump until the backfeed bucket started filling….  

    So I have irrigation again.   I think the flapper at the bottom of my intake pipe allows the system to drain back to the lake.  I’ll have to clean that and look more closely at some point.   Good enough for today.

    Now on to something else.

    n

    (did discover that my drill powered transfer pump was nfg.   That’s a prep.)

  28. dkreck says:

    Unloved and unwanted. (of course the answer is you don’t get a choice)

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/09/24/values-of-used-evs-plummet-as-dealers-stuck-with-unsold-cars/

    Mid-month figures for September released by AutoTrader – the largest online marketplace for cars – reveal that the average price of a used EV has fallen by 21.4 per cent to £32,463.

    Premium sector EVs, including Tesla, BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz, were hit hardest – with values falling by up to 24.1 per cent year-on-year.

    The data, reported by The Times, showed that prices of second-hand premium sector EVs peaked at £51,704 last August and have since plummeted by more than £10,000 to £39,268.

  29. Lynn says:

    Venezuelans and Nicaraguans.

    American conservatives are going to have to get over the notion that Venezuelan expats are like the wealthy Cubans who fled their home country 60 years ago. They aren’t going to get citizenship and start voting Republican.

    They are going to vote for free stuff like Joe promised them.  And like the voted for in their own country.

    Every free loader hastens the day that the Dollar dies.

  30. Lynn says:

    @Lynn

    “I need a new air compressor for the house.”

    Look at the manufacturers with low noise options. California Air Tools is one.

    Like this ?  “California Air Tools 8010 Steel Tank Air Compressor | Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free, 1.0 hp, 8 gal”

       https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-8010-Compressor/dp/B00WM1VPKE?tag=ttgnet-20/

  31. Lynn says:

    I have maxed out coverage on my two vehicles, liability and comprehensive with a $1K deductible.  My house is insured to $500K with full replacement cost, plus 25% if necessary, with a $1K deductible. I have a $1 million liability policy to cover extreme liability. My travel trailer is covered under the vehicle policy. I pay $2200 a year for those policies.

    I just reinsured my house for $5,088 for a $494K replacement cost with a 1% deductible.  One of the policies that was offered me was for a 1% deductible for the same cost but the deductible jumped to 5% for named storms.  It seems like all winter and summer storms are named nowadays so I passed with a big NO.

    You are getting a good deal, no complaining.

  32. Lynn says:

    “no choice but to cut razor wire and let them into Eagle Pass after four-hour stand-off in searing 101-degree heat”

    Fire on the invaders and prevent them from crossing the border is my option and the one consistent with an oath to defend the United States. 

    The commanders removing that option should be put in front of a firing squad and executed.

    You know that policy goes all the way to the top.  Joe too ?

  33. crawdaddy says:

    Can someone please create a decent graphic T-Shirt with the 1960 Pulitzer prize Lopez photograph with Che Guevara in the title? I personally have no photographic composition skills.

    I will fund the initial offering and order a bunch for my relatives. I am so sick of these idiot 20-somethings… </rest of rant>

  34. Greg Norton says:

    They are going to vote for free stuff like Joe promised them.  And like the voted for in their own country.

    Every free loader hastens the day that the Dollar dies.

    The wealthy expat professional class currently cooling their heels on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach aren’t as interested as free stuff as they are for the US Marines to land on the beaches in Caracas and restore their rightful place in Venezuelan society.

    Democracy? Freedom? That doesn’t really interest them nearly as much as being back on top. 

  35. paul says:

    The local HEB seems to have stopped the screwing up, aka remodeling.  I use to know where everything was.  You want X?  Ok, Aisle 7, about 20 feet down, call it five shelf sections, and on your right at shoulder height.  Sorta freaked folks out sometimes. 

    Anyway.  They have a new to me product.  Curly Pasta.  About knee high.  They look like egg noodles.  The actual egg noodles are three feet to the right and on the very bottom shelf and cost 75¢ a bag more.

    I didn’t take time to find where the boxes of barley are now.  It took me almost a year to find the stuff.  The grocery manager would pull out her handy scanning thing and yes, we have 15 boxes.  So, where? Somewhere.  Not with rice and orzo and etc. like you would think.  Very top shelf next to the canned soups.

    Well. They pushed the front of the store out about 30 feet.  The back corners were pushed out almost as much…  they left the middle of the back alone because that’s where all of the a/c stuff is.  

  36. SteveF says:

    Can someone please create a decent graphic T-Shirt with the 1960 Pulitzer prize Lopez photograph with Che Guevara in the title?

    Not quite what you asked for, but here’s a little something I just threw together: https://gab.com/SteveF/posts/111127967939470313

    I should be able to cartoonify an image with a GIMP filter but it wasn’t working. PEBCAK, no doubt; I had an irritating evening, a short night, an irritating day, and not enough caffeine. (All together now: Waah!)

  37. Lynn says:

    The wealthy expat professional class currently cooling their heels on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach aren’t as interested as free stuff as they are for the US Marines to land on the beaches in Caracas and restore their rightful place in Venezuelan society.

    That ain’t gonna happen.  Reputedly the Venezuelans bought a couple of nukes from Pakistan.  They are probably 10 tons each and fizzles but, nukes.

  38. Greg Norton says:

    That ain’t gonna happen.  Reputedly the Venezuelans bought a couple of nukes from Pakistan.  They are probably 10 tons each and fizzles but, nukes.

    The Venezuelans have been waiting for the US Marines to land since the revolution -er election.

    If it didn’t happen under Shrub, it will never happen.

    Even Chavez expected the Marines so he could cut a deal like Noriega.

    The best course of action for the US is to ignore the situation as Trump did, but the expats have lots of powerful friends on both sides of the political aisle thanks to the oil money sloshing around in Miami banks.

  39. Lynn says:

    “Did Lockdowns Finish Off Public Schooling?” By Charles Krblich

       https://brownstone.org/articles/did-lockdowns-finish-off-public-schooling/

    “In retrospect, we had a few frustrations with the public schools. Some of the curriculum seemed ridiculous, the math in particular. The apps used to communicate with the teachers were barely functional. It was somewhat difficult to track what the kids were learning, but the teachers had no complaints, so we didn’t make any either.”

    “In March 2020, the world changed. The entire school experience became a series of apps on a screen. Classes met daily in the morning on Zoom. All of the curriculum was hastily added to Schoology during the initial two-week lockdown. I still want to call it School – ology. We became intimate partners with the printer and scanner. They were necessary to scan and upload completed assignments.”

    “Nominally nonpartisan, the boards are thoroughly politicized. Their seats are filled with many very unserious people. Reformative voices are quickly silenced and the unions quick to exile them.”

    There are so many problems with public schools that I cannot list them here.  The big problem is the recent concern with the student’s sexuality.  The next big problem is that disruptive students need to be thrown out or sent to alternative school.

    Hat tip to:
    https://thelibertydaily.com/

  40. Greg Norton says:

    RIP. 

    Geesh, 90. 

    David McCallum is one of those guys you never thought of as ‘old’.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ncis-star-david-mccallum-dead-at-90/ar-AA1hftqW

  41. Ray Thompson says:

    I have the new iPhone 15 Pro. An underwhelming upgrade from my 13 Pro. I think a person would need to go back to about the iPhone 11 before the upgrade would be remarkable. It was hard to pass up $830.00 for my old iPhone 13 Pro. I also doubled the storage on this phone to 512 Gig. Why? I could not tell you as my old phone was 256 Gig and seemed to serve me fine.

    Based on what I am holding, the incremental upgrade, cell phones, aka small personal computers, are fast reaching the point where a substantial advance is no longer just around the corner. I may have this phone much longer than I have kept phones in the past. The increased storage was sort of a hedge against that longevity. Or maybe I am pissing into the wind and SteveF is laughing at me.

  42. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    That’s the one. 

    Harbor Freight has a quiet line, but CAT has a bunch of reviews on A. 

  43. Greg Norton says:

    “Nominally nonpartisan, the boards are thoroughly politicized. Their seats are filled with many very unserious people. Reformative voices are quickly silenced and the unions quick to exile them.”

    Ours is the ISD board who had the couple arrested for starting a p*ssing contest with the Superintendent over mask kabuki.

    In the end, last Fall, the entire board was reelected and the Superintendent reinstated.

    Now the Legislature is about to give away the $17 billion surplus to the ISDs.

    Texas is no longer a Republican state.

  44. Greg Norton says:

    The latest “Futurama” episode riffs on concepts from “Fall; Dodge in Hell”.

  45. Lynn says:

    “Agent of Change (1) (Liaden Universe®)” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
       https://www.amazon.com/Agent-Change-Liaden-Universe%C2%AE-Sharon/dp/1481483641?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number one of a twenty-six book science fiction space opera psychic series. There are also several books of short stories set in the Liaden Universe. I reread the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Baen in 2018 that I bought new on Amazon. The book was originally published by Del Rey in 1988. This is book number one in the publishing order, it is book ten in the chronological order. I previously read this books in of “The Agent Gambit (11) (Liaden Universe®)”. My favorite description of this series is “Elves In Space !!!”.

    Val Con yos’Phelium is a Liaden First Scout, spy, starship pilot, brother to Clutch Turtles, member of the Korval clan, and musician using the omnichora. He is on a mission to assassinate a official of the Terran Party on the planet Lufkit. He competes his mission and in escaping, comes upon several men trying to kill a woman, Miri Robertson. He helps Miri kill the men trying to kill her and they go their separate ways. Val Con runs into more men trying to kill Miri, they escape but are soon found by more of the Justavas Clan enforcers determined to kill them.

    The Liaden Universe is set thousands of years ahead of our times. There are four major space races: the Liadens, the Clutch Turtles, the Yxtrang, and the Terrans. The Liadens actually escaped another universe over a thousand years ago that was collapsing on them. The Korval Clan was started by Cantra, the pilot and captain who brought the Liadens across universes through her ship and her mental powers. Many of the Liadens are telepathics and telekinetics, especially the Korvals.

    James Nicoll has his own review of this book:
       https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/meetcute-gunbattle

    There is much controversy over the reading order versus the publishing order of the series. Sharon Lee has put up a explanation of the publication order and several suggested reading orders at:
       http://korval.com/publication-list/correct-reading-order/

    “The order in which the books were written: Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, I Dare, Balance of Trade, Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Fledgling, Saltation, Mouse and Dragon, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, Necessity’s Child, Trade Secret, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, The Gathering Edge, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, Trader’s Leap, Fair Trade, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance”

    “Internal Chronology: Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Balance of Trade, Trade Secret, Fair Trade, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Mouse and Dragon, Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, Fledgling, I Dare, Saltation, Ghost Ship, Necessity’s Child*, Dragon Ship*, Dragon in Exile*, The Gathering Edge*, Alliance of Equals*, Neogenesis*, Accepting the Lance*, Trader’s Leap*, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance”

    My rating: 6 out of 5 stars (yes, I am adding this series to my Top Ten list)
    Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (983 reviews)

  46. JimB says:

    Texas is no longer a Republican state.

    I have asked this before, a serious question: if Texas becomes intolerable, where will Texans go?

  47. Greg Norton says:

    I have the new iPhone 15 Pro. An underwhelming upgrade from my 13 Pro. I think a person would need to go back to about the iPhone 11 before the upgrade would be remarkable. It was hard to pass up $830.00 for my old iPhone 13 Pro. I also doubled the storage on this phone to 512 Gig. Why? I could not tell you as my old phone was 256 Gig and seemed to serve me fine.

    USB-C instead of Lightning is a big improvement. About once a month, I have to take a toothpick to the Lightning port on my iPhone SE and clean out the lint.

  48. drwilliams says:

    If you started reading them when published the order is a moot topic.

    Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are survivors of the Meisha Merlin debacle*. I believe at one point they related making a trip to Stone Mountain to claim inventory in lieu of royalties.

    *Sudden closing in 2004 after nine years. They produced some good works and were in the process of publishing George R.R. Martin signed limiteds as well as the Virginia Edition of Robert A. Heinlein. Unfortunately, they had alienated a lot of the industry and many of their customers. The bad customer service stories were effectively confirmed by their number and the proven printing errors, including mis-titling a signed limited, were indisputable.

  49. drwilliams says:

    @Greg Norton

    “About once a month, I have to take a toothpick to the Lightning port on my iPhone SE and clean out the lint.”

    Yeah, you have to shave the toothpick a bit so you can get to the bottom.

    At one point I had silicone plugs that fit to keep out pocket lint, but they didn’t have a docking station to keep them same during charging.

  50. drwilliams says:

    “I have asked this before, a serious question: if Texas becomes intolerable, where will Texans go?”

    Go to Austin, round them all up, and put them on busses to Cali.

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  51. Lynn says:

    “The inevitable consequences of the alien invasion”

        https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-inevitable-consequences-of-alien.html

    “Mr. Sido believes we’ve passed the point of no return.  He concludes his article by saying:

    The facts are indisputable. We have lost our country, now we just wait for the fireworks to really start. They are coming and soon.”

    I don’t think that we have passed the point of no return.  But, we have reached a point where getting rid of them will be nasty.

    Of course, if you stop all welfare, many of them will self deport.

  52. Ken Mitchell says:

    JimB says:

    I have asked this before, a serious question: if Texas becomes intolerable, where will Texans go?

    I’m done running away; I’ll die here. 

  53. Greg Norton says:

    Go to Austin, round them all up, and put them on busses to Cali.

    The rot extends from San Antonio to Georgetown now, with Georgetown fast becoming a Subcontinent colony.

    You’ll need a lot of buses.

  54. Lynn says:

    “Why Real Assets Are a Safe Haven Against Inflation” by Simon Black 

        https://www.sovereignman.com/investing/why-real-assets-are-a-safe-haven-against-inflation-148196/

    “I remember one person told me that he used to buy two loaves of bread every morning on his way to work. He would eat one of the loaves during the day, and then sell the second loaf in the evening at a significantly higher price.”

    So a real asset is a loaf of bread ?  And real estate is not a good real asset because it will be seized ?

  55. drwilliams says:

    “You’ll need a lot of buses.”

    Good point. Just ask each one a question:

    1,Would you like to reduce your carbon footprint with no effort?

    Easier and more fitting to put a gulag in the desert and move them there by rail. No effort on their part required. No electricity, artificial heat or cooling. Dune-level water discipline. 

  56. SteveF says:

    and SteveF is laughing at me.

    -gasp!- I would never!

    My daughter is increasingly unhappy with her iPhone 11 or 12 (old model but purchased new seven months ago for essentially free) as each update comes in. I think that she mostly likes and is satisfied with the hardware but the updates to the OS are getting on her nerves. I’ve asked if they’re objectively better or worse and she’s not sure, it’s just that they’re seemingly constant and almost all pointless.

    if Texas becomes intolerable, where will Texans go?

    Non-libtard Texans should pick up and move to Colorado, continue to vote in the way that they did in the state they left, and change the nature of the state they moved to.

    I am adding this series to my Top Ten list

    If a Top Ten list has a couple dozen entries, is it really a top ten list?

  57. drwilliams says:

    OSIRIS-Rex Spacecraft Returns an Asteroid Sample Back to Earth

    Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/09/osiris-rex-spacecraft-returns-an-asteroid-sample-back-to-earth/

    phttt!

  58. Lynn says:

    I am adding this series to my Top Ten list

    If a Top Ten list has a couple dozen entries, is it really a top ten list?

    Yup.  You pick your favorite ten in the list.

  59. Lynn says:

    “”Our System Is Collapsing In Real Time”: Tucker Carlson Gives Bombshell Interview”

        https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/our-system-collapsing-real-time-tucker-carlson-gives-bombshell-interview

    “Tucker Carlson is unstoppable. Since his sudden departure from Fox News he scores record viewer ratings. In an exclusive interview with Weltwoche, the political media star demolishes the mainstream media’s manipulation machine, reveals his concerns about a potential Donald Trump Restoration, he speaks about the disturbing state of the Biden family and discusses what’s next for him in a Post-Fox News Order.”

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  60. nick flandrey says:

    If I was Tucker, I wouldn’t be taking any general aviation flights… or riding alone in cars.

    n

  61. nick flandrey says:

    Where will Texans go?  They’ll go to war.

    n

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  62. nick flandrey says:

    Made it home safe.  Not as many street racers out on Monday night as on Sunday.   Lots of cops with people pulled over along the interstate where it goes thru Conroe and The Woodlands.

    It rained and blew hard at the house tonight, but it all happened before I got here.   Limb is still on the roof, so I still have to deal with that.  Heavy trash hasn’t come for the other debris either.  

    I got some stuff done, so it was worth staying, but it does make my week kinda short for all the stuff I need to do here.

    n

  63. EdH says:

    I’ve asked if they’re objectively better or worse and she’s not sure, it’s just that they’re seemingly constant and almost all pointless.

    I have the 11, and nothing important in the experience has changed for me since I bought it, interesting that the younger set seems to have the same view.

    Desktops are mature & not sexy and not exciting to buy, laptops are mature & not sexy and not particularly fun to buy, and now phones.  

    The big dogs will continue to put out feature churn I suppose, in the hopes of keeping prices up and jamming more commercials in their users faces.

  64. nick flandrey says:

    Power just blinked again.   Second time since I got home.   Third world here we come.

    n

  65. Bob Sprowl says:

    Went to a nearby estate sale – mostly to get a feel for prices as I haven’t been to one for a while.  Got a small broom, a small drill bit set and a fox tail broom for $10.  I may go back in the morning and see if they’ll take an offer on a B&D Workmate or the disk/belt sander if they’re still there.  

    The shop computer problem was a bad mouse.  Of course, I couldn’t find the receiver for my Logitech spare keyboard/mouse.  Just ordered that from Amazon.

    Moved the new parts from the tool boxes to the storage shelves in the office.  Started a list in Excel so my son can see what I have.  Still have to move the used parts somewhere.  Relocated a dozen boxes from the loft to the storage shelves.  Found several “missing” things including the air cleaner for my 3×2 intake manifold.  I have so much tape that it overflowed a 18×27 three-inch-deep drawer.  I also moved three 12×18 inch small parts organizers.  I need to buy  at least another four; during the last month I started sorting the metric bolts, nuts, and screws which are overflowing the cabinets for them.  I’ve now have my hose clamps and exhaust gaskets sorted by size and hanging from pegboard hooks. 

  66. Lynn says:

    Dilbert, CEO is bringing back masks, Sept 22, 2023:

        https://www.reddit.com/r/dilbert/comments/16rj4wx/dilbert_reborn_september_22nd_2023_posted_for/

    Looks justified to me. #TeamAlice

  67. Lynn says:

    Lynn’s six star list (or top ten list) in September 2023:

    1. “Mutineer’s Moon” by David Weber
    2. “Citizen Of The Galaxy” by Robert Heinlein
    3. “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein
    4. “The Star Beast” by Robert Heinlein
    5. “Shards Of Honor” by Lois McMaster Bujold
    6. “Jumper” by Steven Gould
    7. “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling
    8. “Emergence” by David Palmer
    9. “The Tar-Aiym Krang” by Alan Dean Foster
    10. “Under A Graveyard Sky” by John Ringo
    11. “Live Free Or Die” by John Ringo
    12. “Footfall” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
    13. “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
    14. “The Zero Stone” by Andre Norton
    15. “Going Home” by A. American
    16. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
    17. “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline
    18. “The Martian” by Andy Weir
    19. “The Postman” by David Brin
    20. “We Are Legion” by Dennis E. Taylor
    21. “Bitten” by Kelley Armstrong
    22. “Moon Called” by Patrica Briggs
    23. “Red Thunder” by John Varley
    24. “Lightning” by Dean Koontz
    25. “The Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells
    26. “Friday” by Robert Heinlein
    27. “Agent Of Change” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

  68. nick flandrey says:

    The guy Bayou Renaissance Man was quoting sees it too…

    When the cartels really start to get a foothold in major cities, they are going to need to evict the current crop of black gangs and that is going to lead to serious bloodshed.

    n

  69. Nick Flandrey says:

    Internet went down for a bit there… joy.

    n

  70. Gavin says:

    Lynn’s six star list (or top ten list) in September 2023:

    I’ve read ~half your list; based on that, I have some new writing to explore!

    @Nick: there have been more power bumps in the last year than the previous 10 where I’m at. I need one more UPS to ensure I have all my internet / technical assets protected.

  71. Lynn says:

    The guy Bayou Renaissance Man was quoting sees it too…

    When the cartels really start to get a foothold in major cities, they are going to need to evict the current crop of black gangs and that is going to lead to serious bloodshed.

    That is already happening.  Compton, etc.

    Los Angeles will probably be the first major battles.  The crips and the bloods against …

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_criminal_gangs_in_Los_Angeles

  72. Lynn says:

    @Nick: there have been more power bumps in the last year than the previous 10 where I’m at. I need one more UPS to ensure I have all my internet / technical assets protected.

    I need a UPS for my daughters desktop and Roku.  I have been holding off because I hate getting rid of them.  I have almost a dozen broken UPSes in the corner of my office.

  73. Lynn says:

    “Oil could hit $150, sending ‘shock through system,’ says top shale CEO”

        https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-could-hit-150-sending-shock-through-system-says-top-shale-ceo-c74ad499

    Biden will be sucking wind if oil hits $150/bbl.  He will probably blame Trump.

  74. Denis says:

    Regarding the Liaden Universe stories, I have just started a re-reading of the full series. I began by reading all the LU Constellation short story compilations, then with Crystal Soldier, thus following the “chronological order”, rather than the publishing order.

    I enjoy the “elves in space” space-opera fun. The authors do seem to have some thinly-veiled S&M and gender-fluid kinks going on, but they can be ignored without much harm to the plots.

  75. Lynn says:

    Regarding the Liaden Universe stories, I have just started a re-reading of the full series. I began by reading all the LU Constellation short story compilations, then with Crystal Soldier, thus following the “chronological order”, rather than the publishing order.

    I forgot about the Crystal books.  I will jump to those when I read a Liaden book next.  I was reading two books simultaneously, very unusual for me.   I have an old Simak book that has been sitting in SBR for almost a decade that is next.  

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