Cool but not cold. Weather warmed up before it is supposed to get cold. I was sweaty yesterday with just my shirt while working in the yard. It was 70F after dark… No idea what today will be like. Hoping for the rain to hold off, but who knows?
Did my stuff yesterday. Picked up a tumbling composter among other things. I guess I’ll give composting a try, at least at home. Since we’re here most of the time, and make most of our mess here…
Today I’ve got a couple of auction pickups, one is mainly PPEs, and the other is stuff for the BOL. The main thing I have to do is visit my rent house and look at a couple of issues the tenant has. There is a slow drain, which I’ll run the small snake down. Every plumber in town is out doing winterizing, even if you have a big issue, you probably aren’t getting routine service. The other issue she’s having is with the clothes washer not working properly. I’ll have to take a look at that and decide on a course of action. And there is a security door that doesn’t close or lock properly, so that will get a look too. Unfortunately my “bucket o rent house tools” is at the BOL, so I’ll have to spend some time getting stuff together for the visit.
I like to have tools sort of “clumped” around jobs. I’ve got an electrical work bucket. A networking bag. A plumbing bucket. And a bucket with all the tools for routine stuff at the rent house… but they are all at the BOL. Kinda ironically, I’ve been planning all week which stuff to bring back home now that we have so much of the work done up there. Didn’t do it though, so I’ll have to hit the stacks and put something together. As you can imagine, I have a lot of duplication in my tools, but this way I don’t have to bring everything everywhere every time. I do have to have access to them to make the system work though.
It’s sort of the reverse situation of what to bring up in terms of moving my stacks. What do I leave there, considering how far away everything is? It’s much easier to get stuff here, so that if I need a tool or a part, I can buy it here, but if I need something up there, it’s a big deal. If we had a big freeze here, like last time, all my fittings and extra plumbing bits are at the BOL, and I’d be in trouble here. For normal times, I would just bite the bullet and buy what I need here, but if things go sideways, there isn’t anything TO buy…
It’s a balance I haven’t found yet. We’ll see how today works out…
More stacks would help.
nick
Nick, thanks, but I already have an automatic coop door. Problem is, it won’t fit because of the coop design. Not enough clearance. I looked at a couple others for sale at Tractor Supply and on Amazon but didn’t find any that would fit without surgery on the coop.
There is a lot of inter-service rivalry and the Coast Guard gets its share of ribbing. But thus Sailor has the utmost respect for anyone that goes out to rescue people in conditions that everyone should be safe and snug at home.
Thanks, Coasties!
Corn Pop has no idea about what’s going on at that level.
I’m guessing low level EPA bureaucrat who never loaded a dishwasher in her life.
Either “her” or some male on the LGBTQ spectrum.
I had our regular plumber out for something yesterday. He could have pushed it into next week, but he just scored a tankless water heater install across the street on my referral.
The neighbor is IBM retiree from the waning days of the blue suit, “good” schools, and “keep your trap shut, Skippy” era so he has the cash.
Austin is playing the usual game of “Shhh, Dude. Holiday Weekend”. Everyone has fingers crossed that the windmills will turn and the gas will flow.
“Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Joe Biden’s Attempt to Regulate Dishwashers and Washing Machines”
So the righteous brigade of green weinies just rolls out the rules they want anyway and it takes years and millions of dollars for the courts to decide.
Dishwashers have been lousy for about 15 years, ever since WA State banned phosphates from the detergents and Costco imposed the agenda on the rest of the country.
Have I mentioned lately how glad I am to be retired from the US Army:
Army Sees a Steep Decline in White Recruits Over the Past Five Years
The Army is getting exactly what it asked for: West Hollywood.
DEI, POC, LGBTQWERTY/Alphabet, complete pussyfication. At least there will be plenty of cannon fodder for the next shooting war. The PLTs will be front and center screeching on how the Army is trying to get rid of the Alphabet people. I bet Al Sharpless and Jesse Jackwagon are drooling over the grift coming up.
What person, beyond the losers, would want to join the military and have to deal with those clods? Would I want to share a dorm room with some FAG? Would I want to be marching with someone who prances rather than march? Would I trust my life next to someone who thinks yelling “bang, bang” is an effective deterrent? Would I trust an airframe to some weirdo that goes to sick call because they busted a nail?
The military put people in high-ranking positions whose gene pool is full of algae. When weirdos, FAGs, queers, shims, shemales, limp wristed whiners are put in ranking positions, actively recruited, that is exactly what the military is going to get. And they got it, in droves.
63F and windy AF outside! Gusting like crazy. Flags are standing straight out, and flapping like mad.
Sunny and clear though.
n
Jer-eee … Jer-eee … Jer-eee
The icons always have feet of clay in Atlanta.
I’m waiting for someone to say that Wade is “A fine Christian man.”
They always are.
More Tyler Durden cowardice.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fanigate-goes-full-jerry-springer-das-alleged-lover-left-wife-dire-need-after-failing
Bad news on the IRS front. I forgot capital gains. I now owe the IRS $15.00 rather than $3.00.
Looking at the 1040 form for the standard deduction it shows $27,700 for married filing jointly. What the form does not stipulate is that there is an additional $1,500 per person for being over 65. I wonder how many people will not know that little bit of information and use the lower number? Will the IRS correct the return or just keep the additional money? The tax software knows and makes the appropriate entry. The tax software used by H&R Block will know, same for Jackson-Hewitt (the Walmart version). But will people doing their own returns know this as it is not on the tax form?
The people that pay H&R Block to do the return, so they can get the instant refund, and pay H&R a couple hundred dollars in the process, and not realizing that they effectively paid an enormous amount (effectively interest) to get a refund a week earlier than by e-filing, are really clueless. Some of these people are getting 4 or 5 thousand dollars in refunds.
Rather than keep their money by adjusting their withholding, they have loaned the U.S. Government money for free for the year. Of course, most of these people have very little understanding of money and would just blow the extra $500 each month when they got paid. They also blow the money they get refunded on a 4-wheeler, TVs, or down payment on a new cowboy Cadillac. They think the government is giving them money.
And there are those that paid little to nothing in taxes over the year and get a big “refund”. Leaches on society who should not be getting something back for something they never contributed.
I despise our tax system. It is overly complicated such that errors are easy to make. Making such an error may not be caught for a couple of years at which time the IRS has tagged on significant interest. Convincing the IRS to not assess a penalty is sometimes difficult. There is absurdity when my relatively simple tax return consumes 40+ pages, some of them complicated with bizarre entry requirements and calculations.
There is also no reason why companies have to wait until the end of the month for W-2s, and 1099s. Since I have investments I have to wait until February 15 for one 1099. Those dates were set before the omni-present computer systems of today. By January 2 all of the information is already in the systems. I go online and get the information that I need. A year-end statement is prepared by January 5 by my investment firm that has the tax information. There is no reason that W-2s, 1099s, etc. cannot be mailed the first week of January.
When I worked for EDS the payroll system that was used by the retirement village and developed by EDS would provide the W-2s with the last paycheck of the year. In the case of this facility, it was December 20. The W-2s were in the envelope with the paycheck. Other companies should be able to accomplish the same task.
Someone convinced my wife’s nephew that joining the Army was a way to turn his J-school degree into a tech management career without having to … you know … actually do the real work at any point.
Imagine.
Who wants all the work and grief of an engineering degree.
Most of the economy now revolves around consumers being clueless.
Mine (BS Chem Eng) was 62 years ago and I don’t think that it was a mistake back then.
Also, going to have a Mojave Red later this afternoon.
Ray, tell us what you really feel about the IRS. I agree, and could add stories of my own, but I would be howling in the wind. Nobody would listen.
CowboyStu has it right, the simple pleasure of a good beer in the afternoon.
@Stu: Go to https://www.tbp.org/memb/memberLookup.cfm to look up members of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society. If the lookup works you can thank my code. That code has remained unchanged for 15 years.
Don’t get me started. I have been in three fights with the IRS and won all three matches. The last one I still think they were wrong but said they owed me money where I think we were even. I let it go because I have a letter from the IRS stating they owed me instead of me owing them, the original claim by the IRS. We fought that battle for several months, finally demanding a full in-person audit at their office in Knoxville. The IRS does not like to do audits on mere peons as the reward for the time expended is not profitable. Even the clerks at the IRS office in Knoxville were clueless and I knew more about taxes than the first clerk I dealt with.
People are afraid of the IRS. The IRS knows this and uses it in their favor. And I believe that if anyone ticks off an IRS agent that the IRS agent will go after the person with a vengeance. Legal or not. IRS agents that do so should be held criminally liable. Instead the agent just gets a pencil broken.
Well, darn, I got started. Oops.
The economy and society were different back then. I don’t know if we now have more damned fools and plumb idiots, but society is tooled up to coddle them.
These days, one could make a good case that it’s a mistake to put the work into becoming an engineer. The monetary reward is at best middling for the time and effort put in and the prestige is low. Much better to go to work for, say, an investment bank, keep quiet, and get into a VP track. No particular talent is needed, less work than becoming an engineer and staying current, and a high likelihood of much better pay and prestige. Or get into one of the diversity grifts that institutions love paying big bucks for. Young women who are halfway decent looking are arguably fools not to go the OnlyFans route. No skill or talent needed, just a lack of shame and a bit of self-discipline not to eat too much. If they have a bit of luck to get popular and are smart enough to save most of their income, they can be financially set for life by the time their subscribers dwindle, and who cares that they’ll probably never be happily married. Odds are they wouldn’t anyway, so they might as well collect the money.
Important caveat: The above advice is reliant on the economy and society staying basically as they are. If there’s an economic crash, people with skills and a work ethic may be in relatively higher demand again.
People with skills and a work ethic are always in demand. There are so few of them vs the jobs that need them. Many of them are hard, very hard, the kind where knowing you did a difficult job well is the main reward; and many of them require travel, or time away from home. Some of them pay VERY well. *
Reward doesn’t come without effort and sacrifice in those types of jobs though, and there are lots of jobs where the reward comes easier and is bigger.
n
* I’m talking about stuff like Construction Supervisor on something like the Burj Kalifa, Tour Manager for the Rolling Stones, or Department Lead for KBR. Dockyard Operations Supervisor. Geoscientist for Exxon. Those kind of jobs exist, and the jobs that feed into them exist too.
We are in the process of having the tub and surround replaced. The workers are here now. Yesterday they removed the old tub and stripped the wall to the studs. Today they are doing the plumbing, installing the new tub, and the surround.
Husband and wife that seem quite competent. This is all they do, install new showers and tubs. I have been impressed with their care of the house laying down protection clothes everywhere they are traversing while working.
They are doing in a few hours what would take me several days. They know what they are doing, have the correct tools, and most importantly the knowledge of what they are doing.
Yes, it is costing me money, a lot more than doing it myself. There are some things I will not do and will instead pay others. Same as when I had the part of the chimney from the roof to the top redone. I could never had done as good a job.
@Ray, checked outTau Beta Pi site and did not unexpectedly find myself as I never joined it.
@CowboyStu
“Mine (BS Chem Eng) was 62 years ago and I don’t think that it was a mistake back then.
Also, going to have a Mojave Red later this afternoon.”
Two good decisions
@Ray
“Instead the agent just gets a pencil broken.”
There are ways to do that …
Oh, and something amusing: the dentist’s office checked my blood pressure for whatever reason when I went for a cleaning a week or two ago. It’s pretty high. Not hypertension or dangerous, but high.
High blood pressure and my lack of of a right coronary artery caused my first heart attack at age 49. It was 200 / 110 when I went to the ER. Peaked at 210 / 110.
The attack started on Monday. I went to the ER on Thursday. Yup, I am slow.
Ray, Stu, and SteveF, I mostly agree, with the caveat that I have been out of the workforce for more than 20 years, so feel unqualified to comment. That never stopped me…
If I had a do-over, I would pursue my second career choice, starting a small business. I will never know, but I have family and friends who did that and did well. Most of them were very smart and skillful, but I think I could have done a version of what they did. Again, things have changed, and I am glad I am not starting out.
As for going to college, I certainly like some of what I learned, but very little helped me in my careers. Yes, plural. I always treated my side work as a career, which I think had something to do with success.
The only downside of being my own boss is that I am to blame if things don’t work out. Oh, and I wouldn’t have any employees; maybe some contracted workers.
Ray, kudos on your selection of a seemingly good (not done yet) team to do your bathtub. My father did a lot of major work around the home, and never hired a contractor. The only exception I remember was when roots stopped the main house drain one Thanksgiving with a houseful of family due a few hours later. The plumber had a big rooter machine, and made quick work of it. I remember my dad being grateful for the quick response, and his ability to pay what must have been a pretty penny on a major holiday. This lesson has stuck with me for a long time.
I don’t do nearly as much as my father did, but he said he enjoyed it. Ah, another lesson. I have lately hired out things I don’t enjoy, and saved for myself those I do. The only downside is that most of the things I have hired out took almost as much of my time as if I had done them myself. I am running out of time.
New twist on the VA saga.
Five years ago I applied to increase the percentage on my back injury. It was denied and remanded to TDIU for which I had my examination on Wednesday. The TDIU claim has not been denied outright. Good new or bad news? Who knows.
Yesterday I got a letter from the VFW, which are my representative organization, indicating they felt the judge’s ruling was in error. Not the TDIU claim as that is a different claim, but the ruling denying the increase for my back injury. The VFW also referred me to a law firm. The law firm will represent me in a further appeal at no cost to me. I would feel it was a scam but the VFW is involved.
I contacted the law firm to see what must be done. I will be sent a limited POA so the law firm can represent me in some federal court. I specifically asked about any fees. The person on the phone said there would be no charge to me. I asked how they got paid. There is some type of legal defense fund that the law firm uses to cover their fees. Even if the appeal is won, and I get money, there is still no charge to myself and the law firm does not get any of the money from the VA.
It seems like one of those “too good to be true” situations. But it is not. Apparently this is what the law firm does, with the blessings of the VFW.
If I get the TDIU I don’t need to appeal the ruling from the judge as I would get 100% rating. I would not need any higher rating on my back as it would gain me nothing.
In both situations I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Over the years I have learned that everything must be claimed against the VA. The VA is not a friend and will not do anything to help. Case in point was my knee. VA scheduled the surgery, and paid for the surgery, yet never once told me I could get disability for the knee.
Breaking my back may have been the best thing that happened to me in the service.
Pass the Mayo…
https://nypost.com/2024/01/12/sports/jerod-mayo-hired-as-patriots-coach-after-bill-belichick-exit/
And Amish for the DEI stats.
We are in the process of having the tub and surround replaced. The workers are here now. Yesterday they removed the old tub and stripped the wall to the studs. Today they are doing the plumbing, installing the new tub, and the surround.
Are you putting in one of them there newfangled walkin tubs with the heated back ? You know, for old people.
I am considering replacing our 36×36 inch shower and 5 foot tub with 60×42 shower and a walkin tub if I can figure out how to get the walkin tub in sideways.
I forgot to mention, I check my blood pressure every morning. That way, I know how much salt I had the day before.
A reno of our master bath is also on my mind. The wife and I have talked about it, but it’s not high on the list. I think we would get of of the big soaker tub, move a closet door, and double the size of the shower. I would also make it a zero clearance entry and try to install grab bars for the future, or at least install proper structure behind for later mounting.
No, not yet. The problem with the walk-in tubs is that they have to drain before you can open the door and exit. That may take several minutes and the bather gets cold.
We are having grab bars installed on the wall side and in the faucet and drain side. The new tub is also insulated which should keep the water warmer longer.
I could put an electric valve and a 2” trash pump in the drain line that would get you out of the tub in thirty seconds.
Unless you sat on the drain…
Which would then lead to having to explain the giant hickey on the backside.
Doesn’t stop much of anyone else, either. I suggest commenting on whatever you like and then claiming a PhD from Wikipedia U if anyone calls you on it.
Yah, try getting the babes when you’re a 32-year-old construction supe. “Heather, can you believe it? This guy who matched me works in construction.” “Ew, no way! You can’t wash off the dirt and sweat!” “100%. I blocked him and made a date with this guy who’s a DIE consultant. He was dripping in his profile pic.”
Have I mentioned lately how glad I am to be retired from the US Army:
Army Sees a Steep Decline in White Recruits Over the Past Five Years
The Army is getting exactly what it asked for: West Hollywood.
DEI, POC, LGBTQWERTY/Alphabet, complete pussyfication. At least there will be plenty of cannon fodder for the next shooting war. The PLTs will be front and center screeching on how the Army is trying to get rid of the Alphabet people. I bet Al Sharpless and Jesse Jackwagon are drooling over the grift coming up.
Do you know what the most expensive army in the world is ? The one that loses the war.
We are on our way to the most expensive army in the world.
Used 40 foot containers:
https://www.eveoncontainers.com/en-US/used-40ft-shipping-container
You know, $1,849 plus $365 delivery is not a bad option. I wonder if they are water proof.
Most of them are part of the Control, which is what Roberts realized when he threaded the needle with his majority opinion about the vaccine mandate on large employers.
Healthcare is largely indentured servitude these days. That industry’s employees got tossed under the bus.
Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the reward being just having done a job well.
Show me the money.
Oops, left a main point out of my previous comment.
They’re needed and they’re in demand, by people who need a difficult job to be done. Sometimes they’re valued by those people and the management layers between them, sometimes not. Sometimes they’re paid appropriately, sometimes not. Quite often “knowing you did a difficult job well is the main reward” leads to being paid less than the coworker who is in it for himself rather than for the project or the good of society. The superstar is almost certainly paid less than the lumpenmanager who collects his status reports or handles his contract.
And, feeding into what I did remember to write, above, people in general don’t value the vital infrastructure or support tasks. Getting a bridge built under budget? Yawn. That’s not important like being an influencer and CEO of your own lip gloss company, amirite?
“Understanding All-Wheel Drive”
https://www.carpro.com/blog/is-all-wheel-drive-right-for-you
“Not too long ago, only expensive, upper scale cars came with all-wheel drive, like Audi’s famous Quattro system. They were as much about handling on dry streets as getting through a snowstorm. Much has changed as all-wheel drive (AWD) has gotten cheaper, lighter, and more common thanks to automakers like Subaru who continue to refine AWD in more common cars and SUVs.”
Yup, I will never buy another vehicle without 4WD or AWD. Just too handy in bad situations.
“Did Secretary of State Blinken Tip Off Yemen to US Bombings?”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/did-secretary-state-blinken-tip-yemen-us-bombings/
Loose lips sink ships ! ! ! !
What a jerk !
Who wants all the work and grief of an engineering degree.
Me. Got one 42 years ago. Been using it a lot over the years.
Young women who are halfway decent looking are arguably fools not to go the OnlyFans route. No skill or talent needed, just a lack of shame and a bit of self-discipline not to eat too much. If they have a bit of luck to get popular and are smart enough to save most of their income, they can be financially set for life by the time their subscribers dwindle, and who cares that they’ll probably never be happily married. Odds are they wouldn’t anyway, so they might as well collect the money.
When most of the baby boomer guys die off, those OnlyFans shows are going to go by the wayside.
They say they are waterproof. Not sure where I would put one. I have an idea or three but can they deliver it to where I what it? Might be just a bit to heavy to drag around with the tractor.
Yes, that would be one form of economic disruption. Of course, the *resident and his string-pullers seem to be trying to crash the economy before it can happen naturally.
“US gas-fired capacity to grow, even under 95% carbon reduction scenario: NREL”
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nrel-gas-fired-capacity-standard-scenarios-report-wind-solar/704433/
“Fossil-fueled power plants without carbon capture equipment would produce 14% of U.S. electricity by 2050, according to “mid-case” modeling by a DOE laboratory.”
Cheap and dependable rules.
Most people living and commuting in an urban or semi-urban environment can get along fine driving in snow without AWD, driving a more affordable front wheel drive sedan, coupe or wagon, especially a low profile Subaru Boxter engine, which is why they became popular in the Northwest, but that isnt good for the manufacturers’ profit margins.
Subaru. Share the love.
Jerry knows this.
>> Yup, I will never buy another vehicle without 4WD or AWD. Just too handy in bad situations.
Except stopping on ice…then they slide just as well as a 2WD.
The link says “Wind and watertight”. For my zip code, it says $3099.
Diversity sacrifice to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
Bob Kraft has a lot of demons to exercise, both on and off the field. He’s got nothing to lose letting it roll for a year.
Thanks to Kraft, I don’t have to explain the concept of a Florida “day spa”.
$2944 with delivery plus about $250 sales tax for me from Dallas. From Austin costs more.
Pretty cheap for a tool shed / whatever compared to what I see at Home Depot.
Just need to set it on concrete blocks to get it off of the wet dirt.
$2944 with delivery plus about $250 sales tax for me from Dallas. From Austin costs more.
Pretty cheap for a tool shed / whatever compared to what I see at Home Depot.
Just need to set it on concrete blocks to get it off of the wet dirt.
I was thinking six inches of gravel underneath it.
Container is $3114 to my address in Deatsville Al. Water proof until you drag it into place; if it is not on a supported level surface it probably won’t stay waterproof. Condensation is also a big problem in the humid south.
A 40ft container in good condition sells in the local auctions for about $1200. You have to provide someone to move it, but there are lots of choices. The empty container isn’t that heavy.
Most have small holes that need patching.
One pearl clutcher consideration is that the wooden floor might have some chemicals soaked in, and they tend to smell strongly of mahogany in my experience.
Condensation is an issue.
Every container home conversion I’ve looked at online ends up being as much money as conventional stick built construction. One advantage is the strength of the shell, another is doing the work offsite then moving it there.
This guy is the KING of container builds and a great example of a motivated and skilled young man…
https://www.youtube.com/@AndrewCamarata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSY5vBl1V44&list=PLgUGfzMeW6jJJia9BkDj1xOn9CQn3c9-W is just the castle playlist.
They make a fabric structure that is intended to span about 20ft between two containers to make a covered area in the middle. It’s a great way to make a shop or shed.
n
This is my favorite youtube blacksmith, and he did a container conversion for a shed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSY5vBl1V44&list=PLgUGfzMeW6jJJia9BkDj1xOn9CQn3c9-W
n
I once had a 1984 Toyota Tercel wagon, 2WD with a manual transmission and on-the-fly manual 4WD option. The additional resistance when 4WD was selected made for a significant increase in engine braking (both power and sensitivity), and made it much easier to decelerate gently without slipping in icy or snowy conditions. I had many occasions to value that when I lived in Colorado Springs.
They say they are waterproof. Not sure where I would put one. I have an idea or three but can they deliver it to where I what it? Might be just a bit to heavy to drag around with the tractor.
I think that my F-150 4WD in 4WD Low (about 12 to 1) might be able to move one on a flat surface. Otherwise, gonna need a bulldozer for a hilly terrain.
I am wondering if I could buy ten of these, put down gravel first, place them, and rent for $250 per month each. I’ve got plenty of unused land.
A mid-80s Tercel wagon weighed nothing, ~2000 lbs, with most of the mass of the vehicle centered above the front two wheels. Traction with 2WD would have been very good, 4WD even better.
The big downside of the Tercel was the rust, even in places like Florida which never puts salt on the roads.
Sam’s run near the office today since that store has Spaghetti Os and I had to spend the afternoon on campus.
Every single shopping cart was gone when I walked in the door. I went out to the parking lot and grabbed a cart from someone leaving.
The local media has done an excelllent job scaring the h*ll out of people this weekend.
Sam’s run near the office today since that store has Spaghetti Os and I had to spend the afternoon on campus.
Every single shopping cart was gone when I walked in the door. I went out to the parking lot and grabbed a cart from someone leaving.
The local media has done an excelllent job scaring the h*ll out of people this weekend.
Every Sam’s Club that I have been to has 0.4 shopping carts for peak usage. I always bring in a cart at Sams and every other place I frequent.
I cannot stomach the marinara in Spaghetti O’s, it gives me heartburn something fierce. And I love marinara.
Yet another reason for prepping: so you don’t need to do ordinary shopping or errands when everyone else is doing panic buying. I’ve gotten caught in that a handful of times, usually through not having been aware of a winter storm coming. Hasn’t happened in years and I intend for it never to happen again.
The modern equivalent of a Tercel wagon would be the Corolla Cross, which weighs about 1000 lbs more and, in addition to the mass being distributed throughout the frame due to rollover crash requirements, the Cross sits high to give the driver the feel of a compact SUV, taking the place of the old RAV4 in the Toyota lineup.
“Available AWD” is listed as a option, but I’m not sure I would go for that unless it was the hybrid with electric motors driving the rear wheels. A 2.0 L engine, CVT, and AWD sound like something not meant for the long haul.
Okay, Toyota, but that design is too new. Plus, the Cross is built in Alabama at the joint Mazda plant, also new.
Give it a few years.
My kids eat the Spaghetti Os once in a while.
I keep a backlog of cases at the house for the “You can live on it” occasions.
My backlog got low because the older child was home for the last three weeks, and, in my area, I can only get the Spaghetti Os at the Sam’s near the office.
At the on-campus meeting, we got word again today that Q1 2025 (February) is when they want us back in the office full time … and really mean it now.
Wife cleaned out the closet and put my old “grab and go” bag out where it was underfoot. To say I’ve learned a lot since 2003 would be an understatement.
The Mountain House and other backpack FD meals are still good. The batteries expired in 2010… the orange juice in UHT juice boxes was brown, and smelled a bit vinegary but the boxes weren’t swollen. The water filter, liquid fuel stove, and cooking pots had never been used. And there wasn’t any fuel for the stove. Maybe I planned on siphoning gasoline?
For some reason I have several small tubes of toothpaste and brushes. Maybe I meant to distribute them later? And I had a survival candle lantern and 6 candles included… which to be fair will all still work, while the flashlight and batteries won’t.
No real medical stuff.
A gerber hatchet and a gerber folding tree saw, but no knife other than a leatherman. No cordage or wire. No clothes. No gloves.
And the pack was pretty big too.
Well, we live and we learn.
n
I drove home in many snowstorms in northeast TN in a 1986 Honda Civic Si hatchback. I even drove home from work during the start of the 93 blizzard. That was not a fun 4 miles.
We generally watch the local Faux News every night during the week to get the weather.
Until September, the Faux station would run “The Big Bang Theory” after the news, but Warner pulled that syndication deal in favor of a funny money arrangement on “Max” and TBS.
Local Faux is Faux corporate owned, and they replaced “The Big Bang Theory” with “TMZ”.
“The Big Bang Theory” could be wildly uneven and even insulting to geek culture at times, but it was much more entertaining than rapper news and, lately, “Tay-Tay” dating the football player stories.
The March 93 blizzard was an out-of-season hurricane.
That must have been scary. The car was maybe 1800 lbs.
UPDATE: 1900 lbs. Fun!
I caught a portion of Star Trek this evening and was struck again by the distinctive extraordinary theme music written by Alexander Courage. STNG‘s theme was also top-notch, but STV and STDS9 not so much. The Star Trek Enterprise theme was different and memorable for having good music and lyrics.
Many shows from the 50’s/60’s had great theme music. The most iconic is probably The Tonight Show, which may have generated the highest $/hr payoff of any creative endeavor in history. Perry Mason is one of my favorites, along with many crime shows and westerns. Some had lyrics (Rawhide), some even made the radio (Danger Man in it’s U.S. release as Secret Agent). The Bonanza theme is instantly recognized, but only the most dedicated fans know that the theme did, in fact, have lyrics which were song by the Cartwright family on one occasion.
So would it be too late to add lyrics to Star Trek? Sacrilegious. perhaps, but not impossible. It would have made for some good con skits back in the day*.
For those whose stacking is inhibited by the polar vortex freezing the brass off the monkeys this weekend it might provide a distraction:
Suggested references:
The Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Petticoat Junction
Gilligan’s Island
The latter actually suggests a related endeavor: re-writing the lyrics to the Gilligan’s Island theme to produce theme’s for the Star Trek series.
“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
the tale of a rocket ship…”
*I sincerely wish I had sold Leonard Nimoy’s “The Way I Feel” forty years ago when it was a $50-100 album. Bad, very bad, if you are not familiar. Leonard caricature doing a Las Vegas lounge act and finishing with his lyrics to the theme song, leaving Bill out entirely in favor of Spock’s Vulcan exploits might have been well-received…
@Lynn
I was imagining rammed earth filled tires, ala Earthships, as a foundation for containers. With 10 or whatever you’d probably want a walk space between containers for painting maintenance which would need gravel or mowing. Then some sort of paved apron for the loading/unloading traffic. Extra cost if you went with a fence and gate security.
My, in town, u-store-it locker is 14 x 28, behind a fence and gate for $195/month. There is a power outlet next to my door. Unheated. When I moved here (Idaho) it was logistically sensible to use another facility several miles away with many more units. No fence, gate. $90/month. The almost new facility in a Milwaukee suburb had climate controlled units 12 x 12 for $140/month, fence, gate, cameras.
If you fenced off a chunk off your land, you could charge for boat / RV storage. Mebbee use the containers AS the fence. OTOH, when the Mandibles comes to pass, I’d worry about the owners or others trying to live in the RVs.
“Who wants all the work and grief of an engineering degree.”
Someone with an IQ of 115+ who is driven to understand as much about the world as possible and is willing to study.
I intended to link this earlier. The title did not engage me, but it is dead-on accurate:
January 7, 2024
Higher Education: DEI and Cargo Cultism
By Clarice Feldman
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/higher_education_dei_and_cargo_cultism.html
For years calculus was used as a proxy for IQ in fields where higher math was used little or not at all. Watching the antics of some of the PLT judges the last few years, it seems that some of them demonstrate their IQ daily, and it’s unlikely that they ever passed the calculus screen.
@Lynn
“I am wondering if I could buy ten of these, put down gravel first, place them, and rent for $250 per month each. I’ve got plenty of unused land.”
I had the Thur evening Storage Wars marathon on last night. In one episode it looked like the storage facility was either modeled on or directly made of containers.
It would be worth doing some preliminary research wrt code, regulations, etc. Biggest problem I see is screening out the riff-raff that has questionable items to store.
“I went out to the parking lot and grabbed a cart from someone leaving.”
SOP for me, I have been Net Zero on shopping carts for years. Pushing one into the store has the added benefit of making you much more noticeable to drivers, who seen to think nothing of close quarters with a squishy but don’t want a cart messing with the paint on the Benz.
Groomer Library Staffers Quit Over ‘No-Porn for Kids’ Policy
https://stream.org/groomer-library-staffers-quit-over-no-porn-for-kids-policy/
h/t to AoSHQ
Note the position of the County Commission. I’d say that the rots been in for a long time for them to get this arrogant, and it’s past time to follow the money and see what other shiite they are up to.
Like this guy:
Small Town, USA learns the hard way that welcoming lawbreakers has negative consequences
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/01/small_town_usa_learns_the_hard_way_that_welcoming_lawbreakers_has_negative_consequences.html
Wisconsin, like Minnesota, are the Typhoid Marys of progressivism.
If communities can pass laws to confiscate cars driven by johns cruising for hookers, there’s no reason to treat unlicensed drivers as anything but a scrap metal income stream.
80% of the illegal alien invading army are young men. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that sexual assault if part of the plan for the conquering army had better wake up, smell the coffee, and learn to reload.
“we see a great value in the increasing diversity that this group brings to our community” Who is the “we”.?
“We simply need to ensure that we can properly serve this group and the entirety of the community,’ he wrote.” I’d be interested in his definition of “serve” vs. the families of the citizens that have been sexually assaulted.
“Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bleeds-Daniels-Ilona-Andrews/dp/0441018521?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number four of a ten book paranormal romance dark fantasy series. There are short stories and followon books to the series also. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2010 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. I am now reading book number five in the series.
Kate Daniels’s universe sucks. Forty years ago, the tech world crashed over the entire Earth and was replaced by the magic world in the form of a magic flare. Guns don’t work, cars don’t work, electricity and phones do not work. But magic works. Good magic and bad magic.
After a week, the tech world came back to a drastically changed world. And radically fewer humans. And the magic world came back after a while. And the tech world came back after that. And so on and so forth. Each world can last a few weeks or a few hours.
Kate Daniels is a mercenary in Atlanta, Georgia. And she is a current member of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid despite her dropping out earlier in life. She carries a large magic sword. And many knives. And she has magic blood.
I liked everything about the story. I especially liked the very clear distinction between the tech time and the magic time. I had never thought about it that way. The series may be inspired by “Ariel” by Steven Boyett and “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling except those never interchange the tech time and the magic time, they just transitioned to the magic time.
The authors have a website at:
https://www.ilona-andrews.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (6,912 reviews)
“How Berenson v Biden has been caught up in two big Supreme Court cases over government efforts to control free speech”
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/how-berenson-v-biden-has-been-caught
“Will we wind up waiting for decisions on them before we learn if my suit can move ahead? Only federal Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke knows…”
I hope he wins his suit. It is important for free speech.
Biden hasn’t had an original thought for more than forty years.
The most complex thought he can currently formulate is on the order of “Go potty now.”, “Nice hair!”, or “Joey walk this way!”
If there’s a lawsuit with Biden as one of the parties that the country would not be a better place with him losing, it’s not something that he originated or has any ability to comprehend.
If you fenced off a chunk off your land, you could charge for boat / RV storage. Mebbee use the containers AS the fence. OTOH, when the Mandibles comes to pass, I’d worry about the owners or others trying to live in the RVs.
Yes, the guy who rented my 3,750 ft2 office warehouse from 2012 to 2015 lived in it during the week for a year. The two story office building in the warehouse (seen on the right side of this picture)
https://www.winsim.com/lynn_replacing_warehouse_top_light.jpg
has a kitchenette, shower, and plenty of room for a queen sized bed.
“I went out to the parking lot and grabbed a cart from someone leaving.”
SOP for me, I have been Net Zero on shopping carts for years. Pushing one into the store has the added benefit of making you much more noticeable to drivers, who seen to think nothing of close quarters with a squishy but don’t want a cart messing with the paint on the Benz.
Bro ! My thought exactly. Some people drive near those retail entrances as if they are playing Death Race or Carmegaddon.
Wife and D2 won’t be going on a GS backpack and overnight trip this weekend. Too cold, and too much chance of something going wrong, even if it’s just the first time backpacker girls having a miserable time.
So they are going to the BOL with another girl and her mom to “test their gear” in the cold. With the house for bathrooms and showers, and heat if needed.
D1 and I will stay home to let them have their weekend.
I have my non-prepping hobby meeting tomorrow anyway.
Pity, because it’s a long weekend and we’d otherwise be up there, but plans were made before winter poked it’s chilly head out…
n
And boy o boy, the trans activist school shooter sure disappeared from the news quickly. No exhaustive exploration of his past and motives on every outlet…
It sure is tiresome, the way they are so predictable.
n
And boy o boy, the trans activist school shooter sure disappeared from the news quickly. No exhaustive exploration of his past and motives on every outlet…
https://www.theblaze.com/news/study-transgender-genderdysphoria-increasing-us
“A study by a health care data and analytics company showed that transgender people are less likely to be employed, have health insurance, or be married. They also are “at a higher risk” of developing mental and behavioral issues, getting sexually transmitted infections, and using and abusing substances.”
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Just because a guy inserts a couple of saline bags in his chest and puts on a dress, he is not a woman.
Conversely, if a woman removes her breasts, nipples and all, she does not become a man.
There is a lot of crazy going on out there.
BTW, when my wife was forced to remove one of her breasts at age 47 due to the cancer literally cutting through the milk ducts to the nipple, there was a lot of tears and tough decisions over several days. The diagnostic cancer doctor asked my wife how much blood was coming out of her nipple. My wife said in a shocked voice, none. The doctor replied that the nipple would be bleeding soon, very soon, as the ¾ inch diameter tumor had cut through the milk ducts one inch below the nipple. We suddenly realized that my wife at minimum would be left with a three to four inch diameter hole in her breast over two inches deep. That is why she went ahead with the mastectomy and full reconstruction using belly skin and fat as she did not want to wear a prosthetic bra.
After going through that traumatic experience with my wife, I do not understand a woman willingly cutting her breasts off.
“Biden Admin Pours Nearly $700,000 Into Program To Prevent ‘Transgender Boys’ From Getting Pregnant”
https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/11/biden-admin-pours-nearly-700000-into-program-to-prevent-transgender-boys-from-getting-pregnant/
“Transgender boys, who are biological females, “may be less likely to use condoms when having sex with people who have penises and are at least as likely as cisgender girls to be pregnant,” a description for the grant shows.”
What the … ???
Did none of these people never watch “The Kindergarten Cop” movie ? Boys have penises and girls have vaginas. Period.
My travel plans for later today were affected by a pilots’ wildcat strike at the destination. Lufthansa wanted to re-route via Hamburg and Frankfurt, which would have turned a four-hour direct, non-stop flight into three flights and an overnight stay.
Fortunately, W1 and I spotted the announcement in time, and we were able to get re-booked on a direct flight to an airport across the border, but only about 200km / 2 hours’ drive from home. We’ll have the extra drive time and car rental costs, but I’d rather that and sleep in my own bed than a full 24 hour Odyssey with three or four hours’ poor sleep at the airport hotel in Hamburg.
I sometimes miss the days when air travel was glamourous and luxurious…
On the topic of air travel. Apparently, one should no longer attempt it without at least two internet-capable smartphones and a laptop. It took us that much technology to get our flight bookings modified. Too bad for anyone who is not so equipped, or who is not technically inclined.
“Biden Admin Unveils ‘Natural Gas Tax’ Proposal”
https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2024/01/12/biden-admin-unveils-natural-gas-tax-proposal/
“The Biden administration proposed a new regulation Friday that would impose fines on oil and gas companies for methane emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.”
“The policy would require companies to pay a penalty of $900 per every ton of methane emitted beyond limits established by the government starting this year, with the cost for each ton above the government’s thresholds increasing to $1,200 in 2025 and jumping to $1,500 in 2026 and beyond, according to the EPA. While the agency is touting the proposal as a key tool to reduce methane emissions going forward, energy producers have slammed it for adding complexity to an already-complicated regulatory structure and potentially driving up energy costs for consumers.”
There is an agenda here. A Carbon Tax is waiting in the wings …
To be clear, the agenda is taxes. Lots and lots of taxes on all fossil energy. Trillions of dollars in taxes (“fines”) per year.
That is a good price for a used 40 foot standard height sea container. There are a lot of variations, including high bay (10′), insulated, refrigerated, and one-use. These cost more, but can be worth it. The prices fluctuate with world supply and demand, sometimes 2:1.
I considered three in a u-shape, with a roof and doors to close the open end, added to my existing garage. It got too complicated, and we instead built a new building in place of the old garage. I’m glad I did. The space is much more usable, and easier to heat and cool. Looks better, too.
Fixed it for you.
My mother-in-law had to have both breasts removed several years before she passed away. She was in her early ’80s and her husband was deceased. It was still a very tough decision. Dying from the cancer without the removal was a considered option.
I cannot understand why someone would take a functioning organ and turn it into a scar tissue laden worthless appendage. A replaced penis cannot get erect so some other mechanism must be used. On the opposite end of the scale cutting off the only method to write a name in the snow and replacing it with a worthless orifice is strange.
If queer is heredity, would not the genes eventually be bred out of the existence? It is impossible for couples that are gay to reproduce within their sexual activities. Thus being queer is a mental problem, not a biological problem. These people are trying to make a statement, to be noticed, to be different.
I don’t care if they want to marry a cactus. Just leave me alone and don’t force me to acknowledge, support or otherwise accept their lifestyle. They don’t want to accept my lifestyle, fine, I don’t accept their lifestyle. It works both ways.
Not even the Amazons of legend did it without an extreme level of commitment.
I was present for a conversation between several of the young employees at work, where a girl who wants to pass as a man and a young gay man both commented that they wanted and were hoping to afford “top surgery”. I think that’s part of the problem; that it’s being presented as just another cosmetic procedure, with minimal consequences and limited or no side effects. For comparison, I’ve mentioned before that I knew a man who was having gender revision surgery. In his case, he was losing his career and possibly pension (not mentioned) and had to pay a substantial amount to have the various assessments and psych reviews to be eligible for the procedures.
I also think the agenda is to make energy costs so high that only the elite and afford to use energy. If the peons cannot be controlled, then control them by making them subservient to their masters. “Don’t say anything bad about me and I will give you an extra hour of hot water on Thursday” type of control.
What is the government going to do about cows? Cows belch and fart massive amounts of methane. The piles of manure that must be collected produce large amounts of methane. Common knowledge to anyone that has lived on a farm.
I produce methane. Am I going to be fined for producing excess methane? How are they going to measure? Will there be a line item on the IRS 1040? Or will there just be a surcharge at Mexican restaurants?
Breakfast and coffee consumed. Bags packed. Time to check out and drive to the airport. See all y’all on the other side…
Safe travels denis
n