Sun. May 12, 2024 – it all depends on the weather. And Happy Mothers Day!

Cool and wet, maybe more rain. Bad stuff in the forecast but we’ll see if we get any here. Yesterday was mostly overcast with occasional sun, and some spotty rain.

Had my non-prepping hobby meeting in the morning, a client service call in the afternoon, and headed to the BOL in the evening. Got there after dark, so I didn’t get any mowing done. Given the rain last night, even if it’s sunny and dry today, I might not get to mow. If I’m lucky I’ll get the mower ready.

If not, there are some things I can do inside that would be nice to get off the list, or I could head home early to do some Mothers Day stuff with my wife and kids. I would like to at least make a nice dinner. First I need to unload the truck and put stuff away…

Which is my plan. Get the mower ready if possible, mow if at all possible, and if not, do some stuff and head home.

There’s always something to do. It’s the nature of the beast.

Not the number, the nature!

Stack some stuff.

Enjoy the day.

nick

64 Comments and discussion on "Sun. May 12, 2024 – it all depends on the weather. And Happy Mothers Day!"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    “Report examines the 7 best Texas Hill Country towns for retirees”

    Paul, looks like they want you to get new neighbors.

    Wine Mom neighbors.

    Wimberly and just about anything else in Hays floods easily, and Hays County is almost as bad politically as Travis because of Texas State in San Marcos.

    OTOH, San Marcos will get the Austin/San Antonio NFL team after Jerry Jones dies.

    If Coach Pop had a winning record, the bulldozers would have already started moving in Aquarena Springs.

    As for the others, Fredericksburg has gone for AirBnB in a big way and Georgetown is a Subcontinent colony.

    Plus 2026 trim notices are coming for buyers in all of those places.

    That reminds me — my appeal filing is due this week. I have to look at comps today.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Hot blonde girl(s) in 60’s outfit(a) and black lead actor that didn’t have to dis whitey:

    It isn’t just about dissing whitey. Disney’s been doing damage control for the last couple of weeks after “Ncuti” referred to the unhappy fans using a Brexit-era Scottish slang term comparing ranting opposition skin tone to certain types of pork.

    Of all places, Vanity Fair decoded what the actor had to say in one interview where he dropped the term “gammon”.

    More clearly, the actor also suggested that unhappy faitful should go outside and “touch grass”.

    DIS is at 105.79 with a PE of 114. It won’t be long.

    Look how fast Paramount went.

  3. MrAtoz says:

    The apologists can say anything they like to excuse the irregularities in 2020–it ain’t going to repeat.
     

    This article outlines what little we know of voting irregularities:

    Fulton County Missing More Than 380,000 Ballot Images From Election Day

    Unless the spineless Redumblicans get off their collective asses, tRump loses. Four years later and shite is still coming out.

    I still give tRump less than 50/50. If he does win, it will be in no part thanks to the RNC.  It will signal the end of the RNC. I have no idea what to call the new Conservative Party.

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  4. Denis says:

    Pool liners are just as expensive and don’t last as long as plaster.

    I don’t have, or need a pool, so I know nothing about this. Our local municipal 50m pool was leaky. They had a stainless-steel liner installed. I imagine the cost must have been astronomical. The pool was closed for the better part of a year, too. It is disconcerting to swim in the steel-lined pool, as it is much darker below one than a tiled or rendered white surface.

  5. lpdbw says:

    I’d feel like I was swimming in a lobster pot.

  6. Ray Thompson says:

    It is disconcerting to swim in the steel-lined pool, as it is much darker below one than a tiled or rendered white surface.

    Interesting. I did not know they made stainless steel liners. My pool is 18×36 and is 8 feet deep beneath the diving. Best estimate is that it holds 25K gallons. It takes 72 hours to fill with a hose. I can pump it down in about 5 hours.

    My pool is painted white and takes on a bluish tint when full of water. We thought about blue paint but that would make the pool too blue and make it darker. I could have a liner installed, for about $22K because of the renovations required to the pool. Basically the cost of a new pool minus the cost excavation.

    I don’t think they could transport a stainless steel liner for my pool easily. It would take significant permits and road escorts along with a large and powerful crane to install. It would probably cost more than my house.

  7. drwilliams says:

    Secret Service Won’t Budge in Moving Security Zone Farther From GOP Convention in Milwaukee

    https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/05/11/secret-service-wont-budge-in-moving-security-zone-farther-from-gop-convention-in-milweaukee-n4928961

    For decades they’ve “protected the president” by turning a blind eye to rape (statutory and otherwise, sexual harassment, hard drug use, and a long list of other illegal activities. In the last few years its become obvious–evidence gone missing, visitor logs not kept, coverups for dangerous dogs and now blatantly partisan decisions–that the Secret Service is just another PLT front weaponized by the left. 

    The office needs protection, but we can dispense with the partisan management. Transfer all the managers above team leader to diplomatic security in Africa and the Middle East, and take a hard look at the rest before reconstituting the agency.

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  8. drwilliams says:

    @Ray Thompson

    “My pool is painted white and takes on a bluish tint when full of water.”

    Water wants to be blue.

    Stainless steel liners have been around for decades, mostly in commercial pools. Very expensive to install in a CSTR (continuously stirred tank reactor) with high levels of chlorine. They also do not “show” as expensive. 

    The hottest thing in swimming pool surfaces is the high-end vinyl liners, which can be printed to mimic about any surface, up to and including Italian glass tile. The latter real thing is probably a $50k upgrade and a multi-year waiting list. One of the big pool companies in Las Vegas had eight show pools at their corporate headquarters site. They took the Italian glass tile pool out after a couple years when they couldn’t keep up with demand.

    Nelsonite swimming pool paint was invented in the 1940’s after swimming star Esther Williams went to Hollywood and they needed better backgrounds for the “aquamusicals” which were some of the top-grossing films of the era. 

    Swimming pools are high-maintenance and have liability issues. The National Spa and Pool Association was bankrupted by a diving injury lawsuit that claimed their standards were deficient–it’s still not clear how many “no diving allowed” signs are required to keep stupid teenagers safe, and with the PLT attitude that illegal alien non-English speakers have to be coddled with their own language it’s only a matter of time. 

    Diving boards are seldom installed or renovated in residential pools. Most of the manufacturers are out of business and few techs will pay the exorbitant insurance fees.

    Anyone with a pool more than a few years old would be wise to invest the money in having a professional safety evaluation to make sure everything is not only up to code but far above. But don’t do it unless you are prepared to invest a few thousand at minimum.

    A little girl staying at a Houston Doubletree with a lazy river water feature lost her life in a suction entrapment “accident” recently. 20 violations were found in the post-inspection, including not built as permitted, parts not as specified, missing covers, etc. I’d estimate $25-30 million in the judgement, but if they are really serious there will be criminal charges and jail time for contractors and city inspectors. 

  9. drwilliams says:

    If I were in the hotel industry and had swimming pools and water attractions I would train independent crews to do field inspections and send them out unannounced and undercover. Yesterday.

  10. drwilliams says:

    @Ray Thompson

    “I don’t think they could transport a stainless steel liner for my pool easily. It would take significant permits and road escorts along with a large and powerful crane to install. It would probably cost more than my house.”

    They do it with factory manufactured fiberglass pools routinely. Might or might not in your area depending on how the infrastructure impedes transport. 

  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    Coffee is squirting out of the machine and into my cup…  

    I got up early, saw the rain, went back to sleep.   Power is blinking so I’m posting this.

    I’m ok, slept late, won’t be doing much work, big rainstorm with lightning happening here, 64F.

    n

  12. drwilliams says:

    After the cast and crew told the old #DoctorWho fans to stop watching in favour of the “modern audience”, the current season’s 2-episode premiere received the lowest overnight ratings in the show’s HISTORY!!!

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/05/12/did-woke-wipe-out-the-dr-who-season-openers-n3788240

    “I guess Dr. Who has always been a gender-fluid sort of character in terrific, story-driven series”–Beege Wellborn

    No. Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Baker, Davison, Baker, and McCoy. Go write about something else.

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    @brad, sounds like a lovely day.

    I am debating pulling the wire and installing the outlets for one project.   The attic is sure to be cool today, and that won’t be true later.    The outlet is for a towel warmer in the master bath.   Not high priority.   It will also have an outlet on the opposite side of the wall for the master bedroom.   That will give us at least one good grounded outlet there.

    Or I could work on more cleanup and org in the garage.   That might be the best use of time as W will certainly notice and appreciate that.   

    At some point, I need to decide if I should just pack up and head home early.

    That is the easy choice…

    n

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    Notice the gaslight?   

    There are hammass leaders in tunnels.  There have always been hammass leaders in tunnels…. talking about them is no big thing…

    Biden ‘is offering Israel top secret intelligence detailing exact locations of Hamas leaders and their hidden tunnels in bid to stave off full-scale invasion of Rafah’

     

    President Biden is said to be actively working to prevent a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah and offering Israel significant support, including top secret intelligence to help pinpoint Hamas leaders.

  15. drwilliams says:

    @Ray Thompson

    My pool has suffered a leak. We thought we fixed it and filled the pool. No adjustment on the sewer portion of my water bill so I got stuck with a $700.00 water bill. We did not get all the leaks. Drained the pool again, hired someone to fix the cracks, three really small, almost invisible cracks. I am filling the pool again so another $700 water bill.

    If the pool is not fixed this time I am shutting it down for the year and will hire the same company that fixed the cracks to resurface the pool. That will require stripping the top layer of finish and replastering. The pool is 50 years old. We have resurfaced once about 30 years ago. I guess I shouldn’t complain. Pool liners are just as expensive and don’t last as long as plaster.

    I finally went back and read yesterday’s end-of-day.

    Did the pool company use electronic leak detection?

    If the pool is 50 years old there may be several layers of plaster on it already. Typical plaster on the side walls is 3/8″ thick. One tell-tale is water line tile or lights that are set below the surface in a cut-rate job. If you have a loose water line tile you can carefully remove it and do some plaster archaeology. Not unusual to find old tile underneath. If plaster is applied over plaster an intermediate bond-coat is applied with a roller designed to leave a rough surface.

    Pool plaster can be done a different price points. Lowest is marble aggregate with white cement binder, commonly “marcite” in the south. Stepping up you get various “exposed aggregate” finishes starting with marble with 15-30% quartz and then higher levels of quartz up to 100%. At 15-30% the quartz is typically blue, but can be teal , or a blend of colors. At 100% the quartz can  include natural quartz and/or a mixture of colors. Tints are often added to the cement. Highest are “pebble” finishes with small rocks than can be relatively coarse or fine. 

    Marble finishes are floated, bring a mixture of white cement and marble fines (“cream”) to the surface. That surface is relatively weak and easy to damage, subject to wear, staining from dirt and metallic ions in the water, and low pH. 

    Exposed aggregate finishes are trowel-finished to minimize the cream on the surface, then a combination of water-wash, acid, and a pH-aggressive start-up are used to get a uniform surface appearance. Extra steps at extra cost, but the surface is more attractive and durable. Sometimes an extra step of polishing with diamond abrasives is done.

    Pool finishes are like cakes: They can be made from scratch or come in a box (a bag in this case). 

    Most plastering crews are subcontractors and largely Hispanic. Back in the day they would do pools in the U.S. in summer and adobe in Mexico in winter. It’s hard work and a good crew will start before six and finish up to four residential pools in a day. They break in the hot part of the day and don’t plaster if rain threatens.

    If you’re going to replaster, ask the pool company for warranty and references and specify that you want to look at work done by the same plastering crew that will do your pool. 

    When it comes time to fill a newly plastered pool there are several things to remember:

    Filling has to start the same day and be uninterrupted. Don’t use soft water but do use ion-exchange to bring iron and magnesium levels down if they are high. 

    A metal sequestering agent should be added to the pool water

    New plaster has to be brushed at least twice a day to remove the “plaster dust” that forms on the surface as the cement cures. It is hard work and should be contracted if you can’t do it.

    No swimming for at least a week. The plaster must be cured to a sufficient degree before the water chemistry balancing can start.

  16. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    “That might be the best use of time as W will certainly notice and appreciate that.   ”

    Who wants the towel warmer?

  17. drwilliams says:

    It never works.

    You make extra bacon to have later in the week an sit down with a cup of coffee at the computer and the next thing you know the empty plate is beside you.

    No excuse–time to get some work done. 

  18. Nick Flandrey says:

    Bacon gets sucked thru an extra dimensional portal if you leave it sitting out too long.    Sometimes that portal uses a chair to get up on the table.    Sometimes that portal is just walking by… and sometimes that portal is a complete mystery  as it removes the impossible thing from the universe – “extra” bacon.

    ———-

    Black bottom pools were a thing for a while, as were “walk in” or natural edge pools.    I worked on a movie shoot where we were tasked with changing the color of the black bottom pool on location to a more normal and period correct white.

    Happened that my landlord at the time was a pool plasterer.   He’s the one that told me pools weren’t blue, they were white.    That hadn’t really ever reached my conscious brain…    it was also cheaper to replaster to white, and back again, than the route the Art Director took, which was building frames covered with fabric and sinking them to the bottom.    To save money, the sides were left black.   And he didn’t believe me when I told him the fabric should be white, after he bought the blue…    

    In the end, very few people saw the film, and if three noticed the pool wasn’t right, I’d be shocked.

    n

  19. Nick Flandrey says:

    Who wants the towel warmer?  

    – W of course.   Although now that summer is here, the need is far reduced.   The warming rack doubles as a space heater for the bathroom, when you need to take the chill off.

    n

  20. Nick Flandrey says:

    Rain has mostly stopped, so I better get busy doing something.

    n

  21. drwilliams says:

    “Black bottom pools were a thing for a while, as were “walk in” or natural edge pools.”

    Three problems with dark pool finishes: 

    – Solar heating in pools is not desirable in the sunbelt states. It may extend the season in more northern locations and reduce pool heating costs.

    – Black plaster in particular tends to get whitish calcium deposits and doesn’t look good. 

    – Code in the State of Texas specifies that public pool surface reflectance have a minimum value for safety. There was evidence that dark finishes made it harder to see* swimmers under the water.

    Walk in or “beach entry” pools were a signature feature of Pebble Tech in the 1990’s. Very nice for young children and older swimmers with knee issues. They tend to get hard water stains and sealers are recommended.

    *Conversely, exposed aggregate finishes have a textured appearance that allows someone standing on the pool deck to have better visual perception of the shape of the pool, which enhances safety. One of the best safety features is crystal-clear water. 

  22. RickH says:

    Water is clear (assuming minimal sediments). The color of a large body of water is the same as the color of the sky. 

    Clear sky – blue water. Cloudy sky – gray water. I can see the Puget Sound (WA) from my living room. Right now, clear skies, so the water is blue. Cloudy days (we get them here a lot) – gray water.

  23. Ray Thompson says:

    They do it with factory manufactured fiberglass pools routinely.

    I have seen that. They tend to be smaller pools than what I have. I have not measured those pools.

    Swimming pools are high-maintenance and have liability issues

    This is not a public pool. It is surrounded by a 4′ fence with locked gates. Yes, a lawyer would still go after me. There are no kids in the neighborhood and no one is allowed near the pool without an adult. My homeowner’s insurance is slightly higher, but not much. I do save on fire insurance due to the readily available large quantity of water.

    As for maintenance, most years it is about $400 in chemicals and the weekly Saturday morning cleaning. No more maintenance than mowing a lawn and the weed eating involved.

    Did the pool company use electronic leak detection?

    Nope, dye.

    If the pool is 50 years old there may be several layers of plaster on it already

    There are two layers.

  24. paul says:

    I learn things here.

    I had no idea towel warmers made enough heat to take the chill off of a bathroom.  I thought they ran about 60 watts if even that much. 

    I think black bottom pools look great.  I don’t like cold water.  It seems like a good combination.

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well, the rain started back up and it is bucketing down…   lake is up at least 6 inches, maybe more, I don’t want to get wet checking…

    Might stay the night..

    n

  26. Brad says:

    “Finished” installing a water feature yesterday. Basically an above-ground pool with a fountain in it. Holds about ½ cubic meter of water.

    Wife filled it today. Somehow, one side is ½ centimeter lower, which is noticeable, because water drains over the side instead of through the intended exit.

    Impossible! I was stupidly careful putting the foundation in. Honestly, not sure what to do, since this can’t have happened.

  27. paul says:
    Honestly, not sure what to do, since this can’t have happened.

    Caulk.  Comes in different colors sometimes.  Just lay a big fat bead and after it sets another big fat bead.  Embed some pebbles or aquarium gravel to make it pretty.

    You’re welcome.  I’ll be here all week.  I hear the veal is good and don’t forget to tip your waitress.. 

    Could be the tub is misformed.  

  28. paul says:

    I seem to be annoying Facebook.  I haven’t been on in a week.  I’m pretty much done with it.  FarmVille is gone.  I post a silly picture and I /might/ get 10 likes from 140 friends.

    I can’t do anything for the lost and found dogs in New Jersey.  Sorry.  I have two dogs, that’s enough.  I don’t care about your bible verses.  I don’t care about all of the “today is National Something Day” things.  And the “touch here to see what” things do not work, I don’t have a 32″ touch screen monitor because I’m a cheap bastard.

    FB has started sending “so and so” commented on “someone’s” post.  I have no idea at all who “someone’s” is.  Why would I bother clicking the link?  A smiley face isn’t much of a comment.

    Meh.  I see a post once in a great while from my nieces.  Other than that, I’d block FB in my HOSTS file.

    And actually, I’ll make sure they know my phone number and e-mail.  Then block Facebook.

  29. Alan says:

    @paul, stay away from the FB reels, they can quickly suck you down a rabbit hole. 

  30. paul says:

    No interest in reels.  Actually, no interest in any video or audio links anywhere.

  31. Nick Flandrey says:

    Rain stopped for a while so I could assess the damage and how the local drainage was working.

    Lake is still coming up.   EVERYONE on the lake now has a dock underwater except me.   My dock is stupidly high, and while water  is touching it, and climbing the sides, it’s still above the lake.   Ok, only 4 inches but that’s all the difference in the world.

    I need to make sure nothing will float away when the level gets above my dock, and I should make sure everything in the dock house is off the floor.  Dang, and it started raining again.  

    Yep, I’m here for the night.

    n

  32. drwilliams says:

    BOMBSHELL: Biden Administration Has Been Hiding Intel on Location of Hamas Leaders in Betrayal of Israel

    Joe Biden has been hiding intelligence on the whereabouts of Hamas leaders and their command tunnels, depriving Israel of vital information that could lead to an end to the war. That revelation came in a report on Saturday and was framed as the administration offering that information now if the ongoing operation in Rafah is canceled. 

    https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/05/12/bombshell-biden-administration-has-been-holding-back-intel-from-israel-on-location-of-hamas-leaders-n2174088

    The leader of the lying, murdering, butchering rapist vermin hiding in Rafah has reportedly kept a number of hostages close in an effort to protect himself. Inasmuch as there are 5 Americans unaccounted for, it’s probably that any of the 5 still alive are in this group.

    As the Israeli’s complete their vermin eradication they may find some of the hostages alive. If some of those hostages are Americans the Israeli position should be that they possess valuable intelligence  information and need to be extensively debriefed before release. The Israelis should prioritize their own people for debriefing, but offer to expedite the process for, in the words of Stormy Daniles attorney, “a consideration”.

    When the Israeli ambassador is asked by the lying murdering traitorous untrustworthy impeachable Bidenistas what is meant by “a consideration”, the reply should be “a billion dollars for each day the U.S. impeded the completion of this operation” plus a copy of the U.S. arms catalog (about the size of a Sears Roebuck toy catalog) suitably marked in red, plus a copy of the lists of arms the Bidenistas have approved for sale to Qatar and the rest of the U.S. newly-found “friends” in the Middle East, with zeroes appended to each quantity.

    I am ashamed of my country.

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  33. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    “My dock is stupidly high, and while water  is touching it, and climbing the sides, it’s still above the lake.   Ok, only 4 inches but that’s all the difference in the world.”

    Sounds pretty smart to me.

    There’s a joke in there about being happy with four inches, but …

  34. drwilliams says:

    @paul

    “I don’t have a 32″ touch screen monitor because I’m a cheap bastard.”

    Neither do I.

    If you start a club I’ll join.

    If it’s free.

  35. drwilliams says:

    @brad

    “Honestly, not sure what to do, since this can’t have happened.”

    Then obviously it did not.

    Your sides are perfectly level. You have discovered a gravitational anomaly caused by the leaking anti-gravity generator of an ancient alien spaceship buried on your property.

    Please take careful measurements and excavate immediately. If the AI wakes upon entry explain that it is parked on your property and owes a hefty sum on fees and penalties, but you are willing to negotiate for services. Then ask if it has “from orbit” capability. If it replies in the affirmative call me immediately.

  36. Bob Sprowl says:

    None of my computers have ever had a touch screen. Or a camera.  I can’t do the ID ME thing bcause I don’t have a camera connected to any of my computers.  

    Nor have I figured out how to reliabily transfer a picture from my phone to any of my PCs.  My son has to do that for me – and he struggles with that, often having to try again on another day.  A coule hundred photos on my phone over several years and I haven’t been able to sent them anywhere.

  37. drwilliams says:

    @paul

    “I think black bottom pools look great.  I don’t like cold water.  It seems like a good combination.”

    Houston is 30 degrees N latitude and gets over 13 hours of sunshine all summer. An unshaded pool for sure would not be cold.

  38. drwilliams says:

    I have not more important information to share here and am considering doing some actual work which involves hand shoveling dirt and moving it to a new location. 

    No Bobcat access sux. Maybe I should invest an hour in auction listings to see if anyone has a mini excavator. When you get a new toy the project list expands…

  39. Nick Flandrey says:

    @DrWilliams, they have both mini-excavators and trackloaders, as well as many other useful things…    but they ended up costing more than the equivalent rental when I was watching and bidding.

    Home Depot rents equipment now.   Dunno if their rates are reasonable, I rented from United Rentals, because I’ve had an account with them for a decade or more.  And I know their gear is usually in good shape.

    I’ll add that after my (limited but timely) experience, you need both if you are moving dirt.   Excavator to make holes, loader to move material.

    ————

    water is touching the bottom of my deck boards.   It’s just about to slop over the top in the lower areas of the deck.   3 more inches and I start to get water in the dock house.    I expect to get pretty close.

    So I’m here tonight and tomorrow, and will be doing dry out things in the dock house if needed.   I’ve got fans and a dehumidifier up here already, and can put some heat in there too if needed.

    Hungry Man turkey dinner is ready.  Yum.

    n

  40. Lynn says:

    Houston is 30 degrees N latitude and gets over 13 hours of sunshine all summer. An unshaded pool for sure would not be cold.

    My pool in the last house here in the southwest area outside Houston was mostly unshaded and never got above 89 F in the hottest portion of the summer.  I am cold under 92 F so I would turn on the hot tub and pop in and out.  That is, when I could keep the stupid heater running.  That 400K btu/hr pool heater was a pile of electrical problems.  The forced combustion air blower sounded like a screaming banshee.

  41. Lynn says:

    Your sides are perfectly level. You have discovered a gravitational anomaly caused by the leaking anti-gravity generator of an ancient alien spaceship buried on your property.

    Please take careful measurements and excavate immediately. If the AI wakes upon entry explain that it is parked on your property and owes a hefty sum on fees and penalties, but you are willing to negotiate for services. Then ask if it has “from orbit” capability. If it replies in the affirmative call me immediately.

    The inventor of anti-gravity is going to be a billionaire.  That is, if they can keep somebody from stealing their secret and killing them. Heinlein’s Shipstones all blew up if somebody tried to take them apart.

  42. SteveF says:

    You have discovered a gravitational anomaly caused by the leaking anti-gravity generator of an ancient alien spaceship your mom standing nearby.

    FIFY

    Wife and daughter are going to be gone for two weeks next month to visit an acquaintance who’s running a missionary orphanage in Guatemala. I’m not going because of several reasons, chief among them that I need to work to earn money to pay the bills. This morning wife asked if I’d be OK with keeping an eye on Grandma while everyone else is gone, and make sure she doesn’t get hurt and eats and takes her medicine and gets to appointments and … Mighty fine time to be asking all this now. What was she planning to do if I said that no, I’m not willing and able to do that? She also wants me to drive them to JFK airport, a minimum of a 10-hour round trip if there are no accidents or other delays, because she didn’t want to spend the money to fly from the Albany airport to JFK and the shuttle bus, which is inexpensive, will take 6 ½ hours to get there. And then go pick them up afterward, of course. I suggested that she figure out how to make the shuttles, trains, or taxis work.

    A little over thirteen months…

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  43. Lynn says:

    Nor have I figured out how to reliabily transfer a picture from my phone to any of my PCs.  My son has to do that for me – and he struggles with that, often having to try again on another day.  A coule hundred photos on my phone over several years and I haven’t been able to sent them anywhere.

    In desperation, you can email one to eight pictures to yourself from your phone depending on the max size of email allowed by your email provider.

    I transfer pictures from my phone to my computers using a USB cable for the phone.  The cable should have a Type A plug on the other end that you can plug into your computer.  Once plugged in, you need to open disk security on your phone.  This is different depending on the type of phone and type of computer.

  44. Greg Norton says:

    Houston is 30 degrees N latitude and gets over 13 hours of sunshine all summer. An unshaded pool for sure would not be cold.

    We had a birdcage over our pool in Tampa — roughly 28 deg. N latitude.

    Sun hit the water for about eight hours a day in the summer, but the warmest the water got was low 80s for a few weeks around the solstice.

  45. Lynn says:

    “Wall Street Journal: Companies are Balking at the High Cost of Running Electric Trucks.”

       https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/08/reassessing-electric-trucks-insights-from-a-wall-street-journal-report-on-economic-and-practical-limitations/

    “Electric trucks, especially the heavier models, present a substantial economic challenge compared to traditional diesel vehicles. Robert Sanchez, CEO of Ryder, highlights a significant disparity in the cost-effectiveness of these vehicles: “The economics just don’t work for most companies”​​. This statement reflects the broader industry reluctance to invest in electric trucks, which, despite their potential environmental benefits, fail to offer a viable economic case under current conditions.”

    “The article provides a state-specific analysis, revealing how transitioning to electric trucks could significantly increase operational costs. For instance, converting a fleet in California to electric would raise annual operating costs by 56%, amounting to an additional $3.4 million. Such figures pose serious concerns about the impact on a company’s bottom line and the broader economic effects, such as potential contributions to inflation and heightened transportation costs:”

    Wait, I thought that electric vehicles were cheaper to run ?

  46. Greg Norton says:

    I transfer pictures from my phone to my computers using a USB cable for the phone.  The cable should have a Type A plug on the other end that you can plug into your computer.  Once plugged in, you need to open disk security on your phone.  This is different depending on the type of phone and type of computer.

    iPhone and Android mount photo storage as a USB disk which Windows will recognize and open like any other flash drive. Windows 10 even has an iPhoto-type app to import images painlessly.

    You may have to set how the USB connection gets handled on Android. Look at the icons at the top of the screen and the notifications list.

  47. Nick Flandrey says:

    Even my ridiculously high dock is now under water.   It’s coming thru the door of the dock house now too.   I moved all the “can’t get wet” stuff to the back of the dockhouse which is 1.5 feet higher.   IF the lake gets to that point, call Noah.   I don’ t think it can get there tonight anyway.

    So maybe John Wick and some popcorn, while the power is up.

    Starlink gets a little bit slower in heavy rain…

    n

  48. RickH says:

    @Nick – no natural outlet for the lake? Or is the outlet blocked by debris?

  49. drwilliams says:

    I’d estimate my Sunday carrying capacity is about one-third my Saturday. And did I mention I hate roots? And hardpan clay?

    @Lynn

    “My pool in the last house here in the southwest area outside Houston was mostly unshaded and never got above 89 F in the hottest portion of the summer”

    Standard white pool finish has a solar absorbance about .30. Black bottom pool? Solar absorbance about double. 

    “The inventor of anti-gravity is going to be a billionaire.”

    The extremes are “die in prison” and “destroy the world” 

    “Heinlein’s Shipstones all blew up if somebody tried to take them apart.”

    Ringo’s anti-grav plates could be sabotaged with a pencil line.

    “Wall Street Journal: Companies are Balking at the High Cost of Running Electric Trucks.”

    So for 40+ years I’ve been sold cars with donut spares so a few pounds can be shaved off to make CAFE, and for 40+ years I’ve been buying a full-size spare because one of Murphy’s Law’s is that if you only have four they are 500% more likely to attract some sidewall piercing piece of crap on a Sunday 100 miles from home.

    And the cars get smaller while the stupid weekend cowboy’s pick-em-up-truck with the paste-waxed pristine bed and tuxedo cover gets bigger, which takes a freaking genius to figure out the effects on crash survivability.

    Evidently the engineers of fifty years ago were a hell of a lot smarter, because I can’t imagine any of them falling for the electric cars are cheaper b.s., although a npercentage of them would be perfectly willing to prostitute themselves and sign off on the proposition for enough money, which percentage is evidently about 90 nowadays as the sun sets on the ‘Murican Empire.

    Come the revolution the electric car and truck fleet will have a half-life of a couple hours on the road before the snipers turn them into 3000K* hazmat sites.

    *Kelvin

  50. drwilliams says:

    Interviewee: “The US government can’t go bankrupt because we can print our own money.”

    Dim interviewer: “Like you say, they print the dollar, so why does the government even borrow?”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/11/the-invincible-ignorance-of-the-western-governing-class/

    Despair used to be a sin.

    Now it’s just pragmatic.

    In John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series the recovering world is almost returned to destruction when the the stupid and illiterate Secretary of Education is freed from a survival shelter and immediately halts the killing of zombies and starts investigating such as “genocide”.

    Lord Monckton gives some hints before revealing who the interviewee is. 

    Words fail me. Napalm would be a good start.

  51. drwilliams says:

    For those of you who haven’t read the books, the SecEd above was the ranking U.S. official in the line of succession. 

  52. lpdbw says:

    Honest question.

    I have an idea that could, maybe, influence election integrity.  It requires a certain level of IT savvy, and a great deal of crowd sourcing of information.

    It also would expose the developer to scrutiny from all the PLTs, the dems, the RINOs, and all the 3 letter agencies, who don’t want election integrity.

    Time is short.  This effort would need to kick off in the next 3 or 4 weeks to have a chance of being impactful.  All the groundwork has to be in place before election day.   Funding would be required, although much of the work could be done by volunteers.  I suspect some existing organization like True  The Vote (if they still exist) would be required.

    Should I be the nail that sticks up, or just let it go, since America as a concept is already dead?  If the answer is “go for it”, what organizations are both honest and effective to seek backing?

  53. Nick Flandrey says:

    John Wick was  pretty good entertainment.   Art direction and cinematography are very dark, but I could hear most of the dialog.  That’s better than most modern films.

    I may be here more than an extra day.     The lake is high enough that there is 6″ of water in my dockhouse.     That isn’t going anywhere until the lake drains.

    There is a hard limit to how fast the lake drains.

    All the lakes in Texas are man made.   Dam one end of a valley, let the incoming stream do it’s thing.     For most, and certainly the smaller lakes, the outlet is what it is.  We have been getting crazy amounts of rain for months, so the lake was already high.    Then this crazy rain…

    If the dam fails, it will drain pretty quickly.  I REALLY hope that doesn’t happen.   Otherwise it’s coming out full blast, for whatever the value of “full blast” is.   

    Also, some of my main route out is underwater too.

    Wife says the online flood gauge is reading 3 feet above normal level, which actually seems a bit low to what I’m seeing.

    And it’s still thunder and lightning around me, although at the moment the rain is stopped or only dripping.

    I think I’ll shower and head to bed.   Nothing to do until daylight and then it’s only wave hands and watch…

    n

  54. Nick Flandrey says:

    @lpdbw ,  run it by some of the alt news guys and see if it’s doable, effective, and possible.    Let someone who is already “out” draw fire…

    n

  55. Lynn says:

    I may be here more than an extra day.     The lake is high enough that there is 6″ of water in my dockhouse.     That isn’t going anywhere until the lake drains.

    How much higher is your house than the dockhouse ?

  56. Lynn says:

    John Wick was  pretty good entertainment.   Art direction and cinematography are very dark, but I could hear most of the dialog.  That’s better than most modern films.

    The young man killed John Wick’s dog and stole his car.  These are abhorrent to the just.

  57. Ken Mitchell says:

    Nor have I figured out how to reliabily transfer a picture from my phone to any of my PCs.  

    If it’s an Android phone, you probably have a gmail account linked to it. Email the photos to yourself. Or, check your Google Photos account; there’s a good chance that your photos are already there.

    If it’s an iPhone, then you have an iCloud account, and you can retrieve the photos from your iCloud account.

  58. Nick Flandrey says:

    @lynn, the main house is about 30 feet higher than the floor of the dock house.

    The lake was made here because it’s at the bottom of the basin, so it gets a lot of inflow if there is inflow to be had.   And we’ve had inflow like crazy.   Every week they’ve gotten multiple inches, even when Houston got none or little.

    There are going to be people here with damaged boats when they float up and smash against the ceiling of their boat lifts…

    I guess I’m lucky I don’t have a boat… I did tie my jonboat to the rafters of the boat lift, if it floats it will stay close.   It is sitting on my dock because of some title and registration issues.  

    I moved the couch and 8″ dobsonian to high ground before the water rose.  I’m pretty glad I took the time and that I was here.

    n

    Added- if it keeps rising, I’ll have to move all the stuff from the upper level of the dockhouse too. That’ll suck.

    And I turned off the power to the dock and dockhouse before the water rose over the junction boxes. All the stuff near the ground and outside is run in Liquidtight conduit, but there isn’ t any need to count on the quality of my work…

  59. Nick Flandrey says:

    TIme to got to bed and read some more of the time looping magic student’s adventures.    Enjoying it so far…

    n

  60. lpdbw says:

     run it by some of the alt news guys and see if it’s doable, effective, and possible.    Let someone who is already “out” draw fire…

    Pardon my ignorance, but who are the people you reference?

  61. Nick Flandrey says:

    Whoever all the Breitbart guys went to, James Okeefe?   Must be others but brain is NFG.

    n

  62. Lynn says:

    “Warren Buffett Just Sold More Than 100 Million Shares of Apple, and the Reason Is Eye-Opening”

       https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/warren-buffett-just-sold-more-than-100-million-shares-of-apple-reason-why-is-eye-opening.html

    “So, what gives? Why sell Apple stock if you think Apple will continue to go up? Especially since Berkshire now is holding onto $189 billion in cash — the asset Buffett has said he likes least, since it inevitably loses value over time.”

    “The reason, Buffett explained has to do at least partially with what he thinks will happen to taxes in the United States:”

    Me too.  I am thinking about pulling more cash out of my IRAs while the tax rates are low.

  63. Alan says:

    >>@lpdbw ,  run it by some of the alt news guys and see if it’s doable, effective, and possible.    Let someone who is already “out” draw fire…

    Tyler Durden? 

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