Fri. Oct. 11, 2024 – no school today, whooohoooo!!! oh, right, I’m the dad…

Cooler, but warming later. Maybe not hot though. Yesterday stayed very nice even in the afternoon. Perfect shorts and t shirt weather. Clear too, so really a very nice day. I am looking forward to a couple more days like that.

Yesterday my day got off to a very weird start, and didn’t really improve until later. I spent the morning doing domestic bliss, and shuffling some stuff around the house. Set up and tested the gear I bought to resell last week in Leander. There are issues, but I think they are worth fixing rather than selling “as is for parts or repair.” Worth a quick look see anyway. Spent the late afternoon running kids around.

Wife and kids headed to the BOL for the long weekend, but I stayed behind. I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting this weekend, and I’ve got a maintenance issue at my rent house to address today. I’ll head up after my meeting on Saturday, and because it’s a long weekend, I’ll have an extra day to work up there…

That does mean I have the house to myself for a bit. I’ll do some more cleaning up today. Then I’ll head to my rental, my secondary location, and an auction pickup. Those three kind of clump so it makes sense to combine them. I like to combine trips and do my part to save the environment.

,

,

,

I said that with a straight face! I like to save the gas money, my time, and the wear and tear on the truck… which is good for my environment.

Dunno what or how much I’ll get done here or at the BOL, but I’ll give it the old school try. And I’ll stack. Oh yes. I will.

nick

76 Comments and discussion on "Fri. Oct. 11, 2024 – no school today, whooohoooo!!! oh, right, I’m the dad…"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    I’m sleeping in tomorrow.  Then I get to go see why the garbage disposal stopped working at my rent house.   Could just be that it’s 10 years old.

    It’s 10 years old.

    In-sink-erator. In a marine environment like Houston, Tampa, or even Austin, if the mechanism doesn’t get jammed, the chlorine in the water supply will eventually eat through the case until a hole develops, spraying food and water whenever the disposal runs.

    Fortunately, the bracket which goes into the bottom of the sink hasn’t changed design in a while so replacement is easy as long as you are swapping In-sink-erator for In-sink-erator.

    If the bracket needs to be replaced, let Home Depot do the job for $99. That will be much easier on your sanity.

    When you disconnect the wires underneath, be sure to save that little metal piece which holds the cord in place on the old unit. Code says you must have that piece there for the inspector, and Home Depot will only sell that 35 cent part as part of the $25 installer kit.

    Also, be sure to knock out the plug for the dishwasher drain line.

    Before replacing, try to unjam the mechanism with a hex key inserted in the hole in the bottom. You might get lucky, but a lot of resistance means you will replace the unit in a year or so anyway.

    No preventative maintnenance really works. If the tennants run the dishwasher a lot, suggest that they turn on the disposal once in a while with *cold* water running down the drain.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    Who needs to work. You can tend your “flock” (his word) of Tonymobiles and earn money sitting on the couch.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/tesla-reveals-20-cybercabs-at-we-robot-event-says-you-ll-be-able-to-buy-one-for-less-than-30-000/ar-AA1s3VXo

  3. Greg Norton says:

    Before replacing, try to unjam the mechanism with a hex key inserted in the hole in the bottom. You might get lucky, but a lot of resistance means you will replace the unit in a year or so anyway.

    I forgot to add that the In-sink-erator disposals come with a hex key of the right size to turn the mechanism manually.

    I have several, accumulated over the years. I’ve replaced three disposals across two houses, both in marine environments.

    The Vantucky house disposal I left to the landlord.

    If you have to replace the disposal, be sure to keep the key around. If Home Depot does the install, they should leave it with other extras from the box.

  4. MrAtoz says:

    If you have to replace the disposal, be sure to keep the key around. If Home Depot does the install, they should leave it with other extras from the box.

    The key was missing at the condo when the disposal froze. I have SAE and Metric flip keys that worked fine. Those two should be in every tool box. And, yeah, they always freeze up from corrosion.

  5. MrAtoz says:

    Wow, the Dumbos must be really scared. They are rolling out Obola, BJ Klinton, and Ole Snakehead. Obola is chastising the bros with the plugs line “if you don’t vote for the Kamel Humper, ya ain’t Amish.” I wonder if the Amish are tired of being told ”dey iz off da plantation.” BJ, and his raspy voice, must be grifting for money now that Kankles has turned into the Wicked Witch of the East. The coffers must really be empty since Kankles blew the election. Ole Snakehead Carville’s old man Southern accent is almost White Ebonics. I can barely understand him. The Dumbo’s must really be desperate to roll him out.

  6. MrAtoz says:

    Speaking of disasters and survival, does anybody have a good source of LEMON flavored Lifeboat/SOS survival rations? During moves, my supply was “lost.” I have tried the lemon flavored ones, and they are palatable.

  7. MrAtoz says:

    Speaking of disasters and survival, does anybody have a good source of LEMON flavored Lifeboat/SOS survival rations? During moves, my supply was “lost.” I have tried the lemon flavored ones, and they are palatable.

    Ah, found the ones I had. They are at 4patriots.com I like their taste, so I’ll get a case and keep them in the autos. I wish I could find the first batch and open one to check the taste and condition since it would be about 5 years since I got them.

  8. Greg Norton says:

    Ole Snakehead Carville’s old man Southern accent is almost White Ebonics. I can barely understand him. The Dumbo’s must really be desperate to roll him out.

    Serpent Head was on the out with the party for a very long time, but he got in trouble at Tulane and quit teaching. He has nothing better to do.

    Plus, Serpent Head is an old Clinton crony, and Kamala is theirs through Willie Brown.

  9. MrAtoz says:

    Ole Snakehead Carville’s old man Southern accent is almost White Ebonics.

    After running Snakehead’s words through an AI “Southern White Ebonic TO normal English” translator, his message seems to say the Kamel Humper has no solid plans and has 20 days to come up with some. We all know she can’t articulate a program, least wise come up with one. She uses word salad answers because she is to lazy to study up or isn’t that smart. The Dumbo/PLT/Deep State is using agent provocateur’s, Hollyweird, the LSM to shift everything onto Der Führer tRump. I think this strategy will fail unless they go full cheat at the ballot box.

  10. Greg Norton says:

    Who doesn’t have $30,000 monthly take home to qualify for that rate?

    The scary thing is that it will probably be sold in less than a week.

    Colonists still have dowry money to spend on a house. They prefer new, but big is also a priorty since they will have both sets of parents at least visiting.

  11. EdH says:

    Who doesn’t have $30,000 monthly take home to qualify for that rate?

    The scary thing is that it will probably be sold in less than a week.

    Any DEI “dean” at any college.

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    69F at 930am.  That’s gotta be near the low  so far.   SO NICE.

    Got a bucket of coffee, ate my egg and bacon.   Need a shower.   Then I’ll be ready to face the world.  Or at least do my auction stuff and get ready to play plumber.

    @greg, that was the most complete an succinct summary of disposal install I’ve ever seen.    The first one I installed, at the rent house, I didn’t knock out the dishwasher plug.   Took a couple months for the tenant to notice and complain.   Bonehead move… I usually write the install date on stuff, so we’ll see how old it is later today.   I will probably check that it spins, check the thermal on the motor, and the circuit breaker,  and if it’s none of those, just pop to HD and replace it.    It is a straightforward job if you don’t have to change anything attached to the sink bowl.

    W says it’s a beautiful day at the BOL.   Kids are probably buried in their phones.

    Time to do stuff.

    n

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    From Cmdr Zero’s comment section..

    https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/working-through-a-major-disaster-helene/ 

    https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/natural-disaster-preparedness-lessons-learned/ 

    It’s all stuff we’ve covered here before, but worth a quick look just to see it all validated….

    n

  14. Ray Thompson says:

    Obutwad is playing the race game with his election comments. Had a white person changed the words from “black” to “white” they would have been assaulted by the FBI, DEA and ATF, their homes confiscated, vehicles seized, and made to sit in a large mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnels front porch.

    Racism is convenient when it is needed. As long as the person is not white.

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    Inside Kamala Harris’ ‘man’ problem: As Obama pleads with black males to back her, FREDDY GRAY explains why the Dems’ gender games have come back to bite them

      

    An October New York Times poll revealed that Harris is 11 points underwater with male voters overall. She is even performing relatively badly with black and Hispanic men, who might have been expected to support her overwhelmingly. It may be true that some men just don’t want to see the first woman president in American history. But, perhaps, the bigger problem here is with Harris herself. Her staunchly feminist campaign seems almost designed to turn men off.

    to the first bolded point, that’s only true if you are racist and believe everyone else to be a racist…

    – to the second point, that is the logical outcome of the “I don’t need no man” cultural phenomenon.

    Of course the real issue is that it’s getting harder and harder for anyone to ignore what she is, and who she is.

    n

  16. Nick Flandrey says:

    Indeed, America’s political left, in general, speaks less and less to the diminishing number of men in blue-collar jobs and rural communities and more to suburban, affluent and socially liberal women.

    James Carville, legendary Democratic strategist for former President Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, understands this point.

    ‘A suspicion of mine is that there are too many preachy females [in Democratic leadership positions]…,’ he told the New York Times in March.

    ‘”Don’t drink beer, don’t watch football, don’t eat hamburgers, this is not good for you.” The message is too feminine: “Everything you’re doing is destroying the planet. You’ve got to eat your peas,”‘ he continued.

    ‘I’m like: “Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?”‘

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13922089/kamala-harris-barack-obama-men-voters.html 

    n

  17. Greg Norton says:

    Buy the TSLA dip!

    I’m not buying that the robots were totally autonomous last night. Maybe moving around but not interacting with the people – tending bar, dispensing gift bags.

  18. Greg Norton says:

    ‘I’m like: “Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?”‘

    Wine/Weed Moms are going to decide this thing, James.

  19. paul says:

    I bought a used copy of Alien: Covenant from Big River.  The seller is in Germany.  The description says the audio is in 5.1 German, English, and whatever.  They had a better rating than the next seller.

    So, cool.  I get a movie with German on the cover but can play it in English.  Not so fast…. The back of the case  which was not shown says Region 2 and PAL.  My blu-ray says “Color format unsupported”.   It didn’t complain about region. 

    For some reason I thought the NTSC vs PAL argument was over.  It’s digital, let the player output appropriately for the region.

    I ordered another used copy and made sure they are in the USA.

  20. nick flandrey says:

    From Homeland

    FOR WIDE DISSEMINATION

    Dear Emergency Services Sector partners,

    Baxter’s North Cove manufacturing plant in Marion, North Carolina, was significantly impacted by the rain and storm surge from Hurricane Helene. A collapsed bridge and flooding in the surrounding area are also impeding access to the plant. The plant is temporarily closed for production.

    According to Healthcare Ready, Baxter’s North Cove plant is the largest IV solutions plant in the U.S., producing 1.5 million units of IV solution per day. The facility supplies 60% of IV solutions domestically.

    Baxter is continually posting status updates on its Hurricane Helene Updates page. The Oct. 9 update states that Baxter’s goal is to “restart North Cove production in phases and return to 90% to 100% allocation of certain IV solution product codes by the end of 2024.”

    It is anticipated that IV fluid shortages will remain or be further exacerbated during the next few months. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is maintaining a page listing products currently in shortage and that may be further impacted until North Cove resumes operations.

    On Sept. 30, Baxter posted a letter for healthcare providers with suggestions on how to manage and conserve supplies.

    On Oct. 9, Healthcare Ready released a situation update on the Baxter North Cove closure. This update provides a timeline of the developing situation so far, and a summary of currently known impacts to the healthcare supply chain.

    In Baxter’s Oct. 9 update on supply continuity, it stated, “we are increasing the current U.S. allocation levels of our highest demand IV fluids for direct customers from 40% to 60%, and for distributors from 10% to 60%, effective Wednesday, Oct. 9.”

    Emergency medical services (EMS) providers may want to review current inventory of IV solutions and consider your agency’s ability to get through a time of reduced supply, based on your historic consumption. Consider placing earlier orders and/or implement contingency plans to reduce use or reduce waste.

    (Sources: Baxter, AHA, Healthcare Ready, FDA, Reuters, ASHP)

  21. Nick Flandrey says:

    This isn’t the first time we’ve been short of IV fluids.   The hurricane in Puerto Rico took out a big producer a couple of years ago.   Took a long time to get back to normal levels of supply.

    n

  22. ITGuy1998 says:

    The biggest local hospital system here has announced they are suspending non-critical/elective surgeries due to the IV fluid shortage.

  23. Nick Flandrey says:

    Just in time delivery means no resiliency.

    Their goals are not our goals.

    n

  24. Lynn says:

    “Last photo of missing Texas woman released from night she disappeared”

        https://www.chron.com/news/article/missing-texas-woman-19831519.php

    “Suzanne Clark Simpson mysteriously vanished Sunday night, following an alleged screaming fight with her husband.”

    Uh, she is probably six foot deep in a forest somewhere.  His new girlfriend will show up in a while.

  25. Lynn says:

    xkcd: Solar Protons

        https://www.xkcd.com/2997/

    Uh, Solar Protons are not going to directly form water.  But we do need the rain here in Texas as we are in a drought again.

    Explained at:

       https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2997:_Solar_Protons

  26. Lynn says:

    “’Stunningly absent on detail’: Tesla robotaxi event leaves investors wanting more”

         https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stunningly-absent-on-detail-tesla-robotaxi-event-leaves-investors-wanting-more-170122849.html

    CyberTaxi, RoboVan (20 person / cargo transport), and bunches of robots.   Everything looked like Cylons.

    I did not see the optional .30 caliber machine gun arms for the robots though.

  27. Lynn says:

    The biggest local hospital system here has announced they are suspending non-critical/elective surgeries due to the IV fluid shortage.

    Most of the hospitals in the USA are stone cold broke.  They cannot afford to maintain an inventory of anything.

  28. Lynn says:

    “Tax extension deadline is Oct. 15: What you need to know”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/video/tax-extension-deadline-oct-15-173923076.html

    The wife reminded me last night.  I told her that I had until Tuesday.  That is when her whip comes out.

  29. Lynn says:

    “Tim Walz’s Wife May Have Bested Him for Weirdo of the Year”

       https://townhall.com/tipsheet/miacathell/2024/10/11/tim-walz-wife-fight-song-n2646055

    “This clip of Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz is making the rounds. Her reflection on the 2020 riots: “I could smell the burning tires…I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening.””

    What the ???  That is freaking crazy.

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

  30. Lynn says:

    The polls are now shifting to Trump as none of the pollsters wants to be horribly wrong on election day. 

       https://www.realclearpolitics.com/

    Looks like like the only male vote that Harris is going to get is Tim Walz’s.  I do not know any guys wanting to vote for a Karen to run the country.

  31. Lynn says:

    “Ford Introduces The All-New 2025 Expedition”

        https://www.carpro.com/blog/ford-introduces-the-all-new-2025-expedition

    Looks like my old 2005 Expedition, I like it !

    Maybe I will look at one in 2029 when my F-150 4×4 turns ten years old.  I do miss the factory camper top occasionally.

  32. Lynn says:

    “Watch Univision Panic When They Realize They Showed Kamala Harris’s Teleprompter Live On Air During Town Hall (VIDEO)”

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/watch-univision-panic-when-they-realize-they-showed/

    Just a talking head with no brains.

  33. Lynn says:

    “Elon Musk Unveils Autonomous Tesla Cybercab, Robovan”

       https://www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-unveils-autonomous-tesla-cybercab-robovan

    “The Cybercab and Robovan use AI instead of LiDAR and lack steering wheels and pedals, promising a futuristic experience on the road.”

    Wait, the Robovan does not have a steering wheel or pedal either ?

    And the Robovan is truly funky looking like a Cylon helmet.

  34. Lynn says:

    “DirecTV Prepares to Expand Into Free Online Streaming”

        https://www.pcmag.com/news/directv-prepares-to-expand-into-free-online-streaming

    “’MyFree DIRECTV’ launches on Nov. 15 and will be available on the web, mobile, and select smart TVs. But you’ll need to watch a few ads.”

    Meh.  I’ll bet that there will not be any live TV (sports !) on the free channels.

  35. EdH says:

    Life in obama’s fully politicized society:

    “California officials reject more SpaceX rocket launches, with some citing Musk’s X posts”

    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-11/la-me-spacex-coastal-commission

  36. Greg Norton says:

    CyberTaxi, RoboVan (20 person / cargo transport), and bunches of robots.   Everything looked like Cylons.

    I did not see the optional .30 caliber machine gun arms for the robots though.
     

    The robots looked like puppets in the one on one interaction, like the raptor at Universal Orlando.

    As for the cars, Warner probably has digital surveys of the streets, down to the cm. With accuracy like that, much is possible with an optical only sensor system. I speak from experience on that.

  37. MrAtoz says:

    I did not see the optional .30 caliber machine gun arms for the robots though.

    As usual, those are reserved for the goobermint to keep us dirt people in line, Skippy.

  38. Lynn says:

    My Office Starlink is down.  I have no idea what is wrong with it.  I have rebooted, reset the cables. etc.  

    The power light on the bottom of my Starlink router is off. Not good. I have opened a trouble ticket with Starlink. I have no idea what happens now.

  39. paul says:

    The range hood is 8 stops away.  A day early.  I really hope it is nice.  The vent pipe, 5 inch hole saw, and the louvered vent hood come tomorrow.

    I might find a decent movie to watch tonight.  I tried watching The Da Vinci Code last night and yeah, no. I’d rather watch something on the Hitler Channel with space aliens using brontosaurs as cranes, ala Flintstones, instead.  

  40. paul says:

    Volt meter the power supply?  Look for a fuse or circuit breaker button? ….  maybe and hopefully on the power supply. 

  41. Lynn says:

    And Starlink is Fedexing me a new cable.  That sucks.  I miss my Starlink.  These two DSL lines are slow.

  42. Lynn says:

    Volt meter the power supply?  Look for a fuse or circuit breaker button? ….  maybe and hopefully on the power supply. 

    The power supply is contained inside the white box that is a router and powers the antenna.  No way to non destructively open it.

  43. Lynn says:

    And Starlink is Fedexing me a new cable.  That sucks.  I miss my Starlink.  These two DSL lines are slow.

    Replacing the Starlink cable is going a pain.  I ran the cable through the ceiling of the office equipment room, across the attic, through a new hole in the eave, down the brick wall, and buried to the antenna.  Took me two hours to install it before.

    They did give me credit a free month too without asking.

  44. Lynn says:

    Volt meter the power supply?  Look for a fuse or circuit breaker button? ….  maybe and hopefully on the power supply. 

    The power supply is contained inside the white box that is a router and powers the antenna.  No way to non destructively open it.

    Very Appleish (black box). It either works or it does not work.

  45. EdH says:

    And Starlink is Fedexing me a new cable.  That sucks.  I miss my Starlink.  These two DSL lines are slow.

    Emphasis mine.   I don’t miss my 1/15 service… Feels weird not to have a landline phone tho.

    At some point Frontiers’  return mailer will arrive and they will get their six-year-old Arris DSL modem back. It can’t be worth as much as the shipping, but if they want it back they can have it.

    At one time last night while watching the 49ers game via Starlink the resolution downgraded to about 480.  Recovered after about 60 seconds. Very strange since it was a lull  in the action and not much was going on.

    I blame Global Warming.

  46. Ray Thompson says:

    A week ago I purchased stainless steel wipes for the refrigerator from Home Depot. Today I am getting ads for the exact same product on my Facebook feed. Hhmmmmm.

    Currently at Whitwell high school for a game. 2.5 hour bus ride. Chartered bus thankfully. I will not get home until 2:00 AM.

  47. Lynn says:

    And Starlink is Fedexing me a new cable.  That sucks.  I miss my Starlink.  These two DSL lines are slow.

    Emphasis mine.   I don’t miss my 1/15 service… Feels weird not to have a landline phone tho.

    At some point Frontiers’  return mailer will arrive and they will get their six-year-old Aris DSL modem back. It can’t be worth as much as the shipping, but if they want it back they can have it.

    At one time last night while watching the 49ers game via Starlink the resolution downgraded to about 480.  Recovered after about 60 seconds. Very strange since it was a lull  in the action and not much was going on.

    I blame Global Warming.

    Could have been Space Aliens in orbit messing with the Starlink satellites.

  48. EdH says:

    Very Appleish (black box). It either works or it does not work.

    A white black box…. 

    But it has a Hohmann Orbit logo (I realized), so it’s all cool.

  49. Greg Norton says:

    So, cool.  I get a movie with German on the cover but can play it in English.  Not so fast…. The back of the case  which was not shown says Region 2 and PAL.  My blu-ray says “Color format unsupported”.   It didn’t complain about region. 

    For some reason I thought the NTSC vs PAL argument was over.  It’s digital, let the player output appropriately for the region.

    I ordered another used copy and made sure they are in the USA.

    If it is a BluRay, try ripping the disc with MakeMKV. The registration code was free the last time I used the program this summer. Handbrake the MKV down to something reasonably sized and x264 to play from a thumb drive in the BluRay player.

    I have a cr*p BluRay player bought for $70 after Christmas at Best Buy one year, and it plays any x264 file I throw at it on a thumb drive, including torrents.

    As for PAL DVD vs NTSC, even if the disc is unlocked, the source resolution is slightly different out of the uncompression chip, 720×480 for NTSC vs. 720×500-ish for PAL. Most US market players are strict about NTSC color and will refuse to play the disc.

    Amazon carries region unlocked players capable of NTSC or PAL, but I’ve never tried one. I know the voodoo to rip the PAL DVD, convert to NTSC, and master a new disc if I want to have something I can play in the living room drive.

    I haven’t had to do that for a while. The last one where I had to do that was “The Boat That Rocked” aka “Pirate Radio” in the US.

    “The Boat That Rocked” is the better version, with 30 minutes more movie.

  50. lpdbw says:

    California officials reject more SpaceX rocket launches, with some citing Musk’s X posts

    When  commercial space/ballistic terrestrial travel becomes commonplace, I propose that California be denied licenses to launch.  Let all the commercial activity happen in free states.

  51. Greg Norton says:

    I haven’t had to do that for a while. The last one where I had to do that was “The Boat That Rocked” aka “Pirate Radio” in the US.

    I forgot that I have the recent (within the last decade) German remake of “Tootsie”, “Rubbeldiekatz”. I had to down convert that from PAL to NTSC and find subtitles from an Lufthansa screener online. It all works.

    German chick flicks are weird.

  52. Greg Norton says:

    Even the weird German chick flick’s trailer is … weird.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgkTkP9_KPY

    I liked the movie.

  53. MrAtoz says:

    I can’t remember the last time I used a DVD/Bluray player to watch a movie/show. I download or rip everything and put it on my Mac Mini for streaming.

  54. Nick Flandrey says:

    I got the garbage disposal to run… it was jammed and thermal overloaded.   Reset the thermal, used the little allen wrench to spin it free, and viola…   

    Saved a couple hours and a hundred bucks.

    Hit the Home Depot for insulation and fake bead board paneling so I can get my dock house project moving.   Looks weird on top of the truck rack.  It’s about one foot stacked.

    Put the teak patio table and the 50 gallon tank in the bed of the truck.  I’m loaded up and ready to go.

    n

  55. Greg Norton says:

    I got the garbage disposal to run… it was jammed and thermal overloaded.   Reset the thermal, used the little allen wrench to spin it free, and viola…   

    Saved a couple hours and a hundred bucks.

    You have about a year.

  56. drwilliams says:

    Had an email yesterday:

    Brilliant. Dedicated. Tough. That’s Kamala Harris.

    -Barack Obama

    Those callouses on her knees may be tough, but dedicated and brilliant ? Compared to what?

    We know Barry is a great teleprompter reader, but when that device fails his fallback is the Ginsu Word Salad Shooter Mk I. The Kamal can’t even read a teleprompter.

  57. drwilliams says:

    The biggest problem with garbage disposals is under-powered In-Sink-Erators put in by builders. 

    The second biggest problem is In-Sink-Erators of any size.

    Put in a 1/2HP minimum GE Disposall*.

    Throw celery and other fibrous vegetables in the garbage or chop them into short lengths.

    In use run cold water on full and keep in on for 15 seconds minimum after the disposer is off and longer if it has been on for an extended period. This not only flushes the drain but cools the disposer motor.

    Don’t even think about chicken bones unless you have upgraded to 1HP.

    Once a week run a tray of ice cubes through to knock any gunk off the inside.

    Keep a flashlight and a pair of tongs handy to fish out the occasional bottle cap or other non-digestible article.

    If you have a rental teach the renters how to use the jam wrench, safely remove jamming items, run copious amounts of cold water when using the disposal, and write a check to the landlord if they abuse the disposer.

    *No, GE doesn’t make them anymore, but they are made to the old GE specification.

  58. Lynn says:

    “U.S. appeals court blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee pipeline permits”

        http://www.gasprocessingnews.com/news/2024/10/us-appeals-court-blocks-kinder-morgan-s-tennessee-pipeline-permits/?oly_enc_id=8020E7639790J0C

    “(Reuters)—A U.S. appeals court on Friday put on hold approvals and permits necessary to allow a Kinder Morgan subsidiary to construct a 32-mile gas pipeline in Tennessee, at the urging of environmental groups.”

    “The proposed Cumberland Project, set to be constructed by Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline, could transport about 245,000 dekatherms per day of additional natural gas to power supplier Tennessee Valley Authority.”

    And this is why it is so expensive in the USA to do anything.  The environmental wackos find a friendly court who sits on everything for a year or five while shortages start to occur.

  59. EdH says:

    DEI comes to the DOE:

    https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/10/from-the-department-of-energy.html

    There’s a full court press going on, to enshrine wokeness before Trump assumes power.

  60. JimB says:

    “Tax extension deadline is Oct. 15: What you need to know”

    Yup. Tax guy called me earlier today to discuss my input to him. Said I would find my usual completed tax package on his website later today, ready to e-sign for e-file.

    That Yahoo article is correct, but the emphasis is a bit off. I always point out that, since it is so easy (no reason needed) to get a six month filing extension, the effective deadline for filing is October 15. However, there is no extension to delay payment: all taxes must be paid by April 15 unless a special payment arrangement is made with the IRS. Since those arrangements can carry heavy expenses, that is not practical unless the taxpayer is desperate. It would probably be better to get a loan from another institution. Fortunately, most of us are not in that dire situation.

    Another point, for those of us who are occasionally under withheld, there is a penalty if withholding is less than 80% of the total tax owed for the year. Quarterly estimated payments are one way to meet this requirement, but a payment can also be made near the end of the calendar year. Although there can be a penalty, it is usually very small, and there is no interest. Even some tax professionals do not know this. People who invest and get unexpended income are usually affected by under withholding.

    Like many here, I consider taxes to be legalized theft, and hate paying, especially when I see how the government spends our money. I have to file income taxes in Colorado, even though I am not a resident, just because I have an investment there.

    I guess I shouldn’t complain. As Jerry said, we were born free.

  61. drwilliams says:

    “enshrine wokeness before Trump assumes power”

    New headquarters building 25 miles north of Minot, ND.

    No work from home.

  62. drwilliams says:

    Early on in the new Trump Administration, a contract is let to do a top-down review of all advanced degrees used by employees to satisfy job requirements.

    In parallel, a bill passes the House and Senate and is signed into law defining severity levels of academic plagiarism and making the use of moderate to severe plagiarism to obtain degrees used to meet federal job requirements a federal felony punishable by immediate termination, forfeiture of pension, and clawback of 5-years salary.

  63. paul says:

    Thanks Greg.

    But no, ain’t gonna try ripping the disc from region 2 PAL to NTSC.    At about $9 with tax and shipping for another copy, hey.

    As for ripping all of my movies to a server, it’s not going to happen.  

    First is “how often do you actually watch a particular movie?”  How often do you watch Fried Green Tomatoes or Matinee  or any other movie?   Simpler to just stuff the disc, the DVD or Laser, into the player.

    Second is “how do I stream a ripped to server movie?”  Is that a Roku app or do I need a PC connected to my TV? 

    Just a fuddy duddy over here today.     🙂  

  64. Nick Flandrey says:

    Got this scam email today, sextortion attempt … very similar to those described in the reddit…

    https://www.reddit.com/r/phishing/comments/1f6lhu7/email_with_my_full_name_phone_number_and_address/ 

    since I’m pure as the driven snow…   

    n

  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    @paul, I am ripping mine so that I don’t have to have the discs in the living room.   I did it with CDs first and it was very well received by SWMBO…   The plus with the CDs was easier access to them and easy ability to take massive amounts of music in the car.

    The DVDs are easier to find on the server, where they are alphabetical.

    I use my windows 8 box as the “server” since older versions of windows had Media Center server installed.   To watch them on the PC I use Media Player.   On the TV we use an app on the Roku called Media Player.  It’s not the perfect setup, something called Plex is supposedly better, but it is certainly “good enough”.

    n

    added- and this way I can take a hard drive to the BOL and have all my music and videos available.

  66. paul says:

    I went to the mailbox today.  The electric bills were there.  Along with a couple of other pesty things.

    $75  for the house, 481 kWh.  Compared to last year at 854 kWh.  I turned the a/c off about three weeks ago.  It’s been cooling off at night.  I have a couple of windows in the dining room pulled down half way.  To let the heat out.  In this room, I have one window pulled down half way and one pushed up half way.  In the bedroom, same thing but on different walls.
    When the sun goes down and it starts to cool, I open the sliding patio door in the living room.  I seem to get a decent draft going…. and in the bedroom, it’s not on me. 

    So it’s around 60 to 65 in the AM.  Some days, 55.  The t-stat says it’s from 70 to 74 in the living room.  I shut just the sliding door when it gets to about 80 outside.  And it stays cool in here. 

    Then again, 80f and 33% humidity right now is almost “put on feet sweaters” (socks) for me.  If this weather holds for the rest of October, I think the bill will be even lower.

    It’s a game, ok?  

    10
  67. Greg Norton says:

    Second is “how do I stream a ripped to server movie?”  Is that a Roku app or do I need a PC connected to my TV? 

    Just a fuddy duddy over here today.

    I copy the ripped movie file to a thumb drive and put the drive in my BluRay player. Sneaker net.

    I used to burn to a DVD-RW, but I got lazy with the BluRay hardware offering x264 file playback.

    If you do need a disc converted from PAL to NTSC since it isn’t otherwise available, let me know.

    Beyond slightly better video quality, PAL DVDs usually also have better quality audio tracks with a higher sample rate.

  68. paul says:

    Ok, Nick.  I understand. 

    I did rip all of my CDs to 192VBR MP3.  For my LPs that I didn’t have a CD copy, I found most of them  sailing the seas.

    Slimserver handles the tunes.  Gee, like 80 GB in random shuffle… it’s fun.

    My CDs are in boxes in the EDC.  

    The DVDs are stacked in a spare bedroom.  I have four stacks.  
    Stuff my Mom brought when she moved here.  That she never wanted to watch. 
    Stuff I have bought and not watched.
    Stuff I have watched and maybe will watch again.
    Stuff that is going to the Library Thrift Shop… better than into the trash.

    LaserDiscs store like LPs and don’t take much room. 

     I like to rummage through and read the package on DVDs.  That’s me. 

  69. paul says:

    I tried the Sneaker Net thing with the deal of movies from Microsoft to the blu-ray player.  Nope.  Gotta use “Movies and TV” on Win11.

  70. Lynn says:

     I like to rummage through and read the package on DVDs.  That’s me. 

    I miss being able to look at album covers, front and back, for vinyl albums.  CDs too but the pictures are way smaller than the vinyl albums.  Some of the CDs do come with booklets that are neat to read.

  71. Nick Flandrey says:

    Yeah, I do like looking at the DVD cases and seeing the actors and synopsis.   When I might be confused by the title or not understand from just  the name WHY I ripped it, I’ll add to the title on the server.   I might add “- Adam Sandler” or “orig version”, or a date of production.   Still not as good as looking at the covers, but better than nothing.  And being able to move a hard drive to the BOL or on vacation with us with 800 movies to choose from, is pretty cool.

    n

  72. Nightraker says:

    I’ve been enjoying a “Banacek” binge, part of a dozen USB hubbed HDD’s attached to the LR big screen and computer.  The collection is pushing a 100 TB.  The source discs are ensconced in the off site storage locker.  I haven’t thought of an effective backup method, so there is a HDD health utility running and I copy a problematic drive to a new one as necessary.  I use the LR computer for browsing, email and shopping.  Never was a sports fan and broadcast OTA works but not real well, so I’m never bored with this setup. 

  73. Alan says:

    >> Wow, the Dumbos must be really scared. They are rolling out Obola, BJ Klinton, and Ole Snakehead. 

    Hmm, somebody been peeking behind the ‘puppetmaster’ curtains…

  74. brad says:

    ChatGPT – I use it a lot, mostly for work, but also just asking random questions. I actually gave in and subscribed, because otherwise you only get a few queries of their newest model, before being dropped back to the older version. Here was my latest question:

    I must be missing something in the Middle East politics. Iran wants to prevent Israel from attacking its assets. So it threatens Saudia Arabia? The Saudies  aren’t exactly Israel’s closest allies.

    I suppose they figure that the Saudis and the US get along, they cannot attack the US directly, so they attack Saudi, who pressures the US, who pressures Israel? That just seems stupidly indirect, plus they would give the Saudis (who have plenty of weapons) good reason to bombard Iran directly.

    What am I missing here?

    The answer is remarkably informative. Some of it I knew (Shai vs. Sunni, for example). Other aspects I hadn’t thought of, or didn’t know about.

  75. brad says:

    Y’all talking about movies makes me realize that I haven’t watched a movie for months. We regularly watch factual programs (usually BBC) and news programs (usually Swiss). But TV series or movies? It’s been a long time. I think the last series I managed to watch all the way through was the first season of Picard.

    Now that I’m away from home 2-3 days a week, I am reading books at a crazy rate. Not as crazy as Lynn, of course. I’m pretty sure I’ve caught up with Lynn’s 6-star list, so I’m going online for other lists. I usually go down to the hotel restaurant, where they have a sofa area, order a large beer (ok, sometimes two beers), and read for most of the evening. One of the waitresses is very friendly, but clearly thinks this is a bit weird.

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