Cool, bordering on ‘cold’. It was 51F yesterday morning and stayed cool all day. I didn’t see the temp in the afternoon, but it was still mild, with a beautiful clear blue sky. 61F at dinnertime. Great day. And forecast calls for a couple more…
Did my kid duties. Took youngest to get her teeth twisted. She might have them off before Christmas, certainly before Valentines. Time flies. Took her back to school. Did my pickups on the south side of town. Did some more work on my auction purchase. STILL can’t get one piece to talk to the other with USB. Tested my repair and it seems fine. (repair was to remove a damaged USB port, steal one from a hard drive dock, and put it in the auction item. Got to use my new Hakko desoldering gun. Works a treat!) Replaced a power supply that was putting out 3 volts under load instead of 12, but the problem still persists. Eliminated my USB port completely, tested the ports on the controller, and no joy. It’ll still bring good money, but about half what it would have brought if I could get the two pieces talking. Still a big win.
Picked up the kid, took her to her appointment, the other called and missed her bus so she needed a ride, then had to go back and get the first kid, dinner happened, then the kid’s nightime activity needed a drop off and later pickup. Domestic bliss, I get a double helping on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
After all that, I moved some stuff to the attic and baited two new style traps. I used some vanilla Oreos. Hmmm, blondies… and got a hit in the first hour. That is a dead rat on camera 12… I hope the other trap gets one too, and that it was quick enough the others don’t get warned off. I kinda expect that it will be like everything else, new trap style kills one rat, and never another. They learn.
Today is more of the same, with less kid shuffling…
I’ve mentioned it before, but make sure your stacks include stuff to deal with vermin. Rats, ants, roaches, mice. All will want your food, and will spoil what they don’t eat. Plus, the missus won’t be on board with eating roaches for extra protein…
Stacks, they are good.
nick
The substitution got made on schedule after the debate, but the money people probably got nervous about stoking that much anger following the assassination attempt.
No one counted on that assassination attempt happening.
57F this morning. Coffee is brewed. Lunches are packed. I could use another hour or two of sleep… normal day.
———–
n
I also believe the trans issue in Texas is still developing as a big deal, with the Attorney General having gone rogue in anger after the Impeachment effort and a regular Legislative session to reign him in not happening until January.
“Republicans” in this state were looking the other way while the two “children’s” hospital complexes set up shop to do … something … near my house, complete with mini city level infrastructure and a light rail line built to their front doors to provide staffing needs.
Running “Big Mike” may have exposed something too early.
“No one counted on that assassination attempt happening.”
They didn’t count on it failing.
If it was part of a plan, I don’t believe that the Pennsylvania attempt was a big conspiracy as much as it was about some of the money people getting nervous about the replacement scheme following the debate.
One money person with CFR ties owned the company which ran an operation in that building, as I documented that morning.
wow, slow today. Still cool and clear.
n
(hah)
>> I’ve got a red and tan large dog hanging at the front door of the office. Hopefully she belongs to one of the neighbors but she does not have a collar. I have given her two small cans of Vienna Sausages and water. There is no way that I am taking her home. She is super friendly and wants in the office building real bad. If she is still here when I leave, I will give her two more cans.
Now that you’ve fed her, she may try to follow you home. Otherwise, call your county animal control department, they can check her for a microchip.
We have a bad problem with dogs being abandoned out here. She has a little grey on her muzzle. She looks healthy.
I doubt that the county animal control will respond at midnight.
She has been jumping on the office front door for three hours now. Way before I fed her. All of my office neighbors have dogs and they are barking at her.
I am hoping that she has not scratched up my $4,000 office double front door made out of glass and black metal.
Home is 4 miles away at 60 mph. That is not happening.
And the loose dog did not show up at the office today. Yay ! Hopefully she had a home to go to.
“A Look Back To My Thoughts On Electric Cars From 2017” Written By: Jerry Reynolds
https://www.carpro.com/blog/a-look-back-to-my-thoughts-on-electric-cars-from-2017
“The one thing from 2017 that has not changed is that I am not anti-electric vehicles. Listeners to my radio show know I got one myself and I love it. I highly recommend people who want an EV to lease it to guard against losses, and to make sure an electric is right for them.”
“Applause to Elon Musk for figuring out how to make money on electric cars. The lessons were expensive, but he got there, and it was no easy feat. Also, kudos to Toyota for seeing that hybrids were the way to go. Putting money into hybrids and not electrics has proven to be incredibly smart, even though they took a lot of heat early on. Today, Toyota cannot meet demand for its products.”
My current truck is a very light hybrid (start – stop). My next truck will be more so.
After all that, I moved some stuff to the attic and baited two new style traps. I used some vanilla Oreos. Hmmm, blondies… and got a hit in the first hour. That is a dead rat on camera 12… I hope the other trap gets one too, and that it was quick enough the others don’t get warned off. I kinda expect that it will be like everything else, new trap style kills one rat, and never another. They learn.
Everyone likes vanilla Oreos. Including rats.
“Republicans” in this state were looking the other way while the two “children’s” hospital complexes set up shop to do … something … near my house, complete with mini city level infrastructure and a light rail line built to their front doors to provide staffing needs.
The “Mutilated” will be joining together in groups and hunting down the child sex surgeons and other involved people in the sex change game. Their vengeance will be long and very painful.
Toyota pulled the plug too early on V8s and now has 100,00 vehicles under recall, including their most profitable platform used by the Tundra and big Lexus SUV.
They’ve also greatly shortened the service life of their vehicles making everything a hybrid, particularly the Camry. It will bite them in the a**.
“New pet door at Texas woman’s home causes raccoon invasion”
https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/texas-cat-door-racoons-19846529.php
“A cautionary tale about the risks that come with pet doors.”
Yup, pet doors let in all kinds of varmints. I would advise against having one.
Living out in the country, I am terrified of getting a coyote or five in the house with a pet door so we do not have one.
NO! Real Oreos are chocolate and preferably double stuffed.
Toyota pulled the plug too early on V8s and now has 100,00 vehicles under recall, including their most profitable platform used by the Tundra and big Lexus SUV.
They’ve also greatly shortened the service life of their vehicles making everything a hybrid, particularly the Camry. It will bite them in the a**.
I notice two things:
I am amazed at the mileage in my 2019 F-150 4×4 with the dual turbo 3.5L V6 and ten speed automatic. I get 16 to 17 mpg in the city and 19 to 23 mpg on the road. That is amazing for a heavy brick. My old 2005 Expedition with the 5.4L V8 and 4 speed automatic got 12 to 13 mpg in the city and 17 to 18 mpg on the road. There is an amazing difference between the two.
I am hearing of weird electrical problems in the new full hybrids. Hopefully that gets sorted out over time.
“Phillips 66 closes California refinery, days after governor toughens energy laws”
https://www.chron.com/business/article/phillips-66-refinery-california-19843947.php
“The Houston-based energy giant said the move was a result of market conditions.”
“The refinery accounts for about 8 percent of the refining capacity in the state and employs approximately 600 workers and 300 contractors in the 650-acre facilities.”
“The Houston-based energy giant denied that the move was related to California’s new bill regulating state refiners that was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week. And while it will cease operations at its LA Refinery, it will still have some assets in the Golden State, including its Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, which produces renewable diesel.”
Yeah, pull the other leg, it has a bell on it. California is regulating everything out of existence.
My favorite is lemon crème. I got hooked by our unit chaplain while in the Army. He’d bring a ton out to the field and they made shitty field coffee palatable. Paid for by the chaplain’s discretionary fund.
I have 250,000 miles on my Solara 2.2 L 4 cyl. engine, and it still runs as quietly as it did when new without burning any oil.
Mechanically, nothing is wrong with the car, but the plastic pieces are breaking and replacements becoming unobtainium. Right now, I cannot get a new bumper to replace one damaged in the high school parking lot so repairing the hail damage on the rest of the vehicle is more than the car is worth.
I agree with that. We did put a dog door in our new house, with four dogs that work on different schedules, that saves on the up and down. It is a through-the-wall one and has a latching metal plate on the inside to keep dogs in at night and critters out. I’m not worried about non-domesticated critters coming in.
“How much does it cost to ship a Taylor Swift tour overseas?”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/much-does-cost-ship-taylor-185600944.html
“The international superstar’s company, Firefly Entertainment, spent nearly $15.4 million, including insurance and freight, to ship about 850 tons (769,946 kilograms) of equipment from England to America, according to a bill of lading listed on ImportYeti. The website collects BOLs and publishes them as a searchable database.”
Wow ! That is a lot of stuff.
You are in a harsh marine environment. The batteries and other electrical components don’t last as long as Ford claims.
Ford has a test facility … or did … in Fort Myers, FL dating back to when the Firestone, Ford, and Edison clans would party in the Everglades annually for about a decade before Edison died.
Ford knows the truth about the environment and durability of the vehicles’ electrical components. The hybrid and EV warranty claims are going to get nitpicked to death or the repair costs will bankrupt the company.
“Limited time offer: Take advantage of Robinhood’s unlimited 3% bonuses on IRA transfers for HOOD Week”
https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/robinhood-ira-match-193902637.html
I would be careful about this.
Only the one trap had a rat in it. Hopefully we’ll get any remaining vermin tonight. And despite the better door seal, and keeping the man door closed when not in use, there is evidence that the possum is still moving around in my garage attic. Stuff is knocked off the shelves.
n
Robinhood does not work for the retail investor.
They’ve proved it more than once. Therefore, their goals are likely not YOUR goals.
Avoid.
n
“To Offer Gigabit Speeds, SpaceX’s Starlink Makes New Push For 30,000 Satellites”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/to-offer-gigabit-speeds-spacexs-starlink-makes-new-push-for-30000-satellites
“The company’s effort to deliver gigabit speeds to Starlink users will also harness a wider range of radio spectrum, according to a new FCC filing.”
“Today, the company then made another FCC filing that requests even more radio spectrum and even lower orbits for the second-gen system. On top of this, SpaceX is seeking permission to deploy up to 29,988 satellites, matching the number initially requested for its second-generation Starlink network. (Back in 2022, the FCC only granted permission for up to 7,500.)”
“Specifically, SpaceX wants permission to orbit the company’s satellites between the 340 to 365 kilometer range, which CEO Elon Musk has brought up before in a bid to reduce Starlink’s latency to below 20 milliseconds.”
Those new satellites are going to need a lot more propellant. Whoever is going to invent the electric impeller needs to hurry up and get it out there.
You are in a harsh marine environment. The batteries and other electrical components don’t last as long as Ford claims.
I am 30 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico. I am not sure that qualifies as marine environment.
However, we do get dadgum hot in the summer time and I know that is a battery killer.
We saw “Saturday Night” yesterday evening. If you are a fan of Reitman the Younger’s work and/or old school NBC late night pre-Leno, it is worth the time.
Usually, I don’t like to do a weekday movie night because I’m less-than-productive at work the next day, but we made an exception because the flick will probably leave non-Sony theaters next weekend and I didn’t want to struggle to hear dialogue in the local Alamo’s shoebox auditorium.
Dialogue was still a problem. The studios have to stop letting the sound mixing for that kind of film take place on laptops in spare bedrooms using headphones.
I have 250,000 miles on my Solara 2.2 L 4 cyl. engine, and it still runs as quietly as it did when new without burning any oil.
Mechanically, nothing is wrong with the car, but the plastic pieces are breaking and replacements becoming unobtainium. Right now, I cannot get a new bumper to replace one damaged in the high school parking lot so repairing the hail damage on the rest of the vehicle is more than the car is worth.
Junkyard. I have gotten many parts from junkyards over the years: engines, transmissions, fan motors, etc. What year model is it ?
The only junkyard item that I would pass on is a heat exchanger. Junkyard heat exchangers are usually totally crudded up and require opening up for a good mechanical cleaning. The aluminum heat exchangers are not able to be opened up for the casual mechanic.
Wow ! That is a lot of stuff.
– not like the old days, when you’d have 40-80 trucks. My buddy made a good living shepherding tour freight around Europe and russia on an Antonov…. He did the Monsters of Rock tour and many others.
One guy, at a specialist freight company dedicated to the music industry, used to joke that shipping M. Jackson’s lasers around the world paid for his [lifestyle toys]. MJ would change his mind about using the lasers at a show, after they’d been shipped ahead to the next venue, or back to the States. The guy who rode along with the road cases would get a page, “Turn around at next stop, return to Berlin for show.” And he would.
Usually you get a lighting and sound package in Europe or South America for that leg of the tour, but there is a bunch of stuff you carry with you, because it’s not standard, or easily substituted. Staging with lifts and built in video or lighting, flying scenic pieces, custom video wall shapes, towers, automated rigging, etc all travel with you.
n
Dialogue was still a problem.
– nicer theaters will have assistive listening devices, ie headphones for you to use.
n
I had a discussion with JimB about that a couple months ago, standing in the parking lot outside the Indian Wells brewery. Black truck with a 5.7L Hemi in the desert, it probably stays at over 150F under the hood for hours after shutoff.
Heat is a battery’s enemy.
My hearing isn’t the issue. Dialogue is muddy since the pandemic.
Reitman the Younger was among the comedy filmmakers who would take their flicks to Skywalker Ranch for mixing in the big room in the before time.
The credits for “Saturday Night” indicated Culver City which probably means a spare bedroom.
Sony theater – Alamo Drafthouse.
Sony/Columbia film.
We saw “Stop Making Sense” in the same auditorium. The sound system is extremely good.
“”A Radical Plan To Save America’s Economy In One Year””
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/10/a-radical-plan-to-save-americas-economy.html
“That’s the title of an article by Brandon Smith, whom we’ve met in these pages on several occasions. He proposes some radical steps, but points out that until relatively recently they were considered normal by most Americans. It’s only since the loony progressive left gained prominence that they’ve been pushed aside.”
Get rid of the high taxes and getting rid of the illegals sounds right. Both of those problems are causing severe problems for the rest of us. And we need high tariffs to keep our money in the USA.
I am actually wondering if the illegals voting in the federal election are going to throw the presidency to Harris.
Yes. My wife and I have the luxury of being retired, so our cars spend most of their time inside the garage, where the temperature in the summer is rarely over 78F. When we come home, we open the hood of the car, primarily to let the battery cool. I have always wanted to move the battery to the trunk, but our current daily drivers don’t have trunks, so the battery stays close to the engine. EdH is right, the battery soaks to about 150F, which is very bad for it.
If I were to mount the battery in the trunk, I would still consider providing some fresh air to cool it. I might even use a small fan. Some USB fans consume very little power.
Another thought is to use a small cheap battery mounted in a cool location. Its only function would be to maintain the charge on a bank of six series-connected ultra capacitors. These caps can stand fairly high temperatures. The usual arrangement is to use six caps, because it takes that many to work at 14V. These are small and light weight, and could be tucked somewhere cool, such as behind the grille where they could be shielded from heat and still be close to the starter for short cables. Obviously, this is another project, and would have to be engineered for each car. It also wouldn’t work for an Auto Start Stop car, because the capacity is too limited.
For Lynn’s case, getting three years from an AGM Auto Start Stop battery in a hot climate is pretty good. Constantly using the starter is really hard on the battery, and even the best AGM battery will literally wear out pretty fast.
The only idea I could add is to check the battery to make sure it is being fully charged. Even with a car designed for AGM’s slightly higher saturation voltage, frequent driving might still allow the battery to be chronically undercharged. Even 5-10% undercharge combined with high temperatures can cause permanent sulfation, which can drastically reduce battery capacity and cause early failures. The only way to fight this is to use an external charger to slowly bring the battery up to saturation. A “smart” computer controlled charger can do this. It should be used at least once a month on a cool battery, for at least overnight. More frequent and longer are better. I know this is inconvenient, and I doubt it will give you much more than the three years you are already getting.
Henry Ford II testified before a congressional committee and was asked why Ford would occasionally offer deals on their fancier cars, but rarely on their economy cars. He said that customers should be willing to pay more for economy. (I remember seeing this on the TV news, but haven’t been able to find a published version.) A modern version might partially explain the high cost of hybrids. We are spending a lot of money to save a little gasoline.
The bigger issues with stuffing illegals into cities and states appears to be changing the number of US Representatives as they are counted in the population for a district. More Reps = more chances to grift, and to control the grift.
n
“Zelensky Stuns Allies by Demanding Either NATO Membership or Nuclear Weapons”
https://thelibertydaily.com/zelensky-stuns-allies-demanding-either-nato-membership-nuclear/
“(ZeroHedge)—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, having received a lackluster response when he pitched his ‘victory plan’ to US officials in Washington last month, now says that Ukraine must either join NATO or obtain nuclear weapons.”
Yeah, that would be a NO.
“2024 Electoral College: No Toss-Up States”
https://www.realclearpolling.com/maps/president/2024/no-toss-up/electoral-college
Harris: 226, Trump: 312.
I wonder if they add the expected dumbrocrat cheating to their expected totals ?
The Japanese PM mentioned “sharing” nukes a few days ago.
If you are the countries of Japan, So. Korea, the Phillipines or Australia watching the US & NATO right now, what confidence do you have in your supposed allies?
Taiwan is a goner.
The march to WW3 continues…
The Zelensky regime must be teetering on the edge of the abyss.
The Zelensky regime must be teetering on the edge of the abyss.
“Trump Sounds Alarm on WW3, Declares Zelensky Lost the War and Biden Provoked it”
https://www.infowars.com/posts/trump-sounds-alarm-on-ww3-declares-zelensky-lost-the-war-that-biden-provoked-it/
“President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian ruler Vladimir Zelensky had already lost the war against Russia and that President Joe Biden provoked the war into existence while on the Patrick Bet-David podcast on Thursday. Trump even mentioned that we may end up in World War Three.”
Tonight’s movie was Hugo. PG, 2011. I must have bought it from the $5 Used DVD Bin at HEB.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_(film) Uh, stop after reading the first paragraph of the plot. Watch the movie instead.
Hugo, the boy, has the bluest eyes ever.
Nice movie. Def a keeper.
If there are enough illegals distributed widely enough, it could happen. But that’s one of the reasons why the Dims want to abolish the electoral college now.
Ukraine HAD nuclear weapons, left behind when the USSR collapsed. Russia demanded them back, and Slick Willie negotiated a deal; Ukraine would give Russia their nuclear weapons for a US assurance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders. But in 2014 when Russia invaded, Barack Obama failed to enforce the American guarantee of Ukraine’s borders. Which is why Ukraine now wants their own nukes again. And I can’t say that I blame them.
I’d bet dollars to donuts that Japan and South Korea does not actually HAVE nuclear weapons right now – but that they have all the parts ready to assemble a number of deployable weapons within a day or two. Possibly Taiwan as well. Philippines? Probably not THAT close but might be.
As far as all I have read, Ukraine did have nukes. Soviet nukes. But no launch codes…. so, useless to Ukraine.
Kind of like the nukes in Nebraska or wherever…..
Of course they have all of the parts ready to assemble. Open secret, yes?
One really big problem with the illegals is that they are, for some retarded reason, counted in the Census.
Why are “not-a-citizen” folks counted? Other than to screw with the amount of Reps per state?
I’d bet dollars to donuts that Japan and South Korea does not actually HAVE nuclear weapons right now – but that they have all the parts ready to assemble a number of deployable weapons within a day or two. Possibly Taiwan as well. Philippines? Probably not THAT close but might be.
Japan is a USA protectorate by several ratified treaties, the first on the deck on the USS Missouri. Their current army and navy are suppose to be defensive only but they have quite a few state of the art defensive systems bought from the USA. Plus a couple of cruisers. I think we are down to less than 100,000 USA troops in Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mutual_Cooperation_and_Security_between_the_United_States_and_Japan
BTW, the USA was rumored to keep nuclear weapons at Iwo Jima as we have an agreement to never bring nuclear weapons to Japan again. So the USA Carriers used to drop their nukes at Iwo Jima coming and going to Japan. But we gave Iwo Jima back to Japan in 1968 with visitation rights to mourn our 6,800 fallen Marines who died there.
Taiwan is rumored to have twelve nuclear weapons that they bought from Pakistan / South Africa. Taiwan does not have a good delivery system for the nukes as they are very heavy, several tons each.
We have 35,000 USA troops in the southern portion of South Korea. I suspect that they have nuclear weapons.
Taiwan has a nuke. Maybe several.
Japan has their own version of AWACS, a new carrier, and F35s built by Mitsubishi in Japan.
Yes, as in the manufacturer of the Zero.
Times have changed.
If it doesn’t bother you, “The Wind Rises” is one of the most profound films about engineering ever made.
You just kinda-sorta have to overlook what the protagonist accomplished with his “10 good years”.
Brush with fame today at the contract Post Office near my house – Ernest Cline.
Another Austin celebrity who lives somewhere near me.
I noticed the high end Volvo station wagon with RDYPLYR1 plates walking out and it didn’t register at first until I looked back at the driver.
What? You expected a Delorean?
Precisely. Cacafornia has 3 or 4 more reps than they deserve, because of illegal aliens, and the Democrats demanded it. And even with that, CA lost a couple of reps because of all the people leaving the state.