Still winter here in Houston. 40F most of the day? Probably. Still wet too. It would be nice to see the sun today… but I’m not holding my breath. Sunday was grey, damp, and cold all day.
So we mostly stayed in. Even though I was up and moving early, other than auction stuff, not much got done. Long chat with my wife about the kids and school, but nothing much else. They all watched Walking Dead, while D1 made cookies, and I sat in my office. I’ll regret the lack of progress on the list, but Dang was I unmotivated.
Today I’ve got some auctions to pickup, and normal kid stuff. There are a few things I can do along the way around the house too. Some of it takes very little effort, but I still have trouble actually knocking some of them off the list.
I fell too far behind on some stuff and the effort to catch up is daunting.
Still gotta at least try to plan to try…
Always be working.
n
Coffee on the way.
The whole household stirring.
Another day begins.
n
Or would
Another day begins.
The whole household stirring.
Coffee on the way.
be better?
n
47F and foggy. Quiet and grey.
n
The office where I work is in a building just outside the main gate of Redstone Arsenal. I’m usually pulling into work around 0625. At that time, there is traffic, but nothing crazy. From 0700 on it begins to back up at the gate for a quarter mile. At 0800, the line is usually a mile long.
Since the return to work announcement, traffic at even 0620 is bad. I am really dreading what it will look like in two weeks when everyone has to go back.
Seems that doubling the gate guards and adding lanes would increase productivity.
Actually, that has happened in the last 5 years. The gov also moved the gate back about a quarter mile to create more space for multi-lane queueing .
The real issue is stupid people. It only takes one idiot who doesn’t have their ID ready, unauthorized passenger, or some other issue to put a kink in the normal flow.
Turn them over to the special team and their dogs. Most people who have their crotches sniffed by an Alsatian don’t want to repeat the experience.
Then there is me. Sign me up.
If you have, like Edwards AFB when I commuted, something like 7,500 people forced to enter through a grand total of three lanes, something is guaranteed to happen every morning. It does not require stupidity, though that helps.
The malice and joy of the security forces in harassing the people that made their base run was palpable.
To this day I won’t go back on base, even when invited for meetings and retirements.
“20 States Challenge Climate Change Superfund Act”
https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/environmental-protection/news/55269870/20-states-challenge-climate-change-superfund-act
“Feb. 20—ALBANY — More than 20 states filed a federal lawsuit against New York earlier this month challenging the constitutionality of the new Climate Change Superfund Act, which will establish regulations seeking to collect roughly $75 billion from companies — some controlled by foreign nations — deemed responsible for greenhouse gas emissions due to their refinement and production of fossil fuels.”
“”New York’s law is nothing more than an unconstitutional shakedown of vital American energy industries that form the bedrock of our national economic independence,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “In return for keeping the lights on and fueling our manufacturing, energy producers are being targeted for destruction by the left-wing policies of New York radicals.””
All energy suppliers in New York State need to close their businesses for now. These people are thieves.
Lynn, you already have some good suggestions on charging cables, but here’s another. I have bought them from Dollar Tree with good luck. Note: “Dollar Tree” not any of the others. I have no experience with those others. This includes Micro USB and now USB-C. The micro USB cables would sometimes limit charge current, but the USB-C cables don’t seem to limit current in my experience. Most seem to work as well as the ones that came with my Samsung phones, although they are not as rugged. I don’t use many cables, because my latest phones can do induction charging, which saves wear on the connectors and cables.
Good idea. I need more cables. Several of them have disappeared lately.
Seems simpler just to ignore New York’s law. How would they collect outside of their own state? Let them try…
Any energy business inside the state has a bigger problem, and needs to move ASAP.
– – – – –
German elections went as expected. Good showing by the AFD. The Union party got the most votes, and is also conservative. Unfortunately, they are determined to maintain the “firewall” by allying with two leftist parties. Idiotic, but as expected.
Aside from the incredibly obvious split between old “West Germany” (voting Union) and old “East Germany” (voting AFD), there is also an interesting split among young folk. Young women mostly voted far left, whereas young men mostly voted right.
Young women like their theme park management as is, fighting Trump and the patriarchy.
Lynn, the Dollar Tree USB-C cables I like best are the fabric covered ones that have multi-colored red and yellow threads in the jacket. They are easy to see in a jumble of black cables, and seem particularly durable.
I really like USB-C, with its insert either way design. Best design so far for phones. In my career, I was involved in some connector projects, and have some experience their design. The fact that such small connectors are durable and good at moderate frequencies is surprising.
Aside from the incredibly obvious split between old “West Germany” (voting Union) and old “East Germany” (voting AFD), there is also an interesting split among young folk. Young women mostly voted far left, whereas young men mostly voted right.
Tough times are coming for the western world. The young women believe that they will be rescued no matter what. If they are not allied with a man now, they may get left out in the cold. It will take partnerships and groups to survive the coming tough times. If the people in their group all live off the government, they may be in for big surprises as the governments slough off promises to meet core needs. Or, if they are not in the “right” group.
@lynn:
I carry a fistful of assorted cables in my EDC bag, A-microB, A-C, C-C, even an A-to-Lightning, although that last may now be redundant – since family (all of whom are iThing users) have updated to handsets that are USB-C.
That said, when I make a steam railway excursion, I have been known to provide charging service to fellow passengers who don’t keep their devices charged. And some of those are iThing users with older handsets. I carry at least one USB battery as a fix for my powernoia – on such excursions, more than one. For others, not me.
G.
That said, when I make a steam railway excursion, I have been known to provide charging service to fellow passengers who don’t keep their devices charged. And some of those are iThing users with older handsets. I carry at least one USB battery as a fix for my powernoia – on such excursions, more than one. For others, not me.
Yeah, I just bought a new USB battery with a one foot long type C type A cable from Big River. It is in my backpack in the truck that I just remembered via your posting. I charged it up Saturday.
I am not convinced by USB-C. I view its use on many devices having been made mandatory with great skepticism.
I had an expensive Nokia smartphone rendered useless when its USB-C socket failed. I had not misused or abused it, or even had it very long. Nokia repaired the phone under warranty, but they also erased all the data that was on it and which I could not retrieve wirelessly when the phone ran out of power and couldn’t be charged because of the fault.
The repaired Nokia resides unused in a drawer. I immediately replaced it with a phone that has a USB-C port and can also be charged by induction. I would not buy another phone without both features.
My prediction remains that the Union and the Socialists will enter a grand coalition, which will be perpetually deadlocked, achieve nothing useful, and fail to satisfy the disgruntled electorate. That will lead directly to an AfD absolute majority in the next elections. All the AfD will need to do is appear reasonably statesman-like while leading the opposition for the next few years, and not intervene when the others constantly trip over their own feet, just like the last grand coalition did.
I prefer this matinal haiku. More, please!
Cables… We have a discount retailer over here called Action. They have a line of very reasonably-priced cables and other small electronic accessories which I have found both reliable and durable. I usually grab a few any time I am passing, and stash them around the houses and vehicles, and I hand them out to friends in need. In the same category as having a few spare new toothbrushes in the house.
Micro USB is not dead. It is the connector on my ancient Kindle Paperwhite, which I really like. I am most displeased that Amazon intends to do away with the “download and transfer via USB” facility for Kindle content, as I have never connected that device via Wi-Fi and have no wish ever to do so. It has been in Airplane Mode since I got it. W1 made the mistake of giving hers Wi-Fi access one single time, and it promptly updated itself, with the result that hers is much less usable and user-friendly than mine, which is in the original, ad-free software configuration. Factory resetting hers didn’t get the old firmware back or cure the ads and bloat.
Amazon turned heaven and earth over to make my ancient DX almost useless.
I suspect that a yearly “license connect fee” is coming, for each device, as soon as the C suite at Amazon thinks they can get away with it.
I hope I am wrong….
Oh, do I know that. I have cameras, devices, and new-to-me cars I have never updated. I ask if I can go back to my current version if I don’t like the new one, and get blank looks, so I refuse. The consumer world is unaware of version control.
Note that the devices I am talking about are not capable of connecting to the outside by themselves. I consider that a feature. Soon, however, that will end. Makes me a little interested in living in an isolated cabin in the woods.
Excellent job, Citizen. I will forward this to DOGE.
I binged “Enterprise” in December. I like Bakula so much I binged “NCIS: New Orleans”.
I always carry one of those mult-end cables for charging devices. There is always someone with an old device. I even have a mini USB cable in the kit. Some USB C to whatever adadpters to stick on the end of a cable, and vice versa.
My main cables are all Anker or Apple. Apple T-Bolt cables are pricey, but they have always worked. FAFO.
Apple used to play games with their cables, putting extra resistors in, or serial number chips. Until 3rd parties figured it out, you had to use an apple cable. Even now, there are plenty of people on youtube with dead devices after a poorly made cable or charger fried their IOS device. Sometimes it is better to pay up. And then never buy another of their devices because you don’t like being forced or manipulated….
———-
Sun seems to have poked thru, I might leave the house!
———
Wife took her honda to the “5 Min Oil Change” place, and afterwards, like pretty much every experience with the quick oil change places, her car thru a check engine light.
WTF do those guys do?
n
“If they are not allied with a man now, they may get left out in the cold.”
After they’ve been taken in and used up.
Didn’t refill the oil?
Oil monkey kid hit/damaged a wire to a sensor while tightening the oil pan drain bolt to 1 billion lb/ft?
Related story. I could have had a 67 Camaro RS – yellow exterior and interior. My mom bought it new. Before she met me dad, she took it to a garage for an oil change. The drained it ok, they just didn’t put any back in. It was caught before it exploded, but the damage was done. She drove it a few more years, with dad replacing the camshaft to try and save it. Ultimately, back then, it just wasn’t worth the expense, especially when money was tight.
Stonewall, UK’s Largest Trans Rights Organization, Turned Out to Be a USAID Front
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/02/24/stonewall-uks-largest-trans-rights-organization-turned-out-to-be-a-usaid-front-n3800132
Yeah, that 60 Minutes shot of the warehouse with bags of rice stacked more than head high was so 1960’s.
The Genius of ‘What Would You Say You Do Here?’
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/02/24/the-genius-of-what-do-you-say-you-do-here-n3800118
and this is quoted in the above link, but you gotta read the whole thing:
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/only-fools-think-elon-is-incompetent
Dan Bongino Appointment is Upsetting All the Right People
Every one of the people in that meeting deserves to have the rest of their lives made living hells for being part of a conspiracy to rig the 2016 election. It didn’t work, but it took years for the b.s. to be refuted and hamstringed President Trump exactly as they intended.
Hillary wasn’t at that meeting. I wish her, Steele, and the entire staff of Perkins Coie slow deaths with extreme pain that cannot be tempered by drugs.
Anyone who can’t make shite up about what they do is 2x deadwood. Chop chop.
n
@Denis: agree on all points
That was me today. Happens sometimes… Back to the salt Ines tomorrow.
Despite clearly being a messed up weirdo, with a horrible personal history, at least he avoided the chemical castration.
yeah, get out and about, off the fringe of the internet, and talk to people.
n
Jolene Blalock is another cast member who always delivered even in weak material.
“If they are not allied with a man now, they may get left out in the cold.”
After they’ve been taken in and used up.
– Many of them are already used up. or the past couple of days I’ve been watching videos of entitled women, alternately proclaiming they don’t need a man, and crying because they can’t find a man. All on tickytacky or instan-hoe, aimed at other women. The amount of hypocrisy and entitlement on display is stunning. Literally stunning. Watching a couple of hours of it, in the form of reaction videos, and I’m stunned into a stupor tinged with emotion I can’t even identify.
If you want to see what social media addiction does to women–
Kozmicverse
Taylor The Fiend
SIGMA MALE
Many of these women have triple digit body counts (number of sex partners), are only interested in the 666 of dating, six foot tall, six figure salary, with “six pack” abs. After being “run thru” for years, they hit a wall and think about marriage… and find it’s pretty much impossible. The 666 guys are back with 20 somethings that aren’t “run thru”… for IRL example, Leonardo De Caprio, who famously dumps them at 25 or 26 years of age… and increasingly all the other men have discovered that they can KEEP THEIR MONEY, hang out with their friends, and relieve themselves sexually with online porn [an endless stream of which is produced by another group of women who think it’s the easy path to wealth.]
Young men seem to have figured out that they can simply withdraw from the conflict, angst, and expense of dating and marriage, live their lives, and find peace.
The whole thing is horrifying and symptomatic of a degenerate culture in decline.
n
And this is why I won’t buy a new car for myself.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m4_R22p45sw?feature=share
“all it needs is a ”re-learn” for the windows.”
Toyota car “forgot” how the window switches are supposed to work…
n
Sheesh. Wind-up windows anyone?
I had to look up ”transmaxxing” which means men becoming a tranny for benefits women get, ie, becoming a lying scumbag grifter. Goobermints hand out the bennies with glee.
When looking for a truck in 2019 the only one on the local dealer lots with a roll up window was the Nissan Frontier.
It wasn’t really a candidate because of the known design flaw in the transmission cooling, but other than that it seemed a decent clone of a 90’s era Ford Ranger.
OK, it’s not power windows that are the problem, but the computer and network control. All but one of my older cars have power windows, and they work fine.
My 68 Imperial even has power vent wings. Woo-hoo!
Doesn’t have power ash trays, however.
My 2015 Cadillac had to have the windows reprogrammed after losing power. Simple as opening the driver window, then closing. Repeat for passenger side.
My MIL’s 2013 SRX behaves the same.
The reason is that the windows open slightly when opening/closing the door and the car needs to verify the window position after a loss of power.
Every time I pass the Texas Children’s Hospital campus near my house, I wonder what would have been going on in that building if the Republicans hadn’t needed a distraction from the property tax increases disguised as “reform” in 2023.
Property taxes continue to increase in Texas, but the Legislature is debating another temporary homestead exemption to paper over what’s really going on in the state.
The Frontier is much bigger than a 90s era Ranger, about the size of a half ton like the F150 was back then.
RAM started the trend of the half ton pickups becoming the modern codpiece in the late 90s with the redesign of the 1500
@Nick
“Watching a couple of hours of it, in the form of reaction videos, and I’m stunned into a stupor tinged with emotion I can’t even identify.”
My God, Man!
Where are you being held captive?
We will send help!
Don’t lose heart!
Stockholm Syndrome sets in quickly. Get help, even if you’re sure you don’t need it!
Yeah, I’ve got to stop but it’s like watching a politician being fed into a wood chipper feet first, you know it’s wrong, but it’s a POLITICIAN….
n
Sunny and 81F on a Monday near the end of February, so a good day to do yardwork, despite the days mental checklist being other indoor things. Five things, Mr. Musk?
I toted papers to the lawyer today. The secretary seemed happy and “we’ll contact you”. My printer is wonky, the document handler won’t go all the way down. So I can’t copy a legal size document with it shrunk to letter size paper. She said the copy of the house deed I gave her was fine, all the important stuff is there.
Then to renew license plates. At the courthouse annex. The truck was expired so I went inside instead of using the drive up window. The guard at the entrance was especially bitchy today. The courthouse on the square doesn’t have this nonsense. Plates renewed with no fuss and the truck, van, and trailer are good for another year.
Then HEB. I thought they had small rolls made with the same dough as the pan frances / french bread that are about the the size of 1 and a half brown ‘n’ serve rolls. Nope. They had some sized to make six inch subs. Too big. They did have the HEB flour tortillas in taquito size so it wasn’t a wasted trip.
They were out of the taquito size on my last visit so I bought a package of Mission “street taco” flour tortilla. Lots of chemicals in that stuff and they have a hint of a raw dough flavor. Never again.
Nice weather today. Sunny with a small breeze and 77f for the high. Tomorrow might be the same with a few clouds.
I have the van full of stuff to take to Goodwill. I don’t need two crock pots. Or two toasters. Or two waffle irons. He worked in the Dallas area for a few years and we had accumulated another kitchen’s worth of stuff.
The Fry Grandpappy hasn’t been used since Cory caught a couple of stripers on Lake Texhoma. Of course his Granpa bought the fryer to cook the fish and make some french fries. It’s been sitting in the back bedroom closet for the last 20+ years. Maybe it will find a good home.
Lots of clutter stuff that we don’t use but too good to toss in a trash can.
I’ve been loading the van for about a month. “Do I want to keep this?” If not, to the van. I might change my mind about something. I haven’t yet but I might.
His PC desk and chair are going away. I don’t need them to collect dust. The chair looks nice but it needs more padding for my skinny self. The desk is tempered glass and black metal. The two will need a second van trip to Goodwill. But I had an idea today. I’ll take them over to Clyde’s and put them in his man-cave / garage / shop building. There’s plenty of room and I doubt he will notice the addition. I need to go check his mailbox anyway.
While looking for the deed to the house I cleaned a lot of clutter from the file cabinets. Almost a 14 inch stack. Just to start, I don’t need the manual for the old water softener. Same for deceased window unit air conditioners. Propane BBQ grills. I don’t need all of the receipts for repairs and oil changes for the 83 Cordoba, the 02 Dodge truck, the 93 Dodge truck, the 81 Imperial, the 85 Jeep Cherokee nor the 98 Cherokee. Plus a few more and a couple of boats. All of which have been history for several years.
Time for Buddy’s bedtime potty walk. He’s giving me The Look.
I had eye surgery on Feb 13th, and my truck has been sitting in the driveway since then.
I decided to drive it tomorrow to my follow-up visit with the retina surgeon, since everything ocular seems to be just fine and I can drive myself.
My truck is dead as a doornail. I was going to jump it, but my long jumper cables are in the bed, under the cover, and the tailgate won’t open without power…
So far I’ve tried a jump pack, which sounded an alarm, then a battery charger designed for Lithium Ion batteries, which made me queasy, and now I’ve got a float charger on it, but the charger clearly states “do not use if battery voltage is less than 12 volts.”
FML
You might get enough charge into the battery to open the tailgate…
When you do get them out the cables might need a new home behind the seats.
@lpdbw , did you check for info online? The tesla has a 12v input port under the front bumper to get the doors open if it’s otherwise dead, maybe the truck has something similar?
I”m surprised the jumper pack didn’t have enough umph to at least unlock the tailgate…
n
Jump pack is small and old – 2017. And cheap chinesium.
I’ll let the float charger go a few hours and see what happens.
I have a spare car that we’ve been using during my down time. I’ll take that to the doctor tomorrow. I just didn’t want to strand my GF at home while I’m gone.
Problems are easier to solve during daylight.
Problems are easier to solve during daylight.
– got that right.n
The Frontier is much bigger than a 90s era Ranger, about the size of a half ton like the F150 was back then.
– and despite that, the rear seat was unusable because there was zero legroom. You could open the door and throw a tool box or briefcase in, but only a tween would fit in the seat.
n
Problems are easier to solve during daylight.
Problems are also easier to solve above 40 and below 90.
Ruh, Roh:
Rep. Dan Crenshaw Says He’ll F**king Kill Tucker Carlson If He Ever Meets Him
Congress needs to censure EyePatch McCain immediately. We don’t pay him $170 grand/yr to threaten to kill people he doesn’t like. I was rooting for him when he ran. It turns out he was a RINO from day one. He probably left the military because it wasn’t WOKE enough for him.
Eyepatch McCain for sure.
Can we primary him next time?
Yeah, he was a big disappointment. Turned out to be an “only ones” when it comes to guns.
n
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9SBVZr3lbS0?feature=share
a short giving a bit more info about MS and their “topological” quantum computer.
n
>>Where are you being held captive?
Substitute “drugs” with “YouTube”
This time with the link…
>>Where are you being held captive?
Substitute “drugs” with “YouTube”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Your_Brain_on_Drugs
Youtube shorts and the algorithm are caramel covered crack.
n
Btw, what is “semi-fired?”
“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager,” the email said.”
Okay… so was the omission of “points” a Freudian slip? Or what??
Could just be the latest round of corpspeak.
n
Yeah, he was a big disappointment. Turned out to be an “only ones” when it comes to guns.
Only single shots ?
Only for cops, military, and other special people, the “only ones” that should be allowed to have them.
n
WOW !
What a jerk and a thief.
Oh yeah, if you are going to build a shower, put a freaking door on it. Especially since the side glass is only 2 feet long.
I am a big guy, I get water everywhere. And the breeze from the opening makes me cold in the shower.
@lynn, now that was an image I didn’t need in my head…
n
That’s pretty nuts. I understand what’s going on, but the “learning” should be automatic.
Also, charging $500 to “look” at an issue? At our garage, which is bleeping expensive enough, they will look at anything for free, and just charge any necessary repair costs.
Somewhat related issue: We have skylights with shutters on them. When the shutters are blocked by ice, they stop trying to open/close. Presumably they detect the excessive current drawn by the motor, but whatever – it works.
We also have shutters on our windows. They are not so clever. One shutter somehow got ice in its tracks. When the wife tried to open it, it just kept pulling until it broke the strings that raise the shutter. Not a clever design. A shutter could be blocked for any number of reasons – it shouldn’t destroy itself.
Whether it’s incompetent engineers, or companies wanting to save on sensor costs – doesn’t matter, shouldn’t happen.
We have a walk-in shower, but the side glass is a lot longer than 2 feet. You still get a little splash, but not enough to matter…
Shower heads. I like a classic one that sprays diagonally down, because you can keep your head out of the spray if you want. My wife likes the “rain” showers that have a big head that sprays directly downwards. To keep peace in the family, we installed both.
Brad, W1 and I are the exact opposite. I like the rain shower, and she the handpiece. We also have both. Grohe. Not cheap, but good.
I learned an oddity of the German federal election system yesterday. It is possible to be elected, by name, from a list of candidates, but still not to get a seat in parliament, depending on the proportion of nominal votes to party-list votes. The party affiliation has priority over the lists of named candidates. Weird and not at all intuitive.
“I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.”