Cool and not so wet this morning. It rained buckets yesterday, but then the front moved in and dried everything up. Stayed just under 70F all day too. Really nice to drive around with the windows down. It was crazy gusty though. Lots of debris falling from trees, including in my yard.
I did mostly domestic bliss in the morning, since it was raining cats and dogs for part of the day. I cut my hair, did some computer work, and knocked off a few little things that had piled up until I had time to do them. I actually got stuff done. Not big stuff, but stuff. I made the appointment to pickup my rental trailer for the Hamfest too.
After that I got out of the house and did a very uneconomical pickup. Wasn’t much stuff. Wasn’t high value. Was far away. I couldn’t combine trips, and it’s an auctioneer I like so I didn’t want to blow it off or leave it for another week. Had a good chat with him, so that part was nice. And the weather was actually good for the drive. Except the wind. That sucked balls. I watched it blow a garbage truck out of his lane on the freeway. Good thing traffic was weirdly light.
Did my Tues/Thur kid taxi stuff with the extra bonus of dropping the wife’s car at the shop. “weird” crunching noises coming from the front end… I think that sounds expensive. D1 may not be getting mom’s old ride when mom upgrades. Chinese takeout for dinner.
I forgot to mention that the day before I tried a beef “shoulder roast” in the oven. I’m not sure what it’s normally cut as or sold as. It’s clearly a cheaper cut, with fairly coarse grain running all different ways, but like the sirloin, it was plenty tasty. If you pay attention slicing it, it’s not even chewy or hard to cut. It was on sale so I thought I’d give it a try. The stores are really trying to make sure people can get something close to the before times, for what money they have available. Sometimes that is a cut that isn’t normally sold that way, or sometimes it’s slicing a steak in half so you get two servings that look like a whole steak… sometimes it’s selling 70/30 hamburger instead of leaner blends (a false economy since you drain the fat away.)
My wife pointed out that I’m way behind on planting a garden. IDK about that, but I do have volunteer collards off my 3 year old plants. I cut everything back severely in the Fall, and now I have two or three healthy looking plants. I may just do a “scatter and rake” seeding and see what happens in the raised beds. Should be ok for herbs anyway.
Too much to do, to little drive to get it all done. Small victories are still victories.
Stack. Improve. Work.
nick
The local ISDs have been sneaking sizeable property tax increases into the “reform” effort of the last few years, but most people have been oblivious due to the temporary rate compression and homestead exemptions games played by the Legislature using the surplus revenue.
Sooner or later, reality will catch up.
Texas never says no to a football stadium while Chinese and Colonist parents push the PACs.
I thought I’d seen it all in the capital spending boondoggles, but part of the study for a new stadium at Round Rock High included a parking garage.
The sports package did not pass in the last $1 Billion capital spending bond vote in Round Rock, but everything else did.
HEB also operates stores on the other side of the border so stock gets brought in from points south.
During the toilet paper “shortage”, HEB seemed to have plenty of their Hecho en Mexico brand.
Something I have never understood. If sports are so popular, then a private company can pay for the stadium and collect ticket sales to pay for it.
Honestly, it’s the same for big concert halls and theaters. Let the people who want to attend pay the ticket prices necessary to build and maintain those facilities. If there isn’t enough interest, then there just isn’t. There are plenty of smaller concerts and theaters that do just fine without public funding.
52F and windy this morning but it is clear and sunny. I’ll be able to work outside.
Since W’s car is at the garage, I had to run the kid to school, and W is working from home. Disrupts my normal routine… which I like less as time goes by.
I made my career bringing order to chaos, and making changes on the fly. I want more stability and predictability now. Don’t always get it, but I try.
n
On eggs:
My local HEB is fully stocked. Even with plenty of the pasture raised chicken eggs I prefer. I had breakfast at a Jim’s restaraunt before arriving in Vegas Saturday (here for a gig). Jim’s was charging a fifty cent surcharge on each egg. I don’t know why since there are plenty of eggs, but I paid it.
In Vegas, my local Smith’s had lots of eggs, but limited customers to two cartons of any size. I don’t know why unless they thing there will be a rush on eggs. No surcharge, but everything costs more in Vegas. No pasture raised eggs in the cooler, though.
Because they CAN. Restaurants operate with TINY profit margins, so when a common ingredient is suddenly more expensive, it makes sense for the restaurant to raise prices, rather than go out of business.
Gardening: It looks like this may be a really optimal Spring. Last year, it got warm too early, everything budded out, and then frost killed off a lot of stuff. This year, it’s pleasantly warm during the day, but still freezing overnight. So the plants are being cautious. Everything is still brown, buds are ready, and just the crocuses and snowdrops poking out. When the overnight freezes stop → wheee, it’s all going to explode.
Of course, there have been the usual articles about “warmest winter”. Which is nonsense. It was colder than last winter, colder than the winter before, and likely colder than several years before that. I really wonder that the meteorologists are willing to be so dishonest – it just discredits the profession.
It seems that Brother printers are turning to the dark side. Maybe have been for a while. Dang.
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/03/04/2151220/brother-accused-of-locking-down-third-party-printer-ink-cartridges-via-forced-firmware-updates
I recall that years ago I had an update remove the duplex feature from a low end printer, but I just put it down to Brother not wanting to support a 10-year-old model.
Did my Tues/Thur kid taxi stuff with the extra bonus of dropping the wife’s car at the shop. “weird” crunching noises coming from the front end… I think that sounds expensive. D1 may not be getting mom’s old ride when mom upgrades.
CV Joint. $1,000 to $2,000. Getting it fixed now is wise, it will strand you on the side of the road. Been there, done that.
The LRO has imaged the Blue Ghost lander on the moon:
https://www.lroc.asu.edu/images/
Amazing.
There’s a joke in there somewhere about men our age supporting a 20 year old model….
n
Of course, there have been the usual articles about “warmest winter”. Which is nonsense. It was colder than last winter, colder than the winter before, and likely colder than several years before that. I really wonder that the meteorologists are willing to be so dishonest – it just discredits the profession.
I would not even call the so-called climate scientists a profession. They are all living the fat life on government grants.
Sadly, many of the meteorologists have bought the global warming lies, hook, line, and sinker. They all fervently believe that a reduction of 90% to 98% of the human race would be beneficial to Gaia and Baal.
The Earth’s warming and cooling is mostly controlled by Sol, our friend at the center of our Solar System. Pray that he does not calm down for a century or a hundred millennias. He is overdue for a long quiet period that will cause extreme glaciation on Earth.
Remember, an ice age is defined when one or both of the poles on Earth are frozen. As we all know, both poles are currently frozen, a somewhat rare event that has occurred for less than 11% of Earth’s history.
Departure for Texas tomorrow. Probably about 7:30 AM EST so I can miss rush hour in Nashville and Memphis. Time change of an hour moving west, then a time change on Sunday. My biological clock will be borked for a few days. The time line is only about 20 miles west of us as the crow flies.
The start of a busy summer. Texas trip, Alaska cruise from Vancouver, Las Vegas Trip, kayaking in a cave for the 50th anniversary, then the Germany trip to round out the summer. Need to do that stuff now before I get too old to enjoy it. I saw that happen with my relatives and will not let it happen to me.
We have been to Las Vegas a couple of times. One of our former exchange students is going to Las Vegas and we will meet her there. But in July, and it will be hot, hot, hot.
The Germany trip is interesting. Our first exchange student from Germany wants to have us babysit for two weeks. The purpose is to immerse her kids in English, real world stuff. One is 5, the other 9, and both have started English classes in school. Being young they will learn quick. However, their German English teacher may not like the y’all, you’ns, winder (think window), and other little nuances that I and my wife have picked up in the south.
If your wife hits curbs, the front struts are a possibility. Are they “wet”?
>>My wife got her first direct deposit from Social Security today. It covers back to last November as they let her start it back then when she turned 66 and 8 months, her Full Retirement Age. It was quite a bit of money.
@lynn, IIRC you should have the option to report the portion of the payment that covered November and December of 2024 as part of your 2024 filing (or submit an amended return for 2024 if you’ve already filed for 2024).
Thanks. I will just say no for now. The wife and I have a lot of investments and our federal tax return is already fairly complicated. The 2023 tax return was over 40 pages and I filed it last October IIRC. The wife sold her father’s town home last year and we have a big capital gain on that since he passed in September 2020.
Thanks goodness we do not have income taxes in Texas. That is all I need, one more tax return to fill out.
IRMAA sucks ! My father has been complaining about IRMAA for years and now I understand why.
https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0601101020
If we sell the office complex this year or next year then we will have a huge seven figure capital gain and get max IRMAA’d for a couple of years.
Told my wife that the new Secretary of the DoEd is going to wind it down. Her reaction was “what about all the Title 1 money? States are going to be desperate without that.”
I said that we’ve been writing checks on an empty account for years and it will probably stop…
That’s kinda the point, as well as the Constitutional issues, and the “outcomes have gotten worse” issue.
Texas is in the process of outsourcing the public schools. I hope that the Texas Legislature follows on Governor’s plan to create school vouchers for every student in Texas eventually.
There are multitudinous problems with outsourcing the public schools but we need to do it as the mediocrity of our inner city schools is spreading to the rural schools.
““America Is Back”: 12 Takeaways From Trump 47’s First Major Policy Speech to Congress”
https://thelibertydaily.com/america-is-back-12-takeaways-trump-47s-first/
“1. Tax Cuts Promised for All Americans
2. Border Closed, Deportations Underway
3. Trump Touts ‘Common Sense Revolution’
4. Tariffs Explained, ‘A Little Disturbance’
5. DOGE Findings Highlighted
6. Promises Balanced Budget
7. Victims Spotlighted
8. Direct Appeal to Greenlanders
9. Letter From Zelenskyy
10. New Shipbuilding Office
11. Arrest of Top Terrorist Responsible for Abbey Gate
12. Democrats Respond”
Al, Al, Al, Al. We all know that you Al Green are an asshole but why did you have to prove it ?
Elissa Slotkin is serious Deep State.
The local ISDs have been sneaking sizeable property tax increases into the “reform” effort of the last few years, but most people have been oblivious due to the temporary rate compression and homestead exemptions games played by the Legislature using the surplus revenue.
Sooner or later, reality will catch up.
Texas never says no to a football stadium while Chinese and Colonist parents push the PACs.
I thought I’d seen it all in the capital spending boondoggles, but part of the study for a new stadium at Round Rock High included a parking garage.
The sports package did not pass in the last $1 Billion capital spending bond vote in Round Rock, but everything else did.
The Texas State Legislature has a plan for controlling the ISDs but I am not sure that they are brave enough to pass it.
I am really hoping that the new school voucher program decimates the public schools.
you should read the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the PTA stuff we get from the district. They KNOW that choice would decimate the districts. They KNOW the schools suck, or they wouldn’t be fighting so hard.
—————————
Yeah, just what the US needs, importing more of the people who do stuff like this.
They are here. They are embedded. They are not leaving without a fight. The Cartel Wars haven’t even begun.
n
IIRC, Mayor Pete is exploring a run for the other US Senate seat from Michigan.
Deep State Redux.
So much in here…
“the packaged discs that were a mainstay of entertainment centers for years.”
– seriously? The interns are insane.
“ and especially the fact that no one can take them away from me.’ ”
– or change them to match political or social ideals
n
Nick, although you have already decided to take your car to a pro, this is also intended for others here who might want to tackle their own car.
The crunching noises are likely CV joints if it occurs at low speed, smooth road, steering turned close to lock. Reach under and squeeze the outer joint boots to find cuts or cracks; also look for grease leaks. See below. If the noise only occurs on bumps with the steering straight ahead, then it is possibly struts or something else related to suspension travel. I don’t know your specific car.
If the noise occurs at full steering lock, it could be as simple as a steering stop needing a dab of grease, but most of us aren’t that lucky. I did have a car that needed that dab about every two years.
Noise with suspension travel could be a rubber bushing that needs a spritz of vegetable oil (really, it is better than silicone!) Rubber doesn’t just squeak, and can make crunching noises. A trustworthy shop is a good idea, because many will upsell.
Some cars have metal control arm bearings that are lifetime lubed from the factory, and you have just reached that lifetime. Grease fittings can be fitted inexpensively.
CV joints are fixed by replacing both axles with new ones. This should be about an hour of labor on most cars, and alignment will usually NOT be needed. If you go to a pro, get new axles. Don’t trust rebuilt axles on a car you intend to keep. Many rebuilt axles are defective immediately, with vibration the most common symptom, or will show signs of wear in a year or less. Not worth the trouble. Some axles can be rebuilt, but the labor will exceed the cost of new ones. The only problem with new axles is that parts are now notoriously poor these days. If your shop is any good, they will have trusted sources. Scary: some “OEM” auto maker branded parts from the dealer might be knockoffs not worth your time. Beware. I like good independent shops.
Like axles, struts are usually replaced rather than rebuilt. See axles above. The rub here is that buying a new strut and reusing your old spring is quick and easy for a shop, but seldom done. This makes the job more expensive. Changing struts might require realignment, or not. Most struts have gas pressurized shocks. The gas wants to be free, and there is often some harmless dampness. Don’t replace these unless you are doing other work and the struts have to come out anyway. Larger amounts of oil require strut (or shock absorber if independent – this is rare) replacement.
I have done axles and struts myself, and the only difficult part is dealing with some larger fasteners and high torques. A ¾” socket set is essential. Axle nuts can be torqued as high as ~250 ft-lb. A big impact wrench is only a convenience, but an air hammer can make ball joint removal surprisingly easier than using a hammer.
A service manual is a good idea; Haynes is usually good enough. An alternative is a brief subscription to one of the online manual sites. Manufacturers of some newer cars are no longer making service manuals available to the general public.
There you have it. Some cars are easy, some harder. How to find out? Ask a friend, or spend way too much time watching YT videos. Learning how to do it yourself, being careful, taking your time, will give you good results, save time over a shop, and you will have done it right. OTOH, if you are careless, stupid, unskilled, impatient, or generally ham handed, go to a good shop before you learn why they charge high prices that are worth every penny.
Just a quick add to what JimB posted:
If you are changing your own struts, make sure you understand the power of the compressed spring. When I use one of those big jaw clamps to compress the spring, I put another set of clamps on the back side and then a ratcheting tie-down for another level of safety.
On my Highlander, when I had clicking noises when turning, it was actually the steering column that needed replacing. A $400 repair.
The force be with you young Jedi. Messing with something with a lot of stored energy, that wants to be free, and take appendages with the release, is not something that I am willing to mess with. Sometimes the cost of tools, for a one-time job, is not worth it.
For
politicalpractical reasons, I let my wife maintain her car any way she wants. She has a guy she likes.Of course the engine light came on after she took it to 5 minute oil change, and the code is emission system… the crunching noises are “while you are looking under there for the first issue, maybe you could look at this too?”
It’s a 12yo honda oddysey (sp?) with a lot of minor abuse. Did I mention she’s not a careful driver? I hate the car but she loves it. Windshield is wavy and makes me motion sick when I ride in the front seat. Road and engine noise is crazy loud. Ride is rough. Handling is poor with a lot of torque steer. Many minor fit and finish, as well as durability issues. All the rubber around the windows rotted. The skylight leaked again and again. The paint is pealing off the roof. A bumper sticker pulled the paint off the bumper. The sliding doors sometimes work, sometimes don’t. The lock system works as designed but it makes no sense how or when it activates.
The leather seats are getting weirdly thin.
The audio system vs climate control layout is bizarre.
Yeah, I hate that vehicle.
n
On the plus side, the interior is huge. Hundreds of boxes of GS cookies will fit. The deck is mostly flat, once the seats are out. The dual sliding doors are very handy. The hugeness doesn’t apply to driving or front passenger positions though.
They are here. They are embedded. They are not leaving without a fight. The Cartel Wars haven’t even begun.
I suspect that Posse Comitatus will be suspended soon. Trump is moving both US Army and Marines to the USA border, he does not need Posse Comitatus suspended for that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act
“the packaged discs that were a mainstay of entertainment centers for years.”
– seriously? The interns are insane.
“ and especially the fact that no one can take them away from me.’ ”
– or change them to match political or social ideals
HAN SHOT GREEDO FIRST !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_shot_first
Like axles, struts are usually replaced rather than rebuilt. See axles above. The rub here is that buying a new strut and reusing your old spring is quick and easy for a shop, but seldom done. This makes the job more expensive. Changing struts might require realignment, or not. Most struts have gas pressurized shocks. The gas wants to be free, and there is often some harmless dampness. Don’t replace these unless you are doing other work and the struts have to come out anyway. Larger amounts of oil require strut (or shock absorber if independent – this is rare) replacement.
I have done axles and struts myself, and the only difficult part is dealing with some larger fasteners and high torques. A ¾” socket set is essential. Axle nuts can be torqued as high as ~250 ft-lb. A big impact wrench is only a convenience, but an air hammer can make ball joint removal surprisingly easier than using a hammer.
Good advice ! Replace with new axles is definitely the SAFE way to go.
The axle nuts on my 1982 VW Rabbit Diesel were 1 and 5/8 inches and required 320 ft-lbs IIRC. The new axles cost $400 each in 1983 IIRC after I hit the junk on I-20 and bent my frame. I used my 2 foot torque wrench with the bar and a six foot cheater handle from my hydraulic lift to untighten / tighten my axle nuts.
The skylight leaked again and again.
There are two kinds of skylight people. Those whose skylights have leaked and those whose skylights are going to leak. This applies to both vehicles and houses.
It’s a 12yo honda oddysey (sp?) with a lot of minor abuse. Did I mention she’s not a careful driver? I hate the car but she loves it. Windshield is wavy and makes me motion sick when I ride in the front seat. Road and engine noise is crazy loud. Ride is rough. Handling is poor with a lot of torque steer. Many minor fit and finish, as well as durability issues. All the rubber around the windows rotted. The skylight leaked again and again. The paint is pealing off the roof. A bumper sticker pulled the paint off the bumper. The sliding doors sometimes work, sometimes don’t. The lock system works as designed but it makes no sense how or when it activates.
The leather seats are getting weirdly thin.
The audio system vs climate control layout is bizarre.
Yeah, I hate that vehicle.
This is a great kid car. The only better vehicle would be a ½ ton truck.
I would spend up to $10,000 fixing it for the kid to drive. You do not want her on the side of the freeway in Houston. I would understand that the tranny and the engine might have to be replaced soon.
Mass is awesome for your first wreck. Don’t put your kid into a Yugo. Do not put your kid into a newish vehicle.
I have a friend who drives an Odysey. I rode in it last month, and he complained about the weird climate and audio system. He can’t figure out how to use it and make it work like he wants.
He’s an MIT EE grad and instructor at FIT.
I think bizarre is a good description.
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – New War Hawks”
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-new-war-hawks/
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – We thought the old Hippies of the ’60s hated war and were pro-peace. I guess that only applied when we were fighting communists. They are now fighting against Trump’s peace initiatives for Ukraine.”
“Give War A Chance !”
Pearls Before Swine: Super Volcanoes
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2025/03/05
We are all going to die !
Hollywood hasn’t figured out how to replace the revenue stream from DVD.
The Odyssey had a lot of transmission problems during the 00s. Honda swept them under the rug by simply eating the replacement costs for original owners with a history of other Honda vehicles.
My weed head partner at AT&T bought an Odyssey from a “Buy here. Pay here.” lot in Tampa, and the transmission started acting up within a few months. Honda went as far as offering him a free transmission but not the installation labor.
Needles to say, my co-worker was not pleased.
“Whatever happened to Honda taking care of the loyal customer?”
“You bought the vehicle from a ‘Buy here. Pay here.” lot. You hardly qualify.”
There is usually one stoner dude in any given city who can properly replace the seals on a skylight. Every dealer has his number.
The Federal agents in “ET” had guns in their hands, not walkie talkies.
My weed head partner at AT&T bought an Odyssey from a “Buy here. Pay here.” lot in Tampa
What is a “Buy here. Pay here. lot” ?
Hollywood hasn’t figured out how to replace the revenue stream from DVD.
Every movie eventually ends up at Netflix for a six month run. I doubt that Netflix is paying very much for five+ year old movies.
“There’s method in President Trump’s diplomatic “madness””
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/theres-method-in-president-trumps.html
“Remember a week or two back, when President Trump said the US will take over the Gaza Strip and redevelop it?”
“Looks like the Arab states in the region really don’t like that idea.”
The Art Of The Deal.
Yeah, peace. Trump tho.
Last night, I heard Senator Slotkin drop a “Here’s the thing…” into her Dem response to the President’s speech.
I had a 1970 VW Beetle, and the rear CV joint boots cracked and started leaking. Before dirt (not much water here) got inside, I removed the axles and replaced the boots. The axles are designed for easy boot replacement. The parts were cheap in 1988, and still are. Cleaning all the parts was definitely the filthiest car job I have ever done, because it was before good gloves were readily available.
The axle nuts were high torque, but not as high as yours. A common trick was to use a suitable breaker bar and roll the car with the bar dragging on the ground. Carefully bounce the car to tighten the nut. The nuts would tolerate under torque, and were held by cotter pins. Just watch for extreme looseness. Friends with dune buggies would just use a 2’ breaker bar manually to snug the nuts. Slight under torque never seemed to be a problem.
I love Beetles, and wouldn’t take a bet on whether I would own another if a good one adopted me. They have charm no other car has – a modern Model T. That was my fourth one.
“The Real Problem”
https://areaocho.com/the-real-problem/
“Why does the EU/UK need the US to be involved in the Ukraine affair? All you have to do is look at the numbers.
We need to walk away from NATO. Today.
“How do you audit expenditure you can’t find?”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/03/how-do-you-audit-expenditure-you-cant.html
“Perhaps the most difficult aspect of D.O.G.E.’s task in auditing federal government expenditure is that much of the latter is hidden from sight, and has to be dug out of the darker corners of our governing bureaucracy. Real Clear Investigations reports:”
We need “The Accountant”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Accountant_(2016_film)
Hollywood hasn’t figured out how to replace the revenue stream from DVD.
I’ll bet that we have 200 DVDs and Bluerays of our favorite movies.
And, we have 40 or 50 VHS tapes of movies. Including the original “Star Wars” showing Han shooting Greedo first.
@lynn, if you look, you’ll see “buy here, pay here” lots all over Houston. They have cheap cars, expensive financing, and will repo your azz in a heartbeat. You will probably be making payments in cash, every week. They are the last chance financing for illegals, people off the grid, and deadbeats with toxic credit. The lots are the ones buying the crap cars at the auction where the dealers dump all the bad trade ins. Another sign you might see is “Cash Cars”. Those are typically under $10K, WAY under… might be good runners, but probably are nothing but trouble.
———
in the quote above, I mainly am objecting to the intern writers’ language choices. It’s heartening to see people coming around to my point of view. You don’t own it unless it’s in your hand.
———
Spent some time on the roof today working on one of my cams that has been out for a while. Turns out it’s not dead, only the PoE is dead. I’ll use it somewhere I can easily pull a 12v line. I almost got the replacement installed, but the cheap masonry anchors included with the mount pulled right out. Then W needed a ride to pick up her ride, and now I’ve lost the light.
———
I lost 4 hours this morning when I fell asleep in the chair. Bread with breakfast and only 3 hours of sleep last night took me down HARD. It’s a beautiful day too.
n
I’ve ripped slightly more than a terabyte of DVDs so far, that is approximately 1700 titles. I haven’t done any blurays yet as they need about 10x the space and a bluray drive…
I’ve ripped about 2250 albums, for 23,777 files and almost 200GB.
I’ve got more of each to rip.
That doesn’t include any of my wife’s music as it’s locked in appleplay.
n
Speaking of, noticed this today when looking thru my wish list books…
“By placing your order, you’re purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use. ”
Not even pretending you are buying a book now.
n
I love Beetles, and wouldn’t take a bet on whether I would own another if a good one adopted me. They have charm no other car has – a modern Model T. That was my fourth one.
My parents had a 1962 ??? Beetle and a 1963 ??? VW Van. My dad bought both on the docks in NJ for cash when we lived there. Mom still misses the Beetle. Dad built an air conditioner for the Van when we moved to Oklahoma in 1964. He melted the engine when we were crossing Arizona in 1965 in the summer because the a/c compressor blocked cooling air flow on #3 ??? cylinder.
Not even pretending you are buying a book now.
You will own nothing and you will be happy.
“locked in appleplay.”
The argument for having physical media.
“I’ve ripped about 2250 albums, for 23,777 files and almost 200GB”
I have one CD collection that was freed of jewel cases and put in envelopes with the booklet. They are on a 7′ tall by 24″ wide shelf in Snap’n’Store cases (about 5x5x13). They state capacity as “30 CDs in full jewel cases, 60 CDs in slim cases, and 165 discs in CD sleeves”. With the booklets in the sleeves it’s about 110–120 per case, so approximately 3500 CD’s total. Takes up a lot more space than a 1TB drive.
That’s the argument against physical media.
OTOH, time and space are both relative. If you have 3000 ft2 in the house, 0.1% to CD’s isn’t that much.
Do not ask me about books.
“Kindle Store Terms of Use”
No thanks.
The First Sale Doctrine was decided as part of U.S. copyright law in 1908 and became part of the 1909 Copyright Act:
“Once the work is lawfully sold or even transferred gratuitously, the copyright owner’s interest in the material object in which the copyrighted work is embodied is exhausted.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
The Kindle “license” is a transparent attempt to define the sale as something else and prevent application of the FSD. Hard pass.
Publishers are soaking public libraries with their outrageous terms for ebooks, and Amazon is doing their best to collude and keep ebook prices exorbitant while at the same time claim it’s not a sale. I hope to live long enough to see Amazon replace Sears as the cautionary tale of American retail.
Reading another article on the Hockey Stick Farce:
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/03/05/climate-v-corruption-dc-judge-mann-handles-punitive-award-in-steyn-trial-n3800448
led me, again, to conclude that juries and courts in the District of Columbia should be limited by statute to dealing only with what happens in the District, and further limited to non-federal locations.
And this case is a poster child to present to CJ Roberts with the instruction: This is not swift justice, this is a travesty of justice. Figure out a way to fix it or, alternatively, figure out a way to fund yourselves, because people are tired of this shiite.
Sears will have to be rebuilt in some form.
We can live without Amazon.
“There is truth in the observation that tariffs and immigration hurt agriculture but FFS there is absolutely no one in the state of Nebraska who has this accent, so I suggest consulting a professional dialog coach before filming your next Tik Tok”
–David Burge (IowaHawk)
https://x.com/iowahawkblog/status/1897289774542844390
OTOH, time and space are both relative. If you have 3000 ft2 in the house, 0.1% to CD’s isn’t that much.
Do not ask me about books.
I have five 36 inch wide by 72 inch tall bookshelves in our 16 foot by 25 foot bedroom now. The wife is stunned.
I think that I can get two more bookshelves in our bedroom. I might have to negotiate though.
SE Nebraska touches Missouri, but that’s about as close to “The South” as the state gets.
OTOH, Missouri allowed marriage with parental consent at 15 until recently so the Manson-Nixon line swung north across that state before 2018.
If you have that many bookshelves full of BOOKS, then it isn’t a “bedroom”; it’s a LIBRARY. Better yet, decide on a largeish room, designate THAT as the library, and move all the shelves, and books, THERE. Put in a couple of comfortable chairs and some decent lighting, and there you go!
If you have that many bookshelves full of BOOKS, then it isn’t a “bedroom”; it’s a LIBRARY. Better yet, decide on a largeish room, designate THAT as the library, and move all the shelves, and books, THERE. Put in a couple of comfortable chairs and some decent lighting, and there you go!
There are no free rooms. For politics sake I gave bedrooms 2, 3, and 4 to the daughter.
http://winsim.com/perry_homes_floor_plan_3301.pdf
– I was sure it wasn’t former mayor of Houston Turner that died when I saw the headline. I actually liked the guy and his take on disasters and preparedness. Turned out to be dirty with some self dealing scandal involving his law firm, just like all of them.
Still, he did an ok job as mayor.
n
@Lynn
“I have five 36 inch wide by 72 inch tall bookshelves in our 16 foot by 25 foot bedroom now. The wife is stunned.”
What are walls for if not bookshelves?
IIRC, your ceilings are 9′? Add some custom shorty bookshelves to the tops and you have the equivalent of 7-1/2 bookshelves.
IIRC, your ceilings are 9′?
10 feet. Changing two of the four a/c filters is a real pain with my seven foot ladder. The other two filters are at the floor level.
Add some custom shorty bookshelves to the tops and you have the equivalent of 7-1/2 bookshelves.
Woof ! And if the bookshelf takes a dive, I will get crushed. Or my wife gets crushed.
It’s all just engineering at this point…
n
“They Fought The Carbon And The … Carbon Won”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/05/they-fought-the-carbon-and-the-carbon-won/
“Short post. A graph that some people will prefer you ignore.”
So the amount of fossil fuel usage in the entire world increased from 80% in 1965 to 85% in 2023 of the total energy usage on Earth.
>>We need “The Accountant”.
Nah, Tony has “Big Balls” on it…and the kid wouldn’t want to not make his xxxxx happy.
Nite…
Re the bastards at Amazon, I’m no longer buying books from them, their removal of the option to download and sideload via usb has made them useless. I have a couple of older kindles that still work fine, but, won’t read new books unless I convert them to mobi format.