Cool and clear, getting warmer later. We’ve been having a stunning run of cooler and nice days. It’s low to mid 80s in the afternoon, which for us is like winter. It’s windows down weather. Shirtsleeves and shorts. No sweat weather. Fantastic. We do need rain, especially in other parts of Texas, but for now, I’m loving it.
Did a couple of pickups yesterday. The main thing though was finally getting my auctioneer to start taking consignments again. I can move stuff out of the house and maybe even a couple of bins out of the storage unit. At this point I almost don’t even care if he pays me… well yes, I do. Since we did the taxes, my business was a bit shy on incoming money, mainly because he still owes me for last year. That doesn’t look great to the IRS, so it would be better to be paid. This year should be better.
So that’s today’s task, get a load dropped off at the auctioneer. I’ve got a pickup too, but I’ll get to that in the early afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll get the load dropped off in the late morning. Then I’ve got to do some grocery shopping. I think buying eggs today is cutting it a bit late, but I didn’t stop in yesterday. With shortages and Easter this weekend, and eldest child on a high protein diet kick, I need to increase my stock on hand. Funny how what we eat changes over time.
Gotta keep watch on the stacks, and compare against current and changing needs. I’ve got far too much peanut butter, syrup, and ketchup. Not enough eggs…
Check that your stacks still meet your needs, and then adjust.
But do stack…
nick
Wow. Overnight and today about a meter of snow. I wasn’t home, unfortunately, so trying to get there. All forms of transport are a mess, needless to say.
The big snowplow that was supposed to clear the main road to our town got stuck, because the genius figured he didn’t need snow chains. So the little plow from our town is digging him out, instead of clearing the local roads.
Our dog loves snow, but he’s only about 40cm at the shoulder, and no one bought him a tunneling attachment, so walks are going to be short for a while. Only so many kangeroo hops in those legs.
@brad, that’s crazy! My little guy does not like having his junk drag in wet grass, and definitely not in snow. Half dachshund, half chihuahua, he’s low to the ground….
———–
Ungrateful wretches have been awakened from their beauty sleep…
Lunch is packed. Coffee is still brewing.
and I’m here.
n
66F this morning.
And we missed the bus because I was reading news articles.
W can drop D2 at school, but I hate breaks in routine, especially when they’re mostly my fault.
n
Neither do I. I was never told that to make snow angels one must be clothed and lay on the back. I think I was played.
Thanks Lynn didnt thought about N2 at air, but I was surprised about fertilizer
nice repository of knowledge
BTW Better that Karlosson and a good twitter?
You are welcome.
Lots of things are good fertilizers. Just about anything that puts energy in the soil. The energy of decay, the energy of sugar, nitrogen, etc.
I do not know who Karlosson is.
“22,000 IRS employees accept Trump admin buyout offer: report”
https://thepostmillennial.com/22000-irs-employees-accept-trump-admin-buyout-offer-report
“Across the civilian federal workforce of around 2.3 million employees, around 200,000 workers have left through buyout offers, layoffs, and resignations.”
“The IRS started with around 100,000 employees when Trump took office, with 7,000 probationary employees being fired earlier this year and another 5,000 employees leaving in the past three months. Under Joe Biden’s administration, the IRS was increased by around 20,000 workers.”
Is anyone going to be left at the IRS ?
Does anyone care ?
My friend who is a field agent for the IRS for 20+ years says that they have ripped his soul out. His supervisor refuses to talk with him and watches tv all day in his office with the door closed. He is still working at home half of the time due to covid and hates it.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“’Free Melo’: Karmelo Anthony’s friends, family sell merch in support of Austin Metcalf’s admitted killer”
https://thepostmillennial.com/free-melo-karmelo-anthonys-friends-family-sell-merch-in-support-of-austin-metcalfs-admitted-killer
“The website selling the shirts describes Anthony as “just a small town kid, raised in a loving two parent household.””
This is getting crazier by the day. This was not self defense from what I read.
“Authorities Hunt Down Family Who Refused to Vaxx Their Infant, Now They’re Being Accused of “Kidnapping” Their Own Kids”
https://thelibertydaily.com/authorities-hunt-down-family-who-refused-vaxx-their/
Do not live in a blue state. They want to control you and your kids.
“Eyes of the Void (The Final Architecture, 2)” by Adrian Tchaikovsky
https://www.amazon.com/Eyes-Void-Final-Architecture-2/dp/0316705918?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number two of a three book space opera science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Orbit in 2022 that I bought new on Amazon. I have NOT ordered the third book in the series as I almost DNF’d (Did Not Finish) this book several times. I may change my mind about the third book but, who knows?
Earth was the first human planet attacked and destroyed by the Architects, a moon sized race of beings that travel through unspace. Billions of humans and aliens died on Earth, unable to get on one of the thousands of overcrowded space ships evacuating from Earth. Earth was turned into a spiral object with the core ejected, typical of the Architect’s massive gravitational forces. Earth was warned by a survivor of another race destroyed by the Architects but the humans did not believe it until too late.
The universe of the story is incredibly rich. There are many alien races and many planets, many colonies of all races. The human race has splintered into several groups that are at total odds with each other. An alien race found the humans a hundred years before and kindly shared their unspace technology with them. Space Ships can navigate on known paths through unspace but going off the known paths requires an Intermediary Navigator (an Int), a rare human who has been surgically and chemically modified to be like the first human Int, St. Xavienne. Some of the best of the Ints like St. Xavienne can barely talk to the Architects.
The book was not as good as the first book. Maybe it was too wordy, not enough editing. Maybe there were too many protagonists. Maybe the author tried to make the Architects too sympathetic. I have a bookcase full of books that I have DNF’d, I do not want to add more so I stuck it out.
The author has a website at:
https://adriantchaikovsky.com/
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (8,697 reviews)
Lynn
“Reaction to US judge ruling that Google holds illegal monopolies in ad tech”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/reaction-us-judge-ruling-google-180709814.html
“SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Alphabet’s Google illegally dominates two markets for online advertising technology, a judge ruled on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech giant and paving the way for U.S. antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its advertising products.”
“The decision clears the way for a hearing at another trial to determine what Google must do to restore competition, such as sell off parts of its business. That trial has yet to be scheduled.”
“”In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.””
We’ve all known this for a long time. I have no idea how to fix it.
Wireless data is garbage where I work until around three in the afternoon. A lot of people are slyly running video streaming on their phones.
“Former FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Spying for Iran for Years”
https://thelibertydaily.com/former-faa-contractor-contractor-pleads-guilty-spying-iran/
“(Substack)—A naturalized U.S. citizen from Great Falls, Virginia, Abouzar Rahmati, 42, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to acting as an agent of the Iranian government while working as an FAA contractor from 2017 to 2024.”
“Rahmati, a former 1st Lieutenant in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2009 to 2010, conspired with Iranian intelligence and government officials, providing them with sensitive U.S. aviation and solar energy information.”
“Between December 2017 and June 2024, Rahmati met with Iranian intelligence operatives in Iran, used a cover story to conceal his actions, and secured a job with an FAA contractor, gaining access to non-public U.S. aviation data. He offered his services to Iran in August 2017 through a former colleague tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.”
Why was this guy working in a sensitive industry in the USA ? Do we not check anyone out anymore ?
“Valero books $1.1-B impairment, may idle California refinery”
https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2025/04/valero-books-11-b-impairment-may-idle-california-refinery/
“Valero Energy Corp. said on Wednesday it was taking a $1.1-B pre-tax impairment related to its California (U.S.) refineries and told state regulators it would permanently shut or restructure its San Francisco-area refinery in Benicia, California by the end of April 2026.”
“The move comes as refiners face growing regulatory and cost pressures in California, the largest U.S. gasoline market, where the state’s emissions targets and proposed refinery transparency rules have weighed on long-term investment decisions.”
“The Benicia refinery converts an average of 145,000 bpd of crude oil into motor fuels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).”
California is absolutely barking mad. Basically no manufacturing can make a profit there so they are leaving as fast as they can.
I need a device with a SIM card for my upcoming trip to Germany. I use the device for access to DB and the train schedules. I had thoughts of buying a cheap phone off HSN. But then I had a brain moment.
I have a NUU tablet that the VA gave me. It has an AT&T SIM card. I have no idea who is paying for the SIM card and the data plan. I really don’t care. The tablet is a real piece of junk, slow, poor screen quality, and runs Android 12 which is probably an old version. It does not matter. I believe I can use a Germany SIM card in that device for the DB app.
I don’t want to use my iPhone 15 as that is still being paid off with Xfinity. The phone is locked to Xfinity and uses an ESIM. The ESIM itself is not a big deal, the locking is. Last time I used a Germany SIM in my unlocked cell phone that I have service with Xfinity, something borked in the Xfinity system. I had to have my account wiped out and reestablished when I went to purchase a new phone.
So the crappy Android tablet will work. I cannot make phone calls, but I can text, and that is about all that I will need.
“I have no idea how to fix it.”
Make maintaining a monopoly through illegal means a crime against humanity, confiscate the billions accumulated by the monopolists and distribute every penny to those preyed on, with not one cent retained by government, attorneys, or diverted to PLT fronts.
Can you add a data plan to your iPad? I have one for mine. Or does Xfinity offer a reasonable roaming plan for your phone? I use TMobile and they have international passes from 24hr to 30 days.
I’m in Brewster, WA on a gig with MrsAtoz.
More Boonies, WA State. Where do you fly into for that place?
Spokane this time. Spent the night there with friends.
“I have no idea how to fix it.”
Make maintaining a monopoly through illegal means a crime against humanity, confiscate the billions accumulated by the monopolists and distribute every penny to those preyed on, with not one cent retained by government, attorneys, or diverted to PLT fronts.
The lawyers always win. I was fascinated by the cigarette settlements whereby the lawyers got the lions share of the money and the various state healthcare systems got pennies.
“6 Ways Repealing The EPA’s Intrusive ‘Endangerment Finding’ Will Make Americans’ Lives Better”
https://thefederalist.com/2025/04/17/6-ways-repealing-the-epas-intrusive-endangerment-finding-will-make-americans-lives-better/
“You’ve heard of the Green New Deal, the Left’s overreaching climate agenda, but do you know about the “Endangerment Finding,” a policy enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under former President Barack Obama that President Donald Trump is considering repealing?”
“The 2009 Endangerment Finding regulates so-called greenhouse gas emissions. It is the shaky foundation of policies like mandating the production of electric vehicles or closing coal-fired power plants before the U.S. has the infrastructure to replace them.”
“As I previously reported, with the Endangerment Finding, EPA said, “elevated concentrations of the six greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) — endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations.””
“The Endangerment Finding reasons if it is a danger, it must be restricted, and that is how climate activist bureaucrats can make rules defining the amount of CO2 that can be released from power plants, factories, and vehicles, or how much methane can be released from cow toots.”
We need to stop this nonsense right now and reverse all of this bad science.
The new lawyer fad is suing 401(k) plan administrators handling targeted retirement funds for large companies, claiming that the administrators underperformed the market.
Apparently, they were successful at Verizon. I received a settlement offer of $100.
The rumor is that my current employer has a huge bullseye on their plans.
“underperformed the market.”
Weighted average says half do.
No. My iPad is WiFi only, no cellular, and no SIM.
Did my drop off, and one pickup. I won two 50gallon tanks that were used in wine making. I know they are food safe, and I”ll be taking them to the BOL. They’ve got a variety of fittings on them, and removable lids for cleaning. I’ll have to figure something for the bottom spout which is missing.
Then helped my buddy get started on his shop. I took a couple hundred pounds of stainless steel to the scrap yard on my way home. We’re breaking down the laser powder sintering 3d printer I bought, and then let sit for several years. I’m saving the laser tube and associated optics and controls. The rest of the very large and extremely robust machine is going to be scrapped or re-purposed in the case of the aluminum structural extrusions. There are massive steel plates as part of the structure. It was built to avoid vibration and movement, and it shows.
It was also built by engineers, with every bolt and fastener a different size. F ing guys. Just grab the first fastener in the 3d library when designing the machine… no consideration for the builders or maintainers. I ran into the same issue constantly when I was with bigcorp.
Now when I take a modern computer or tv apart, all the fasteners of each type are the same. Three screw types in the whole TCL tv, one for threaded holes in metal, one for holes in plastic, and one for holes in metal that need to be pan heads. Mass produced consumer goods are engineered for manufacturing.
———
I think I’ll make some slices of a spiral sliced ham for dinner. I picked up one of the HEB value house brands on sale and it’s pretty tasty. HEB ham tends to be very salty but this one is not.
Then it’ll be time to get the kid from her thursday activity.
n
Rubbermaid Brute cans are food safe. Or, at least they were before Bernie Marcus and Walmart got done driving Rubbermaid into the merger with Newell.
I’d be surprised if they are not food safe now. Tropical fish farmers in Florida depend on those cans to keep their stock, and the 170+ year-old Boudin sourdough starter lives in a Brute at the Fisherman’s Warf bakery in San Francisco.
The Germans use all kinds of fasteners.
The air filter in our Jetta was still the factory original when we bought it off of my wife’s nephew.
60,000 miles.
None of the previous owners had a Torx driver to remove the eight (!) screws holding the filter box shut.
The air filter was disgusting.
The cabin supply filter was also original, but that was just two screws holding the underdash foam in place … which I misplaced and cost $20 for the pair to replace.
Oh – My – God. Elysium poser.
“NEW: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Arguments in Trump Birthright Citizenship Case”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/new-supreme-court-agrees-hear-arguments-trump-birthright/
“The US Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments in response to President Trump’s emergency request to stop nationwide injunction against his birthright citizenship executive order.
President Trump asked the Supreme Court to stay the nationwide injunctions issued by the federal judges.
The high court agreed to an expedited schedule and set arguments for May 15.”
Interesting.
Book number two of a three book space opera science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Orbit in 2022 that I bought new on Amazon. I have NOT ordered the third book in the series as I almost DNF’d (Did Not Finish) this book several times. I may change my mind about the third book but, who knows?
I explained the no DNF on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1k1l3ig/eyes_of_the_void_the_final_architecture_2_by/
Lots of stuff that is yet to play out. I’m not moaning and gnashing my teeth, nor am I celebrating the win. I’m oddly detached to tell the truth.
It’s in motion. I can’t do anything about it. I already have my ducks lined up. Nothing to do but keep on keeping on at this point.
And try to keep as many options and choices open as possible.
n
Lots of stuff that is yet to play out. I’m not moaning and gnashing my teeth, nor am I celebrating the win. I’m oddly detached to tell the truth.
It’s in motion. I can’t do anything about it. I already have my ducks lined up. Nothing to do but keep on keeping on at this point.
And try to keep as many options and choices open as possible.
n
Huh ? What is in motion ?
Are you moving to Alaska ? Or is this a potential failure of the USA ?
>>“”In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.””
We’ve all known this for a long time. I have no idea how to fix it.
Wait, wait, did I miss where everyone is forced to use Google??
The whole process needs to be a lot faster. By the time this gets through the courts and appeals process, we’ll be another 10 years down the road.
I would prefer a preemptive process. Companies above a certain size are prohibited from any sort of M&A activity. Above a certain, larger size, they are automatically required to divest. Period, no exceptions. The smaller those thresholds are, the better. Microsoft, Google, Apple – all too large. Blackrock – too large. Numerous financial institutions – too large.
Didn’t we learn anything from 2008 and “too big to fail”?
– – – – –
Yesterday’s meter of snow – I shoveled a lot of it. The snowblower did it’s bit as well, but this is heavy spring snow, taller than the blower, so I could only take 10cm slices. Had to recharge its batteries a couple of times, which is when I would shovel a path by hand, so that I could start those 10cm sliced. Otherwise it would have been like driving into a wall. I’m sore – and only about 2/3 done.
Lots of broken trees as well: the tops bent over from the weight and then snapped. Including some sort of pine tree on the edge of our property that we are quite fond of. We’ll have to wait until the snow melts, to see how badly it is damaged.
But first I need to go visit a neighbor. New girlfriend of an elderly guy who landed in the hospital a couple of days ago. So she’s snowed in here, and knows absolutely no one. I’ve at least seen her once, so I’ll drop by and ask her if there’s anything she needs. Invite her to dinner with the wife and I, maybe.
@lynn, the world in general. the comment was in response to something, maybe just in my brain. past time for bed.
n
@brad, crazy that I’m getting mid 80sF and you are getting snow…
n
Dadgumit, I ordered a new WD 16 TB bare drive from Big River and they are saying that it not going to be here until June 10. I may cancel my order and reorder again to get the April shipping date that they are now stating.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K3VVKSW?tag=ttgnet-20
Time for a filter tutorial.
Assume for this discussion that the air contains a range of particle sizes, and we want to prevent some of them from entering the engine. It is impractical to stop all of them. Particles of a certain size are larger than the oil film in a journal bearing, and we want to keep all of them and larger ones out. Smaller particles won’t hurt a bearing, but will wear surfaces like piston rings. We would like to keep as much of them as possible out, but that is more difficult.
Oil bath air filters existed before paper air filters, but how they work is beyond the scope of this discussion. Well-designed ones can work very well.
Early factory air filters from decades ago were made from a paper-like material that was thin and had holes that determined the maximum particle size that could pass through. Essentially, everything smaller could also pass. They worked like screens.
Modern filter media are thicker. The material has larger holes, and is treated with a viscous material that attracts particles smaller than the holes. Larger particles are still blocked, and a percentage of smaller particles are also stopped.
The sieve type of media eventually has some of its holes blocked by particles stuck to the outer surface, and its airflow is reduced. It lets a fairly constant amount of small particles through over its life. Modern filters trap particles on the insides of the holes, so fewer holes get totally blocked. They can be designed to trap a high percentage of large particles, while at the same time also trapping a percentage of smaller particles. They let a smaller amount of dirt pass through over their life.
Here’s where it gets interesting. When these modern filters are new, their filtration efficiency is such that some percentage of the dirt in the air is removed. As the filter is used, trapped dirt accumulates, and its filtration efficiency actually improves. Also, it (usually) never plugs up enough to degrade engine operation. It could be argued that changing the filter too often actually lets more dirt into the engine. To be fair, I doubt this makes a practical difference in engine wear. There has been a lot of testing that simulates field conditions to back up this conjecture.
(”Depth-type” filters, such as the K&N, carry the big hole concept to an extreme, and they subjectively let too much dirt through. Another idea that is beyond the scope of this discussion.)
Ah, but what about restricting the airflow to the engine? Carbureted engines could suffer from air filter restriction by making the mixture richer, which would have undesired effects. Fuel injected engines adjust the mixture to keep it within design limits, so they don’t suffer from this problem. Filter restriction only becomes a problem at wide open throttle, which is a very small percentage of operation. If you ever change a filter and notice a gain at wide open throttle, you have run that filter way too long.
I doubt your filthy filter had any ill effects on the engine. It might have actually been better for it. Changing a “dirty” air filter is often a sales trick.
As for cabin air filters, I don’t have any experience with them. I can think of two reasons to use one. The first is to prevent foreign material (dirt) from clogging the evaporator surface. Cars have survived without a filter for decades, so I doubt this is suddenly a problem. A filter with activated carbon could actually remove dust, pollen, and odors, and this could be beneficial. We are so pampered.
There might be a quiz later today.