Cool and clear again. Which is awesome. It got a bit warmer yesterday afternoon, and I was sweaty, which I don’t love. Still, it’s pretty nice. I’m hoping for a day or more before the forecast rain moves in.
Did my stuff in the morning. Missed a thing with the kid because it wasn’t on the calendar.Not thrilled about that. Took a truck load of stuff to the auctioneer. Then got with a friend and started helping him tear down and pack up his shop. He’d moved to the east cost a year ago but the weight and hassle of moving a shop meant he’s been putting it off. I’ve got my own shop to deal with at some point… and it’s daunting.
Took several hundred pounds of stainless to the scrapyard on my way home, and there will be a lot more scrap today.
Speaking of today, the kids have the day off, so W and the Ds will be doing stuff with friends while I’m doing my thing. They’ll head up to the BOL later today. I’ll do my pickups and help my buddy for most of the day, then load up and head up myself.
Lots to do at home still, but lots to do at the BOL too, and NEXT weekend we have guests. So I have my priorities set.
Always be working, always be stacking.
nick
Paschal greetings from the Black Forest!
As a hayfever sufferer, pollen and pollen are my two reasons. Thanks for the lesson about filter technology. My brother’s 1948 Harry Ferguson tractor has an oil bath filter. Cool old technology.
I made the call on the engine air filter and did the chore myself. $15.
Turbo, the first generation replacement for the diesels in the wake of the “cheating” scandal.
The car ran better with less hesitation on the accelerator when it was time to “punch it”.
As for the cabin air filter, it may seem like a nonsense item, but newer cars with more exotic refrigerants need the airflow past the coils to meet engineering specs as much as possible. I change those in all of our cars once a year.
Replacement is as important as the dealer service rep makes it sound, but spending $75 isn’t necessary.
The only pain-in-the-a** vehicle for the job is the Exploder. The 2016 had three different filter box size/shapes, and access requires competely removing every thing from the glove compartment and dropping the plastic compartment out of the dash.
For those of you who care about such things, new versions of both Fedora and Ubuntu are out this week.
I upgraded my road laptop and home server to Fedora 42 yesterday. Both are a little crisper with the 6.14 Kernel despite the systems’ limited resources, and the default fonts are improved.
I don’t care for the background art, however. That is a common complaint with reviewers this week.
Usually, I upgrade, but I think I’ll wait a year this time. In a year, I might experiment with Mint. I really don’t like the increasing number of snaps in Ubuntu.
I keep current Ubuntu around for experiments, but I don’t like Firefox or Thunderbird being Snap based.
Yes, I know Debs are available, but that isn’t the default.
Canonical has too many developers who worry about being kewl when they should be focused on delivering the best experience possible for their users.
28 days until my wife and I depart for our Alaskan cruise. We will spend the night in Atlanta, fly out on Saturday to Vancouver Canada. We will spend the night in a hotel in Vancouver. We will board the ship on Sunday for 7 days. There are four stops in Alaska. We booked one excursion. One of the stops a former coworker lives in and they will meet us at the ship and show us around. It is the last stop in Alaska and some solid ground may be nice. We return on Sunday to Vancouver, spend the night in Vancouver, then fly back to Atlanta on Monday, where we will spend another night before traveling home.
There are three days that are nothing but travel on the water.
I get seasick really easily and that is a concern. Although supposedly the modern ships are quite stable. We did book an upper cabin with a balcony in the middle (lengthwise) of the ship that should minimize some movement. Surprising to me is that the VA will provide the seasick patch and that has been ordered. Getting the patch on the ship is expensive. A visit to the ship’s doctor is a significant cost item as the doctors are independent contractor and from I have heard, charge a significant amount that is not covered by health insurance.
The cost of the cruise was actually not too bad. It is all the extras that are what is expensive and can quickly add to the cost. Thus, only one excursion, no meal plan, we did get the drink plan, no WiFi plan. The gratuity that is added daily to the bill is $18.50, per day, per person. Another $260.00 added to the cost.
It is my first cruise, my wife’s second cruise. She went with a friend several years ago.
Up and moving. Coffee is brewing. 74F with light overcast today.
I need to get showered, fed, emptied, and out of the house, either doing pickups or helping my buddy.
We’ll see how that goes. I’m not that motivated without a hard deadline.
n
@ray, my parents, and pretty much everyone else I’ve ever talked to about it really enjoyed their Alaska cruise experience.
I hope they don’t jam you up at the border too much.
n
I have been well versed in international travel having done 10 trips to Europe. I have also done three excursions into Canada, a couple of them before 9/11 when a Driver’s License was good enough.
What I have found over all those trips is that getting into other countries from the U.S. is not an unpleasant experience. Immigration goes quickly and the foreign immigration officers are generally polite.
Not so coming back in to the U.S. U.S. citizens are treated like criminal scum as the border agents look down on the citizens as peons that must be made to obey.
Case in point.
Every time I have traveled to Germany I was asked why I was entering Germany. I said to visit friends. The agent would say have a good time and waved us through. Simple, easy, no fuss.
Coming back in the U.S. (in Newark NJ), it was a dozen questions. Where have you been, how long have you been gone, when did you leave, etc. All generally questions they know the answer as it is on their screen. The most annoying question was “Why are you returning”. I said “Because I live here” in a rather abrupt tone. The agent said “Don’t get smart with me.” I then asked “Exactly how do you want me to answer that question?”. He let me through while smirking.
Turns out it is not so much the answer to the question, but how the person arriving answers the question. A quick, snarky, response indicates the person does live in the U.S. Hesitation will bring out further inspection.
New Jersey was also the place where 400+ people were arriving from two different flights. There were 20 immigration stations but only 5 were staffed. That along with some really stupid people arriving, made for a long delay getting through immigration.
Atlanta is terrible, not for the immigration stations, but the 1 mile walk through various tunnels to get from the arrival gate to immigration and customs, It could have been planned better.
I have also found out that a U.S. citizen with a valid passport can refuse to answer all questions. It is their right. It is also the rights of immigration to hold a person for 23 hours for no reason. I can guarantee that refusing to answer any question that immigration would do their best to punish the person and would hold them for 23 hours. In a small windowless cell, with a steel bench. We must obey the masters.
One time I came back with 6 kilos of Gummi Bears. That raised a suspicious eyebrow by immigration and I was referred to customs. The bags were sealed, had factory stickers, but still were scrutinized. I almost expected to have the bags opened and the Gummi Bears checked for drugs. But I was allowed to continue after I explained I really liked German Gummi Bears. None of that stuff was declared on the entry form as the value well below the limits required for declaring.
Another time I came back with about 30 Pilot Pens and Pencils. I guestimated the value of the items at about $100. I showed the items to immigration and there was no problem. I later found out doing online research that I had about $1,200 in pens and pencils. A couple of the pens were on EBay for $150.00, a couple of pencils for $120. I should have had to pay duty tax on those items.
New Jersey is the worst arrival airport, by far. Followed by Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Charlotte was actually fairly nice. New Jersey is just a dump.
The last trip there were automated passport scanning stations. None of the stations worked. In all locations photos were taken. In fact, any flight, domestic or international, a photo is taken by TSA when passing through security.
The Canadian Pacific hotels in Vancouver near the cruise docks used to be nice. I have no idea about what they are like now.
We chose Day’s Inn. Expensive but not nearly as much as some of the other hotels. Day’s Inn is three or four blocks from the pier. We will use a taxi if the hotel does not have a shuttle. I suspect most of the hotels in the area have a shuttle as a lot of people that are cruising use the hotels.
I’m running parrotOS on an external drive under macOS. It works.
Actually don’t they all act that way? I truly believe the unions have instilled this in the workers.
Requires a cracker every 30 minutes.
Enjoy, Mr. Ray. We are on the Disney/Alaska cruise in July. 14 family members. MrsAtoz wants to fly into SETAC and take the Choo-Choo to VC. That is about 4 hours.
My return trip from Trinidad was smooth through Immigration. I did carryon, walked to the kiosk, photo, green light, walked into the SA airport. 5 minutes. MrsAtoz checked a bag, but it only took about 20 minutes for a US Citizen. That’s using Global Entry.
I guess you could do that at a Passport card, but carry the full PP just in case.
LOL
I would think twice. Unless you give yourself a lot of extra time. Trains are notoriously unreliable when they share tracks with freight trains.
The passport card says land travel which includes trains. It will work.
“US sanctions Chinese refinery for buying Iranian oil”
https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/government/article/55284198/us-sanctions-chinese-refinery-for-buying-iranian-oil
“The Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese oil refinery for purchasing $1 billion in Iranian crude oil as part of a broader US crackdown on companies and vessels skirting US sanctions.”
Refineries and Nations operate in their own best interests. Expecting either to ignore those best interests is stupid and short sighted. Long term, sanctions do not work. And we have been sanctioning Iran for how many decades now ?
This is the house that I am looking for. Two houses, one for the wife and I, one for the daughter.
https://www.har.com/homedetail/166-post-oak-bnd-inez-tx-77968/7182951
Main house is 3/2.5/2, 2,580 ft2 with red tile roof on 1.5 acres outside Victoria, TX for $859,000.
Guest house (2/2.5/2, 1,800 ft2) and double RV garage are combined.
Both houses are one stories (big plus for my aging knees) . Built in 2011.
No hot tub with the pool (pools are too cold for me).
There is an HOA with an annual fee of $200. I hate HOAs, bunch of Karens.
And it is 30 miles away from my parents house, my disaster train running down the tracks at 100 mph. My wife wants to be closer to her sister in North Dallas. The house is 50 miles further from her sister from our present house which is 300 miles.
I am wondering if there is natural gas at the house for my generator.
Little-known life hack. If returning from Europe, clear US immigration in Dublin, Ireland. Much better than the queues at airports on US soil.
The Cascades from Downtown Seattle to Vancouver BC is somewhat unreliable due to the constant risk of mudslides on the hills along the track running north from Seattle. You might be ok in July since WA State tends to dry out for about 6-8 weeks after the Solstice/July 4th, but there aren’t any guarantees.
Also, you will not enjoy the roundabout route of the light rail from SeaTac to the Downtown station under Pioneer Square if your intention is to travel light and take public transit everywhere.
“Father of Austin Metcalf swatted just minutes after he was kicked out of Karmelo Anthony family news conference”
https://www.theblaze.com/news/swatting-austin-metcalf-conference-karmelo
“Police determined that the call was fake and meant to cause police to harm the family.”
This gets better by the day.
I am reading “Castigo Cay” by Matthew Bracken right now.
https://www.amazon.com/Castigo-Cay-Matthew-Bracken/dp/0972831045?tag=ttgnet-20/
The author has the protagonist using a PVS-14 NOD out on the open seas. I found this cool and decided I would like to have one. However, the cheapest one I found on Big River is $3,507. Woof !
https://www.amazon.com/Armasight-Multi-Purpose-Monocular-Phosphor-NAMPVS1401G9DA1/dp/B0BNNWR7HB?tag=ttgnet-20/
“David Hogg criticizes Dems for championing democracy, claiming it gave us school shootings”
https://www.theblaze.com/news/david-hogg-criticizes-dems-for-championing-democracy-claiming-it-gave-us-school-shootings
“Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg said it is wrong for Democrats to campaign so hard on preserving democracy because the current political system gave American youth problems such as school shootings and climate change.”
“Hogg’s comments about one of the main Democratic talking points during elections are sure to cause further frustration with him because he is no longer just an activist. He is now part of the leadership within the DNC.”
“”We go out there as Democrats all the time and say, ‘Democracy is the most important thing. We have to defend democracy.’ We fail to acknowledge that [for] this generation, democracy is what put us through school-shooter drills and school shootings. It’s what’s put us through the climate crisis and so much more,” Hogg told CBS News.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the next Dictator of the USA. He can start running in just ten years.
No sign of gas in the kitchens. Just glass top surfaces. Looks like a nice place for an upright freezer or another fridge next to the washer and dryer.
Did my pickups and helped my buddy for a few hours. Took about 850 pounds to the scrap yard, 750 was plain steel though. Not a big payday.
Wife and kids wrapped up their adventures, loaded up and are on their way. We have an extrakid for the weekend. I’ve decided to do a lamb roast for Easter dinner. A 3 ½ pounder should work.
I’ve got a few more tasks to do and then I’m headed out too.
n
“2025 F-150 King Ranch PowerBoost Hybrid Review”
https://www.carpro.com/vehicle-reviews/2025-f-150-king-ranch-powerboost-hybrid-review
“The truck itself was just beautiful. It is the King Ranch version in Rapid Red Metallic, and it had the beautiful King Ranch leather seats that have become the benchmark of the luxury truck series. It is a 4×4, with the lower accent paint and 22” wheels. This is the full 4-door model, called the SuperCrew and it carries all the redesign elements of the 2024 models.”
“The engine starts with a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 (twin-turbocharged gas engine) and adds a 35 kW (47 horsepower) electric motor, powered by a 1.5 kWh lithium-ion battery. This system can run solely on electric power at low speeds and under light throttle, and in normal driving, the gas engine and electric motor work together, delivering seamless power. The electric motor fills in torque gaps, which improves acceleration and towing smoothness. Under heavy acceleration or when towing, both power sources combine to deliver a maximum output of 430-horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque, the most torque of any F-150 engine in 2025. At the same time, the pickup uses regenerative braking to charge the battery and it captures energy when you slow down or coast, improving overall efficiency. It can also cruise for short distances or idle completely gas-free.”
That is a way too small electric motor for a true hybrid. And a way too small battery. I expect a hybrid to run up to 60 mph on electric alone for 10 miles.
Maybe Ford will get this fixed up in 5 or 6 years when I buy a new F-150 hybrid 4×4 when mine hits 100K miles.
Ford, I expect more for $79,825. I expect at least a 150 kw electric motor and a 16 kwhr battery.
And I prefer a steering column shifter. The column shifter is out of the way whereas the console shifter is in the way of the hundred pounds of crap I carry in my console.
I love that split side opening tailgate !
https://www.har.com/homedetail/166-post-oak-bnd-inez-tx-77968/7182951
No sign of gas in the kitchens. Just glass top surfaces. Looks like a nice place for an upright freezer or another fridge next to the washer and dryer.
I wonder what the furnaces run on ?
Ford just wants to sell garage queens to a small portion of the population.
My neighbor’s Bronco is definitely gone from the throne, deposed by an ID Buzz.
Did Trump get a Bronco?
The last time we went to Costco, they had a $50k trim level on display without any dealer markup that I could see.
Bing satellite view shows a number of neighbors with (probably) propane tanks.
@Lynn
readymaderesources.com is/was a long time survivalblog advertiser for night vision equipment (800-627-3809 ) touted as best dealer. OTOH, I just looked and found nada, nicht, zilch on their page for such stuff. They are carrying some even higher end thermal scopes…
readymaderesources.com is/was a long time survivalblog advertiser for night vision equipment (800-627-3809 ) touted as best dealer. OTOH, I just looked and found nada, nicht, zilch on their page for such stuff. They are carrying some even higher end thermal scopes…
I was ready to pay $500 or $700 for the PVS-14. $3,500, no freaking way.
A propane tank? Like those found in this neighborhood?
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/austin-house-explosion-cause-propane-leak
I still say hash oil, but the authorities don’t want anyone trying it at home so they fudged the cause.
Yeah, that’s why that kind of thing remains on my lust list instead of my hot little hands. A USMC grade Trijicon scope adorns my crowd pleaser gub. Ran more than the price of the gub. Military grade Night Vision Scopes have always been velly, velly expensive.
That australian pest control guy we linked a couple of days ago has a beauty of a thermal scope, but it’s like $7k… It’s a magic death ray at night though, I wouldn’t want to face an adversary with one.
———–
Got to the BOL. Drive was uneventful. Lots of cops visible, this is an enhanced DWI enforcement weekend. Little bit of fog when I got w/in about 10 miles of the BOL. The valleys collect it.
Saw a group of deer on the side of the road, but didn’t even come close to hitting them. Mmmm, tasty deer…
———-
It’s 74F and damp, and I’m in the mood for a shower and early bedtime, so I think I’ll skip the tiny fire tonight. Kids are settling in for the night too.
———–
That 3d printer we’re scrapping out must have weighed more than 2000 pounds. That’s nuts for something designed to live in an office environment. We have come so far, in not very long at all.
———–
Time to start heading towards the bed…
n
Seems to me, last time I looked, a few years ago, the PVS-14 was a bit less than $3k. A $500 jump from a different Big River vendor in that time isn’t terrible. Still…. I’d noticed, then, that Thermal vision goodies were considerably more than light amplifiers. Export restricted, I guess there isn’t enough market volume for Moore’s Law to change prices downward.
I did buy a $100 Chinese night vision binox last year. Ya hafta use the built in IR lamp to see anything. 50 to maybe 100 feet absolute maximum. The real deal, at government prices, is for really advanced preppers.
I’d thought that SSD’s would have exceeded capacity at lower price than spinning rust by now, too. Optimist!
Yeah, that’s why that kind of thing remains on my lust list instead of my hot little hands. A USMC grade Trijicon scope adorns my crowd pleaser gub. Ran more than the price of the gub. Military grade Night Vision Scopes have always been velly, velly expensive.
My son carried one for a year in Iraq (second tour). He complained that he was financially responsible for the NOD plus all of the other weapons and his body armor.
Pulsar is the brand that is used by Nathan at Edge of the Outback. They are the crème de la creme of what is available on the civilian market, and not cheap.
If I remember correctly, Pulsar are based in one of the former USSR countries in the Baltics, and probably were active in NV production for the Soviet military before the fall of the USSR, then they switched to capitalism and free trade thereafter.
There are cheaper alternative brands, such as InfiRay, HIK Micro, PixFra and Pard.
Zeiss, Minox, Liemke and other established scope manufacturers got into the civilian NV/thermal sector rather late, but are running to catch up with Pulsar. Moore’s law seems to be in effect, as quality is going up fast, and prices coming down. So much so that it is hard to stay on top of what to get at any particular time and price point.
2025 is probably the year when I will bite the bullet and get myself a thermal spotter. I have been holding off as long as I can to let the price to quality ratio improve in my favour.
I am not sure if I will shell out big money for a Pulsar, or go with one of the lesser brands. Where I do most of my shooting, mounting NV/thermal gear as a rifle scope is not permitted, and reasonable distances for a shot are 200m or much less, so a spotter that will disclose game within about 300m is probably adequate for my use.
>>I need to get showered, fed, emptied, and out of the house, either doing pickups or helping my buddy.
Pass the eye bleach please
Bing satellite view shows a number of neighbors with (probably) propane tanks.
If true, my gennie will blow through propane like it is cheeseburgers to a fat man. With Texas weather, you probably need about a month of fuel for your gennie. That could be a thousand gallons of propane.
During Hurricane Beryl, my gennie was going through $30 of natural gas a day. Of course, that is the home delivered rate.
2025 is probably the year when I will bite the bullet and get myself a thermal spotter. I have been holding off as long as I can to let the price to quality ratio improve in my favour.
I am not sure if I will shell out big money for a Pulsar, or go with one of the lesser brands. Where I do most of my shooting, mounting NV/thermal gear as a rifle scope is not permitted, and reasonable distances for a shot are 200m or much less, so a spotter that will disclose game within about 300m is probably adequate for my use.
Please let us know how it goes. Pricing too please.