Cool to start, maybe high 60s, but likely low 70sF, and getting into the 80sF later. It was sweaty hot at the BOL yesterday afternoon. Until late in the day, it was nice in the shade. Humid, but tolerable. I was soaked later when I was out in the sun.
Kids and wife went home early on Sunday, but I stayed at the BOL to work on stuff. Mainly, I needed to figure out why the mower wasn’t running right. Many hours and skinned knuckles later, I put the old belt back on and the problem went away. The belt I got on amazon must not be correct. I’ll order another this week. I mowed my yard, and part of the HOA lot, but didn’t edge.
Noticed some dewberries along the edge of my property so I harvested about a cup. Lots of thorny defenders marked up my hands, but the berries are nice. There were lots of unripe berries so I should get more later.
More of my peaches were destroyed by whatever animal is raiding the tree. At this rate there won’t be any left to mature.
There are several food sources growing on the BOL property– persimmon, wild garlic, dewberries, peaches, and now apples. I noticed a mulberry tree next to my scrap guy’s yard, heavy with fruit. Maybe I can pick some of that too. Free food is the best food. I’ve also noticed several of my neighbors in Houston that don’t harvest their citrus trees. Hmm. Maybe I should up my foraging game.
Threw a charger on the trolling motor battery, and it’s dead. I’ll put the battery on my charger here and see if I can recover it. Otherwise I’ll explore options for replacing that as it’s not covered by the deal for the boat. Got the GPS/sonar working but the text is so small I don’t think I’ll be able to use it. I’ve got one from an auction that I can take a look at. Maybe it’s bigger and easier to read.
Did general clean up and putting away, and then headed home. Relatively easy drive, only a few crazies, and only a few cops out. I’m glad we didn’t end up farther from Houston as the current drive is about all I want to do on a regular basis.
Today I’ve got domestic bliss to do, some more moving stuff to and from storage, and I’ve got to plan my week. I have pickups, a visit to my client, and other stuff to do. Some of it will be time sensitive, so I should get done what I can to open time for the other stuff later.
And stacking– I’ve got to restack canned goods. Make sure you do your best to keep your stacks, cool, dark, and dry.
nick
Officially up with coffee.
I have looked at that option. I am still running on a Windows system so I still need Photoshop and Lightroom. The account allows for two installs so I can still use the products on the MacBook.
I am giving serious thought to converting completely to Apple and getting rid of my Windows desktop. Maybe when the M5 arrives I will get a Mac Mini maxed out and dual displays with a Thunderbolt 5 dock. I am getting annoyed at Microsoft and Adobe subscriptions.
Cars don’t sell in the US anymore.
In addition to all of the other factors, YOLO thinking dominates the market right now, and gas is relatively cheap.
As for a beater truck, yes, $20k would sell a lot of vehicles, but setting aside all of the other factors that prevent one from happening, the demand would be so intense at first that dealers and their employees would repeat the games Ford franchisees played with the Maverick in the US.
Arbitrage!
We have small cheap cars and they sell to people with bad credit and poor lifestyle choices. GM sells a few. I don’t think you can make an ICE car cheaper than what we have already within CAFE and safety rules. She talks about a clean slate but she came out of components and he came with 15 years major (cough) car company experience. They use clay models.
Where does an apartment dweller, in section 8 housing, plug in their car? What about all the people with street parking? Cities don’t have affordable housing with electrical outlets where you park overnight.
————————-
Up, coffee is brewing. I can smell it…. 71F, and cameras are showing clear or light overcast.
Slept, but interrupted by cramping in my thighs. Seems like a regular thing now when I’ve worked at the BOL. A shot of vinegar stops it almost immediately, but I still have to get out of bed and make my way to the kitchen. And it HURTS.
———————–
Time to get some of the delicious bean broth into my belly.
n
added– the battery is going to be a big cost, where is it coming from?
That is the biggest limitation on EVs here: apartments and condos.
The real agenda with EVs is to get most people in the West out of cars.
A 2010 S Class Mercedes is considered “unsafe” by current US standards. The regulations have no basis in reality anymore.
Slate is selling “girl power”, not a vehicle.
Until Brie self destructed her career, Nissan was doing the same thing, particularly with Rogue.
Drive a Rogue and you don’t need a man. Leave him at the altar.
Until the CVT transmission breaks or the engine goes splody.
Heck, a dead starter battery has wannabe Bries up at the Autozone near my house waiting for the man to do the swap in the parking lot.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14653925/Fired-Disney-World-employee-Michael-Scheuer-hacked-menus-sentenced.html
Followup
n
Disney recently settled a lawsuit over an allergen death at Raglan Road at Disney Springs or whatever they call that complex these days.
My second thought on the Mac conversion is to just use my M4 Pro MacBook Pro, get a TB5 docking station with a M2. enclosure, external keyboard, external mouse and a couple of monitors like Mr Greg showed me. I suspect the MacBook is more than capable of handling my needs. That entire conversion can be done for less than $1K.
The problem with the new Mac and Windows machines is that the business model going forward depends on scraping all your data and sending it to Cupertino and Redmond respectively.
Your medical records, your tax records, your business records, your personal photos and videos letters and emails: All grist for the AI.
BTW, this isn’t conspiracy theory, they are quite open about what they plan.
You can believe in their promises of privacy, but as far as I know there are no serious penalties for failures upon their part. Nothing HIPPA level.
And even if you believe in honesty and competence of the current C-suite inhabitants, and their serfs running the acquisition tech stack and data warehouses, and the people in the hw/sw suppply chain stretching across the world: do you believe the same in their successors? And their successors?
If what I heard first hand from an Epic employee is true, Microsoft will make a play for you the company when the founder passes.
honesty and competence of the current C-suite inhabitants, and their serfs
– witness the current 23andme kerfuffle.
n
This what I did with my M1 MacBook Pro. Dual monitors that would rotate to portrait if needed. A vertical stand to put the MBP and one TB connector to a dock and ready to go. A year and a half ago I switched to a UWM to replace the duals. No problem. Then I traded in the MBP for a M4 Mini Pro. One connection to the dock and everything works fine. Including speakers and a webcam. I have some video glasses to try with the Mini on the road. They work great, but my eyes are getting old. I can still hook up direct to my iPad Pro or using Jump Desk to use it on the road.
Damn autocorrect.
It was a weather balloon, swamp gas, NO! a rare atmospheric effect!!11!! yeah, that’s the ticket…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/spain-hit-massive-really-massive-power-blackout
– payment and banking systems off line. Public transport shut down. I’m sure there are civil disturbances as well, since people get their wilding on when the lights go out and cops are busy elsewhere…
Cash, food, private vehicles, defensive tools, ability to stay home – in other words “preps” would sure help in a situation like that…
n
That is another option. Dual monitor works well with Lightroom as the image being processed can be displayed full screen while Lightroom itself is on the other monitor. I am not certain how that would work with an ultra-wide.
The entire decision is a can I will kick down the road for sometime in 2026. After Apple announces the M5 systems, especially the Mac mini. If it is not much of an upgrade then the MacBook will probably be the solution. The entire integration of the Apple ecosystem is just too convenient.
Not that MacOS is any better. Installing programs is easy, not so much uninstalling. Finding all the parts, stashed in obscure locations, is daunting. Adobe, Microsoft, Intuit, ACDSee, etc. are all guilty of being jerks. If there is a problem with a program finding the solution is just as difficult as it is with Windows.
The problem is not the OS, but the idiot programmers. The zit-faced, self masturbating, clods, that never really use the product they produce. Generally guided by management with VCRs still flashing 12:00.
Just ordered a new drive belt for the mower. Hard to believe that Home Depot had the best price, and free shipping, on a genuine OEM part. They must have beat up someone that will drop ship. No way they have it in their warehouses.
n
Oh, yeah. I try a lot of programs. I use CleanMyMacX to get rid of all the little parts. But, even it can miss deeply rooted Adobe crap.
That company seems to be the worst offender. Followed closely by Microsoft when installing MSOffice. People talk about Windows needing a clean install every year or so to clean out the crud. MacOS is not far behind in my opinion. Apple fan boys will have a heart attack if anyone ever mentions such a need.
ALL OS’s are imperfect. It goes back to the big iron days. I remember, not so fondly, having to do a ColdStart on the Burroughs systems. A reinstall of the MCP and then copy back all the programs. In my short experience with IBM that same process was also a mandatory event every few months. A weekend dedicated to the entire process.
Indulging the wealthy with their desire for a beater EV pickup extra vehicle/weekend toy isn’t going to work.
The US market needs a $30k family saloon with a V8 which can double as cop cars and taxis, essentially a Crown Vic. CAFE won’t let anyone provide that.
Chris Barman rose through the ranks at Chrysler working on Fancy Lad toys, first the Prowler and then the Viper.
Girl power.
I will not disparage the carcass of Steve Jobs, but I run CleanMyMacX regularly to get rid of the cruft.
And it’s “fan boi” ya old geezer.
Thanks you young whipper snapper.
Was the mower a “Home Depot exclusive”?
Bernie’s disciples had a falling out with Chevron over pressure to use the EGo name on Hecho en China cr*p.
At least worse than EGo’s own.
“if you believe in honesty and competence of the current C-suite inhabitants”
Shirley you jest
22 MPG to 34 MPG makes the government happy but the improvement is not that significant when you consider the cost difference and long term durability of the hybrid system.
The money saved will be negligible.
Jerry knows this.
60 $/gallon gasoline is coming. I just don’t know when. We don’t see it here in the USA because we are drowning in crude oil and natural gas. We have so much that we sell our excess to Mexico, Canada, Europe, Japan, and China. Over 25% of our production leaves the USA. The oil reservoirs in the rest of the world have all peaked and are seriously declining.
It used to be that the WTI index (crude oil in Oklahoma) led the North Sea Brent index. That index flipped over a decade ago and the split is 5 $/bbl now.
https://oilprice.com/
The rest of the world uses directional drilling but they do not use fracking. So many people have lied about the dangers of fracking that countries are scared to use it and have banned fracking. About a third of the oil reservoirs outside the USA would benefit from fracking but, no go for now. And those countries are paying through the nose for their energy.
Trans Retardism:
John Lithgow reveals what he did when friend who has trans child begged him not to star in Harry Potter show
TransTards believe JKR wants them rounded up and sent to “ze gas’s choomber’s”. Nobody cared until you came for the children. Ya can’t change yer sex, morons.
Lithgow is a good fit for Dumbledore. Black Snape, no thank you.
Have you heard anything on tRump refilling the NPR, Mr. Lynn?
“The US market needs a $30k family saloon with a V8 which can double as cop cars and taxis, essentially a Crown Vic. CAFE won’t let anyone provide that.”
All government people-hauling automobiles should be required to meet CAFE standards, and nothing else should be allowed to park in Washington DC. Unless they are prepared to live the way that they want to force others to live, they can get stuffed.
And no, I don’t really give a crap if we lose a few octogenarian lawmakers when the Ford Escape conversion EMS vehicle isn’t big enough to carry all the life support equipment. Make them solar powered, too, while we’re at it.
As for a beater truck, yes, $20k would sell a lot of vehicles, but setting aside all of the other factors that prevent one from happening, the demand would be so intense at first that dealers and their employees would repeat the games Ford franchisees played with the Maverick in the US.
added– the battery is going to be a big cost, where is it coming from?
It will be the cheap battery that Leaf uses. After a thousand charge cycles the battery will start losing cells at 10% per year or so.
I am wondering if the HVAC system will be a heat pump or just an a/c system with electric heat like the original electric vehicles. That electric heat uses lots of electrons (COP = 1) whereas the heat pump gets 3 heats for 1 electric (COP = 3). But the heat pump is expensive.
It will be the cheap battery that Leaf uses. After a thousand charge cycles the battery will start losing cells at 10% per year or so.
The current Tesla battery system gets about 4,000 charge cycles before significant deterioration. But the new battery system weighs about 15% more than the old 1000 charge cycle battery system.
So they’re going to keep the scene intact where the rich white kids hang Snape from the tree?
Nick Frost as Hagrid is the best casting yet.
By the power of Grayskull.
$60/gasoline means even more expensive diesel. We will have bigger problems than 25 MPG vs 35 to run the family truckster.
Like eating.
Guzzoline!
It was a weather balloon, swamp gas, NO! a rare atmospheric effect!!11!! yeah, that’s the ticket…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/spain-hit-massive-really-massive-power-blackout
Very few steam boilers running. Steam boilers have huge reserves even at full power. Wind and solar have zero reserves.
Have you heard anything on tRump refilling the NPR, Mr. Lynn?
Nope. Trump has so many irons in the fire right now that he cannot even see individual ones.
Actually, we have several NPRs in the USA now. They are called Eagle Ford, Alaska North Slope (Prudhoe), Permian Basin, Barnett, Marcellus. They are all Super Giants. Permian Basin may be a Super Super Giant like the Saudi Ghawar used to be.
Swan Eaters: Talking Spell Book
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2025/04/28
Uh, I would leave that spell book to Baba Yaga.
So, a stunt gone bad (grid compromised by renewables), maybe?
Marginal Revolution has an article with comments. Spain had some other normal baseload spun up, the announcement of 100% renewables was carefully parsed.
So, a stunt gone bad (grid compromised by renewables), maybe?
Marginal Revolution has an article with comments. Spain had some other normal baseload spun up, the announcement of 100% renewables was carefully parsed.
The wind dropped. The electricity demand did not drop. The grid dropped.
The pirates ate the tourists.
Spanishland went full theme park – 25 years ago after the train bombing.
“Illegal Aliens Cost Texas Hospitals $121.8 Million in Just One Month”
https://texasscorecard.com/state/illegal-aliens-cost-texas-hospitals-121-8-million-in-just-one-month/
“The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has released its first round of data under an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott, revealing that hospitals in the state incurred over $121 million in health care costs in a single month for people not lawfully present in the United States.”
“The data, covering November 2024, shows that Texas hospitals reported 31,012 visits from illegal aliens, with total costs amounting to $121,779,579. The largest portion of the cost—over $62 million—came from inpatient discharges for non-Medicaid and non-CHIP patients. Emergency room visits accounted for more than $36 million combined.”
Unreal. That is billions of dollars of free health care for illegal aliens in Texas alone per year.
No wonder our hospitals are going broke and closing in Texas.
Ok, this is weird. I ordered a new WD 16 TB hard drive from Big River. I got a WD 20 TB delivered today. I am confused. And I opened the box to ensure that the drive was WD 20 TB.
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-16TB-Internal-Drive/dp/B08K3VVKSW?tag=ttgnet-20
Should I tell them ? Or just move on down the road ?
@lynn, maybe it’s like when HEB runs out of Large eggs and puts Extra Large in the Large carton. As long as you get more, very few people would complain. If it’s the same service rating, I’d just keep it.
—-
@greg, the mower is a Cub Cadet branded mower. Kohler engine. MTB? whoever the conglomerate is that owns all the brands is the OEM. The closest Home Depot to the BOL is about an hour and a half away. Lowe’s is a solid 45 minutes. My buddy wouldn’t be shopping at HD.
—-
Picked up the kids and shuffled them around to their things. Did one pickup. Got a solar panel for a Flock license plate reader camera for $6. It may even have a battery attached. I’ll have to open the box and see. One staple I’m only buying in auctions now is HVAC filters. I get 3M Filtrete for about $2 per filter. I like changing both filters once a month, so that is a significant saving.
n
Nick Frost as Hagrid -er- Santa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1pmF1PCisU
Maybe this time “Prisoner of Azkaban” can spend a little less time appealing to Pedos?
Tell them. How do you know you got a real 20 TB drive?
Even ordering from Big River isn’t a guarantee anymore.
Plus, if you have a problem, the receipt will say 16 TB when you’re holding 20. WD won’t honor the warranty.
Mad Max!
How many of the in-patient discharges are due to childbirth?
Synology announced all 2025 “plus” consumer versions of their NAS boxes need their branded or recommended drives for ”full” functionality. YT’rs are losing their shit over it (Louis Rossman, too). Another guy I like “SpaceRex” is a NAS IT Guy who’s analysis says Synology drives are only a little bit more. I’ve got my eye on a 4-5 drive box and won’t mind buying Syn drives. It’s for the company, you see. I think they are also doing the same with M2 booster SSDs you put in the bottom.
SpaceRex has a lot of good content on Synology and other NAS.
I also like Mariushosting for Synology advice.
No ID should see them duck-walked out the front door. We have some dumb public ER rooms in the FUSA.
$25 million for a 20 year-old “Star Wars” movie.
https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-sith-secures-one-of-the-top-grossing-re-release-weekends-in-cinema-history
The prequels weren’t great art, but, by the time Lucas made Episode III, he realized that he just needed to throw together the scenes the fans wanted to see and never take his foot off of the gas.
We went Saturday night.
tRump Master Troll:
‘You Will Face Justice,’ White House Warns Illegal Immigrants and Erects Their Mugshots on WH Lawn
I think he did this just to mess with the LSM.
“U.S. Navy Says Fighter Jet Fell Off Aircraft Carrier Into Red Sea”
https://100percentfedup.com/245089-2/
Oops !
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
And what will the Governor and Legislature do about it?
Nothing.
No ID should see them duck-walked out the front door. We have some dumb public ER rooms in the FUSA.
SCOTUS and/or Congress said that you have a right to treatment back in the 1980s.
$25 million for a 20 year-old “Star Wars” movie.
https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-sith-secures-one-of-the-top-grossing-re-release-weekends-in-cinema-history
The prequels weren’t great art, but, by the time Lucas made Episode III, he realized that he just needed to throw together the scenes the fans wanted to see and never take his foot off of the gas.
We went Saturday night.
Was that the episode where Anakin killed the Jedi children ? I don’t ever want to watch that again.
@lynn, maybe it’s like when HEB runs out of Large eggs and puts Extra Large in the Large carton. As long as you get more, very few people would complain. If it’s the same service rating, I’d just keep it.
Yeah, that is what I am thinking.
Tell them. How do you know you got a real 20 TB drive?
Even ordering from Big River isn’t a guarantee anymore.
Plus, if you have a problem, the receipt will say 16 TB when you’re holding 20. WD won’t honor the warranty.
The bare drive has a 20 TB box and a 20 TB label.
Once I write to the drive, I cannot return it. I cannot let my intellectual property leave my control.
Says Wikipedia:
One of the reports I was responsible for (I think this was in Yuma) was the EMTALA report, which was a thorough catalog of every disposition from the ED, showing that every case was a stable discharge, admission to inpatient, etc.
The rare cases where that didn’t happen, like departed Against Medical Advice, were carefully followed up.
Years ago, I read an article by a New York City columnist, who scraped and saved so she could deliver her baby at Presbyterian hospital. Very expensive and exclusive.
Her roommate was a Puerto Rican indigient who was delivering her 2nd or 3rd child at Pres. She knew how to work the system. Show up, in labor, to thte ED. Must be examined and treated until stable. For active labor, stable means delivery, generally.
Cost: $0. Well, you get a bill, but you just tear it up and throw it away.
Guess who pays for that?
“SCOTUS and/or Congress said that you have a right to treatment back in the 1980s.”
let me guess: no way Scotus or the 535 club would ever have to wait for illegals to get out of the way at Bethesda?
Tired, oh so very phuquing tired of the elite jamming it up our backsides.
Younglings he killed. Many he did.
Hamil drinking the blue milk from the manatee’s nipple is more disturbing.
“But we are not going to ask taxpayers to subsidize the presence of a single illegal alien in this country,”
–White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2025/04/28/stephen-miller-leaves-reporter-in-shambles-when-he-wrecks-him-on-deportation-question-n2188443
If someone with comprehensive knowledge of all the rules and regulations and laws requiring subsidies got the microphone on the floor of Congress at noon tomorrow and started reciting them, how long would it take?
How about we put a tax on remittances to pay for it?
There it is, as Dr. Williams says, the elites sticking crimmigrant bills up our azzes. There is no way crimmigrants should get care. Unconstitutional. ICE should park paddy wagons outside the ER.
Lithgow’s breakthrough film role was Roberta Muldoon, the transsexual football player in George Roy Hill’s adaptation of “The World According To Garp”.
In rapid succession, Lithgow made “Garp”, “Terms of Endearment”, and the only segment of the film version of “The Twilight Zone” which really worked, all in a two year span.
Australians already pay ~ $5/gallon US typically for gas after taxes get added, but they don’t have CAFE so things like Land Cruisers with V8s are still available for ~$40k.
Americans are weenies about gas prices. Austin has been really bad since the Labor Day Weekend “shortages” in 2017.
A common theme among EV owners here is that they don’t want to relive the “shortages”, not understanding that real shortages on the level of that weekend would pretty quickly lead to problems maintaining the electrical grid.
We’re all gonna die! Again!
Experts issue terrifying warning to America: Prepare for pandemic NOW as new virus spreads to all 50 States
Prepare for ze kamps, Skippy! Breakout ze masks!
Officials have said. At the Global Virus Network. A NGO.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
America’s most famous scientist sparks outrage among liberals after MAGA post
If DeGasBag is America’s most famous scientist (where’s Bill Nye The DoucheBag GuyTM), no wonder science is in the shitter. Remember, he’s a spectrum of gender believer. Scientist my azz.
UT Austin kicked Neil deGrasse Tyson out of their PhD program in the early 80s over his work ethic.
The faculty encouraged him to find an alternative career.
“ICE should park paddy wagons outside the ER.”
Brilliant.
I should get an ICE jacket to wear if I ever need to go the the ER. Probably clear it out right smart.
Because…Texas.
“A” for effort though.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/rigged-texas-lottery.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BE8.ii54.h0mlWdxy9f1i&smid=tw-share
he’s a spectrum of gender believer.
– also believes that race is a social construct, iirc.
n
Tx lotto doesn’t care who they payout. And why should they? As long as the tickets are all paid for, the lottery exists to pay a jackpot to someone.
n
I don’t think anyone else was precluded from winning by the strategy, you are never guaranteed to be the sole winner either. The consortium could have lost money if several other people had the winning number.
It’s not like it was McDonalds, where the security director was stealing the big prize tickets and giving them to accomplices for years… we all felt like that game was rigged as far back as the mid-70s.
n
>>Tx lotto doesn’t care who they payout. And why should they? As long as the tickets are all paid for, the lottery exists to pay a jackpot to someone.
n
I don’t think anyone else was precluded from winning by the strategy, you are never guaranteed to be the sole winner either. The consortium could have lost money if several other people had the winning number.
Well, IMO they might care to the extent that the ‘average Joe’ keeps chasing the multi-million dollar prizes. Gotta be in it to win it in fact they’ve just changed the Mega Millions to start at $5 a ticket, up from $2 per, with the minimum jackpot going from $20M to $50M.
And yes, as the lottery betting is done on a pari-mutual basis, they did risk there being multiple grand prize winners splitting the grand prize. Something that got discussed occasionally back on a boring day at uni.
>>I should get an ICE jacket to wear if I ever need to go the the ER. Probably clear it out right smart.
Whatever would we do without the cosplay wants and eBay to satisfy them…
https://www.ebay.com/itm/277061702121?_skw=ice+jacket&itmmeta=01JT04EKTCEW30TR87R6X79E94
BTW, much more tolerance for this before 9/11.
At a trade show I met the owner of a company that shares initials with a government agency: NCIS.
How about Import Consulting Experts?