Cold and windy, supposed to be clear for a couple of days. It got pretty chilly last night, but not cold enough to freeze. I don’t think we ever got out of the low 60s Christmas Day.
Spent yesterday eating, cooking, eating, opening presents, playing with presents, and snuck in a little domestic bliss as well. While I was waiting for food to cook, I changed the LED downlights in the kitchen. That has been on the list for a while… I also did a couple loads of laundry and cleaned up about 80% of the present opening mess. I’m a multi-tasker! A nice relaxing day.
Today I’ve got one pickup scheduled. I’ve also got one errand that has to get done this week- I’ve got to drop a check off but it’s not urgent. The pickup is for a desk/table to set up for the kids’ 3d printers. It’s not the perfect solution but it should work until I find something better, and it was cheap. It doesn’t have the storage or any doors underneath that I would prefer, to hide supplies when not in use, and it’s a plain, industrial looking design, but it’s a flat surface and should be reasonably sturdy. I’m looking forward to a test print.
I took a quick first pass at the manual for my new DMR handie talkie. Yeah, I’m gonna need a “getting started with DMR” guide. Operating the radio and programming it doesn’t look any harder than any other cheap chinese radio, but I’m a total noob wrt to digital ham radio. I don’t know WHAT to put in it… We do have DMR systems in Houston, and I think the club I joined at the BOL operates one DMR repeater too, so maybe I can get some help from them one of these trips.
Learning new things is good.
Oh, and D2 superglued herself while assembling her ‘book nook’ gift. Fortunately, I’m a prepper, and decided long ago that if I was going to have super glue in the house I’d better have the solvent too. I even know where the bottle is, so that didn’t take long to fix. Mom says “wow, good thing daddy had the solvent.” AHEM, not “good thing” like it was random chance, it was the result of planning and foresight… No matter how many rabbits I pull out, I’m still Rodney Dangerfield.
I’m glad I had it, and D2 went right back to work, which is all that really matters.
Ya never know when you’ll need your stacks!
nick
Prepper WIN!
Once upon a time, my brother, while demonstrating how NOT to open beer bottles with a hunting knife, cut himself beautifully to the bone. On a Sunday, on a remote island. Fortunately, there was a new bottle of superglue nearby, so I glued the clean wound together with it. When we could eventually get him to a medic, she glanced at it, confirmed there was no infection and said, “I would have superglued that too, only my superglue is a lot more expensive than yours. Well done.”
Nick, from yesterday…
“…I’ve been watching this guy’s shorts… NSFW”
Certainly sounds NSFW, but we don’t be kinkshaming here 🙂
Yah, one of my pet peeves.
Mike Yates during the Jon Pertwee era. Yeah, that is sad news.
The character had a fairly complex story arc in the 70s.
So what is the solvent for Super Glue …
If you use superglue it makes sense to get some of the 2-oz poly dispenser bottles and have a couple prefilled with acetone.
Lots of houses around here feature that design. Ours is one of the few which do not.
We have quite a few Tesla employees living here.
The Show Ya who has the Mach E Mustang “GT” abomination down the street punched a cr*ptastic hole in the side of his garage to accomodate a 240 V outlet for the charger since Ford’s equipment will not tolerate an extension cord and refuses to function if plugged into one.
I assume Tesla’s charger is similar.
His solution is probably what a lot of the neighbors will adopt if Model X continues to replace the X5 as the Grocery Getter of choice.
In the case of the nearby Show Ya, I don’t think the vehicle is parked outside due to fire concerns, however. The garage just has too much junk stored inside.
We went to see “The Iron Claw” last night after dinner.
Zach Ephron is going to get the Oscar.
Of course, A21 ran a trailer for “Civil War” in front of “The Iron Claw”.
My wife, who doesn’t pay very much attention to the rot in Hollywood or enjoy Schadenfreude over the failure of Disney/Wokesters as I do, turned towards me and literally said “What the f*ck?” as the clip started.
Being familiar with the rot in the Republican Party of Texas, however, she did agree afterwards that a Texas-California military alliance wasn’t impossible.
When the wife and I ventured to Ely Nevada to operate the steam locomotive we were both told to wear nothing but cotton clothes, generally more than one layer. It was cold anyway so multiple layers were the covering of choice. No synthetic fabrics were allowed in the cab of the engine.
Acetone. Fingernail polish remover in a pinch.
Commercial superglue solvent usually has some nitromethane, which might be marginally better.
If you use fingernail polish remover make sure it is free of additives. Some brands have skin friendly additives that can interfere with any rebonding if you are using it on parts. ,
If I glue myself to something I am not taking the time to read the label of the nail polish remover. I probably am not real concerned about re-bonding myself to whatever I bonded myself to at the start of the incident.
My family gave me a Lego Atari 2600 model for Christmas, but I’m undecided about keeping the gift.
The price is a lot of money for a non-functional replica of the console, and, in addition to triggering my OCD about the general amount of useless junk in our house, I can’t help but look at it as yet another shameless cash grab by a big corporation exploiting nostalgia for my childhood by people who never “got it” growing up in the same era.
Yeah, bad economy, but someone is paying for things like this set.
I can kinda-sorta get the “Friends” apartments Lego set, which is less expensive and has pieces so obscure that only real fan(s) could have put it together.
Interesting set, probably a good thought by the family. I think you should return it and keep the money. $240+ is a lot of money for something that collects dust. Use the money to get a Nintendo that has all the games pre-loaded.
We don’t lack for emulators and retro game software at our house. We even have real consoles, including an Atari 2600 and Harmony cartridge loaded with just about every game ever made for the system.
I think the family bought the set at Barnes & Noble. I gotta respect the turnaround plan of the management there since it seems to be working for the company.
@greg, maybe they got a deal? Or used gift cards? It’s a thoughtful and really fitting gift if you like Lego and retrogaming… I’d be sad if I found a great crossover like that and someone returned it for the cash. They bought it on purpose after all…
I got D2 a set from usminifigs.com whose site seems to be down, they have the same name on FB, less the .com… they sell “out of print” kits that have been reassembled from component bricks, re-bagged, and have a reprint instruction book. Also minifigs… don’t know if those are repop or just secondary market. We’ll see how well it works when the kid builds it. Original kits aren’t cheap https://www.ebay.com/itm/275720441231?epid=26042046252
D1 likes building kits from MetalEarth.com They have grown huge since I first encountered them! The kits are incredibly detailed, mostly tiny, and look shockingly hard… but must not be. She gave me a model of a Ford F-100 pickup, about double matchbox size, for Christmas.
I gave her this kit from Metalkitor.com https://metalkitor.com/collections/christmas-gift/products/steampunk-3d-metal-puzzle-goddess-of-light-butterfly-200pcs-model-kit We’ll see how it goes, but it looks well done and high quality. Ships from China.
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WRT superglue solvent, the commercial stuff “Super Solvent” I have says “Alcohol, NitroAlkanes based solvent”.
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Cool with a light overcast here. Slept in. Other than the pickup, I’ve got no deadlines today and that feels nice.
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Coffee is half gone, One sugar cookie in the shape of a gingerbread man has been dismembered and eaten. Some bacon and eggs might have to follow.
n
@Nick
“WRT superglue solvent, the commercial stuff “Super Solvent” I have says “Alcohol, NitroAlkanes based solvent”.”
The nitromethane does the work. The alcohol keeps the nitromethane from evaporating too quickly. It also bulks up the package so you feel better about paying $10 an ounce for $10 a gallon solvent that is already inflated to $70 a gallon by govt regs.
Games. Never had any attraction to them, except for pinball machines when I was a kid. I used to be a golfer, so some family members had me try a game console many years ago. I was impressed at how realistic the scenery was, but it was all on a TV, with some sort of hand operated controller. I was able to do OK, but it lacked the body dynamics of swinging a club and follow-through. Also, no fresh air and sunshine. Not for me.
That golf game reminded me of folks who run on a treadmill. I would rather just go outside and walk or run in the dirt. Nature is a lot more interesting, even when the weather is bad. The only indoor appliance I might try is a rowing machine. There is no water near here, so no boats. I used to like rowboats and canoes when I lived near water. Sailboats were grand fun. Never owned a boat, so was mostly spared of all the maintenance and expense. I did help some folks, so am acquainted. Probably why I never had a boat. I never liked being in the water, but when I discovered boats at an early age I immediately loved being ON the water. Small boats, big boats, even ships are fun. If I weren’t such a homebody (almost as much as our former host,) I could see living on a boat.
Ah, nitromethane. I used to build control line models as a kid. They used 0.049-0.35 cubic inch glow plug engines that ran on a mixture of methanol, nitromethane, and castor oil. Wonderful aroma. Some of the engines were a pain to start in winter, some easy. All gone now, but missed. There is one I should have kept. If I had it, I would run it on a test stand today.
I could also see myself collecting and running small engines of most types. Have been to meets where folks like me bring their old engines and run them. Great fun. Might even be interested in steam, but that is a whole different world. Hi, Ray.
@jimb, I see model airplane and sometimes helos in the estate sales. Usually they go cheap as everyone moved to quad copter drones or the auto stabilized ‘look like helos’…
I saw and estate with dozens of engines and controllers… most went for pennies. Big airplane models still sell, but I think only as decor.
I remember trying to get one of those string controlled planes flying with my dad when I was a kid. Flew so short a time it wasn’t worth the effort to me then.
Wow, those look beautiful. We have two nephews, age 10 and 6, and regularly send them things to keep them learning. I will have to show this to my wife. We have to be careful to send things both can enjoy, and this is sometimes challenging. The older one helps his brother, and this works very well. Wish I’d had an older brother at that age.
Yes, I have many hangups. My kids will spend years in therapy.
Never, I repeat, never take a leak after handling squirrel proof bird food blocks. Use gloves for handling either item.
I tried to clobber MrsAtoz once. I ended up on the floor holding my nuts. You meant to smack someone, right?
It’s clobberin’ time!
The ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing.
‘Nuff said.
How did you miss clobber after making a dick joke?
@jimb, some simple things make it easier to work on the kits, namely good tweezers. Some flat, some pointed… MrTweezerMan has solid stuff, iirc.
n
Capsacin?
I’m sitting at my desk, so I’m ripping dvds and Keanu Reeves 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still comes with the 1951 version on an extra disk. How cool is that?
n
Skynet came online in mid-2021.
Tesla robot ATTACKS an engineer at company’s Texas factory during violent malfunction – leaving ‘trail of blood’ and forcing workers to hit emergency shutdown button
Didn’t Musk say AI is bad? What has Skynet been doing for two years?
Yeesh:
US border sees nearly 10,000 migrant crossings PER DAY in December – highest ever recorded- as massive migrant caravan continues to trek toward border
The plugs Administration. The gift that keeps on giving. Your tax dollars, that is.
@mratoz, did you see the stat on how many of the workers have been injured on the job? Freaking place is a hazard…
n
Probably. The seed pod is coated with something that squirrels cannot tolerate but birds have no issues. It does work. But handling the stuff requires careful consideration. Even washing the hands a couple of times with soap is not totally effective.
@ray, I got poison ivy that way when I was in elementary school…. been careful ever since.
n
“Ilium” by Dan Simmons
https://www.amazon.com/Ilium-Dan-Simmons/dp/0380817926?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number one of a two book science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Harper Torch in 2005 that I bought new on Amazon. I have ordered book number two, “Olympos”.
The far distant future is a total mess. Many thousands of years from now, technology has run amuck with resurrected Allosauruses and Terror Birds roaming the Earth. There are less than a million humans living on Earth and they are pampered and spoiled by robot servitors. Every twenty years, the humans are teleported up to the Firmary in orbit around Earth for a two day checkup. On their hundredth year, they do not come back.
Humanity has forked and the Posthumans live on a Terraformed Mars with hundreds of thousands of regular humans unknowingly re-enacting The Trojan War for their entertainment. The Posthumans call themselves Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, and such.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,054 reviews)
The lock on the grandfather clock has acted sticky for a few years. I’ve blamed it on humidity. I removed the lock today to give it a bit of oil. It looks like the latch doesn’t move all of the way. I can push it with my finger and it moves. Oil helped but didn’t cure the problem. It’s the key. Go figure. Silly thing wearing out after 35 years.
The lock works fine if I turn it a little and then pull it out a hair. But how long should I expect that bit of key that looks like a solder cold spike to last?
I can buy a lock with key for $13 from Big River. I can buy just the key for $8. If I want a key that looks just like the original, I can buy that for $15.
I believe I will buy the lock and key set. If I’ve managed to wear out the key it seems the lock can’t be too far behind.
Instead of waiting to have $35 worth on Big River for free shipping, I found the same lock and key set on eBay. For an extra 4¢. Free shipping, too.
I don’t recall the 1951 version being in the “Svengoolie” rotation recently, but he has aired the flick since going national.
There must be a reason other than “woke”, but maybe Klaatu Barada Nikto is secretly a white supremacist signal. Who knows.
Thanks, that looks like a good site. I have a drawer full of tweezers, but I only use them occasionally. I do use lots of pliers, and some are finer than my tweezers. They just seem to fit my hands better, and they give me more control.
Many decades ago, I bought a bag of semi-finished miniature pliers. I carefully finished them using files and abrasives. I use them in preference to tweezers. Lately, I purchased a pair of special “long nose pistol grip” pliers:
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/pliers/8-in-pistol-grip-long-nose-pliers-57987.html
Pliers similar to these were used long ago on an assembly line I was familiar with. I think some tools like this were originally invented by Western Electric to reduce fatigue. I have not yet used mine, but consider them as a type of tool that is essential once in a while.
I wonder how many pairs of pliers I have. Hint: if I don’t know, it must be quite a few.
Afrikaner code speak.
Scholars Asked Harvard’s President for Her Data. Guess What She Said.
hotair.com
The questions are: Did she have a grant and if so, what was the requirement for archiving/publishing the data?
I wonder how many pairs of pliers I have. Hint: if I don’t know, it must be quite a few.
You never have enough tools. Especially screwdrivers and pliers.
or FLASHLIGHTS .
“Ukraine strikes Russian naval landing warship, Moscow admits damage”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-strikes-russian-naval-landing-warship-moscow-admits-damage/ar-AA1m2WbO
You know, it is almost as if there is a war going on over there.
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
Wishing all of you joy and peace for the Christmas season, and a new year of opportunity and accomplishment.
I read the article, and I’m curious and perplexed at the media pushing the ‘robot agency’ narrative. The article, and others linked in it, as well as others I’ve read, use wording which promotes the idea that the robots are choosing to commit violent acts. Is this just an extension of the ‘guns kill people’ motif, or do these reporters actually think the robots are alive, self-aware and upset with us?
I read the article, and I’m curious and perplexed at the media pushing the ‘robot agency’ narrative. The article, and others linked in it, as well as others I’ve read, use wording which promotes the idea that the robots are choosing to commit violent acts. Is this just an extension of the ‘guns kill people’ motif, or do these reporters actually think the robots are alive, self-aware and upset with us?
Never get between an assembly robot and its thing that it is assembling. That looks like what happened at Tesla.
@gavin, I think both. Plus the socialist “sabot” and Luddite history wrt labor savings. We are talking about a group that doesn’t really believe in ‘agency’ for people, preferring to attribute all sorts of things to outside forces.
FWIW there is a whole new class of robots in industry called “cobots” that are designed to work alongside humans, and with the same sort of tools, environment, etc. They are engineered to be compliant (ie they have ‘give’ in their structures) and to limit the forces they can generate. Trad robots have exclusion zones and cages around them to keep the soft and squishy humans out of reach. It’s not clear which kind was involved in this accident.
n
Never get between an assembly robot and its thing that it is assembling
– that is true even for human directed things like forklifts, overhead cranes, and other powerful aids.
n
A few times I’ve seen the power behind a forklift or bucket loader or factory robot when something went wrong. (Usually but not always someone not paying attention and there was a person where the metal wanted to be.) The person’s being moved, if he’s lucky, or squished, if he’s not. No matter how tough he is in human terms, he’s a tiny baby compared to the mass and horsepower of the machine.
For that matter, a couple times I’ve seen what happens when livestock is startled or decides not to cooperate. When the cow decides to be there, the human or the thin wooden wall isn’t going to stop her.
Cruise missiles. That’s a serious provocation, but Putin knows that the House will never approve additional aid without another Speaker losing his job.
Negotiations will start soon.
Belated Happy Holidays to all!
Been sleeping ~16 hours a day as the body fights off the Chinese invaders.
BLAH
@alan, you should feel better soon…
n
>> The Show Ya who has the Mach E Mustang “GT” abomination down the street punched a cr*ptastic hole in the side of his garage to accomodate a 240 V outlet for the charger since Ford’s equipment will not tolerate an extension cord and refuses to function if plugged into one.
How exactly does it “know” about an extension cord?
Supposedly the connection between the charger unit and the plug end is “smart”, so it might be some kind of digital handshake involving the charger, the cable, and the car.
Or the resistance (or impedance if the charging is AC).
Conceivably even ping time between the charger and the car, assuming the smart cable identifies how long it’s supposed to be.
That’s just off the top of my head, and done in near-total ignorance of how the charging works.
‘I’m an ecosexual!’ Woman, 45, claims she is in an ‘erotic’ relationship with an OAK TREE – after feeling a ‘connection’ while lying on top of it during lonely Covid walks
– seems harmless enough, except that she’s supposedly giving advice to other people too. I mean, crazy, yeah, like full on nutburger, but if she wants to grind on a tree??? Eh, rub one out loonie.
n
but the economy is BOOMING, says Slojoe, it’s just not being reported the right way…
– part of this is because of the M&A activity that happened several years ago, and the free money that led to huge expansions in number of stores for a lot of retailers. That was a bad idea then, and this is the result. But the reasons listed can’t be discounted either.
n
added– and as you read thru the list, note how many are closing URBAN locations…
Note: Finding a knot on a log and sitting on it and wriggling around does not constitute being in an erotic relationship.
Can a tree consent? Isn’t her relationship one of tree rape and plant abuse? She’s using the poor tree as nothing but a sex toy, what does the tree get from the ‘relationship’? What if the tree is underage? Or maybe the scandal is a May-December relationship…
Yeah, these are the crazy times.
n
Check the line characteristics at a sufficiently high frequency?
The same way Fluke network testers measure cable length and distance to a break. Some type of electrical signal measuring time or some other parameter.
Sort of the same as finding a knot hole. Just make certain there are no hornets.
>> Note: Finding a knot on a log and sitting on it and wriggling around does not constitute being in an erotic relationship.
Based on second-hand knowledge, right??
>> The same way Fluke network testers measure cable length and distance to a break. Some type of electrical signal measuring time or some other parameter.
This wouldn’t account for the variable length of the wire between the new outlet and the service panel.
The only thing that makes sense is being able to detect if an extension cord is undersized – 50 amps is #6.
But IANAEE.
If a tree pleasures itself in the forest does not make a sound??
“The Best Dark Science Fiction Books” by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-dark-science-fiction-books/
9. “The Girl With All the Gifts” by M. R. Carey is awesome. So was the movie of it also.
2. “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison is freaky.
1. The movie for “Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer was extremely weird.
What, no “Carrie” by Stephen King? And “Watchers” and “Odd Thomas” by Dean Koontz?
Target has a problem, but the stores I’ve been in over the last couple of years were understaffed.
I’m not sure what kind of neighborhood is around this Target in Nashville. Maybe @Ray can speak to that.
When we visited at the beginning of August last year, about an hour before closing on a Sunday night, the store looked like a tornado had blown through, and the employees working the aisles mostly hid, killing time by browsing their cell phones.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NuMqU2AdEYgzUsTx6
Target is yet another subsidiary of Vanguard/Black Rock/State Street. 20% owned by the three, 80% by institutions overall.
Nobody cares.
Publix is down the street so the neighborhood can’t be that bad.
Nah, not if it is in ‘Occupied Crimea‘…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12902563/Missouri-veteran-human-remains-pond-Missouri-Donald-Erwin.html
– the channel I mentioned some time ago, that searches for lost people who might be in the water, has spawned a whole movement. I’m shocked by how many cars there are in the water.
n
Not to mention the number of lost gubs…
only my superglue is a lot more expensive than yours.
@denis, I’ve superglued many cuts, scrapes, and other injuries. Burns like fire, but keeps the dirt and grit out of the wound… I’ve got actual skin glue in my big kit, but haven’t tried it vs. the superglue. The main problems with superglue being a lack of sterility, and its rigidity when cured. The bond will fail as the skin and soft tissues move, but it’s a good short term solution.
I gotta wonder if the skin glue burns as bad as regular superglue.
nick
Not to mention the number of lost gubs…
– the magnet fishing channels are good for that… and a surprising number of bombs and unexploded ordinance are in the water too.
n
I don’t venture into Nashville unless I have a good reason. Memphis even less so.
I’m not. People who want to terminate themselves will drive into the water. It has happened twice in my area (that I know about) since I have lived here. In one case people were on the shore and rescued the lady. In another incident the lady drove herself and her three kids into the river and none survived. The kids were young, one less than 1 year old, another about 2.5 years old, the oldest was 4 years old. All strapped in their car seats. I knew the father, but we were not friends, who basically just lost his entire family at once. I cannot imagine how he felt. I have never seen him again.
It’s early in the morning, or really late at night depending on perspective. Can’t sleep.
I was checking the log files of my website. Thousands of requests within the space of 15 minutes for various URLs that don’t exist. Apparently someone is using an automated scanner looking for WordPress plugins and directories, PHP directories and functions. All from the same IP address. It is obvious that someone is looking for a flaw to gain access.
None of that stuff (PHP or WordPress) exists on my website as it is about as simple as it gets. I upload images to directories that are not indexed. The URL must be exact. I do that so that Google cannot find the directories nor can other search engines. The directories change with each upload.
Real production websites must get hammered more than mine gets hammered.
And in other news we had to take the dog to the vet yesterday. The dog was not eating or drinking, acting sluggish, basically not her regular weird self. $600.00+ later we were told the dog has arthritis. We were given pain pills. Her teeth also need cleaning and a couple of teeth removed. That will wait until February as the vet has a teeth cleaning special during that month.
The dog really hesitates to jump on the couch or the bed. She hates to be picked up and when we try to pick her up to put on the couch or bed, she jumps up by herself. Sometimes not very gracefully. She will no longer go up and down the stairs.
This all started suddenly, as within a period of 24 hours. I also think the dog has some sort of dog flu or other ailment. Hopefully it will pass.