Hot, sooner or later it’ll be hot. Damp to wet… depending on whether it rains again or not. And I’ll be in it. Like yesterday.
I did my pickups while waiting for the grey truck of joy to deliver my fridge part. Across town it was raining. I could see the cell, and people coming out of it with their headlights on… but I didn’t drive through it. I also went to an “in person” estate sale. Some vintage vinyl and a broken turntable called to me. Picked up 5 albums by Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Picked up a boxed set of Artie Shaw, and a box set of “Masters of Swing”… they were Readers Digest editions, on heavy vinyl and pristine… maybe never played. The Prima got some play, but I don’t have them on vinyl or CD and he’s one of my favorites.
Funny what some record collections look like. This one was 7 or 8 milk crates filled mostly with jazz, and pop vocal from the late 50s, and 60s, with some church and Christmas mixed in. Then there was Bootsie Collins and His Rubber Band just sitting there… I’d have grabbed it but the disk wasn’t in the jacket after all. What the heck was Bootsie doing in with the Feranti and Teisher, Lawrence Welk, Liberace, Babs, and Big band? Or the extensive collection of Evie? There were a few other discs I’d have grabbed at $1 each, but they wanted $4 each platter, including the boxed sets. I didn’t get the turntable as it needed work. I could have doubled my money on ebay just selling it for parts or repair, but I don’t need another project, and I haven’t done any listing in a while. And $450 was too much cash to tie up.
Hit the Costco for TP and paper towel. Bought a few more things besides. Charmin on sale was $26. It used to be $18 before SloJoe took control of the checkbook. The only things that don’t seem to be crazy high are Canadian Maple syrup, and Australian lamb. They are the same or slightly less than they used to be, unless my memory is completely messed up.
Today will be one auction pickup, and a visit to my auctioneer to get back my chest freezer. Then comes the horror show of moving all the crep in the driveway and the garage to get the old fridge out. I might as well do the changeover to my food storage shelves and cabinets at the same time. I need to move them anyway… Oy, what a hot sweaty job that is going to be.
It’s the fractal thing again, before I can do one thing, I have to do the other 10,000 things.
Not gonna lie, would rather do just about anything else. But that’s what being an adult is, doing what needs doing even if you don’t want to.
Stack some stuff. Fix some stuff. Rearrange some stuff. Maybe even get rid of some stuff. Find a place for your stuff…
nick
————-
TP is still tracking roughly with an ounce of silver, but a quick check this morning at a place where I’ve ordered fishing lures in the past shows a price of $40/ounce delivered in a couple of days.
Canada and Australia went harder for the pandemic kabuki, and their economies are still screwed up. Australia even had Ze Kampfs for Ze Skippy.
Ze Skippy makes things work, however
Morons.
How was that going to be enforced? Blockade the interstate at the borders? Refuse to allow planes from other states to land? Is that even legal? Texas cannot even enforce the border with Mexico.
Dispute the charge on the credit card. I did that on something I ordered, came from China, but never arrived. The seller was adamant I should pay as he/she/shim shipped the product and had proof of delivery. The shipper’s lies didn’t work, I got my money back.
Breaking news.
https://babylonbee.com/news/walt-disney-posthumously-fired-by-walt-disney-company-for-being-white-male/
The dumpster fire continues to rage out of control. The James O’Keefe undercover video was like pouring gasoline on what was already an inferno.
It isn’t just Disney, however. What you see in the O’Keefe video is typical Corporate America, right down to the idiot VP subject of the video spilling the secrets because he thinks it will get him laid.
What you mean is, you don’t have a “front hole.”
The real “Wheels.” All you hear about is how great he is for lifting a quarantine. One that he implemented. Typical politician.
Abbott let DeSantis take point on limiting masks, lockdowns, and mandatory jabs.
Name one pandemic-related issue where Texas was ahead of the other Republican states.
Look’s like the Starliner return is delayed “indefinitely”.
I am getting used to our government announcing bad economic news late on Friday, sorry to see that sort of behavior spread to NASA.
Thanks to our goobermint, there are people walking around outside wearing a mask because they believe they will get COVID and die. Even a mask revealing the nose, or so dirty and used it could stop nothing, will save them from the excruciating death that our goobermint says will happen.
Thank you, goobermint, for destroying our freedom.
Name one pandemic-related issue where Texas was ahead of the other Republican states
– getting the kids back in schools. Pretty sure anyway.
————
Sunny and hot, coffee on the way, day is creaking into motion, a lot like my knees…
n
Chappaquiddick taught the real power how to game the media by breaking events late on Friday.
The Sunday talking head show guests are booked at the DC bureaus and everyone in New York goes home or, depending on paygrade, out to the Hamptons after 3 PM or so on Friday afternoon.
Couldn’t possibly be cost-effective…
https://www.channel3000.com/features/nothing-ive-ever-seen-before-400-ton-buildings-move-in-downtown-madison-continues-friday/article_872df17c-3048-11ef-bfed-474858c4f780.html
“8 Things I Really Hate About Starlink”
https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/8-things-i-really-hate-about-starlink
“Living in a rural area, I’ve relied on SpaceX’s satellite internet every day for years. It’s been great, mostly—but a few things about the service grind my gears. Here’s what to look out for if you’re considering signing up.”
“1. That Lack of Customer Support”
“2. Iffy Communication With Customers: Can I Get an Update Here?”
“3. Fixing Technical Issues: Trouble With Troubleshooting”
“4. Where Am I? IP Address Weirdness”
“5. The Pricing: High Up-Front Costs, Expensive Monthly Bills”
“6. The Hassle of Hands-On Installation”
“7. The Accessories Are Limited to the Starlink Store”
“8. Elon Musk Casts a Long Shadow”
I love my Starlink at the office. I have a three WAN multiplexer, a Peplink 30, where I have Starlink in the default position, and my two AT&T DSL lines in the backup positions. I am now thinking about canceling the DSL lines as an austerity measure, the Starlink is that good.
Yeah, the first three are all one, doesn’t like support. Who needs support?
IP addy comes from somewhere, why does he care? Use a vpn if you want to pick..
If the price was too high, he wouldn’t have gotten it. Obviously, since he got it, he considers it worth the price. So quit bitching, FFS or cancel. I absolutely detest that attitude. It’s worth the money to you or it isn’t. I hate people who think they should get other peoples’ stuff for free. Besides, what a f#cking maroon. Does he think satellites are free? Or that they launch themselves?
Hands on installation? My wife did it without issues, and you do it ONCE. FFS pull up your panties and get to work.
What sort of accessories does he want? New color skins for the box? I’ve bought a half dozen chinese mounts for my pizza box.
And number 8? What does that even mean? Does this whiner want faceless corps in control of his internet? Because blackrock is committed to liberty?
n
Hit the Costco for TP and paper towel. Bought a few more things besides. Charmin on sale was $26. It used to be $18 before SloJoe took control of the checkbook. The only things that don’t seem to be crazy high are Canadian Maple syrup, and Australian lamb. They are the same or slightly less than they used to be, unless my memory is completely messed up.
The Charmin Blue at Sam’s Club is $31.
https://www.samsclub.com/p/charmin-ultra-soft-toilet-paper-extra-mega-rolls-231-sheets-roll-32-rolls/P03030750?xid=toilet-paper_3
Ooooh! That whiny article really jerked your chain, huh, Nick?
Me too. It was click-bait.
I suppose the $120 a month is before sales tax and they don’t count the first $25…. so, call it 8.25%, round off the numbers and still pretty good internet for $128 a month.
I’m paying $92.12 a month. I’m on an older plan so I’m saving about $15 a month. They charged me $250 for installation. Which was drop the mast, change the radio, push the mast back up. That price is higher now.
It’s competitive with Starlink. My radio was zapped by lighting a little while back. It took a week for them to replace it and they didn’t charge. Same with Starlink? Doubtful.
Speed varies. Today is about 65 down. Weekdays will hit 95 with blinks of 115 down. Up is usually 50 to 70.
Couldn’t possibly be cost-effective…
https://www.channel3000.com/features/nothing-ive-ever-seen-before-400-ton-buildings-move-in-downtown-madison-continues-friday/article_872df17c-3048-11ef-bfed-474858c4f780.html
The developer got a lot of street cred for moving and restoring that building. The historical commission owes him now.
And number 8? What does that even mean? Does this whiner want faceless corps in control of his internet? Because blackrock is committed to liberty?
Musk will take every penny he can from you. And he will tell you that up front.
I have ridden in Musk’s cars. They are the real deal. Incredibly fast and quiet. There are reports of people making the batteries go 400,000 miles (Uber) which blows me away.
So Musk lives his life. Big deal. 98% of the populace is jealous, including the article writer.
Musk is rare, incredibly rare. I equate him to George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. They changed the entire world from burning wood for light to electric lights. Amazing, simply amazing.
Lots of faceless corps have money invested in SpaceX, including Google, Andreesen Horowitz, ARKK, and the ever-mysterious Baillie Gifford, the biggest single investor in Moderna.
I haven’t seen a recent list. Blackrock may be there by now since the dollar amounts are getting too huge for the VC crowd, but the usual suspects – Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street — will definitely have a big chunk of the IPO, whether that is Starlink spun off or SpaceX as a whole.
I bought a sign for my gate: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HS1JVVQ/
Because why not?
Madison has a very beautiful core area around the capitol building, stretching to where the university begins. Nice city.
I was to guess, I’d guess that “casts a long shadow” means that Musk bought Twitter, fired a lot of useless progtards, booted a bunch of bots, and allowed a number of wrongthinkers to get back on the platform.
Too bad it’s full of insane liberals.
n
Another thought about Starlink. How much power does it use?
Out at the EDC I have a PC just like this one running SqueezeServer. An 8 port 10/10/1000 switch, the router, a NanoBeam, and the wISP radio. I think it’s all of about 30 watts according to the UPS. With the monitor On.
With the old PC the UPS said the load was 110 watts. And crazy enough, it shows on the electric bill.
Here in the house, I have this PC, another 8 port switch, a NanoBeam, a UniFi, a Pi running P-Hole, the monitor, and it’s all of 36 to 38 watts. Bigger monitor.
The article is from PCWorld; the author probably didn’t pay for it, the editors did.
Support? Any time I email them, I get an answer no later than the next day. In fact, they even emailed ME, telling me that my Starlink isn’t working properly because it’s badly positioned; I need to move it, or at least trim the trees around it.
Another thought about Starlink. How much power does it use?
About 70 watts for the current antenna. It is a limitation of going portable for the system.
Musk is definitely more Edison or Westinghouse than the Tesla for whom the car was named.
Unlike Edison, Westinghouse, or even the fictional Tony Stark, however, the innovations from Musk’s companies come at a significant societal and environmental cost for the benefit of a relative few.
The RLTS is bootstrapping mankind’s access to space. No one else is doing that, and it has to be done at a local/global peak in cohesiveness and power. He’s got one generation, barring something truly world changing like a room temp superconductor and cheap “magic” power.
As it is, he might not make it in time, and we’ll lose the tech level we have and with it any chance to get off this rock. All the easy to get resources have been gotten. The next time civilization starts to climb the tech curve, it’ll take scavenging and recycling.
If we get access to space based resources, we can have a frontier again, and cheap everything.
It’s important to acknowledge that the RLTS is trying to do it CHEAPLY and en masse, whereas NASA always tried to do it expensively and exclusively. Even Jerryp railed against them and the custom space suits when other designs were cheaper and more flexible, iirc.
No one in their wildest proposals suggested putting 30K sats in orbit… and the RLTS is a quarter of the way there already.
n
Musk is definitely more Edison or Westinghouse than the Tesla
– and yet Tesla was Westinghouse’s bitch after E kicked him to the curb. W used him to avoid E’s patents. E got his shiny toy, and wouldn’t let go, even in the face of a superior method (wrt power generation and distribution).
We all benefited because we got BOTH and the market sorted itself out.
————–
I’m having to attack this garage reorg in tiny steps. It’s freaking hot out there.
n
103F in mine – that is with the dog door latched open to share the house swamp cooler. Even the mouser wanted inside.
Basically all garage & outdoor projects have to be completed in the mornings before 10am.
I’ve set up a popup canopy so I have somewhere to move stuff to. I’ve got my coolvest soaking. I am draining the Portacool to refill it and point it at me and the garage. Still the time between the last timestamp and now is all I could take.
n
I was a member of the Delta II launch team. Among others, we launched the GPS and Iridium satellites.
@paul
Because you wanted a perve filter?
It was on sale last month and they had another $# off the scan-and-Go price which brought it down to $23 for two pkgs.
Gave my buddy at the BOL an IFAK refill kit for his birthday. He does a lot of shooting/hunting/fishing/being out away from help, and had nothing. Besides, it was just sitting in my office getting older…
I just went to North American Rescue to order a new one and they are over $150. I don’t recall spending that kind of cash on a couple of refill kits… FJB and his 30% inflation.
I don’t regret giving it away, it does no one any good sitting in my office, but I didn’t think it cost that much. He’ll freak out if he finds out.
I put it in a camo fanny pack, with trauma shears, and an emergency blanket. Add some regular bandaids, a cold pack, and you are all set.
n
I think I read that Space X has now launched more rockets than all the rest of the world combined for all of modern history… They are averaging one a week, and trying to double that…
n
Balancing a bit:
If we didn’t have Teslas on the road most people would be hard-pressed to name an EV.
The success of Tesla forced the analysis of the scarcity of raw materials, insufficiency of the infrastructure, battery life issues and raised the profile of the discussion so a lot more people recognize that government mandates are ludicrous.
Without Tesla, there would be a lot fewer charging stations and we wouldn’t realize that they make such excellent targets for thieves.
In the same vein, when the big name auto makers jumped in, failed, and had to scale way back–Ford losing $132,000 per Lightning EV– a lot of people read the news and some might have gotten a bit skeptical.
The spectacle of Transportation Genius Pete Bootyjuice defending the $7.5 billion Biden program that has produced a grand total of 8 charging stations in three years is stupiditity writ large and easily understood by innumerate taxpayers.
Boosting one to space to advertise is Musk at his finest.
Tesla let Musk bu Twitter. Priceless.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13558575/Family-tortured-north-carolina-morales.html
– anyone want to bet that there is a whole lot more to this story? Like why were they targeted? Who were the attackers? (did they speak english or spanish? Regional accent?)
It’s also proof of two things. Your zip code won’t protect you. You don’t know your neighbors.
n
I think I read that Space X has now launched more rockets than all the rest of the world combined for all of modern history… They are averaging one a week, and trying to double that…
Does that figure include the rockets launched against Israel? 😉
@Nick
“I don’t regret giving it away, it does no one any good sitting in my office,”
This morning I went to an estate sale of a gentleman in his eighties. Lots of tools. Lot’s of duplicates. I saw at least two Lufkin 6-ft folding rules in excellent condition. Then I opened a drawer in an 30-drawer gray metal cabinet and found another dozen, brand new.
Lot’s of SK, Wright, Klein, Channellock, Starrett, etc. Many duplicates. Most of it just drawer wear. Found a used Milwaukee die grinder–dirty but good condition–for $10. Added 50 to my cd collection. Bought a DVD for a friend. Hit a Goodwill on the way home and found some collectible cd’s to list. Need to find my Round Tuit’s
Came home and did some useful work. Went to the store and bought bratwurst patties and raspberry sherbet. Had late lunch and drank the rest of the coffee that I didn’t drink this morning because I was going to stand in line at the estate sale. Funny how that is a topic of conversation in most estate sale lines–I don’t recall that from 20-30 years ago.
Was also talking in line about the guys that scan books, making the comment that when you scan barcodes you don’t know what you put in your bag. (For those not familiar, the bluetooth scanner queries over your phone and gives you a yes or no signal. No barcode and the scanner people are clueless.) Looked over and the guy two places ahead of me had a scanner on his finger. The real punch line was that the guy standing behind me was co-owner of one of the biggest independent used bookstores in the area. He was loading a couple totes of books when I exited the garage, went back in the house, and scanner guy was still working, carrying his bag of books.
ADDED: If you know anyone that buys books for resell and uses a scanner, suggest that they learn to use the Mrk One Eyeball and look at the colophons on the spines.
– anyone want to bet that there is a whole lot more to this story? Like why were they targeted? Who were the attackers? (did they speak english or spanish? Regional accent?)
It’s also proof of two things. Your zip code won’t protect you. You don’t know your neighbors.
MS-13 checking out their options.
Wow, that looks like my neighborhood. We have had two home invasions in the last three months. Muslims preying on muslims.
Nah. More of a warning sign. 80f plus and sunny, if the mosquitoes aren’t insane… you have been warned. I’m in the middle of 26 acres.
That’s all.
And even when the gate was working, all you need to do is push a doorbell button to open the gate. No keypads here. I still get some random person driving down to the house every couple of weeks.
It’s kinda crazy. Who goes down a random driveway?
https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/06/22/supreme-court-clears-the-way-for-a-wealth-tax-because-obamacare-was-not-a-tax-n2175825
Anyone believe that the PLT’s aren’t laying plans right now?
Best thing the conservatives could do it offer up a constitutional amendment, and then propose a bill for a 50% tax on unrealized appreciation over $10 million to “pay down the national debt”. Then let the rich folks get busy and get that amendment passed, before the fox gets in the chickenhouse.
“Who goes down a random driveway? ”
Thieves, anarchists, lovers, druggies…
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/06/video-a-republican-woman-responds-to-new-york-mags-obnoxious-cover-story/
I looked at her Twitter.
I am in love.
Influencer who was skyrocketed into social media fame by documenting her solo travels breaks down in tears as she reveals her nomadic lifestyle has left her feeling ‘isolated and lonely’: ‘I need help’
– as someone who was paid to spend between 100 and 250 days a year traveling or away from home, I can tell you that it sux. I did it for over a decade averaging 200 days away. I at least had a crew of guys with me, sometimes only three or 4, and I got home every month or couple of months.
Constant travel is incredibly alienating and isolating.
n
– “late night swim”
n
“Rippy The Gator” by The Arrogant Worms: https://youtu.be/d0Eqwjfnoos?si=a_Si3L7E9XIx6iHH
“Who goes down a random driveway? ”
Thieves, anarchists, lovers, druggies…
Explorers. Both good and bad.
“Steel’s Edge (The Edge, Book 4)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Steels-Edge-Book-4/dp/1937007820?tag=azlinkplugin-20/
Book number four of a four book paranormal romance dark fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2012 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. Unfortunately, I think that the series is complete now.
“The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny…”
“Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain. After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte’s life is turned upside down once again.”
“Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan—and he’s on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird. So when his presence leads his very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers’ operation, however, goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive…”
The authors have a website at:
https://www.ilona-andrews.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (4,327 reviews)
Lynn
“Wealthy Liberals Barrel Ahead with Plans to Block the Sun”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/06/20/wealthy-liberals-barrel-ahead-with-plans-to-block-the-sun/
“Billionaire-backed non-governmental organizations (NGO) behind a bungled experiment to block sunlight using aerosols in California have vowed to continue their efforts, Politico reported on Wednesday.”
“The initiative, which aims to lower global temperatures by making clouds brighter and thus better able to reflect sun rays, has faced hurdles as local officials in California are hesitant to allow scientists to spray the aerosols, such as liquefied salt, into the atmosphere. Nonetheless many of the program’s financial backers, including Hyatt Hotel heiress Rachel Pritzker, remain undeterred, according to Politico. (RELATED: Climate Scientists Want An Umbrella The Size Of Argentina To Block Out The Sun)”
I just wonder what the long term consequences of aersols in the atmosphere would be ?
Personally, I favor large, electrically operated umbrellas in geosync between Earth and the Sun to experiment with shading the Earth somewhat.
NASA, Global Astronomers Await Rare Nova Explosion
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/nasa-global-astronomers-await-rare-nova-explosion/
Those with interest should practice locating and familiarize yourselves with the appearance before the onset of the event.
$30 at Costco this afternoon.
Block sunlight. Reduce plant growth. Reduce solar panel output. Easy to model, compute damages, and file lawsuits.
Unknown effects on weather, also easy to model. Degree of correctness in model output unknown, but why should that stop anything? (See the ensemble “spaghetti” graph from CMIP5) who’s first with a model that shows the shiny cloud made the drought in Cali worse?
Urbex, looking for abandoned real estate to document.
YouTube gold.
Finished book 5 and will immediately start book six… Kate Daniels kicks butt.
Or maybe I should just go to bed. After I shower.
n