Cooler, and wetter, and that’s nice for a change. The overcast kept the heat down yesterday, and the rain helped too. IDK if the same will happen today or not, but then nobody else does either… so yeah, cooler and wetter. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Did some auction stuff in the morning. Met with the plumber about the gas line for the whole house gennie. Did some pickups. Hit Costco for TP and some other stuff, mainly snacks for school lunches. Made dinner and stacked some meat for the freezer…
Today D2 has an orthodontist appointment first thing, then I’ll meet the plumber, if it’s not pouring down rain. Getting gas to the gennie is definitely progress. Then it’s up to me to get some temporary electrical stuff done. I can do that, I even think I have the cables and connectors at my secondary in deep storage. Might take a bit of digging to get to that though.
Finally some real prepping. Meat for the freezer. Work on the gennie…
And all the domestic bliss too.
Take the time while you can.
And stack.
nick
Today’s Tyler Durden cowardice.
Bell Atlantic (Verizon) is buying GTE (Frontier) for their fiber network … again.
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/verizon-buy-frontier-communications-20-billion-major-nationwide-fiber-network-expansion
When I cashed out of my options just ahead of the last merger closing, the share price was the equivalent of VZ at 70. That’s how much shareholder value has been lost to the last generation of execs who thought that was a good idea.
The group included William Barr, who left the Bush 41 White House to work as General Counsel for GTE in the 90s.
The company stock is below where the execs got their grants this Spring.
More layoffs are coming.
Welp, the in-hear hearing aids didn’t work out. Apparently, I have small ear canals, and they worked more like ear plugs than hearing aids. So now I have more classic behind-the-ear devices to try. First impressions are a lot better. We’ll see…
Of course, saving money by cutting executive compensation is off the table.
Excellent. I have the same type and generally forget I am wearing the devices. Except when putting on sunglasses or glasses.
With this type of device there is the dome or ear molds option. Ear molds allow for a bigger in-ear receiver. Domes were not as comfortable but did not have to be cleaned, just replaced.
Battery or rechargeable? Batteries have the advantage of never having to wait for a recharge. It is easy to carry spare batteries. The disadvantage is the recurring cost of batteries. I liked batteries as the VA provided them at no charge. I still have about 150 batteries left from when I changed to rechargeable. The devices do last all day on a charge. The batteries would last three days by turning off the devices at night.
Good fortune on your journey and selection. You will hear things differently so an adjustment period is needed.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13816965/Hunter-Biden-arrives-tax-evasion-trial-begins-LA-wife-melissa-cohen.html
Changes plea to guilty on some of the charges. One might wonder if he has a direct line to a pardon…
Not before the election.
n
SO… lying liars who lied.
– but hey, some dude says it’s all lies and misdirection. Migrants iz gud 4 US.
3 days for the truth to start coming out, once the light was shined into the darkness.
n
Cool and overcast, rain threatening. Kid2 has new rubber bands, D1 is home sick with sore throat and body aches, no fever. Plumber is cutting and threading pipe to make up the new line. I got a battery hooked up and the engine turned over, so I’m hoping it will start right up when the gas is in place.
n
Calling them a “Home Depot Rival” is nothing but clickbait, but it sucks they couldn’t find a buyer.
– they had a great brand, solid name recognition, and a well understood place in the market, and some fancy lad F’d it up. The name change, and logo change lost me, and I pay attention as I’m always doing something around the house. I had no idea LL was Lumber Liquidators.
It’s especially ironic given that growth in retail now is in LIQUIDATION and the secondary market…. and they BLEW it.
n
none of this is news for readers here, but I like the summary.
n
I have been banned from FaceCrack for three days because of an image I got off FaceBook. I posted the image in 2019, five years ago. I am apparently exploiting children by sharing an image of class photograph from the ‘50’s with one student mooning the photographer. Facebook also said they are reporting me to the local authorities for sharing the image.
I have repeatedly reported to FB advertisements that are promoting sexual encounters and other pornography. FB has, every time, said that such items do not violate their standards. The big difference is the advertisers pay FB, I do not pay money. Money is apparently the driving force behind community standards, not any actual metrics that can be measured.
Lumber Liquidators had low rent locations to save money, but the big problem with the brand image was an association with talk radio, in particular, at the peak, Limbaugh and Cutie Pie (Hannity).
When the interest rates return to historic norms and six figure haircuts hit house prices, no one is going to spend a bunch of money and time on the floors in the hope of squeezing out another couple of grand from a buyer.
Any potential buyer of ”LL” had to take that into consideration when considering a bid.
Plumber is cutting and threading pipe to make up the new line. I got a battery hooked up and the engine turned over, so I’m hoping it will start right up when the gas is in place.
Do you have a transfer switch or do you just turn off the main breakers ?
SO… lying liars who lied.
I suspect that the apartment owner is going to have to hire mercenaries to clean out the gang(s).
Lumber Liquidators was renamed LL Flooring in 2020.
Problems for LL Flooring come amidst a widespread ‘retail apocalypse’ which is seeing stores struggle with consumer pullback and increasingly tight margins.
There were almost 2,600 store closures in the first four months of 2024. If that trend continues, almost 8,000 will have been lost by the end of the year.
That was a stupid name change.
Macys is closing almost 100 stores by the end of this year. That was surprising.
When the interest rates return to historic norms and six figure haircuts hit house prices, no one is going to spend a bunch of money and time on the floors in the hope of squeezing out another couple of grand from a buyer.
Any potential buyer of ”LL” had to take that into consideration when considering a bid.
My wife almost spent $6K on new flooring for her father’s townhome but a buyer showed up and demanded $20K off the listed price instead. My wife gave it to her and she bought it.
“Larry Ellison Will Control Paramount After Deal, Filing Shows”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/larry-ellison-control-paramount-deal-170250731.html
Looks like the Paramount deal is slowly moving forward.
“Robot Reads News 2 September 2024” by Scott Adams
https://www.reddit.com/r/dilbert/comments/1f9v8l8/robot_reads_news_2_september_2024/
Crude but true. Brazil is going down.
Do you have a transfer switch or do you just turn off the main breakers ?
– I have a transfer switch, but the estimate to install is $2-4K. So in the mean time I’ll either add a 50A 240v plug and socket connected to the house – ie backfeed the house (with an interlock kit installed) or I’ll add the plug and use some temp power distro I own to get a bunch of places to plug extension cords. At least there isn’t any refueling with that use…
Either way, it started on the first crank, after sitting for at least 7 years. Didn’t even have to goose it, or crank for long, only a few seconds. It’s quiet enough to stand next to it and talk, although you have to talk loudly. That will improve when I put the panels back in place and reinstall some sound absorbing stuff.
But IT LIVES
n
Brazil going down…
Love the commentor who has to bring in Tony and Orange man as too bad to support. Can’t be on the side of the angels if T and E are taking that side. I guess the commentor would like to be first against the wall…
n
And suddenly it’s raining.
n
Let’s hope the new owners purge the “Star Trek” production team and start fresh.
In Dallas at the end of June, Frakes was talking up the new “Academy” series with Holly Hunter as a lead, but that premise is awful and needs to get Force Majeure-ed before shooting begins.
Hunter “The Bad Son” Biden has pled guilty to all his tax evasion charges. He could receive up to 15 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Let’s see what he gets. plugs probably has a pardon already signed and a blank signature one for The Kamel Humper.
My Colonel Bat Guano neighbors in Florida bought their house for $470k at the height of the bubble and then put what I figure is another $200k worth of improvements into the place, including what was rumored to be $60k of electrical work to charge an early custom plugin Prius conversion.
When I sold in 2010 “As Is” for what the market would bear, the paperwork makes it look like the banks got nervous and forced them into a short sale for $400k.
Now, that is a haircut, but it is the kind of number which won’t be too unusual if rates go to, say, 8%.
“LL” is from that era when everyone thought that they would get a tenbagger out of their house if they put in a bunch of cheap/easy rennovations paid for with borrowed money and used the HOA rules to make Skippy resod his lawn.
Honestly, I was surprised I got through the last 14 years without waking up in the snake torture room at Gitmo, Mrs. Colonel Bat Guano’s paid contracting gig for the Army after her last active duty position working on Able Danger for Poindexter.
We had a bunch of Deep State working for the freak shows at MacDill in my neighborhood.
“BREAKING: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov breaks silence for first time since arrest in Paris”
https://humanevents.com/2024/09/05/breaking-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-breaks-silence-for-first-time-since-arrest-in-paris
“Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country.”
I tried to login to my Telegram account the other day and found that it has been deleted. Things that make you go hmm.
I am amazed at how many countries claim that we do not have a right to privacy.
The pardon requires the conviction on a specific charge. Only Nixon got the blanket pardon, and that arguably cost Ford the election.
Cr*p. We saw Frakes at the end of May. This Summer just flew by.
I have a gas generator (Champion), and bought a 6 circuit transfer switch. I installed it myself (carefully – using only one hand with the main power off) with the provided excellent instructions (there was also a video). Installation process: remove the hot wire from the breaker you want to use, attach to transfer switch breaker’s wire with wire nuts, the other wire from the transfer switch goes to the panel breaker. (This after mounting the transfer switch box next to the main panel.)
The transfer switch has 6 breakers. I had identified the six house circuits I wanted to connect (garage, freezer, refridgerator, bedroom [for CPAP], den [for TV] and the plug for the full-time oxygen concentrator needed [which also powers the cable modem/routers]). Did that by hand, although you can use a tool like this for $55 to make it easier.
Took about 4 hours (because I work slow and careful; there were no sudden sparks). A power outage only requires moving the portable generator out to the driveway (about 6 feet from it’s normal storage spot), hooking up the big cable from generator to transfer switch, and starting the generator (two pulls, unless I forget to turn on the key or the fuel valve). Once the generator running smooth, flip the 6 switches on the transfer switch, and ‘Robert is your dad’s brother’). Very convenient. And I don’t have to run extension cords everywhere.
Transfer switch cost about $300, as I recall (this was 7 years ago). I got this one “Reliance Controls 306CRK Pro/Tran-2 6 Circuit Transfer Switch Kit”. Good instructions, video on their web site. Worth it.
“Dallas Police Confirm Venezuelan Gang That Took Over Aurora, CO Apartment Complex is Now Wreaking Havoc in Texas”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/dallas-police-confirm-venezuelan-gang-that-took-aurora/
“Slowly but surely, Biden has turned America into a Third-World hellscape, where violent armed thugs run the streets with impunity.”
“According to the DailyMail, Dallas police have confirmed the dangerous Venezuelan gang that overtook apartment complexes in Aurora, CO and Chicago, IL has made its way into Texas, and is now wreaking havoc in yet another American community.”
““We have had gang activity in the north Dallas area linked to the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela,” Jennifer Pryor, the spokeswoman for the Dallas Police Department told the DailyMail in an interview. ‘Our department is collaborating with other agencies to address possible crimes linked to this and other gangs in our city,” she added.”
The Dallas police will take them out if they pursue taking over apartment complexes in Dallas.
>> I didn’t know that was possible with the Costco Visa
I have done direct deposit with the Costco rewards for the last three years. Each time over $1K.
@Ray, do you also have an Executive membership? Worth it if your yearly spending is at least the (current) difference over the regular membership.
>> Meeting with generator plumber soon. Hope he’ll just do it. I can install an interlock kit and plug connector to the house myself if it comes to that, but I’d prefer someone else do the gas. I’d prefer someone else do the whole thing, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.
DIY nat gas always makes me a bit nervous. Always triple check for leaks.
>> School shooting in Georgia. Another low-life scum looking to get his name and face in the news, 15 minutes of notoriety, a loser.
As I’ve said before, these losers should get one mention of their name once for any network/newspaper that decides to include it. And no pictures ever. No interviews with family/friends. And so on. A $500,000 fine for violating these policies.
>> Getting someone to come out to your residence and do something for money is extremely difficult. Luckily, I found a decent HVAC vendor. I’m having a heck of a time getting someone to come out and quote a concrete patio. I still may end up doing it myself, and doing pavers instead, but I’d at least like to see an option for me doing no physical labor.
Actually doing paid for work here has been hit or miss. Getting an estimate is a bigger challenge. Most reputable guys are so busy so that unless they’re literally driving past your house they don’t have the time. Just for laughs the W posted four requests for a roofing job estimate on the Angi site. As I expected, nobody responded.
Transfer switch cost about $300, as I recall (this was 7 years ago). I got this one “Reliance Controls 306CRK Pro/Tran-2 6 Circuit Transfer Switch Kit”. Good instructions, video on their web site. Worth it.
Sounds good !
Generator Supercenter put a $2,000 Siemens 200 amp 230 volt automatic transfer switch in with my 38 kW natural gas electric generator. It can make 158 amps at 230 volts on natural gas. I have a 200 amp 230 volt circuit breaker box with 200 amp 230 volt service from the grid.
My $12,000 installation cost included the labor, the Siemens transfer switch, the 210 foot buried natural gas line from my meter to my generator, the buried power lines (35 feet), the site built concrete pad, etc, etc, etc. The generator itself was $12,000. Sales tax boosted the entire cost to $25K and something. This was in August 2021.
We have power outages monthly, if not weekly, in my neighborhood, of an hour or more. We have been through two hurricanes now with 8 hour and 60 hour outages. Well worth it.
“It’s Spreading: America’s Top Oil Field Terrorized by Armed Cuban and Venezuelan Gangs [VIDEO]”
https://thelibertydaily.com/its-spreading-americas-top-oil-field-terrorized-armed/
“(ZeroHedge)—It’s only going to get worse from here, as the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous open border policies have now come to a ‘neighborhood near you’ (for some of you). In the past week, we saw armed Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua members terrorize the northern Denver suburb of Aurora and other sanctuary cities run by far-left Democrats. New concerns out Thursday afternoon indicate critical infrastructure is now under threat from migrant cartel members.”
“According to Libs of TikTok, a Texas-based oil/gas company issued a memo to employees informing them that police and the FBI have warned armed Cuba and Venezuela migrant gangs are committing thefts in the Permian Basin (America’s highest producing oil field).”
Um, we have a problem.
If ever there were a use for the National Guard. Posse Comitatus does not apply to elimination of crimmigrants.
I would even use the Regular Army if I were President.
I’m thinking of a solar-based backup for the Vegas house. There are several models with expandable batteries. You can add capacity as you save money. It would not be grid-tied and, for starters, will power the mini-split once I have it installed.
You can start without solar panels and keep the “generator” plugged into the mains. Then, I will add solar panels later as I save up some money.
I’m thinking of a solar-based backup for the Vegas house. There are several models with expandable batteries. You can add capacity as you save money. It would not be grid-tied and, for starters, will power the mini-split once I have it installed.
You can start without solar panels and keep the “generator” plugged into the mains. Then, I will add solar panels later as I save up some money.
DiveMedic has two Tesla 3 powerwalls on his house now with several solar panels: “Electric and Power”
https://areaocho.com/category/prepping/electric-and-power/
Be careful, there are a lot of charlatans out there.
I would use a name brand for your batteries, like the Tesla 3 powerwalls. My neighbor built his own system for $120,000 (batteries and panels). Since he made the panels with batteries himself, our T&D (transmission and distribution), CenterPoint, will not allow him to put power back on the grid. All he can do is get power from the grid when needed. They have been telling him for two years now that they will evaluate and certify his system some day soon.
https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/powerwall/learn/what-expect-powerwall-3
I want a Megapack for my office building.
I have a 200A whole house automatic transfer switch sitting in the garage. It’s expensive to put in though. The quotes above were for that switch.
I didn’t get a quote for the new socket and interlock (which is just a sliding piece of metal you attach to your existing panel) as I’m comfortable doing that myself.
I did WAY higher amperage and much more complex temporary power disto setups as an entertainment/stage electrician.
n
No, my spending is not that much at Costco. Most of my rebate on the card is for other purchases.
Gas to haul the RV over the mountains.
What’s going on in Franklin, TN? My old work laptop has to go to an address there, and I know we have other facilities in that part of the state.
All I knew about Franklin up until a couple of months ago is that Ramsey has his company there.
Our Xfinity internet is down at the house since 330pm this afternoon. Xfinity is claiming that it is our 5 year old Surfboard modem. Me, I am suspecting the Xfinity neighborhood box behind our house. They are sending a technician Friday afternoon.
After our 3 day hurricane Beryl Xfinity outage, I am thinking about moving the house to Starlink and moving to the smallest rung of Xfinity as a backup.
“Putin Quips That He Prefers Harris To Trump, Cites ‘Contagious, Expressive’ Laugh”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-quips-he-prefers-harris-trump-cites-contagious-expressive-laugh
Wait, I thought that Biden said that Putin is Trump’s buddy and sponsor ?
Put the cable modem and router on a UPS if they aren’t on one already.
Georgia School Shooter’s Father Arrested, Charged With Murder and Manslaughter
Georgia has the death penalty. Expedite the trail and appeal, then carry out the penalty as an early holiday present to the families of the victims.
Let the kid stew on that, and accidentally leave him his shoe laces.
100,000 fentanyl deaths a year prove life is cheap. Past time to be taking out the trash.
Are you saying the father should be executed?
I’m not sure how they can charge the father with murder.
Yeah, the other article wasn’t clear WHY they were charging the father. The article read as if the dad might have been guilty of unrelated crimes.
It’s a greased up slippery slope to start charging people that didn’t commit the crime… more details need to be released.
n
Put the cable modem and router on a UPS if they aren’t on one already.
The UPS died during Beryl and I have yet to replace it.
But the Xfinity neighborhood router, behind my house, only has a 15 minute battery. So when the power is out for 15 minutes, it is gone for the duration. Like, during Beryl.
Beryl was a power test for the entire Houston metropolitan area of 8 million souls. We failed miserably.
Are you saying the father should be executed?
I’m not sure how they can charge the father with murder.
Because he gave a gun to a minor and enabled him.
It is a stretch if you ask me.
“Smallpox – Eradicated or Renamed?”
https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/smallpox-eradicated-or-renamed-a3047fb1
“Summary”
“At the time of this writing, WHO has declared mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) as a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern), the second time since 2022. [38] While it has been argued widely, and correctly so, that such a declaration makes no sense given the relatively mild nature of the disease (WHO’s own figures indicating a mortality rate of 0.2% among confirmed cases) [40], lack of evidence of a contagion and WHO’s dubious role in the so called pandemic of Covid-19, a closer scrutiny of mpox also brings forth the following facts, and leads to questions around the claims of smallpox eradication.”
“Based on clinical diagnosis mpox is no different than smallpox. In fact, mpox was discovered in humans in 1970, coincidentally with the strict enforcement of mass smallpox vaccinations in Zaire (now called Democratic Republic of Congo). [23, 24]”
“In the mid 19th century, when smallpox was strictly enforced in the West [39], a disease resembling smallpox called impetigo contagiosa was discovered (in 1864), and smallpox vaccination was actually identified as one of the causative factors of this disease. [1]”
“Both impetigo contagiosa and mpox exist today. Given that both these diseases have been clinically indistinguishable from smallpox, and the fact that the global public health agencies have similarly renamed other so called vaccine preventable diseases, thereby inflating vaccination efficacy, it can be argued that smallpox was never eradicated, and it’s eradication is based simply on the shaky grounds of virology while not passing the barrier of clinical diagnosis.”
What the frack ? I thought that smallpox was a deadly disease. 30% fatality rate according to:
https://www.amnh.org/explore/science-topics/disease-eradication/countdown-to-zero/smallpox
I do not understand this article.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Dr. Eades has been posting about vaccines the last few months on his newsletter The Arrow.
He references two books: “Turtles All The Way Down” and “Dissolving Illusions”.
Prior to Covid, I was a true believer in vaccines. I took every one my doctors ever offered, except flu shots, and I even took them when required by my job. I got hepatitis, shingles, and pneumonia shots.
But the mania surrounding the rollout of the mRNA therapy, its lack of testing and long term study, caused me to balk.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot about vaccines, and none of it is good. The best of them is a tradeoff of risk of death and severe illness from the vaccine itself vs. a reduction in disease and severity of illness from the purported disease. The underplaying of the risk and the overstating of the benefit is important. Informed consent is a joke if you don’t provide all the information.
There’s a theory, supported at least minimally by charts (see his newsletter link), that all viral infections including smallpox were in decline due to imroved sanitation, BEFORE the rollout of their various vaccines. And that’s the REAL vaccines, not the mRNA experiment.
Besides sanitation, there is the natural tendency of diseases to attenuate. If they’re too deadly, they kill the host and can’t propagate. So the theory goes that the same disease changes, becomes more transmittable, and less deadly. Perhaps this explains the smallpox/mpox/impetigo phenomenon.
No vaccine, ever, has been tested against a placebo in a randomized controlled trial. Let that sink in.