Same as yesterday. The weather. Cool, warming later, clear and sunny. Which is AWESOME!!11!!1 I like Fall. I like Spring. I tolerate Summer as best as I can because that’s the price to live here, in a robust economy. Winter just reminds me of Chicago and growing up, but it’s not real winter. I rarely get to wear sweaters and I don’t live in a jacket. On the other hand, I don’t have to shovel snow.
Saturday I did manage to get some stuff done, and made progress on other stuff, and even got started on some stuff that has been on the list for a while. It was a little disjointed but since progress was made, I’ll take it.
Now today I just need to build on that success… or at least keep it moving forward. That is the goal. We’ll see how well I can execute.
That whole “fractal” nature of the tasks does sometimes get in the way. And sometimes I take the easy task, even though the more important task is waiting. Hopefully I can get a couple of important tasks done today.
If not, we’ll do something else.
Stacking will surely be involved.
nick
First post? Is this Slashdot?
Is Slashdot still around?
I put about six hours of cleaning into the garage yesterday, I need to switch to clearing out space in the container for the stuff I’m winterizing, today. I also have an e-waste pile and a stuff-to-be-sawz-all-into-oblivion pile.
Attending my former church today. A big rivalry game this Thursday between two schools that are only 5 miles apart. It has always been a grudge match. This time it is significant.
Oliver Springs is rated #2 in the state in 1A, Coalfield is rated #3. This is effectively the state championship game for area. The game will be televised locally.
The church has invited both teams to church along with a guest speaker who is the sports director for the local TV and is the announcer for the live broadcast on Thursday.
This is as big as it gets in local sports. So I thought I would take some pictures.
Every seat will be taken on Thursday. Crowded standing room only on the sidelines and end zones. I expect maybe 4K, or more, people which a lot for this area.
I was glent a memory stick containing several episodes of the Apple TV production of Slow Horses, based on the Mick Herron novels:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Horses
Gary Oldman. Theme music by Mick Jagger.
I’ve watched four episodes.
I’d recommend it.
I was watching Van der Valk on PBS. Past tense. Any writer that uses the hoary “Put down your gun or your partner gets it” sucks. Not the only problem, either.
Ugg. I watched so many Elon Musk shorts yesterday I dreamed I was riding around in a car with him.
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73F and clear. Not much breeze.
Breakfast has been eaten, along with a donut. Coffee needs a bit more time, then I will start my day in earnest.
n
I’m going to try “Tailscale” on my Synology NAS and Mac Mini. I keep my Calibre library on the NAS and Apple TV library on an attached drive to the Mac Mini. I’ll see how well the connection works while I’m in Vegas next week.
Anybody who has experience with Tailscale? Problems, security, etc, any comment is welcome.
Speaking of Calibre, I bought the new Kindle Paperwhite. It wouldn’t connect to Calibre. I then used the cable that came with the Kindle and it worked. Transferred about 50 books over. I’ll keep the cable plugged into a hub.
I’m also going to start playing with Docker. The NAS also supports it.
Given our diverse crowd, anyone have experience cutting bowling balls into pieces? best saw? Best technique?
Chainsaw is scary.
n
Maybe a band-saw. Ask someone who drills the finger holes.
Now, why do you want to cut up a bowling ball?
“Leaked US Intelligence Documents Related To Israel’s Attack Preparations On Iran Appear Online”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/leaked-us-intelligence-documents-related-israels-attack-preparations-iran-appear
“A major leak of US classified documents has appeared online Saturday… or we should qualify alleged leaks of at least two TOP SECRET documents, with both marked NOFORN – which is among the highest classifications – given it indicates the specific intelligence cannot be shared with allied foreign intelligence agencies (with the exception of the “Five Eyes”).”
“A breaking Axios report suggests their authenticity: “U.S. officials are extremely concerned about a potentially major security breach after two alleged U.S. intelligence documents about Israel’s preparations for an attack on Iran were published by a Telegram account affiliated with Iran,” Barak Ravid, who maintains close Israeli military and intelligence sources, writes.”
Typical USA administration, leaky as a sieve.
>>I am glad that you could all put those days of scarcity behind you. Long may it remain so.
Check back 17 days from now…
“Elon Musk Warns “Car Industry Very Difficult” As “Ford & Tesla” Only “US Car Companies That Haven’t Gone Bankrupt””
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/elon-musk-warns-car-industry-very-difficult-ford-tesla-only-us-car-companies-havent-gone
“Elon Musk appeared at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Montgomery County on Friday night for his second town hall in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. With just 16 days until the election, Musk – and his pro-Trump America PAC – are holding town halls statewide to support the former president.”
“In an off-topic conversation, an audience member asked Musk why Tesla had not purchased the struggling EV competitor Rivian.”
“Musk responded:”
The most difficult thing is any business is to control costs. It is incredibly difficult.
“”I’m With Elon”: Gavin Newsom Unexpectedly Backs SpaceX In California Lawsuit Against Rogue Democrats”
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/im-elon-gavin-newsom-unexpectedly-backs-spacex-california-lawsuit-against-rogue
“California’s far-left governor, Gavin Newsom, has unexpectedly backed Elon Musk and SpaceX. The private spaceflight company, which handles the majority of US space launches and leads the space race in this solar system, filed a lawsuit against a California state commission early last week, accusing it of political bias. The suit alleges that Democrats are hindering SpaceX launches off the Pacific coast.”
“”I’m with Elon,” Gov. Newsom said in an interview Thursday after campaigning for VP Kamala Harris in the swing state of North Carolina, which Politico quoted. He continued, “I didn’t like that.””
Nuisance is looking at 2028.
I saw a short where Elon mentions the bankruptcy thing, saying that it was VERY close for Tesla. The look on his face and his tone suggest to me that he was being entirely candid, and that it was a very close thing indeed.
Rivian is making the electric delivery vans for Amazon. I also see their SUVs around town, and I saw a pickup truck this week. They look pretty cool, but I haven’t looked at them beyond that.
————
I want to harvest the Ebonite and acrylic from the bowling balls to make pipe stems. Especially the vintage ebonite, as that is a traditional and desireable vintage material for stems.
n
“‘You Can Leave, But You Can’t Cancel Me’ – Financial Expert Says Who He’s Voting for, and It May Shake Up the Election”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/can-leave-cant-cancel-financial-expert-says-voting/
“Financial expert Dave Ramsey has made it clear to his audience who his choice is for president.”
“In a clip from “The Dave Ramsey Show” posted to the show’s YouTube account on Wednesday, Ramsey spoke to his audience about the upcoming election. While the show is usually about achieving financial freedom, politics play heavily into those considerations as millions of Americans’ bank accounts are feeling the weight of President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ reckless inflationary spending.”
“Ramsey told his audience outright, “I’m gonna tell you, I’m voting for Donald Trump.””
xkcd: Experimental Astrophysics
https://xkcd.com/3000/
Um, no freaking way.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3000:_Experimental_Astrophysics
No. Their pickup looks okay in general but the front end is just awful. The need a real designer to help redo it.
This being California I see them all the time. I’m no fan of any electric and the Tesla cyber truck is bad as well but as usual Elon hooks the suckers with the hype – shooting at it? Really.
“Leaked US Intelligence Documents Related To Israel’s Attack Preparations On Iran Appear Online”
Espionage charges for anyone who touched those documents.
And if the NSA won’t cough up what they know, zero their budget.
@Nick
“I want to harvest the Ebonite and acrylic from the bowling balls to make pipe stems. Especially the vintage ebonite, as that is a traditional and desireable vintage material for stems.”
I would start by making a cradle to hold the ball–just a square box from scrap a bit deeper than half the diameter.
Then mark a centerline and score a cut line with a used blade (about 4″) in an angle grinder. If it goes well I’d take it a bit deeper, then finish with a crosscut saw. If you need to secure it in the clamp some hot glue should be enough.
Do you have enough old bowling balls for your project?
@drwilliams, I didn’t think of the angle grinder, that’s a good idea. It’s easy to control and won’t chop off big chunks of me if something bad happens. I’m not sure what blade would be good though. I have a segmented diamond blade for cutting aluminum that I might try. I don’t think I want something purely abrasive as ebonite is a rubber product.
I have been picking up balls with interesting color combinations or swirling patterns. I think I have about 6 or 7 atm…
A lot of the old ebonite balls were just black, which is ok too, as most pipe stems are black. Black stems are readily available though, so not worth making from scratch.
I have another bowling ball project on the very very back burner, which is making an engraving ball vise. there are examples online that worked well. Engraving metal crosses over with my non-prepping hobby, gunsmithing, jewelry making, etc, and is a small and compact hobby… and that is becoming more important to me.
n
If that project does not involve a steam-powered bowling ball mortar, I shall be very disappointed.
Nick, I am disappoint.
I read this article with a mix of horror and trepidation, and disbelief…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13948175/celebrity-labiaplasty-designer-vagina-surgery.html
“can’t wear yoga pants”??
At least two of the Big-ass-ians asked their sister for more coverage in her designer underpants, saying they were members of the FPC, Fat ‘Kitty’ Club…
which is about 100x more info than I needed about their nether regions. I’m sharing in an effort to move it out of my head… like sharing an earworm…
The idea that you would cut down your erogenous zones and mess around with your genitals is so alien to me that I can barely understand it intellectually.
n
Nick, I am disappoint.
– lifesized newton’s cradle? In all its hand and head crushing glory??
D2 wants to build a trebuchet…
I’m thinking pumpkin chuckin’ has nothing on bowling ball trebuchets…
n
I have my ball from high school. Black. I saw some garden ornaments made from bowling balls half-painted as ladybugs and buried in the flowers. Antennae were 1″ balls on a spring steel stem epoxied into the finger holes.
it’s 80F in the shade, and clear with little breeze. Kinda warm in the driveway, where I’m scrubbing polymerized oil, rat droppings, rust, and various crusty lumps of former can contents off a set of shelves.
If you don’t have good long handled brushes in your preps, you should get a couple. There is stuff you will want to clean at more than arm’s reach…and you might need the length for a water tank, etc. Get a couple so you can keep the rat poop one separate from your water barrel one….
Dish soap, Simple Green, and 80% alcohol hand sanitizer along with scraping and vigorous scrubbing seem to work, eventually.
n
Neutron stars are cool.
Here is a link to an article about using a Pulsar (a type of neutron star) to investigate some of the really weird ohysics theories out there:
https://astrobites.org/2024/10/19/pulsar-axions/
I don’t understand the math or the physics, but the idea is cool, use an extreme object to test for and set boundaries on some of the predictions of otherwise untestable (on Earth) deep physics theories.
I think before/after pictures are needed.
I have a nice long handle brush. The guy that would process emu for me was going to throw it away because it was grubby. Greasy. Looked brand new to me. I set it near an ant bed for about a week. Spotless!!!!
*Was* close?
My one eyed wonder worm is blind.
I have a nice long handle brush. The guy that would process emu for me was going to throw it away because it was grubby. Greasy. Looked brand new to me. I set it near an ant bed for about a week. Spotless!!!!
Ah, the organic old school method.
’60 Minutes’ Finally Makes a Statement on the Harris Interview Scandal, Gets Roasted in Response
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/10/20/60-minutes-finally-makes-a-statement-on-harris-interview-scandal-gets-roasted-in-response-n2180841
CBS News are not a legitimate news organization–they are fully partisan whores actively seeking to influence the election. As such they are not part of a free press and are not entitled to governmental access as a first amendment entity and the legitimacy that goes with such access. There are independent journalists and journalists working for non-traditional channels that have a more legitimate claim to the title than anyone at CBS News, and seats at White House Press Conferences should be allocated accordingly.
‘Serious’ Fraud? Adam Schiff Files Contradictory Statements on ‘Principal’ Residences in Different States
https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2024/10/20/election-fraud-schiff-files-contradictory-statements-about-principal-residences-in-different-states-n2180825
Schiff claimed his Maryland residence as primary until 2020. That puts him within the 10-year statue of limitations.
Off with his heads.
>> First post? Is this Slashdot?
Is Slashdot still around?
Apparently so…top of the current front page…
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/24/10/20/2359227/an-alternative-to-rewriting-memory-unsafe-code-in-rust-the-safe-c-extensions-proposal
Musk tends to “test to destruction”, and sometimes that includes his companies. Early in SpaceX, they’d had several failures of the Falcon 1 rocket, and a “documentary” of SpaceX indicated that if the final test launch had failed as the previous ones had, that he and SpaceX would have been bankrupt. But that critical launch succeeded and SpaceX got their government contracts.
This article on labiaplasty is a classic case of “she has more money than sense”. The subject CAN wear yoga pants, but needed to wear underwear. She was objecting to wearing panties.
Shocking.
Dave Ramsey is living rent free in someone’s head at the White House. The last student loan forgiveness was a clear shot at the Ramsey Solultions organization’s research that only ~ 2% of those seeking the public service repayment actually receive the money.
Ramsey preaches personal responsibility, and limited credit, and controlled spending. Those are anathema to progressives and the left.
n
The labiaplasty is usually step two in the “gender confirmation” surgery for transwomen.
Maybe Texas Children’s will start doing those at the Women’s Center connected to the new hospital complex now that the surgeons have time on their hands.
People watching at a small comic event in Dallas today, we saw a pretty effective Gal Gadot Wonder Woman crossplay in line to see Dean Cain.
My wife asked me, “Is something wrong with Wonder Woman’s costume? A panel seems to be missing from the skirt and I can see … his … a**.”
I said, “No, that is cosplay Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in ‘The Flash’. The cameo includes a pretty substantial butt cheek view.”
We went to an event for child #2 at UT Dallas this weekend and stopped at the comic show to get a signature from Tom Cavanaugh for my “Ed” Emmy screener DVD on the way back. Sadly, Cavanaugh bailed shortly before we hit the show floor.
My sample ballot for the 2024 general election.
Note the ISD bond propositions end with the sentence, “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
They will probably pass anyway.
I always vote ‘No’. Not that it matters.
https://apps.wilco.org/elections/ballots/SampleBS73.pdf
The labiaplasty is usually step two in the “gender confirmation” surgery for transwomen.
That is why they call themselves the “Mutilated”.
The labiaplasty is usually step two in the “gender confirmation” surgery for transwomen.
If you use forearm skin to build the shaft from, there is no way that the sensations will be the same as natural born. And it is probably prone to continuous infections.
Breaking: Numerous emergency crews are currently on the scene in East Houston, Texas, following reports that a helicopter collided with a radio tower owned by KQUE-FM Houston (according to reports). causing it to burst into flames.
https://x.com/merissahansen17/status/1848192211176845679
SOMEBODY is having a VERY BAD DAY…
Didn’t realize it’s been almost a month since my last update (9/28). Lots has been done but it sems like little progress.
It took two weeks to build the table for the small parts cabinets as the insulation in the wall was poorly done by the builder. And I mis-measured something and so the lower shelves I started to build to hold the storage boxes I have didn’t work so I had to find another use for that space. That space is now used for gallon size oil and anti-freeze containers. I put peg board at the top and it is completed. Now I need to build an 8’ foot work bench in the office with cabinets above. I have made 5 drawers for the bench but I need another 15 drawers and some overhead storage cabinets as well. I have most of the material for the bench (but not the drawers) except the actual bench top and the metal pieces for the crankshaft storage bin (unit, whatever; it will allow me to hang crankshafts so they don’t bend).
The Maverick progress is a mixed bag. I found the NHRA certification tag; the car was certified to 8.5 seconds in 2018. The drivers door handle needs replacing which requires removal of the inside door panel which has 23 pop rivets holding it in place. I didn’t get the keys for the doors, so both inner door panels need to come off. $45 on eBay for the handle. My son is too tall and wide to sit in the seat so it has to be replaced and relocated, about $600 total because the seat belt’s safety certification is expired. I pulled a rear axle to check its spline count (31, OK but I was hoping for 35). The rear wheel lugs nuts are not correct for the wheels, another $50, they arrived today.
The Ranchero starts fine but doesn’t stay running but first we had to rewire the electric fuel pump. Ignition switch needs the mounting bracket fixed. Lots of wires are just cut off and need attention. I picked up a spare set of rear springs and found the Airlift airbags and brackets I had on a car I junked 30 years ago in California (it’s a long story as I also have a second set of Airlift’s for the Falcon). I will have to buy new shackles, etc.
The Ranchero and ‘66 Falcon share the same door lock assemblies and none of them were working properly. Started repair which required that I figure out how they worked and rebuild them as they were very rusty. I got the doors off the car where I got the Ranchero springs so I have some spare parts. The doors now close and open fine but I’ll have to fiddle with their locks to get them to work. None of the rollup windows work well, another part of the project.
I also need to build storage shelves for tires. I’d like to put them up high but I can’t lift truck tires any more. Still considering options here.
Decided what welder I want and found a used one on Facebook’s market place but the seller as ghosted me. I think I’ll get a plasma cutter also.
Had a tree company cut down two large trees and trim a bunch of limbs back for the overhead wires going to my shop. Burned some of that debris but lots more to be done.
“Trump Practices Drive Thru Diplomacy as Woman Begs Not to Let U.S. Become Like Her Native Brazil (WATCH)”
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2024/10/20/trump-brazil-customer-woman-mcdonalds-drive-thru-n2402489
“President Trump trolled Kamala so hard today by showing up and working at a McDonalds. He made fries, worked the cash register and worked the drive thru window. One particular customer had a plea for Trump.”
“She begged President Trump to not allow America become like her native country of Brazil. Immigrants who fled political instability have a special interest in helping Trump win in the hopes of getting America back on track.”
Trump is so cool !
“Multiple fatalities, including a child, reported after helicopter crashes into radio tower near downtown Houston, officials say”
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/helicopter-crash-fire-radio-tower-engelke-street-east-end/285-64f2ce28-2eeb-445d-b3cd-4de4c8b1c0a2
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
@bob, you’ve got projects! LOTS of projects! Sounds like fun though, and a good time to be working in your shop, not just building it…
Think about something with a winch and pulleys to store your tires up and out of the way. A T bar at the end of a cable might be enough, like the way spare tires winch up under a pickup truck bed… you could put two tires on each cable…
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Past time for bed, tomorrow is going to come too early.
n
Here’s video of an old-school die maker using a big ball vise. Vevor sells modern small ones for not very much money. One is on my wish-list for gub tinkering. If you do make one from a bowling ball, please let us know how, and how it turns out.
That sucks for the family involved. Totally avoidable.
n
The little ball vises don’t have enough mass to take big hits, like working with steel, or so I understand. I actually had a small one, about 4 inches, that I sold to another club member at my non-prepping hobby meeting. I had bought an air graver, sharpening lapper, and the ball vise. Still have the graver. I could probably ask the guys if they still have the ball vise and lap, and get them back if I had the time to get serious about it.
The big ball vises get expensive quickly. And I might suck at engraving, or never get around to trying… so a cheap start is essential.
n