Another damp and warmish day ahead. The heavy mist eventually cleared up, for some people in Houston. Some got rain. Even heavy rain. Nothing at the house, but several areas I drove through got pounded. I’m guessing today will be similar.
Did some errands in the morning including taking the White Elephant gift that D2 forgot at home to school. I wanted it off the countertop, and it ended up someone really liked it. So despite having to get dressed and drive to school, it turned out ok.
Did my pickups. Got cheated on a solar panel. Auction company was in the wrong but won’t admit it. Freaking amazon fraudulent products. The panel in question is marketed on amazon to intentionally fool people into a purchase and the description is a flat out lie. The auction company just repeated the original description and lies, but wouldn’t just refund me when I pointed out what was happening. I wasn’t the only one fooled, as someone bid me right up to fair market value for the panel, if it was as described.
I’ll get even some way, but in the mean time it reinforces that amazon has poisoned the well by allowing all the fraudulent chinese sellers and manufacturers to sell their cr@p alongside real products.
At a different auctioneer, I picked up another 2 panels, 100w each. Nothing wrong with them, and exactly what I was expecting. So it’s really time to start building at least a test or starter system. I have a bunch of panels, quite a few inverters and charge controllers, and not enough batteries… I’ll add it to the list.
Today is a half day for the spawn, so I might not get much done. I’ll try anyway. We’ll just see what actually gets accomplished.
Stack something. Ya know ya wanna…
nick
“Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/12/17/nigel-farage-meets-elon-musk-trump-mar-a-lago-reform/
At Mar-A-Lago. Think about that.
The whole world is making that trip across the causeway from the airport.
It’s a huge shame, really. There are good Chinese companies, but so much crap is sold that you really can’t trust any products. My wife mentioned wanting us to get new desks (we’ve been making do with some old tables from our former whisky business). Younger son has a desk that he’s happy with, but a little research, and it’s re-sold by a local company, but actually comes from a Chinese company with horrible reviews.
We found a Polish company with really excellent ratings. Ordered yesterday, got the shipping notice today, with delivery planned for Monday. The catch, of course, is that the price is a lot higher. OTOH, I’ve had great experience with Polish companies in the past, and this one also received top marks in a major, independent review. Tip: If you want a nice computer desk, look at “gaming desks”. Generally better cable management, better accessories, etc. Apparently gamers are willing to spend more for better, whereas most computer desks are aimed at cost-cutting companies equipping their cube farms.
Remember when the State of New York decided that Mar-A-Lago was worth, at best, $12 million.
The real problem is that Americans want those $20 Reeboks.
We have several IKEA Kallax shelf units which were Hecho en Poland.
The real problem is that [someone convinced us that ] Americans want those $20 Reeboks.
– since all desire for brands is manufactured…
Nixon opened the door. Sold out middle America and our manufacturing base.
Then the tax code changed to make financialization the hotness, and actually making things the dullness. All the bright sparks started playing middleman financial games, extracting value instead of adding it.
et viola
n
65F and overcast with heavy fog.
Drippy start to the day.
n
Personally I was delighted with the discerned theology contained in the Vatican II documents. A major positive, but incomplete, review of the then current theology derived I believe from the 16th century.
Examples: removed the belief that only Catholics could get to heaven. Removed ‘Limbo’ where unbaptised children were supposed to go instead of heaven. Confirmed the priestly nature of all Catholics.
The Catholic church I experienced in the 50’s was all about power and control and fear (which still lingers within a lot of the Church) – which enables abuse. The Catholic Church is a much better institution now than the one I was born into, but is a human institution which brings with it the failings of humanity. So, much improvement still necessary, but I believe Vatican II made a very positive contribution.
@PaultheManc, It might have cleaned up a lot of doctrinal issues, but it also heralded the new wave of young “hippy” priests and in retrospect, had a much higher tolerance for child sex abuse than previously. The cancer of moral relativism got a foothold too.
n
(and by hippie, I mean with socialist or communist leanings, having been educated and marinated in them in college.)
@Nick
Nick, that is not my perception. A significant example is Ireland. The old power/control/fear lead to a lot of abuse in ‘Catholic’ Ireland. I would be surprised if today there was anything like the level of abuse historically inflicted. To a lesser extent (only due to the less controlling nature of the Catholic Church in the UK) I believe the same would apply to the UK.