08:15 – It was 51.9F (11C) when I took Colin out around 0645 this morning, sunny and clear.
Colin and I had scrambled eggs and fried Treet for dinner last night. Barbara is due back from Winston this morning. Unfortunately, she brought back a cold with her from Campbell Folk School, and now I have it.
Herschel from Shaw Brothers is downstairs doing a final check on the plumbing before the drop-ceiling installers arrive later today. I asked him in passing about septic tank care, and mentioned that we’d been flushing Rid-X down the toilet periodically. He suggested that instead of Rid-X we just flush a packet of baker’s yeast once a month, which he says works as well or better than Rid-X and is much cheaper.
Last night, Colin and I watched An American Homestead videos on YouTube on the Roku. They’ve been doing this for five years, and have something over 300 videos posted. Sometimes, they make me cringe. One of the videos I watched last night showed them all drinking “natural organic milk”, which is to say raw milk. They claim–not only without scientific basis but in opposition to all of the scientific data–that raw milk is not only safe to drink but is actually better for you than that nasty homogenized, pasteurized modern milk. Yeah, right. Raw milk is an excellent culture medium for bacteria, and they’re not milking cows under aseptic conditions. I hope for their sake there’re no tuberculosis bacteria floating around their farm. The coliforms are bad enough.
I also question some of their other decisions. For example, last night I watched a video where they were discussing plans to install a solar power set up to keep the water tank filled that they use to feed their aquaponics system and water their garden. That’s fine, but they planned to install the solar panels, a charge controller, deep-cycle batteries, and an inverter. Why?
The tank holds sufficient water to carry them for weeks. Why not just install the solar panels and connect them directly to a 12V pump? Let the pump run when there’s sun on the panels. They don’t need the batteries unless they need to store that power, which they don’t. They don’t need the inverter, with all of the conversion losses, when they could just use 12V directly to drive the pump.
But overall, it’s a very interesting series of videos. I’m partway through season two, with season three remaining.
Currently in Oslo. Rainy and about 60f outside. Supposed to be this way for the next two days. Father of our exchange student picked us up at the train station. He was driving a brand new (well 4 months old) Tesla model X. Wow, what a nice car. 0-60 in 3 seconds, 4WD, all the bells and whistles. About 170K with the options he has. He also no longer has to pay to drive on the Norwegian roads as electric cars are exempt from the fees. He had a high capacity charging station installed at home. He says this is the best vehicle he has ever owned and his prior vehicles were top of the line Mercedes.
Need to figure out a way for him to let me drive the vehicle.
Ray, does the Model X have Ludicrous mode? Or is that just on the Model S.
I survived a childhood of “raw” milk.
We had 4 dairy cows on our acreage that my dad (and I once I was old enough) milked twice a day. We fed the raw milk into a filtration device and then a separator that used centrifugal force to separate the cream from the milk. As a treat, I was given the cream to beat to butter in a big glass jar with rotating paddles. As a kid I thought it fun, later it became a chore. I don’t recall us ever pasteurizing the milk before we consumed it. I would often take a squirt straight out of the cow while milking. Fresh warm milk like that is an acquired taste. That went on nine years till a tornado destroyed the farm house and barn and we moved away. My dad was raised on a family dairy farm and this is the way they operated. I don’t doubt you when you call out the dangers but we never heard of them back in the 50’s.
Four cows twice a day. That’s a lot of milk. Were you selling it?
Were you selling it?
Not selling but we provided milk, cream, and butter for the extended family who lived nearby, uncles and grandparents and such.
Assuming basic cleanliness, the danger isn’t so much immediate consumption, which as you point out millions of people have done for thousands of years. The problem is when raw milk is distributed commercially or otherwise in an uncontrolled environment.
If pasteurized milk is allowed to warm up for a while somewhere in the distribution chain, it’s no big deal. Pasteurized milk, especially the UHT variety, isn’t contaminated with microorganisms, which raw milk is. Some microorganisms have generations as short as 15 or 20 minutes, which means under suitable conditions they can double their numbers three or four times in an hour. It’s a geometric progression, so after 10 doubling times (as little as 2.5 to 3.33 hours), every bacterium has now become 1,024 bacteria. After 20 doubling times, a million, and after 30 a billion. And so on.
Pasteurization doesn’t actually kill everything, the time and temperature is calculated to reliable kill pathogenic microorganisms. Some thermophiles survive pasteurization, but they aren’t pathogenic.
At the airport, off to Omaha for three days. Staying at the Harrah’s in Council Bluffs. I hope the buffet is decent. The whole familia is off to Disney World at the end of June for a week. I didn’t tell MrsAtoz about the shooting in Orlando. Don’t want to dampen the outing. We got “park hopper” tickets and Universal Studio tickets at Nellis AFB. About half of what you pay non-military. The tickets are mailed and you have to have a military member “activate” them at the park.
Ray, does the Model X have Ludicrous mode?
Indeed it does, along with several other modes and settings for suspension. The center display is like a 23 inch monitor in portrait mode, a massive screen. Passenger doors open up like gull wing doors.
I survived a childhood of “raw” milk.
As did I. We had our own milk cow along with the 200 beef animals. Milk was only strained, never really high filtered. Straight from the cow into the refrigerator within an hour. Never had any problems.
would often take a squirt straight out of the cow
Same here. Had been doing that since I was seven until I was about 16. Warm, no cream lumps. Generally got it all over the face and let the cats lick it off.
I was exposed to so many pathogens when I was growing up I have probably developed a significant immunity to stuff that would kill mere mortals. In the words of Rambo I could eat stuff that would make a billy goat puke.
Our water was from a spring that was not treated and would occasionally get an animal in the cistern on the hill. You knew it because the water would start to smell. Cleaning that cistern was a miserable chore if you could not tolerate small spaces. I drank water from the creek we used for irrigation all the time without issues. Exposed to animal feces in the face while working with cattle. Eating sandwiches using hands that had not been washed.
I survived.
“would often take a squirt straight out of the cow
Same here. Had been doing that since I was seven until I was about 16. Warm, no cream lumps. Generally got it all over the face and let the cats lick it off.”
Hey guys! Don’t talk like this. You must be giving SteveF a hard on… 🙂
RAY “ I drank water from the creek we used for irrigation all the time without issues. Exposed to animal feces in the face while working with cattle. Eating sandwiches using hands that had not been washed.”
Ditto That …. A country boy can survive.
Hmmm, I’m just guessing, but I’m pretty sure there was a LOT less contamination 40+ years ago, when you guys were kids. Cripto, guarda whatever, pesticide runoff, manure, etc….
I drank from open springs too, but would think twice now.
n
Did the homesteaders consider a windmill? As for the batteries, the only reason I can think of is if they have extended cloudy weather. Or, they could rotate out the batteries during sunny weather to have additional power available. Or, as you say, they didn’t think it through.
Couple more anecdotes for the food storage discussion.
Red Star yeast in foil packs, 2 years past date, stored in kitchen cabinet, still viable and produced good bread.
The powdered cream I linked will replace canned cream in my storage. It’s good and easy to use as coffee creamer with no waste. Used it for several days and still like it.
Got some ham I vac packed and froze in ’12 out of the chest freezer and it’s just like when it went in.
FWIW, our costco has Dr Bronners oil soap in stock in 1L bottles of the peppermint flavor. I have used this soap as a face wash for years, sometimes as a shampoo, and often as a general hand and body soap. It’s good and versatile. A few drops go a long way.
Also at costco, 3 ‘pop up’ LED lanterns for $17, including 9 Duracel AA batteries. They are styled a bit like the Streamlight Siege and about that size or smaller. Even if they are crap, they are useful at $5 each….
Costco has 5# fire extinguishers at $8 off. This is a good deal and if you don’t have several already, you should think about adding a couple. In a disaster, a small fire will quickly get out of hand, and no FD to help you… plus you are using open flames, and flammable liquids. You need more fire extinguishers! You should have your normal household and garage extinguishers plus your storage shed, plus one for your portable genny too. And one for the cook stove and camp fire, and vehicles, and…….
n
They also have AA and AAA bare eneloop batteries without the charger on sale.
n
“Did the homesteaders consider a windmill? As for the batteries, the only reason I can think of is if they have extended cloudy weather. Or, they could rotate out the batteries during sunny weather to have additional power available. Or, as you say, they didn’t think it through.”
They’re just starting to get a windmill set up at the point I am in the series. That’s August 2015. They bought a small (200W unit). My guess is they’ll be disappointed. There are very, very few locations in the US that have winds high enough and sustained enough to make the cost of wind system worthwhile versus solar. I considered wind for here, but we don’t have reliable enough winds to make it economic. And I say that despite the fact that this is by far the windiest place I’ve ever lived. Sustained winds of 10 to 15 knots are very common, frequently with gusts to 30, 40, or 50 knots. I swear one day we had what I’d conservatively estimate as hurricane-force. They were so strong that I literally couldn’t stand against them in the driveway. I ended up crawling across the front yard on hands and knees so I wouldn’t be blown over.
Yeah, they don’t need the full capacity of their new PV panels to drive the water pump, and they could switch out batteries to add to their PV storage. My real objection was to the inverter. Why suffer inverter losses when they could just run a 12V pump? Their water table is only a couple feet below the surface.
sure there was a LOT less contamination 40+ years ago
I am not so sure about your assessment. The environment I was in, a cattle ranch, was filthy as you would expect. The creek was runoff from the hills surrounding us with all manner of animal life. Animals sucked into the pump and subsequently body fragments sent down the line and I unknowingly drank. I don’t know if we had the pesticides and fertilizer runoffs of today. Thus my uncertainty, not enough to dispute your statement.
I asked him in passing about septic tank care, and mentioned that we’d been flushing Rid-X down the toilet periodically. He suggested that instead of Rid-X we just flush a packet of baker’s yeast once a month, which he says works as well or better than Rid-X and is much cheaper.
Do you have an aerobic or an anaerobic septic tank ? Aerobic has an air injection system. My septic system at the office is a two stage aerobic system with chlorine cleanup and sprinklers under my live oak tree.
Just a plain old septic tank.
The whole familia is off to Disney World at the end of June for a week … We got “park hopper” tickets and Universal Studio tickets at Nellis AFB.
Make sure to get the two park passes at Universal so you can ride the Hogwarts Express. The “train” effect works pretty well in both directions.
Also, Kennedy is also worth the trip if you have the time. As much as it pains me to see the vehicle sitting in a museum instead of flying, the Atlantis exhibit is impressive.
Post here if you’re stuck for dinner ideas. I’m a near FL native, and my wife grew up in Orlando.
One of the guides that I fished with in May in Montana lived off the grid as a kid back in the 70s and 80s. His family drank and used the water in a creek on their property. His mother got Giardiasis (beaver fever) and lived with it for 10 to 20 ??? years before she got treated. She has some health problems today because of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis
Just a plain old septic tank.
Have you had it pumped out yet ?
Don’t stand downwind, the smell can be … overwhelming.
I had 2,000 gallons of solids, mostly toilet paper, pumped out of mine a couple of years ago. Cost me $450 IIRC.
Make sure to get the two park passes at Universal so you can ride the Hogwarts Express
There are also two very good Harry Potter rides, one in one park, the other in the other park. Taking the train with the two day pass is about the only way to easily do both.
Don’t stand downwind, the smell can be … overwhelming.
Same thing in WA DC.
Don’t stand downwind, the smell can be … overwhelming.
Same thing in WA DC.
That is just the Potomac at high tide. Oh wait, at low tide the bodies get exposed …
On the windmill, I meant an old fashioned one to drive a mechanical pump, not electrical generation.
WRT DisneyWorld, my succinct guide-
Never wait more than 30 minutes for anything, 20 is better.
Learn about and USE the fastPass system. They tweak it all the time but basically, get advance passes online for the major rides in whatever park on the day you are there, and fill in the other times with shopping, dining, or smaller rides. SOARIN’ always sells out, so if you want to do soarin (and I totally recommend it) get that as a FP. GM Test Track is NOT worth the wait or tying up a FP all day.
We think of AK and DS as half day parks. AK in the morning, FP the safari ride to start your day, then something else in the afternoon. At Disney Studios, you can run for Tower of Terror and/or Rock and Roller coaster, but better to reserve a FP. The longest line I stood in was for Rockin Roller Coaster, as my daughter was adamant and we didn’t have a FP. Don’t do it! If you don’t have FP for those you will be in line….
What you do in MK depends on if you have little ones with you, but the Mine Train is new, and short, with stupid long lines. Again, FP is your friend. All the kid stuff is super long wait times.
In general, you may spend a lot of time crossing the parks to do something until your FP is due, but it beats standing in line.
Never split the party if you hope to get back together!
Anytime you have a choice — go left. Westerners are biased to turn right, and you’ll usually get a shorter line.
A lot of the big rides have ‘single rider lines’. If you don’t mind waiting in line together, but then riding separately it can get you on far more rides than not. Sometimes you end up in the same ride vehicle anyway.
Plan your day but be flexible. Some of our best moments in the parks were things that just happened. Ask cast members if anything interesting or special is happening in the park today. They might clue you to something cool, like audience testing new attractions, or the last ride on one that is closing. Stop at guest services in the park and tell them about your special occasion. They’ll usually give you a big pin to wear that says “Today’s my birthday” or “Anniversary Trip” or similar. Cast members will acknowledge the event whenever they can and will often have some sort of small spiff for you, like sitting in the front row, or a free pin.
Don’t plan for short transitions. EVERYTHING takes longer than you think.
DON”T WAIT TO LONG IN LINE!!! Don’t spend your vacation waiting in line for 4 hours for 4 rides that are 90 seconds long.
Finally, stuff costs what it costs. Accept that going in, and don’t let the prices ruin your enjoyment of the day. That is a waste of ALL your money on the trip. That said, Disney usually gives you plenty of value for the money, esp for food.
Expect that you make be wanded, searched, or passed thru a metal detector, and they won’t like knives or your gun. Small knives they may pass, but they have a no gun policy. You can beat it, and you might not get searched, but I left mine behind.
n
(oh, each park has a ‘4 D’ film and special effect show. It’s a great way to be inside in airconditioning and sitting for a while, and they’re fun.)
ADDED – go online NOW and get your fastpasses and disney dining reservations!
So, to paraphrase, the best idea is to avoid amusement parks entirely.
WRT to the current generation of electrical energy producing windmills: Another AlGore, Governor Moonbeam, Obaminous fraud.
Don’t you kill a Golden Eagle with a shotgun in the presence of a USFS ranger or a Fish and Game Warden. OTOH, it is OK for the windmills to kill them by the score. Outside of that, the decaying flesh of the birds does not cause CO2 generation.
“He was driving a brand new (well 4 months old) Tesla model X. Wow, what a nice car. 0-60 in 3 seconds, 4WD, all the bells and whistles.”
4WD? Hmmmmm……..
The commonly accepted characterization of a 4WD vehicle is one that has a two speed transfer case; consequently, the driver has the choice of two driving ranges, high (1:1) and low (typically about 2:1).
Those vehicles with traction at all four wheels but without the two speed transfer case are described a AWD (all wheel drive).
That is correct, Mr. Slim; OK for turbines and windmills to shred them by the thousands and provide little in return for the trouble of installing and running them, so far as I know. We’ve got four up here in the town of Georgia, to our immediate south, and they are visible for miles and miles. A giant solar panel farm is in-progress near there now, too, in our town, so it came up for our Planning Commission.
“So, to paraphrase, the best idea is to avoid amusement parks entirely.
+1,000,000
But some folks feel it’s worth the hassle, the expense, the travel, and the risk, to be entertained en masse by a corporation that worships homosexuals and all PC stuff, but won’t let us be able to defend ourselves on their properties. They may feel we have a small window during whichever kids’ lives to be able to do this, but in light of recent crowd and event atrocities, there is no way in Hell I’d take our kids to any of those places nowadays.
Whatever did kids do before Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color jumped from our tee-vee screens to the jungles of central Floriduh? Or Kalifornia?
But that’s just me being a nasty old fascist crank, so pay me no mind; maybe I have sunstroke from being out in the yard all afternoon…
I went to Disneyland in ’65 or ’66. Boys Club day trip from Oceanside. It was fun. I don’t remember the lines being worse than waiting for the merry go round at the school’s fall festival. That’s all I know.
“He was driving a brand new (well 4 months old) Tesla model X. Wow, what a nice car. 0-60 in 3 seconds, 4WD, all the bells and whistles.”
4WD? Hmmmmm……..
The commonly accepted characterization of a 4WD vehicle is one that has a two speed transfer case; consequently, the driver has the choice of two driving ranges, high (1:1) and low (typically about 2:1).
Those vehicles with traction at all four wheels but without the two speed transfer case are described a AWD (all wheel drive).
I thought the Tesla model X has a motor on each wheel ?
And don’t electric motors have maximum torque at zero rotation and very low speeds ?
Colin and I had scrambled eggs and fried Treet for dinner last night
Ok, what the heck is treet ?
And I hope that the cold that Mrs. RBT brought back is not some new variant. I had the March variation in March and it sucked. Took me about three weeks to get over it. Hope you all get better sooner.
EDIT: Sigh, Google is your friend but duckduckgo is even better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treet
Treet is spam.
I had a version of some kind of cold several weeks ago and it, too, lasted for several weeks; nasty cough, runny nose, sneezing, etc. And I eat Vitamin C all the time and have had my flu shot.
And Google is not our friend.
Neither is FaceCrack or Twitter or SnapChat.
Or Microsoft.
Or Oracle.
I could go on but won’t.
Bee-yoo-tee-ful day on the bay today; got some brush burnt and will resume that tomorrow; started on the pulley-to-pulley clothesline gizmo; got kayaks ready to hang on the studio/shed; ran the weed-whacker; and now defrosting fridge and freezer for cleanup. And working on three years of tax filings. Which sucks rocks.
Exciting.
And working on three years of tax filings. Which sucks rocks.
Are you telling us that you have not filed federal taxes for three years ?
If they owe you money then that is ok. If you owe them money …
“And don’t electric motors have maximum torque at zero rotation and very low speeds ?”
Not sure about Teslas. I do know that max torque for steam engines like the (Wabash Cannonball) is at 0 RPM. OTOH, 4WD’g in the Mojave over questionable surfaces where one wheel has more grip than the others, do you want the one lesser grip spinning 5 times faster than the others?
So with a gasoline engine propelled true 4WD, the drive shafts to front and rear from the transfer case are rotating at the same speed. Then with rear axle limited slip differentials, force is also applied to the wheel with the most grip.
Possibly with an electric motor at each wheel, those with lesser grip can also produce force, or forward bite.
Yes, I have had to put the transfer case in my Jeep Grand Cherokee in low several times to get through real loose conditions in the desert.
Hey, should I go to the Tesla sales facility and ask for a test tide out in the Mohave Desert?
As I’ve said before, when a pathogen bites me it usually dies a horrible death.
OTOH, one thing that I do know about Teslas, and all other electric cars (non-hybrids) when driven in my locale, is that the claim of ZERO EMISSIONS is a lie.
Yes, the CO2 emissions are not at the rear bumper; however, they are at the electrical energy generation plant 5 miles from my house where CH4 is combusted. Does not the combustion of CH4 result in CO2 production? Consequently, is it not like the 1st OJ Simpson trial? Where his lawyers said that if LAPD Det. Mark Fuhrman made one lie, you could assume that everything that he said was a lie.
OK, if the AlGore proselytizers give us one lie (zero emissions) is not all the rest of their gibberish lies?
In reverse, accepting Newton’s first law, the following…….?
Ditto on the 12VDC pump idea. Preppers should visit a well stocked RV supply store or review an RV catalog when planning out their refuge. In my home I have 2 12 volt RV pressure pumps (one for hot, one for cold (there’s a reason, don’t ask)). The pumps run only when someone opens a tap, shut off immediately when not needed they were cheap, completely self-contained have been completely trouble free.
There is also a lot of 48 volt DC equipment and appliances out there becuase homes on wind generators/battery banks back before rural electrification schemes commonly used 48 volts. Taking pure DC from a solar panel and converting to AC sometimes needs to be done, but there better be a good reason for it, cost and efficiency-wise.
With all this talk about electric cars, here is an electric pickup, “2018 Workhorse W-15 Review: First Look and Drive” for $52,500 to be released later this year:
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2017/05/2018-workhorse-w-15-review-first-look-and-drive.html
“As to fuel range, Workhorse says the W-15 can go about 80 miles on electric-only power, while the 11-gallon gas tank can provide another 310 miles depending on load. Total power output between the two electric motors and the gas engine is calculated to be around 460 horsepower, which allows it to hit zero-to-60 mph in 5.5 seconds. Fuel economy is estimated at an mpg-equivalent of 75, with a range-extending mpg of 28 highway and 32 city.”
80 miles on the batteries (claimed) and then a 3 cylinder generator under the hood for when you cannot recharge. There is an electric motor for the front wheels and an electric motor for the back wheels. BTW, there are 6,000 Panasonic batteries in the frame on this bad boy. I would not drive it into water.
I wonder if it has air conditioning ?
And, it is your emergency generator.
Global warming. Is there nothing it can’t do?
Here’s an interesting way to look (well actually get a good start) at prepping:
https://www.mdcreekmore.com/preppers-checklist-for-stocking-up-at-walmart/
“Global warming. Is there nothing it can’t do?”
Apparently Mr. SteveF didn’t get the memo. The warmist cretins had to step up their terminology game when chit like this kept coming up, so now they don’t call it “global warming,” it’s “climate change,” so that can cover any possible chit that might happen. Slick, ain’t they. And if you, like Mr. SteveF., by means of using sarcasm to indicate your scorn for the Earth’s very real plight, are aligned in the same way, you are a denier, on the same level as a Holocaust denier. And worthy of fines, imprisonment and execution.
“Here’s an interesting way to look (well actually get a good start) at prepping:”
He’s been running that list or one very close to it for a long time. I’ve got some of it done, with emphasis on other areas, too. He just got denied advertising for his page on FaceCrack; they apparently don’t care for his political opinions for some odd reason. I posted that it’s his business, but he ought to think twice about using commie social media for marketing his stuff. His response was “the millions of views” he can get there. I don’t think it’s worth it, and neither did several others.
The sun is going very, very quiet.
Will another little Ice Age follow?
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/06/06/solar-update-june-2017-the-sun-is-slumping-and-headed-even-lower/
Here’s one for Mr. Lynn. Maybe a manned X-37b is in the works.
Kennedy had a lot going on when we visited in March, and the inside of the VAB was strictly off limits. If SpaceX can launch used rockets reliably and proves itself capable of flying the X-37b, the Air Force would have very quick turnaround on landing and returning the plane to orbit in a crisis.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-spacex-x37b-20170607-story.html
“Don’t be left behind by IPv6 deployment, ISOC warns enterprises”
http://www.cio.com/article/3199927/networking/dont-be-left-behind-by-ipv6-deployment-isoc-warns-enterprises.html
I note that NAT was never ported to IPv6 from IPv4. So a hardware firewall is a total necessity for me before we turn IPv6 on in our router.
“I note that NAT was never ported to IPv6 from IPv4. So a hardware firewall is a total necessity for me before we turn IPv6 on in our router.”
I APPROVE!
Meanwhile, outside the world of bits and bytes and pixels we have a potential circus shaping up down in Boston this weekend:
https://twitter.com/ProudBoysUSA/status/872625373221203970
All kinds of funny chit could happen; stay tuned, sportsfans!
Whatever did kids do before Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color jumped from our tee-vee screens to the jungles of central Floriduh? Or Kalifornia?
There were lots of small amusement parks in cities. We had at least two in Houston near the Astrodome. Peppermint Park catered to small kids (my 6th birthday party was there), and Playland Park had big kid/adult rides. Never went there, it was shut down about the time the Astrodome was started, IIRC.
Everything will be fine in Europe and FUSA…
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/replacement-migration-is-it-a-solution-to-declining-and-ageing-populations/
How’s your state making out with finances and future obligations?
http://www.wirepoints.com/would-congress-authorize-bankruptcy-for-illinois-and-other-states-yes-inevitably-wirepoints-original/
Up here, we’re looking at declining revenues and declining student enrollments, but the lefties and libtards still wanna throw money at all kinds of shit anyway. After the previous administration blew millions on the “Health Connect” web site and sign-up crap that never worked right and still doesn’t. Any day now we’ll start hearing about having to cut essential emergency services, cops, veterans, etc.. Those are always first on the block, not administrative expenses and bullshit.
Any solar projects in YOUR neck of the woods? We got one underway soon here.
https://straightlinelogic.com/2017/06/07/more-solar-jobs-is-a-curse-not-a-blessing-by-paul-dreissen/
And as I’ve tiresomely and tediously said before here and elsewhere, we’re heading down the same path as the old Soviet Union and the Russians are looking at us with shocked amusement that we could be so stupid and historically illiterate and forgetful:
https://straightlinelogic.com/2017/06/07/americas-real-red-scare-the-slow-motion-collapse-of-the-american-empire-by-william-j-astore/
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176292/tomgram%3A_william_astore%2C_back_in_the_ussr/#more
From the Retarded SkyNet Department:
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/06/07/another-gentle-nudge/
And from the FUSA Just Can’t Resist Picking Up That Cobra Department:
https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2017/06/07/donald-trumps-middle-east-foreign-policy-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen/
Belated Happy Birthday to RBT and many more to come, of course. And now I can’t get that video out of my head of him crawling on his hands and knees across his front lawn in the face of the wind. It’s come very close to that here, too; making it hard to stand up and watching all kinds of chit fly by.
Pax vobiscum, fratres..
And sorry for the late-night/early morning blitz of radical reactionary and hateful fascist links…enjoy with your morning coffee, tea or MOXIE!
4WD? Hmmmmm……..
Well, all four wheels are driven regardless of the method.
Which brings up the big dually 4WD vehicles. Technically there are now six wheels being driven even though two of them are physically connected to two other wheels so should they be called 6WD or AWD? Or would 4AD (Four Axle Drive) be more appropriate.
Electric assist bicycles have motors on the front and back in the wheel hubs. Are they considered 2WD or AWD?
My understanding of the AWD/4WD Teslas is that there are two motor assemblies, one for the front wheels and one for the back wheels. There is a differential in each assembly. The system knows which wheel is slipping and will apply the brakes to the slipping axle so torque is applied to the wheel with traction.
The car I rode in also had electric doors. You can touch the screen and the car will close the door. Driver’s side door will also close as soon as you touch the brake pedal. Gull wing doors are a little annoying when standing by the driver or passenger door as the door will get in you way. Mostly because you are not used to such a door opening.
Throttle response is instant. There is no delay at all for acceleration. Push it and you immediately go, quickly if so desired.
A/C and heat is electric powered. When you need heat you have it immediately as there is no need for the engine to get to operating temperature. A/C is constant and output (temperature wise) is not dependent on engine speed.
sorry for the late-night/early morning blitz
I am already up it being about 7:15 in the early morning in my location. Still having to get used to these long days. Sunset around 10:30PM and sunrise at 04:10AM is annoying. Reasonable daylight well beyond those hours.
Off to the airport today to get a friend who is also arriving to attend the wedding. Will take the train to meet her as she is 1st time Norway and uncertain about things. Will take the train back to downtown Oslo and a short walk to the hotel.
I do like the heated floors in the bathrooms here, both in the homes and the hotel. Room is small as are most European hotels. Functional but cramped. European beds don’t use blankets and sheets on top. It is this huge “sleeping bag” that you pull over you. It is covered in as sheet like material with the insulating blanket inside the sheet covering. I miss my Simmons Beauty Rest Black California King memory foam mattress as the beds tend to be firmer here and significantly smaller.
“Why not just install the solar panels and connect them directly to a 12V pump? Let the pump run when there’s sun on the panels.”
This would be fine if they rarely have long rainy/cloudy/foggy periods where the solar panels aren’t going to deliver sufficient power. Here in the inland Central Valley of California, we sometimes see two months straight of thick fog. If that’s not a problem where the author lives, then a direct system would be fine. If they sometimes get long periods of overcast, they might run out of water in addition to being in the dark.
“European beds don’t use blankets and sheets on top. It is this huge “sleeping bag” that you pull over you. It is covered in as sheet like material with the insulating blanket inside the sheet covering.”
I would call those “duvets” in English, meaning a quilted bedcover stuffed with duck or goose feathers (today, often a synthetic-fibre substitute). The name probably comes from the old French word for downy feathers. In common modern French usage, “duvet” means a camping-style sleeping-bag, while a quilted bedcover is a “couette”.
Duvets have a “duvet-cover”, which is like a bag made of cotton sheet material, used to enclose the duvet and keep it clean. It is easier to launder the cover than the duvet itself. Duvets are stripped of their covers and regularly allowed to air and dry in the sun for normal use, and are washed or dry-cleaned at intervals and before winter/summer storage. Most people have summer-weight and winter-weight duvets. I have a layered version – a single layer in summer and two layers in winter. If it gets really hot in summer, I do without the actual duvet and use just its cover.
I never stay anywhere without bringing my own duvet and pillow, unless I am travelling by air, when I take just a half-size travel pillow. If I could travel with my own mattress (like Pavarotti) I’d do that too!
+1 on heated bathroom floors. Like heated car seats, once you get used to them, you’ll wonder why on earth you ever did without!
I would call those “duvets” in English
We actually have a couple at house in the US. We bought them on a trip to Germany before they had the 1 bag restriction and you were allowed to bring two suitcases. We use them for the exchange students.*1
I prefer a sheet and a couple of blankets. Easy to toss them off one at a time when you get too warm. With these duvets you have to toss the whole thing or only cover part of your body.
Like heated car seats, once you get used to them
And cooled car seats. Wife thought they were annoying but after a few warm summers thinks they are great. Nice having a warm floor and subsequently warm bathroom when stepping out of the shower. The electric bills must be huge in Norway as many homes are electric for primary heat with wood as an auxiliary. The government is forcing anyone with oil heat to have it disabled by the year 2020 (if I understand my host English). Walls in the homes are six inches, windows triple pane, ceilings and roofs are all insulated, doors have much better sealing, but cold is cold.
*1 As a side note we will have no more exchange students as we no longer want to be tied to the school schedule. One possible exception is that the younger sister of one our former exchange students is thinking of coming to the US. We said we would take her if she decides to come.
I note that NAT was never ported to IPv6 from IPv4. So a hardware firewall is a total necessity for me before we turn IPv6 on in our router.
The excuses I hear for lack of IPv6 NAT make me wonder what is really going on.
I don’t think the NSA is the culprit. Back when I was in the VPN game, the NSA was encouraging development of a NAT standard to protect their own systems.
Denis wrote:
“I would call those “duvets” in English…”
In Australia that is a “doona”, I use one all year. I use an electric blanket as well, sometimes even in summer.
Yes, I feel the cold at night.
I note that NAT was never ported to IPv6 from IPv4. So a hardware firewall is a total necessity for me before we turn IPv6 on in our router.
The excuses I hear for lack of IPv6 NAT make me wonder what is really going on.
I don’t think the NSA is the culprit. Back when I was in the VPN game, the NSA was encouraging development of a NAT standard to protect their own systems.
In my understanding, having a NAT system does not allow internet hosts to attach directly to the client device. The internet gurus feel that this is a major violation of internet protocols and have refused to allow a NAT protocol to be developed for IPv6.
I can believe that of academics, who want nicey-nice, conceptually pure systems. The industry and government members of these working groups usually outnumber the academics, and that leads me to wonder what their benefit is.
Meanwhile, in the real world where 90% of home and small business computers run Windows and where almost 100% of IOT devices have no security, they can take their direct internet connections and shove them.
“The electric bills must be huge in Norway…”
Everything is expensive in Norway, but electricity actually ought to be relatively inexpensive as, thanks to the terrain, they are able to generate more hydro-electricity than they can use domestically. There is a big project going on at the moment to lay a sea-floor interconnector to supply Denmark and northern Germany with Norwegian hydroelectricity.