78F and 98%RH. It was still well into the 80’s at midnight when I went to bed, and humid too. That’s after being over 100F in the shade, and 109F in the sun. I didn’t really get anything done outside yesterday…
Kids are at day camp this week which (in theory) should let me get a couple of things done. I’m hoping to get more cleanup and organizing done at my secondary location. I’m hoping to get some more stuff done outside here at the house. I’m sure things will pop up and thwart me at least once.
It’s almost time to start thinking about a fall garden. The learning curve is steep, start climbing.
With earthquakes on peoples’ minds, and hurricane season possibly heating up, wildfires won’t be far behind, and flooding is always possible. Add in pandemic, and our ongoing march to war, combined with geopolitical shifts and societal collapse, and it’s a good time to stock up…
n
We are well into our collapse, btw. Just look, really look, at our cities. Not just “inner cities”, but everywhere. Look at the widespread use of powerful drugs. Look at the spread of gang violence. Look at the possible 30 million hispanics most of whom have at least one family member that is here illegally. Look at the rise of diseases, especially those thought conquered. Look at declining literacy, rising out of wedlock births.
Look at crumbling infrastructure. Look at the degradation of women in pop culture, and the decrease in sanctity of life.
Yes, these things occur in cycles and people have survived them before. SOME people. Some civilizations. Some cultures.
n
We need to start cleaning out our house in preparation for the year-end move.
We have lived her 11 years, longer than I have lived anywhere in my entire life, and we have collected a HUGE amount of junk. I am finding items still in the shopping bags they came home in months ago. Just set aside and never sorted.
Yesterday I helped my wife clean out her closet. She has the huge walk-in closet while I have the tiny one. We spent almost 4 hours taking everything out and looking at it to see if it still fit after her dramatic weight loss of the last year. We ended up taking three huge trash bags of very nice clothes to Goodwill but she still has over 300 hanging items. I need to clean out my closet next. I need to bin the things that I have never worn or have no intention of wearing again. My clothes are divided into two sections, Winter & Summer for easy selection.
I’ve changed how I dress most of the time, but I still occasionally need to dress in the costumes of my previous careers. I still have golf shirts and khaki pants for example, that are appropriate for a corporate environment. I’ve also got pure “work clothes” for welding, or doing dirty work. I’ve got dress clothes for when that’s appropriate, and “blacks” for theatrical work.
I have cut way back and sent many bags to goodwill. I got rid of almost all my cotton polo/golf shirts. The newer climacool fabrics feel nicer and work better than cotton. Ditto for T shirts. I have kept cotton tshirts for welding though. Cotton shorts and cargo pants too. You don’t want to be doing any “hot” work in non-flame retardant synthetics.
Day to day I “dress around the gun.” I wear a technical fabric t shirt under a casual short sleeve collared shirt, usually with cargo shorts or pants. I get a pocket to hold my reading glasses, and concealment for my pistol. It can get hot though.
n
I haven’t worn a full suit in years and my Tux, a beautiful, bespoke, one hasn’t been out of it’s bag since our last long Cruise. Love the Tux, hate the suits, even if most of them are inexpensive but quality work I had made to order in Hong Kong. It’s not that I hate these suits, I have simply had my fill of coat-and-tie. Will likely bin all but one this week.
I normally wear comfortable, casual trousers with loud Hawaiian shirts that easily cover my inside the waistband carry holster.
I haven’t worn a full suit in years and my Tux, a beautiful, bespoke, one hasn’t been out of it’s bag since our last long Cruise. Love the Tux, hate the suits, even if most of them are inexpensive but quality work I had made to order in Hong Kong. It’s not that I hate these suits, I have simply had my fill of coat-and-tie. Will likely bin all but one this week.
I bought a decent suit recently after I realized that my last new one was identical to what Letterman wore on his first night doing his show on CBS in 1993.
The new suit was expensive, even off the rack, but I’ve landed two jobs with it so I’m not complaining. Any item involving hand work done in the US will be pricey.
I just bought two suits (pick up today after mods) for biz. MrsAtoz and I will be on the road for 30 days on her gigs. NYC, AZ, WY, TX and Kali.
For my great aunt’s funeral, I wanted to dress up a bit. Walked into my favorite thrift store for clothing, and a beautiful hand made italian suit practically jumped out at me. It fit me perfectly and looks great. $35 for the suit, $25 to clean it, (iirc) and I grabbed a white shirt too for $7 that is also exactly my size (36-37 inch sleeve is hard to find.) It was like fate. Found a great pair of oxford shoes to match. My aunt was the kind of woman who appreciated when you made an effort.
I’ve got a decent Jos. A Banks off the rack for business and everyday wear which I rarely wear, and another similar one I wear occasionally. Sometimes you really should dress up (like for the wife, or a funeral.)
I am a firm believer in wearing the right costume for the role.
n
I’ve got a decent Jos. A Banks off the rack for business and everyday wear which I rarely wear, and another similar one I wear occasionally. Sometimes you really should dress up (like for the wife, or a funeral.)
I’ve noticed that funerals are, at best, “business casual” as of late.
My father-in-law’s funeral in particular was a freak show of disrespect, with many of the relatives arriving late and dressed like they were headed to the beach afterwards. And this wasn’t even the Chinese side of the family.
I don’t even think the Chinese relations got out of their car at the funeral.
I went to a coworker’s funeral a couple of years ago. I was assured that suit and tie was not required or expected. That was incorrect.
You can always remove a jacket or tie. Hard to dress up a t shirt.
Especially as I get older, the old forms are becoming more important.
(and yes, I know that there are groups where a black tshirt and jeans are completely appropriate and a suit would be out of place. If I ever end up going to a funeral for someone like that, I’ll dress appropriately.)
n
So tell me again why this guy, with only process and regulatory crimes on his record is “described by authorities as one of the most dangerous fugitives in America”?
Oh, maybe this has something to do with it… “ATF says Strain is a self-described ‘sovereign citizen,’ which is defined by the FBI as a group of ‘anti-government extremists’ who don’t believe they have to answer to government authority.”
ATF is after him for ” a 2011 indictment for two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. Federal agents who searched his house that year reportedly found thousands of rounds of ammunition and lots of guns”.
“His criminal history includes convictions for obstruction, contempt of court, trespassing, fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, possession of a short-barreled shotgun and possession of explosive devices. ”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7224659/Dangerous-fugitive-62-squatting-Montana-ranch-eight-years-run.html
(and anyone want to bet that his 2011 thing looks a lot like entrapment by an undercover?)
“I’m ready to go to jail tonight” “I don’t give a f**k B***ch”
Looks like a “family” disturbance, but note how long it takes for security to get there, and even then, they don’t take control of the aggressor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7gtoLmHd5w&feature=player_embedded&has_verified=1
“A violent fight between family members broke out at California’s Disneyland on Saturday afternoon and it was all caught on camera. The fight started when the woman in white spat in the face of the man in pink”
My advice is DON”T STICK AROUND. Leave the area, and don’t get caught up in the fracas.
n
It’s demo day ! The guy are here ripping off the old roof. They started at 630am and plan to work until 730pm today and tomorrow. They have 69 squares of roofing material to install when all of the old crap is off.
And it just got overcast for them. Hopefully it will stay that way. And not rain.
ADD: And the overcast only lasted 30 minutes.
You can always remove a jacket or tie. Hard to dress up a t shirt.
I always have a tie and a coat at a wedding or a funeral service, even if the crowd is jeans and t-shirts. A chapel is still a chapel, whether in a church building, Dignity McFuneral franchise, or KISS Vegas Wedding/Mini Golf facilty.
And I’m not being snobbish. My “funeral” coat was $30 at Kohls. My “wedding” coat is Nordstrom brand, purchased in a hurry after moths picked up at an interview in Portland ate my last one.
(When the startup’s furniture has a delightful “moth eaten” appearance in Portland, it may not be staged — they may actually have moths.)
Tie and coat generally get ditched at the reception/wake.
From @Greg yesterday:
In fact, I am concerned that MFA will be worse once Uncle Santa Claus realizes that he can reward and punish people using MFA bennies.
Control has always been the real aim of the push for “free” medical care. Where have you been?
Certainly it has been the plan since the Harris Wofford victory in the 1991 PA Senate seat special election.
The key control freak mistake of HillaryCare which was not repeated in ObamaCare was outlawing paying cash for medical services. The AMA didn’t get on board, the plan went down in flames, and many Senators and Democrats — including Harris Wofford — were shown the door in 1994 after the tax increase disaster.
Once people realize that they’ve been had and that Medicare For All won’t include gratis supplement plans to make it work, we’ll be at the point of no return.
BTW, MFA = Medicare for All ™.
We are at the point of no return already, Obolocare made sure of that. The price of medical insurance has been and is rising at 20 to 30% per year. Most families and businesses cannot afford those kind of price increases. I see no way back from this.
But, Medicare for All is a tiger with a long tail. The feddies won’t know how to deal with it when the number of customers rises by 5X so it will be the biggest disaster that one has ever seen.
I always have a tie and a coat at a wedding or a funeral service, even if the crowd is jeans and t-shirts. A chapel is still a chapel, whether in a church building, Dignity McFuneral franchise, or KISS Vegas Wedding/Mini Golf facilty.
+1
But, Medicare for All is a tiger with a long tail. The feddies won’t know how to deal with it when the number of customers rises by 5X so it will be the biggest disaster that one has ever seen.
My wife bailed on private practice for now. We’ll see if she goes back.
When she pulled the plug, 3800 patients had to find a new doctor. The usual patient load for private practice is 1700.
Medicare For All will either mean slavery for doctors or a lot more medical care provided by PAs, nurse practitioners, midwives, and even pharmacists.
(I’ve posted before about that last one. Yes, pharmacists.)
The problem with playing class warfare with good doctors — not the ones who treat the job as “shoe money” … and there are a lot of those — is that anyone qualified to sit for a medical license exam is capable of doing many other things for a living besides practicing medicine.
I’ve said before that I think we would have been better off if my wife was a PhD Chemistry professor at a big state university right now. Money would be better, and she’d probably have tenure.
I wonder how Crazy Eyes et al will solve the problem of the cost to produce a doctor? I guess medical school will be free. Persons of Color get their MD in two years, WHITEY! will take 10 years for reparations make up.
There is an article on Drudge about Amazon workers striking on Prime Day in protest of only $15/hr. The picture has three WHITEY! looking guys in a sea of Mooslim looking dudes.
Medicare For All will either mean slavery for doctors or a lot more medical care provided by PAs, nurse practitioners, midwives, and even pharmacists.
Yes it will. In fact, it sounds like the GPs are virtual slaves already.
I blame the health insurance companies. They setup Obolocare to make a mint of money. They did not realize that making the health insurance so expensive would be the opposite effect. And, whoever turned Blue Cross Blue Shield from a non-profit to a profit company 20 years ago needs to roast in hell.
I blame the health insurance companies. They setup Obolocare to make a mint of money. They did not realize that making the health insurance so expensive would be the opposite effect. And, whoever turned Blue Cross Blue Shield from a non-profit to a profit company 20 years ago needs to roast in hell.
The insurance companies are capped in terms of profit margins they are allowed to see under Doh-bamacare. I believe the figure is 9%.
If it gets bad enough, there will be a big, violent change. It isn’t written in stone that .gov must pay for health insurance, or that “health insurance” needs to look like it does today.
Prior to Kaiser Permanente being set up as a perk for employees at a time when wages were frozen by the fedgov, it looked different. With the rise of HMOs in the late 70s early 80s it changed again.
It will implode under the current conditions and something else will arise. It won”t be MFA simply because some are too smart for that. What it will be in the short term is the public school model. Everyone pays and is eligible, but anyone with means will “attend private school”. Or attend a local “parochial school” version of medicine.
IMAO, that’s not the worst outcome but it is a bad one.
Already anyone who can afford it pays for their own care from Drs who treat a small group. Whether it’s called concierge care, or celebrity doctor so and so, people find a way.
n
The insurance companies are capped in terms of profit margins they are allowed to see under Doh-bamacare. I believe the figure is 9%.
Plus the monies that they hold for possible future insurance payouts which are incredulous amounts.
I haven’t been to a funeral in years. Did not have one for my wife when she passed 4 years ago. We were both signed up for Neptune Society.
There will be none for me. I do not want a preacher that never met me telling friends and family how wonderful I was. My direct descendants concur.
Already anyone who can afford it pays for their own care from Drs who treat a small group. Whether it’s called concierge care, or celebrity doctor so and so, people find a way.
In Vantucky, when the measles pandemic began, the concierge group down the street from my wife’s old office offered free measles vaccines to anyone who needed one, regardless of whether the person was a member or not. The irony is that my wife’s former employer, the defacto health department for the county and flashpoint of the pandemic, sat on their hands with regard to immunizations until the concierge group moved first.
Hillarycare would have nipped concierge care before it began. I can’t imagine that it will survive the next healthcare rewrite once the Progs take back the White House.
I don’t see Medicare For All getting signed by Trump. He’s smart enough to know it won’t work.
Prior to Kaiser Permanente being set up as a perk for employees at a time when wages were frozen by the fedgov, it looked different.
In WA State, we watched Kaiser kill one of my wife’s friends and nearly kill another with penny pinching — pretty scary considering the law of averages and the fact that we don’t socialize much.
I understand that Dr. Pournelle had good luck with Kaiser, but luck is exactly what the patient needs when dealing with the organization.
We just had a “fun” little storm. It started thundering a few hours ago to the West. An hour later the wind kicked up and and a few minutes later the rain started. Plenty of thunder and a bit of lightning. The power blinked off long enough that the stove’s clock needed re-setting. None of the UPSs bothered to to chirp.
The driveway announcer sounded a few times. That sets off the dogs because “someone” is coming to visit. But, just lightning.
Now it’s just rumbling thunder rolling away and a nice shower. How much rain? The gauge says 3/4 of an inch, but I have the gauge stuck in a flower pot and I moved the pot to a table under a tree. Because it was the thing to do a few days ago. Plenty of puddles in the yard. The temperature dropped from 94 to 76.
We just had a “fun” little storm. It started thundering a few hours ago to the West. An hour later the wind kicked up and and a few minutes later the rain started. Plenty of thunder and a bit of lightning. The power blinked off long enough that the stove’s clock needed re-setting. None of the UPSs bothered to to chirp.
With all the recent rain I discovered that the windshield on my Solara is leaking.
Safelite repair. Fortunately, they will honor the warranty even though the replacement was six years ago in Vantucky.
Just got home with the kids from the Rock Climbing gym. Gotta figure something out for dinner, probably eat some preps….
[see what I did there?? quality content, produced by Top Men ™]
Picked up some auction items. Got three of these for the price of one 🙂 one for each vehicle bag.
https://www.gerbergear.com/Cutting-Tools/Machetes/Gator-Machete-Jr_31-000759
Got an inflatable mattress for the secondary location. Got a nice battery charger and maintainer for 10% of list. Hope it’s working…
n
Does a lake house count as a BOL?
https://www.lakehouse.com/374-tejas-trail-grapeland-tx-75844-p570521.html
https://www.lakehouse.com/page-565387.html
n
We have had concierage care since our primary care Dr. converted to it. Never go back. Best money spent.
Does a lake house count as a BOL?
https://www.lakehouse.com/374-tejas-trail-grapeland-tx-75844-p570521.html
https://www.lakehouse.com/page-565387.html
Depends how isolated it is. Too isolated is not good since MZBs (mutant zombie biker gangs) tend to attack these in long periods of troubles.
And I like the bigger one even though the small one has a covered boat dock.
That lake is in Crockett. Not freeway close to anything. I don’t know if there is drinking water, nat gas, or sewers… further west would be better in terms of BOL for hurricanes, but an hour and a half north will do.
n
That lake is in Crockett. Not freeway close to anything. I don’t know if there is drinking water, nat gas, or sewers… further west would be better in terms of BOL for hurricanes, but an hour and a half north will do.
The only question is can you get there in a bad situation such as a half of Houston bugging out ?
My bug out place is four miles away from my home and 11 ft higher in elevation. We have to leave ultra early though and no trips back for more stuff.
I have a Gerber Gator Machete, the larger one, and a friend also has one.
It’s quite effective for cutting brush and so on, and minor chopping and such…
The large handle is a good feature. Sheath is good, too.
I find the saw back more of a hazard for normal machete uses, but it’s not a bad saw.
Amazon reviews at one time noted that a lot of them broke, or easily bent on the edge when chopping hard wood, presumably. If it’s a good example, it’s plenty.
Plus the monies that they hold for possible future insurance payouts which are incredulous amounts.
Sure, but since health insurance isn’t really insurance in the traditional sense of the word anymore, the carriers can’t play with the cash like they would at, say, Geico, and they park the money in short term Treasuries paying negative interest. Another win for the Feds.
From MrAtoZ last Saturday:
Just finished binge watching Stranger Things with the Twins. Great show. Make sure you watch through the end credits of the last episode for the cliff hanger. The Duffer Bros have hinted at a 4th season, but not officially announced. They better get the next season out before the “kids” are in their twenties.
So did they kill off X or is X in a Russian gulag ?
It was wild watching the kids get older so quickly.
And yes, I hope for a season four.
Take it from someone who did it last October: A small chain saw is as far superior over a Sawzall as the Sawzall is over a steak knife. A small electric chain saw can be had for < $50 from Ebay. You don't want to fell a large tree with it, but it will do wonders when it comes to taking apart fallen trees. It's worth the gasoline for a couple of hours' use of a generator.
It was wild watching the kids get older so quickly.
Just filming a single season in a year looks like it would be tough with all the location shoots involved.
The key to the sawzall is the pruning blade. It goes thru green timber like butter. It’s got the same teeth as a curved pruning saw. Isn’t so good on dead, dry wood, but even oak cuts quickly. https://www.amazon.com/12-Inch-Pruning-Reciprocating-Sawzall-Blades/dp/B075J7LF4Z?tag=ttgnet-20 Mine is actually a different make, but looks pretty similar.
That said, I have a small electric chainsaw, that really only needs a new chain or sharpening. I want to get the big gas one running though to have a big one available if needed.
I picked up a replacement kit for the primer bulb and fuel lines, and a spare fuel line kit with air stone. That should get one of the 4 saws running…
n
(and I got a beast of a corded Bosch reciprocating saw for no money in an auction last week, it has a weird quick change blade holder that was just stuck with rust and wood sap. It works now with a cleanup. It will power thru what my wimpy corded Milwaukee bogs down in.)
@spook, the edge does seem really thin compared to a traditional machete. I’ve got a couple, GI surplus and modern USA made in the standard shape and size. I like the shorter size for the trucks, but haven’t tried actually chopping or sawing with it yet. I’ll give them a touch up sharpen and lube, and try a bit on the bushes in the back yard. They are certainly better than nothing in the car kits.
If I was buying at the store, I’d be looking hard at the Fiskars products. Gerber has always made decent knives though. I guess we’ll see.
n
n
So is Netflix filming all the Marvel comic books that were not made into movies ? I watched Daredevil and quite liked it. I watched The Punisher and it was too intense for me. Stranger Things suggested that I watch Marvel’s Jessica Jones and so far I am still watching it, even though it is weird.
Yeah, Nick, either size Gerber machete is likely to be a very good thing to have,
unless you got a bad one. Even that Gerber link you provided has bad reviews.
The two of the things that I have used are quite good though not for chopping
big pieces of oak or whatever, which curled the edge some, but the major breaks
that Amazon reviews cited didn’t happen. Did somebody pry or twist?
No way, Occifer, could any of these tools be used as a sword type weapon, though.
I like the pruning blades for reciprocating saw, too.
In a pinch they’ll handle 6″ or bigger logs and branches,
even in a minimal battery saw.
Try to find a handle to fit recip blades (of whatever length or teeth type)
for manual use in desperate cutting chores, too.
General tool makes a very nice cheap handle for standard recip saw blades, that comes in a pouch and has a pocket for blades. That is my primary saw in my “install kit”. I have a rough blade for drywall, a fine metal blade for conduit, unistrut, or plastic that might need a trim, and a bigger tooth wood blade for any trim that might need ‘adjusting’.
Milwaukee makes a knife set that fits in their handle, that is VERY sharp and good for cutting foam. I use mine exclusively for that, so I really only use one blade in the set. Frankly the blades are scary and I have safer ways to do most work.
I have added folding pruning saws to my truck first aid bags. They are for cutting windshield but would work on small branches too.
A sven saw is the classic choice for survival or backpacking….
n
I had an electric chainsaw for a number of years. When it wore out, I went to a traditional, gas-powered saw, and I would not go back. Futzing with cables and extension cords while trying to pay attention to where limbs and trunks are going to fall – it made things more complicated and more dangerous than they needed to be.
On a completely different topic, I was reading an article about indoor CO2. I had always wondered how fast CO2 concentrations rose in closed rooms. My wife and I sleep in a fairly large room, but used to have both dogs and sometimes a cat in there as well. With the door mostly closed, because the kids stay up later than we do.
Some folk have measured the CO2 concentration, and it’s not uncommon for it to get up to 4000-5000ppm overnight. Interesting in that particular graph is that the general concentration in his house is around 800-1000ppm, which is already double the outdoor level.
I had a gas saw, have used one since I was 12. The one on the farm was a large powerful saw with a 30″ blade. That bad boy was a beast. The one I had at the house here was a small gas powered.
Went to use it, filled the tank, used for a few minutes, set it down for 30 minutes, and the gas tank was empty. Gaskets were shot. Not good.
So I got an EGO electric chainsaw. I had the trimmer and blower so I already had two extra batteries and chargers. After using the EGO saw I will never go back to gas powered for my needs. I have taken down, and cut up, an 8 inch tree without issues. Only took two batteries. No cords, no gas, no hassle. The batteries will recharge in under 30 minutes.
Electric tools have come a long ways from their corded cousins and now perform just as well.
I just bought a new Poulan 18″ saw because my Craftsman 14″ gasser quit gassing. I suspect the fuel line is clogged or disconnected in the tank, or maybe the accumulated varnish of the years is causing problems.
The 14″ unit is on the bench. #1 daughter & I are going to take it apart with encouragement from Mustie1. That guy’s great.
The 18″ unit works like a champ. We had a tree taken down & left (cheaper & safer) that I had to cut up. Took just a couple of hours and some trips back to the woods to get rid of it. Lovely.
We have an electric chainsaw/trimmer – 10′ reach. It’s nice enough, but the cord is a hassle. It is NOT great for doing the kind of things I want to do with a chainsaw, though it does lop off limbs from the tree rather well. Wear a hardhat.
I’d be okay with a battery-powered saw. I have quite a few such tools already (Craftsman 19.2V units). I love ’em. My favorite is the impact wrench.
So is Netflix filming all the Marvel comic books that were not made into movies ? I watched Daredevil and quite liked it. I watched The Punisher and it was too intense for me. Stranger Things suggested that I watch Marvel’s Jessica Jones and so far I am still watching it, even though it is weird.
Nobody has a clue. My Twins love JJ. After Netflix summarily cancelled all the Marvel shows, I’m guessing Disney dropped the hammer. They want ALL the Marvel bucks to themselves.