Chilly. Wet. [57F and misty drizzle]
We did finally get some rain yesterday. Mostly it was light or misty, but there were localized showers that were heavier.
It may be that my ebay sales are finally recovering. Touch wood. Or maybe I’m finally listing stuff people want? I guess if the old listings sell then it wasn’t me.
I’ve got some travel arrangements to make for spring break. I think I’ll do something I haven’t done in a long time- buy the trip insurance. No telling what the world will look like in a couple of months.
My school district class tonight is covering School Finance. This should be interesting. I haven’t had my follow up meeting with the head of Safety and Security yet, so I’m trying to fit that in today too.
And the doggy is overdue for some meds so I’m off to the Vet this morning, on top of everything else.
DIDN’T get my costco run in either so that pushes to today or Friday….
No rest for the weary…but at least I’m not running a crematorium in Wuhan.
n
From yesterday
I have no vices. I have a handful of C-clamps in different sizes.
Will be heading to the Costco near Conroe for a look around. Different Costco’s carry different items. We have to leave the relatives house by 8:00 in the morning and reach our next destination by 1:00 PM. Thus we have some time to kill. Need to go to Walmart and get a couple of items and some cash. Using the debit card with cash back avoids ATM charges.
I have lots of vices.
Will be heading to the Costco near Conroe for a look around. Different Costco’s carry different items.
Costco and Sams are within a mile of each other on I-10 near UTSA in San Antonio. It sounds like you won’t be far.
I’ve never been to Conroe, but the Prog husband of my wife’s associate in Vantucky was from Cut-n-Shoot. He must have been real popular growing up in that part of Texas. The couple had to move to Oregon after the husband did something stinky politically in Fredericksburg in 2010.
If you have to move that far from Texas, you’ve done something *bad*.
Vises Ahem.
I have woodworking vises, machinist’s vises, drill press vises, a mill vise or two (no mill), and various other “third hand” vises. I really want a post vise for hammering and bending. New ones made of modern forgings and steels are costly, and old ones in good condition can cost even more. Same for machinist’s vises.
I posted here a while back that the guy on Fireball Tool made a large, strong machinist’s vise. It was actually quite easy the way he did it. Makes me think I might try to make a post vise. How hard can it be? Meanwhile, I keep one eye open for a decent used one for cheap. I don’t do enough of that kind of work to justify much.
Oh, one important detail. How a vise, any vise, is mounted is just as important as the vise itself. All around access is sometimes really nice. Sturdiness is good if much heavy work is done. Support for long pieces is sometimes essential. Experience teaches.
I have woodworking vises, machinist’s vises, drill press vises, a mill vise or two (no mill), and various other “third hand” vises.
It sounds like your vises are your vice.
Well, back from my mtg with the head of safety and security. Not a bad conversation. Didn’t learn much new either.
Stopped at the big HEB instead of costco. Spent $400+ but saved $50 with coupons and sales. Only had a couple of bags of cold stuff. 20# flour, 2# sugar, 1# salt, 1L peanut oil, and yeast packets should all fit in one 5gal bucket. That’s my “bread kit”. 3 flats of can goods, 10# pasta (was BOGO), some other “shelf” items for deep storage.
Also hit Academy sports, got some bang pellets, got some freeze dried to try. They’re having a big clearance sale on clothes. Didn’t see anything I’d pay $20 for.
BTW, if you are thinking about a propane heater from Mr Heater, like the Mr Buddy, etc, Lowes was marking them down 50%. I bought the fuel lines and fuel line filters for mine…
Gotta finish putting stuff away, then UPS for shipping, then kids from school, then ISD meeting tonight.
I didn’t even get a chance to look at the news.
n
From yesterday:
@Lynn re UPS – I know you’re looking for a smaller unit, and I have a couple of those covering the TV/stereo and the Modem/router but I’ve also got a Smart 1250XL from TrippLite with an auxiliary battery pack that’s in the vicinity of 10 years old and still going. I don’t like having to stop work for power interrupts. A number years ago PG&E was changing out our transformer at the end of the block and I kept a dual Xeon workstation and 27″ graphics CRT going for more than 2 hours actively using AutoCAD and a couple of other programs without a problem. I did have to change out the batteries about three years ago. Highly recommended. My previous unit that failed after many years was replaced by TrpipLite for half price without question even though it was a significant upgrade, I don’t know if they still do that. Highly recommended.
I actually have the predecessor of this unit, the Cyberpower 1500 AVR, which always clamps the voltage whether on battery or not. I have had it for over five years.
https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500AVRLCD-Intelligent-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B000FBK3QK/?tag=ttgnet-20
I ordered a new aftermarket battery for it yesterday for $30 which might fix it. I figure it is worth a shot.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHJE3SC/?tag=ttgnet-20
Or hammers… LOTS of hammers. Can’t have too many. No way to tell how well a new one will work for a purpose until using it for a while. If the authorities ever classify hammers as contraband, I will be in big trouble.
Didn’t I read somewhere that hammers are used to kill more people than firearms? Bueller?
@Ray Thompson called me this morning and we met at my office for a while as he is driving through south Texas. Good times, good times. If I had been thinking (very debatable nowadays), I would have taken Ray and wife to lunch. Next time !
Using the debit card with cash back avoids ATM charges.
I bank at Wells Fargo and their half a billion ATMs are free to us using our ATM card. Yes, you can still get an ATM card from them instead of a debit card. You just have to decide if they are worth the risk of duplicating you (bad joke).
Altex carries a lot of the SLA UPS batteries. The prices are much higher than they used to be 🙁
I have a couple of old UPS’s that need new batteries. APC units. I haven’t bought a UPS in years, but the APC’s did 2 things that seemed like a bad design choice:
– Some of them won’t cold start, need to be receiving mains power to start.
– During a self test if the battery voltage goes low, they TURN OFF instead of reverting to mains power. Wrong.
I’ve never been to Conroe, but the Prog husband of my wife’s associate in Vantucky was from Cut-n-Shoot. He must have been real popular growing up in that part of Texas. The couple had to move to Oregon after the husband did something stinky politically in Fredericksburg in 2010.
If you have to move that far from Texas, you’ve done something *bad*.
Usually people just move to the next town. Sounds like he got out just ahead of the hangmans noose.
We are fairly tolerant here in Texas. Until we aren’t.
“A.F. Branco Cartoon – Bum Steer”
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-bum-steer/
“Mitt Romney let his hate, envy, and resentment for Trump stop him from doing the right thing on his Impeachment vote. Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2020.”
Yup, Romney is a hornless tool. And those cut off horns still hurt when they swing them on you.
Wait …
Or FLASHLIGHTS … LOTS of FLASHLIGHTS. Can’t have too many.
Fixed it for you.
Meatspace!
Meathead!
NB: I’m not calling you that idiot from All in the Family and certainly not calling you that bigger idiot who played the idiot. That would be just plain low.
we met at my office for a while
Meatspace!
If I had been thinking (very debatable nowadays)
Meathead!
NB: I’m not calling you that idiot from All in the Family and certainly not calling you that bigger idiot who played the idiot. That would be just plain low.
If the shoe fits …
“CIA’s Secret Ownership of Crypto AG Enabled Extensive Espionage”
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/cias-secret-ownership-of-crypto-ag-enabled-extensive-espionage/d/d-id/1337016
“Crypto AG made millions selling encryption devices to more than 120 countries, which unknowingly transmitted intel back to the CIA.”
“Who needs back doors when they are coming in the front door ?”
Hat tip to:
https://www.codeproject.com/script/Mailouts/View.aspx?mlid=14885
“Who needs back doors when they are coming in the front door ?”
Cisco AnyConnect. My company’s goofy IT department even disables the DTLS.
One day I’ll get curious and sniff the SSL negotiations.
We are fairly tolerant here in Texas. Until we aren’t.
I’ve seen MAGA hats worn openly in Fredericksburg.
Things are changing in that town, however. A lot of Prog money is out there chasing dreams of wineries, breweries, and even a few distilleries.
Is the real data finally coming out of China?
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-reports-huge-jump-new-coronavirus-infections-deaths-oil-stocks-tumble-gold-soars
“Hubei just released its latest round of coronavirus outbreak figures, and in a clear confirmation of the ‘conspiracy theory’ that China had altered the way it was reporting Covid-19 deaths and cases – clearly in order to suggest that things were improving and you should go back to work, while ideally buying stocks, the province at the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic just came clean and the numbers are stunning.
The number of cases exploded by 14,840, resulting in a total of 48,206 cases, including 13,332 clinically diagnose cases”
@Ray Thompson called me this morning and we met at my office for a while as he is driving through south Texas. Good times, good times. If I had been thinking (very debatable nowadays), I would have taken Ray and wife to lunch. Next time !
I’m just off 71, at the intersection with 183, not far from Austin Airport, but sadly, the restaurants around here are either fast food … or the strip club.
The sign in front of the club, in the middle of the US 183 toll road construction mess, reads, and I’m not kidding, “We’re Wide Open!”
@greg, I’ll be driving to Austin tomorrow. I’ll be going right past there, as I’ve seen the sign… At least it’s not called The Landing Strip…
@ray, the live tracker page shows 60,329 confirmed and the dot is pretty much right where it would be if the graph had continued as they were instead of flattening. I do NOT think that is anywhere near the actual number.
I was telling my 10 yo last night that they can’t keep lying forever and eventually with all the video coming out, they would have to get closer to the truth. I think they might be close enough to see the truth, but they aren’t there yet.
Which is bad. Really bad. Like the cruise ship doubling every 3 days bad.
n
Those too. But not as many FLASHLIGHTS as hammers, I think. At least if I only count my better FLASHLIGHTS.
I have too much XXX XXXX just about enough stuff. If anyone asks me what I need, I say time and space.
Hey Rick, the site is its old snappy self just now. Actually, it has been pretty good for a day or two. Before that, slow. Thanks for all you do.
Hey Rick, the site is its old snappy self just now. Actually, it has been pretty good for a day or two. Before that, slow. Thanks for all you do.
Yes ! Thanks !
” At least it’s not called The Landing Strip…”
–or is it? I know I’ve seen a strip bar with that name, and it would echo the nearby airport….
n
That pesky 2nd Law
” At least it’s not called The Landing Strip…”
–or is it? I know I’ve seen a strip bar with that name, and it would echo the nearby airport….
That’s the name of the place! I don’t think that corner of town will ever stop being creepy. The SAC bomber base is gone, but the city is working on acquiring some of the hotels at 71 and 183 for the homeless.
We have a lunch meeting/seminar at the office tomorrow on “Clean Code” which all of us are obligated to attend. I’m being a good boy since management knows where I went last Thursday and I opted to stay put after the site visit.
I’m at two years a week from today and my 401(k) vests another 25%.
I was telling my 10 yo last night that they can’t keep lying forever and eventually with all the video coming out, they would have to get closer to the truth. I think they might be close enough to see the truth, but they aren’t there yet.
And, kids, it is perfectly ok to say no when offered Bat Tartare if you don’t know where the bat came from. As always, ask the waiter for the provenance of the animal, just like “Portlandia”.
I was telling my 10 yo last night that they can’t keep lying forever and eventually with all the video coming out, they would have to get closer to the truth. I think they might be close enough to see the truth, but they aren’t there yet.
And, kids, it is perfectly ok to say no when offered Bat Tartare if you don’t know where the bat came from. As always, ask the waiter for the provenance of the animal, just like “Portlandia”.
I don’t eat XXXX Tartare anything !