Hot and humid, but maybe less than normal. We’re on the edge of a weather system, so who knows?
It never got super hot yesterday and stayed overcast so I was able to get stuff done. I installed a window A/C unit in the garage. I don’t know if it will be big enough to keep up, or if it will make any difference at all, but I’m going to give it a try. Even just taking 10 degrees off and keeping it in the 80s will help.
That’s one more thing off the list, and now I can get that corner of the garage put back together. Ultimately, I’d like to get some of my solar panels installed, and maybe run the A/C off the solar, just ‘cuz. WAY down the list though.
Today I’m going to really try to take it easy on my back. Like, laying down taking it easy. We’ll see how that goes.
I see that the anti-western-civ insurgents in Portland are burning Bibles. Nice of them to uncloak.
Armor up. Ammo up. Gun up. And stock up so you don’t need to gear up just to go to the store.
In other words, keep stacking.
nick
I did the Beltway from I 10 east to I 45 and traffic was light going and coming back this morning, 10 am and 130pm.
Lots of constable’s deputies out doing traffic and speeding violations. Must be a new month..
Wouldn’t the end of the month be more imporant? That’s how Alabama seemed to work.
That reminds me — Mobile County is going to let me plea my case for driving school from here in Texas. I have to get a letter to the judge out today.
I see that the anti-western-civ insurgents in Portland are burning Bibles. Nice of them to uncloak.
I speak from experience living there that the region never really recovered from the 2008 financial meltdown, and about 30% of the adult population — the true unemployment figure — really has no vested interest in “normal”.
Plus, Orange Man bad.
I still suspect outside agitators, however. The fireworks — BIG fireworks — are a dead giveaway. IIRC Oregon’s sphincters are too puckered, and the WA State sphincters only allow sales of smaller fireworks for two week periods at the end of June and December
250 people. No one saw nuthin’. Nobody has video for that phat YouTube cash.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2020/08/02/three-shot-in-fight-at-tampa-gas-station-that-draws-crowd-of-250/
How empty is the Dem bench in Florida? Pretty empty if the Sentinel has to use this retread to waive the oped banner.
Regardless of what happens in November, redistricting is coming.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-bill-nelson-wear-a-mask-20200802-plqvatgjdnf5hngavjszyvzzmi-story.html
“Portland Has Fallen As Over 150 Shots Fired In The Democrat ‘Controlled’ City Over Night”
https://illicitinfo.com/again/2020/08/02/portland-has-fallen-as-over-150-shots-fired-in-the-democrat-controlled-city-over-night/
What is going on in Portland ???
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Austin Police Warn Antifa/BLM Planning Terror Attacks & Mass Shootings Downtown”
https://www.infowars.com/austin-police-warn-antifa-blm-planning-terror-attacks-mass-shootings-downtown/
“Infowars received internal intelligence reports from high-level APD sources of plans by Antifa to take over parts of downtown Austin to establish CHAZ-type autonomous area”
@Greg, this looks like fake news. But, it could be for real, I just do not know. Be careful out there !
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
That’s one more thing off the list, and now I can get that corner of the garage put back together. Ultimately, I’d like to get some of my solar panels installed, and maybe run the A/C off the solar, just ‘cuz. WAY down the list though.
I would like to put some solar panels in my 3/4 acre back yard on free standing pedestals. Just to get the experience of having some solar panels and a controller to see what the experience is like. Maybe a kilowatt at most.
And, I would like for them to be able to run when the line power is down. That would require a self isolating circuit. Like I said, just for the experience.
Are you planning on self generation capability when the line power is down ?
@Greg, this looks like fake news. But, it could be for real, I just do not know. Be careful out there
Metro Austin has practically been a CHAZ autonomous area for a long time. If you don’t believe me, take a trip down Riverside Drive between the airport and I35 the next time you are in town.
We live Williamson County, ~ 800 yards outside the city limits. Wilco Sheriff is real law enforcement with an elected Sheriff. I only go into Austin to get something from the office, figure once a month.
APD isn’t clueless, just restricted by the swish Mayor and equally gutless city council. If push comes to shove, and Mayor Adler’s tax base is threatened, they’ll take care of business. The Texas National Guard HQ is also on the edge of Downtown if things get really bad.
Austin is full of Progs, but they’re a lot of CA transplants who fret about HGTV soft issues.
Guess what network plays in our breakroom at work.
What is going on in Portland ???
Northeast has been a cr*ppy section of town for a long time. Gresham isn’t far as is the infamous 132nd and Bush, location of the radio call that plays during the opening credits of “Cops”.
When we left Vantucky, the neighborhood was fighting a Trader Joes since the locals didn’t want the “wrong” kind of people that the store would attract.
We used to joke that a Plaid Pantry convenience store clerk in Northeast/Gresham had the life expectancy of Ensign Ricky, red shirt of the week on “Star Trek”. Guess what color the Plaid Pantry clerks wear as their uniform smock.
I’d like to have the entire south-facing half of my roof covered in photovoltaic panels, with an automatic isolator switch and a big battery. If I did my figures correctly, during the summer we’d get more than enough power each day to run the entire house for 24 hours so long as we didn’t use the AC, and the panels on the roof would help keep the upstairs and especially the garage cooler even without AC.
I was unable to find a vendor who’d put in the setup I want, a few years ago. Every single solar installer was trying to run the scam of leasing the panels and selling power to the utility company. I should look into it again.
…maybe run the A/C off the solar…
You must have a lot of panels, or a very small AC. Don’t forget the starting surge, unless the AC is one of those newer types with a variable speed compressor, unlikely. Some of those don’t require much starting surge.
We forget just how wonderful the grid is. It handily absorbs big startup currents that would choke less capable sources, such as inverter generators. One way to overcome that is with a big battery and capable inverter in that solar system.
I have a couple of smart friends who considered going off the grid entirely, with various combinations of generators, batteries, and solar panels. Sure, it can be done, but they quickly found out how expensive it is. As Cowboy Slim says, he wasn’t asked to pay (direct contributions, instead of just built into the rates) for that new generating plant nearby. Pooled resources can be a great idea.
Every single solar installer was trying to run the scam of leasing the panels and selling power to the utility company.
Yup. Forgetting the leasing angle, using the grid for storage also stabilizes the solar system. Of course, the solar system will shut down if the grid goes down, because of design decisions. The oft repeated reason of preventing backfeed is incorrect; the grid is needed for stability. Where I live, there are some folks who live off grid. Their systems are much more expensive, because they need more robust inverters and other features like batteries and charge controllers. The grid tied systems are all the rage because they have been refined a lot, and don’t need those expensive features.
You could have what you want. You could also tie into the grid for extra robustness and possible economics, as long as your solar system is also capable of operating isolated from the grid. Probably your biggest decision will be what type of battery. We are almost at the point where lithium batteries make economic sense. I have two friends who are off grid. They just purchased their third set of lead acid batteries. They said converting to lithium would have been more expensive, but with longer potential life. They would also have had to buy new electronics. Since they are my age, they think the their decision will last long enough. Many factors, not all of which are economic.
Run some numbers on isolated vs grid tied with isolation capability. The panels are the same, but the electronics will be different. With grid tied, for instance, you could run your AC, possibly economically. With isolated, you probably could not. Consider how long you will live there, and how much comfort means to you. Economics is only part of the equation.
Oh, and the ever-cheaper panels grab the news. The electronics has not come down much in price; nor has it gone up in lifespan. Many inverters fail after about ten years. The longer lived ones cost more, of course. Guess which ones are included in the door to door salesman quotes. 😉
@jimB, in the garage it’s just the little window unit. I’ve got 800w of panels. 70 @ 10w, 1 @ 100w, all nominal 12 v kyocera panels, with peaks around 19v or 20v, iirc. They are currently stacked in the driveway.
Panels, especially direct from china, are getting really cheap. Grid tie inverters (what I DON”T want) come up in my auctions reasonably often. I’ve got a big inverter, new in box, from a name brand company, (shipping damage), that I haven’t figured out yet. I don’t think it includes a charge controller though. I keep watching for batteries.
I’d like to put together enough to run the fridges and freezers in the event of a long term power outage, and run some other stuff inthe mean time just for practice.
I’ve got a book I’m slowly reading thru while on the throne.
It’s not a priority but it would be nice to get all the parts together.
n
I was unable to find a vendor who’d put in the setup I want, a few years ago. Every single solar installer was trying to run the scam of leasing the panels and selling power to the utility company. I should look into it again.
Pro electrical work with all the right permits for “green” systems get pricey.
I believe my Colonel Bat Guano neighbors spent something like $50k getting their home rewired ten years ago to eventually include solar cells and electrical capacity in the garage for a full Tesla Supercharger even though, at the time, they only owned a heavily-modified plugin Prius, the car a custom job since Toyota hadn’t started making them yet.
Just be careful borrowing money to go “green”. The Bat Guanos spent ~ $200k upgrading their house, a lot of it borrowed, after spending $475k buying the place with two mortgages. Then, when I sold for $219k right next door, similar square footage, no special circumstances, the military credit unions got antsy and forced them into a short sale within a year for $399k. I think the primary mortgage is still being paid off, tied to their new house in Boonies, Alabama.
The Shot Girl’s Green New Deal wants us all to go “Bat Guano” Crazy. That’s where the money for all the green energy jobs will come from — forced upgrades of windows, doors, and garage electrical systems.
I’ve got a book I’m slowly reading thru while on the throne.
It’s not a priority but it would be nice to get all the parts together.
Don’t forget my favorite thought: time is on your side.
One of my many failings is that I buy stuff in advance of need. Of course, that works in prepping, but not computer and other stuff. I have a bunch of computer hardware and software I have never used because it was purchased for a good deal. It is still lying around unused, and I have moved on to other, better stuff. A waste.
I take anything from Infowars with a block of salt.
I believe my Colonel Bat Guano neighbors spent something like $50k getting their home rewired to eventually include solar cells and electrical capacity in the garage for a full Tesla Supercharger even though, at the time, they only owned a heavily-modified plugin Prius.
Sounds like a hobby rather than good economics. My power company, aided and abetted by the CA PUC and lobbyists, is always surveying me about whether I would like some “greener” electricity options. I always point out that if something is actually greener, and IF it is lower cost to me, then fine. Never seen that.
Of course, I also always take the opportunity to point out that if they want to reduce “carbon” emissions they should be adding the cleanest, most renewable, safest, and potentially most economical generation, nuclear. I am waiting. Right, they listen, NOT. Still gives me a small satisfaction.
Maybe I should take the opportunity to tell them I want neighborhood nukes. @DadCooks mentioned them, and I had forgotten all about them from a looong time ago. These are potential game changers. The Chinese have their own version, probably copied from our designs.
I want a shipstone.
n
Sounds like a hobby rather than good economics. My power company, aided and abetted by the CA PUC and lobbyists, is always surveying me about whether I would like some “greener” electricity options. I always point out that if something is actually greener, and IF it is lower cost to me, then fine. Never seen that.
The Bat Guanos along with everyone else in the neighborhood thought that the homes, mostly built in 1989, were headed towards “ten bagger” investment returns, and would eventually sell for what similiar homes in CA would fetch, ~$1 mil+. Beyond that, I don’t think they were preppers as much as hardcore greenies despite being hip deep in Deep State antics such as, if neighborhood legend was correct, Mrs. Bat Guano running the Gitmo snake torture sessions.
You never know who is a true believer in “green”.
Or Mr. Fusion.
But you also have to take a balkanized USA, with a breakdown of central authority and outright wars between different areas…. Oh, wait.
The Chinese have their own version, probably
copiedstolen from our designs.Fixed it for you.
Take a look at the coverage in this article with an eye toward spin….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8584607/Heavily-armed-protesters-gather-protect-Black-Lives-Matter-demonstrators-holding-rally-Austin.html
“Gun-toting left-wing activists turned out to protect BLM protesters as they marched through Austin’s downtown
Members of far-right paramilitary group Three Percenters were also reported to be out in the city brandishing semiautomatic weapons”
–NB they usually use “gun toting” when they are implying “hill billy” or “white middle class in flyover country” which to them is the same thing.
–deeper in the article the sentences those pull quotes came from
“Early in the evening, a group of gun-toting men were seen protecting left-wing demonstrators at a makeshift memorial set up for Garrett Foster
Local media reported that, across the street, members of the far-right paramilitary group Three Percenters stood watching on, brandishing semiautomatic weapons in an intimidating manner. ”
–funny, both groups have weapons, both groups are wearing camo… but we get this–
“Members of the far-right Boogaloo Boys were seen creating an intimidating presence at his memorial on Saturday evening ”
–as far as I know, there isn’t any official ‘boogaloo boys’ patch, flag, or uniform. Nor any actual organization for that matter.
“Shocking video shared to social media showed dozens of armed people walking around the streets of Austin before sundown ”
–um, that would be your ‘peaceful protestors’, you know the same people the cops are warning about???
“Meanwhile, police also issued a warning to locals living in the downtown area to be ‘on guard’ amid rumors activists could break into high-rise residential buildings and stage rallies from rooftops.
There were reports on social media that some protesters may attempt to reach the roofs of buildings to protect BLM supporters by acting as ‘snipers’.
…
There were also whispers that activist planned to take over the Austin Police Department and create an autonomous zone. ”
–ah spin…
“Austin has on high-alert following the shocking slaying of Foster at the BLM march last Saturday night.
Army Sergeant Daniel Perry, 33, opened fire on Foster after driving into a crowd of demonstrators.
Perry claims he came across the protest by accident while working as a ride share driver, and that he only opened fire in ‘self defense’ after Foster allegedly waved his AK-47 at him. ”
–scare quotes around self defense, “waved” sounds so friendly- feel the love for fellow man, “driving into a crowd” of people blocking the street and didn’t actually mow thru them or even hit anyone…
A war of words at the moment, desperately trying to capture public loyalty. But with armed people on both sides (or ‘many’ sides as appropriate) how long before the shooting starts for real?
n
added- funny too how the left is trying to drag people to their side, influence their thoughts, while the right just points and says “see?” to bring people to their point of view….
A war of words at the moment, desperately trying to capture public loyalty. But with armed people on both sides (or ‘many’ sides as appropriate) how long before the shooting starts for real?
If anything really ugly happened that APD couldn’t control, the swish Mayor would be on the phone to the Governor’s Mansion in a heartbeat, looking for the Texas Guard to roll out from Camp Mabry.
Austin is not getting a CHOP/CHAZ.
My wife is at the mental hospital near downtown today doing rounds. She says it is a typical Sunday, but, to be fair, the hospital sits across a freeway from Camp Mabry.
F Bill Gates!
F ing windows just locked up so tight I got the popup that “Process Windows is not responding, would you like to end this process?”
Seriously uncle fukcers, why in the unholy hells would downloading new virus definitions to windows defender SATURATE my drive to the point PAGEFILE can’t swap, thus bringing my machine to its knees? F you Redmond indian minimum wage scabs.
Un freaking believable. And also, why does CTRL ALT DEL nuke the desktop to the purple screen then go back when you make a choice? And why, after 22 YEARS since win98 does the WHOLE DESKTOP have to redraw every time, including putting up the icons and then backfilling the description text? I can watch it happen it’s so slow.
n
@Nick – patience, grasshopper.
There are reports that some third-party anti-virus will cause conflicts; and many third-party AV is not really needed with the competence of the builtin AV in Windows.
Updates, while sometimes intrusive – but they can be scheduled to happen during a time when you are not using the computer – are necessary. I’ve seen no problems with my various Win10 systems here. They run the latest updates, Sophos Home Premium (free), and standard apps. No issues. The last update took a bit longer than usual, but I just wandered off and did something else during the update.
No issues with using Win10. There are three laptops here, and two desktops, all running Win10 with Sophos. No issues. Occasionaly an issue with the wi-fi connection, but that’s the fault of my wi-fi router – a quick power reset fixes that.
F Bill Gates!
Maybe you should join me in the perfect world of desktop Linux. Yeah, I thought so.
I have used lots of OSes, and the best was… hmm…
Doesn’t matter, it is no longer available.
There are reports that some third-party anti-virus will cause conflicts; and many third-party AV is not really needed with the competence of the builtin AV in Windows.
Updates, while sometimes intrusive – but they can be scheduled to happen during a time when you are not using the computer – are necessary. I’ve seen no problems with my various Win10 systems here. They run the latest updates, Sophos Home Premium (free), and standard apps. No issues. The last update took a bit longer than usual, but I just wandered off and did something else during the update.
No issues with using Win10. There are three laptops here, and two desktops, all running Win10 with Sophos. No issues.
Thanks, @RickH. I might post some questions, fair warning.
First Q: if the built in AV is good enough, what does Sophos add? Your experience matters to me. I take my security seriously, but am not paranoid. No. I just had to look over my shoulder, even though I am in my bunker, but not paranoid. 😉
Defender was scanning my music files, all rips from CD done by yours truly… I killed that now that I know.
How big can the virus updates be? My big machine was brought to its knees for at least 10 minutes, probably more since it was slow when I sat down at it.
I had enough time to look into the issue. Resource monitor showed my disk at 100% and the top two were defender and pagefile. With 16GB of installed RAM, wth is windows even pageswapping? How much RAM does the beast need?
I haven’t run third party malware or antivirus since Security Essentials got ‘good enough’. The scans are set to the middle of the night, but you can’t control when it goes looking for definitions that I could find. With a gigabit pipe, the problem is clearly at the other end if there is a slow download, but again, why take up my whole drive throughput? Piggy and shortsighted programming…
n
Crew Dragon is starting re-entry..
I’ve used Sophos for a couple years. Probably don’t need it, with the improvements that Windows Defenders has now. But Sophos doesn’t appear to be intrusive on my system use, unlike other AV that might be more processor-intensive.
I like how Sophos lets me install on as many computers as I want, and it’s free. And I can look at the other computer’s Sophos status, and run a scan if needed. I occasionally do a forced scan on other systems here.
Sophos, like most AV products, will scan new files. If you were to copy a bunch of files onto your computer, maybe via USB drive transfer, then there would be some scanning of those files that would happen automaticaly. And video files are quite large, so that would take some time, using up computer resources (CPU, disk, etc). Defender would also be scanning those files, adding to resource usage.
As for updates, I’m referring to Windows Updates (core, not necessarily Defender, although those happen also). The last Windows update I did took about 10 minutes. I just wandered off and did something else. Even though I could have delayed it to a non-working time. Like when I am sleeping. I use my computer about 12 hours a day.
Crew Dragon is starting re-entry..
Splashdown. Astronauts safe. The water is like glass, just east of Pensacola.
Good day for SpaceX. Bad day for Boeing.
Good day for humans.
n
But, as one commenter said: “Less dramatic without a carrier battle group.”
Good day for humans.
But, as one commenter said: “Less dramatic without a carrier battle group.”
Yes, but *great* PR with recreational boaters allowed to approach to a specific radius, and it was a beautiful day on the water near Pensacola.
Of course the CA-based SpaceX spokesmuppet complained, “Oh, maybe we shouldn’t advertise our splash down areas in advance.”
RSX 11 M
je
From my brother just now:
Defender was scanning my music files, all rips from CD done by yours truly… I killed that now that I know.
How big can the virus updates be? My big machine was brought to its knees for at least 10 minutes, probably more since it was slow when I sat down at it.
I had enough time to look into the issue. Resource monitor showed my disk at 100% and the top two were defender and pagefile. With 16GB of installed RAM, wth is windows even pageswapping? How much RAM does the beast need?
I haven’t run third party malware or antivirus since Security Essentials got ‘good enough’. The scans are set to the middle of the night, but you can’t control when it goes looking for definitions that I could find. With a gigabit pipe, the problem is clearly at the other end if there is a slow download, but again, why take up my whole drive throughput? Piggy and shortsighted programming…
I’ve got just MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) running on my home pc. Just an Intel I5 with 16 GB ram and a 1 TB WD Caviar Black spinning hard drive. I just ran an MSE quick scan, took ten minutes and I could not even tell it was running. I have Thunderbird and Firefox running also. Windows 7 x64 Pro is the O/S.
I have an i5, 6 Gb ram, and a 1 Tb SSD. I did set mp3 as excluded from scans. That saves the time needed to scan almost 126 Gb of music. (just about half of what I have on the drive.)
Just plain ol’ Win7 x64.
@greg:
You try standing up in front of a TV camera for 6 or more hours, and wibbling on, recycling a fairly limited roster of facts, over basically static pictures. It’s not as easy as it looks. Without a lot of practice, you’ll dry. Ask me how I know.
G.
Hmmm. I sense the opportunity to
laugh meanly atlearn wisely from another’s experience…“SpaceX spokesmuppet”
You try standing up in front of a TV camera for 6 or more hours, and wibbling on, recycling a fairly limited roster of facts, over basically static pictures. It’s not as easy as it looks. Without a lot of practice, you’ll dry. Ask me how I know.
The comment was deliberately caustic, not the result of fatigue. One of the boats was apparently flying a Trump flag.
“Teachers Move Goalposts, Now Worried About Online Learning, Too: ‘You Couldn’t Make This Stuff Up'”
https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/teachers-move-goalposts-now-worried-online-learning-couldnt-make-stuff
“With public school districts nationwide beginning to cancel in-person learning for the fall semester in answer to COVID-19 transmission fears, a number of teachers unions already are moving the goalposts.”
“According to The New York Times, educators in the hard-hit states of Florida and California might be “wary of returning to class” this back-to-school season, but that concern hasn’t stopped them from shooting down alternatives such as virtual learning.”
Why do we have public unions again ?
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
@greg:
I missed that. There’s only so much of a static shot of the Hawthorn control room that I can stand to watch. Regardless of that, it’s a magnificent achievement, mad props to all at SpaceX.
Although I wonder if Elon Musk is playing with a full deck these days, considering his recent tweet about “who built the Pyramids”. He seems to think that ancient astronauts were involved, a la von Daniken.
G.
“According to The New York Times, educators in the hard-hit states of Florida and California might be “wary of returning to class” this back-to-school season, but that concern hasn’t stopped them from shooting down alternatives such as virtual learning.”
The adj virtual has 2 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (1) virtual, practical — (being actually such in almost every respect; “a practical failure”; “the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin”)
2. virtual — (existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact; “a virtual dependence on charity”; “a virtual revolution”; “virtual reality”)
Wasn’t almost all pre-Covid-19 “learning” already virtual, esp. in the second sense?
@ed:
Not much to relate. I was interviewed, closed-circuit (i.e. not live on air) about something, I misremember what, and ran out of words after about 3 questions.
G.
How about a refund on my property taxes if y’all are too scared to teach?
Heck, don’t bother with a refund, that money is gone. Let’s go with “when I pay the bill come October or so, I do not get charged for the ISD part of the bill”. I don’t mind the other stuff, paved roads and EMS are nice to have. Well, ok, I’ll pay the ISD stuff but cut the amount due in half…. you don’t have to climate control empty buildings more than enough to keep pipes from freezing.
If I don’t go to work, other than vacation time, I don’t get paid. Why are teachers so special?
If the gov can shut down all of the restaurants and bars and little shops, THOSE people don’t get paid.
While I’m on a roll, fire half of the city and county and state employees. Like renewing your driver license would take any longer?
The driver license renewal place was an office in the courthouse annex. Open maybe three days a week. Similar offices in other towns in the county. So, to “be efficient”, they rolled everything into one office in Marble Falls. Well, (a) I have to drive 15 miles to get there and (b) what’s with having 15 stations and only 4 employees taking care of customers? Why do I have to sit for 45 minutes to do what was a walk in and walk out process?
Glad I am short. Not so glad I’ve put on weight (too much stress!) the last three years.
The fight continues on the homeless shelter buy w/Covid funds. We’ve got one assembly person pretty upset, I suspect the others are laughing at us. We did drive their vote all the way out to August 11, which is giving the lawyers and recall efforts time to get rolling.
Short.
Last week we learned our sump pump quit. Was down in the crawl space (just under 5′ between the joists) for something else and found waaaay too much water. Donned the appropriate PPE. I just spent the last several hours bagging wet insulation. Some 550 sf of wet fiberglass, filled 20 55-gallon bags. While I could get some relief straightening out between joists, it was pretty heavy, disgusting, smelly and back breaking work. My husband is over 6′, so nasty tasks (and they are always nasty) in the crawl space fall to me. I got it bagged and drug over to the crawl space ladder. Managed to hike the first five or so bags up to him before I couldn’t get the next bag hiked up within his reach. He hauled them up the last couple feet and out to the drive. A very kind neighbor came into the crawl space with me and hiked the other 15 bags out.
The styrofoam insulation sheets between the fiberglass batts were soaked and appeared to be molding. Given the lung sensitivity in this house I decided to haul those out too and not risk the mold. I need to drag an extension cord and wet/dry vac down there and finish the job. I also need water and a beer. And maybe a second long shower. I stink. I need to verify that the batts hanging on the walls of the crawlspace are not wet. They didn’t appear to be – no discoloration, the wet floor batts were not wet where they came in contact with the wall batts.
We will need to decide whether we are going to replace the insulation and whether to do it ourselves or hire it. I am frustrated that the visqueen was not fully taped as the contractor in 2012 promised. At the time I was recovering from a very difficult pregnancy, gall bladder surgery, and c-section so trusted rather than verified the contractors word. Darn it.
The sump pump is replaced. We will be installing water sensors. Barn door and all that.
Satisfying to have done it myself. Not so satisfying that I’m going to switch careers.
Yuck.
All this talk about updates. I have Ubuntu on one of my laptops and I love the speedy predictable updates, along with other stuff about it. I wish I could figure out how to get my video camera and my printer to work with it, then I would never need Windows again.
Pecancorner, I don’t know what to tell you about getting your Linux setup to recognize the video camera. In my experience Ubuntu (and other current desktop Linuxes) Just Work on all but the newest or rather arcane hardware. In fact, Ubuntu generally finds and adapts to hardware better than non-OEM Windows. Given that it’s not working, though, if you know a Linux person you might see if you can do a barter deal for poking at it; often enough I don’t know exactly what to do to make something work but I can do educated guesswork at poking in the settings and looking things up on the internet.
Much the same goes for the printer. If it’s connected by cable you should be able to get at least a test page going, even if you’re not able to make use of all features. If it’s a wifi printer, see about connecting by cable and see if you have at least minimal function, and then disconnect and see if the computer now sees the printer. That was the case with one of my Ubuntu 18.04 laptops, though the other 18.04 laptop doesn’t see the wifi printer no matter what.
You might also make a bootable thumbdrive with Ubuntu 20.04 or a different distribution, boot that, and see if the camera and printer are found.
@geoff: dang. Was hoping for something along the lines of Gussie Fink-Nottles speech at Market Snodsbury Grammar School
All this talk about updates. I have Ubuntu on one of my laptops and I love the speedy predictable updates, along with other stuff about it. I wish I could figure out how to get my video camera and my printer to work with it, then I would never need Windows again.
What kind of printer? How old?
Sadly, Apple owns CUPS these days.
” I wish I could figure out how to get my video camera and my printer to work with it”
–and that was my experience with every single linux distro I ever tried. Something just didn’t work. Often enough, it worked fine on the live CD or during the pre- install, but then after ACTUAL permanent install it no longer worked. So I’m stuck on windows.
And just to be extra double redundantly clear, it’s the update of the definitions that brought my machine to its knees, not the scan, although the scan was going on in the background and didn’t help. Freaking update D/L took more than 10 minutes and wanted ALL of my drive during that time.
In other news, I can’t run the garage A/C on the same circuit as two fridges and two freezers… at least I found that out during the daytime, and only an hour or less after it popped the breaker. The coolers were all still the right temps.
I guess I’ll bump the new circuit install up the list…
Rain started here this afternoon. Enough to make it too wet to work outside. Then it stopped and just left the humidity. Gross.
n
Eviction moratorium ended, so we get articles like this…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/rent-moratorium-expires-landlord-tenant-battles-begin
“Tens of millions of Americans were pushed into instant-poverty [really? insta-poverty? 20-40 percent of the population?] by the economic downturn, many faces housing insecurity and homelessness as the labor market recovery reserves, which has led to millions of permanent job losses. Ahead of the recession, many Americans had insurmountable debts and no savings, or rather no safety net if times got rough. [And this is because of what now? and it’s my problem why?]
One would assume confrontations between landlords and tenants on the subject of payments are set to rise, as tenants are on the brink of being homeless, and landlords are having trouble servicing mortgage payments with rental income collapsed.” [again, why is this anyone’s problem other than theirs? How does that seminar on flipping and buying rental properties on cash flow look NOW?]
–yes, I know that it will be my problem because they’ll all want relief, and .gov will throw it around like buckets of slop to the swine. Or they’ll rampage and threaten me and mine. I did the right thing. I bought a house I can afford. I paid off my credit cards, cars, consumer loans, and then put money into savings. I bought and stacked FOOD so I wouldn’t face “food insecurity” no matter what. I drive older vehicles that I paid cash for. One is 17yo and one is only 12yo. I buy my own clothes at goodwill and shop at thrift stores.
dammit, I know I’m going to be made to pay for all those other people’s free choices after paying for mine. Or my savings will be destroyed by inflation after all the money creation needed to give them all a check and a bl*wj*b.
I’m getting a bit fed up with other people being isolated from their own bad choices.
n
We have been running Ubuntu on all our home computers for over 10 years now. Originally I had the cinnamon version but supporting my wife’s vanilla distro caused issues so we standardized on out-of-the-box Ubuntu. It plays well with our brother laser printers and Logitech scanners and cameras. Wife has it on a Dell laptop and I use an HP desktop. We have a Win10 VM machine for the 2 programs that demand Windows.
Eviction moratorium ended, so we get articles like this…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/rent-moratorium-expires-landlord-tenant-battles-begin
The wife is evicting one of her tenants in Dallas for having too many garage sales. She has gotten a couple of letters from the City of Garland so out they go.
@Nick: I have a couple of blown out discs in my back that gave me a lot of sciatica pain for a while. I tried a physical therapist who had a contraption called a DRS which basically applied traction. The idea is to pull the discs apart so that they can suck back in some of the bulging material. It was about $100 a treatment, though, and I figured I needed about three treatments a day rather than one per week. I built a tilted table with a harness that created an approximation of what the DRS machine did. The table was tilted at about 30 degrees and was smooth, so that my legs and hips tugged downward while my chest was held up by the harness. It wasn’t as comfortable as the DRS, but I could use my computer or read while I used it, and I could afford to use it several times per day. I fashioned a headrest so that I could look horizontally instead of at the ceiling. I felt that it made a difference. I don’t use it much- now, unless I do something foolish and set off my discs.
Sadly, Apple owns CUPS these days.
Mmmm, those Apple Crisp Cookie Cups look scrumptious.
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a49383/apple-crisp-cookie-cups-recipe/
What about an inversion table? My si joint tendS to take my hip out of alignment, which causes my spine to misalign as well. When it gets like that, I can’t lay flat on the floor either head or butt has to be raised. The inversion table puts everything back in line. I even sometimes get the very satisfying pop in the mid back, but not always.
I think inversion might work but I’m leery of anything other than a gentle incline.
I used to be able to hang my lower legs off the arm of the couch and that would put some gentle traction on my lower back, but now we have different couches where it doesn’t work.
If I’m not better tomorrow, I’m biting the bullet and going to the chiropractor. Today I tried a bunch of stretching. The compensatory tightening to support the misalignment just works to hold it out… so I’m doing stretches that have my hips and low back pulling in ways I haven’t in far too long. I’m getting stiff in my middle years and I should be doing more stretching.
Just sitting here right now, arched my back slowly and tilted my pelvis, and felt shock after shock in my hip and back of thigh.
Getting old is not for the weak.
n
If I’m not better tomorrow, I’m biting the bullet and going to the chiropractor. Today I tried a bunch of stretching. The compensatory tightening to support the misalignment just works to hold it out… so I’m doing stretches that have my hips and low back pulling in ways I haven’t in far too long. I’m getting stiff in my middle years and I should be doing more stretching.
Here you go, BC turtle yoga.
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2020/08/02
Getting old is not for the weak.
Just wait until you get to elderhood (60+). This morning I did not dare stretch anything until I got in the shower, it all hurt.
You guys in your 50s and 60s!
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
And I pulled the tank off the toilet and replaced all the insides. For bonus points I did the seat, too (flaking paint and always looke like it had bits of poop adhering to the underside)
I’m feeling pretty mighty.
You go Jenny!
and then every time you go, you can feel good about doing the work!
——————————————————————-
Texas, getting weird. Wonder if this will count as a COVID death?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8583867/Texas-city-commissioner-killed-gun-battle-police.html
— nah, just a run of the mill wife beater…
But hey, he was a City official, so that’s ok I guess.
n
I am not looooking. Nah, nah nah, nah. I refuse to looook. Nah,nah, nah, nah.
Every time I think humans are ok, I slip up and read the comments on some random youtube video. F me people are ignorant, arrogant, have unbelievably bad comprehension skills, and have no qualms about sharing their ignorance with the world.
I found another thing to internet argue over, like .45 vs 9mm, AR vs AK, chevy vs ford… pallet lumber sucks and so does your momma.
You could write a bot to make the comments-
-your stupid because I’ve never seen/done/experienced that.
-your stupid because wat u said didn’t make cents to me
-your jest a shill for $bigcorp
-i’m poor and can’t do what you do/lots of ppl are poor and so your video sux bcuz ur not
-i could do it just as well as you using my stuff [but he never has, and won’t]
-ur just an idiot
-ha your so right, i agree completely, look at all the fools in the comments
-you should wear a respirator/safety glasses/gloves/hairnet/apron/hearing pro/fall pro/etc
-ur doing it wrong
And gods forbid if the youtuber is female, then you get the trolls and foreigners
-that chick’s goat a grate azzzz
-i want merry u, DM me plz
-ur so hot!
-you are so ugly I want to puke watching you
-if you were any fatter they’d have to give you two channels
[all of above on the SAME video]
-not bad little lady, but you should learn from a real man before you try showing something on youtube
-ur doing it wrong cz ur a chick
I need to watch some nice wholesome midget snuff porn to get the bad taste out of my mind…
n
Whenever I browse social media, I am reminded of the quote: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” Also the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory remains true – apparently people don’t realize how easily they could be identified.
For the last few months, my social media participation has been some selected parts of reddit. For example, there’s a reasonably civilized local Swiss group (r/switzerland). I occasionally look at other subreddits, and…my hope for humanity sinks.
The rudeness to women is especially bizarre. I suppose that’s due to hormonal teenagers and incel neckbeards, but I really don’t get it. If you want a chance at finding female companionship, insulting every woman you meet makes no sense.
@Jenny: I enjoy reading about your DIY adventures – and the city council adventures. Keep us posted 🙂
@nick:
You see comments on YouTube channels? I don’t. But I don’t log in to YT. Maybe that’s why.
And from what you say, I’m not missing much.
@Brad:
So true….
G.
@geoff, yep, I log in because I have subscriptions to channels I like. Over 50 of them at the moment.
I usually only scan the comments if I’m watching something from a new to me creator. Does s/he have fans? is the video I’m watching in character or out of character for the creator? are the fans who love it idiots? I can usually tell the quality of the creator from one or two vids, but sometimes they’ll do a short run of stuff I’m interested in, but usually talk about something else.
In any case, if you are female doing anything “male” you’re in for a metric cr@pton of critical comments ABOVE all the normal for youtube/interwebs nonsense. (woodworking, auto repair, electronics- especially woodworking for some reason brings out the condescension and haters)
Very few places online like here where the comments are worth reading.
n
Added – and forget it if the islamics notice you…