Hot and humid. Of course.
It hit 111F in my driveway according to my weather station yesterday. I know it felt damned hot.
Didn’t get much done. Back hurts and I’m trying not to aggravate it. I did get some stuff over to my secondary location, and some debris for the dumpster there. I picked up my 3 cases of TP and misc. assorted other auction items. (mainly art supplies for the kids) I went to the chiropractor. Got a doc I haven’t seen before, but she seemed competent. Made me feel better, moved some stuff around. Didn’t hurt me like some of the guys have done. I’ll go back on Friday for another adjustment. Lots of people put chiropractors with witch doctors and ambulance chasers, but I’ve always had good results and I’ve been going for decades. Good and bad in any field I guess.
I haven’t made it in to see my buddy at the toy store in a while. I’m starting to get anxious. They have reduced their store hours because their employees have all decided to stay home, and they don’t have any inventory aside from a few consignments. They do transfers all day long though for online buyers. They are good people and I miss dropping in just to say hi.
I noticed while I was out that the Goodwill Outlet was “Temporarily Closed”. No explanation, no reopen date. I wonder if they’ve had an outbreak. I hope not.
I saw a bunch of new empty storefronts and new “For Lease” signs. Some on brand new businesses that never even really had a chance to open. Even here we’re feeling the downturn coming.
One of my buddies is having some successes with his new prepping lifestyle- he’s got his first eggs from his new chickens, and he’s successfully made cheese from his excess .gov milk… so I guess he’s made government cheese…*
People are adapting and overcoming. If you sit around waiting for things to go ‘back to normal’ I have a feeling you’ll be left behind. Nothing irrevocable, but start moving forward. There are always opportunities.
Everything is easier with resources. So…….. keep stacking 🙂
nick
*I loved the taste of the government cheese. What was it, late 70s? Giant block of mild cheddar cheese, enough to build a fort with. Grandma shared with the whole family. I’d cut 1/2 inch thick slabs off and eat that like candy. Big slabs on white bread as sandwiches. Good times.
My taste of government cheese was served in the USAF mess halls.
When I first entered the service the chow was produced, concocted, abused, by military personnel. Basic training food was just thrown together made to be shoveled quickly down the throat. After permanent duty was established the food was better but still cooked by military personnel. There was always lots of cheese.
When I was stationed at Ent AFB, downtown Colorado Springs, two city blocks surrounded by houses and small businesses, there was a mess hall on base because people lived on base. The “cook” was exceptional. For lunch there was always a waiting line to get into the facility. On weekends, especially Sunday he would cook whatever people wanted as there was only about 10 to 12 of us that ate there on Sunday. He was an outstanding cook/chef. I am sure when he got out of the service he could get a chef job at any top restaurant.
Around the 1975-76 time frame the food service was contracted out while I was stationed at Randolph AFB in Universal City Texas. The quality of the food jumped dramatically. The variety of food increased dramatically. For Thanksgiving meal military personnel were allowed to bring family members for a small fee. The quantity, quality and presentation of the food was top notch. It was necessary to have a reservation for a military chow hall for Thanksgiving.
I loved the taste of the government cheese. What was it, late 70s?
I remember the stories in the early 80s, maybe first year of Reagan.
Everyone has the debit cards now and would burn down the cities if the Feds handed out staples instead.
In Vantucky, with 25% of the Portland metro on food assistance, it was just me and the illegal alien women shopping the discounted meat at Winco on the first morning of the sale flyers.
Virtual learning is doomed to failure. The “students” will learn nothing except how to copy and paste, cheat from others, and otherwise scam the system. The graduating class of 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be a bunch of clueless dolts.
I saw virtual learning while subbing. Students were assigned work in the computer lab for on-line learning. Not only did most fail to do anything except play games, the rest just cheated to get the answer on Google. When I asked them questions about the problem they were clueless and basically did not care about solving the problem, only getting the answer.
This started years ago with standardized testing where teacher performance, and pay, was based on how well their class performed. The teachers realized that the only way to stay employed, or get raises, was to have the students do well on the tests. Thus the teachers taught the answers to the tests. There was little to no teaching of how to solve a problem, just the answer was important. If the students were given a problem they had not seen, their faces went blank. Guessing became the solution.
The public education has destroyed itself. Kids no longer learn. They are indoctrinated with liberal ideology with some of the projects. They are taught by liberal females. The males are sent to time out to color their feelings when there is a dispute with another. An entire generation of wussies who can barely read, simple addition confuses them, and no idea of simple economics.
Sports athletes are driven through the system with the IQ of slime mold. Barely able to put together a comprehensible statement. Kids of welfare parents are taught that welfare is a valid career choice. No incentive to do anything beyond what is necessary to get hair extensions, fancy fingernails, and the latest iPhone and Apple Watch.
I feel sorry for my grandson who will grow in a world that sucks, especially the US. Education destroyed by individuals who have never taught, have not been in a school in 30 years, and got the job from political favors. Zero qualifications.
I saw virtual learning while subbing. Students were assigned work in the computer lab for on-line learning. Not only did most fail to do anything except play games, the rest just cheated to get the answer on Google. When I asked them questions about the problem they were clueless and basically did not care about solving the problem, only getting the answer.
As discouraging as I found my fellow CS Masters program students from the Subcontinent, what really zapped my enthusiasm continuing for the PhD was the organized undergraduate cheating. CS is all about the paper for a lot of the students, and the department leadership looks the other way for various reasons.
Re yesterday’s discussion of the thumbs up/down…
I agree with most of the comments of this site and disagree with a few. But I don’t start calling the commenter names and threaten violence or doxxing, and neither does anyone else here, which is what makes this site the best.
The down-thumbs are interesting. Some are pretty obviously standard TDS responses. For instance, the discussion on Trump calling for postponing the election and how some of us think it was just a play to NOT postpone the election. Even in that case, it would be interesting to hear the down-thumbers’ positions.
It’s also fascinating to hear other peoples approach to life and the challenges they overcome. Without the screaming on other sites.
I lived in up-state NY for a few years (78-80?) and I thought their system worked well. If you were college bound you took Regents courses. To get credit for the course you had to pass a comprehensive final exam. The exam was identical for every school in the state and was given at the same time. Previous year exams were available for practice. The teachers did not see the exam until it was time to take the test as the exams were proctored and sealed. Teaching the test meant teaching the material.
That is like the British O-level/A-level system in the 80s too. A big final exam at the end of the year testing actual knowledge of the material. I still have nightmares about A-levels and my university finals.
Government cheese. Just a way to prop up dairy farmers that produce too much, which they will do if Uncle Sucker helps. Now they mostly turn it into powdered milk. Sacked and stacked on pallets, shoved in warehouses. Couple of years later deemed too old and sold off for pennies to be mixed into feed for cattle. Typical govenment efficiency.
For back pain, I recommend the book “Treat Your Own Back”, by Robin Mackenzie. As he says, you can do more for yourself than any doctor or chiropractor can do.
And then there’s antibiotics… but that’s a more complicated business.
I lived in up-state NY for a few years (78-80?) and I thought their system worked well. If you were college bound you took Regents courses. To get credit for the course you had to pass a comprehensive final exam. The exam was identical for every school in the state and was given at the same time. Previous year exams were available for practice. The teachers did not see the exam until it was time to take the test as the exams were proctored and sealed. Teaching the test meant teaching the material.
Local Subcontinent parents always circulate the current year’s exams for admission to the gifted programs in the public schools and I strongly suspect they get the STAR (Texas comprehensive) exams as well. Make the tests too important, and the effort extended by that group to cheat ratchets up as well.
Just like “no prayer” in public school, even around the flag pole. The ProgLibTurds have used SCOTUS to continue indoctrination into the Commie lifestyle.
Is it actually called an outlet? Like, what are they selling? Goodwill factory seconds? lol I don’t understand how a thrift store has “outlet” locations.
There’s been a few random closings around here I’ve noticed. A business that’s been open will suddenly be closed for a few days then reopen. There’s either no signage about it or some complete B.S. like “we’re closed for cleaning.” Everyone knows they’re closed because someone there tested positive for COVID-19. I don’t know why they think they’re fooling anyone. Why do businesses think they can get away with the lie? A ma and pa business where everyone working there is family? Maybe. But, if you think your 16 year old cashier is going to keep his mouth shut on social media as to the real reasons you’re closed then you’re delusional. Restaurants, for example, don’t close suddenly and without notice for “cleaning.” lol
Even before COVID-19 they would make up excuses as to why they’re closed. The local McDonald’s had almost their entire night crew walk out on the manager one night. So, they were closed the rest of the night for “maintenance.” As if those disgruntled employees weren’t going to walk out the door, get in their car, and immediately tweet/instagram/snapchat/etc that they all just walked out. Heck, the more devious ones will even go and submit it to the news via their tip line hoping they’ll make the next local news cycle. You’re better off just not even providing a reason you’re closed. Just state, “We apologize for any inconvenience, but we are temporarily closed. We will reopen ________” and leave it at that. Stop fabricating crap nobody believes.
It happens at my employer when somebody is let go. It’s all very hush hush (amusingly so). You think that employee isn’t sitting out in the parking lot after being terminated and texting all of their, now former, coworkers they were friends with and telling them they just got fired, why, and why they think it’s complete B.S.? I’ll ask sometimes when I hear a position that impacts me a lot was just vacated and they’ll be dodgy about it and I always chuckle and say, “You realize EVERYONE is going to know EXACTLY why by tomorrow?” and they always concede that point.
I’m okay with that. I don’t know why we scream about math, science, logic, and reasoning being poorly taught these days and then also be upset that accommodations aren’t made in school so people can pray to the magic man in the sky. We should approach Christianity/Islam/Judaism/Hinduism in school the same way we teach Greek Mythology.
Don’t forget the pr0n tab open in the browser.
If someone did an analysis of the down votes, I’m sure Mr. SteveF would be “King of the Down Votes.”
Keep up the good work, Sir!
The down-thumbs are interesting. Some are pretty obviously standard TDS responses. For instance, the discussion on Trump calling for postponing the election and how some of us think it was just a play to NOT postpone the election. Even in that case, it would be interesting to hear the down-thumbers’ positions.
I suspect that the thumbs down buttons are being utilized by casual browsers who probably won’t venture out here again after finding the site searching for specific topics or through the Home Science and other books by the Thompsons. They still want to express dissatisfaction with the conversation, however, without fully articulating a response.
I look at it as just being an electronic thumbs down … and not hot coffee to my face. NBD in the grand scheme of things.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/dispute-over-masks-erupts-into-violence-in-manhattan-beach/
We’re going to need background checks at Starbucks soon.
Re: Up and Down.
Jeff Duntemann, linked in the sidebar, had his most recent post being thoughts about Twitter. A quote:
His proposed solution is to “slow things down”.
What might that look like here? Maybe you have to come back and repeat your vote in 24 hours, or you’re only allowed one a week, or…
Tab? Singular? Amateur.
I called up my local “toy” store last week. I was hoping that he could help me transfer my gear and store it for me for a while since it was possible that I was going to get a retaliatory restraining order placed against me. If that happened and the state took my stuff they charge exhorbitant storage fees (per gub per day) and it can be many months to clear things up. He told me “no”**. He doesn’t expect to be in business for more than another month or so. Forced shutdown for a long time followed by nothing to sell. He is near retirement age anyway. Too bad. I might swing by there this weekend and grab a few needed items (reloading powders, cleaning stuff) if he has any available.
None of the potential retaliatory stuff happened. I’m grateful for that. Tomorrow is the court hearing to make the temporary restraining order a 1 year deal. My lawyer says he believes my case is strong, but you can never really know how a judge will decide things, especially when it is a man claiming abuse from a woman. Plus, the person I have removed from my house may just spin a web of lies. Regardless, that person is out of my house. This has been an emotionally draining 2 weeks.
Her room is still full of her stuff. If she doesn’t do something to get rid of it ASAP it will just end up on the front lawn with a big sign that says “FREE”.
If the judge doesn’t rule in my favor my former roommate can take me to court for improper eviction, but that is just a civil matter. It would cost me some $$ and time but not impact my life like a restraining order or false criminal charge.
**I did find another option.
Had a small preparation test yesterday: 12 hour power outage. The fridge and several other items ran just fine off of the solar charged batteries. I was able to do everything I normally do (watch videos on iPad, read, cook, etc) without any problems. No AC, but it wasn’t too bad. Hooray for being prepared!
Is that you Mr. SteveF giving me a down vote?
Up vote for you, Sir!
Not to mention *goobermint approved* face diapers. I feel it coming. Another control measure. Clearly labeled “approved by the CDC.”
Of course!
I like how the more publicly virtuous are now talking about getting the Election Flu vaccine and continuing to keep distance from people and continuing to insist on face diapers. If it saves one life…
Not to mention *goobermint approved* face diapers. I feel it coming. Another control measure. Clearly labeled “approved by the CDC.”
The realization is starting to spread that the “lets rob the 2:10 stage out of Yuma” look is simply kabuki, and that threatens the official narrative.
–Indeed, well done!
WRT one time visitors coming in on searches…. the only real searchers we get are for Patriot Nurse. The couple of times Bob discussed her are really the only consistent and recurring search entry points that are not directly related to Bob, or the site in general.
@JLP, I read in a book (iirc) someone who stores their gubs by pawning them. The pawnshop charges a small interest fee, and your gubs are secured until you get them out of hock. I suppose there is a small risk that something happens to you and you never pay the loan back, losing the gubs, but if that happens you’re probably done anyway.
-yup, what doesn’t move fast enough in the regular Goodwill stores gets sent to the Outlet. The outlet has giant bins full of stuff, no shelves, and everything is just piled up. Shoppers sort thru the bins. In Austin, it was a zoo, with a LOT of breakage. In Houston, it’s very quiet and orderly. The Houston outlet is about 70-80% clothes and fabrics, 10% housewares and general merch, and 10% other (usually shoes or books.) They do have an area for furniture and big stuff, and one for some electronics. Pricing is by the pound, with bigger items priced individually (but consistently and not based on any judgement of value). About $1.20/pound for most stuff.
I’ve heard that if the regular stores are full, they send donations directly to the Outlet stores, but don’t know that. I have seen lots of items without old tags though, so it’s plausible. Houston refreshes all the bins every couple of hours post-Covid, don’t know what Austin does now. Austin USED to refresh a whole row of bins about every half hour. People spend their whole day there, waiting for fresh bins, then tearing thru them.
I prefer the thrifts if I’m looking for something specific. I have come to really like the outlet if I’m just trolling for hidden treasure or to see what’s out there today.
n
Some examples of what I’ve found at the Outlet, either in Austin or Houston, that you wouldn’t expect…
-vintage stereo equipment. BSR, B&W, B&O, speakers, turntables, tuners
-canakit arduino kits (several), robot kits
-tons of cheap r/c cars and toys, if you are looking for robot parts….
-vintage wool clothing
-mens dress shoes that sell on ebay for $100- 300, 8 pairs on my last visit
-ham radio low power transceiver kit (QRP kit)
-100 yo redfield peep sight for rifle
-commercial/whole house audio gear
-radio antennas
-gub parts or maintenance stuff, reloading gear, (glock mag extensions, NIB, last visit)
-fabric for projects (bedsheets, fabric on the bolt, clothes, draperies)
-designer handbags
-watches (nothing awesome yet)
-leatherbound books (classics editions)
As you can imagine, all the rest of the normal thrift store stuff is there as well, clothes, housewares, cheap decor, lamps, pictures, etc.
The Austin store is an experience. They have a lot higher percentage of non-clothing items, but a lot more pure junk too.
It’s every changing and really a huge treasure hunt. Some days I get nothing, some I load a cart.
n
I like Goodwill because they take about anything. The store I usually drop at has large bins at the dropoff. Even some roll offs that they seperate things into and just sell to salvage companies. Things like large appliances that don’t work are scrap metal to them. They won’t take old beds (probably because of bedbugs) or furniture beyond use. Electronics are big and I’ve recycled lots of old tvs and computer equipment (drives removed or destroyed).
Re: storage. I have heard that some groups regularly rotate their storage among the group, just to confuse record keeping. I really don’t believe that. However, I might not hesitate to accept some items to be stored from a trusted friend, if the need should ever arise. The need hasn’t arisen yet. (I seem to be writing like a lawyer. Must not have had enough coffee yet. 🙂 )
I do know folks who regularly trade backup media as part of their offsite storage, but that is a different matter.
The county had that locked down excessively so. I attempted to look up “Sexton” and got blocked because of “Sex”.
No, but I did to make you happy.
Re: UPS for computers. Like many here, I used to have UPS for every computer, especially those on the test bench. The last one died, and I considered getting a big one and using it for everything in the house… didn’t get to that. Now, I have plans to add some PV solar to the mix… in a while. My scheme is to have a large enough battery to serve as a whole house UPS. Despite a lifelong interest in electronics and batteries, both as a hobby and a career, I absolutely hate batteries; almost as much as printers. Batteries are a necessary evil, so the fewer the better. That’s why I want just one for the whole home complex. Some day. Time is on my side: at least the PV panels are getting cheaper, if not the electronics and batteries; and, I just might die before all this gets done. Not to be morbid, mind you, but that big meteor could drop any day. 😉
But I digress. The most critical reason for a UPS on a computer is to prevent hard disk corruption. That problem seems to have gone away with the newer journaling file systems. I wonder if that also applies to SSDs. No experience yet. When I experiment with a bench system, one test is to cut the power under various circumstances. Newer Linux systems (my most recent experience) seem to be unfazed. Not sure about system files, but open user files (office type app files) will need recovery, but that has worked well so far. The whole computer seems to pick up where it left off pretty gracefully.
I have tried some of these kinds of tests on earlier versions of Windows, with pretty good results. Good, but not perfect. This was a long time ago, and involved removable cartridge drives. The recent versions of NTFS are probably good in this regard, but I wouldn’t tempt fate. Still, what percentage of the world’s Windows computers are on UPSes? No idea, but bet very small. Anyone here have any thoughts?
My ‘real’ Dell will ride thru power blinks even without the UPS. My Costco dell will not.
Being who I am, I’ve got two or three upss sitting here in the office, and I have still not put either main computer on the UPS. I do have almost everything else on UPSs, and just picked up a slim one for the bedroom AV stuff.
I have a whole house UPS, an APC Symmetrix system from a business. It’s not currently connected. With big UPSs, you don’t get ‘one’ battery, you get dozens. I’ve got a rack full of them in the Symmetrix. IIRC it’s a 16 or 18 KvA when connected to 208 three phase, so down rate from there.
n
The Austin store is an experience. They have a lot higher percentage of non-clothing items, but a lot more pure junk too.
North Austin/Round Rock has a very active picker culture originating from the days going back 20 years ago when a lot of high tech manufacturing was still done here. People still try to make a living that way, based on castoffs from dumpsters, school systems, and thrift stores.
I’ve been in a couple of picker houses thanks to our house hunting a few years ago. The bonus rooms are always the makeshift warehouses.
Re: discussions about paper products, has anyone here used Boxed.com? I have not, but have come close. They seem to have TP and other products that are scarce in some areas. I think the concept of dealing in commodities that are of low density (bulky) is a real niche, but not an area I would try. They are growing by leaps and bounds, probably because they have found a need to be filled.
That reminds me. I really don’t like sites that make me sign up just to price shipping on an item. I really miss a Google shopping function from a couple of years ago that ranked search results by total (price + shipping + tax) to my destination. It was great, but gone now. Collusion with the big rivers of the ecommerce world?
Newer Linux systems (my most recent experience) seem to be unfazed. Not sure about system files, but open user files (office type app files) will need recovery, but that has worked well so far. The whole computer seems to pick up where it left off pretty gracefully.
If the Linux is mission critical, you want to have NUT/UPSd monitor the battery backup and shut down the system gracefully when the battery reaches a specific level. The new journaling file systems are very reliable, but you want to make sure.
With big UPSs, you don’t get ‘one’ battery, you get dozens.
I agree, but that is one system. The UPS I had my eye on for the interim was a surplus line interactive sine wave output system that used 24VDC of battery voltage. I planned to use it with just two auto batteries. It would have required a separate circuit for all connected loads, but not hard for me and our house, which has access to all the rooms for extra wiring. Things got out of hand, however, when I considered the two garage doors and a future electric gate. Those would have been the big loads, with 40 amp startup surges. It got too complicated, and since I do plan on a PV solar system, I decided to wait.
Another reason is that our power outages have gone from an average of one per month to only about two per year. Our power company has actually made improvements! Those outages I mention were most commonly the pesky one minute ones: too short to start a generator, but long enough to reset all the electronics.
Lesson: keep track of your electricity outage pattern. There is one if you wait long enough. Here, of the ten or so per year, most were a ten seconds to a minute, and were within the scope of automatic devices on the local distribution. Less than one per year were longer; some an hour, and some longer. These were either the result of catastrophic failures or accidental things, like a car hitting a pole, all of which required a crew to go out and fix. Some of these were planned outages, and we get several days notification of these. In almost fifty years of living here, the longest outage we have had was several hours as a result of some big equipment failure. My point is that a generator is not really needed here. Nice to have, but will get used more for exercise and maintenance that for need. It won’t help for the ten second outage. A whole house UPS is for that.
After taking care of IC engines, I would rather live with some of the better batteries. If I design a grid interactive PV solar system to handle our overnight loads while isolated from the grid, we could go for weeks of mostly normal living during a long term outage. It is almost always sunny here. If that long term outage never comes, I have a whole house UPS. Maintenance is not too bad. Note that it is not as cost effective as a pure grid tied system, but it offers more features.
Saw this project a bit ago: home energy monitoring with a Raspberry Pi: https://hackaday.com/2020/07/24/a-complete-raspberry-pi-power-monitoring-system/ .
Also this: https://hackaday.com/2019/07/27/building-a-safe-esp32-home-energy-monitor/ .
There are other links in those articles to similar projects.
If the Linux is mission critical…
Oh, absolutely. I don’t consider a desktop system used only to surf and do light stuff mission critical. YMMV. And, it is easy to simply add a UPS, which I used to do. I have never used graceful shutdown software on Linux. Everything I found when I looked in the past was for Windows, of course. I’m a little like our former host: if I leave the vicinity, all important computers get shut OFF and disconnected from the line. No exceptions.
I really wanted Wake On LAN for the Linux computers, and it worked well; but the hardware I am using had occasional problems with resuming from Suspend To RAM, so I don’t use it. Now, I no longer miss it. Further, it gives me more peace of mind to have the power removed from the box when it is OFF. That way, some outsider, such as the OS provider, can’t turn it ON remotely to do updates. I want to be there when those happen, if only to watch the meltdown. My volunteer job has remote updates, but ALL updates are inspected and tried out before they are automatically sent out to all the clients. Those IT folks are some of the sharpest I have ever seen (in my limited experience.) In my ten plus years, we have never had any major problem attributable to poor support. Impressive. Mostly, I handle hardware failures. I am one notch below the old Maytag Repairman. 🙂
BC: Studying Botany
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2020/08/05
In BC, botany studies you !
_Greek Key (Hope Blackwell) (Volume 1)_ by K. B. Spangler
https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Key-Hope-Blackwell-1/dp/0984737596/?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number one of a two book fantasy paranormal series. The series is part of the excellent A Girl and Her Fed webcomic.
https://www.agirlandherfed.com/
And there are several other books in the OACETverse, mostly the Rachel Peng series. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback. I have ordered book two in the series. It was printed in Coppell, Texas yesterday.
Hope and her buddy Mike are continuing the investigation of the ancient artifact found in the White House gifts storage. Their investigation leads them to Greece and to the ghost of Helen of Troy. Who, was actually Helen of Sparta according to the story. And the Minotaur was …
Warning: Helen performs a very detailed castration of a man in the story. You were warned.
Please note that K. B. Spangler has a professional website at:
https://kbspangler.com/
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (59 reviews)
@nick, Jim Cramer agrees with you, “‘Clueless’ investors just keep driving this ‘stupidly bullish’ stock market higher, CNBC’s Jim Cramer says”
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/863e31ce-dfc6-3764-a208-b02ac33a7148/%E2%80%98clueless%E2%80%99-investors-just.html
Had an opportunity to visit an Oklahoma City restaurant supply store today. A preppers paradise. Bulk rice, beans, canned goods (#10 cans) and all the gloves and paper products you could want, just bring a fork lift. Prices were below retail on the few items I compared. Makes Costco look like amateur hour. But I don’t have a use for huge #10 cans of anything and I already have enough beans and rice in LTS to feed an army. I went there to get some white pepper which for some reason is impossible to find in any local grocery.
Woke up this morning to rain and 59f here in Indian country. Unheard of for August. It’s crawled up to 80f by mid afternoon. They say weather will return to normal, highs in the 90s, next week, but I am enjoying this taste of fall.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/08/an-early-version-of-starship-takes-its-first-tentative-steps-off-earth/
Do you want to see a few photographs of a really big water heater hurtling up 150 metres into the air? Here’s your chance. Follow the link to the space and no-more-technology site.
Oh my goodness ! That thing looks to be 250 feet tall !
And I thought that they had a guy strapped to the side at first.
Yup, the New York City to Tokyo ballistic will be lifting off soon.
There is a video here !
https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-starship-prototype-completes-500-foot-hop
Actually, the video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1HA9LlFNM0
The comments on the Arstechnia article are claiming that version 6 will have three rocket motors. And that version 7 will have all six rocket motors. Looks like they are testing the software out now.
I hope they do have a hardened bunker amongst those tents.
There is a video here !
https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-starship-prototype-completes-500-foot-hop
It isn’t a dark age until we forget that we could once do something.
State of the art in 1995:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o
#10 cans are a bit large for us, too, but in case I need to open them I figure either I’ll have power for refrigeration of the can while we eat it down, I’ll make some kind of stew which I can keep hot and sterile, or I’ll feed the neighbors. Canned corned beef hash with mixed vegetables on the side might not be everyone’s ideal meal, but “all you can eat” when you’ve run out of food is a good deal.
More likely, I think, there won’t be a food crunch in the coming Winter. Once it looks like things will be OK I’ll donate the 8-month-old cans to a couple small, private schools which feed the students* or to a soup kitchen or something along those lines.
* Assuming our pile-of-garbage-and-when-I-say-garbage-I-mean-fecal-matter governor allows non-public schools to open and have in-person attendance this coming school year.
It’s that Global Warming, Harold. It can do anything.
None of the potential retaliatory stuff happened. I’m grateful for that. Tomorrow is the court hearing to make the temporary restraining order a 1 year deal. My lawyer says he believes my case is strong, but you can never really know how a judge will decide things, especially when it is a man claiming abuse from a woman. Plus, the person I have removed from my house may just spin a web of lies. Regardless, that person is out of my house. This has been an emotionally draining 2 weeks.
Her room is still full of her stuff. If she doesn’t do something to get rid of it ASAP it will just end up on the front lawn with a big sign that says “FREE”.
Congratulations !
I would not let her back in the house under any reason whatsoever !
If she brings movers to grab her stuff, I would hire your own movers to take stuff out to truck.
We’re going to need background checks at Starbucks soon.
Not to mention *goobermint approved* face diapers. I feel it coming. Another control measure. Clearly labeled “approved by the CDC.”
In one inch tall letters !
Interesting articles. I just glanced through them, and noticed that both only measure current, not power, making them of limited utility. The difference is explained in the comments (comment dated July 27, 2019 at 5:17 pm) of the second one. Also in that comment is a link to a true power watt-hour meter that is better, but was designed way before the Pi.
But wait… For what all of these do, you could buy a Kill A Watt for about $20. It doesn’t communicate with a computer, and so can’t generate a table of data over time, but it is still very useful. For $20 it is pretty accurate, and does measure true power up to about a crest factor of 10, good enough for a huge percentage of uses.
And wait again… At the household level, my power company does all this for me using my “smart” meter. The data are sliced and diced in some meaningful ways for my use. Other power companies even supply a wall mounted device that communicates with the meter for a local display.
Nice try, but probably just another way to use a Pi, an example of computer smart but real world naïve.
Re: UPS for computers. Like many here, I used to have UPS for every computer, especially those on the test bench. The last one died, and I considered getting a big one and using it for everything in the house… didn’t get to that. Now, I have plans to add some PV solar to the mix… in a while. My scheme is to have a large enough battery to serve as a whole house UPS. Despite a lifelong interest in electronics and batteries, both as a hobby and a career, I absolutely hate batteries; almost as much as printers. Batteries are a necessary evil, so the fewer the better. That’s why I want just one for the whole home complex. Some day. Time is on my side: at least the PV panels are getting cheaper, if not the electronics and batteries; and, I just might die before all this gets done. Not to be morbid, mind you, but that big meteor could drop any day.
I want about five or six Tesla Powerwalls for the house. Tesla says that I need four so I probably need eight. Four of the Powerwalls are $29,000 (installed !).
https://www.tesla.com/powerwall/design
Then I will buy power on Griddy (state power wholesale grid rate) from midnight to 6am at a penny/kwh (energy charge portion only).
http://www.griddy.com
“Some advice on evacuating from a hurricane during a pandemic”
https://spacecityweather.com/some-advice-on-evacuating-from-a-hurricane-during-a-pandemic/
“On Wednesday, the longest-running seasonal forecast program, based at Colorado State University, issued an updated outlook for the remainder of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. In a word, it’s going to be active. The forecasters are predicting a remarkable 15 more named storms this year, along with 10 additional hurricanes. This is very busy.”
“The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs through November 30, but for Texas’ purposes the chances of a hurricane strike fall dramatically after September. So realistically, we’ve got about eight weeks in front of us that we’re really going to have to stay on top of the tropics in the greater Houston area.”
I want about five or six Tesla Powerwalls for the house. Tesla says that I need four so I probably need eight. Four of the Powerwalls are $29,000 (installed !).
https://www.tesla.com/powerwall/design
Tesla says my old house in Florida needs five for $36,000 plus $24,000 in solar panels.
That sounds consistent with the Bat Guano neighbors’ “green” remodeling bills. Just don’t borrow money like they did — the banks took away their house in a forced short sale, and I think they’re still paying on the primary mortgage.
re accuracy of hurricane predictions: Always an excuse
scanner has so many surveillance ops going they are conflicting on the various interop channels.
n
Yep.
It’s supposed to turtles all the way down, not grass and hay processed by a male of the cattle persuasion.
Nice weather today. Sunny, a bit of breeze, and a high so far of 103F. A bit warm when the cats are panting.
$$50,000! I’ve got high electric bills but the payback on that is absurd. It would take me over ten years at my average yearly rate. I might live that long. Are there state incentive payments or tax breaks? Would that raise the property tax?
Then I will buy power on Griddy (state power wholesale grid rate) from midnight to 6am.
http://www.griddy.com
Looks good. We were supposed to have something like that, but it is being slow rolled. Available in some places, but not where I live. I think the rates are higher, because here it is being touted as “green.”
I read a couple years ago that a chap in Colorado installed a Powerwall or two and did what you want to do successfully. His night rate was much lower than the day rate. I would worry about fully cycling the battery every day, and the effect on life. Yes, it is guaranteed for ten years, but I think it would just barely make it.
Southern California Edison has notified me that I will be automatically switched to Time of Use metering in October if I do nothing. I have the option to stay on our tiered billing if I choose. Don’t know how long that will be available. I am working on analyzing the differences. SCE offers at least three TOU plans, and I am ineligible for one, so two or more. Their comparator shows all to be a lower cost per year than my current tiered plan, but they don’t show their work, so I am doing my own comparison. So far, it is obviously cheaper to stay on our current plan, which requires me to actively choose it. People who don’t read the copious fine print will shout FRAUD!!
Maybe not too fraudulent. We were on a 15 month test TOU plan that ended over a year ago. The deal was that we would be refunded the difference if the test plan cost more than our tiered plan, but again they didn’t show their work. There was a rate increase during the time, and they didn’t present me with the detailed analysis they implied I would get. When I queried them about my possible refund, I was simply told that there was no refund because the test plan cost less than the plan I would have been on.
If you have ever tried to calculate the cost of electricity, you will know it is challenging. There are seasonal rates, cost of generation, cost of transmission and delivery, and some fixed costs. It gets even more complicated on a TOU plan.
Much more important, my wife didn’t like the notion of doing laundry late at night. She also didn’t like the hassle of keeping track of what the rates were and when. As a result, the only change I made was to pause the AC in the garage during the 1600-2000 time period with a timer. I would not do that in the house. Besides, our AC doesn’t use that much energy (evaporative cooling.)
Overall, it was an interesting experiment. I will stay away from it as long as I can. We are luckier than the northern part of the state served by PG&E. Those bastids installed smart meters and switched everyone to TOU plans several years ago. That resulted in an average increase of a factor of 2.5 to those households that did no other changes. Everyone was up in arms, and blamed the meters, playing right into the hands of the utility and the Public Utilities Commission. Those two launched an “investigation” that proved the meters were accurate. There was a lot of misinformation all around. We seem to be the beneficiary. We’ll see.
Solat energy is total fraud.
$$50,000! I’ve got high electric bills but the payback on that is absurd.
Of course. I have yet to do a comparison that says PV solar wins. Everyone “assumes” future electric rates will be much higher. It might, but how much. Prediction is hard, especially if it involves the future. Everyone here can do their own math and decide. But, don’t forget, there are other factors that are not economic. Decide wisely.
FWIW, I have asked two friends how their solar systems are working out economically. Both have forgotten about comparisons. They have already spent the money, and probably don’t want to know.
One thing about “payback time” that seems to be never mentioned is “comfort”.
Yeah, sure, the payback for having my windows replaced penciled out to 15-20 years break even. I’m not planning to move, so… And the so called calculators I found on-line turned out to be incorrect. I’m on path to break even in about 4 more years. Like, 9 years total. After that it’s all gravy.
In the meantime, no drafts. As in back bedroom door pulled to, not latched, and the door bouncing on the strike when the north wind is blowing.
The electric bill now hovers about $110. It varies. That includes running the well for water. I remember months when the bill was $240 during the summer.
And yes, the roof job made a huge difference. 1×4 slats nailed to the existing shingles, R6 (I think) foam board between slats, and then an off-white metal roof. 100F atm and the temp probe in the attic says 95F. Beats 140F.
Yep, 50 grand is a ton of money…. and then the batteries need replacing.
re accuracy of hurricane predictions: Always an excuse
The media want a Harvey or Irma desperately this year, preferably in time to create scenes of desperation on Labor Day Weekend.
Solat energy is total fraud.
Funny how “solar energy” has transformed. When we started out in the late 1970s, solar meant space heating. A few years later it morphed into domestic water heating. Finally, today it means electricity. All are different.
We have space heat, installed in 1979, and the system broke even in about five years compared to the second choice. In about 1980, solar water heaters were all the rage. I did the math, and the break even for us, compared to an electric WH, was infinite. Solar electric can be cost effective, but you have to be careful. Living in a very sunny place helps. Climate is important also. Existing utility options are a big part: we can’t economically get natural gas service. Lots of variables. I know of some remote places that used to run generators constantly. They have all converted to off grid PV solar, and save a ton. It all depends. Do homework.
So, solar is a partial fraud.
Example: I had a neighbor, and like Greg’s FL bat guano neighbors, he spent a LOT on a solar heating system, probably five times what I spent IIRC. We compared notes, and I had to bite my tongue. I will spare the details, but he died and another friend now lives in that house (coincidence or what?) After living with the system for a while, he ripped it out and put in a propane fired furnace. For those not acquainted with our area, propane is not even close to cost effective. HOWEVER, a few years later, Nat gas came to his site, and he could hook up cheaply. Two good decisions.
Funny how “solar energy” has transformed. When we started out in the late 1970s, solar meant space heating. A few years later it morphed into domestic water heating. Finally, today it means electricity. All are different.
Cheap Chinese solar panels really changed the equation for home electricity, but the revolution has turned into another racket for a bunch of vested interests.
I watched the Solar World fiasco unfold for four years in Oregon. No, it isn’t possible to make the raw panels cheaper than China, but there is money in the value add. Still, the Germans took Oregon for a bunch of money.
It would take me 27 years to break even. I am not living that long as I would be 95. No one in my family lives that long.
Gold confiscation happened once, it can happen again.
Ford vacating Roosevelt’s order about gold was … another order. Congress did not pass any laws, and the Supreme Court never voided Roosevelt’s interpretation of the law used as the basis for confiscation.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2020-08-05/destruction-billionaire-part-1
Nice weather today. Sunny, a bit of breeze, and a high so far of 103F. A bit warm when the cats are panting.
@paul, I saw 100 F on my truck again today here in Fort Bend County. Third day in a row. I’ll bet that our humidity is 40 points higher than yours.
Currently watching a live online firearms auction in Houston….
some stuff is going cheaper than gunbroker, some going for a lot more…
n
You added it incorrectly. $36K + $24K = $60K.
Worse than you figured.
I have been considering building a self storage facility on my 9 acre commercial property. Or the 5 acre real estate IRA property. I have no extra energy. Sounds like I better not do that. I have been wondering if one has 20 to 50 units (depending on the size of each unit) what the work level would be.
In my experience, you need at least 80 units to make any money. And you need a full time manager on-site. In addition, my facility will require some serious maintenance in a few years and it doesn’t pay enough for me to justify.
There is an open air (mostly roof only) storage facility about a mile down the road on 2.5 acres. It has about 45 drive into units (15 units are fully enclosed and do have 10 foot wide x 14 foot tall roll up doors at the back). It is always totally full. I have been wondering if it makes money and how much management is required. The surface is totally pea gravel and has been extensively redone at least twice now. Access is via a card-key system at the front gate. I have casually been thinking about building something like that.
http://sugarlandrvandboatstorage.com/
or
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sugarland+RV+and+Boat+Storage/@29.5362935,-95.6899291,140m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640e3ac95ee84c5:0x9d71b30d468f3ec2!8m2!3d29.5359466!4d-95.6895447
The facility does not have water and there are two port-a-potties. High end !
The big problem that I have is that Fort Bend County is growing and forecasted to grow at 30,000 people per year. This kind of growth will drive the real estate prices up, even in the middle of this craziness. I think that I talked about fighting the property valuation this year and getting it rolled back to last years valuation. Even with that, my property taxes on the property are well over $20K. Around 20% of the rental income.
If I don’t make use the open acreage of the property, they are going to raise the taxes again and again. You know that I embarrassed them at the ARB meeting. The appraiser would not even look me in the face. I figure that I got marked down for special treatment in 2021. And commercial property has no limits on raising the value of it. So I have got to make use of the property or else I will need to sell the property in a few years when I cannot afford the taxes anymore.
I had a Joe moment!
This should be giving people pause….
n
Just did a political phone survey. They knew my name. I answered anyway.
Loaded questions as oppo research, “would this statement make you more or less likely to vote for xxx” xxx being two women both of whom seem pretty unpleasant, running for a state senate or state rep position.
I laughed out loud at some of the lines. Had the survey taker struggling not to laugh at one point.
n
You added it incorrectly. $36K + $24K = $60K.
Worse than you figured.
I had a Joe moment!
Did you have a thing about the thing ?
What are you, a junkie?
n
This should be giving people pause….
Genealogy database Ancestry.com is selling 75% of itself to Blackstone Group for $4.7billion in deal that will give the asset manager access to DNA data of up to 18 MILLION members
Ancestry.com announced Wednesday it is selling 75 percent of the company to asset manager Blackstone Group Inc
The deal is valued at $4.7 billion, including debt
The investment firm will now have majority control over the company’s DNA network which includes data on 18million people
Ancestry.com is the world’s largest provider of DNA services
Not correct. The world’s largest provider of DNA services is the USA military. All USA military members have had to supply three kinds of DNA since 2000 ? 1990 ? 1980 ? Hair, blood, saliva ???
The effort to identify military members from remains in Vietnam has been a freaking disaster. Many family members gave DNA samples for identification of their loved ones. My uncle’s wingman has never been found since his Navy A4 was shot down over Hanoi Bay in Vietnam in 1966 ?. My uncle still wears a MIA bracelet after all these years.
Now, getting hold of the USA military’s DNA outside the DOD is limited to only three letter agencies of the USA government. Just kidding, maybe.
“Missing Aggie veteran who disappeared during Vietnam War headed home for proper funeral”
https://theeagle.com/news/local/missing-aggie-veteran-who-disappeared-during-vietnam-war-headed-home-for-proper-funeral/article_5f8029b4-e346-11e9-a9f5-8f381af08337.html
“A skull fragment found in December 2017 was matched to Ward through DNA analysis, said Ferrell, who learned of the discovery through a July phone call from a Department of Defense official.”
Our Mayor made Fox News for bad behavior.
Emergency orders shut down restaurants, except his, again. I’m exaggerating, but not by much.
More restaurants in town are defying the newest lock down, and papers were served on the leader today. We are waiting to hear if the recall paperwork for one of the Assembly members will be approved by the city clerk. If it is, it will apply to the Mayor and remaining members. I expect it to be rejected. There was a town hall tonight, via Team Meetings, it was a complete farce and a bunch of ‘there there little racist it will all be ok’.
Here’s the Tucker Carlson / Fox News clip mentioning our Mayor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz-J_aJs5Rs
Now for another positive update on Tony Stark Industries:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/08/spacex-now-plans-for-5-million-starlink-customers-in-us-up-from-1-million/
Pictures like this tell me it’s WAY past time to be loading mags.
https://www.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/antifa-portland.jpg?itok=GnbUmmmZ
n