Hot and more hot with a side of hot. Humid too. Joy.
I did get a lot done yesterday, even if it wasn’t stuff from the top of my list. In fact it was from pretty far down on the list, but it fit perfectly with scorching hot weather…. I spent five hours pressure washing things.
The house front and the entry way both needed pressure washing. I wanted to do it before spraying for bugs, as I didn’t want to wash away the poison. And since the wife has moved “killing the gorram bugs” up my list, I got out the pressure washer. Usually I pay an itinerant worker about $200 to do the whole house. He hasn’t come by this year though, so the brick was looking green, and the siding was looking dirty, and the gutters and drip edge were black. Once I’ve got the washer out, running, hoses set, fuel can ready, I can’t help myself… everything looks better after being pressure washed.
The flagstones on the walk are no longer green. The walk is no longer blackish-green. The white truck is white. The fence (driveway gate) looks new again. The driveway is a clean tan, instead of black (well, about 2/3 of it, the last should happen today.) The siding, brick, and trim on the house all are their original colors. Everything looks freshly scrubbed.
Today I have to cut the grass to complete my ‘grey man’ strategy of looking like all the other houses on the block. And finish spraying the driveway. And maybe wash my Ranger, and my wife’s vehicle. I noticed a funny thing about the vehicles on my block. With the exception of my blue ’03 Ranger, all 7 of the vehicles parked on the street were white. I’ve read that when the economic mood in the country is dour, people buy conservatively colored vehicles. On my street, for the last few years, almost everyone’s bought pretty conservatively….
BTW, the pressure washer started on the first pull after I put gas in it. Run your small engines dry and you won’t have a jacked up carb that needs cleaning before you can run your gennie or pump, or lawnmower…. it makes all the difference in the world.
Organize your stuff, maintain it, stack it high.
n
“During a press conference in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday to announce the orders, the President said if he is reelected in November he would “terminate” the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare benefits.”
Wow. Bold.
The problem with eliminating the payroll tax is that any pretense of Social Security being self supporting would be gone. They’ll hide the money printing necessary to cover the impending exhaustion of the trust. Of course, as the prevailing interpretations of the law and certain precedents have established, the Feds don’t actually have to pay *anything* out in benefits, just collect the “contributions” and administer the trust on behalf of the “participants”.
Another possibility for the ponzi continuing is the long-planned swap all the 401(k) and pension assets for Treasuries. The Feds would have to wind back the clock to March to make that palatable, but I think they could pull that one off.
The financial apocalypse approaches.
Physical silver at $35/ounce delivered.
*Delivered*. Priority Mail. I paid $19/ounce to the same place a few months ago. Just last week, they advertised $30/ounce in an email I received.
Someone is making a serious silver move, and not just in futures. The Hunts redux.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mint passed releasing on the gold 1 ounce Eagles this year or only sent them to specific trusted dealers to avoid mass arbitrage. Eagles aren’t as portable as Maple Leafs or Krugerrands, but establishing believable provenance is easy even for an amateur selling on EBay … until the seizure ban gets lifted.
Gonna have to start registering pool noodles now. More innovation out of the Pacific Northwest.
https://www.kptv.com/news/concrete-fireworks-thrown-at-police-during-portland-protest-pool-noodles-used-as-spike-strips/article_73e677e0-d9b4-11ea-a2e4-2757e202ebf7.html
Nice pictures Ray.
Plus getting through Congress (another EO?). tRump would be gone in four, but CongressCritters linger for decades promising that old age security net to keep getting the votes. Maybe I should cash out my IRA and stuff my mattress with gold, silver and cash before the goobermint just takes it for redistribution. Kiss my milspec pension goodbye and I’ll be in the local PRC eating soy rations and watching Baby Yoda Season 8.
Plus getting through Congress (another EO?). tRump would be gone in four, but CongressCritters linger for decades promising that old age security net to keep getting the votes.
During the 94 election in Florida, the incumbent Governor pulled out a win using a blitz of boiler room phone calls to the oldsters in Dade and Broward, literally telling them, “The Governor’s opponent, Jeb! Bush, has a secret plan with his family to take away your Social Security and Medicare.” I don’t think it would work the same today, but to the WWII generation who inherently trusted Roosevelt, that was a serious threat.
“Trump signs executive orders on unemployment, payroll tax, evictions”
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/08/08/Trump-signs-executive-orders-on-unemployment-payroll-tax-evictions/9641596924178/
“Aug. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed several executive orders Saturday, including an order to provide an extra $400 in weekly unemployment aid to those whose $600 weekly benefits expired in July as well as eviction protections and student loan relief.”
“A fourth executive order would defer payroll tax payments for people who earn less than $100,000. It would take effect retroactively and continue through December.”
“During a press conference in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday to announce the orders, the President said if he is reelected in November he would “terminate” the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare benefits.”
Wow. Bold.
The financial apocalypse approaches.
And people cannot pay their bills because their jobs have been canceled by their governments.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Starve the beast….
That is a big beast. Gonna be a lot of flailing around when it dies. Watch out for the tail.
This is one of the best one sentence definitions of inflation and why it sucks…
n
That is a big beast. Gonna be a lot of flailing around when it dies. Watch out for the tail.
$600/week gives everyone an effective take home close to $50k/year. It isn’t that much different than my take home at CGI minus taxes (0 deductions), employee stock purchase, 401(k), and benefits – ~ $1400 every two weeks, and that was before the wear and tear of putting 500 miles a week on my car.
Why work a cr*ppy job, even a “professional” gig like CGI?
Things will get ugly when that gravy train is finally cut off.
I got my 2001 Solara through inspection again with flying colors on Monday, bad struts, leaky power steering, and all.
Due to the pandemic, I had to execute a lot of the tests myself with the inspector watching, and the emergency brake standards made me wonder about my 2018 Camry not being able to pass its first registration renewal inspection, due before the end of the month. I always complain about the emergency brake — or seeming lack thereof — when I go in for regular service, but three Toyota dealers have responded that it is all in my head, just like the acceleration issues.
Something is wrong with the 2018s.
I didn’t even get the usual renewal notice on the car. I glanced at the sticker yesterday and realized it was due. The dealer played all kinds of games getting me the plate, so I imagine that they got the registration renewal.
Oh Oh! I just bought 4 new ones last weekend. Knock at the door any minute.
Pool Noodles = WFD
Weapons of Foam Destruction
or WND = Weapons of Noodle Desctruction
Pool Noodles = WFD
Weapons of Foam Destruction
or WND = Weapons of Noodle Desctruction
Obviously, more than a few pros are at work in Portland. I can believe a stop strip developed by amateurs on an iterative basis, but these were suddenly deployed and effective at damaging vehicles.
”
Things will get ugly when that gravy train is finally cut off”
–The $600 a week ended. Trump just signed his EO at $400/week, but I expect some judge in Hawaii to issue an injunction Monday morning.
n
added– oh the irony if Trump ends up being the one to give out a Universal Basic Income….
(not that I think that’s likely but the productive class that makes up his base has been hard hit, 1/3 of GDP gone….)
Using nails to deflate tires can work, but is unreliable. I have driven around for weeks with nails in the tread of tires. In my experience, the leakage is almost negligible. The real spike strips use small tubes, and these work in seconds. Screws seem to work also, which puzzles me a little. I would think that the screw would seal like a nail, but it doesn’t. When I set tire pressures, I am careful to make the tires on the same axle equal. That way, I will notice a small leak as a difference when doing routine checks. Underinflation can kill a radial tire quickly; that’s why we now have Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.
A nail puncturing just beyond the edge of the tread does cause a leak eventually, because it is a high flex zone. Also, no tire shop is supposed to repair a puncture that isn’t in the middle 80% or so of the tread. There are exceptions.
I once bought a car that apparently was run over something sharp. Both tires on that side had sidewall cuts showing about a third of the way up from the tread. What surprised me was one of them had been patched on the inside, so it was a deep cut. Neither leaked. I replaced them as soon as I could.
Funny, all of my tire failures not caused by shrapnel were on tires that looked perfect. I have also driven beater cars on tires that looked terrible, and have never had one of those fail. Can’t win for losing.
…and the emergency brake standards made me wonder about my 2018 Camry not being able to pass its first registration renewal inspection…
I just searched this
https://www.dps.texas.gov/internetforms/Forms/RSD-87.pdf
for “emergency brake” and there are no hits. You ARE required to have a PARKING brake, but the document cited does not cover automatically ACTUATED parking brakes. They are probably too new to be covered yet.
Note that hand or foot applied parking brakes that are automatically released when the transmission is removed from park are addressed, but that is different from what you probably have. My 1968 Imperial has this nice feature. These can be tested by simply overriding the release mechanism.
See what a terrible situation we get into when different standards bodies write the rules? I remember living in Florida with their stupid inspections. What a fraud. Here in California, we only have emissions inspections, bad enough.
Oh, and I found the mention of power steering leaks. Just ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see any leak that contaminates the asphalt (which is xx% oil already) banned in the future.
I just searched this
https://www.dps.texas.gov/internetforms/Forms/RSD-87.pdf
for “emergency brake” and there are no hits. You ARE required to have a PARKING brake, but the document cited does not cover automatically ACTUATED parking brakes. They are probably too new to be covered yet.
Foot brake. I don’t trust the push button type and made sure the car didn’t come with one.
Oh, and I found the mention of power steering leaks. Just ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see any leak that contaminates the asphalt (which is xx% oil already) banned in the future.
I manage the leak with Stop Leak and haven’t lost a noticeable (line on the power steering reservoir) amount of fluid in a couple of years. The Toyota dealers won’t pass the car in an inspection, but anyone whose bottom line wouldn’t be enhanced with a $1000 replacement of the hose assembly doesn’t seem to have a problem giving the car a passing grade.
Barbara Thomas reports all is well after the earthquake right outside of her town. Her brother was there to help with the cleanup – apparently the garage is a bit of a mess, and pictures fell off walls. (Her blog is here: https://www.fritchman.com/journal/?p=6869 )
Part of preparedness would be for earthquakes, as well as ‘cooties’. For instance, are your tall bookcases or TV sets fastened to the wall? (Mine aren’t.) Or at least insured properly.
Part of preparedness would be for earthquakes, as well as ‘cooties’. For instance, are your tall bookcases or TV sets fastened to the wall? (Mine aren’t.) Or at least insured properly.
Seattle has a serious fault line at the bottom of Lake Washington.
Ostensibly, that was the primary reason the Viaduct had to come down, but the vastly improved real estate values overlooking Puget Sound probably didn’t hurt the case.
Um? Thomas??
—————————————————–
If you don’t believe that it’s pedos all the way down, how the hel l does something like this end up on shelves? Watch the video.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/hasbro-pulls-trolls-doll-giggle-n-gasp-crotch-button-pedophilia-grooming-concerns/
n
NO ONE is that tone deaf.
I didn’t know Trolls were still a thing.
I guess the humidity is up. It’s “just 100F” but walking out the back door is like opening the oven when cooking a cake. Sheesh.
Penny wants to go out. She has kittens to annoy after she eats any cat food. Nope…. it’s out, look around for 15 seconds and sharp u-turn to come back in. Too hot to even look for lizards to chase.
She’s entertaining for sure.
Yes.
Alcohol in gasoline is EVIL.
I replaced the carb on my riding mower. While I was there, I added a fuel filter and a shut-off valve. The filter to catch trash from the gas can and the valve to run it dry. No problems since.
The generator and the power washer have shut off valves. I added one to the push mower and well…. trash in the gas clogs the jet. Easy enough to fix, the jet is also the bolt that holds the float bowl. No problems after adding a filter.
The generator and the power washer have screens you pour the gas through.
Here in UK, the ordinary 95RON unleaded is actually E5. Next year, it will be E10. Which could cause me problems – my Seat Ibiza 1.4MPI was built right on the cusp of compatibility with E10. I need to ask my local Seat dealer about this. It may force me to scrap a perfectly good car – it’s 18 years old (first registered 2002) but it still drives well.
I’m not pleased.
G.
Yes.
Alcohol in gasoline is EVIL.
Check your local WalMart gas station. We fill all of our cars from the ethanol-free pumps.
Trump signed an executive order at some point in the last year which allowed the refineries to ship ethanol-free gas. The WalMart near our house started selling undiluted regular within a week.
If you don’t believe that it’s pedos all the way down, how the hel l does something like this end up on shelves? Watch the video.
Toys R Us used to keep a lid on Hasbro.
The local stations of any brand do not sell pure gasoline. There’s a WalMart on the far side from the Costco on 183… too far to make a special trip into the madness of the Austin metroplex.
I can say that my ’96 Dodge Stratus, a great car, got 3 mpg more on alcohol free gas cruising across Kansas at 80mph.
Done with pressure washing for a while. Finished the driveway and washed the pickup.
Cut the grass before the rain came. Now we’ve got thunder and lightning but no rain.
Ran the tank empty on the pressure washer. House and yard look great.
All my cabbages have shriveled and died. Pepper plants look bad, everything looks bad. Corn is spindly with little finger sized ears. That was an experiment anyway, but still.
Starting to think about what to plant next.
Gotta keep trying.
n
Another possibility for the ponzi continuing is the long-planned swap all the 401(k) and pension assets for Treasuries. The Feds would have to wind back the clock to March to make that palatable, but I think they could pull that one off.
I don’t think that would be a trivial swap. Cashing out all of those IRAs and 401Ks would cause a major stock market crash. IRAs and 401Ks comprise 15% ??? 50% ??? of the stock market ???
“Another possibility for the ponzi continuing is the long-planned swap all the 401(k) and pension assets for Treasuries. The Feds would have to wind back the clock to March to make that palatable, but I think they could pull that one off.”
I don’t think that would be a trivial swap. Cashing out all of those IRAs and 401Ks would cause a major stock market crash. IRAs and 401Ks comprise 15% ??? 50% ??? of the stock market ???
The Fed swaps the Treasuries on their books for the 401(k) assets and unwinds the mess slowly.
I doubt the key percentage of voters necessary would go for it without a serious market correction already under way. That’s always been the dilemma when the Dems have Teresa Ghilarducci testifying on Capitol Hill about implementing such a scheme — it seems like when they feel that comfortable about their power, they end up losing the House during the next election cycle.
Alcohol in gasoline is EVIL.
Man, is it ever. My son did not drain the gasoline for his 2003 F-150 when he parked it a couple of years ago. He is trying to resurrect it now so he can sell it. He replaced the fuel pump and has to replace the fuel lines now.
The Fed swaps the Treasuries on their books for the 401(k) assets and unwinds the mess slowly.
I doubt the key percentage of voters necessary would go for it without a serious market correction already under way. That’s always been the dilemma when the Dems have Teresa Ghilarducci testifying on Capitol Hill about implementing such a scheme — it seems like when they feel that comfortable about their power, they end up losing the House during the next election cycle.
Oh, it would be worse that that. I have real estate in my IRA. Try unwinding that.
Don’t the majority of people in the USA have IRAs and/or 401Ks ? So, that majority would feel that they are being ripped off (in my opinion). People work hard for their money.
May just require new gaskets in the fuel system and perhaps synthetic fuel lines. The alcohol will burn fine. It’s the gaskets that get destroyed by the alcohol.
Don’t the majority of people in the USA have IRAs and/or 401Ks ? So, that majority would feel that they are being ripped off (in my opinion). People work hard for their money.
A lot of people haven’t saved sufficiently and are headed towards bleak retirements, depending solely on Social Security.
Plague after plague will take care of that. Like in NY, they reduced the burden on their old age homes, and got paid by the fedgov to do it.
I thought early on that China was clearing out their old people.
An hey, one of our own commies did too.
n
We will be going for the online class option here at the Casa De Nick.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8610475/Georgia-high-school-viral-photos-showed-packed-corridors-switches-online-classes.html
— now that they have 53 sick people they’re sending everyone home. Then the cases will mount again, because you can be sure there are already infected kids in that population, and staff.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8609847/Nearly-100-000-children-test-positive-coronavirus-past-two-weeks.html
–if you test them, you will find them.
n
My dad always said “nothing good every happens after midnight”.
Ol Remus said “Stay away from crowds.”
Others have been more specific about what type of crowds.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8609219/Police-confirm-one-dead-20-shot-multiple-gunmen-open-fire-block-party-Washington.html
–Dead kid, 17yo, father of one with another on the way….
Not much social distancing in that neighborhood. Nor common sense.
n
Even in broad daylight, some people are pushing back
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8609733/Violence-breaks-pro-police-Black-Lives-Matter-protesters-Colorado.html
n
Scanner has the boys in blue breaking off from their surveillance to look for a tossed away gun in a shooting. Pulled over the suspects, found 2 mags in the Lexus, thought they tossed the gun.
Busy night for the police.
n
Uh, no.
To a 30-plus year San Francisco resident (former) like myself, 5.1 is a mild shaker. Scary if you don’t like in real quake country, though.