In theory, we’re getting stormed on by the thing in the Gulf. In practice, yesterday was nice and sunny all day, and HOT reaching 109F in the sun by my roof. I guess if there is weather in NOLA, my flight to the Tampa area will either go through it or around it. It makes more sense to go south of it, but then your plane needs to be rated for ‘over water’. What to do, what to do.
Spent yesterday tying up some loose ends around the house and around town.
Today we’re flying, after dropping the dog (and hamster) off with friends, the fish having become an ex-fish just a few weeks ago. This will be my first flight post-wuflu lockdown and frankly I’m not looking forward to it. I no longer like to fly anyway, but the additional nonsense is just that much more to hate.
I told the kids we will be practicing grace and flexibility on the trip, and I’ll have to remind myself.
Still lots to do before I’m ready to leave, so I better get busy.
I’m hoping, as I always do, the world holds together until I’m back home.
So I can get back to stacking.
nick
Many pizza aficionados say this is the best coal-fired pizza in the country:
https://www.totonnosconeyisland.com/
Never been to that part of the country. We were supposed to go last year.
The Anthony’s Coal Fired chain based in Florida does a pretty good job running the product from their oven, but the star attraction at Anthony’s is the chicken wings appetizer.
https://acfp.com/
We have coal fired pizza nearby here in Austin, but they don’t run their oven quite hot enough. The same kind of hysterics-fueled thinking that still has people wearing masks around here *while driving their cars* would probably not react well to slightly “burned” pizza.
I was wondering if someone living near the border is familiar with current rules regarding Mexico. Are the land crossings still closed? Is testing still necessary to return?
DSLReports and ARSTechnica have become nothing more than a platform for snotty little brats who want to brag that their network switch is bigger than the next person’s network switch. Many self proclaimed experts who throw out technical terms and buzzwords having never actually used anything requiring such terms. Liberal jerks who think any opposing opinion should be immediately silenced while everyone else should listen to, support and agree to the little twit’s opinion. A bunch of zit faced socially scorned geeks whose only romantic outings have been with their right hand and a tube KY Jelly.
So nothing’s changed?
n
A bunch of zit faced socially scorned geeks whose only romantic outings have been with their right hand and a tube KY Jelly.
Dunno about even that. Every other ad on H&I during “Star Trek” reruns is ED-related, vitamins or online diagnostic services.
And at least once an hour is the video litmus test — the ambiguously-related Erin and Margo spot for Embrel, Erin’s face mostly obscured to hide the fact that the same actress was “Wendy” in a recent campaign for the burger chain.
The message is: “Men — how do you view Erin and Margo’s relationship? Here are some products that may help with your answer … along with some ‘Star Trek’.”
BTW, if you’re going to Lemonaid for a diagnosis, you might as well post your problem on Facebook. If the price is free …
I’m starting to think that Dana Carvey is dead-on in his portrayal of Tony Fauci as being something of a mobster. I just can’t think of where Carvey starts with the impersonation — which movie character/actor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/health/covid-pill-antiviral.html
The old school comedians have known the truth since last March, even if they lean left.
My SIL in the DHS says all the land bridges are supposed to open 100% this coming week. She’s an O6+ and should know. No word on if plugs will require the Mexi’s to wear a mask crossing over since it is Fed territory. They’ll be heading to all the outlet shops to buy discount goods made in Mexico. LOL!
I see this and other State cases as Federalism. We can only pray the SCOTUS rules against plugsy McSponge brains ProgLibTurd cabal. Transgender/he/she/it is the new Roe v. Wade. The population is so tiny, one wonders why plugs will fall on his sword for it. He must have Soros’ hand shoved so far up his arse. This is just another attack by the commies to destroy the nuclear family. They’ll win without firing a shot.
My SIL in the DHS says all the land bridges are supposed to open 100% this coming week. She’s an O6+ and should know. No word on if plugs will require the Mexi’s to wear a mask crossing over since it is Fed territory. They’ll be heading to all the outlet shops to buy discount goods made in Mexico. LOL!
Pre-Covid, Easter weekend was a huge outlet shopping holiday in San Marcos and Austin for the Mexican middle class.
This past Easter saw some activity, but it was related to reverse medical tourism since Texas was not requiring proof of state residency to receive vaccine shots.
Going to/from Mexico will be back to normal on the land bridges this weekend? No proof of vaccination/test or quarantine with waiting period in either direction?
The PLTs are trying to make this a “hate crime”:
Video shows man vandalizing Pride Intersection; arrest made
Soon, if you look at a freak wrong, you’ll be heading to jail if this happens.
Today we’re flying, after dropping the dog (and hamster) off with friends, the fish having become an ex-fish just a few weeks ago. This will be my first flight post-wuflu lockdown and frankly I’m not looking forward to it. I no longer like to fly anyway, but the additional nonsense is just that much more to hate.
If you’re flying Southwest in/out of Tampa, they were following fairly typical procedure in Airside C in March except for masks. Luggage handling is as efficient as usual at TPA.
(If you haven’t been to TPA since before the rental cars went remote, hold the handrail when riding on the train — they aren’t kidding.)
Leaving Austin was the fiasco, both at the TSA and dealing with Southwest catering to the hysterical Austin thought process.
Dunno about Houston.
At least SWA has put the brakes on “therapy animals”.
And, don’t be surprised if the rental car lot is pretty bare. Before accepting any vehicle, check the luggage fit — RAV4 might be the best selling vehicle in the US, but it has a surprising lack of cargo space compared to the competition. We had to switch to a Mazda CX5 at checkout at the last minute.
Last week was nothing but meetings. As usual, the first three days were a waste, largely driven by administrators wanting to feel important. We are supposed to give our students “compentencies” instead of knowledge. A competency is something like “critical thinking”. I dunno how you’re supposed to instruct that directly. I would’ve thought you give them knowledge and ask them to solve problems using that knowledge. Thus indirectly giving them the competency.
No, no, no. The new and wonderful educational trend is teaching competencies directly, and forget about knowledge. There are no less than 64 core competencies we’re supposed to keep in mind: Loyalty, ethical behavior, reliability, social engagement, conflict management, optimism, etc, etc.. This is apparently latest and greatest way for education “experts” to justify their existence. It would be funny, if it weren’t so pathetic.
At least the last two days were just the individual programs and instructors, working together. Those days are actually useful – that’s when we coordinate the actual contents of our courses, discuss changes, and so forth.
Ask the kids to help remind you. Watching someone else, can be a valuable lesson in monitoring their own behavior. Being allowed to correct a parent is also a novel experience – emphasizes that parents are also just human 🙂
Some of the articles aren’t bad, but the comments on anything even remotely controversial are a dumpster fire of wokeness. I usually avoid the comments…
If you’re flying Southwest in/out of Tampa, they were following fairly typical procedure in Airside C in March except for masks. Luggage handling is as efficient as usual at TPA.
SWA has been experiencing software glitches for a week. Our oldest daughter was rescheduled 5 times for a trip from SA to Vegas during the last three days. She sent a shot of their schedule yesterday saying “unavailable” at one time for all flights. Her non-stop booked flight ended up going through Denver to Palm Springs to Vegas. The usual 2:30 hour flight went to six hours.
I didn’t ask my SIL about masking and vaxes at the border. But, wouldn’t that be raaayyciiiss under the plugs cabal?
Perhaps it will make things easier: “Student failed to demonstrate competency.”
Nah, it will be my fault for not magically giving it to them.
It took longer than expected, but failing students now gets…negative management attention.
On the plane. Usual goat rope checking in, with a declaration card. Then some extra groping at TSA.
And here we go
N
Conveniently, none of the listed “competencies” is quantifiable.
I’ve noticed that in many areas of evaluating people, whether students, teachers, or employees. Evaluating a student on whether his circuit strobed a light a the proper frequency or his program read the data file, extracted the correct numbers, filtered them, and tallied them correctly are quantifiable and don’t leave much room for adjustment for overcoming systemic racism. “Competency” in engaging with peers to develop an approach for analyzing the project requirements is nicely squishy and leaves room for everyone to pass the course regardless of their learning or accomplishments.
Speak for yourself.
I suggested to my daughter that, when one of the classes in school was categorizing demigods, she should put her name on the list. Just to, you know, throw a poo-ball into the conversation.
re the spare kid, she’s back with her family … until probably tomorrow afternoon. The girls and I went up to the school to help with tidying up, moving, and maintenance. (Small, private school run on a shoestring budget with as much work as possible being done by parents because they can’t afford to hire pros.) As it happened, we took care of trimming bushes and such, which I’m lousy at but had the equipment for. (I’d have preferred to let someone who knew what he was doing borrow my stuff while I helped with moving a couple tons of stuff from one room to the next so that the first room could get a new floor, but there was no one who was any better at topiary than I, a sad state of affairs.) The girls helped … for a while. “It’s so hot! I’m tired! The flies are in my face! My arms are sore!” They did enjoy using the battery-powered hedge trimmer and mini chainsaw but ran out of steam.
Anyway, I brought the spare back to her family afterward. Family was glad to see her (her pleasure at seeing them was not visible, and I was watching carefully) but said that the kid can come back here for another week. The mother said she’s viewing it as the girl going to summer camp because she’s away, having fun, and actually learning something rather than moping around the house all day. OK…
I’m ot TSA, but I’ll grope men after I transgender.
On the plane. Usual goat rope checking in, with a declaration card. Then some extra groping at TSA.
Leaving Tampa, the TSA will steal from -er- inspect your luggage thoroughly out in their screening facility where Airside B used to sit due east of the main terminal, but, half of the time, in my experience, they won’t even ask you to step into the body scanner at the checkpoint in the terminal.
In another generation, the site of the screening facility is probably where Brightline will connect the airport to Disney and Orlando International, but that won’t happen in my lifetime.
In the meantime, don’t leave anything of value in the suitcase.
Never pulled the trigger on a Newton despite several hands-on with one at (iirc) J&R’s computer store on Park Row in downtown Manhattan.
Did have, and all eventually sold on eBay, a Psion, a Palm Pilot and a Rex. Also a few corporate Blackberrys and myriad Motorola pagers (those NOT sold – lol). eBay was better before the Chinese invaded.
Also had a Motorola HT200 set up for all the FDNY frequencies (no xmit crystals though) from my days as a fire buff.
Stick with VISA for your next credit card…
Empowering transgender and nonbinary cardholders to use their True Name® · “We all want to be validated. We all want to be seen.” — Frankie
https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/vision/who-we-are/pride.html
Back yesterday from the trip to see family. Left on 6/2 from Houston to Denver to Skagit Valley (North of Seattle) to Lincoln, NE to Cameron, TX to home. 5875 miles. Had to get an oil change and replace the car battery. Also, one of the backup taillights is out.
We had a narrow window to see the kids in Skagit. My daughter-in-law is vaccinated, but next week is getting an arthritis infusion that may wipe it out.
@ech, good for you on the oil change. Many hours of high temperature highway driving take their toll on even the best of oils. Cheap insurance.
As for the battery, it likely failed due to age and heat stress from many hours on the highway. Also, automotive systems are of necessity “float charge” systems, which are set to a temperature compensated constant voltage. The voltage is a compromise. If too low, then the battery dies an early death due to sulfation in short trip (less than a couple hours per day) driving. It is purposely set a bit high as a compromise, but the battery is overstressed during long trips. Batteries made since about 1980 are more able to tolerate this higher voltage and high underhood temperatures.
I once knew a guy who drove a two hour total commute every weekday, and adjusted his voltage regulator about a half volt lower than spec. He said his batteries lasted about double the normal years. That is no longer a possibility, because all regulators are electronic and not adjustable.
It will be interesting to see how long the new LiFePO4 batteries last. Right now, they are not a drop-in replacement, and should only be used in cars that came with them unless you want to experiment. They have the potential to be superior to the humble lead acid battery. They are also expensive.
As for the battery, it likely failed due to age and heat stress from many hours on the highway. Also, automotive systems are of necessity “float charge” systems, which are set to a temperature compensated constant voltage. The voltage is a compromise. If too low, then the battery dies an early death due to sulfation in short trip (less than a couple hours per day) driving. It is purposely set a bit high as a compromise, but the battery is overstressed during long trips. Batteries made since about 1980 are more able to tolerate this higher voltage and high underhood temperatures.
The Start-Stop system in my 2019 F-150 is not running very often nowadays because my AGM battery is apparently not charged up enough. The short trips of 4 to 5 miles do not charge the battery enough. And I rarely drive more miles than that, just once a week or so. Even my trip down to Port Lavac (110 miles each way) did not charge the battery for more than a day or so.
“I said this was going to happen to Juneteenth”
https://gunfreezone.net/i-said-this-was-going-to-happen-to-juneteenth/
“White people can’t have off for Black Independence Day.”
“Everything to increase hate and division is their goal.”
Wow.
“Asian Americans shopkeepers are attacked by “White Supremacist.””
https://gunfreezone.net/asian-americans-shopkeepers-are-attacked-by-white-supremacist/
I hate to say it, but she deserved what she got.
It will be interesting to see how long the new LiFePO4 batteries last. Right now, they are not a drop-in replacement, and should only be used in cars that came with them unless you want to experiment. They have the potential to be superior to the humble lead acid battery. They are also expensive.
Nearly all of a lead-acid battery can be recycled and sourced domestically. Tech for lithium recovery from batteries is still fairly limited.
The Start-Stop system in my 2019 F-150 is not running very often nowadays because my AGM battery is apparently not charged up enough.
The F150 has a separate battery for start-stop?
The Start-Stop system in my 2019 F-150 is not running very often nowadays because my AGM battery is apparently not charged up enough.
The F150 has a separate battery for start-stop?
No. The F-150 battery is a AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery.
https://interstatebatteries.com/blog/what-is-an-agm-battery-and-whats-the-big-deal
I am apparently not driving enough to keep it charged up. I am wondering if I need to charge it.
Yeah, it was 4 years old. I was lucky and the local garage in Cameron had time to come, check it out, jump the car, and do the swap. Cost $25 or so above what I might have paid at NTB or the like, but at 3:45 PM on Friday in a small town ….
I am apparently not driving enough to keep it charged up. I am wondering if I need to charge it.
In a word, YES!! I have been meaning to write about your newly purchased spare car that is only driven once a week, so here it is.
I can’t diagnose your F150’s battery, but almost all batteries, even without start-stop, will suffer from undercharge, especially in hot weather. As I mentioned earlier today, charging by float only brings a battery up to about 90% charge. The last 10% takes perhaps a hundred hours to saturate it. This has been known for 100 years, but we get along with cars that usually only get half of the years that a modern battery can deliver. As said, lead acid batteries recycle well, and trying to get long life can be a pain compared to just buying a new one every three years.
Once again, when the battery is charged to a max of only 90%, sulfation occurs. Over time, this insulating layer builds up, and the battery loses enough capacity to fail to crank the starter. Once sulfated, it is almost impossible to reverse it. The only practical way is to prevent it by keeping the battery fully charged, but without overcharging it. Overcharging, usually by using too high a float voltage or by using a constant low current, corrodes the positive grids, and also decreases capacity. A fine line. That’s where the modern smart charger comes in. Some of them use sophisticated controls to gradually bring the battery up to full charge, but not overcharge them. Then they maintain full charge. They use a microprocessor that monitors voltage and current, and even time at the three (usual, some claim more) stages of charging.
The simplest, most foolproof solution is a smart maintainer, such as the one Paul and I have. I think he now has three. This is
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332201_200332201
I also have an older version that has been used thousands of hours for more than 20 years. These are quality units, even though they are made in that forbidden country. The new one is even smarter, and draws only about 0.7 watt when the battery is fully charged. BTW, this seems to be a discontinued model, but Northern has had them for some years. The BatteryMINDer web site shows some newer models that seem about the same at higher prices.
Use such a charger by connecting it at least a few days every month in hot weather, preferably more. It does no harm to leave it connected continuously, such as a car that is only driven once a week. Modern cars have parasitic draws that run a battery down slowly.
I cannot recommend any other small maintainer, especially the Battery Tender brand. These are very popular, but there have been some reports of them failing and destroying batteries. Anecdotal, sure, but I wouldn’t risk my garage and home to a fire. I have talked to one of the Battery Minder engineers, and am impressed with their products. There are other models with higher prices, but this one is adequate and about as safe as it can be. There are other brands, such as CTEK. I am impressed with their claims, but their products are expensive. I will eventually buy one for my amusement, but don’t need more chargers right now. CTEK, like Battery Minder, makes a bewildering number of models, and they are seldom on sale.
Finally, I have to comment on pulse desulfation. These little chargers sometimes use pulses and special frequencies, but I don’t think they do much to remove sulfation. Prevention is much better. I have a paper where a grad student explored pulses, but it is inadequate IMO. He claimed that the pulse current needs to be much higher than the commercial units deliver, and did some short term tests. I like his approach, but his tests were only for a few months. I do have a couple of friends who operate off grid lead acid battery banks, and they use pulse desulfators, and swear by them, but they have no control samples. They are battery nerds like me, and take exceptional care of their batteries. I maintain that they are simply preventing sulfation, and they tend to agree.
That will have to be it. I started out to just do a quick summary, but wrote most of what I can contribute on this subset of battery care.
It always seems the screen becomes more sensitive wherever there’s an ad. And after closing the ad, almost always the screen scrolls back to the top of the article I’m trying to read – argh! (Doesn’t always so I know it’s possible to return to where I was interrupted.)
I still hate using a laptop without a mouse. I have a travel-sized one from Logitech that I bring.
Democratic voter with ingenious solution to global warming:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/06/19/how-to-run-a-tesla-on-gasoline/
A former boss loved the Roasted Cauliflower pizza from Anthony’s. Whenever he came to town he’d have a team lunch and it was always from ACFP.
Democratic voter with ingenious solution to global warming:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/06/19/how-to-run-a-tesla-on-gasoline/
1,500 watts ain’t gonna take you very far. Especially if your significant other is running the a/c in the car while it is charging. Or worse, the heater.
The F150 has a separate battery for start-stop?
No. The F-150 battery is a AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery.
https://interstatebatteries.com/blog/what-is-an-agm-battery-and-whats-the-big-deal
I am apparently not driving enough to keep it charged up. I am wondering if I need to charge it.
How long have you owned the truck, now?
The battery in our rental in Florida in March died completely once during the week, requiring a AAA call, and was iffy the rest of the time. 2021 CX5, with 5000 miles.
OEM batteries are bad enough, but I’m guessing the Ford AGM is new technology which they trusted to be Henco En Mexico properly.
Guess where the new “truck” with the finicky hybrid tech is getting built.
1,500 watts ain’t gonna take you very far. Especially if your significant other is running the a/c in the car while it is charging. Or worse, the heater.
Southern California. AC. Or streaming Baby Yoda.
The relationship with our landlords soured during the last year we spent in Vantucky after we declined to swap houses with their other tenants who either rented the owners’ smaller house sight unseen or with just the male half of the couple doing the evaluation. Southern California — of course the wife was p*ssed off when she arrived at the beginning of winter in WA State and got a look at 1500 sq ft in which she was expected to deal with 10 months of 50 degrees and rain. Immediately the talk of breaking the lease began.
For the record, I was the one who told the landlords ‘no’. Within a week, the notice arrived that the landlords weren’t going to renew us for the next year, six months out.
A former boss loved the Roasted Cauliflower pizza from Anthony’s. Whenever he came to town he’d have a team lunch and it was always from ACFP.
Anthony’s is a venture between the family who owns the old school (think Rat Pack) Italian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Runway 84, and, believe it or not, Dan Marino. Expansion outside Florida has been uneven, but most cities on the Peninsula have an outlet.
The F150 has a separate battery for start-stop?
No. The F-150 battery is a AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery.
https://interstatebatteries.com/blog/what-is-an-agm-battery-and-whats-the-big-deal
I am apparently not driving enough to keep it charged up. I am wondering if I need to charge it.
How long have you owned the truck, now?
One year, eight months.
https://img.ifunny.co/images/976be2acc6080381d9338b0da0dc090fcae9e572cbee09364345e63e53ab7f4d_1.jpg
Landed, drove, arrived. Nice dinner with family.
Laptop is giving me fits, so short shrift tomorrow.
Don’t burn the place down!
N