Hot, humid, rainy and cloudy. Or not, as the case may be. Seems nuts but that is Houston. The whole area is in the thunderstorm area, there’s a big storm in the Gulf, and we have no idea what the weather is going to be like. ‘Cuz it was all those things somewhere in Houston yesterday.
Did my errands, spent more time in line than in the last year. Everywhere I went they were understaffed in the check out lines. Probably a sign of the times unless the checks stop coming.
Wife and D1 are at GS camp completing D1’s sailing badge. D2 accompanied them to avoid being drafted into my plans, which are sort and bin for my next auction. Depending on weather, more or less of that can take place, and I can get to my secondary location to do some work there too.
So that is the plan, make way and make money so I can stack some other stuff instead.
Why don’t you join me in stacking all the things?
n
We’re finally enjoying some real summer weather – this is about as hot as it gets here in the mountains. It’s amazing, how much different altitude makes in the sunshine – it’s really intense. At 25C you’re comfortable in the shade, but walking out into the sun is like stepping into an oven. Working in the full sun for 2-3 hours pretty much cooks me through. But I’ve placed my last rock for the year – must be around 15-20 tons I put into walls and paths this summer. I’m tired of rocks, for now. More next year.
We went to a neighbor’s birthday party yesterday. The guy who threw the party is a funny one, I never quite know how to deal with him. He did most of the cooking himself, although it wasn’t anything fancy: Salad followed by spaghetti, with a choice of sauces. A couple of nice wines to drink. He sat out a piggy bank, so you could contribute to the costs?? Isn’t it a bit strange to invite people to a private party, and then hint for them to pay?
I thought the US was more-or-less self-sufficient in oil production?
It’s weird times. The whole Covid mess ought to have tanked the markets, but it didn’t. There’s lots of investment money looking for good returns in a time of negative interest rates – so much so that it gets stuck in stupid things like Dogecoin. Meanwhile, governments worldwide printed masses of currency, but the inevitable inflation won’t really hit for another year or so.
I dunno what to make of it, and I surely don’t know what a smart investment move would be.
Forget the Cocktail Watiress. Keep an eye on Mayor Pete. This isn’t the first story I’ve seen with this theme.
Promoting Mayor Pete is how the Deep State will protect itself in the fallout from their antics since the 2016 election.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/outsider-buttigieg-plays-a-skillful-inside-game-positioning-himself-for-the-future/ar-AANjOcY?ocid=uxbndlbing
Did my errands, spent more time in line than in the last year. Everywhere I went they were understaffed in the check out lines. Probably a sign of the times unless the checks stop coming.
The real US Post Office (as opposed to the contract counter at the U-store) near my house runs out of parking when demand peaks around 1-2 PM every day as of late. Spaces for around 20 cars.
That is new. The staff has always been slow. I don’t see a lot of obvious “EBay gold” packages, but the contract counters can handle those more efficiently.
People definitely don’t seem prepared when they approach that counter lately.
“That video literally single-handedly caused the stock to rise 10 percent,” the investor told II. “It was like, okay, this is coming very soon. If you don’t get in now, you’re going to miss it.”
–FOMO, lack of diversification, complicated trades, cult of personality… so much fail.
The Tenbagger Dream. The generation currently trading on Robin Hood have never seen a real bear market.
“The Biden Administration’s appeal for OPEC to pump more oil”
I thought the US was more-or-less self-sufficient in oil production?
If the prices go high and stay high, but OPEC and Russia decided several years ago to make an attempt to shut down the US fracking and shale “miracle” for this generation of investors.
Plus, the Democrats have a long term goal of MaaS — Mobility as a Service — in the US, where no one but the top 1% owns a car and movement of the population is more controlled on mass transit. We’re still in early days of that effort, however, so the first step in eliminating cars for the masses is to increase the costs of gas vehicles so $40,000 EVs are competitive.
Tony is late with the truck to kill off the F150. Toyota has the same goal and is making progress down in San Antonio, but the Japanese simply want to replace the F150 with the Tacoma hybrid — that doesn’t serve the MaaS agenda.
Within 5-10 years, the big cities will toll the surface streets for the next step. That tech is what I was working on when I was fired from the last job. The hardware is there. It all depends on integration of the systems at this point, but that is a complex task which will require decent management skills in the C suite which don’t exist at the major players right now. It isn’t just the US, either — I worked for Austrians.
Woke up briefly to get the family out the door, then crashed back hard. Back hurts so I’m up.
It’s 78F, lowest morning temp in a long time. Humidity is 90%RH though and the sun is out.
I didn’t get to bed particularly early, nor did I rise early. I guess I won’t be getting wealthy or wise today.
n
I use to watch all of those religiously. 60’s and 70’s shows were awesome.
I remember watching “The Immortal” all the time. Christopher George went on to play the lead after TRPIC. And so many guest appearances. Heart attack got him. His wife, Lynda Day George, was a childhood crush.
Another article on masks:
Do Masks Work? A Review Of The Evidence
I think the consensus here is, if you don’t wear a proper mask, properly, it provides little protection. I wonder why the CDC/Feds don’t highlight that. They could provide instructional money to schools on how to do it. It’s Kabuki at this point. Trying to force masking on the sheeple with no guidance or cheap/free proper masks smells.
LOL! plugs is trying to blame tRump for the mess in Afghanistan. Typical doosh polititurd move.
I remember watching “The Immortal” all the time. Christopher George went on to play the lead after TRPIC. And so many guest appearances. Heart attack got him. His wife, Lynda Day George, was a childhood crush.
Christopher George was hurt badly in a jeep accident on the set of “The Rat Patrol” and he never fully recovered, leading to the heart attack. Svengoolie covered it running down the cast of some flick one night.
A co-worker at CGI who went to Australia for three weeks to celebrate her 30th birthday said that the Aussies are still upset about the hat and the crown medallion.
A lot of American TV from the 60s and 70s is just now finding its way into many parts of the world. The digitization for DVD, MeTV-type networks, and streaming provided a lot of new material for syndication.
When we toured the Dallas house three years ago, we were the only Americans on the tour. The guide noted that the series just hit Bangladesh and other SE Asian countries within the last decade.
Pass the buck onwards, to Peace Prize Obama.
I think the consensus here is, if you don’t wear a proper mask, properly, it provides little protection. I wonder why the CDC/Feds don’t highlight that. They could provide instructional money to schools on how to do it. It’s Kabuki at this point. Trying to force masking on the sheeple with no guidance or cheap/free proper masks smells.
Definitely control. And the masks are marginally effective to prevent the sick from spreading the bug, but if sick people had stayed home, the virus would have been over last year.
The Chinese also got to play “You Ain’t Got No Ice Cream” games with PPE.
The masses in the US are over masks, however. My wife went to Ohio last week, and the Home Depot near where she stayed was fully stocked up on real 3M N95 masks. No arbitrage buying. She actually brought some home to replenish the stash we had with our painting supplies pre-pandemic.
No one masked in Cleveland beyond the occasional Karen and brood according to my wife.
Right. Just like every other respiratory virus with an animal reservoir.
with an animal reservoir.
–I’ve linked a couple of maybes, is there anything definite? THey absolutely don’t want people thinking or talking about that…
n
Sunday is even better than late afternoon Friday for news that someone wants reported, but not widely viewed….
–bloggers talking about this last year, pointing out the money Teddyo got from chine.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9893935/The-Batwoman-dossier-IAN-BIRRELL-lists-12-reasons-believe-virologist-hide.html
–welcome to the party, better late than never.
–sounds like a duck, walks like a duck, fukcs like a duck, it’s a duck.
n
–here’s a very well crafted political hit piece.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9894457/Four-Florida-teachers-unvaccinated-working-school-district-die-COVID-19-week.html
The quotes are from the teacher’s union president, who when mourning points out NOT that they have x students, or are the y biggest district, but flexes their UNION status.
At the bottom of the article, the author quotes that same union leader with an attack on the governor thru trump and trump supporters.
Note too that she’s ignorant or lying. She says they’re the 5th largest union in the country… they’re not even in the top 30. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-most-powerful-unions-america-090000629.html The BTU page talks about “thousands” of members. Not “tens” or “hundreds” of.
The teachers were NOT in the same school either, as implied several times.
n
Disaster can strike anywhere.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9894573/Two-people-killed-30-rescued-flooding-sparked-monsoon-rains-Arizona.html
n
The quotes are from the teacher’s union president, who when mourning points out NOT that they have x students, or are the y biggest district, but flexes their UNION status.
At the bottom of the article, the author quotes that same union leader with an attack on the governor thru trump and trump supporters.
DeSantis vs. Biden 2024 is being fought right now in Florida. The Dems have no one on the bench who could go after the Governor in a debate and win so the reelection question is settled. Val Demings is running against Little Marco for a reason — she might pull off a debate win and make a name for herself to run for Governor in 2026.
Note the race of the deceased. African Americans are among the demographics with the lowest vaccination rates in the US, and it has little to do with Trump.
Hit piece, but lazy reporting for the UK audience. Is the weather turning already in London?
Sunday is even better than late afternoon Friday for news that someone wants reported, but not widely viewed….
Uncle Ted taught the Dems to break the story after five on Saturday.
No Moon landing this weekend, but the fall of Kabul was probably the big topic on the Sunday shows.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9894833/Georgia-bartender-seen-kidnapped-surveillance-video-dead-hours-later.html
No mention of any relationship or potential connection. Just “followed home and grabbed.”
The best advice I’ve found is ‘fight like a cornered cat’ and never let them take you to a secondary location. they want to do something to you there, that they are afraid to do or unwilling to do where you are.
https://www.corneredcat.com/
n
Hit piece, but lazy reporting for the UK audience.
–I don’t think so.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/how-the-daily-mail-scoops-american-dirt
about half way down they start getting serious about facts…
They are bigger in the US than any other online news.
n
added – that’s a QUARTER of the US population and about half of all adults. Not really fringe anymore.
The Biden Administration’s appeal for OPEC to pump more oil
I thought the US was more-or-less self-sufficient in oil production?
There have been very few wells fracked in the last three or four years in the USA. Only super productive wells with little natural gas get fracked now. The USA hit peak oil (again) two years ago and the oil production is dropping at roughly a million barrels per day per year.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=A
The Biden administration does not want more oil pumpage for the USA. They want it for the rest of the world, especially the Asian countries that are so dependent on imported oil. The dumbocrats are being paid a lot of money personally from China and other places to change the USA.
On a pure numbers basis, the USA has not been self-sufficient for oil since 1970 or so. But we ship an incredible amount of distilled products to other countries, especially Europe. Two to four million barrels of finished products per day (gasoline, diesel, natural gas, LNG, etc). We just started shipping a half million barrels per day of light sweet crude to Italy from Texas. In a year it will be a million barrels per day.
Another problem is some of the super giant oil reservoirs are going dry. North Slope of Alaska does not even keep the pipeline full anymore (the pipeline require half million barrels per day, the peak was three million barrels per day). The four million barrels per day coming out of the Gulf of Mexico will be gone in five years. The shale oil in Texas, Dakotas, Colorado, and Pennsylvania was making up for all that but is not being maintained.
Yep, even in the DailyMail, editorial bias —
Compare the sentence used
“Children younger than 12 are not currently eligible for any of the currently available vaccines.”
with an alternative–
“None of the experimental vaccines, approved for adults under an Emergency Use Authorization, has yet been approved for use in children younger than 12.”
or simply
“No vaccines have been approved for use by children under twelve.”
n
I guess supply is catching up with demand.
If you’ve got stripped or 80%lowers, you need uppers.
If you don’t yet have your own version of ‘america’s favorite sporting rifle’ then buying a blem upper and lower to match is a cheap way of getting on. The lower will need to ship to an FFL.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/daily-deals-new.html
https://palmettostatearmory.com/blem-psa-16-mid-length-5-56-nato-1-7-nitride-moe-upper-with-bcg-ch-mbus-rear-flat-dark-earth.html
https://palmettostatearmory.com/blem-psa-ar-15-complete-magpul-moe-lower-flat-dark-earth-8857b.html
Upper and lower combined, $450 is a sweet deal and all you need to do is insert one pin to join then.
n
Sore back has kept me home so far today.
Just spent some time with d2 cracking open a geode. Nice hollow and crystal formation inside. “I like cracking things open by hitting them with hammers” said she….
n
I don’t know why people are getting worked up about this.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dhs-bulletin-says-opposition-covid-mandates-potential-domestic-terrorism-threat
A. they’ve been headed in that direction for years.
B. they’ve been corrupt for decades
C. they LIKE wypeepo terror threats because they get to play dress up spy and infiltrate the groups for YEARS. (not many arab FBI agents ready to infiltrate mosques)
D. it’s the truth. Once the shooting starts, that is EXACTLY what it will be. The shooters and bombers and arsonists will think they are on the sides of the angels, but an armed revolt is domestic terrorism. Unarmed revolts rarely work.
–after they win, they can call themselves whatever they want. While they are shooting judges and school boards, they are terrorists from the point of view of the .gov.
Get used to being called names. Resolve to be the best “whatever” you can be.
n
Oh yeah, big earthquake in Haiti.
n
Raining cats & dogs by me in SA. Another week of no sprinklers required.
Back in FB jail for 24 hours. Apparently stating shooting feral cats, in farm country, open range, goes against FB “community standards”. Been there before, same cell, for advocating a reward for running over a protester blocking a road, double bonus for a freeway blocker.
What really happens is some thin skinned wuss gets their panties in a wad and reports the post to FB. Bunch of liberal, no job, idiots, who refuse to step on a cockroach because they are offended.
Nothing positively confirmed, that I know of. But considering the dishonest reporting, the dishonest science, and the self-serving politicking, I don’t think that means anything.
Contrary thought: having “found covid in cats” or whatever might be no more reliable than having found the virus in watermelons and in unused test kits. I’ve seen no information on just how the coof was detected in housepets and other animals.
Standing in front of HEB looking at my truck about 100 ft away. It is raining about 2 inches/hour.
P!ssing down here too. 1.16 inches so far.
@steveF, early on there were reports of cats or dogs testing positive with speculation that it was just present in their noses because they snuffled it up in the sick human’s house, without any description of symptoms in the animal.
I haven’t seen anything about symptoms in the animals that ‘tested positive’.
n
I envy you.
Other than some thunder-sprinkles it hasn’t rained here in months.
It’s 110f here in the California high desert right now, on my porch. The local personal weather stations at WU are reporting anything from 105-114, so that’s about right.
The humidity is in the teens, so it’s not as bad as it might be, with almost no wind.
Now 1.4 inches
n
Real good advice… the only advice as far as I am concerned. We were taught that many years ago as girls, and it still holds true.
Now 1.6″ and we had one short brownout.
Pace seems to be slowing, but there is still plenty of thunder.
n
Hit piece, but lazy reporting for the UK audience.
–I don’t think so.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/how-the-daily-mail-scoops-american-dirt
about half way down they start getting serious about facts…
just like the other 80 million Americans and 240 million people around the world who visit the Mail’s website each month (at least according to the publication’s internal metrics).
total American editorial staff north of 200
They are bigger in the US than any other online news.
n
added – that’s a QUARTER of the US population and about half of all adults. Not really fringe anymore.
The Houston Chronicle at its peak had 600 people in the news room. I have heard that they are down to 100+ nowadays. I think that the print edition peaked at 2.3 million/day. 20+ years ago, the Houston Chronicle was delivered to 60+ counties/day, including my parent’s Lavaca County, 140 miles away from downtown. Now just the base 9 counties.
In fact, the Houston Chronicle is throwing a free twelve page paper with four pages of comics and 20 pages of advertising on Sundays to my neighborhood now, disguised as the Sugar Land Sun. Half of my neighbors leave it in the street.
Standing in front of HEB looking at my truck about 100 ft away. It is raining about 2 inches/hour.
When I went into HEB, it was 97 F. It was 74 F when I came out. At the peak it was raining 4 to 5 inches per hour. We get 60 to 65 inches of rain per year, subtropical. Also, we live in a swamp.
“White House Posts Photo of Feeble Joe Biden Sitting Alone as Afghanistan Falls to Taliban – Outs Doha Station, CIA”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/08/white-house-posts-photo-feeble-joe-biden-sitting-alone-afghanistan-falls-taliban/
Dementia is spread throughout the entire White House staff since they did not see this coming. And whoever took a picture of the monitors with the CIA windows needs to be canned today.
And the B-52s could stop the columns of troops pouring into Kabul at any moment. Where are they going to hide ? Instead, we get incompetence as Dementia Joe sits there and wrings his hands. He needs to be removed from office today but it won’t happen.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Hit piece, but lazy reporting for the UK audience.
–I don’t think so.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/how-the-daily-mail-scoops-american-dirt
about half way down they start getting serious about facts…
just like the other 80 million Americans and 240 million people around the world who visit the Mail’s website each month (at least according to the publication’s internal metrics).
total American editorial staff north of 200
They are bigger in the US than any other online news.
n
added – that’s a QUARTER of the US population and about half of all adults. Not really fringe anymore.
Plus, the http://www.dailymail.com pictures are awesome. People are visual, especially now, and they get their pictures. The articles have a broad base of content and are not simply rehashed from the previous year.
“More than 400 U.S. counties are now minority white”
https://www.axios.com/diversity-majority-minority-white-american-census-bd181b53-f170-40b2-9913-dd43363e1aaf.html
My county, Fort Bend County, was 130,846 people in 1980 with 28% non-white.
In 2020, Fort Bend County is 822,779 with 70% non-white.
Legal and illegal immigration are killing us.
https://wpta21.com/2021/08/13/man-kills-5-himself-in-uks-first-mass-shooting-in-decade/
somehow I missed this when it happened. Somehow.
n
Critters don’t have to be symptomatic to be able to spread a disease to humans. Or they may have disease symptoms which don’t match the human symptoms; I don’t know how common this is, only that it can happen.
And I may have been using the wrong term. “Animal host” and “animal reservoir” are apparently not the same thing but I wasn’t able to figure out which I wanted. Different sites gave different definitions, which did a marvelous job of muddying the issue.
“Siding with Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Supreme Court temporarily halts mask orders in Dallas and Bexar counties”
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/15/texas-coronavirus-supreme-court-school-mask-mandate/
“The ruling comes after several school districts and a handful of counties across the state defied the governor’s executive order that restricted local entities from instituting mask mandates.”
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise ! (quote from Gomer Pyle).
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise ! (quote from Gomer Pyle).
Some Austin restaurants were starting to require proof of vaccination to enter, but TABC put the brakes on that idea this weekend. Any restaurant with a liquor license is subject to Abbott’s order prohibiting vaccination “passports”.
2024 is being fought in Texas too, but the Republicans have a much weaker position. Florida GOP has unencumbered redistricting power and controls another Legislative session before the Midterms.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9895741/US-ambassador-flees-Kabul-embassy-flag-Americans-shelter-place.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9896007/Taliban-commander-gives-press-conference-INSIDE-Kabuls-Presidential-Palace.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9896103/Pentagon-chief-Lloyd-Austin-tells-briefing-disappointed-Afghan-army.html
“whadda ya mean there’s no helicopter for me and my family? I’ll be forced to watch my wife and kids be raped to death and then tortured and killed for helping you.”
“you fucked up, you trusted us!”
n
I just wish they’d tone down their website just a bit and make do with a few less pop-ups.
“you fucked up, you trusted us!”
“Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyKzdvZU3pg
“Remember what we did to Colonel Khadaffy?”
Once again, the US reminds the world why every tinpot dictator needs a nuclear weapon for survival.
Anyone want to bet that any analyst who gave an unvarnished assessment of the strength and willingness of the boy raping afgan army to continue as an organized western style military force was censured and punished for his assessment?
Today’s woke army. Assume they are like you. Even when everything in the world tells you they’re not.
–you also can’t buy unity, or loyalty.
And I love the smug condescension in this statement… considering those ignorant goat herders just sent you packing…
–of course if he meant ‘maintain’ that will be true for some of it. Poppy juice can buy a lot of technical support “contractors” though…
n
Keep track of that hammer.
“When you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail”
Was at Home Depot today, shelves fully stocked with various 3M N95 respirators. Picked up some to replenish my stacks.
Yes. Take this opportunity to replenish PPE and other needful things. This is SO far from over.
n
Keep track of that hammer.
–we used my brick hammer and one of my rock hammers. I put them away as soon as we had success.
n
Because…EVs. No oil needed, just power which comes from the wall outlet.
And there’s an umbrella sitting on the passenger seat. Gotta hate it when that happens. Like when you drop your toast and it lands butter side down.
Plus all the other above posts. plugs was sqawking how “you won’t see helicopter on roofs…” Today, Chinooks and Blackhawks all over lifting peeps to the airport. What perfect ads for 2022 and 2024. The Kamel could run against plugs in 2024! LOL!
Get to da choppa! And screw your freedoms!
The shot of plugs sitting by himself is perfect. Where are his advisors? Zooming in ’cause they scared of COVID? LOL! I can’t wait for his address to the Nation. It will be a doozy of spinning and he will read it off the ‘prompter without ad libbing. Doctor Jill says so!
I just wish they’d tone down their website just a bit and make do with a few less pop-ups.
–uBlock Origin will take 99% of the annoyance out of DailyMail and Zerohedge, and Gateway Pundit.
n
Four thousand people to run one US Embassy??
I’m betting the Ambassador wishes it was him and 3,999 Marines.
I thought DM had ad-blocking detection and there was no ‘let me in anyway’ option like there is on ZeroHedge for example.
nope, I don’t have any issues…
n
I use AdBlockPlus with Safari with no problems on DailyMail.
From Bruce Schneier’s newsletter
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/catholic-priest-quits-after-anonymized-data-revealed-alleged-use-of-grindr/
–it’s not just the surveillance state, it’s anyone with motivation and a bit of money to spend.
n
That’s why I buy Brother. 🙂
HP is excellent hardware. Firmware, software and extended support: not so much.
16 years! That is a long time for something with that much impact.
n
I just wish they’d tone down their website just a bit and make do with a few less pop-ups.
–uBlock Origin will take 99% of the annoyance out of DailyMail and Zerohedge, and Gateway Pundit.
I thought DM had ad-blocking detection and there was no ‘let me in anyway’ option like there is on ZeroHedge for example.
http://www.dailymail.com works fine with the latest Firefox and uBlock Origin on Windows 10 Pro x64.
Heading to bed early tonight. ‘cuz 6am is when my alarm will ring. Yikes.
n
Yep, 6am is EARLY.
74F and misty, 98%RH.
n