Cool and damp.
Yesterday actually got to be very nice by the end of the day. Shirtsleeves weather.
Roofer came by and we’re going to pursue the new roof. Insurance call on Monday. Big deductible, but if we don’t do it now, if we were to sell in the future, we’d have to do it all on our dime. Preps, sometimes the best prep is money in the bank.
I’ve got a fan speed resister pack to put into my Expy, and a windshield washer fluid pump to change out in the Ranger. Both are just annoying issues, but are also simple fixes, so only lack of time has prevented me doing it.
The rest of the day will be filled with all the normal things.
I will be buying some additions that I wouldn’t normally buy. Feminine hygiene stocks are low here, as are some of the kid’s things like toothpaste. I looked a bit farther afield, and I’m going to order two more cams for my system. They are JIT from China thru a US distributor and repackager. Chances are good that the supply chain isn’t going to be there for long and existing stocks will run out. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months, and decided to pull the trigger. If you want something that is normally made in China, you should look really hard at getting it now.
The virus has now showed up in the strangest places. “Worse, infected travelers from Iran already have been discovered in Lebanon and Canada. “ And it’s killing folks. Coverage is getting weird too. Try this line on for size–
“A cluster of cases isn’t inherently worrying – in fact, it’s expected as an infection that’s easy to spread is carried around the world by travelers. “
–nothing to see here folks, everything is proceeding as expected….
Remember the big differences between this and ebola- the chinese can afford air travel, and this one seems to kill fewer people, at least in some places.
Take the time we have and take your preps to the next level. I know I’m sounding like a broken record on this but just look at the numbers…
Keep stacking,
n
The first company to manage a vaccine for Corona will make a mint. I’m sure they’re working on it, but iirc vaccine development takes around a year.
Assuming the tests are working correctly, I doubt we have that much time. There are cases in over a dozen countries now, and travellers will have infected others that we haven’t heard of yet. Another couple of weeks and the quarantine measures will be useless…
Remember the big differences between this and ebola- the chinese can afford air travel, and this one seems to kill fewer people, at least in some places.
China has an upper middle class who can afford air travel — as well as bugout pads on the North American West Coast — and believe they are just as entitled as the American upper middle class, possibly more so.
(I’ve already heard people quarantined at Lackland calling into the radio stations in San Antonio complaining about the base facilities. Parts of this country are going to be seriously screwed.)
Plus, I’m not kidding about You Ain’t Got No Ice Cream. Both Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese view Americans’ innate tendency to be kind and polite as a weakness. I lived it for four years. Someone dying because they don’t share a resource would make it more exciting.
We’re very fortunate that Ebola has a brief incubation period, but, depending on which Corona virus origin theory you believe, unlike the Wuxu Flu, the Ebola virus wasn’t manmade. A weapon would need a longer incubation to be effective
Summary
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/coronavirus-deaths-outside-china-spike-who-team-visits-wuhan
n
Summary
Again, Tyler Durden byline without any source attributed for the content. A real reporter isn’t submitting this under their actual name for a reason. Be really careful with anything from ZeroHedge like this.
It’s just aggregation mostly with the numbers coming from other sources. But yeah, normal caveats apply. And a careful reading to separate the opinion statements from statements of fact….
n
Like this Tyler piece https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/crazy-amount-requests-private-jet-demand-soars-elites-flee-asia-amid-pandemic
–lot of statements, not much fact, although there is an attibuted quote.
–of course, I don’t thing the quotee knows the meaning of “knee jerk”. I’d substitute the word “prudent”….
“Everyone quickly refers back to Sars. A lot of people are taking a knee-jerk reaction and moving themselves out of harm’s way,” Lowe said.
n
added– the quote was from the Financial Times article, behind a paywall, use your google fu if you want to read the whole thing.
“Some business jet experts think the concerns over coronavirus is also leading some wealthy individuals to avoid flying on commercial planes in an attempt to avoid crowds.
Adam Twidell, chief executive of PrivateFly, a UK-based private jet brokerage, said there were a significant number of requests from people wanting to fly on business jets in recent days. “
–lot of statements, not much fact, although there is an attibuted quote.
By “attributed”, I meant an author attribution for the entire article. Like this one, credited to Dennis Miller at MillerOnTheMoney.com.
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/mmt-just-facts-please
Indeed Amazon is gaming the system for product cost. An item I purchased on 2/1/2020 is now $4.00 higher on 2/22/2020. A 10% price hike for the identical item. I get it that Amazon is supposed to make as much as possible, but please, be a little more subtle.
My flight from DFW to Vegas arrived with a cracked windshield. Couldn’t fix it, so new plane, gate and terminal. Only a couple of hour delay. Put some Arlo cams in the new/old house in San Antonio. Said Hi to neighbors.
Got a vm from our dental insurance. We got a request to change your mailing address, but you need to call us. Now I have to check all my other snail mail to make sure it isn’t forwarded. I don’t even have a rekeyed mail box in SA nor am I living there. Frickin’ Post Office.
Warmed up to shirtsleeves weather, but continues damp and overcast.
Changed the windshield washer fluid pump in my Ranger. Was easy and straightforward. Added oil, power steering fluid, and washer fluid.
Changed wife’s windshield wipers, including the rear, which is only available locally at a real parts store. F you honda.
Switched to cleanup and gardening. Fixed up 2 1/2 of my fence “window boxes”. New dirt and planted with radishes, turnips, and beets. More to do but ran out of potting soil. Blew all the leaves. Came inside to refresh my mind about pruning the grape vines. Can’t put it off another day as leaves are budding.
Picked up poop and soon I’ll head back out.
n
@Nick
It rains here in Seattle. Duh.
I’ve had s Honda for ages and somewhere along the line I went to the dealer and bought their blades. Same $ as the best retail, but they last a helluva lot longer. Just sayin’
Only on my second set of blades on my F-150 which is 6 years old. Replaced first set after four years. Got new factory blades. Look better, fit better, and last a long time. Second set still works well. Worth the slightly extra money.
WRT wiper blades, I buy the goodyear ones when they are onsale at Costco.
They are like little machines there are so many pieces. They curve and follow the glass just fine.
I tend to replace wipers before there is an issue. They’re cheap enough, and I am picky about what I look thru.
The honda minivan uses a unique connector on the rear window so I have to buy it in the store. B@stards.
We’ve got a thin film of yellow tree pollen on the cars ATM. It’s pollen season already.
n
Most are. I buy the Ford blades as they look OEM, are OEM, and are shaped to be aerodynamic without issues. After market have never worked really well. When I owned the Avalons I always bought the wipers from Toyota as they looked better and performed better at highway speeds. Price difference is not worth haggling over.
I also use Rain-X on all the windows, especially the front windows. I can drive at 70 mph in a significant rain storm and never use the wipers.
Got the grape vines trimmed. I was pretty aggressive as the guide said most home growers aren’t aggressive enough.
Pruned the peach, mainly to keep it off the fence. Pruned the established citrus to open them up to light and air. That was pretty aggressive too. Limes smell unbelievably good with tons of flowers.
I didn’t get the fan speed control replace in the Expy. Had to get dinner started.
Dinner was sliced apple, cooked in bacon fat in my cast iron, seared both sides and saute’d until soft. Same for the turnips. The meat was pork tenderloin ($1/pound on sale) sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thick, marinaded in chipoltle’ raspberry sauce, then seared in the bacon fat in the cast iron pan. Biscuits finished the menu. REALLY yummy and a nice change from pork roast. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
I forgot to mention that yesterday’s dinner (just me and the kids) was canned pulled pork from Costco, with a touch of BBQ sauce, on fresh dinner rolls. Only mention it because the best by on the pork was 2017. Unchanged and just like new. Recommended btw as a nice protein alternative to canned chicken and tuna. You can get the hot wings flavor too, but the plain is more versatile.
n
Indeed Amazon is gaming the system for product cost. An item I purchased on 2/1/2020 is now $4.00 higher on 2/22/2020. A 10% price hike for the identical item. I get it that Amazon is supposed to make as much as possible, but please, be a little more subtle.
http://Www.walmart.com ?
The honda minivan uses a unique connector on the rear window so I have to buy it in the store. B@stards.
Take a good look at the connector and see if you can remove it without damage, exposing the standard U shaped metal for attaching a universal wiper blade.
I also use Rain-X on all the windows, especially the front windows. I can drive at 70 mph in a significant rain storm and never use the wipers.
I haven’t had a front camera failure on the Camry since removing the Rain-X from the glass in that area of the windshield. I concluded the active ingredient must block infrared — something to be aware of as just about every new car has that camera component.
Rear wipers do not use the standard U-Shaped arm. It is an oddball connection unique to each vehicle. Probably not mandated to be standard by the government.
Interesting. I will keep that in mind. None of my vehicles are smart enough or new enough to have a camera.
Rear wipers do not use the standard U-Shaped arm. It is an oddball connection unique to each vehicle. Probably not mandated to be standard by the government.
God help us if the Government gets involved to that level.
Interesting. I will keep that in mind. None of my vehicles are smart enough or new enough to have a camera.
New Toyota vehicles have a (non-mandated … for now) forward facing camera behind the rear-view mirror which is used for “collision avoidance”. The part is $1200 out of warranty, pricey when you consider what a three year-old Camry or Corolla is worth in relation to replacement with labor, $1500 easy.
At least it is a discrete part, however. Increasingly, higher end vehicles integrate the camera into the windshield as an integrated component, eliminating any possibility that you can drop $400 at a place like Safelite to replace the glass.
Rock hit your windshield? $3000.
Rock hit your windshield? $3000.
I’m sure that the insurance companies of the USA will give the car manufacturers a piece of their mind after buying a few $3,000 windshields minus the comprehensive deductible.
Windshield wipers. Gone are the days of well designed, simple attachments. If I used wipers,* I would look into real silicone elements. I don’t have a recommendation on brand, but have read a couple of reviews about them, and they seemed impressive. I like silicone for weather resistance. One potential problem is that they apparently only come as complete blades. I prefer buying just the “rubber” part and using my own blades.
*It rains so infrequently here that I keep my wiper arms inside the car. Doing that allowed me to have the same rubber for the 28 years I had my old PU. I remember putting them on just once. I have only had my “new” PU for five years, and haven’t yet driven it in rain, but its arms are inside, too. Both are the type that snap on with no tools.
The car my wife drives has a different design, and removing the arms is not practical. Removing the blades leaves the arm in place to scratch the glass if the wipers are turned on by accident, easy with the idiotic switch on the turn signal lever. Solid rubber (not silicone) inserts only last a few years in our climate, even with preservatives and no use. One of these years I will get around to trying silicone. Very low on my priority list.
I have read that silicone blades are mostly mail order items. Seems auto parts stores like repeat business. I did see some in Walmart, but a very small selection.
I also use Rain-X, and like it. There are supposedly better products, but no experience.
We are on our third minivan, and all three have had rear wipers. I tried all three, and they worked, but never used them, even in rain 😛 I took them off because it makes cleaning that area much easier. I just don’t understand the need. Maybe in areas where it rains mud. What next, side wipers? Same for heated windows and mirrors. All of these should be delete options.
If there were enough delete options, I just might consider buying a new car. Even better, I would really like to buy a brand new 1956 Mercury Monterey or a 1956 Packard Patrician. Anybody notice the resemblance?
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/how-to-watch-abc-cbs-fox-nbc-on-roku-fire-tv-apple-tv-without-an-antenna/
The tv world is changing rapidly right now.
I am in Norman, OK at the LRGCC engineering conference. Spent three hours with father -in-law in Lewisville on the way up. Horrendous wrecks in Dallas area because Texans cannot drive in rain !
The new F-150 4wd got 21 mpg averaging over 70 mph. The steering is a little heavy though. I wonder if I can turn effort level down some ?
I’m sure that the insurance companies of the USA will give the car manufacturers a piece of their mind after buying a few $3,000 windshields minus the comprehensive deductible.
Long term, the manufacturers are looking to cut out Flo, The Lizard, and Limu Emu with their “all in one” and/or on-demand leasing plans which include insurance coverage.
The new F-150 4wd got 21 mpg averaging over 70 mph. The steering is a little heavy though. I wonder if I can turn effort level down some ?
I thought most cars had electric steering, part of the push to make the fleet amenable to automation. Maybe Ford didn’t push things that far.
Talk to the dealer at the first service and dig around in the forums if you don’t get a satisfactory answer. The dealers aren’t doing anything about the tension on the Mustang’s emergency brake, but people figure it out since it is — thank God — still a mechanical pull-up system.
There definitely seems to be a push from all vehicle-related sectors to make the emergency/parking brake useless for “handbrake” turns. I don’t think the Camry parking brake actually does anything.
@Nick – for Honda wipers, have you tried the OEM replacement inserts? I’ve had Hondas for a long time. I always get just the replacement inserts from the dealer (or online). Slide the old ones out, move the metal strips to the new insert, and slide in. Our Crosstour runs about $15 with tax for front and back.
@ITGuy, I just get the one in the store. What chaps me the most is that I have to make a special trip to get it. It’s not like Honda even gets the benefit of the lock-in as the store has some generic brand that fits. It’s just annoying. My Ford Expedition uses a standard connector, so there’s no technical reason not to.
n
added- I forgot you could just get the wiper part until taking my old one off. I should get a couple and stock them. Of course, as soon as I do, my wife will want to trade the vehicle….
That’s how I ended up with a gross of 10 Honda oil filters. I used one before we traded in our last Honda a few years ago. I kept them though, since I knew we’d likely end up with another one someday, and I was right.