Sat. Aug. 6, 2022 – more plumbing…

By on August 6th, 2022 in decline and fall, personal

Another hot and humid day.  It was much cooler here than Houston last night and the breeze was nice too.  79F when I went to bed.

Spent yesterday running around.   Did some pickups but not all.   Solving the issues at the rent house cost me a couple of hours and a gallon of sweat.   Then the plumber arrived and did the rest.   I’m a great believer in rental income as a hedge against inflation, as long as you can trust the .gov to not steal from you.   If I lived somewhere else, I’m not sure I’d want to roll the dice   It isn’t easy money though by any means.

Today should be plumbing, in one form or another.  I’d love to have someone else do it, but there isn’t anyone available here, and the cost would be far higher than I have budgeted.

Handyman skills seem to be in increasing demand.  Truly skilled tradesmen are not available, or are priced out of the market, leaving a big opening for someone who can do the smaller jobs and make money at it.    I have no interest in doing it for money at the moment, but if it changes, I know I could.   Every one of these DIY projects builds skill and confidence.

In a down economy, any sort of repair job should do well as people try to get more out of what they have rather than buy new.   The biggest problem with that is they don’t have money in a down economy 🙂   So acting as your own repair/ handyman is a good choice.

Brush up on some skills.   Practice fixing things.   Take on a DIY project.   Save some money in the process, and stack up useful knowledge.

Chances are you or someone you know will need it.

n

87 Comments and discussion on "Sat. Aug. 6, 2022 – more plumbing…"

  1. Ray Thompson says:

    I think Houston puts the water heaters and air handlers in the attic because no one has basements.

    My house that I had in San Antonio had the water heater in a utility room. The air handler and heating was in a closet in the house, the condenser unit was outside. No basement.

    Here in TN the entire unit is outside in one package. Heater, A/C blower, condenser, just one big unit. That does two things. Makes it easier to replace. Keeps the noise outside the house. Very common in this area.

    So “$130.00 for labor” is at most what, two hours?

    Probably more like one hour. Dealer rate is $165.00 an hour.

    When we have company, people have stagger their showers or else the 3rd shower in either bath risks running out of hot water.

    It is interesting that my RV has a six gallon water heater. I can use gas or electric. That has proven enough for a shower for me or the wife. Not a large water flow, but adequate. Can wash the body and shampoo the hair without issue. She can take a shower, dry off, dry the hair. Then I can take a shower and have not run out of hot water. The heater is 120V and can run while the A/C is running. All this on a 30-ampere circuit.

    I know we don’t use as much water as a residential shower unit as there are water and storage limits on a RV. I think what is most surprising is how little water is necessary for a good shower that gets a person clean.

  2. Geoff Powell says:

    Here in UK, water tanks are normally installed inside the house, high up, often in the loft, and we don’t install drip trays, so a tank leak is a Big Thing. I’ve previously posted about the consequences of leaks.

    We don’t normally have basements, and even if we did, with all but one of the faucets fed via tanks, it wouldn’t work to put the tanks there, because water doesn’t flow uphill.

    That’s for houses, and is pretty generic. Apartment blocks are a whole different matter, and I have much less knowledge there, nearly all derived from D2’s previous one-bedroom flat, which had on-demand electric hot water for the kitchen and bathroom basins, plus an electric shower.

    The faucet linked to one of those heaters started leaking, just before Christmas, and I was tasked to get it replaced, which was not easy. The faucet and heater are tightly linked, so the faucet is effectively single-sourced, and seriously expensive. I managed to find the manufacturer, and ordered one, by phone. They do 2 models, for different heaters, and they’re not compatible. And no exchanges. That was problem number 1.

    Number 2 was finding a plumber, who knew these systems, and was willing to do the work between Christmas and New Year, since D2 was having a New Year’s Eve party, and needed that faucet to work. Did I mention donner und blitzen if things don’t go the way she wants?

    Luckily, Murphy decided to take a holiday that Christmas, so all was sorted without problem.

    G.

  3. drwilliams says:

    The New York Times reported the influx of migrants prompted Bowser to ask the Defense Department to send the National Guard. Bowser said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” that migrants putting a strain on homeless shelters. At last report, the Defense Department turned her down. They didn’t want anything to do with this fiasco, either.

    New York Democrat Mayor Eric Adams wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of welcoming thousands of new guests from foreign lands to his city, either.

    Adams slammed Abbott for bussing migrants to his city. Adams said the city had received 4,000 asylum seekers since May, fueling a 10 percent growth in the homeless population, with about 100 new arrivals each day. Adams is calling on the federal government for assistance, which is the same federal government that turned down Abbott when he asked for assistance.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/08/gov_abbotts_idea_to_bus_illegal_migrants_from_texas_to_nyc_and_dc_is_getting_their_attention.html

    NIMBY PLT’s.

    Anyone know if Abbott is taking contributions for this effort? I’d like to see a budget for 8,000 a month to NYC. Slackers haven’t been taking their fair share for years.

    They need to keep pumping them to DC, too, but spread them into the ‘burbs in VA so the hoity toity can enjoy them.

    Design a nice eye-catching logo for the humanitarian project and outfit every one with a chinese-made popup tent and a backpack of supplies, both in a distinctive bright color. 

    Get them tour tickets for the Biden’s humble abode and Pelosi’s Insurrection Palace.

    Probably be a good idea to donate extra to the Salvation Army kitchens’ too. 

    Do DC and  NYC have kalifornista-style “immigration status must be considered before charging a crime” laws?

    ADDED: Forgot to point out that Adam’s figures are not consistent. I know you’re as surprised as I was.

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    Infrastructure choices haunt us for a LONG time.   QWERTY keyboard for example.

    Power, water, materials, techniques may have a 50 year life, but the ideas and tech they literally embody last longer.

    ———————–

    82F and 81%RH with the sun up.   Muggy today.

    n

  5. ~jim says:

    Memory really does fade as you get older. Last night I attributed to Orwell what was really a quote from TH White in _The Once and Future King_: “Everything not forbidden is compulsory.” It made me cry, it made me laugh, and I should probably reread it again.

    @Geoff 

    I have carried a purse for the better part of 30 years. It’s some old Coach thing, back when they were mainly saddlemakers. It’s worn beyond shabby chic and I need a replacement. I’ve seen something similar in the form of shotgun shell bags on Brit TV.  Do you have any idea where I could find this kind of good old-fashioned leather work? I can’t even think of a search term.

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    @jim, one of my favorite youtube guys is a UK leatherworker, shipping worldwide.   Harry Rogers.  Bucklehurst Leather.

    –on chapter 6 of book the fourth of Once and future king, with D2.    Arthur just caught the lovers, came back in and let them know that if they weren’t more careful, he would in fact have their heads cut off, no matter how much he loves them.

    n

  7. Clayton W. says:

    Does anyone actually listen to Alex Jones?  I had to google him and frogs because of the frog memes.

    It will be interesting if the awards are upheld on appeal.  LYING isn’t illegal, or our politicians would be in trouble.

    Not commenting on his apparent perjury.  That, of course, is illegal.  Curious that his lawyers made that ‘mistake’.

  8. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’ve listened to Alex Jones.  His shortwave broadcast is loud and consistenly available.   He used to just toss everything out there and not seem to care much what it was or how rediculous.   He wasn’t as wide ranging as Art Bell, but he wasn’t critical of his guests.   He also mostly just let his guests talk and would encourage or make supportive comments to keep them talking.  

    He got way more focused with Trump and MAGA and the unveiling of what became known as the ‘dark state.’

    I haven’t paid much attention in the last couple of years.

    I think there needs to be someone like him.   He opens the door for things like Project Veritas and Matt Bracken, and that young british guy who cuts like a razor with his commentary.

    n

    BTW there was always the question of whether he believed any of it or if it was all just a way to sell his “nutri-ceudicals” ie supplements.

    4
    1
  9. Geoff Powell says:

    @~jim:

    I have carried a purse for the better part of 30 years.

    When I have need of something more formal than a 10 litre MOLLE shoulder bag, I have, and use, Fossil brand messenger bags. I have two, a 10 litre, and a ,probably, 25 litre. The 10 litre is about 11 inches high, by 11 inches wide, and two-and-a-half inches deep, with a magnetically-closed flap. The 25 litre is about 22 inches wide, and also has a magnetic closure.

    Both are, apparently, superseded, but Fossil do a lot of bags, so maybe there’ll be something to suit.

    Try “leather messenger bag” as a search term.

    G.

  10. Geoff Powell says:

    And before anyone dings me that 11x11x3 inches is bigger than “10 litre”, I’m using artistic licence. The smaller Fossil bag holds as much as the 10 litre MOLLE bag, so I feel safe equating their capacities.

    G.

  11. Geoff Powell says:

    The MOLLE bag is by Kombat Tactical, their “Small Messenger Bag”, and is available on Amazon UK, using that search term. I have the black.

    G.

  12. Geoff Powell says:

    The impression I have of Alex Jones is that he will embrace any conspiracy that will get him listeners, or web hits, whether or not he actually believes them.

    Normally, that is relatively harmless, although some of his hobbyhorses are sufficiently outré that I have to question the sanity of his listeners. 

    This time, though, he’s gone too far, and someone has called him on it, in a court of civil law. I suspect that he will declare personal bankruptcy, as his companies already have, and wriggle off the hook.

    G.

    Good! The editor appears to accept Windows ALT-num characters (the é above), and they persist when posted.

  13. Alan says:

    >> Infrastructure choices haunt us for a LONG time.   QWERTY keyboard for example.

    What, you haven’t switched to a DVORAK keyboard yet?  🙂

  14. Alan says:

    >> Good! The editor appears to accept Windows ALT-num characters (the é above), and they persist when posted.

    Hmm, now @nick is gonna want this to work on his phone  😉

    @RickH, take cover  🙂

  15. drwilliams says:

    @~jim

    I have carried a purse for the better part of 30 years. It’s some old Coach thing, back when they were mainly saddlemakers. It’s worn beyond shabby chic and I need a replacement. I’ve seen something similar in the form of shotgun shell bags on Brit TV.  Do you have any idea where I could find this kind of good old-fashioned leather work? I can’t even think of a search term.

    Search using: customer leather mens shoulder bag

    and look at images.

    There are a number of custom leather makers in the west and upper midwest that use buffalo leather. 

    https://kodiakleather.com/collections/all/products/buffalo-leather-messenger?variant=39554981462121

  16. drwilliams says:

    Liberal Media Loses Its Mind Over Texas and Arizona Busing Illegal Aliens to DC, NYC

    By Nick Arama  | Aug 06, 2022 12:00 PM ET 

    The piece cited a D.C. City Council member claimed, “This is a crisis created by Republican leaders in other states, however, unfortunately it’s fallen on the mayor to allocate resources locally.”

    Vanity Fair claimed the Republican governors had “successfully created a migrant crisis” in the northern states.

    The Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak called the migrant buses “a cruel, political stunt” that has devolved into “relentless, inhumane cruelty.”

    The WaPo editorial board wrote, “Mr. Abbott and Mr. Ducey hope to cause trouble, to make it seem as though migrants inevitably lead to chaos and thus compel the federal government to pass more draconian border policies.”

    NPR says that the GOP governors are sending the people but they have “no plan.”

    https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/08/06/liberal-media-loses-its-mind-over-texas-and-arizona-busing-illegal-aliens-to-dc-nyc-n607956

    follow-up to previous post

    Boo Freaking Hoo

    Unload a couple buses in the parking lots of NPR and the rest of them. I’m not sure whether doing so on Saturday morning, so they have the weekend to settle in is the best idea. Maybe do a little work up front and figure out where the reporters get their lattes and have lunch, then roll in Monday and give them vouchers as they exit the bus. Remember the reports from the restaurant in McAllen TX of the alien invader family that was sharing kungflu with everyone?

  17. lynn says:

    “Quick Recovery” is the marketing term for the extra cost water heater models.  Wouldn’t come to mind earlier.  Parallel or Series?  I dunno, and I no longer have access to the boiler room to look.  Sometimes, rarely, the more elderly unit loses pilot light and showers become luke cool.

    This place was built on the cheap just before the first oil price shock.  The water heaters have been replaced but the original plumbing was galvanized pipe.  Wherever leaks developed, chunks were replaced with copper or plastic at the repairman’s whim.  The corridors are lined with painted masonite wainscoting covering some ugly access holes in the drywall  to the various stacks.  There is basement for about half the building, slab on grade for the rest.  Brick veneer over non-insulated studs, 2 stories.  No dishwashers, central 4 washer laundry.

    All apartments are built on the cheap.  It is the nature of the beast.

    A logical approach to the water heaters would be in parallel.  Or series, arguments can be made for both installations.

  18. dkreck says:

    Buffalo leather and achorizo sun photo. My vegan sensibilities are being offended, My pronouns are…

  19. Kenneth C Mitchell says:

    “Men’s purse”;  About 20 years ago, I was getting chiropractic treatment for back pain. Before one visit, the chiropractor watched me unload everything from my pockets and said “Ken, the problem is that you’re sitting on your wallet, and it’s throwing everything out of alignment.”  So I moved my wallet and checkbook and other stuff into an NRA-labelled fanny pack, and started carrying that over my shoulder.  I’ve had very very little back pain since. 

    That fanny pack didn’t last long, so I switched to a Bianchi fanny pack/holster, that I still use. But Smith & Wesson had a deal last year for a Shield pistol, 3 mags and a first aid kit in a S&W shoulder bag, very similar to many of those “small messenger bags” on Amazon.  I’m about to switch to that, as the Bianchi is looking pretty ragged after 13 years of daily wear. 

    I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I never carried a pistol in it. 

  20. drwilliams says:

    My pronouns are…

    Scotch, doppelbock, rare beef…

    (Boulevard Rye on Rye)

  21. drwilliams says:

    “I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I never carried a pistol in it. “

    You’ll be even more embarrassed the day you need the pistol. 

    Can’t spell “embarrassed” without “bare assed”.

  22. lynn says:

    Here in TN the entire unit is outside in one package. Heater, A/C blower, condenser, just one big unit. That does two things. Makes it easier to replace. Keeps the noise outside the house. Very common in this area.

    Outside ?  Your winters are much more colder than ours.  How do you keep the system from freezing ?

  23. CowboyStu says:

    I’m thinking that if they didn’t have an illegal alien crisis in Texas, they couldn’t be sending thousands to WDC and NY.

  24. Pecancorner says:

    buffalo leather

    Paul had a dentist appt to get a new soft lining for his dentures.  When the dentist came into the room, he asked his assistant “bring me a buffalo knife.

    Paul and I both were startled so we had to ask What do you mean, a buffalo knife, and what has that to do with dentures? We subscribe to True West magazine, so a buffalo knife, to us, is sort of like this

     LOL! He laughed out loud, and showed us a little thing that looks somewhat like an exacto knife. He said it’s the handiest thing in the office – like a pair of pliers.   It’s called that because it was invented at the Buffalo NY School of Dentistry. He used it to remove the old lining from the dentures. 😀

  25. lynn says:

    “Unknown Sector: Milky Way (Perry Rhodan #45)” by Kurt Mahr, translated by Wendayne Ackerman
       https://www.amazon.com/Sector-Milky-Way-Perry-Rhodan/dp/B0006XJ3TK?tag=ttgnet-20/

    Book number forty-five of a series of one hundred and thirty-six space opera books in English. The original German books, actually pamphlets, number in the thousands. The English books started with two translated German stories per book translated by Wendayne Ackerman and transitioned to one story per book with the sixth book. And then they transition back to two stories in book #109/110. And the Ace publisher dropped out at #118, so Forest and Wendayne Ackerman published books #119 to #136 in pamphlets before stopping in 1978. The German books were written from 1961 to present time, having sold two billion copies and even recently been rebooted again. I read the well printed and well bound book published by Ace in 1974 that I had to be very careful with due to age. I bought an almost complete box of Perry Rhodans a decade or two ago on ebay that I am finally getting to since I lost my original Perry Rhodans in The Great Flood of 1989. In fact, I now own book #1 to book #103, plus the Atlan books.
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan

    BTW, this is actually book number 53 of the German pamphlets written in 1962. There is a very good explanation of the plot in German on this website of all of the PR books. There is automatic Google translation available for English, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, French, and Portuguese.
       https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Die_Verdammten_von_Isan

    In this alternate universe, USSF Major Perry Rhodan and his three fellow astronauts blasted off in a three stage rocket to the Moon in 1971. The first stage of the rocket was chemical, the second and third stages were nuclear. After crashing on the Moon due to a strange radio interference, they discover a massive crashed alien spaceship with an aged male scientist (Khrest), a female commander (Thora), and a crew of 500. It has been over sixty-nine years since then and the New Power has flourished with tens of millions of people and many spaceships headquartered in the Gobi desert, the city of Terrania.

    Perry Rhodan, John Marshall, Laury Martin, Pucky, and a 400 year old Spaniard have escaped the Ara planet Tolimon, home of the huge Ara zoo. With all of the space ships searching for them, they are worried about revealing the fact that Earth is still alive so they stop at a planet to let the searchers get tired and go home. But, they find that the planet has undergone a horrible nuclear war eight years earlier and the few survivors are starving in huge underground bomb shelters.

    Two observations:
    1. The publisher should have put two to four of the translated stories in each book. Having two stories in the first five books worked out well. Just having one story in the book is too short and would never allow the translated books to catch up to the German originals.
    2. Anyone liking Perry Rhodan and wanting a more up to date story should read the totally awesome “Mutineer’s Moon” Dahak series of three books by David Weber.
       https://www.amazon.com/Mutineers-Moon-Dahak-David-Weber/dp/0671720856?tag=ttgnet-20/

    My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars (1 reviews)

  26. Ray Thompson says:

    Another warning to those who think it’s a good idea to peddle blatant lies online.

    It is still freedom of speech. As long as there is no threat against a person or property. Lies are not threats. The government has no right to control the media. It could be easily argued that a website is media and thus protected.

    The airwaves would be/will be better off without someone claiming that massacres didn’t happen. 

    The airwaves would be better off without a lot of things. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News would fall under that premise.

    Doesn’t matter what you or I, or the government, think of the content, it is still free speech. There are all kinds of lunatics out there spewing vile hatred. I choose to ignore. But I cannot tell them they cannot spew their crap.

    The government is slowly clamping down on speech they don’t like. Private entities such as this blog can restrict, or eliminate, anything the masters of the blog don’t like, even you. It is their right and their privilege. The government cannot do the same.

    This time, though, he’s gone too far, and someone has called him on it, in a court of civil law

    Gone too far doing what? I still have not found anything where Alex directly attacked anyone involved with Sandy Hook. All I have found is Alex claimed the event was stage. There were no threats against anyone that I can find. It seems to me that is covered by free speech. Just as the flat earth society and faked moon landing folks are doing. What am I missing?

    Outside ?  Your winters are much more colder than ours.  How do you keep the system from freezing ?

    It is a heating and cooling unit. There are no liquids that can freeze. Only Freon (or what passes for Freon, Pureon?) There is a standard A/C unit, compressor, condenser, evaporator. There is also a heating unit in the same air patch. Air is blown over the condenser and heat exchange just like the inside unit in a house.

    They have just taken all the parts and put them in one package. No plumbing to a unit inside the house so coolant leaks are not an issue. Additionally all the natural gas is outside the building which makes it safer.

    That became apparent when the heat exchanger on my old unit developed a gas leak. The gas would accumulate in the unit and every hour or so would go boom, loudly. Not enough to damage but enough to get my attention.

  27. lynn says:

    buffalo leather

    Paul had a dentist appt to get a new soft lining for his dentures.  When the dentist came into the room, he asked his assistant “bring me a buffalo knife.”

    Paul and I both were startled so we had to ask What do you mean, a buffalo knife, and what has that to do with dentures? We subscribe to True West magazine, so a buffalo knife, to us, is sort of like this

     LOL! He laughed out loud, and showed us a little thing that looks somewhat like an exacto knife. He said it’s the handiest thing in the office – like a pair of pliers.   It’s called that because it was invented at the Buffalo NY School of Dentistry. He used it to remove the old lining from the dentures. 

    Sorry, but the concept of dentures makes me shudder.  My grandmother had all of her teeth pulled at age 81 or 82 and then lived with dentures until she passed at age 86.  Her dentures always hurt and were never comfortable.  I like the concept of teeth implants much better but, they are expensive.

  28. lynn says:

    xkcd: Asking Scientists Questions

        https://xkcd.com/2655/

    Yup, filling out grant applications all the time must be horrible.

    Explained at:

       https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2655:_Asking_Scientists_Questions

  29. CowboyStu says:

    WRT to lies on TV:  Remember when cankles said:  “…..it didn’t happen”?  However, she never repeated it after the semen stained dress came out.

  30. Clayton W. says:

    I believe Ray is correct.  

    It is free speech and using lawfare to go after disagreeable speech is just as bad as prohibiting it.  Because WHO DECIDES what speech is allowed.  Once you start to decide what speech is allowed and what isn’t, where does it stop?

    So yes, claiming Sandy Hook was stage is protected, just like speech claiming the Holocaust never happened or that the ‘races’ shouldn’t mix.  I find all of that reprehensible, but unless they cross the line to incitement, it can’t be stopped.

  31. lynn says:

    Outside ?  Your winters are much more colder than ours.  How do you keep the system from freezing ?

    It is a heating and cooling unit. There are no liquids that can freeze. Only Freon (or what passes for Freon, Pureon?) There is a standard A/C unit, compressor, condenser, evaporator. There is also a heating unit in the same air patch. Air is blown over the condenser and heat exchange just like the inside unit in a house.

    They have just taken all the parts and put them in one package. No plumbing to a unit inside the house so coolant leaks are not an issue. Additionally all the natural gas is outside the building which makes it safer.

    That became apparent when the heat exchanger on my old unit developed a gas leak. The gas would accumulate in the unit and every hour or so would go boom, loudly. Not enough to damage but enough to get my attention.

    Ah, that is what I would call a package unit.  Most commercial non-chilled water systems are package units.  Like in the ceiling of large stores.

    The only thing that I can think of that would cause a “boom” is a propane system.  Those propane systems are long gone since they occasionally went boom.   Actually, the industry is talking about moving to CO2 as the refrigerant now since it is non-boom and non-toxic below 15% in the atmosphere.  Shoot, you and I breathe out 4% carbon dioxide.

        https://byjus.com/biology/composition-gases-breathe/

  32. lpdbw says:

    Yup, filling out grant applications all the time must be horrible.

    Isn’t that what grad students and postdocs are for?

  33. Nightraker says:

    My EDC “Justin Case” is a Red Oxx brand “Gator”.  Gotten pricier since I got mine.  Not leather.

    https://www.redoxx.com/gator-edc-bag-91002/p

    Holds a tablet or Chromebook and ancillary items, thermos, mini tool kit.

  34. drwilliams says:

    Glenn Greenwald explains why ‘Dick and Liz Cheney hate Trump’

    https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2022/08/06/glenn-greenwald-explains-why-dick-and-liz-cheney-hate-trump/

    If I make it to Dick Cheney’s age I hope to be old and slow, not old and stupid.

    Dear Dick,

    My fond hope is that when you finally make it to Hell, your daughter Liz is there to great you.

    Sincerely,

    Nada Fan

    5
    1
  35. CowboyStu says:

    I’m 2 years older than Dick Cheney and I’m slowing, but only NaN thinks I’m stupid.

  36. drwilliams says:

    With a near-perfect failure rate, that’s a pretty good endorsement right there.

  37. Pecancorner says:

    Sorry, but the concept of dentures makes me shudder.  My grandmother had all of her teeth pulled at age 81 or 82 and then lived with dentures until she passed at age 86.  Her dentures always hurt and were never comfortable.  I like the concept of teeth implants much better but, they are expensive.

    That must have been awfully hard on your grandmother. 🙁    

    My grandmother was a dental assistant in the days when dentists made their own crowns and dentures in a lab in the office, rather than send them out.   Properly fitted dentures do not hurt after one wears them for a couple of weeks so the mouth gets used to them (much as one has to do with a retainer after braces). Paul’s are very comfortable.  However, getting a good dentist who will make good impressions so that the dentures fit properly is essential.

    Also, dentures fit best if one allows the mouth to heal completely for several months before getting the impressions and dentures made.  Most people want to leave immediately with false teeth, so they end up needing not only relines, but a new permanent pair a year or so later. That’s expensive.  

    I have a lower partial. My mouth is tiny – my impressions look like a child’s (my hat size is also a child’s size).  To get a good impression with the right shape, my poor dentist and his assistant had to take NINE impressions.  I think it set a record for their office LOL  Each one, he would look at and realize it was not quite right.    His assistant kept telling me “honest, I’ve been making impressions for 20 years, I really do know how to do this.”   He finally took over.  

    The problem, ultimately, was that they did not have a tray for the material that was the right shape and size for my mouth. So he had to alter one.  So they did the work. He also uses an excellent lab that performs to exact specifications.   

  38. lynn says:

    I have carried a purse for the better part of 30 years. It’s some old Coach thing, back when they were mainly saddlemakers. It’s worn beyond shabby chic and I need a replacement. I’ve seen something similar in the form of shotgun shell bags on Brit TV.  Do you have any idea where I could find this kind of good old-fashioned leather work? I can’t even think of a search term.

    Ladies carry purses, men carry murses.

  39. drwilliams says:

    at first I read that as nurses…

  40. Nick Flandrey says:

    I believe that most of the denture manufacturing is in china, and your stuff gets shipped back and forth.  

    Eyeglasses too.

    ——————-

    WRT sueing over speach, it’s half way down the slippery slope.   Calling some kinds of speach “hate” speach was the first step.

    And some of the examples given upthread are in fact illegal speach in places that have such a thing.  Holocaust Denial is a crime in Germany, forex.   And somewhat recently some Canadians discovered that they don’t have a first amendment either, but I can’t remember the what or why, perhaps one of our readers there can refresh my memory.

    As the meme goes, burning the US flag = protected free speach, burning the gay pride flag = prosecutable hate crime, which is bizzarro land.

    n

  41. Nick Flandrey says:

    Specifically wrt Sandy Hook being staged, we had some discussion here about that, focusing on how exactly one would know if it was or wasn’t when one is dependent on a corrupt media to tell you.   How do we know ANY of the things we think we know when we can’t trust the ones doing the telling?

    This has implications for the coverage of the ‘war’ in Ukraine, Russia’s prowess or lack thereof, the initial severity of wuflu and any other event outside of our direct experience.

    The question to ask is COULD they (someone with power money connections and friends in the media) actually stage something like Sandy Hook, or stage the REPORTING of a non-existent event? 

    Watch “Wag the Dog” again, especially in light of the wuflu and Ukraine.  It’s a good movie in its own right, and almost scarily prescient.

    n

  42. Pecancorner says:

    I believe that most of the denture manufacturing is in china, and your stuff gets shipped back and forth.  

    Eyeglasses too.

    If one had a good set of impressions, and expertise with the tool, a 3-D printer could probably make a nice set of dentures.   But seriously, once the mold (impressions) is perfected,  dentures are mostly a matter of molding and finishing.  A jeweler could probably do it.   With today’s fine materials, no longer even the art it once was. 

    Edit to add: I’m not championing that, BTW, but honestly, I’d almost rather carve a set for myself out of wood than wear Chinesium dentures.

  43. ~jim says:

    >>–on chapter 6 of book the fourth of Once and future king, with D2.  <<

    Cool! Keep an eye out for a rather hard-to-find book entitled _Mistress Masham’s Repose_. It’s something she can read on her own, perhaps when she’s a little older. IIRC, (and I could be wrong!), it’s mostly just fantasy with no adult themes.

    BTW, are you all done with the Arabian Nights? Did you read the terminal essay together? :-p

    *****
    Ohfercryinoutloud! Every time I look for a replacement for that purse (murse?) I get lost for hours and I’m not going to do it again. I just checked eBay for the first time in years and boy has it gone downhill. Vintage doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Bucklehurst Leather is on hiatus. I also looked at Kodiak, Fossil and Kombat and I’m not going to waste any more time. I appreciate the tips but what I really want is something smaller than a messenger bag, <i>like a bag for shotgun shells. Is there a name for that type of bag?</i>

    Frankly, it’s just the piping which is frayed. Well, there’s also a zip tie holding down the shoulder strap… One of these days when I find a round tuit, I’ll hunt down that guy who does tack and saddlewear and send it in for refurbishment. I called him once years ago and he had a waiting list months long.
     

  44. lpdbw says:

    Here’s a couple of results for “trap shooting bag” which would probably be better as “shotgun shell bag”.

    First this one.

    Then this one.

    I have no knowledge of these bags or suppliers.  I just had a vague idea about a search phrase.  There were many other results.

  45. EdH says:

    The gas would accumulate in the unit and every hour or so would go boom, loudly. Not enough to damage but enough to get my attention.
     

    …you really shouldn’t say things like that, it’s a waste of beverages that are already in my mouth. 

  46. Clayton W. says:

    Nick, I knew about Germany and several other countries in Europe outlawing the Holocaust denial.  UK and Canada do not have freedom of speech.  🙁

    I picked the most vile examples I could to make my point. BUT, how about some others:  Vaccine efficacy and side effects, ivermectin, origin of Covid-19, Hunter Biden’s laptop, President Trump and the Steele Dossier, President Biden’s mental health.

    MANY of those have been deemed verbotten by some and there is a Federal law suit, with expedited discovery on others.  While a private company may censor what it wishes, it may NOT do so at the behest of the government.

    Personally, I believe the safe harbor should exist when a private entity censors no content other than illegal content.  As soon as they judges some content, they should be liable for all of the content on that site.

  47. ~jim says:

    >>Here’s a couple of results for “trap shooting bag” which would probably be better as “shotgun shell bag”. <<

    Genius! That’s very much what I’m looking for. And now I’ll be lost for another hour. Thanks a lot.

    ~jim

    Who will now return you to your regularly scheduled program of weather, cars, politics and plumbing. Plumbing? Freud forgive me.

  48. Alan says:

    >> ADDED: Forgot to point out that Adam’s figures are not consistent. I know you’re as surprised as I was.

    The fools in NYFC that voted for Eric Adams for mayor deserve everything he dishes out. Happy we left there 10 years ago and while I miss some of the food (pizza from Totonno’s, corned beef from Katz’s, steak from Peter Lugers to name a few), other than to visit with two of my grandkids I really have no desire to return to that sewer.

  49. Alan says:

    >> I have carried a purse for the better part of 30 years.

    @~jim, just curious what you determine as essential that requires more space than provided by your pockets? I tried a bag many years ago but really didn’t like it and over the years keep trying to reduce what I have.

    Let me check right now:
    thin wallet – one debit card, two credit cards, $5 bill plus $100 bill, DL, professional ID
    folding knife, pencil, paper and FLASHLIGHT
    cellphone, keyring and edc

  50. ITGuy1998 says:

    We’ll, google fiber is out again. The temporary line was taken out sometime earlier today, and I was up on my original fiber, which I didn’t know until it went down and I checked. I was gaming when it went out, so it wasn’t smothering that happened hours ago. That tells me there is either a problem with the line somewhere, or, more likely, at the pedestal. I’m less impressed with tech up port, since I am getting a technician out tomorrow. I explained that the tech will take 30 seconds, check the line, and escalate. I asked to have it escalated now, but they wouldn’t. I actually cheked to see what the Death Star‘s rates were. I’ll wait u to tomorrow before I go down the path to the dark side.

  51. paul says:

    The question to ask is COULD they (someone with power money connections and friends in the media) actually stage something like Sandy Hook, or stage the REPORTING of a non-existent event? 

    To ask the question answers the question. 

    By memory, what appears to be a horrible crime by a kid addled out of his mind with psych drugs is reported. The records are sealed “because minors” and “family privacy”.  Ok.   Asking “how did the kid get the guns” is forbidden for some reason.  Oh, and shut up and give us your guns.   Then the building is razed. 

    So you are not to ask questions and then the government destroys all of what evidence there may be and hauls it to the landfill.  Yep.  Seems totally legit…. and some day pigs will fly like life is a Pink Floyd album.  

    I remember being 20.  I had an apartment and I just managed to make rent and have enough left after the utilities (electricity and phone) and bicycle tires and tubes to buy something more than Kraft and canned tuna once in a while.  How are these wild eyed young men affording $2000 rifles? 

  52. ~jim says:

    Dear Miss Manners,

       Is it ever proper for a gentleman to ask what’s in a lady’s purse?

    Dear Reader,

       Only if he can stomach the content.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrQi0ly0_0&t=79

  53. lynn says:

    Edit to add: I’m not championing that, BTW, but honestly, I’d almost rather carve a set for myself out of wood than wear Chinesium dentures.

    Call me an isolationist but me too.  We have let ourselves get deeply into business with a communist country who has almost zero moral and ethics.  We have let the EPA hound our businesses out of this country and move their foundries and assembly plants out of the USA.  We have let China import goods into our country with zero taxes with our businesses having to endure horrible taxes to import goods into their country.  

    How did we get in this situation ?  More importantly, how do we get out of it ?

  54. paul says:

    The stuff guys carry is interesting.  Me?  I ditched the wallet for a money clip sort of thing from Walgreens.  I have my DL, my passport card, debit card, Discover card, and my BS health insurance card.  It’s a little bit classier than using a binder clip. 

    Funny how I never ever used any of the 15¢ postage stamps I had in my wallet.   Or ever needed to show my SS card for any reason.  But by golly, I had that stuff.  🙂 

    As for a knife, I have an assortment of box cutters and single edge razor blades stashed all over the place. 

    The passport card could stay at home.  But when some moron at the store wants to card me for beer, and yeah, I do look young for my age, but get real, I finally do look old enough to buy beer and spray paint, so, suck it and call a manager because I ain’t giving you my driver license to scan on the card scanner.   Gotta toss a wrench into the gears when you can.

    Beyond all that, what is all this crap in my pockets at the end of the day?  

  55. Nick Flandrey says:

    I have a copy of Miss Marcham’s Repose and it is fantastic.   Wife and I both read it a couple of years ago, but I don’t think we’ve read it with the kids, mainly because they don’t know the story of the Liliputians….  but it is so timeless that I really couldn’t figure out if it was old, contemporary but in a particular style, or something else.  I had to look at the copyright (had heard the author’s name but had no further info at that time.)

    WRT the Arabian nights, we got to a point where the stories were nested 4 or 5 or maybe 6 layers deep and she lost interest.   Even I was struggling.   

    I am not quite as delighted with Once and Future as other people seem to be.  Although Book the Fourth has some VERY funny descriptions of the “dark ages” England and even has a shout out to the Canterbury Tale of the baker’s wife, who hangs her backside out the window for her lover to kiss, and he wonders when she grew a beard!  That is my favorite of the CTs and the one I read to my kids to prove that old doesn’t equal boring or stodgy.

    Over the last few trips up here I reread the first Monster Hunter International, and just finished Rimworld- Into the Rift by one of the bloggers I read occasionally.    All his books are at least entertaining, and some are very good.  

    —————-

    Ended up doing demo and electrical in the garage, in preparation for the contractor.   I had to open a whole wall, which  meant first removing some home built shelves, and then replacing two damaged studs.   I had to move electrical to replace one stud, so I ended up putting it back correctly (except that it probably should be GFCI).

    Yes, it’s all avoiding fixing toilets and doing plumbing.

    ——————-

    dog chased and bit one of the neighbors.  D1 has not been working with him.  I really don’t want to have him bite someone else and have to kill my daughter’s dog.   But I’ll dig the hole myself if it comes to that.  D1 suddenly has the motivation she’s lacked for 2 months.  I fear it won’t last, and this will all end in tragedy.  Hard to find a new home for a dog that bites people.

    n

  56. drwilliams says:

    @paul

    In the case of Sandy Hook, the perp, who had been diagnosed with autism/Aspergers,  had access to guns through his mother. There was no background of violence and no note or video, and the motivation remains a mystery.

  57. paul says:

    He’s a little dachshund?   

    I’ll get all sorta shit for getting another dog but, here I am.    Just saying. 

  58. drwilliams says:

    Biden Administration Calls For Censorship On Energy

    Gina McCarthy, the Biden administration’s National Climate Advisor, is openly calling on tech companies like Facebook and Twitter to censor any dissent from the administration’s “green” fantasies. McCarthy says the tech companies “have to stop allowing” people to disagree with Biden.

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/08/biden-administration-calls-for-censorship-on-energy.php

    These people are dangerous and should be locked up in pens.

  59. Pecancorner says:

    dog chased and bit one of the neighbors.  D1 has not been working with him.  I really don’t want to have him bite someone else and have to kill my daughter’s dog.   But I’ll dig the hole myself if it comes to that.  D1 suddenly has the motivation she’s lacked for 2 months.  I fear it won’t last, and this will all end in tragedy.  Hard to find a new home for a dog that bites people.

    I think I’ve mentioned before that there are approx 28 dogs among our immediate neighbors.  They have never been a problem because all the neighbors keep the dogs in their own yards without fail, and take care of their animals.  However, the one with the most dogs, 11 or 12, has a new one that will not stay in any fence.   The dog doesn’t bite  and doesn’t seem mean (doesn’t growl) but comes up to people and barks at us. It also won’t allow anyone to catch it.  I’ve spoken with her once, after the dog chased the exterminator, then chased me around while I was mowing.     

    It’s been so dry that I have not had to mow again in months, and I noticed the other day that the dog spends so much time in our unfenced lot that she has worn a trail.   So I’m going to have to speak with her again.  There are no laws against dogs.   

    I decided in the middle of the night that sometime in the next year I will put up a 6 ft board fence along the back property line on that lot, to match the fence that surrounds the back yard.    Hopefully that will be sufficient.  If it isn’t, well, I guess I’ll hire a trapper.  

  60. drwilliams says:

    So yes, claiming Sandy Hook was stage is protected, just like speech claiming the Holocaust never happened or that the ‘races’ shouldn’t mix.  I find all of that reprehensible, but unless they cross the line to incitement, it can’t be stopped.

    Partial quotes are so tiresome and often reek of the smell of burning straw.

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    2
  61. lynn says:

    Biden Administration Calls For Censorship On Energy

    Gina McCarthy, the Biden administration’s National Climate Advisor, is openly calling on tech companies like Facebook and Twitter to censor any dissent from the administration’s “green” fantasies. McCarthy says the tech companies “have to stop allowing” people to disagree with Biden.

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/08/biden-administration-calls-for-censorship-on-energy.php

    These people are dangerous and should be locked up in pens.

    This person needs to be fired today. They do not respect us and they do not respect the USA Constitution.

  62. ~jim says:

    >>It’s been so dry that I have not had to mow again in months… <<

    Where’s Joan Rivers when we need her?

  63. lynn says:

    “Senate parliamentarian gives OK for climate, tax, health bill to proceed”

        https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3591050-senate-parliamentarian-gives-ok-for-climate-tax-health-bill-to-proceed/

    “The Senate parliamentarian has given the green light to a $740 billion budget reconciliation bill that will reform the tax code, tackle climate change and lower drug prices, putting the Senate on track to begin voting on the bill Saturday afternoon.”

    Every time I see this the price goes up.  It was $360 billion, them it was $600 billion, now it is $740 billion.  I wonder what it going to be on Monday ?  Probably over a trillion dollars.

    Hat tip to:

        https://drudgereport.com/

  64. drwilliams says:

    The profoundly unintelligent should refrain from repeatedly demonstrating the fact.

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  65. lynn says:

    “UK Environmental Activist Urges ‘Shutting Down Animal Farming Altogether’ Because ‘It’s One of The Greatest Causes of Climate Breakdown’”

        https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/08/06/uk-environmental-activist-urges-shutting-down-animal-farming-altogether-because-its-one-of-the-greatest-causes-of-climate-breakdown/

    Why not ?

  66. drwilliams says:

    We could trim the herds back to save genetic diversity and spend a generation eating long pork from greenies.

  67. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    re: free speach* in Canada

    You may be thinking of several lawsuits involving Dr. Tim Ball. Michael “Mike’s Nature Trick” Mann brought a defamation case over a 2011 article and then had his “legal” team string it out for ten years until the courts dismissed it for lack of action. He’s hidden under his desk since to avoid paying the legal fees awarded to Dr. Ball by the court.

    *rhymes with peach, yanno?

  68. drwilliams says:

    Washington DC lightning strike that killed two delivers warning to government oath breakers

    https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1555683884318294019

  69. Rick H says:

    This is true (lightning is caused by climate change). 

    I have not seen any photographic evidence of lightning before the early 1800’s. It is only since the Industrial Revolution that lightning has occurred, proving that lightning is caused by climate change. And lightning occurs more often than before, evidenced by the steadily increasing number of pictures showing lightning.

    (Note to history fans: “The first camera was invented in 1816 by Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.”. )

    Also, see references to “Poe’s Law”. (Look it up.)

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  70. drwilliams says:

    A very persuasive argument worthy of the best arguments of the global warmunists.

    Amazingly, the same can be said of temperature.

  71. drwilliams says:

    Scientists Are Trying to Give Robots Social Skills

    https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/scientists-are-trying-to-give-robots-social-skills

    First attempt with Gates fails, trying Zuckerberg next.

  72. Alan says:

    >> Ladies carry purses, men carry murses.

    https://youtu.be/yoPf98i8A0g

  73. lynn says:

    “Harris breaks 50-50 deadlock to advance landmark climate, tax, health bill”

        https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3591216-harris-breaks-50-50-deadlock-to-advance-landmark-climate-tax-health-bill/

    81,000 new IRS agents.  Having been audited before, I sure don’t look forward to that again.

    1% excise tax on stock buybacks. I predict that companies will stop buying back stock.

    Some sort of CO2 tax on gasoline, diesel, natural, heating oil, and coal that I have not been able to understand so far.

    I see a lot of new taxes but no inflation reduction.  Raising taxes in a recession is never a good thing.

    And I forgot, a bunch of electric car subsidies for rich people.

  74. ~jim says:

    >> How did we get in this situation ?  More importantly, how do we get out of it ? <<

    Let’s say I remember the Carter years, or even the Ford or Nixon years… we wanted to be known as pals, not as a superpower, so we decoupled the allmightydollah from gold. Let’s say the unintended consequences of OPEC oil were, umm, unforseen?

    >> how do we get out of it ? <<

    TARIFFS. Frisk ’em if they can’t take a joke.  There ain’t nothin anyone can do better than an American when he has a mind to it.

  75. ~jim says:

    Homo sapiens is territorial. That’s why we’re aggressive: to protect that which we hold dear. As a species we’ll never get around that genetic fact. 

    But as neighbors and gentlemen, somewhere in that equation is/are intellectual property rights. I say, boobytrap your code. 

    For the childrens’ sake. Unless you like epicanthic folds.

  76. Nick Flandrey says:

    Shoot, lost a comment.  My end, not the site.

    N

  77. Nick Flandrey says:

    Rick’s argument is like my anti-tiger charm.   I put it in my front yard and it keeps the tigers away.   I know it works because I haven’t seen any tigers since I put it there.

    n

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  78. Nick Flandrey says:

    Lost comment included me relating that we played Catan after dinner, but it took about half an hour longer than I’d have liked due to the antics of the siblings.   Lot of taunting involved.

    n

  79. Denis says:

    what I really want is something smaller than a messenger bag, <i>like a bag for shotgun shells. Is there a name for that type of bag?</i>

    Search for “cartridge bag”. That’s what they are called in the UK. Example of a hit:

    https://www.johnshooter.com/collections/shooting-cartridge-bag

    If you are not in a hurry, keep an eye on HoltsAuctioneers.com – they have cartridge bags in pretty much every auction.

  80. ~jim says:

    @Denis

    >>Search for “cartridge bag”. That’s what they are called in the UK.  <<

    Ahhh.

    Muchos gracias mi amigo.

  81. Alan says:

    >> Rick’s argument is like my anti-tiger charm.   I put it in my front yard and it keeps the tigers away.   I know it works because I haven’t seen any tigers since I put it there.

    So we shouldn’t ask about your anti-humidity charm, huh? 

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  82. Nick Flandrey says:

    Or my anti-charm charm….

    😉

    n

  83. Nick Flandrey says:

    @paul.  thank you for the offer.  I’m really hoping that it won’t ever come to that.

    n

  84. Jenny says:

    Local writer did a brief article on Alex Jones and first amendment. 
    https://mustreadalaska.com/in-defense-of-alex-jones/

  85. Greg Norton says:

    Commenters here have bragged about cheating on their taxes. An increased number of audits would be welcome. 

    I’m caling BS on that statement unless you have very specific recent examples which came from regulars.

    Most here make every effort to comply. If not, they don’t brag about it.

  86. paul says:

    “I’m really hoping that it won’t ever come to that.”

    Me too.  I woke up last night and thought I must be crazy.  Dachshunds live a long time and what kind of crazy I would be to get a puppy when I’m about to start Medicare?  So, I should not, it’s not fair to the pup.

    Penny will be 11 in October.  She gets around pretty good.  Not as fast as she was so the random rabbit is safe.  I’m guessing by the age of my other dogs when they died, she’s got 4 or 5 years left.

    Buddy?  Who knows?  By the tartar on his teeth I’m guessing he’s 6, maybe 7.  The vet guessed middle aged. 

    It looks like I may be out of dogs when I reach 72.  Which is fine.  I want to be able to get in the truck and just go.  That a way.  Maybe over yonder.  I’ll worry about a motel when I get tired.

    I’ve had at least one dog since Beau jumped over me into the front seat of the Cordoba. Sat there like he owned the car.  He did it again the next day so I brought him home. He was dumped or escaped at the then U-Tote-M truck stop in Pflugerville.

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