Cool now but hot later here at the BOL. It got plenty hot later in the day yesterday, and I was sweating like crazy in the attic. Today I’m hoping to avoid the attic.
My main task yesterday was running the pex in the attic and down to the kitchen. If I stub out the kitchen, or just end the run, I can pressure test, as soon as I connect the stub out in the bathroom. Dang it, I’m going to be in the attic anyway. I forgot to connect the bathroom. I knew there was more I needed to do while I was already covered in fiberglas… now I’ll get sweaty and filthy again. Maybe I’ll get it done early, before it gets so hot up there. Pro tip, if you are going to be working with fiberglas, cover any exposed skin with talcum powder. Wipe smooth with hand. It will fill pores and stop most of the fiberglas from getting in your skin and itching. Works for insulation or when working with resin and fiberglas, like on a boat. Plain white ‘dryer sheets’ wiped across your skin will catch and remove any fibers that do get in your skin. I like Bounce, but any of them will do. Those two tricks will remove most of the discomfort from working with fiberglas.
I discovered while in the attic that there don’t appear to be any roof vents. There are soffit vents, but nowhere for the hot air to exit. I thought I was just unfamiliar with however they vent a metal roof, but from the inside, I don’t see any venting at all. I’ll have to ask the roofing company about that. Every roof I’ve ever seen has venting (except panelized cathedral ceiling.)
I also spent a little time on other things. I sanded a bench. Pressure washing raised the grain, and eroded some of the softer part of the wood slats. I did a quick and dirty sanding with the angle grinder. It’s smooth, but worn. Matches the rest of the condition, so it’s ok. Next time, the slats will need to be replaced, and I’ll refurb the cast iron end frames then. Until then, call it ‘shabby chic’.
My wife did some electrical, disconnecting the hall bathroom receptacle, installing light fixtures, tracing the circuits, and then installing a new fixture in the living room. That was while I was in the attic doing plumbing.
I think I’ve got a good solution for attaching my cell booster antenna mast. I picked up a basketball backboard mounting kit, and I’ve McGyvered the bracketry to clamp to a pipe and give me a place to clamp the mast, while extending it out past the roof overhang. Feels like it will be very sturdy, and should work. We’ll see, right? At the moment, the mast, an extendable painting pole, is ratchet strapped to the chimney. Redneck as all get out and it has to move soon, so I can start taking down the chimney.
If the guys come today, we’ll work around them. If they can’t get the part they’re waiting for, I’ll see them later in the week. Wife and kids head home later today. I’ll stay until I know the schedule has changed. I may pause the fishing… and let my back recover.
Progress is being made. Skills and contacts are stacking up. Do some stacking of your own…
nick
Actually, I read the article on the WFLA-TV site. “Amish” was the speculation on my part, based on the location of the bar and time of the night/morning, but I haven’t seen any confirmation on that guess.
Either it is more lazy reporting from Nexstar, whose studios are just a couple of blocks away from the incident, or deliberate omissions so they could put the story on their internal national wire last night. “Crazy Floridians With Gubs At It Again. Film At 11 On Action News Rockford Illinois”.
If you want really icky speculation about what kind of party the wedding guest might have gone looking for, the Tampa bathhouse used to be just up the street. He should have just hailed a cab, those guys know, but who takes a cab anymore?
Even though the new WD Black drive in my primary desktop is the same model as the previous drive, the performance seems a lot different. I always wondered if something was wrong with the old one.
Rehab on the desktop continues. The Windows 7 partition began life in 2010, and, since it is Enterprise and not upgradeable to Windows “Pro”, 10 or 11 without losing applications and settings, I have to clean house before installing a new motherboard. Windows 7 will hard crash at boot up on hardware from the last five years or so thanks to an agreement between Microsoft, AMD, Intel, and the manufacturers designed to EOL the operating system.
Lots of fun stuff in that partition I forgot about from two grad programs, C++ at UW, and a lot of free time in Vantucky. My instructor server account at the last university still works, but once I confirmed that, I quickly disconnected. The analyst in the department, my former boss who backed into the more technical position through a political trick, is not 100% qualified for the gig as well as paranoid, and the new (well, five years – time flies) supervisor who replaced him came from the English department.
Which reminds me – Appalachian State lost to my Masters alma matter here in Texas this weekend. IIRC, the school has more scholarships for the drill team than football. Granted, drill teams in Texas are a very big deal, but still.
$90 million might be cheap if Jimbo is wreaking the kind of financial havoc he did in Tallahassee before dragging that Christmas tree to the curb.
Thanks. On release, you couldn’t do that. It must have been fixed in an update.
This weekend is also the traditional time for attempts at the Cannonball Run record. We should find out today if someone set a new time.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/g35016829/cannonball-run-cross-country-records/
Lots of “shovel ready” projects in the 2010s, particularly in the stretch across Missouri, made decent times tough to accomplish. The Pandemic, however, was a boom time, especially right after lockdowns started.
They moved the start-button? Why? Change for change’s sake. One of the reasons I moved away from Windows…
My flag is up for Indigenous Peoples’ Day (actually since Friday).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l6nkxMm1tTSX2C6gHlPxSAqnU3IYoume/view?usp=sharing
Because they can. Probably had a few dozen clueless dolts involved in some usability testing. People that have no idea what CTL-C and CTL-V can be used instead of mouse clicks.
Or some clueless programmer screwed the pooch and it was too late to change the base code. So rather than a flaw, bug as it were, it became a feature.
I use Start11 from Stardock software that works really well for a lot of customization. Never had a problem with the product. I also use their Fences product to keep icons in contained blocks on my desktop. That works really well. Both products not expensive and from my perspective highly recommended.
Yours must be the large print version. I think my agreement is two point type, somewhere in the last 237 pages of the agreement which gives the cardholder no rights whatsoever.
Today is Columbus Day.
Celebrating a man who got lost and never reached his intended destination. Never discovered North America.
70F and 65%RH this cool sunny morn… the foundation company sent one crew to do the traditional concrete hydraulic piers today. I guess the part/machine still hasn’t arrived. The work is minimally disruptive.
Hash browns (reconstituted this time, not frozen patties) and sausage links, egg for me… breakfast of campers…
n
What are these “ads” of which you speak?
But seriously, run an adblocker! Or use Brave.
G.
I manged to locate a car electrics shop that knows SEATs. But they’re busy, so the earliest I could get an appointment was today, Just under 30 miles away, so on London roads, at the end of rush hour, it was a 45 minute drive. But the battery was flat as a pancake – no results at all.
So I had to call the Automobile Association to request a roadside repair. I’ve been a member for 40+ years, so such are free. Just pay for the parts. Or, in this case, replacement under warranty, since they replaced the battery 3 months ago. I wasn’t expecting that, since the old battery was destroyed by a vehicle fault. But I’ll take it.
The street address is misleading – “High Road” conjures a vision of a fairly major thoroughfare. No such luck, it’s a side road. But once there, they were quite willing to look at the car and its radio.
I was instructed to find a cafe to kill the time, and directed to a street with several, “We’ll call you when we have news.”
2 hours later comes the phone call, “Diagnosis complete. It’s the radio. We can fix it, meanwhile you can take your car back, minus the radio, with a big hole in the dash. We’ll call you once the repair work is complete. Bring the car back then, and we’ll refit the radio.” That should be in a couple of days. And they don’t do the major surgery needed to fit an aftermarket radio. So it’s repair the OEM box, or nothing, as far as they’re concerned.
When I drove home, the aircon was going full blast – remember the climate control is integrated with the radio on this car. But I can live with that, presuming the phantom current drain is fixed.
G.
re user agreements, I essentially never read them in full anymore. I scan them for a clause to the effect of “this agreement may be modified in whole or in part at any time at the sole discretion of The Company”. If it contains that, then none of the rest means anything.
Woke Worf?
“We’re all gonna die.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo2V1cSVj-w
If I were interested in finding a complete conservative suit of clothes suitable for wearing while attending a wedding, not my own, and I wanted to cheap out and go to a thrift store or other used clothing shop in Houston, where would you recommend?
After this wedding, and perhaps one more wedding in the next 5 years, the next time I’ll wear a suit is probably when being shipped to the crematory. Hence the cheaping out part.
Aimed at Nick, but I know there are other frugal people from Houston here.
Can you rent a suit? Might be cheaper to rent a nice(ish) one than to buy a cheap one.
Speaking of Star Trek: I just finished “Avatar: Book ” which is the first real sequel to Star Trek: Deep Space 9. I’ll start Book 2 this week. Who knew there are about 25 pulp novels with ST:DS9. I found them all in the big, free, library know as the innertubes. Book 2 brings back Sisko and Odo.
My Lord and Savior, Mr. SteveF, is smart.
I do. The ads come via email.
I noted this last week, but it is worth repeating – “Star Trek: Lower Decks” did a nice DS9 mini reunion recently, with Nana Visitor and Armin Shimerman providing voices for their respective characters.
Nothing heavy, but it was interesting. “Lower Decks” is canon and, unlike the other current “Star Trek” productions, the writers have a deep love of the Stage 8/9 era.
@lpdbw
I applaud your wisdom and thrift.
My wedding dress came from a thrift store. It was lovely and well under $50. As I recall it cost more to have it cleaned and pressed than the dress itself. My sister made husbands vest from a skirt in his families tartan. Added simple white dress shirt and dark slacks and he looked marvelous. Wedding rings came from a pawn shop and Costco. Food was made by several dear friends who were well skilled cooks. We went light but high quality on the alcohol. Our big splurge was the pro wedding photographer. Huge myth that one need in-debt oneself to get married.
Thrift stores in Alaska often have decent suits and other formal wear, especially if you start shopping well ahead of the need by date. I’ve noticed that the ‘chain’ thrifts like Value Village and Goodwill have gotten ridiculous in pricing so you may do better with independents. Poke around your area, you’ll find something good.
Also, most thrifts up here give you a 20% off coupon if you drop something off for donation.
Pro tip, if you are going to be working with fiberglas, cover any exposed skin with talcum powder.
Be sure to get the talcum powder that does not have powdered asbestos in it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62514263
Yes, that was an awesome episode. Well, most of them are.
I binged all of DS9 over the last 8 weeks, including the documentary.
If there is a Deseret Industries in your area, they will have suits. We LDS like suits, and we tend to donate there if one is close by.
You might find some newer ones, as it can be a source for newly called missionaries who are on a budget.
There’s a few of them around, including one in Houston: https://www.deseretindustries.org/locations/2172488 .
My wISP is dead today, from 8am at least. The billing portal is up via cellphone but not the chat site. Nothing through the normal connection… then again, Burnet sold the wISP’s meter to PEC last month and boom, it all went down while PEC did their thing. Nice. Zero notice from either electric company. Much professional.
I found a USB mouse, it was in the last place I looked and it works. The mouse port on the ps2 to USB gizmo seems dead. Lights the light but that’s all. I might return it to big river.
I’ve poked around in win11 today and uh, it’s not as much of a steaming pile today. Haven’t found how to see other desktop shares. I’ll get there. It’s one checkbox away. I just forget where it is.
It looks like little things are gone. Like adjusting the width of scroll bars. And hey, can the windows have borders beyond a change of color from one shade of white to another shade? Anyway, the interface is pared down to “looks like android flat”. Not a fan. Most of the 3-D stuff is gone and we have what looks like a 5th grader would draw on graph paper.
And the task bar is stuck at the bottom of the screen when it should be on top of the screen like a proper menu bar.
We’ve been through the series … four (?) … times since the pandemic started.
The documentary is interesting in that it establishes the show was in trouble at one point which seemed to motivate the shift in writing to making the back end of the series a set of tragedies following the episode “The Visitor”.
Drag the task bar to the top. And Robert is your dad’s brother.
There is a setting to adjust the scroll bar width. The googles knows.
New machine seemed to run hot yesterday. It was sort of warm today, my phone gets hotter.
I suppose running setup and all that would cause it.
This. I don’t understand big weddings. We dressed nicely, went to the justice of the peace, then had a nice dinner with immediate family – under 10 people.
Compare that to a cousin of mine, whose parents are not well off, but couldn’t say “no” to the golden child: A catered event for 700 people. It put a serious dent in her parents’ retirement savings.
@paul – tweaking Win 11 ? There’s an app for that: https://winaero.com/winaero-tweaker/ .
Does various hacks, including registry hacks, without getting into the registry. Has some good reviews; have not used it (but might).
Thanks Rick.
Not a fan of posting from my phone. Spellchecker does weird things.
Can’t tether to PC because USB is messed up. Can tether, in theory, to new machine. But I’d rather not use my cell plan to d/l FF.
For nice clothes I like MAM, Memorial Area Ministries, thrift store on Blalock north of I 10. Ie, west side of town. I got an awesome italian suit for my aunt’s funeral there which I’ve worn several times since, and they always seem to have nice suits. I bought enough Brooks Brothers dress shirts for $3/ea to literally last the rest of my life. They only take local donations at the store and their member churches, and only put out the nicer stuff. When I’m shopping for myself I always look there. They are posted 30-06 and 30-07, but I don’t think their signage is compliant. Normally I avoid businesses that post, but they do take the step of providing armed security (most times of day.)
The Deseret Industries that I visit is on the north side, FM 1960 just west of 249? Very nice clean store, with quality stuff, but I’ve never looked at their suit rack.
The goodwill retail stores are hit or miss, but if you are in the Memorial area, or Galleria area, I’d give them a shot. Salvation Army is usually smelly.
In general, Goodwill in a nice neighborhood will have nicer stuff, although I was told that all donations go to central and then are spread around, I still think a lot of local donations just go directly to the rack. I know that happens if you donate at a Surplus outlet, it goes right into the bins.
For new, Men’s Wearhouse was always the goto for a decent set of clothes at a decent price, don’t know if that’s still true, or what happened after they went bankrupt.
Serendipity and luck will play a part, and you might make a couple of visits. The best part of thrifting is getting something nice or very nice for little money. Don’t buy Old Navy or Gap at the thrift when quality is priced the same!
n
I don’t know what specifically that is in reference to, but it’s no doubt correct. My awesomeness is a heavy burden but one that I willingly bear.
I hadn’t thought about it until moments ago, but with all the furor by the freaks to replace “mother” with “birthing person”, what’s the equivalent for “father”? “Inseminating person”?
We had ice in standing water this morning, and the dahlias and tomatoes are wilted and sad from a hard freeze.
Brought tge last of the bagged rabbit waste up to the driveway. Spread three more bags on raised beds. Sent three bags home with a friend. Got another couple bags to spread.
That’ll catch me up on poop disposal.
I need to finish winterizing the coop. Need to disconnect and store hoses. Need to prioritize what I can reasonably get done before Friday. The snow has covered the Chugach mountains and is nearly to their base.
Winter is breathing down my neck.
Funny, I thought about that. If I go to try on suits, I’ll probably leave the gun in the car anyway. Too much hassle managing it in the changing rooms and I don’t use my enigma much, yet.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’m mobile in West Harris county, so I can check out most of those places.
And I’ll look into SteveF’s suggestion too.
I managed to leave my iPad up at my brothers place. He said he might bring it down at Thanksgiving…
The old iPad Air 1 that I retired years ago to Pandora and Audible duty is doing its best, but isn’t up to the computational load of many current web pages, or even this comment box.
The lag in most places is quite noticeable.
The iPhone 11 works OK, as does the 2018 Mini, so it isn’t a big deal.
Looking at the old bookmarks is interesting. A lot of link rot. Much of that is individuals who jumped (or were pushed) from Blogger.
>> There is a setting to adjust the scroll bar width. The googles knows
Scroll bars in W11 are narrow by default and expand to ‘normal’ width on hover-over. Not sure if that was the behavior in W10 as I skipped that version. Haven’t looked for an ‘always wide’ setting. TBH, as the years tick by and the PC is more and more a tool, most times I find it easier to adapt rather than try to fix. YMMV 🙂
Yep. So true.
Started building PC’s in XT days, was a Slackware on 30 floppies user, now I just hold my nose and try to use whatever insulting POS the oligarchs see fit to push on me.
“Ordinary people are stepping in and doing the police’s job for them.”
And not just in the context of “climate protesters.” Just finished reading this, which was published in 2001.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Bottom-Worldview-Makes-Underclass/dp/1566635055/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=life+at+the+bottom+by+theodore+dalrymple&qid=1665441036&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjE3IiwicXNhIjoiMS44NCIsInFzcCI6IjEuODIifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=life+at+the+bottom%2Cstripbooks%2C180&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc&tag=ttgnet-20
in which the author describes a Britain much like the USA today, Woke elites, an ill-educated underclass, and a police force that’s forgotten that its mission is to arrest lawbreakers.
Aaaaand it is snowing.
I love a good turn of phrase or three:
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/10/10/democrat-senate-disaster-ahead-n2614173
Being Mr. “Poor Gabby Giffords” shouldn’t have been enough to get him elected anyway, but with at least half the electorate too ignorant to vote responsibly, it’s just another day in the USA.
My Apple Watch Ultra came in today. It comes with a mini Mason Jar with a replica Steve Jobs head in it. On to Elysium!!!
I’m shocked…let me tell you…utterly shocked…
Business Insider: Student-loan forgiveness was ‘determined in secret,’ new lawsuit says.
https://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-lawsuit-student-loan-forgiveness-secret-buy-votes-november-biden-2022-10
I’m shocked…let me tell you…utterly shocked…
Yahoo Finance: ‘This truck can’t do normal truck things’: YouTube star says towing with Ford’s new electric pickup is a ‘total disaster’ in viral video
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/truck-t-normal-truck-things-143000359.html
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/10/10/ny-times-how-californias-high-speed-rail-project-became-a-loser-n502284
*Cali, of course
It just might be enough to get the Senator reelected.
The McCain family considers that seat to be theirs. Since Meghan McCain didn’t run this time, they may prefer a Dem to be in that seat to challenge in 2028.
The McCain family can join John and extend the darning socks franchise.
A US that is majority Latino would sure change the social and political landscape for blacks…
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/racist-rants-los-angeles-latino-councilmembers-leaked-new-audio
They don’t particularly care for the entitlement culture…
n
Well that sux. I’m officially pushed back to next week, Monday or possibly Tuesday. The adapter part they need still hasn’t shipped, and earliest it could be here is Friday.
I think I’ll be heading home tomorrow. Plenty to do there too.
n
Apple packaging is always interesting. Watch is bigger than I would like. Let us know how it goes.
Yes, and in 2010, Teddy’s family – and the debate moderator – inferred that this was the “Kennedy seat”. Scott Brown won the debate by saying “This is the PEOPLE’S seat in the Senate”. McStain and his family can piss up a rope if they think that this is the “McCain seat” in the Senate.
“When Sorrows Come: An October Daye Novel” by Seanan McGuire
https://www.amazon.com/When-Sorrows-Come-October-Novel/dp/0756412560?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number fifteen of a sixteen book fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by DAW in 2022. Reputedly the sixteenth book in the series has a severe shakeup of the series, I can hardly wait to buy the MMPB when it comes out in 2023.
Many hundreds of years ago, the many of the fae left a far off land and landed on what would become the west coast of the United States. There they built their realms and fought their wars, both on the land and the sea. The humans do not know of their realms and their travels but, humans do not see everything. This is their story.
October Daye (Toby), a Hero of the Realm, is marrying Tybalt, king of the cats, in the realm of the High King Sollys outside Toronto. After an arduous journey, they arrive to find the things are not as they seem in the realm. As predicted, October is wearing a bloody dress when she and Tybalt are married.
Please note that although the author and I share the same middle and last names, I do not know if we are related. We are McGuire’s, there are many of us. I paid for my book and all of the books that I own written by her.
The author has a website at:
https://www.seananmcguire.com/
My rating: 4.4 of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,297 reviews)
I’ve enjoyed the October Daye series. The shorts head off into LGBTQWERY territory and it feels forced, but the novels are pretty consistently good, if you like that sort of thing (majic and fantasy set in the real world).
I really liked her Newsflesh zombie books, didn’t care for the Parasite books. Really like the inCrypted books.
She has a whole other series I haven’t tried yet that no one seems to push or recommend, don’t know why. I’ll get to it at some point.
—————-
bedtime!
n
We’re not that far, yet. The tomatoes have given up fruiting, because of low temps, but they haven’t frozen yet. Partly sunny this week, so we’re good for another little while.
This Saturday, we’re holding a Texas BBQ event for a neighbor’s 60th birthday. Hoping for good weather, even if chilly, so people can be outside. After that, Winter can come…
——-
In other news, climate protesters here have also started gluing themselves to streets. I do hope that the police aren’t bothering with solvents. If the protesters leave a little skin behind, maybe they’ll learn faster. They are welcome to protest, but not by messing up other people’s lives.