Hot, yeah unto the third number place… yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And sweaty humid too. I feel like summer should start winding down soon.
Did a bunch of smaller tasks yesterday. Tried to stay in the shade and order the jobs to follow the sun, but did get stupid in the afternoon and baked my brains in direct sunlight. I’ll try not to do that again.
Today I’ve got some stuff to button up before heading home, and maybe I’ll do some electrical work if my buddy comes by to keep an eye on me. Don’t like working on electrical by myself. Power should be off, but accidents happen. Glue should be dry on my plumbing from yesterday, so maybe I can find the next break in the irrigation ‘trunk’ line up to the front yard. It sure would be nice if the buried line to the other side of the driveway was still intact…
At some point, I’ll call today “Good Enough” and head home. Probably. I’ve got stuff to do in Houston tomorrow.
The pace of work up here has been on the slower side, but that’s because it is HOT. I’m still making forward progress. Which is important.
Stack some skills along with your food and goods. You’ll be glad you did.
nick
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
Tires deteriorate from ozone more than UV. Ozone penetrates throughout the carcass, while UV affects mostly the surface. It only takes a small amount of ozone to ruin a tire.
Fortunately, antiozonants have been used since the 1940s very effectively. I have seen 50 year old military tires that are still in pristine condition after constant outdoor exposure, being parked, and no maintenance.
Unfortunately, antiozonants are not used in sufficient quantity in most tires today. They must be compounded in the various layers when the tire is manufactured. I believe the decrease in use is because the best ones are expensive and carcinogenic to workers, but have never found any proof in open literature. Some manufacturers of RV tires are now marketing tires with claimed increased ozone resistance. It will take time to see if this strategy attracts enough buyers for it to continue. Potential long life isn’t something that shows when the product is new.
Most radial tires will fail from internal separations within ten years of manufacture. The best way to reduce this is to exercise them at least monthly, a challenge for car collectors. High mileage use will avoid some of this, but even if the tread is worn in, say, two years, the carcass will be near failure at minimum (usually 1/16″) tread depth. Avoid high speeds and temperatures on old tires.
85F and sunny with a fair breeze. I feel a bit of a summer cold coming on. Either that or an allergy to something up here has my nose running a bit with thin clear snot. Joy. I’m a bit run down so for now I’m going with “cold”. I don’t think I have any Airbourne up here, but I’ll look in the OTC meds bin. I know the controversy. Don’t care, as it works for me.
It will ‘age out’ and turn to mush in the tube though if it sits too long.
n
Ah, you read my post on tires.:-)
Serious question here, not snark or the setup for a joke (either of which might be expected from me):
The commenters on this site have a wide range of knowledge and skills and experience. If a question comes up on car maintenance, household appliance maintenance, computer stuff, running a small business, Early Modern English literature, military operations, or caring for livestock, there’s a good chance that someone knows something about it and can write well enough to address the question.
We also tend to be politically and socially conservative. (By modern American standards; probably middle-of-roaders by 1960s American standards.)
Would an equal-size group of left-leaning (modern American standards) commenters have an equally broad and applicable base of knowledge and experience? That’s not what I’ve found, though I spend little time in such places.
Airbourne will kill the congestion but it won’t know how it can do that or what it was doing before being put in that situation.
My wife has the same complaint about me.
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
– the power of the sound bite, BDS, and a far left media. A boss offers encouragement to a subordinate in the beginning of a long and difficult project and it gets turned into an indictment.
That was what, the 2nd or 3rd day of the response? There were already resources in place and many more mobilizing. The Mayor, Mr Chocolate City was actively passive in the face of the disaster, rambling on the radio while his city flooded. The Governor, Useless Blanco, was primping before her TV appearance, more concerned about how she looked than signing the declaration that would legally allow the Feds to act… There is a legal framework that has to be executed before the fedgov can invade a state- which is vitally important if we want to even pretend that States have rights- and she dithered and delayed. I forget what her concern was, but it seemed trivial at the time.
FEMA has plenty of issues, and a lot of them were exposed by the Katrina response (including using political appointees to head the agency) but this was a case of ignorant (in the dictionary meaning) and indignant people with completely unrealistic assumptions and no experience flapping their lips and LOOKING for someone to blame (and some way for that someone to be BUSH, and not a woman or chocolate man…) Hmm, sounds kinda like a warmup act for T doesn’t it.
When they say you will be on your own for the first 72 hours, they aren’t kidding. In fact, they are being incredibly optimistic. Just the logistics and legal that have to happen before a single wheel rolls are staggering. Memorandum of Understandings, Mutual Aid agreements, Declarations of disaster, Declarations of Emergency Powers, bank accounts and spending authorizations, Flight plans, FAA re-opening and certifying airports, warehouses being unlocked, trucking companies and freight handlers hired and mobilized, personnel recalled or TDA’d from their regular jobs (all those USR teams have jobs at home, and they need to be covered in their primary job of firefighter/cop/EMT for their home citizens– just getting Leviathan to wake is staggeringly complex, let alone getting him to MOVE.
“Lessons Learned” from Katrina and every disaster response get folded into the mix for the next time. Most agencies now have MOUs and MA agreements executed and on file ahead of time. The fedgov is better at getting the States to do the paperwork and make the declarations ahead of time. Every wonder why the Emergency Declaration sometimes happens before the storm even makes landfall? Katrina and Blanco are why.
Just getting IDs and timecards set up takes time. All those response personnel still get paid, and no one wants bad people to take advantage of the situation and impersonate responders. The Red Cross and ARRL are still hammering out MOUs, as are RACES/ARES with their served agencies. Freaking background checks and IDs and training requirements eat a massive amount of time.
For an alternative, look at the Harvey response. Self mobilized, self supported, FEMA and Red Cross told “we got this” (whenever they got in the way of an immediate response). Need trucks? HEB has trucks. Need food kitchens? HEB has food kitchens. Need boats? Sports Authority has boats. Need busses? The ISD has busses. Need clothes, diapers, formula, and cleaning supplies? EVERY church and neighborhood FB group staged collection points and distribution points.
Just one example of something that the boots on the ground hadn’t considered- How do you navigate an urban/suburban environment in high water vehicles, improvised high water vehicles, and small boats when the flood water is above the street signs? When the only indication that there MIGHT be a street where you are is that there aren’t buildings? If you’re the Cajun Navy, you put out the appeal for GPS units and Key Maps so every boat and truck has a fighting chance of getting close to where someone has called for help. Freaking soldiers/natguard didn’t have enough NAV to get them around.
City Streets and Sanitation dump trucks don’t typically have GPS units. Forget using your phone when it can’t d/l a map (H/T to greg for his info about loading open maps). If you have a “go bag” and you volunteer with ham radio, red cross, CERT, or another group, do YOU carry a stand alone GPS with the charger?
Arg. I’ve got to start my day. Memes* are important. Maybe far more important than I’ve thought, or most people think. LONG after the events are forgotten the memes are still influencing people.
n
*memes as in the original and correct meaning, not just “funny picture on the internet.”
It’s an interesting question, and I doubt my ability to find a good answer. That’s because of confirmation bias and my lived experience. My memory, which is human and thus fallible, tells me that the majority of the self-starter competent people I’ve known are constant learners, people who do things in a wide variety of pursuits, aren’t afraid to pick up new hobbies or areas of interest, and are right-leaning. Many of them also have rough edges. The most common thread is they like to figure out how things work and how things are made.
When I deal with left leaning people, they are narrow-minded, and in the words of Alton Brown, “unitaskers”. They do one thing, and that’s all. It usually involves being a bureaucrat or in some position of control. They are smooth and urbane, until they learn you don’t agree with them 100% on everything. My picture of them mostly involves them trying to figure out how to control other people, rather than how things work.
But maybe there are competent, knowledgeable, and experienced people on the left, and I just never see them due to the swarm of tattooed, pierced purple hairs surrounding them.
How would you test your question?
I haven’t found that either. I have to “work” with academics* a lot in our business. Almost exclusively left-leaning, if not very left-leaning. They seem knowledgeable in their academic area but don’t stray far from that lane in their overall life experience. There are exceptions with music and sports hobbies/activities.
*I’m not just talking teachers, but advanced degreed professionals (MS, Ph. D.) A narrow range on the left side of the house, but we work with a lot of them. Generally nice, until you hit a hot “woke” button, then ugly “I’m right, you’re wrong” rhetoric with very few facts to back up the topic. I find the advance “degreed” have little real-world experience. The older academics usually are classic liberals and will have an intelligent discussion with you. They are slowly dying out or putting on a “woke” facade to fit in. Social media “woke-nouns” are ruining what’s left of academia.
The whole pronoun thing started with politeness, (and humoring the insane) and has ended with bullying.
Eventually, the little yap dog is going to be kicked across the room (metaphorically.)
n
Michelle Obama could be America’s next President
Speaking of dogs and work avoidance…
I had two companions on my dock last night, that I’ve never seen in the neighborhood. Both wearing collars, both out loose all night.
A friendly white scottie dog, and a very sweet grey pit bull mix with a tail and ears. I picked up the pack while walking my dog, and they hung out with me until I came up to go to bed. They spent about an hour trying to dig some animal out of its hole in the ground den, after cornering it in a brush pile. The barking was nuts. Judging by the tail wagging, there is nothing in the world as good as cornering prey…
n
Classic liberal, non-urban, especially rural, tend to have good skill sets. University, no. Urban, no. Second gen less, and by the third generation hopeless. Good friend of mine in college wanted to build some bookshelves. I cut the wood, we were going to assemble at his parents. Needed a drill. Didn’t have one.
“Judging by the tail wagging, there is nothing in the world as good as cornering prey…”
second to rolling in dead things
The whole pronoun thing started with politeness, (and humoring the insane) and has ended with bullying.
Eventually, the little yap dog is going to be kicked across the room (metaphorically.)
CNN Lectures People On The Use of Neopronouns
CNN could better use the time to educate their viewership on the proper conjugation of the verb “to see”: “I saw him” not “I seen him,” etc.
Wow, that article has some zingers in it. And some really unconscious bias mixed with the conscious bias…
– that right there should be concerning, if not terrifying. WHOSE FINGER is on the button?
– not even average.
–natzzofast monkey boy. WHO SAYS Trump is an “unpopular” nominee? The attendance at his events and the signs, hats, flags, etc say otherwise.
And here is a blithe statement that should strike terror into hearts, as his simple acceptance of this signals the complete collapse of Western tradition and rule of law.
– lose an election, lose your life or freedom. That’s the end of the Republic.
Ah, sweet conspiracy theory. Not a great comfort to find out it’s true after all.
“outside the Constitutional framework” = dead Republic.
– “spooky” – hmmm, given that BO himself is nothing but a puppet, who is really pulling the strings? (Don’t think so? He had no money of his own. No base of his own supporters. He came from no where, did nothing, and yet somehow became President of the United States. How did that happen? He and his family have ties to subversives going back decades, subversives that themselves are being run by others.)
yaknow, when they talk among themselves, the truth comes out…
n
I’ve found that my liberal friends on the lower-income side of things can at least change their own oil, change a tire, and keep their gardens alive. That’s probably not true of the closer-to-the city or younger folks that have been taught that they can’t do anything manual, but I really don’t hang in that crowd much.
OTOH, I have known a lot of academics on the higher end of the income scale. I remember leading a church forum where I was the token moderate, and most of the attendees were tenured professors and researchers at the local university. When I started talking about some simple math we can do to see if the latest shiny “green” thing was actually good for the planet, several of them piped up saying that they don’t do math. It was stated like it was a badge of honor for people that were teaching college kids and doing some kinds of research. They did not like my conclusions one bit. After the forum, a couple of them who had been quiet the whole time came to me and started asking questions. We had some good conversation then, but I was left with the impression that they felt they could not question the narrative in front of their peers. This has probably not improved in the intervening decade and a half.
These people express their guilt of their privilege, but have no problem having PFTS for any kind of menial task that they feel is beneath their status. To be fair, I know some well-off “conservatives” that complain about open borders but have no problem hiring Jose and his undocumented crew of workers to do their landscaping or clean their homes.
The depth of knowledge of this little group is truly extraordinary; I have learned so much.
The casual approach: find a general-interest forum which leans leftward and talks about any variety of topics, not exclusively gaming or whining about work or whatever. Comment from time to time so that I’m a known presence. Watch for questions and discussions of the type that come up here, such as tires wearing out. Ask a couple questions or make leading comments myself, like on the difficulty of finding a reliable appliance repairman because my fridge/freezer is iced up again and monitor the responses.
A more systematic approach: Put together a questionnaire asking participants to self-rate their expertise in a wide variety of fields both practical and theoretical. Present it to both left-leaning and right-leaning groups and invite responses. This would suffer from Dunning-Kruger, deliberate lying, and self-selection but I don’t have a practical improvement. Sociologists might, though the replication crisis and other problems raise doubts about their skill and honesty.
The original question came in part from the car/tire talk yesterday and today and in part from the quotable observation that any needed skill can be found in an infantry brigade/Marine division/legion. (Pournelle mentioned variations of the idea several times but he didn’t originate it.)
@stevef, I thought about it and discovered recently that, other than family, I really don’t have any group of predominantly liberals that I associate with.
Ham radio and my non-prepping hobby are both right/conservative leaning. The school parents we talk to are as well, and even the few teachers that we’re on more than a “Hi Ms Davis” level with are right of center.
Texas has it’s own selection bias though, at least for now.
—-
second to rolling in dead things
–oh there was much throwing themselves down on the ground and joyfully rolling around. I’m guessing deer poop, or urine. I ended up giving my dog a quick bath before bed time. He got covered in mud and “dirt” after getting soaked by the sprinklers.
n
(and I don’t have any dog shampoo up here. Noted.)
“Brownie” was hilariously underqualified to run FEMA when Bush nominated him in 2003.
Cabal member. Not “Kenny Boy” rank, but more like “Marmalard”.
Yup, they all have been. But would it have been instantly recognizable 20 years later if not for the meme?
n
Here’s a change of pace. From one of those quotes of the day spots, supposedly a Greek proverb.
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
I like that thought.
I recently saw a tree I grew up with that is now failing. It is a lot older than me, and probably beyond help.
Eat vomit and cat poop are high on the list, too.
In meatspace, I don’t have anyone outside of family that I associate much with, regardless of political or social leanings. I’m cordial with most of the neighbors and delivery people and am willing to lend a hand if asked but I don’t stop and chat. Online, I’m in several forums on various non-political and non-social topics, which are overwhelmingly occupied by liberals and exclusively moderated by liberals, as evidenced by off-hand comments which have nothing to do with the topic under discussion. (To be fair, the lopsided moderation and warnings of “no politics in the group!” which fall only on non-liberal statements could well be discouraging non-liberals from commenting.) Back in the long-past days before the dempanic, I’d have coworker near me, and be unable to avoid listening to their constant babble.
Given the limitations on my interpersonal interactions, I agree that conservative-leaning people are more likely to be knowledgeable in a variety of fields both practical and academic. They are also more likely to be tolerant of dissenting opinion or reasoned conclusion. However, given those same limitations, I didn’t think that I had enough data to work from.
The meme works in “Brownie’s” favor as he’s been given far too many chances to make a career work as a talk show host over the last decade, the latest attempt airing locally on the Clear Channel “gas shortage” meme station out of San Antonio every Sunday in the late afternoon.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown resurfaced working with George P. (Diddly) Bush should the spawn of Jeb! ever make it to the Texas Governor’s Mansion or one of the Senate seats.
My Dad is a New England Democrat, with all that implies. He is also one of the most competent people I know in any subject he cares to learn. He ends up a leader in every group he joins.
No, I can’t understand how he can be so left leaning and still be competent in such diverse fields as construction, programming, wood-working amateur radio, auto mechanics, and home repair.
““Brownie” was hilariously underqualified to run FEMA when Bush nominated him in 2003. “
Compare and contrast FEMA responsibilities with the current unqualified lawyer heading DOE.
Sure had great stock trade timing, though.
At Warriors Path state park for the next four nights. About 120 miles from my house, take 2.5 hours to make the journey. Consumed 13 gallons of gas to get here.
The place we are in is obviously a newer section by the looks of the asphalt and the really new looking electrical boxes. The website says there are no 30 ampere connections, just 50 ampere. I have an adapter. Turns out I did not need the adapter as there are 30 amp, 50 amp, and two 15 amp outlets each with their own breaker. Water of course. We picked this area because it has sewer hookups. Several people here with only about 5 sites empty from about 40 to choose from.
Seems like a nice place. Odd arrangement for getting the park ranger station. You have to go past, turn around in the pool parking lot and come in from the opposite direction. The GPS instructions put you square in the middle of a neighborhood so obviously wrong. Email from the park provided directions to follow instead. Seems strange the GPS has the location wrong. Apple and Google maps have it correct.
High today of about 82. Rain tonight. No WiFi which most state parks with trailer camping areas have. So I am using my cell phone tethering feature. Ain’t technology wonderful?
LOL
Judge sides with activists in world-first climate change trial: State of Montana violated kids’ rights by ignoring global warming, court rules
How did they prove this? This needs to be over-turned. Next the kids will sue because Montana didn’t provide enough electricity…
Serious question here, not snark or the setup for a joke (either of which might be expected from me):
The commenters on this site have a wide range of knowledge and skills and experience. If a question comes up on car maintenance, household appliance maintenance, computer stuff, running a small business, Early Modern English literature, military operations, or caring for livestock, there’s a good chance that someone knows something about it and can write well enough to address the question.
We also tend to be politically and socially conservative. (By modern American standards; probably middle-of-roaders by 1960s American standards.)
Would an equal-size group of left-leaning (modern American standards) commenters have an equally broad and applicable base of knowledge and experience? That’s not what I’ve found, though I spend little time in such places.
This place is a slight echo chamber of conservative voices even though Bob told me that I was not a conservative since I believe that Medicare is not Welfare. We have thrown out several voices for being woke and personal attacks.
Robert Heinlein said “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/12051-a-human-being-should-be-able-to-change-a-diaper
Driving down from Nashville to Memphis last month, I exited the freeway to check a 512 area code call, and I realized I had turned off directly into a Tennessee state park of some kind. Now I don’t even remember the name since I was focused on what I thought was an emergency call
No emergency – The Toyota dealer wanted to schedule an oil change … on a Sunday morning?!?
The state does have a lot of parks and refuges scattered around.
My Dad is a New England Democrat, with all that implies. He is also one of the most competent people I know in any subject he cares to learn. He ends up a leader in every group he joins.
No, I can’t understand how he can be so left leaning and still be competent in such diverse fields as construction, programming, wood-working amateur radio, auto mechanics, and home repair.
He is what we call an old school Democrat. Texas was old school Democrat until 1986 or so. Old school Democrats are good people.
Then there was a sudden sea change in Texas because the Democrats in Texas got crazy all of a sudden. I remember my grandfather taking me to a political rally in Sherman, Texas to hear Phil Gramm, a recent convert from Democrat to Republican, speak in 1985 or so. I was wearing a TXU ball cap, Phil Gramm sought me out after his speech because of my cap, shook my hand and told me I worked for a good company.
Exit 137 leading to the Duck River Unit refuge looks about right. I had to do a u-turn in the intersection of that road leading to the marina in order to get back on the freeway.
“Saturday Snippet: The Truce of the Bear (both of them)”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/08/saturday-snippet-truce-of-bear-both-of.html
“Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem “The Truce of the Bear” in 1898. He apparently always intended it to be an allegory of how untrustworthy the Russian Empire (and, later, the Soviet Union) was in international relations. According to the Kipling Society, he “wanted it to be read in a political sense from the very start and would have much preferred it to come out in The Times: ’Put it in as “sporting” in the (sic) Times and save 20 quid’, he pleaded. ‘It will be smothered in Literature’. He was intent on making its political meaning clear, deliberately courting controversy: ’Put I wanted the row in The Times, and all the virtuous people who believe Russia to be civilised calling you names’.””
There is no truce with the Bear.
I am still waiting for the first nuke to be thrown. It may not be long.
“Uncle Sam Has a Plan to Secure Your Smart Home. Here’s Why We’re Skeptical.”
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/new-government-plan-to-secure-your-smart-home/
“The smart home often gets a bad rap. People worry that their devices are snooping on them or sending personal data to nefarious companies. Or that their every move and purchase is being tracked. Or that some creepy rando can talk to their kids through their own security camera.”
So Uncle Sam is going to ensure that there is only one back door into your home, theirs. Right….
Be sure to eat at Pal’s – good hamburgers and hot dogs and fries. The original location in downtown Kingsport has picnic tables to eat at.
https://www.palsweb.com/locations
If you like pizza, Italian Village, located on the second floor in the Fort Henry Mall is great.
Bays Mountain is a city owned park with a small nature center museum and lots of walking trails. They also have a nice planatarium.
“Tesla’s Unrealistic EV Range Estimates Revealed in Testing”
https://www.extremetech.com/cars/teslas-unrealistic-ev-range-estimates-revealed-in-testing
“Unlike other EV makers, Tesla doesn’t account for road conditions when calculating range.”
My cousin’s 2019 Tesla 3 is fairly close to his 310 mile range estimate when driving around Dallas. I am not sure about his highway estimate.
Adding in road conditions might require some prediction of the future. I do know that my cousin’s Tesla 3 will alert him when it cannot reach a preset destination without charging.
Ain’t sweating it. I have no control over the crazies running the country.
But after a few nukes with hopefully a few on DC while Congress is in session, and the grid goes down…. gonna be bad times as the parasites leave or die off.
Grumpy? Moi?
How far in advance? 50 miles from ‘E’?
Until Target and Tesla built the supercharger stations in Medford, OR, the in-laws would never make the trip up from San Francisco to Portland if the Thanksgiving weekend forecast was below 40 degrees in Grant’s Pass. The car couldn’t handle the climb combined with the cold, but I don’t know if it was the vehicle telling them that or their experience.
Michael Eades complained about range for his Tesla driving from Montecito to Santa Cruz, and a reader pointed out that there were 2 factors in his reduced range. One was that on an open road, you get no benefit from regenerative braking, since you don’t brake.
Here’s the other:
How far in advance? 50 miles from ‘E’?
He was driving down TX 183 / 87 from Austin to Victoria to my parent’s house in Port Lavaca and the display suddenly told him that he was two miles too short of charge to make it to the Supercharger in Victoria. It told him to go east on I-10 to Sealy to the Supercharger there. So he had to go about 40 or 50 miles out of his way to the Supercharger. It gave him a 80% charge in 15 minutes.
He should have supercharged in Temple or Austin but did not think about it. That is the problem with EVs, you always have to have your next charge in mind.
The good thing is that Tesla is looking at your next charge but it may tell you a little late to optimize the charge.
CEFCO has a charging station in Salado. I saw it when I stopped for gas heading up to the comic show last weekend.
The big downside to Salado is that the town is fiercely anti growth so your food and time killing options are limited within walking distance of the station.
Buc-ee’s in Luling doesn’t have a charging station?
Luling is BBQ mecca with 4 or 5 landmark places depending on how you count so I’m surprised that he had to go that far out of the way to find a charger.
Yes, Salado is like that on purpose. Good for them.
Pflugerville is a perfect example of how the metro borg assholes from Austin eff up a nice little town.
I remember when there was a pasture of cows on the other side of I-35 from Highland Mall. Now it’s all whatever, full of crap, no cows, no fields of corn, all the way past Round Rock.
And yeah, I know the same assholes are coming for Burnet.
“Two Princeton, MIT Scientists Say EPA Climate Regulations Based on a ‘Hoax’”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/two-princeton-mit-scientists-say-epa-climate-regulations-based-on-a-hoax-5460699
“Physicist, meteorologist testify that the climate agenda is ‘disastrous’ for America”
The article is paywalled. I could see it once but I am now blocked. Maybe you will get to see it once.
CEFCO has a charging station in Salado. I saw it when I stopped for gas heading up to the comic show last weekend.
This was two+ years ago. Things have changed since then.
I do not know if Telsa shows non-Tesla chargers on their display. Knowing Musk, I would guess not.
We stopped at Buc-ee’s in Crossville on our trip to Nashville on Saturday. I arrived and noticed several chargers occupied with Teslas. I got gas, went into the store, got something to eat, ate, went back into the store to look around. When I left these people were still waiting at their chargers. I would probably be well past Lebanon by the time they finished charging.
Block Javascript.
I think this is the paper referred to in the article: Happer and Lindzen
The upside of Pflugerville being such a planning mess is that it inspired new laws, particularly restrictions on new toll roads.
ACC screwed up the Highland Mall turned college campus by selling the parking lots for Soy Boy apartment buildings close to the light rail. What a trainwreck.
Everything in Austin is getting bulldozed for Soy Boy housing.
Block Javascript.
12ft.io works.
The Salado CEFCO has official Tesla chargers. They show up on the map on the Tesla web site now.
The non-Tesla chargers tend to be hit or miss in terms of maintenance. Once Berkshire Hathaway assumes full control of Pilot/Flying-J next year, Buffett’s plan is to dominate that business and build a moat.
>> (and I don’t have any dog shampoo up here. Noted.)
You can substitute baby shampoo, and it costs less. And with three females you may already have some. Mix up a handful of instant oatmeal (plain) in a bucket with some water for the rinse – soothes their skin if needed.
Lots of hard feelings persist in those communities from the Trans Texas Corridor boondoggle and I-14 project.
The boss at the CGI office in Belton worked the politics all up and down the I-35 corridor since the office only made money with the tax breaks and subsidies from various levels of government. I think he even sits on the Belton ISD school board now.
I heard lots of stories about the politicians in Williamson and Bell Counties from him.
When I was working there, the boss’ kids were in private elementary school, but they must be pushing college age now. Certainly high school.
>> We stopped at Buc-ee’s in Crossville on our trip to Nashville on Saturday. I arrived and noticed several chargers occupied with Teslas. I got gas, went into the store, got something to eat, ate, went back into the store to look around. When I left these people were still waiting at their chargers. I would probably be well past Lebanon by the time they finished charging.
Possibly not in any rush and just Level 2 charging? Level 3 should get you 75-80% from close to “E” in 15-20 minutes.
Level 3 is a serious investment which gets kinda rare in the boonies. One anti-growth measure popular here in Texas is a severe restriction on utility infrastructure so no one is tempted to do an end run around the local governments when they inherit grandpa’s farmland out near the Interstate.
Plus, Buc-ee’s is all about the tax breaks and subsidies, using someone else’s money to build the stores. I’m actually surprised they offer charging at all since the chain is big on No Loitering at the core of their business model.
he can be so left leaning and still be competent in such diverse fields ;
–I think the reason that is surprising is that modern Leftism/Progressivism forces you to ignore reality to a truly shocking extent. They believe in all kinds of things that are demonstrably false (diversity is our strength, humans are improvable, signs (ie magic and incantation) work, talking about doing something is the same as doing it, etc) and to be good at real world things, one usually must be clear headed and rational about how the world works.
The left end of the political spectrum has been captured and corrupted by the left end of the social spectrum, and that has led to crazy… double speak and double think, cognitive dissonance, and a form of functional schizophrenia that people have written about in the Soviet Union. You are forced to act as if you believe things are true when you know they are false, and that can break something inside you. A man can’t become a woman. A woman can’t become a man. They can cosmetically alter themselves, adopt the stereotypical mannerisms and behaviors and outward traits, but that doesn ‘t change their fundamental nature. To insist otherwise is madness and bullying. To BELIEVE otherwise is mental illness. The social left has a newsstand full of issues where they demand the same belief in lies as truth.
Good memes point out the absurdity of simultaneously holding opposite views.
n
>> The Salado CEFCO has official Tesla chargers.
Tossing around the possibility of upgrading our LEAF. The Nissan Ariya is one possibility but the ubiquitousness of the “TonyCharger” network tends to want to at least test-drive a Tesla.
Home. Wife and kids are home too. They were in the Boston area with her family for the last week. They enjoyed the cooler weather.
Dog went nuts running around the yard and house.
They are all tired from a very early travel day, I’m feeling more under the weather. It’s pretty quiet here at Casa De Nick, and headed for nothing but the sound of snoring, sooner rather than later.
n
>> Would an equal-size group of left-leaning (modern American standards) commenters have an equally broad and applicable base of knowledge and experience?
The PLTs always seem to be yelling that ‘the sky is falling.’ Whether it be global warming, Trump, banning “assault rifles*,” absorbing the latest pronouns; and self-selecting their on-line watering holes to the ones where they feel welcome. As to the level of intelligence, hard to tell as I don’t tend to, as Groucho said, join clubs that want me as a member.
* (didn’t see this mentioned here) https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4149346-illinois-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-assault-weapons-ban/
Ford and GM cut deals with Tesla. I thought Nissan did as well.
I’d be surprised if Nissan didn’t have a deal or one in the works to use Tesla’s stations. My theory on Disney sticking to the release date in November for “The Marvels” is that they were paid by Nissan to have Brie Larson’s waist in theaters when the car maker is running Ariya-as-empowerment ads during footall season.
I have one question for anyone who doesn’t believe in the power of crystals: Have you ever tried crack?
You forgot to mention EG.5, “Eris”, “a fast-spreading new COVID variant which is sweeping across the United States as cases and hospitalizations rise.” We’re all gonna die! Except the people who have been wearing masks when they’re in the cars by themselves. They’ll make it through because they trusted The Science!
I have one question for anyone who doesn’t believe in the power of crystals:
– or crystal meth… when crack costs too much…
n
Finally had a chance to look up “Brie”.. she looks like an actress that has “paid her dues” with a crapton of indy and non-commercial successes… Funny that she was cast as a highschool kid so often when she was homeschooled…
Reading thru the wiki, there HAS to be another reason for her almost magic ability to NOT make it big.
Her political agenda fits with modern disney, anti-Trump, anti-gun, anti-cop, always anti- something. Other than abortion on demand is there ever a list of things they are FOR?
n
Free stuff: free housing, free healthcare, free phones, free food, free spending money, free education
Tucker Carlson
“Ep. 16 RFK Jr. explains Ukraine, bio-labs, and who killed his uncle”
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1691228480556429312
>> The non-Tesla chargers tend to be hit or miss in terms of maintenance.
The closest CHAdeMO Level 3 charger to us is about 15 minutes away in the parking lot of an outdoor mall. There’s exactly one charger and it also supports CCS. Plus it’s in a convenient parking spot. The one time we needed it (we crept the last half mile in ‘turtle’ mode) we were lucky enough to find it available and not out of order and not blocked by an ICE vehicle. Oh, and btw, at the other end of the parking lot are a dozen SuperChargers.
Nissan missed an opportunity when they didn’t switch to CCS for the LEAF.
And Brie assured me personally that the Ariya is switching to NACS for 2024 😉
>> Free stuff: free housing, free healthcare, free phones, free food, free spending money, free education, reparations.
FIFY
Brie Larson peaked in “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”. It has all been downhill from there.
“Scott Pilgrim” was supposed to be a huge film but flopped. That entire cast has paid a price.
>> * (didn’t see this mentioned here) https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4149346-illinois-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-assault-weapons-ban/
List? nah, the gooberment ain’t got no stinkin’ list…
All the ‘gory’ specifics… https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K24-1.9
We don’t have a Reichstag, so what are the Dems planning for the last step?
The pool is open…how many points does he go up in the next poll?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/14/us/georgia-indictment-trump.html
I’m taking my snot filled head to bed.
Others here have the conn and the hammer if need be.
n
High-profile criticism of the state of urban decay in San Fran and The Pitt did not make the news beyond the borders of those towns. Wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The “high-profile” Democrats that make such discoveries and try to sound the alarm have no intelligence, at least if intelligence is measured in part by critical thinking and the ability to link cause and effect.
The Chinese are running out of Uighurs to enslave. I wonder if we could cut a deal? Wall up SanFran, let the Chinese run squads to impress the “homeless” drug addicts into the joys of ifone assembly in a foreign land, and have the sentence for street crime, shoplifting, assault, car jacking and other urban pestilence be a similar opportunity.
I’d add illegal immigrants to the sweeps, but that might be a bridge too far. A good rumor and some coincidentally disappeared would probably create a stampede for elsewhere.
You could track success by following the cost of lawn services.
Block Javascript.
That worked. Then my Tucker on Twitter died. So I turned javascript back on.
Tucker Carlson
“Ep. 16 RFK Jr. explains Ukraine, bio-labs, and who killed his uncle”
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1691228480556429312
Wow, I cannot decide if Bobby Kennedy, Jr. is for real or not. He is incredibly convincing.
If I decide he is for real, I may cross over to the Democrat primary and vote for him. Trump does not need my primary vote in Texas, he will win the Texas primary easily.
The pool is open…how many points does he go up in the next poll?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/14/us/georgia-indictment-trump.html
This is shameful. I want to say that this is not the America that I grew up in but I remember when they murdered Bobby Kennedy in 1968. I was eight years old and my Mother was driving us around in our VW van to go to the grocery store when the notice came on over the radio.
I put 29.5 gallons of unleaded in my truck today for $99.00. $3.35 per gallon. Bidenflation, you gotta love it.
Absolutely true. Unfortunately, this happens on both sides of the political spectrum. If you find yourself in amidst a bunch of unquestioning Trump fans, try criticizing any aspect of his presidency or current candidacy. It will not go over well, which is to say, most people will avoid doing so.
There was a bit on the news last night about the number of battery-production plants being built in Europe. My wife asked the rhetorical question: “that’s great, but where’s the electricity going to come from.” My cynical, eco-warrior answer was: “out of the plug, of course!”
There is a serious disconnect in green politics, and we are starting to see significant in-fighting. For example: not far from us is a deep valley left by a glacier that has retreated over the past few decades. Dead, nothing but scree. There’s a plan to dam the valley for hydroelectric, as a storage facility to offset all the solar going in.
So we see one set of green organizations pushing for this, because “green power” (FWIW, I am also in favor of the dam). Meanwhile, other greenies are up in arms: “You’re drowning a beautiful valley, destroying the landscape, etc.” Seriously, where do they think the electricity is going to come from?
Here, an in many places in Europe, most people are renters. There is a serious problem with property owners being unwilling to install charging stations. Renters who want to buy an EV have no sensible way to charge it on a regular basis.
It’s a money-making opportunity for the property owners: charge +50% or even +100% over the actual cost of the electricity. Tenants could charge their cars comfortably, while parked overnight. Everybody wins. I really don’t understand why this isn’t happening…