Hot again, with a chance of rain. It was hot and clear yesterday, but cooler in the shade with a nice cooling breeze off the lake. We are very fortunate to be on the downwind side of the lake, and the breeze comes into our cove and up the hill past the house. That side is cool in the shade. The other side of the house doesn’t get that breeze and is stifling.
I had a nice breakfast with the family, then got to work. I knocked out a couple of easy and quick things to get started. One was adding a screen to the garage door opening. It’s not a complete seal, but if it blocks 90% of the bugs it’s totally worth it. It attaches with velcro to the bottom of the door, and has straps to the side rails. There is a seam held together with magnets in the middle that works very well.
I unloaded the truck, moved some things around, but I have some more to do today. The youngest child ran the pressure washer most of the afternoon, cleaning the driveway, a rug, and the side patio. She likes it, it’s “so satisfying” to see the dirt blown away. She was in shade for most of the work, and the mist is very cooling. Eldest child was mostly doing cleaning inside but also brushed all the spider webs off the outside of the house.
I spent the late afternoon and early evening running the string trimmer doing all the edging and cleanup that I’ve been in too big of a hurry to do the last three times I cut the lawn. The clean edges make a huge difference in the appearance of the property.
Spent some time floating in the lake to cool down and even did some fishing around dusk. Didn’t catch anything though.
Today my wife will be working remotely using the Starlink, while I do more cleaning and organizing. I think I’ll concentrate on the garage and shed. They may go home tonight, and I might stay until Tuesday morning. Mostly it will depend on if the weather is nice. Wife wants to stay up if it’s nice. The forecast has a chance of rain, but we’ll see. This area is outside the local forecast areas, and the lake and geography means we don’t get the same weather as surrounding towns anyway.
I’ve got a generator carb to clean before I put it away, and lots of tree limb stuff to do if I run out of motivation or parts, or decide to switch it up and work on other parts of the list.
Stacks provided a lovely Father’s Day dinner, kerosene for the lantern, cleaning supplies for the rug, and gas for the pressure washer and trimmer… They’ll help you too. Stack it up…
nick
For the most part, we don’t get involved with the training of the models. We just supply the hardware and the admin firmware.
The big kahuna vendor recently announced an acceleration of their product release cadence so the pressure is on to move as many of their chips as possible before the next generation rolls out of the fabs.
BTW, a lot of people I work around in the building get hung up on the recent movements of the company stock price, but it is largely irrelevant to me.
The house A/C is acting up. Normally, in weather such as this, based on last year, the unit would run for about 50 minutes, then be off for 10 minutes. Extend that time some when the temperature gets to 96 or so. The unit was able to keep the house cool and satisfy the demand, which was usually a one-degree change, by running for almost an hour. The house was comfortable.
Not anymore. Friday, Saturday and Sunday the unit started running at about 2:00 and ran for six solid hours. That is very unusual. Something is wrong.
The A/C tech is arriving tomorrow to see what is going on with the unit. The initial guess is maybe a little low on Freon. The unit should not have a leak as it is a “pack” unit with everything outside the house. No piping connections other than what is done at the factory. The guy at the A/C office said it is possible as the condensers will sometimes develop a minor leak from vibration.
The unit is 15+ years old. The average lifespan is 12 years. I know the owner of the A/C office and last time we talked he said I was running on borrowed time. I think he jinxed the system.
If there is a leak, I will replace the system. I have already replaced two capacitors and the condenser fan. I am not going to toss any more money into the system.
I am probably looking north of $12K for a new 4-ton system. The good news is that installation should not take a lot of time, if the A/C folks can get a unit.
The conservative strategy at this point should shift to making sure that nothing keeps FJB from being nominated in two months.
There should be a concerted effort to tie the fiscal disasters of Cali and Illinois to their respective governors, so that the first thing associated with their names is the certainty that they would like to be in a position to push a bailout for the deficits they ran their states into.
I paid $10k for a 2.5 ton 1H1C Trane last Spring. If you want gas heat, you will pay $$$.
The Honeywell 8500 thermostat we had on that unit suddenly went bonkers last Summer, not long after the install, and lost the ability to accurately read the temperature, resulting in the unit running continuously during daylight hours. Fortunately, I didn’t let the contractor install a system requiring a “smart” sensor so $60 at Home Depot resolved the problem late on a Sunday afternoon.
I had to remind the contractor’s crew three times during the installation that we were not accepting the “smart” thermostat. I smell an incentive from Oncor.
California will get bailed out regardless of who wins. Too many pensions and 401(k) plans depend on the Fantasyland valuations of the companies and real estate on the West Coast but particularly in CA.
FAANGs and Microsoft are most of the stock market right now, and 10% of my VTSMX dividend tax bill for 2023 got paid on proceeds from REITs.
Yeah, Texas and Florida have a piece of that action, but not like California.
Illinois will get done under the cover of the next “emergency”.
If the suspect had been white, this story would have been on the national wires.
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/round-rock-juneteenth-shooting-update-police
When we lived in Florida, the cops used to dread the weekend before Juneteenth, particularly in the city of St. Petersburg, where the “Chunky Sunday” event (I’m not kidding about the name) on or before June 19th usually featured at least one shooting every year.
No “smart” thermostats here. My solar space heat and evaporative AC do best with a constant temperature setting, because they don’t have the excess capacity to raise or lower the temperature in the house or garage shop. Both buildings have a lot of thermal mass.
When we go away in the summer or winter, the systems run the same as if we are home. In the transition seasons, the systems are off. Shutting down the solar means covering the collectors, a simple manual job.
Now reading the Rick H book “The Red Rock Redemption”. I have a lot of coincidence with. The story takes place in southern Utah, an area in which I have spent a lot of vacation 4 wheelin’ and camping. Also, the good guy’s GPS device is a Garmin inReach Montana 750i, one of which I also have and use in the back country.
Currently, I have read 25% and am quite pleased with it.
Coffee today was vac sealed and frozen in 2020. The grounds were lacking in aroma, but the taste is fine. It was a private label medium roast to start with, so not dark as coal, or super premium. Better than instant.
Had a bacon sandwich for breakfast.
Currently 90F sunny with some breeze.
My late night took it’s toll this morning. No cramping though, so I must be only a little bit behind on hydration. I”m trying to be careful.
—-
Follow Uncle Remus, Colonel Cooper, and Scott Addams for advice regarding who to surround yourself with, and you’ll miss 90% or more of the drama and risk.
n
Strategy? What strategy?
If you assume the “Party of Stupid” will make every mistake possible that benefits the “Party of Evil” you probably can’t go too far wrong.
>> Strategy? What strategy?
While FJB is busy
doing debate prepsleeping, they’ve let the Kamel out of the tent…https://thehill.com/policy/international/4724004-kamala-harris-white-house-us-aid-ukraine-1-5-billion-new-package/
I pushed the Toro walk behind string trimmer up the driveway and back. Wear sunglasses, it throws stuff everywhere. About 900 feet one way. I did just the grass in the center of the driveway.
Tomorrow I’ll do the sides of the driveway with the push mower. It’s self propelled and it mulches. There are several knee high mesquite trees popping up. Best to kill them now before they get taller.
Read the first page and decided the best adjective was speechless…
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/us/politics/trump-2025-democratic-resistance.html
Winds are currently in the 30s, gusting into the 40s, here in the high desert. I am glad I did a good job on the weed abatement this year.
The big fire in Lebec is generating a steady parade of fire-fighting aircraft overhead, but it is 40 miles away. More concerning are several small fires we have had within a few miles of me in the last week, we might have a firebug out here.
I do the webmail for my account to see what is in the Spam folder. Today I had one that said this:
Nope. Unless he means the AEA or TEA logos. He doesn’t say what picture is his. But I can send him money via Bitcoin. I don’t know how much, maybe that’s encoded in the link?
His lawyers are going to contact me. I’m skeered.
Well, something different from the usual trash.
“Majority of Studies on the Topic Indicate Covid Injections DO Cause Menstrual Problems — BMJ Review”
https://www.infowars.com/posts/majority-of-studies-on-the-topic-indicate-covid-injections-do-cause-menstrual-problems-bmj-review/
Not good but seems to be temporary.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
I do the webmail for my account to see what is in the Spam folder. Today I had one that said this:
Nope. Unless he means the AEA or TEA logos. He doesn’t say what picture is his. But I can send him money via Bitcoin. I don’t know how much, maybe that’s encoded in the link?
His lawyers are going to contact me. I’m skeered.
Well, something different from the usual trash.
We are getting crazy stuff now. Mostly about packages stuck in transit, just click on this innocuous site to sort it out. Nope.
As long as they’re not watching you watching pron.
“Tesla kicks off legal fight to reinstate Musk’s pay”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-kicks-off-legal-fight-142948945.html
“McCormick also has to determine a fee for the shareholder legal team before Tesla can appeal her ruling to the Delaware Supreme Court.”
“The shareholder’s attorneys are seeking around $5 billion, in the form of Tesla stock as a legal fee and Tesla argued they should be paid around $13.6 million.”
Wow, those lawyers are very proud of themselves. I would argue that they should not be paid anything.
The A/C tech is arriving tomorrow to see what is going on with the unit. The initial guess is maybe a little low on Freon. The unit should not have a leak as it is a “pack” unit with everything outside the house. No piping connections other than what is done at the factory. The guy at the A/C office said it is possible as the condensers will sometimes develop a minor leak from vibration.
The unit is 15+ years old. The average lifespan is 12 years. I know the owner of the A/C office and last time we talked he said I was running on borrowed time. I think he jinxed the system.
If there is a leak, I will replace the system. I have already replaced two capacitors and the condenser fan. I am not going to toss any more money into the system.
I am probably looking north of $12K for a new 4-ton system. The good news is that installation should not take a lot of time, if the A/C folks can get a unit.
All heat exchangers eventually leak due to vibration. It is the nature of the beast. You have two heat exchangers in that package system. I cannot tell you how many heat exchanger tubes that I plugged as a junior engineer. Hundreds.
I replaced the north a/c unit 3.5 ton Trane 19 year old at the office last year with a 4 ton Ruud heat pump. $16K. Works well and cuts the cost of heating significantly in Jan – Mar.
I still have a 20 year old 3.5 ton Trane on the south side of the office building. I also have a 20 year old composition roof that I am thinking about replacing.
I forgot to mention last night, I really like this little eton shortwave radio, but it’s a battery hog. My big tabletop radio will run for a year or more on 6 D cells. This one needed 4 new AA cells last night. That’s a couple of months of occasional use.
n
As long as they’re not watching you watching pron.
Not how they do that. I don’t have a camera connected to my PC.
Not sure how they do that. But you know what I mean. Hopefully.
Cheap and/or old batteries from the stacks?
xkcd: 1.2 Kilofives
https://xkcd.com/2946/
Not everyone is happy with Lincoln’s numbering skills.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2946:_1.2_Kilofives
One of the immediate reasons that DIS is hovering just above the 200 day moving average is that the attempted final purge of Uncle Remus at the Magic Kingdom in Florida was done on the cheap and proved to be wildly unpopular upon the debut of the retheme.
I’m not buying that DIS is at 101 because “Inside Out 2” sold a bunch of tickets over the weekend.
Consider getting two sets of rechareable NiMH AA cells and swapping them out of the charger into the radio regularly.
Disposable AAs just don’t provide the current, especially an initial startup surge like the audio amp on the radio.
“People think Medicare is going bankrupt”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3047274/people-think-medicare-is-going-bankrupt/
“People are pessimistic about Medicare’s longevity. Roughly 7 in 10 adults under 65 say they’re “worried” or “extremely worried” the program won’t be around when they need it, according to a new Gallup poll.”
“That may come as no surprise. Medicare expenditures exceeded $1 trillion in 2023. They’re on track to grow by roughly $930 billion over the next decade. The program’s Part A hospital insurance trust fund will run out of money in 2036, based on current trends.”
That is a lot of money.
I think that the federal government in the USA is going bankrupt this decade.
“Does Biden care more about Ukrainian lives than Israeli ones?”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/3045676/biden-care-more-about-ukrainian-lives-than-israeli-ones/
“President Joe Biden has been wrong on matters of foreign policy for his entire career.”
“He was wrong on the Soviet Union, wrong on the first Iraq war, and wrong on the second Iraq war. He oversaw the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. He emboldened the world’s largest funder of terrorism, Iran. He built Hamas a delivery port and handed terrorists hundreds of millions of dollars worth of supposed aid in food and medical supplies.”
Something is strange about Biden’s care for Ukraine. I think he cares more about Ukraine than the USA.
“Raphael Warnock Launches Despicable Attack on Christian Trump Supporters During Interview (AUDIO)”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/06/deplorable-radical-leftist-georgia-senator-raphael-warnock-launches/
Wait, didn’t this guy run over his wife intentionally with his car ?
Biden is not making these decisions. Biden is being manipulated as much as a puppet gets manipulated. The debate will be interesting to see where Biden melts down. What I don’t know is if earpieces are going to be allowed, and if not, will Biden’s team sneak one into the debate. Of course, the media will be all over Trump and his exaggerations and ignore the bumbling’s of a senile old man.
The federal government is already bankrupt. If you or I had the same level of debt, percentage wise, we would be officially bankrupt, assets seized and sold by a bankruptcy court, whether it was our choice or not. If a bank had that level of debt the bank would be insolvent. The federal government will not go bankrupt, just further in debt. By the time my son is SS (which he will probably not receive), every man woman and child will owe over $200K each.
Georgia Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for Raphael Warnock being in that seat and then getting to keep it for six more years.
Trump impeachment 1.0 was all about Ukraine.
The Vindman twits -er- twins were born there and emigrated young.
Eugene Vindman is running for Congress in Virginia this year, and even a lot of Dems are not happy about that.
The Virginia 7th, bedroom communities for the Warfare Industrial Complex at the south end of the Fredericksburg Extension (FredEx) express lanes on 95.
Cruise to work at The Pentagon, Quantico, Boeing, and Raytheon on the FredEx.
“IT BEGINS: Kansas Sues Pfizer — State Alleges Company Knew of ‘Serious Adverse Events’ Yet Marketed COVID-19 Vaccine as ‘Safe’”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/06/it-begins-kansas-sues-pfizer-state-alleges-company/
“The complaint, lodged today in Thomas County District Court, accuses Pfizer of misleading Kansans about the vaccines’ risks, including potential harm to pregnant women and the risk of myocarditis. The suit further alleges that Pfizer falsely claimed its vaccine was effective against COVID variants, despite evidence to the contrary.”
Pfizer will probably counter-sue for damaging their reputation.
I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read this.
Pfizer’s reputation?
From Brave’s AI when I searched for “Pfizer fines”:
And I didn’t know any of this stuff when I refused their “safe and effective” jab.
I tried that with a set of power-hungry trail cameras. The rechargeables weren’t able to supply the required voltage, even fresh out of the charger. I had to send them back to Amazon.
Which is a major reason why I spend to much at Amazon; if it doesn’t work or doesn’t fit or doesn’t do what the package promised, they’ll take it back for a full refund without any hassle.
1.5V AA Lion batteries have hit Amazon. Perhaps they can meet your needs. Internal circuitry drops them from 3.7v to 1.5v. Worth a try (and return).
Those fines were not paid by Pfizer, the fines were paid by exorbitant drug prices.
The really crazy thing about the jabs is how, early on, they were subject to arbitrage as much as the handling limitations would allow.
Even up to the point that the Supreme Court struck down the mandates for large employers, the concierge medicine crowd was making plans to purchase infrastructure and cash in on everyone needing that paperwork quickly despite a lot of doubts being raised throughout 2021.
Sorry; NON-rechargeable. And these are pretty pricy.
And the reviews of that product aren’t very positive. Most say that they don’t last as long as regular batteries.
Wanting Quiet Is White Supremacy or Something
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/06/17/wanting-quiet-is-white-supremacy-or-something-n3790430
This Could Be The Biggest News of the 2024 Campaign Yet
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/06/17/this-could-be-the-biggest-news-of-the-2024-campaign-yet-n4929943
Biden does not have the physical strength or mental ability to go to the can unassisted, much less jet around and make stops in multiple states in a single day. Jill will not stand for it–she knows that as wife of a losing candidate she has a lot of prestige and power, but as a widow she has little and income from the family criminal enterprise goes to zero. The calculus for the rest of the family is simple: no Joe, no pardons, and the Trump DOJ is not going to be putting them in ClubFed rooms with a view.
The perfect reversal of fortunes for the NYFC court corruption would be to nationalize Rikers Island and put FJB in the cell they were measuring for Trump, with the wing filled up by Merchan and the rest of the corrupt gang.
Maybe if Trump doesn’t need a science advisor I can get a job heading up the prison library. I could give them all copies of a couple books they haven’t seen before–U.S. Constitution for Democrat Criminals and The Fedealist Papers–and require they pass a test before they got any spicy magazines.
https://alphanews.org/theres-a-concerted-effort-to-make-people-afraid-of-crime-moriarty-claims/
Yeah, the real danger is that not every gay, woke, commie district attorney is getting their fair share of Soros money.
“Fate’s Edge (The Edge, Book 3)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Moon-Edge-Book-2/dp/0441019455?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number three of a four book paranormal romance dark fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Ace in 2011 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. I have purchased the successor book and will read them soon.
“The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny…”
Audrey Callahan has lived in the Edge all of her life. She is an excellent thief and lock breaker. But her family lives off thieving exclusively and she wants to have nothing to do with it. Especially when her junkie brother sold her to his drug dealer.
Kaldar Mar is one of the surviving members of the Mar family from their previous encounter with the Hand, the horrible secret service of magic users from the Duchy of Louisiana. Kaldar now works for the Mirror, the secret service of magic users for Adrianglia. And he has been given an assignment to retrieve a pair of magic bracelets that can store magical energy for the user. But he needs help and Audrey is not a willing partner, plus the two young men who have stowed away on his 120+ foot long winged wyvern.
The authors have a website at:
https://www.ilona-andrews.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (3,113 reviews)
Lynn
Nigel Farage on Net Zero: “The Whole Thing is about Charging Us More Money”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/06/17/nigel-farage-on-net-zero-the-whole-thing-is-about-charging-us-more-money/
Get Out the Popcorn – NYS Heat Wave Might Affect the Grid
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/06/16/get-out-the-popcorn-nys-heat-wave-might-affect-the-grid/
Farage seems to have a good handle on it.
I suspect a lot of New Yorkers are going to be getting a handle on it too late.
Fuel oil has been a large percentage of the Northeastern winter heating market for decades. Single family homes typically have storage tanks that are filled once a season:
https://www.environmental-law.net/2013/11/11/new-yorks-quirky-rules-for-heating-oil-storage-tanks/
Budget properly, fill the tank in the summer before the price goes up and you’re good.
Now the green weinies want to make those people dependent on electricity being available in the winter for heating.
I have no doubt that a week of cloudy windless days will be called “extreme”.
Extra credit problem: Size a residential storage battery that can hold the equivalent heating energy of a 500-gallon fuel oil tank. As always, state your assumptions and show your work.
I suspect Trump has already chosen one, a guy that Trump has been calling repeatedly. A fellow named Elon Musk, who apparently has a pretty good reputation with rockets and cars. And tunnels.
https://redstate.com/sister-toldjah/2024/06/17/jamaal-bowmans-primary-woes-get-worse-after-ritchie-torres-flattens-him-in-dispute-over-israel-support-n2175605
Ace should use that as a Quote of the Day.
Extra credit problem: Size a residential storage battery that can hold the equivalent heating energy of a 500-gallon fuel oil tank. As always, state your assumptions and show your work.
That is a trick question ! There is no such battery that can take a New York State winter.
The requirement of the battery to remain within the temperature range of 59 F to 85 F is a killer for New York State’s winter. And charging of the battery will be used up in heating the battery to remain at a minimum of 59 F.
And no person in their right mind will put a lithium battery in their basement. The offgassing and potential for fire are just too dangerous.
Ok, but commies and eco-weenies don’t fit the restriction you gave. “Right mind” indeed.
“I suspect Trump has already chosen one, a guy that Trump has been calling repeatedly. A fellow named Elon Musk, who apparently has a pretty good reputation with rockets and cars. And tunnels. “
Elon could probably do an excellent job in a couple hours a week, but I’d be available to chair the meetings and defenestrate the gasbags. I’d also recruit some help:
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/06/17/how-the-science-is-created-n3790396
How Legendary Spy Novelist Frederick Forsyth Learned He’d Been ‘Bowdlerized’
‘Did you know that select passages have been removed from The Fourth Protocol?’ His eyebrows shot up. ‘I did not.’
https://thefederalist.com/2024/06/14/how-legendary-spy-novelist-frederick-forsyth-discovered-hed-been-bowdlerized/
I don’t know if this story will grow legs, or if Mr. Forsyth will decide to pursue it. A major change in a published work by a top-tier author without his permission is black swan territory.
The first U.S. hardcover edition is ISBN 0670326372 published by Viking/Penguin and has a largely black dustjacket with an illustration that includes a white/gold fountain pen and a red hammer and sickle. It was readily and inexpensively available on eBay when I first read this article on Monday. I may have had a copy already but purchased another just to be sure.
That reminds me – Whatever happened to that tunnel Musk planned to dig between South Padre Island and the SpaceX Boca Chica launch facility?
A few thousand deaths during a blizzard when the overloaded grid fails in subzero temperatures.
The irony will be that most of the dead will be found in houses with oil tanks out back which were never removed after the installation of the heat pump systems since the remediation of the toxic materials would be too expensive.
Morning Joe Has Become America’s Baghdad Bob
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2024/06/17/morning-joe-has-become-americas-baghdad-bob-n2640547
What happened to Joe Scarborough?
Started as a RINO and self-immersed in a personal and professional TDS environment for years.
If you see him at a party ask if that’s a laptop stuck in his throat.
ADDED: Maybe he’s spending time with Mark Cuban now that Mika is …
I suspect that the water table is too high, that close to the Gulf. Or perhaps, still waiting for an environmental impact statement.
>>“People are pessimistic about Medicare’s longevity. Roughly 7 in 10 adults under 65 say they’re “worried” or “extremely worried” the program won’t be around when they need it,
Where’s Uncle Bernie when we ‘need’ him? Napping next to FJB I guess…
Had a nice night on the dock.
Radio wasn’t great, but there was activity on 40M, it was just barely out of the noise though. And 20M was down in the noise. Even WRMI in Miami was fading in and out on 9.455. I did catch their “report from Ukraine” which was all about the approval to use western weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia, not cities or civilians, but ammo dumps and staging areas- according to them. This is a pretty big escalation, and not good news.
Sky was pretty clear, but the moon is bright. Still, I spotted Antares in the heart of the Scorpion, and could see the entire constellation with my wife’s help and an app. It filled the sky from the tree line to the moon and I could see all the bright objects from the claws to the tip of the tail. I think that might be the first time I saw an entire constellation and knew what it was. Pretty cool.
It’s 75F and there is a gentle breeze so the moon reflecting on the water is pretty.
Time for bed though.
n