Hot. Crazy stinking hot in a black truck, and humid too. Forecast says we’ll have a couple of clear days, but it was patchy clouds yesterday. On a macro level, clear, in our microclimate? Only the Shadow knows. I’m looking at weather stations I can install at the BOL, like the one I have here. Only I’m looking for one that works, unlike the one I have here. Leaning toward another newer Acurite 5-n-1…
I spent yesterday doing some kid chauffeuring, and some fiddling around with stuff in the house. I did get a couple of small things done. I’m working on cleaning, organizing, and getting stuff ready for auction. I’m trying to get stuff out of the house…
That’s not working as well as I’d like.
Wife and D2 will be headed to the BOL later today. I’ll stay home with D1 for a while. I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting on Saturday and I have to be here for that. Plus, I just spent a week at the BOL, while my wife was with her parents. She needs some time to relax from that.
I’ve got a pickup this morning, and a Dr appointment in the afternoon. D1 did not make her sportsball team, so I guess I dodged a bullet there. That means a LOT fewer trips, pickups, and weekends that are not our own. Last year she was a walk on, but this year there were 40 girls trying for 20 spots. She’s not exactly heartbroken, as she is pretty ambivalent about sports anyway.
Life is what happens while you are waiting for other stuff…
Don’t forget to live your life while waiting for the zombies to come. They might not come in your lifetime. But do stack, stacks help all the time.
nick
Today is the day for new shingles on the roof, so I’m up before the crack of dawn to get cars moved out of the way. All the materials were delivered yesterday. The roofers should be able to get most of the roof completed today, but I doubt they will get it all done as it’s a big roof.
I’ve been very happy with AAA insurance. I had 75% of the claim money direct deposited in my account two days after the claim was approved, and that went quickly as well. The rest, minus my 5k deductible, will be deposited once the work is complete. They are the polar opposite of State Farm. I was talking with my roofer, and she said State farm is now almost as bad as Allstate in regards to claim denials.
Walz will make it. The facts don’t matter.
If he killed a girl and lied about it, that might make them stop and think.
OTOH, I’m old enough to remember the night in 1980 when the Dems almost nominated Uncle Ted.
Remember Eagleton?
Walz made the ticket because the PLT’s didn’t want Shapiro and Whitmer has aspirations for 2028. He brought little to the ticket other than the solid PLT teacher image, and that’s turned rancid. The only thing that will keep him on the ticket is no one else will touch it.
Walz has been lying for twenty years. The mashup of his doing so in speeches is already in the can and is long enough for commercial breaks of its own. Half the MN voters are going to ask why the papers buried this story.
And if you want weird, the wife talking about leaving the windows open so she could smell Minneapolis burning is a contender for top spot.
I have these for Buddy: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-puddle-busters-quilted-pee-pads-texas-size-pack-100-ct/1820714
He’s a lot better than when first moved in.
Hmm, I could use those during the middle of the night to save the walk to the bathroom. 🙂
That is the problem right there. Sheeple. Promise them free weed and booze and you’ve locked in Gen Z and the Millenials. I don’t know if the Amish and Hispanizoids will vote for the Kackling Kamel Humper and the Coward. Gotta order another pallet of popcorn.
>> I’ve been very happy with AAA insurance.
Is AAA the insurer or are they just operating as a broker? The Gecko is the latter for HO, at least here is the desert. We currently have Nationwide, which almost fell through at the last minute over the definition of our flat roof.
81F, sunny and humid. I’m up, fed, and working on caffeinated. Just like a productive citizen!
Time to head to my first appointment.
n
I discovered James Thuber in junior high and by the end of high school I had searched out everything I could find of his writing.
I enjoyed the short-lived tv series with William Windom.
Some body reminds me of that Mitty fellow:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/08/more-embellishment-tim-walz-was-assistant-football-coach-not-the-head-coach/
They are the insurer.
Today is the day for new shingles on the roof, so I’m up before the crack of dawn to get cars moved out of the way. All the materials were delivered yesterday. The roofers should be able to get most of the roof completed today, but I doubt they will get it all done as it’s a big roof.
I’ve been very happy with AAA insurance. I had 75% of the claim money direct deposited in my account two days after the claim was approved, and that went quickly as well. The rest, minus my 5k deductible, will be deposited once the work is complete. They are the polar opposite of State Farm. I was talking with my roofer, and she said State farm is now almost as bad as Allstate in regards to claim denials.
The roofs on my office building and warehouse just hit 20 years of age. I suspect that the insurance company will depreciate them to zero so I am in no hurry to get them replaced. The office building roof is 10% steel / 90% composite. The warehouse roof is 80% steel with some translucent panels that need to be replaced.
Drudge and Newsweek are claiming that Harris is 8 points over Trump. I don’t believe it.
“Kamala Harris Takes Eight-Point Lead Over Donald Trump in New Poll”
https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-eight-point-lead-donald-trump-new-poll-presidential-election-1936246
“The survey, conducted by Marquette Law School between July 24 and August 1, shows that when third party candidates are included, Harris leads among likely voters with 50 percent of the vote to Trump’s 42 percent. The surge by Harris has improved the Democrats‘ position since May, when Trump was leading with 44 percent of the vote to Joe Biden‘s 41 percent.”
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
Then again, 85% of the USA population lives in blue cities.
If Harris wins, the USA will look like Venezuela in a year or two with all of the executive orders seizing guns, stopping ICE vehicles, mandatory employment, etc.
They are counting the pallets of pre-printed ballots sitting in warehouses.
“Texas tax-free weekend starts Friday. What you need to know.”
https://www.chron.com/news/article/texas-tax-free-weekend-19628517.php
“Back-to-school shoppers rejoice. Savings can be had this weekend with taxes removed on school supplies and clothes.”
Stay out of the stores in Texas this weekend. They will be madhouses.
“Dog Starts House Fire in Tulsa, Oklahoma After Chewing Through Portable Lithium-Ion Battery”
https://rumble.com/v5a5uyt-dog-starts-house-fire-in-tulsa-oklahoma-after-chewing-through-portable-lith.html
Are you freaking kidding me ?
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Heels Up Harris’s Campaign Quietly Scrubs “Retired Command Sergeant Major” From Tampon Tim Walz’s Bio”
https://thelibertydaily.com/heels-up-harriss-campaign-quietly-scrubs-retired-command/
I am shocked !
“How Far Can Starlink Go? Growth for SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Slows in the US”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/how-far-can-starlink-go-growth-for-spacexs-satellite-internet-slows-in
“Starlink’s customer base in the US tops 1.4 million, but that’s a marginal increase from the 1.3 million SpaceX reported in December.”
$120/month X 1.4 million = $168 million per month. Seems to be a small business for SpaceX.
I wonder how many international customers that Starlink has ?
Starlink has a new cross-household “family” sharing scheme.
The Chincese relations on the West Coast are probably already signed up. When we lived out there, a half dozen households shared Number Two Son’s Netflix account.
Starlink has a new cross-household “family” sharing scheme.
Yeah but everyone has to have an antenna out in the yard or on the house. I doubt that the antenna will work on the apartment front railings like the old DirecTV antennas.
Today’s Tyler Durden cowardice seems to be trying to crash the RBI stock.
We have a new Tim Horton’s going up around the corner, the first in Austin.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/burger-king-popeyes-owners-earnings-fall-short-estimates-consumer-pressures
We have a couple of new Tim Hortons not too far from me. Dunno what the appeal is supposed to be..
n
Surgery over, successful, and no pain, although Tylenol with codeine is proscribed and purchased in case the pain comes later.
Propofol is pretty amazing stuff. They pushed it, I saw 8:40 on the clock, and the next question I asked was “What time is is?” at 9:30.
I did nap, without further medication, through the midmorning into afternoon at home.
I’ve now used both Memorial Hermann and Methodist outpatient surgery centers, and I think Hermann was just as friendly, just as professional, perhaps a bit more competent, and slightly more crowded.
I have no way to verify it, but I imagine Hermann was way cheaper. Probably still darned expensive.
I found it curious that all their documentation was on paper. Naturally I discussed this with them. No Epic or Cerner here. In fact, no visible computers in pre-op.
re: Timmy’s
Ours in Katy opened a few months ago. I stopped in once.
Meh. It’s basically another expensive coffee-and-pastry shop, like Dunkin with less food choice but more coffee drinks.
I’m not the target demo for it. And I expected to fine poutine on the menu.
“Suze Orman Ditches Homeowners Insurance After Getting An Absurdly High Quote: ‘$28,000 For A 2,100 Square Foot Condo? Are You Kidding Me?’”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/suze-orman-ditches-homeowners-insurance-171518308.html
“The personal finance guru, Suze Orman, recently shared her experience with Florida’s insurance market. Despite having a net worth of $75 million, Orman was shocked by a $28,000 annual insurance quote for her oceanfront condo in the Sunshine State. “$28,000 for a 2,100-square-foot condo? Are you kidding me?” she stated in an interview with Dailymail.com, highlighting the severity of the situation for Florida residents.”
Oh my ! You are kidding me ! What in the world is going on in Florida home insurance ?
I wonder if this has anything to do with that condo building falling a couple of years ago ?
For Canadians.
Yep, waking up is easy and you feel good. That other stuff they used for my knee surgery made me groggy for two or three hours afterwards. To be fair, I had to be put in a very deep anesthetic state for the knee surgery. Much deeper than for the colonoscopy. It was much harder to wake up and I woke up confused.
No word on the location of the condo. That would be a huge factor.
Plus the carrier. My guess is that she called Citizens, the state carrier of last resort.
The Mail does its usual bang up job of providing details to go with the schadenfreude.
Florida property insurance has been screwed up for at least 20 years. More if you consider the upper middle class welfare that sinkhole claims became in the early 00s.
The tradeoff – for the woman who owns a private island in the Bahamas – cough – is the homestead exemption system despite the constitutional questions as currently structured.
She’s not telling you that part.
The race to replace DeSantis in the Governor’s Mansion starts after the election in November. The Dems blew up their party in the state so maybe Orman is going to toss her hat in the ring.
“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Mandates Paper Ballots for November Election”
https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/08/08/virginia-gov-glenn-youngkin-mandates-paper-ballots-november-election/
“Executive Order 35, signed on Wednesday, codifies the election security procedures put into place during Youngkin’s administration.”
“The order outlines several election integrity requirements, including a “documented chain of custody” wherein ballots will be tracked through “every step of the process,” and that no voting machines will be used — just paper ballot-counting machines that are not connected to the internet.”
“EO 35 also instructs the state’s Department of Elections to remove “non-citizens who may have purposefully or accidentally registered to vote.””
“Between January 2022 and July 2024, the Youngkin administration’s records revealed that over 6,300 non-citizens were removed from the voter rolls.”
“Election officials also found and removed 79,867 deceased individuals from the voter rolls as well as registered voters who had moved out of state.””
The dead have a right to vote ! So do the undocumented aliens !
Every state should be forced to do this. Especially since I think millions of illegal aliens have registered to vote across the USA.
Or that she never carried property insurance on the condo in the first place.
The only truly bad publicity is your obituary.
Not to worry. Their names are already printed on those pallets of democratic ballots kept in the back room of Funk and Wagnels house.
Any break in insurance coverage, even for a day, will dramatically cause the rate to spike.
For Sale. Cheap!
If Broward County public records are correct, this is Orman’s condo. Or at least a property Orman co-owns with a mailing address in Santa Monica, CA.
Homesteaded, however.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1063-Hillsboro-Mile-APT-303-Hillsboro-Beach-FL-33062/62828622_zpid/?
Yeah, Florida public records are scary.
Extrapolating my insurance costs, based on the value of my place, lower risk, vs a $1.99 million condo, her rate of $28K is probably not out of line.
Some of the advice that Orman provided was not good in my opinion. She advocated paying off mortgages as soon as possible. Mortgages are ”good debt” if one must have debt. The key is to pay off the mortgage close to retirement.
She also did not like reverse mortgages. My kid does not want the house or to deal with the house. A reverse mortgage would make the house the bank’s problem when I become nursing home material. Sure the default would destroy my credit but I am in diapers slopping on myself, who cares?
“The personal finance guru, Suze Orman,
– her advice was so bad she should be in prison for fraud, for presenting herself as an expert. I can’t believe she’s still doing her schtick.
n
Wife, D2 and some extra kids are at the BOL for a long weekend. I hope they have clear sky for the Persiads meteor shower, this is supposed to be the best weekend…
I hope it’s good Saturday when I’m there too.
n
Aaaannnnnn ddddd…….. they are in fact stranded.
n
Two words: private elevator.
FFS.
– now that you’ve lost your job and retirement money, you can buy a home cheaper, or buy the dip, with all that money YOU DON”T HAVE.
Un F ing Believable.
n
No location on the house. Looks like a typical Tampa cr*p shack.
Own your piece of Florida swampland!
Things aren’t at the point where people are going to accept haircuts on their houses. They’ll sell anything, beg, borrow, steal, con grandma …
The managers were in meetings all day. We have a big meeting scheduled tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
For Sale. Cheap!
If Broward County public records are correct, this is Orman’s condo. Or at least a property Orman co-owns with a mailing address in Santa Monica, CA.
Homesteaded, however.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1063-Hillsboro-Mile-APT-303-Hillsboro-Beach-FL-33062/62828622_zpid/?
Yeah, Florida public records are scary.
Zillow retains all records and pictures from the last sale of the home. I looked up my house, yup, about 40 pictures of the inside of my home.
And if you know my full name, you can get all my property addresses from https://www.fbcad.org .
There is a spare crapper in the lifeboat, the SpaceX Dragon capsule. And, diapers are plentiful.
My office Starlink is down. It is going in and out. I am on the backup AT&T DSL lines as I unplugged the Starlink from my multiplexer wan box, my Peplink 30.
“My son, 19, was killed in Iraq serving in the military unit Tim Walz ‘abandoned’: I’ll never trust Kamala Harris’ VP pick who took the ‘coward’s way out’”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13720397/Tim-Walz-military-service-Kyle-Miller-mother-Minnesota-Kamala-Harris-pick.html
“When soldier Kyle Miller was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on June 29, 2006, the man expected to lead them into combat was not there.”
“Tim Walz, who would go on to be Kamala Harris‘ running mate, left his Minnesota National Guard unit two months before it deployed – and some will never trust him again.”
“That includes Miller’s mother who delivered a damning verdict on Walz’s character, accusing him of taking the ‘coward’s way out’ and ‘running away’ by opting to campaign for Congress instead of going to Iraq to face danger with her son.”
“In an emotional interview with DailyMail.com, nearly two decades after 19-year-old Kyle’s death, Kathy Miller said: ‘I don’t think it’s fair that (Walz) takes credit when he didn’t step up to the plate.”
“‘Walz claims a rank he never earned. When he was called to serve, and protect our country he didn’t.”
Apparently, Walz is getting a military pension after only serving 18 years. Every one else I know with a military pension got the required 20 years.
The Dragon “toilet” is something neither SpaceX or NASA talk much about. Evidently, it is not ideal.
“Apparently, Walz is getting a military pension after only serving 18 years. Every one else I know with a military pension got the required 20 years.”
Pretty sure it was 24
“Apparently, Walz is getting a military pension after only serving 18 years. Every one else I know with a military pension got the required 20 years.”
Pretty sure it was 24
If so then I misunderstood the talking heads on the radio today. They had lists of Walz misadventures and that was one of them.
The Dragon “toilet” is something neither SpaceX or NASA talk much about. Evidently, it is not ideal.
The entire ISS is non ideal.
Elon Musk ??? talked about the Dragon toilet a while back and is quite proud of it. Apparently it is not very private with a sliding curtain and has a great view out the windowed hatch in the top. I can just imagine the smell. I cannot remember if it is vacuum operated or not but, there is no alternative.
The Dragon takes 28 hours (every time ???) to get to ISS so you know that the toilet is being used by the crew of three to six people. Shoot, that means that they are sleeping, eating, and drinking, peeing and pooping on the way up and down. You just gotta hope that no one gets the runs. Ugh.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/03/05/crew-dragon-docks-with-space-station-after-smooth-rendezvous/
>> “Texas tax-free weekend starts Friday. What you need to know.”
https://www.chron.com/news/article/texas-tax-free-weekend-19628517.php
“Back-to-school shoppers rejoice. Savings can be had this weekend with taxes removed on school supplies and clothes.”
Hmm, backpacks but not ballistic panels?
Skip the kindergarten scissors, go for the pointy ones.
Knee-high socks to keep your roll of quarters ‘warm.’
Gotta stay one step ahead of trouble.
The last boat I was on, the crapper was a six inch diameter ring of plastic that you hovered over. That was a week of fun. And no holding tank, the crapper flushed right to sea and then the canal. France is totally nasty, they do not regulate pooping in their sea ports and canals. I guess that they did not care since everything eventually went to the Mediterranean Sea.
Plus all of the dadgum valves and pumping that one had to do to flush the stupid thing. You had to pump flush water in and then pump the flush water out. Usually it was way easier to pee off the side of the boat as long as we were not in a lock (we went through over 130 locks).
“Emerald Blaze: A Hidden Legacy Novel (6)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Blaze-Hidden-Legacy-Novel/dp/0062878360?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number six of a six book and one novella (seven books total) paranormal romance fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound novella MMPB published by Avon in 2020 that I just bought new from Amazon. I have the last book in the series and will read this soon.
Totally cool series for me. This makes the fourth series that I have read from Ilona Andrews, a husband and wife writing team based here in Texas. The Innkeeper, Kate Daniels, and The Edge are the other series of books.
The Hidden Legacy Universe is a complex place. The Osiris serum that induced magical powers in humans was released to the general public in 1863 and the world was never the same. The Osiris serum has three results: death, paranormal powers, or paranormal powers with a warped human body. The serum was banned after a while but the world was irreparably changed since the paranormal powers are inheritable. Families starting breeding children for strength in magical powers with breathtaking results. Magic users are segregated into five ranks: Minor, Average, Notable, Significant, and Prime. The Prime families operate mostly outside the Federal and State laws since they are so powerful and incredibly dangerous.
Catalina Baylor is Nevada Baylor’s younger sister and a Prime Siren. Nevada is wed and gone so now Catalina is running the show. And now Linus, the long term friend of the House Baylor and former speaker of the Assemblies of Magic, revealed himself to be the Warden for the State of Texas and ha made Catalina his only Deputy Warden. Her newest client is finding out who killed the mage cleaning up the one square mile swamp mess in Jersey City in Houston, Texas. But lots of dangerous creatures are living in the swamp, mostly man made creatures.
Arabella Baylor is Catalina Baylor’s younger sister and a Prime Beast that is unknown to the general populace. She can transform to a 65 foot tall beast but, she has trouble controlling when to transform. The only other recorded person who had this power could never control their transformations or reason while in beast form so the populace is incredibly scared of her.
Alessandro Sagredo is a Prime Weapons Teleporter, a retired assassin, and an exiled Italian count. He is staying with the Baylor family now since his family exiled him for turning down the three rich heiresses that they set him up with.
The authors have a very active website at:
https://ilona-andrews.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars (I am starting to think 6 stars)
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (10,317 reviews)
Lynn
“China begins launching a megaconstellation, and it sounds a lot like Starlink”
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/china-deploys-first-satellites-for-a-broadband-network-to-rival-starlink/
“Like Starlink, China’s Qianfan satellites have an easy-to-pack flat-panel design.”
And here we go !
>> And I expected to fine poutine on the menu.
https://www.narcity.com/tim-hortons-poutine-returns-to-canada-because-people-cant-get-enough-of-it
And quite “fine” it is…
I’m sure the chinese version is crap. On the other hand, they are very good at producing crap that barely works, for a while. And that might be enough. NO ONE can keep up the launch pace that SpaceX does though.
n
Oh, and the thing about demand for civilian use of starlink having reached its peak? It was never about civilian use anyway, so not a big deal.
n
@lynn, I just finished book two of the hidden legacy series. I am fighting off the urge to start #3 tonight. I need to sleep…
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n