Warm and overcast, threatening to rain. Cooler than summer though. Yesterday we got a bit of rain, depending on where you were in town. There was barely enough to make a puddle when I was at the range, but no more than a light mist at my house.
Spent the morning not doing stuff. Had a nice lunch, then got some range time in. Did surprisingly well considering how long it’s been since my last outing. And I was using new to me cordless hole punchers, in a size I’ve never used before. I’m pleased with the results, and after making a couple of minor adjustments and mods, these will be two more tools in the box.
I’m of the mind that having tools in the box is good. The more tools and the more options the better.
Today will be back to normal. Pickups, kid driving duties, domestic bliss… and maybe a small project or fix. There are plenty of tasks to choose from.
I’ve stacked up projects and tasks…
Stack some resources too…
nick
Mid 70s, overcast and dreary this morning. Lackluster breeze.
———
Take a moment today to remember the over 3000 lives lost to islamic terrorism in NYC.
———
I’ll have a bit more from my range day later.
n
I followed a live Tweeting of the debate on Twitchy. Here is a summary of the MODERATORs bias:
I also noted during the Tweet Fest that the Kamel Humpers mic was left live a couple of times when tRump was talking. “I’m talking now…” should be a tRump t-shirt.
Who won? Nobody. It is another hold your nose and vote. I’ll vote tRump for lower taxes, fewer goobermint rules & regs, closed border, and not more wars or money sent overseas.
The most infuriating Tweet quotes were:
The moderators gave us a taste of what will happen on election day.
Well, the classic bucket rat trap does not work with possums. The camera in my attic pointed at the bucket trap had a different image than I’m used to seeing this morning.
The bucket was laying on its side. A review of stored video revealed the culprit. Possum. Now I have to set the live animal traps in the attic.
FWIW, he’s also probably responsible for knocking stuff off the shelves in the garage. I’ll set a trap out there too.
Turns out, possums like peanut butter, unlike the rats in my neighborhood.
n
Still have a bit of rattling in my right ear.
As part of my range day testing, I decided to try my Axil in ear electronic earplugs with loud noises, and not just my daughter’s band concerts…
I didn’t have a good fit on the right, but entered the range anyway. A dozen “loud noises” from other people on the range and I was headed for the door, but it was too late. Definitely overloaded my right ear.
So I swapped for my Walker in ears. They have a much bigger ear pad and jammed in securely. The batteries were dead, so I didn’t test the electronic pass thru, but they did a good job of cutting the loud noises. Not super comfortable though.
——
The Walker over the ear electronic muffs in my range bag had dead batteries, and the soft touch plastic had become sticky. The Axils had no battery charge. The walker in ears had no battery charge. The person in the lane next to me with Walker over the ear muffs also had dead batteries… And while the plugs and muffs work without batteries to block noise, the whole point is to have the electronic ambient pass thru… otherwise just use 50c plugs from 3M…
I do carry a bunch of 3M foam plugs in my range bag, and could have defaulted to them, but it was a testing day…
Electronic toys are great, if you are planning to use them, and have charged them or verified the charge. For spontaneous use, they are somewhat less effective.
———–
I’ll try to find my Axil packaging and see about getting a better fit, and then give them another try. I regret not doing it sooner.
n
LOL CNN:
CNN Fact-Checker’s Tally of Trump vs. Harris Lies During the Debate Is Another ‘Journalism’ Gem
Sure, there is no bias there. How about her fracking, healthcare, and gun-grabbing claims alone? I guess CNN has watched her flip on these positions so many times; they must be true.
The second time Muir did the “fact check”, Trump should have said “David, I understood that I was debating Kamela. If you want to debate, go over there and stand next to her at the podium”
Then turned and said “Goes for you, too, Lindsay”
“Drudge” hasn’t been in charge of the editorial content of that site for a long time.
Something changed after he moved from the condo out to the estate on the edge of the Everglades.
It is like the plot to a Hiaasen novel except, as Hiaasen himself has pointed out repeatedly, he could never sell books as strange as real life Florida politics.
Andrew Breitbart died suddenly several years ago, way before Rush died. Breitbart was making the Drudge Report on the side. Drudge took it over but never was as conservative.
Spent the morning not doing stuff. Had a nice lunch, then got some range time in. Did surprisingly well considering how long it’s been since my last outing. And I was using new to me cordless hole punchers, in a size I’ve never used before. I’m pleased with the results, and after making a couple of minor adjustments and mods, these will be two more tools in the box.
I like 40 S&W ammo also. But I cannot shoot a semi-auto very well anymore due to my right wrist tendonitis so I am back to .38 +P in my .357 revolvers.
My current favorite is my Ruger GP100 seven shot .357 with the 2.5 inch barrel. Highly recommended.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/bonus-round-ruger-s-7-shot-gp100-revolver/
I bought a new LG 7150W electric clothes dryer and had it delivered yesterday. Consumer Reports recommended the 7100W model but that appears to be replaced by this model. Home Depot charged me $50 to install it so that was a natural.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/LG-7-3-Cu-Ft-Vented-Electric-Dryer-in-White-with-Sensor-Dry-Technology-DLE7150W/312441908
I killed a copperhead on the back porch last night about 2am. At least I think it was a copperhead, it was only ten inches long and had a large triangular head. They are all hatching right now so I guess there is another dozen in my backyard.
Over The Hedge: Cold Hands
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2024/09/11
Yeah, I’ll bet those hands are cold.
“How the Dilbert 2025 Calendar is printed in the USA”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YY-jjSoOnQ
So cool !
Hat tip to:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dilbert/comments/1fdst0g/how_the_dilbert_2025_calendar_is_printed_in_the/
Lynn’s six star list (or top ten list) in September 2024:
1. “Mutineer’s Moon” by David Weber
2. “Citizen Of The Galaxy” by Robert Heinlein
3. “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein
4. “The Star Beast” by Robert Heinlein
5. “Shards Of Honor” and “Barrayar” by Lois McMaster Bujold
6. “Jumper”, “Reflex”, “Impulse”, and “Exo” by Steven Gould
7. “Dies The Fire” by S. M. Stirling
8. “Emergence” by David Palmer
9. “The Tar-Aiym Krang” by Alan Dean Foster
10. “Under A Graveyard Sky” by John Ringo
11. “Live Free Or Die” by John Ringo
12. “Footfall” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
13. “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
14. “The Zero Stone” by Andre Norton
15. “Going Home” by A. American
16. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
17. “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline
18. “The Martian” by Andy Weir
19. “The Postman” by David Brin
20. “We Are Legion” by Dennis E. Taylor
21. “Bitten” by Kelley Armstrong
22. “Moon Called” by Patrica Briggs
23. “Red Thunder” by John Varley
24. “Lightning” by Dean Koontz
25. “The Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells
26. “Friday” by Robert Heinlein
27. “Agent Of Change” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
28. “Monster Hunter International” by Larry Correia
29. “Among Others” by Jo Walton
30. “Skinwalker” and “Blood Of The Earth” By Faith Hunter
31. “Time Enough For Love” by Robert Heinlein
32. “Methuselah’s Children” by Robert Heinlein
33. “When the Wind Blows”, “The Lake House” by James Patterson
Lynn
“Elon Musk Responds to Taylor Swift’s Harris Endorsement with Strange Offer: ‘I Will Give You a Child’”
https://resistthemainstream.com/elon-musk-extends-jaw-dropping-offer-to-taylor-swift-triggers-massive-liberal-meltdown/
“The post comes after Wednesday’s night ABC debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump. Following the debate, Swift made a long post accompanied by a photo of her and her cat on Instagram with the caption, “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady,” making a reference to Sen. JD Vance’s now viral quote, which has been taken out of context by the left.”
“In an X post, the billionaire, who has been an outspoken advocate for procreation, volunteered to give the singer a child after she posted on Instagram that she would be officially endorsing Harris.”
“Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” he wrote.”
Just Musk being Musk.
I did something useful yesterday other than walk the dogs and feed the cats and take a shower. It’s true! I was washing the air fryer’s basket and of course the phone rings.
It was MetLife. I checked voicemail and she said “your claim has been approved and the direct deposit should arrive in 3 or 4 days”. Ok, cool.
Today I went poking at Treasury Direct. Mostly to check how many renewals each t-bill had remaining and maxing the number up. Hey, I’m here, let us do another t-bill. So I did, ten grand for 4 weeks as that had the best interest. Then I went to the bank’s site to schedule a transfer from savings to checking.
The MetLife deposit is “pending”. The day after the phone call. A tiny bit more than 15 grand. With that, my balance is to me, eye popping.
🙂
I think I have “money stuff” under control. Might be able to do better but I’m not doing the stock market.
Going by the weather forecast I’ll be closing the house up and turning the a/c on. Friday is predicted to be 96f. That will get the inside of the house warmer than 83f. I’m good with 85f and a fan.
“Ford Patents In-Car Advertising System That Listens to Passenger Conversations”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/ford-patents-in-car-advertising-system-that-listens-to-passenger-conversations
“The system could use trip data and in-car chats to serve targeted ads, though Ford says the patent application ‘should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans.’”
Note to self: Buy a Toyota truck next time.
^^ Or perhaps a Nissan.
Or a 2007
n
Or a 1968: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D661h_2XJr0
Tony makes some good, er, “points”.
While we enjoy our newer cars, maybe we should have some older cars and motorcycles out of the weather inside a garage, preserved for freedom. I do. Even one of my newer EFI cars can be converted to points and PFA*. Some of my motorcycles don’t even need a battery! I hope the apocalypse never comes, but…
*Pneumatic Fuel AspirationTM, i.e. a carburetor.
Or put your cell phone in a Faraday bag.
Weird. There are two separate pages for today, depending on what link you click in the list on the right.
Click through on a link to a post of mine from earlier today.
Won’t work. You would need to put your car in the bag. I have a 2015 car that has some connectivity. Although I have had it for over two years, I haven’t really investigated some of its connectivity features. One nice feature is that it sets its clock from some cloud network. Here is where it gets interesting. My garage has an all metal exterior that does a reasonable job of shielding connectivity to the outside world. This car’s clock will get confused when the car is inside for a week or so. By confused, I mean the clock will read random time several hours and minutes off from reality. When I do drive it (it is mainly for trips,) as soon as I open the big garage door, the clock updates to the correct time. Quickly. Hmm.
There are sites and apps where I can check my car’s “privacy,” but I need to tell them its VIN. I have been afraid to do that until I have time to check out the so-called services. I will eventually get around to that. In the meantime, I won’t attempt to connect a phone to the car.
There is very little in the car’s owner’s documentation to learn about some of the features beyond the obvious, and I bought it used, so didn’t sign any papers giving up any rights. I also don’t have any protection from giving up those rights. I am paranoid as usual.
I once wanted some of this stuff, and even considered building my own instrument cluster for an old car, but now am scared of most of the connectivity. I have a failed radio on an older car, and have been tempted to get something modern, but have the same fears.
I am torn between magnetos and carburetors, and the modern stuff.
BTW, as nice as it is, that 2015 car doesn’t have any more useful features than my 1968 Imperial. That includes fully automatic heating and AC. The Imperial delays the heater until the coolant is hot enough to provide warm air, while the 2015 just blows cold air for a minute or so. Good thing it doesn’t get very cold here. I will admit that the newer car gets almost double the gas mileage that the Imperial gets. Still, even if I were to live long enough, I doubt the new car would last more than 50 years like the Imperial has. Another big thing about the new car is that I can drive it anywhere and blend in. Try that in one of the old land yachts. I get thumbs-up all the time.
Weird. There are two separate pages for today, depending on what link you click in the list on the right.
–yep. It’s a bit awkward, but I had just the memorial page up for a few hours.
n
So I like watching this guy working on bonsai trees, but he’s got a whole different sense of time…
In this episode he mentions that he started shaping this maple 38 years ago, and because of some damage, he’s evolving what he wants to do… and he says “it’s got a long road ahead of it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imw-UQtPvRc
n
My Nissan truck’s radio is fancy. AM/FM, Sirus (sp),USB for a memory stick, GPS with maps. you can tether your phone, Bluetooth I think, for hands free calls. It sets the clock with GPS I assume. Might work like an atomic clock but I don’t recall needing to set my time zone.
I haven’t found anything indicating it has cell or wi-fi ability. I poked around one day and found the previous owners had five or six iPhones programmed. I deleted them. I’ve never connected my phone as I’m not interested in talking while driving. I don’t use the satellite radio, I don’t know if it still works. It had a couple of ‘80’s stations in the presets. AM/FM sounds good, especially with that short seven inch antenna. But there’s nothing to listen to. I can get in the car and catch the last half of a song and it’s nothing but yakking and commercials from here to the grocery store. That’s about 20 minutes. So why bother.
So I bought a short USB stick, 32Gb and I have about 5Gb of mp3 tunes. Explorer says 866 tunes. Playing in Random.