National forecast says we might get rain and even thunderstorms for the next couple of days. I’m going with “cool and cloudy” for today at least. Yesterday was so freaking nice I worked outside all afternoon. Got the sunburn on my neck to prove it.
I did get some things done. I bounced around a bit, knowing I needed to be in and out making dinner happen, but I did get things done. Nothing major. But some things have been neglected for a long time. It’s gonna take a while to unscrew this pooch.
So today I’ll be trying to continue that, while also doing some other stuff, like heading to my client’s house to pull some ATT fiber gear. I am going to lose my momentum, whatever I had going, but it does pay cash money. I think I’ve just got too many things going, and I’m not focusing on stuff like I should.
Dunno what to do really, but I’m going to have to make some sort of change to get it done.
Meanwhile, some stuff will continue. Stacking. Learning. Building. Those are good.
nick
Getting the car serviced today. EVs aren’t supposed to need much service, but the car complains every six months, and “stuff” needs done. I reckon a good part of it is make-work, i.e., the manufacturer basically bribing dealerships. But what do I know? Anyhow, I’m sitting in the dealership, working, surfing and waiting…
Murderbot? What a great series. I have trouble imagining how they would do a TV adaptation, though, because so much of the fun comes from Murderbot’s internal dialog with itself.
Meanwhile, teaching again tonight. This is lecture 7 of 10 of the last ever time I will teach first-semester Java programming. I’ve done it for so many years that I can hardly wait to be finished. Second semester I still have to do one more time in the Fall. As a change of pace, I will be teaching Scala to my trade-school students, starting in August. Different language, different target group, that’s fine – I like programming and teaching both. It’s just doing the same thing over-and-over-and-over again that gets tiresome.
And in other news, my Braumeister died over the weekend. The control electronics just quit. Fortunately, it looks like I can just order a new set of controls, rather than replacing the whole thing. The new controls have WiFi and apparently Bluetooth. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I have hopes. With the old controls, when it wanted something, it just beeped. If I’m somewhere else, I often didn’t hear it (and it’s difficult to set an alarm, because it’s not always clear how long a step will take). Also, sometimes all it needs is to have a button pushed. Here’s hoping I can get alarms on an app, and push buttons on an app.
Time to go peer through the window and see how the car’s coming along…
Bought a new Toyota in the recent past? Been denied coverage or had your rates raised by Flo?
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/04/23/821018.htm
63F so a bit cooler than lately. Looks kind of overcast on the cams, but I’ll have to walk the kid to the bus stop to really know.
Made little sausages for the savages this morning. I used to make them every day when the kids were little but they stopped eating them. Last couple of times at the BOL the kids wanted them again. So I have some in the house to make. We’ll see if they want it to be a school day thing.
Lunch is in the bag, coffee in the cup.
Time to check the interwebs for useful stuff.
n
Both SiG and John Wilder have interesting things up today.
https://wilderwealthywise.com/civil-war-2-0-weather-report-lawfare-and-the-new-battle-of-shiloh/
– see also the yt and tickytacky vids of the black woman who moved to africa and hates it, so is moving back. In africa, black skin is nothing special and no one cares.
– see also that hispanics generally despise “lazy” blacks in the US. With them making up 40% or more of the population, vs 13%, as they awaken politically, expect societal treatment of blacks to shift dramatically. (FWIW, indians despise them too, and subcontinent is a HUGE minority population. Look at candidates for local office in Missouri City, south of Sugar Land for examples.)
https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-problem-with-ai-hardly-being-talked.html
There is no way we’re building enough new generation to meet the demand of the AI data centers. And there is no way we are building enough to meet the demand of EVs. There isn’t any way we’re building enough to meet the demand of new housing with all electric appliances.
EACH of those things has demand increases forecast that exceed total US generating capacity. All three together? We’re Mogadishu. SOMEONE will be rationed. SOMEONE won’t be getting the power they want or need.
You will most likely be that someone. Start your solar power journey.
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14679513/Microsoft-service-2bn-people-permanently-shut-TODAY-shock-decision.html
Skype.
I wasn’t aware they were shutting it down. I haven’t made a skype call since my dad died. I will not be using Teams. This is the ‘end of an era’. Embrace and extend… buy and stifle more like it.
Remember the PIM? Personal Information Manager? that was a whole category that died when MS got involved. Innovation stopped then too. Remember Pack Rat? It was great for billing because it could track how much time you spent in different apps, had tons of customization, was completely integrated with your contacts, and HELPED get things done, rather than hindered. All without an internet connection, sign on, or spyware.
n
Teams is the ultimate panopticon for the C-suites.
Unlike Zoom/Slack, which the Teams collective of functionality replaces, Redmond’s terms of service give the customer ownership of their data, providing an important HR resource for use in terminations for violations of policy.
Where I currently work, a multi year push to Teams has been reversed recently, with Zoom once again acceptable for internal use by the dirt people.
Of course the execs always kept the Zoom client on the corporate laptops.
I think Teams leaves too much evidence in the form of transcription which is always active in meetings, whether you know it or not.
I wonder what motivated the reversal for us commoners.
Your solar power journey will not cover your AC needs with current technology.
BRK-A/B are getting pounded today after The Gecko’s announcement on Saturday.
Truth. But don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “better”..
With batteries and solar, you get light, fans, and computers and radios. And you can charge your other devices.
You’ll be sitting around in the heat, but you’ll only regress to the year 1920, not 1620.
I had a gas furnace at my farm that was useless in a power outage. But I set it up with a 110V power plug, and had a fully charged battery and inverter standing by. I could run on my portable generator intermittently and recharge the battery.
From yesterday:
I get it. Really, I do.
But the alternative is proprietary mainland hardware designed to fail within months of the end of the warranty period, with propietary mainland software written more with an eye to surveillance than to functionality.
You pay your money and you pick your poison…
1920 had proper Hunter ceiling fans which were not Hecho en China garbage. Bernie Marcus took those away.
Bernie giveth, and Bernie taketh away:
https://babylonbee.com/news/bible-scholars-believe-noah-made-over-977-trips-to-home-depot-during-ark-construction
I think, generally, the West is done with it. The current situation in Germany seems to be exactly the same thing. Islamists driving through Christmas markets. Islamists stabbing random people. A lot of Germans have had enough.
Along comes the AfD and says things like “Germany for Germans” –> so they get officially classified as a right-wing extremist party (which has some pretty serious consequences). The thing is: the commission that did the classification is largely populated by people from left-wing parties, and the documentation as to why they made the classification is secret. Nothing suspicious there, not at all.
However, the cat is out of the sack. The AfD had already become the most popular party in the country, and the result of this ruling is a lot of new members. If the leftist parties don’t back down, this could turn…really ugly.
@Denis: What is your take?
There was a recent case of a guy planning to attack a synagogue in Halle, Germany. They have released no details about him, except that he has a German passport. Bet: he is an Islamic, first-generation immigrant. I suggested that on a reddit group, and (of course) was promptly banned for “hate speech”. Have y’all seen the meme?
That’s odd, the meme isn’t displaying now. Anyway, it’s the one that says “let’s not jump to concl….aaaand, it’s a Muslim”
WTAF
Outrage over Kamala’s trip to ritzy bar flanked by taxpayer-funded cops after trashing Trump on the economy
Talk about a limousine liberal. She’s done in 3 months when tRump doesn’t extend her SS.
24 SS. I guess she thinks this will look good for her next losing run.
Won’t cover your heating, either. Take a look at what’s happening in the UK. Heat pumps my backside.
If you’re building, looking for property, or retrofitting:
@brad
“I suggested that on a reddit group, and (of course) was promptly banned for “hate speech”.”
Ever seen the “Flint” movies from the ‘60’s starring James Coburn? There’s a scene in a nightclub where he’s dressed appropriately and screams “Allah Akbar!!!” while firing a few shots into the ceiling.
You don’t have to fire the shots. Scream the magic phase in any nightclub in Europe and the patrons will hit the floor. Generations of training.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2025/05/05/jim-jordan-letter-on-judge-boasberg-n2656554
So Maxwell’s Demon is probably real?
Valero Refinery on Fire…
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/05/05/weeks-ago-valero-said-it-was-closing-its-benicia-ca-refinery-now-theres-a-fire-n3802452
Cali going to find out sooner than later
Monty: Elon has space lasers …
https://www.gocomics.com/monty/2025/05/01
He probably does. Each one of those satellites is over two tons. Who knows what all the satellites contain.
Valero Refinery on Fire…
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/05/05/weeks-ago-valero-said-it-was-closing-its-benicia-ca-refinery-now-theres-a-fire-n3802452
Cali going to find out sooner than later
Refineries are always on fire somewhere. Vaporized gasoline is just waiting to combust and those pipes have pinhole leaks all the time.
I am aware of nearly 20 federal court cases involving Covid vaccine mandates.
All the cases were “randomly” assigned to Obama/Biden appointed district court judges. None to Bush or Trump judges.
All of the cases were dismissed improperly, by judges either ignoring plaintiff’s claims or making spurious rulings like saying the EUA for the vaccines was moot since a similar drug, never offered to patients, was approved. This violates long-established drug labeling laws.
All are currently under appeal, and since multiple circuits are involved, will likely end up at the Supreme Court. Unless one of the circuit appeals courts steps up and forces the district court to do the right thing, which could result in a cascade.
BRK-B closed down 5%.
The hit would have been worse if The Gecko died without the succession announced.
I haven’t run the numbers lately but the Specialist probably won’t defend the price unless the quotes get closer to 400.
The Gecko told you to get an S&P 500 index fund and a short term Treasury hedge your 401k/IRA.
Refinery fires: yeah, when I was going to high school and junior college in Martinez, California (across the river from Benicia) our Shell refinery was always catching on fire every few years.
They are giant machines full of toxic, flamnable, and explosive stuff. And old, despite maintenance and upgrades some of these have been in use for nearly a century.
Amusingly, when they would catch fire the county would roll units to “help”, and the guards would always stop them at the gate. The refinery, very wisely, didn’t want some random firefighter spraying water on stuff.
Your solar power journey will not cover your AC needs with current technology.
You can do it but the cost is exorbitant. My neighbor has 19 kw of solar panels and two Tesla Powerwalls (version 2) on his 4,000 ft2 house with four generations of family. He runs out of power at midnight to to 2 am and has to supplement from the grid. I have told him that he can add more battery packs to the Powerwalls and make it through the night but he has spent $43K to date and does not want to spend more.
During hurricane Beryl he had his a/c units turned up to 83 F all day to make it through the night as the grid was down at his house for a week. His parents liked the heat. He and his kids, not so much. The grandkid did not care.
At the firehouse used for the exteriors on “Emergency” located across from the largest refinery on the West Coast, Marathon’s Carson facility, the crews sleep with respirators within arm’s reach. If they hear the toxic gas monitor alarms sound, they are supposed to wear the respirators but remain in the building in case they get a call.
The crews at that station have a ladder and a specialty foam truck, unlike what you see on TV.
Carson is an industrial area, and the cameras could set up across the street and film dispatches all day when the series was in production.
@Ray, if you are ever in Southern California again and want to see it, go to the firehouse and ring the bell at the door. If you ask politely, they’re cool about showing fans around.
Be sure to buy a t-shirt, though. Everyone has merch.
The building has *not* changed in 50 years, and be sure to ask about the square door behind the dispatch desk, located in the same place you see on the interior shots filmed on the sound stage.
Oncor has been laying the ground work to control AC remotely. If they cannot access the settings on your thermostat, they will flip the special breakers to the compressors which they’ve been installing with new systems lately.
Unless the Monkey Trick runs out of gas soon, AC as a 24/7 thing for most people is going to go away far sooner than even ERCOT planned.
I don’t think it is an accident that the Geico Gecko’s successor helped mastermind the attempt at buying Oncor, something he almost pulled off before losing at the last minute.
BRK will be back with the cash pile in the next energy crisis in Texas.
Screw your freedoms. Texas wants those jobs.
https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/04/29/news-inventec-to-invest-up-to-usd-85-million-in-texas-as-taiwanese-odms-ramp-up-expansion-in-the-u-s/
I love the first of the month. I collect over $9,000 in rent from my various properties. The last tenant just paid me in cash. You know, I am wondering if my infernal revenue friends need to know that.
I had a gas furnace at my farm that was useless in a power outage. But I set it up with a 110V power plug, and had a fully charged battery and inverter standing by. I could run on my portable generator intermittently and recharge the battery.
That gas furnace probably pulls three amps at 120 volts to run the blower and electronics. That is why I love gas heat. A heat pump would add 20 amps at 230 volts to that or strip heat would add 50 amps at 230 volts to that.
“Starter Villain” by John Scalzi
https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Villain-John-Scalzi/dp/1250879396?tag=ttgnet-20/
A standalone science fiction book, no prequel or sequel. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Tor Books in 2023. A sequel would be cool. There is a very nice short story at the end of the book.
Charlie is down and out on his luck. He lives by himself with his cat, Hera, in his Dad’s old house. His three older half siblings are constantly after him to sell the house so they can get their shares of the proceeds. Charlie used to work as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune but he was laid off and then his Dad got sick. After his Dad passed away, he now works as a substitute teacher. Paying for the utilities and taxes on the house are difficult at best with his limited funds. Especially since he and Hera like to eat occasionally.
But, Charlie sees on CNBC Morning Squawk Box that his billionaire reclusive uncle Jake, a major owner of parking garages across of the USA, has passed away. His uncle was his mother’s older brother, his mother who passed away in a strange car wreck when Charlie was five years old. And then Charlie’s life goes wild as a beautiful woman contacts Charlie about him hosting the viewing and burial of his uncle in their hometown. The viewing of his uncles body is very contentious with several obvious henchmen showing up to view the body. One guy even tries to stab his uncles body to make sure that he is “dead this time”.
I love the cover of the book. It conveys a mysteriousness about the book immediately. I showed the book cover to my 83 year old mother who promptly said that she wanted to read the book next so she has it now.
The author has a fairly active website / blog at:
https://whatever.scalzi.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (13,025 reviews)
Lynn
You will have to report it now. Elon’s xAI is all-knowing, all-seeing.
Our “Star Wars” Day action figure haul from the Holocron in Fort Worth yesterday was a “Rebels” Kanan Jarrus (mine) and a Laars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn (spouse’s) because, “He looks, and acts like Elon.”
All hail our new master. No offense intended, Grand Admiral.
Though, I view him through a different franchise filter. He’s Ferengi Commerce Authority Liquidator Musk.
Why Kanan Jarrus?
The most profound death scene in all of “Star Wars”. From a kiddie show.
When “Rebels” starts, from the closing credits in the first episode you know this scene has to happen because Kanan is a Jedi. The tragedy of his story arc fulfilled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz0B_JTyDbM
Spoilers. Yes, but the scene is inevitable.
Well that was a lot of messing around.
Left the house. Tried scrap yard #1, they were not taking any because their bins were full. Went to scrap yard #2, just under $11 because it was mostly steel. Still, it’s not in my driveway anymore. Then to the secondary to dump trash in the dumpster. Auction pickup #1- and the line was too long, I’ll try again later in the week. Auction pickup #2 in Kingwood was far too many CPR masks and some lego. Then home to swap vehicles. Then off to the northwest countryside to take care of my client. Pulled the ATT gear, updated a couple of appleTVs. Then head back to town to get D2 from school to go to the other school for incoming marching band camp… quick trip to the chiropractor, then Academy Sports for boat stuff and bang stuff,** then home. Start figuring out dinner (pork chops from ’23 grilled, broccoli steamed, and leftover au gratin potatoes.) Rain started in earnest just as I was pulling the chops.
Pretty sure I drove a couple hundred miles today.
Didn’t stop moving from 9:30 am onward.
Oh, took a few minutes while dinner was cooking to finally hook up the turntable in the living room. Sounds pretty good. Probably not as good as the Thoren TD 160 Super I picked up this weekend as “not running”. The belt had come loose. I will be swapping that beast into the system soon, and then I’ll have to decide if I want to keep it, or need to sell it. It’s probably the best turntable I’m likely to come across, especially for under $400. I’d love to pair it with a good amp and big speakers.
That’s the trouble with buying cool stuff to resell, you want to get high on your own supply.
nick
** neither bang nor boat stuff is cheap. Holy cow.
n
FBI Issues Warning On Swatting
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2025/05/05/fbi-issues-warning-on-swatting-n1228515
“A Cheap Form of Terrorism”? So make it more expensive.
False report resulting in armed response endangering human life? In addition to other penalties for first offense, conviction results in loss of the privilege of using a “regular” cell phone for two years. A “special” class of cell phone capable only of text and 911 communication is permissible. Any other use (burner phone, friend “loans” a phone) resets the two-year time clock (for the friend, too), but the third violation resets the clock to five years.
I saw someone loading huge speakers into a big F150-type truck in the order pickup area at Nebraska Furniture Mart on Saturday when I drove around to the loading dock to get my printer.
Lots of Uhauls. The store features two hotels in the parking lot near the loading dock area.
This time last year, the Gecko was headed to taking on Buc-ee’s with his various retail operations after closing the Pilot/Flying-J acquisition, but now that project seems to have moved lower on the priority list.
Bill Ackman to Harvard: When A University Becomes A “Political Advocacy Organization,” It Doesn’t Deserve Nonprofit Status
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/05/05/bill_ackman_to_harvard_when_a_university_becomes_a_political_advocacy_organization_it_doesnt_deserve_nonprofit_status.html
Good analysis. Harvard has stepped in it and fallen into deep doo-doo.
Lot of cops out on the road today. Cinco drinking lands you in the clink-0, gringo…
n
And I”m headed to bed.
n
I just got my Medicare Eligibility Letter. I feel so alive with government verification !
The Medicare number is a monster with 11 digits and mixed numbers and alphabet characters. I wonder how long it will take the Chinese and Russians to crack the system ?
I go on Medicare Parts A and B on June 1, 2025. I have a Medicare insurance lady signing me up for Medicare Supplement and Part D (drugs).
My middle brother told me that I am old. And my youngest brother just turned 60. The three of us are all old now.
Now I have to kill my Obamacare.
My Obamacare is killed on June 1, 2025. But I kept my daughter’s Obamacare.
Now that my wife and I are both on Medicare, we may be able to get our disabled daughter on SSI and Medicaid. At least that is what the Social Security Analyst told my wife last week. They are filing the application together.
Lot of cops out on the road today. Cinco drinking lands you in the clink-0, gringo…
I only saw two cops yesterday, Sunday, driving back from Port Lavaca → Victoria → Fort Bend County. I think that that cop in the median was a fake car to get people to slow down. And a state trooper passed me doing about 95 mph or so.
I looked at a house in Inez, Texas on the way back. Just for grins since the wife totally vetoed South Texas for our next move.
https://www.har.com/homedetail/166-post-oak-bnd-inez-tx-77968/7182951
I’d be astonished if it hasn’t been done already.
“Elon Musk Gets His Own Texas City After Voters Approve Incorporation of SpaceX’s ‘Starbase’”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/elon-musk-gets-his-own-texas-city-after/
Musk is collecting everything !
“Hawaii Sues Big Oil Companies Over Climate Change”
https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/environmental-protection/news/55287612/hawaii-sues-big-oil-companies-over-climate-change
“The suit also names the American Petroleum Institute as part of the climate deception; the Trump administration intervenes.”
Hawaii wants free gasoline and diesel for a 1,000 years. They shutdown their two refineries a couple of years ago and are importing gasoline and diesel from the USA West Coast. Very expensive.
And with California shutting down its refineries, that gasoline and diesel are going to get much more hard to get and more expensive as the additional gasoline and diesel will need to come from the Gulf Coast through the Panama Canal. Rental rates on Panamax carriers are going way up.