Hot and humid. Humid and hot. The rain yesterday did bring the temperature down about 10 degrees, which was nice, but I don’t think this will continue. If it’s not raining today, it’ll get hot, and all that water makes it very very moist. Which is not my favorite thing.
Spent Father’s Day mostly not doing much. Did some auction stuff. Cleaned up some stuff. Did some domestic bliss. Still not feeling great so I wasn’t super motivated, and then the rain started. That was it for productive work. Kids were great. D1 made me waffles for breakfast. D2 offered me the x box so I could play a game if I wanted to. I used to play a lot before the kids came… not so much anymore. Eventually I had a nap, and then a big pile of crawdads for dinner. Chocolate mousse cake for dessert. Yum.
Today W is headed to a conference. D1 is working with a high school program for young kids to do a STEM summer camp. D2 is getting ready to head to Florida to spend a week with grandma. I’ve got a couple of pickups to do. One is a pallet of “trauma bandages.” They are coming from one of the school districts, so I have no idea what that actually means. It looks like it might be a dozen boxes of stuff. For $15 I thought I’d take a chance. Even if I just use a few for training purposes it’ll have been worth it, other than the time picking them up. I’m hoping to get some recently expired bleeding control kits…
And I’ve got a storage unit to close out, if the weather is ok. If not, it’ll probably be more stuff at home.
Improvements. Not much stacking.
Pick something and do it!
nick
An update on my extender replacement comment about a month ago.
I had problems with my TP-link wifi extender arrangment, so replaced with a low cost MERCUSYS ME30.
Well over a month now, and no problems to report – I have a stable system.
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
– Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
Texas schools aren’t shy about p*ssing away money so you are probably getting something worthwhile.
$51 Billion, $24 Billion of which was surplus money. Keep the plates spinning.
A lot of “early intervention” high schools have medical assistant/nurses aide training.
When my wife was in private practice, the staff was always the weakest link due to the minimum standards.
https://archive.is/of7FR#selection-4271.0-4271.89
Is it the cold that make Canadians so angry?
Weak coffee at Tim Horton’s.
Have you never watched a hockey game? That’s anger on ice. Off the ice, we are nice.
The other thing we are angry about is letting convicted felons across our border. It going to be several days of likely stupidity as the felonious-yam, still sore like any 5-year-old that so few people came out for his birthday parade, will act out to get some attention during the G7 conference. All the other adults in the room will try to get something done and hopefully ignore the crybaby.
Just…wow.
85F and mostly light overcast. W is on her way. D1 is working with kids, and D2 is still in bed.
I realized I had forgotten about one of my pickups and slept too late. I’ll figure something out.
Time to get busy with my day.
———
There’s a lot of change and conflict in the world. If you are prepped up for normal stuff, you should be prepped up for the black swan stuff too. Might want to extend some things, and stack a few more. I don’t think this is a good time to have let stacks run down…
n
This isn’t the first time .gov has simply bought data they’d be hard pressed or restricted from collecting.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14810191/delta-american-united-airlines-admit-unthinkable-practice-flyer-fury.html
Dunno why it would be “unthinkable”. Seems pretty thinkable to me. IF someone collects data, someone else will buy it, steal it, or use it.
I remember when you could pay cash and walk on an airplane without any id, but then we were born free.
n
@tv, The other thing we are angry about is letting convicted felons across our border.
– wasn’t it about a month ago you were trying to make the point that Canada didn’t and couldn’t control who LEFT Canada for the US? But suddenly it’s the US’s job to control who has access to Canada?
Hmmm.
n
The government has access to turnitin.com, and I’m sure they buy data from Hire Right.
It’s getting weird out there.
n
Yup, the USA has turned into a freak show.
Hot and humid. Humid and hot. The rain yesterday did bring the temperature down about 10 degrees, which was nice, but I don’t think this will continue. If it’s not raining today, it’ll get hot, and all that water makes it very very moist. Which is not my favorite thing.
That was not a rain, it was a monsoon. I left HEB in the middle of it and got soaked even with my golf umbrella. It dropped the temperature down to 72 F at my house, I was hoping for more of that today but, it was 96 F at my house a few minutes ago.
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
– Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
No fair, Greg quoted a wordsmith !
There’s a lot of change and conflict in the world. If you are prepped up for normal stuff, you should be prepped up for the black swan stuff too. Might want to extend some things, and stack a few more. I don’t think this is a good time to have let stacks run down…
I added $498 of stuff to my stacks yesterday at Sam’s Club. That was an amazing checkout.
“Trump Orders ICE to Democrat Sanctuary Cities”
https://www.independentsentinel.com/trump-orders-ice-to-democrat-sanctuary-cities/
Because that is where the illegals are.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Wave of USAF Tankers Depart the U.S. Amid Escalating Iran-Israel Conflict”
https://thelibertydaily.com/wave-usaf-tankers-depart-u-s-amid-escalating/
Here we go again.
Bunker busters for all ! Apparently the Israeli bunker busters failed to reach the centrifuges. Trump says “hold my diet coke”.
Probably has NOTHING AT ALL to do with previously scheduled military exercises with Europe and NATO, which are due to kick off later in the week. No, couldn’t POSSIBLY be related.
I supported a “Pro” alcoholic for two years, the idiot husband of my wife’s associate in Vantucky,.
That word is about all I got out of reading Thompson.
We Voted to Deport Every Single One of Them
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2025/06/16/we-voted-to-deport-every-single-one-of-them-n2658830
Extreme clarity from Kurt Schlicter.
I totally voted for that, too.
The ones going north aren’t packing fentanyl.
How about we just close the border and trade semaphores on Boxing Day?
I suggested years ago that it was a trivial exercise to sift that data and isolate the anti-fa’ed-in-the-head domestic terrorists that seem to travel around the country with impunity committing felonies.
Northbound are tax free MacBooks and iPhones from the Portland Apple Store, the busiest in North America.
I can’t imagine why…
“Putin Warns Ayatollah: You’re in Danger & You’re Alone”
https://www.independentsentinel.com/putin-warns-ayatollah-youre-in-danger-youre-alone/
Iran is in danger. They are arguing with an armed nation and stating that they will end them.
There is only one way that this can end. Bomb Iran back to the stone ages.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/trump-revokes-californias-nation-leading-electric-vehicle-mandate-00402601
FIFY
I totally voted for that, too.
CAFE needs to be rolled back to 2010 or eliminated completely by Congress.
“Trump Rejects Netanyahu’s Request To Join War, As Israel Needs Large US Bunker Buster Bombs”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-proclaims-total-air-superiority-over-iranian-capital-area-war-intensifies
“Axios underscores that “Israel lacks the bunker buster bombs and large bomber aircraft needed to destroy Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment site, which is built into a mountain and deep underground. The U.S. has both within flying distance of Iran.””
“Meanwhile, the images coming out of Iran show unprecedented and shocking scenes of oil refineries burning uncontrollably while nearby highway traffic has been forcibly stopped…”
I was wondering when Israel would start targeting Iran’s refineries and oil fields.
Israel does have large bunker busters but, we really do not want them to use nuclear weapons. At least, I do not. But, Israel is heading in that direction.
“Around One Million Illegal Aliens Have ‘Self-Deported’ Under Trump; Report”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/million-illegal-aliens-self-deported-under-trump
I voted for that.
“Where Is The Tariff Inflation?”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/where-tariff-inflation
“Well, this is awkward…”
I shall venture to the podium of being an ass.
Let them fight it out. How far away is Iran from the US? Better, how far from Texas? This ain’t our circus nor our monkeys fighting.
Let the Sand People kill each other, they have warred since forever. Let them glass Mecca and Jerusalem.
I’ll bet doing so stops a lot of the bullshit that has happened over the last couple of thousand years.
Fallout? That’s going to be Turkey’s and India’s and China’s problem. I think most of the fallout will settle before it gets to the Americas.
Like I said… venturing to the podium….
Israel won’t have the moral high ground anymore the moment they use a nuke.
The lesson for the despots since Khadafi’s execution by red hot bayonet sodomy has been to get a nuke as fast as possible.
Israel nuking Tehran will make the despots’ quest for nukes a matter of national survival for their respective populations.
Let them fight it out. How far away is Iran from the US? Better, how far from Texas? This ain’t our circus nor our monkeys fighting.
Pardon me, I was unclear. I meant that we should let them fight it out. Not us, the USA. We need to walk away from the Middle East.
I have already sent my son to the Middle East twice. I do not want to send anyone else’s son to the Middle East. Or Europe. Or Ukraine. Or Russia.
Now if we want to supply large bunker busters to Israel, I am ok with that.
On a more cheerful note, I called the flooring folks. To ask about fading from sunlight. Nope, the stuff doesn’t fade and if it does it’s under warranty.
Yeah, get that warranty stuff in 15 years….
The old carpet was (your choice) faded overall or just clean under the area rug.
Israel won’t have the moral high ground anymore the moment they use a nuke.
The pictures and videos that I am seeing state that neither side has a moral high ground.
Wow, it is pouring down rain here again. And I do mean pouring.
My office front pond is full and overflowing. The office back pond is almost full, having come up over a foot in the last couple of days.
Nope. Nothing. It’s not our circus. Let the folks that don’t eat bacon fight it out.
https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2025/06/16/trump-fires-back-at-tucker-carlson-over-israel-iran-strikes-n4940853
Tucker Carlson is deranged.
New: Iran Folds Like a Wash-and-Wear Suit, Starts Begging for a Ceasefire
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/06/16/new-iran-is-now-begging-for-a-ceasefire-n2190543
Let’s take these peace talks to Paris and in venerable tradition, start with the shape of the table…
In the meantime, take the exit labeled “Highway to Hell”
Duffy to Sanctuary Cities: No Riot Relief on Taxpayer’s Dime
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/06/16/duffy-to-sanctuary-cities-no-riot-relief-on-taxpayer-dime-n2658925
Starbucks, Chipotle, Umpqua Bank, and Urban Pantry. I’d bet evey one of those and 90+% of their employees support the protests.
Hope you’re all safe and jobless for months.
I believe the female half of my landlords in Vantucky worked for Umpqua in Portland doing something in their C-suite.
The house was her house, purchased with her divorce settlement so everything was done to her preferences, including installing the Closet Maid system in the master bedroom without drywall anchors.
No man was going to tell her how to do things, including Boy Lollipop, the second husband, with whom she cheated on the first husband if I read the situation correctly.
My wife’s former associate’s house listing from a few years ago.
In case your wondering what “Pro” alcoholic gear looks like, the cabinet against the wall of the dining room is the five figure bar that the idiot husband commissioned when they still lived in Texas.
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Washougal/2421-41st-St-98671/home/14679941
@paul
The Iranians regime is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They were the source of thousands of IED’s that killed and maimed our soldiers in Afghanistan, produced millions of dollars of top-notch counterfeit $100 bills that circulate in underground economies all of the world, and have supplied financing for terrorism that has kept the Middle East at war for decades. Obama and Biden gave them pallets of money–billions of dollars–that have been used to spread misery and death.
That said, I would offer them a deal: Peace in return for giving up all nuclear ambitions and turning all facilities over to the USA.
No international entity or team to connive in a coverup, just our military and civilian investigators carefully purged of the Woke, neocons and other Jew-haters. Then we go in with cameras on day one and document every piece of equipment that was sold by the French, Germans, and Chinese in violation of international law*. I have no doubt that there will be equipment from U.S. companies, and after a brief investigation I would be very sad at the spate of executives that threw themselves off high buildings in fits of remorse and splashed hard on the tarmac. I say splash because I would expect that every on of them had been waterboarded so many times to extract information that they would welcome the fires of hell to dry them out.
But since they won’t make that deal, yeah, use the bunker busters and repeat until the magma is close to breaking out.
*Best to have the equipment, but I have no doubt that the Israelis will vacuum up a lot of records in the chaos and share with U.S. intel.
Urban Pantry.
Skulls will get cracked since that is The Pearl, one of the Fancy Lad neighborhoods in Portland.
>>Weak coffee at Tim Horton’s.
Don’t forget the poutine.
Intel had the contract to support state-level routers in Iran, something they inherited through several layers of acquisitions from Cyberguard, the manufacturer, a company in Florida which was run by Senator Rick Scott (RINO-FL) from the mid 2000s until he opted to run for Governor in 2009.
And it’s not a bad thing that Iran’s days of supplying most of the drones to the Russian efforts to destroy Ukraine are over.
re: pro-alcoholic gear
Ouch. The mixed styles offend my eye. Is that arts-and-craft combined with faux Queen Anne? And straight from Ikea table and chairs?
Ouch #2. We have a dry-bar console (from Ikea, I’m not so proud to deny it) that’s about that size, and full of glassware similar to that pictured. And a bookshelf loaded to overflowing with bottles next to it. Including 8 or 9 styles of gin.
Hey, during the pandemic we entertained ourselves with vintage cocktails.
FWIW, I drink about 2 cocktails a week now.
The one and only time I went to Timmy’s in Katy, TX, I was there to buy coffee. But I scanned the menu up and down looking for poutine. No luck. Only pastries, and they were frankly unappealing.
Oh, the coffee wasn’t great, either. Better than Starbuck’s, but that’s a low bar.
Culver’s doesn’t have poutine on the “official” menu, but you can order fries, gravy, and cheese curds as sides.
Houston has several Culvers in the suburbs.
Culvers is across from Kalahari in Round Rock – another famous … or infamous … Wisconsin chain – if all else fails.
You have probably been to the craft cocktails web site the “Pro” edits as his day job.
I’m not going to drop the link again. You can search the archives. I’m already disgusted that I spent almost two years supporting his sorry b*tt with my wife being the senior staff member and partner in the office even though I was unemployed.
Ikea is at the bridge entering Portland from that side of Vantucky, right next to the entrance to the Portland Airport.
The house was probably staged to sell with minimal furnishings, however. Despite being Texas natives, they left Fredericksburg in a hurry in 2011 after the idiot did something stinky running for Mayor as a fringe loony candidate in the “Tea Party” beatdown of the Obama agenda in 2010.
Now that I think about it, you may even know them since the wife was at Methodist San Jacinto as a resident.
Putting aside that noone in the history of ever claimed atHome was in any way equivalent to IKEA,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14817053/ikea-rival-declares-bankruptcy-ceo-donald-trump-tariffs.html
They did in fact declare bankruptcy.
n
I’ve heard complaints about Texas Tim Horton’s from Canadians and/or people who went to the chain the last time they made a serious attempt at spreading into the US through key northern states under Wendy’s ownership of the chain.
The local Tim Horton’s is the first in Austin, an experiment to see if the sales are good enough to support the full infrastructure the chain requires to offer things like soups and hot sandwiches.
The Burger King franchisee for the area actually operates the restaurant.
QSR, the Canadian parent company of Tim Horton’s, owns Burger King, Firehouse Subs, and Popeye’s “Louisiana” Kitchen (!).
At Home does huge Halloween decor business, but the local store always seems dead the rest of the year.
I thought it was just Austin at first, but Retail Archeology profiled At Home within the last week, and I’ve never seen a retailer survive for long after being tagged by that channel as being in trouble.
Retail Archeology was the first to call Fry’s.
Everyone knew after ~ 2014, but the chain was privately held and secretive.
The stock is definitely *A*ustin *t*exas Home, with lots of things only a bored stay at home housewife here would buy pre-Temu.
The next Texas chain you’re going to see exploring Bankruptcy is Academy.
Nope, not up to the USA who decides to leave. (Your choice over who to elect as president though). I am angry that to facilitate a high level government meeting, my government has to allow a felon into our country. I would have preferred we never let him in. (I have minor issues with PM Carney about this. I recognize refusing entry causes other problems with the narcissistic yam. The USA elected a felon so I guess we need to let him in.)
All moot as it turns out he is leaving early because he is too busy making a deal with Iran. Sure he is. He left West Point early (no congratulating every graduating cadet personally as every other president has done) because he had to meet with “leaders”. Sure. Probably missing a golf date. Another $3MM of your tax dollars to do so. But not my president, not my country, and so only peripherally if at all my problem. I will grant you there is entertainment value if you think watching the USA become something far less than a shining city on a hill is entertaining. As the USA has historically been a good friend and of course a good neighbour I would prefer some other source of comedy/tragedy.
One of our former exchange students is visiting along with a friend of hers. She was visiting a friend in Alabama and we met them in Chattanooga. From there we visited the Jack Daniel’s distillery and did the tour. Years ago the tour was free with the tasting option costing extra. Now there is the tasting tour, which costs, and no more free tours. The last time we were there, and the tour was free, the place was swamped. I suspect the charge slowed down the hoards a little.
Here are some pictures from the place. No pictures inside where the mash tanks are located, inside the charcoal filtering area, inside the distilling area, or inside the barrel house. The excuse given was electronic devices might generate a spark and there were a lot of alcohol fumes. It is just an excuse as the fumes are not that strong. I suspect the insurance company got involved with the deciding entity being some idiot with a 3rd grade education in chemistry.
https://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/Jack/
It was pouring down rain in various parts of the city and surrounds today. Up north, on the east side. I don’t think we got much here at the house though.
The “trauma bandages” were a bust. Most of the pallet was refills for the baby sized CPR doll’s lungs, and the one case of bandages were really just gauze pads. BIG pads, but just pads.
I stopped by my selling auctioneer and will be taking more stuff there soon. One of the guys there got sick when I did and seems to have had something very similar. I’m still feeling off.
Dinner and dessert from the freezer. W safely in Florida. Kids home.
Busy day tomorrow too.
n
I believe the owner of all those outfits is a Brazilian company.
Restaurant Brands International (QSR), is traded on the NYSE and Toronto exchanges.
Primary offices are in Miami.
https://www.rbi.com/English/brands/default.aspx
They did the usual Chattanooga touristy things, right?
Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway.
Limit the social media exposure so people buy tickets for the tour.
Plus phone imaging is getting almost good enough to build 3D models of interior spaces just panning the camera around the room. I imagine that exact dimensions of everything in those rooms are trade secrets.
My money is on the first possibility, however.
re: Culvers
I may have given you the incorrect impression that I was interested in ordering poutine.
I was only interested in seeing it on the menu. Under no circumstances would I order it at Timmy’s or Culvers.
re: Houston Methodist San Jacinto
I only went there once, early in the Epic rollout, to a requirements meeting with executives about hospital billing reporting needs.
Speaking of HM, I just learned today that there are allegations that HM may have done extra testing on certain patients, deleted the test results from the medical record, and in violation of federal law may have hidden adverse vaccine reactions from the reporting system. This is all second hand info to me, but very believable. I know doctors at Methodist fired patients who wouldn’t take the jab.
I hope if it’s true someone contacts me. I know how to audit Epic to see precisely who has altered medical records. There is an extensive audit trail, and if that gets erased, then Epic corporation had to be involved in the coverup.
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/06/16/major-ice-raid-at-an-omaha-meat-packing-plant-reveals-an-unfortunate-truth-n2190563
Fired ABC Reporter Denies He Was Drunk
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/06/16/fired-abc-reporter-denies-he-was-drunk-when-he-unleashed-savage-tweet-makes-a-mockery-of-objectivity-n2190561
99.7% sober
Breaking: Trump Heading Back From G7 Early, Convening National Security Council (Updated)
https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2025/06/16/breaking-trump-heading-back-from-g7-early-convening-national-security-council-n2190569
Leaving the g6 with no chance of being in the headlines of anything.
Away from Mar A Lago, Trump seems to have an extra layer of security beyond the Secret Service since the incidents in Pennsylvania and his golf course in West Palm Beach last summer.
I believe this additional layer of protection was also responsible for Wee Pierre’s post-election trip to Mar A Lago being kept a secret until the Prime Minister was safely back in the air departing PBI that weekend.
I had an off-the-record exchange with an speaker who worked for Epic at a medical conference two years ago in Wisconsin. He said that Microsoft is very involved with what happens in Verona through the Dragon Nuance acquisition, and he believed that Redmond/BillG would end up with control of the company after “Good Day Sunshine” plays for the last time on the internal morning briefing call.
At the time, Epic was just getting started letting GPT4 loose on “test” patient records in the database so they were early customers for our boxes which enabled the monkey trick.
God only knows what they were asking the AI to do with the records.
Listing on eBay includes an offer to let AI write it, which enables a lot of lipstick on a lot of pigs.
The next Texas chain you’re going to see exploring Bankruptcy is Academy.
I hope not, they are a good store who has been trying to figure out their mission for the last few years. They overbuilt the number of stores in the urban areas and it may be coming back to bite them.
I used to buy my boots at Academy back in the 1990s and 2000s. I still have a pair of work boots from there that I wear for comfort and don’t care about getting them nasty.
I seem to remember that there were a couple of BAD fires in whiskey distilleries a few years ago. That may have made the insurance companies order the tours stopped.
The song for today is “Breakdown” by The Alan Parsons Project from the “I Robot” album. Yes, inspired by the “I, Robot” book by Isaac Asimov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqpiuKwI33A
The singer for the album version may be familiar, he is Allan Clarke of the Hollies.
I have listened to this album at least a hundred times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB8dweYCLes&list=PLrnz4iRZQNlfgvjdvRqdbMUgRCwAOE_4M
@tv, Missed the part about the felon being Trump… but really, Canada can’t complain about who they let in, even PBS, the lefty bastion, raised their eyebrows over some of the terrorists and bad guys Canada gives welfare to…
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/trail/etc/canada.html
There are other examples, this was just the first to come up. It was in the news when I was working in Toronto and Alberta around 2013 too regarding some other bad guys. And the terror training camp in Waterloo about the same time….
n