Hot and humid. Wet or not. But hot and humid is most likely. It was crazy humid yesterday. I was sweating in the shade, just standing still, and even with A/C, when I was working, I soaked through my T shirt. Nasty. Very glad it was late this year, and relatively moderate.
Did my stuff yesterday. Did the kid stuff, then did some pickups, then did my other thing. Took all day. Came home and made dinner. Tried a new (to me) technique for cooking steak in a stainless pan, with asparagus and corn on the cob for sides. Steak was the $10 prime NY Strip that’s been on sale this week. Nicely marbled. Pan frying took it past the very rare I’d normally like, but the flavor was really nice. Dang youtube. I learned something. Well, I learned it now that I tried it and actually DID it.
A lot of prepping is like that, you THINK you are learning it, and to some degree you are, but until you actually try DOING it, you can’t be sure. I burned the garlic bread, but the steaks were delicious. In this case, I slotted some new knowledge in alongside of some existing knowledge, ie. how to cook stuff in the kitchen, and then I pulled that out of my brain and actually tried it. The success was mainly due to it being an extension of existing skills and knowledge. The more base knowledge and experience you have, the easier it becomes to slot that new stuff into memory, and to execute when you actually have a chance to try it out.
Build a good base and you’ll have a better chance for success when you need it.
—————
I’m going to try to sleep in a bit today, then clear a bunch of stuff out of the house, and hopefully out of my storage unit. It would be good to clean one out. And I’d like for my wife to see a change in the house when she gets back.
Always be working, always be stacking…
nick
Burned garlic is not recoverable.
But you will be, um, enjoying the aroma for quite some time…
The problem is, as we have seen so often in other Middle-Eastern countries: What replaces the current government is likely to be even worse. Iran is a good bit more advanced than, say, Afghanistan. We don’t really want someone like ISIS in control there.
I sincerely hope that the Iranian people seize the chance, but they allowed the religious fruitcakes to take control in the first place, so I’m not particularly hopeful.
Well, well. After further checking with the VSO it seems like the VA is making my TDIU claim effective date March of 2017. That is eight years of back pay between what I was paid over those years versus 100% of TDIU. That is going to be a significant amount, tax free.
I bow to your expertise on oil, but will note that there are reports of unrest and demonstrations, and that Xi might be in real trouble.
Time will tell. That Kharg Island still exists must be some (stabilizing) comfort to the oil folk.
Americans would weenie out about gas prices long before the unrest started in China. Trump would open the SPR for political reasons just as Biden did ahead of 2022 midterms, limiting the Dems damage everywhere but Florida.
A big hole in a carrier would also quickly cut US interest in another “war” run by the MacDill freak show commands.
94F and sunny in the driveway. Looks like a nice day to stay inside in A/C… too bad I can’t do that.
Coffee is just about ready…
n
Burned garlic is not recoverable.
== this is true. HOWEVER… whenever I burn bread, it can be saved by scraping off the burned part. . . The critical thing is turning the bread upside down, so the scraped off part falls away from the bread. If you just scrape it face up, the bitter black part ends up deeper in the bread. Do it upside down and you are left with clean unburned bread, albeit usually dried out. Some extra butter, and it was OK. All the burned garlic came off with the black butter and bread.
n
Not sure quite what’s going on with the climate panic over here. They – including the national weather service – keep forecasting really high temperatures. Heatwave incoming, OMG, eleventy!!! The day comes, and the actual temps are nowhere near the forecast. The next heatwave is supposed to arrive next week, with temps up to 35C in the cities. I suppose, if they keep predicting, sheer chance means they will eventually get one right.
There have been a couple of funny comparisons. Current weather maps all covered in red, compared to screenshots of 20-30 years ago – higher temperatures, but the maps mostly green. One I saw today: temperatures this high (the forecast 35C) are completely unprecedented – next to a photo of a newspaper from 50 years ago reporting actual temperatures of 40C. Unusual, but hardly unprecedented – and anyway, I’ll believe the 35C if it actually happens.
Today, 100+ climate researchers went to the capital to testify that money invested in climate research is money well spent. Of course it is – for them, anyway.
It is hitting 111F at the new house.
@mratoz, that isn’t really livable with a third world technology level… Houston wouldn’t be comfortable, at least not in most style homes, but 110F? That’s hide in a cave hot.
n
Post Solstice at – 45 N latitude.
They know better, but, Good God, man, with USAID gutted, generational soup bowls are at stake in the theme parks that comprise the EU.
When we went to the LA County Fire Museum to see the “Emergency” exhibits, the r docent was really helpful and informative, but he was also a bit bitter about having his USAID soup bowl taken away. He would normally train people from all over the world on search and rescue at TAMU in the summer on a State Dept. program and that wasn’t happening this year.
Global Warming Is Real!
We Are All Going To Die!!!
“SpaceX’s Starship Explodes During Routine Test in Texas”
https://rumble.com/v6v0gv1-spacexs-starship-explodes-during-routine-test-in-texas.html
WOW ! ! !
And this is why we test and test and test and …
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacexs-starship-explodes-in-texas-during-preparations-for-10th-test-flight
“The US Likely Has 8 Years—At Most—Before Crisis”
https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/153000-153000/
“Yesterday afternoon the US government published its annual report stating plainly that America has eight years left before a major financial crisis.”
“This is not hyperbole. This is not conjecture. This is not some wild conspiracy theory.”
“In fact, eight years until a crisis is probably the BEST CASE SCENARIO unless Congress takes serious action soon.”
“That’s because the most critical trust fund in the Social Security system (called OAS, or “Old Age Survivors) will be fully depleted.”
“That’s precisely what it says in the 2025 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of Social Security, signed by the US Secretary of Treasury just yesterday.”
“But on top of that— by 2033, the total US national debt will be $52 TRILLION according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. And the CBO notoriously underestimates deficits… so in all likelihood the national debt will be event greater.”
This is well documented in the future documentary “The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047” by Lionel Shriver. In fact, the financial apocalypse will probably happen around 2029.
https://www.amazon.com/Mandibles-Family-2029-2047-Lionel-Shriver/dp/006232828X?tag=ttgnet-20
Just did 3 craigslist ads for about $4k worth of stuff. Hopefully I’ll get some interest. I’ve got more to do, but need to move stuff around first.
Speaking of which, I should get moving.
n
Yield on 1-3 year Treasuries over the past year has been running 5-6%. Even if the debt projections are accurate, payment estimates at 40% of tax revenues seem a bit low as well.
We occasionally hit 11 1F when we lived in Sacramento, CA. But in northern California, the weather was quite constant; add the temperature and humidity, and the total was generally around 120 all year long. So when the temp was 110, the humidity was 10%, or less.
Here in San Antonio, a 90 degree temperature is often accompanied with a 90% RH, which is truly miserable. MrAtoz’s new home is near Las Vegas, right? So high temps, bone-dry. If you need to cool the place down, we had an “Arizona Mist” system along the south face of the house; that would drop the outside temperature by 15 degrees.
I changed my Part D insurer because they raised the rates. First year was about $6 a month. Next year about $7. Then about $9. I never used any of it. I’m not on anything other than an aspirin or a Tums once in a while. When they went to almost $40 a month I went looking.
They sent a letter. I almost tossed the envelope into the trash and I suspect a lot of folks would. It looked like junk mail. Then again, what is the “old Part D company” sending? A “please come back” letter? And why?
It seems that if an insurer pays less than 80% out for claims they have to refund the money. They sent a check. I’m $117 richer. Nice!
Well, it hit 106F here yesterday. Humidity in the single digits, but little wind.
Today it is supposed to only be 100F, but winds to 40mph…
Today, 100+ climate researchers went to the capital to testify that money invested in climate research is money well spent. Of course it is – for them, anyway.
Of course they did. They are part of the greatest scam ever and well paid for it
Yield on 1-3 year Treasuries over the past year has been running 5-6%. Even if the debt projections are accurate, payment estimates at 40% of tax revenues seem a bit low as well.
Read the Mandible documentary above. Interest rates are going to get crazy in 2029.
I was offered 7.15% fixed for five years on a 30 year mortgage on a second house that I am think about buying yesterday. I was not pleased.
I changed my Part D insurer because they raised the rates. First year was about $6 a month. Next year about $7. Then about $9. I never used any of it. I’m not on anything other than an aspirin or a Tums once in a while. When they went to almost $40 a month I went looking.
My wife and I use Wellcare Value Script for our Part D. Zero cost for us. I take two prescription drugs and my wife takes one.
It is hitting 111F at the new house.
We were 92 F at noon. And probably 60 % humidity.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/06/end_the_epa_s_endangerment_finding.html
We ordered a new washer/dryer combo for the new house. The Military Exchanges have a partnership with Home Depot, so I used that interface. You get the 10% or better if there is a promo or discount over the 10% milspec discount. No tax, of course. I paid for installation and haul away. Home Depot handles everything, you just get PX/BX rates.
The Legislature voted to support real estate prices with the surplus, but only for another two years.
7.15 fixed and then it floats?
To quote another wordsmith, “Sorrow floats”.
John Irving. “The Hotel New Hampshire.”
“Scientists release ‘worrisome’ report on climate change, Earth stability”
https://www.chron.com/weather/article/scientists-warn-that-greenhouse-gas-accumulation-20385139.php
“”Things aren’t just getting worse. They’re getting worse faster.””
These people have zero credibility. Their models have no basis in reality.
Yesterday morning there was a “thing” on the bridge from the deck. Not a cicada, wrong time of the year. Cat barf doesn’t move…. or breathe. It’s a baby bird. Laying on his back. Yes, there is a nest in the deck cover twelve feet above. I picked him up and we looked at each other. I put him down, with his feet down, and went on with the dog walk. Dunno. Like his parents can airlift him to a safe place?
I figured he was going to die. A twelve feet drop, right? I looked out the window around noon and he had moved. So I put him in a flower pot saucer that is about an inch and a half deep and sat that on top of the pellet grill pellet box. Away from the cats. His parents found him! They are feeding the kid.
They are little sparrow like critters. Pointy beaks. Yellowish on the belly and a sort of rosy brown on top. Very pretty. Smaller than the canary we use to have and they “sing” about as badly. Sounds like a chorus of crickets crossed with frogs out there. I get to listen to all of the chirping and I’m happy to do so.
His wing feathers have grown a noticeable amount since yesterday. He’s starting to blow down feathers. Think fur but of feathers. Cute little thing.
Going by cockatiels, he’ll be out of the nest and doing first flight into the wild blue yonder in about three more days.
Good times.
“Iran Launches 2,000 km-Range Sejil Missiles at Israel for the First Time in History”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/iran-launches-2000-km-range-sejil-missiles-israel/
“The solid-fuel, two-stage Sejil—first tested in 2008—is highly maneuverable and difficult to intercept, strengthening Iran’s strategic posture.”
“Spokesmen from the IRGC proudly confirmed that three Sejils—each boasting a range between 2,000 and 2,500 km, Mach‑13 speeds, and a warhead capacity up to 700 kg—were launched deep into Israeli territory under the cover of Operation True Promise 3.”
This missile is designed to terrorize the Israeli population.
There is only one way to stop this terror attack on Israel. That is to bomb Iran back into the Stone Ages. I am surprised that Israel has not taken out the Iranian oil fields yet.
If the guy down the street continuously threatens your family, you must take him seriously. The Iranians and their proxies have launched hundreds of thousands of missiles into Israel. They are dangerous and crazy people that must be dealt with. And by Israel, not the USA.
I went to my Cardiologist today. Their new EKG machine said that I had had a myocardial infarction (heart attack) in the past. I was like yeah, I have been telling you this. I had a heart attack in 2009 when I was 49. She was “but you are in such good health, I do not see any signs of debilitation”.
So now we are going to do a full line of testing in July. It is ok, this will be stress test #8.
Greg said “Yield on 1-3 year Treasuries over the past year has been running 5-6%.”.
Ok, I don’t know, I haven’t tracked that. But 4 to 52 week t-bills, I look at that.
https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_bill_rates&field_tdr_date_value_month=202307
I have a haphazard mix of $10,000 t-bills. I’m too chicken to drop it all into one t-bill. I have a mix of ten varying from 8 to 26 weeks. Generally, I buy for the highest interest.
I’ve looked a little at the 10 year stuff but at my age? It’s like getting a puppy.
I’ve looked a little at the 10 year stuff but at my age? It’s like getting a puppy.
You don’t smoke, you quit drinking, and you are skinny. You are going to live to be 104.
“Micron Unveils $200B Plan to Expand US Chip Manufacturing”
https://manufacturing-today.com/news/micron-unveils-200b-plan-to-expand-us-chip-manufacturing/
“Micron Technology has significantly increased its US semiconductor manufacturing investment to $200 billion. This decision positions the company at the forefront of reshoring efforts and aligns with national priorities to reduce reliance on foreign chipmakers.”
“The expansion includes the construction of advanced fabrication facilities in Boise, Idaho, and Clay, New York, and upgrades to Micron’s plant in Manassas, Virginia.”
“Micron will allocate about $150 billion to manufacturing infrastructure and $50 billion to research and development. The project marks one of the most ambitious efforts by a US-based chipmaker to restore domestic technological leadership.”
“In Idaho, the company plans to develop the first new memory fab in the country in more than 20 years. The New York site will serve as a manufacturing anchor for the East Coast, and the Virginia plant will be modernized to support next-generation capabilities.”
That is an unreal amount of investment over ??? years. Even at 20 years, that is serious money.
Vanguard VBIRX and its benchmark.
I thought they were at 80% Treasuries when it turns out they’re down around 70%.
Still, 4-5% on straight Treasuries 1-3 years is a concern with regard to debt service.
>>@mratoz, that isn’t really livable with a third world technology level… Houston wouldn’t be comfortable, at least not in most style homes, but 110F? That’s hide in a cave hot.
Currently 111F here in the SW desert…but with just 4% RH. Not bad if you manage to stay out of the direct sun. And insulated concrete block construction keeps the A/C from running 24×7. Definitely better than FL, glad we left.
Unfortunately, Micron is commodity silicon which we’re arguably better off not making.
Twenty years ago, government policy provided an incentive to turn the US commodity plants into solar cell manufacturing lines, something we never should have been involved in manufacturing in the first place.
Most of the houses built in Florida in the last 30 years are wrong for the climate and built in vulnerable locations.
My friends moved into a Rutenberg US Home house built in the mid-70s, and the wife was never happy with the design philosophy. Eventually, she dumped a couple of cubic yards of concrete into the sunken living room, effectively destroying the way the house elevation changes worked.
@mratoz, that isn’t really livable with a third world technology level… Houston wouldn’t be comfortable, at least not in most style homes, but 110F? That’s hide in a cave hot.
Every third world country I see in pictures now has the split a/c units all over the place. That is like when I grew up in Oklahoma and Texas in the 1960s and 1970s. Every house built before 1970 had window units all over the place. And the adults yelling at you to not stand in front of the window unit in the living room.
“White House Says Trump To Decide On Attacking Iran ‘Within Next 2 Weeks'”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/missile-causes-extensive-damage-israeli-hospital-idf-bombs-inactive-iranian-heavy
“Tactical nukes now?”
Frack me, I do not want the USA to have anything to do with dropping tactical nukes on Iran. That way lies insanity. Let the Israelis drop their nukes on Iran, the Israelis are the injured party.
My friends moved into a Rutenberg US Home house built in the mid-70s, and the wife was never happy with the design philosophy. Eventually, she dumped a couple of cubic yards of concrete into the sunken living room, effectively destroying the way the house elevation changes worked.
Sunken living rooms are bad for old people like me with progressive glasses. You cannot see the elevation change and fall into the sunken living room.
Buy a different house.
Rutenberg US Home in the 70s was the fulfillment of what Frank Lloyd Wright had in mind when, near the end of his life in the late 50s, he said that he could rebuild the entire country if given another 15 years to work.
The wife filed for a divorce within a year of filling in the living room.
Buy a different house.
At least a dozen homes in our neighborhood have sunken living rooms. They are death traps.
If I ever bought one, the cement truck would be there in the first week.
Well. Dunno. Dad made it to almost 85. He also went to Iwo and Korea and ‘Nam. Mom was a month shy of 90. But ya know, having a UTI when the nursing home is locked down for the chink flu and won’t take her to the hospital or whatever, who knows. Granmama was almost 97. That’s all I got to go on.
I think I should make 90 if not more. My goal is October 30, 2057. Not sure why. I’ve out lived almost everyone I know… that are friends. But turning 100 is a goal. Shrug.
Oh, the t-bill stuff? They have longer options but then you are locked in for a few years. Kind of like a CD from your bank. Do I have more interest income? A bit perhaps but overall, not much as I see it, I don’t know. I think I have more liquidity with t-bills.
Look at it like this: My bank atm pays point 5 % interest on savings. They have CDs but I have to go to a branch. Why? Up-sale to something I guess. I can go to Treasurydirect.com and buy t-bills all on my own. And get about 1% more than the bank pays on CDs. No driving to Austin. Just clicky click on my PC and it done.
Feel free to tell me where I’m screwing up. Because no one I know seems to have a clue.
““Just a Scratch”: Elon Musk Reacts to Massive Explosion of Starship During Launchpad Test”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/just-scratch-elon-musk-reacts-massive-explosion-starship/
“Almost an hour and a half later, Musk posted regarding a possible cause, “Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure. If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.””
Huh, I guess that they are using nitrogen for venting the pipes. I guess the pipe venting did not work and so the LNG and the LOX got together and had a huge explosion.
I manage to buy CDs at Austin Telco, but getting out at maturity of the first one required a phone call.
Public Employees Credit Union needed a phone call because my wife’s name is on my account for transparency but she doesn’t go anywhere near the building since signing the paperwork. I had to either make her beneficiary if I died or fill out paper in person for co-ownership.
I made her beneficiary. The transaction concluded with one call.
Binary? Octal?
Nah. Your progressive glasses are messed up. It’s not age and eyes. It’s contrast on the flooring and bad/dim lighting. Along with no kind of room divider between the levels.
We lived in a house with a sunken living room and me at 12 could miss the step in the dark. But yeah,. 🙂
Drat. We opted to skip the trip to South Padre Island this year for the 4th of July.
SpaceX still has to maintain public access to the county beach property via a road passing within a couple of hundred yards of the launch pad on weekends. I wonder how much longer that will continue.
I would build a wood frame over the sunken area, plastic over the existing floor before laying the wood structure. I would also run a couple of electrical conduits and place in-floor outlets.
Around 40% of the population does not have $1000 in the bank or even stuffed under a mattress for an emergency.
Binary? Octal?
Hexadecimal!
The change could be undone at a later date if the decision maker was … gasp! … wrong.
X-er female with serious Daddy issues. That wasn’t going to happen.
Plus, Florida Man. It doesn’t matter.
I see it differently because my parents wrote a down payment check for our first Florida house and handed it to Rutenberg himself. The house has only been through three owners in the last 50 years.
We’re ALL screwing up, and your plans look better than mine.
In November, 1979, I was at NAS Pensacola, FL, in the VT-10 NFO training squadron. Almost instantly, the ready room was filled with posters, including one with a mushroom cloud that said, “Use the Silver Bullet on Iran!” and another that said “Open a can of SUNSHINE in Iran!” Typical gung-ho stuff. We all knew that seizing the embassy was a de facto AND de jure declaration of war, and that only that weakling Jimmy Caca refused to take it seriously.
So if Trump bombs Iran, he can tell the world “We’ve acknowledged Iran’s 1979 declaration of war, and now we’re going to finish the war and finally achieve peace.”
On a happier note, I recently read that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was recently killed and has finally achieved his 72 Virginians.
https://www.jokebuddha.com/joke/72_Virginians
My house here has a sunken formal living room. One step down, but you have to pass thru an opening the size of double doors on one side, or a wide single door on the other. Some people in my neighborhood have filled theirs, with wood or concrete. The slabs and foundations weren’t really built to have that much concrete there though, and the wood sounds hollow.
We used the room as a cage for the babies and left it carpeted. Now it’s the ‘library’ and I get extra book space because of the extra foot of ceiling. The Christmas tree looks nice in there too, in front of the bay window. No special architect history in my house.
————
As I sit here for the last couple of days I’m ripping music and vids again. I got a 10 disc set of the hits of the 70s, and I’m ripping that now. I put two of them in the kid’s car because all the new music is slow and mopey like the 70s music, and she’s got a bunch of AM radio hits on her playlists. She was rocking out to it yesterday… “I know this song and love it, but I didn’t know it was that old.” – Kung Fu Fighting Carl Douglas. Everything old is new again.
n
Rutenberg US Home was middle class housing, but it was slab on grade and meant to be appropriate for the envioronment, descended from Wright’s philosophies.
After Rutenberg left US Home and his non-compete expired, he did high end work, but that was limited and came towards the end of his life/career.
That said, many of the houses built by the company still stand and will probably continue to be around after the long overdue storm up the mouth of Tampa Bay takes out the stucco cr*p shack designs which have dominated residential construction in Florida for the last 30 years.
The Pahlavi family does not need to return to power if that is the intent of the MacDill freak shows to fill the leadership vacuum after the Mullahs flee.
Binary? Octal?
I just read a story in AARP magazine where a guy’s Jewish grandmothers both lived to be 104. I thought it was a cool number and story. One was health conscious, the other smoked and ate a Hershey’s bar every day at 3pm.
https://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2025/grandmothers-secrets-to-longevity.html
The Pahlavi family does not need to return to power if that is the intent of the MacDill freak shows to fill the leadership vacuum after the Mullahs flee.
I’ll take the Shah’s son or nephew any day of the week over the freak show in Iran right now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Pahlavi,_Crown_Prince_of_Iran
Gotta remember, I went to TAMU with the Shah’s nephew, we studied together for two years before he disappeared our senior year. The guy was super smart and lots of common sense. And an F-14 pilot.
Happy sort-of natal day, Nick, and many happy returns!
Paul, I hope your baby bird makes it.
We have green woodpeckers, and were watching the parents feed a fledgling on the lawn a couple of days ago. Very entertaining. Unfortunately, yesterday W1 found crows feeding on it. Don’t know whether the crows, the local kestrel, or a cat killed it, but nature can be gruesome.
I had to upgrade to the newest version of putty tonight to edit my website, from 0.63 to 0.83. Looks like my guys at Pair threw out an older cryptographic method.
https://www.putty.org/
Webserver security is tough, tough, tough. That is why I outsource it to the professionals.
BTW, this is the second “home” that I was thinking about purchasing. However, if I can only get bank financing then that means that it is hard to sell. When buying something large, I like to think about buying something one day and then selling it the next day, what would I incur in costs and time.
https://www.har.com/homedetail/9702-surrey-ln-richmond-tx-77469/2527183
This would be a good place for my software company with a couple of extra air conditioned offices with windows in the barn area. I do not need it yet but maybe some day when I sell my office properties.
It’s certainly big. No insulation or A/C in the barn yet… and I hope you aren’t allergic to whatever would grow in the field behind.
n
Some people can’t have nice things…
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/19/sport/florida-panthers-crack-dent-stanley-cup-nhl-spt-intl
(And yeah…Florida…)
It’s certainly big. No insulation or A/C in the barn yet… and I hope you aren’t allergic to whatever would grow in the field behind.
And the barn frame is made out of wood, not metal. That means … termites.
BTW, the apartment area is insulated. But there is not a permanent stairway to the area over the apartment.
Long term, there needs to be a regular house built in front of the barndo on the 1.5 acres. Then I could just walk to work.
Border Patrol Announces Disturbing Discovery Near San Diego
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2025/06/20/border-patrol-discovers-highly-sophisticated-tunnel-linking-mexico-to-us-n2659146
Waste of money.
Mexico is spewing untreated sewage into the ocean an making U.S. beaches poluted and unusable. I think we just found the solution.