Gonna be hot and humid here at the BOL today. It was pretty hot and sunny yesterday when I finally got here. Houston had been hot and humid too. It finally cooled down after sunset, and I had a nice night on the dock.
Saturday was a scramble. Met with my non-prepping hobby club, and that was nice. Poorly attended because we had to reschedule, but most of the core was there. The Board and committee meeting ran late, so I rushed to get loaded up and on my way to the BOL. Had to do 2 pickups on the way, and made the second with one minute to spare. Spent the late afternoon and evening cutting grass. It takes so much longer when I’ve let the grass get too long.
Today I’ll finish the yard work, I’ve got more string trimming and then I need to blow all the debris clear. Lots of people up here, I guess it was a three day weekend for a lot of folks, even if the Juneteenth stuff was almost absent from local media and my awareness. That DOGE spending cut at USAID must have had an effect…
Then I’ll clean up, close up, and head home. Probably late in the day. There is always a lot to do.
I’ve added some medical stuff to the stacks here, and some other small things. And of course, I’m working on improvements.
Stack. Fix. Improve.
nick
I’d seen the new processes at Costco for self checkout on previous visits. Yesterday line went way beyond anything I’ve seen before.
I’d attribute it to the booming Colonist developments along Ronald Reagan along the west side of Georgetown, but the demographics were more mixed. Plus, residents of Georgetown got their own Costco within the last year, and I see a lot more “Desi” stores up and down University/Reagan as of late.
Probably lots of FedGov employees. Or banksters “working” from home.
Fidelity’s online access for me was shaky from Wednesday night until yesterday morning, and a pending dividend deposit from Tuesday night still isn’t final in their system.
It was an easy four day weekend to slide past management even at places which mandate five days a week in the office like the financial firms ormy employer. The campus was a ghost town on Friday.
“Juneteenth” is undoing everything intended by consolidating various state and local observations across May/June into one predictable Federal holiday, Memorial Day, tied to a specific Monday.
I got the impression from the docent at the LA County Fire Museum that a lot of first responders were getting second soup bowls filled thanks to USAID funding training programs at places like TAMU in the Summer.
No soup for him this Summer.
“Not a Distraction”: Chanel Rion Has a Different Theory About the B-2 Bombers Sent to Guam”
https://discernreport.com/not-a-distraction-chanel-rion-has-a-different-theory-about-the-b-2-bombers-sent-to-guam/
We are fighting wars and preparing to fight wars on way too many fronts with way too few assets. Somebody else needs to step up and help us.
It might be time to evacuate Taiwan.
78 F and a miilion percent humidity. Gonna be another 98 F day like yesterday.
What are your thoughts about replacing the grass with something lower-maintenance?
Trump proved something else with his bombings yesterday. If he tells you to get to the bargaining table, you had better do it or suffer the consequences.
Distraction. The B2s had their ADS-B transponders active flying west.
Trump also proved that nothing will get done about the freak show commands at MacDill. The “wars” will continue.
The private room at Bern’s last night was probably booked well in advance.
Vance and Little Marco came out with Trump at 10 PM, making the statement that nothing will get done if Republicans somehow hold the White House in 2028.
I doubt either of those two will be the nominee, however.
The Colonists tend to have a dim view of the indigenous population and will use the self checkout even for a cart load of items. The irony is that most have never done any manual labor in their lives, and they’re really bad at using the checkout effectively, forcing Costco to staff the lanes.
We’ll go through the regular register for a cart load of items, but I was just testing my renewed Costco Visa yesterday as membership ID and payment since I was nearby.
I’m all for supporting the mainline Costco workers, but what I don’t like about the regular registers this time of year is that the “helper” is usually a “Jan the Man” type who will put the hard sell on about the premium membership and/or early renewal.
“Jan the Man” is not the normal checkout worker in the store and probably travels from HQ to get membership cashflow up.
Cashflow is all that matters to Issaquah with the $1000/share stock price.
Watch “Silicon Valley” if you want to understand the “Jan the Man” reference.
@Nick
The Sam’ Club self-checkout has not been without glitches, but generally works very fast. If you load the cart with the UPC codes of your items facing up and accessible, it can be very fast. A couple months ago they put up new sensors at the exit, and they not longer have to scan your receipt or spot check your items–they just tell you to roll through.
They also brought back the early hours for Executive members Mon-Sat, Time it for 9:30AM, get your shopping done, and get a sundae on the way out. I’ve thought about getting two sundaes and throwing them in my Yeti cup with a bit of coffee in the bottom to make a float.
‘We Came, We Saw, He Died’: Dems’ Breathtaking Hypocrisy On War Powers
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/06/22/we-came-we-saw-he-died-dems-breathtaking-hypocrisy-on-war-powers-n3804046
The Democrats are intellectually and morally bankrupt liars. Tim Kain making the rounds this morning is the father of a terrorist who was apprehended in Minneapolis during the Great Mostly Peaceful Burning and winkled out of town by Biden’s corrupt FBI.
I haven’t seen Thomas Massie or the RINO crew spout off this morning, but I’m sure they are ready to be the tools that they are.
Maybe one of the networks will get Samantha Powers to spew and test the latest industrial strength hypocrisy meters.
Any bets that Tulsi is long for the job?
Ask and you shall receive from YouTube. “Jan the Man”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NeJ3Kg6OUo
Don’t watch too far past her intro or you will see some disturbing symbolism.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/06/21/trumps-border-crackdown-delivers-results-in-1-million-illegal-aliens-self-deport-in-first-half-of-2025-n2659210
The tough ones may cost $17k to deport–with the help of the petty bourgeoisie black-robery–but the average is a lot less.
And the policy should be asset forfeiture at least up until the costs of processing out are covered. Maybe all of it–any assets accumulated after entering the U.S. illegally is the result of criminal activity, and hundreds of years of common law says you don’t get to keep ill-gotten gains.
Which also exactly describes citizenship for children born in the U.S. of illegal parents.
Tulsi Gabbard is done.
The Sunday talking head show guests and topics were probably locked on Wednesday, before everyone headed out of DC and New York for the Federal holiday weekend.
Faux News had to resort to rousting Cutie Pie (Hannity) out of his Palm Beach love shack and make him drive down to Hialeah to host the coverage.
This upcoming week was supposed to be slow, with everyone just going through the motions before the 4th.
President Trump should declare Fordow Freedom day and in celebration hit it 44 more times to commemorate the years since the Iranians declared war on the U.S. by seizing our embassy and taking staff and diplomats prisoner.
Then we’d have a real response to the question:
“What do you mean there is no Qom Crater in this timeline?”
Moving payment for the snack bar to the self check out app has been a disaster at our local Sam’s.
While the registers have not reappeared at the counter, every self check out now has a UPC code sheet with all of the snack bar items listed.
What are your thoughts about replacing the grass with something lower-maintenance?
– there is almost an acre of mixed weeds and grass. I don’t have a ‘lawn” as much as a patchy collection of various native and invasive green plants, cut to a uniform height, that looks nice if you squint. I have been working on simplifying some areas to make it easier to get the job done without trimming. I’ve got plans for rock beds in areas that I can’t easily mow, and may incorporate that in this summer’s landscaping/dirtwork surge.
There are areas that have beautiful thick healthy grass, but they get a perfect mix of water and shade. Much of the yard gets too much sun, and not enough water.
To complicate further, the buried septic ‘drip’ lines need grass above them to function correctly. The grass brings the moisture up, where it can evaporate. If that grass dies, because we aren’t here enough to have enough flow thru the septic, I’ll have to replant…
Providing your own infrastructure has extra work involved.
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Sunny and 89F at the moment.
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Our costco has a guy at each checkout lane to scan as many things in the basket as possible with the gun, to reduce handling. I position everything I can with a visible UPC code and it speeds things up tremendously. I’ve never had anyone at the check out attempt to upsell me anything. They rarely even talk.
At Lowes and homedepot they have replaced the self checkout hardware so many times, there is no way there is any cost savings. And they need to have one and sometimes two people there anyway to approve spray paint sales, or look up ‘by the piece’ pricing. With tickytac “influencers” spreading “hacks” about how to steal with UPC fraud and other methods, Self Checkout is VERY expensive from a loss and “breakage” pov. as some other retailers have discovered.
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n
If you have the $120 membership on automatic renewal, Costco max-ed out their cashflow from you in that department until your kids go to college and need cards of their own.
“Jan the Man” doesn’t care whether you immediately go for the refund if she catches you off guard and either renews you three months early or has the cashier upgrade your membership “by mistake”.
Cashflow.
The last time i got hit, the charge at the register went through immediately, but the refund took several days. I didn’t even leave the building between transactions.
While punching in the refund, the regular employee Customer Service clerk asked me what was the problem with the upgrade, and I said “Jan the Man” while pointing.
“Her? Oh, yeah. (Laughter)”.
PE of 66. Dividend of … $5 quarterly … ? … on a $1000 share price.
Love the regular employees at the stores, but Issaquah sucks dead bunnies.
Speaking of checkout, I ran across either a glitch or a near-to-me dark-pattern at Amazon this morning
I put several things in the shopping cart, then went to update the quantities before checking out.
Click on the “plus” button to get four of my favorite shampoo … why is it refreshing the entire screen …. why am I now in the section for my soap …. and now the oatmeal row …wth?
Each time I would click on the add quantity button it refreshed the entire screen and scramble the rows around.
Either they have a bug in their shopping cart, or are hoping that you mistakenly order larger quantities of something more expensive, or possibly: trying to make multi-orders an unpleasant experience to drive you to the auto-buy option.
But maybe a glitch, later I tried again and things stayed in place.
You can never really know with the big boys any more.
But of course a modern corporation runs 24/7 and never sleeps, and the cupidity exists at every level of management, from the CEO to those on the first step of the promotion ladder, each person aware that increasing the bottom line by 0.01% will be enough to guarantee bonuses and personal advancement, so being “satiated” is not possible.
And no, I don’t have a solution.
Ran some errands, finishing with Sam’s.
Forgot the Yeti cup, bought two sundaes anyway–peaches and cream ends June 30. Tucked them in the box next to a gallon of milk and they didn’t melt too much. Bought double the usual coffee after a momentary scare that they were out. Not running my pantry out is a humanitarian policy and should be tax deductible.
Sam’s needs to add another body on the food counter during the lunch rush on weekends. When the line gets to long or moves too slow they are losing customers. Employees are top-notch. Guy behind me was on his break and I swapped places to save him a coupe minutes.
Out doing yard stuff and found my raised tomato tubs 3″ deep in water.
Since they are on a timer for watering so I’m not sure what happened. Been a couple days since I looked, our 50 mph winds sort of made me disinclined to wander about outside.
Drained them a bit, they won’t need watering for a few days I suppose. They look stressed, but not much I can do for them.
“I’ll take Donald Trump on his worst day over Obama or Biden on their best anytime.”
–Michael Doran, Director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/06/21/dc-insider-outlines-how-rubio-removed-capability-of-foreign-governments-to-extract-intelligence-from-trump-administration/
Considering that Obama and Biden shipped billions of dollars to Iran which they used to murder thousands of people around the world, that’s not a pick fraught with the fine points of decision.
I had a Daily Caller email Friday that included a link to “premium content” that they wanted an extra dollar to view.
I don’t get their emails any more.
Big squall blew thru. Pounding down rain. Then it was gone. Sun is back, temps are a going back up after dropping 20F. I’m going to get the trimmer back out and finish up. After lunch.
n
Rainbow?
IDF Recovers Bodies of Three Hostages Murdered by Hamas on October 7
I have a small proposal.
The Hamas butchers in Gaza are funded by the Iranian butchers, who have now vowed to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to the destruction of their illegal (violation of multiple treaties) uranium enrichment and nuclear weapon development facilities.
How about if we send each of the Iranian pirate ships to the bottom of the ocean with all hands, and then designate each shipwreck as an individual memorial to one of the October 7 murder victims?
If the Iranians get tired of losing their ships and keep them in port we can consider a new policy.
They won’t close the strait with ships.
It will be mines and missiles and drones.
They know their ships wouldn’t survive long outside of port. Maybe in port, as well.
Would-Be MI Shooter Thwarted, Killed Outside Church by a Deacon and a Sharp-Shooting Security Guard
https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2025/06/22/potential-mi-church-shooter-thwarted-by-a-deacon-and-his-car-and-a-security-guard-on-alert-n2190772
Amen.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/06/22/significant-number-of-iranian-nationals-entered-us-under-biden-admin-n2659250
The first innocent death attributed to an illegal Iranian allowed to enter the United States by the Biden Administration should be followed by the total removal of any security protection provided to any member of the Obama or Biden administrations, and publishing all their addresses on the internet. And their families.
The architects of breaches to our national border should be easy to find in case the family members of any victims want to look them up for a chat.
>>Self Checkout is VERY expensive from a loss and “breakage” pov. as some other retailers have discovered.
It would be interesting to see the Costco training manual for the exit door cart checkers. (For informational purposes only of course.) When to do an item by item verification of the cart vs the receipt, for example. Similar to a DUI checkpoint, every tenth car plus anybody named Ray gets the full monty search.
or Hunter
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/06/22/dmitri-medvedev-a-number-of-countries-ready-to-gift-iran-nukes-n3804061
Sure they are. Give easily traceable weapons to rabid psychopaths.
By golly, this guy is either smart enough to be a Russian president or smart enough to s*ck Putin’s d*ck.
Then we’d have a real response to the question:
“What do you mean there is no Qom Crater in this timeline?”
“Replay” by Ken Grimwood
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X?tag=ttgnet-20/
“Here They Go Again”
https://areaocho.com/here-they-go-again/
“Rioters in Oregon are again using fireworks and lasers to attack people. Lasers can cause permanent damage and blindness when aimed at the eyes. Sure, there are glasses for them, but at $325, they are pretty expensive. You know what else stops people from causing others permanent blindness by hitting them in the eye with a laser?”
“Yep, you guessed it. If you see people in a riot, and those people are tossing explosives and aiming lasers at people’s eyes, shoot them in the face.”
I wish that this was extreme but it is not.
“Yep, you guessed it. If you see people in a riot, and those people are tossing explosives and aiming lasers at people’s eyes, shoot them in the face.”
Video cameras have limited my responses.
Hegseth Says DOD Was Spending Tens of Millions Sticking Marbles Inside the Rear Ends of Cats During Jaw-Dropping Senate Testimony (VIDEO)
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/hegseth-says-dod-was-spending-tens-millions-sticking/
Phase 2 where thy experimented on Democrats is still secret, but it explains a lot.
h/t to Peter Grant
As another well-known instructor, John Farnam, has said (and we’ve repeatedly quoted in these pages):
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/
NYT Cries ‘Sexism’ After Pete Hegseth Praises B-2 Pilots in Iran Strike Briefing
NYT Cries ‘Sexism’ After Pete Hegseth Reveals Pentagon Only Paid for Male Cats to Have Marbles Inserted Up Their Backsides
NYT: Are Democrats Losing Their Marbles?
Judge Breyer Rules that Marbles Are A Natural Right
Pride March Converges on Small Illinois Town Seeking Elgin Marbles
PITA Closes Freeway in Chicago, Demands Restaurants Stop Serving Marbled Beef
Ex-Transportation Secretary Issues Challenge, Reveals He Is Marble Expert
eBay Announces Ban on Listing “Steelies”–“Aggies” Okay For Now
Texas A&M Changes Mascot Over Aggies Controversy
Gen Alpha Votes to Rebrand as “Marble Millennials”
close ‘er up
My dad is having heart problems and refusing to go to the ER. I am heading to Port Lavaca.
Rainbow?
– not this time, but others up there have been spectacular.
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@lynn, I hope he’s ok, and I hope he’ll listen to your good advice.
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WRT “just don’t be there” I get really angry when someone offers that up with a smug look on their face (not talking about Drwilliams or Peter, because it is good advice, it’s just not the only advice) but when offered as a be all and end all of self defense and avoiding trouble, it’s a mockery of reality.
Tell Reginald Denny “just don’t be there.” Tell the hundreds of people car jacked, or followed home from the bank and robbed or murdered, or the people whose homes and businesses were destroyed by rioters “just don’t be there.”
Tell it to everyone who had to shoot someone in their home at 3 am.
Tell it to the israelis, or the South African farmers.
Tell it to the guy hit by the stray round while sitting at a red light in the middle of the day.
You don’t have to go looking for trouble to have trouble find you.
n
Home safe. Not too many street racers, no cops, and only a few vehicles on the side of the road this week.
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Finished the audiobook I had in the truck. Man, I used to like Eric van Lustbader. This book was so poorly written, it was almost a parody. IDK if I’ve changed or he has. Given that he was writing in the Jason Bourne universe for 11 books and 13 years, he must be technically better than this piece of crep (The Testament.) 1 star, not recommended.
I’ve got some fantasy book up next. Never heard of it or the author, so we’ll see if I make it past the first disc.
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I’ve been catching up on Seanan Mcguire’s inCryptid series. I quit them when the woke nonsense got too over the top, but decided to try again with 4 more. Every couple of books the viewpoint character changes, and some have been better than others. The roller derby girl one was the reason I stopped. Too much hate. In the past week or two, I’ve enjoyed a couple that came after that one, because the viewpoint character doesn’t worry about misgendering giant killer spiders. Seriously. And she’s toned down the “humans suck” commentary, but I’m still tripping over the woke signifiers. The ideas are good, many of the characters are interesting, but FFS, back off the gender nonsense.
n
>>@lynn, I hope he’s ok, and I hope he’ll listen to your good advice.
Ditto. Stay safe..
My dad is in really bad shape. Mom says that he has eaten very little in the last 10 days. He adamently does not want to go to the hospital. Mom had the EMTs here tonight and Dad told them to go away. I suspect that he is in heart failure. Either his 26 year old mechanical heart valve is failing or his heart is just worn out. He may need a pacemaker.
It is hard for me to do anything when he says no. I just helped him back in bed, he could not swing his legs back in the bed by himself.
I firmly believe that we are all in charge of our own destiny. No matter how stupid we are. I wish that Mom had called me a week ago though but Dad told her no. She broke down and called me tonight.
@lynn, if he’s in his right mind, I’m not sure what else you can do. If it’s possible he’s having an issue with meds, or some other change in his life, maybe you could force the issue. Maybe talk to him alone? Ask the tough questions?
I’m realizing how much easier I had it with my dad.
One of the things I appreciated here was RBT sharing his experiences with elderly parents, as I expected to head down that road myself. We were spared that, but it didn’t seem like a blessing at the time.
n