Hot and humid, although a front moved by and brought some cooling – and some rain in parts of town. I’m guessing we’ll get more hot and humid for a while yet, with occasional thunderstorms.
I did get stuff done yesterday. Did some pickups. Mostly stuff for the BOL and another solar panel. Talked with my auctioneer about bringing in more stuff to sell. He put me off into next week. Which really pushes into the week after, since I’ll be busy getting ready for my hobby thing.
Today I’ll be loading the truck for my quick trip to the BOL. I’ve got stuff to finish there this weekend and the girls have a GS thing scheduled. I’ll do a pickup or two on the way. I’ve got some domestic bliss to take care of here first, and some other stuff that I need to do too. I will take the dog with me, so I won’t have the luxury of just working straight through for hours at a time. That can be a blessing in disguise I guess.
It’ll be working to improve my situation, and not as much stacking, but it’ll keep me busy.
I’ve got a feeling I’ll be busy for a while. Stack something, it’s easier.
nick
As long as you keep the supplement plan paid.
My wife has seen patients, including some friends, killed by penny pinching HMOs, compliant doctors, and pea-brained office staff.
A friend just called this week with news of a diagnosis of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer after the GP and specialists at The Cleveland Clinic ignored her back pain as routine.
With a couple of exceptions, the b*tchy doctor’s wife at our house generally comes to despise the staff whenever private practice writes the checks.
Staff will kill patients even if the doctor is competent and thorough. I’ve seen that first hand.
The Vets at the VA pick up the phone to their Congressman without hesitation if they are dissatisfied with care, and, as of late, that means Gregorio Eduardo’s office gets involved. Gregorio has higher ambitions, including Goveror or Senate, and can be frequently found on the other side of the airport protesting at the Tesla plant.
I thought I saw that Gregorio was in Illinois this week.
James Talerico, a state rep out of Round Rock, has been the big Dem star in Illinois, however.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-rep-james-talarico-calls-democrats-redistricting-exodus-an-act-of-faith/ar-AA1JYnff
I have no doubt that the boss at the big corporate entity around here would still like influence with a politician on the level of Senator or Congressman. “Doors” was on the company payroll until she tried for Congress.
Neither. The US and Russia need the deal.
Let the Russians go back to supplying Germany’s energy needs and importing Mercedes.
Ukraine can go back to being a European hayseed country.
The little Fuhrer? He returns to playing piano with his … well, search on YouTube.
There is probably no breakfast finer than Clonakilty sausages (Ispíní), white pudding, black pudding, fresh potato cakes and grilled flat-cap mushrooms with melted herb butter. I might have broken from tradition by also grilling half a ripe tomato.
Poison for the arteries, but good for the soul!
Greetings from sunny Connemara.
Mr Lynn, best wishes for your further health and dealings with the medics.
https://clonakiltyblackpudding.ie/
I tried black pudding a couple times on our England trip. I didn’t find the taste as bad as the texture. Definitely not for me.
I did really enjoy beans and toast for breakfast. Every place we ate the beans tasted essentially the same, just like my mom used to make them (though not for breakfast).
Heinz. Most British grocers have the cans and HP brown sauce.
If you have World Market in town, they stock a fair selection of European non perishables.
I’m more partial to Daddies Favourite brown sauce, but that is harder to find.
Daddies can even make IKEA frozen meatballs tolerable.
I‘m not a lingonberry fan.
I am generally not a fan of blood sausage (of which black pudding is one type), but I do like the Clonakilty black pudding. It has a firm texture, due to a high proportion of pinhead oatmeal, and a nice balance of black pepper and nutmeg in the spices. Recommended, though the Clonakilty white is my favourite.
I like baked beans with my Irish breakfast (heresy, I know), but I didn’t have any in the house this morning, and was too lazy to walk 50m to the supermarket. I am on holidays, after all! In my defence, I made the potato cakes from scratch. The secret to those is to mix a grated onion, some grated cheddar and a teaspoon of baking powder into the batter – light, fluffy and savoury…
Brown sauce is rather an Anglicism, but I rather like the fruity vinegary-ness of it. It seems to cut through the greasiness of a cooked breakfast.
My time in Aberdeen was made more pleasant by the delicious breakfasts at our otherwise unremarkable hotel. Black pudding, yum.
——–
Up 5 degrees F to 84 since 7am. 94% RH. 94!
——–
I don’t get the beans on toast thing.
I REALLY liked the varieties of fish and breads for breakfast in Norway, and I like some stinky soft cheese with a strong dark coffee without cream, on sturdy bread.
For breakfast today I sprinkled bacon chunks (Costco) in the pan and fried the egg on top of that. You get bacon in every bite of egg, and don’t have the mess of frying bacon.
Cherry jam on toast finished the meal.
———-
Stuff to do, but I’m also kind of waiting for all my auctioneers to start their day.
n
Last night, my computer rebooted, I assume it automatically updated Windows.
Chrome had been nagging me for a while about new versions available, too. Which took effect due to logging out and back in.
Today, I went to YouTube and my adblockers aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be.
I assume that Google, formerly known as “Don’t be evil.”, has implemented new anti-adblock malware into Chrome. I hope it isn’t long until the 3 (Three!) adblockers I use get updates to handle this.
He who hesitates is lost.
I’m trying to change my ham radio callsign to something more friendly to Morse code, and I knew a few weeks ago that a particular short one was available and had fallen through the cracks of the various early-warning hobby websites, but I didn’t act on it.
I lost out. Someone else got it.
I will continue trolling through the FCC database looking for good candidates.
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/08/15/maryland-man-father-resident-and-now-largely-cleanthe-pravda-whitewash-n3805823
It’s not just the reporter, it’s the venue that publishes, too.
No problem with the Brave browser. In the five or so years I have used it, there were two times where the ad blocking didn’t work, or some sites refused me. In both times it was fixed in a few days. My fall back compatible browser is Chrome, but I haven’t needed it for at least three years.
Brave is the most fuss-free browser I have used. Highly recommended.
Back from the dentist, ow, the usual freeze of stuff on the face & neck. Goes with pushing 70.
Best, ever, Black Pudding is Stornaway Black Pudding – try it before you die!
And even better with hand dived Scallops!!
Back from the dentist, ow, the usual freeze of stuff on the face & neck. Goes with pushing 70.
I had a leaking crown replaced last Tuesday. He did deaden everything in sight. Instead of pulling off the old crown, he cut it off with his million rpm drill. His assistant then used a 3D device to totally map the entire upper and lower jaw on that side. He then 3D printed a new crown out of titanium and ceramic in 30 minutes. He glued in the new crown and it was a perfect fit. Two hours in the chair.
“Family of flood victim sues Hill Country campground for negligence”
https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-flood-lawsuit-20818075.php
“The family wants answers and accountability.”
“Floyd was at the vacation site with her fiancé, 23-year-old Bailey Martin, and his family, when the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes in the early morning hours.”
Here come the lawsuits for an Act Of God. I doubt that there will be any money for the survivors.
This was probably a CEREC machine which mills the crown out of a block of ceramic mounted on a titanium stem. I always get the “Blue” ceramic which is the hardest, I think.
Does that include playing video? I’ve been using Firefox for a while, but it doesn’t seem to like playing videos from all websites. Sometimes it makes its displeasure known by crashing the system, and that usually involves deleting random cookies for some unknown reason. Including this site, just about every time it crashes.
No…. but the bottom feeding lawyers might get paid.
“Karens”
https://areaocho.com/karens/
“This woman is upset that the FHP arrested an illegal who was driving with no license, no insurance, and unregistered tags. She feels that the cops should have just given him a ticket and let him go.”
Half of the USA population feels this way. I have no idea how to fix them.
“Texas taxpayers secure major savings with this stadium payment”
https://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/cowboys-stadium-debt-20817865.php
“AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys’ home since 2009, will be totally paid off on Friday, per multiple reports. The City of Arlington will make a $22.6 million payment to creditors — the final of the $490 million paid in principal, interest and fees. Arlington effectively split the cost for AT&T Stadium with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, with the final price tag on the then-state-of-the-art stadium checking in at $1.2 billion.”
Pretty good.
Entitlement mentality. The government, or anyone who isn’t you, shouldn’t be telling anyone what they can’t do.
The only cure is consistently enforced accountability from early childhood. There are two essentially lost generations and the recovery will take as long, barring violent pushback.
Facebook Market place is nuts.
Someone in Lockhart has a pair of Bose 901 speakers. No equalizer. No stands. He has a picture of the speaker connections and it plainly says “Must be used with 901 series VI active equalizer”. $500 for almost forty year old speakers.
Yeah, they did sound pretty awesome 40 years ago.
“I have no idea how to fix them.”
Putting their daughters names, cell numbers, and photos into a Spanish-language meetup app will work for some values of “fix”.
I also have a pair of Bose 901s, WITH an equalizer. And yes, they were GREAT speakers! But for optimum performance, they needed to be placed in front of a solid wall, so that the rear-facing speakers can reflect their sound off the wall. I had a good place to put them, hanging from the ceiling, back in Sacramento, but there isn’t a good place to put them here in this house.
“Guess What Leftists Have Up Their Sleeve In Response To Trump’s D.C. Crime Crackdown…”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/guess-what-leftists-have-their-sleeve-response-trumps-dc-crime-crackdown
“In the wake of President Trump taking the decision to crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, angry leftists are planning to counter strike by… banging spoons on saucepans.”
My guess is that their saucepans and spoons will be stolen from them by a gun wielding thief.
“Power Bill Crisis Is Here To Stay “For A Few Years” “
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/power-bill-crisis-here-stay-few-years
“To close out the week, we’re getting a much clearer picture of the power bill crisis financially battering working-poor and middle-class households, as well as mom-and-pop businesses – and it’s about to get a whole lot worse.”
“Monthly bills are set to spike even higher, and the political fallout could be brutal for Democrats who championed everything ‘green’ – retiring stable fossil fuel power generation in favor of unreliable wind and solar. This epic failure guarantees voters a monthly reminder of just how disastrous these policies have become across Maryland and New Jersey (soon, many other states) every time they open their power statement.”
“On Thursday, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright joined conservative commentator Glenn Beck in a discussion about all things energy, especially the emerging power bill crisis that will soon become a national topic in the era of faltering green policies colliding with surging power demand from AI data centers.”
Uh oh. And data centers here in Texas are buying existing power plants so they do not have pay for transmission and distribution charges when they locate themselves on the power plant property.
“Watch Live: Trump, Putin Share Warm Greeting, Handshake As Alaska Summit Kicks Off”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/history-making-summit-alaska-trump-en-route-meet-putin-everything-you-need-know
Trump started off the meeting with a B-2A escorted by four F-35s flyover. Nothing like a night bomber to state a message.
“At least he still has skin in the game…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/08/at-least-he-still-has-skin-in-game.html
“This has to be one of the creepiest “memorials” I’ve ever encountered.”
You have got to be kidding me. That is sick.
“At least he still has skin in the game…”
Roy Rogers’s Trigger and Bullet could not be reached for comment.
Entitlement mentality. The government, or anyone who isn’t you, shouldn’t be telling anyone what they can’t do.
The only cure is consistently enforced accountability from early childhood. There are two essentially lost generations and the recovery will take as long, barring violent pushback.
I suspect that we will end up in a civil war over this and many other crazy items going on.
“Alex Jones’ Infowars assets will be sold to pay over $1B in debts to Sandy Hook families: judge”
https://nypost.com/2025/08/14/us-news/alex-jones-infowars-assets-will-be-sold-to-pay-over-1b-in-debts-to-sandy-hook-families-judge/
“A court-appointed receiver will be responsible for taking over and selling the assets of Infowars to pay off Jones’ debts to Sandy Hook families, according to an order signed by Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin on Wednesday.”
“The order has the potential to shut Jones out of his studio in the coming days — forcing the conspiracy theorist to fork over the company’s property, recording equipment, and brand name, the filing indicated.”
I am getting the feeling of Deja Vu after last year’s sale debacle.
I strongly suspect that Alex Jones will be back on the intertubes immediately.
Still a free speech travesty IMHO.
“Trump Admin Removes Nearly 275,000 Non-Citizens From Social Security System in Major Gov. Cleanup”
https://resistthemainstream.com/trump-touts-eye-popping-social-security-bombshell/
No wonder why Social Security and Medicare are going bankrupt.
tRump has accomplished more already than Obola and plugs combined.
I have to thank tRump for saving us from Kankles and The Kamel. He literally ended their political careers. All they have left is grifting like Obola. Why any agency would hire plugs for anything is beyond me. Ditto Big Mike.
Vance/DeSantis 2028!
@lynn, that sounds like good news. Sorta? Wait and see has its own set of difficulties.
Yeah, hurry up and wait. I just got the appointment for Feb 10, 2026 to look at the lung nodule again.
The VA did this with my father-in-law in the 2010s. They watched a tumor in his lung grow for several years until it hit a certain size, then they took it out along with that lung lobe. It was the bottom lobe so they did not have to take the top lobe. No chemo either as they considered the tumor to be totally enclosed.
“2025 Ford Expedition Tremor Review”
https://www.carpro.com/vehicle-reviews/all-new-2025-ford-expedition-tremor-review
“Under the hood you’ll find a 3.5-liter EcoBoost High Output V6. Before you question a V6 in an SUV this size, realize this H/O version with twin-turbos has 440-horses, 510 pound-feet of torque, and it will tow 9,600 pounds. You get a 10-speed automatic that shifts silky smooth and pops into the right gear no matter the circumstances. It has stop/start, but can be disabled. Power-wise, this thing is a beast, and it moves this almost 3-ton SUV with ease.”
“The 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor uses Ford’s ControlTrac selectable full-time 4WD system paired with a two-speed BorgWarner dual-range transfer case. It offers four modes: 2-high, Auto (4A), 4-high, and 4-low—all selectable via a dash-mounted rotary dial. This system includes an electronic-locking rear differential, and standard four-wheel electronic AdvanceTrac. When a wheel slips significantly, the system uses brake-based locking (up to 100% torque to one wheel) to simulate front or rear differential locks. Terrain-specific drive modes like Mud/Ruts, Sand, Gravel/Snow, plus the Tremor-only Rock Crawl mode and Trail 1-Pedal throttle mapping, further optimize traction control, throttle response, and electronic stability systems for each surface. If you choose to do any serious off-roading, this SUV is extremely capable.”
$84,020, are you kidding me !
This is a garage queen, no way am I taking that kind of money off road.
And I would only get the Max for the max interior room.
My neighbor’s Bronco hasn’t been out of the garage most of the Summer. Too wet.
>>“In the wake of President Trump taking the decision to crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, angry leftists are planning to counter strike by… banging spoons on saucepans.”
As someone(?) once said, “Never bring a spoon to a gunfight.”
Federal Bureaucrat Teleworked from 10 Different Countries, Including Mexico and Lebanon
https://headlineusa.com/federal-bureaucrat-teleworked-from-10-different-countries-including-mexico-and-lebanon/
About the federal debt…
I’d be happy to work on it for a commission of 1%.
Star with this bozo. I’m not sure when he was hired or how long he “worked” but let’s just estimate for the approximately 9 months (148 days) that heis salary was $100,000 and he straight-up got paid for 0.75x((1419-575)/1419)x100,000 or $44,600 that we claw back. I just made $446.
The bozo gets fired. Felony indictment. No prison time if he pleads guilty and pays the maximum fine for each day of false reporting. Est. $500 per day for 105.5 days (844/8). My 1% is $527.50. Plus I get to claim 1% of avoided costs: $50,000 for a trial and $40,000 per year for incarceration of 10 years. 1% of $450,000, or $4,500.
Now we look at his supervisor, who obviously didn’t do his job supervising this employee. If 1 of 20 (est.) direct reports wasn’t supervised and his salary was $200,000, that’s another $10,000 that we claw back, and I make another $100.
So far I’ve made $5573.50, reduced the debt by about $54,000 refunded directly to the treasury, and avoided another $445, 500 in future expenses.
The boss gets fired. No suckee goobermint tete no more forever. Savings, but hard to compute.
Next we look at the rest of that supervisor’s work and his other 19 reports, and I bet there’s more slacking that we can figure out right quick. Additional commission tbd.
Good start. Tomorrow I talk to IG Skinner about what other reports he might be working on.
So, it’s always something.
Left home on time, after doing my pickups and getting the rental compactor. Rush hour thru The Woodlands added 30-40 minutes to my trip, but I didn’t care because after I finished the audiobook of Prince Caspian, I started a short story collection that includes Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden in a short I don’t think I ever read. Picked up the audiobook at the thrift store the other day. There’s also a Faith Hunter in there for later.
Got here and it was hot in the house. Hmm. Wife was supposed to remote start the a/c… Tstat isn’t on. OK, troubleshooting time. Power at the air handler? Yep. No breakers tripped? Nope. Oh, is that water under the unit? Yep. Condensate drain line is full. Pull the sensor, and the Tstat boots. Ok, now to clear the line. Long story shortened, I had to cut out a piece of pvc to get something in to snake the line. Coax works better than almost anything BTW. Pushed as far as it would go but the line is still full of water. SO start up the compressor and run an air line and a duster gun and blow the line. OK. THAT cleared it. Now it’s just time to put all the line back together (using parts I picked up last week for the main line) because the condensate drain is a mix of CPVC supply line and PVC electrical conduit. Guess I’ll use the “Universal” glue…
Took a worryingly long time for everything to reboot and start, but it’s running now. It was 89F outside when I started, and it’s 86F now. I don’t think I’ll be having any dock time tonight. House is nice and cool.
So that adventure would have cost an after hours service call, $300-$500. Good thing I’m handy and knowledgeable.
———
While I was waiting for the restart, I filled 9 gatorade bottles for tomorrow’s work.
I think I’ll have dinner and read for a bit before and early bedtime.
n
details, details…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s3GIGT4QlbI
99 seconds
What caused the blockage? Is it likely to happen again?
They get blocked by algae growth, or some kind of bioslime or other muck. The type of installation you have determines how you find out. Most of the time there is a drip pan, and it has a sensor or float switch in it. The water should be going down the drain, but if it doesn’t it goes in the drip pan and sets off the sensor, which then disables the air handler/chiller, which gets peoples attention.
Since most houses in Houston have the air handler in the attic, the drip pan often has a hose that will drain overflow, and they have to be situated over a window, so you can see the water stream if it overflows…
With the handler in a basement sometimes you have a condensate pump moving the water somewhere and various means to discover a problem.
It will probably happen again. If I was smart, and prepared, I’d have put in the equivalent of a drain clean out fitting for the future. I thought about it, but didn’t have the parts I’d need on hand. The mix of plumbing supply line pvc and electrical pvc conduit, and two other abandoned systems suggests the previous owner didn’t have the correct stuff on hand either.
My air handler is in the middle of the house and the drain goes down thru the slab and out somewhere…. maybe the septic, maybe just to open air somewhere. I think it joins the bathroom tub drain but I am just guessing. It’s a bit awkward to work on, and if it ever became really plugged, I’d have to install a pump and pump the water to a drain somewhere…
I’m just glad I could find the issue and solve it myself with relatively little impact or fuss.
n
added– I couldn’t snake the whole line because the installer (previous owner) used supply pipe as drain, and it’s 3/4″ and uses 90deg fittings. DWV pipe uses elbows and Ys, never the hard right angles of supply pipe. He used it to run electrical too, assembling the pipe around the wire, rather than pulling the wire into the conduit. The right angles absolutely stop you from pulling in the wire.
>>They get blocked by algae growth, or some kind of bioslime or other muck. The type of installation you have determines how you find out. Most of the time there is a drip pan, and it has a sensor or float switch in it. The water should be going down the drain, but if it doesn’t it goes in the drip pan and sets off the sensor, which then disables the air handler/chiller, which gets peoples attention.
@nick – fyi – no idea if it really works other than their late-night TV commercial says it does. (And no connection with the company.)
https://iflo.com/
Very tempting…. find them all here https://tubitv.com/series/300016553/looney-tunes
More info here https://tubitv.com/series/300016553/looney-tunes