Cooler days, but just days. Well, slightly cooler days, and slightly cooler nights. We did almost have rain yesterday. The clouds were there, and in parts of town, a little mist hit my windshield, but no actual rain fell on me.
After a dump run and a stop to fill up three propane bottles, I did my pickups and decided to return home rather than head to the BOL. I looked at my list and decided to keep working on the stuff here, rather than a new project with limited time at the BOL.
Of course, I had to do stuff like fix my truck first. The door handle on the driver’s side stopped actuating the latch. It’s happened before and I know what failed. There is a little plastic clip that holds the rod to the mechanism, and it fails. It caused me some trouble when I locked myself out of my running truck at one pickup. Fortunately I know how to bypass the handle and lock on the passenger side, so I did get in.
When I got home I took the door apart, confirmed that it was the little clip that failed, and went looking for the replacement. I was pretty sure I’d ordered spares last time, and I store like with like, so I looked in the door of the parts truck, and in the box of spares behind the seat, but couldn’t find the part. I looked in my truck too, both the console and glove box. Just when I thought I must have lost the parts, I found them in the map pocket of the door. 10 minutes later that was fixed, but by then it was dark out.
I had the part and it was a simple and short matter to fix it. Prepping for the win on this one.
I’d also done a fair bit of domestic bliss in the last 2 days- I did two loads of laundry, cut my hair, shaved, and booted the TiVO for the first time in years. I am hoping to sell it. The laundry folding took some time, as did the other messing around, so I wasn’t in a big hurry to load up the truck and head out by the time that was all done.
All in all, I’m hoping for a productive weekend here. That’ll all be on me though, so while I’m hoping, I wouldn’t bet on me…
Stacks made my truck problem into a minor issue that was easily resolved. Stacking up the propane bottles will be good for cooking, heat, or running a gennie. Stacks are good. Get you some!
nick
First!
I’m up early to do volunteer work this weekend.
Feels strange to be up when I normally sleep.
TiVo announced the end of their hardware line recently.
Insurance companies exist to make money, but State Farm is evil. They weren’t always that way, but it seems they have been hanging out with Allstate too much.
Three years ago I switched from State Farm to AAA for house/auto/umbrella and have been very happy.
UK police face pressure to reverse ban on Israeli soccer fans at Birmingham match
https://apnews.com/article/maccabi-tel-aviv-aston-villa-fan-ban-95b6618944a36b2a8ab88766935be694
Anticipating fan clashes, they ban the Jews.
Ok, we’re waiting for the next match where they ban the Muslims.
Soccer is a fake game of with notoriously violent and unhinged fans. In a rational world the stadiums would just be emptied and people could watch it on the telly if they didn’t have some nice paint drying.
Yes, that’s it right there—that’s why RFK is allowed to remain as HHS secretary. For all the criticisms you have about him vis-à-vis science, we trusted too much in the medical community, which sacrificed fact for politics. The pandemic exposed this class as being no different than MSNBC. We listened to the experts, and they were wrong. They have been pushing numerous things regarding health, which may not be true. Sorry, the expert class had its time in the sun, and now it’s over.
COVID will always be the debate-ender for those who aren’t keen on Kennedy.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/10/18/rfk-jrs-wife-wasnt-going-to-let-the-clowns-on-the-view-get-away-with-this-n2664984
Minnesota Just Admitted That Illegals Can Vote in Their Elections
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/10/18/minnesota-just-admitted-that-illegals-can-vote-in-their-elections-n2664973
Which is why MN an other blue shiitehole states are fighting to keep their voter rolls from being examined by the feds.
After those rolls get examined and found to contain aliens–legal and illegal–that have voted, we need a new Voter Rights Act that prohibits states from registering voters with forms of ID that are not restricted to citizens. MN and NY want to give drivers licenses to illegals then the DL cannot be used to register voters.
The WRA of 2025 should also have provisions for federal prosecutions of state officials that fail to keep the voter rolls clean, require easy public access to voter rolls, and provide a mechanism for the public to report fraudulent registrations.
Kennedy hasn’t really done anything to embarrass Trump. The job is his as long as he wants it.
Kennedy deflects attention from Trump’s inability to admit being wrong on Covid and the “beautiful vaccines”.
Cleaning out HHS and the CDC is long overdue.
Most of the nutritional advice promulgated by the medical establishment for the past half-century has been fad and quackery. If Pauling had been one of the good old boys we’d still be taking massive doses of Vit C.
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/10/17/this-seems-sketchy-gofundme-accused-of-creating-ngo-fundraising-pages-without-ngo-knowing-n3807964
So GFM creates the pages without authorization, accepts donations without notifying the NGO’s, gets their percentage upfront and has the use of the funds until they get claimed, if ever?
Sounds like straight-up fraud to me. Need more investigation.
That may not be needed. The national House and Senate could make procedural rules that they will not recognize members from states which do not have adequate election integrity. That gets to “taxation without representation” but that’s a principle, not a law or a Constitutional provision.
Avoiding that issue, though, the House can refuse to count Presidential electoral votes from those states.
If I understand correctly, the Speaker of the House and the Senate’s President pro tem have sole authority over recognizing and seating new members. The House’s Committee on House Administration may have authority over seating new members and certainly has authority over recognizing the Presidential electors. Either way, strong House leadership would collapse the Democrat Election Complex.
“Strong House leadership”. I crack myself up.
Hans, get ze flammenwerfer.
the screws turn:
White House Finds a Creative Way to Make Blue States Feel the Pain of Schumer’s Shutdown
https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/10/18/white-house-finds-a-creative-way-to-make-blue-states-feel-the-pain-of-schumers-shutdown-n2195206
Don’t cancel them outright. Place them on inactive status, mothball the projects, archive the files, reassign any federal officials involved. Delay them for years and make the states start from scratch due to outdated information.
While they’re in the neighborhood, do the same thing to any mass-transit plan that uses fixed infrastructure (aka subways,light rail, and trains) and anything with rechargeable batteries.
What a Sho: Ohtani Puts on One of Greatest Performances of All Time, Propels Dodgers to WS
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/10/18/history-before-our-eyes-ohtani-puts-on-one-of-greatest-performances-of-all-time-propels-dodgers-to-ws-n2195204
Wow! I may have to check for a rerun.
What a slugger! That brings back memories, I remember watching Barry Bonds on TV with my Dad, waiting for him to put one into San Francisco Bay.
The Federal Government should not be in the business of rebuilding “infrastructure” at the state and local level.
This mess started under Reagan.
Up and moving. Albeit a bit slowly. Some back pain today that is building on yesterday.
86F and 73%RH, sunny and warm. Some light breeze.
Coffee very soon.
Kids are still asleep.
I need to start working on the stuff… but first, bacon.
n
Greatest traffic jam of all time
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-10-18/california-to-close-parts-of-i-5-today-after-military-confirms-it-it-will-fire-artillery-over-freeway
Of course Newsom wants to blame it all on Trump
“No Kings’ starts today.
How many of these people are stupid enough to leave their tracking devices (phones) on while rioting?
How many realize that turning them off will also create a pattern for the feds to spot?
well. There was an insufficiency of thawed bacon in the Casa de Nick this morning. So being the flexible prepper that I am, I used another part of the tasty tasty pig, and had ham in my scrambled eggs… also some onion and cheese.
Good thing there are feral hogs in Texas, after the collapse, we can still get bacon.
n
How many of these people are stupid enough to leave their tracking devices (phones) on while rioting?
Most. But will the feds spend the next year searching fb, posts, phone records, and snitch lines to identify and prosecute every one? Seems unlikely.
n
(the organizers and professional instigators will be circumspect, but the patsies and locals will not. Cadre will move to the next event.)
No, I-5 will not be closed for ‘live fire’ over the freeway as part of the 250th anniversary celebration. It was proposed, but backed off.
That’s a very busy section of I-5. It’s the only route between LA and San Diego. No other coastal route is nearby.
And it has at least one major pipeline buried in the median, I believe both gasoline and JetA for pendleton… you can see them where the soil has eroded.
I used to drive thru that area several times a month.
n
There isn’t such a thing as a phone being truly “off” unless the end user can remove the battery.
Drive to protest using google maps or apple for navigation. Turn off phone, leave in car. (The phone you NEVER turn off.) 3 hours later, return to car, turn phone on, use navigation to avoid traffic on your ride home. But hey, they can’t track you ‘cuz you turned off your phone….
Or more likely, call an uber, take it to the staging area, and call for a ride home when done….
——
I’ve been saying for some time, that if you EVER think you might want some ‘alone’ time in the future, start building that ‘unplugged’ time NOW so it’s not a break in your pattern that is just as damning as if you left it on.
Poker night, a nightly walk with the dog or a smoke, gym time, whatever it is, have some time where you leave the phone at home, and don’t drive somewhere. Maybe a nice bike ride….
n
EMI pouches. Ideally, turn the phone off and put it in two pouches by different manufacturers, as few of the pouches have full blockage of all relevant spectra.
Sometimes, I’m still just left without words.
This is the sort of thing that happens when there isn’t anyone involved who can take a step back and say “have you REALLY thought this thru?”
n
Everything available without a warrant sent to/from the phones inside specific geographic areas will be collected and, eventually, analyzed. This category includes location data and SMS texts.
Sometimes the CoDominium requires a court order – not a warrant — but law enforcement is generally accommodated if they ask nicely.
Trump’s lawyers received Fanni Willis phone records from AT&T before he was even sworn into office.
…except that you used the Uber app on your phone to get the ride, and you used your Uber account, which you have used before (and since), and Uber keeps track of your ‘rides’….
Remember the opening lines of “Person of Interest” (great show!) that started with ‘The government is watching…” . And this from a show that first aired in 2012. I finished the ‘binge’, and it is amazing how much of the show is still applicable today.
Re: the ‘I-5 closing due to live fire’ — now it appears that it will be happening. From news sources this morning:
Stupid idea, IMHO. What could go wrong?
The bags don’t block the Earth’s magnetic field, and most phones produced in the last 15 years have a MEMS sensor.
In theory, the sensor would have a more reliable reading regarding the Earth’s magnetic field orientation inside a Faraday cage.
I’m looking for something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KW0BHY?tag=ttgnet-20 for DVD storage. The stacked piles on the bedroom floor are clumsy when trying to find a specific movie.
Stacked piles in the spare bedroom? Or shelving in the master bedroom? The lighting is equally crummy in both rooms.
What I want is 6 feet wide and 32 inches tall. I have just the place under a window. Eyeballing that gives me 4 shelves. That’s a lot of movies discs.
I could build this. It’s at the far end of my carpentry skills, but I can build this. It would be functional but not exactly pretty.
I’m not having a lot of luck searching on Big River. The “other items” choices veer to “over the toilet cabinets” pretty quick.
There is also this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005484N56?tag=ttgnet-20 I have a few places where it would fit. Best choice is in this room, the office/library. Easy to re-aim a track light for good lighting, too.
I’ll keep looking.
EMF bags for phones is an interesting idea. Pulling the battery seems pointless because as soon as you turn the phone on, or take it out of the bag, you are located.
I almost always leave my phone at home. If the truck or van decide to strand me at the HEB, I don’t have anyone to call. I’ve walked home from the HEB before, it’s a hair over four miles by road. Not much fun in August but I’d rather do it in August than February.
And Uber? I don’t think we have that here. Ditto Door Dash and the ilk.
@paul, at the lake we built just the bottom half of 2 units like this..
https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Adjustable-Compartments-Memorabilia-Collections/dp/B0D9QGLXB2?tag=ttgnet-20
although the one we actually used is white. The parts for the top half were damaged on the first unit, so it worked nicely. The height is roughly half of the overall height and might work for you.
n
I should add, if you look closely at the pix you can see that it’s a top half attached to the bottom half, and it’s not the exact unit we have. Ours is only two sections wide, but we have two of them for a total of four sections. We’ve got a different shelf unit in the middle that is deep enough to support the tv, with the dvds on each side. The ‘step back’ looks nice and they mostly look like one big unit.
“EMI pouches. Ideally, turn the phone off and put it in two pouches by different manufacturers, as few of the pouches have full blockage of all relevant spectra.”
Will a Danish butter cookie tin from 1985 work?
Asking for a friend.
Will a Danish butter cookie tin from 1985 work?
– it should, because the lid fits tightly and overlaps. Add foam or wood to keep the phone in the middle of the space. If it touches the metal, it can ‘couple’ to it and make a bigger antenna.
n
From what I”ve read online, a microwave oven makes a pretty good faraday cage for a cell phone too.
n
Misleading headline
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15196153/how-fat-physically-fit-pete-hegseth-national-guard.html
– it doesn’t take an expert, all it takes is someone who knows that BMI is not a good measurement. It says RIGHT ON THE BMI chart not to use it to make decisions.
– overweight and obese should be in quotes in the article because they are used with a defined technical meaning.
– because of the way those words are defined.
No way the fatties in the picture in the original article can meet any meaningful standard of physical fitness.
There is room in our understaffed military for a range of fitness in NON COMBAT roles, as there is room for women. And there should be a broader range for the NG, as they are civilians most of the time and called up without warning (although I bet they promised to maintain some level of readiness.)
The article is more shitpot stirring.
n
And another.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/real-estate/article-15178199/baby-boomers-tactic-younger-americans-buying-cash.html
Baby boomers shut out first time homebuyers with slick tactic younger Americans can’t compete with
it’s not a “slick tactic” to uses the proceeds from one sale to finance a purchase. Nor is it mostly baby boomers. It’s the surge in INVESTOR buyers with deep pockets looking for anywhere to park cash.
Sellers prefer all cash offers because they want to sell quickly and without hassle. They don’t want to wait for a round of inspections, counter offers, and unfunded mortgage applications. To the seller, where the money comes from is irrelevant as they get it all at once anyway. What matters is the timeline, and the need for inspections and a bank approved valuation.
The article is more class warfare attempting to turn one generation against the other.
n
There was some whiny “fat” troop on the news worried he would be thrown out of the Army. Even when I entered service in 1979, if you passed your PT test, but weighed outside your height, a doctor would evaluate you. I never had/heard of a troop being cashiered as long as PT could be passed. Now, buried in the regs, is a stipulation that a troop look “good” in the Army Green uniform (think suit). Officers and ranking NCOs are required to have a current, color photo, in Greens, in their personnel file. I definitely saw some officers get a hit on that one. That could easily be corrected by having the Greens tailored. I never wore Greens that weren’t tailored to fit, and had them re-tailored for every promotion because a new photo was required.
@paul
Build three units 24″ wide by 31″ tall. Gives you the flexibility of stacking them to make a 24″ wide by 93″ tall unit. A 6′ wide unit would need middle supports to prevent sagging, anyway.
1″ x 8″-6ft boards are about $8 each around here. Actual size i s 3/4″ x 7-1/4″. DVD is 5-3/16″ tall x 7-1/2″ long, they would hang out a bit. You could add trim to the front edge, but it’s too spendy unless you rip it yourself on the table saw.
Four shelves and a top: 5 x 0.75 + 4 x 5.32 = 25.03 inches without any overhead on the shelves. Not enough to add anther shelf, so 31″-25″ leaves 6 inches. Use 2″ to get the bottom shelf off the floor, and add 1″ to the shelf spacing so you have some overhead.
You’d need 8 boards–about $64.
A pound of #8-2″ drywall screws to put it together is $5.
I’d advise a back for stability. If your home imp store has a damaged sheet good section, look for something cheap that is 4’x8′ and 1/8 to 1/4″ thick and has damage on one edge–you only need 32″ wide. Otherwise 1/8″ hardboard is about $15 a sheet full price. Have the nice man with the panel saw cut it into three 31″ tall pieces. He can probably stack them and do one rip to 32″ wide, too.
Sand it. Leave it natural or use some leftover paint or varnish. If you finish it, do so before you put the back on.
I used to make quick and dirty shelves for paperback books–it’s the same basic design.
Layout for the shelves is simple. Clamp the uprights together, mark the centerlines on the edge that will be the back, then use a square to extend the line across the inside of the upright. This lets you drill a centered pilot hole for the screws–two at each end of the shelves. Offset from the inside layout line by 3/8″ toward the bottom and make a mark on both edges if you aren’t sure you can eyeball lining up the shelves when you drive the screws from the outside.
Cash offers are more likely to be from investment firms or services which put up the cash on behalf of a buyer in return for a sizeable fee paid at a later date or by a third party such as a military or corporate relocations.
The entire housing market has been distorted for the last 15 years by Obama’s first time buyer tax credit and cheap money.
“Sapphire Flames: A Hidden Legacy Novel (5)” by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Flames-Hidden-Legacy-Novel/dp/0062878344?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number five of a six book and one novella (seven books total) paranormal romance fantasy series. I read the well printed and well bound novella MMPB published by Avon in 2019 that I bought new from Amazon in 2024. I have the other two books in the series and will read those soon. They are now starting a couple of new series of books.
Totally cool series for me. This makes the fourth series that I have read from Ilona Andrews, a husband and wife writing team based here in Texas. The Innkeeper, Kate Daniels, and The Edge are the other series of books.
The Hidden Legacy Universe is a complex place. The Osiris serum that induced magical powers in humans was released to the general public in 1863 and the world was never the same. The Osiris serum has three results: death, paranormal powers, or paranormal powers with a warped human body. The serum was banned after a while but the world was irreparably changed since the paranormal powers are inheritable. Families starting breeding children for strength in magical powers with breathtaking results. Magic users are segregated into five ranks: Minor, Average, Notable, Significant, and Prime. The Prime families operate mostly outside the Federal and State laws since they are so powerful and incredibly dangerous.
Catalina Baylor is Nevada Baylor’s younger sister and a Prime Siren. Nevada is wed and gone so now Catalina is running the show. And now Linus, the long term friend of the House Baylor and former speaker of the Assemblies of Magic, has revealed himself to be the Warden for the State of Texas and is making Catalina his only Deputy Warden. Because, somebody is making Osiris serum available again and the results are mostly warped humans with paranormal powers.
Arabella Baylor is Catalina Baylor’s younger sister and a Prime Beast that is unknown to the general populace. She can transform to a 65 foot tall beast but, she has trouble controlling when to transform. The only other recorded person who had this power could never control their transformations or reason while in beast form so the populace is incredibly scared of her.
Alessandro Sagredo is a Prime Weapons Teleporter, an Italian count, and drawn to Catalina. And a assassin for hire to the highest bidder if, he likes the job. He says that he is going to protect Catalina against the bad mages but he has a hidden agenda.
The authors have a very active website at:
https://ilona-andrews.com/
My rating: 6 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (11,541 reviews)
Lynn
28.6 to 32.8 is 4.2, or about a 15% increase. What’s the variation in the historical data? Just sounds like a natural increase as the boomer curve ages and downsizes.
Buyers can easily sit down with a banker and get pre-qualified for a loan.
Have to have a home inspection whether it’s cash or loan, unless the cash guy thinks he can inspect or is just an idiot. The rub may come if the inspection finds problems. A loan generally requires a fix up front or escrow for repairs, with some repairs not easily estimated up front. The cash buyer can decide to move forward if he has confidence in the estimate, but bankers are conservative.
– it should, because the lid fits tightly and overlaps. Add foam or wood to keep the phone in the middle of the space. If it touches the metal, it can ‘couple’ to it and make a bigger antenna.
So if I bought some cheap tins from the dollar store, painted them flat black, added a foam envelope and attached a “Cell Phone Stealth Isolator” I could hit the $20 Christmas gift sweet spot and clean up?
With a loan, the appraisal could come up short which gives the advantage to the all cash buyer who can choose to ignore the number whereas a bank will only lend 80% of the appraised number.
Colonists will buy with all cash bids since the wife’s parents usually provide the house money as a dowry, but Colonists also prefer new, large houses and are not interested in what would be considered a starter house in the US.
I tested my iPhone 11 just now, putting it inside the microwave with the door closed, with Apple’s “find my device” app on the iPad.
It had no problem finding and setting off the phone locating annunciator while inside in the microwave.
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/10/17/bizarre-incident-in-dc-suburb-highlights-importance-of-our-2a-rights-n1230304
When interviewed, I would attest that I believed them and acted accordingly, leading to a positive ID of the now-deceased criminals.
Better to have a deceased positive ID than a living unknown.
Baby Boomers are going to bequeath Trillions of unearned cash and assets to the younger generation in the next few decades … no-one talks much about that.
Aluminium foil doesn’t stop “Find my iPhone”.
Not even two layers.
—–
Turned off and taken 300′ away the locating app just shows the last active position.
—–
I really don’t look like either mythbuster, tbh, but closer to Jamie than Adam.
Not sure it will be that much. Healthcare is really eating into retirement savings. 1 – 2 million in savings in your late 79’s and up? Odds are good long term care for at least one spouse will start eating into that quickly.
I’m seeing it in action with a set of in-laws right now. 10k/month for assisted living is no joke, and they’ve cut back some costs. It was almost 12k per month.
It had no problem finding and setting off the phone locating annunciator while inside in the microwave.
That’s a bit concerning. Microwaves are specifically shielded for 2.4 ghz, and should work for half and half again. I’ve seen articles that people couldn’t call the phone and the battery died fast (it’s trying to hit a tower at full power). Blutooth, wifi, and lopower are all 2.4ghz… the cell data might be 900 or 1.200 but 1.2ghz should still be blocked. 5ghz might not be though, because of the perf metal in the glass door… hmm.
———
With a loan, the appraisal could come up short
– and it takes time to get an appraiser there. Time is the biggest reason.
Inspections don’t really matter to investor/hedge funds. They can spread the cost of a hidden bad thing across many properties, raise the rent, etc. The inspection process itself isn’t hard even for a single home buyer, and in most states there isn’t much of a requirement to become an inspector anyway.
We did the BOL deal without inspectors or appraisers and it’s the only reason we got the deal. I spent several hours inspecting, just to get a ballpark, but we were going to buy it even if it was a teardown. For hedgies and other investors, the location and dirt are more important than the house and anything that might be wrong with it. After all, you can’t change the address, but you can fix almost anything.
n
Sounds like aluminium foil blocks the signal so the app doesn’t know where the phone is, just where it was before the signal was blocked.
Aluminium foil doesn’t stop “Find my iPhone”.
Not even two layers.
– yeah it won’t. It’s basically just coupling the foil to the built in antennas. That’s why you need the wood or foam in the cookie tin too, to get the antennas away from the metal of the enclosure. Remember back in the day when you could get a phone case that claimed to increase signal? That was just a passively coupled antenna, when it wasn’t just snake oil.
n
added – it would help to ground the cookie tin too.
Hmmm, you know I vaguely recall an article in Analog SF&F magazine (by John Cramer I think) in which they tested a Faraday cage and discovered it did not work.
Years ago … the 1990’s?
Not sure it will be that much.
– besides the end of life care, there will be confiscatory inheritance taxes at some point. That is just too much money for the pol leeches to ignore.
n
You forgot to turn the microwave on. Use the popcorn button.
There is a lot of info online from .gov sources about EM shielding, anti-TEMPEST requirements, design to mitigate the effects of EMP, etc.
The last SCIF I was in was partially under construction, and they had a layer of copper mesh, like window screen, under the drywall. For complete coverage, sheet copper could be used. Has to be grounded though.
n
These are all tests anyone can do, btw.
I am curious if I have a bad microwave now, I’d be interested in others results.
Bingo. Exactly what I was thinking. Very nicely figured out. Thanks!
Big River was suppose to deliver my replacement range hood today. I was the “next stop” for about 4 stops and the (I assume) spider haired driver turned his GPS off.
So package is still out for delivery. Maybe tomorrow.
I don’t get it. Is Amazon in Round Rock run by morons? Chunky pushing fat white guys covered with tats. Some wearing a bandana on their head because, what? Hats are expensive? Washing your hair is a chore? White and mexican women with nose rings and other metal. But they are all kind of normal. Hey, tats and stuff… odd but not horrible. Just saying but coming out here where in Burnet there are maybe at most 40 negroes in the county, I wonder about the spider hair dudes.
90% of the guys with spider hair are just weird. Spazzy, twitchy. They never hand me my package…. first they have to lay it on the ground to take a picture…. and about half the time they pick it up and hand it to me. It’s not me. I’m skinny guy at 145# and 5’11” tall and usually wearing shorts and flip-flops. They act like I’m about to kick them in the ribs, like a dog that has been beaten. I don’t grok.
I’ve talked to some drivers. They are getting like $25 an hour. Sounds like good pay.
Would have to be. Analog went away years and years ago.
College Student Undeterred After Reprimand for Wearing Hat Charlie Kirk Gave Him
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/10/18/college-student-undeterred-reprimand-wearing-hat-charlie-kirk-gave-him/
I sent the story to equalprotect.org
Ms. Echols needs to be shown the door.
We had no inspectors here. I did crawl under the house and around the attic. All good to my eyes. All still good 30 years later.
We had inspectors required to sell the house in Austin. Just bullshit stuff. Concrete patio, brick wall, and a 3 feet by waist high stack of firewood, a good 8 inches from the wall, was “a big problem”. Because termites. And I had to add some stupid chain locks to the exit doors. Oh, and the anti-siphon gizmos on the outside faucets.
When this house sells it’s going to be “as is”. You don’t like the lack of GFCI outlets in the kitchen? I ain’t ever been electrocuted.
You don’t like the parquet floor in the dining room? The new laminate stuff in the living room that is the wrong shade of brown? You don’t like the master bath having a door that opens out onto the covered walkway instead of a window? Or the various recessed lights? Be happy if you get the track lighting. Don’t be upset when I take the Hunter Original ceiling fan. Or the dining room light fixture. And yeah, I ain’t gonna have the house painted for you. I’ll leave the TV’s wall mounting stuff and you’ll have to figure out the surround speaker wiring on your own.
That’s what “as is” means. I’ll leave a clean house. Probably cleaner than any brand new apartment you ever moved into. But that spot by the wood stove, where Missy leaned against the wall? Deal with it. The scratches into the wood of the front door from generations of my dogs scratching? You can spackle that smooth in an hour but I happen to like the claw marks. Deal with the patina….
Yeah. I might be crazy.
I got a text message the other day. I’m gonna run it by the boys. But USAA says the house is worth about $480,000. Just the house. Outbuildings not included. That’s a lot of money.
So, Some random person wants to buy Cedar Break Lane. Shrug. Call it $500,000 for the house and tack on at least $15,000 per the additional 25 acres.
One of the neighbors has her place up for 750 grand. It ain’t all that. And I have more land. So. Let me round it all up. Put a million dollars cash in my bank account and it’s all yours. I ain’t paying for any of the selling costs. A million bucks cash and I’ll move.
If you want the tractors and implements, that’s extra. Err, about an extra 20 grand.
Probably the delivery rules, they do the same picture thing here.
Probably not a lot of porch pirates out there. Very few here.
but I always know when the delivery guys are here because of the level of the music from their vans. They absolutely could not hear any other vehicles, or even sirens, until the vehicles are upon them.
I had to think for a while before I figured out the spider hair, but I get where you are coming from. The picture thing is probably required, although there are stories of them taking the pic, then grabbing the package and leaving. Ring cams are everywhere…
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I think they cracked down on the music here, as I don’t hear it anymore, but I used to. Our amazon drivers are all in electric vans, and they sound like Jetson’s space ships.
n
Not sure it will be that much. Healthcare is really eating into retirement savings. 1 – 2 million in savings in your late 79’s and up? Odds are good long term care for at least one spouse will start eating into that quickly.
I’m seeing it in action with a set of in-laws right now. 10k/month for assisted living is no joke, and they’ve cut back some costs. It was almost 12k per month.
To repeat:
“Healthcare is really eating into retirement savings.”
Dos anyone seriously believe that this is not intentional?
It’s the training. The various women hand me my package. Same for the redneck tattooed white trash looking guys. “Handed to Paul”. All of them. The spider hair guys, yeah, gotta drop it on the ground,take a picture and run away like there’s a Doberman after them. Or just toss it over the fence at the gate and then take a picture.
I think delivering for Amazon would be a cool job. You get to drive all over the countryside and sometimes you chat with folks. The hours sorta suck to me. But my dogs wake me up at 6am, always.
I got to thinking. You can buy this place for 1.2 million.
Why that price? When we wanted to sell the travel trailer, he was going to ask for a grand. I said, no, ask for two grand and y’all can dicker the price down to $1500. See. he feels like he made a good deal.
So, 1.2 million cash and ya can jew me down to a million. I’ll toss in the tractors, too.
So Medicare is all BS?
I get e-mail once in a while. I need to find a primary care doc. I guess I should. The Scott and White is next door to Tractor Supply, so, it’s handy.
I just have the feeling it will all be torture.
I need to put my phone on charge out in the EDC. Where it is most inconvenient to use.
Or maybe I need to figure how I stink so bad. I called two nieces and a cousin yesterday. And a couple of “firends” and every call went to voicemail.
So, phone on charge in the EDC which is a couple of hundred feet away from the house. Or just turn the darn thing off.
I’m leaning towards off and in the EDC.
This short has a summary of the sort of things we were tossing around earlier, wrt the Palisades fire, and the guy they are pinning it on.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EsH4Bgydw38?feature=share
LOTS of tracking and correlation.
n
I’m seeing it in action with a set of in-laws right now. 10k/month for assisted living is no joke, and they’ve cut back some costs. It was almost 12k per month.
My mother is paying $4,600 per month here in Richmond, Texas for Assisted Living. They are full up too. The place is really nice and the people are superb. The three squares a day are really good, they fed us all last night after we unloaded mom. And they redressed the open blisters on her legs and feet today. Monday, they will get home health care going.
Her legs look better tonight after she spent most of the day in bed. They were pink instead of purple. I am worried about the blisters and hope they go away shortly.
We brought 22 boxes with us and still forgot a few things. Toilet paper. Water bottles for her fridge. I keep all of these at the house so I loaded her up from my stash. Tomorrow, I will go buy her a 55 inch LG from Sams. She did not want Dads 80 inch Samsung so my youngest brother will get that eventually.
@lynn, 80″ is huge. I am trying to fit an 86″ into my living room and I don’t think it will fit. I’ll have to move bookcases and it will be a big black wall.
I’m glad you found a good place for you mom.
Wounds on feet and legs are really hard to heal, so I hope they get on top of it.
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Had a nice tiny little fire and spent about two hours tonight reading. Didn’t see many critters, only one cat across the street.
Time for a shower and bed.
n