Cool, mid 60s all day, and maybe some overcast? It was pretty grey most of yesterday, so I expect the same today. It was 67F when I went to bed but also very wet.
We spent the day eating, opening presents, cooking, and playing board games. We played Catan in the afternoon, and Ticket to Ride after dinner. I had terrible luck with both games, and D1 dominated.
Santa brought good stuff, everyone was happy with their gifts. I got a couple of tools and another Morakniv. My fisherman friend brought be a box of 9mm for my next range day.
The oven roasted duck was a very simple recipe but was delicious. I made chopped carrots sauteed in butter with marjoram, and sauteed cabbage and onions as sides, with a loaf of shelf stable bread and some baked garlic clusters with blue cheese as appetizers. We were too full for dessert.
It’s only the second time I’ve made duck. It was cheaper than hamburger at Costco, and the kids liked it the first time, so I tried it again. Success. We’ll have a lamb roast this weekend,and probably a sirloin cap roast as well. They’re defrosted, and easy to cook, so they’re on the menu.
The “summer kitchen” idea of having an oven in the garage worked out well again. I’m glad to have that heat out there and not in the kitchen. I am thinking about where to put a 2 burner stove, and maybe a place for the deep fryer out there too. If I can get a small stainless steel table, about 2ft or 2x3ft, that would be perfect.
The prep for the week was to bring up the 5 buckets of Wise emergency food I got from that estate sale. At $6/ bucket I’m not too disappointed that two of the buckets are breakfast stuff, and three are essentially side dishes and soups. That’s typical for emergency buckets sold to preppers. Worth adding to the stacks, not worth buying at full price unless you supplement them and can’t get Mountain House.
Other than cooking, I tried not to ‘work’. Mostly succeeded.
Today I’ll take a look at networking and cameras. That should occupy me but not be too taxing.
Even on the holidays, always keep improving. And stacking if it doesn’t take away from family time.
nick
Thursday, Feast of Saint Steven, Protomartyr. Good morning!
Nick, that all sounds delicious! Well done.
An outdoor kitchen sounds fabulous, if one had enough nice weather to enjoy it. I agree 100% with using the deep fryer only outdoors.
We were supposed to have duck yesterday, but plans changed spontaneously, so it will probably be duck today instead.
Oma won five games of UNO in a row, much to the astonishment of Juniormost. The rest of us knew she is a card shark!
Time to get up. If anyone is bored, I did a long-ish bit late in yesterday’s comments on Steven’s Day activities.
Have a beautiful day!
The Bella 1 has been seized.
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/12/24/all-your-oil-tanker-are-belong-to-us-n3810225
Wonder was the law says about defiance of a lawful order to stop engines and prepare to be boarded? Perhaps time to make a horrible example? Put them in CECOT in El Salvador Without landing them in the U.S. and invite Boasburg to visit?
Walmart has DVDs of the most popular Paramount shows.
Physical media is the “greenest” way to watch “Tulsa King”.
Streaming services are part of the Pizza Box Dream.
BTW, “Tulsa King” is awesome.
76F and partly cloudy. 71%RH. Nice long sleep, I feel pretty good. I was up late what with the tiny fire and all.
Coffee is brewing, I’m about to start some bacon, and maybe I’ll have an egg.
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“summer kitchen” for now is inside the garage. If we remodeled this place to be much fancier, or if we build on the other lot, creating more outdoor living space will be a priority. Since the garage is paneled and has a finished ceiling, it’s like another big room and we use it as such. Yeah it has lots of shelves with building and maintenance supplies, and the freezers and beverage fridges, but it also has the pool table. I’m trying to shift all the building stuff out of there, but there are myriad things to do first.
———-
Just tossing out an observation… a rotting wooden deck over water is a terrible platform for a big telescope…. I do have an idea to put in pavers on the land adjacent to the dock and that will give a nice solid base. Until then, it’s very much amateur hour and a bit of a clown show to find anything…
n
Welcome to the clown car.
Snow storm coming. Project total accumulation probably less than a foot.
I don’t need to dash out for milk, eggs, and bread. Or anything. So long as the utilities stay on, I don’t need to leave the property for months.
Daughter and friend (long-time female friend, not the friend from college) are up in northern Vermont for a vacation. They should see maybe a couple inches’ total snowfall, maybe not even that. Hardly seems fair.
I cleaned the coop and gathered eggs a little while ago, putting them in the pocket of my sweatshirt because I needed to carry something with both hands. I heard one of the eggs crack and was annoyed because I just washed this sweatshirt. No problem, though. The egg was so cold that the white was pretty much gel and stayed in place. I tossed the cracked egg into the chickens’ treat dish and they mobbed it like they’d never seen food before. Something that I didn’t know until my daughter told me last year is that if a chicken is ailing and not eating, crack an egg in front of her and she’ll eat it. From a nutrition viewpoint that makes sense, but it’s kind of ewww.
“Cheniere completes Corpus Christi Stage 3 Train 4”
https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/lng/news/55340460/cheniere-completes-two-more-corpus-christi-stage-3-trains
I believe that this is LNG Liquefaction plant #24 in the USA.
The entire plant can make 30 million tons of LNG per year. They are planning on doubling the size of the plant by 2030 or so. Each train costs about $12 billion dollars now.
We are still flaring a quarter to a half of the natural gas produced in the USA. Putting it back in the ground requires special compressors. People are moving to natural gas as fast as they can due to the cheapness. Except the East Coast. Those fools are trying to convert to 100% wind power.
My mother has cellulitis in her legs again. One of the blisters is three inches (8 cm) across. The Nurse Practitioner at the Assisted Living is putting Mom back on antibiotics. For a while there she wanted to take Mom to the ER. I have a real bad feeling that she is going to end up amputating her legs.
“We are still flaring a quarter to a half of the natural gas produced in the USA. Putting it back in the ground requires special compressors. People are moving to natural gas as fast as they can due to the cheapness. Except the East Coast. Those fools are trying to convert to 100% wind power.”
So use of this gas is “net zero”. Totally green.
“China is Suing GOP Senator for $50 Billion After He Exposed Them for Starting COVID [WATCH]”
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/12/china-is-suing-gop-senator-for-50-billion-after-he-exposed-them-for-starting-covid-watch/
“Sen. Eric Schmitt said he is undeterred by a $50 billion lawsuit filed against him by China, arguing the legal action is retaliation for exposing what he described as the Chinese Communist Party’s role in unleashing COVID-19 on the world and for highlighting dangerous weaknesses in global supply chains.”
“Schmitt said the lawsuit is an attempt at intimidation following a $24 billion judgment in Missouri against China tied to the pandemic.”
You have got to be kidding me.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
The oven roasted duck was a very simple recipe but was delicious. I made chopped carrots sauteed in butter with marjoram, and sauteed cabbage and onions as sides, with a loaf of shelf stable bread and some baked garlic clusters with blue cheese as appetizers. We were too full for dessert.
The wife cooked a fresh 18 lb turkey from Kroger, the smallest she could find. She made two pumpkin pies from scratch, I bought a pecan pie from HEB, and the son made cornbread dressing with two pints of oysters and 14 Serrano peppers and four sticks of butter. Hot and spicy and real moist. The wife also made mashed sweet potatoes and lemon lime jello salad with crushed pineapples.
I am three lbs heavier today and I had to get up three times to pee last night from all of the sugar. Sigh.
I went to bed reading my Roman Empire book and had wild dreams last night. Salve, salve ! Ave Imperator ! ! !
The CCP needs to be dope-smacked with the sun. The US (always) has a number of aging warheads. Rather than bothering to decommission them, recycle material, and discard the contaminated parts, we should put them to use. And we have “invisible bombers” which, so far as I know, have never been tested against an (allegedly) top-tier power, so we should put them to the test.
dominus deus
exaudi nos et misere
exaudi, dominus
dona nobis pacem
et salva nos a hostibus
salva nos, deus
dominus exaudi nos
dominus misere
dona nobis pacem
sanctus, gloria
dona nobis pacem
e dona eis requiem
inter ovas locum
voca me cum benedictis
pie jesu domine, dona eis requiem
dominus deus, sanctus gloria
Monty: Rock’em Sock’em Robots
https://www.gocomics.com/monty/2025/12/26
Yes ! Wait, we need a boxing arena first, this could get ugly.
Walmart has DVDs of the most popular Paramount shows.
Physical media is the “greenest” way to watch “Tulsa King”.
Streaming services are part of the Pizza Box Dream.
I canceled Fubo yesterday, that $108 per month was too much for me. And the wife.
I am binge watching “The Closer” on Netflix (disclosure, I am stockholder) now.
And I am binge watching “Teen Wolf” on Netflix.
The wife wants to binge “Major Crimes” but the cost is too high for her, about $175. She is cheap XXXXX frugal and will wait for Netflix to pick it up.
My mother has cellulitis in her legs again. One of the blisters is three inches (8 cm) across. The Nurse Practitioner at the Assisted Living is putting Mom back on antibiotics. For a while there she wanted to take Mom to the ER. I have a real bad feeling that she is going to end up amputating her legs.
I think that my mother is sleeping in her wheelchair again, cutting off circulation to her legs. She maintains that she is sleeping in her bed. It is like arguing with a five year old. I really do not like being in this situation. She is making bad decisions but, it is her life. I have gotten her to a safe place where they will do the principal job of taking care of her but they can only do so much.
xkcd: Truly Universal Outlet
https://www.xkcd.com/3186/
Uh, no. There are different voltages involved for a start.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3186:_Truly_Universal_Outlet
My late mother’s doctor constantly berated her for sleeping in her recliner. Her legs were below her heart, which made them swell. Yes, a five-year-old.
Tyler Hoechlin went on to play the titular* character in Superman and Lois.
*I know “tit” might imply he played Lois, but no, Superman. Hi, Mr. SteveF
I see a number of tits every day. As well as wrens, finches, bluejays, and the occasional cardinal or woodpecker. The wild birds go through a pint or more of seed every day, depending on how many times I fill it, plus every speck of suet that I put in the feeder.
Bedtime Friday night / Saturday morning. Cold… ice on the car, bits of snow on the ground.
Travelling on the Autobahn again today. This trip was so much more enjoyable than the last, for two, or maybe three, reasons: negligable numbers of Dutch cars and drivers on this route, a minimum of three lanes nearly the whole way, and driving between 9pm and midnight, on almost empty roads. Average speed stayed high – only 2 hours 20 mins for 300km.
Time for some shut-eye. Goodnight!
80 MPH. Not bad.
That’s the posted speed limit on the tollway in Oklahoma.
The toll road bypass around Austin has a speed limit of 85 MPH in places.
Turned into a beautiful day. Took the boat out for a spin. I even spent sundown trying to fish. Currently 69F.
Tamales are warming up, dinner soon.
n
The Obama Library Is Ugly for a Reason
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2025/12/26/obama-library-is-ugly-for-a-reason-n2197492
It’s not just that it’s ugly.
If they had used that building in a set for the original Star Trek, the landing party would beam down, Spock would take one look and say “These people were obviously never civilized and never invented architecture.”
If that building had existed in Dessau and the Bauhaus had replaced it with the ugliest monstrosity that they inflicted on East Germany, they would be revered as bringers of Beauty.
The rumor that Big Mike demanded it not surpass her in beauty may be true.
They should post signs at approaches from all four sides: “No, this building was not modeled on a piece of sh*t–sh*t does not have corners.”
“Major Crines” DVD box sets are around, but reviews are mixed.
The latest “Knives Out” is a real mystery for a change and available on my cheapskate Netflix tier.
Netflix also has what may well be the Best Picture, “Fankenstein” at my tier which makes me wonder about their business practices.
Paramount has awesome DVD sets for “Landman” and “Tulsa King” to discourage the pirates.
Netflix also has what may well be the Best Picture, “Fankenstein” at my tier which makes me wonder about their business practices.
Huh ??? I thought that you were promoting this picture the other day ?
Paramount has awesome DVD sets for “Landman” and “Tulsa King” to discourage the pirates.
I am paying Paramount $6.99 per month through Big River to get all we can eat with ads.
The wife wants to pick up Peacock (NBC) in time for the umpteen Law and Orders leisurely starting up in the new year. $10.99 per month with ads.
“First Drive: Toyota’s $10,000 Pickup Truck Is Perfect. So, Why Are We Sad?”
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-toyota-imv-0-pickup-truck-first-drive-review-japan-mobility-show
“This Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series lookalike is a no-frills, cost-reduced Hilux flatbed/pickup optimized for lower-GDP markets.”
Toyota would sell 300,000 to 500,000 a year of these in the USA.
At least move “Frankenstein” to the same tier as “Anyone But You”.
I saw “Frankenstein” in a theater and am willing to pay for a BluRay if they make one available.
I have the cheapest “Netflix” tier.
Toyota sells the previous generation Tacoma under the Hilux name in Mexico. I’ve seen several in Austin with Nuevo Leon plates.
Ford got eaten alive by dealers with the Maverick. I doubt an under $20k truck is possible in the US anymore without some serious changes in state laws.
At least move “Frankenstein” to the same tier as “Anyone But You”.
I saw “Frankenstein” in a theater and am willing to pay for a BluRay if they make one available.
I have the cheapest “Netflix” tier.
I did not know that Netflix has tiers. We pay about $25 per month for a four user license of Netflix. I guess that we are the top tier.
Ah yes, we have the “Premium” option.
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926
At the end of the day, we use Netflix at least half of the time for streaming on our three TVs. I had to upgrade from two devices to four devices because we were conflicting and Netflix was getting pissy.
Toyota sells the previous generation Tacoma under the Hilux name in Mexico. I’ve seen several in Austin with Nuevo Leon plates.
Ford got eaten alive by dealers with the Maverick. I doubt an under $20k truck is possible in the US anymore without some serious changes in state laws.
Trump is rewriting the federal vehicle safety laws now after removing vehicles from the fuel mileage standards.
68F but dripping wet. Moderate haze. I can see Orion and jupiter, but I don’t know for how long.
I’m not going down for a fire and radio tonight. We are supposed to be getting a cold front maybe Sunday night, so I should have another moderate night tomorrow.
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Just finished the first book in Larry Correia’s new fantasy series, Academy of Outcasts. The next is due May 5th. It’s a progression series, with a D&D magic and monsters world. It’s fun and irreverent. It’s SO MUCH better than most of the game inspired LitRPG that I’ve been reading. He’s just a much better writer. He may not be as fast, but then he has actual proofreaders and editors too. And by trad standards, he’s crazy fast.
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Something in the house has me coughing. I’m fine outside, but there is a lot of dust in here. Or I could be getting something.
I’m going to try for an early night…
n
I hope buddy the beagle got some treats today.
n
I hope buddy the beagle got some treats today.
And Penny too.
“Trump is rewriting the federal vehicle safety laws now after removing vehicles from the fuel mileage standards.”
The economic benefit of a $10-15,000* pickup would far surpass the horrendous added expense of multiple layers of safety bells and whistles. Put in seat/shoulder belts and design the cabin to resist crushing. Forget air bags.
But the current dealership network–home of $100+ oil changes and $50 cab air changes–is not capable of selling or servicing them alongside $70k Tacomas.
*yeah, stripped base model. But putting that out for sale would shake up the rest of the industry. There is no detail in the article referenced above, but the key to affordability would be to eliminate virtually all of the electronics and design for endurance and user servicing.
Hmm. I am perhaps not quite awake. I parsed that as “Females are warming up; dinner soon!”, and briefly thought Nick had gone over to cannibalism.