Cool to start, and gorgeous later. That’s the plan anyway. Yesterday worked out that way and it was a beautiful day.
I spent most of the day ferrying kid and friends around. I did do a little sorting and domestic bliss, but didn’t get anything off the list. I’ll try again today.
About the only thing related to prepping was trying to back up more of the stuff on my phone. I didn’t realize that the camera was using the internal storage instead of the sd card, and that a lot of stuff wasn’t being backed up to the cloud. I pulled the card and copied it to my pc, and it took over 5 hours. That’s crazy long for just 32GB of data. SD card, through an adapter, and then the card reader in the pc is not quick. I’m not sure where the bottleneck is but it’s significant.
Today I’ll sleep late, and then do some more cleanup. I found more of the electrical parts I need for the whole house gennie, so I might move that up the list, just to get something done and marked off.
Or I might not. With beautiful weather, I might move stuff out of storage.
Plans, I’ve got ’em. We’ll see what really happens.
Stack some preps. It’s good for the soul.
nick
Sunday. Sunny and spring-like outside. Tweety birds birding. Squirrels squirreling. Good morning!
Locusts were at the bakery before me. I managed to snag some bread rolls and a couple of individual brioche for breakfast. The baker does an excellent tartiflette sandwich au gratin, and there was one left for me. Success!
Work continues after breakfast. Joy.
Wishing you all a lovely Sunday.
50 F outside and 68 F inside. Is winter over ?
There is a crow continuously crowing in my backyard. I am not sure what his problem is.
Herve cheese. Recommended. I like mine mature, about a week past the best-by date on the packaging. If you let it go two weeks beyond that date, it usually finds its own way out of the fridge.
It was delicious on this morning’s rolls. I completely forgot to add the traditional smear of Sirop de Liège, but it was still scrumptious. I might have to remedy my omission with a snack later, before W1 snaffles the rest of the Herve.
The problem is your lack of these.
The sun is coming up but I only know by inference. It is really foggy out there.
Managed to dump a half cup of coffee down my front. It did warm me up though. And the kitchen countertop.
Going to church may be interesting as they are repouring 3 lanes of our 14 lane bridge across the Brazos River this morning. This our replacement bridge from the hurricane Harvey damage in 2017.
This is Texas. It’s the first “False Spring”. We’ll have a few more wintery weeks before the second False Spring, followed by Winter’s Last Grasp, and THEN the Real Spring.
Apparently the alien starship that was surveying the Sol system blew up when it passed beyond the system hyper-limit and tried to engage its star drive:
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/nasa-space-telescope-sees-comet-3i-atlas-dramatically-flare-as-interstellar-visitor-exits-solar-system
Ronald Reagan famously used his 22 to eliminate a noisy bird in a tree at his ranch, much to the consternation and surprise of his Secret Service detail.
Unfortunately a quick Google search only turns up assassination attempt stuff, AI search fixates on certain things sometimes and will not remember others even with extra prompting.
Not at all. These are simply the exhaust products from its impulse drive.
“They don’t pay us to carry ammunition back home.”
Reagan was supposed to be a keen marksman, so that would be credible. There is a famous photo of him on Air Force One admiring a nice rifle he received as a gift. Unfortunately for the President, he was a lefty, and the rifle wasn’t.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/05/07/potd-reagans-rifle-on-air-force-one/
Disasterville. W1 didn’t snaffle the Herve, but she hoovered up half my tartiflette sandwich. In fairness, she brought me back a bag of chocolate-covered apple rings from her holidays, and those are delightful.
Tea-break is over. Back to the grind with a fresh cup on the desk. The Man unfortunately doesn’t respect the Lord’s Day.
Has Mr Ray been flatulating again?
Nope, well, maybe. In church. Just left a surprise for the next person that sits in that seat as I change seats from Sunday School to worship services. Farting while getting up, pulls the gases into the foam when the foam expands. The next person to sit down expels the gas when the foam is compressed. Also works well in furniture stores.
Outside temp was -10F overnight and until about 0900 today. Not quite as cold tonight or tomorrow. Tuesday is supposed to be much warmer – up to about 20F during the day, oooh – but snowing. Bah.
In one job a few years ago, in which I worked remote from up here for a company in Georgia, I’d sometimes put “Why do I live here?” comments in the “general chat” Slack channel. “I walked my daughter to the bus stop this morning and was going to read my Kindle as I walked back to the house but it was so cold that the eInk display wouldn’t refresh. Remind me, why do I live here?”
I had to partially rebuild the run and straighten out some of the stuff in it. The wind was “somewhat problematic” last night. And I had to go fetch one of the trash cans, which had wandered off to find the holy grail or something. No big problem, just a nuisance.
Ah, proper religious observance; love thy neighbour (but don’t get caught).
No doubt the next congregant in that seat will have exclaimed “Oh, God!”.
69F and bright overcast. It was so damp last night it smelled like ‘wet’.
Woke at around 9am naturally and thought about getting up. The next thing I knew, my phone vibrated and woke me at 11am. I guess I needed the extra two hours.
I’m up, coffee is delicious. Had one egg, two strips of bacon, and some of the bread leftover from yesterday’s Chik Fil A chicken nugget breakfast bites. Pan fried the bread to warm it up. It’s very soft, dense, and sweet.
———-
Thinking about today’s task list, but will sit in front of the computer for a while yet.
n
Weather update: Temperature is no longer negative (in Fahrenheit)! It’s even projected to be positive for a couple hours!
Mr Ray should take up writing.
“Better Farting with Physics” would probably reach Amazon ‘s 100 Top Science titles.
Most of the company was based in GA or just the HR and HQ staff?
As much as I b!tch about the hot weather here, I started moving away from the cold when I was 20 and moved to Arizona. I’ve been living in warmer places ever since. Cold HURTS.
n
Mr Ray should write Illustrated Guide to Home Physics Experiments. The labs demonstrate velocity measurement, turbulence, wind power as a function of wind velocity, and so on.
The whole company had been in Georgia until the dempanic, then went remote and started hiring people in NY, Colorado, etc. It was a good job, but the founder stepped down, a woketard woman took over as CEO, and before long they needed to close at least one division and lay off a significant fraction of the staff.
A beautiful day here, sunny and just some zephyrs.
The plants and animals are getting fooled into thinking it is spring.
Nah, they will just check their DEPENDS.
Venting hot materials to bring the warp coil back down to operation temperature.
Farting into the cushion as they leave…
n
Six eggs today. Every one cracked longitudinally. Stupid weather.
@steve, can’t you just thaw them and scramble the result?
n
Oh, the eggs are perfectly usable. They just need special handling so they don’t ooze all over everything when they thaw. Normally I rinse the eggs after I bring them in and then put them into an old egg carton and we use them as needed. The cracked eggs need to be rinsed very carefully and then placed crack-side-up in a dish sized so that they hold each other in place and don’t roll, then I carefully place the dish in the fridge, usually having to clear space for it. It’s five or ten times the time and nuisance compared to rinsing and plopping.
I just finished my taxes. Fingers crossed. I don’t think I messed up. Filed Single. I filed and the IRS accepted my return in just under an hour. Nice.
I did claim the dividends from the AT&T stock, all $53. I need to get that changed to my name. Maybe just sell it and be rid of it. I’m not sure it’s worth the bother for a dollar a week worth of dividends. Rounded up the interest from the bank from $206 and change to $209 because checking has paid a little bit of interest.
The 401k withheld $2400 and I’m getting it all refunded. As hoped.
That diesel heater from Vevor I bought a few days ago? Tracking says it’s out for delivery at 10:19am on a Sunday. Here we are, nothing at 4:30pm on the same Sunday.
Georgetown ain’t that far away.
I’m not in a rush. The shipping company is something I’ve never heard of. For all I know the website tracking is not working or the driver goofed something and I have a twenty pound box sitting near the gate, hopefully on my side of the cattle guard. I’ll see later, that is, if the dogs want to walk that far for their bedtime potty walk.
It’s not suppose to rain at all for the next few days. But if you say “delivery on Sunday” and don’t follow through, that makes me cranky.
The new toy will arrive eventually.
Hey. I wonder what happens if you use gasoline instead of diesel? You know someone has.
And the heater is delivered. At the gate, safe from the neighbor’s horses eating the box. Better than UPS setting the package next to the cattle guard on the neighbor’s side.
I’ll get it tomorrow. I’m going to town to buy license plates.
More than a week ago I mentioned that I could not find a reference online to an old USDA Forest Products Laboratory (Madison, Wisconsin) publication that included some good information on designing shelves for minimum deflection (sag).
I did some more noodling around and found a couple resources:
Popular Woodworking: Build Stronger, Sag-Proof Shelves
By Tom Caspar Posted March 23, 2022 In Techniques
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/aw-extra-3614-stronger-shelves/
Note: Good general introduction with simple tables.
Woodbin: The Sagulator (Online calculator)
https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/
Note: A nearly comprehensive* selection of parameters, but lacks a side-by-side comparison feature. The notes at the bottom are excellent.
Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material
Authors: Robert Ross
Year: 2021
Station: Forest Products Laboratory
Source: FPL-GTR-282
https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/62200
Note: 546 pages; latest update. Good reference for the digital library, but lacking in some basic practical information such as shelf design.
*There is no provision for adding a “trim” strip to the back of the shelf. A 1.5″ trim strip added to the front is a common element when using 3/4″ plywood as it hides the ugly edge of the plywood, makes the shelf appear thicker, and adds considerable deflection resistance. Adding a second strip to the bottom edge of the back of the shelf works as well, and does not decrease the usable height between shelves. Thus a 1.5″ strip at the front and a 3″ strip at the back is a good method for carrying heavy books, and the deflection is reduced by 2/3″.
Lefty Puke Arrested for Threats Against VP Vance Had Computer Full of Child Pron
https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2026/02/08/new-federal-grand-jury-indicts-man-who-threatened-vp-vance-n2198947
Bust all the child pron networks, sex trafickers, and slavers and you’d find 90% of them are PLT’s.
Bald Eagle’s Grisly Death at Obama‑Funded Wind Project Site Triggers Federal Fine
Dismembered into three pieces.
The green weinies are dishonest and the LSM are equally so. I posted last year about a report on those “incidental take permits” for the 300-ft bird harvesters.
If there was really a conservation movement in the USA the wind turbines would be getting blown up on a regular basis.
These Athletes Are Getting Paid to Shame Their Own Country at the Olympics
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/josephchalfant/2026/02/07/these-athletes-are-getting-paid-to-shame-their-own-country-at-the-olympics-n2670928
“The U.S. is paying out $37,500 per gold medal, so keep in mind how much these people could be making while bashing the country cutting them thousands in checks.”
Cancel it.
These little pukes sitting up there with the American flag on their jacket, a jacket that was given to them along with other team uniform items, free housing, free airline tickets, etc. for the express purpose of representing the U.S.A. has just abrogated the agreement. Cancel it and send them home.
It’s to bad it’s not 1988. I’d get some like-minded friends together and be hunting them in the streets of Calgary.
Gas, Kerosene, vegetable oil, used motor oil….
YouTube is (not) your friend.
If I watch anything it would be the curling. Ordinary people, having fun. And they are there for longer than just about anyone.
n
Gasoline go all ‘splody would be my thought. Same as in a kero heater or lantern.
The motor and veg oil should work, if thinned to the same viscosity, I think.
n
Dumbphones? Try dumbcars! Safety experts call for cars to go ‘back to basics’ – as they warn high-tech features can prove DEADLY
While futuristic car features might make you feel like James Bond out on the road, car safety experts have now warned that many of them can prove deadly.
– gonna have to change the rules before that can happen. I’m all for it.
—————
apparently the super bowl is today? and the bad bunny did his thing? Huh. Didn’t know I could care less than ‘not at all’ but it seems I can.
n
He did. The show now occupies the number 1, number 2, and number 3 worst half time shows, ever. Quite an accomplishment.
apparently the super bowl is today? and the bad bunny did his thing? Huh. Didn’t know I could care less than ‘not at all’ but it seems I can.
We watched the Turning Point alternate half time show on TBN. Was not horrible at all. Country Christian Rock.
People loves them some gadgetry. Like smart phones, the software interface on the touch screens is designed to maximize the dopamine hit, and the screens are cheap, mostly Hecho en China.
What happens to the screens in 7-10 years in an environment like the Gulf Coast is not the manufacturer’s probem.
Plus, Patents are at stake.
I’d rather volunteer to do feet washing and pedicures at the homeless shelter…
right after I’m done sticking needles in my eyes.
Here’s hoping BB gets a bad fish taco…
And Good Roger licks it off the stage.
Arkansas’ Lithium Jackpot: New Tech Turns Ancient Saltwater Into ‘White Gold’
“We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace US imports of lithium and more.”
Screw the “international lender” part. U.S. financing and restricted technological export. Patent internationally, but keep the ion-selective media reduction to practice as a trade secret. Firs step: remove any Chinese or other foreigner (forign national or U.S.-born–we know were their loyalties always lie) from the development process
Then put anyone trying to steal samples down the pipe with the Li-depleted brine. If they’re Chinese, pump them back up and put them down a couple times.
Man Accused of Sending ‘Impostor’ Ransom Demand to Guthrie Family
https://hotair.com/headlines/2026/02/08/man-accused-of-sending-impostor-ransom-demand-to-guthrie-family-n3811660
Pith like a frog and hang on a bobwire fence for the crows.
Texas Lawmaker Goes Mask Off: Non-Whites Can “Take Over This Country”
Gene Wu, member of the Texas House of Representatives, encouraged select racial groups to engage in an intersectional struggle against their shared “oppressor.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/02/resurfaced-remarks-show-texas-lawmaker-pushing-racial-power-politics/
Trace lineage back to naturalization and deport the whole line, delaying in his case until he’s had fence therapy as specified above.
Going Back to the Past to Explain ‘Administrative Warrants’, Immigration Enforcement
https://cis.org/Arthur/Going-Back-Past-Explain-Administrative-Warrants-Immigration-Enforcement
The entire article is worth reading, and I particularly commend your attention to the quoted opinion of Justice O’Connor.
This excerpt from near the end answers two questions:
So the federal government reply to any judge attempting to give further due process or force release of any alien under final order of removal should be: No, that would be contrary to the law as has been fully litigated by the courts of the U.S.
The PLT federal judges in Minnesota have so far released 700 arrestees under habeas corpus. It is unclear how many of these are under final removal orders, but the Ecuadorean recently arrested after abandoning his 5-year-old son was reported to be one. As noted in the above article, criminals rarely stop being criminals. By acting contrary to established law, judges should open themselves to personal liability and criminal accessory charges for any serious crimes committed by those released. Federal agents who are injured having to recapture such should be able to file suit against the judge for damages; if capital crimes are committed the judge should stand trial as an accessory and receive the same penalty, up to and including death (fence preferred).
I’m calling it a night.
School day tomorrow.
n
Will be more difficult for the would-be Vance assassin to do while in federal prison, or as a convicted felon thereafter. The pedo stuff is just the ancillary icing on the cake, and will get him additional time, perhaps in a facility the other inmates of which don’t care for kiddy-fiddlers. I wonder if the feds organised that charge especially for him, or if they just noticed him doing what he was up to anyway. We’ll never know.