Cool and damp, possibly with moisture from the sky. National forecast has Houston on the southern edge of the possible rain and T storms part of the country. We usually don’t get any when we’re there, due to the difficulty of predicting just how strong the pressure from the Gulf of America is. Today is supposed to be pretty much like yesterday, with the area of rain moving south for Saturday, and presumably also Easter Sunday. I hope we don’t get rain, and that the micro climate at the BOL keeps the rain away too, as I’ve got a truck bed full of stuff.
Yesterday was like so many days lately, where I start with a plan, but fail to execute. Most of the day got eaten by other things, like cutting my hair and ebay stuff.
Turned out I didn’t have to hold myself ready to get D2 from school, so I went to the shop and did a bunch of organizing and arranging. I needed to get the shipping dims and weight of a big thing I might have finally sold, and to get to it, I needed to clean. I also assembled 2 sets of metro rack shelves to put some of it on, instead of just stacking it on the floor. If I palletize and ship the items, I’ll finally have room to get the rest of my storage unit cleaned out. All in all, less than I’d hoped, but decent progress after all.
Today I hope to do a trash run, LP gas refill, and recycle the catalytic converters that are in the bed of the truck. Those things are all near each other. Then I can load up with stuff for the BOL and head out. W plans to take the kids up sometime in the morning. Early afternoon is more likely. We’ll spend Easter at the lake, which is becoming a tradition. Everyone seems to want steak for our Easter dinner, so that will be a bit non-traditional, but we’ll hide eggs (more money than candy in them this year) and play some games together.
I’ll have a list of stuff I need to work on, but that might be limited by weather. There is always more to do than I have energy and motivation to do.
That is the story of my life though.
Always be working. Always be stacking.
nick
Yes. And it is a good thing to be getting back out into space. The only problem is that they are doing it on a super-expensive, disposable rocket. One that seems incapable of launching more than every couple of years.
I hope, in the back room, they are planning for a transition to Starship or New Glenn, or some other re-usable platform.
As I recall, the idea behind that was: The skills needed to maintain an army in peacetime are different from the skills needed in wartime.
That said, Trump has genuinely screwed the pooch with Iran. He was obviously advised that the US could destroy Iran’s military capabilities in a few days. Turns out that Iran is big, and has quite the stockpile of weapons.
It costs $4 million to make a Patriot, and in at least a few cases, they have been used to shoot down $50k Shahed drones. Even Iran’s SBMs cost a fraction of what a Patriot or a THAAD does. Iran makes their weapons by the bucket-load, whereas the US has loooong production times. Those aren’t the kind of trade-offs you want to be making.
The icing on the cow patty was not thinking about the Strait of Hormuz. Oops…
If that was intended as an April Fools joke, you missed by a day.
If that wasn’t a joke … Nick got it right. Yikes. Seek help, man.
No. SLS is the contractor cabal’s dream project, and all three of NASA’s high bays in the VAB are filled with the tooling for that rocket.
Full employment for space geeks!
Biden’s NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, was the cabal’s chore boy when he was in Congress, and, by the time Florida voters finally kicked him out of office in 2020, Nelson was arguably further down the dementia road than Corn Pop.
In addition to disposable, the rockets are still flying on NASA’s stock of RS-25s left over from the Shuttle program. Only one new engine has rolled off of the assembly line at Harris to date, and enough for only one more launch have been rebuilt/certified.
Houston, Our Microshaft is Limp
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/microsoft-office/artemis-ii-astronaut-finds-two-outlook-instances-running-on-computers-call-on-houston-to-fix-microsoft-anomaly-puzzled-caller-describes-two-outlooks-and-neither-one-of-those-are-working
Some trans dude in Switzerland was celebrating that it was so easy to change his official gender. “10 minutes”. The people on the Swiss subreddit were all patting him on the back, how nice, since it doesn’t affect anyone, why not?
I chimed in that it does affect folks: women don’t want guys in their locker rooms, women don’t want to compete against men in sports, etc.. This being reddit, you can guess the response. I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t get banned…
Rommel said something to the effect that the Americans were the least prepared opponent he faced but learned faster than any previous enemy force he fought against.
Something weird has been going on in the Army with the Futures Command boondoggle here in Austin for the past few years. Randy George may have been caught up in the fallout from whatever is happening.
Call me weird, but I don’t think Army staff cars should have “wraps” advertising their command like I see for Futures in the parking lot of the main building on campus regularly.
I doubt Futures was about anything but burnishing resumes for the revolving door between the military and the tech companies. Of course my wife’s nephew wanted to be involved and felt his J-school diploma qualified him to be a manager at a place like Google or Amazon.
Incorrect strategy Number One.
not thinking about the Strait of Hormuz.
– I doubt this was the case. Trump may be ignorant of some things but he’s not dumb. Our military excels at logistics and the Straits are like a case study on fighting a war with logistics. I haven’t been reading closely, but what are the mullahs using to “control” the Straits?
The navy is gone. If it’s land based, as soon as they activate their targeting and pull the camo nets off, we should be able to take out any missile batteries. If we can’t do it fast enough, someone loses a tanker or two, but then it’s over. If it’s hand carried ship killers then it’ll be a bug hunt, but nothing succeeds like excess…
Right now, by NOT doing that, we’re just ‘sharing the pain’ with our “allies.”
Close the north sea, control the Med, take out the canals, and close the Straits and you own the world. That strategy is like a cable cutting war though, we use those paths too, and our hungry new enemies would make sure we suffered to.
The real fighters have been playing with tactics and tech in the Uke trying to shortcut the process of starting a new war. Like EVERY PREVIOUS war, we started with tech and tactics from the last one. If this turns into a war, we’ll evolve too. Iran isn’t an industrial powerhouse so where are they getting the stuff to build the drones in the first place? ( hard to call this a “war”, it’s a little skirmish with a third world country, who no longer has an air force, or a navy. At best it’s a proxy war.)
No way is iran beating the US in a war of attrition. Most of Europe tried that and failed. Yes, our industrial base is very different from then, but then was very different from 20 years earlier too.
—————
Warm and starting to get sunny. W has the coolers loaded and is trying to chivvy the kids into motion. I slept late due to being up late.
Now I need to do my things and get loaded up.
n
Yay!
US pilot is RESCUED from Iran as shocking footage shows tribesmen shooting at search plane as second remains missing
I wonder if the locals hid him. We may never know.
I’m sure the PLTs were nursing “wood” that the pilot was captured, killed, and dragged through the streets by the sub-humans.
Here’s a take on it. This lady has two YouTube channels, this is sort of her personal one, but she also runs a channel called The Vintage Space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd_PrgsoMbQ
Here’s a summary of her video:
Amy Shira Teitel argues that while Artemis 2 marks the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, it feels uninspiring because it is the product of decades of political compromises, budget instability, and recycled technology rather than a clear national vision. She traces Artemis back to the canceled Constellation program and the congressionally mandated SLS “jobs rocket,” highlighting how shifting goals, rising costs, and reliance on commercial partners have produced a fragmented program with an unclear purpose. Unlike Apollo, which had a compelling geopolitical “why,” Artemis 2 is a limited lunar flyby doing less than Apollo 8, while major science and Earth‑observation missions are being cut to fast‑track a speculative Mars agenda. Ultimately, she worries Artemis reflects a retreat from science‑driven exploration toward a tenuous, billionaire‑led push to Mars that risks losing long‑term infrastructure, public trust, and NASA’s core mission.
Um, what is NASA’s core mission, does she state it? Or does she make assumptions.
“billionaire‑led push to Mars” is pretty disingenuous and shows bias. We’ve been kinda sorta going to mars since the 70s, just wasn’t a big budget priority, like keeping a bunch of old guys employed, or ‘muslim outreach.’ Besides, if he wants to spend HIS money on Mars, then how does that hurt NASA or the public?
n
she worries Artemis reflects a retreat from science‑driven exploration
– Worries??? Nothing science-y about Artemis. Can’t retreat if you were never there.
n
Well, it’s her personal vlog not a journalistic piece for a reputable newspaper, so…
Do those two words ever belong together, since at least the Clinton (mis)administration?
A beautiful, if cool (42F) morning In the California high desert. We had winds to 50mph yesterday so no yard work was accomplished.
It was windless today so I filled the neighbor’s dumpster while I could (pickup is usually about 9-10am) , then mowed – for the third time in three weeks – the dog run.
The patches that I never fully mowed or weed whacked this year, in the back 40, are now waist high. I will need to get to them, ugh. I did buy the 80v string trimmer and a shoulder strap and handle, but with my lower back issues it will be a ½ hour at a time job.
It is now 10:30am, the wind is coming up, time for a shower, breakfast, and a 2nd cup,of coffee.
Since Clinton, you say?
There is space science, exploration, utilization and colonization. They aren’t the same thing.
A lot of the “science community” wishes to treat everything above the von Karman line like Antarctica is treated now, i.e. a playground for a few well funded and government approved Ph.d’s.
They literally want to block off the entire universe to keep their own rice bowls full.
It’s not rocket science. The science is settled. It’s rocket engineering.
Example of anchor babies not assimilating:
Deportation? We Don’t Do That: Illegals Squat for Decades, Their ‘American’ Kids Try to Bomb MacDill AFB
Commenter: Chief Justice Roberts thinks these jerks are just as American as you.
I replaced the fill valve in the toilet. A new valve assembly was around $9 at the local lumberyard.
I installed it. Wasn’t difficult. Then I read the directions. The “Troubleshooting” section.
The fill valve does not turn on? Turn the water off, remove the cap, cover with a cup and turn the water on and off a few times to flush the line.
The water won’t turn off? Yeah…. this is why I bought a new valve. Remove the cap and replace the seal with a genuine Fluidmaster 242 Seal.
I had no idea. I just looked at the old valve. If you have any fingernails, you can remove the seal easily. It’s just a rubbery plastic disk and it seems to harden with age.
This isn’t complicated. If you have ever assembled a PC, you got this. This is simpler than getting the IDE cable on correctly and all the little screws in the right places to mount a floppy drive.
I looked for seals on Big River. Prices are wacky. Ten seals for $23. I have two toilets. Six seals for $7.50, $1.25 each, is more like it,
In the Wishlist now. The hall toilet is about the same age.
One crazy thing. The house feels calmer with the new valve. Well, why not? The old valve made a high pitched noise. Maybe that was the lower range of the noise?
Example of anchor babies not assimilating
And just think, their votes count exactly as much as yours and your wife’s, with your combined 40 (?) years of military service.
Paul, with all of your plumbing troubles, have you considered going with an outhouse, a hand pump, and a bucket suspended overhead for your
weeklymonthly shower?Oh HELL no. We had an outhouse when I was in High School. Nasty.
I remember when the state campgrounds had pit toilets. You never forget that smell on a summer day, or the feel of the dirty concrete under your butt.
The modern portapotty is a far cry from a hole in the dirt. If provisioned with the right number for the expected use, and serviced on schedule, they don’t even really smell other than p!ss because people can’t aim. Don’t get splashed by the blue water though, or drop anything in.
n
The factories and capital equipment did not go anywhere during the Depression.
The perfumed princes from the freak show commands will be at Bern’s on Monday night following the Rays’ home opener at The Trop aka The Toxie Dome.
Please, though, take it out to the parking garage across the street. We like Bern’s.
Bombing the Visitor Center wouldn’t accomplish much beyond killing a lot of innocent people and real soldiers.
Sigh. Yes, even PR flaks fall under that “real” category.
My adventure of discovery with toilet guts is nothing. Tinkering.
Plumbing problems are when the water line to the washing machine freezes and one gets the glorious pleasure of laying in mud under the house when the temp is hovering at 30F.
I forget if I already said this.
I had to remove some of skirting from under the house for the spray foam guys. I waited a couple of weeks,lazy, mostly, before re-installing the skirting.
I found a light fixture they left under the house. Sent the guy a text. Heard back a week later and “what is your address?”
Yeah. I get it. The job is done, delete the contact from the phone. But how many jobs do you do spraying the underside of a house that you don’t remember a job done two weeks ago?
Needless to say, unless he figures it out I have an at most $80 light fixture.
It will come in handy some day.
Hey, the estimate was 3600 and the total was 5000.
Oh HELL no. We had an outhouse when I was in High School. Nasty.
The outhouse in the new Madison TV show with had a hornets nest in it under the seat. The idiot woman sat down on the seat and got stung in her private parts. It stars Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfieffer.
https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/the-madison/
Man, I really want to go spend the summer in Montana in an RV.
The modern portapotty is a far cry from a hole in the dirt. If provisioned with the right number for the expected use, and serviced on schedule, they don’t even really smell other than p!ss because people can’t aim. Don’t get splashed by the blue water though, or drop anything in.
When we went to Nevada for handgun training, I was cautioned severely by senior range instructor that he did not want to go fishing in the blue water again for a loaded handgun.
I remember when the state campgrounds had pit toilets. You never forget that smell on a summer day, or the feel of the dirty concrete under your butt.
Montana put pit toilets on the bank of the Missouri river several years ago. Much better than squatting in the underbrush, cussing out the person who used the last of the TP in the jon boat.
Number one son and I went to see the Project Hail Mary movie today. 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. Now I need to reread the book. And yes, the book is on my six star list. And Rocky was just the way I envisioned him.
xkcd: Day Counter
https://xkcd.com/3228/
Yes, floating point errors are the bane of my life ! Not so much now with double precision but the single precision days were nightmares.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3228:_Day_Counter
Whatever you do, do not select “Space Opera Mode” in the new mode drop down list. “Boat mode” made me a little queasy after a while. And “modem mode” does not seem to do anything.
Over The Hedge: Giving Hammy Coffee
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2026/04/03
Do not give Hammy any coffee ! The potential damage to Earth is too great.
Arrived safely at the BOL. Got some mowing in before the sun went down. I’m worried that tomorrow will be raining, so I did the front of the house.
Had dinner and played a card game with the kids.
It’s 73F and damp, but I’m going to bed rather than have a tiny little fire on the dock.
n
Catching up from some earlier posts…
>>When I was in Norway for work, there were like 12 different fish things at breakfast, mostly pickled, and they were delicious. Best with a chunk of fresh bread and loads of butter though. Other than smoked salmon, I’m not sure I could eat a jar plain on the plate.
“When is a door not a door? Why of course, when it’s ajar!”
>>…I’m not sure I could eat a jar plain on the plate.
Some jam minimizes cuts from the shards of glass as you swallow.
Good night all…