Cool and wet. Maybe even raining. It rained on and off all day yesterday, and today should be similar. It got chilly when the real front moved in, dropping from mid 70sF to low 60sF and even lower at night.
I did get some stuff done, but of course not as much as I’d hoped. I spent time working on drainage that I hadn’t planned for, and didn’t get any electrical done. Did get some stuff moved, organized, and put away. Then it was time to cook, nap, and sleep.
Today will start with us hiding eggs, and the kids finding them. After that, it will be a few more tasks from the list and at some point, W and the Ds will head home. I might stay, as the forecast for Monday is clear and the grass really needs to be mowed. I don’t have anything scheduled at home on Monday. It’s turning into a pattern for me to stay an extra day. I get more done when I’m alone.
I will take some time to consider the religious aspects of the day and even try talking through the theology and myth with the kids. We’ll see how that goes. We have been criminally negligent about educating them in Christian theology, which shaped the Western world. Kinda late now, but there never seemed to be a good time. Time flies.
Do what you can with what you have, where you are.
And stack.
nick
First. Yah!
Rain, cooling down. Spoiled the local sunrise service on the mountain overlooking the town. Happy Easter.
61 F and very breezy this morning. Suppose to be 55 F in the morning.
We got quite a bit of rain yesterday and we need quite a bit more to catch up.
Got a wild call about buying the 14 acre office complex yesterday. The guy wants to demo the existing office buildings and warehouse and build a family compound. Wants a big discount for paying cash, a wire transfer, which I am disinclined to give.
This is about the 60th call that I have had on the property since last September. And the third or fourth time that I have had a conversation with somebody wanting to build a family compound. Oh well, money talks and something walks. I am not going to finance the place myself.
Sunday. Feast of the Resurrection. Happy Easter!
Early Mass. The organist played up a storm. Worth the early rising for that alone…
Family breakfast, followed by chocolate eggs and a festive return by youngest nephew of the goldfish clan to their renovated pond.
The local heron has already been over for a low level fly-by… in the clean water, the fish have nowhere to hide, unless they notice the bird and retreat to the deep side. Nature is red of tooth and claw.
W1 is setting the table for Kaffee und Kuchen. Oma baked an apple cake and one with redcurrant meringue. Calories are unmentionable today.
Got my new eyes checked last week, six months now. Right eye is 20/20 and left eye is 20/25. I am very happy even though I need readers to read just about anything.
I need to go to DMV and get eye correction removed from my drivers license. But there are so many illegals crowding the place that they make it hard to get in.
You can now wear regular sunglasses, with a lot of choices. Polarized is out for me as that affects the Heads Up Display (HUD) on truckzilla.
With the upcoming trip to Texas I have been checking out CarPlay and the use of alternate map programs. Apple Maps was pretty good, better than the default truck maps. I then tried Google Maps. Really nice with a satellite view available. Shows the buildings, foliage, streets, etc. The map directions for turns show on the HUD and instrument console along with spoken instructions. Quite nice.
What I don’t know in either the Apple Maps or Google Maps is the availability of lane directions like Garmin. Garmin will display a map of the intersection and show the lane(s) to be in to get the proper direction. That is really handy in complicated intersections that exist in large cities. That I-75 S to I-285 E and W is weird. You need the left lanes to go west, right lanes to go east. Plus there are 8 lanes on the I-State and 3 lanes exiting.
There is a place in the truck to place the phone and get wireless charging which will be good as I am certain that Google Maps take significant power. I do have have unlimited data on the phone so that will not be a concern.
With gas prices the way they are, I expect to spend $700+ on gas for the trip.
Happy Easter everyone.
55F and sunny and clear. Everything is wet though.
Eggs are hidden, hunted, and the haul is being counted now.
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Coffee is almost ready, using the big moka pot. I like it.
Waffles or pancakes soon.
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@ray, google maps will show the lane to be in for turns, even in “north up” mode. I never use the three d view, so can’t comment on its behavior. There will sometimes be some weird routing, due to waze integration issues, where it might want you to do a series of turns thru a neighborhood rather than just go straight to the on ramp, but that is rare.
google’s traffic avoidance and re-routing are very good. I have only beat it with local knowledge a couple of times.
n
I have had that with Garmin. A couple of times the directions wanted me to get off the I-state, go through the intersection, then get back on the I-state.
My son thinks that Apple Maps gives better verbal directions.
Good as that is really valuable in complicated interchanges in large cities.
I like 3D view as that is what I have used on my Garmin. It seems to project further down the road/highway/I-state.
Colonization continues.
Austin is the desired location but limited in terms of where population growth can proceed for now.
The major cities in Texas have big road projects going which create a lot of problems even when navigating with map applications.
With regard to Austin, right now, I’d recommend avoiding I-35 south of Round Rock down to Buda and take the toll roads if you can.
Wire transfer? Family compound?
Kill, convert, or extract tribute.
A big discount is just anther form of extracting tribute.
Apple Maps will also show which lane to get in, but not as thoroughly as Google Maps. Voice in Apple Maps is pretty good at telling you what turn lane to get in, especially to set you up for the next turn.
I need to get my Kneevaduh license. NV uses eye machines for the test. My monovision lasik gives me problems with the “what numbers are on this line”. I have to close one eye to read the right half of the line.
With gas prices the way they are, I expect to spend $700+ on gas for the trip.
Just be happy that you can buy gasoline here in the USA. Europe is getting ready to start running out of gasoline. Those people are idiots.
I intend to avoid I-35 as much as possible. We will go to San Antonio for a couple of days, then to Boerne up I-10 (wife wants to change the flowers on her mother’s gravesite), then over to Bryan via highway 46 through New Braunfels. There will be a short trip on I-35 north until I can hit the toll roads.
We cannot avoid Houston as we need to get to Conroe. From Conroe we will head to San Antonio as the current plan. That will involve a trip on I-610 on the north and west side of Houston.
When I was in Houston before I got “tricked” into some toll roads that I thought were no charge because of the DV plates. Um, no. My plate is not registered with the proper agencies, and the tolling companies like to nab out of state drivers. The signage is somewhat confusing with a couple of different tolling authorities. I just say “THWI” and take the best road. I will pay the toll bill in the mail. I have found that unless a person is familiar with the area and knows the alternate routes, it is best to suck it up and take the toll roads.
The last time I was in San Antonio a year ago there was a real mess on I-35 north starting at I-410 on the north side of the city. All that reworking and what appears to be an upper deck. The interchange at Universal City to get to Randolph Joint Services Base has grown massively since I lived in Live Oak just outside of Universal City.
It is funny watching the Dumbocrats erase plugs The LastTM from history by posing about Obola’s Easters at the White House. Apparently, we had a four-year gap with no President.
As if that weren’t obvious since early 2021.
T. Becket Adams:
The Dumbo’s, PLTs, Hollyweird scum, EuroTrash (exceptions), and sub-humans were all cheering that our pilots would be dragged, beheaded, and hung off a bridge. Fuck ’em all. POTUS should use Iran to test all new weapons and dump all our nuke trash there. Bomb them into oblivion.
Happy Easter!
I tried Apple Maps and did not get any audio. I cannot find a setting on the truck-zilla screen to do anything with sound. I am missing something. I get sound with Google Maps.
I need to download the Masters app. It provides a lot of information, displays of shots, leader boards, really a nice app.
In the iPhone go to Settings, Apps, Maps, Spoken Volume. But even at the lowest you should hear it. Set it to “Louder Volume”.Try a short drive, and when it looks like the app is talking, turn up your truck volume. When Maps is talking, turning up your truck volume only turns up the Map volume. Music stays the same.
The volume was set to normal. So that wasn’t the problem. There was another setting for spoken directions while listening to the radio. It was set to Off. Your instructions pointed me in the right direction to look on the phone. I was looking at truck settings. I should have known better. So thanks for the solution, and making me appear clueless. 🙂
On my 2023 F-150, the integration with Google Maps is called Android Auto.
I use it a lot for traffic avoidance. It generally tells me which lane to use, both verbally and on the map itself. It pictorially displays an image, showing how many lanes there are, and highlights the best one to use. It’s also pretty good at letting me know about lane closures and police activity.
The biggest problem is that it doesn’t tell me WHICH lane is closed. I can live with that, but it seems to be an oversight.
On long trips, it’s very accurate in predicting travel time. Except it doesn’t build in bathroom and fuel stops.
It usually works over bluetooth, but initially and occasionally since, I do need to plug into the USB.
Added: Of course, Android Auto implies you’re not an Apple guy. I have no clue about that. My limited Apple involvement is thankfully over.
Sunday bedtime.
We had dinner out as Oma’s thank-you for fixing her pond. Garlic and chili prawns with salad, followed by a steak and fries. Other than my meat being a trifle overdone, it was all good.
I always ask for my steak “bloody”, but restaurants nearly always serve it medium-rare. I wonder if that is because they are all sous-vide-ing the meat to medium-rare, then finishing it on the stove. I am not sure how to communicate the correct cuisson other than going into the kitchen and doing it myself – very hot pan, clarified butter, flop, flip, done.
SiL’s boyfriend brought along a new card game; Skyjo. Recommended. We had a lot of fun with it over beers after dinner, then rounded out the evening with a few rounds of Uno using the “house rules” which are both special and hilarious. Also recommended.
Goodnight!
As for visual directions on the map apps: Google Map directions will show you (as I remember) if you set up the begin/end locations, then go into the ‘Steps’ choice. Just tested it with my Android phone Google Maps app. Scrolling down to the “Steps” area has a written description of that stap, with a picture of the intersection/route/turnoff.
If you tap on a particular step, you get a picture of the intersection/route/turnoff, along with lane indicators (if multiple lanes) just above the overhead ‘map view’.
The desktop version is similar.
T. Becket Adams Nails the Moment
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2026/04/05/t-becket-adams-euros-dont-understand-america-n2426813
Rooting for defeat
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/04/rooting-for-defeat.php
Would they recognize a request for “blue rare” or “black and blue”?
IBM used to be a major sponsor and provided tech to the tournament.
The Big Nerd Ranch in Atlanta used to be the place for the big companies to go when they needed an app like that in a short time frame, but the founders sold the place to Mossad -er- Amdocs about a decade ago.
Christ Is Risen !
He Is Risen Indeed !
I will take some time to consider the religious aspects of the day and even try talking through the theology and myth with the kids. We’ll see how that goes. We have been criminally negligent about educating them in Christian theology, which shaped the Western world. Kinda late now, but there never seemed to be a good time. Time flies.
It is never too late to start going to Church. I would find a good Bible based Community Church that has not turned the worship service into a rock opera. Don’t get me wrong, I love rock operas but not in Church.
At some point US is going to have to come to terms with the realities of zeroth and first generation American-Chinese treason:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/aviation-company-employee-attempted-take-proprietary-information-china
Well, I am staying up here tonight. There is still stuff that I really need to get moving on, and I spent most of this trip dealing with water intrusion and the outdoor stuff I’d been neglecting.
W and the kids headed home.
I’m gonna eat a leftover steak, and some roasted potatoes and head down to the dock for a tiny little fire. It’s a nice night so far, 57F currently, so I might have a medium sized fire as well.
If I go down early, I’ll probably just read, but if I’m there a bit later, I’ve got another cheap digital shortwave to at least spin thru the dial…
n
Oops, it’s not shortwave, just commercial AM FM, and the 7 NOAA weather channels.
Maybe I’ll take the other little one down with me, or maybe I’ll tune around the AM band. I used to lay in bed tuning the tube AM radio looking for clear channel stations and DX when I was a kid. I even would use my Steve Austin, 6M$man crystal radio toy to listen.
I’d listen to a canadian station or the Grand Ol Opry out of Nashville…
n
Artemis II Astronaut Extemporaneously Delivers the Most Profound Easter Message Imaginable
https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2026/04/05/artemis-astronaut-extemporaneously-delivers-the-most-profound-easter-message-imaginable-n2200979
Watch the video in the link.
Amen, Captain Glover
Radio Moscow used to broadcast on 600 AM out of Havana in the early 80s.
The broadcasts stopped after the Granada intervention.
Paul O’Neil and Savatage. Later, Transsiberian Orchestra.
O’Neil overdosed in a room in the campus hotel of my undergrad alma matter, where he would stay while recording at Morrisound around the corner.
The crazy thing is that Morrisound is best known for death metal.
Crucifying offenders would probably give rise to second thoughts in those inclined to immigrate with treacherous intent. Crucifying the hiring managers and HR Karens would make American companies perform much greater due diligence before hiring those from nations of dubious friendship to the US.
(Though crucifixion of HR Karens should not be limited to those who hire traitors. I am in favor of crucifying a randomly selected one thousand HR Karens every year until the profession collectively cleans up its act.)
Artemis II Astronaut Extemporaneously Delivers the Most Profound Easter Message Imaginable
I know a person at NASA. They cannot believe that the Flat Earth Society is growing and gaining sponsors. We talked about it today. They are hoping that this shuts up the Flat Earth Society again.
“Trump is Insane. It’s 25th Amendment time.” by Matt Bracken
https://steelcutter.substack.com/p/trump-is-insane-its-25th-amendment
“1. You can’t “threaten” Shia Muslims with martyrdom. Martyrdom in a defensive war against an infidel aggressor is the gift of paradise to them. This shows a total lack of understanding of Islam, and in particular Shia Islam. Secular Westerners might not believe this, but they most surely do.”
“2. Putting “F***in’, crazy bastards, hell, and Praise be to Allah” together in one post is incredibly offensive and blasphemous to ALL Muslims around the world. He just gave a big dirty EFF YOU!!! to every Muslim on the planet. This is not going to help, to say the least.”
“3. If he carries out his Tuesday bombing plan, Iran will retaliate and destroy critical power plants in nations where US forces are operating, from Kuwait to the GCC to Saudi Arabia. Iran is 95% water self sufficient. On the other side of the Persian Gulf they are 90% dependent on desalinated water. Millions may perish from lack of water. It will be impossible to fly them all out in time to prevent a massive human disaster.”
Bracken is done with Trump. He has some valid arguments.
But, Iran is a festering sore on the planet. And it was continually getting worse.
WRT Trump, I guess we’ll see. Maybe kowtowing to islam is over. It can’t continue if we are to have a free and technological Western Civilization.
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Had my tiny little fire. I decided to get out the heaters rather than the fire pit. Hands still get cold sitting there holding the kindle. Nice night. Super quiet on the lake. Some stars in the sky.
The little SW radio I review some time ago continues to impress me. I’d say for the size and price, if you wanted to throw a SW radio in your contingency bag, it would be a good choice. The only downside is no ham bands. Good reception tonight, lots of stations. I didn’t A-B with my Eton, but I got Miami, Cuba, and other places in other languages.
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Time for bed though, 52F and damp.
n
Monty – Future of Medicine
https://www.gocomics.com/monty/2026/04/05
Yup, coming to a drivethru near you. Just watch the movie “Idiocracy” for a more detailed preview. And make sure that the attendant does not flip the lower and upper testing arms.
“Diesel Surges Above $8 in San Fran as Gulf Shock Exposes Commiefornia’s Disastrous Policies”
https://thelibertydaily.com/diesel-surges-above-8-san-fran-as-gulf/
Oh my. Diesel is $5 per US gallon here in south Texas.