Cool and wet again. Or still. More rain in the forecast. Yesterday it rained all around the town, and twice at my house. I still suspect that some parts of town didn’t get any though. By dusk, we had some blue sky and patchy clouds to bring the mosquitos out… Today’s forecast is like yesterday’s.
I was up and out fairly early as I had a big loop to make. 6 pickups and an estate sale to hit… that kept me moving from 9am until 430pm. Funnily enough, I missed most of the heavy rain. I drove through some light to medium rain, small pockets, but when I got to some places it was clear they’d been pounded. Oh well, lucky me. I did get to my shop, the metal dealer, and Costco before coming home for dinner.
Today, I thought I’d have at least one auction pickup but I didn’t win. I’m going to sleep in, then get up and work the list. Unless someone else has been making plans for me. Then I’ll be doing what she wants.
Keep improving, keep stacking.
nick
A real problem for a very small geographical area for a finite amount of time.
Even an actual working nuclear weapon would have a limited blast radius, but the psychological effects would be much more significant.
Saturday. Good morning, or it was, until I read Greg’s cheerful first post… where is Chicken Boy when one needs him?
Continuing DIY-ing at the BOL. W1 is still abed, so I am doing it quietly.
Lots of sorting and tidying in the garage eventually turned up the carrier brackets for the modular shelving rails I hung yesterday, after I first installed some additional lighting in the basement stairwell, so I could see enough to hang the verticals. The brackets had some nasty dried-on barcode labels, that required citrus cleaner and a razor blade to peel off. Everything is fractal. Ah well.
Paul, your brisket plan sounds delicious. In the unlikely event that I get time off and win the EuroMillions (i.e. win the lottery twice), look out for me. I will bring beer…
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2026/04/10/wait-more-women-have-accused-eric-swalwell-of-sexual-misconduct-n2674279
The Democrats want Stallwell to drop out of the CA governor’s race because of serious accusations. No, it has nothing to do with the real possibility that a Republican could get elected–how can you doubt their sincerity?
Well, getting him to drop out on the one hand while keeping him in his house seat on the other is a good indication of their sincerity. Add the fact that one of the most serious allegations took place with a staffer on his payroll as a House member.
The Republicans should help their dithering counterparts bring some clarity, and immediately file ethics charges and fast-track an investigation.
Wouldn’t hurt if the RNC dumps some serious coin into helping his opponent in the November election.
And there’s still that little problem of his residency not being in CA at all, but based on his rental of a single room in a private house for himself, his wife, and their three kids.
Don’t insult honest meadow muffins by calling him a piece of shit.
A beautiful morning here in the high desert, blue skies, cool.
Winds are projected to hit 45mph later, and a big front to roll in. Maybe even rain and snow for the mountains.
I guess I need to set up the diesel heater, several nights in the 40s are projected. It should take 30m, not a big deal.
—-
Non-prepping hobby last night, astronomy. I actually got a pin for outreach participation, which is kind of sad because I miss many but still do more than most.
There were a couple of nice presentations, one by a club member and the other a (yt?) video by the developer of the software stack for the Seestar telescopes. The various filters and algorothms aren’t new, per se, but applying them in real time is pretty cool.
One thing I hadn’t really considered was that these telescopes are extremely handy if you live in a light polluted area like the suburbs – or even the big city – where almost nothing is visible to the naked eye.
I have returned to consciousness, if not functionality. Felt good to sleep, although I woke several time after 6am.
There is sun, and hard shadows, the flag is blowing around so there must be a breeze, but I forgot to look at the temperature as I walked by.
Looks much nicer than a rainy day.
Coffee will be ready shortly, and then I’ll figure out some breakfast.
n
(I’ve posted before about a study for local.gov to plan for a low yield nuke in an urban area. I’ll see if I can find the link. Takeaway was they needed to be quick, decisive, and honest to give the public the best chance. So we’re doomed.)
Why not? The Temple of God’s Holy Wisdom was defiled and turned into the Hagia Sofia.
EDIT: The comment that I was replying to has disappeared, no doubt because of the brilliance and wit of my comment. But my comment remains undaunted!
EDIT2: Or not…
A British news Host Just Explained Trump’s Latest Strategy Better Than Anyone in American Media—And He’s Terrified of What It Means For Europe
https://x.com/MichaelARothman/status/2041722116316524603
I had an idle thought about asking an AI to show Notre Dame converted to a mosque.
Sorry. Posted and found that tricky html was not displaying the title.
Deleted and reposted.
I thought I was being optimistic.
Your chances of dying from the direct physical effects of a nuclear weapon developed by the Iranians would be infinitesimally small.
Your chances of dying from the direct physical effects of a nuclear weapon developed by the Iranians would be infinitesimally small.
– still, like the lottery, the chances for someone are 100%.
n
75F and the rain started. Not much but everything is wet.
n
Hey, Nick, I was thinking about your truck bed problem. Depending on the laziness and/or ineptitude of the people you ask or would ask for help, would it be easier for you to develop telekinetic powers and then take care of the truck bed yourself using only the power of your mind?
Radiation might help with the development of powers. Some of the literature suggests this but I don’t know if Marvel or DC are reputable institutions who are careful about peer reviews of all of their research.
Many’s the time when I was a teenager that I wished to be bitten by a radioactive spider.
I even researched the chemistry of spiderwebs, to see if the web-shooter was possible.
Not every time.
I just wanted sex. Your teenage cravings were weird.
I ensured that my son could understand the difference between “real” and “pretend”. “Pretend” IS more fun, but isn’t real.
My father died when I was barely 14. Yes, I knew the difference, but thought there were aspects worth exploring. I still go down rabbit holes on the internet to this day, for fun.
You have no idea. F’r instance, I craved not dying in a muddy ditch in SouthEast Asia.
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/04/11/moonshine-wins-big-158-year-ban-on-home-distilling-ruled-unconstitutional-n2201194
Effing revenoors looking for new jobs.
Anna Paulina Luna Is Filing to Oust Eric Swalwell From House Amid Sexual Assault Claims
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/04/11/anna-paulina-luna-intends-filing-to-oust-eric-swalwell-amid-assault-claims-n2201189
Not one Democrat will vote for it, and that should be an RNC add that gets hammered into every media channel for months.
New: US Navy Destroyers Lead Mine-Clearing Charge in Strait of Hormuz
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/04/11/us-navy-destroyers-lead-new-mine-clearing-charge-in-strait-of-hormuz-n2201192
And when the U.S. is done clearing mines, the costs should be collected via tolls on oil going to China, India, and every EU country.
Trump calls Tucka, Kelly, Owens and Jones retards, and they confirm the tag with hats:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/04/hilarity-ensues-after-tucker-carlson-launches-low-iq-merch-collection/
And MTG is feeling left out.
Please, Tucka, give ’em to your kids, too.
We just sent four minesweepers to retirement about 2 months ago. The IDEA was that the LCS (Little Crappy Ships) could do minesweeping, but we never actually developed the minesweeping modules for the LCS.
A victim of that era myself, that ain’t weird.
I have a 6×9 feet rug in my living room. Amazon Chinese, got it for free via the Vines program. It was $99 a couple of years ago. I had it for at least a year before unfolding it.
It’s waterproof they say and I suppose it is. Buddy the Beagle pee doesn’t soak thru. Which is good what with the new laminate flooring.
The rug is suppose to be machine washable. Too big for my washing machine. I’m waiting for a sunny day, and maybe 90f or so, to hang it on the bridge rail and hose it down. If it cleans, great. If not, I have a spare. Same thing, different colors, $20 lower price.
Plans.
Anyway. The new rug arrived vac sealed. A brick about 3 inches thick. I cut the end off of the bag and it is now a puffy 14 inches thick. Still in the bag. Looks nice, the colors are what I wanted.
I suppose I could have left it sealed but how long it be so compressed that it won’t fluff up?
I watched a movie a couple of nights ago. I forget where I read about it. Threads. It’s a 1984 BBC TV movie. Set in Sheffield, England. The Soviet Union and the US start playing FF games in Iran. Huh. Nukes get tossed. Pretty much every one dies by the movie’s end.
There was a blurb that the temps in central US are down 25 to 30 centigrade from normal. Which would be about 50F below normal. Stack that onto the normal winter temps. Heck, onto the normal summer temps. 90f for a high? Naw, 40f if a sunny day.
It’s a depressing movie. VERY well made. Oh! And there are zero Dusky Brethren running around. Just a bunch of English folks. Enoch was right.
It’s also a love story of sorts. Jimmy and Judy, well, after some steamy car windows, she’s in the family way. Her parents and his parents both asked if they have considered an abortion. Yeah, but no, we are having this baby. Oh, but your career? It’s a recession! Jimmy is like “we’ll manage”. They found an apartment, looks like a dump, and are fixing it up, scraping off like 12 layers of wallpaper, when the nukes start exploding.
Good movie.
Eric Swalwell and the Brett Kavanaugh Karma Train
Mark Judge parses the list of liars and losers and teases his new movie:
https://hotair.com/mark-judge/2026/04/11/eric-swalwell-and-the-brett-kavanaugh-karma-train-n3813797
So, Kamala, what were you doing on that night in 1986 and why don’t you remember?
Can I help with dialogue?:
My cunning plan at the antique mall didn’t work out. All the booth holders were there, because it’s the weekend.
n
Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” was in heavy rotation on public television in the UK and US in the early 80s, and Sagan’s “nuclear winter” theory was one of the concepts explored in the series. “Threads” was made in that context.
Sagan was so visibly baked throughout that series.
So youtube has this available now for certain content
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15446725?hl=en&ref_topic=9282435&sjid=16873197992116946716-NC
Cameras that embed metadata, and an editing chain that preserves that ‘provenance’.
The live TV industry has been fighting a battle of resolution to stay ahead of live deep fakes. It’s been one of the drivers pushing higher and higher resolution- the tech didn’t exist to alter it in real time.
Now we have gear that is “trusted”.
Went on this dive after watching an AI generated music video that was better than 90% of music out there. The video didn’t make much sense, but that isn’t completely out of character for music videos. Usually, you can spot the AI generated video by literal imagery that matches an alternate meaning for a word used, without understanding the context, or imagery that inappropriately spans time periods.
AI is getting better and people are learning how best to use it.
Trust nothing.
n
BTW, wired magazine is a prog piece of shite.
If you didn’t already know that.
I get it free, ‘cuz I thought it would be fun to see what the chronicle of the digital life looks like. I’m canceling my free sub.
When did tech culture move so far left? It was libertarian, and 60s counterculture and rebellious and freedom minded. Now it’s weeping for Gaza, full page ads for NYT and NAACP.
n
I watched it happen through the 80’s. It’s part of the Gramscian march through the institutions. There was a time when white males were the whole of tech. An occasional female, usually also white would make it in. Then the whole college ERA movement happened, and women flooded tech. They ended up being useless in corporations, but they couldn’t be fired, so they got promoted. Then you couldn’t smoke at work, couldn’t tell jokes, and people started coming up with mission statements and codes of conduct.
I remember a time when you could just do things, and build cool stuff.
My UIUC undergrad computer science department in 1976 had like 3 women students out of 300. My stepson’s UT ECE program was majority women in 2020.
My gosh, the Windows 11 user interface and start menu sucks out of the box on a new PC. Who came up with this crap ???
sat out and read for a while. 72F and very damp. Whole body is chilled.
Some small animal slunk by about 3ft from me without even noticing me. Couldn’t tell if it was a cat or a possum.
No gunfire, so that was strange for a Saturday night.
One set of weird noises from the halfway house. No movement I saw though.
Generally a lot quieter than a normal Saturday night.
Now for a snack, shower, and bed.
n
Snack tonight is six slices of various salami meats, half a raw turnip, and a quarter of a piece of naan bread.
Lots of flavor, not many carbs. If I eat no carbs, I’ll drop too low at some point and trigger the low alarm.
And now to bed for real.
n