Cool and damp. Again. But later it will be beautiful. Yesterday afternoon was still in the low 80sF but it felt great. More please. Oh, and the rest of the day it was partly cloudy and blindingly sunny the rest of the time.
Spent pretty much all day doing pickups and some related stuff, like taking a load of trash to the dumpster, and dropping stuff off at my shop. Then it was home to make dinner and do some of the domestic bliss I’d neglected. Yeah, I didn’t get to the gas station, pharmacy, or grocery store. That’ll be today.
Dinner was lamb roast, steamed brusselsprouts, tube biscuits, and a thrown together apple pie for dessert. One graham cracker pie crust, one can apple pie filling, second crust crumbled on top, bit of cinnamon, and about a stick of melted butter on the bottom and top crusts. 45 minutes later, and it was good.
The pre-made crusts and canned filling are the 80-20 rule made real. 20% of the work, and 80% of the result compared to fresh homemade. Actually more like 90-10 in this case, and it was all long term storage food.
Today I’ll do the grocery and meds run, get gas, and then switch back to my list. I didn’t have time to do any work on my office yesterday, and I want to move that along. I’ll try to do one trip to the shop too, and maybe break down more scrap. There is a certain appeal in the instant cash, even if the amount isn’t large.
Doing what I can with what I’ve got, at least partly. And stacking, that’s important.
nick
Had to get up early to earn money (as contrasted with getting up early yesterday because thumping or yelling woke me) so here I am, commenting even before the time zone cheaters made it. Ahhh… very satisfying.
Story of my life…
I was up really early to drop off W1’s car at the garage for new summer tyres.
It is a beautiful spring day here. Dandelions and wild daffodils in bloom everywhere, pollen count through the roof, eyes itchy, throat scratchy. Red-tailed kites circling over the house, waiting for the first cut of milage and lots of carrion. Paradise.
Catching up now. Good morning, to you too, Chicken Boy!
I bought an HP monochrome laser last year as part of a round of printer replacements at my house, and the build quality of the print mechanism, even on a $400 machine, was junk. I ended up going with a Brother monochrome which I noticed that my county’s elections division now buys to print ballots at polls.
I did buy an HP mult function inkjet because the price was too good to ignore and we mainly use that household device for fax/scan.
Whatever you decide, Berkshire shareholder prices start at NFM on the 22nd, and I’d suggest checking their price on the model you choose before going with Amazon. IIRC, shipping is free for electronics.
The only problem I have with buying from NFM on the discount is the return policy being a very narrow seven days. After that, you will have to file a warranty claim.
At least they are up front about it. “Sell cheap and tell the truth.”
Hopefully, when Amazon really does have to make money on retail instead of subsidizing with AWS, some meaningful large scale competitors will still exist. Brick and mortar retail will have to be relearned regardless at this point.
Chinese or Eastern European.
Before I forget, $400 is usually the printer-only price point where PostScript or an equivalent starts to appear in the firmware and Bonjour support exists in the network interface, which is why I was shopping in that price range.
I suspect my requirements were similar to the Supervisor of Elections office’s.
I know that they stil have Dominion ballot scanning equipment around in my county, at least the on-site processing. The Dems used those friggin’ machines in their primary in my precinct at a minimum.
Yeah, if I were Jasmine Crockett, I’d want an investigation, but that isn’t going to happen regardless of who wins the Senate seat in the end.
I have newish HP and Brother printers, and the suppy subscriptions were not mandatory.
I purchased the printers at NFM and Office Depot, respectively, however, so maybe Big River is the difference.
Yeah, Office Depot is still around, and I see the point of paying a little extra there. They didn’t give me any grief about the HP printer return. Of course, my employer’s badge around my neck may have helped in the store near the campus.
70F this morning. D2 is surprisingly up and moving around. W still not interested in rising or shining. D1 still quiet in her room. I used to like the calm for myself before the rest of the household got moving. Now I don’t seem to care either way. It’s just time to start the day.
I’ll have a coffee and maybe that will improve my day.
n
I bought two sets of ink[generic] for the canon Pixma all in one inkjet I bought at an estate sale for $5, and it seems to be working fine. I need to find someplace to put it now, as W decided the spot where the inkjet used to live will not be used for printers anymore. That is part of the impetus for the office rearrangement.
And I think I’ll swap out my big dell mono laser next to my desk with a much smaller HP laser I grabbed at the bins, just because it will fit better in the space I have for it. It printed the status sheet just fine, only has a couple of thousand prints on it, and probably has more toner than I’ll use.
One thing I dislike about both is that the paper extends outside the foot print of the machine. They are definitely made for intermittent use, to be loaded when needed. The big dell laser is an office machine, a cube with nothing sticking out. I’ll live with it I guess, as I only print a few pages a week.
n
If the used HP laser is a commercial grade printer, check the availability of parts beyond the toner cartridge before making that a permanent swap. In particular, with the big LaserJets, check the availability of the drum new from a reliable source.
In other words, no Amazon vendors.
With the commercial use OfficeJet models, check the availability of the print head new from HP.
check the availability of parts
– normally I’m all about repair, even past the point of economic viability, but with printers, there are so many used ones out there, and there are good reasons not to buy new, so parts availability isn’t that important to me.
If I was printing photos, or doing something beyond just printing invoices, I’d care more. To me they are like shovels, there might be a better shovel for the job, or one in better condition, but if I just need to make one hole, it doesn’t matter if the shovel isn’t quite right.
n
The drum of a commercial grade HP LaserJet and the print head(s) of the OfficeJet models are consumables which need to be replaced by design, albeit on a much longer timetable than toner/ink cartridges.
Since the pandemic, HP has accelerated dropping support for older models, particularly those which predate a falling out with Canon over licenses for that company’s paper handling mechanisms.
I have an HP LaserJet 1020 in my home office which has run flawlessly doing light duty for 20 years. Despite being a “Winprinter”, it will stay until I need the drum replaced.
I’ve had multiple color HP lasers (current one still working is a 450). Our printing needs have dropped considerably over the years and our main printer is an Epson Eco tank. Go Shaq!
The biggest printer we had was one of those big Tectronix where the printer was free as long as you made a certain amount of prints a month. You had to use their toner “bricks”. That was back when we were printing our own manuals. It actually paid for itself, but managing all that printing was pain. When it finally died, we went with a local print shop.
I went to the HEB for a couple of things. The small avocados are 50 cents today. But it would take three to fill a soda can. Pass. Milk Bones had a for Buy 2 for $6 coupon. Regular price is $3.98 a box.
Then a package of sausage links. Oh hey! There is one lone spiral cut ham and the $20 off coupons is still there! Yes please, I will buy this eleven pound $33 ham for $13.
It’s a pretty good haul when you have $22 worth of coupons.
I used my HEB card. It gives 5% back on store brand.
Gas was $3.69 for regular. I have half a tank, I’m good.
I just paid $4.30/gal but in a tourist area.
@paul, don’t you think those HEB hams are super salty? My family won’t eat them, while they will eat the Costco spiral sliced. It’s a great deal, if you like it.
—
It got warmer and the sun came shining thru. Looks like a beautiful day.
n
Honeymoon shark attack gynaecologist
– now there’s some words I never thought I’d see used together…
n
Gas is $3.52 here in Deatsville, AL (12 miles north of Mntgomery)
https://www.gasbuddy.com/gaspricemap can show you the price of gasoline anyplace in the USA.
To me the HEB spiral cut hams are fine. They, any flavor, seem no saltier than the ham from the Deli.
Flavor? All of the hams are vac sealed. Wrapped in mylar and into a mesh bag. Red is for Mesquite smoked. Yellow/Gold for Hickory I think. The difference is very subtle, to the point of meaningless to me. I totally forget what Green and Blue mean. Maybe Oak and Apple.
I tried the whole glazing routine one time. What a mess. It was nothing like a Honey Baked ham. I toss that mix right into the trash now. Un-glazed ham is just fine.
I haven’t had a Costco ham.
Anyway, I have two months left on the date of today’s ham to Use or Freeze. Might simmer the bone and make a pot of potato soup….. it’s been a long time since I made potato soup.
My scale is distorted. Deatsville is 12 miles north of Montgomery? Ok, I just looked at MapQuest. Montgomery to Birmingham is 91 miles. An hour and a half drive apart?
City center to city center? I looked the other day to see where Deatsville is and well, I had it sort of figured out that it was about where Killeen, maybe Salado, is on the scale of Austin to Dallas.
Last time I paid attention north Austin to north Dallas, to the Plano and Garland area was 3.5 hours if the traffic wasn’t crazy..
From Burnet to San Antonio, on US281, it’s right about 100 miles to where the airport’s runway crosses the highway.
Burnet to Edinburg is interesting. I’ve done it in under five hours and that’s with slowing way down to go through towns. With a pee and gas stop in Alice and a corn dog and fries from the Dairy Queen. Yeah. A stop for gas in Alice makes it a lot nicer when the next station is in Raymondville.
Thinking about it makes me miss my ’75 Cordoba.
When 281 was rerouted to go around Three Rivers and Alice (and other little towns) it’s a 6.5 hour trip. And the speed limit isn’t 55 anymore. You can run 80, no sweat.
Huh?
Family wins huge payout after little girl, 2, survives vicious OTTER attack
How can a port be responsible for the actions of an otter? Oh, Washington, never mind. They’ll probably kill every otter in sight.
If you’re going to bake the ham, load it up with cloves. Use a paring knife to poke a hole about ½” deep and shove a whole clove into it. Use a couple dozen for the ham. I try to space them more or less evenly but I’m not sure it matters. After baking, the cloves can be eaten or discarded.
No, only every otter one.
How can a port be responsible for the actions of an otter?
Well, if you read the article, you learn that the Port of Bremerton had been alerted by complaints of an ‘otter infestation’ for over a year before the attack, and did not do anything about it.
The attack was on the 2 year old girl, and the mother who tried to rescue the girl. And both had to undergo rabies treatments, which are somewhat painful.
The settlement was only $350,000, which I don’t think is ‘huge’.
Yeah. Blame the otters. Because folks feeding them is no kind of encouragement. Not at all.
“Where’s my snack dammit!”
And no one had the balls to shoot a few. A .22 pistol isn’t very loud.
And you are taking a two year old out to the dock to what? Go for a boat ride or pet an otter? Mother is a moron.
Speaking from experience, the only saving grace was that I got the 5-shot series rather than the 17-shot series. Plus antibiotic, tetanus, and some other shots. Plus getting my hand and wrist stitched up. That was not a good night to be me. But I made it to work the next morning, ragged but somewhat functional.
“Here comes Universal ID. Get ready to stand in line to get your tattoo on your forehead.”
And when elected to any government position or takes government employment, the candidate has the tatoo removed with a branding iron and a new one applied–three feet up the backside. They are then required to carry a probe not less than 4 inches in diameter and 4 feet long, which can be used to check their identity as many times as necessary each day.
They are also required to have special seats in their vehicles that continuously check their identity.
“And you are taking a two year old out to the dock to what? Go for a boat ride or pet an otter? Mother is a moron. ”
If mom had taken her daughter to AmishTown and caught a driveby from an illegal that the Soros DA had released on bond from a murder rap, the city would have no liability.
They lived on a boat there. The mother was taking a child to school.
The city was obligated to keep them safe, just as in any other neighborhood. The city had been warned and done nothing.
What were people expecting the city or port to do? Shoot the otters? I’m sure that wouldn’t have led to any outcry about rich boat owners shooting natures pranksters because they’re greedy and rich and have boats which invade the otters’ habitat.
If otters were seals the city would have to protect the otters from the people, like in Cali.
———-
Speaking from experience, the only saving grace was that I got the 5-shot series rather than the 17-shot series. Plus antibiotic, tetanus, and some other shots.
– I think got the big series… shoulder shoulder, butt butt, and repeat moving thru fleshy bits until done. I think I was in 4th or 5th grade. It sure seemed like I was getting shots forever.
Does that make us immune now?
———–
Bought gas at HEB for $3.54. They are usually some of the cheapest around, other than Costco. Then I spent $450 on groceries- mostly snack and lunch stuff. Hamburger was ~$6/pound for 80-20. No thanks. Brisket was cheaper.
Feeding these kids prepared snacks and meals is F’n expensive.
———–
Picked up my auction buy, an old tube ham radio. I’ll have something new for the hamfest next year.
n
I was wondering why the article teaser had a picture of a Chevy… but it’s the DM.
– yeah my truck doesn’t have software to be updated. There is an ecm but no one messes with that, and it’s well proven.
H1Bs killing people.
n
We left Atlanta at 04:30, made it to Bryan Texas at 5:00 PM. 13.5 hours of traveling because of the time change. The roads in Lousyana really suck. Terrible even on the I-state (I-20). During our travels, at one spot, a piece of debris was in the road. I hit it with my right front tire, hard hit, but no damage. The car two cars ahead either lost their exhaust and that was the debris, or hit the debris. The Toyota in front of us hit it with their right front tire and lost the tire. Both cars pulled off the road.
The most police we saw was in Lousyana, probably about 10. Hiding or had someone pulled over.
I am tired as I got about 3 hours sleep on Thursday night and drove the entire distance by myself. Some of the two lane roads in Texas have higher speed limits than the interstate, 75 MPH vs 70 MPH. We went through several small towns after leaving Shreveport. A couple of them are speed traps. Speed drops to 60, 55, 50, 40 in the space of three hundred yards.
My 2014 F-150 got a computer update for the same, or related problem. Ford sent a technician to the house to update the firmware.
Interesting claim. Have other cities been informed of this obligation? Their performance on it is underwhelming.
A few years ago I hit something on an interstate. Lost the straight pipe of my exhaust system, got a dent in my oil pan, and both tires on one side started losing about a pound of pressure per hour. This happened right near an overpass bridge was being worked on, so presumably some debris fell onto the road below. Annoying, but I didn’t die of it.
IIRC, the rabies shots don’t provide any immunity. If I’d been bitten by a dog a week later, I’d have been advised to get the shots again.
I was joking with the PA who stitched me up and gave me the 10000000 shots that night that I didn’t really want the vaccine because there was a lengthy list of people I wanted to bite. Apparently that statement is commonly expressed.
The Port is owned by the City of Bremerton. Property owners are obligated to keep conditions safe.
By your statement, cities are not obligated to provide law enforcement to keep their residents safe? Or to remove dangerous conditions?
Interesting claim.
I’ve heard there actually is a measles vaccine for humans, but for one reason or another it’s only given to high-risk candidates, like veterinarians and vet techs.
Given what I’ve learned about vaccines in general, I wonder if the risk-reward ratio is viable.
Not just an interesting claim. Settled Supreme Court decisions.
Police departments have zero responsibility to protect any individuals.
BTW, that was, as I recall, a horrendous case.
Something like a victim being tortured and killed while the police waited outside, unwilling to go in and face the criminal. Screams heard down the street. Victim’s family sued, and lost.
No responsibility for individual victims. Cops pension check and going home after shift more important than “Protect and Serve”.
Posting signs would have been the extent of their responsibility normally.
n
BTW, that was, as I recall, a horrendous case.
– and reaffirmed after the Parkland shootings, and Uvalde.
n
Had dinner at a neighborhood mexican place that we’ve never been to before. I had a very nice carne asada torta and a cup of elote’ (corn with spices). Wife and D2 had street tacos and enjoyed them.
We sat outside and even though it’s in the high 70sF, the wind and humidity make it feel on the edge of chilly. The wind is really picking up and gusting too.
D1 is out at a party, so I want to be in the chair by the water feature reading with my tiny little fire when she gets home. If it’s raining, that won’t be happening.
n
“Almost beyond parody”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/04/almost-beyond-parody.html
“”When I first heard about this a few days ago, I dismissed it as a fake news gimmick. I mean, who would be dumb enough to actually say something like this?”
“Turns out I was wrong. Jim Treacher reports:”
That is sad, they want to be identified by their disease in most cases.
D1 is out at a party, so I want to be in the chair by the water feature reading with my tiny little fire when she gets home. If it’s raining, that won’t be happening.
Are you in the front yard or the back yard ?
“One Texas bear may be changing the comeback story”
https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/texas-black-bear-comeback-22212378.php
Ok, I am swapping my .357 EDCs for my .44 mag.
EDC = Every Day Carry
I’ll be sitting out in front of the front door. I turn off the porch light so I’m not backlit or illuminated.
n
“Justice Thomas Stands Up for the Declaration and Constitution”
https://spectator.org/justice-thomas-stands-up-for-the-declaration-and-constitution/
“The Fox News headline was straight to the point: “Justice Thomas warns progressivism is threat to America in rare public remarks,” as was the subtitle, “Thomas’s remarks urged young people to have courage and stand up for their ideals.””
“The story focused on the Justice’s recent remarks at the University of Texas at Austin. The Justice was appearing as a guest at a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It noted that Thomas was the longest-serving Justice on the Court. And the wisdom Justice Thomas displayed in his remarks certainly was a sign of those years of experience and collective wisdom.”
“Among other things, saying that the values of the Founders had “fallen out of favor,” the Justice was calling on his audience to revisit and stand up for the principles that had the Founders writing the Declaration in the first place.”
What are we going to do when this man retires ?
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“ICE Agent Is Facing Felony Charges From Woke Minneapolis Prosecutor for Pointing Gun at People”
https://rumble.com/v78n24k-ice-agent-is-facing-felony-charges-from-woke-minneapolis-prosecutor-for-poi.html
Not gonna happen. Supremacy clause rules.
“True Stories From A Former Car Dealer #9: Firestone” Written By: Jerry Reynolds
https://www.carpro.com/true-stories/true-stories-from-a-former-car-dealer-9-firestone
“When Mr. Ford got on the phone, Jac Nasser explained to us that Ford auditors had irrefutable proof that the Explorer rollover issue was caused by the tires. They had the dates the bad tires were made, the exact manufacturing plant and the cause, which was faulty glue holding the belts to the sidewalls. In extreme heat, like in Texas, Florida, and Arizona, the bad glue would break down, causing the tires to separate and blow out. There was no doubt the information was correct, I saw it myself.”
“What happened next was a major shock to me. Nasser said “we are going to immediately recall all Firestone Wilderness tires on Ford Explorers. Every customer will get a new set of tires, no charge to them for labor, balancing, or any other associated costs. They will even get a new spare tire.””
“Someone in the room asked about how many tires we were talking about here. Nasser said there were 13 million Firestone Wilderness tires on Explorers and it would cost Ford 3 billion dollars to do the recall. I’m confused now. Why would Ford spend 3 billion dollars on a recall that they knew was the fault of Firestone?”
Oh my goodness, the ending explains a lot.
Ford replaced the Firestone tires on my new Ford Expedition also, for free. The spare tire was replaced also.
“Former FBI Agent Warns of ‘Pre‑Kinetic’ Jihad Threat in Texas”
https://texasscorecard.com/state/former-fbi-agent-warns-of-pre-kinetic-jihad-threat-in-texas/
“Texas Republican voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition demanding an end to Sharia law in the state.”
“A former FBI counterterrorism agent is warning that Texas is already in a “pre‑kinetic” phase of jihad, with an expanding network of mosques, Islamic schools, and Muslim Brotherhood‑linked organizations he says are working to subvert American law and replace it with Sharia.”
“Guandolo said the state now has more than 300 mosques, numerous Islamic schools, and a web of organizations tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas—including CAIR and the North American Islamic Trust—operating in major urban counties and on college campuses.”
I have five mosques within ten miles of my house, that I know of.
Barbara Lagoa. All of the pieces fit since she sits on the 11th Circuit, Thomas’ jurisdiction, and she’s been on Trump’s short list of candidates since Ginsberg passed.
The Edison-Ford Winter Estates site in Fort Myers has lots of pictures of the Edison, Ford, and Firestone families hanging out in SW Florida ~ 100 years ago.
If you are ever down that way, the museum is worth the time.
Time to sit out and get my ‘dad’ face on… I should be out there relaxing but I’ve been working on my non-prepping hobby meeting, which got bumped from last weekend to this weekend.
n
Time to sit out and get my ‘dad’ face on… I should be out there relaxing but I’ve been working on my non-prepping hobby meeting, which got bumped from last weekend to this weekend.
n
Don’t forget your shoulder holster and EDC.
My post above makes more sense if you sub ‘rabies’ where I said ‘ measles’.
I blame autocorrect. Or global warming.
Kid is home safe. Another early night as the party was “lame”.
Time for me to get to bed.
n