Cool, but getting hot later. And probably sunny all day. Yesterday was sunny, humid, and hot. The shady side of the house read 99.5F in the afternoon, so it was at least that hot. Officially it wasn’t, but all that means is at the airport it was cooler.
I spent Monday in domestic bliss mode. I cut my hair and shaved, wiped some stuff in the bathroom, cleaned up and moved stuff around the house, did a load of laundry, did my pickups, did the grocery shopping (meat was a little cheaper, but nothing great was on sale, and 80-20 hamburger was $5.50/pound still.) Fed one kid and an extra for dinner…
Today I’m taking D1 to get tires for ‘her’ car, the Odyssey. We’re also going to tackle replacing the side mirror she wiped out on a trash can. I’ll be doing some sorting and taking some stuff to the shop later in the day. I may even do one local pickup too. We’ll see about that though.
It’s all stuff that needs to be done, but it also doesn’t really advance any of my other projects. I’m an extra 20 days behind between being sick and the trip. Some stuff is going to have to slip.
All we can do is what we can do. Keep working. Keep stacking. Keep living.
nick
Tuesday. Good morning!
I hope D1 and the “trash can” are OK!
Megaproject has just grown in length. Instead of finishing this week, it now looks like continuing into mid-July. I am going to need a break at some stage, so will have to get an understudy up to speed… Joy!
Still hot here, but overcast this morning, so one has less impression of being grilled alive by the fusion reactor in the sky. That is a small, but welcome, relief.
“wiped some stuff in the bathroom”
Hmmmm…
50-50 at any given point is 0.25 probability of getting a complete serial number at two consecutive points, so 1 in 4, which is “good enough” for research purposes such as traffic speed statistics but not for tolling or tracking for law enforcement purposes.
Even if it was 100%, you would be amazed at the lack of information sharing and coordination between the tollway authorities, many of whom are private, and state enforcement agencies.
Colin County. Some parts of that county are just gone such as Frisco.
Twenty years ago, when a lot of these decisions were getting made early on, the voiced concern was about jerbs for locals on construction crews.
Of course, illegals filled most of the actual jobs, but some area residents picked up jerbs.
Its all about the jerbs, son.
I was fired from that business in 2020. Technology has moved on, but the political environment and legal issues remain the same.
Plus, people in the bureaucracy in places like TxDOT and TxDPS will defend their little fiefdoms like they always have.
Blue state hive bureaucrats are far worse.
There really isn’t any sense in being paranoid until they stop selling the toll tags.
Williamson County, where I live, is headed down the same road as Colin/Denton when it comes to catering to the Colonists.
The Geico Gecko even has a retail complex under development almost identical to the one he built in The Colony – for those of you not familiar with Texas, I’m not kidding about the name — complete with NFM, Scheels, hotels, restaurants, and, most important, rental truck counters.
Scheels opens first at the end of August. The “Now Hiring” ads run nightly on the local Faux News.
https://redstate.com/ben-smith/2026/06/23/how-did-she-get-released-dhs-says-teacher-helped-tren-de-aragua-gunmen-n2203615
Woman enters US for what is supposed to be 3-4 months, overstays. Corrupt Chicago gives her a teaching job. She is an accessory before and after the fact to three murders, gets arrested and released by Chicago PD. Gunman get arrested and deported by DHS after Cook County sits on case. Woman is arrested and awaiting deportation.
Insanity.
The proper ending to this would be a report that three bodies were sent home to Venezuela.
Damn IRS, and ID.ME. Trying to help a friend.
She got a letter from the IRS that they are withholding her refund until she verifies her identity. Two choices. Both difficult for an older person who is technologically challenged.
First choice is t go to the office in Downtown Knoxville which requires an appointment and paying for parking, minimum $10.00. Calling for an appointment and no one answers the phone even though she waited an hour on hold.
Second choice is an ID.ME account. We went through the first steps and created the wallet. ID.ME sent a link to her email to verify the account. Only the link generates an error message “something has gone wrong”. For the last two hours. Waiting on chat for an hour.
And then ID.Me disconnects the chat.
Could yesterday’s Cloudfare outage caused problems? All the casino ATMs were down. You make a transaction, and all seemed normal, “Please remove your card”, but no money came out. I had to haul ass to the nearest Wells Fartgo and go inside to get cash for the big two day Bingo this week.
The Wells Fartgo teller even mentioned it. Maybe it was just in the Vegas area.
Maybe. I checked online and there is nothing reported with Down Detector and I can sign on with my ID.ME account. Maybe just a portion is down. The supposed problem yesterday was a fiber cut.
When all the inter webs go through one provider, that provider going down is a major problem. The web was designed to be somewhat redundant. One site failing is not a big deal. A single connection going down is not a big deal. But when that one connection is to a provider that everyone uses, the redundancy and resilience is kaput!
My chiropractor’s office uses a little key ring tag with a bar code on it to ‘scan in’ when you arrive. Or you can talk to the receptionist and give a name or phone number and she’ll look it up and log you into the queue.
Mine finally broke the hole, so it fell off my keyring. I asked about getting a new one but she said, “we’re transitioning to a new system that uses an app.” Um, no. No more apps. No more portals. No more tracking and dubious software JUST TO LET THE DR KNOW YOU ARE THERE. I told her I wouldn’t be doing that shite, but I’d come to her with my phone number in the future.
My auctions use a variety of ‘appointment setting’ web based services. They all serve ads. One uses a queue management service for the last few weeks, that also serves ads. I don’t see them because of my blocker, but they try.
Clearly people perceive a need for the services and there are several competitors in the fields, but FFS, we don’t need an APP to do it, and the move toward assuming everyone has a smart phone and connectivity is not a good one. Connectivity fails. Apps have bugs. People get fatigued by the whole thing.
Sign in, take a number, or talk to a human. it’s not hard and doesn’t need to be reinvented.
n
Maybe it was just in the Vegas area.
– no it was all over and affected a lot of verification services. I couldn’t log in to my hobby website. Later one of my auction appointment things didn’t work. Web was slow all over too.
n
Also, get off my lawn!
BTW, I concur.
90F and sunny. I’m sure it’s humid too, but haven’t stuck my head out.
Coffee in the mug, food in ma belly.
One auction won…
Time to get the kid moving.
n
cloudflare, AWS, the caching service that starts with an ‘a’, akemai?
They’re not quite point source failures but they are chokepoints.
n
Too sore to do much yesterday, did a few small things inside.
The 100F+ never materialized, which was nice, but probably will today, tomorrow, and Thursday.
The hall bath smelled a bit whiffy, so I ran the barbed plastic thing down it to clear any hair or debris. And of course it broke off inside. So now I need to find my drain fitting extractor tool, and I have absolutely no idea where that is, I haven’t needed it in 20 years, at least. Probably easier just to go buy one at Harbor Freight.
And a new fitting & plumbers putty. Do people still use that? Guess I should look at YT and see what all the cool kids are doing these days.
For anybody on the fence about getting or replacing their security cameras, eufy is apparently offering some pretty good discounts for Amazon Prime Day.
Double damn on the IRS and ID.ME. Finally got someone on chat. Their response, as if anyone here did not know, is try a different browser, clear the cache. And the big one, try using your phone. Another classic is turn off WiFi. And try again on the Android device.
Clueless support that really does not want to help.
Dumb programmers.
I can’t look for tires without filling in the popup, but the popup doesn’t work
ffs
n
Only allowed to read a script, or it was AI.
I was looking at tires last week. A true pain – pick a store, pick your car or tire size, make an appointment and now we might show you some choices maybe even with prices. Oh and all deals are buy three get one free. Yeah, right.
I searched for tires on Costco and never got a pop-up. Or if I did it was not in a window. Everything worked.
When I changed the r/o filters last week, it was the second time. The kit of filters has two sets of three plus a “finishing” charcoal filter. So I changed that also. It had a drip. Not much, maybe three teaspoons a day. Too much of a drip anyway.
Today I changed the r/o filter. The cap is tight. Hey, maybe oil filter wrenches? No, too large. Ok, time for the giant channel locks. That was enough leverage on the cap.
The new 36 gallon per day filter is the same physical size at the old 25 gallon per day filter. Easy to remove, just grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers. Put some silicon grease on the o-ring gasket.
And teflon tape on the leaking end of the charcoal filter.
So far no leaks.
Next project is crawling under the desk to plug the Ooma power supply into the UPS and run a bit of Ethernet through the wall to the switch.
Well, got the new mirror installed on the Oddy… and the motors don’t run. They don’t run on the old mirror either, so I suspect it’s on the car side. Manually aim the mirror for now. Could be related to the water in the connector…
I had picked up some window trim that I thought was for the Oddy, but maybe a different model. Didn’t fit. Ok, water will continue to get into the door… maybe I’ll look online for the parts.
Only had to use the big hammer twice to straighten the part the mirror bolts to.
Went to our local tire shop, got a quote for new firestones, retail price for just the tire, but includes mounting, balancing, and disposal, plus I’d rather give joseph the work. The tires will be here at 3pm but the kid isn’t available so we scheduled tomorrow am.
One thing off the list (mostly, since the motors didn’t work), one thing moved along and should be done tomorrow, and one optional thing eliminated.
That’s what progress looks like at my house.
——
@ray, the popup was the tire selector. I can’t seem to just browse tires, I have to put the size in the popup and then it fails.
Might be fixed. They are clearly using a service “edge whatever” that might be affected by an outage.
n
“BREAKING: Antifa leader Benjamin Song sentenced to 100 years for Texas anti-ICE terror attack, 7 other militants also sentenced”
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-antifa-leader-benjamin-song-sentenced-to-100-years-for-texas-anti-ice-terror-attack-7-other-militants-also-sentenced
Eight down, several million antifa to go.
95 F out here in the former sticks. My backyard thermometer hanging on the side of the garage says 100+ F but it is getting reflected radiation from good ol’ Sol.
I have an eBay purchase that is suppose to arrive today. FedEx says by the end of the day. I really don’t FedEx is that awesome. Tracking says it left Chino, CA at 5:09am this morning.
No big deal. Tomorrow or any day this week is fine.
I was looking at tires last week. A true pain – pick a store, pick your car or tire size, make an appointment and now we might show you some choices maybe even with prices. Oh and all deals are buy three get one free. Yeah, right.
Huh, nope. I ordered some Michelin Defender LTX M+S p275/65R18 tires for my truck from Sam’s Club two weeks ago. No bargains for those tires, too much in demand. I paid for all 4 plus $80 install. $1,318.
This time, I plan to rotate the tires at 15,000 miles so I get more than 30,000 miles out of them. The previous tires were bald, literally, on the back from not being rotated and my frequent spinouts.
Have I mentioned that having non-bald tires on the back on my truck is very, very nice, especially when it is raining.
“People on Food Stamps Can Keep Buying Junk With Your Tax Dollars, Obama Judge Rules”
https://thelibertydaily.com/people-food-stamps-can-keep-buying-junk-your/
“Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins incorrectly interpreted federal law when approving limits on what SNAP recipients could purchase with their benefits, Politico reported. The ruling impacts such pilot programs in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the outlet.”
““With her solicitation and approval of the pilot projects in this case, the Secretary purports to waive not just a mere administrative or technical obstacle, but the very definition of ‘food’ as it was laid down by Congress,” the ruling says, Politico reported. “Neither the [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] nor the states can force this square peg into a round hole to avoid the plain language of the statute and the requirements of 2026(k).””
Lets put the candy and soda sales on the judges salary.
“Tesla pushes back as fatal Texas crash reignites self-driving scrutiny”
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/tesla-pushes-back-as-fatal-texas-crash-reignites-self-driving-scrutiny-173130065.html
“”Tesla disputed claims that its driver-assistance software caused a fatal crash in Texas after a Model 3 left the road, plowed through a brick house at high speed, and killed a woman inside.”
“According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened just after 8 p.m. on June 19 when driver Michael Butler in a Tesla Model 3 “failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway,” and struck a home on Blooming Park Lane.”
“Butler’s Tesla entered the brick residence at a high rate of speed and struck a woman who was inside. She was later pronounced dead from her injuries. Investigators reported no signs of intoxication and said Butler was cooperative during the investigation.”
Why didn’t the driver hit the brake?
“The driver told authorities he was using an automated driving assistance system. Tesla states vehicle data shows the driver overrode by fully pressing the accelerator reaching 73 mph with the pedal still pressed after impact. abcnews.com/US/tesla-alleg… teslarati.com/tesla-finally-… x.com/aelluswamy/sta…”
Sounds like the driver hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-finally-clarifies-fatal-texas-crash-confirms-driver-manually-overrode-acceleration/
“Chevron to build gas-fired West Texas power plant, supply Microsoft”
https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/news/55386032/chevron-to-build-gas-fired-west-texas-power-plant-supply-microsoft
“The 2.67-Gw power plant will provide dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center under a 20-year power purchase agreement.”
“The companies will build Kilby through a phased, modular approach that will allow for incremental expansion over time. A majority of the power generation will come from large GE Vernova turbines and associated electrical infrastructure, with additional capacity provided by Solar Turbines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar.”
Not grid connected to ERCOT. That will be several, 4 to 6, gas turbines and at least two, probably three, steam turbines.
Just says West Texas with the natural gas coming from Permian Basin. That natural gas would be just flared anyway so this is a win, win.
BTW, this is at least a $3 billion plant. Maybe $5 billion, I am not sure on the current prices of the turbines.
Our cruise ship uses electric motors for propulsion. They are powered by two big GE gas turbine generators. In port, they use smaller diesel gensets to run the ship, no ‘shore power’ or other hookups. They are constantly rebuilding one or the other turbine, with brief periods when both are available.
Backstage tour!
n
https://www.dailymail.com/yourmoney/article-15923417/california-food-labels-sell-ban.html
– as a prepper I think this is probably good, although it’s definitely overreach of .gov power.
n
“Israelis Are Livid Over Trump Ending War, Overwhelmingly Believe Iran Won: Poll”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israelis-are-livid-over-trump-ending-war-overwhelmingly-believe-iran-won-poll
“According to a survey conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in partnership with the Agam Institute, 92.1% of Israelis believe Iran came out ahead in the conflict and the US-brokered deal that followed.”
I suspect that nuclear weapons will be used in the Middle East in the next 10 to 20 years.
“The Burden Of History: Justice Jackson’s Curious Call To Overturn Critical 2nd Amendment Precedent”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/burden-history-justice-jacksons-curious-call-overturn-bruen
“Since her confirmation in 2022, Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson has established a legacy that is fast becoming one of the most radical in the Court’s history. Her sole dissents have drawn sharp criticism from both her conservative and liberal colleagues. However, for critics of some of these decisions, Justice Jackson continues to publish opinions that are not just, as she describes it, cathartic but chilling. Worse yet, the latest judicial jump scare was shared by her colleague, Justice Sonya Sotomayor, in her concurring opinion in United States v. Hemani..”
This person needs to be impeached. From her refusal to define a woman in her Senate hearings to her refusal to follow the USA Constitution, she needs to go now. Instead, she is acclaimed by half of the country.
Some people. All you need is about 600 pounds of sand bags over the axle,
Run them tires until the wires show!!!!
I thought that might be the pop-up. It worked fine for me.
I got almost 80,000 miles on my factory Michelin tires on my 2014 F-150.
I want all three dates. Sell By. Best if Used By. And Use By.
For example. Buy some raw chicken at the grocery store. Sell By is good.
Then Best if Used By tells me I have oh, maybe another week before the flavor goes off. Like sandwich meat getting that slimy feel.
And Use By as an expiration date… like you might get sick eating this. You should throw this away but as an adult, go for it.
Heck. If it smells ok and the can isn’t bulging? Go for it.
The real test is that if I try and sue them for making me sick will I lose my suit because it was past the “Best By” or “Sell By” date? If so, the “Best By” and “Sell By” date needs to be labeled as the “Use By” date and prominently displayed.
Yay!
SCOTUS: Green Card Holders Can Be Stripped of Legal Status If They Have Pending Criminal Charges
Guess which three dissented? The commie LibTards are trying to destroy the country one crimmigrant at a time.
USAA keeps trying. I can get a zero interest cc for almost a year and then 10.xx interest.
Thing is, i don’t carry a balance. you want me? Tell me things about cash back.
Discover gives 1%. My heb card does 1.5
The wires for the ooma are run. I could really really use a bit of a back rub about now. Right between my shoulder blades.
But. Yeah i can feel it moving up into my neck. Yeah me.
No. You want Jackson sitting in the “Roe” seat and spewing nonsense as long as possible.
She can’t write, and she would be nearly impossible to dislodge.
Again, at the risk of being accused of creating an echo chamber, setting aside her Miami establishment biological family, Jackson married into money so old that it farts dust. The husband is seventh generation Harvard legacy.
Forget about impeachment.
Barbara Legoa would be the next up for a seat on The Court, and she needs to be in Clarence Thomas’ chair as the embargo ends and the lawsuits against the Cuban government begin.
Legoa served as part of the pro bono team advising Elian Gonzalez’ uncle back in the day.
I don’t remember if she was in the house when Johnny Reno ordered the raid.
Crusoe Energy is way ahead of Chevron using the natural gas flares.
More capex p*ssed away for the Monkey Trick.
We’ve seen how this ends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V12ZAZ4Jn8Q
“We’ll go bowling.”
Reformers and Revolutionaries
About 900 words, short for one of my political or social essays
Perhaps I’m a dolt. But replacing filters on the r/o system did change the constant gurgling water noise.
Today I replaced the actual r/o membrane filter. From an old 25 GPD to a 35GPD filter. And WTF, it’s STILL gurgling FIVE hours later.
Tank should be full. Tank seems full when I get a cup of water.
Well. Plan B. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDM0T0I?tag=ttgnet-20
Yeah. The thing goes bad with age. Pain in the a…butt.
Wikipedia Founder Larry Sanger Blocked from Editing
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/06/23/wikipedias-founder-gets-the-wikipedia-treatment/
LOL
Nice. Is there any answer other than CWII?
Antifa Terrorists Receive 30 to 100 Year Sentences for Attack on Texas ICE Facility
Send a division of federal officers to Portland and clean up that sewer. They should be able to make 500 arrests.
If both sides in a nation fight each other, it’s a civil war.
If only one side fights the other, it’s a massacre.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/06/23/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters/
No citizen of a foreign country should be a judge in the United States.
If only one side fights the other, it’s a massacre.
– or a pogrom
n
-shrug- Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.
Or an insurrection. Or a coup. Or a color revolution.
But remember, the left is supported by the CCP and globohomo. And likely the Russians too, but I think they were very active decades ago getting things started, and less involved in recent decades. They’ve had other fish to fry.
And don’t sell the muzzies short. Qatar alone has bought Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, and likely Me-again Kelly.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/06/23/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters/
No citizen of a foreign country should be a judge in the United States.
Amen, brother, Amen.
And don’t sell the muzzies short. Qatar alone has bought Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, and likely Me-again Kelly.
Tucker is going to run for President in 2028.
https://rumble.com/v7bqbqc-tucker-carlson-tells-alex-jones-he-wants-to-be-involved-in-offering-an-opti.html
“Senate Approves House-Passed War Powers Resolution to Limit Trump’s Action in Iran – Four Republicans Join the Democrats”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/06/breaking-senate-approves-iran-war-powers-resolution/
I see a veto pen in Trump’s future.
However, I see nuclear weapons in Lebanon’s future. I think Israel is to the point where they want to test the old saying that if you nuke your neighbor, you nuke yourself too.
“Tesla pushes back as fatal Texas crash reignites self-driving scrutiny”
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/tesla-pushes-back-as-fatal-texas-crash-reignites-self-driving-scrutiny-173130065.html
“”Tesla disputed claims that its driver-assistance software caused a fatal crash in Texas after a Model 3 left the road, plowed through a brick house at high speed, and killed a woman inside.”
“According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened just after 8 p.m. on June 19 when driver Michael Butler in a Tesla Model 3 “failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway,” and struck a home on Blooming Park Lane.”
“Butler’s Tesla entered the brick residence at a high rate of speed and struck a woman who was inside. She was later pronounced dead from her injuries. Investigators reported no signs of intoxication and said Butler was cooperative during the investigation.”
Why didn’t the driver hit the brake?
“The driver told authorities he was using an automated driving assistance system. Tesla states vehicle data shows the driver overrode by fully pressing the accelerator reaching 73 mph with the pedal still pressed after impact. abcnews.com/US/tesla-alleg… teslarati.com/tesla-finally-… x.com/aelluswamy/sta…”
Sounds like the driver hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-finally-clarifies-fatal-texas-crash-confirms-driver-manually-overrode-acceleration/
BTW, are Tesla, Ford, GM, Chrysler, and all of the other vehicle suppliers gonna start posting people’s driving records to the public now when you impugn them? Especially since somebody died in this case which could go criminal, it will certainly go civil. The driver will probably be charged with manslaughter now for driving into a house at 73 mph.
I cannot decide if posting people’s driving details in this case is a good thing or a bad thing. Tesla does have the right to defend themselves in the public forum since the driver publicly accused them of killing someone.
I sure don’t want my every day driving record posted to a public forum. I will readily admit that I drive my truck like I stole it but that is a just a statement. I sure don’t want the proof out there.
They listened to every word for seven years…
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/06/the-thing/
That technique has been featured in several books and stories over the years.
More recently there was someone in DC who went to the news with stories that the russians were bombarding his office with microwaves. The press made him look like an idiot. I forget if the guy was an idiot or not but I remember thinking of the tuned cavity listening device and thinking he could be right. And now we know the press has been covering for the commies for decades, so there’s that.
It was why I was inclined to believe that the other embassy workers who claimed that they were being targeted by some sort of non-lethal and previously unknown weapon. Now they call it ‘havana syndrome’?
I also recall the press making fun of someone who claimed there were lasers being shone on his windows… and we all know that that has been a real listening device for decades too…
n
Tiny little fire tonight, with lots of street racers in the distance, one black cat, and a flicker of a softball sized something flying thru the light… probably the (hypothetical) owl from the other night.
I love air conditioning. I love the dehumidifying aspect as much as the temperature reducing part. Cool, dry air. So nice.
Time for bed. I’ve got tires to purchase tomorrow morning, and a bunch of pickups to do.
n
“James Harden arrested in Houston area, charged with unlawful carry”
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/james-harden-arrested-houston-2026-june
“HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Former Houston Rocket James Harden has been released from the Harris County Jail after being arrested on Saturday.”
“Court records confirm Harden was arrested in Harris County on an “Unlawful Carrying Weapons” charge. The Cleveland Cavalier allegedly had his gun “in plain view” in his vehicle without a holster.”
What in the world? Since when is this against Texas Law ?
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/james-harden-arrested-hypocritical-firearms-charge-texas