Should be hot here at the BOL, and in Houston. It was hot yesterday and most of the day was saturated. There was a short period where there was some shade and a cool breeze off the lake, but thankfully, I was working either inside, or in a giant hole in the wall.
I did get the window mostly installed. I got some sheathing up, and some flashing tape. I still have housewrap and more flashing to do, as well as figuring out trim details and what I want to cover the foot of wall above the window and below it. I might put the brick back eventually, but probably not this year.
With my buddy helping to steer, and a “skate” under the window, it wasn’t as hard or scary as I expected to get the window in place. I bought the skate years ago, but knew where the box was in the shed within 2 feet. Worked a treat too. Prepping win! Now if I could just find the leftover housewrap I’m pretty sure I have somewhere…
I was supposed to go home last night and be meeting the A/C contractor at 8am to replace my coil unit, but he couldn’t get the warranty approved. We’re going ahead with the replacement and will try to get the compensation afterward if needed. The family will all be home Sun, and I need the air working. So I’ll be up early to head home, and meet the guy at noon.
Three years. The enshittification of everything is spreading. Even a brand like Carrier uses mexican factories and NAFTA (and what replaced it) to destroy the working class and make the financial shenannegans boys happy. Warranty payouts are three years away boys, let’s make those quarterly numbers! That’s a problem for future us…
All the more reason to buy older proven stuff when you can, to buy for quality and longevity when you can, and to have spare parts if they are available for simple things.
There will be a reckoning. Some people are not going to like it.
Meanwhile, stack money. It’s the universal prep.
nick
First post. I beat the foreigner, who is probably sleeping in from all the extra work. And chicken boy who is probably outside dealing with his egg producing creatures.
Off to Atlanta to pick up the new vehicle. Should be there by 11:00 AM, out of the dealer by 12:00 noon. Then will spend a few hours at our friend’s house, departing by 4:00 PM at the latest. Should be home by 8:00 PM, if the Atlanta traffic cooperates. And a whole lot of money poorer.
Saturday. Good morning!
I am on holidays at the BOL, so of course I woke at 06:20.
The early worm gets the bird, so I went to the bakers. Pain au chocolat and tartlets with wild blueberries. Yummy for afternoon tea. Aldi had nice looking strawberries, so I got some of those too.
The bargain bin yielded two hanks of nice braided rope (one for each car) and two sets of spring clamps (like clothes pegs on steroids; can’t have too many clamps).
Social butterfly time. W1 and I are invited to a 60th birthday garden party this evening. This weekend, our friends and neighbours at the BOL are having a street party. We’ll miss that tonight, but will be there for BBQ tomorrow. Life is hard.
Paul, very glad you could help your brother! Sometimes family, a meal, a sympathetic ear and a hug are the best medicine.
Mr Ray, happy travels and well wear your new vehicle. Drive safely!
Wishing everyone an excellent Saturday.
The things we forget over time.
I got my Windows 98 SE pc up and running yesterday. It was having some issuse booting but would start ok in safe mode. I managed to remember about msconfig without using the internet. Small win for the brain cells.
I got Tie Fighter installed and the usb joystick calibrated. I need to get a keyboard tray, as the desk where the computer is located is too high to comfortably use the joystick. That should be here on Sunday.
I’m also kind of lucky I still have a slightly older monitor that has a vga input, so no adapters needed.
I should be shooting down rebel craft later this weekend.
GM never managed to get that transmission to work properly, hence all of the Allison signs you see at the freeway exit for the GM truck plant in Arlington.
I bought my 2018 Camry at the end of the quarter with the new model year beginning to hit the show room. The eight speed transmission is twitchy, but I’ll drive the vehicle until the end.
Nothing new is available for less than $20k now. The closest is the Hyundai Venue.
The Camry hybrids we’ve driven as rentals in the last few years popped 600+ miles on the range estimate the one time we filled the tanks before returning to the airport, but the trade off is a real price above $30k, pushing $40k.
I thought I saw that $50k is the new median sales price with $60k common for half ton trucks.
When I bought my Camry, $40k was the target price for base half ton trucks.
Tommy Boy can get a good look at Bankruptcy by sticking his head up a F150 Lightning’s tail pipe, but I think he needs to take the accountant’s word for it this time around.
Get a Logitech game pad with dual analog joysticks. The HID API on Windows reads them as analog like a classic PC joystick.
GOG.com has the LucasArts fighter sim games repackaged to be straightforward to install on a new PC, but only “X Wing Alliance” really looks decent on a modern display.
“Star Wars Rebels” has a lot of influence from the “Alliance” storyline.
I interviewed twice with a company making AWACs console simulators in Vantucky, and, essentially, the systems were gaming PCs with custom HID controls. Things that make you say “Hmmm…” – a Logitech R&D lab was right next door.
Yeah, twice. The HR was just interested in checking the “talked to an old guy” box on the form.
I had students who got jobs there, and I knew what kind of code each could write.
It’s strange, all Ford or anyone else has to do is build a reliable car that people like and can afford.
It’s much like Hollywood: all you have to do is make a movie that people will pay (with just beer money amounts!) to see.
And they won’t.
They would rather destroy industries with market caps in the hundreds of billions than do so. Strange.
Up and moving. Coffee is filling the cup and microwave biscuits await.
Countdown to departure has started.
n
I had plans for yard work today, but am stiff and achey enough in the lower back after yesterday’s efforts, to put it off until Monday.
The doc suggested during my physical the other day that I back off on using NSAIDs to power through these jobs, so the duty cycle is shortening again…
The good news is that other than being overweight, and the corresponding just out of limits numbers for cholesterol and blood sugar, I am doing just fine for my age.
He did give me a printout of approved exercises for the lower back, and approved the use of a gravity table, so there might be some relief there.
@Paul: Glad to see you there for your brother.
Maybe the best thing you could do for your brother is to show him that a ‘no drama’ life is possible and even pleasant.
It’s not that simple, but you know that.
They literally aren’t allowed t make and sell what people want. For trucks, that would be a Toyota Hilux or Ford Ranger, with roll-up windows, air conditioning, and your choice of 4 banger or 6 banger. Perhaps a choice of transmissions, but likely a 5 speed manual. No comprehensive network electronics, only point-to-point wiring of lights and optional radios.
But there’s safety concerns, CAFE, kill switches and trackers from the government, and then unions and margins on the other hand. Without the size and the features, you can’t get the markup, and without the markup, you can’t pay your union workers, your distributors, your dealers, your finance kickbacks, and all the other industries that hang on.
What you described was a commodity. And cars aren’t commodities.
Dealers wouldn’t put a vehicle like that on the floor plan.
And, yes, a truck like that would attract a lot of interest so the numbers would have to be large enough to overwhelm the insiders selling out the back door like they did with the Maverick.
Toyota still sells the previous generation Tacoma under the Hilux nameplate down in Mexico. I’ve seen several rolling around Austin with Mexican state plates.
The last generation Tacoma isn’t as stripped as you want, but it had a normally aspirated 6 cylinder engine.
The Tacoma still has a manual option, but it depends on the trim level.
You will only get the manual in the higher trims. Again, dealers.
On cars: My 2018 Subie is running fine. Mileage is around 75K. I still get free oil changes at the Subie dealer. The leather seats are tearing at the seams, so I’ll have to find somebody to fix those. We’ll keep the Subie as our XC car. I still want a Y Model Tesla. Next year. We have a Mini Cooper in Vegas and a New Bug in SA.
On PCs: I missed out on the random draw for my Steam Machine. No word on how us losers are placed on the next batch. I’m also waiting on a second controller I ordered. No word yet on the Frame VR Headset, but I’ll order that, too.
Unfortunately, a lot of people will probably go see “The Odyssey” so Hollywood will learn the wrong lesson this weekend.
“Project Hail Mary” was still steeped deeply in Girl Boss culture so Hollywood already got a mixed signal this year.
Finding someone to fix the leather seats shouldn’t be hard in San Antonio.
Third Circuit Says Ban on ‘Assault Weapons’ and ‘Large Capacity’ Magazines Is Unconstitutional
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2026/07/17/third-circuit-says-ban-on-assault-weapons-and-large-capacity-magazines-is-unconstitutional-n1233213
Next Up: SCOTUS
On Deck: We Don’t Need No Stinking Permit for a Constitutional Right
AWS is experiencing a wee spot of bother with its billing system. (The Register)
AWS has the new tax tables from the commie nazi PLT’s.
We know a really good upholstery shop in Austin, but he doesn’t do cars.
The craftsmen are around in Texas, however.
Planning ahead for the electricity costs.
Texas swept the Griddy mess under the rug with a large check cut without any public debate, but the next “deregulated” market fiasco will be several orders of magnitude larger.
AI is subsidized for now.
My ‘18 Forester is similar. Came with light grey upholstery that I’ve used Amazon pleather covers on. Just replaced those with new ones:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3KRWRVH?tag=ttgnet-20
Looks fine to me, there are plenty of other similar products. The rear seat’s pull down arm rest gets hidden behind a zippered cover, not spectacularly attractive when in use. My last job’s belt key ring wore holes. Better the cover than the upholstery.
Alternator went wonky about 18 months ago. Self replaced it with a new factory unit from internet source. I’m still puzzled that the belt tension ground up the main bearing. That’s on me… somehow. There is no tension adjustment in the alternator mount. The costly dealer replacement is doing fine.
My experience with Subaru A/C is that the compressor fails at about the 5 year mark. Sample size of 2. Just popped for the local dealer to replace it. Discount Tire supplied a new set of Michelins. $50 cheaper per tire than factory equivalent Yokohamas.
In general and in my experience, Subies are trouble free long term drivers. The last Forester before this one ran 15 years, 200K miles. Died of head gasket failure that I might have been the cause. A famously common enough failure mode otherwise.
Why did I take an elected position as an officer of a 501( c) 3?
I am so done. All these people can go right to Hades.
Texas swept the Griddy mess under the rug
–Ken did that, but yeah, everyone else had to agree.
———–
made it home, waiting for the A/C guy. The current plan is refill with freon and hope it lasts until Monday. Then Monday am replace the unit. The unit is available and the warranty coverage will pay, but he can’t physically get the unit until Monday.
He’s also offered to not charge for any freon that gets leaked between now and the replacement.
Sounds pretty fair, considering he didn’t push hard enough to get the unit in time.
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Plenty of cops on the ride home. Only one stupid boy racer.
————
Really quiet on Saturday morning.
————
Sweaty in the house…
n
Does insanity run in your family?
Started hearing the sound of running water about 9am….
A check of the house inside and out showed nothing, and listening closely I realized it had to be on the roof, which means the swamp cooler.
So much for my day off.
Luckily it turned out to a nothing burger after I got up there and took the panels off. Just a slightly loose joint. But since I was up there I oiled the pillow block bearings, and put the new 60 inch V belt on it, and replaced one pad with a new, then used a small screwdriver to ream out the water outlet holes to make sure they were clear, buttoned everything up and Bob’s my uncle.
Time for a shower.
High IQ and insanity both, actually. Well, not so much insane as eccentric. And depressed. Ok, my sister was probably what we used to call manic-depressive. I chalked that up to being an actress. Theater people, you know.
I was the normal one. Or was I just smarter enough to hide it well?
Funny story about GF’s mother (my sort-of Mother-in-law, except there’s no marriage.)
She was a very, very smart lifelong alcoholic and after years of mini-strokes and the onset of dementia, her doctor noticed that the symptoms were barely noticeable. When told of her high intelligence, he pointed out he’s seen that before. So much capacity lets you hide the decline better, and more aware you need to hide it.
well, on the plus side, the coil is fine. On the minus side the compressor has a hole in the side that let the magic smoke out, and all the guaranteed not to harm the ozone refrigerant…
So no cheating and running it with new freon. Monday he’ll be back with a new compressor. And no working in the attic.
But of course, it’s 90F in the house. I got down the units and set up one in the kitchen, one window unit in my bedroom, and one in the central bath area. Except that one no blow the cold air…
SO off to the shop to grab two new ones. At least I’ll validate that they run before trying to sell them.
n
“Before: Holding Their Own XVI” by Joe Nobody
https://www.amazon.com/Before-Holding-Their-Own-XVI/dp/1076143857?tag=ttgnet-20
The sixteenth book in a series of nineteen alternate history books about the economic collapse of the USA in 2015 and onward. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2019 that I bought new on Amazon in 2025. I own the first sixteen books in the series and have purchased the next book in the series.
Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom was really getting cranked up. The book has crude oil at $350/barrel and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015. Not gonna happen due to oil well fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA is invalid for the book. That said, the book is a good story about the collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA. The book is centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a Texas resident.
The $6 gasoline was just the start. The unemployment rises to 40% over a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in Chicago that kills 50,000 people. The current President of the USA nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack. And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about. That shuts down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across the nation.
The accumulations of these serious problems cause widespread panics and shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities. The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at the plants. Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity and half of the USA dies in the next several years, struggling for food and shelter.
Have you ever wondered what life was like for our protagonists before the apocalypse? Terri works at a bank and Bishop works in security for an international oil company. Bishop is in the Ukraine guarding his company’s search for oil. But the Russians have already invaded Crimea and are looking at the rest of Ukraine.
The author has a website at:
https://www.joenobodybooks.com/
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (188 reviews)
Lynn
GM never managed to get that transmission to work properly, hence all of the Allison signs you see at the freeway exit for the GM truck plant in Arlington.
I bought my 2018 Camry at the end of the quarter with the new model year beginning to hit the show room. The eight speed transmission is twitchy, but I’ll drive the vehicle until the end.
Nothing new is available for less than $20k now. The closest is the Hyundai Venue.
I am driving my 2008 V6 Highlander right now. It has 162K miles and justs starts and runs just fine. Even the CD player works. Gets about 20 mpg since I only drive it around town. Runs like a screaming chicken.
The simplicity of the systems in my 2008 Highlander are just amazing. No fancy high beams that keep on turning on and off. No fancy phone controls. No fancy navigation that does not work as well as Google Maps. The five speed auto just works fine and down shifts or up shifts as needed. The only thing that I miss from my 2019 Highlander or my broke down pickup is the backup camera.
Dealers wouldn’t put a vehicle like that on the floor plan.
And, yes, a truck like that would attract a lot of interest so the numbers would have to be large enough to overwhelm the insiders selling out the back door like they did with the Maverick.
The Ford dealer in Rosenberg has a $130,000 Raptor F-150 on the floor. There is no freaking way I would buy something like that.
The last generation TNGA still wasn’t overcomplicated and offered V6 engines.
The current generation is where Toyota started going off the rails.
We had a new Camry hybrid last year in LA, and, while we got phenomenal gas mileage, filling up only before we took the vehicle back to the airport, the hybrid system went haywire when we went to see the High Tower Drive elevator from “Dead Again” and “The Long Goodbye”.
I was in the middle of a three point turn to get out of the dead end street when the car stopped moving and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree.
We would have been stranded with a great view if I hadn’t resolved the problem by turning off the vehicle completely, waiting, and turning it back on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_s_ZbbSDA
“Taco Bell Releases New Imodium A-D Sauce Packets To Combat Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak”
https://babylonbee.com/news/taco-bell-releases-new-imodium-a-d-sauce-packets-to-combat-explosive-diarrhea-outbreak
Ok, that is funny.
No Fernet and Coke since Taco Bell serves Pepsi.
Taco bell in marble falls had coca cola a couple of years ago.
Oh. Taco bell has never bothered my guts. Hey, maybe the problem is having a 12 pac of beer first.
But I just get the crispy tacos.
I’m tired today. The dogs act tired too.
We are liking the house being quiet again.
“Two is one, and one is none….”
Apparently “Three/four is none” on occasion. Yikes.
Sounds like a common design or material flaw for the portable units?
‘—
PSA: I may have used up all the good luck for this group in finding that hundred dollar bill yesterday. I suggest everyone avoid black cats, buying lottery tickets and walking under ladders for a bit.
My cat is all black and I won $10 on a lottery ticket today. Oh, and I have a ladder in my living room I use as an arch into my kitchen. At least until the painting project is done.
I’m either very lucky or my doom hasn’t caught me yet. And it’s going to be a doozy.
@lpdbw – did you also eat at Taco Bell lately?
Enquiring minds and all that….
Silly me, that did not work out well. I did arrive at 11:00 AM. I did not get out of the dealer until 2:00 PM. Paperwork, a whole lot of paperwork. And signatures. Signing some papers, other signatures were on a digital table, about the size of a 45″ TV lying flat on the desk. The dealer was swamped. There must have been 20+ salespeople, and half of them were busy. I had to wait an hour for documents guy. And he took an hour with the dozens of documents. Plus trying to sell the extended warranties.
My copy of the documents was presented on a thumb drive. It was strange dealers on the registration as I have to wait about 3 weeks until TN gets the registration, then I have to go apply for new plates. I cannot use the old plates.
Something else strange. The dealer wanted a copy of our driver’s licenses. This information is sent to the FBI to check for any warrants, terrorist connections, radical groups, etc. The documents guy explained that if the dealer sells a vehicle to a known terrorist the dealer can face hundreds of thousands in fines and the person(s) that failed to do the proper check would be in jail for 10 years.
My old car will be sent to auction. The dealer does not know how much they will get. Their experience I am certain gives the dealer a good idea. The dealer will not wholesale the car or sell the car as the car is too old, 13 years, and too much mileage, 163,000.
Anyway, the deal is done, the vehicle is in the garage. I have managed to program the garage door opener. I managed to transfer my Sirius/XM subscription. The 3 month trial will apply to my current subscription. Quite easy on the website. Finding the radio ID took some web sleuthing and getting through menus.
I don’t like the dynamic cruise control in some cases. My F-150 does the same thing. Following someone and they brake while exiting, the vehicle hits the brakes hard, something a human would not do. Even if the vehicle exiting is in an exit lane. But most of the time on the I-state the dynamic cruise control performed quite well.
Congratulations Ray!!
You guys all saw my karma in action didn’t you. I mock Eurostan for their lack of A/C, luxuriating in my dry coolness, and then my A/C gets all sparky-‘splodey and dumps its guts all over momma ghaia …
I should have knock, knock, knocked on wood… baby.
n
I will take risks, but even so I have my limits.
Black cats, lotto, ladders, yes. Taco Bell? No way!
End sarcasm: I had a couple of Taco Bell bean burritos a week ago. No lettuce, so I should be good.
The current explosion in cases shows the downside of concentrating supply chain. If there are only a few companies providing all the ingredients, everyone has a problem that would have been limited by geography otherwise.
We’ve seen it with other things marketed under dozens of names and distributed nationwide.
————-
Temps in the house are slowly lowering. Getting everything soaked in heat for a week didn’t do me any favors. I am going to unbox and set up another unit, mainly because I have it, and also because it’s too damn hot in here.
n
I used to like Taco Bell, but the last time I ate there, about a year ago, the burrito that I got was a lot smaller than I remembered it being, and the sauce was very runny. And it dribbled on my shirt. Certainly not going to go there NOW, of course.
I’ve always liked Taco Bell. From when I was a teenager, a very long time ago. I enjoy the classics, and also the new items. Although I can’t handle the really spicy stuff – one of the disadvantages of getting old. People like to make fun of them, though.
It’s unfortunate that one of their suppliers was not as careful with their product. But the problem could have happened to anyone. It could have been any burger joint, or sub shop chain, or anyone that uses lettuce. Taco Bell just got the bad luck. I don’t blame them. They seem to be doing all they can to mitigate the issue.
I’ll still go there when I can.
Poisoned pet food from China comes to mind.
There were several ‘bagged salads’ and some seafood fairly recently.
n
The reports I have seen was that the tainted lettuce was harvested from an area in Mexico.
Conspiracy theories have already started.
I lost a cat to that. And I’m STILL mad about that.
Not just Taco Bell. Iceberg lettuce from the Taylor Farms supplier in Mexico. Walmart’s house brand (Market side), Jack in the Box (TX, OK, LA). One story here.
I’d toss any iceberg type lettuce that you might still have around.
Salads aren’t good for you.
It serves you right, and I take the fifth. 😉
Added another 8000BTU unit. Swapped it for the little window unit in my bedroom. House is finally a bit cooler.
It’s funny. I’ve been unconsciously running my “hurricane protocol.” Turning off or not turning on lights, minimizing electrical usage, etc. I’m not running on gennie though, and can add units all over the house. The biggest limit is putting them on a floor surface that could get wet if the overflow tank fills up, and easy access to a window for the exhaust hose.
And because of how I sourced them, finding hose, adapter, and window fixture that all fit together…
———
Family is due home tomorrow morning, so I hope it cools down overnight. It’s still pretty uncomfortable since we usually leave it at 71F. The humidity is the biggest factor in being uncomfortable though.
All hail Mr Carrier. Silicon Greybeard proposes that we should have a national holiday in his name, and I agree. He’s done more for the average Joe than some others who get honored.
Had a tiny little fire, and there was a hint of a cooler breeze, but no animals came by. They are probably all in a cool den…
Time for bed.
n