Hot in Houston and very humid even by our standards. It was definitely cooler all week at the BOL. I’m hoping for overcast and a breeze to help cool down the house.
Got up early and came home from the BOL. The temporary fix for the A/C didn’t happen as we discovered the real issue (which was a good thing as it saved a lot of work in the attic.) The compressor wore out, the scroll touched the sides and that caused a big arc that blew a hole in the casing. Common failure, apparently, but not as common as the coil leaking. Warranty will still cover it. Make sure your new A/C system gets properly registered with the manufacturer. In my case it means 10 years of coverage instead of 5.
So I’m running a bunch of roll around units, just like during a hurricane when I don’t have enough power to run the central A/C. I have them because I’m a prepper… although the A/C guy was willing to send a crew with several units to loan until Monday. I don’t know how common that is or how many units he has, but having my own is good for my peace of mind. If the house hadn’t soaked up heat for a week, I would be nice an cool.
So prepper win.
Stack what you need, and then some stuff you might need. You may never use it, but if you need it you’ll be glad you did.
nick
Rest easy, citizens! I am here!
He is here, I am there!
We are the walrus. Coo coo, ca-choo!
Putting the ‘Progress’ in Progressivism — 13M[illion] Pounds of Revolting Waste Removed From Dystopian LA Park
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/07/19/putting-the-progress-in-progressivism-13m-pounds-of-revolting-waste-removed-from-dystopian-la-park-n2204485
PLT’s spread filth wherever they go–parades, marches, parks, public housing. It must be part of the mental disease that they are inflicted with.
That’s a lot of cakes left out in the rain.
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.
Citizen, your papers jetz, bitte!
76 F and Mr. Fusion is coming up. Will be 100 F in my backyard around noon.
Talked to a friend on our 2 mile walk last night. He now has 176k miles on his ¾ ton Dodge 2022 Diesel truck. He drives 40 to 50k miles a year in his business of building concrete roads, often towing a backhoe, scraper, etc.
He got rid of his diesel exhaust equipment two years ago. He was running to the dealer every month for a check emission light before it put him on the side of the road. He now has no check emission light. His truck runs great with no problems in almost 100k miles.
Btw, Texas does not check diesels for emissions anymore. So he just gets his registration sticker every year.
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.
Seems like s.o.p. for selling a motor vehicle: check for DL and insurance.
That dates a lot of people. Everybody’s f-up, everybody’s f-up. Yeh, listen to the end of the song closely.
Still getting stuff done on the Highlander. I removed the GA temporary plates and put my TN DV plates back on the vehicle. Two reasons. Removes the advertising and it allows the wife to park in the handicap spots. If we get pulled over I can explain and show the temporary tag in the glove box. I also removed the dealer license plate frame as I don’t want any advertising.
I transferred the car wash information this morning and got a new window decal. Today is getting the seats and mirrors adjusted for the wife, installing her profile in the computer, and programming the memorized settings button.
I removed the expensive all-weather mats, a $449 option that is part of the package delivered from the plant. I could not remove those from the order. I installed the carpeted mats which I got at no charge, normal $249 so it takes some of the sting out of the unwanted all-weather mats.
There were key gloves, little leather pouches, that were also included from the factory, un-removable, $24.00. Gaacckk. There is also an emergency kit that includes jump cable, duct tape, a squeeze FLASHLIGHT, and some other stuff. There was line item listed on the sticker.
Tomorrow I transfer the insurance. I am still covered under my old vehicle, really good coverage, full replacement in the fist year, OEM parts, high liability and high comprehensive. I expect my rate to jump about $500.00, maybe more, for the year for the new vehicle. Lots of technology including sensors. A repair that was $5,000 10 years ago will now total a $60.000 vehicle. I just need to call the agent and give the agent the VIN of the new vehicle.
The digital inside rear view mirror is really nice. There is no blocking by the seats and the rear window. A full, almost 180 degree view of what is going on behind the vehicle. I suspect that is the purpose when there are seven people in the vehicle as the person in the middle seat in the third row would block the view. The third row is obviously for kids. The middle row has captains seats with arm rests, heated and cooled, and adjustable climate control for those seats.
The previous generation Tacoma and 4Runner vehicles were popular among extremist groups in the Middle East because the 4.0L V6 ran forever, but I doubt the latest iterations with the turbo charged four cylinder engine will be as much in demand until the drivetrain design acquires more real world miles.
Plus Patents.
The third row isn’t really usable by adults in the Grand Highlander, but Toyota wanted a stopgap so they could offer a crossshop with the Grand Wagoneer given the profit margins available in that category.
Muslims don’t perform maintenance. Not on weapons, not on vehicles, not on the oil rigs which are the only things keeping most mohammedan nations solvent. (Oil and foreign aid from the US or China, I should say.) It’s a combination of god’s will, completely undeserved sense of superiority, information hoarding, and low IQ.
We are finally in summer mode here in the high desert, 100/75 every day. A few degrees higher, a few degrees lower, but for the next month that’s more or less what to expect.
In August and particularly September the monsoon can bring some gully washers…
—
Off shopping.
I need to remember to pick up those pillow bearings for the swamp cooler, it’s not particularly loud in the house but in the garage it sounds like a train is running past. It’s not thumping yet, which mean iminent failure, but it’s getting close.
Since my friends are back from their vacation I will bum a haircut off my friend’s wife if I can. Six weeks is just too long.
It is doable for short trips, but nothing over 20 miles. I have sat in much worse on military planes, for hours. My first Highlander had third row seats with less room. My second Highlander also had third row seats, which we used once and it was not too bad for a short trip.
In our second Highlander there was a stored insert that turned the second row, two seats, into a third seat in the middle. That was a terrible seat. We did it once to see how it worked and never used it again. We actually forgot how to do the changeover.
The Honda Odyssey has terrible third row seats as do most minivans. Again, designed for small kids, in booster seats or child seats. Family stuff.
I think it is mostly designed for kids as if a person wants to haul seven or eight adults, then anything but a van is not a good choice.
We will probably only use the second row a couple of times a year, the third row never and the third row seats will remain folded down, forever.
Perspective. I go three months between haircuts. I have this aversion to getting my haircut due to my time in the military. Sometimes having to get weekly haircuts, sometimes another just two days after the other because some young lieutenant gets offended. And having to pay again.
We got weekly haircuts in basic training. Easily done as the
“barber”butcher just cut the hair as close as possible. The occasional cut with blood was not uncommon. Always pain associated as it needed to be done quickly. And we had to pay $0.95 for each haircut. When abarberbutcher does a couple hundred scalpings a day it was pretty good money for unskilled work.The V6 in the 4Runner and Tacoma can be maintained by complete idiots just changing the oil.
The weakness in the platform ~ 15-20 years ago was the rack.
I have been going to Great Clips every month for the last few years. As long as I do it within 30 days, I got a $2 off from a coupon on the receipt from the previous time. I use the extra $2 to increase the tip.
Last week, as I checked out, they apologized to me. That coupon deal is over. I got a $1 coupon off products instead.
I get my head cropped close all over. I don’t need no stinkin’ products. I don’t even use shampoo any more.
I have clippers of my own for trimming my beard. I may finally have to start doing the haircut thing myself. I just don’t like the mess.
How do you deal with that, Nick?
I think you may be overestimating their ability or willingness to perform even an oil change.
The last haircut I got was in 1999, the year I retired from the Army. I grew my hair long for a couple of years, then, as the hair really started thinning, I switched to a self buzz cut. I buzz my head several times a week to keep it consistent.
I’ve posted before, when I was in flight school, all the Iranians and other Mooslims were recycled multiple times, and then just sent home as helicopter “pilots”. Foreign entities perform maintenance on their aircraft.
That dates a lot of people.
I am perhaps not quite that old, but some lyrics are just striking.
Rick Beato put up a short video on Yew Choob this week explaining why he can’t get an interview with Paul McCartney – apparently the relevant publicist is not interested in modern media (for some value of “modern”). A shame, as I would love to hear Beato interview the songster. Billy Joel last week was excellent, and the Hiromi interview is simply sensational.
Having a lazy day today. Saw W1 off to visit her parents this a.m., then went straight back to bed. Have just awoken again, around 17:30. I must have been tired. Will probably surf the interwebs a bit, then mooch over and see what the neighbourhood street party is doing. It was still in full swing last night when we got home after midnight. I am hoping to snag something off the grill, so that I won’t need to cook today.
Up and moving. Had breakfast and drinking my coffee. Still hot outside and too warm inside.
Family has landed and are on their way home.
Back hurt so bad that I was tossing and turning all night, despite the meds. Had to stretch before I could even get my breakfast, usually I can wait until after.
——-
How do you deal with that, Nick?
– I do it immediately after a shower. Dry off completely, then stand there nekkid on the tile floor. I move all the mats and carpet to the closet. When I’m done, I use the blow dryer to ‘herd’ all the hair to one clump and pick it up with my hand. Do it again and pickup the pinch of hair left the second time.
Then shower to get the loose hair off my body.
Mats back in place, and done. Takes less than ½ hour, both showers included, and including a shave and maybe beard trim.
I do miss chatting with my barber, but $20 plus a month and the time it takes to go there is more than I want to spend.
n
My barber just raised the price of a haircut from $25 to $30. That puts me out $33 with tip every month. I would go with a buzz cut or completely bald in a second, but my wife and I have an understanding.
She knows I prefer her with long hair. She is free to get it cut short if she wants – I’ll still love her. But that is the day my hair goes. Sort of like US/USSR MAD on a lightly smaller scale…
I did get my haircut thus morning.
I have historically tried various in-town places and even the Walmart barber, but they all opened late and I had to deal with the crowds there. Once I moved out of town it was a long drive as well. Plus the cost kept escalating, $50 for 5 minutes … you should get a lap dance thrown in for that kind of money.
I was complaining about the bother to my friend one day and his wife spoke up and said that she did his every month and that if I showed up she would do mine. Nothing fancy, we are both pretty gray and thin on top, but it suffices.
I was actually did self cuts for a bit, as Nick & MrAtoZ are doing now, almost a short buzz cut, but Roger’s wife does a better job.
It was hot outside, about 100 Fahrenheit by the time I got home, and rather humid inside because of the swamp cooler, so it will be appreciated.
—-
I picked up the last two 1″ pillow block bearings in stock at Lowes, and a spare spigot with ¼” adapter valve for the backup swamper unit. And a spare belt.
Too hot to work on the roof today.
The street party was still in full swing. I walked in, and somebody immediately handed me a plate of BBQ and a beer. Breakfast of champions. Meatspace, baby!
I managed two plates and two beers, then made a discreet exit before the soccer match starts on the big screen. Spain vs Argentina in the final…
I don’t normally turn off Adam “Professor of Rock” Reader’s videos, but his release yesterday “The ARROGANCE Of This Rock Legend is INSANE!” with 10 songs from 1972 got the big bye-bye. He was already skating on thin ice with bad audio from Nillson (likely avoiding copyright issues) but Gilbert O’Sullivan? Not just no…
And mentioning Roberta Flack before I could even hit the button got him on the “pass” list for at least a week.
1972 had what might be the all-time worst blend of great rock and total crap ever, ending with two songs in the latter category outcharting “American Pie”. People were so screwed up that “Layla” endd at #60. WTAF?
If you are too young to remember GOS and ignore my advice to avoid him at all costs, don’t ever blame it on me.
I watched a bunch of his stuff a while ago, but he’s old media style and pacing… so I find him tedious, even when the subject is interesting.
Back in the old days when powerpoint first took over from actual slides and dissolve units and stacked slide projectors, it was easy to spot the guys who learned on the old tech. Their style of transition and pacing was dictated by the tech.
The guys with experience in old school trad media can stick out just as badly now.
n
I find his ideas interesting and his teasers really want me to know “who?” and “what?”, but it’s never worth sitting through the tedious presentation.
All of my interest in his videos, except for interviews, could be satisfied by a bullet list and 2 minutes reading.
Ditto on PoR.
I started getting a buzz cut and can’t see paying a barber for that. Every two to 6 weeks usually three but when feel I need to not look grubby.
I can’t do a buzz cut. I got one every year at the beginning of summer. I was a skinny kid. One year, guess I was 14 I told my Dad no…. I don’t like looking like I escaped Treblinka.
He looked at me like “how do you know this?”. And never cut my hair again.
I used to go to a little old lady barber shop in Austin. She was a little old lady. I was like 26 and she was pushing 35. Old lady. Fun to talk to. I miss her. Long time ago, we’d both be smoking a cig during the haircut. She moved to Wyoming. I tried the Super Cuts down by the Drag a few times. Meh.
I found a place here but she retired. Then there was a Pro Cuts. Great place! Even if she did snip my ear once… they were talking about how sharp their scissors were after being sharpened. I bled like a stuck pig. I didn’t care. Stuff happens.
Pro Cuts closed. Then there is just Great Clips. The name is a lie. I’ve been to four locations and have had one good hair cut. Up near Dallas.
So I cut my hair. Ain’t good. I can’t see the back. I tend to screw up and make whitewalls around my ears. But it grows back and I don’t care what folks think at the grocery store. But it’s out of my ears and out of my eyes.
Clean up is easy. Go outside, brush off, shake the towel, and sweep the clippings out the door.
Out the door? That’s a whole story there.
“it grows back”
So far, so good.
“Out the door? That’s a whole story there.”
Sounds like a chapter in Architecture for Rednecks. Have you ever been sitting around and realized “Hey, the cabin/garage/house would be better if…”
“it grows back”
for some. At 75 it’s getting rather thin on top – and all white, not gray, white
I managed to avoid doing the whole comb-over thing, largely because I remember that one coworker on a business trip in 1989. We were in the pool and hot tub, a bunch of us, and he got his head wet. It was a foot long hanging down on one side and completely absent on top.
When it became unavoidable that I was getting bare on top, my stylist explained that the longer I kept it on the sides and back, the more obvious the contrast is. She said I should try shorter all over, which has worked out fine for me. No sense pretending, but no reason to emphasize the absence. I never learned how to do the shaved thing, and it seems like trouble.
Funny thing about that business trip. An Air Force LTC we worked with dropped by to chat and invite us to go out to Stanford early in the morning to run track with the Stanford track team before we went to work at JPL for the day. He thought we might be interested because “that little girl who grew up with my family” would be there , too.
Her name was Kathy Ireland. We all declined.
I wouldn’t call it Architecture for Rednecks. More like, it’s my house and screw any noise a realtor makes. Because of “resale value”.
Anyway.
Once upon a time the electric bill would be pushing $400 real hard. Thirty years ago.
We had the roof done. 1×4 slats on the old roof. With R7 foam board. Then a metal roof.
We had a deck added to the front of the house. In the process I wanted a little porch out the back door. Like 4 by 8 feet. Covered. Maybe room enough to have a chair or two, room enough for a place to shake off a wet umbre lla and kick off the flips.
Jeff, builder of the the deck said, let’s do a walkway from back door to front deck. And extend the roof. So that’s what happened. Um, in May pushing mid June. Jeff works on Island Time.
The central air was dead. We had window units. Noisy but hey, “zoned cooling” we said. In the dining room was the monster. Two tons, I think. Ran on 220 volts. The deck was built. The walkway was built. The roof was extended.
The July electric bill was down $40. The August bill was down a bit over $50. From previous years. Just from the shade from the walkway from the backdoor to front deck.
And it was the same the next summer. 2012 I guess. Before Mom moved in.
Next project was the central air. Home Depot wanted eight grand. Plus tax and shop supplies. We found an on-line seller and bought it all for about $4500 delivered. I installed it. All of it. Fixed some duct problems. Had to have an a/c company to actually connect the freon lines. To validate the warranty. Dude offered me a job.
I really had fun with that project. Real fun, no sarc.
No more need for window units. The electric bill with central heat pump went down more and it was quiet. Oh, and so….. quiet.
Then we had the walkway (and roof) extended across the back of the house. More shade. And around the corner to a few feet past the bathroom window. I had a plan for an outdoor shower. It didn’t happen. The bathroom window was replaced with a door that swings out. Not in like a normal door.
So now we are all shaded. Ok, let’s replace the windows.
Folks said replacing the windows was a waste of money. I have the electric bills. The windows paid for themselves in a bit over six years. Plus no more cold drafts….
All of this is spaced about a year between projects.
I’m missing something. No matter. Back when we started with $350+ electric bills, the price “just to have a meter” was like $8.
Last month’s electric bill was $83.00. $32 of that is “just to have a meter”.
So, I think all of our planning actually worked.
It is HOT. The lack of blasting A/C is really highlighting how bad our windows are and how little insulation we have. Kitchen is like an oven. my office has to be 90F despite the fans and the unit across the hall.
Backyard looks like a jungle but I’m not cutting it until I can cool off afterward.
Fortunately, it should all be over tomorrow morning.
I may not sell these two extra roll around units…
n
@dkrek:
I’ll be 0x4E in a month or two. My hair is receding, into a classic “widow’s peak” (I think that’s the term). There’s a lot of grey in the brown, but it’s still mostly there, and quite thick. I don’t get a haircut as often as I should, for tidiness, but I don’t do buzz cuts – a full head for me.
G.
My backyard thermometer, in the sun, showed 142 F this afternoon. The real temperature was probably 105 F (SWAG).
I came out of HEB at 5 pm to the absolute furnace. I guess somebody left the door open to Mr. Fusion.
Yeah, I’m gonna shower and head to bed.
I’ve got a Dr appt at the same time the HVAC guys are supposed to be here… and I’d forgotten. So W will have to get that moving. I’ll be home before they finish and she can do her conference call.
D2 starts with her school activity tomorrow too. 7AM. Yeah, that’s one of the things I’m not doing.
n
1972 had what might be the all-time worst blend of great rock and total crap ever, ending with two songs in the latter category outcharting “American Pie”. People were so screwed up that “Layla” endd at #60. WTAF?
I thought “Signs” was a 1972 song. It was 1971.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9lh7lqZojc
– I do it immediately after a shower. Dry off completely, then stand there nekkid on the tile floor. I move all the mats and carpet to the closet. When I’m done, I use the blow dryer to ‘herd’ all the hair to one clump and pick it up with my hand. Do it again and pickup the pinch of hair left the second time.
I stand in the bathtub and do my manscaping there.
Another awesome 1971 song: “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves CHER (with lyrics)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnlxKY8d_JE
I thought Sonny wrote this but the song facts say that Bob Stone wrote this.
I spent the day moving furniture from my son’s college apartment to my wife’s crash pad in San Antonio.
Driving down to San Antonio and back on I-35, I noticed that all three of the Hooters restaurants on the route are now closed with For Lease signs out in front of the buildings.
Austin’s last Hooters closed several months ago, killed by the Rowdy Cowboy, an upstart chain out of Dallas that is best described as a “buttsteraunt”.
“Eat. Drink. Bottom’s up.”
The shuttered Hooters in San Marcos and Shertz were a surprise, however.
Hooters may end up with just the locations in Florida still under the control of the original corporation set up by the founders, including the first restaurant.
Pearls Before Swine: No Worries
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2026/07/19
Oh Rat!
Based on the comments here I canceled Boost and moved to Visible. Boost charged me for data and while I don’t use much data, mostly for maps on trips, the Boost data charges seemed excessive.
Visible has connection problems. I can’t call or text one of my grand-daughters, a friend in Las Vegas, or a local friend. Their help pages suggested I check the signal bars, turn airplane mode on and then off, reboot the phone, update the phone, update the installed version of Visible. None of these fixed the problem.
My iPhone 14 worked fine with Ting and then Boost.
Any suggestions?
I really would like to call my grand-daughter as it’s her birthday