But hot as Satan’s scrotum outside. And sweaty as his nether regions. The weather will continue until everyone melts. I’ll be inside, comfortably cool.
Did my doctor visit, did auction stuff, did my taxi stuff, and poked at the A/C guys as they worked. Took a while but the house finally started to cool by dinner time and I started turning off portable units.
So today I’ll be putting the portables away, cleaning up, and poking at things. Not much else going on other than working the lists. They always loom like giant looming things.
I’ve got some cleanup and throwing out of breakage in the stacks to do and maybe some car repair stuff, but IT’S FREAKING HOT OUT.
So maybe I’ll work on inside projects.
And stacking. I’ll work on that.
nick
Tuesday. Good morning!
Looking after W1’s father today. She managed to persuade her mother to take a break from his care and a short road-trip, so I will visit him, take him out for a walk (in his wheelchair, but some fresh air at least), and see that he gets something tasty to eat.
While I am there, Oma wants some new lighting in the laundry, and a bedframe from IKEA, so it’ll be a busy day. I have the car full of tools and a ladder. Good job the bed will be flat-packed.
Fourth commandment… storing up treasure in heaven, perhaps.
Today’s supercaps are tiny, for the capacity they have. Ok, voltage also plays a role, but a 5 volt, 1 farad capacitor is the size of a button battery.
I had a great physics teacher in high school, and he had some capacitors acquired from the power company. Each the size of a shoebox. I don’t remember the capacitance – nothing huge – but at 15000 volts we could blow up a lot of stuff. And did.
Some back-of-the-envelope reckoning: This may be ok for attitude control, but actual thrust? No. The magnetic field just isn’t strong enough, and gets weaker fast as you move away from the planet.
Sloppy journalism, not knowing the difference. And a sloppy marketing department of the company, deliberately mixing the two up. Rotating in place is a lot different from accelerating.
Huh? The quote isn’t mine.
If you tagged me for the “Mars Attacks” reference, I have mixed feelings about that film.
Sometimes, Burton would just phone it in.
Plus, I had a reallly negative theater experience watching the flick thanks to an obviously divorced daddy on visitation weekend with elementary age children obviously too young for the material.
Blame multitasking at 6 AM.
Next time I am in the pool I can tell my wife I am doing research.
This looks like ‘Attitude control in a box’ rather than engines for propulsion. Still very important as propellant for that limits the lifetime of many satellites and missions.
Now tethers could be used for propulsion, but NASA flew its last mission with those decades ago (I think).
Update: Dang, there were a lot of attempts to use tethers, for a while: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tether_missions
Without reviewing, isn’t the problem with tethers just a material science problem? The one experiment I actually remember the tether broke.
————-
I”m up before my alarm even. Cold in the house. A/C finally caught up.
Coffee should be ready. And I’ll need to eat something.
Then I should get moving on something productive. Oooo, it looks sunny and hot.
n
Sunny and 89F so cool compared to yesterday.
Still, I don’t think I’ll be cutting the grass.
n
We will take Saskatchewan too.
Sometimes they broke, sometimes they shorted out, sometimes they tangled, a number of times the deploying reel itself failed, and apparently multiple times they succeeded but the telemetry on the satellite failed so they only know by observing from the ground that the satellite was non-ballistic (under some sort of thrust).
This all seems to be the expected basic teething issues of a new technology, TBH, kind of pity that people seem to have abandoned it. Eventually some sort of ‘best practices’ would have evolved.
There is also some concern that very large structures are more susceptible to impact damage from orbital debris.
Don’t forget a FLASHLIGHT!
One of the emails I get had this subject line and I thought it was worth giving some extra thought because of how it reframes the issue.
The article didn’t go anywhere profound, but I think that a lot of our lives and problems boil down to this, and we forget, or never realized, that we have agency and can act in whatever situation is causing us grief.
n
Or VW diesel engines.
And the rural parts of Ontario and Quebec where they make maple syrup.
I’m a fan of the movie. Mars Attacks! bubble gum cards were huge back in the day. I actually had a complete set, but traded them for something as a yute. They used to sell for $2K. I have a replica deck (or two), comic books on my iPad, and have read several of the novels.
Another huge card collectible were the Civil War cards since they were so bloody. I never got the whole set.
But… but… Muh victimhood mentality! Why are you oppressing me???
I hang out here for the high quality and tone of the discussion here.
Also for the discussions of flatulence and the scientific study thereof.
Also for prose like “But hot as Satan’s scrotum outside. And sweaty as his nether regions. ” and the classic “They always loom like giant looming things.”
That latter sounds like a quote from something to me but I can’t quite place it. Mitchell & Webb?
I am curious, who was issuing Civil War cards? Like you say that seems to be a little bit on the bloody side, are cards for wars a normal thing?
I was never a collector of any type so I honestly have no idea.
That latter sounds like a quote from something to me but I can’t quite place it.
– paraphrase of Blackadder, I forget which series… which might itself have been a callback to something else.
n
The CW cards were by Topps Bubble Gum, just like Mars Attacks!
The Mars Attacks! cards are also bloody.
Never fear, I brought a headlamp along. I also passed by the big box place on the way here after IKEA and bought, inter alia*, two work lights. 8500 alleged lumens on a tripod for twenty euro bucks each. Must be chinesium, but might last me for the hour or two I will need.
* The “alia” was a handful of very reasonably priced Czech penknives, a keyring FLASHLIGHT, and a weakness of Wera screwdriver sets, on top of the electrical stuff that I actually need for Oma’s lighting job. The Weras were not cheap.
Maybe “Red Dwarf”.
“The Young Ones” is another possibility. That sounds like a Neil/Nigel Planer quote.
The Weras were not cheap.
– they never are. But then cheap tools are dear indeed if they fail at the worst possible time.
n
another possibility.
– or possibly python, variations have probably been used several times.
n
Perfect for the bunker, a bit on the big side for me…
https://bid.onlinepros.com/ui/auctions/161462/24215333
– wanna bet they cost a LOT and were never used? The district is selling smaller units, like for one room each, but in big lots. I’d buy some, but not 20.
n
From FEMA
Flooding – Texas – FINAL
Situation and Analysis: The flash flood threat in west Texas is decreasing and river flooding on the San Antonio and Rio Grande rivers has ended. Federal resources
are engaged in state response and recovery operations (FEMA R6 SLB FINAL, as of 6:06 p.m. ET, Jul 20).
Lifeline Impacts: (FEMA R6 SLB, as of 6:06 p.m. ET, Jul 20)
Safety & Security: State and Federal US&R resources remain engaged in
affected areas
▪ Over 275 rescues conducted to date
Food, Hydration, Shelter: 2 (-1) shelters open / 28 (-1) occupants
Health & Medical: 2 reported fatalities
Water Systems:
▪ 5 public water systems experiencing impacts serving Blanco, Comal,
Zavala, and Dimmit Counties (pop. 57K)
▪ Nothing significant to report for wastewater systems
Communications: Industry partners report all repairs completed;
operating at normal levels
Transportation:
▪ TxDOT has significant resources conducting damage assessments and
route clearing
▪ Majority of road closures are secondary roads
▪ All temporary flight restrictions have been lifted
I was just informed that the new long block for my 2019 F-150 4×4 is back ordered three months. For a company that makes 3 or 4 million engines a year, that is the sign of a freaking disaster. The service advisor told me that they got the long block for another customer, same problem, same engine, last week that they ordered back in April.
It might be time to short Ford stock.
On flatulence: In the mid 1980s, one of the Mather AFB (Sacramento, CA) flight surgeons had apparently worked on Project Mercury, the first astronaut program. During the classroom part of our annual altitude chamber re-qualifications, the old flight surgeon discussed some of the research done with flatus, which had previously never been studied in detail. Several men were given specific diets to eat, and then ordered to walk around in the swimming pool. Other researchers followed along to catch the farts bubbling up for analysis. I gather this took several weeks in total. The end result was that farts were mostly methane, with some ketones and aldehydes, but nothing that would be dangerous even in a pure oxygen atmosphere, which was the focus of the entire exercise.
Just about anything will burn XXXX combust in a almost pure oxygen environment. The first Apollo crew found that out the hard way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1
The auto ignition temperatures for chemicals is for 21% oxygen environment, Earth Normal. Increasing the oxygen content in the environment LOWERS the auto ignition temperature if you maintain the original pressure. Lowering the system pressure so that the partial pressure of oxygen remains the same maintains the same auto ignition temperature of various chemicals.
https://www.fireandsafetycentre.co.uk/blogs/safety-storage/auto-ignition-temperature
Andy Weir’s book “Artemis” explores the concept of running a future Moon base with a pure oxygen environment with reduced system pressure. Andy Weir also wrote the “The Martian” and “Project Hail Mary” books. All are highly recommended by me. Very few engineering errors.
https://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0553448145?tag=ttgnet-20
Over The Hedge: I, Robot
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2026/07/20
Oh no, here we go.
Wizard of Id: Swimming Pool
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2026/07/21
Oh yeah , you can’t unsee that.
“Trump admin pauses $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota over suspected fraud”
https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/trump-admin-pauses-1-billion-medicaid-payments-california
“Kennedy said that the states will need to provide documentation proving the payments are legitimate before the funds will be released.”
Good, turn off the money fountain forever for these states. I am hearing that Maine and a few others need to be added to that list.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Punish the many for the sins of the few.” ?
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
I was just informed that the new long block for my 2019 F-150 4×4 is back ordered three months. For a company that makes 3 or 4 million engines a year, that is the sign of a freaking disaster. The service advisor told me that they got the long block for another customer, same problem, same engine, last week that they ordered back in April.
Yeah, looks like I will be driving my 2008 Highlander for quite a while. The only problem that I have is remembering to manually turn on the headlights as it does not have automatic headlights. And, remembering to turn off the headlights. It does have a 15 minute battery saver for the headlights though.
When I was a kid and we moved from Oceanside to Mobile was a culture shock. I talk funny. Yeah, so do you.
Anyway. Granmama and Aunt Jesse lived this really really cool house Uncle Henry built. Never met Henry. But 12 or 15 foot ceilings and on the front of the house huge double hung windows that raised up almost to be a high as a door. Fascinating to my about to be 10 year old self. I have the floor plan in my head and I could build that house.
And they kept the curtains closed. Beautiful day outside and the drapes are drawn. Kind of gloomy. But summer in Mobile and the a/c was just a couple of window units.
But now I understand. I got a couple of curtains and magnetic rods for the doors. To block the sun when I want to watch a movie. Those windows are not low-e. Just double pane. Seem to make a difference.
So going by that, I bought curtains and curtain rods from Big River last December. When Discover Card was giving 5% cash back.
The curtains really make a difference. When it was cold. A couple of weeks ago I had a brain fart and hey, if curtains block cold, they will block heat.
Not exactly a fan of a sort of dark house. But I can tell the difference by how much the a/c runs. I don’t have to live in total gloom, the curtains can be opened a bit. But pretty much, covering 2/3rds of the window makes a big difference.
So yeah. 102f outside and the a/c isn’t running all that much. How much is curtains and how much is the floor insulation is a toss up… But drawing the curtains seems to make a big difference. Your mileage, etc, will vary.
As a white male American, I have been collectively punished my whole life.
I have never raped, assaulted, enslaved, nor, until recent years (based on hard experience and plentiful evidence), racially discriminated against anyone.
And yet I am shunned, disrespected, judged, been discriminated against in jobs, and downvoted. I am called racist and sexist and presumed guilty. As a patriot, I am called stupid, ignorant, and greedy.
Cry me a river. I am all out of f*cks to give.
So yeah. 102f outside and the a/c isn’t running all that much.
It is 102 F here also. The dew point is 69 F though (43% humidity), low for us. Both of the office 4 ton A/C units are running around 50% (SWAG).
ERCOT just set a new all time record and new summer record, 86,117 MW for the 4 pm hour. The previous record was 85,508 MW set on Aug 10, 2023.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
https://www.ercot.com/static-assets/data/news/content/a-peak-demand/all-time-records.htm
As is typical above 100 F, the wind turbines are dropping to 3,000 MW, almost nothing for their installed capacity of 40,586 MW.
The solar is producing 31,892 MW right now, out of its 39,926 MW installed capacity.
Tomorrow’s ERCOT peak forecast is for 90,000 MW. They may be starting several of the 300+ gas turbines across the state to meet that.
My solar is producing 9.1 kW and house using 4.9 kW with 4.2 kW going to the grid. Batteries charged to 100%.
“Iran Again Strikes Kuwait Desalination Plants, Damaging Critical Infrastructure”
https://thelibertydaily.com/iran-again-strikes-kuwait-desalination-plants-damaging-critical/
“(The Epoch Times)—Iranian attacks struck power stations and water desalination plants in Kuwait for a fourth consecutive day, sparking fires, damaging facilities, and forcing several electricity-generating units out of service, Kuwaiti authorities said on Tuesday.”
The dying beast is flailing about, attacking anything it can reach.
Boondoggle.
Comal was another district with a bond issue on the ballot in 2023 along with property tax “reform” disguising what is actually one of the largest tax increases in Texas history.
https://www.comalisd.org/apps/pages/BOND2023
The Texas property market now depends on the gimmies from the Legislature to keep the plates spinning.
It is a basic principle in government (and other organizations!) accounting that money can only be spent for the purpose it was allocated for.
If the Pentagon spends money allocated for B-2s on lunches for little old ladies, someone goes to jail.
If the Deparment of Education spends money allocated for pre-school breakfasts on a new office building gym, someone goes to jail.
If California wants to spend money allocated to the health of legal citizens on NGO kickback scams, someone should go to jail.
The “Necessary & Proper” and Interstate Commerce clauses means the Federal government has the right to use investigatory powers to make sure federal monies are properly spent.
So, a new spin (couldn’t resist) on a gyroscope.
@paul
You could also check on window film.
Solar radiation at Earth surface is about 5-10% UV (by energy %), with the rest approximately evenly divided between visible and IR. A window film that blocks UV and IR reduces heat gain by about half; blocking part of the visible further reduces heat gain.
Much of the technology for solar control window film was developed by MIT and 3M in the 1970’s, so it’s a mature technology largely out of patent and pretty affordable.
@lynn:
While not realising what will eventually happen when a coalition (probably) of opposing states (which is almost certain to include Israel) gets totally p_ssed off, and throws a few nukes. Needn’t be large ones – Hiroshima-sized probably – at targets inside Iran. Although it might be more effective, I doubt that Mecca would be such a target – the potential for alienating a lot of the world would be too high. And Israel., at least, is sensitive to such influences, I believe.
What I think I’m seeing is refusal to admit how much damage they’ve suffered – Monty Python’s Crusader, “Tis but a scratch”, style, with a generous dollop of Orwellian Double-think thrown in. This is probably fanatical Islam inspired.
G.
I have used it and it works but the problem with film is that it is on the inside of a window and can overheat and wreck double paned windows. The instructions usually state not to use it on DP windows.
There are heat reflective screen materials that you can put outside a window, so the glass is safe.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMKTSVWX?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1&tag=ttgnet-20
I have used it and it works. But 90% blocking makes your house a tomb, 65% is much better.
So yeah. 102f outside and the a/c isn’t running all that much.
It is 102 F here also. The dew point is 69 F though (43% humidity), low for us. Both of the office 4 ton A/C units are running around 50% (SWAG).
ERCOT just set a new all time record and new summer record, 86,117 MW for the 4 pm hour. The previous record was 85,508 MW set on Aug 10, 2023.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
https://www.ercot.com/static-assets/data/news/content/a-peak-demand/all-time-records.htm
As is typical above 100 F, the wind turbines are dropping to 3,000 MW, almost nothing for their installed capacity of 40,586 MW.
The solar is producing 31,892 MW right now, out of its 39,926 MW installed capacity.
5pm average was 87,015 MW. Momma got home and turned on the A/C and the kitchen oven.
Plugged in the EV.
“WATCH: Rep. Brandon Gill Completely Humiliates Smithsonian Director with This Brilliant Line of Questioning While Catching Her Pushing Insane Anti-White Agenda”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/watch-rep-brandon-gill-completely-humiliates-smithsonian-director/
What are we going to do about insane white women? We need to nullify them somehow.
Plugged in the EV.
And plugged in the EV. Fixed that for ya.
“What are we going to do about insane white women? We need to nullify them somehow.”
Thorazine.
In my neighborhood, the AC has been running all day and actually cooking in the oven is an abstract concept for many residents.
Look to the wisdom of our ancestors:
Gov. Sherrill Reveals New Jersey Registered at Least 6,600 Non-citizens to Vote and at Least 400 Illegally Voted
https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/21/gov-sherrill-reveals-new-jersey-registered-at-least-6600-non-citizens-to-vote-and-at-least-400-illegally-voted/
So the previous Democrat covered it up. What forced Sherill to go public now? Imminent disclosure?
More questions:
First, when and in what elections did those 400 vote?
Second, when was the problem fixed? Did illegals vote after the problem was discovered?
Third, how did the problem come about? Who was responsible for the software error? What is the likelihood that it was sabotage of the voting system? Was it a carefully calibrated “error” designed to slip a few thousand illegals onto the voter roles?
So yeah. 102f outside and the a/c isn’t running all that much.
It is 102 F here also. The dew point is 69 F though (43% humidity), low for us. Both of the office 4 ton A/C units are running around 50% (SWAG).
ERCOT just set a new all time record and new summer record, 86,117 MW for the 4 pm hour. The previous record was 85,508 MW set on Aug 10, 2023.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
https://www.ercot.com/static-assets/data/news/content/a-peak-demand/all-time-records.htm
As is typical above 100 F, the wind turbines are dropping to 3,000 MW, almost nothing for their installed capacity of 40,586 MW.
The solar is producing 31,892 MW right now, out of its 39,926 MW installed capacity.
5pm average was 87,015 MW. Momma got home and turned on the A/C and the kitchen oven.
6pm average was 87,403 MW. Momma plugged in the EV.
I’ve read about window tinting. Just seems a curtain is much simpler. For either cold or hot weather.
No one said they were illegals, just non-citizens.
I worry more about Colonists on various work visas voting than I do illegals from points south.
I see way too many Colonists in line at our polling location. Granted, if they live in my neighborhood, they’ve been here a long time, but I’m still suspicious given their tendencies to game the system for personal benefit.
“No one said they were illegals, just non-citizens.”
NJ has been handing out drivers licenses to illegals for years, so absent any proof to the contrary, I would expect both documented and undocumented.
But the real point is that either way, the minute they vote in a Federal election they are felons on the hoof and illegal. Being able to register to vote because of an error does not negate their duty to know that they are not eligible–it’s still breaking and entering if force isn’t used. If there are 400 that did so that is 400 that should be prosecuted and deported immediately as an object lesson to any others.
My renter texted me that their A/C isn’t blowing. Troubleshooting indicates it’s probably the blower motor or its starting cap. So now I have a new job in the morning, and possibly into the afternoon and evening. I’m not changing the blower motor. Did that once. Once is enough.
———-
Temp is 87F so I had my tiny little fire, without any visiting wildlife. No domesticated life either for that matter. Quiet night.
And now I’m for a shower and bed.
n
Ohh. Your bad karma for laughing at the European heatwave is really a dose.
Up early and busy. Just watered Oma’s garden. Now to assemble a bedframe. But first, breakfast. Fresh, chilled Zwetschgen with plain yoghurt. Refreshing and delicious. Keeps one regular too! I had traditional German food for dinner, so that might not be an issue…