I’m really hoping the storm in the Gulf of America drops our temps a bit. Tuesday was a bit less humid, and the difference was dramatic. Less humidity and less heat would both be welcome as I work in the rent house’s attic.
I spent Tuesday putting away A/C units and doing some other cleanup. And I repackaged 20 pounds of freeze dried candy (like puffy exploded skittles) into smaller bags. Turns out D2 and her friends love the stuff, so I’m giving as much as she wants to them. I picked it up cheap to put with my other freezedried food, but 20 pounds is a LOT.
Today I’ve got pickups to do, and maybe some grocery shopping, but that will have to wait until I’ve checked out the issue at the rent house. Gotta love getting a text at 10:30pm that their air isn’t working. Tenant is pretty chill, and I’ll take one of my roll around units with me, but it needs to be promptly addressed. The list never gets shorter.
But that’s life. Who must do the difficult things? He who can. Today that means me.
Stack. Especially knowledge, as it can preserve all your other stacks, most importantly, money.
nick
Dang it, was working and lost track of time and lost my chance to beat the furrin fraud to be the to first comment today. However, the furrin fraud put his comment on the wrong day, so I still win.
Yes, another all-nighter. Spent a good chunk of yesterday on mowing and other stuff at the family house, which bothers me only because of the couple hours round trip drive. Then had to take care of problems real and imagined around this house, made more difficult because of the weather. By the time everything was taken care of and I’d eaten and was was ready to work, it was mid-evening. And I need the cash so here I am.
Needing to figure out how to negotiate work-life balance is a common problem. I’m having to figure out work-work balance. Kind of sucks.
Ah, well, could be worse. I could be an obese, blue-haired freak of indeterminate gender and no marketable skills.
How do we know you’re not…?
OK. That is a bit more plausible. Either you were up all night and can no longer type straight, or you had a wee stroke.
Hang in there!
About ten years ago a number of us sent our pictures in and they were published on this site. Everyone could see that I was a startlingly handsome man and that The Child was a very cute, well, child. That was before LLMs were generating realistic images so you know the picture was real.s
@SteveF
Remember as a child when you couldn’t wait to grow up so nobody could boss you around?
Funny, I have no recollection of that. Of course, I had other stuff on my mind at the time; about ten years ago, my mother was dying. She would be celebrating her 100th birthday this year had she lived to see it.
About 77F-79F at sunrise – the man with one thermometer knows the temperature exactly, the man with three is never quite sure.
It is projected by the NWS to be 103, 105, 106, 104, and104 this week, and I believe them.
But it’s a dry heat, Sarge.
No one’s bossing me around, exactly. The obligations are self-imposed. Well, except for having to pay for property taxes, vehicle insurance, and various other mandates.
I’m now the owner of the family home and the only one around to take care of it. My mom hasn’t officially moved out yet but she and my sister took a truckload to my sister’s house, five states away (noting that these are Eastern states; the distance could almost fit in Texas, northwest corner to southern tip), and the house is temporarily vacant. I needed to mow and take care of a few things because no one is in the house (eg, the air conditioner was left on). I plan to move to that house at some point. The timing of that is a moral dilemma, which is causing me most of my grief. I need to “create a DSA voter” or get off the pot but I’m still wrestling with it.
As for the house I’m in now, it was just normal stuff plus chickens, plus weather. The imagined crisis was my wife thinking that the heater unit in the freezer had burned out again. (Thanks again for the marvelous design, GE, you scumbags.) Turns out the problem was something else, almost certainly the freezer door having been left not quite closed overnight. No harm done except half an hour of my time wasted.
was was ready to work, it was mid-evening. And I need the cash so here I am.
Needing to figure out how to negotiate work-life balance is a common problem. I’m having to figure out work-work balance. Kind of sucks.
– about thirty years ago I was sitting on the floor in a CVS with folders scattered around me, on my cell phone with a client, taking the call I absolutely had to do to keep working on a project. I had the epiphany that the ability to work anywhere means we’ll have to work EVERYWHERE. I didn’t add ‘and all the time’ because I’m not that good. A few years later I was in line for a ride at WDW and took a work call. My father in law couldn’t understand why I’d take a work call on vacation, and in line in an amusement park. I had to explain that if I didn’t take the call, I didn’t get the work, and I didn’t get paid. I’ve been in the ‘gig economy’ for a long time. It has advantages. It has disadvantages.
————
Sunny and 82F already. Tenant texted that the blower came on at 2am by itself… I’m still going to check it out.
————
Time for some coffee and breakfast.
n
I could not find my gear puller set yesterday, so the swamp cooler bearings still need changing. I am trying to remember if I’ve used them since 2017 when I moved here, I thought I had but maybe not, possibly they were packed away other stuff.
I specifically asked the movers – my friend’s teenage boys – not to pack away any tools, but this instruction worked about as well as any instruction does with teenage boys. There are entire boxes of tools I haven’t seen in almost a decade. Somewhere in that packed 40′ container out back, no doubt, along with my library & family heirlooms.
So I will head over to,Harbor Freight in a bit.
—-
The purchase of the full-size truck fell through. The owner had various excuses for backing out, the rims were not adequate for truck campers, the tires were old, it was slightly raised and not therefore suitable for a camper (I would have upgraded the suspension anyway).
These were all easily addressed issues, what it comes down to is: he couldn’t bear to part with his baby.
Well, who am I to take any joy away from a dying man (heart transplant rejection)?
My usual phrasing is “Self-employment is not for the faint of heart.”
Especially when expenses go up faster than the nominal inflation rate while pay rates go up slower than the nominal inflation rate.
About ten years ago a number of us sent our pictures in and they were published on this site. Everyone could see that I was a startlingly handsome man and that The Child was a very cute, well, child. That was before LLMs were generating realistic images so you know the picture was real.s
Some missing and departed friends . . . 🙁
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15996583/ChatGPT-maker-OpenAI-says-AI-model-went-rogue.html
– I for one welcome our new AI masters…
n
Wow, I would have thought more than ten years but it’s almost exactly that. interesting to read thru the comments.
I still have the footlocker things I was talking about but don’t use them for storage as they don’t match anything else. And I’ve still got cans blowing up because it’s too hot.
n
That seems to be the usual case. I think the Swiss government is…less dishonest than most. But inflation here is clearly, obviously higher than the published figures. Meanwhile many people’s annual pay raises are at most the official inflation figure.
Inflation is what makes me nervous about being retired, because Swiss social security is tied to the inflation rate and my pension is flat (i.e., no increases). What will 20 or 30 years of inflation do to their value? We do have savings, which we hope will cover the future deficits, but it’s impossible to calculate.
Why, exactly, would they announce such a thing? It seems to me that this will generate far more negative publicity than positive, but…they must have a reason. I just cannot imagine what it would be…
My modest pension is in the form of an annuity, and will never change, so inflation is an issue with that. My Social Security gets COLA but only at the .gov fiction for the inflation rate, so it lags over time.
Fortunately, my current expenses just about match my income, and I haven’t had to touch my IRA/401k/etc. yet.
I do give money gifts to my children, and I will run out of savings in the bank in the next year or so. At that point I will start taking regular draws from the Fidelity account.
The crossover line I’m checking for is where pension+SS+investment income vs. expenses goes net negative. I’m a ways away there, but a bear market or a bad health year could change a lot.
At this point, there’s not really a lot more I can do. And my financial advisor points out that the whole point of retiring is to stop saving money, and start spending it. It’s why I saved it in the first place.
How many times can I use “point” in a single post?
“Drop your c*cks and grab your socks.”
This year is the 30th anniversary of MrsAtoz forming her company. Throw in 20 years of military service, and we’ve been working full-time for 50+ years. Plus 5-10 years before entering the military. Throw that in the faces of PhD, PLT, baristas and watch their heads explode. They don’t get you have to work hard to make money.
Reading the Rogue’s Gallery comments:
10y ago: Trannys in the military.
Today: No more dudes in dresses.
Thanks for nothing PLTs.
Thune is looking like someone who has had a very adequate blackmail file discussed with him.
@MrAtoZ
“They don’t get you have to work hard to make money.”
They also don’t get that after 50 years we feel very protective of the fruits of all those sacrifices and those that try to vote themselves in are volunteers for population control.
The alternative was Rick Scott RINO-FL, who would have been far worse.
Scott has a lot more skeletons in his closet.
My father also would have been 100 this year, in a couple of weeks. Oh my. It’s been 10 years since he passed. Which also means 10 years since my best friend passed. That was a rough summer.
“Scott has a lot more skeletons in his closet.“
Just takes one of good size.
Ford agreed to pay for $9,000 of the $17,000 new motor for my 2019 F-150 4×4. The initial long block order was 3 months, Legacy Ford got them to ship it this Friday. I am guessing they pulled a motor off a line.
I am happy.
Ah, well, could be worse. I could be an obese, blue-haired freak of indeterminate gender and no marketable skills.
I saw a video of one of those recently having a total meltdown when the cops arrested it for something. It was sad. I think it was a guy pretending to be woman.
https://thelibertydaily.com/bodycam-footage-shows-blue-haired-tranny-losing-his/
Ford agreed to pay for $9,000 of the $17,000 new motor for my 2019 F-150 4×4. The initial long block order was 3 months, Legacy Ford got them to ship it this Friday. I am guessing they pulled a motor off a line.
I am happy.
I would hate to be a service manager at any of the vehicle dealers right now. With the amount of failures, they are way too busy doing warranty work.
BTW, Ford raised the price on that 3.5L V6 long block by $300 last week to $8,999. Inflation is rampant everywhere right now.
We had to replace the engine in MrsAtoz’s previous Escalade Battlewagon (now sold). Including labor, it was $10,000. It was under the business, so we got to write it off over time.
SteveF, here is a horse fly weapon for you:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2022952585006879
“MANPAD Alert”
https://areaocho.com/manpad-alert/
I’ll bet the Delta 2604 pilot needed new underwear after that little exchange.
“Sometimes in the Fall” by John Van Stry
https://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Fall-John-Van-Stry/dp/1668072475?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number two of a two book science fiction space opera series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Baen in 2025 that I purchased from Amazon in 2026.
In the far distant future, Earth is a nasty crowded place with twenty billion inhabitants. The people are split up into three classes: the doles (the poor on welfare), the proles (today’s middle class), and the elites. Billions more of humanity have spread widely across the Solar System to just about any place that people can figure out how to live.
Dave Walker, the son of a prole father and a elite mother, is a third class spaceship engineer and is headquartered on the dwarf planet Ceres with his wife’s family. In fact, he even took his wife’s last name, Doyle, to keep the family name for their new business. They are acquiring cargo spaceships and looking for opportunities for new trade routes. But, war is coming as the Dictator on Venus is looking to spread his craziness to the Solar System.
I love Space Opera and this an excellent series of it. In fact, the series has a very Heinlein or E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith feel to it. The author has plans for a third book in the series which sounds great.
I like the technology in the book, it feels very potential hard science to me. The spaceships use superconducting magnetic propulsion panels to propel thousands of spaceships all over the Solar System. The panels do have a constant problem with overheating and frying themselves. There is a recent article on research in this area: “‘Acceleration without fuel:’ Revolutionary superconducting device harnesses Earth’s magnetic field to move a spacecraft”
https://www.space.com/technology/acceleration-without-fuel-revolutionary-superconducting-thruster-harnesses-earths-magnetic-field-in-1st-orbital-test
The main spaceship in the story is an old “medium” sized cargo spaceship that holds up to 4,000 TEUs. A TEU is 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet tall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-foot_equivalent_unit
The superconducting magnetic propulsion panels are powered by two 300 MWe fission reactors for this spaceship. The newer spaceships have mostly fusion reactors in them.
The author has a website at:
https://jvanstry.blogspot.com/
and
http://johnvanstry.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (337 reviews)
Lynn
United used to have ATC on the in flight audio system. I used to listen. Then I stopped. Too many bad things going on that I had no control over, better to not hear the traffic.
“Arab pilot XX, cleared for runway 33 L” “Ok tower, landing runway 33 right”. “ArabXX, 33 LEFT! LEFT!” “33 right, affirmative” “Delta XX perform a missed approach” “Roger tower.”
Yeah, that was enough for me. None english speakers, misunderstood or ignored commands, once landing at IAH there was someone on our runway…
Better to sleep.
n
My “Sync” entertainment center on the Expy has flaked out. The radio shut off and nothing will turn it back on. GPS isn’t connecting either.
The issue is common, but the recommended cure, a soft reset of the sync system, didn’t work for me. A master reset of the vehicle didn’t work. I think I’ll disconnect the battery and reboot the whole thing next, but I’ve got teens to take home in an hour so I’ll wait.
———-
Rent house A/C was working normally but airflow was meager. Filter looked ok. Coil was filthy and is covered in corrosion and rust. I think the dirty coil is blocking the airflow, and it iced over blocking everything. HVAC guy concurs. Meeting him tomorrow to look at cleaning, check pressure, and probably get a quote for a new system. I left a roll around unit for the tenant if she wants to use it.
The HVAC is probably 26 years old… and has had a series of repairs and fixes over the years. It might be time to R & R. It’s always something.
n
This year is the 30th anniversary of MrsAtoz forming her company. Throw in 20 years of military service, and we’ve been working full-time for 50+ years. Plus 5-10 years before entering the military. Throw that in the faces of PhD, PLT, baristas and watch their heads explode. They don’t get you have to work hard to make money.
Congrats! I can relate.
My father started his software business in 1968 in Oklahoma. It went bust the first time in 1969 and we moved in with mom’s parents in Texas for a year. I started working for Dad when I was 14 on June 1, 1975. 51 years ago. I feel it nowadays.
The software business went bust again in 1986 and in 1995. We managed to rescue it each time. Another bust is coming and there are no saved resources and a dozen hungry competitors. Personally, I have managed to save quite a bit but I will not throw that at the software business. The wife would put a pillow over my face some night. I have been warned…
BTW, the software business has made over $70 million over the years. It has been very good to us and many other investors and employees.
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
6pm average was 87,403 MW.
It is 103 F here. We got spoiled for the last couple of summers with zero 100 F days.
ERCOT set another new record of 90,378 MW at 4pm.
Yep, we threw money at the biz once and never did it again. We got small business loans and promptly paid them back.
We haven’t brought in as much as Mr. Lynn, but pre-Katrina, we would bring in 7 figures from HISD alone. Thanks, losers! Your kids are still as dumb as ever.
$1.7 billion in Medicare fraud at Columbia/HCA while Scott was CEO is just one skeleton.
Recently I used the line “Mother would smother me in my sleep if she found out that we’d gone to Las Vegas to get married.” in a story. This line caused butthurt because of implied violence and unsafe!
I’m researching magic spells to cause butthurt little snowflakes to be smothered in their sleep. No progress so far but I’m not a quitter.
Get a DOE grant to write a Fortran 66 front end for LLVM.
I regret not taking Compilers in WA State where the class targeted LLVM with the semester project.
The class was Senior level, and I need a Grad level CS course to remain in the Masters program.
“Flats are for quitters.”
Not the best “30 Rock” line, but definitely in the top ten.
Junkyard. With all of the aluminum, the insurance companies total a lot more than they did in the old days.
The law doesn’t require them to give the owner a new engine under warranty … or a new battery in a Lightning.
The marriage or the smothering?
@SteveF
“I’m researching magic spells to cause butthurt little snowflakes to be smothered in their sleep”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_demon
Ask in nicely to sort the O2 into another room…
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
6pm average was 87,403 MW.
It is 103 F here. We got spoiled for the last couple of summers with zero 100 F days.
ERCOT set another new record of 90,378 MW at 4pm.
ERCOT set another new record of 91,090 MW at 6pm.
We hit 104 F today, it is still 101 F.
“BREAKING: US military launches more strikes; IRGC DEFIES Trump over Strait of Hormuz”
https://therightscoop.com/breaking-us-military-launches-more-strikes-irgc-defies-trump-over-strait-of-hormuz/
“At 5:30 p.m. ET today, U.S. forces began launching more strikes against Iranian military targets at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The mission will continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.”
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Smoking Gun Slack Messages: COVID Researchers Knew Lab Leak Was Plausible but Misled America Anyway
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/07/22/smoking-gun-slack-messages-fauci-team-knew-lab-leak-was-plausible-but-misled-america-anyway-n2204639
Simple law: Any public employee or researcher receiving public funds who misleads the public will upon conviction be deemed ineligible for public employment or involvement in any activity supported by public fund. If the violation is deemed egregious–resulting in preventable deaths or severe damage to the reputations and livelihoods of others–their actions will not be shielded and personal liability will attach. In the worst cases those violations will be deemed crimes against humanity punishable by death.
What constitutes “mislead the public”? At one extent we have the present case of Fauci, Daszak, and the other who set up the commie research lab and then covered it up, both before and after the fact.
On another extent we have every lying, useless, pinhead who encouraged the farce of cloth masks.
Junkyard. With all of the aluminum, the insurance companies total a lot more than they did in the old days.
The law doesn’t require them to give the owner a new engine under warranty … or a new battery in a Lightning.
They are giving me a a three year unlimited mileage warranty on the new engine and labor at any Ford dealer.
So what you’re saying is, you’re selling the truck in 2.5 years?
So what you’re saying is, you’re selling the truck in 2.5 years?
Maybe. Lets see how year 1 goes first.
I am going to jury duty tomorrow. The last time I did jury duty, it was a 14th amendment case, slavery. The judge should have given a summary judgement.
A music store owner was suing an employee that she laid off. The former employee contacted his guitar lesson customers and offered to continue their guitar lessons. Most of the customers, if not all, went with the former employee. The music store owner sued the former employee to give back the customers. That is slavery to me.
And the music store owner was abusive during the trial even though the judge kept lecturing her. So when we finally got into the jury room at 7pm, I raised my hand and said, “does anyone else hate the plaintiff?”. Every one raised their arms.
BTW, if you want to read about the Ford Cam Phaser issues, here is a good place:
https://www.zeiglerfordesp.com/tools/articles?article=Liter_Engine_Cam_Phaser_Failure
“DEVELOPING: Yemen Houthis Attack Saudi Tankers in Red Sea as Iran Continues Targeting Ships in the Strait of Hormuz”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/developing-yemen-houthis-hit-two-saudi-tankers-red/
“As The Gateway Pundit reported on Monday, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also imposed a naval blockade on the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden near Saudi Arabia’s western coastline. By stopping Saudi oil exports to Asia, the blockade could reduce global oil supply by 7%, Reuters notes.”
I foresee Saudi war planes bombing the Houthis in Yemen very shortly.
This is turning into a hot and spicy summer.
They replace the engine by removing the cab, lifting it, from the truck. That is easier than disassembling the front of the truck.
I hope I never need this info, but it’s good to have.
I installed power lines and coax cable on my truck when I installed my ham radio. If I ever need my engine replaced, that could become an issue.
Not difficult to deal with, but a problem nonetheless.
But I also suspect that process could introduce some interesting new cabin noises, squeaks, and rattles.
Wow, ERCOT is pulling 11,998 MW off the batteries right now to replace some of the 30,000 MW of solar power that just went away at the end of the day.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
The cost of the power right now is $163 per MWH. Earlier today, the batteries bought solar power at $27 per MWH. That is a heck of a return.
That is a heck of a return.
– but has it earned back its cost yet?
n
“Drone War Enters Terrifying New Phase as Russia Deploys 300mph Jet-Powered Shahed”
https://thelibertydaily.com/drone-war-enters-terrifying-new-phase-as-russia/
“A video has emerged documenting the moment when a Russian Geran-4 jet-powered OWA-UAV impacted a locomotive of a passenger train in the Ukrainian settlement of Solone, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on Sunday.”
Looks like a Terminator.
That is a heck of a return.
– but has it earned back its cost yet?
No clue since the batteries are mostly private entities. My old employer, Vistra, has several battery power plants. One of them in California burned down in 2025.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/vistra-fires-lithium-ion-batteries-dry-electrode-det/748903/
But I also suspect that process could introduce some interesting new cabin noises, squeaks, and rattles.
Yeah, I am concerned about that. Apparently it is only four bolts.
Otherwise you might have to cut some of the aluminum panels that are glued together.
The service advisor told me it is 25 hours labor to replace the engine plus a bunch of miscellaneous parts. Like a new plastic oil pan.
That is a heck of a return.
– but has it earned back its cost yet?
n
BTW, the cost that I saw was $300 per kwh. Not cheap and generally sized for one or two hours of making power which determines the size of the transformers and wiring / bus work.
The cost to build a simple cycle gas turbine plant is $1,200 per kw.
Note that one has time added to the cost.
The water pump replacement on my wife’s Exploder has a procedure printout which runs 80 pages. The shop which caught the leak recommended taking the vehicle to the dealer and gave me the stack of paper to emphasize the point.
At least they were honest.
Check this one out.
https://theaviationist.com/2026/07/20/anduril-reveals-thunder-autonomous-tiltrotor-concept/
The water pump replacement on my wife’s Exploder has a procedure printout which runs 80 pages.
– water pump is one of those things you do proactively if you have access to the front of the engine for some other reason. They used to be easy to get to, and they failed more often. At least they seem to be more durable now.
n
They’re baby ducks, but at least they are finally realizing they need to know more. Note that he’s a music PRODUCER and he’d never heard Boston, or Supertramp…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD5Rv7YWccg
Gen-Z Music Producer Listens to SUPERTRAMP for the First Time | Breakfast In America
There are a bunch of these kids on youtube and their lack of awareness is stunning, but at least they’re working on it.
n