Hot and humid, because still Summer in Houston. We could do with a bit of rain, especially at the BOL. But it will probably be the same today as yesterday, 100+F, and high humidity.
Started yesterday at the BOL but didn’t do much besides pack up and leave. On the way home I went by the rent house and dropped off cedar boards for the fence repairs. Went by my secondary location and dropped off some construction debris and trash in the dumpster, then hit Costco for gas, and Lowes to check the ‘cull’ pile for more cedar boards. They had them, as well as fence pickets and a lot of nice 1x lumber. Dunno why they’ve had such good stuff in the cull pile, but for 50% off, I’ll take it.
Hit the chiropractor after that, and went home. Napped almost immediately. Some leftover beef roast for dinner, and I’m a new man.
So today I need to focus on getting ready for my event this weekend. I’ve got a lot of stuff to dig out and pull to the front of the shop for ease of loading on Thursday.
And all the normal things need to happen too. My client wants me to come by and diagnose some ongoing issues. I’m thinking aging gear, but I could be wrong. It’ll have to wait until next week though.
Always be working, and stacking, but also, don’t forget about living.
nick
“U.S. diesel crack surpasses $100/bbl for the first time on supply disruptions”
https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2026/08/us-diesel-crack-surpasses-100bbl-for-the-first-time-on-supply-disruptions/?oly_enc_id=8020E7639790J0C
“”The U.S. is producing more diesel, not less, and yet the crack is still above $100. That tells you this is not a refinery incentive problem anymore – it is a refinery capacity and global replacement-barrel problem,” Zukhritdinov said.”
Uh oh. This is gonna suck. The U.S. diesel crack is normally under $40/bbl but as worldwide usage of diesel continues to increase and idiots in California / Hawaii shut down refineries with obscene taxes and Ukrainians continue to bomb Russian refineries, the price of diesel will continue to increase. We are probably going to see a $1/US gal to $4/US gal price increase of diesel in the USA by Christmas. Ho Ho Ho !
Diesel, heating oil, and jet fuel are very close in their composition. Transportation loves diesel because it is a high energy compact fuel. Batteries are not compact at all and are heavy. LNG requires about 40% more volume for the same energy, not as compact.
Eventually we will move most of world’s transportation to LNG. But this is a slow process taking decades. We cannot make this kind of move in just a few months.
BTW, all of the USA refineries have switched their distillation towers over to make as much diesel as possible. As a result, Exxon, Chevron, and Shell are incredibly profitable right now due to the shortages of diesel.
There will be a shortage of heating oil soon unless the people using oil burners in their homes are willing to pay $5 to $7/US gal of heating oil. Plane trips are going to cost a lot more very soon, we may see a major airline or two go broke again as they park their planes due to lack of customers.
This was not caused by the War in Iran. This was caused by the idiots in California / Hawaii and the Ukrainians getting long range jet powered drones to hit Russian refineries. The War in Iran only made things worse outside the USA.
Hot and humid, because still Summer in Houston. We could do with a bit of rain, especially at the BOL. But it will probably be the same today as yesterday, 100+F, and high humidity.
I turned my lawn sprinkler system back on last night. I water about ¾ of an acre with it for $30 of water a whack. I run it three nights a week. Expensive but I have beautiful grass then.
Bang Bang is both my name for the girl as well as her profession.
The brains of the guys with that Asian girl kink go right out the window. The only other fetish that comes close is smoking.
I believe there is a very fine line between a fascination with Asian girls and little kids.
Very fine.
The flame broiled taste is courtesy of a chemical vat in New Jersey. Management can always switch back to the old formula if sales fall off, but Burger King is on the rebound.
I bought QSR stock because I thought that Tim Hortons would score in Austin. That hasn’t happened, but I’ll take a turnaround at Burger King.
First-generation Thai and Filipino would know how to set you up too, especially if they arrived in this country already wealthy.
I don’t believe that human trafficking is on the Taiwanese relations’ list of rackets, but you never know.
Generally, however, Taiwan is rule of law. Just don’t ask too many questions about the nukes.
In Houston it’s arabs getting busted for flat out slavery. That’s outside the trade in illegal border crossers.
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Up and moving to get the kids out of the house. Still metabolizing meds so might get back in bed for an hour or two.
n
Money for nothing and your chicks for free.
Kill, convert, or extract tribute.
The Islamics also seem to have some kind of code I call “The Big Man (or Woman)”.
Maybe it is a third world thing.
Or IBM. I saw that kind of stupid among their employees my age or older.
That’s going to sting for everyone, as industry passes the increase along to the consumers.
Not to mention the van-lifers, shivering down by the river.
Speaking of the EcoFlow WAVE 2, JerryRigEverything did a quick tear-down of a unit several years ago. EcoFlow did an amazing job on the engineering. Competitors are hitting Amazon these days that look even smaller, but I love my WAVE 2.
A day eaten by locusts. Haircut. A neighbor with a computer problem. A visit by an electrician, who was only able to do half the job, and will be coming by again. Etc.
At the end of it all, I don’t feel like anything useful got done…
Moving again. Starting to feel normal. Back feels ok. Time to get to it.
n
At the end of it all, I don’t feel like anything useful got done…
– so many days.
n
101F at noon.
Have a dentist visit with a specialist consultant … that usually gets expensive.
And my web server got rebooted last night for a security patch. So glad that I do not not manage the monster.
That’s going to sting for everyone, as industry passes the increase along to the consumers.
Not to mention the van-lifers, shivering down by the river.
Grocery stores will be affected the most as usual as trucks, ships, and airplane fuel goes out of sight. Lots of produce gets moved by planes now.
And the backup fuel for the power plants is mostly diesel now, it used to be fuel oil #6 (one step above asphalt). A 50 MW emergency gas turbine can go through thousands of gallons an hour. We kept two million gallon tanks of diesel FULL for our gas turbines. When you need it, you need it real bad (ie Feb 2021 Winter Storm Uri).
That’s going to sting for everyone, as industry passes the increase along to the consumers.
Not to mention the van-lifers, shivering down by the river.
The “Ready Player One” book talks about many older people moving to RVs because houses are so expensive with property taxes. The RVers just keep on moving with the seasons to minimize heating and cooling fuel expenses.
https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448?tag=ttgnet-20
“A Story in Pictures”
https://areaocho.com/a-story-in-pictures/
Yeah, that is not going to happen. In fact, I classify the gub grabber as evil and will seek to remove them from this existence by any means necessary if they activate their gub grabbing on me.
“Bernie Sanders pushes to end Social Security garnishments for student debt: What to know”
https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/student-loans/article/bernie-sanders-pushes-to-end-social-security-garnishments-for-student-debt-what-to-know-190716255.html
“The Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office reports that 3.2 million student loan borrowers are 62 or older and hold nearly $144 billion in outstanding student loan debt.”
“In the second quarter of 2026, roughly 7.8% of student loan borrowers were delinquent, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. According to Sanders’ announcement, over 9 million Americans are now in default on their student loans, with nearly 1 in 4 potentially at risk of having their wages seized by the government.”
Why did they not pay off their student debt while they were working?
“Barron Trump, 20, Now Worth $150 Million — More Than Mom, Melania — From Crypto And $39 Energy Drink”
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/barron-trump-20-now-worth-140104444.html
“Barron Trump, the 20-year-old son of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, was estimated to be worth about $150 million in a Forbes analysis published in October 2025. The estimate put him ahead of his mother, whose fortune Forbes valued at roughly $20 million at the time.”
“Forbes estimated that the project had added more than $1.5 billion to the family’s wealth and, based on an assumed 10% share for Barron, estimated his stake at about $150 million.”
Are you kidding me?
Man, somebody is really banging on my web server. The main page is getting over a 1,000 hits a day. It used to be 200 hits a day just a few months ago. Something is going on.
Iran?
“Nomadland”, both the book and the movie, explore the “Work Camper” lifestyle.
They paint a pretty bleak picture of what’s in store for most of America in retirement.
“What to know about Amazon’s nearly 3,000-acre data center planned outside of Houston”
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/amazon-aws-data-center-houston-wharton-boling-22391947.php
“Where is Amazon’s data center near Houston? And how big is the data center?
The nearly 3,000-acre campus is planned along FM 442 near Boling, a small town in Wharton County, located on the southwestern edge of the Greater Houston region.”
Whoof. That is down by my great-grandparents old 4,000+ acre ranch. There is not much down there.
ParentPlus loans for Snowflake to fulfill their dream.
I worked with a girl who attended The Most Expensive Engineering School In The United States on ParentPlus loans, and she was a big Bernie/Mayor Pete supporter in early 2020.
“It isn’t fair to ask my father to pay over $200k in loans for my education.”
No, Snowflake, it isn’t.
Iran?
Nah, all of the new AIs being educated is my guess.
ParentPlus loans for Snowflake to fulfill their dream.
I worked with a girl who attended The Most Expensive Engineering School In The United States on ParentPlus loans, and she was a big Bernie/Mayor Pete supporter in early 2020.
“It isn’t fair to ask my father to pay over $200k in loans for my education.”
No, Snowflake, it isn’t.
Wait, was this just an undergraduate loan? That is crazy.
What is The Most Expensive Engineering School In The USA?
Found a gunsmith near me. He seems competent. He’s also quite busy.
I gave him my first revolver, a 1970’s H&R 676, to repair. I disassembled it in the 1980’s and couldn’t get it back together. It’s a .22LR and .22 WMR convertible, with 2 cylinders. I got it back and he told me he used his entire vocabulary fighting with it. He’s a sailor, so that’s saying something.
Today I stopped at Academy and bought some magnum rounds. First time to fire this one in decades coming up soon.
I have a backlog of gubs requiring minor repairs and maintenance. I’ll probably make his shop a regular stop.
Yes, undergrad.
My daughter was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design, and the tuition bill would have been around that number for four years.
Rose-Hulman. Or, at least it was.
Snowflake was slumming at the tolling company doing QA after becoming bored with ChemE work.
“Blood, Oil and Love (Combined Operations #2)” by Dorothy Grant
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Oil-Love-Combined-Operations/dp/B09GD38N86?tag=ttgnet-20
Book number two of a four book science fiction tactical romance series. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2021 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I have purchased the following two books in the series.
On a far off colony world far in the distant future, the Federation and the Imperium are fighting clandestine battles in and around many of their client states. The usual problem is resources and land snatching. The terraforming of the planet 600 years before was never completed and people are needing more and more resources such as hydrocarbons and food.
“Lizzes Olsen is a newly minted petrogeologist researching the untapped potential of places on her planet even terraforming overlooked. Unfortunately, the site she’s found is deep in enemy-occupied territory. The same enemy is funding the radical eco-terrorism that turned her university toxic, and training terrorists to kill the Empire’s geophysicists and geologists. Between bombings at home and being hunted abroad, Lizzes’ career, and her life, are in danger.”
The story is very fast paced and the characters are extremely likable. The history of the colony world and the various political entities is not explained very well but that was not necessary for the story to be good.
The author’s husband has a very active website where he promotes his books and her books at:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 stars out of 5 stars (423 reviews)
Lynn
I spent a day down the rabbit hole trying to find solutions to my automated TV show download scheme. I couldn’t find an app or series of apps that I could automate to replace iFlicks without some coding beyond my ability. There has been a call by nerds/geeks for the maker of iFlicks to release the source code so it can become an open-source project. It was last updated 4 years ago.
My latest idea is a one-click Apple Shortcut to remux an MKV to MP4 using MKV2MP4, then pass it to Subler for metadata, and finally to the Apple TV “automatically add” folder. Each piece works using them separately. Now I just need to create the Shortcut that passes the file between them.
I currently let iFlicks mux the file and stick it into Apple TV. Then I have to go in with Subler to add metadata. The new method is to just download the file and then manually execute the Shortcut, unless I can set up a folder watch. You have to be careful since a folder watch can fire as soon as a file is detected, so a partial file showing up can ruin the Shortcut.
More research. It keeps the mind fresh.
“California Energy Commission Bans Sale of Majority of Tires… Far-Left Commissioner Licks Her Lips As She Boasts About New Rules (VIDEO)”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/08/california-energy-commission-bans-sale-majority-tires-far/
“Meanwhile, in the Democrat hellhole of California…”
“The California Energy Commission on Monday voted to restrict what type of tires Californians can buy and when they can replace their tires.”
“The new rules will lead to a ban on the sale of the majority of tires in the state because they don’t meet the new efficiency standards.”
“The regulatory agency, full of unelected bureaucrats, claimed the new rules would lead to a price increase of only $6.50 per tire in the second phase; however, Bret Gladfelty of Goodyear said the increase would end up being several hundred dollars.”
“David Hochschild, the chairman of the California Energy Commission, absurdly claimed that the new tire rules are “ultimately about protecting consumers.””
So now a lot of people will drive to Arizona to buy gasoline and tires. What is next?
That lady??? is so proud of herself. In fact, that is no lady, that is a whack job.
Well, perplexity.ai says Shortcuts on Tahoe and later can watch a folder, execute when a file is added, and pass the file to another action. My idea might just work. AI also says a Shortcut can loop through multiple files.
Tonight’s cinematic delight was a number called Black Knight. 2001. PG 13. About and hour and a half. Martin Lawrence. He had a TV show didn’t he? Funny guy without the swearing like Eddie Murphy.
Onto the Thrift Store stack. I’ve watched it. Nice movie. I liked it.
The temp hit 105 again today. It was 104 at 3PM. The a/c runs, mostly on loafing speed, to keep the house at 80.
102F here in the lower SJV. 105F predicted tomorrow then dropping slightly stay around 99-100 for a few more days.
A month of summer to go yet then it will go on for another month. Then again the humidity is low.
Pool hovering at 90F.
I read something random on Substack yesterday that made sense.
How much do you want to weigh? Take that number and multiply it by 10 or 12. That’s your daily calories. It’s a bit less than what you need to stay at the same weight. But to drop weight, and get rid of the pot belly, well. Finally, a number.
Toss out the seed oils. All of them. And all of the junk food that the grocery store has an entire aisle of. Walk. Do a couple of push-ups and a few sit-ups once in a while.
Eat real food. You can have some candy if you want. You can eat a pizza on Saturday. No need for a “cheat day”. Eat what you want but watch the calories.
So… the box says a can of Miller High Life is 142 calories. So for me, to weigh 150 pounds I can have 12 beers a day. Or 12 cans of Coca-Cola. And a boiled egg and a chunk of cheddar cheese. Well, that doesn’t exactly work as a healthy diet. But it’s a number for me.
Coca-Cola or Miller High Life? Easy. I’m going for the buzz.
Years ago Karl at the Market Ticker said something like “if you stand up straight and can’t look down and see your junk, you are fat”.
And yeah. I was bouncing up to 175. Felt fat. So I cut out the sweetened iced tea. The Gatorade. The sodas. The half gallons of orange juice. Along with a bag of store brand Doritos for lunch. Lunch time was pretty random about happening so snacking was the way.
I cut it all out. Had a couple of jewish hotdogs cut into chunks and some chunks of cheese. Easy to eat with a tooth pick Because messing with money is well, when you have to wash your hands before you go pee…
Jewish hotdogs. I know. Racist!!! Nazi! No. Oscar Mayer and other brands have something that makes my stomach hurt. The Hebrew National and Nathan’s don’t bother me at all.
Anyway. I dropped 20 pounds in three months.
Now to work on my old man pot belly. 🙂 Yeah. Just five pounds. Yeah. I know no one cares but I’ll look better in the mirror.
IIRC, under the covers, Apple TV uses SSH/scp to transfer files from a Mac to the media device. You could have the Shortcut transfer the file across as soon as Subler returns.
And stay out!
They’re keeping the house in Montecito.
The plan continues on schedule.
A Windsor in the White House and on the Throne.
If that old Mick bootlegger Joe Kennedy could do it, why not the Kraut dynasty.
I lowered the price on mom’s house today from $675,000 to $575,000. Hopefully this will shake somebody interested loose.
https://www.har.com/homedetail/1700-s-virginia-st-port-lavaca-tx-77979/8997990?lid=11031671
We are getting 2 or 3 lookers each week. The people looking at the house are complaining that the pictures are too good and do not show the actual condition of the 1961 house.
I just got quotes for replaster, repiping, and redecking the pool, $59,000.
Or punching holes and filling the pool in with dirt, $15,000.
I am waiting on that as I am enthusiastic about neither. The first replaster guesstimate was $40,000.
The pool adds to the Mid-century Modern look.
The house reminds me of the house of the Firstenburg family, founders on one of the local banks in Vantucky. It is one of the first houses you see driving north on 205 from Portland into WA State, and, in the Winter, the swimming pool is always prominently visible … and steaming.
Maintenance would add up in that environment. “Brutal” doesn’t begin to adequately describe the Gulf air.
@paul, after you get good looking again, someone might notice… and I advise stomach crunches rather than sit ups. Sit ups are really hard on your back. I liked to alternate crunches with a yoga stretch, cobra pose, but pushing up with the arms to stretch the belly and abdomen… when I was doing that it definitely flattened my belly.
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WRT the gold digger, why does every single article about them feature the same photo? Young prince with his face in dad’s crotch, and the gold digger bent over touching noses with the young princess, while the sun silhouettes her body thru her skirt? EVERY single article for the last year at least. Weird.
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Spent some time going thru some stuff for my sale. Went to the shop and looked at the pile. Man, it’s buried at the back with no clear path to the door… It’s gonna be a sweaty day.
Still need to build my demo display and do a couple of placards for the lobby exhibit.
n
You know, that size, on that kind of acreage, on the California coast – it would probably start at 3 or 4 million, minimum.
If only I were
tentwenty five years younger.The same five pounds I tried to lose for the entire 8 ½ years at my last job. I was astonished that I was body-shamed for saying I was trying to lose weight. “You’re not fat, you could use a few pounds.” Uh, I’m trying to avoid the problems I have when my weight bumps up even a few pounds. At 160 I have discomfort after eating. At 180 I can’t swallow food. Nearly choked* finding that out. And my doctor at the time basically gave me the technicians’ retort: Can’t duplicate so can’t diagnose. I thought possibly a hernia but he wasn’t cooperative with checking. Eh, if I keep the weight down, it’s fine. So I try to do that.
I’m starting to work on the big summer project, replacing shingles on one slope of the roof. I have a significant leak since a windstorm blew a dozen or so shingles off, but it’s manageable, and all the damage it’s likely to do has already happened. I started stripping and replacing the first few rows today, and found out among other things that the roof is boards not sheeting, and there was no roof felt / tar paper under the shingles. Well, that’s not right! So, since the boards seem basically sound, I’m going with roof felt and new shingles, for a less expensive repair. I’d have gotten a contractor but a) the ones I called have not contacted me about an inspection and estimate, and b) the cost of me repairing it is less than my deductible.
In addition to that, my half ton insists on demanding attention. I replaced the oil pressure gauge sender and happened to breath wrong on the heater core connector, which provided me with a shower in really foul tasting coolant. Once I fixed that, I couldn’t get the truck to keep the coolant level up, and finally found a leak in the radiator, which gave me another shower. Kept my mouth closed this time. So that’s next for automotive. My commuter car is so far not broken, so OK.
*BTW, it’s true that people choking frequently try to hide instead of trying to ask for help. I left the camp’s cafeteria and went to the washroom for fear of making a mess. I think the walk (brisk, somewhat unsteady) loosened the obstruction, but still not the brightest thing I’ve done.
At the end of the day we are pack animals and pack animals hide their weaknesses.
Good thing you at least figured out the trigger.
——
Had my tiny little fire, no animals, no aviation, no gunfire. Only some not very distant motor revving.
Time for my third shower of the day and an early bed. Tomorrow will be a long day.
n