And it will be hot and humid again. Because it’s still Summer in Houston. There was a little relief from the heat today in the form of a slightly cooler breeze, if you were in shadow. Otherwise it was brain broiling hot in the sun. Expect more of the same.
Got some ice on the way in for the crew drinks, and the price of a bag has gone from $2 to $3 in only a couple of years. That’s real inflation. Had a good load in and setup, and then I got busy selling. I didn’t pick up a bunch of good resale inventory, but I did organize what was left from last year and people did buy a lot of that. I did a bunch of small sales, and feel like I grossed at least $500 yesterday. If I can do the same or more over Sat. and Sun., it will have been a pretty good show.
So that’s the goal for today. Move some of the slightly bigger ticket items, and a lot of the old stale inventory even if it’s at fire sale prices. I’m even going to give away some stuff to another hobby group that can use it at the end of the show. The goal is to reduce the number of bins I’m storing, and improve the overall value of what I do store.
It’s a plan. We’ll see if it works out.
Meet some people. Talk to people about their version of the real world. Stack the good stuff.
nick
Saturday. Good morning!
Up early today for a bike ride and to visit an historic chapel, built around 840.
Time for a nap
But first, breakfast!
I’m up. Coffee is brewing. Food is cooking. Back is aching. But I did stretch some already and it’s manageable. A bit more stretching before heading out and it should be good.
I think I will shower again, just for the hot water on the back.
n
Oh, D1 got home before I went to bed, and W got to the BOL safely. She’s got D2 and an extra kid.
Time to get moving.
I will admit up front that I have no direct, personal experience with severe mental illness. However, I am tired of hearing this kind of defense. It is used frequently for immigrant crimes in Europe: “mentally ill” or sometimes “IQ too low”.
The thing is: it doesn’t actually matter. IMHO prison is less about punishment (although it may have a deterrent effect), and more about protecting society. Someone who commits violent crimes must be removed from society for everyone else’s protection. Why should it matter whether they are crazy, stupid, or just violent?
Police need to carry malpractice insurance, just like doctors. I don’t care if they pay it privately, or if the police force pays it. Either way, a bad cop will be uninsurable, and that unemployable. The current practice in the US is that a bad cop just can move to a new town and continue where they left off.
In a technical field at a decent university, a dissertation documents your work on something new and never-before-done. Plagiarism is basically impossible. The problem is fraud, i.e., people faking their results – and that needs to be addressed by encouraging masters students to reproduce other people’s work.
Plagiarism cases come from the social sciences (including fields like education, law and political science). A dissertation generally ruminates on things that thousands of other people have already ruminated on. New insights worthy of a doctorate are rare. Take Claudine Gay’s case from Harvard: All she did was run some statistics on soft data on the “political engagement” of black people. How is that worthy of a doctorate, even if she didn’t bother referencing other authors correctly?
I used to have the 80 page (!) printout for the procedure to replace the 2016 Exploder water pump courtesy of the first mechanic who spotted the problem but declined to take on the responsibility for getting the repair right.
Ultimately, we had to go to the dealer for $3000 labor because the seals are hand beaded. Yikes!
At least it is possible to rebuild the transmission. I don’t see how an F150 Lightning could be kept as a garage queen, which most of them were bought to become.
My neighbor has a Bronco as a garage queen, but his wife has an iD Buzz.
They must have AC in the garage for the Buzz.
Claudine Gay had the XX chromosomes and skin color.
Neil de Grasse Tyson had the right skin color and … questionable … relationship with Carl Sagan, but UT Austin famously (at least around here) threw him out of the Astronomy Doctoral program with a thesis-less Masters of Arts.
That’s a good idea. I think it must be paid by the officer or the union that represents them as an additional dues levy, though. If the force pays it, it’s taxpayer funded again.
@Lynn
“You know, you could build a Stanley Steamer out of one of these reactors. Just downsize by 75% to 250 kW.”
You could build a steam-electric locomotive. No diesel fuel required. $0.15 per kwhr electricity replacing 11 kwhr/l @ 70% efficiency gives a first estimate of $1.16/l fuel cost, or $4.38 per gallon. Current cost of diesel in U.S. is $5.59.
Coffee:
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/08222026-CoffeeSpinach.jpg
auto-loading slingshot
https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2090459620040905128
$265
https://autofling.com/
Replacement band sets less than $5 each. Standard 9mm ammo.
Options to roll your own with 3D printing or CNC.
ADDED: Nice video shows the assembly of the 3D print.
You could scale down by 50% and power a Tesla Supercharger site. Wikipedia says they supply up to 500 kW.
Consistent pricing and ubiquitous availability might even make EVs practical.
Well, except for the potential for terrorists.
Or a real life atomic Batmobile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpWy0nNeSWU
I’m surprised no one has mentioned putting one in a Delorean.
Before we get these things running around, we need to tune up the laws a bit.
The Ballroom Is Back In Business
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/08/the-ballroom-is-back-in-business.php
The howler in this case has always been:
“the plaintiff in the case lacks standing.”
The “plaintiff” in this case claiming to anticipate aural outrage when she walked by with an anticipated frequency of … once a month.
Funny how citizens have no standing in illegal voting lawsuits but get standing for looking at something they don’t like. Maybe the next illegal voting case should include “aural outrage” at seeing illegal aliens in line.
If we’d only known that PLT judges have a soft spot for “aural outrage” we could have filed suit every time the White House hosted an event with porta potties.
When this is done the master keys for the new improvements should reside in the Oval Office, with instructions that if the Dems ever steal the presidency again the keys should be “lost”.
The Week In Pictures: Dog Days of Summer Edition
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/08/the-week-in-pictures-dog-days-of-summer-edition.php
I’ve always liked a nice set of suppressors.
If PopTarts are going to have such a bad rap then Kellogg’s may just as well bring back the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.