Hot. Humid. Still. Still Summer. But we can see Fall from here. It was almost chilly at night at the BOL, as long as the air was moving. I’ll be lamenting the cold soon. Well, not too soon. Still Summer in Houston.
Took Sunday kinda slow. Made breakfast for the wife and the kids ate too. Pancakes with chocolate chips, while I had pancakes with bacon bits… Wife opened some presents. Then I eventually got to work. Ended up leaving for home around 745pm. I’ve got too much to do today to stay at the lake.
Today’s list is auction pickups, mainly. Cameras from one auction, household stuff from another. As auctioneers throw in the towel, I’m starting to worry I won’t be able to find the good deals anymore. Something as simple as furnace filters used to be in several auctions, and they were available often, but I haven’t seen many lately. I pay about $2/filter for 3M in the auctions, but they’re ~$20 in the store. Good thing I stocked up. Bad thing, I got the size wrong for the BOL, so I either need new ones, or I keep cutting the ones I have to fit. I’m thrifty, so I’ll keep cutting them if the alternative is $20 at the store. I’ve gotten used to buying most of my household stuff in the auctions for 10c on the dollar.
Estate sales will continue, and there are bargains there too.
It sure made stacking easier, when the cost was so low…
nick
QuikTrip and WalMart have ethanol-free gas as well as Buc-ee’s.
The Buc-ee’s in Hillsboro has an entire section of the pumps providing ethanol-free instead of diesel on the extra nozzle, but I think the configuration is another crowd management experiment since the islands are the furthest from the store entrances.
Hillsboro is where the Geico Gecko has decided to make the boldest challenge to The Beaver, with a Pilot Travel Center right across the street offering Coca Cola fountain products as well as a less cluttered retail experience.
Buc-ee’s replacement for Diet Coke is vile, and the p*ssing contest shows no signs of ending soon.
HEB and Costco are going to get gas from the same supplier. The only difference might be the additives.
If your wife fills up early in the morning, the HEB nozzles might have some water. Before she swipes the card, suggest that she take the nozzle out and drain any liquid out onto the ground *away from her shoes/pants*.
She might also want to mention the problem to the dealer the next time she goes in for the “free” oil change. Honda will know if they have an issue, and this was the model year we were supposed to be living under 50 MPG CAFE with the same vehicles rolling off of the floorplans now.
Submitted to the collective braintrust:
Does Home Depot sell a tool to seat the Frost King weatherstripping uniformly into the groove in the door frame using that system?
I had a putty knife last night, but that wasn’t doing the job as I started to lose daylight as well as patience.
@greg, there is a roller tool for seating the round spline for window screen, maybe that would work? I’m assuming the putty knife tears or cuts the weatherstrip, so grind off the sharp corners? I’ve got one knife I did that to and I use it more than you’d think.
———–
78F before sunup. Snack made. Kids prodded. Wife still asleep. I was a little bit dehydrated last night. Trying to get back to normal today. Only a pound or two, but that’s a couple of pints…
————
I’ve seen the gas delivery to Costco, and it’s a local distributor. Haven’t seen the truck at HEB.
Their prices at the pump are similar so it’s always come down to convenience when it’s time to fill up. Maybe not anymore if I can establish a consistent difference.
—
The QT or (QuiK Time) chain had alcohol free on the extra nozzle at the station near Lake Conroe. Every other pump has either diesel or alcohol free on the extra nozzle. If they are distant atBuccceees, it’s probably for easier trailer access. I have a couple of cans for the gennie at the BOL.
—————
Time to poke some kids who were tardy already this year.
n
Maybe Buc-ee’s has a lot of boaters at Hillsboro.
Still, the challenge from the Geico Gecko seems to have instilled some fear in The Beaver, and that store is ground zero in the showdown.
I put in real Chevron gas the other day, and the 5.7l Hemi loved it. 2-3mpg improvement over the local market’s no-name gas, even at freeway speeds.
And that reminds me: I need to go get a filter and some synthetic motor oil for an oil change later this week. I think I’ve been using mobile one and may still have 4 quarts in an unopened bottle In the garage … somewhere. Stuff is getting pricey.
@Old Guy: Thanks for the link.
I bought two copies of Office 19 for my two older Windows systems. I use Office but can’t see paying them over $100 a year for Office 365.
Subbing today, currently in the planning period, no students, playing the soundtrack from the musical Oklahoma on my portable speaker. Does it get any better?
Chevron stations buy basic gas from the same places as the quickie marts, but the additives are different.
You can buy Techron additive at the auto parts stores.
Even Home Depot used to have it on the shelf before Bernie’s minions had a falling out with Chevron over EGo.
I wanted to fill a couple of gas cans today as an excuse to go into town. Current prices in my area range from $1.699/l (US$4.69/gal) to $1.919/l (US$5.30/gal). Maybe I’ll wait until next week.
Instead of spending money, maybe I’ll try to clear out space in the garage. It’s been entirely chaotic storage in there for at least 3 year, and I’d like to have at least one of my vehicles under cover before snow arrives.
In light of high energy prices, might I suggest conserving energy by taking a nap?
Be it known to all, that SteveF gives good, and timely, advice.
It’s on the list.
I filled up with Costco gas instead of HEB, and I think I’m back to my normal mpg. I’ll refill at Costco too and do the math. I mentioned it to W and she said she’s been getting lower mileage in her new Pilot than she expected and she almost always fills up at HEB. Looks like they are putting in more ethanol…
I fill up at my local Shell and I am getting 17.4 mpg on the latest tank of gasoline so far in my F-150 4×4.
People selling E10 have permission to got to E15 without notification.
I am getting old. I went to bed at 12:15 am Saturday night, laid there awake for hours as I cannot get to sleep before 2 am usually unless I am dog tired. Got up at 6:45 am, went to church, had lunch with my mother at her assisted living (one pork chop for old people, might be for me also as I am too close to 70), watched the Astros in her apartment, slept during four innings of the game, gave her communion, went to HEB at 5 pm, bought three rotary chickens and water and other stuff, went to the office and dropped off my salads, went home, stripped the chickens, went for a two mile walk at 90 F, and collapsed in front of the TV. Today I can barely move.
Now that I write it down, it sounds like a lot but it was not a lot.
These young men on their electric motorbikes are flirting with death. I had two of them pull up to the four way stop in front of HEB yesterday with thousands of cars around the place. I started going through the four way stop and the two young men just ran their stop sign and turned left in front of me. I had to slam on the brakes and lay on the horn. One of them looked at me and pointed at himself, I nodded yes. And then they gunned their bikes.
I read an article recently that emergency rooms are full of young people having wrecks on their electric bikes. Now I see why, these two were 10 or 12 and total idiots about vehicular safety. Running a stop sign at a very crowded open mall is akin to asking to get hit.
“Will We See Western Capitals Fall?”
https://americafirstreport.com/will-we-see-western-capitals-fall/
“Consider these recent news headlines:”
“They come from three different Western nations and involve three dissimilar subjects — public transportation, national security, and violent crime — yet each news story exposes the real-world consequences of government failure:”
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
xkcd: Tyrannosaurus
https://www.xkcd.com/3300/
Yeah, when we bring back the free roaming T-Rexes, the tourists will be lining up to take their pictures.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3300:_Tyrannosaurus
“Vendetta: Holding Their Own XVII” by Joe Nobody
https://www.amazon.com/Vendetta-Holding-Their-Own-XVII/dp/B089C8H9YN?tag=ttgnet-20
The seventeenth book in a series of nineteen alternate history books about the economic collapse of the USA in 2015 and onward. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2020 that I bought new on Amazon in 2026. I own the first seventeen books in the series and I have ordered the next two books in the series.
Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom was really getting cranked up. The book has crude oil at $350/barrel and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015. Not gonna happen due to oil well fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA is invalid for the book. That said, the book is a good story about the collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA. The book is centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a Texas resident.
The $6 gasoline was just the start. The unemployment rises to 40% over a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in Chicago that kills 50,000 people. The current President of the USA nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack. And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about. That shuts down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across the nation.
The accumulations of these serious problems cause widespread panics and shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities. The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at the plants. Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity and half of the USA dies in the next several years, struggling for food and shelter.
Somebody tries to murder Bishop and everyone in the bar while he is doing security duty at Pete’s original bar in Meraton. And then Pete’s SUV is sprayed with a machine gun at his new restaurant construction in San Marcus. So Bishop heads to San Marcus just in time to see the construction crew get murdered. But, Bishop is on the job.
The author has a website at:
https://www.joenobodybooks.com/
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (185 reviews)
Lynn
“FLAWLESS Home Invasion Response”
https://www.deltadefense.com/offers/66327a81d7c0a/join-the-uscca-today
There is no way that I could have responded that fast. The guy was on alert level red for his neighborhood there.
“The War Reached Riyadh on Saturday. Washington Said It’s Staying Out.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-09-21/war-reached-riyadh-saturday-washington-said-its-staying-out
“On Friday I told you Iran’s proxies had taken position at both of Saudi Arabia’s exits. On Saturday they went after the capital.”
“At dawn the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh. Saudi air defenses say they intercepted it. Hours later a plume of black smoke rose over King Khalid International Airport, and video showed flames coming from fuel storage tanks marked with the Aramco logo. The Wall Street Journal, citing three officials, reported that jet fuel facilities at the airport were hit. Flights were severely disrupted. It was the first time Riyadh has been targeted in this war.”
Saudi Arabia has a serious problem with the Houthis. I do not see an easy and/or cheap fix.
Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then, or so I’m told.
I remind myself of this aphorism whenever I hear someone I despise and distrust say something that I agree with. It happens rarely.
I don’t remember the issues in the past, but both Obama and Al Gore have done it. Coasting along at 99% total disagreement with my beliefs, and suddenly saying something sensible. It’s jarring when it happens.
Today, all at once, Massie, Carlson, and MTG are in that camp. And I know why, and it hurts.
They’re screeching at RFK and MAHA over the mRNA poisons, and they’re on the right side of the issue. RFK is on the wrong-ish side, and I’ve always suspected it’s only because Trump held him back until the midterms are over. They’re right to screech; there’s no excuse for the shots any more, and double that for children.
But the turd trio aren’t doing it for our health. They’re doing it because it’s anti-Trump and anti-Republican, and they want to form a divide before the midterms.
So I can agree with what they say in this one instance, and still hate that they’re saying it right now.
“Fox News Joins All Major Networks in Boycott of Pool Coverage of President Trump, Including UN Speech”
https://jdrucker.com/all-major-networks-including-fox-news-begin-boycott-of-pool-coverage-of-president-trump-including-un-speech/
“The same five networks that spent a decade telling America it had a sacred right to watch every presidential footstep just refused to send a camera. President Trump goes to the United Nations today, and Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN will not put a pool crew on him.”
Fox News is just as bad as CNN and the rest of the three letter so called news services now. That is a real shame. Roger Ailes just picked a few more rpm in his grave.
“Massie, Carlson, and MTG”
The trifecta in the fart sucking, sh*t-eating, and kneepad polishing triathlon
They’re screeching at RFK and MAHA over the mRNA poisons, and they’re on the right side of the issue. RFK is on the wrong-ish side, and I’ve always suspected it’s only because Trump held him back until the midterms are over. They’re right to screech; there’s no excuse for the shots any more, and double that for children.
Why is RFK on the wrong side? I thought he was only for the very basic list of vaccines. mRNA is not on that list at all.
“Fox News Joins All Major Networks in Boycott of Pool Coverage of President Trump, Including UN Speech”
If I had lottery winnings in the bank I would write a seven-figire check to Alpha News so that Liz Collins could cover POTUS. I can think of 3-4 that would also be candidates, but Collins’ on-camera work in exposing the Minnesota fraud machine is exemplary.
The best thing that could happen would be for several good crews to step into the vacuum and show that they deserve to have access. If that happens Fox will be the first to realize that they’d better get back to one of the seats before there are none.
Getting lots of flashing and booming here, but the rain is pretty light. Just got home from my pickups.
Oddly, no one is home. Kids were supposed to not have activities today. I bet they went to the mall.
78F with the front moving thru. It was hot and humid until then.
n
The twelve left-wing state AG’s that were blocking the Paramount/ Warner Bros deal just announced a deal today where the will drop their suit in return for special considerations. One such is protection of CNN.
Great timing. Now the Trump DOJ can better defend the press coverage ban as seeking to correct a flat-out conspiracy to produce unbalanced coverage favoring one political party over another.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/09/21/un-panic-what-if-president-trump-vetoes-all-the-globalist-climate-warrior-secretary-general-candidates/
No green weinies.
No anti-semitic pos.
No third-world product of tribal corruption that has built a personal fortune based on stealing money from the UN.
Filled the tank on the way home.
On Costco gas, I got 315 miles on 18 gallons for 17.5mpg. That’s still a little bit lower than I used to get, but not bad for 23 yo truck with 181K miles. 3.0L v6.
I filled up at Shell, just because it was in the right place at the right time, so we’ll see how that goes.
n
Eighth Circuit Tequires Missouri to Use New Electoral Map
https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2026/09/21/8th-circuit-mo-n2207047
Decision shows why Kavanaugh is a subtard.
He’s on the wrong(-ish) side because:
He didn’t focus on vaccines first. Focused on nutrition.
He only reduced the vaccines from 70 shots for babies to some lower number, like 25, to match Europe. Should have been half that, or even less.
He didn’t stop mRNA.
He didn’t initiate independent testing of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA shots, which have been demonstrated to contain cancer-causing DNA.
He didn’t push the links between autism and vaccines that are contained in research that CDC funded and then suppressed.
Like I said, I think Trump made a deal to let him do the nutrition thing but hold off on vaccines until after the midterms, because the MSM and wine mommies think vaccines = unqualified good, and wine mommies decide elections.
It’s equally likely that DJT won’t let his ego allow any backtracking on how wonderful warp speed was.
The day is 3 ½ hours shorter than it was three months ago, by chicken standards. Half in the morning, half in the evening, as one might expect if the daylight saving time shift doesn’t mess things up.
They continue to go to the roof of the coop in the evening unless the weather is really bad, and sometimes even then. And they continue to get upset when I pick them up to put them into the coop. The chickens have demonstrated the ability to learn (“Who wants a treat?”, “Go home!”) so one would think that they would be able to learn at least that I pick them up from the roof every night and they are not injured. The chickens continue to fail to meet expectations.
The day is 3 ½ hours shorter than it was three months ago, by chicken standards. Half in the morning, half in the evening, as one might expect if the daylight saving time shift doesn’t mess things up.
Hey, are we still going to do the Daylight Savings Time shutdown in November? DST is Sun, Mar 8, 2026 – Sun, Nov 1, 2026 this year in the USA.
“Daylight saving time 2026: Will our clocks still ‘fall back’ this year?”
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/daylight-saving-time-2026-will-our-clocks-still-fall-back-year
“Here is exactly where the legislation stands in 2026, and what has to happen before we stop changing our clocks for good.”
“What we know:”
“The legislation at the center of this debate is the Sunshine Protection Act, which proposes repealing the temporary daylight saving period and making daylight saving time the permanent, year-round standard.”
“On July 14, 2026, the US House of Representatives successfully passed the bill, with lawmakers arguing that halting the clock changes would reduce schedule disruptions and provide Americans with more evening daylight throughout the year.”
“Under this law, states that already observe permanent standard time, like Hawaii and most of Arizona, would not be forced to switch. Currently, 19 states have approved legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent, pending approval from Congress.”
With the average age of the USA Senate approaching 80, can they get anything done without their four times daily naps?
He’s pushing through a lot of dead-weight rules. I don’t know.
I don’t care about the time changing. Sure, the Chamber of Commerce does because it makes “buying shit at the mall” time last longer. Oh, but the poor children waiting for the school bus in the dark? Yeah, whatever. The bus when I was in high school picked us up at 6:15. Kind of dark standing on the side of the road from December through March.
Changing the time is nonsense. It sells smoke detector batteries.
“Houston-Area Birth Tourism Center Shut Down in Legal Action”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/houston-area-birth-tourism-center-shut-down-in-legal-action-6090991?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily
“The center helped Chinese nationals travel to Texas to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children, Paxton said.”
Excellent! Ken Paxton, our excellent Attorney General in Texas, comes through again.
@lpdbw
Do you have any evidence to support your claims?
“mRNA shots, which have been demonstrated to contain cancer-causing DNA”?
”links between autism and vaccines that are contained in research that CDC funded and then suppressed”?
A reasonable question.
But the answer you will probably get here will be along the lines of “Don’t bother me with the facts, my mind is made up.”
Full employment for bar and restaurant workers on the West Coast of Florida.
https://www.muckyduck.com/beach-cam/
Pot meet kettle…
The measles outbreak in Florida for which the media crucified DeSantis happened in Weston, a liberal Dem stronghold and former Congressional district of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Yes, I wrote “former”. Schultz opted to run in FL-20, a gerrymandered traditionally black district, after DeSantis new redistricting split Weston across five House seats.
“BOMBSHELL EXCLUSIVE: Trump Releases Secret Technology Triggering A UFO Panic In Tehran! This Signals That Trump Sees Himself In A Stalemate Against Iran, And If He’s Able To Successfully Rollout The Never-Before-Seen Advanced Technology, He Can Scare Them Into Submission!”
https://www.alexjoneslive.com/2026/09/21/bombshell-exclusive-trump-releases-secret-technology-triggering-a-ufo-panic-in-tehran-this-signals-that-trump-sees-himself-in-a-stalemate-against-iran-and-if-hes-able-to-successfully-rollout-the/
Huh.
“Trump Will Confront Zelensky Over Strikes on Russian Refineries During Tomorrow’s NYC Meeting: REPORTS”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/09/trump-will-confront-zelensky-strikes-russian-refineries-during/
“Donald Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a call on Sunday to halt Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries over concerns the attacks are exacerbating a global diesel shortage and pushing up prices.”
Yup. The diesel shortage is not Iran, it is the Russia – Ukraine war. Russia used to sell a LOT of diesel under the table to the Indians who then turned around and sold it to the Germans. You would be surprised what people will do to save a nickle a gallon when buying 100 million gallons of diesel in a Panamax carrier.
This is a pointless exercise, but I’ll play. Once. Because you are just as free to throw away my propaganda as I am to throw away MSM, government, doctors, and pharma’s propaganda. As I’m sure you will, to support your own preconceived notions. That’s how this works. Or you might even have done some research yourself.
“mRNA shots, which have been demonstrated to contain cancer-causing DNA”?
The first link I found searching for “sv40 contamination covid” after the obligatory Google/AI story, that no, the mRNA shots are harmless, for sure, trust me!
I don’t think it’s too much to ask RFK to test the purity of the vaccines, at least a little more than asking Pfizer to say, sure, yes, it’s great stuff! You know, QA? Trust, but verify?
”links between autism and vaccines that are contained in research that CDC funded and then suppressed”?
This is just tail-chasing at this point. There were whistleblowers, who got accused by “real scientists” of blowing things out of proportion, and we’re not supposed to look at who funded the “real scientists”. The current ownership of CDC points out that the “There’s no link between vaccines and autism” page, which appears to mandated by law, is now marked “not an evidence-based conclusion”.
What follows from here on is independent of my first message, lest you get confused it’s part of the answer to your “I’m just asking questions” routine, Candace.
In any event, I kinda have a problem with government mandated shots that benefit big pharma and won’t let us deny the shots, and won’t let us sue the manufacturers when the shots kill and maim. If you like that stuff, you go right ahead.
As for me, try injecting me against my will with a deadly drug I don’t want, and I’ll shoot you dead. And I don’t care how many downvotes you give me. I’ve lost 3 years or more of income and my career over this already.
And on a lighter (?) note, I was reminded of the 1992 opus by Daniel Nussbaum entitled:
Oedipus the KIng (of the Road)
Told in 154 words, all taken from California personalized license plates.
“REVEALED: More Canadians die from MAID each year than Americans do from gun homicides”
https://thepostmillennial.com/revealed-more-canadians-die-from-maid-each-year-than-americans-do-from-gun-homicides
“MAID deaths reached a record high in 2024 and made up around 5 percent of all deaths in Canada, or about 1 in 20.”
“Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) program accounted for more deaths than gun homicides in the United States in 2024. This is despite the US having roughly eight times the population as Canada.”
Canada has a MAID problem.
Someone said “never be worth more to people dead, than alive” and that applies to “healthcare”.
Our founding fathers asserted that in this new form of government all men have inalienable rights, the first being “life”. Other governments were founded on different principles.
Sometimes it REALLY makes a difference.
———–
Had my tiny little fire. The rain dried up as if it never happened, at least at my house. It’s currently 78F but still almost saturated.
Had my snack, several ounces of sliced meat, two hard boiled eggs (minus the yolk), and a couple of very thin slices of buttered sourdough shelf stable bread (leftover from dinner). I’ll have a couple of cookies too.
Now it’s past time for my shower and bed.
n
“Does Star Trek’s USS Enterprise Design Make Sense?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nTZTJHBCAs
“5,717,130 views Aug 6, 2026 #startrek #adamsavage #illustration”
“We welcome to the cave designer and illustrator Matt Cushman, the artist behind some of our favorite science fiction cutaway illustrations from Star Trek and Star Wars. Matt shares with Adam his new massive cross-section poster of the original USS Enterprise, sized as large as the original 11-foot filming model. We scrutinize the details of this incredible piece and learn all the ways Matt made sense of the interior layout based on what was shown in the original series episodes!”
Freaking awesome!
MAID is voluntary. Homicide isn’t.