Sunny and cool, with light overcast and a gentle breeze… not the actual forecast, but my wish for the day. Yesterday was too hot and too humid, and I got burned through the overcast… so a bit cooler would be nice.
Did my stuff yesterday. Lots of driving in a big loop, followed by a bunch of loading and digging up stuff from a variety of locations. But it’s loaded and I’m ready to go.
Today is Hamfest, so that’s where I’ll be. In the parking lot at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, with my good stuff spread out across 4 or five parking spaces… Hopefully most of it will sell and people will find just exactly what they need.
It’s always a good time seeing people I don’t see much anymore and those I only see at the Hamfest. I really enjoy working the crowd, but it is a long day.
Busy too. Probably won’t even check in until I’m home in the evening.
If you are in the area, come on by. The indoor stuff is $15 at the door, with displays and booths from manufacturers, vendors, and presentations. There are a couple of real nice raffle prizes too. No charge to roam the swap meet in the parking lot. My truck will have a uhaul trailer attached, and I’ll be wearing a hat.
Stacking stuff and meatspace…
nick
Good sales, @Nick
Go to a local print shop and get a box of cards. They used to be cheap.
Using Avery perforated card stock and consumer grade printers was a disaster when I worked for the Egghead Ponzi 35 years ago.
Nothing has changed it seems.
outlaw bikers or the religion of peace?
n
————
68F with overcast and light mist. This would actually be nice for the rest of the day… if only….
See you later,
n
“how to get the printer to use the sheet feed instead of the cassette”
I pull out the cassette and it automatically takes from the sheet feet slot
Currently in Round Rock for the day. Slept horrible as I usually do in a strange bed. Tomorrow is traveling to Boerne to replace the flowers on the MIL’s grave site. Then on to San Antonio for a night. Another night in a strange bed. There will be naps on this trip, just not while driving.
There is a toll road on the way to Boerne and I will take it and just pay by mail. Experience has taught me that the small price I pay for tolls on these trips (generally less than $30.00) is worth to avoid the hassles. I have been told there are a lot of changes on the 281 highway which was under construction when I was here last. They are also redoing the interchange in San Antonio at the I-410 and I-35N interchange. It was a mess when I lived in the area 35 years ago. It really sucked the last time I drove through the area. A really poor design.
The traffic in this area is just annoying. I don’t think I could live here. Too much time in a small rural town where a traffic jam is more than 3 cars waiting at the red light to turn into Food City.
The VA money came at a good time. I am replacing the A/C and heating unit in a month and I need to spend significant cash to repair a leak in the pool. This will make getting the necessary funds together much easier.
Round Rock is where everyone in Austin lives when they have kids and realize that the public schools generally suck in the hip parts of town. Ironically, one of the worst districts, Del Valle, is the one which prostituted itself along with the county and state to get the Tesla factory.
Colonists are particularly enamored with Round Rock High near the intersection of I-35 and 620, even as they build big houses up Parmer/Ronald Reagan into Georgetown.
I’m sure there is a Colonist scheme to get the kids into Round Rock High. Maybe ghost houses.
My employer, Apple, and HP Enterprise (old Compaq campus) are all within 15 minutes of that gigantic maze intersection of the 45 toll road and I-35. Samsung is about 20 minutes east of I-35 on Parmer and building a huge facility out on 79 in Taylor.
I finally had an otterbox case fail!
It is the side bumper, near the power on/off strip, about 2″ has split away.
I think I have used them for two Windows phones, two or three Androids, two iPhones … no complaints.
I’ve used Otter Box Symmetry exclusively since I first inherited my wife’s iPhone 4 and continued through two iPhone SE models with similar button layout. The first case, purchased for the inherited phone, failed around the menu button area with a break through the rubber to the screen cutout, but the others held up.
I always buy two after the first experience. I haven’t cracked the package on either spare for my iPhone SE first or third generation.
I’m not in a big hurry to buy an iPhone 16e. Apple blew it on pricing and size IMHO.
After looking at the selection on Amazon I think mine was a Symmetry model.
For about $25 I can get another.
I am happy with my current iPhone but it is a 11, and will age out of support this year, almost certainly.
There is no real word on the 17 yet, but it sounds as though it might have a better camera (and more ram for AI).
You should replace your truck with a Cyber Truck. Use the autopilot and take a nap on the road. It is perfectly safe. You can recharge in 20 minutes at any electrical outlet.
/sarcasm
Why would any network have Bill Nye “The Douche Bag GuyTM” on as a “Climate Change” expert:
The End Is ‘Nye’! Here’s the ‘Climate Change’ Accused of Causing a Massive Wildfire in South Carolina
Oh, CNN. Nevermind.
Just use one of your “flock” of robotaxis.
Musk’s word, not mine.
When the crash happens … and it will … I really hope that the decision makers in this state leave the shell of the Gigafactory in place as a reminder to everyone arriving at Austin-Bergstrom Airport that hubris on that scale has a price.
The SxSW bacchanalia happening downtown this week is filled with Real Life Tony Stark wannabes.
“Is this the best Pappy Reserve you have in back?”
Good idea. Smart you be young Jedi. I can now tow my trailer 57 miles and stop for three hours to recharge and nap. That 150 mile trip to Nashville will now consume 12 glorious hours. Absolutely brilliant.
Install a “range extender” … cough … generator … cough … just like the new Dodge EV pickup which is starting to hit dealerships’ floor plans.
3.0 L V6. 7000 lbs empty.
But it is technically an EV.
Show Ya.
Life must suck to be a Stellantis franchise dealer. The one down near our Lowes still has 2023 trucks on the lot.
I’d forgotten about the RAM ev completely.
I see lightning’s around here, and even the occasional cyber truck, but I don’t ever recall seeing one of them.
They are not easy to spot. Most of them are not moving and are hiding in dealer service departments or in the garage of embarrassed owners.
The RAM EV truck just hit the dealer lots within the last few weeks.
Of the major truck makers in the US, Stellantis got hit the hardest with regard to paying into Musk’s grift. Dodge may never recover from losing the previous generation Charger and Challenger while Chrysler is dead brand walking after the 300 went away.
Yesterday, we went to our church’s Lenten fish fry. I parked behind a Chevy Volt. Those are pretty rare here.
I have never seen a Chevy Bolt anywhere.
I have not seen a Cyber truck or Rivian in our town, but have seen them in the LA area. Many more cars per hour of traveling is part of that.
I do see lots of new Broncos here, but have yet to see one that looks like it has ever been off pavement. I see a a pretty nice flat window Bronco in our church parking lot on Sundays. Looks mostly original.
Our daily driver is a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country. Recently, I noticed that it looks big next to some of the newer cars. It still fully “recharges” in ten minutes, and its depreciation has pretty much stopped, especially compared to newer cars. Gravy years.
YTer, JerryRigEverything, has a review of the Telo ev mini-truck. I would get that for an around town second vehicle. If they are ever produced, I imagine the sticker price is going to be…HIGH.
Only for new cars. I would like to own an early 300 letter car, but probably will never take the plunge because they are pretty rare, especially in good condition. I had a 1968 Chrysler 300. It was just a model between a Newport and a New Yorker, after the letter cars were discontinued, but it still commanded a premium following. Mine was sourced directly from the company, and was in better than new-off-the-assembly-line condition, a story too long to repeat here. I owned it for ten months, and sold it when I happened across a 1969 New Yorker four door hardtop. A large two door car is very inconvenient. I knew that, but bought the 300 anyway because it was so beautiful. The couple I sold it to really liked it. I still have the New Yorker; I can’t get myself to part with it because of all the memories it gave me.
There are cars that are owned out of love or lust. There are cars that bear the mundane burden of daily driving, to be used and discarded when they get a little cranky. Like faithful pets, cars must be part of our lives. Just try living without them.
The Volt was an early hybrid.
The Bolt was a pure EV which was prone to fires.
I’ve ordered a replacement burner control. A bit over $18 with shipping and tax from eBay. It should be here in a week or so. I wanted the “Robertshaw Assembled in Mexico” version instead of a generic Chinese version.
The Chinese version may be as good or better but to save a couple of bucks, pass. A DDG search for the part number was interesting. Almost all results were Big River or eBay. A few for company web sites and one link to Sears Direct. When I replaced the control twelve years ago for $40 the majority of results were small company web sites.
All I know about both of these is here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=technology+connections+chevy+bolt&oq=technology+connections+chevy+bolt&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQLhhA0gEJMTYzMTBqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1731fe74,vid:NCkyQuKjpVc,st:0
Don’t tell me about how this guy is annoying; I find him to also be pretty informative, if a bit pedantic. He tackles subjects few others seem to care about.
No surprise that I have an aversion to the early days of any new technology. Still, I would like to experiment with a pure EV for around town use. I have not done any analysis, but the cost of operation might not be very competitive with gasoline here, with our high electric rates. The cost of the car would have to be much cheaper than that of an old car, say, a couple of thousand dollars; that would be a killer for the comparison to work. Cost isn’t such a big a deal to me, but I really don’t like starting a gasoline car for short trips. That is a big advantage of an EV.
I have done well using an older car almost exclusively for local driving. I can get decades out of one. I had my Dodge D100 PU for 28 years. And… at my age I don’t need anything to last for a lot of years. Shoot, I no longer buy green bananas. 😉
“They are not easy to spot. Most of them are not moving and are hiding in dealer service departments or in the garage of embarrassed owners.”
Lift spilling vegetation on strange flowerboxes that might be covering up certain logos.
“I have never seen a Chevy Bolt anywhere”
look under the hood of an S10 or Sierra…
You funny man. Does the ‘dr’ stand for droll?
Srsly, I have wondered. Are you a physician, or a professor?
“donutus rex”
King of the Donuts
And to think I thought it was “Digital Regurgitating”. Silly me. 🙂
Host Piers Morgan Men in Women’s Sports ‘Not a Concern,’ Gets Dunked
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/03/08/james-carville-tells-liberal-host-piers-morgan-men-in-womens-sports-not-a-concern-gets-dunked-n2186441
Shush, Mr. Morgan.
If one of the master strategists of the Democrat party doesn’t see anything wrong with being on the short side of an issue that polls 80/20, do not disavail him.
“And to think I thought it was “Digital Regurgitating”. Silly me”
Posting while driving?
No, stationary until tomorrow.
Carville was cancelled a couple of years back. The Democrats ignore him.
Home from the fest. Very sore and tired. Sunburned too. I brought sunscreen, but was too busy most of the day to apply it. Gotta hustle.
Grossed about the same as previous hamfests. Dunno what my net is, some of that stuff I bought back in the pre-wuflu days.
Talked to a lot of people. Lots of good chat. Stayed late packing up and chatting with a young man, new ham.
We had overcast and cool until about 11am then it got pretty warm until 3. It went back to overcast and by the time it was dark and I got the last thing unloaded at home, the wind had picked up, temps had dropped, and a few raindrops fell.
Right now I’m waiting for pizza to cook. I’ll eat, shower, take a muscle relaxer for my back, and got to bed. No tiny little fire tonight.
D2, a friend, and W are on their way home from The Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show. D1 is sick, coughing, and probably needs a visit to the doc in the box for some antibiotics. She stayed home in bed. I can barely move, so if she needs to go tonight, W will have to do it.
Getting old is teh sux, the bodily abuse and wear and tear just adds up and up…
n
Carville looks like an old turtle, even moreso than Mitch. And his taste in shirts is atrocious, as is his taste in candidates. Seeing his ugly mug on screen now means major psyop going on…
n
Of the major truck makers in the US, Stellantis got hit the hardest with regard to paying into Musk’s grift. Dodge may never recover from losing the previous generation Charger and Challenger while Chrysler is dead brand walking after the 300 went away.
I see Dodge Hemis all over the place here with loud burbling exhausts. When they floor it, the engine screams.
Dodge walked away from that market voluntarily.
Go to a local print shop and get a box of cards. They used to be cheap.
My office manager just got me a 1,000 piece 100 lb card stock box of new business cards for $186.
If I order new, real business cards I think they’ll just say
Nick Flandrey
Problems solved
Phone number
n
Just home from a concert by a small symphony orchestra of local volunteer musicians, with a guest conductor and brilliant pianist. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Small church venue.
I sat above and behind the technical director of the video recording. Got to see modern equipment. One guy operating three cameras.
I have a copy of my uncle’s Neptunus Rex certificate. He was a sailor on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) in WWII, head of radar operations. He lived to tell stories.
I had some meetings with Ed Trompeter, who owned a connector company. His card famously read
“Ed Trompeter
Janitor”
This was in the mid 1980s. Later, I learned he was also a very serious coin collector. Best of all, he was a fun character. RIP, Ed.
Often, this is part of the tow-truck wars as organized crime has gotten in to that, so maybe outlaw bikers (who are organized criminals).
Of course, odds are very much in favour of the perps using illegal guns smuggled in from the US. When are you guys going to fix your border?