Warm, sunny, hot, overcast, and rainy. Probably all in one day. That’s what yesterday was like. I let the cells chase me all over town and despite street flooding in parts of Houston, I barely got wet.
Took the kid to her band thing, then did some auction stuff, and some office stuff. It’s time to renew several of my insurance products, which isn’t hard, but does take a phone call. Also did two loads of domestic bliss and started the Crockpot. After I got the kid home, I went out and did my pickup, followed by a bit of thrifting as I was in an area I don’t usually get to. That was followed by a stop at the reStore. I didn’t find anything I needed, but they were crazy full up with really high end kitchen appliances, like wolf, thermidor, miele, electrolux, and any other “chef” quality cooker you can think of. The only thing they didn’t have was an Aga. They also had dozens of toilets for some reason, and about half were Toto brand. If you don’t know, Toto is what you want. Even used they are $100 and that’s a good price.
I stopped in to look for cabinets for my laundry area at the BOL. No luck. They have a bunch of big windows though. Big windows are something they seem to always have which is good, since I will need a big window at some point. I’m taking out the fireplace and chimney to improve the view of the lake, and I think I will be putting a big window in its place. I originally thought I’d put in a sliding patio door, but if I use a window instead, that gives me some other placement choices for the [eventual] woodstove. All of this is long term prep for something I know I will eventually do. I like to get stuff in order and keep my eyes open for the bits and pieces far in advance of the actual work.
Today I think I’ll do a bit more at home and try to get some stuff ready to list on ebay. I will have to take a bunch of stuff to the shop, and move some stuff around. Later I’ll probably fit in a pickup or two. It should be a busy day.
Probably not going to the BOL this weekend. We will definitely be up there next weekend, and I need to keep working on stuff here. Maybe I can get the W and the Ds to go…
I did pick up a bucket of salt and one of sugar to add to the stacks. One of my sellers got an estate that had a lot of preps. They sold off the buckets of rice, flour, salt, and sugar, but threw out the beans. For some reason they thought the beans would have gone bad…
Even if your stacks don’t benefit you, they might benefit someone! So get busy and stack.
nick
@Lynn – keeping your family in my thoughts.
We had the second burial for my mom earlier this week. She was cremated, with half of the ashes buried in a family plot in her hometown. The other half were buried in a plot at the local (to my parents) VA cemetery. I was impressed with the VA operation. Very professional and structured.
Another advantage of the VA is the cemeteries is that they are meticulously maintained. With my mom’s family plot (and same for my dad’s) the headstones are showing their age and need attention. The grounds are maintained, but to the same level as the VA.
While up for the burial, we started clearing out some of mom’s craft supplies and holiday decorations. My son and I took two truck loads of stuff to goodwill. We also had my suv filled with stuff to bring back – pictures, some sentimental things, and craft supplies my wife could use. I’ll go up next month to continue. We emptied roughly ⅔ of the attic, so good progress. My wife also got the remaining craft room supplies organized and labeled for donation. In theory, I could have tried to sell all the stuff we donated, but any amount of money I would get would not be worth the effort.
This process definitely make you think about “stuff”. My parents have done a god job of purging stuff over the years. The attic wasn’t full of stuff from the 70’s. It’s just human nature to acquire stuff though, and being in the same house for 53 years leads to accumulation.
It is a tough to throw out something that has no sentimental value but has a definite replacement cost you can calculate, even if you would never buy it to begin with. I guess most of us have some level of hoarder in us! I’m saving dealing with glassware and a lot of the nick-nack decorations for a later time because of this.
$350 Billion annually and climbing.
With the VA money the tax man is not involved as the money is tax exempt at all levels.
This is the truck I am considering.
https://shop.ford.com/configure/f150/config/summary/Config%5B%7CFord%7CF-150%20F-150%7C2025%7C1%7C1.%7C601A.W6L..PD4…SS5.A9JAC.AATAF.CCAB.99D.FI4AB.77K.XL7.U99.%5D?intcmp=vhp-modwalk-cta-fbc
I cannot find a single vehicle within 250 miles that is what I want. Atlanta, Nashville, Louisville Kentucky, Sevierville, zilch. I am going to need to order that specific vehicle.
Fun! Surely you jest (yes, I just called you Shirley). I really don’t like dealing with the salespeople. Trying to push vehicles I don’t want. Trying for compromises in which I am not interested. All to move the stock on the lot. “Hello, you left side bell curve moron, I want what I want. If you don’t have it, then tell me and let it go.” I really want honesty, not this elusive slick talk. If I wanted a XLT, I would have asked for a XLT. No, I don’t want black interior, stop showing me those vehicles.
“We have to send your truck to a wholesaler so we can only offer wholesale trade-in.” Uh, no. I did my research and know what my current vehicle is worth. Either give me that, or better, or I go somewhere else. You’re not the only dealer I can deal with. Why no, I do not want to talk to your manager, who is probably just another salesperson. Yes, you can search other dealerships, but so can I and I know what is available. No, you cannot have my cell phone number so that you can spam me with useless texts.
The internet has really changed car buying, in the buyer’s favor. The dealers need to embrace what technology is doing to their sometimes-archaic sales model.
Oh, excuse me. They are called “Sales Consultants” as opposed to “Lot Lizards”.
A dealer insider will get the vehicle and sell it out the back door above retail.
That’s how Mavericks really sold until recently.
Wait until the wage garnishment starts on the student loans this summer.
Today’s Tyler Durden cowardice.
The Payola Seat this time, putting the smack down on Justice Jackson.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/supreme-court-slaps-down-activist-judges-lets-trumps-birthright-citizenship-eo-go-effect
82F and mostly sunny.
Kid is sleeping in today, W left late because she’s got site visits to do. I’m up because I need to have better habits this summer.
———–
One of the very valuable things about this site, to me anyway, is that you guys are embedded in very different parts of the country/world and different parts of the zeitgeist. Trying to understand what’s going on is always going to be like the blindfolded men and the elephant, but our blindfolded men can recognize when what they feel isn’t a tree, or a snake, even if they don’t know what it actually is.
n
Still, 6 million out of 330 million, with low paying crap jobs anyway… how much real impact can that have?
n
The beginning of the end for “universal injunctions”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/06/supreme-court-rules-for-trump-in-birthright-citizenship-case/
I have no doubt that there will be willful disobedience by some federal judges. Here’s hoping that we get SCOTUS really pissed off when they do, and get the RINO’s voting for impeachment.
Have we ever impeached a judge and then prosecuted them for willful disregard of the law? We don’t get to pick which laws to obey, and judges are either held to a higher standard or our judicial system has no ethical basis.
Cemeteries are, by US standards anyway, weird here: You get your plot for typically 25 years. After that, the remains are excavated, and the plot will be re-used by someone else. Any remains are either cremated or placed in a communal ossuary. I suppose the theory is that a small country doesn’t have endless space for cemeteries, and grieving is pretty much done after 25 years.
Anyway, I don’t want to be buried. Scatter my ashes on some mountainside with a pretty pine forest.
I may just sell the truck to Carvana or take it to CarMax. Estimates from both have been really close, and slightly better than what one dealer offered. Although I suspect I could get the dealer to match Carvana and CarMax.
Uh, I thought lot lizards were associated with truck stops.
This is why the LSM spinning of events is no longer powerful. The Internet allows end-arounds of LSM lies down to the individual level. I haven’t watched the LSM in decades.
Same here. I haven’t gone to familial grave sites in a very long time. Nobody would “visit” me headstone anyway. And, why would I care.
6 million potential Borrower Defense actions, gutting the reputations of many “good” schools.
So the price will have to come down? What’s the excess increase over inflation since 1980?
Scatter my ashes on some mountainside with a pretty pine forest.
– oddly enough, this is illegal in most places in the States.
And there are places that always have an eye out, like Walt Disney World. IF my siblings did the deed properly, a little bit of dad is there anyway. Lifetime ban if you get caught.
Wife’s uncle is scattered across a dozen or more golf courses around the world…
I just want to be in a lake or ocean. Michigan or the Pacific specifically. WDW if anyone wants to risk the ban.
n
I’ve got My Mate Vince youtube fixit channel playing while I work, and he’s working on an external hard drive. New shipping product, USB C, etc, and when he opens the enclosure it’s a HGST 3TB drive from 2014. Old used server drive…
Seems to be a lot of that sort of garbage on amazon. It’s gotta be fraud of some kind.
n
The Zeitgeist part seems to be working well today. I have a funeral to go to in a few minutes, and you lot suddenly start talking about scattering ashes. 🙂
“student” “teen” “teenager” and this gem “Owen McIntire faces losing his youth to prison over the Molotov cocktail attacks on two EVs prosecutors say he is to blame for.
– seriously mentally ill
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14853643/trans-student-owen-mcintire-sentence-torched-teslas-trump-pam-bondi.html
–Look at the DOJ photo from the airport, and try to figure out where that surveillance camera was located…
n
One of plugs The Last parting gifts:
Amy Coney Barrett NUKES Ketanji Brown Jackson FROM ORBIT In Her Majority Opinion on Universal Injunctions
Is it possible “Ketanji” is dumber than AOC? It (Jackson can’t define what a woman is) probably made it to SCOTUS for just this reason: lower courts ruling for any and all Dumbo/Commie wants and against all tRump initiatives.
My deceased sister-in-law, a snobbish real estate agent, insisted on the brand, and said they functioned dependably well, but were also dress-up items. An engineer cousin of mine, who does all his own work, said other brands can be superior in function, but this can be a crapshoot (!) I think he likes a particular American Standard model, but I would call him before I bought.
I do know that he advised my aunt to buy his favorite. We have stayed at both houses, and the newer one, designed to the latest low water use standards, is much more impressive than the Toto. It is the fastest flushing tank-type residential toilet I have seen. It is nearly silent, and the first time i used it it made me wonder how they could make gravity work so well. I would buy it without question.
Oh, one problem with low flow toilets can be failure to clear long drain lines. Fortunately, we have a very short line to the septic tank. I think new drain lines should have steeper slopes, but many people don’t have a choice.
Jackson is Miami Dade establishment who married white family money so old that her husband’s direct ancestor was at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Plugs wanted to put a black woman on the court, but, after the mistakes in the VP vetting pursuing the same demographic, the handlers didn’t want a fight in the Senate.
The problem for the Dems is that none of the Liberals can write except for Hermione Granger Kagan, and Kagan was never a judge at any level.
Plus I think the handlers wanted to make amends with South Florida by picking Jackson. Remember, they still had hopes of taking Little Marco’s Senate seat before DeSantis put the beat down on Disney.
I have a 5yo AS, and am ok with the function, but not happy with the ceramic glaze – there is a 40yo old commode in the house that stays whiter & doesn’t get the hard water build-up as much.
Consider looking into The Neptune Society: https://neptunesociety.com/resources/cremation-planning/About-Cremation-at-Neptune-Society
Although I think their “Memorial Reef” is off the east coast of Key Biscayne.
for @SteveF from the Babylon Bee: Chickens
I’ve got a strange issue regarding cremains.
When my brother died, he was cremated per his request. When cleaning out his house, I found the ashes of two of his common-law wives.
I am now sitting on 3 sets of ashes I have no clue what to do with, and no instructions. There has been no contact with the families of the wives, and their deaths were years ago.
He was a Vietnam-era Coast Guard reservist in a unit that was never activated. He was honorably discharged after serving his full commitment. I have the DD-214.
My reading of the VA website is unclear about several things. Is he eligible for burial in a VA cemetary? Are his predeceased wives? And what specifically does “called up to active duty” mean in this context? His commitment included months on an icebreaker in Lake Michigan after basic training, and of course his 2 week annual training sessions.
It would be nice to hand off the ashes question to another authority.
The applicable paragraph from their website is:
Perhaps you can go to a nearby military installation for advice.
Myself, I would just scatter the ashes where you think they would have like to be scattered. When I go, I have specifically stated cremation and NOT to be interred at a cemetery. I’m eligible for a full military funeral. Why bother. Nobody is going to visit my marker.
My father wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered “over some body of water – and if that water happens to be surrounded by porcelain, well, I’ll never know.” I and most of my siblings rented a pontoon boat and scattered his ashes in the Gulf, just off Marathon Key, FL. He and my stepmother had a small sailboat and used to “winter over” there until her health failed.
I’m not that particular.
You know your brother. Maybe pack a cooler with a couple of beers or sodas and a bologna sandwich. Go for a picnic somewhere you both liked, like “the ol’ swimming hole”. Sprinkle him around. Take his wives, let them all be together.
Or plant a tree or a tree for each and add a bit of each to each hole.
I had this problem in a large ranch house with a number of long drain lines. Once I figured out the issue, I realized that the 1.6 gallon units the previous owner installed were actually 2.5 gallon units where the manufacturer changed the tube height in the tank to comply with the new rules. I lengthened the tubes to the original location, and the problem was resolved.
An awful lot of changes are happening at FedEx this week, including the elimination of anonymous tracking queries, consolidation of package processing centers, and an increase in the dividend.
It is like the management was waiting for something.
Stock price is up today, and that’s what counts.
Right?
RIP Fred Smith.
The way I understand it is sewer lines need a gradual slope. I forget the number. About one inch per foot. So “stuff” floats down to the septic tank or to the sewer line.
Too steep of a slope and yeah, the pipe drains faster but if the pipe is dry solids can stick. Repeat with more sticking and you have a clogged pipe.
This house came with 5 gallon toilets. I changed them out for 3.5 gallon toilets. Now the toilets are Kohler 1 gallon toilets…. and unlike any of the previous toilets, everything goes on the first flush.
I do my peeling the wallpaper duties and flush. Wash my hands, comb my hair, and flush again to make sure. Besides, the tank is sized for four bedrooms and now it’s just me. I’m adding water so the system can function properly. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
The Supreme Court is done for the current term as of today.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/politics/supreme-court
Like any manf’ Toto makes a variety of styles. The one I have in the hall here, and at the BOL has a small “water spot” which makes it harder to keep clean. That was the biggest complaint about that model. It has a dual flush mechanism so you can choose a big or little flush. The little one is sufficient for most needs. The toto at my rent house and in my master here has a big water spot and is almost impossible to clog.
The small toto in the master at the BOL has a smaller flush, and is a streamlined all in one unit. I flush empty once to clear and wet the long and slightly unlevel run to the septic system, and I will flush more than once while sitting there. The line has a dip in it, and I really don’t want to clog it again.
I don’t think there is a bad Toto model, and I can’t say the same for AS or Kohler. Anything is better than builder grade. You’ll be plunging that one on the regular.
The ones that act like a commercial vacuum system generally have “assisted flush” with a water line that jets thru the outlet to siphon stuff down, as well as a tank filler line.
The low flow has has unintended consequences. I’ve linked to a german media article about having to run water into city sewers to ‘move stuff along’ because the toilets don’t put enough water into the sewers.
If you don’t put enough into a modern aerobic septic system, all the good bugs can die, and if you have a buried drip system, the grass above the field can die, which is bad.
For a while in Chicago there was a thriving market for old full flush toilets, but the modern designs work well enough for most people that people usually buy new now. I imagine there were other cities that had similar issues when the code changed.
n
When my father died he was cremated and wanted his ashes scattered. His favorite place was Lake Mead. I and my two brothers, one of whom was a pilot, decided it would be a good idea to rent a plane, fly low over Lake Mead, and dump out his ashes. Then it dawned on us. We might get spotted dumping “something” out of a plane in the water supply for a large chunk of the Southwest. With the tail number it could easily be traced. Instead, my older brother made a trip to Lake Mead and scattered my father’s ashes on shoreline where no one was watching.
My aunt wanted her ashes scattered where her husband’s ashes were scattered. I had some piece of paper that mentioned a farm in Northern Oregon. I lost the paper. The last instructions were to have her ashes scattered at Beckett Point in Port Townsend Washington. That is what we did. About 20 feet south of the boat ramp at Beckett Point, about two feet from the shoreline, in the water. Mr. Rick knows exactly where that is located. We did not dump the identification tag.
Neither one of these locations is legal. If the truth were known, I suspect that a large percentage of human ashes are scattered in locations that are not legal.
I want my ashes scattered in the Tennessee River after the ghouls harvest any organs they desire.
When I was in school, a guy got drunk and broke a bunch of stuff. Some guys took his wallet to pay for the breakage, and somehow I ended up with it. His DL said “Take whatever you want, gut me like a fish” under the donate line. His picture looked like Quasimodo and when a friend used it to buy drinks, the bartender said “make that face” so he did.
—–
I dodged most of the storm cells today, but had to cross thru one on the Beltway. Washed all the bird poop and pine sap off the truck. It was BUCKETING down.
Picked up a lot of stuff. Mostly for the BOL but also stuff for both kids.
n
Dads gall bladder has ruptured and they cannot remove it since he will bleed out. We have told the ICU staff no heroic measures for Dad.
We are trying one last option of putting drains around the gall bladder to see if we can drain the pus out of his abdomon. If he gets better then we can remove the gall bladder.
I thought that dad was 50 / 50 until this point. The icu head doctor told me 10% chance right now. Otherwise dad will pass in 2days to 2 weeks. Or maybe next hour.
@lynn, sorry to hear and still hoping for the best.
@Lynn: Sorry about the turn of events. You will be in my prayers.
I, personally, think that is a wise choice. Say your goodbyes and remember a life well lived.
DHS Ends Protected Status For 500,000 Haitians
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/06/27/dhs-terminating-temporary-protected-status-tps-for-more-than-half-a-million-haitians-n2659584
Great. Now do Somalis.
@Lynn – Sorry to hear about that. Fingers crossed.
>>If you don’t put enough into a modern aerobic septic system, all the good bugs can die, and if you have a buried drip system, the grass above the field can die, which is bad.
Ahh, the convenience of modern municipal sewage systems. At least one positive memory from NYFC.
.
>> For a while in Chicago there was a thriving market for old full flush toilets, but the modern designs work well enough for most people that people usually buy new now. I imagine there were other cities that had similar issues when the code changed.
Yup, NYFC for one, the Sears stores in the NE parts of Jersey sold plenty. Similarly for garbage disposers.
>>The Zeitgeist part seems to be working well today. I have a funeral to go to in a few minutes, and you lot suddenly start talking about scattering ashes.
Zeitgeist, ha! Just Amazon, Apple, Samsung proving their devices “never” eavesdrop on us 😉
@Lynn – So sorry to hear. Hoping for the best.
@Lynn; I’m very sorry to read that. Let’s hope for a miracle.
Couldn’t make this shite up.
Colorado put in Flock license plate readers to “solve crimes.” Freedom advocates (and me) fight against the cams because of a complete lack of transparency- who has access to the data, what is the sharing and retention policy, who is paying, etc. You can use the system to follow people around town, to track their every movement, and develop a permanent record. You could then develop heat maps of where they go, us AI to highlight when they go outside of their normal behaviour, etc. HUGE privacy concerns.
Which Colorado Dems have just discovered.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ice-ice-baby-denver-city-council-ends-car-theft-tracking-system-protect-illegal
– the article loves the crime fighting and doesn’t mention the privacy or surveillance issues any normal person would have.
It’s also a real world example of ‘never give yourself any power you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to have, because eventually the tides will turn, and they’ll have it.’
n
It is beautiful out. Cool and calm. I’m going to sit by my ‘water feature’ with a tiny little fire, and read for a bit…
n
They also had dozens of toilets for some reason, and about half were Toto brand. If you don’t know, Toto is what you want. Even used they are $100 and that’s a good price.
I love American Standard Vormax toilets. They flush the worst mess that I can make and that is saying something.
@lynn I’m sorry to hear the circumstances your father is in. I hope for the best but at the least, you have the opportunity to be there for him.
I, personally, think that is a wise choice. Say your goodbyes and remember a life well lived.
A hundred fishing trips, maybe two hundred. Fixing everything in sight because we did not have the money to pay anyone. Installing seats belts in a 1971 station wagon that later saved our lives in a horrible wreck. Watching hundreds of Aggies, Oilers, and Astros games on tv or in the stands. Working together on various companies for 40+ years trying to make software work and customers happy. Holding his shoulder tonight because I cannot hug him because of all the wires and tubes on both sides of his body.
@lynn, we face things by ourselves, but not alone.
n
Lynn, hoping and praying for the best for your father.