Cool. Yesterday was really cool to start but by afternoon, the sun was intense. Just sitting still in the sun had me soaked through my shirt. Soon enough we’ll be running the heat at night and the A/C during the day.
I did some auction stuff, then I did some pickups. After that, I got sidetracked with the radio in the truck, (and a couple of really small things along the way), and dinner. Dinner was ‘meh’. Frozen veg that wasn’t great to start. Rice in a pouch that was too much chiplotle or ancho. Baked panko breaded cod that just wasn’t all that tasty… oh well, can’t win every day.
Today I’ve got a big circle of pickups. I’m definitely buying less, and spending less time doing pickups, but I still want to get some of the things. I just need balance, and to use my time more efficiently.
That’s kinda the problem most of the time, not being efficient.
I need to backfill some stacks. I’ve thrown out 30# of white flour, and yesterday a quart of dried powdered cream. That definitely doesn’t last forever… and I’ve got to go through more of my canned goods and dump the worst of them. Time to rotate some of the deep storage too, including at the secondary site.
I’ll add that to the list, and maybe I can fit it in while doing other stuff.
Stack while you can, it’s getting spicier out there.
nick
re getting rid of old food, can’t you bring it to the BOL and compost it?
Roofers are here. Will rip the old roof off, fix the sacking soffits on the ends, install a drip edge (which the prior installer did not), replace the vent pipe covers, replace up to 5 five sheets of OSB (it may take more but it will cost more), new felt and new shingles for $12.5K. I suspect I will wind up paying $15K due to unseen problems. There are no known leaks but experience has taught me there is always the unknown.
Fenix has a new flashlight. I think I will purchase one.
https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/pd26r-ace-flashlight?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=PD26RACE-Product-Launch-Sep2025&utm_term=Pref_Sale_New_Only&utm_content=01K5VSMVD64VZ1FBYS2BMA9MC1&_kx=aiOEKdb2jq7E6xUeEEM8IV3rZ8RfOdjCh4XS8NPpAB4.XThkGb
Did I mention I found a new single cell streamlight FLASHLIGHT while looking for other things yesterday? Protac 1L-1AA . It does 350 lumens with the CR123A lithium battery, or 150 lumens with a regular AA… and that thing is BRIGHT.
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70F this am. Brewing tea using the Keurig. Dang convenient, that single serve Keurig. Reasonable, if you can get the K cups on sale or in an auction or estate sale.
Wife likes the HEB chai, kids like the hot chocolate.
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Lunch is packed. Kids are moving. Youngest was putting her shoes on in the car yesterday and her whole day was off on the wrong foot as a result. To her credit, she doesn’t want to do that again.
n
I have one Fenix FLASHLIGHT that is extremely bright and will illuminate the distance of a football field. It is possible to feel the heat from the LED when pointed at the hand. The light itself will get very warm in the hand. Well over 2,500 lumens. https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-e35r-rechargeable-edc-flashlight Fenix lights are cheaper than Surefire and brighter.
Chopping out the deadwood.
Lots more of that coming.
As the economy worsens, people will move down scale. Look for “affordable luxuries”. Craft beer, cigars, a nice meal (but at lower end restaurants), a scarf or hat instead of a handbag or jacket…splitting dessert instead of one each.
n
@ray, this surefire is too bright for EDC or daily use. My 120 Lumen Pelican is a nice compromise between size (2AA), run time, and bright but not blinding, and it has a ½ brightness mode with longer battery life. I use it mostly to see into dark spots or equipment, and to brighten up something I need to read but can’t quite focus on. I don’t need to stun an opponent into submission.
n
That’s what the Nancy Pelosi nudes are for. Whip out the 5×7 you keep close to your heart, shine your bright-but-not-blinding flashlight on it, and watch the aggressor collapse.
But keep your own eyes covered.
My light has five levels of brightness. The high level is too bright for almost anything but distance viewing or pissing off the jeep driver with the after-market LED lights that are adjusted too high.
On my last trip to Germany the light came in handy as someone on the row in front of me dropped something and the flight attendant was using their phone light to look for the item. I loaned my light, on the second to lowest setting, to the attendant and they were able to find the item.
Well, well. About 7 or 8 years ago I found a squirrel was getting into my attic through the plugged end of the ridge vent. I replaced the plug with two of the plugs. The squirrel got through both by gnawing the plugs. I then replaced the plugs and made a metal cover. That stopped the squirrel. I then trapped the squirrel to stop it from attempting other entry points and relocated the animal about 5 miles away.
Today when the roofers were tearing off the old shingles, they found a six-inch hole in the sheathing. The squirrel had been eating through the roof. That panel of sheathing needs to be replaced.
I suspect the squirrel raised a family in the attic and for all I know I destroyed the family when I trapped and relocated the squirrel. Left little squirel-ettes behind in the process. The little carcasses can stay if they do exist.
Someone once said that the need for a newer and greener refrigerant seems to often coincide with the expiration of Dupont’s patents on the old version.
Yesterday was probably the first day since July, other than a monsoon front passing through, that I didn’t run an air conditioner.
Fall is here.
I observed that, at least ten years ago. I doubt that I was the first.
Fenix, Nightcore, Olight and others make really cool, quality FLASHLIGHTS. I’m a sucker for any of ’em. OTOH, the ThruNite line is cheaper:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C231WKXG?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_13&tag=ttgnet-20
https://a.co/d/iTLUQwT
Then there are the ??? brands, cheaper yet:
https://a.co/d/hP8MmtZ
https://a.co/d/dgEix9Y
Funny too that as we give up perfectly good refrigerants, that are safe and effective and cheap, we end up with stuff like cyclopentane that makes your fridge explode in a fire.
This anti-human approach, that prioritizes the ozone layer over me and my family not dying in a fire is just one of the things to fight against, and one item on the list when the pendulum swings.
n
In depth article with sources, still, consider the source of the article (Epoch Times).
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tylenol-maker-said-internal-emails-evidence-link-autism-starting-feel-heavy
My TL:DR? Avoid tylenol during pregnancy, and if you must, use it sparingly.
I also don’t understand why this would be controversial. We advise pregnant women to avoid a LOT of things.
n
– more restructuring and shrinkage.
n
My daily carry is the Olight Arkfeld Ultra 3. Switch setting 2 is the green laser. It’s not just to tease the dogs, you know. I keep an Olight Seeker 4 mounted at the front and back doors. They screwed up by not making their mag attachment charging universal, but the Seeker 4 holster allows USB C charging.
Serendipity! Thanks for all the FLASHLIGHT links.
My mega-bright Anduril somethingorother unfortunately grew legs and vanished, and I am really missing having something really bright for hunting use. Being out in the woods is a whole other kind of dark, especially if you are trying to find a perfectly camouflaged downed creature.
Will be studying those options. I hope some of them are available over here.
The Federal Goobermint of the United States is shut down.
The Dumbocrats claim the country will now collapse.
Meanwhile, my daughter and I are having a coffee and going for a walk.
You think that makes you special? With me it is a disease, an affliction, got to have it. I had a Fenix light go bad after a year. Fenix replaced it without any hassle. Cross shipped and I had the new light in two days and Fenix paid the shipping of the old light. They also provide a veteran discount.
Pictures of some of the issues with the roof replacement. Roofing supervisor said the damage is actually not too bad for a 25 year old roof. I will be saving $400 a year on my homeowners insurance.
https://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/Roof
My daughter’s dorm refrigerator has been on our back porch under a tarp since she brought it home in May.
The refrigerant is propane, and I don’t want that in the house until the appliance finds a new home.
Costco, not Sam’s/Walmart or Target:
The Smithsonian is open until Monday according to one article I saw this morning.
I’m sure that the hot button sites like Yosemite and the WWII memorial are open through the weekend as well,
Trump tried to keep the parks open in 2018 during the shutdown.
You write that as if you have only one daughter. Don’t you have, like, eleven daughters? I’m pretty sure it was a prime number. Seventeen daughters?
During The Great Lockup I was an ‘essential’ worker, so I didn’t get down/right/re-sized out of the workforce. Now I’d happily take a layoff or reduction-in-headcount, which would allow me to get unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, if you volunteer for a reduction in staff, in any way, it’s called quitting.
Remember the Vets rebelling when Odooshnozzle closed the memorials. Really, you need somebody in a Smokey-Bear hat to walk around the memorials. Fracking goobermint.
Trump probably gave money to Schumer once upon a time.
Construction. New York. Everybody gets to wet their beak.
Trump used to be a dumbrocrat.
Just remember, stay away from dumbrocrats, they can be dangerous.
Pearls Before Swine: Rat has a new job in Hell
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2025/10/01
Oh no. Oh no. I may have done that in the distant past.
LOL, I don’t know what is worse, raising moody teen daughters or having Mom or Mom-In-Law living with you. They are all moody and grumpy.
Well, I did both at the same time. This suggests that I’m too dumb to escape a bad situation, a realization which is unwelcome but undeniable.
Someone once said that the need for a newer and greener refrigerant seems to often coincide with the expiration of Dupont’s patents on the old version.
Truth. And R454B has propane in it. Don’t get a leak near your natural gas furnace.
You write that as if you have only one daughter. Don’t you have, like, eleven daughters? I’m pretty sure it was a prime number. Seventeen daughters?
3.141592654 ?
“Trump Plans to Use Shutdown to Fire Federal Workers This Week”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/republicans-weigh-sweeping-cuts-shutdown-144815558.html?guccounter=1
I wonder how many of the fired federal workers will be invited back ? I have a feeling that we may see a permanent decimation of the non essential federal workforce.
Having that many children would not be rational.
““Big Losses”: Study Confirms Gavin Newscum’s $20-an-Hour Minimum Wage Decimated Industry”
https://thelibertydaily.com/big-losses-study-confirms-gavin-newscums-20-hour/
“It’s because since he imposed a $20-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers in his state, California has lost close to 20,000 such jobs.”
““California made national headlines when two large Pizza Hut franchises laid off more than 1,200 in-house delivery drivers to cut costs, while others, such as Mod Pizza and Foster’s Freeze, decided to close up shop entirely,” the report noted.”
Actions have consequences, News at 5 !
While serving at the PinHeadAgon, I quickly realized 50% of the civilian force could be let go with no adverse effect. Apply that to the General Service civilians across the goobermint board.
That’s for departments which are necessary, serve their intended purpose, and are authorized under the Constitutional powers granted to the federal government.
50% of the DA civilians could be let go with no adverse effect.
100% of the employees of F-troop could (and must) be let go.
100% of the employees of the Department of Education.
And so on.
It is even worse in Oak Ridge with multiple layer contracts, sub contractors to sub contractors to sub contractors. Sometimes as much as six layers deep. Many of the people that were being paid on my contract were Lockheed Martin rejects. For some reason they could not be fired so Lockheed Martin put them on the contract I was involved.
Carol Tubbs, who was supposed to be Cracker Jack programmer, was one of the most incompetent I had ever encountered. I did all the programming as her work was really bad, mostly did not work and I had to fix. So after a couple of months she just sat in her office.
Leon Yount spent half of his day sleeping. I would bang on his wall as I walked by and his secretary told me stop as he almost fell out of his chair. Corky (I don’t remember his real name), kept crossword puzzles in his notepad. He would quickly flip the top pages over them when someone walked by, then resume the crosswords when the coast was clear.
The secretary of those two was having sexual relations with my boss almost every afternoon. She would sneak down a back hallway, he would shuffle through the computer room, and then meet in a back office that was not used. There was a padded lounge pad on the floor along with some supplies. We opened the ceiling tiles in the adjoining room while they were not there and sprinkled itching powder all over the pad. It was fun watching them scratch the rest of the afternoon.
There was another guy, a real zit-faced, homely, socially awkward, with a huge blackhead that needed to be popped, dork, that would spend his time running some sort of bulletin board system on his computer during the day. Yep, using government equipment. Other than that I never saw him do anything. Except maybe chow down on some boogers.
There was the black wheel chair bound black women who did nothing and had no skills. She was worth her wait in gold (almost she was fat as a pregnant moose, and almost as ugly) for contracts. The perfect trifecta for getting awarded bids because of hiring handicap, minority, or female. She pressed all three buttons with her three chins.
My contract was at the bottom of a pyramid that was about five levels deep with the eventual top level being the department of the navy. Everywhere along the pyramid money was made. My final billable rate, to the Navy, was several hundred dollars an hour of which I saw about $15.00.
I love the first day of the month. Rent, rent, rent.
Dad joke of the day!
I am with Rat in Hell on his selection criteria. Just put those people right after the ones who don’t use their turn signals, who go after the ones who drive with fog lights on when there is no fog.
I am with Rat in Hell on his selection criteria. Just put those people right after the ones who don’t use their turn signals, who go after the ones who drive with fog lights on when there is no fog.
I maintain that many used cars being sold today should advertise “turn signals in perfect condition”. Especially living in a county that is 40% immigrants.
“Duke Energy Hoping To Keep Coal Units Alive As Grid Crisis Looms”
https://dailycaller.com/2025/10/01/duke-energy-hoping-to-keep-coal-units-alive-as-grid-crisis-looms/
“Duke Energy announced Wednesday it was hoping to keep some of its coal units humming to meet electricity demand as a grid reliability crisis looms large.”
“The utility filed its long-term energy plan with state regulators, looking to extend the life of several retiring coal units in North Carolina as electricity costs and power demand rise. Grid reliability and electricity costs have been a nation-wide concern, with the Department of Energy (DOE) warning in a July report that blackouts are expected to increase by a factor of 100 by 2030 if America continues to phase out power plants without adequate replacements.”
Coal power plants were mandated by clueless regulators to be shut down by 2030 regardless of replacements.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
The landlord’s glee, the tenant’s lament. 🙂
Amen. People would actually have to work to earn that goobermint pension.
We also need to shit-can federal unions.
And no back pay for anybody during the shutdown. If only Congress got no pay during the shutdown.
IIRC, Duke Energy had its own coal mines which the company sold within the last decade.
Duke Energy is the parent company of Florida Powrer – NOT Florida Power & Light – which services a lot of West Central Florida except for Tampa and the immediate suburbs.
Duke Energy still has a license to operate nuclear reactors at Crystal River. The problem with building new reactors would be the NIMBYs in the nearby western fringe of The Villages, the ultimate HOA Nazi community which now spreads across three counties.
Ugg. I sold an ebay item that nets me $3. I only left it up because some astronomers were buying them. Now I have to find and ship it.
n
Did some pickups. Spent about 3 ½ hours talking with a new auction seller. I don’t think she’s gonna make it. Undercapitalized and undermotivated. Reselling is a lot harder than people think and takes time and effort.
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Turns out I blew a fuse during my radio adventures yesterday. No radio for me during my drive around, and no clock. I had no idea I looked at that clock so much during the day.
That’s on my list to fix right now.
n
@SteveF
”Well, I did both at the same time.”
Hmmm ….
re-evaluating that “font of wisdom” tag …
“Federal Judges To Decide Texas Redistricting Case”
https://texasscorecard.com/federal/federal-judges-to-decide-texas-redistricting-case/
“Left-wing advocacy groups are challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ new congressional map, which creates five new Republican-opportunity districts.”
“A legal showdown over Texas’ new congressional map begins Wednesday in an El Paso federal court. The outcome will determine whether the state’s latest congressional boundaries can be used in upcoming elections.”
font of half-witsdom
“NRG Energy Awarded $562 Million From Texas Energy Fund for Baytown Natural Gas Plant”
https://texasscorecard.com/local/nrg-energy-awarded-562-million-from-texas-energy-fund-for-baytown-natural-gas-plant/
“The plant is projected to power more than 180,000 homes by 2028.”
“Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that NRG Energy will receive a $562 million low-interest loan through the Texas Energy Fund to build a new natural gas power plant near Baytown. The 721-megawatt facility is projected to generate enough electricity to power more than 180,000 homes during peak demand and is expected to come online in 2028. The loan carries a 3 percent interest rate and will be repaid over 20 years.”
This is a gas turbine plant powered by natural gas or diesel being built in the so-called non-attainment ozone zone known as Houston. Every time the Houston came close to dropping out of the non-attainment zone, the EPA would get their friends to make a new ozone study and lower the numbers. The probable 15 gas turbines (48 MW each) will only be run as needed under near emergency or emergency conditions. Seven days, probably, of diesel fuel will also be stored on site for the curtailment days when the residential needs are greater for the natural gas in Texas.
“In Florida, Here’s What You Think You’re Getting Versus What You Got”
https://rumble.com/v6zpq56-in-florida-heres-what-you-think-youre-getting-versus-what-you-got.html?e9s=src_v1_upp_a
ROTFLMAO.
That is nasty, real nasty.
Turns out there are 4 fuses for the radio. Of course it was the fourth that was bad. One for the “cigar” lighter. That’s what the manual calls it. I’m down.
Guess I’ll be more careful next try at installing radios.
n
Dunno if I agree, I can forgive a lot for a fellow reader. Not many of us left.
I learned to memorize the page I stopped on so that I wouldn’t have to dog ear pages. Or use a bookmark which could change the shape of the book. I also learned not to spread the book too far open and damage the spine….
I must say, one of my favorite ereader functions is the kindle syncing to furthest page read across all devices.
n
>>Steven Gould put it this way in Exo: “The list is a bitch. No matter how many things you take off of it, it grows and grows.”
I call it the 110 item list. There are so many items that you have to SWAG the length of it.
Going through my to-do list is like scrolling the cable box menu…by the time you’ve scrolled through the entire list an hour has gone by and you didn’t find anything to watch…
That’s funny.
One of the weird things about my kids is that they are perfectly fine with watching all the previews for an hour, and then not watching any of the shows. They’re like mini movies, with all the best parts shown, so it makes a kind of sense.
n
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