Chilly and headed lower according to the weather liars. It was pretty nice yesterday, if a bit breezy and chilly when the sun wasn’t out. Nice for January in any case.
I spent most of Friday afternoon driving to my pickup, meeting with my auctioneer, and hitting a couple of thrift stores on my way home. Got a nice shirt and a couple of pairs of shorts. I noticed I’ve worn through the collar on a couple of my favorite shirts, so picking up a nice one was warranted. I’m beginning to see some unwelcome changes in the thrift stores that worry me. Stock levels are low, and prices are high. That means even the thrift stores are having trouble. Only a very rich society has thrift stores.
Today D2 has a thing that I have to get her to even earlier than a normal school day. I think I’ll go back to bed after dropping her off. Then I’ve got one thing to pick up, and a list to get to work on. Uncharacteristically, W noticed that I’m making a bit of slow progress around the house and mentioned it. That was nice. Prepping plus reselling plus my affection for having a lot of stuff around me can equal piles sitting everywhere without rigid discipline. I don’t have rigid discipline.
I’m working on it.
Stack, but don’t let it become more than that. Saving old cans or stuff because it might “make be useful as a trade good post collapse” is right on the edge of “more than that.”
nick
I have assembled more flatpack furniture than I care to remember, mostly from a famous Swedish chain. A surprising amount of it is still in service and in good order. The judicious application of woodglue upon assembly helps a lot with that.
The destination for the sofas has two large windows that would each have opened wide enough to get the furniture through. If the carry-it-in method had failed, I had a friendly neighbour with an industrial forklift only a phone call away ready to fenestrate it. Fortunately, that was not necessary, but I have done it before, and it worked fine.
If I get to design my “forever” home, I will certainly follow the move furniture in with a telehandler approach.
Initial testing indicates that the new furniture that arrived yesterday is eminently suitable for entertaining guests, drinking beer and watching movies (Paddington 2).
Gold reserves / Fort Knox. I think I saw a documentary about that. Didn’t some German guy detonate a neutron bomb to make all the bullion radioactive?
Saturday. Good morning!
Cold outside, but blue skies and sunshine. The night was spectacularly starry. Even without my glasses on, I could see constellations when I got up for a comfort break.
… while you are entirely coincidentally cleaning a gub? Sounds like boyfriend deterrent.
I have a Sauder (US flatpak manufacturer) bookcase from 1993 which is still in decent shape and will move with us again next time.
I wouldn’t say the same for the bookcases from the Swedish chain. I might buy those again, but I’m not moving the existing pieces. After 20 years of use, they’re done.
The Swedish chain has some high end pieces which look like they would hold up, but the last assembly I attempted from that place in November was a complex nightmare, and the item went back to the store half assembled.
But Elon is the Real Life Tony Stark!
You haters need a life. Elon is going to take us to Mars to live the rest of our lives as his indentured servants. Who cares about your petty privacy concerns.
I think their kitchen cabinets are more sturdy than some of their stuff. I’ve got an office full of Expedit, and Billy bubba’d together in a way no man intended. Looks good and works. Then again, the Expedit line was for office use and is sturdy and thicker.
The library, music, toy, etc room has Expedit/Billy and now the cube stuff in a wall for holding LPs.
Useful stuff.
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50F. It was 54F when I went to bed.
Kid is moving, snack is packed. I’m dropping her off and coming back for a nap.
n
Bus was late but we were on time.
Time for a nap.
n
Let us know if it’s good, and good enough to read the sequel.
Ratings are not very high. If it’s another Avatar wannabe it won’t make my list.
I’ve got an office full of Expedit, and Billy bubba’d together in a way no man intended. Looks good and works. Then again, the Expedit line was for office use and is sturdy and thicker.
My only Swedish adventure was brief ownership of three Billy’s. Upon assembly and inspection I decided they were too flimsy and too much trouble to upgrade, so they went back.
I’ve picked up a number of sets–I prefer pairs rather than odd singles–of bookcases over the years, many of them custom from estate sales.
Shelves that are ¾” material are simply inadequate and sag*. If the bookcase is otherwise good I will attach stiffeners at the front edge, back or both. For permanent shelf locations screws fastened through the sides (#10×2.5″ square drive). Many commercial bookcases have a fixed center shelf because it adds greatly to the rigidity. It also helps to attach the back with screws.
In some cases I have designed shelves for heavy loads (large books, coated paper stock, spans longer than 30″) from 2″ solid wood.
Tall bookcases can be hazards**. If there are rugrats around or it they are on carpet they should be attached to the wall. It’s a good idea in any case–have you ever slipped and caught yourself on a piece of furniture?
About 1990 there was a mall store that made very functional furniture out of Southern yellow pine, semi-rustic with a stain/clearcoat that showed the grain. The store is long gone and I do not recall the name. About ten years ago I chanced on a pair of their tall bookcases at a thrift for pennies, but passed because I did not have a need. Foolish, and I still regret.
*I have a USDA Forest Products Laboratory (Madison, WI) publication in the files that has boatloads of good info on shelf deflection by size and species, but I can’t lay my hands on it at the moment, and the website search is absolute shit as the modern standard inflicted on us by Gubble, Amazoff, and zzzzBay.
But if you like books and keep books, it’s easy to find resources. Fine Woodworking, Wood, Woodsmith and ShopNotes have all had articles over the years. This is a good place to start:
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2022/12/06/understand-the-stress-strain-strength-of-wood/
And, BTW, if anyone is ever at an estate sale and comes across a library of Lost Art Press books, just buy them and send them to me.
** There is an episode of Midsommer Murders where a very cabinet’s attachment to the wall is removed and left as a trap for the unwitting homeowner. One of the “making of” documentaries discusses the scene at length.
The New Monroe Doctrine: Let the Commie Do the Dirty Work While the Iron Lady Waits
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/01/16/the-new-monroe-doctrine-let-the-commie-do-the-dirty-work-while-the-iron-lady-waits-n4948404
Watch the escape video.
Amherst Discovers the Amazing Disinfectant Power of Light
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/secretary-rubio-call-your-office.php
Don’t pass Elysium. Don’t collect perfect health.
Elon doesn’t have his ticket punched. He buys xAI gear from my current employer.
I’m not violating my NDA, BTW. The information has been out there for a year or more.
This echoes the YT reviews. Academy is utter woke trash.
Wesley Treat: xTool MetalFab Laser Welder and CNC Cutter
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/secretary-rubio-call-your-office.php
$8k. Financing at $235/mo.
Have to get busy on eBay.
@drwilliams, I was gonna post that link last night and went to bed instead. It’s an impressive looking setup.
They make a wide variety of desktop tools for advanced making too. Their fiber laser for metal cutting gets a workout from
Road Agent Leather on youtube.
n
Re: z Shelves…
After the collapse of a wall mounted bookshelf a few weeks ago the contents have just been stacked against a wall.
Since then i’ve been looking at stuff online, bookshelves and cubbies, and once or twice I’ve actually added something to my cart before removing it.
I just can’t bring myself to buy any more particle wood furniture. I’m not a very good carpenter but I can make my own if necessary, but getting the space cleared out in the garage/shop to maneuver the planks and plywood is quite the task.
For about $450 I can generally pick up a decent used barrister’s bookcase from Craigslist, nominally 3w x 5h, somewhat dust resistant. They can be modular and therefore movable and stackable by someone with a so-so back.
A matched pair would be nice … but it means driving down to the LA basin.
Too many projects.
Let’s hope not. Curiously, my expired security clearance will not let me confirm nor deny newspaper articles from a program that was cancelled 30+ years ago, even though the program itself released the information in a press release. And the info is readily available on Wikipedia.
That’s why they make popups. You live where the weather is often nice. Just add weights or tie-downs for wind. I’ve done that many times just outside the door on the driveway.
WRT “Mickey7” I enjoyed it while reading. On reflection, there are plot holes, arm wavium, characters doing uncharacteristic things, and the whole situations feels contrived.
Because it’s in kindle unlimited, I don’t mind that much and I’ll read the sequel, mostly out of curiosity and because there is nothing new in all the series books I’ve been reading. The writing is ok, no glaring errors or typesetting mistakes caught my eye.
TL:DR – if you have something else to read, you’re not missing anything if you skip this, but you probably won’t throw it at the wall if you do read it. Plus, it’s not a long book.
n
I know what I’m allowed to say and not say under my NDA.
My employer’s name is something I can’t mention without a lot of disclaimers and hashtags.
Not all of Canada is lost.
– although it’s clear they have a solid love of the dangerous immigrant and lawbreaker, just like the Dems.
It’s Calgary not Toronto or Quebec, and that seems to have made all the difference in the world.
n
Good traditional Canuck name… isn’t there an eponymous ice hockey trophy?
That’s a good idea!
the “made you a burrito” exception to immigration law…
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/01/17/clever-ice-operation-blows-another-one-of-those-narratives-of-the-left-n2198237
I have a modest proposal: The people that want illegal immigrants in this country should start GoFundMe’s for each individual that they want to sponsor. Pay for their health and auto insurance and get them off the public dole that they are getting illegally or getting through NGO’s sponsored by tax dollars. etc.
It sounds like ICE is targeting the most violent criminals in the country illegally, but at the same time and entirely properly keeping up enforcement at all levels. Including small towns like Willmar, Minnesota (2020 Census 21,015):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willmar%2C_Minnesota
Absolutely. Alberta, and for the most part Saskatchewan and Manitoba are still reasonably sane, and therefore oppose federal overreach as well as progressivism in general. As noted in many places on- and off-line, independence or sovereignty-association (with either of the players) are options being discussed for that reason.
The northern border is a much a more interesting shape if we trade Minnesota for Alberta.
But if Alberta doesn’t want to sign up, can we still give Minnesota away?
I now know what a rollback truck is from a mention in the book that I am currently reading.
https://www.myteeproducts.com/blog/types-of-tow-trucks/
It is a tow truck with a reclining flat bed that is used to move vehicles from one place to another with the vehicle totally off the ground.
“Needles and Delaney: Angry, Unreasonable & Implacable” by Todd Dorsey and The Missus
https://www.amazon.com/Needles-Delaney-Angry-Unreasonable-Implacable/dp/B094PDC1P6?tag=ttgnet-20/
I just finally read the book that I bought two years ago. Stayed up until 5 am reading it last night. Definitely a five star book. Feels very realistic and lots of action.
Hat tip to:
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/10/saturday-snippet-teenage-girl-her.html
@lynn, I really liked that too. Supposed to be a second one, but I never heard anything about it.
n
Subject line from my Credit protecting service.
Ready to kick off the New Year with less spam calls, nick?
– FFS. FEWER not less. It’s not a difficult rule, and there aren’t exceptions.
n
Sometimes the universe intersects with itself.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dDJFH358dRg?feature=share
Carlin, during his really bitter phase, on when your identity is your ideology.
Perfectly describes the left right now.
n
Got my DVI cable from amazon, late today. I’m back to my two monitors and no longer feel blind in my right eye. Amazing the weirdness of having that black monitor in my field of view.
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Child is back from her party. I can go to sleep now. So I think I will.
n