And I was gonna say “still no war” but that’s not right. Cool and clear today, trending toward possible T storms and rain. National forecast has all of Texas in that zone by Sunday. I acknowledge that we need the rain. The cool and clear has been SOOOOOoooo nice though.
Yesterday I did computer and office stuff in the morning. My insurance claim settled. I don’t think it’s enough to have someone else fix the damage, but I do think it’s enough for me to pocket the check and use my parts truck to fix it myself. I wish I had at least one friend to help though. He moved away. The guys I do know aren’t the kind who would help me swap the bed on the Ranger.
Now, I think I could ask some of the guys at the lake for help doing that and they would. It’s part of building that web of obligation, favors, helpin’ out, and being a stand up guy. But I can’t get the parts up there and do the work up there without a lot of disruption in my day to day.
Anyway, today I have several pickups that need to happen, and they sort of combine into a big loop. I scored a pair of Canon active stabilization binos in an estate sale. I have one or two items for the house at several other auctions. My total spend is way down, but this week there were things I couldn’t resist at the price. It just means a lot of driving today, and tomorrow.
There really aren’t that many critical things left on my lists, just enhancements at this point- like image stabilized binos. Awesome for boating, and I have a boat now. More tools to equip the BOL. More depth in areas like power generation, or cooking. More defensive options.
It’s also clear I’ve let some of the stacks of food run down, or have too much ‘breakage’. I don’t like throwing away food, but I know that my family diet, combined with poor storage conditions, means I will have stuff that expires past the point where it’s edible, or the packaging becomes damaged. It’s part of the cost of the insurance policy that prepping is.
So work, improve, and stack.
nick
Friday. Good morning.
I slept late. Was that last night’s venison pizza and excellent Romanian cabernet sauvignon? Am feeling refreshed, though, and look: I am still here before Chicken Boy!
Today is a bit last-chance to do some stuff at the BOL, like those shelves…. Better get up and busy!
Have a lovely day!
PS: Nick, if those binos are surplus to requirements, please let me know more…
I don’t kill everyone who annoys me. Not more than a very tiny fraction, even. And I didn’t say there would be no consequences.
The individuals involved don’t seem to have had any dishonest intent. They needed another person for paperwork purposes. The other person was supposed to be actively involved in the operations and especially in the paperwork, not just a name on a form, which was where the appearance of fraud came in. And they got caught, as it were, because they’d done several things wrong in doing the paperwork themselves.
It’s also possible that they asked me if I’d be OK with them using my name. It’s very unlikely that I’d have given the go-ahead, even if I was asked when tired or distracted, but I might have said something like, “Probably ok. Send me a list of responsibilities” and forgotten it, and they used that as a go-ahead.
It might be worth doing specifically to strengthen the web of obligation. “Studies show” – psychological studies, so take with a grain of salt even when they seem to be correct – that doing someone a favor builds stronger ties than receiving a favor.
Otherwise, you do have a couple of daughters who can presumably put on gloves and help take the old bed off after you’ve removed the bolts, then help lift the new into place. The bed shouldn’t weigh more than 400# or so. They should be strong enough to help with wiggling things into place.
Or you could talk to the people at the halfway house next door. One might be willing to do ten minutes of work for $20.
Or call the owners of the halfway house. They might be even hungrier than the residents.
The residents are just trying to get clean. They aren’t trying to score a tenbagger.
It is hard to say who is in worse shape mentally. I’ve never had a addict threaten my life over the condition of my sod.
71F and not raining so that’s a good start.
Busy day so I’m trying my ‘split up the coffee’ trick to avoid the afternoon crash. I’ve gotten too used to napping after the kids leave. Technically, I could, but then I’d be behind all day, and worried about finishing before the kid needs a taxi somewhere tonight.
—–
@steve, that is a good idea about using the kids. Seems like I could figure something out.
n
Moving Heavy Things by Jan Adkins
https://a.co/d/07IPVwGq
After a few years of practice, you might be able to move your mom.
@denis, neat looking book, I’ve put it on my wish list.
If the parts truck was running, the job would be easier. I would just have to lift the beds, and drive out from under them. As it is, they really need to swap, so that the bent up bed ends up on the parts truck. When I sell what’s left of the parts truck, the damaged bed will go with it.
It might be possible to just rotate the bed off vertically, either next to the truck, or behind it, then move it with a drywall dolly… too bad my neighbor the Ford racing enthusiast moved. He had a 4 post lift in his garage.
n
MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+
How far does the bed need to be lifted so you can drive out from under it? If it’s less than the travel of the automotive jacks you have, can you hillbilly something up with some kind of frame to suspend the bed and be lifted by the jacks? Maybe even a few 2x4s if you can slide them under the bed, then put the jacks on cinder blocks or something.
Or maybe ratchet straps, if you have a frame that will support a few hundred pounds.
Woke up to an email from Nextdoor this morning:
Woman’s body found in Addicks Reservoir
I reluctantly did the click-thru. It’s near my shooting range, walking distance from the largest highway interchange in Houston, near my neighborhood.
Homicide detectives are on scene; and apparently they have reasons.
You know, back in the 1920’s to 1960’s, the initial news story would have contained actual details instead of pussy-footing around them.
In a couple weeks, maybe, we’ll know the victim’s description, race, ethnicity, name, and immigration status. Maybe. It’s been years now, and I’ve never heard a solution to the murder 200 yards from my front door.
re: heavy lifting.
I think your daughters could help, but not the way others have suggested.
For the cost of a few pizzas, I bet you could get 6 or so male classmates to drop by and manhandle the bed off, and the new one on.
They could probably come up with a list right off the top of their heads.
The bigger problem is chasing them away after the job is done.
On a more serious note, I’ve got a neighbor who apparently does side work fixing cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He’s handy, helpful, and has friends who help him out. I bet he could be persuaded ($) to drop by with a couple friends for that task.
Of course, I don’t know his name. That’s the kind of neighbor I am. You could email me and I could walk over and knock…
But one day I needed to change a flat tire in my driveway, and I could not get the lug nuts off with the tools* I had. So I walked to his house and asked for help, figuring he probably had a battery impact tool.
He came over with a lug wrench and handled it for me. I thanked him profusely and he went back home. No payment was discussed.
Later, I dropped by with a nice HEB gift card as a thank you.
* Lest you think me unprepared, I had one of those X shaped lug wrench tools that was supposed to fit several sizes, and it was in my car. But NONE of the sockets fit my lug nuts. The lesson, I guess, is you need to test your preps, not just buy them. BTW, the car’s provided lug wrench was useless working against the lug nuts that were tightened at Discount Tire by impacts.
Austin PD continues to deny that a serial killer is working the shores of Lady Bird Lake near downtown. The authorities keep details limited so they can plausibly deny connections between killings, but a definite pattern exists in victim profiles.
In the course of a few years, I broke I think three lug studs, a number of lug nuts, and a ½” Craftsman breaker bar, trying to remove lug nuts which had been put on with an air wrench. Other nuts were removed with my dad’s air wrench and ¾” breaker bar with extending sleeve making it 3′ long.
When I yelled at the shop owner, he said that they weren’t tightened that much and the guy doing the work was careful. I stopped going there. Overall they did good work and didn’t try to rip off customers, but refusal to acknowledge screwups is a deal killer.
Well, the rain started. I need to choose which truck to drive. The pickup with exposed bed (but most of my stuff will fit in the cab) or the more expensive Expy? No tiny little fires in the expy, and I’ll be driving around for several hours…
Hmm.
Time to head out in any case.
n
Prop tax 2nd half paid today. Eff ’em.
It is often stated that a small number of criminals is responsible for the majority of violent crime. eg, an estimated 300 of NYC’s 8,000,000 residents were responsible for half of muggings, murders, rapes, etc. I have no idea how solid those numbers are, whether they’re extrapolated from tiny samples, if they hold across metro areas, etc. But let’s take them as given.
If an ordinary citizen were to wander around at night in a crime-ridden metropolis and cripple or kill muggers, say ten per year in a cluster of cities considerably smaller than NYC, that could create a measurable drop in the violent crime rate. This might be reported as a sign that the police force’s increased funding was working or as a sign that midnight basketball was working.
The “excess” deaths might also be noted and reported, with an observation that there has been a disturbing increase in the deaths of young black men and Something Must Be Done. There will not be a mention that LaTwon, age 23, had been arrested eleven times on felony charges in the past five years.
No correlation between these two reports will ever be publicly made.
Go out on YouTube and search for Sam Behr’s commercials for Allied Discount Tires.
The one with Sam talking about their mechanics hand torquing the lug nuts is a Florida media classic.
Florida used to be fun.
Sam‘s shoe store in Orlando was yet another victim of The Rodent’s greed. The tire store ads started as a favor for his friend, the chain’s founder, but the spots ended up being Behr’s ticket to immortality.
And, yes, Sam usually had a few drinks before the cameras rolled.
.22 short?
@lpdbw
“could not get the lug nuts off with the tools“
4-way wrenches are knuckle busters
Harbor Freight has a 24” (approx) ½” socket handle that they run a $10 coupon for about every other month. You can get an impact socket to fit the lug nuts for less than $5. I’ve carried one in every car for years. Has potential other used, too.
Get a 6-in round magnetic parts tray for $2 on sale to keep the lug nuts from the Ralphie moment.
I love multi-purpose tools. Just be aware there are cameras everywhere.
Otherwise, you do have a couple of daughters who can presumably put on gloves and help take the old bed off after you’ve removed the bolts, then help lift the new into place. The bed shouldn’t weigh more than 400# or so. They should be strong enough to help with wiggling things into place.
Later in life, they will be very proud to have helped Dad work on his truck. Give them the opportunity.
From Grok:
The bed (cargo box) of a 2002 Ford Ranger typically weighs around 150–250 pounds, depending on the exact configuration.
Key Details:
• Most common estimates for a standard 6-foot (or similar) steel fleet-side bed: 150–200 lbs. Many owners and mechanics report it’s light enough for two people to lift and remove fairly easily (though awkward due to size).
• Some forum users guess closer to 200–250 lbs for a full fleet-side bed, especially in rustier southern climates.
• Stepside (flareside) beds tend to be lighter (closer to the low end) due to smaller size and fiberglass components.
Questionable Content: Fight To Death
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5805
Hopefully, Moray was just telling a joke, right ?
I just got back from the grocery run. My F-150 and Android Auto just surprised me, and not in a good way.
I was regaling my GF with tales from my nephew’s childhood, when all of a sudden, Gemini announced “he” was there, and how could “he” help me?
As is my wont, I responded with FOAD. I was told in no uncertain terms that he did not respond to language like that.
I don’t know what the trigger words are, I was unaware it was listening, and I am not pleased.
Oddly enough, the story I was telling was about my nephew’s objections to the voice warning of the Chrysler Cordoba saying “A door is ajar”. He pointed out that a door, in fact, is not a jar, it’s a door.
Cars being annoying is not a new thing.
Dilbert: Revised Standard Employment Agreement
https://dilbert-viewer.herokuapp.com/1996-02-15
Most Excellent ! I need to do this !
Hat tip to:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dilbert/comments/1shdzs6/the_dil_side/
“All eyes on Orion’s heat shield: Artemis 2 astronauts will hit Earth’s atmosphere at nearly 24,000 mph on April 10”
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/all-eyes-on-orions-heat-shield-artemis-2-astronauts-will-hit-earths-atmosphere-at-a-record-breaking-25-000-mph-on-april-10
“Now that NASA Artemis 2 mission has rounded the moon, taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen farther from the Earth than any astronauts before them, the journey home is underway. What awaits them when they reenter Earth’s atmosphere?”
“The final 100 or so miles of their 695,081-mile (1,118,624 kilometers) journey are potentially the most dangerous. At about 75 miles (120 km) above Earth, Artemis 2‘s Orion capsule will enter our atmosphere at an estimated 23,840 mph (38,367 kph). That’s fast enough to fly from New York to Tokyo in less than 20 minutes, were the capsule heading in that direction. Instead, it will be on target for a splashdown Friday evening (April 10), in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.”
“What follows once it enters the atmosphere are eight dramatic minutes.”
“These main parachutes will slow the capsule’s descent to less than 20 mph (32 kph), gentle enough for a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday at 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. local time; 1207 GMT on April 11).”
As is my wont, I responded with FOAD. I was told in no uncertain terms that he did not respond to language like that.
I don’t know what the trigger words are, I was unaware it was listening, and I am not pleased.
Oddly enough, the story I was telling was about my nephew’s objections to the voice warning of the Chrysler Cordoba saying “A door is ajar”. He pointed out that a door, in fact, is not a jar, it’s a door.
Cars being annoying is not a new thing.
My Dad’s 2024 E350 Mercedes had several things that upset me, the digital dash with many configurations being one. The worst was when you went 1 mph above the speed limit, it would blink a speed limit sign on the digital dash at you. And, it read the speed limit signs but it would occasionally confuse a highway sign with a speed limit sign so the system would go wonky at that point and the cruise control would terminate when you were 20 mph above the wrongly read speed limit sign that was really a highway sign.
I rejected a non-compete in Seattle which listed a handful of known competitors aong with a bullet point that read “Any potential competitor not already listed here”.
I eventually signed the agreement after they removed the final bullet point.
I walked out of the job after a few months.
WA State leaves it up to the courts to decide the validity of non-compete agreements except if money knowingly changes hands in return for the restriction. However, I didn’t want to take any chances.
Lots of patents for the engineers which is what Mercedes really wanted.
The digital dash appeals to gadget freaks, however, and, in the US, all tech sits downstream of the art department of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.
Even the scheme discussed in “I, Borg” to bring down the collective has a central concept which could be used to break a rogue LLM AI by constructing the right “prompt”.
If you’re wondering, the first episode with “Hugh”. Pay attention to the scheme advocated by some of the characters that Picard eventually dismisses as genocide.
I’ve decided I’m doing a brisket. Soon. Middle of May. The 16th? Saturday.. Anyway, the weather will be warm and the trees should be done making pollen.
So. A brisket. I’ll put it in the smoker for a few hours on Friday. Wrap and into a 225f oven over night. Flour tortillas. Some sausage links. Deviled Eggs. Bring the sides you like. Or make them here, I have plenty of Grandmother’s secret potato salad ingredient. 🙂 . And bring what you want to drink.
If the weather is nice, we sit outside. If the weather is sucky, well, I have an entire house right here, like, 10 feet away. Got a/c and indoor plumbing too, it’s a nice place to be.
Dunno. They are invited. That’s about all I can do.
My brother has a Prius. Nice enough car. But we went to the HEB from here and he was constantly messing with the dash board. Hey man, how about just driving? So you don’t veer off the road into a ditch?
I insulted him somehow. But ya know, that ¾ ton Ford coming right at us …..
Paul, how do you find brisket smoked vs cooked in the oven vs cooked in the crockpot, if you’ve tried more than one of those?
I’ve been back and forth about getting a smoker. Money isn’t the issue (though wallet’s getting a bit light, what with family members who aren’t me needing an awful lot of money in the past year or so), it’s a matter of where to put the thing when not in use. We have a bunch of kitchen gadgets, each of which we do use and don’t want to get rid of, and the house is fairly new and built in the modern style with very limited closets and other storage space.
DreamHost has raised their prices. $191 for a year. They have other lower cost plans but the other plans don’t have e-mail.
I kinda like having e-mail. Hey, $16 a month is like 53 cents a day.. Maybe I can drink less beer.
I have a pellet grill. A Trager knockoff. So, smoke the brisket a few hours. For flavor.
I tried to smoke the brisket to “cooked” last year and no, dry. Not dry to jerky,. I’m not a professional at this. So, a few hours of smoke and then into a pan, on a rack, sealed with foil, and in a 225-ish oven overnight. Plans, got one.
Yeah. I’m figuring this out. It might be like a pot roast sans potatoes and carrots. But, I like pot roast, so,…
“Maybe I can drink less beer.”
Evaluate carefully before making a life-altering decision that may impact your health and happiness.
Maybe I can drink less beer.
— just NO! or yes, if you want to drink less. You’ve already cut back though…
———
@steve, I have never smoked my own brisket, although being in Texas, that’s a bit like saying “I’m a girlie man in a dress, who likes girlie things…” Takes a long time, that I don’t generally have. I do like my Jewish version, in the crock pot. It’s delicious, and the liquid tastes like onion soup.
Besides, if I want smoked brisket, 5 minutes in any direction will usually get me someplace that will happily sell me some.
———-
Did my pickups and went by the shop. Broke down the ‘weighted sterling’ compote I bought and took it and the candlesticks to the coin shop. They are paying only $1.25/g for sterling, while spot is around $2. No one wants to get caught holding the inventory and the refiners are backed up. I made money on the compote, which was a wild guess. About $50 for putting $110 at risk for a few hours. Not a bad return.
I had a bright idea though. Tomorrow while I’m out, I’m going by the antique mall and cruising all the little stands to see if anyone had weighted silver objects they haven’t re-priced in a while. Since the booths are generally unattended, if I find any, I’ll just take it to the cashier. Won’t even ask for a discount. Since most boothholders price their stuff like hoarders who don’t really want to sell, I bet there is some sitting around. This is especially true because weighted silver was a bastard stepchild that wasn’t worth messing with in the past. No one buys plated, there was a small market for weighted, but the real market was for solid. That changes at these prices. It only took me a few minutes to peel the compote and clean it up for the scrap buyer. Watch out though, that foil is really sharp.
——–
Paid $3.89/gal for gas at a Valero out in the sticks. Even Shell is only $3.59 card price in town.
——–
Hit Costco for the kid’s lunch snacks and some quick meals. Wasn’t crowded, but was mostly non-white. More colonist food choices in the frozen section, and several prominently marked “halal”.
We are being replaced.
n
I normally cook the brisket in the oven, 250F for eight or ten hours in a covered roaster. I’ll normally throw quartered potatoes and onions and big chunks of carrots and celery in for the last few hours. No sense in not using the juices to cook the vegetables, right? Though I’m the only one in the house who likes them cooked that way. The only human, that is. The chickens are very attentive if I bring a dish out.* No, I have no idea what keeps the brisket from transforming into a pot roast, unless it’s simply down to where on the cow the cut comes from.
I’ve cooked brisket in the crock pot a few times. It comes out fine, I guess, but not nearly as good as cooked in the oven.
I’ve eaten smoked brisket, but every time it was drenched in some kind of barbecue sauce, which I’m almost positive defeats the point of smoking it.
The first time I made brisket since The Child was born, she, aged 11-ish, ate a shocking amount and then volunteered to learn to cook it if it meant she could get more. Quite the impressive statement, coming from a girl who is as lazy as the typical teen or preteen, or even moreso. (There’s no good reason that I never made a brisket in the ten years before that. I hadn’t made it in a while, so I didn’t think about it, which led to it being even longer since the last time I made it.)
* Speaking of fluffheads, I grilled half a dozen burgers for supper. Poured the drippings over a bowl of cooked white rice and brought it out to the chickens. Several of the younger birds were attempting to jump into the bowl while I was attempting to dish it into their treat dishes. Note that the bowl was nowhere near big enough for one grown chicken, let alone three. Next-level greed.
@paul
I use EUKHOSTING.COM for my hosting service at about GBP52/annum. Been with them a couple of years and limited issues with the service. I currently run 5 domains off the service. Includes email
Brisket is traditionally a less expensive cut of meat due to the large amount of tough connective tissue. “Low and slow” breaks the connective tissue down, so it is a natural for barbecue but any method that gets you there is acceptable.
Like many less expensive cuts, brisket has risen in price as it has become more popular as part of ethnic cuisine and part of the grilling/smoking renaissance. Flank or skirt steak is another one, as is “tri tip” aka “very bottom sirloin”. The reward for cooking properly is a lot of flavor.
I get a half every year so I get all of it. Round steak is a tough pita so it goes in the burger, as do a lot of the chuck roasts and the skirt.
A kamado-type ceramic cooker is a natural for brisket. I buy heavy-duty aluminum foil in the 24-inch commercial rolls, which last me several years. Salt and dry rub overnight or at least 4-6 hours before cooking gives you better results. Put wood chips in the smoke box, and cook at 225F. I use a rack and catch drippings in an aluminum foil pan.
When the internal temp is 195 (4-6 hours), wrap it in aluminum foil, wrap it in a couple clean old towels, and put it in a cooler to rest for another 2-4 hours. This gives it a long soak temperature to tenderize it without drying it out. Lots of on-line videos.
An instant-read temperature probe is a must for good results–particularly with chicken–when you don’t grill often. Using one let’s you confirm that your time and temperature is getting the desired internal temperature results. I bought a good Thermapen about 20 years ago and the price was around $70 and is $92 direct now. Slower and cheaper models will do the job and can be had for less than $20.
re: smoker
It takes up space we don’t have in Texas (no basements), and gets weathered, and you have to figure out how to use it each time if you don’t use it regularly.
I have one anyway. When we fire it up (propane), we tend to load it full. A brisket, a turkey breast, some chickens, all at once. Smoke a couple hours, wrap it, continue low temp cooking until it’s done. You can use a cooler as a hotbox for the last bit if you want. I have a remote read two probe thermometer, ambient inside smoker temp and meat temp.
I’ve had some good results doing the “snake method” on my Weber kettle with charcoal. Sometimes the charcoal runs out and you finish in the oven, which is just fine. The smoke part is done after the first few hours.
You should consider that once you get good smoked brisket, you may never go back.
I’ve been cleaning the canon binos. They suffer from the deplasticized soft coating problem. IE super sticky. Fortunately, like most high end coatings, it’s removable with isopropal alcohol and paper towels. Took about a half hour, and I’ll still find little corners as I handle it. If you want the soft finish, respray it with clear flexseal or a spray plasti-dip of your choosing.
The bigger problem is moisture inside the lens tubes. I’ll have to clean the optics and the electronics too. $90 instead of $200 means more work.
n
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/04/accused-of-11m-fraud-he-flees-country.php
Keith Ellison, the poor man’s Eric Holder, who was caught on tape soliciting campaign donations from the fraudsters that he ignored for years, and now mysteriously does not ask the judge–who in turn, mysteriously, does not think to suggest–to require the defendant to surrender his passport.
So, tragically, the most successful thief of taxpayer money uncovered to date in Minnesota, will not be in court reminding the voters of Minnesota that Governor Walz, their simpering demented Chicom tool, and his girlfriend -beating lackey Keith X, do not have the skills to run a lemonade stand, much less be stewards of public money.
Can’t do much about Democrat corruption in Minnesota, but I can ask why there has been no effort to bring federal indictments and get the passports confiscated and flagged?
Federal DOJ is too busy prosecuting peaceable gun owners for paperwork or location of carry violations. This is the “most friendly ever to the second amendment” DOJ, I’ll point out.
“The Carbon Bureaucracy Nobody Voted For”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/04/10/the-carbon-bureaucracy-nobody-voted-for/
“Most Americans have never heard of the International Organization for Standardization.”
“That is exactly how its architects prefer it. While Washington debates energy policy in public, a quieter project is underway in Geneva, one that could reshape how American companies produce energy and what it costs them to do it, without a single public vote being cast, a single hearing being held, or a single elected official being consulted.”
“Last September, the ISO announced a strategic partnership with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to “harmonize” global emissions accounting standards. The GHG Protocol was developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, two organizations funded by the full cast of progressive philanthropy, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, the MacArthur Foundation, and several European governments, to be the world’s dominant framework for corporate carbon reporting.”
So now the ISO has drunk the Global Warming XXXXX XXXX Climate Change XXXXX XXXX Climate Disruption Koolaid. Lovely, just lovely.
Ah, that sweet, sweet dopamine hit from the gadgetry.
“New EPA Guidance On Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)”
https://www.carpro.com/blog/new-epa-guidance-on-diesel-exhaust-fluid-def
“Diesel owners who have wrestled with warning lights, sudden power loss or even complete shutdowns tied to diesel exhaust fluid systems may finally be getting some relief.”
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is easing some of the most frustrating requirements tied to diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, systems, according to recent federal guidance.”
“For a quick refresher, DEF is a urea-based liquid injected into a diesel vehicle’s exhaust stream to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions. It has been required on most modern diesel engines for more than a decade as part of tighter federal emissions standards.”
“The system itself generally works as intended. The real issue has been the components that monitor and control it.”
“For years, diesel owners — particularly truck drivers, farmers and heavy-duty pickup owners — have complained about DEF-related failures. When sensors detect a problem, even if it’s a false reading, the vehicle can go into “derate” mode, reducing power and speed. In some cases, the vehicle will not restart at all after being shut off.”
“That’s more than an inconvenience. It can leave drivers stranded or unable to do their jobs.”
Every person that I know with a DEF system and/or a soot burner system on their diesel has had to have the systems rebuilt at 100,000 miles or the equivalent. These systems are not mature and they add $10,000s of cost to the diesel motors at the beginning and over their lifetimes. That is contrary to the law.
“State Farm Settles Suit Over Under-Valuing Total-Loss Cars”
https://www.carpro.com/blog/state-farm-settles-suit-over-under-valuing-total-loss-cars
“Score one for the GOOD GUYS! State Farm has agreed to pay $15.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it underpaid customers for totaled vehicles, according to a report by legal news service Law360.”
“The proposed settlement received preliminary approval Friday, March 27 from a federal judge in Arkansas, nearly a year after a civil jury found that State Farm breached its contract with policyholders by failing to properly calculate the “actual cash value” of totaled cars, Law360 reported, citing court filings.”
“The lawsuit centered on how State Farm determined payouts on total-loss claims. Plaintiffs argued the insurer systematically reduced vehicle valuations by applying what are commonly referred to as “typical negotiation adjustments.” These adjustments, they said, artificially lowered the estimated market value of vehicles by assuming that buyers would negotiate a lower price than the listed value.”
Excellent ! There will be many more lawsuits.
“Talent: A Paranormal-ESP Thriller: The Wizards Series, Book Three” by Jack L Knapp
https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Paranormal-ESP-Thriller-Wizards-Three/dp/1081374861?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number three of a six book science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2019 that I bought new from Amazon in 2026. I have bought the following three book in the series and plan to read them soon.
Chief Warrant Officer T was serving in Afghanistan as a squad leader for foot patrols. However, T was never trained as an Army officer, he is the product of a failed CIA Black Project to develop telepaths for insertion around the planet. The strong telepaths can read anyone’s mind who is close to them. T is a weak telepath, he can only converse with other telepaths, but distance does not matter. And T is a strong telekinetic and a weak precognitive. T and a telepathic Army nurse officer, Shezzie, left their duty post in Afghanistan and returned to the USA. And the former CIA black project group head was killing all of the telepaths to hide the project.
T and the other are now meeting more and more people with various talents. It turns out that just being around people with talents is causing people with latent talents to start manifesting their talents to their surprise. And then a evil person with supercharged talents comes along.
My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (99 reviews)
Lynn
Got the sticky cleaned off the binos. Got the lens open and cleaned some mold off the inside, and let the moisture out. It’s a real pain to clean mounted lenses with reduced access and especially no good way to wipe off the edge.
Cleaned the battery contacts and the image stabilization now works too. I haven’t decided if I’ll spray them with something to make them less slick and shiny yet.
Good, fast, or cheap, pick any two. In this case, good and cheap meant me spending time on them.
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Didn’t get to sit out and read tonight, still dripping and wet.
n
Out of curiosity I looked at the google map of my ‘big loop’ of pickups today. 101 miles, minimum. I guess I could use an EV, but unless it had 300 mile capacity, I’d be anxious…
Time for bed. And it’s not even that early. n Where does the time go?
n
>>WRT Iran, hasn’t it been a walk in the park? Their entire leadership is dead. We own the airspace. They don’t have a navy. They are attacking their neighbors instead of us for the most part.
People talk about how expensive it’s been. The cheapest solution would have been one tactical nuke. Is that what people want?
It’s possible the extent of their buried fortifications was a surprise, and that is something that someone should have been keeping track of. Secret lairs are secret after all, but moving millions of tons of rock should be visible from space. Assuming there really are buried fortifications.
At this point we can be sure they don’t have a working nuke or we’d have seen it… see also, Israel still exists.
In a few months, or a year, we might be able to calmly judge effectiveness. I think it’s a little to early to declare defeat.
“…we oblitted them…”
^ missed the URL…
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/jon-stewart-rips-supreme-misleader-110904316.html
>>A “delivery system” is as simple as a container on a cargo ship.
Or a “delivery system” is as simple as a suitcase on a subway train.
>>Our LAN backup performed nightly is growing at 20 GB a day and I do not know where 15 of those GB are coming from. So we are burning backup hard drive space.
Is 5GB daily of changes to your application realistic?
>>Our LAN backup performed nightly is growing at 20 GB a day and I do not know where 15 of those GB are coming from. So we are burning backup hard drive space.
Is 5GB daily of changes to your application realistic?
Nope. 2 GB is coming from the daily CRM database backup.
>>A “delivery system” is as simple as a container on a cargo ship.
Or a “delivery system” is as simple as a suitcase on a subway train.
Iran does not have 50 lb nukes. Yet.
Of course, throw 20 lbs of nuclear material in a suitcase with 20 lbs of shielding, 5 lbs of a conventional bomb, and you have a real problem.