ShopTalk Sunday: Ice? Solar Vs. Genset

by

Ok, sitting down after a day of working on post-storm chores.

As you will remember, the ice storm took us almost offline, except that now I understand why a tablet and Starlink are so crucial to people in Ukraine.  They work great.  Able to look over comments and approve things along with the odd post even with next to no footprint.

Solar Worked – Sort of, Mostly

My biggest issue started at 4:53 AM Wednesday morning when the grid went down.  But nose down working on Peoplenomics, I was doing a couple of hours of 1,500 watts of space heater, a freezer, a pair of 500-watt area heaters and every light in the shop – all on battery powered A.C.

When (still dark, gray, and ice everywhere) the solar didn’t pop back up, Ure was having one of the Scooby rut-roh moments. We were facing a power deficit. War and collapse was supposed to be in good weather, right?

Out at the service entrance pole, the power company had insisted I put in a disconnect from this…

To a user-friendly, easy to disconnect for the shop’s power center which is where 800-amp hours at 24 volts worth of battery, and twin grid-tied inverters live.  Pull this handle, and UrbanSurvival drops out for a while…

Working with power systems, surprisingly if you’re an extra class ham radio sort, isn’t that tough.  Outside the shop/office complex, all wired by moi we have a 240V and 120-volt pair of outlets.  I am arguing over whether to pigtail into the shop only (and backfeed to the house)…

… or whether to hook up the transfer switch I installed 10-years ago:

All of will be sorted out sooner than later.  Wouldn’t you know it?  As soon as the sun came out, each of the solar arrays was back to kicking out (hard to read, I admit) somewhere over 41 amps to the system according to the MPTP controllers:

(26.4 volts out at 41.6 amps, so this array was contributing 1,098.24 watts into the system.)

Here Comes the Generator

There goes a bunch of “lunch money from day trading...”

Wen DF475T for around $450 on Amazon.  Got here in 2-days.  Easy decision.  My neighbor up the hill was trying to lend me a spare 4,000-watt unit, but as I explained, I wanted something with a key, not a recoil rope.  Such finery makes a difference with the mid 70’s at hand.  Ure rolls 74 this month.

OK, out of the box, let’s get it together!

First, wrestle it into a clear patch in the shop.

(*Side note for “kids” under 60:  I was 12 or 13 years old before I learned there was a “w” in the word rassling.  It wasn’t till I was 19 that I learnt there was an “e” in the word…revelations!)

Finally, slashed open cardboard revealed the Saturday project:

That red dealy-bob is a shipping bracket.  Two of them live on the underside of the unit out of the box.  10-MM socket in the impact driver (zing-zing) done.

Now to get the second one out.  Again, zing-zing and done.

Now turn the (10-million pound) unit around and put in the wheels with axels and cotter pins.

Except one pin didn’t want to go in (short sized the hole a bit, or an overweight pin, it didn’t matter).  Thank God we live on a ranch where such trivialities as cotter pins come in 100 flavors.  A quick, consult with the cotterista and a proper fit was found:

A lot of nice touches to the unit.  For one – the reviews ahead of time made it sound otherwise – there really is a fuel filter installed in the gas line:

However, I have order some really fine fuel filters 30 or 50 micro, white, I forget which.  Also ordered a new carb just to have one on hand.

And notice here:

That’s the cover over the LPG/propane intake since this is a dual fuel machine.

About here, Elaine came over an announced two loaves of bread and fresh bacon bits to be mixed in some canned clam chowder with some additional clams.

So was instructed to knock off for the day (“It’s only 4 PM!!!”) and give myself a haircut, take a shower, and have a hard apple cider with her.

Pappy didn’t raise no fool.

Sunday Early…

Digital Incompetence

Two stories to illustrate how China and Russia have already beaten America and it’s only a matter of “time to implosion.”

First is in the ice storm recovery.  Bad enough that we were almost four days without power.  But communications recovery is a freakin’ nightmare.

We have two phone lines out here in the woods.  And when CenturyLink found a way to dump their mess on Brightspeed the deals were done.

Except the customer is suffering as a result.  Not only is the dial tone coming and going on the two voice lines, but in the clusterf**k acquisition happy mess, there is presently no way to get my phone lines fixed.

Sure, I can log on to Elaine’s line – but how far does that get me?

I have been cut off three times in chat – and there seems to be an absence of a human contact number (a further adventure when the blood pressure drops a bit…).

We have seen a succession of greater fools in telecom out this way, starting with Sprint which began Embarq which begat Centurylink, which begat Brightspeed.  All with no improvement in service.

Near as I can figure the reason must be financial engineering because it’s sure not customer-driven.  In fact, CenturyLink signed up new DSL customers in our area while our reality in the copper was that we were (and continue) at bandwidth exhaustion.

To Brightspeed’s credit, I can log in to ONE of the two accounts but no one in autochat can help with the other line.

But wait!  There’s More (with a nod to Billy Mays – woo-woo note to follow).

For reasons unclear, our TracFone has decided to no longer allow voice access over the internet to call anyone.  See how much fun Ure is having and why I am up and already pissed at 3 AM?

Case #2″ –  Buddy works for the government operating a mission-critical training program which trains “sharp edge of the spear” warriors to defend Balloon Fly-over Country. (BFC).

He has been unable to train people for critical defense programs because the HVAC chiller hasn’t been maintained or replaced.  BUT at the same time, the “feel-good” parts on post (bowling alley and chapel) each got new HVAC upgrades while critical training took a back seat.

See what I’m saying about “America’s Losing It!”???

Side of Woo-Woo

Meanwhile, and this is damn strange, I absolutely remember the name of the Famous T.V. Infomercial pitchman as being Billy Meyers.  But no, when I went to put a link to him (above) his name had changed on the current timeline to Billy Mays!!!

Yes, things are getting strange – Mandella Effects are appearing – and days like this I get up early to beat back Zombie Corporate Mergers, try to write now and then between bouts of depressive fury over the Sinking of America, and wonder why we didn’t use bullets and a slow descent on the balloon?

We’re on the path to WW III and our outages have been mere warm-ups for what’s to come. Which is why I assembled a generator Saturday and will get it tested and ready today.

Ethanol-laced gas – which Biden just watered down MORE in 2022 – EPA Raises Amount of Ethanol That Must Be Blended With Gas (usnews.com) as of last summer so he could kissy up to China AND piss away our Strategic Petroleum Reserves while pandering to envirowhacko’s. Can someone tell them when the grid goes down, Life in America is over in their wet-dream, neuron-impaired world?  It’s all such a con!!!

Reality is the Warmers got it DFW: Mount Washington RealFeel Temperature To Approach 100 F. The feels like temps are in record territory.  Warming is just too many people who eat, waste, and shop too much.  While energy stores run out…

Such that heavily laced “gasoline” is now only dependable for 90-days.  Pure gasoline (blue handles at Wally World) is good for six months to a year.  And Avgas over a year and likely 3-5 years IF not used for aviation and IF it is stored air tight AND IF it has a good stabilizer.

Blood pressure cuff, STAT!!!

Write when you get rich (and we’ll go watch Day After Tomorrow now for the people in the Northeast who are getting hammered. Unity, brothers and sisters!)

George@Ure.net

62 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Ice? Solar Vs. Genset”

  1. Mushrooms..
    dam if I wasn’t dreaming about growing mushrooms and showing the kids how to grow mushrooms out of junk mail last night..thought I would share..
    Simple growth zip lock bag mushrooms.
    2.5 gallon plastic bucket. Drill holes in the lid and holes around the base this is a venting sealed grow bed.
    1 one gallon plastic zip lock bag some wire ties or wire.. a zip tie anything to sip the top shut
    1 paper punch
    1wooden door knob without the screw in it..
    Cup hooks..
    Card board, Junk mail or paper.. shredded
    Drill the holes in your bucket and lid to bucket…quarter inch these are air exchange holes in the center of the lid put one of the cup hooks and screw it into the lid.. you will use this hook to hang your bag from
    Pan of water bring to a boil with the shredded cardboard, paper or junk mail in it.. let it boil stirring for a minimum of thirty seconds .. the purpose of this is to pasteurize the paper medium. Drain the water out of this and placing it in a sterilized clean container..
    Take your zip lock bags and paper punch and punch holes all around it in various spots.. this is for the mushrooms to grow out of..
    Run down to the store and get ORGANIC mushrooms.. ( run to the organic section of your local market.)
    Cut the organic mushrooms into quarter inch slices.. first cut the stem off first you just want the head.. make a soup or add the pieces cut off out of the stem..
    Place one layer of your grow medium
    Then sprinkle your spores ( quarter inch slices) on top
    Then another layer
    Spores.. do this till the bag is three quarters full..
    Now take your zip tie or wire ties and twist the bag shut..
    Hang it from the cup hook and put the lid on it and place it in a dark cool spot..( room temperature)
    Twice a day get a spray bottle put sterile water in it and once or twice a day pull up your hanging bag and mist it then put it back
    After about seven days you will begin to see spore growth in the bag as the mushrooms start growing they will grow out of the quarter inch hole you had punched in the bag..

  2. “Sure, I can log on to Elaine’s line – but how far does that get me?”

    LOL that depends on how fast she can run and how far.. or if she wants you to catch her LOL LOL LOL.. just don’t do like my father and run into a door jam.. that about killed him LOL LOL LOL If G2 is around make sure to hang the red plastic rake by the door so there are No Rude interruptions LOL LOL LOL
    https://www.amazon.com/Hey-Play-Garden-Gardening-Handles/dp/B07B4PTH2P/ref=sr_1_5?

  3. One nice thing about killing a balloon with a half-million dollar sidewinder…. (As opposed to a few slugs through the gas bag, and a slow deflation and recovery.)
    It doesn’t leave much coherent wreckage to analyze.

    I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’.

    – 73 –

    • To be fair, what do we have in the hangar besides the (unarmed) SR-71 that’ll go to 60,000 feet? Ya gots ta be within about 1¼ miles to shoot something with a bullet…

    • on Maria Bartiromo show today, she was pushing back on this, and had DNI John Rattcliffe on and he said this was a total lie, never occurred under PDJT.

    • As George often reminds us “Everything is a business model !”
      I would like to add a correllary to that. When it comes to democrats, and their surrogates in the media- “Everything is a psy-op !’.

  5. Following your AO reports the past couple days I am impressed your preps did well. Well done.
    Starter ropes bad. Electric start good. I foolishly set myself back quite a way by trying to use one long before I should have. My ass is missing quite a sizable chunk after the chewing from the wife but even more so from the therapist. This is going to be a costly replacing several chainsaws and brush cutters. The wife caught me checking prices for battery powered saws and made the statement, “Don’t even think about that!”. I know that look and tone of voice. Lawyers, even best friend/army buddy type, are very expensive so shopping is on hold……..for now.
    Stay safe. 73

    • I recall some months back that George II showed George I how to start a pull start engine with a drill. Important for us old guys to remember what the young guys teach us.

  6. yeah, Billy Meyers totally sounds right to me too.

    not sure if you remember or not but the entire emergency 911 services for the entire state of Washington went down

    https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/washington-state-911-office-awaits-report-on-cause-and-extent-of-outage/

    I’ve been wondering about this because doesn’t China have Satellites and access to Google earth? why the hell would they send balloons. doesn’t sound right. over Montana and South Carolina? not area 51 or like Ft Lewis, the largest Army base in the world. or Norfolk VA, the Largest Navy Base in the world.

    the Chinese wanna see Montana? via balloon? what for? to set off an emp? they are at Broadband access: 77.1%

    pretty low in the nation.

    doest add up.

    but it did make me think about when the entire state of Washington lost its Emergency Services for ohhh little more than an hour.

    hmmmmm.

  7. George,
    you need a PROPANE fueled generator and your cooking should be propane as well. I been preparing for years and tested it ALL, (almost) and with a infinite shelf life on propane and when used sparingly you can get by for a long time cooking and wood heat. run the generator only as needed in sync when the solar is not operating and you’ll be set!

      • I have a portable Generac genset (two actually) equal to what you show your Ureness and a 220v pigtail setup for convenience. Fire and warm up generator / main breaker off / sub-panel on / plug pigtail into generator / whole house works (though I unplug non essentials to reduce load). Not sure how long each tank of gas lasts but … I have lots (60-70 gal.).

        Yesterday we had people over to shake off cabin fever, Mrs. Egor was in fine form. Solar gain + a roaring fire. I didn’t go find the short pants but was tempted.

        Write then you get woo woo,
        Egor

        ps – why yammer about balloons? We shot it down on the wrong side of our airspace so machts nichts, hey?

    • Can not agree more about using propane for your gennies and cooking, both my gens, 8k and 2k run on propane and they both get used every year. I live in the country here in oregon and what with the wind storms and ice storms, I get a chance to use both gen sets every year. Last ice storm power was out 9 days. Have enough propane stored for a year, maybe more. Spent several years buying every used propane tank, 40 pound or bigger, from Craigslist.

      • 4 gallons of gasoline is 11 hours of run time. Gas at $3.475 nationally its a $1.26/hour run time.

        20 lb jug of propane is 7 hours. Propane runs about $3.50 per gallon and 4.7 gallons in a “twenty pounder” Making the fuel cost $16.45 for 7 hours or a fuel cost of $2.35 per gallon.

        Plan is to use propane for the short runs and half of the weekly run checks. But for keeping the lights on, 10-safety cans of gasoline (50 gallons) is about 137 hours of run time. Which costs 50 X $3.47 so rounding $172 for 5.7 days, or 16 days with one third on run time and charging batteries. Even now, solar is still putting out 40amps per rack of 10 panels (times 3 racks) so at 24 volts that’s a generator (3,000 watts) with zero power bill and maybe some sell-back.

        Not a simple game but our modeled sweet spot is daytime all solar, 1/3 of gray days gasoline, and maintenance work on propane. And yes, we have a spare carb kit – a good call by Ray to get that now. Always much to remember…

        • Bigger HOUSE propane tank with propane bought during cheaper time of the year may change your calculations wrt propane costs.

          Advantage with propane, when Uncle and Aunt went to a whole house auto system (heat /water heater /stove were already oil /propane so NOT using propane for making ELECTRIC heat) was NO fuel rotating or refreshing that required THEIR imput

          Propane delivered by truck into BIG tank … no fuss no muss wrt the generator except for the periodic oil changes (which they contracted out to the generator installer)

          Less moving parts for you = easier and less stressful life (imo). Of course where they lived power outages were a regular fact of life several times a year, some short – some long, sometimes when it was -10+.

          ()fwiw that is the same general type of system my sister went with, though she has natural gas so they just plumbed into the natural gas line – which does make they reliant upon the natural gas system remaining up and pumping)

  8. I’m not so familiar with Billy Mays other than perhaps the singing fish?

    I do recall Billy Meier and his UFO encounters in Switzerland.

  9. Looks like a nice construction type generator, not an inverter type. You might want to check how dirty the current is before you plug in electronics and newer freezers and refrigerators. But you know that.

  10. George, no where have I read that any attempt was made to intercept telemetry from the Chinese balloon. Of course we cannot expect a word from the DoD (truth central – not) but no Congress critters or nationally syndicated pundits have called it out. Add the fact that it was blown up by a missile rather than pierced by a projectile, which would have caused it to float to earth to be recovered and examined, and we have grist for the conspiracy mill.
    I cannot find my copy of “None Dare Call it Conspiracy”, but I think it’s time for a revised edition.

    • We — and others — have geosynch “look-down” intel satellites of several kinds and purposes. One or more may have been looking to intercept The Balloon’s sat link to call home. Not finding anything lit up, it may be that leftover installed base Huawei terrestrial Krappe was being used. Normally, a cellphone accesses too many cell sites from high altitude UNLESS the receiving and routing gear has special channels and special access codes — a “backdoor.”

      You may recall a couple of years ago there was a Great Big Flap over Wah-Way, and how GovDome was all excited about it — and then, it all just magically dropped from sight, like it never mattered. And Wah-Way kept their USA installed stuff, pretty much, and suddenly it wasn’t a Big Deal in the press anymore. Wah-Way is H * U * G * E like Cisco is huge, and in pretty much all the same businesses.

      I’m no expert, and I’m not sayin’.
      …but I’m just sayin’.

      Maybe a little extra time was needed to discover and map out those possible channels…

      The politicians may all be crass, cynical, corrupt, and stupid; but it’s likely the Spooks still have a few good smart guys on staff. (Let’s hope they do….)

      – 73 –

  11. “So was instructed to knock off for the day (“It’s only 4 PM!!!”) and give myself a haircut, take a shower, and have a hard apple cider with her.

    Pappy didn’t raise no fool.”

    So you say Mr Ure, just a 2 days ago I saw this short clip, pretty much saying the same thing, some days are just bad days, go to bed, this is humorous, but like you, spot on,,, 33 sec clip

    https://truthsocial.com/users/JustSayWhenn/statuses/109798836637049403

    LOOK EVERYBODY,,, A BIG BALLOON,, just a distraction , focus on the goal,, drain the swamp, everyone, well most everyone sees the swamp and the most of the swampers now, do not let them swampers distract you with a balloon,,, we got a laptop, we got money laundry in Ukraine and Biolabs there,,, Bribe’s classified documents,,,, and do not forget, we still have the Durham boat, HE IS NOT FINISHED BY ANY MEANS

  12. you ever been so tired you feel you could fall asleep and fade off in to death. that is where I’m at. 36 straight.

    it’s nice thought…. I might be getting too damn old for all this stuff I always got going on all the time. but a man has to make money. I’d love to just fall asleep and wake up on the other side with a free pass.

    qe hit 108 Decibels on bass last night. I’m still here. About to pound some black Mud for coffee. got a half hour left of work. was supposed to work a super super secret (swear and oath of confidentiality in blood) security gig at a major software company but I’m still at Thunder Dome. so a half hour more and take a nap in my car before I head home.

    118 years eh? they better give me something more to go on. I’m worn out. that is a long way to go. I ain’t afraid to die. I have been there a few times. when I’m this exhausted… sound like a good plan. hahaa.

    don’t worry. I don’t.

    • I’m being placed in high profile Corporate Security now. moving away from stadium stuff. or that is the way things are moving. still do some shoes.

      guy says, I thought your MCL was torn. I said it is. he said ain’t that painful? I said it is. he says you came and worked 20 hours straight anyway? I said yeah. I can turn pain off for the most part. it’s just makes me get tired faster. he said I moving you in a new direction. i have some special gigs for you. very high profile stuff. the guests lists are extremely confidential. you interested. I said yeah. why not.

      be a fly on the wall. but I have to sign a confidentiality agreements. I’m good with that.

      who knows who I will meet next. and what will happen. I’m sure it won’t be boring. it never is.

      black suite and tie stuff. should be interesting.

      okay. off work. 2 hour drive to the mountains. then off to bed, do it again tomorrow at another venue.

      fuck I’m ready to retire. haha. if I could I would.

      • Try working some chlorine dioxide into your mcl via dmso…lowers the swelling and oxidizes and starts healing, removes the pain.

  13. Re: Turtle Sinks the 8 Ball
    feat: Year of the Rabbit

    Folks,

    So, how did the full moon go? They were probably taking bets over at the politburu in Beijing about how long it would take for the balloon pinata to take a hit from Pops. The “Daily Mail” ran with the mission callsign “Frank” taken from the decorated WW1 American aviator ace who downed record numbers of heavily defended balloons in his French Spad biplane back in the day. Well back to things presidential.

    I surfed thru the channels with the sound off last night and paused at CNN’s Wolf Blitzkrieg who was checking in with his White House correspondent. Her subtitled words appeared on screen informing viewers that President Bush had ordered the missile attack on the balloon. Did someone say 911 lines were out? Must be time to check the dragon speech to text software.

    Here’s DJ George spinning the platter unplugged with today’s outro to the Dragonlady:
    U2
    “Kite”.

    • Re: off Cape Fear
      feat: Balloon Down

      Folks,

      Judging by the sour response from Chinese state media CGTN, it’s a foul wind blowing down from Kitty Hawk that witnessed the armed downing of the “Chinese civilian unmanned airship”. The Chinese foreign ministry noted the US Dept. of Defense had said there was “no military or personal threat”. China indicates they may have further responses to defend the rights of “the (private?) companies involved”.

      The news report featured one (!) commenter, shuoshihua, stating the episode was one more example of the USA manufacturing a crisis. Shuoshihua translates as “to be honest”. Just what the world needs, more pravda.

    • Re: Surrealism

      Folks,

      It turns out according to the “Taipei Times” that balloons sent over Taiwan after the 2022 Lunar New Year Holiday were launched from Fujian province by a long-range rocket brigade of the 72nd PLA army group. The Indo-Canadian “East Asia Times” picked up the story and added in a 2020 picture of a white weather balloon being released at sea from the deck of the Chinese icebreaker XueLong2 which is now currently enroute from South America to a Chinese research station in the Australian Antarctic Territory. The Chinese website icebreaker picture source page appears to have been updated with a 2019 display of art masterpieces in Beijing. I thought I was looking at a Picasso but it turned to be a Chagall self portrait! The patron of the show was apparently a multi-billionaire by way of the OxyContin marketing program.

      Anyhow, the icebreaker picture had been removed and in its place was a Chinese statement. “This time, in a Bo met the master!”

      You know, if the bots keep this up, I’m going to have to look for something serious to talk about.

  14. Italy Hit With Widespread Internet Outage After “International Interconnection Problem”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/italy-hit-nationwide-internet-outage

    I wonder if this was a test run for something bigger?
    China? Balloon “message”?

    Agenzia per la cybersicurezza: “E’ in corso un massiccio attacco hacker”
    Cybersecurity Agency: “A massive hacker attack is underway”

    https://www.rainews.it/articoli/2023/02/agenzia-per-la-cybersicurezza-e-in-corso-un-massiccio-attacco-hacker-014f5925-0bbf-4ad0-b569-c81d4325ae47.html

  15. Recession thoughts and Number:
    In December 2022, the probability of U.S. recession predicted by the Treasury spread stood at 47.31%. An indicator with a flawless track record for more than a half-century suggests a recession is in the cards for the U.S. in 2023. The NY Fed’s recession probability indicator has a well-defined line-in-the-sand figure that’s accurately forecasted recessions since the late 1950s. When it surpasses 40%, it has resulted in a recession taking shape within 12 months.
    …, and
    12 instances when the U.S. ISM Manufacturing “New Orders Index” has fallen below 43.5 since the start of 1948 have resulted in the U.S. economy falling into a recession. Where is the U.S. ISM Manufacturing “New Orders Index” right now, you ask? It came in at a disappointing 42.5 in January 2023. Based on this reading and the history of this index over the past 70 years, a recession would appear imminent.
    – “Caveat-Thought”: Since the U.S. is no longer the manufacturing power house it once was – does this tried-n-true indicator still hold that much weight?
    It’s worthwhile to remember that the stock market hasn’t bottomed out prior to a recession in a long time., in fact – ever. While it’s perfectly normal for stocks to trough before a U.S. recession ends, it’s incredibly unusual for equities to enter a bear market “before” a recession even materializes.
    1] Recession hits., with
    2] Bad economic numbers., then
    3] Stock market sells off

      • As far as Elliott Wave is concerned – “I see” that we are in a Wave 2 up., and though it may be choppy – we are up for the next couple of weeks.., as we have a Fibonacci count to attend too, to complete this leg up. Wave 2 down to 3 could be dramatic, but it could also be a long, yet steady decline – choppy also., but down big none-the-less.

      • The target., on my Aggregate, is still 24,200 – which is toughly 41.5 % down from Friday’s Close.

  16. I always remember him as BILLY MAYS. Billy Meier was the flying saucer guy.

    Hawaii has quietly removed the ‘ethanol’ requirement for gasoline, since we don’t make ethanol here and were just sending money to the mainland to bring it in. The former Chevron, now Texaco station downtown has four selections on the pump. Now 87, 89, and 92 selected from one side, The other side of the pump with the blue handle is “Ethanol-Free 89” at 20 cents/gal more than the ’89’ on the other side of the pump. Thing is… if you look at the storage tanks under the driveway, there are only THREE of them, not four. So the ’89’ gas out of the normal side of the pump is really E-free and at a 20 cent discount from the same stuff coming out of the blue handle on the other side. There’s a sucker born every minute.

    • about the only thing that they sold that I thought was worth the money was.. Orange clean and orange gloss or was it diamond gloss.. and flex seal it is still a go to product for me.. Oxyclean.. tried to talk the wife out of buying just oxy clean.. when you can get the same thing cheaper LOL but she loves it and we go through a lot of it..
      as famous as Ron Popeil

      • Flex seal was a flop for me. Used it on a roof leak around the furnace vent, and it was leaking again a few months later. I went up to fix it and found it had dried out and lifted off the roof (metal). I pulled it off in chunks and replaced it with Leak Stopper Clear. That was several years ago, and no new leaks.

    • The tanks will be 87, 92, and real gas. The pumps blend the 87 & 92 to make the 89. Ever see a Sunoco pump with a knob on it, that dispenses everything from 86 to 96 in two RON increments? Don’t sweat 20¢. I’m paying an 80¢ to $1.60 premium for real gas…

      • Aw, Ray. You had to go and burst my bubble! I never heard of ‘mixing pumps’ before this. Now I gotta look into it.

  17. Ure lucky you have electrical skills…I have none. No carpenter skills either.

    More evidence that all the recession talk is just to try to induce us into one:

    What Recession: Starbucks Had 8 Of Its 10 Highest Sales Days In History Last Quarter
    https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/what-recession-starbucks-had-8-its-10-highest-sales-days-history-last-quarter

    American Express also NOT seeing a recession:
    https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/01/29/american-express-what-recession/

    I’m curious to know what % of the “predicting” headlines come true.
    While reading/researching for my day trading I found that most of the “thought pieces” or prediction pieces on cnbc, zerohedge, etc were useless and could not be depended upon for actual useable information. Had to force myself to skip those attention grabbing article titles and focus on items with actual facts and statistics.

    Imagine where we would be if we went back to focusing on actual facts and stats, instead of allowing ourselves to be propagandized into recessions and wars via headlines? I’d like to step off of the roller coaster of anger, fear, regret, apprehension, etc. Seems that what if’s rule and slow our minds almost as much as soy, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and drugs.

    There will be no recession if we stop listening to their drums and start living our lives. Oh, an “they” won’t control us or the world either.

    • There is a slight hitch to all of these no-recession numbers. More working age adults are living with their parents than in any time in our history., even more than during the depression. These millions of work-force age ‘adults’ have a much higher spending limit then their working counter-parts paying rent/mortgage utilities, etc. This over abundance of ‘discretionary-spending has skewered the consumer spending numbers for the last eight months, or so., and will continue to do so.
      – Though these ‘reports’ might sound like they are making a case for freedom from recession.., they should be taken with a skeptical shot of an adult beverage.

    • “What Recession: Starbucks Had 8 Of Its 10 Highest Sales Days In History Last Quarter”

      By money intake or product outgo? I’m willing to bet the former.

      If the price jumps 20% and the volume stays the same, your sales have not increased at all, but your sales report shows a 17% bump…

  18. “Reality is the Warmers got it DFW: Mount Washington RealFeel Temperature To Approach 100 F. The feels like temps are in record territory.”

    Um, that would be MINUS 100°F:

    Despite the impressive nature of these long-standing records being broken in Boston, the extreme nature of the Arctic blast was unparalleled at the summit of Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States with an elevation of 6,288 feet.

    The AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature plummeted to 114 degrees below zero at 4 a.m. EST Saturday as winds gusted close to 100 mph. The actual temperature at the time of 47 degrees below zero tied with a 1934 record for the lowest temperature ever recorded at the station.

    AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers states that the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature at Mount Washington was the lowest on record for the United States and likely the lowest ever recorded in North America.

    It sounds a little crazy, but we could have colder wind chills at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire than at Vostok Station in Antarctica.
    ======

    I’ve a friend, an Extra Class HAM, who hikes and drives Mt. Washington often, rides the cog-rail to the observatory regularly. He works the (foot) road race ( https://mt-washington.com/mount-washington-road-race/ ) and Climb to the Clouds ( https://mt-washington.com/subaru-mt-washington-hillclimb/ ) on 2m as a safety volunteer, and has for many years.

    Mt. Washington is one of the most-brutal and least-habitable places on the planet. It doesn’t get as cold as the poles or Siberia, or even International Falls, however, 100mph winds are common, and the Mt. Washington observatory recorded straight line winds of 231mph back in 1934 — the strongest straight-line winds ever recorded on Earth.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd4KIGSoW8

  19. Have you ever considered building a very small “guest” tiny home set up for extended off-grid? The problem with doing off-grid for even a small home is that it just takes too much energy to provide any level of comfort. Reduce the square footage below 200 sq-ft and super-insulate, then energy requirements get more reasonable. It also becomes the onsite plan “B” if the main structure goes south.

    I have been rearranging the furniture in my already small home trying to get a feel for how small a space I can actually function in. 200 sq-ft or less is tight, but possible. I have a workspace/entertainment center/den configuration worked out that fits in the tiny envelope, and is functional.

    Wheels or no wheels? 8.5′ wide or wider? Solar vs propane vs wood vs oil (kerosene, diesel or fuel oil) or a combination? What appliances are required? Resaleable or single purpose? Ted K or Tiny Home Nation financing? Prep storage or not? Extended indefinite stay, or shorter planned duration? Four season or less?

    Does this sound like the tiny house movement? Sure, but with emphasis on energy utilization and specialized purpose.

    • n: If I were thinking along your lines I’d be looking for a used Bigfoot (or other) four season RV and be thinking about a a big outside propane tank and a rack of solar panels. I am astounded at the prices of new “tiny homes.”

      But I’d rather flight than fight. Off to Panama in two weeks, Costa Rica next month to look for a bolt hole.

  21. First, I do not own stock in the company; but I will give a testimonial to StarTron fuel additive. I put it in all my gasoline and diesel fuel. Actually talked to a product engineer before my first purchase. Since I have a BS in engineering, he was a bit more forthcoming with detailed information. Guess he thought I would understand his jargon .
    In any event the stuff works better than anything I have tried before. Dose my bulk diesel tank when it is filled. Had one tank( a mobile tank for fill ups in field) that a year later, the diesel was still bright and clear, with no gunk floating or growing in it. Even use the stuff in my 2 stroke gas. No carb fouling and it counteracts the ethanol effects. Available thru Amazon. One ounce treats 8 gallons of gas or 16 gallons of diesel. Beats the hell out of Stabil.

    • thanks Lloyd… I have never tried that one.. I am not sure what brand of stabilizer I am using right now.. but will pick up a bottle of this..

      • ditto, I ordered 2 bottles from Ace, the orange bottle
        \https://www.acehardware.com/departments/automotive-rv-and-marine/fluids-and-lubrication/fuel-additives/8084018

    • $6 at Wholesale Marine, $8 at Home Depot.

      It is an enzyme treatment, not as good a preservative as PRI, maybe not even as good as Sta-Bil, but what it does better than either is counter the bad effects of alcohol &or water in petrol. Repeated use will reportedly clean the carbon buildup from valves and ring grooves which, if they aren’t lying, is fanfrickingtastic…

  22. 2 big connected things happened 24 hours apart.

    1. Trail derailment It occurred near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border by the village of East Palestine .

    2. Huge earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

    These are precursors to the New Madrid rupturing.

    That is the huge destruction that is coming to America and have far reaching consequences around the world.

  23. good morning George. I’m not dead Yet. lol

    I do have a decision to make next couple weeks on 3 different paths to take. thinking long and hard on which way to go. waiting for more evidence on which to choose.

    a note: I pulled all my money off the table out of crypto.com in the start of October.

    now in the last 3 weeks they have billed my for purchases later than October. which I screen shot my transaction details on their website that shows I did not make them. for a total of $239.00. and they used Visa on my debit card and charged my card, which I replaced at the start of October because I changed my debit card every 4 to 5 months for personal security reasons, that doesn’t even exist. none the less my bank let them have the money. I have several different bank accounts for different reasons. I had called the bank and said, how can they charge me for purchases from 3 to 4 months ago on a debit card that is not in circulation anymore because I had “lost” it. it doesn’t exist. she said Visa approved thr charges. and they took the money out of my account and gave it to crypto.com.

    so I’m going into the bank today with my screen shots from their website that shows I didn’t make those purchases on a card that is no longer in circulation. so my bank can tell Visa, give him his money back. because crypto.com is charging me for purchases I didn’t make from 3 -4 months ago, and using Visa to steal money from my account.

    it would apear that crypto.com is going under. and taking money like FTX did before it filed bankruptcy. if memory serves me.

    have a wonderful week. have to make some decisions. stay, or go or go here or go there. or go this way or that.

    have a good job where I’m at. but I can find a good job where ever I go.

    • Another reason to DISLIKE automatic direct withdrawals from my accounts.

      Had an issue with Wells “Fuck You” (Fargo) last year where somebody opened an account in MY name and apparently also took out a loan of some sort or got a CC. Wells “Fuck You” doesn’t even have branches in my state and I have NEVER had any sort of account with them so there is no way I could have walked into an office and opened an account with them.

      I think it was another one of those Wells “Fuck You” fake account openings by THEIR people so as to meet their production quotas. They did that with unneeded Insurance, with Credit Cards, and with opening other types of Accounts for their existing customers … I guess they ran out of Existing Customers to FLEECE MORE money out of so they had to go looking for outsiders to FLEECE.

      (I have NEVER had any other fake accounts or cc’s opened in my name in my entire life – which is why I think it was INTENTIONAL by Wells “Fuck You” since they now have a very long documented history of pulling that shit on MILLIONS of people)

      ONCE I had a bank try to pull a fast one on me … lies and more lies as I went up the ladder all the way to Corporate head office, though no money taken from any of my accounts. Within 48 hours EVERY account I had with them was closed and I was at a different bank. Once your banker, or any financial firm of any sort, starts LYING to you about ANYTHING you can be certain there is other shit going on behind the scenes so you best be getting AWAY from them ASAP (as in two days max imo).

      Chase it down Andy … and also file a complaint with your State’s Attorney General, they seem to be more responsive than the Feds are when it comes to those issues.

  24. you ever heard of anything like that George?

    the bank on the phone says hotels do it all the time. bill you 4 months later.

    I said true. but that card was reported lost a month prior to the charges date. and the transaction hystory shows I cashed out and didn’t make any purchases on that website for 30 days prior.

    and you just let them take my money our of my account because Visa authorization?? on a card that doesn’t exist for purchases I never made according to their own website?

    hmmmmmm….. shape of things to come?

    • I went through it with a sleazy California medical equipment outfit on our CPAP machines. Nice thing is not only did I get MY money back from my bank, but I also nailed them with Medicare complaints via the OIG.

      • okay cool. im going in the bank right now. to show them the proof. I think that crypto.com is charging my debit card as a credit card for the same amount that I sold in cryptos back then when I cashed out. showing it as a purchase to Visa when it is actually a sale.

        I’m sure it will get all sorted out. I’m didn’t get to excited about it. just thought that is odd. have to go have a talk with them.

        I have different bank accounts for different things. I don’t just use one bank account. an old legend written a long time ago taught me about eggs and baskets, if ya catch my drift.

        same rule applies to address among other things

        nice article today.

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