60+ year old thread.

Evening all:
I find this interesting, there are 3 countries landing probes on Mars, the US, China, and the UAE. I can understand the US, China, and Russia, but the UAE took me by surprise. Wonder what would happen if a RESIDENT of Mars were to walk up to one of those probes and pick it up!

 

Morning all! More snow headed our way today. Just 1 to 3" so more of a nuisance than anything. Stay safe and warm!

 

Sometimes on a back road, I'll see a Tom walk out onto the road, stop, turn facing traffic, and flare.. then a few females will cross the road behind him. When he's satisfied, he'll follow. I've seen deer do the same thing, after Mom has stopped traffic, she'll look back at the field and snort. A couple fawns will pop up out of the soybeans and casually cross the road behind her. Nature is awesome.

Never saw this until farmers started removing fences in order to gain planting dirt.

 

Morning folks. Coffee time. Have a safe day and be careful.

 

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Texans are a very independent people. Their failure was not to winterize after the winter of 2011. The politicians choose not to as it would eat into the profits of ERCOT. Certainly in wind power can operate in Alaska it can in Texas. In Maryland news wind power was blamed for the power outage in Texas but the actual generating plants needed to be winterized too.

As with all bad decisions, It seemed like a good idea at the time.

It is supposed to warm up this week in Texas and in Maryland. Say warm and keep busy.

 

Local to Tucson - all of the public vaccination supplies gone scarce - due to east coast weather delay ........ except (of course) Maricopa county. It's a wonder they even paved the rest of the roads in the state. Waited for months to get on the list- scheduled for last Friday - and immediately cancelled.

 

Good morning all,

Coffee, a work-out, get a little reading done, maybe a short nap and walk the dogs a few times today - whew I am tired just thinking about it

Be safe and stay warm, warmer today here then a new snow storm rolls in Thursday.

 

Good morning all,
Had a good weekend and now to a new day and week. Boy, time flies when you're having fun. Tax day came and went. Not to bad we get a refund this year after loaning the government money to pay the Covid 19 stimulus money. I hope everyone appreciates the generosity of us here in West Michigan.
No big plans for today . I am just going to see if warmer temps will let me wash the cars and truck. They look like crap when they get all of the road dirt and salt on them. Does any out there have experience with or use a Milwaukee either battery or corded hand held buffing machine. I would like to get 1. It has to be a Milwaukee brand. Thanks all and have a safe and healthy day.
Russ

 

Actually, ERCOT is a non-profit corporation. What bugs me is 3 or 4 of the board members are NOT Texans. In fact, one of them is a Canadian!!

 

Morning folks. It’s Monday so back to work this afternoon for me. Got about an inch of snow last night. Just enough to make a mess. Have a post procedure dr. appointment this morning. Critters and birds are fed and now it’s my turn.

Have a great day

 

Yes, Mike is correct. ERCOT is a non-profit, created by the Texas Leg to oversee and control the Texas grid, so that the Leg could ALSO "provide" us with the unregulated power costs. There are companies here that do nothing but buy and sell "energy", and in many places, people can CHOOSE to buy their power from one of them, instead of your local municipal (which are regulated by law). In some areas, you don't have a choice, but where you do, many people "opt out" of municipal, so they can buy cheap energy from these other companies - who have NO stake in the game of actual supply. These folks are the ones seeing all the astronomical bills, because they are tied to "market price". I don't have that choice here, and am now very glad of that.
Because it's always a fight to create the profits at the real suppliers now, no one wants to re-invest in equipment, upgrades or hardening the system. Legislature hasn't required it, because no politician want any part of a bill that will raise the rates, of course. They were all warned in 2011, that the state could not likely withstand anything as or more severe than 2011, but "how often does that happen"? As often as three 100 year floods in the space of a year?
The piper called, and no one paid him.

Oh, and Good Morning Porch!

 

Afternoon all:
Got a call this morning that they had a snow blower available, called right back and said I would be right down to pay for it, now I have a snow blower but need to get it home!
I need the snow blower to dig the trailer out that I would use to bring it home on ! Another option would be to rent a small trailer from U haul that is just up the road from where I bought it, wasn't going to do that today with the road conditions.
Couldn't believe the amount of vehicles that were out on the roads, saw a couple accidents and a few cars and trucks that were stuck on hills, thought the roads weren't that bad but would bet that some of those vehicles had summer tires on them.

 

Put it in the back of the truck

 

That was my thought also. Or have it delivered.

 

That’s what a truck is for

 

I have a cap on both trucks, would have to measure to see if it fits, probably if I can lay it down, think it weighs something like 280 lbs. and would be much easier to off load it from a low trailer. My buddy has an enclosed snowmobile trailer that I already talked to him about using, looks like we may have to dig it out!
Looks like the small U haul trailers are only about $15 for 4 hrs., that would be plenty of time for me to get it home and return the trailer, there would be no hassle with anything if I went that route.

 

So you turned your truck into a long 4runner. Kids lol

 

That's my thinking. Why buy a truck and then convert it to a SUV? I do like the newer vans that have come out in recent years, you can actually stand up in them. I wish they had been available in my working years!

 

The inch of snow we were forecast yesterday turned out to be 4 heavy inches. One of my neighbors' snowblowers are both in the shop after blowing up in the big storm a few weeks ago, so I did our place and their place. I'm sore and tired. But beer, so not complaining.

I am *so* over winter.

 

Evening all:
I never did like caps until I got one, must be an old guy thing!
I have a tilt trailer to haul it, but it would be a royal PITB to dig it out to be able to use it.