Random Thoughts

A busy and interesting week. The house went on the market, so now I have to keep it clean at all times. That’s a struggle with the dogs. I’ve solved part of it by managing to be out of town all weekend, for the most part. Saturday, the dogs come with me to look at Alvarado, TX. I hadn’t been looking south, since it’s kind of inconvenient for my kids. But, it’s becoming more rare that they spend any time here, so why not? It only adds maybe 1/2 hour to what I’d spend visiting anyhow. Besides, I have my reasons. Other reasons.

One of which is the ick from Plano/Allen/Mckinney seems to be creeping to my original choice.

I looked at a place in Euless. Loved the street. An old neighborhood covered in trees. The back yard was a good size, as was the garage. But it was a dump otherwise. It needed updating, bad. And as I was leaving, I discovered the low rent apartments at the end of the street, with some scholars hanging out with what looked like ample time on their hands. Yeah. No.

The point of all this is I did some maths and reasoned that I can move. So I’m planning to do just that.

There was quite a buzz about Toyota’s chairman giving his thoughts on EVs. It was one more than a few sites, but I like Kim DuToit’s take better.

It seems as though at least one car manufacturer is thinking straight:

“It is regular users who are the ones who suffer” when government regulations try to shoehorn buyers and automakers into EVs, according to Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda. Speaking publicly as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Toyoda said, “People are finally seeing reality” as sales growth sputters. “I have continued to say what I see as reality… if regulations are created based on ideals,” instead of real-world conditions, “it is regular users who are the ones who suffer.”

You got that right. It’s regular users that are the ones who suffer. I can use that line for a hell of a lot of “solutions” these days. That said, I get endless enjoyment listening to and reading the foibles of the average EV owner. FWIW, I have a 2011 Rav4 with 75K on the clock that got to Venus, TX and back on a quarter tank.

But gas car owners aren’t immune from foibles. I can’t tell you how many times I went to use Herself’s car and it was on E, light blazing, computer telling me that I have 20 miles to go. I’m one of those that breaks out in a sweat at 1/4 tank on the gauge. This comes from driving beaters that didn’t always have an accurate gauge.

I’ve heard this a bunch this week: The word is ESPECIALLY. ESS SPESS SEE ALI. NOT EXPESHULLY. FFS, Grammar up. And the other word is didn’t. DID ENT. Not DEH INT.

This is what happens when you don’t tend to the lawn all summer, it burns up. Then when things cool off, you plant seed. Gullywashers arrive and washout your lawn.

All those houses around here that Deh Int mind their lawns were stripped bare, dirt and seed now on the sidewalk.

I had someone wanting to view the house Halloween night, so I had to beat it. I knew I lived in an active neighborhood, but it was cool to see. Kids, block parties everywhere. The dogs were going nuts, as we passed many trick or treaters with dogs. Not one soul came to my place. So now I’m stuck with candy. I’ve eaten way too much of it.

My Timberlands gave up the ghost.

I went back to Irish Setters. These are aluminum toed. They are as comfy as my last pair. Been breaking them in on dog walks the last few days. Numbnuts ate my Sperry Topsiders. So I had to replace them. I’m really leaning on having Winston trained professionally.

Krispy Kreme is getting creamed by lagging donut demand. Honestly, there are mom and pop donut places all over here that make far superior donuts. You really need to get a Krispy Kreme as it comes out of the machine. A few days in a box in a supermarket, and they are inedible. When I moved down here, they seemed all the rage. It was common for someone to bring them to a social gathering. I remember those donut shops as dirty, sad affairs back where I grew up. Never got a taste for them.

Soon, it appears you’ll be paying for your social media. Vox Day has been saying this forever, it seems. I’ve said it over and over, if it’s free, you are the product. Another thing I say is; You get what you pay for. This is why I buy the software I use. This is why I pay for socialgalactic. Better content, better people, better moderation. FWIW, I won’t be buying facebook. Although I need to get an account for facebook marketplace. It seems at the cool kids are there.

Poached from Kenny:

“Do not deprive me from my suffering and my pain, for negative consequences must follow if I hope to learn from the crimes I committed against myself. Let me wander in this blizzard, I know I shall survive and become a better man. No one is coming to save me and that is a blessing.”

There’s another line from a Japanese saying. I forget the whole quote, but it’s about how the world works. The last line is “Whatever, there are consequences. No one is exempt”