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boilerhorn

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by boilerhorn

  1. 2 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

    Yeah, she's not going there to golf. There are some old tennis courts & a shitty pool/clubhouse (god knows how that's survived; it was a dump in the late '80s).

    There was a huge recession in the area in the late 80s.  Everything was a dump, esp. in far NW Austin.  Hell, houses on the hills on 360 were attainable to young IBM engineers then.  And we all know IBM was not making their young engineers rich at the time.  The pool is fairly well kept, as is the clubhouse.  It's less impressive from the outside.  If memory serves, many of the memberships have a minimum spend at the club.  That's where fitlump will hold court.

     

    1 hour ago, Lobo said:

    I hear they have a pond there.  And a pool.  Could work out nice for the homeless.  Natural Springs.

     

    2 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

    We should start a secret fund to relocate homeless to the golf course there.  

    All you funny guys with aspirational goals for the local homeless can go pound salt.  If there is anything positive about Adler's idiotic handling of the homeless, it has been allowing them to live in plain sight.  In the past, just about any hike I would take would expose a new "hidden" homeless camp in the area.  Oh, and screw Adler, for good measure.

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  2. I live in 78750 and Balcones Country Club is not exactly competing for members with Austin Country Club, Barton Creek, etc.  In fact, there are some VERY affordable memberships, if memory serves.  They had 2 courses in the past, but shuttered 1 around 2008 (if I recall correctly) when membership dropped precipitously.  The remaining 18-hole course is "so so" but I'd rather play Hancock, to be honest.  [Disclosure - I stink at golf and when I play, I prefer to play 9]

    That all said, I like seeing BCC adding members, as it makes it less likely that it will be sold off to a random developer.

    I'd choose Balcones over Peter Pan.  More parking at Balcones and the driving range is a little better.  You can only drive 1 or 2 at Peter Pan before the manager offers to throw you out.

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  3. Coaches in the Shaka Smart Coaching tree:

    • Jamion Christian (Assistant at VCU - 1 season) - HC at Mt. St. Mary's, Siena, GW - lifetime losing record
    • Luke Yaklich - (UT assistant - 1 season) - HC at Illinois Chicago - 9-13 this year 
    • Mike Jones -  (VCU assistant - 2 seasons) - HC at Radford for 10 seasons; 1 NCAA berth; 53% win pct
    • Mike Morrell - (VCU/UT - 7 seasons) - HC at UNC Asheville for 3 seasons; 35% win pct
    • Mike Rhoades - (Assistant at VCU from 2009-2014) - HC at Rice 3 seasons (48%), coach at VCU since 2017 (4 yrs, 65%, 1 NCAA berth)
    • Will Wade - (Assistant at VCU 2009-2013) - HC at Chattanooga 2 years, VCU 2 years (succeeded Smart), 4 years at LSU; 67% total win pct, 4 tourney visits in 8 possible years

    Aside from Wade, the above list is not that impressive.  Each of the guys who got head coaching jobs at VCU did well while they were there.  Wade stands out, though, but he's been the subject of several recruiting-related investigations.  He was suspended for ~1 month after the FBI wiretap exposed him "offering" a recruit.  He still has a job though.  Why?  LSU.

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  4.  

    4 minutes ago, Barbacoa said:

    Are we really supposed to believe those are better jobs just because they currently have better coaches? If you want to argue it wouldnt make sense for them to come to Texas when they can get a job at a traditional basketball power then fine, but lets not pretend the tech or baylor job are higher on the ladder than ours. 

    Tech and Baylor are clearly not better jobs than the Texas job.  If all three were open and a coach was offered all three, that coach would choose Texas. 

    However, Tech and Baylor are better programs right now and it is because of their coaches.  It might be impossible to pry either away.  Drew has been at Baylor for 18 years; he was hired - at age 32 - to replace Dave Bliss.  He's not leaving for Texas.  Beard has rebuilt the Tech program and has a fairly hefty buyout ($6M, IIRC).  He *might* leave for Texas, but I do not see the need to pay the buyout. 

    There are at least 200 head coaches (and maybe 50 assistant coaches) who are better at coaching basketball than Shaka Smart.  Beard and Drew are among them, but I do not think they are attainable. 

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  5. 1 hour ago, Lobo said:

    yep, every year we get a an hour report with Q&A with the UT System Chief of Police (his statewide force is the largest after DPS and has its own Academy and tank).  Anyway, invariably somebody asks him what his biggest worry is...and they lead with, "Mass shootings, rampant date rape, etc?"  And every year he gets dead fucking serious and says, "IP/cyber/lab theft by Chinese operators posing as students or faculty."  The projects taking place on his watch at M.D. Anderson, UT-Dallas, UT-Austin, UTSA, TAAC, et. al.  Hundreds of millions of dollars on some individual projects, tens of billions in aggregate across the system.  And the government partners security protocol is basically, "It's your responsibility, don't fuck this up or we're coming after you."  And he has to figure out how to protect all those secrets, both physical and digital, with a team of cops trained to basically break up frat parties.  But they execute on it really well year after year.  It's impressive.  

    While it might be impressive, I wonder if they have the sophistication to really execute.  An effective attacker will masquerade as a trusted member on the network in order to access the information.  Worse yet, the attacker plays the long game and is employed inside the network.  Even skilled cyber security experts tend to be a step or 2 behind the attackers.  I struggle to see how UT System law enforcement has the skillset.  It's not like the attacker is going to park illegally in an "A" spot while he physically moves portions of the locally secure cloud into his vehicle.

    Similarly, I hope UT verified that the emails they received - and shared - really were sent by the individuals named.  It is extremely easy to spoof the email address and sender information such that an unsophisticated recipient thinks they just got an email from Ben Dover or Mike Hunt (or Ralph Gardner).  A skilled IT person could scan the headers and determine the source of a message.  It's not clear what level of verification was performed by Texas before responding to the FOIA request.  There are clearly quite a few fools sending messages to the university.  I certainly hope UT verified before they shared.

  6. I wonder if Sterns isn't too sophisticated for a position as a DB.  At times, he demonstrates elite physical talent.  At times, he looks totally lost.

    Overthinking can take an elite DB athlete and convert him into a clone of a random "fit" surl poster.  Or a Crossfit/Vegan surl poster. 

    Sterns has clearly been distracted over the past year and I can forgive that.  I wish him well.

  7. 8 hours ago, Teryor said:

    Updated Lunardi projections after the game, obviously worst case tomorrow is us losing/Okie State winning. Tough to see both ACC teams passing us, but looking like 60-70% chance of 3 seed as long as we don't get blown out tomorrow. 2 seed would require winning tomorrow/Arky and Houston not making conference championships probably, or flat out winning our conference title.

    Lunardi's graphic implies Baylor, Texas, and WVU in a single region.  While those might be the legitimate rankings for teams heading into the tournament, I don't see the committee seeding 3 teams from a single conference into the top-4 of a particular region.  Shuffling WVU to 16 or 17 solves that "problem."  I am definitely picking at nits.

  8. 11 minutes ago, Enchubben said:

    The pipe goes into the ground, it’s the water supply to sprinklers. The bell/assembly looks fine above it and with that valve closed, no issue with leaking so far.

    Good that it does not leak when closed.

    How it is connected below (under the wrap) is what will dictate the complexity of a DIY fix.  Looks like a common threaded ball valve at the top, but it does not show how it is connected below.  In my experience, *Most* irrigation repair is easy to DIY, esp. the above-ground stuff. 

    If you are not comfortable w/ that kind of thing, ask your irrigation guy to fix.  He likely has parts and will be more affordable than a plumber (IMO).  You'll be lower on his list, as water is not pouring out of your system.

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  9. 5 minutes ago, Enchubben said:

    Should/can I try to fix thus myself or just call a plumber/irrigation guy? Part impossible to find?


    50B1F05A-24BA-449D-A50C-57C39FCF43A7.thumb.jpeg.f06552db098a61eef9c63661fdef4bdb.jpeg

    What does it feed below?  And how easy is it to connect/disconnect below?

    Based on your comments about calling an irrigation guy, it sound like it feeds your irrigation system.  If so, I'd consider capping and solving later.

    However, you might be forced to do what available parts allow you to do.  I was in HD and Lowes yesterday (78750) and they are entirely picked over for caps.  Some have ball valves; some don't.

  10. 3 hours ago, BHMCruiser said:

    I have to go against conventional wisdom here and say I don't understand this hire. Gus is a fine coach, but he has demonstrated he cannot develop talent, is so-so as a recruiter, and cannot really run a program. A job like UCF is where you should hire an up-and-comer because you need some excitement to keep the thing moving forward. Sustained mediocrity is not a good look for a midmajor like this. 

    In the spirit, he added Herb Hand to his staff.  

  11. 6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Welp, I did what I was dreading and "dug out" my water shutfoff valve.

    IMG-20210218-121420117-HDR.jpg

    My irrigation valve was turned 90 degrees toward the bottom of the hole and I think was actually touching some dirt, and, as mentioned, broke off in my hand.  Turned that way, it was pretty hard to get a wrench or channel lock on it.

    This one should be easier to turn, including with a wrench or pliers, but it just screams "I'm going to break when you touch me," doesn't it?

    Furk.  Hope I don't need it.

    If you cannot get that to move, you might consider going upstream a bit further and turning off the city/water utility valve.  I've had to do that many times.  Good luck!

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  12. 12 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

    If they are in the attic and u can do it by getting a hose to the outside or a tub I think I might drain. Mine is in garage.

    Csb My old house the builder screwed up and didnt have a roof line high enough to put one large tank in attic so he put 2 stubby ones. Spent 13 years in the house thinking great i have double the chance of a water heater destroying my walls and floors. 

    Same here.  2 in series in the attic.  My roof line is high enough, but a 100 gal likely would not fit up the stairs to attic.  That's my theory :)

  13. 17 minutes ago, XYZ said:

    Yes, in my opinion. The pros are that you can open your faucets and allow the pipes to drain as much as possible. The only con that I can think of is that when service is restored, you won’t know it.

    Makes sense.  This was my thought, too, but wanted some confirmation.  What about gas water heaters?  Turn off?  Drain?  Drain will be hard, as they are in attic...

     

  14. 10 hours ago, Anastasis said:

    Here is what I did and plan to do.  I don't know if it is right or wrong, but it is what makes sense to me.  I usually shut off my water at the owner side valve when I leave on extended vacations, so taking a similar approach here with the caveat that I shut down on the city's side of the meter this time, and I usually fire everything up without looking the place over for leaks and checking if the meter suggests a leak. 

    1. Before opening the city valve, I am going to close the valve on my side of the meter.  Only reason for this is that it is a ball valve that I can more easily gradually open compared to the meter valve.  If I did not have access to the valve on my side I would not have a problem just opening the meter valve slowly.

    2. Open exterior faucets and a few of the main faucets and tubs inside. 

    3. Slowly open valve about 1/4 and then 1/2 turn, visually check flow to exterior faucets, but leave them running. Bleed air out of all remaining indoor faucets, and then close all indoor faucets. Check hot and cold side independently when bleeding out air. 

    4. Open valve rest of way.  Close exterior faucets.

    5.  Another round at bleeding interior faucets of any remaining air, give the system a few minutes to stabilize (fill toilets, hot water tanks, etc.)

    6. Pray.

    7. Once system stabilizes and all faucets are closed and hot water tanks are full, check the meter to see if ANY flow is coming through for sign of potential leak. Check known pipe locations for any signs of water leaks. Recheck meter for any flow.  If meter is turning at all with no obvious open faucet, could signal a leak. 

     

     

    Probably a bit OCD, but that's what makes sense to me in this specific case.    

    Good instructions.

    With zero water pressure, is cutting off at supply/street the consensus action to take at this point?  Pros?  Cons?

  15. SIAP

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Perry-says-Texans-wiling-to-suffer-blackouts-to-15956705.php

     

    Quote

    WASHINGTON - Former Texas governor Rick Perry suggests that going days without power is a sacrifice Texans should be willing to make if it means keeping federal regulators out of the state’s power grid.

    In a blog posted on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's website, Perry is quoted responding to the claim that “those watching on the left may see the situation in Texas as an opportunity to expand their top-down, radical proposals.”

    “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business,” Perry is quoted as saying. “Try not to let whatever the crisis of the day is take your eye off of having a resilient grid that keeps America safe personally, economically, and strategically.”

    Texas’s power grid, run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, occupies a unique distinction in the United States in that it does not cross state lines and thus is not under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

     

    Eat another bag of dicks, Rick Perry

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  16. Just now, ztejas said:

    So it's worst case scenario was nowhere close to an actual worst case scenario. No one at any level at ERCOT raised their hand and asked - hey what if we have a 100 year ice storm? The kind that we haven't had in 72 years. 

    Not 100 years; the one 72 years ago does not count.  Not relevant.  I kid, of course.

    We've had so many Black Swan, once in a lifetime, unprecedented, etc. events in the past 10 years, it makes me wonder if the talking heads really know what those words mean.  On a positive note, we will not see them again in our lifetimes.

    Regardless, ERCOT and Adler still suck.

  17. ERCOT needs to be massively reviewed/restructured/dismantled after this.  When you are less reliable than Spectrum, Comcast, Suddenlink, ATT, Sprint, and Verizon you have failed.

    As has been said here already, we knew this was coming.  ERCOT knew demand would rise.  It takes about 3x the energy to run an electric heater over an AC and 50% of Texas homes have electric heat.  Simple math says, "Hey we might have demand higher than peak summer."  Let's fire up the reserves...

    The whole "Demand exceeds supply.  It's your fault, consumers" mantra is a load of inexcusable crap.

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