I ran over a toolbox (or some kind of metal box) on the interstate with my C8. This is the greatest of tragedies, only slightly remediated by the fact that all damage was underneath. 

Still, I was forced to drop it off at the shop and it will also need a new set of rear tires. 

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 18, 2026, 05:06:32 PM

Quote from: aikorob on August 18, 2026, 03:53:03 PM

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 18, 2026, 03:28:14 PMFrank Beard, the drummer for the band ZZ Top, passed away on August 17th, 2026 at the age of 77.

That now leaves Billy Gibbons as the last surviving member of ZZ Top.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Beard_(musician)

Damn................I had tickets to see them next month    
now I has a major sad

Oh that sucks, aikorob.

Given the circumstances, I'd bet they'll end up refunding a lot of folks now.

Billy and Elwood were on the road with a sub drummer earlier this month................we'll see if Billy decides to put the band to rest and just continue with The BFGs

Purchased a new dashcam for it.  Essentially, it's the same as the one that failed, just updated with better night vision.



The company worked with me to determine that the problem was with the camera, not any of the microSD cards I used, but the camera was 2 months past the 18-month warranty, so they offered me an $80 rebate on the upgraded model.  I just bought the new one (will be here by 11 AM tomorrow), and this time I added a 3-year protection plan to it from Asurion.  This way, it's almost double the regular warranty, covers almost any failure except abuse, and is less time-consuming to deal with.  (The manufacturer is in China, and customer service is via email overnight, so a back-and-forth exchange of messages can take several days)

I know this section is most often reserved for personal failure lessons learned, but it seems to be happening in real time in front of us.

The SPR apparently was never thought to be used because as we approach a record low 25% capacity there are concerns that the weak salt rocks it is stored in may shift or collapse shutting off easy access to the reserves and create other problems as well.

During COVID we had a a unique opportunity to refill the entire thing for practically free but our Congress (like so often in the past) completely failed us. Now we are at a 40 year low and dropping.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/08/15/strategic-petroleum-reserve-spr-oil-iran-war-caverns.html

Bought a Buck 722 Spitfire on clearance at the local Walmart today.

It's not a bad knife, but it's stiff as hell opening. Backing out the lockbar screw a little helps, though.

Not a bad deal at 28 dollars, I think.

Quote from: aikorob on August 18, 2026, 03:53:03 PM

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 18, 2026, 03:28:14 PMFrank Beard, the drummer for the band ZZ Top, passed away on August 17th, 2026 at the age of 77.

That now leaves Billy Gibbons as the last surviving member of ZZ Top.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Beard_(musician)

Damn................I had tickets to see them next month    
now I has a major sad

Oh that sucks, aikorob.

Given the circumstances, I'd bet they'll end up refunding a lot of folks now.

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 18, 2026, 03:28:14 PMFrank Beard, the drummer for the band ZZ Top, passed away on August 17th, 2026 at the age of 77.

That now leaves Billy Gibbons as the last surviving member of ZZ Top.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Beard_(musician)

Damn................I had tickets to see them next month    
now I has a major sad

https://a.co/d/0bYYJ71c

(Note: Link has an $18.96 off coupon)

Frank Beard, the drummer for the band ZZ Top, passed away on August 17th, 2026 at the age of 77.

That now leaves Billy Gibbons as the last surviving member of ZZ Top.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Beard_(musician)

Atlas Shelters tours and evaluates a subterranean shelter built shortly after 9/11.