It’s Good that the Galaxy is being guarded…
The Grim Reaper (don’t fear him)
H/T EdB
Are Stock Tanks Woke Now?
(H/T PaulM) “I heard about this researching the sauna. But $10K for a horse tank?! No way! Come to think of it we have an old metal Behlen Tank (have the auto-water-er now)…I could drop it next to the Sauna now it’s warmer, fill that puppy up with well water and gain the holistic Chakra Blast…or…more likely have a heart attack as I’m not 18 anymore.
The “cold plunge” in Winter months is automatic once you step outside the sauna, that 30-second run back to the house shocks the system for sure.
Come to think of it I have tractor forks, this is easy-peasy, no need to even carry the tank to the spot. I’ll send pictures later.”
The Hottest New Home Amenity? ‘It’s Brutal.’
Homeowners are spending tens of thousands of dollars to outfit their properties with cold plunges
Most mornings after Stephen Garten wakes up at his home in Austin, he goes into his backyard and starts pacing, preparing himself for what’s next. “It’s brutal,” says Garten, 37, the founder and CEO of social impact company Charity Charge. “It’s a real challenge every day.”
He’s talking about lowering himself into a 66-inch-long and 24-inch-wide stainless steel tub clad in customized zebrawood and submerging himself up to his neck in water that he sets at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, with water circulating at 1,400 gallons per minute. “It’s like being in a river,” he says of the flow rate produced by this particular vessel, a Blue Cube cold plunge.
It’s an experience that Garten typically tolerates for less than two minutes at a time, once or twice per day. And it comes at a price of $19,000. Blue Cube, based in Redmond, Ore., makes cold plunge units that cost between $18,000 and $29,000.
“Cold plunging has made a profound difference in my life,” Garten says. He says it has brought him health benefits including stress management.
Previously the domain of athletes, bathing in cold water or ice has become a mainstream wellness trend across the U.S. The practice goes by many terms, like cold plunging, ice bathing, and cold immersion therapy. Water temperature below 59 degrees Fahrenheit is generally considered cold immersion. People who swear by it say they’ve experienced wide-ranging health benefits, like reduced anxiety, alleviated joint and muscle pain, and boosted energy and focus.
But while many people are experimenting with do-it-yourself methods—like taking cold showers or filling kiddie pools, horse troughs, and unplugged chest freezers with cold water or ice—some enthusiasts have leveled up their at-home cold plunging set-ups with sophisticated receptacles priced at tens of thousands of dollars and up.
Developers, meanwhile, are adding cold plunges to amenity-rich luxury complexes like 53 West 53 in New York and Cipriani Residences Miami, betting that cold immersion is here to stay.
(editor’s note) There was a time in my life when I cold plunged for a living. I don’t want to go back and do that again. I’m happy to warm plunge.
Bullet Points:
** VDH – Is the Sleeping Conservative Waking? (h/t Claudio) – So conservatives are awakening from their slumber. And they are discovering that they too can boycott, agitate — and roar. The woke Target corporation in just a few days has suffered a more than $10 billion loss in its stock value. Millions of shoppers shunned its 2,000 stores after the chain showcased its “pride” apparel. The displays featured “tuck pieces” — veritable codpieces — that are intended to facilitate “women’s” male genitalia.
** Birthright Citizenship -Ending birthright citizenship with the stroke of a pen seems to be legally problematic if not outright unconstitutional. Pres. Trump claims that the acceptance of the concept of birthright citizenship is, “based on a historical myth and a willful misinterpretation of the law.”
I did a bit of searching this morning and was unable to find a cogent legal theory backing up that claim, though many arguments have been attempted. The basis for the theory of birthright citizenship is actually found in the opening paragraph of the Fourteenth Amendment. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens.
Some have attempted to claim that illegal aliens are not truly “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. But the counterargument to that points out that if they were not subject to American jurisdiction, we wouldn’t be able to detain, prosecute, or deport them. Keep in mind that Trump has been saying this since 2015, though back then he said it would take an act of Congress to make the change. But no such law has ever been attempted and the Supreme Court has never taken up the question.
The majority of constitutional scholars seem to agree that it would require a constitutional amendment. I sincerely doubt it would survive a challenge.
** Is the power grid bracing for an attack from white Christians? – DHS says yes. And if it doesn’t come, DHS will do it on their behalf…
*
Is Love Enough?
The Beatles once sang, “All you need is love.” But will Kamala Harris’ professed LOVE for electric school buses – plus the $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies she announced last October – be enough to usher in the new paradise? The $1 billion in rebates pledged is to help purchase 2,500 electric school buses in some 391 school districts around the nation. But there are in fact about 500,000 school buses transporting children to and from school, to and from ball games and other events, nearly every school day.
By simple calculation, this suggests it will take a $200 billion investment just to replace existing school buses – which must be done, Kamala tells us, by the 2030 deadline or else CHILDREN WILL DIE. Do factories, batteries, and other raw materials exist to build (or retrofit) 500,000 school buses – and every other vehicle in America today – by 2030? By 2050
Does that much money exist? Does that much electricity exist?
All this, of course, has been under the assumption that electric school buses are just as reliable as diesel-powered buses – and that they can keep children warm in winter and cool on hot days as well as buses with diesel engines.
The Ann Arbor (MI) Public Schools Board of Education learned recently from its environmental sustainability director, that the electric school buses they bought have “a lot of downtime and performance issues” and “aren’t fully on the road.”
Moreover, the infrastructure upgrades needed to use these buses, which were estimated at just $50,000, “ended up being more like $200,000.”
To the surprise of many educators, electric school buses may break down and require towing. As with any electric vehicle, this poses risks not common to gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles. One is that they are heavier – and thus require larger tow trucks (remember, tow trucks only tow the cabs of 18-wheelers, not the trailers). Towing capacity should be about half the weight of the towing vehicle, and the typical electric school bus weighs 36,000 pounds.
Another thing the electric bussers ignore is the wear and tear on bus tires, which cost about $3,000 per set (likely higher by now, with inflation). Goodyear notes that electric school bus operators have to consider the extra weight of the buses, which makes balancing the tires for load capacity and durability even more important – and more frequently done. The extra weight also means that the tires do not last as long as on lighter-weight diesel buses.
Electric bus enthusiasts like Kamala Harris will tell you that spending an extra $150 billion or so is worth the price to theoretically save children from diesel exhaust (despite the major improvements in diesel technology and much cleaner diesel fuel mandated in recent years).
But they are silent about the number of actual lives lost by children mining the raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.”
*
Retro Music – Mike Curb Congregation – Cotton Fields
IIRC, not only did you get started in the mornings with cold water plunges, you relaxed later by making sugar cookies with your buddies…
Thx for the work and wisdom.
Wandering Neurons
Woke stock tanks. I may get one for the backyard. Not for livestock just for me to soak in after a day of some physical effort or another. I will comment on forks for a tractor. Second most useful attachment I have. Great for lifting and moving things and also impressive digging up rocks, which is a yearly chore here.
Cold soak, Used to go TDY to Norway to do maintenance on munitions we stored at Norwegian bases. Going to some of the Norwegian military personnel’s homes after work we got to enjoy the sauna (I am a fan), the birch twigs(never again) and cold soaks (okay but not great). Don’t think I want to stress my heart that much anymore.
Electric buses. The US has a terrible habit of throwing money (taxpayer dollars) at a problem and hoping that with enough funds the problem will be solved. I agree with LL that there is not enough money nor is there enough electrical generating capacity.
Birthright citizenship. Doing away with birthright citizenship is doable but I think it would take a constitutional amendment. But what do I know, I can’t understand the basis for court decisions quite often.
Power grid attacks. Pretty soft target so I am sure it will happen sooner or later but I doubt it will be white extremists. The just don’t seem to be that extreme. More prone to arguing at school boards and that sort of extremism.
“They just” not “The just”, sigh, I would say I need more coffee but I have already finished my allotment for the day.
It’s EdB’s AI again…happens to me all the time, usually on the iPad during some erase or cut-paste operation…but it’s not my fault. (heh)
Brother sent the article to me with this snark…uhh…comment: I must say, for a prepper Luddite, you seem to have ALL the – up to date, latest – hip amenities.
Seriously, I will clean the old tank, and like you, take a quick plunge after a sauna or after hot day trying not to kill myself with the tractor. Heck, one of Stoecklein’s most famous shots was the blonde cowgirl in the stock tank with her horse tied up to the post. Good fer ya…and being married to a Dane she’d be first in. (I can attest that the Dane’s are the happiest people, might be why. Or could be the Aavakit. Probably both.)
https://stoeckleinphotography.com/collections/girls-in-tubs
Classics.
MrsPaulM (generally very hearty and not squeamish) would say, “Do people seeing these pictures know they are staged? Do they know how slimy a cattle tank is? No way I’d get in one of those. Besides, it’d be my luck the horse would untie himself and walk off with my clothes and boots.”
I have taken a bath in a stock tank. It was a long time ago and I was very hot and the rest is history. I did not DRINK from the stock tank.
It looks like Stephen Garten knows exactly what value he adds to charity’s with “Charity Charge”. Those charities should find a cheaper credit card service provider if he is ‘earning’ enough to waste on crap like $10K horse tanks and cold plunges – in Texas no less, though that would be welcome in August.
Is DACA constitutional? I wonder why all those constitutional scholars can’t chime in on that.
Ann Arbor (MI), the Dems didn’t learn from the hydrogen school busses at $1million or so back when Obama was hope’n and change’n the world? Surprise, surprise. This time around Granholm isn’t governor though; now she’s a grifter with great stock selecting ability.
Guardians. I like this clip–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhc3CinJHYY
Yes when he got the new fin, the worm definitely turned.
Is that $19k cold plunge thing solar or wind powered? I haven’t done engineering for years, but it seems that chilling water to 39degF — during Texas summer — and running it at 1400 gpm takes a fair bit of power. I dunno, maybe Garten is a great guy, honest, upright, based. Or not. My money is on the second possibility.
Conservative power? Bitter laugh. The Best People control academics, the infotainment complex, the security state, and finance (that’s what ESG is really for). And we have people mumbling “but we can’t stoop to their level, we’re better than that”. Yeah, people have kicked down your front door, set fire to the living room drapes, shot your dog, and are busy raping your wife, and you’re agonizing over whether it’s morally just to shoot the assailant in the back. (Well, if you’re worried about over penetration (pun definitely NOT intended) that’s one thing, but no, these principled idiots are worried about the freaking Marquis of Queensbury’s rules.)
Pierre Poilievre (head of Canada’s Conservative Party) is probably a mostly useless git, but he was on the right track when he mocked Trudeau and hinted that Trudeau had been fired from his high-school teacher job (back when) because of a sex scandal. This was in the context of Trudeau mocking Poilievre first during a live Parliamentary debate. It’s “Chicago Rules” as articulated by Sean Connery’s Malone character.
I’m not suggesting going kinetic, but my point is that those smug, pretentious bastards cannot stand to be mocked. That’s a good start on one front of this multifront war. And make no mistake, it’s a war of subjugation, humiliation, and replacement. The Best People purely Hate you. You shouldn’t go around with hatred in your own heart because it’s bad for YOU, but we gotta admit to ourselves that they truly do hate us.
“It needs but one foe to breed a war, not two, Master Warden,’ answered Éowyn. ‘And those who have not swords can still die upon them.”
-ROTK, The Steward and the King
I’m not suggesting going kinetic, but my point is that those smug, pretentious bastards cannot stand to be mocked.
There was a time – some time ago – That I “legally” counterfeited a brand to diminish the value of that brand. When you take something exclusive and make it common, while mocking it, it’s definitely war by other means.
Hah! I’m sure it was something more exclusive, but I’m picturing “GOACH” handbags or “TUNI” luggage. Hey, those Roman letters all look alike.
Stuff like classic Rimowa is hard to copy because of the materials and construction involved. Same with the old Coach bags made of good leather. But the modern stuff which is all logo and no cattle? A girlfriend once described it as “the sort of trash you’d expect a low-end, nonpassable Rio tranny to be wearing.” Ouch.
I can’t comment on specifics related to the above here.
I wore a Lolex (Chinese counterfeit Rolex) that had a very good self-winding movement for some time. It’s the only Rolex that I ever owned. It even had a species of Rolex hologram on the back of the watch body. From any angle of scrutiny, it was a Rolex. It served the purpose.
Electric school busses? That is a stupid idea. The grid can not support a bus fleet of 10% electric school busses. The boom of electric cars has the US at near capacity for our electric grid.
Gwinnett County Georgia has the third largest rolling fleet of dedicated school busses in the nation. The fleet includes busses going back almost 30 years. It took the county 20 years to upgrade the special ed busses to air conditioning. The county is 2 years into their air conditioning upgrade for regular busses. It will be at least 15 years before all regular duty busses are upgraded. The fleet of spare busses will not get A/C but will be replaced with ageing regular duty A/C busses as all new regular busses have been ordered with A/C. The cost of adding AC to the fleet is staggering.
Electric school buses do not have the range required, and the infrastructure is not there. They might work in dense city districts… maybe. I got a new bus last year, it clocked 21,000 miles in one year, it wasn’t used for runs during the Summer, and there was about a month of maintenance downtime in the course of the year.
The only practical electric bus is the trackless trolley, running off catenary wires through a pantograph. Nobody proposes them, because they want something that makes the world worse.
-Kle.
–
Ah yes, road damage and tire damage… Electric busses, electric Semis, and OBTW, the new electric Hummer weighs in at 9000 lbs for a ‘pickup truck’!!!
Mike Curb is an interesting individual, and has done a lot of different things, all of which seem to make him money!
Burning Bridges.” Really Joe…Kelly’s got it all figured out man”.
Woof-woof-woof!
Cold plunge tanks. Heh-heh. “If God didn’t want them sheared, He would not have made them sheep.”
Cold plunges are great, but only after a sauna. And a stock tank or claw foot tub is all you need.
About the age meme: “Thirty is the old age of youth, and forty is the youth of old age.”
“All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
Relevancy matters when reading such passages. It doesn’t mean pregnant illegals breaching our border then giving birth automatically makes the child a US citizen, which thereafter has the added Democrat voter benefit of dragging their family and extended family with them. (Hey, if Dem’s/Lefties can say when 2A was drafted it didn’t mean AR-15’s or other “assault rifles” because those firearms didn’t exist, then they are disallowed from using the opposite argument to make their case for 14A…that is, everyone in the future.
Colorado is a fence out state, meaning it’s up to you to keep neighboring livestock off your property by fencing the perimeter and maintaining said fencing. This excludes the fact most ranchers and horse owners usually maintain their fences to keep their animals on their property…but it happens, usually right after the elk come through. No biggie. Fix the fence and move on (yeah, simple concept but when non-rural’s buy rural there’s always that handful who simply have no clue of the general rules of engagement of being a decent neighbor.)
However…within Road Associations such as ours the Association perimeter is fence out but individual properties/acreage are fence in (to avoid annoying your neighbors with horses running loose and free grazing). That said, if neighboring cattle find a hole and end up on my property…and they will…they aren’t automatically mine or fall under my jurisdiction…that would be theft. Usually I corral them, shove them back, or call my neighbor, who comes and rounds them up then we fix the fence.
People who illegally breach our borders are trespassing and should be deported immediately. Those breaching our border while pregnant, then give birth here, are not entitled to citizenship, baby and/or mama. It’s a stupid concept to torture the passage within 14A to believe otherwise.
Inconvenient EV vehicles weigh more. Many streets have posted weight limits as a few Hummer owners over the years have learned. Those EV school buses likely can’t legally use the streets they need to operate on.
On the cold plunge, a couple people I know who worked at South Pole Base told me about the 300 Club: you sit in the 200F sauna and then run outside naked around the rod that represents the pole at -100! Best I can do on my Alaskan homestead is 200 sauna and cool on the porch -50!
Huh. Austin.
What you’d expect from Austin.