Switching at Night

I live about 6 miles from a construction material yard. In the yard are thousands of tons of different size stones, including the different gradient concrete aggregates and the crushed limestone for road base. Railroad tracks are in the yard, which allows storage as rail cars are unloaded. They're called unit trains and they're usually somewhere around 100 hopper cars filled with about 100 tons in each car. It's how railroad companies ship such things, and unless a supplier has the facility, the supplier is forced to buy the material from a supplier that does have the facilities to handle a unit train. Unless the supplier has equipment to dump the cars, a contractor with specialized equipment unloads the car by either a clam-shell bucket attached to an excavator, or the excavator travels up a ramp, straddles the sides of the car, and the operator moves down the cars while unloading to either trucks, or to where front end loaders can stack the material. 

Tonight, as I was sitting on the porch after midnight, I heard the low rumble of the train engines. If I had to guess, they were either delivering filled cars, or removing those already empty. The low rumble would fluctuate as the engines revved to handle the increased load on the friction motors. When the train was ready to leave, I heard the engineer sound the horn. One long blast, then another long blast, a short blast, and the final long blast. I was told this is a cadence for "The train is coming". The damp, cool night air allowed a clear sound. For someone not knowing what it was, the low sound would be missed in the other background noises of the night. 

The rumble of the cars slowly faded as the train moved away. I listened longer, and two owls called to each other. The male would call, and the female would answer. Their call disturbed a neighbor's dog, which barked a warning for good cause. 

The dew is light tonight. That's usually an indication of rain in the near future, which matches the forecast. We have a stationary front sitting on top of us, and the uplift between the two air masses will lead to showers. So far, heavy rain isn't forecast, but than can change. Stationary fronts have led to torrential downpours in the past, and the low pressure impulses along the front can lead to some areas getting rainfalls in double digits. 

So, Summer is starting to fade. How much time before we have the first strong cold front is unknown, but the event is inevitable. The night temperature will drop to well below seventy degrees, the air will become dry, and the promise of cold days will become reality. I'm ready for it. Yard work won't be necessary, the insects will disappear, and the cool, clear nights will offer stargazing.

Credit Where Credit is Due

My wife is a quilter. Quilters are a special bunch, enamored by good selections of fabric, and will roam long distances to visit one they like, or one they've never been to before. With my wife, going with her to a quilt store is like bringing a child to a candy store. It's a pleasant feeling to see her so happy, and her excitement is infectious. We've been to many in Texas, and will probably venture to see more.

One of her favorites, and one we've been to many times, closes its doors at 3:00 pm today. The owners are retiring, and it appears nobody wants to take on the store. After forty years in business, I'm thinking many, like my wife, will miss it. Multiple generations of quilters were steady customers. 

In a way, it was a landmark for quilters in the Houston area. The owners offered a huge selection of fabrics, and Charlie was an expert on the repair, and maintenance, of the Jenome sewing machines they sold. During the annual Quilt Festival, hoards of quilters would visit to  wander through another shop, and take advantage of sales. Before we met, my wife would drive about 100 miles to visit.

So good bye "Painted Pony". Quilters will miss the store, and my wife has some melancholy due to losing a store she loved to visit over the last three decades.

Stale Crackers

Cracker Barrel changed the logo, the CEO is a DEI nut, and 94 million went down the drain. The worst thing about it is how it's probably permanent. The chain, from what I've been told, doesn't have the food people remember, the menu is smaller, the complaints were ignored, and those (like me) that entertained the thought of going for a meal there, will not do so. I've eaten there in the past, but that's been decades ago. 

 My suggestion is the stockholders bail while they can. Too much has happened, the brand is forever tarnished, and the costs to stay open will not be sustainable with the reduced sales. Those future people sitting on the front porch might only be vagrants looking for a place to get out of the weather.

Maybe the First Big Fish

Years have passed, many in government created mayhem with their actions, and some managed to tightrope walk the line between the main political opinions. Bolton is one, and he managed to walk the tightrope for decades; but in the process, he became friends to nobody, couldn't be trusted, and now looks like a convenient sacrificial lamb to satisfy the lust of the masses. I'm thinking they'll insure his errors are sufficiently shown as egregious, he will be convicted, his sentence will be harsher than anticipated, and both political parties will be satisfied with the results. My hope is he will be the first in dealing with those that chose sedition, and the final number of convictions will be large. 

What it Is

No matter how it's sliced, diced, explained, or hidden, the United States government stole over 25% of my money over the last five years by borrowing unconscionable amounts of money on credit, and allowing inflation to hide the thievery. A less polite society would be stacking bodies.