The Churl’s Chore was not a pretty vessel. Twin masted, long of body, with stout timbers, it was a workhorse of a cargo hauler. It was hired to carry us to Farcairn because it could board livestock, particularly horses. Getting Graymire onto the boat required my personal intervention, as the stubborn beast would not be cowed or coaxed by any of the crew. With a firm grip on the bridle and a chastising stare, I finally got him to relent and board the vessel. That unruly streak would make it impossible to find anyone who’d want to take him. Admittedly, that was as much my failure as a product of his size. A horse raised by a rank novice at equine rearing would never be perfectly obedient. The fact that his size intimidated a great many people only made it worse.
To compensate for the amount of space needed for the animals in the hold, there were casks tied to the deck of the Churl’s Chore and covered with canvas tarps. The tarps looked like sailcloth, and could probably be pressed into service as such in an emergency. Food stores were at the prow, and guest quarters were in the stern. The middle of the deck between the masts was an empty aisle, its floor consisting of hatches covering the ramp down into the animal hold. While we were getting stowed, a young man made his appearance by riding up the gangplank on a stark white mare at a trot. Whipping a broad-brimmed hat off his long mahogany curls, he gestured broadly to everyone around him.[15] He was greeted with annoyed silence before the crew went back to their duties. Wiry and rakish, he had a smile that might make ladies swoon, but made me want to cave in his teeth.
“Go ahead, ride into the hold,” I said. Of course if he was stupid enough to do that, he’d be unhorsed by the ship’s timbers. He wasn’t that stupid, and dismounted. I saw his blue eyes flick to the badge on my lapel, then proceed to size me up.
“You work for Prince Kord?” he asked.
“No.”
The young man arched an eyebrow.
“I am Kord Grosz von Karststadt.”
“Really?” The surprise and incredulity in his tone was insulting. “Where are my manners? I am Freiherr Soren Gost[16]. I have been chosen to represent Salzheim at the Farcairn tournament. I am renown for my superlative skill with the sword and the lance. Perhaps you have heard of me?”
“No,” I lied flatly. “The only Freiherr Gost I’ve heard of is blind in one eye and didn’t speak to me.”
Soren flashed a smile and gave a polite bow. “Please forgive my father. He is mostly deaf and wouldn’t have known you were speaking to him unless you were standing directly in front of him.”
“I was actually merely implying that we hadn’t had the opportunity to speak,” I said.
“Oh,” Soren almost looked embarrassed for a moment, then shrugged it off. “Are you sponsoring someone in the tournament?”
“No,” I said. “I’m competing.”
Soren choked back an involuntary sound of mirth, though not fast enough to avoid a glare from me. Even he realized it was imprudent to openly insult the nephew of his father’s liege.
“You may want to get your things stowed away before you risk holding up our departure.”
“Of course,” Soren said, taking the cue to diplomatically disengage from the conversation. As he led his brilliant white mare down the ramp, I prayed she wasn’t in heat. Graymire was ungelded and would wreck the hold trying to get at her if she were. I heard Lenz approaching before I looked up to find him by my elbow.
“There are only two passenger quarters, and both have two bunks each,” he said, somewhat annoyed. “Who gets stuck with Ritter?”
“Freiherr Gost,” I said.
“The blind man?” Lenz asked.
“No, his son, Soren. The fop who just went into the hold.”
“That leaves us sharing a room.”
“At least it’s separate bunks.”
“Fair enough.”
I headed for the stern, intending to take refuge within the pages of the only book on the arcane I’d managed to scrape up in all of Salzheim. It was a theoretical treatise rather than a practical one, but it was better than nothing. The sooner we set sail, the sooner this farce would be over with.
***
Our voyage did not start terribly auspiciously. Driving rain and gale force winds forced the Churl’s Chore to seek harbor not long after losing Salzheim over the horizon. They also convinced the captain that his passengers would be safer ashore than rattling around his hold with the horses. The sign at the end of the quay read ‘Amber Town’, but Amber Town wasn’t very amber. It was the gray-black of the rain-soaked cleft in the mountainside it was built into. The name made me pause for a second. Given its location on the rim of the Small Sea, it should have been rendered as ‘Gelbstadt’ or something similar, not ‘Amber Town’. Lenz tugged on my sleeve and we got out of the rain.
The town was cut into the stone with a colonnaded ‘street’ on each layer at the face of the cliff. From a distance it just looked like row atop row of arches carved into the wall of the ravine. They had some form of chimney system, as the fireplace was roaring when we entered a tavern almost devoid of activity. Coarsely woven tapestries covered the walls, and a haphazard collection of rugs obscured the floor. It wasn’t pretending to be an upscale establishment. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the locals murmured to each other in Atlorian, given the sign, but we were so far from that land. A wide archway connected the tavern to the next chamber down the row. It appeared to be a bazaar from what I could see.
Not terribly interested in what the tavern had to offer, I wandered through the archway. The peddlers were still hurriedly setting up their stalls, eager to take advantage of our unexpected arrival. Hopeful eyes turned my way, my attire attesting to my status. My gaze, however, snapped to the gibbet at the center of the market chamber. Chained to a frame of stout timbers was a single figure, upper arms straight out to his sides, forearms dangling in the air. His head had an elongated snout pointed towards his chest. For a moment I thought it might be a statue, then I realized he had been tarred with some form of bitumen that caked his clothes to his skin. Drops of the substance stained the floor below his feet. A sign had been hung about his neck. I approached and read the scrawl. “Highwayman of the Cynocephali, Sentenced to Death,” it said.
I took a startled step back as his eyes snapped open. A piteous, pleading gaze transfixed me.
“He’s a thief and murderer,” a voice said from off to my right. It had a distinctly Altorian hiss to its accent. I turned to look at the speaker. He wore a gray and yellow jerkin over less fashionable trousers. A pair of stout, short blades hung from his belt. A beard grew from only the right half of his face, his left cheek bore a large burn scar. “Rightly tried and convicted. Don’t let the sight of his punishment fool you – he’s earned every ounce of it.”
“And you are?” I asked.
“Magistrate Curva,” the scarred man said.
“The middle of your market seems like a strange place to keep condemned criminals.”
“It’s a reassurance to visitors that we take the law seriously around here,” Curva said. “I didn’t happen to catch your name.”
“Kord Grosz.”
“Well, Mister Grosz, I hope you have a pleasant stay in Amber Town. I know you didn’t plan on stopping here, but make the most of it.”
I nodded politely and moved away from the gibbeted thief, forcing myself to browse the wares on display. It appeared that ‘Amber Town’ had gotten its name from its main product. Most of what the peddlers had for sale was fashioned from that substance, carved with varying degrees of skill and artistry. I was stopped by the sight of books on offer at one of the stalls with a more eclectic selection. There were two screeds with very similar titles – “The Ormoranor War” by Sir Chauncy White and “The True Account of the Ormoranor War” by Reginald Booker. There was also a much more battered codex whose cover bore only the Dwarf rune for ‘Ore’. The first two were unread and in Atlorian. The third was Dwarfish runic script through and through. Unsurprisingly, ‘Ore’ proved to be a text on practical geology and assaying.
“You can read that?” the peddler asked. She was a mousy woman with a nervous mien. Her short hair reinforced the musine impression as it was the same brown as the backs of field mice and unfortunately streaked with gray. A brand mark on her temple indicated that she’d once been a thrall, though the tattoo below it indicated her time and place of manumission.
“Dwarfish was once the language of trade and learning, even after the fall of the Old Empire,” I said. “Yes, I can read it.”
“Is it a magic book?” she asked.
“No, it’s a book on ores and mining.”
She looked disappointed. Admittedly, to anyone who was unfamiliar with it, the forms of Imperial Dwarfish script had the look of the arcane about them, even if they were overwhelmingly used to record the mundane. From the looks of the other talismans on her table, the peddler looked to fancy herself a supplier of hedge magics, though she was clearly ignorant on the subject and likely utterly illiterate. I did, however, like the bizarre look of a bronze rendition of a bird skull whose eye sockets had been fitted with polished anthracite orbs. I bought the trinket off of her, along with the three books. If nothing else, I’d have something to read while we waited.
***
Atlorian cuisine was, well, distinctive. They used parts of the animal that were unfit to feed to dogs, and were prone to dumping everything in with a mash of overcooked grains. They served it with a brick of the world’s heaviest bread and beer darker than the stone walls. I wasn’t sure, but there might also have been a hash of carrot and turnip mixed in there as well. It was also entirely possible that the bread had been made from the beer, after all the yeast had died.[17] In marked contrast to the endless parade of tiny courses at the Palace of Salzheim, everything was dumped in a single bowl. Well, everything except the beer. One might argue that being forced to harbor here was the gods’ way of chastising me for my irritation at the protracted meal we’d had before. I was not so self-centered as to think the gods had bothered to act upon my personal gripes. The biggest surprise was that the flavor was not nearly as off-putting as the appearance. If displayed decoratively enough, it could be put before Roland’s guests, and they might never realize they were eating peasant food.
Soren scowled openly as he prodded the Atlorian mash with a spoon. Johan was more cautious, but seemed to be paying more attention to how we were reacting than to the food. Lenz was ripping off hunks of bread and tossing them into the bowl to create islands of more solid material. I carved off slabs from my bread and spread the mash on one side like some sort of surreal jam.
“How did this lovely little slice of Atlor come to live in the middle of the Empire?” Lenz asked, sarcasm filling his tone.
“I’d guess by boat,” Soren said, his tone as sour as his expression. Since Atlor was an archipelago, that was already a given. Ritter’s uneasy glance towards Gost caught my attention.
“Something the matter?” I asked, looking directly at Johan.
“I…” he stammered, then drew in a deep breath as if preparing to confess a terrible secret. “My family’s Atlorian,” he said.
“With a name like ‘Johan Ritter’?” Soren scoffed.
“A lot of Atlorians arrived on the north shore of the Small Sea as mercenaries during the Empire’s wars to break the Warlord Grosz.” Ritter cast a nervous glance in my direction, but I did not react. Jochen Grosz was a direct ancestor of mine, though it was his son Dieter who’d accepted the Emperor’s rule and been crowned Furst Karststadt. The Empire wouldn’t have accepted the arrangement if Jochen hadn’t bled their armies dry over such a protracted war. After all of the losses, any face-saving measure was worth consideration.
“So your ancestors arrived without a surname, but were horsemen,” I said.
Johan nodded. “When the fighting ended, pieces of the North got parceled out to cover the unpaid debts to the mercenaries,” Johan said. “As there were even fewer people here then than there are now, they brought in more Atlorians to work the land.”
Soren let out a long sigh.
“So we blame Kord for this,” Lenz said. I cast him a sidelong look. He was smirking at me.
The firelight flickered as the door opened and admitted a gust of wind. A figure in an oilskin cloak pushed through the gap and closed the door quickly. From the water still cascading off of him, the rain hadn’t let up yet. Under the oilskin, the man wore the same gray and yellow as Curva had. I realized it was less a fashion choice and more an actual livery when he approached our table. He had a pallid, doughy face and a frame unaccustomed to physical activity. He doffed his hat, causing the rain pooled on the brim to tumble off in a miniature waterfall. He flinched as it splattered Johan and me. I pointedly ignored the icy droplets.
“May we help you?” I asked.
“My name is Oliver Black,” he said. “I am the Freiherr Ostgelb.” He didn’t look terribly distinguished for someone of that rank, but given the domains he ruled, I can’t really say it was unexpected.
“So these are your lands we have taken shelter on?” I asked.
“Uh, yes, I am the Administrator of the Ostgelb valley, which includes Amber Town.” It was obvious he wasn’t a native speaker of volkssprache, and almost certainly spent most of his time conversing in Atlorian.
I switched to that language. “Would it be easier if we used a different tongue?” I asked.
“Not for me, it wouldn’t,” Lenz said. “I never had your gift for language, and I forgot half of what I did learn.”
“I thank you for the offer,” Black said, “But I will converse in the language of Empire.”
“As you wish. I do apologize for not thinking to inform you of our arrival, but we are merely waiting out this storm, and did not intend to stop here.”
Oliver cast an uncertain glance over each of us. “It is my turn to apologize, as I am not sure which of you is which.”
I shrugged and went through a round of introductions. The Freiherr Ostgelb was nonplussed at Ritter and Gost, but was increasingly unnerved as I introduced Lenz and myself. I wasn’t sure where he fell within the hierarchy of the Empire beyond the nominal rank of his title. But it was likely not that high if he was able to get by with speaking Atlorian most of the time and dressing no better than his own subordinates. My mind went back to the map on Roland’s wall, and the confusion I suffered even when staring at the boundaries in person.
“I would like to extend my personal hospitality to you and your retinue,” Black said. “Though I will understand if you’d rather not cross the harbor to my residence in this weather.” We looked at the trail of rainwater Oliver had left on the floor on his way to our table.
“I think we’d rather remain dry,” I said.
“In that case, permit me to cover the cost of your lodgings here. It is the least I can do.” Ostgelb scurried off to find the innkeeper.
“Odd,” I said.
Lenz leaned over and whispered to me, “Vassals have a duty of hospitality.”
My mind went back to the map. Whose dominion was Ostgelb a part of? I couldn’t recall even having seen it, though it was likely not a large slice of land. It had to be either Ritterblume or Salzheim, given Black’s reaction during the introductions. Geographic proximity made me inclined towards Salzheim, but the chaotic jumble of boundaries had me second-guessing that. It didn’t really matter – our stay was paid for, and we could wait out this storm. I turned back to the meal, trying not to ask what parts of which animals were chopped into it.
[15] Long hair is abnormal for men of the Volkmund, though it is more fashionable in Valay.
[16] Mediatized nobility lacking sovereignty do not universally use the erb- prefix. For example, all sons of a Freiherr who is subordinate to another nobleman can be styled as a Freiherr, but not the Freiherr.
[17] I actually like Atlorian Beer Bread. Yes, it is dense, but it has a good flavor, and retains moisture well without turning soggy. I recommend serving it with stew.
If you want your own copy, the whole book is available from Amazon in eBook, Paperback, and Hardcover variants.
Que?
No enlaces?
Pre-empted by a Very Special SF Presentation, so UCS’s story moved to the afternoon time (it was mentioned in the prior SF comments, I believe).
Back on-topic… I bought the book, UCS… so I’m going to just sit down and read it normally at some point. Hence skipping over these so I don’t spoil myself.
I bought and read the previous one as well… it was good, but I have to say the ending was more than a little abrupt (how’d they find their way home, anyway?) Either that or the Kindle version is missing some chapters at the end!
Happy Afternoon, all.
I was supposed to have finished writing the sequel to that one by now… I haven’t succeeded as it’s at best half done.
Correct. Because UCS got bumped from his Noon timeslot by the very special edition of H&H, Swiss gave UCS next available slot. And Swiss got to take an afternoon off, which is a rare treat for linksters.
Swiss is just busy writing up his thoughts on the assassination attempt.
I believe he considers it a narrow graze.
I missed the announcement because I zonked out (calle din sick to work) and first went “Four hours with three comments? 🙁 ”
I’m glad it was just recheduling.
I just saw that ABC is reporting that the building the shooter was on was the staging area for local police tactical team doing overwatch on the crowd.
Now… I have questions.
But chief among them is about this shooter and his knowledge.
How could he even suspect that he could bring a rifle to this location, filled with police and with a parking lot full of police vehicles?
Next… knowing as we all do that the common belief is that there will be police on all of the overlooking rooftops… how did he even suspect that, should he be able to carry his rifle through the area and get to the building, he would not be confronted by police snipers on that roof?
I mean, a deer stand high up in a tree in those woods behind the buildings… that I could believe. Someone might suspect they could get away with that.
But climbing onto the roof of a police staging area while surrounded by a crowd milling about, carrying a rifle??
Kinda doesn’t seem plausible enough to even try if you are “acting alone”. Like, I can’t imagine trying it if I didn’t have someone telling me that there would not be police on the roof.
And he was from 50 miles away. Seems you’d either have to be very familiar with the area beforehand, or do some recce, AND know how the event was going to be set up, including stage location and orientatition, building locations, roof access, where the security perimeter was, etc.
Yup… I have to confess the same questions come to my mind. The very idea of carrying a rifle anywhere near a political rally, regardless of the candidate — but especially a Presidential front runner without being challenged (or frankly, shot on sight) — much less thinking I’ll have the opportunity to scale a convenient building would never, ever cross my mind. And why it would pop into the psycho’s head puzzles me.
(For the Tier 6 or whatnot conspiracy… maybe the FBI is dragging their feet on the phone / social media so they don’t expose that he was actually very much on their radar and they set him up… I don’t think that’s really what happened, because that’s frankly flat out f’ing treason in my opinion, certainly a violation of every oath they should take — but given the Whitmer crap and other things… you have to wonder these things. Good job making us believe you’re capable of such evil there, FBI….)
I think that is exactly how he got away with it. No one would be so stupid to do it so the cops assigned to it were doing what they do best.
SDF-7: After what I have seen for the last dozen years I dont see the FBI as anything other than a militant/political weapon of the left on par with the Stasi, KGB etc.
Seeing them as such is not the crazy view…not seeing them that way is.
That is very suspicious. Even if the rifle was taken down and in a non-descript bag.
It’s also suspicious that he was killed so soon after he started shooting. If he was already in the sights of a counter-sniper, why would they wait for him to fire?
However, if they were trying to get someone to assassinate Trump. Why would they pick some kid who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn? It’s not like PA has a lack of deer hunters or ex-military.
Do we even know the exact rifle? Journalists think everything is an AR-15.
I think they’re just deeply incompetent.
Also, literally any other Republican candidate polls even more favorably against Biden so not much they can do about that.
A month ago they had one SS Agent assigned to Kamala throwing tampons at other agents and generally going batshit while on duty. I’m sure there are some top notch individuals working for the SS. I’m also sure there are some DEI hires and incompetents as well as the force being stretched thin and limited by the powers that be, especially in regards to Trump. Combine that with a few Chief Wiggums from the local PD that aren’t doing shit and you get what we got.
True, although Republican isn’t the issue.
“It’s also suspicious that he was killed so soon after he started shooting. If he was already in the sights of a counter-sniper, why would they wait for him to fire?”
The (credible) explanation I’ve heard for that is that the police counter-snipers already saw him but were unsure if he was a friendly from another one of the many groups (police, USNG, FBI(?), USSS) present.
Which goes back to the USSS doing a piss-poor job of coordination & communication.
It’s possible that they’re incompetent at creating and executing a scenario that doesn’t look like an inside job to a large number of observant people.
And they’re not worried about any other Republicans winning.
If he was already in the sights of a counter-sniper, why would they wait for him to fire?
I saw somebody allege that the sniper said they asked for permission to shoot but didn’t receive it in time.
However, that was a rando on Twitter, so take it with a grain of salt.
For the nautically inclined – In-universe, the Churl’s Chore was not designed to be a horse carrier. It was retrofitted into such after the fact. At Farcairn they’ll see ships purpose built for the role.
But climbing onto the roof of a police staging area while surrounded by a crowd milling about, carrying a rifle??
Was he decked out in black tacticool?
“All Chinese waiters look alike.”
Grayy T shirt and cargo shorts. Or as MSNBC reported “camouflage.”
I am most surprised this isn’t from PSA.
https://www.newfrontierarmory.com/g-4-billet-lower-trump-edition-you-missed-me/
Capitalism always wins.
OFF TOPIC!
I need a roster of Twitter @’s that go with your Glib monikers. Mofos be tweeting at me like I should know.
Also, Ksue, I also faved that long tweet you posted in morning links. What’s your @?
Anyone claiming to be me on twitter is lying.
Though I don’t know anyone who’d want to do that.
Same situation here — and better phrased than I would have come up with (I was leaning towards a lame NULL handle-r joke).
Probably the easiest one:
@theotherkevin3
There are TWO other other Kevins?
Check. Thanks!
Chipping – Don’t forget no-numeral, 0, and 4+!
Just @theotherkevin was taken. So at least one. I added 3 because on my hockey team I was the third Kevin so they call me K3.
So, you’re not the mountain?
For you, and only you, I will violate protocol.
I created the handle @pompanoj to test out Musk Twitter
Staying around because it is good at getting info out quickly.
But it sucks at interaction if you are not a big name or engagement farming. They basically hide everyone who isn’t already popular, no matter how early you get into the discussion.
Awwwwww, thanks! Followed you and tweeted at you.
I actually don’t have one Mo. I just find tweets from different web sources. That one was on Powerline this morning. I am thinking I need to get one tho, I’m really glad Elon has free speeched that place.
The other day I said that Elon buying Twitter and freeing it up was one of the greatest acts of charity I have seen in my lifetime.
Yep, I don’t think he will ever make any money off it and I don’t know that he even really believed he would when he bought it. Huge win for free speech.
Mo: do you have any interest in meet-ups? I was “talking” with Trashy a while back. We’re about the same distance from KC (in opposite directions). Both open to meeting in KC in the fall (September was the month we threw out).
Raven – In response to your question earlier, I dropped my itenery in The forum to coordinate meeting anyone along the way where it can work out.
Absolutely.
Ozy is in Olathe, but haven’t seen him around these parts. Trigger Hippie is in, I think, Sugar Creek, but we haven’t met. Glibertesian lives up by me (although we’ve only hung out once).
Thanks UCS. I’ll take a look soon-ish (leaking dishwasher to deal with right now).
Thanks Mo.
My brain is apparently atrophing: I actually meant Ozy not Trashy (who lives around Dallas I think). I thought Ozy was a little further away?
I’ll get something in the Forums soon-ish.
I actually meant Ozy not Trashy (who lives around Dallas I think). I thought Ozy was a little further away?
Ozy is or was in the Kansas City area. He came over to Kansas City to meet up with Mojeaux and me back when I passed through on my FreedomFest 2021 road trip. We went to Arthur Bryant’s, which is excellent. Mojeaux, her husband, and Ozy are great company.
I thought Trashy moved out of the Dallas area and is in Missouri now?
Well damn, maybe I did mean Trashy. I swear to god, my brain is becoming useless.
Well, let’s say Ozy, Trashy, Mo, TH, Raven Nation, Glibertesian. Let ’em know I’ll put something in the Forums. I was also thinking Kinnath, but that might be too much of a drive.
Trashy’s in Springfield.
I nuked my account after taking a break for Lent. I go back and forth on if I should re-up, but my screen time has plummeted (along with my BP most likely), so it’s a difficult decision.
Ted S. (слава мне)
name and avatar make it easy to find me
I finished it last week and I think it’s a fantastic book!
The end took me by surprise and I stayed up way to late to finish. Love that.
Thanks, UCS!
I’m glad that you enjoyed it. I didn’t set out to surprise anybody with the ending. But I suppose it can happen.
As I said before, I really enjoyed it and my only complaint is I wanted moar!
It felt like you could have gotten several books out of it had you been so inclined.
It took me five years to write this one!
Oh, not a complaint, just a compliment to your world-building – there’s a lot of meat on the bone.
“Trump names Ohio Sen. JD Vance, 39, as his 2024 VP pick ”
https://nypost.com/2024/07/15/us-news/trump-names-ohio-sen-jd-vance-his-2024-vp-pick/
Who?
Probably a smart choice. I think Pence seemed that way but turned out the opposite. He wouldn’t have continued Trump’s policies and the Dems would have been fine with justanotherestablishmenthack Republican. So, no good on policy and not a very good life insurance policy.
Vance may turn out to be good on both.
Too anti-market for my taste but not worse than Trump.
Jumping in in the middle of the series….
They used parts of the animal that were unfit to feed to dogs, and were prone to dumping everything in with a mash of overcooked grains. They served it with a brick of the world’s heaviest bread and beer darker than the stone walls. I wasn’t sure, but there might also have been a hash of carrot and turnip mixed in there as well.
It sounds like it has potential.
The biggest surprise was that the flavor was not nearly as off-putting as the appearance. If displayed decoratively enough, it could be put before Roland’s guests, and they might never realize they were eating peasant food.
🙂
I like it.
All traditional style foods are peasant food despite what people tell themselves.
See lobster
Yes, that one always gets a chuckle out of me.
Someone alerted me a while back that some hoity toity restaurant had grits on the menu. When the prep for it was described to me I thought “Of course they screwed it up.”
Were they selling it as grits or polenta?
Grits. There isn’t really enough difference to matter. They can both be prepared in the same fashion. The difference is that grits are from white hominy, polenta from a different variety of corn not-nixtamalized.
Look-down-your-nose food usually amounts to a dish that is ‘re-discovered’ by people who have been eating novelty foods for too long.
No true southerner makes grits without positraction.
Dead-on balls accurate.
It’s Vance.
A few days ago I was reading a piece from a verry savvy political tea-leaf-reader who said Vance was definitely not going to be the VP pick because Trumpolini disapproves of facial hair.
He debunked that immediately that night though. He does not give a shit about facial hair.
Hillbilly Elegy up 454 spots on the Amazon Best Sellers Rank since this afternoon, to 1,1773.
I suspect it’ll crack the top 100 (again, I assume – did well first time out).
Did you read it? I might take a gander.
I bought it awhile back but it’s still on my “to be read” pile (which is large).
I’ll bump it up after I finish with the (great) C. B. Strike books. Maybe after the current one, so I can savor the series a bit more.
Uffda.
Why can’t Trump be more like Reagan? Never thought I’d hear a proggie praise Reagan.
All Republican candidates are Hitler. All retired or dead Republican politicians were sober, reasonable men.
I mean, I have it on good authority that we barely dodged the repeal of the 13th and 14th Amendments in 2012.
The stench from the crematoriums in 2018 was overwhelming when the wind changed direction.
😟
Remind me why my impulse to replace this 15amp breaker with a 20 amp breaker so my AC will stop tripping it on hot days is a stupid idea.
Because you don’t want to turn your AC unit into an impromptu, short-duration heater? If you don’t mind that arrangement, bridge it with an 8-gauge wire.
The breakers are there to protect the wiring from overheating and causing a fire.
What is the AC load rated at? (on the id plate of the AC)
If you have not played any shenanigans with plugs the system should be able to deliver the load without tripping if it is the only item on that branch.
So, are there more loads on that branch that you can turn off, or it could be a breaker that is getting old and tripping at lower steady state currents.
Another datapoint would be to measure the actual amperage with a clamp meter, and does it breaker trip after long runs of AC or at the AC start?
I have not played any shennanigans, and the breaker is at most a year or two old, as I replaced a previous one on that circuit (staying at 15amps) when similar tripping on high temp days was happening. I’ve shed as much load from that circuit as I can. I’m running a lot of the living room electronics off the bedroom’s circuit via extension cords to keep it off the same wire as the AC.
I don’t know where on the window unit to find that ID plate.
At the moment, it takes about a half hour for the breaker to trip, with the AC set to “On”. The ground fault in the cord for the unit never trips.
On the manufacturer’s website, it claims it’s supposed to be 9.5 Amps
Since you didn’t put a 15A plug in place of a 20A it should be within limits. You should be able to search for the make and model to get the specs.
Given the newish breaker I would measure the current at the breaker, with and without AC.
Also check the heat of the breaker, I did have a breaker for a hot tub 240v heater overheat due to corrosion on the bus-bars..
Remove the breaker (kill the main) and you can use some sandpaper/steel wool to clean up any corrosion (if you see any) also on the wires to the outlet etc.. every bit of corrosion adds some loss in the system.
When it’s not above 90 outside, the breaker doesn’t trip, regardless of whether I leave the AC on ‘Cool’ all the time or switch it to “Eco” (with more start-stop cycles)
I hadn’t thought about heat at the breaker box – it’s in a back corner of the house on the sunny side which doesn’t have any air circulation, so the breaker itself could be getting hotter on these days.
@9.5A it shouldn’t get close to tripping the system unless there is something else going on..
1st I would check with a meter to confirm the draw.
Sounds like a good idea to me. What else is on the same circuit?
Some things should have a dedicated Circuit breaker. Refrig, heat source, AC.
I don’t know.
All I do know is that the labels in the breaker box are all very wrong.
The 15 amp circuit is most likely run with 14 gauge wire, a 20 amp breaker requires 12 gauge wire, you will probably get away with it, but it’s possible that the 20 amp breaker will allow too much current through the 14 wire and over heat it, could just short out, or it might burn your house down.
A lot of window AC are 120 and a 15A should accommodate that, unless there’s something else running on the same circuit. I put a 220 AC in the cabin window,
rewired the outlet. Now there’s no window unit there since the cabin is rarely used.
It’s available and the price is right for anyone wanting to use it.
How old is the AC?
Eight years.
I got it when I bought the house.
The breaker problem only happens on days when the outside temperature exceeds 90. Not every year hits 90 very often, so I can’t tell you what year I first saw this issue.
Sean is on to something: there are many ways to overwork the AC even if your circuit is fine.
* clean the condenser (there are coil cleaners on the market that should also work for the evaporator)
* clean the evap
* get a coil comb and straighten all the fins so air flows easy
* reduce any moisture in the house (for example, use your bathroom vents to exhaust every last drop before you let that room communicate with the rest of the house; always use the ventahood while cooking); there are orders of magnitude more energy in the liquids and solids in the house than in the air!
* lower the load with more/better curtaining; any sort of sheathing that traps another layer of insulating air between the inside and the outside helps)
* check for leaky doors and windows; sometimes a bit of adhesive-backed foam or weatherstripping tightens things up
* if the unit is hermetically sealed at the factory, that’s normal for window units; if, by any chance, it is not, consider having an HVAC guy make sure it is not overcharged
* do anything you can to get more and cooler air to flow over the condenser; trim back bushes and anything cutting down the breeze to it….even getting a box fan to blow across its face
* I won’t describe or recommend this, but, if you don’t live in a terribly humid place, there is a way to get a little bit of hose to drip across the condenser to get more sub-cool, but don’t blame me if you electrocute yourself figuring it out
* some hermetically-sealed units just leak down after years; the kids at the vo-tech and recharge it for you cheap
* if it is easy to pull a panel or whittle out a window, make sure you’re getting full airflow across the evap; on low charge (I’ll skip the very long story) the evap can freeze over….even partially, and that reduces airflow and therefore reduces heat transfer
* if this is a window unit, make sure it’s set to recirc, not outside air
please pay up front as you leave: $0.02
* there’s a trick
https://www.brighthubengineering.com/ezoimgfmt/img.bhs4.com/EB/C/EBCC55D90941244981F2166C654A0A96C20070DB_large.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng%3Awebp%2Fngcb1%2Frs%3Adevice%2Frscb1-1
window unit drawing
Thanks for the diagram. I can now provide a few more bits of info
There are no bent fins on the coil, despite the age, I’ve managed to keep it undamaged.
The only window in the house it fits in is very exposed – nothing between it and the breeze – or the sun. And it is on the sun side of the house with a street and an empty lot before you reach a shadow.
I live at the confluance of two rivers, humidity is unavoidable. I can’t dry out the air reliably.
It is set to recirculate.
I have the house as insulated as I can get it for both summer and winter weather.
There is a gap in the in-wall insulated at the breaker box so that the heat from the sunlight is getting into the box proper (even heating up the meter and conducting through that since they’re back to back)
Because the wire isn’t sized for 20 amps, you can start a fire. Try cleaning your condenser coil.
Seriously, that’s why your amp draw is high. Replace the breaker, they aren’t supposed to be reset that much, and get weaker every trip
God, I love it when HVAC superman shows up.
How are you, Yusef?
I’m fine Tundra, living the dream
There is only one true libertarian stance on pizza! And that stance is that my hometown has the best pizza in the nation!
If you can’t trust the NY Times for the true libertarian position on anything, who can you trust?
* When I was a kid Zorbaz was a shack that made money because it was the only place on the beach selling beer (and it was 3.2% beer until my senior year in high school). Now it is huge and prints money all year long.
“peanut butter sauce, pepperoni and jalapeños”
That’s a hate-crime
There’s a Zorbaz in Cross Lake.
I thought everywhere in MN was ‘right on the lake’.
When I was looking for property I was undecided between lake and acreage. A lot of public access to lakes but private hunting property is scarce. I made he right decision and went with the hunting.
Less tax rape off the lake as well.
Been to Zorba’s many times, and I dug it, but there is no way I would call it great pizza.
Not while Pizza Luce is still standing.
And there is new fear among members of Congress and other political candidates who have canceled town halls and other events in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.
Prepare for a wave of random violence. That kid had motive, no specific intent to target Trump. He was just driving by and saw all the people and decided to get up on that roof and plug a few. He didn’t even know Trump was on the stage.
had NO motive
dammit
“Churl’s Chore”
Story of my life.
I don’t even remember what inspired the name of the ship.
Remind me why my impulse to replace this 15amp breaker with a 20 amp breaker so my AC will stop tripping it on hot days is a stupid idea.
What size wire is running from the breaker to the outlet?
🤷♂️ I didn’t wire the house.
(If I had the circuits would make more sense to me.)
If the basement is unfinished and the circuit breaker box is there (in the basement) pretty easy to run a #12 and put in a new outlet and have a dedicated circuit.
I’m afraid the breaker is set into a finished wall in the back entryway off the kitchen.
Sometimes they get old. Replace it with an identical new 15A breaker.
See above, clean your condenser coil!
Circuit breakers are like hippies. The more they trip, the less reliable they are.
I might have a spare 15Amp breaker in the kitchen, I think I bought two last time I swapped it out (for this exact same issue)
I have however cooled off the breaker box and had a longer delay since last trip. I don’t want to cut power to the whole house and swap out the breaker right now. That would kill the AC units that are not having this problem.
The insulation on the individual conductors should be marked, 14 AWG or 12 AWG. The markings are repeated periodically along the length of the wire. If the bit of wire inside the box is long enough, you might be able to spot it.
If the wires are marked it’s by impressing the lettering into the black insulation, so I wasn’t able to read any of them.
Zombie Biden
Sans brainnnnnnnzzzzz!
robc; Negroni Please; Q.
If you’re lurking, see Forum post about possible Denver/Front Range meet up. If you can’t get into the Forums, TPTB have my e-mail address.
I’m afraid the breaker is set into a finished wall in the back entryway off the kitchen.
Reading the stuff above, I wonder if the breaker box is just heating up like an oven under certain conditions. Maybe try leaving the door of the breaker box open to help let some heat out?
I’m convinced that the box itself is getting too hot. The door has been open, so I took off the front panel to increase airflow. From the amount of sweating I did removing five very cooperative screws, that space is just too warm.
Put your finger on the breaker, it should much hotter than the others.
Replace it after you Clean the Coils!
Fix it don’t put a band aid on it, it’s not safe
It’s not noticably hotter than the other breakers.
And you haven’t told me how to identify what a consender coil is. This thing is a beige box.
It’s the outdoor coil, you can rinse it off with a hose, it can get wet, it lives outdoors. The main reason you are tripping over 90 degrees, not enough heat transfer over the compressor itself
A few additional thoughts on the shooter:
He really doesn’t seem to have had any social media profile. The WSJ hired three forensics firms to try and dig up some info, and they all came up dry. If he had anything and scrubbed it, he did a damn fine job. I expect even if he did scrub the shit out of it, the social media companies would still have something on him and we would have heard by now.
I don’t see any way he could have been recruited by the feds to do a hit on Trump. How would they possibly have found him as a potential shooter? Same goes with any other organizations – he was barely even a face in the crowd. Plus, you don’t get involved with violent lunatics without somebody noticing something, and nobody noticed anything at all.
If anyone at all was trying to set up a shot at Trump, this kid was absolutely not who you would pick for the job.
I think he just had a lot of luck and a heaping helping of cop incompetence. I could easily see him doing a light scouting run of the location in advance. I can even see him carrying a bag with a gun it without anyone in the crowd stopping him, especially if he came up on the side of the group of buildings away from the rally – unlikely there were many people there. How he got the ladder and up onto the roof is the biggest question in my mind.
Since there should have been cops on the roof providing some kind of overwatch, and/or given its such a great vantage point for any random person at the rally, I can easily see the sniper waiting for the all clear to engage.
Not everything is a deep dark conspiracy. This one isn’t really jiggling my handle.
Someone eventually wins the lottery
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/15/thomas-crooks-trump-assassination-investigation/
yeah, I’m also in the no conspiracy camp (although that’s my default position).
On this: “a heaping helping of cop incompetence” you can add agency overlap/competition. Reports already suggesting the communication between the SS and the other agencies was FUBARed.
“Cock-up before conspiracy”, as the Brits say.
That’s my current position and it’d take a lot to sway me from that. Too many agencies involved and too little communication & coordination.
Yup this is not a conspiracy. It’s a lone wolf nut who got past the local yokel cops and the tampon-tossing Secret Service D Team.
CNN
The gunman and his father were members of Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a gun club about a 25-minute drive from his house, and enjoyed going shooting there together, according to law enforcement officials. Rob Bootay, a lawyer for the club, confirmed in a statement that the younger Crooks was a member.
In almost every single similar event, people come out of the woodwork to say, “I allus knowed that boy weren’t right.” But here- zip. Weird.
I’m convinced that the box itself is getting too hot.
It’s in the outside wall, with the sun beating on it? That sounds plausible.
Yes, it’s an exterior wall. On the other side is the electrical meter (probably why the breaker box was put there to begin with)
If the breaker has blown repeatedly it will already be weak and prone to blow prematurely. You might could replace it with a new 15 amp and have no more problems.
Keep digging
President Joe Biden said he should not have used the language, “put Trump in the bullseye,” a remark he made to donors in a private call days before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
“It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden said, according to excerpts of a Monday interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt. “I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.”
“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Biden asked rhetorically. “Do you just not say anything, because it may incite somebody?”
“Look, I have not engaged in that rhetoric,” Biden said. “Now, my my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about being a bloodbath if he loses.”
Keep it up, you prevaricating shitbag.
Let’s move the nation forward, united in our hate for Trump.
Biden was gonna scope out Trump?
Questions and conspiracy theories soon poured out across social media as the public processed the horrific events of Saturday evening.
Several Republican lawmakers blamed Democratic campaign rhetoric for inciting the shooting, including Biden’s ill-timed “bullseye” comment.
How uncharitable of those hyperpartisan polarizers.