SoylentNews

A lot of us use tools, daily. It can be difficult, or even unpossible, to work out of a stationary toolbox. Whether you're a home mechanic, hobbyist, a DIY'er, professional auto mechanic, aviation mechanic, or whatever, you often need to bring your tools and/or your workstation to the work. Rollaway tool chests and their kin are the solution for that, often enough.

For all of my life, Craftsman has been the standard for this type of tool storage. There are far more expensive brands, and there have been many cheaper brands that have come and gone, but Craftsman has always provided a baseline, by which to judge the quality of other boxes.

Unfortunately, Craftsman is tied to the fortunes of Sears. Sears seemed to be the exclusive distributor of Craftsman for most of my life. More recently, other stores have begun carrying Craftsman tools, but they often don't offer bulky toolboxes. Unlike Sears, of yesteryear, you can't walk into the store, and put your fingers on dozens of toolboxes, to see how they work, or judge the quality. Craftsman has always had reasonable quality, and better quality boxes after all. Now that Sears has closed down, shopping for a new box has changed drastically!

So - hit the internet. Try to locate Craftsman boxes, and as often as not, the box is only available for pickup. Or, you get a message, "We do not ship to your area", which amounts to the same thing. Most of Sears stock has been sold to Lowes, which is pushing that old stock in their stores, all around the country. Key words, "old stock". Worse, my local store doesn't have the models I'm interested in.

Hit the internet again. How DOES a person comparison shop items that he can't reach out and touch? True, I've done this to some extent in the past, but I've always had some sample at hand, by which I have already judged quality and suitability of a product. Here, I'm attempting to evaluate products that I cannot touch, cannot measure. How to start?

At work, I get out a set of calipers. Measure the thickness of the metal on my ancient Lumidor rollaway, then my slightly less ancient Kennedy. Both were high-value tool boxes, when new. But, I didn't purchase them new. Both were purchased from other people when they upgraded to better and/or larger boxes. Then I measured the thickness of the metal of Craftsman, US General, Sunex, and several other brands around the plant. Put the calipers away, get out a tape measure, and start measuring height, width, and depth of all these boxes. Then, I measured the inside dimensions of those boxes to which I have access. It is revealing that sometimes the larger box has less usable space than a smaller box!

Further examination reveals that some of these boxes actually have frames on which they sit, while US General and Craftsman have their rollers bolted directly to the 22 and 20 gauge bottom sheet metal. Ugh. The difference between friction slides and roller bearing slides on the drawers is more than obvious. Friction slides are alright when new, but after years of use, they all go to crap, while roller bearings remain easy to use after decades of use.

Let us first dismiss the idea that I might spend $10,000 on a tool box. Can I afford to do so? Ehhhh - maybe. But, this is Runaway's journal. Runaway doesn't even spend $10,000 on his vehicles, he's not going to invest that much money on tool storage!! So, that rules out Mac, Extreme tools, Montezuma, and a number of other well known high value brands.

I've mentioned that I own a Kennedy. Visiting their site, they *could* still be a consideration, based on cost alone. Unfortunately, the Kennedy lineup is, and always has been, targeted at machinists. That is, the typical cabinet and chest has a couple dozen small drawers, designed to hold small, high value tools. My Kennedy is a good example, in that finding a place to stow a 24" crescent is impossible.

I really like my old Lumidor. Searching the internet, I can find offers of used boxes, but I find nothing new. Lumidor doesn't even have an internet site. Finally, I do the right search, to learn that they are no longer in business, so I guess Lumidor is out of the running.

The next brand to consider is Kobalt. I've had a sample of Kobalt tool boxes to look at in the past. The gentleman who owned it left long ago, so there are no samples around now to look at. No real problem - Lowes carries the brand. Visit Lowe's online, then physically. Yeah, they're pretty good boxes. Overall, they seem to be equivalent to Craftsman. Similar gauge steel, similar construction, similar dimensions. There is little to distinguish a Kobalt from a Craftsman, even with both brands on display, side by side. Kobalt is shiny steel, Craftsman is either red or black - otherwise, they sit right at the baseline from which I measure tool boxes.

Then someone asked me if I had considered Husky tool boxes. Nope, I've never seen one. Don't think I've ever even seen an advertisement for them. I've seen a number of Husky tools over the years, but never considered that they might make tool boxes. An internet search took me directly to Home Depot. There is a wide selection of boxes available, some of them available for immediate pickup at my local store. So, I start researching the quality, first from the comfort of my own desk, online, then in person. I like what I see.

Like Craftsman, their boxes come in higher and lower quality. Sorry, no 14 gauge steel, or we would be talking multiple thousands of dollars again. 18, 19, 20, and 21 gauge steel is available, and the prices reflect those gauges as much as anything else. The better boxes have channels under that bottom deck, to which the casters are bolted, while the lowest cost simply bolt cheaper casters to the bottom deck sheet metal.

Interestingly, Home Depot carries some Milwaukee branded tool boxes as well. These boxes are about equal quality, and slightly higher prices, to Husky, offering just about the same features. I suspect they are manufactured by the same company, then Milwaukee marks them up to capitalize on their name.

A couple of features jump out at me. The depth of the cabinets and chests vary, with the larger boxes being 24 inches. That is a huge difference from the typical boxes of yesteryear, most of which were only 18 inches deep. My Lumidor is 20 inches, and experience tells me that space is valuable! Then, there are full-extension drawers. That is, the drawer pulls all the way out, so that you can see the back wall of the drawer, directly. No more squatting down, to see if some little item has rolled out of sight inside the drawer!

I've spent many hours over the last three weeks, considering what I want. Now, I face a quandary. Do I want a roller cabinet with a chest, or do I want a more basic work station? How long do I want this thing to be? There is a beautiful 80" storage option, complete with a side locker, where I can hang a change of clothes, ark flash gear, and a a small handful of very long tools. Moving that thing around would be a pain, though. It appears to be well worth $1300, but I just can't quite see me pushing this thing, or carrying it on a forklift from one end of the plant to the other.

Next consideration is their Industrial model at $900. At 52" long, it's still pretty big. The bottom cabinet section will hold everything currently held in both my Lumidor and Kennedy boxes, and probably a little space left. The top drawers would be less than half filled when I transfer all the goodies in my Craftsman mid- and top-chests. All that space in the very top section, or "hutch" as some manufacturers call it, would be available for various tools that I now store in a 4ft x 2ft x 2 ft Jobox. Battery operated drill/driver, two-way radio, chargers, clipboard, meters, etc. Most of my large tools would have to remain in the Jobox.

There is a 56" model, similar to the Industrial that compares favorably at $1100. More but slightly smaller drawers - otherwise it looks very much the same.

Work benches are appealing, though. The most appealing is 61" long, a full 24 inches deep, and has a hardwood work surface, AND a pegboard at the back. The downside to this bench is, I'll put things on the pegboard, and people will just help themselves to whatever is there. For storage space, it's almost right. Again, everything in the Lumidor and the Kennedy will fit in it. The Craftsman chests won't all fit though - and there really is no room left in the Jobox to store the leftovers.

Oh yeah - honorable mention goes to Gear Wrench branded boxes. No, they aren't manufactured by Gear Wrench. They look like Extreme Tool boxes, with GW branding. They have some "sex appeal", I guess. When I spotted them, I got a little excited. But, again, I can't justify the price tag attached to them. Still, they are nice boxes. If I weren't a cheapskate, I'd be buying them, instead of Husky.

Another honorable mention goes to Masterforce, sold exclusively by Menards. Quality, features, and pricing seems to be about equal to the Husky boxes I'm looking at. Unfortunately, there is no Menards near me, so I don't get to put a finger on one before I can buy it.

Decision time. I'm giving myself another week to think about all this, then I'm going to order one of these Husky tool boxes. I'm satisfied that Husky's better boxes sit just above my baseline established by Craftsman, all those years ago. Husky's lower end boxes sit just below that same baseline.

Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid pressure from Jeffrey Epstein sex traffic case

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta said Friday he will resign amid controversy over the way he handled a sex crimes case against wealthy businessman Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago when he was U.S. attorney for southern Florida.

Acosta made the announcement to reporters while standing next to President Donald Trump outside the White House. Trump said Acosta had called him Friday morning and that it was Acosta's decision to quit.

R. Kelly Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges: Law Enforcement Officials

Singer R. Kelly has been arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges, according to two law enforcement officials.

The 52-year-old was arrested by Homeland Security Investigation agents and NYPD Public Safety Task Force Thursday night on sex trafficking charges, officials tell News 4, and it is expected he will be brought to New York.

The 13-count indictment includes charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice, U.S. attorney spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick tells The Associated Press. Further details on the case are expected to be announced Friday out of the Eastern District of New York.

They were trapped in the closet.

See also: R. Kelly is arrested by feds on new charges while walking his dog in Chicago

Previously: R. Kelly Contracts Ligma
R. Kelly Exposes Himself
R. Kelly Meltdown

Previously 2: Epstein Charged Again (Southern District of New York)

Recovered GoPro video shows final moments of Himalayas climbers

Indian authorities have released footage showing the final moments of the climbers who died in the Indian Himalayas in May.

The video was found on a "memory video device" near the Nanda Devi East, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said Monday, which showed the group of climbers moving slowly near the summit on the unnamed peak.

The group of eight climbers -- four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and their Indian liaison officer -- went missing when they were attempting to scale a previously unclimbed peak on May 26.

The final final moments were not released.

Also at NYT and NBC.

Intel’s 10th Gen ‘Comet Lake’ Desktop CPU Lineup Allegedly Leaks Out – Core i9-10900KF Flagship With 10 Cores, 20 Threads, 5.2 GHz Boost at $499 US, 8 Cores Start at $339 US, 6 Cores at $179 US

(Wccftech incorrectly labels Intel Core i7-10700K as $339 instead of $389, so refer to this blurry table from the source article.)

Intel feeling the heat, or just a deepfake?

The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed

Interesting comment:

Jansen - Tuesday, July 09, 2019

The ASUS Pro WS X570-Ace has officially validated ECC support. This is a really big deal, as Ryzen has usually only had unofficial ECC support. It opens up a whole other revenue steam for AMD that Intel has deliberately cut off in order to drive Xeon sales.

Micron is ramping up its 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 ECC modules MTA18ADF2G72AZ-3G2 specifically for this market.

Mysterious X-37B Military Space Plane Caught on Camera (Photo)

Rare image of US Air Force's secretive space plane in orbit

Boeing X-37

Related: USAF Secret Plane Makes Longevity Record
What is the X-37B Doing Up There?
Modified X-37B Spaceplane Could Act as "Astronaut Ambulance" for the ISS
As Hurricane Irma Looms, X-37B Poised for First Flight Atop SpaceX Falcon 9

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein arrested and accused of sex trafficking minors, sources say

Florida-based billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been indicted on new charges related to alleged sex crimes involving minors, law enforcement sources told CNN on Saturday.

Epstein was arrested Saturday and is expected to appear in federal court in New York on Monday. Epstein faces charges brought by US prosecutors in Manhattan, after previously evading similar charges when he secured a non-prosecution deal with federal prosecutors in Miami.

The charges, contained in a sealed indictment, involve alleged sex trafficking crimes committed between 2002 and 2005, according to law enforcement sources. The indictment alleged that the crimes occurred in both New York and Palm Beach, Florida.

[...] A team of federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, along with some in the public corruption unit, have been assigned to the case. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, is one of the prosecutors, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

COMEY?

Jeffrey Epstein, Billionaire Long Accused of Molesting Minors, Is Charged

He is expected to appear before a federal magistrate on Monday, more than a decade after he first gained notoriety with lurid accusations that he had paid dozens of girls for sexual massages in Florida.

Mr. Epstein had avoided federal criminal charges in 2007 and 2008 in a widely criticized plea deal whose lenient terms continue to roil the Justice Department and are facing new scrutiny in the #MeToo era.

Before the plea deal, Mr. Epstein, a former hedge-fund manager, had been friendly with Donald J. Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

[...] Women who said they were Mr. Epstein’s victims have repeatedly assailed federal prosecutors for agreeing to a nonprosecution deal with him more than a decade ago.

[...] The plea deal that protected Mr. Epstein from federal charges was signed by the top federal prosecutor in Miami at the time, Alexander Acosta, who is now President Trump’s labor secretary.

In February, a judge in Florida ruled that the prosecutors led by Mr. Acosta violated federal law when they failed to disclose Mr. Epstein’s nonprosecution agreement to his victims.

Check to see if "prince andrew epstein" is censored by GOOG autocomplete. Looks like it is.

Will the Epstein story have a... happy ending?

Previously: Jeffrey Epstein Settles Suit
Jeffrey Epstein Plea Deal Must Stand

Amazon sells a $19,000 do-it-yourself tiny-home kit that takes only 2 days to build — here's what it looks like inside

Something like this is what comes to mind when I hear "tiny home/house", not necessarily a "mobile home". Although they can be even smaller than this $19k cabin kit.

220 Square Foot Tiny House (compare to $19k cabin which is 292 sq. ft. + the loft)

2 of 3 of the reviews on the $19k cabin are bad, pointing out that it is expensive and requires insulation and more stuff to make it liveable. There are better options out there.

"Needed" for no frills house: solar panels, battery, Starlink, camp cooking equipment or a grill, water source, outhouse or shit pit. DIY insulation probably won't cost a lot for something this size. Maybe you could swipe a couple hundred Tyvek envelopes from the post office to help waterproof it some more. You could use the wooden frame to set up brick/concrete/etc. walls if you want more protection.

Nike Drops ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Kaepernick Criticizes It

Nike loses [Arizona] factory aid as 'racist trainer' row intensifies

Mitch McConnell says he will "make the first order" for Nike shoes featuring Betsy Ross flag

A veteran-owned company releases a Betsy Ross flag shirt after Nike controversy

Dalai Lama 'deeply sorry' for remarks about women

The Dalai Lama has apologised for controversial comments about the possibility of a woman succeeding him.

Speaking to the BBC last month, the Tibetan spiritual leader said that any future female Dalai Lama should be "attractive".

But a statement from his office apologised for his words, suggesting he had been joking.

"He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies," it said.

Dalai Lama. 14th tidbits:

In 2014 and 2016, he stated that Tibet wants to be part of China but China should let Tibet preserve its culture and script.

In 2018, he stated that "Europe belongs to the Europeans" and that Europe has a moral obligation to aid refugees whose lives are in peril. Further he stated that Europe should receive, help and educate refugees but ultimately they should return to develop their home countries.

In March 2019, the Dalai Lama spoke out about his successor, saying that after his death he is likely to be reincarnated in India. He also warned that any Chinese interference in succession should not be considered valid.

California set to be first US state to ban hair discrimination

California is set to become the first US state to ban discrimination against natural hair. The new bill, which the Senate passed in April, amends anti-discrimination laws to include "traits historically associated with race" and "blackness". It bars discrimination against black hairstyles in schools and workplaces. California's assembly voted unanimously in favour of the measure on Thursday, sending it to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk for signing into law.

The update to the law comes after years of nationwide reports of black students being sent home from school over braids or natural styles that violated dress code rules. In the workplace, black employees have often reported unfair policies that describe natural hair as unhygienic and unprofessional. The US military had a ban on dreadlocks for women until 2017.

"Professionalism was, and still is, closely linked to European features and mannerisms, which entails that those who do not naturally fall into Eurocentric norms must alter their appearances, sometimes drastically and permanently, in order to be deemed professional," the California bill states. "Hair remains a rampant source of racial discrimination with serious economic and health consequences, especially for black individuals."

Also at NPR and NYT.