So I smelled gas in the garage today

and called NJ Natural Gas. A technician came right out and confirmed there is a leak inside the boiler that leaks when it fires up. But he couldn't pinpoint the location and advised us to call a service company. And he shut off the boiler, saying it can't be used until the leak is repaired.

We have hot water baseboard heating.

I called the company that installed the boiler 3 years ago for the previous owners. They sent someone out. He checked everything but said he couldn't find the leak. He advised us to call the gas company again and ask them to pinpoint the site of the leak. He left the boiler shut off. I asked if there was a warranty and he said it was only for 2 years.

I called the gas company back and was transferred here and there, to finally be told their techs don't pinpoint leaks. They said to contact a licensed plumber or a service company.

By now it was after 6 p.m. I put a call through to a licensed plumber who's done some work for us. Left a message but haven't heard back.

Drove to Home Depot and bought two electric heaters - one for the house and one for the garage so the pipes don't freeze.

Gonna be a long, cold night.

Trump's furious at Rupert Murdoch's 'obnoxious and unreadable' newspaper

By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Updated: Dec. 04, 2024, 12:29 p.m.|Published: Dec. 04, 2024, 12:16 p.m.

Donald Trump is angry over how The Wall Street Journal has covered him in recent days — and even years.

So much so the incoming president announced on social media Wednesday that “somebody over there ought to look at what they’re doing” despite Trump having a longstanding relationship with the newspaper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch.

“The Wall Street Journal is becoming more and more obnoxious and unreadable. Today’s main headline is: “Trump’s DEA Pick Pulls Out In Latest Setback.” With all that’s happening in the World, this is their Number One story of the day. Besides, he didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters. But, more importantly, what’s my “latest” setback??? I just won the Presidency of the United States! They haven’t written a good story about me in YEARS. Somebody over there ought to look at what they’re doing. The only one worse than them is stupid, China-centric Forbes Magazine!”

Trump posted to Truth Social.

https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/12/trumps-furious-at-rupert-murdochs-obnoxious-and-unreadable-newspaper.html

John Dean Reveals Biden Move That Could Doom Trump's 'Revenge' Plot

Huffpost
Ed Mazza
Dec 2, 2024, 12:01 AM EST
Updated 4 hours ago

John Dean, the former White House counsel who helped bring down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal, urged President Joe Biden to go further with his pardons.

Biden on Sunday pardoned son Hunter Biden, who was found guilty in June in a firearms case and pleaded guilty in September in a tax case.

The president, who had previously vowed not to pardon his son, is facing criticism from both the left and right over the move. But Dean said he didn’t go far enough ― and urged Biden to issue blanket pardons to everyone President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to target when he returns to the White House next month.

That list includes those who have investigated Trump ― including Robert Mueller and Jack Smith and their teams ― as well as “all on Trump’s enemies list.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-dean-trump-revenge_n_674d27dde4b0e9a096d07d23

Your Thanksgiving Weirdness!

Producing circuit boards from leaves would prevent millions of tons of e-waste

In a literally green technological advance, a team of researchers has found a way to replace the conventional printed circuit board (PCB) in electronic devices with a biodegradable alternative made out of tree leaves. Reported earlier this month in Science Advances, such “leaftronics” could help reduce the tens of millions of tons of electronic waste, or e-waste, humanity produces every year.

The idea is “very exciting” and “quite promising,” says Lan Yin, a materials scientist and engineer at Tsinghua University who works on developing biodegradable electronics but was not involved in the study.

E-waste is everywhere and piling up fast. In 2022, manufacturers produced 62 million tons of e-waste globally. And that figure is expected to increase by more than 30% by 2030, because modern electronics are designed to be disposable, says Rakesh Nair, a postdoctoral researcher and engineer with the Institute for Applied Physics at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden). “We can easily make electronics that last for 10 or 20, 30 years, but we deliberately make them so that you buy the new model,” Nair says.

By mass, circuit boards—the panels that electronic components attach to—make up as much as 60% of e-waste. PCBs are typically made of extremely tough plastic or fiberglass infused with epoxy, an unrecyclable substrate that is “the core of the problem,” says Hans Kleemann, an experimental physicist at TU Dresden and Nair’s postdoctoral adviser. “It really stops you from all these important things like recycling and reusing components.” So Kleemann, Nair, and colleagues set out to find a greener alternative.

https://www.science.org/content/article/producing-circuit-boards-leaves-would-prevent-millions-tons-e-waste

Rutgers launching 'Democracy Lab' to battle disinformation, inspire future voters

By Tina Kelley | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Updated: Nov. 22, 2024, 12:33 p.m.|Published: Nov. 22, 2024, 12:06 p.m.

Rutgers University is launching a “Democracy Lab” to promote civil discourse and political participation, school officials announced Friday.

The lab, based at the Eagleton Institute of Politics in New Brunswick, is designed to help students recognize disinformation, engage effectively with people who hold different views, and tackle the challenges facing American democracy.

“We want to encourage democratic participation at every level and provide generations to come with the tools they need to be informed and involved citizens throughout their lives,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said.

snip

The nonpartisan Democracy Lab will launch in January. It has been in the works for a year, but Holloway said the recent election underscored the need for more engaged and informed voters. That is especially important after social media and podcasts, some of which spread misinformation, had an outsized influence in November’s election, he said.

https://www.nj.com/education/2024/11/rutgers-launching-democracy-lab-to-battle-disinformation-inspire-future-voters.html

Illegal Ammo Caused Shotgun Wildfire, Ocean County Man Charged With Arson: Prosecutor

Karen Wall, Patch Staff
Posted Sat, Nov 9, 2024 at 6:53 pm ET

JACKSON, NJ — A Brick Township man has been charged with arson in connection with a 350-acre wildfire in the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area that threatened homes and forced evacuations, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Saturday.

Richard M. Shashaty, 37, also has been charged with a violation of the regulatory provisions relating to firearms in connection with the Shotgun Wildfire that started Wednesday, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Investigators determined the wildfire started behind a berm in the southwest corner of the range at the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club on South Stump Tavern Road, and was caused by magnesium shards of a Dragons Breath 12-gauge shotgun shell that ignited "available combustibles" on the berm of the shooting range.

They also were able to determine that Shashaty was the person who had fired the shells, authorities said.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/brick/illegal-ammo-caused-shotgun-wildfire-man-charged-arson-ocpo

Multiple wildfires burning across N.J. Homes threatened. (UPDATED)

By Richard Cowen and Matthew Stanmyre | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Wildfires continued raging across New Jersey on Saturday night, threatening buildings and leaving a blanket of smoke hovering over much of the state.

As of 7:30 p.m., a huge wildfire in West Milford had consumed 2,000 acres and was 0% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. That fire, dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire, started across the New York line and is threatening two homes and eight structures at the historic Long Pond Iron Works in Ringwood, the fire service said.

East Shore Road and Beach Road off Greenwood Lake are now closed, as is the Tranquility Ridge preserve, the fire service said.

A New York state forest ranger died Saturday battling the wildfire not far from the New Jersey state line in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., according to the Plattekill (N.Y.) Fire Department. The Mid Hudson News reported a tree fell on the ranger during the blaze. The ranger was airlifted to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the report said.

https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/2024/11/multiple-wildfires-burning-across-nj-fueled-by-ongoing-drought-conditions.html

(paywall)

Careful what you vote for, because you just might get it -- Sheneman

By Drew Sheneman | For The Star-Ledger
NJ.com

Come January, a bunch of people who thought they were voting to kick out migrants are going to discover that deportation wasn’t all they voted for.

We’re going to enter the dreaded “Find Out” portion of that famous saying, and folks who failed to educate themselves on the full breadth and depth of the MAGA agenda may get an unwelcome surprise.

Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and any other so-called entitlement that comprises the national safety net have long been targets of the Republican Party, and that’s not going to change during a second Trump administration. There are still Republican voters who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and aren’t aware that the ACA and Obamacare are the same thing -- they too are about to find out. This is the same group of Republicans that voted to repeal the ACA more than 60 times, and despite Trump only having the “concepts of a plan” to replace it, will happily vote to repeal it again if given the chance.

(snip)

The economy, i.e. inflation, and the border were the defining issues that turned this election red, but that’s not necessarily going to be the focus of party leadership. They have a mandate and a longstanding wish list of draconian policies they are eager to impose. We’re not going to be able to rely on the rank incompetence and disorder of the first Trump administration to save us from the worst they have to offer. Trump remains as volatile and flighty as ever, but he has attracted to his orbit well-organized far right operators with detailed plans to reshape the federal government in their favor. Voters who picked Trump on the promise of secure borders and cheaper groceries may not like what they get.

https://www.nj.com/opinion/2024/11/careful-what-you-vote-for-because-you-just-might-get-it-sheneman.html

(paywall)

Dire drought conditions in N.J. may force emergency action as wildfires burn and reservoirs dwindle

By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey’s worsening drought conditions are so dire that the state may be forced to declare a drought warning as early as next week or a rare drought emergency in the coming weeks, officials said, as conditions continue to rapidly deteriorate and wildfires keep breaking out almost daily.

The dangerous conditions have put a major strain on crops, firefighters, private wells, and reservoirs that provide drinking water to millions of people. But the biggest immediate danger has come from the wildfires, as firefighters over the past several weeks have battled hundreds of blazes fueled by the dry brush and gusty winds.

At least ten wildfires were burning as of Friday afternoon in eight different counties around the state, from as far north as Bergen and Essex and south to Camden and Cumberland. One of the latest blazes to break out Friday afternoon was near the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs.

The drought continues to put a strain on the water supply. Some of the biggest reservoirs in the Garden State are at the lowest capacity seen in more than 20 years, and other reservoirs have dipped to their lowest levels on record, officials said.

https://www.nj.com/weather/2024/11/dire-drought-conditions-in-nj-may-force-emergency-action-as-wildfires-burn-and-reservoirs-dwindle.html