17th October 2024, 06:14 AM
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On the less-than-fully-clothed and potentially-stabby front:
At one point we got on a subway car that was somewhat crowded at one end, but the other end had about nine seats open. We quickly learned that they were open because the occupant at that end of the car was not living in the same reality as the rest of the car. He had no shoes on, his socks were halfway off his feet, and he was throwing himself bodily around the car while mumbling. We watched other people get on, reach the same conclusion, and do a 180 to the other end. Since we were headed to the end of that line, I told Husband if the car emptied out before our stop we were getting off as well and grabbing a different one, but crazy guy left before that became an issue. Husband said he wasn't worried. I think a little worry is a healthy thing. And now for something completely different: This morning BSC announced who is buying the division I left. It seems like a good fit. I'm still very glad to have left, and not just because I get to wear slippers to work. (but the slippers are nice) 
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17th October 2024, 07:29 AM
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Got one of those breaker identifiers yesterday. Many of the sockets in the basement are cracked and none are GFCI. I'mma use the breaker identifier to be sure what's hot or not. And the part you plug into the socket also has the correctly wired indicator lights on it. Still going to use my multi-meter to check before I grab anything.
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17th October 2024, 08:51 AM
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One of my multi-meters has a sensor you hold up to outlets or wires and it uses magnetic fields to determine 'hot-or-not'. Only works for AC, but it's nice for checking things before you grab.
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17th October 2024, 10:32 AM
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17th October 2024, 11:39 AM
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Capacitive coupling IS via electromagnetic fields (except it works with DC, too), but mine doesn't use that. There's no way to get capacitive coupling with my body through the plastic-rubber case, and since it works even when my shoes with rubber soles are only in contact with nonconductive flooring over a 3 foot crawlspace before an earth ground, the only thing I can think of (and experiments have been consistent, but not conclusive) is that it's detecting the changing magnetic field through the hot wire as the AC voltage shifts back and forth.
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18th October 2024, 11:42 AM
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Got two more Ryobi One+ batteries. These were the 4AH ones. Home Despot had them way cheaper than the Ryobi website. So I now have three big ones and two little ones. Won't run out of juice when I'm vacuuming any more.
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18th October 2024, 02:07 PM
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18th October 2024, 05:13 PM
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20th October 2024, 05:55 PM
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Hi. Lots going on. Subway rides can be so fraught... (Solfy)
Will pop back in later. Bye!
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21st October 2024, 04:58 AM
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Weekend update:
Got all caught back up on life on Saturday - groceries, errand run, household chores, and most importantly ran downtown to deliver MD's absentee ballot to her (she forgot to fill it out the last two times she was home). I took her to lunch, had her fill it out on the spot, and mailed it from home today. She should be home again next weekend for Swimmy's bday party, so technically that should be enough time, but I was taking no chances (plus it was a beautiful day and we had fun catching up on the prior weekend over poke bowls). She is tired of people plastered all over campus asking if she's registered to vote. Now she can tell them, "Already voted!" I suspect she and her sister feel I've become a nag over ensuring their ballots are in on time, but I'm taking this one as serious as a heart attack, and there's been mail in ballot fuckery here before. Since I did all my grownup stuff Saturday I got to relax on Sunday. Swimmy and I spent time together sewing a blanket she wanted to make, so I taught her the rudiments of the sewing machine and guided her through the process. She was beyond thrilled with the output. We played several rounds of Mario Kart in the evening and I even won one! Okay, back to work.
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22nd October 2024, 05:46 PM
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Bought another Ryobi One+ thingy. Turns out they have a small air compressor that runs on the batteries and does up to 160 psi. Since I already have the batteries, it was pretty cheap. So now I can put air in the tires at will. (The compressor I inherited from my FiL died a couple of years ago and I never replaced it.)
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22nd October 2024, 06:42 PM
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There's another tree down across the Hill O' Death today. Looks like the breezy night we had yesterday snapped off an old rotted leaner about 20 feet up. This one is maybe 16 inches, its going to take an hour with a hand saw to clear. It was a gorgeous sunny cool breezy day and another one on deck for tomorrow. The low angle sunlight seems to make all the colors really pop. On of those days when it feels good to be alive.
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23rd October 2024, 04:07 AM
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The colors are reaching their peak here, too. The latter half of the summer was so dry that we feared there might not be much of a show this year, but it's stunning out there as usual.
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23rd October 2024, 10:23 AM
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Used the air compressor to pump up the tires on my bike. It worked like a champ and the pressure gauge seems to be pretty accurate. It has the attachment for Presta valves and also a needle to inflate balls and a thing for air mattresses. Haven't tried to inflate a car tire yet, but I have the big batteries, so it should work.
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23rd October 2024, 09:43 PM
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Got the leaves raked up today. Every year I'm always amazed at how many barrow loads I rake up out of a relatively small yard. The compost heap is full to the top but I'm still going to pile grass clippings on top. Tomorrow is the last mowing of the year and then the yard will be squared away.
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24th October 2024, 05:56 PM
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Well, the external sensor for the old clock seems to be truly dead. So got a new, very similar atomic clock. The sensor has more range than the old one did and syncs up much easier. So everything all set up with the sensor under the soffit in a shady part of the yard.
Then this morning the reported temp spikes to 90. Fast. I went out to see the the sensor. It feels to be at ambient temp which in low 70s. Eventually the reported temp went back down and was within one tenth of a degree of what a different thermometer said. I'm confused.
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26th October 2024, 06:57 AM
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Well, hello.
I have been incredibly busy with work and life, but it's good to see familiar names still posting. The pups turned one year old at the end of September and are giant ol' love bugs. Ironically, Buster, the male, is much calmer than Maisie, the female. They had their spay/neuter in the first part of September, so we don't need to worry about puppies. Although a year old, they are still somewhat destructive, and all shoes and socks are put away. Maisie has a thing about rocks and will bring in big rocks to chew or lick. Buster has favorite toys and is gentle with those particular toys. Maisie will bring her toys to you, jump up, and show you the toys. If you're sitting, you must give the toys a (fake) smooch and tell her good girl, so she'll jump down again. Work is crazy, never slows down, and even my days off, are not truly days off. My daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids moved to Missouri over a year ago, and are building a home. The new house is mostly framed up now. It should have been further along, but there were construction delays due to weather and supplies. I can't wait to see the finished home, but I still miss them all fiercely and wish they lived closer to me. My son was promoted over a year ago into a managerial/leadership position and manages a multi-billion dollar transportation budget. It's not an easy job, but he is excellent at it. He had an emergency appendectomy almost two months ago but is slowly starting to feel better. I am busy with the pups, work, the usual daily life, and keep on keepin' on. I hope you're all doing well.
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26th October 2024, 12:06 PM
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Good to see you taters, I was wondering if you were okay.
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28th October 2024, 05:45 AM
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Hi taters!
Weekend update: Saturday was devoted to prepping for Sunday's birthday party for Swimmy and Husband, and Sunday was the party. We had the grandparents, Guncles, and the college crew (oldest Solfyettes, a SO, and SO's brother). I made pulled pork sandwiches, creamy potato soup, pumpkin spice latte cake (Swimmy's request*), and Husband's annual cheesecake (with homemade caramel sauce to mix it up a bit). Swimmy also requested hot mulled cider and helium balloons, which was easy to oblige. MD requested a fruit tray because the dining hall is generally bereft of fresh fruit, and I threw in a veggie tray and cheese platter for good measure. It was a lovely evening, and now the house is clean and the fridge is stocked so we're ready to dive into another week. *Each child has at some point transitioned from caring what their birthday cake looks like to focusing on what it tastes like. Although Swimmy did say she would have liked a PSL cake that looked like Stitch even better. Swiss meringue buttercream is extremely superior to traditional buttercream and takes flavoring readily.
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31st October 2024, 06:26 AM
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It's the first cold morning this season and Mrs. Larsen was worried when she saw the cloud of freezing exhaust coming out of the furnace exhaust pipe. The sun hit it just right and it looked pretty impressive.
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31st October 2024, 08:19 AM
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31st October 2024, 09:27 AM
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Trade ya!
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31st October 2024, 11:09 AM
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A friend in southern Oregon posted Halloween snow pics!
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31st October 2024, 03:50 PM
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Pelting down rain over here. I'm not going anywhere tonight. In fact, its about time to start a big ol' pot of beef stew for dinner.
I've already had a couple trick or treaters but its looking like I may end up with way too much candy. Oh well, thats what the neighbor kids are for.
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31st October 2024, 05:33 PM
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I do buy the good stuff, no candy corn over here. But I can't eat that much junk all at once. And I think we all know about my will power. So I'll have my share, but then I have to unload the stuff on the neighborhood hooligans while I can.
Meanwhile, it looks like I'm being adopted by a big mean tom cat. This morning was the third dead mouse on my front walk in the last two weeks. He's a good size shorthair, long legged and solid too. I can't get within ten feet of him, but I have a feeling it might not be long before he's sitting on the back of my couch biting my ear because its dinner time. We'll see. Last edited by Jaglavak; 31st October 2024 at 05:38 PM.
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31st October 2024, 05:58 PM
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We've had more kids at the new place than we've had in decades. Bunch of really little ones too. As usual, we gave out Reese's Cups since neither Mrs. Larsen or I will eat them.
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31st October 2024, 06:36 PM
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It's almost 11. Time to eat a couple of those Twix bars! I would have happily bought Reece's but the Twix was on sale, and the Reece's weren't. Buy what you like, but don't pay full price!
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1st November 2024, 09:05 AM
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I've never had a single trick or treater at this house in 24 years--not even when the crapshack was inhabited and I left decorations out to lure them in. The neighborhood was mostly olds back then and now there are a lot more young families with kids around but nobody goes out around here--likely because the weather is foul and they'd rather go down to the Clackamas Town Center setup or attend one of those crappy Trunk or Treat shindigs. Bummer.
I've had a builder out doing assessment on the she-shed to rehab it into a bedroom but it's needing more work so ASIL elected to move to a small efficiency studio on a six month lease until we get it all together. This way he'll be warm and dry and won't have to trek to the crapshack to take a dump so it's the best thing for all but I haz a sad since over the past month I've gotten rather fond of having his company to share meals with and watch derpy TV in the evenings. Sigh. It's not like we don't work at the same place and he'll be here on the regular doing projects with me but I'm still a bit melancholy over it. October tends to be a really difficult month for me and he helped keep my spirits up immensely, he's such a lovely human. Dogs are gonna miss his liberal treat dispensing hand too lol.
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1st November 2024, 11:44 AM
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We got TWO trick-or-treaters, and they came before I got home from work. Wah. I did see a big doggo with a lion's mane on my drive, and that was nice.
 I'm just starting to feel human again after having a second bout of covid and my first ever case of cellulitis (on my chin of all places). Did not like. Cannot recommend. Tomorrow we're going to Halifax because my younger grandson and his girlfriend are visiting from BC! What with the pandemic and all, I haven't seen Declan in four years. He'd been telling him mom for quite a while that he'd get out here "one day", and what finally made it happen was learning that his favourite dog is failing fast. (Poor Rolo; he's my favourite of my daughter's two dogs, too.) Smartie, I'm sorry you're sad.  
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1st November 2024, 01:56 PM
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Thanks, Peeky, I'm sorry you caught the couf and got owwies on your chin, that's no fun at all. Also sorry to hear your granddog is failing, they really don't live long enough. Sigh.
I'm getting better, it's just that a disproportionate number of major Bad Things in my life happened in October so it's generally just one hit after the other. I'll be right as rain in no time, assuming the world does not get a sudden urge to stand on my dick. 
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1st November 2024, 03:41 PM
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Ha, and also ARGH, about the world wanting to stand on anyone's dick. Or dickette. Or something in between.
Rolo my favourite granddog is not suffering at all, thankfully. He's almost completely deaf, and he's not so good at seeing, and his liver is failing, but he gets vet meds and cannabis meds-with-the-vet's-approval. He's still enjoying life, but he's not got much longer.  He's like a larger version of "Eddie" on Frasier. He was a rescue pup, and he had his issues when he first joined the family...he used to pee in Declan's shoes, but, like I said, Declan and him became the very, very best of buds.
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2nd November 2024, 11:06 AM
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Well that was weird. I was in the backyard setting up the grill and a golden retriever ran in and came over for a sniff and a wag. And then proceeded to sit on the mat by the back door for a minute and then ran off. My guess is he lives at a similar house and is off by a street.
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2nd November 2024, 05:42 PM
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So I moved the temperature sensor to a new location. This one should be out of the sun at all times. It further away than the previous location, but the clock seems able to hear it just fine.
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2nd November 2024, 09:21 PM
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Meanwhile the thermometer that I fixed last month will barely detect a signal from across tne room. And when the outdoor unit gets colder than 50 degrees it cuts out entirely. I guess I must have messed up the tuning on the antenna while rummaging around in there. A new one is 15 bucks but I might be just barely stubborn enough to have another look before it gets recycled.
Another rainy autumn day. As usual its taking awhile to switch over to indoor projects. Meanwhile I'm catching up on some reading and lounging by the heater.
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5th November 2024, 01:48 PM
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Started putting out the Christmas lights. This house is much less of a showplace for lights that the last place with all the dormers, peaks and porches it had. I put one string of lights along the roof edge facing the street and a string of green twinklers along the rock border of the lawn. Using two of the three electrical outlets I have put into the soffits in the front. When we do the kitchen remodel, it is going to mean a lot of electrical work and I'm going to have some more sockets put in the backyard.
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6th November 2024, 05:11 AM
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Got a few inches of snow last night. It won't stay very long, the temp is already up to 31° and is going to go higher.
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6th November 2024, 04:32 PM
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Well, I got some kind of brake action going on but its still not quite right. Fortunately it looks like a bonus dry day tomorrow so I have a little more time to mess with it.
Meanwhile I managed to boot a table leg with a pinkie toe as I was shuffling toward the coffee pot in my usual pre-caffeine morning daze. I was awake after that though, believe me. It turned all kinda purdy colors but I don't think its busted. So its not so bad that a week of rain is on the way because thats about how long it will be before I'm up for an after dinner shamble anyway.
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7th November 2024, 05:43 AM
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Sorry about your toe. The pinkie toes seem to take most of the damage in life.
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7th November 2024, 05:43 PM
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OK. Have actual brake action happening now. I ended up jacking up the whole truck so I could spin all four wheels with the engine. I'm going to drive it more often to keep this from happening again. My back is a little sore from all the clambering and crawling and arguing with rusty bolts. Nothing a hot shower and some tasty leftovers won't cure though.
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11th November 2024, 05:37 AM
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So I need to figure something out. At our old house, the cars lived in the driveway because the garage was full of stuff. But at the new place, the car lives in the garage. But bringing it in with snow on it caused a fairly good sized flood. I've found a couple of liners that you park in and they catch the snowmelt, but the reviews are mixed at best.
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12th November 2024, 04:54 PM
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Hi, all. Just checking in. I've been in California, helping Sister sort our mother's effects. We got quite a bit done, but it's not over. She needs to contact an auctioneer for the furniture.
We took the last 9 bags of books to the local public library. And as sick of doing this as I am, there was still a pang, because it's another piece of Mom (and Dad) gone. Won't speak of the other bad news here. In other news, I've decided to take early retirement. Apparently they really want me gone because they've sweetened the pot to more than I ever thought I'd get. And given the sh*t show that work has become, I am okay with going. I am panicking a bit, to not have an income starting in June, 2025 (they're also paying my COBRA for 18 months), so I have to get serious about a number of things. Going to be a small Thanksgiving: TH and who I used to call here #2 son, but who came out as trans a bit ago, so #2 trans daughter(?). Let's just call her B--the other one doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. Hope everyone is okay. I swear I read but it's like I cannot retain a thing...
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12th November 2024, 04:59 PM
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Rigs:
I retired at 62 and am now 65. I don't regret one bit of it.
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13th November 2024, 06:40 AM
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Congratulations on your exit strategy, Rigs!
It might be anxiety provoking, but it sounds like it’s an improvement over the steaming pile your employer has been heaping on for so long.
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13th November 2024, 07:38 AM
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Rigs, that's a lot of change! And, as Solfy said, congratulations on your retirement plan!
I've been doing a lot of "extra" work lately--doing things outside of my regular work hours, I mean. Last week was full of meetings and information sessions, and there was also an Awards Dinner that I attended with one of our Board members. Our organization was up for an award for "love and caring" in our community/county. (There were a lot of other, more usual types of awards, too, such as Business of the Year and New Business of the Year etc.) We didn't win, but the organization that I'm a board member of did. So that was nice. Today I'm off to a three-day conference with my favourite coworker. It's about a four hour drive each way, and I'm looking forward to good conversation and good tunes. And this conference is actually always fun (this will be my fifth time attending) so I don't mind the extra hours it eats up. Next week I've got a meeting with a municipal councilor about "accessibility", and I'll also host our AGM (why me and not my boss? I have never figured that out)... and then I think I can sort of relax for a while! Happy Wednesday, everyone.
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