What did you do today?

[zannej]

I see people who post signs in their yards that I find stupid- some are even offensive. But it's their property so I leave it alone. I wouldn't want someone vandalizing/stealing my property so I won't do it to others. Taking someone's signs only makes them feel even more justified in their hatred. I've had my property both vandalized & stolen (by my criminal neighbors bc they are a-holes) so I know how crappy it feels.

I'll stay out of political stuff in this thread.

As for cops, I think it does depend on where they are and how much training/what sort of training they have. There are a couple of good cops around (in my area) a whole bunch of mediocre to useless ones, and some outright horrid ones. Ones who go around harassing minorities and threatening people. One of the local cops is a drug dealer who plants drugs on people he doesn't like. But the cops here won't police themselves. Although, former chief of police did get busted & have to resign. Sadly, the bad cops ruin it for the good cops and then cops who used to be good sort of slide in to mediocrity because there is little motivation to do good. Plus the cops who do the right thing when other cops are doing wrong are the ones who get screwed over. We need a much better system with better training. We also need to have cops who are trained to respond to violence as well as ones who are trained in social work/psychology so they can de-escalate. So many of the videos I've seen show failure to de-escalate. Some go straight to escalation and I think it's poor screening and poor training. But, like teachers, they need proper funding for the screening and training. And they don't always have enough good candidates. There are some people who became cops that have no business wearing a badge or having a weapon-- just as there are people who became teachers who have no business being within 100ft of children.

I went back to the grocery store to grab a few more things. Got a fridge thermometer to see if my fridge is as cold as it's supposed to be because my milk keeps spoiling prematurely. It went sour an entire week before expiration date last time.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to help someone on another forum with his design for a metal covertec style clip. He's trying to make it out of aluminium and wants to have a spring clip part but it's not working. I don't think aluminium has the right properties to spring back the way he wants-- at least not repeatedly without breaking. His prototype for it was a failure. I've been suggesting using stainless steel but he wants to keep trying with the aluminium.

 

[C.J.]

I wasn’t sure about if they were improving it somehow so the joints wouldn’t disconnect. From what I grind I try to take out some humps, but dam, slabs are like swells in the ocean.

Some products can handle slight dips and humps. Humps better than dips. Dips will trampoline unless you have a really good product that has excellent drape characteristics. The drop n lock products, even if the planks themselves will flex and contour, will have a tendency for the butt joints to pop open because they aren’t actually locked into each other. So if you have some sort of lip or hump right at the butt joint, that thing is gonna split after a few times of being walked on if not immediately. You can super glue the joint but that stress is still there and it’s just a matter of time until that joint has had enough and breaks.

I get that floating floors meet America’s obsession with faster and cheaper but at a certain point you gotta realize that you can’t reinvent the wheel. First it was laminate but that had its short comings with moisture. Then LVP came along and that stuff blew up in sun light. Next came WPC. Not bad, things are improving but people got cocky and over confident with breaking the rules so SPC/ rigid core came along and was supposed to fix the ‘I don’t have to prep the subfloor’ BS. But that stuff was so stiff that it rocked on rocks, lips and whatever else people think it could just be laid over. Now we are back to flexible planks. How about we quit reinventing the floating floor and just go back to a properly prepped substrate and telling people NO when a floating floor just isn’t a good fit for their situation. I know, I know, that doesn’t put dollars in somebody’s pocket but dang, when does it end. I’m tired of being made out to be the asshole because I told you so but I told you so. Rant over.

The ol man is doing better and is comin home on Sunday so I’m flyin back to NC tomorrow so we can drive one of the cars out here to Phoenix. Got a buddy that will live in our house so it’s lived in and taken care of since were gonna be here for a while. Not really looking forward to competing with cheap labor again so I’ve got a plan to work the rich old lady circuit in Scottsdale. Those broads always have a list of stuff that needs doin and they all gab to each other at the salon. You know they do and I speak fluent rich old lady. Hey baby, you need some aspirin for your heart. Besides, I need a sugar (grand)mama.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Good to hear about his recovery, I suppose the house watching decision is best. I barely want to go anywhere on vacation let alone uproot for awhile.

 

[C.J.]

Yeah. I like my easy life in NC but this is an obligation. I’m not puttin the ol man in a home. That’s some American BS right there. I see these people that have their old dogs they tootle around in baby strollers. You’ll do that for a dog that you can get for free on Craigslist but yet you’ll put your own flesh n blood in a home? That’s not right.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Some are 8k a month, that ain’t right either. Your commended by me.

Zannej, there’s natural milk that lasts more than a month.(heat treated!) I put SensorPush sensor in my fridge to log the temperature on an App, it worked good for setting temps, then they’re back in different rooms and attic to monitor those temps.

Here’s a gallon I bought a week ago, it costs more but think I got an e coupon for 2$ off. Good for 3 more weeks.

 

[highup]

That’s the shit that just baffles me. I was talkin to an obviously liberal customer a couple weeks ago and was mentioning how in Portland they would steal your Trump signs n bullshit like that. She gave the thumbs up like that was perfectly acceptable. I asked her what she would do if I came into her yard and started stealing shit, you would pull a gun on me, that’s what you would do. So why is it acceptable for them to do that shit to someone else. We all have differing opinions. I don’t have to agree with you but I also don’t have to be disrespectful about it and break the law just because I don’t agree with you. How about you just shut up and stay on your side of the fence. She didn’t like that answer and I didn’t care. We agreed to disagree and life went on. Funny how that works.

The other thing is people losing their shit over a rebel flag. You can step over homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk like it’s no big deal but a rebel flag, that obviously means something different to those who have family members who fought in the civil war, just makes you go nuts? If you can ignore the human trash that’s littering cities across America then clearly you can ignore a flag on someone’s front porch in the boonies. For a group of people that go around telling us to celebrate diversity, they sure do seem a bit intolerant of those that are different than them.

The last couple of days I've worked in a duplex. The lady in the second unit came outside at the same time I did and said were you knocking at my door? I said no I'm installing the carpet that was my pad tacker.
Anyway, we got into a fun conversation and talked for about 20 minutes. I asked if she had lived in this area very long. She said no that she moved down here from Portland.
I said, "you escaped"?
She shook her head and said "you're darn right"
She's a business owner from Portland. (Was a business owner) She had a business downtown and said she saw it close it up and personal. She said downtown you had to step over people walk past people peeing on the sidewalk and all around Portland their tents and tarps downtown. Yes crap on the sidewalk too. Trash all over... Like in LA on a smaller scale.
I said I remember as a kid going up there with Mom and Dad and it was a pretty neat place. She replied it was a beautiful city back then. It's not anymore.
Anyway she and her husband have retired and she really likes the area down here. I think she's been here for a little less than a year.
That's my first, first hand experience with someone that had moved out of Portland. She didn't think of mostly peaceful riots were mostly peaceful. The news can be a bit deceptive sometimes.

 

[highup]

Chris read this box and tell me your thoughts on the two claims. Advance flex technologies & Hides most subfloor imperfections. I told a GC’s employee after I grinded floor saying it wasn’t too flat, he replied the new Core Tec is supposed to be ok, “is what “they” claim. He got the “claim” part right.

So now we have a click lock flooring where you don't have to sweep the chunks of sheetrock and the wiring boxes left by the electrician off the floor? That is so, so cool.

 

[highup]

Some are 8k a month, that ain’t right either. Your commended by me.

Zannej, there’s natural milk that lasts more than a month.(heat treated!) I put SensorPush sensor in my fridge to log the temperature on an App, it worked good for setting temps, then they’re back in different rooms and attic to monitor those temps.

Here’s a gallon I bought a week ago, it costs more but think I got an e coupon for 2$ off. Good for 3 more weeks.

I'm kind of surprised on that gallon of milk it doesn't say gluten free.
Seems everything but bottled water says gluten-free on it regardless of what it's made from.

 

[highup]

I see people who post signs in their yards that I find stupid- some are even offensive. But it's their property so I leave it alone. I wouldn't want someone vandalizing/stealing my property so I won't do it to others. Taking someone's signs only makes them feel even more justified in their hatred. I've had my property both vandalized & stolen (by my criminal neighbors bc they are a-holes) so I know how crappy it feels.

I'll stay out of political stuff in this thread.

As for cops, I think it does depend on where they are and how much training/what sort of training they have. There are a couple of good cops around (in my area) a whole bunch of mediocre to useless ones, and some outright horrid ones. Ones who go around harassing minorities and threatening people. One of the local cops is a drug dealer who plants drugs on people he doesn't like. But the cops here won't police themselves. Although, former chief of police did get busted & have to resign. Sadly, the bad cops ruin it for the good cops and then cops who used to be good sort of slide in to mediocrity because there is little motivation to do good. Plus the cops who do the right thing when other cops are doing wrong are the ones who get screwed over. We need a much better system with better training. We also need to have cops who are trained to respond to violence as well as ones who are trained in social work/psychology so they can de-escalate. So many of the videos I've seen show failure to de-escalate. Some go straight to escalation and I think it's poor screening and poor training. But, like teachers, they need proper funding for the screening and training. And they don't always have enough good candidates. There are some people who became cops that have no business wearing a badge or having a weapon-- just as there are people who became teachers who have no business being within 100ft of children.

I went back to the grocery store to grab a few more things. Got a fridge thermometer to see if my fridge is as cold as it's supposed to be because my milk keeps spoiling prematurely. It went sour an entire week before expiration date last time.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to help someone on another forum with his design for a metal covertec style clip. He's trying to make it out of aluminium and wants to have a spring clip part but it's not working. I don't think aluminium has the right properties to spring back the way he wants-- at least not repeatedly without breaking. His prototype for it was a failure. I've been suggesting using stainless steel but he wants to keep trying with the aluminium.

Mike mentioned a monitor but I put one in my mini fridge that's outdoors in the carport. I put a relatively cheap thermometer in the fridge and wrapped the sending unit into two Ziploc sandwich bags to keep the moisture out..... not sure if it really needs that.
I put the receiving end of the unit on top of a medicine cabinet. I can tell when it needs defrosting because the sensor is connected to the bottom of the ice cube tray area. When the sensor gets covered in Frost I noticed the temperature in the refrigerator starts getting warmer, so I know when it's time to defrost it.
It's easy to walk by and take a peek at it to see how it's doing without opening the door. It's just one of those cheap indoor outdoor thermometers by Taylor. Just place it about mid level near the back of the shelf.

 

[highup]

Happy to hear that your dad is doing better, that's got to help the stress level go down. For whatever stress is left, I love to read your rants. They are Chicken soup for the soul.

 

[C.J.]

There’s always stress. I had an interesting conversation with my buddy this morning that kinda hit home today. People out west are nice. People back east are kind. There is a difference.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

When I see People who pee in public I say urine idiot

 

[highup]

A guy ran short of carpet on a carpet job so I was asked to do that before I go out of town to start the new house.
Of course the house was built in the 50s and of course they had painted base shoe to tuck against and of course the closet was 18 in deep by 7 ft wide with a 24 inch doorway. Carpet ran halfway through the closet so there was a 10 inch by 6 ft piece to do the seam. They ordered a 3 ft by 12 ft but the carpet ran the wrong direction to do it in one piece, so I just added a foot and a half to the existing fill peace that the guy left in the closet piece. No light in the closet of course but I work fairly well in the dark.
...I started at 10:00 and was out of there by 12:00. Going to be a lazy afternoon.
The owner of the house has lived in it for 3 years and there was a 30 ft long hallway leading up to the entryway. This was Wilsonart tiles and I suspect Wilsonart planks. This was from the good old days when you glued everything together. With the exception of something that got dropped on it the material looks like it was put in yesterday.
I don't know anybody in my area that would have been capable of doing something like this. It looked really nice. To the right of the entryway the material continued into the dining room.

 

[highup]

Well I went down to the new house that's out of town took some tack strip and pad and thank God my vacuum was with me. I don't think the OSB has been swept or vacuumed once since the house was started...... Before the walls were put up I'm sure the wind and rain kept the floor clean. If it was my house after vacuuming I'd probably put some 80 grit on my buffer, dance over the floors and vacuum it a second time. This is out of a 12x 13 ft bedroom. It's dirt plus sheetrock dust. I didn't check the ratio.

 

[highup]

My bitching aside the place does have a nice view. This area is 50 mi away and there's zero comparison to the coast. Temps from the upper 70s to near 80 today. 2 weeks ago they were 100 plus. It's always pretty warm up there.
The next to the last image of the house way up on a grassy hillside.....
That's owned by the Leathermans.
Yup, that family.

 

[Floorist]

They ran all the tests they could think to run. They still don't know where I am losing blood. They gave me an iron infusion.

My hemoglobin count was 7.9. normal is 13 to 17

 

[zannej]

CJ, glad your father is doing better. I miss mine. I would have gladly taken care of him had he lived to old age. I gripe about my mother, but I love her. In some ways I do understand why people put family members in the nursing homes though. Sometimes it is more than they can physically or emotionally handle. Some of them can't do the lifting and/or just aren't qualified for the medical care. Some are working and can't quit their jobs. It's especially tough with dementia patients because they can become verbally abusive and sometimes even physically violent. I have nurse friends who worked with dementia patients and got physically assaulted by them.
Then there are some people who were so awful to their kids to begin with. My friend's grandfather is one of those type. He beat his wife, accused her of cheating, cheated on her, beat the sons and told them to "do better", then became disabled and went on to continue verbally abusing his wife & sons & having people do *everything* for him. Guy is a complete jerk. He was briefly in a nursing home and the staff wanted to smother him with a pillow. He was sexually harassing the women, demanding constant attention, and generally being a royal pain.
Of course, there are also completely ungrateful kids who were spoiled & don't want to do anything to help their parents. I've met some of those types.

Anyway, mini rant done: Had a Loki marathon at my friend's house yesterday. Briefly interrupted by his drug-addicted mom coming by wanting $ to get her fix. She came in and frantically started cleaning. Did the dishes, wiped the counters, cleaned the stove, cleaned the backsplashes, etc. Friend knew she wasn't going to leave until he gave her some $. When she finally left we finished our marathon. I will say his mother does clean well-- and fast. I clean thoroughly but slowly. But my shoulder is getting worse & it's starting to spread to my elbow, wrist, and neck. My whole body is just sore.

Today I went to get mail & when I got back I found Fedex left a package for my neighbor on the porch-- but just barely on it so it got wet. End was smashed in. I saw it said it was priority overnight. I took pictures of the condition & decided to be nice & take it over to her. It's my neighbor's former daughter-in-law actually. She's a nice lady. She wasn't home but her former mother-in-law was. Told me her husband (the wifebeating thief) had died last month. Just before my street sign went missing. She then mentioned the street sign and asked me what happened to it (in a completely un-convincing tone bc she knows what happened to it). I said I thought it had fallen off but it wasn't on the ground. She mentioned it had been taken and then got defensive and said she hadn't taken it. Pretty sure one of her sons did it. But I can't prove it. So, now I have to figure out which idiot from the parish to call to get a replacement. The reason I think it was them is bc years ago they stole our sign & illegally had the now late neighbor's name put on the sign. I had to call to get the right sign put back up. They shot it full of holes & it had to be replaced. Then it was stolen after my father died. Pretty sure they took it. Got it replaced again. I think the guy who used to be in charge of that stuff passed away. I know he's not the current police juror (I think that was the term for the job). Trying to figure out which police juror is the one for my area. I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to get his name put on the sign and have the road name changed.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to be a day of rest.

 

[highup]

They ran all the tests they could think to run. They still don't know where I am losing blood. They gave me an iron infusion.

My hemoglobin count was 7.9. normal is 13 to 17

Are you on blood thinners?
I wish Barrs Leak made a medical grade. How are you feeling?
If you're losing blood I assume they're keeping you topped off and you're doing all right?

 

[Floorist]

Are you on blood thinners?
I wish Barrs Leak made a medical grade. How are you feeling?
If you're losing blood I assume they're keeping you topped off and you're doing all right?

The iron infusion is supposed to help but takes a week or two. No blood thinners.

 

[highup]

Well that's good to hear. My brother was on blood thinners for a number of years and it's always concerned about getting a bad cut. At some point he talked to his doctor and asked if aspirin would work for him and the doctor said it would, so he didn't need to take his 'rat poison' anymore.