Miscellaneous Discussion Thread II

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: billryan

Stuff does nothing but tie you down to your past.
link to original post

Tie you down, what does that even mean. When you're in your 70's or you're '80s what do you think you have, a rosy future in front of you? You are approaching the end of your life and if you've got nothing to show for it do you think that's going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You are going to appreciate the things you have and not regret getting them. Nobody in their 70s or 80s wants to be still trying to acquire the things you need and should have gotten 30 or 40 years ago.
link to original post

Throwing away 75% of my possessions was extremely liberating.
I still have my needs met, I'm just not encumbered by the junk I thought I might use, but got along just fine without.

Maybe look up Swedish Death Cleaning, if you haven't.

I hope I have the strength to live as a Provello.

deleted double post

Quote: Dieter

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: billryan

Stuff does nothing but tie you down to your past.
link to original post

Tie you down, what does that even mean. When you're in your 70's or you're '80s what do you think you have, a rosy future in front of you? You are approaching the end of your life and if you've got nothing to show for it do you think that's going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You are going to appreciate the things you have and not regret getting them. Nobody in their 70s or 80s wants to be still trying to acquire the things you need and should have gotten 30 or 40 years ago.
link to original post

Throwing away 75% of my possessions was extremely liberating.
I still have my needs met, I'm just not encumbered by the junk I thought I might use, but got along just fine without.

Maybe look up Swedish Death Cleaning, if you haven't.
link to original post

Who's talking about junk, I'm not talking about junk. I'm talking about the things you need to live a normal life, so you don't have to worry about the future. I guarantee that you don't want to be 80 years old living in a rundown mobile home in Mississippi living off food stamps and wondering how you're going to pay next month utility bills. Or maybe you do, but I sure don't.

You don't need less junk, you just need more rooms.

Lucky day. See that small white object near the bottom? Man walked away after driving into Niagara gorge on Wednesday. Maybe not so lucky if he really needed that truck.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: billryan

Stuff does nothing but tie you down to your past.
link to original post

Tie you down, what does that even mean. When you're in your 70's or you're '80s what do you think you have, a rosy future in front of you? You are approaching the end of your life and if you've got nothing to show for it do you think that's going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You are going to appreciate the things you have and not regret getting them. Nobody in their 70s or 80s wants to be still trying to acquire the things you need and should have gotten 30 or 40 years ago.
link to original post

Throwing away 75% of my possessions was extremely liberating.
I still have my needs met, I'm just not encumbered by the junk I thought I might use, but got along just fine without.

Maybe look up Swedish Death Cleaning, if you haven't.
link to original post

Who's talking about junk, I'm not talking about junk. I'm talking about the things you need to live a normal life, so you don't have to worry about the future. I guarantee that you don't want to be 80 years old living in a rundown mobile home in Mississippi living off food stamps and wondering how you're going to pay next month utility bills. Or maybe you do, but I sure don't.
link to original post

It is truly splendid that you have successfully avoided the trap of material encumberance that so many fall into.

Countless others who have lived in the same home for a decade or more have slowly accumulated unnecessary things that keep them from leading the lives they aspire to.

My hat is off to you.

Quote: rxwine

You don't need less junk, you just need more rooms.
link to original post

Having helped a handful of older family members downsize into a more manageable residence, uhh, no.
More power to you, though.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: billryan

Stuff does nothing but tie you down to your past.
link to original post

Tie you down, what does that even mean. When you're in your 70's or you're '80s what do you think you have, a rosy future in front of you? You are approaching the end of your life and if you've got nothing to show for it do you think that's going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You are going to appreciate the things you have and not regret getting them. Nobody in their 70s or 80s wants to be still trying to acquire the things you need and should have gotten 30 or 40 years ago.
link to original post

Throwing away 75% of my possessions was extremely liberating.
I still have my needs met, I'm just not encumbered by the junk I thought I might use, but got along just fine without.

Maybe look up Swedish Death Cleaning, if you haven't.
link to original post

Who's talking about junk, I'm not talking about junk. I'm talking about the things you need to live a normal life, so you don't have to worry about the future. I guarantee that you don't want to be 80 years old living in a rundown mobile home in Mississippi living off food stamps and wondering how you're going to pay next month utility bills. Or maybe you do, but I sure don't.
link to original post

It is truly splendid that you have successfully avoided the trap of material encumberance that so many fall into.

Countless others who have lived in the same home for a decade or more have slowly accumulated unnecessary things that keep them from leading the lives they aspire to.

My hat is off to you.
link to original post

You are being sarcastic, but you're pretty much right to have your hat off to me. Everything I own I use or I don't own it. I've been that way for 30 years. If I buy something I'm going to use it or I don't buy it. Even though I was in the antique business I never collected anything cuz I don't see the point of it. Why do I need a bunch of crap that I never use for anything. You see people with their garages stuffed to the rafters with crap that they never use or they used once and then forgot about it. That ain't me. Probably the thing I have the most of is tools but they all get used eventually, that's the point. I have a 2 lb hammer and probably use it twice a year but it sure is handy when I need it. I have a 50 ft retractable tape measure that I use rarely but when I need it I have it. I have cabinets and cupboards full stuff like that and it all gets used.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: rxwine

You don't need less junk, you just need more rooms.
link to original post

Having helped a handful of older family members downsize into a more manageable residence, uhh, no.
More power to you, though.
link to original post

All random items that are small enough but I don’t have enough of to classify as anything go into closed bins. Bins are stacked and tracked on my iPad, which has the contents of each bin as a note. If I don’t remember where I put something i just search the notes and then i know which bin it is in. Because all the bins are numbered. Also, I really like items that have double use. Like a footstool that also stores things inside.

Quote: rxwine

Quote: Dieter

Quote: rxwine

You don't need less junk, you just need more rooms.
link to original post

Having helped a handful of older family members downsize into a more manageable residence, uhh, no.
More power to you, though.
link to original post

All random items that are small enough but I don’t have enough of to classify as anything go into closed bins. Bins are stacked and tracked on my iPad, which has the contents of each bin as a note. If I don’t remember where I put something i just search the notes and then i know which bin it is in. Because all the bins are numbered. Also, I really like items that have double use. Like a footstool that also stores things inside.
link to original post

Until you realize the footstool only is there to store the stuff inside, and the stuff inside is only there because you have room for it. The odds are if you toss the stool and the contents, you won't miss them at all.

A few months ago, I went through my kitchen and filled two banker's boxes with stuff I hadn't used for a while. On June 4th, it will be six months since I opened them and they will be history. I recently wnt through my underwear drawer and found I had 18 pairs of boxer/briefs. I threw out the worst eight. I need to address my closet as I have at least forty shirts and don't need a quarter of them.
My problem is I'm a 4XXXL or sometimes a 5X and I've yet to meet a homeless person my size.
I have three boxes of DVDS. One is stuff I intend to watch, one is popular movies and above-average stuff, the other is drek. I don't currently own a DVD. I have at least fifty music CDs, but have not had a CD player since I traded in my Mazda.
I've moved five times in eight years and downsized each time. It could be worse. My friend got divorced three times, and his wive's got half his stuff each time.

Quote: EvenBob

You are being sarcastic, but you're pretty much right to have your hat off to me. Everything I own I use or I don't own it. I've been that way for 30 years. If I buy something I'm going to use it or I don't buy it. Even though I was in the antique business I never collected anything cuz I don't see the point of it. Why do I need a bunch of crap that I never use for anything. You see people with their garages stuffed to the rafters with crap that they never use or they used once and then forgot about it. That ain't me. Probably the thing I have the most of is tools but they all get used eventually, that's the point. I have a 2 lb hammer and probably use it twice a year but it sure is handy when I need it. I have a 50 ft retractable tape measure that I use rarely but when I need it I have it. I have cabinets and cupboards full stuff like that and it all gets used.
link to original post

Only a little sarcastic.
Most people aren't so disciplined, or have trouble parting with something they wanted but now no longer need.

I bought a radial arm saw, because I need it to make one particular cut on a project I haven't gotten around to yet. Once I've made the cut, I will be happy to sell it off to a good home for practically nothing, because I want that corner of the garage back.

I'll keep the CD and DVD libraries, because the legal license to the ripped datafiles is contingent on owning the media. (Still not a fan of DRM, even if everything can be streamed for almost free.)

Otherwise... most of the stuff is conveniently replaceable, if it turns out I need it.

My family does not understand why I would rather get what I need when I need it, rather than paying for storage indefinitely in case I need something.

Quote: Dieter

I bought a radial arm saw, because I need it to make one particular cut on a project I haven't gotten around to yet. Once I've made the cut, I will be happy to sell it off to a good home for practically nothing, because I want that corner of the garage back.
link to original post

My circular saw finally bit the dust last year after 30 years and I don't think I'm going to replace it. I'm really liking these newer manual saws that are super sharp and small and can cut through wood in no time. I had to cut some 4x4s last fall and I could go through one in about 60 seconds with a manual hand saw that's only 15 in long. They have a way of making them where they are very very sharp. My dad would have gone crazy back in the fifties with these, he was always getting his saws sharpened but the old guy down the street. A circular saw is faster but it's heavy and cumbersome and you have to dig it out and carry it around and these hand saws are lightweight and right there when you need them. I was watching construction of a house in a video the other day and I saw them using a hand saw way more often than in the past.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

I bought a radial arm saw, because I need it to make one particular cut on a project I haven't gotten around to yet. Once I've made the cut, I will be happy to sell it off to a good home for practically nothing, because I want that corner of the garage back.
link to original post

My circular saw finally bit the dust last year after 30 years and I don't think I'm going to replace it. I'm really liking these newer manual saws that are super sharp and small and can cut through wood in no time. I had to cut some 4x4s last fall and I could go through one in about 60 seconds with a manual hand saw that's only 15 in long. They have a way of making them where they are very very sharp. My dad would have gone crazy back in the fifties with these, he was always getting his saws sharpened but the old guy down the street. A circular saw is faster but it's heavy and cumbersome and you have to dig it out and carry it around and these hand saws are lightweight and right there when you need them. I was watching construction of a house in a video the other day and I saw them using a hand saw way more often than in the past.
link to original post

Oh, for sure. I encountered a "Japanese style pull saw" about 15 years ago. The blade was almost as thin as a razor, and the cuts it made were smooth like a baby's behind... and fast.
I'd say they're ideal for most small projects in the woodshop ("birdhouse" or smaller), and amazing for cutting trim to length.

Not practical for crosscutting an upcycled 24" countertop to its new size. I want the cut to be square in 3 dimensions and not take all day about it, so a home-scale sawmill it is. I maybe could have clamped a sawguide to the workpiece, found a suitable panel saw, and gone slow and pretty, but the old guy down the block had the radial saw on the curb with a "make offer" sign, so I did.
Like I said, after this project, I am happy to rehome it. (Make offer!)

Quote: Dieter

Oh, for sure. I encountered a "Japanese style pull saw" about 15 years ago. The blade was almost as thin as a razor, and the cuts it made were smooth like a baby's behind... and fast.
I'd say they're ideal for most small projects in the woodshop ("birdhouse" or smaller), and amazing for cutting trim to length.
link to original post

I was just reading about it and modern saws are so sharp because the geometry in designing the teeth is way different than the old saws our father's had. And the steel is different, it's much harder and will hold a far sharper edge then the old steel they used to use. They come from the factory deadly sharp and stay that way much longer. Unless it's a really expensive saw if it ever becomes dull you're better off buying a new one rather than paying to have it sharpened. I know the first time I used one which was just last summer I was shocked at how fast it sawed through a big piece of wood. It was literally like a hot knife through butter.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Oh, for sure. I encountered a "Japanese style pull saw" about 15 years ago. The blade was almost as thin as a razor, and the cuts it made were smooth like a baby's behind... and fast.
I'd say they're ideal for most small projects in the woodshop ("birdhouse" or smaller), and amazing for cutting trim to length.
link to original post

I was just reading about it and modern saws are so sharp because the geometry in designing the teeth is way different than the old saws our father's had. And the steel is different, it's much harder and will hold a far sharper edge then the old steel they used to use. They come from the factory deadly sharp and stay that way much longer. Unless it's a really expensive saw if it ever becomes dull you're better off buying a new one rather than paying to have it sharpened. I know the first time I used one which was just last summer I was shocked at how fast it sawed through a big piece of wood. It was literally like a hot knife through butter.
link to original post

Indeed. You can tell by looking at the teeth, a lot of saws now have some tempering on the business side, and there is a bit of blue coloring to the steel. The angles on those teeth are a lot more compound, to make them cut better, rather than easy to manufacture and easy to resharpen.

The upside is the beautiful old saws from 60 or 70 years ago can be had at the secondhand shop for a dollar or two, and be used as art projects when the blades get scenes painted on them.

Quote: Dieter

The upside is the beautiful old saws from 60 or 70 years ago can be had at the secondhand shop for a dollar or two, and be used as art projects when the blades get scenes painted on them.
link to original post

That's really all they're good for. I remember as a kid sawing lumber with my dads saws and it took forever on any board. American houses were built with those because they apparently had a lot of time on their hands. Even at their sharpest they weren't worth a crap.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

The upside is the beautiful old saws from 60 or 70 years ago can be had at the secondhand shop for a dollar or two, and be used as art projects when the blades get scenes painted on them.
link to original post

That's really all they're good for. I remember as a kid sawing lumber with my dads saws and it took forever on any board. American houses were built with those because they apparently had a lot of time on their hands. Even at their sharpest they weren't worth a crap.
link to original post

As I understand, they were ok at convincing people to buy Belsaw sharpening rigs from the ads in Popular Mechanics...
But yes, those saws made you work your way through the lumber.
A few years ago, I got schooled by a modern saw. I let the blade touch my leg, and it left a neat line of red pinpricks. An older model would have felt pointy before making holes, but I didn't feel the new sharp teeth make contact until I was already punctured.

As far as the actual cutting time, I finished in about a third of the time I was expecting. I had to make do with what the store had, no 26" or 30" saws, just a 20"... which wasn't quite long enough to do it all in one pass.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Oh, for sure. I encountered a "Japanese style pull saw" about 15 years ago. The blade was almost as thin as a razor, and the cuts it made were smooth like a baby's behind... and fast.
I'd say they're ideal for most small projects in the woodshop ("birdhouse" or smaller), and amazing for cutting trim to length.
link to original post

I was just reading about it and modern saws are so sharp because the geometry in designing the teeth is way different than the old saws our father's had. And the steel is different, it's much harder and will hold a far sharper edge then the old steel they used to use. They come from the factory deadly sharp and stay that way much longer. Unless it's a really expensive saw if it ever becomes dull you're better off buying a new one rather than paying to have it sharpened. I know the first time I used one which was just last summer I was shocked at how fast it sawed through a big piece of wood. It was literally like a hot knife through butter.
link to original post

Indeed. You can tell by looking at the teeth, a lot of saws now have some tempering on the business side, and there is a bit of blue coloring to the steel. The angles on those teeth are a lot more compound, to make them cut better, rather than easy to manufacture and easy to resharpen.

The upside is the beautiful old saws from 60 or 70 years ago can be had at the secondhand shop for a dollar or two, and be used as art projects when the blades get scenes painted on them.
link to original post

In a previous life I was a highly experienced Finish Carpenter and Cabinet Maker who also did Kitchen
and Bath Remodels and Sometimes still do.

All quality modern saw blades are carbide tipped that's the difference and the blue color you see.

Quote: billryan

Stuff does nothing but tie you down to your past. Most people eventually get it, but a few will consistently achieve so little that something as meaningless as cooking lunch is an accomplishment.
link to original post

My wife and I were talking about having stuff this week. A friend died recently and her husband is just giving away her stuff to friends. She had some very expensive purses and shoes and it is bringing the leaches that are so called friends out. One "friend" walked away with about $25,000 in purses from her closet. The husband offered my wife a chance to go through the closet and pick out anything she wanted. She didn't want anything because it wasn't her style and would feel horrible about taking something and selling it.

As my wife and I were talking we realized that we don't have anything that others would want. Our possessions have no value. As we talked more I realized that I do not have a single possession that has any sentimental value to me at all. I just don't care about stuff. I like lots of stuff but I don't value it because it is just stuff.


(Edit: obviously I am excluding my pets from possessions that I don't care about)

I just watched a video of a study on the Chinese population. Although the popularly reported numbers have China around 1.4 billion people these studies put it between 300 million and 500 million people. Obviously, I have no idea about the accuracy but multiple studies have concluded the same thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM57HhM8yV8

There does seem to be a lot of circumstantial evidence that China and many Asian and African countries have had their population numbers somehow skewed. The USofA spends a small fortune every ten years trying to get our census figures right. China will look at an address- see that it has 570 apartments and multiply by 3.1 people and extrapolate from there per apartment complex.
In the Middle East, Lebanon hasn't conducted a census in over seventy years as it tries to maintain the illusion the country is equally divided between Muslim and Christian. I don't think anyone has done a census of Gaza since it became autonomous. Census numbers for the Phillipines and Indonesia are WAGs, at best. Indonesia used two different methods in the last census, and went with the number showing the smallest decline. The old Afghan government used fifty-year-old census studies as nothing newer has been undertaken.

Maybe it's just the picture, but that's the scariest dog picture I've seen.

I recently got a new phone in the mail. I'm supposed to trade-in my old phone. I was given a mailing label but I failed to closely inspect it except to see that it had my return address on the upper left corner. So I went to my phone company and they are supposed to accept trade-ins for up to 30 days according to the website. They told me verbally I had 2 weeks to return it to the store, but I was under the impression it was 2 weeks from the date I received the new phone which was April 1st, so I'd still be good, not March 27th when I placed the order with the phone company. So the worker goes in the back to get a box to put the phone in, it's ridiculously big and she got a couple bubble wrap bags to put the phone in. She said even if I was returning it to the store, they'd have me mail it. What? She said to go to the Post Office with my box and label that I got in the mail. I also tried to pay $60 towards the cost of the phone but she said that would void my $1,000 off offer. I already paid tax and a connection charge, but you can't take an additional $59.99 and make my payment an even $15/month? Nope.

So I went down to the Post Office. There was elderly lady behind the counter who said the label was a UPS label and I should either take the box down the street to the UPS dropbox or take it across town to Staples, and the dropbox pickup was at 5:30 pm and I was at the PO at 4:55 pm as usual. I thought it was a bit unusual to be putting this into a dropbox, but I know nothing about shipping with UPS.

So this morning I'm reading that the label was for FedEx and there was a FedEx dropbox right next to the UPS box, so if I'm lucky the UPS driver will look at the box and put it in the FedEx dropbox. Well if the phone company lady or the Post Office lady had said to return it by FedEx I would have gone to WalGreens and gotten a tracking label, because that's how I returned my tablet a few months ago, and it took 4 months just to get my claim approved so I don't owe $600 on that.
Others on Reddit have mentioned that I shouldn't worry; to FedEx is stealing phones out of shipping boxes and there's no recourse, even with video evidence.

Quote: ChumpChange

I recently got a new phone in the mail. I'm supposed to trade-in my old phone. I was given a mailing label but I failed to closely inspect it except to see that it had my return address on the upper left corner. So I went to my phone company and they are supposed to accept trade-ins for up to 30 days according to the website. They told me verbally I had 2 weeks to return it to the store, but I was under the impression it was 2 weeks from the date I received the new phone which was April 1st, so I'd still be good, not March 27th when I placed the order with the phone company. So the worker goes in the back to get a box to put the phone in, it's ridiculously big and she got a couple bubble wrap bags to put the phone in. She said even if I was returning it to the store, they'd have me mail it. What? She said to go to the Post Office with my box and label that I got in the mail. I also tried to pay $60 towards the cost of the phone but she said that would void my $1,000 off offer. I already paid tax and a connection charge, but you can't take an additional $59.99 and make my payment an even $15/month? Nope.

So I went down to the Post Office. There was elderly lady behind the counter who said the label was a UPS label and I should either take the box down the street to the UPS dropbox or take it across town to Staples, and the dropbox pickup was at 5:30 pm and I was at the PO at 4:55 pm as usual. I thought it was a bit unusual to be putting this into a dropbox, but I know nothing about shipping with UPS.

So this morning I'm reading that the label was for FedEx and there was a FedEx dropbox right next to the UPS box, so if I'm lucky the UPS driver will look at the box and put it in the FedEx dropbox. Well if the phone company lady or the Post Office lady had said to return it by FedEx I would have gone to WalGreens and gotten a tracking label, because that's how I returned my tablet a few months ago, and it took 4 months just to get my claim approved so I don't owe $600 on that.
Others on Reddit have mentioned that I shouldn't worry; to FedEx is stealing phones out of shipping boxes and there's no recourse, even with video evidence.
link to original post

This is exactly why I pay $100 for a replacement phone at Walmart.
I can go in almost any store in the country, find a compatible handset, hand them $100, and do the self-activation on their wifi before I leave the parking lot.

Do I have the fanciest phone? No.
Does it cost me any serious hassle when it breaks? Also no.

In general, I'm not a Walmart fan... but their phone plan is pretty decent for pretty cheap, and they're pretty much everywhere.

My landline price was getting ridiculous leading up to 2016-17 and I was hoping to get a Note 7 but the batteries exploded and were pulled from the market. I got a Note 8 the next year and T-Mobile had a 55+ discount that competed with my landline price. In early 2021 I traded that in for a Note 20 Ultra 5G at the store at the faraway mall. It took a couple hours to transfer over wirelessly and they inspected the phone and gave me immediate credit on my trade-in, and even let me put some money down on the phone to lower my monthly payment. This time I traded for a Note 25 Ultra and since my phone plan was outmoded I would only get a $500 discount unless I upgraded my plan. So I upgraded my plan and it would cost $25 extra but T-Mobile has a $5 bump in all rates coming up so it turned out to be a $30 bump in the phone service rate. With the highest tier of phone service on 1 line, I can get free Starlink instead of paying $15 for it as an add-on for lower tiers. I drive through areas with no phone service on the T-Mobile network so if there's car trouble Starlink could be a lifesaver if I knew who to text. AAA? They promise to add calling and data later on maybe this year, but are stuck with an SMS bandwidth at the moment. So with my new plan I can upgrade my phone discount from $500 to $1,000. I thought they would inspect the phone at the store and give me an instant pass and make me eligible for the credit. Instead I got misdirected twice and it feels like I just threw my old phone in the lake and lost $1,000.

Samsung has been upgrading the lifespan on their phones in the last few years and has gone from 3 years to 7 years. Apple has had a long lifespan on phones for quite awhile, but they've also suffered slow down issues when they get system OS updates. My new phone should last me until 2032.

When I went to the new local store to buy the phone recently they only had 256 GB models of the phone in the store. So they had to order the 512 GB model and have that sent to me by mail (what kind of mail, idk) with a signature upon receipt. I had to use the loathed new T-Life app in the store to facilitate the purchase. I had to put a second credit card on the app to pay for the taxes and connection fee since I recently got a $200 refund check from their Home Internet promo that came a year late, and I was going to put that $200 towards this purchase. I could only get about $145 towards the purchase with this process. I checked that my default credit card for the regular monthly bill wasn't changed.

This time I did all the backing up of the phone on my computer using Smart Switch. I tried to backup onto a USB-C/A flash drive from the phone but the phone ran out of power and it wouldn't copy everything when I tried again; so I had to use a computer to copy over the SD card contents. I finally backed up wirelessly and that took a couple hours instead of so much longer by other means. There's no SD card slots on these new phones, but I found the SD card slot folder from the old phone on the new phone.

I got an eSIM, which made no sense to me. Fortunately I was watching YouTube videos about ocean cruise cell plans and they utilize eSIMs. My old SIM card on my old phone was no longer functional after activating my number on the new phone, so I could throw the old SIM card away without worry. But this phone said 1 SIM card slot and 1 eSIM, so if my carrier is already on an eSIM, it kind of blocks out getting an eSIM from a ship or across the border unless I downgrade to a SIM card at the T-Mo store. The eSIMs are reported to be more secure than SIM cards as far as hackers go and there's been plenty of hacking going on at T-Mobile with SIM swapping disasters. Maybe I won't worry about it until the second eSIM problem comes my way, and it may never. Maybe these over the border plans have a SIM card like Tracfone, so I wouldn't need an eSIM available for that. T-Mobile covers Canada, but Tracfone doesn't. Canada is warning people coming to America that their phones are at high risk of being searched, so using a burner phone like Tracfone is advisable. So I'll have to check my Samsung A54 Tracfone for eSIM and SIM card issues and leave my main phone at home.

I checked the Samsung site and there's no record of them shipping me the new phone, but I didn't order it, T-Mobile did. T-Mobile has me down for the $1,000 credit with a monthly payment of $17.50 for 2 years. That credit could disappear if this phone gets lost in the mail. My new phone plan hasn't been upgraded yet so no satellite texting until at least April 23rd. If Canada turns off the power, satellite phone may be all that's left, idk.

On a side note stealing smartphones is a cottage industry now in third world crap hole countries. They are really good at it. You'll be staring at your phone in your hand and they'll ride by on a bicycle and snatch it and they're gone. Or they'll run up behind you when you're taking a picture and zap your $1,200 iPhone has disappeared. They tell tourists don't take your phone out when you're in public for anything. Even in an outdoor Cafe, because they'll get it and it'll be sold 20 minutes later. Illegal immigrants from these countries are doing this in New York City now, you see it all the time on videos. A newer iPhone represents more than these people were making in a year where they used to live. They figure you're filthy rich compared to them you can just buy another one.

The Parks Service has shut down multiple parts of the Lake Mead Recreational Area after one person died, and thirty-plus people needed rescuing over the weekend.
While it's not unusual to restrict some hiking paths in the summer, due to heat, its unprecedented to shut them down this early in the year.
By the way, I'd always spelled it Meade and assumed it was named after George Meade, who led the National Army to victory at Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign that defeated the Southern rebellion. Lake Mead was actually named for a civil servant from Nevada.

I'm completely out of the loop of what's going on in "streaming" bloggers realm, but this one story caught some of the mainstream news. Some guy "Vitally" was doing all kinds of obnoxious and often illegal prank videos, and the President of Philippines addressed it and got him thrown in prison for a indeterminate time as an example to others doing similar.

Apparently typical conditions.

.

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scientists have found what could be the most promising sign yet of alien life

they have found large quantities of biosignature chemicals on the exoplanet K2 -18b

they say the planet exists in a habitable zone - the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface

these chemicals are currently known to be made only by life on Earth

it's not a slam dunk - they acknowledge it is possible that these chemicals could have been created without the presence of life

on a different link one Scientist said "I'm not screaming ET yet. But I'm reserving the right to scream ET"

it's really fascinating - to me anyway

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https://www.livescience.com/space/exoplanets/alien-world-may-be-teeming-with-life-new-chemical-biosignatures-indicate


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Quote: ChumpChange

So I went down to the Post Office. There was elderly lady behind the counter who said the label was a UPS label and I should either take the box down the street to the UPS dropbox or take it across town to Staples, and the dropbox pickup was at 5:30 pm and I was at the PO at 4:55 pm as usual. I thought it was a bit unusual to be putting this into a dropbox, but I know nothing about shipping with UPS.
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I got a text message that my return phone was received by T-Mobile. Hopefully the screen survived. I left it in the plastic protector case and bubble wrap but forgot to orientate the screen inwards or outwards inside the box and it was flush with one side of the otherwise empty box. I look forward to getting the $1,000 discount on my phone and payments of $17.50/month on the phone in addition to $25 (now $30) a month extra for the upgraded plan to save $500 extra on the discount and get an upgraded 50 GB hotspot plan (up from 15 GB) and upgraded unlimited data plan (up from 100 GB) and maybe an $8 discount on my Netflix subscription and free ad-Hulu.

My 5G Home Internet plan runs on a different phone number from a different area code and it has a 1.2 TB limit per month. I generally use 700-800 GB per month on it with HD content. If I start watching a lot of 4K content, I'd easily go over 1.2 TB. May have to download or rent individual movies to watch in 4K, but the local video store is gone. My new Roku Ultra (2024) is recording wi-fi download speeds of around 200 Mbps. I recently got a 43" gaming 4K TV from a couple years ago. My PS5 is so much better on it than on my 2009 TV; but I'm no modern gamer so I can't tell how it fares for real gamers. My 2009 43" HDTV was too big for me to carry and it needed a new screen so I recycled it. Somebody left a 75" TV by the dumpster and it wasn't picked up for a few weeks so I picked up that muddy mess and drove it 35 miles one way to recycle it. I couldn't hardly lift it, but I just barely got it into my car and had to move my front seats forward a few inches for the 66" length it required. My new 43" TV is quite a bit smaller than my old 43" TV, and much lighter.

Quote: lilredrooster

.
scientists have found what could be the most promising sign yet of alien life

they have found large quantities of biosignature chemicals on the exoplanet K2 -18b

they say the planet exists in a habitable zone - the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface

these chemicals are currently known to be made only by life on Earth

it's not a slam dunk - they acknowledge it is possible that these chemicals could have been created without the presence of life

on a different link one Scientist said "I'm not screaming ET yet. But I'm reserving the right to scream ET"

it's really fascinating - to me anyway

.
https://www.livescience.com/space/exoplanets/alien-world-may-be-teeming-with-life-new-chemical-biosignatures-indicate


.
link to original post

It's in a different universe though. >100 light years away.

No wait, that's not really a different universe! But it might be. Let me explain...

According to the most current theories, the universe is expanding but not from any particular center; there are no privileged observers so everyone is the center of their own universe, and space expands uniformly in all directions around every point. That expansion also increases linearly (?) with distance from the observer, and there is a point, dozens of billions of light years away, where the speed of that expansion is greater than the speed of light in vacuum, c. That's an event horizon. So nothing beyond that point exists for that observer- no matter, energy, or information can come to that observer from beyond that distance. Whatever happens there, is like it never even happened. But for another distant observer, one closer to that point than the first one, it is within their event horizon and they can get information from it. But can they share that information with someone who is forbidden by the absoluteness of c from having it? It's unknown.

Now a photon from anywhere near an event horizon is going to be red shifted to all hell, not much energy there or chance of it doing anything. But let's say that did happen, and over billions of years, a single, extremely red shifted photon from beyond the earth's event horizon impacted K2-18b, against all probability reacted with something, and that reaction spread out chaotically and profoundly altered events on the planet, including causing (or preventing) life from developing. Assuming the limit on information transfer greater than c is so absolute, that someone on the planet couldn't tell us, show us, or even give a hint that it happened- an observer on earth might see nothing at all indicating life while an observer on K2-18b, able to get the information from that miraculous photon and everything that sprang from it, sees a busy and productive society.

The farthest humans have ever been from the bulk of humanity was a quarter million miles, and they were Apollo astronauts. That might not be far enough away to do this experiment, and even though different points on earth also have different event horizons, the closer two points are the lower the probability that one will ever experience change off-limits to the other, and that's not going to be linear either. So it's probably never happened here, if it happens at all. But it may be the answer to the Fermi Paradox- "Where is everybody?"- and for a community of observers, in order to keep reality objective, we cannot have any other observers capable of collapsing wave functions with their observations in our universe.

I'm not sure if there was a thread talking about Alibaba, AliExpress, or Temu?

What am I missing? A couple of zeros should be added to this stuff. I must be doing something wrong.
Ultra Light Quiet 4000W Portable Gas Inverter Generator RV AC Fridge Ready 3200W Rated Extreme light weight
$3.22

Summary
Subtotal
$3.22
Promo codes
Enter
Shipping fee
$10.15
Tax

$0.27
Total
$13.64

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808600437965.html?spm=a2g0o.home.pcJustForYou.1.3ebe76dbi1qReg&gps-id=pcJustForYou&scm=1007.40170.425337.0&scm_id=1007.40170.425337.0&scm-url=1007.40170.425337.0&pvid=a8aea57d-7bec-4cc5-905c-ada72e64f83a&_t=gps-id%3ApcJustForYou%2Cscm-url%3A1007.40170.425337.0%2Cpvid%3Aa8aea57d-7bec-4cc5-905c-ada72e64f83a%2Ctpp_buckets%3A668%232846%238112%231997&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2274%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%223562%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%216.20%213.22%21%21%2145.00%2123.40%21%402140c1e917449887079822029e111b%2112000046663375278%21rec%21US%211957087801%21ABXZ&utparam-url=scene%3ApcJustForYou%7Cquery_from%3A&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Quote: AxelWolf

I'm not sure if there was a thread talking about Alibaba, AliExpress, or Temu?

What am I missing? A couple of zeros should be added to this stuff. I must be doing something wrong.
Ultra Light Quiet 4000W Portable Gas Inverter Generator RV AC Fridge Ready 3200W Rated Extreme light weight
$3.22

Summary
Subtotal
$3.22
Promo codes
Enter
Shipping fee
$10.15
Tax

$0.27
Total
$13.64

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808600437965.html?spm=a2g0o.home.pcJustForYou.1.3ebe76dbi1qReg&gps-id=pcJustForYou&scm=1007.40170.425337.0&scm_id=1007.40170.425337.0&scm-url=1007.40170.425337.0&pvid=a8aea57d-7bec-4cc5-905c-ada72e64f83a&_t=gps-id%3ApcJustForYou%2Cscm-url%3A1007.40170.425337.0%2Cpvid%3Aa8aea57d-7bec-4cc5-905c-ada72e64f83a%2Ctpp_buckets%3A668%232846%238112%231997&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2274%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%223562%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%216.20%213.22%21%21%2145.00%2123.40%21%402140c1e917449887079822029e111b%2112000046663375278%21rec%21US%211957087801%21ABXZ&utparam-url=scene%3ApcJustForYou%7Cquery_from%3A&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
link to original post

The reviews on that particular item suggest that the particular listing is a scam.
One of the common tricks is to send a picture of the grossly underpriced item, rather than the item.

My last order with Temu was for 12 ceramic mushrooms, advertised as being 1' tall. When they arrived, they were 1" tall. Temu apologized for the mistake and told me I was free to return them for a full refund. I only had to pay $37 to return a $28 order. Instead, I have a dozen ceramic mushrooms sitting in a drawer.
I ordered a George Foreman grill from Ali Baba, and it never showed up. They gave me a run around about it being stuck in customs but I eventually got a refund on my credit card.

Quote:

Millions are tuning in to the hottest show captivating Sweden: It's reality, it's live, and after hours of slow shots of calming nature, the stars arrive — Sweden's beloved moose on their spring migration.

"The Great Moose Migration" started airing Tuesday on SVT, Sweden's public service television company. It captures the creatures on the path they've followed for thousands of years to rich summer grazing pastures.

The show will air nonstop for 20 days, following the moose via remote cameras and drones as they journey through forests and swim across the Ångerman River, The Associated Press reported.

Locals keep the show playing on their TVs as hours can go by without any action, and when moose appear, they explode in joy.

That almost sounds like they've been inspired by the Norwegian Slow TV broadcast of the 7 hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo.

Quote: rxwine

Quote:

Millions are tuning in to the hottest show captivating Sweden: It's reality, it's live, and after hours of slow shots of calming nature, the stars arrive — Sweden's beloved moose on their spring migration.

"The Great Moose Migration" started airing Tuesday on SVT, Sweden's public service television company. It captures the creatures on the path they've followed for thousands of years to rich summer grazing pastures.

The show will air nonstop for 20 days, following the moose via remote cameras and drones as they journey through forests and swim across the Ångerman River, The Associated Press reported.

Locals keep the show playing on their TVs as hours can go by without any action, and when moose appear, they explode in joy.

link to original post

A TV show about moose?

Why, that's orignal!

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

A TV show about moose?

I still have not seen a moose in the wild and I go to Montana regularly.

Quote: DRich

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

A TV show about moose?

I still have not seen a moose in the wild and I go to Montana regularly.
link to original post

Do they range that far south?

The Moose population in Montana is the smallest breed of moose, about three-fifths the size of their Canadian cousins.

Quote: DRich

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

A TV show about moose?

I still have not seen a moose in the wild and I go to Montana regularly.
link to original post

Go to Maine or northern NH or northern VT.
You should be able to see some although there’s not as many as there used to be. I’ had a few close calls almost hitting one with my truck while driving in the early am hours.

Quote: billryan

Quote: DRich

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

A TV show about moose?

I still have not seen a moose in the wild and I go to Montana regularly.
link to original post

Do they range that far south?

The Moose population in Montana is the smallest breed of moose, about three-fifths the size of their Canadian cousins.
link to original post

My family says that they see them regularly. I guess I just haven't been in the right spot at the right time.

Eh? I see these ads for companies protecting your home title from being stolen. So, why the heck doesn't the government improve the protections for home owners. .Surely, the process could have better safeguards.

Quote: billryan

Quote: DRich

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

A TV show about moose?

I still have not seen a moose in the wild and I go to Montana regularly.
link to original post

Do they range that far south?

The Moose population in Montana is the smallest breed of moose, about three-fifths the size of their Canadian cousins.
link to original post

The signage along the Montana roadways generally says "ELK", not "MOOSE" (as in "watch for elk next 15 miles"). I'm not sure I'm smart enough to point out the differences, but I don't want to come in contact with either. Seeing them grazing on the side of the mountain roads is quite majestic enough for me.

I generally see them between the Idaho line and St. Regis.

I've seen a wild moose. It was in or near Mt Robson National Park in Alberta, Canada.

I remember being shocked and incredulous about how large he was. A magnifcent animal.

I saw one crossing a road up in a remote part of Maine. A big cow moose. Kind of funny as they grin and tiptoe as they walk, like a cartoon animal.

That trip was also the only time I've seen a bear in the wild.

Does anyone remember this?

Quote: avianrandy

Does anyone remember this?

Show Spoiler

correct answer D shoe store

link to original post

I remember those when I was in first and second grade in the mid fifties, you stuck your foot in the machine and it took an x-ray of your foot. And exposed the people who worked there to x-rays all day long.

Quote: rxwine

Quote:

Millions are tuning in to the hottest show captivating Sweden: It's reality, it's live, and after hours of slow shots of calming nature, the stars arrive — Sweden's beloved moose on their spring migration.

"The Great Moose Migration" started airing Tuesday on SVT, Sweden's public service television company. It captures the creatures on the path they've followed for thousands of years to rich summer grazing pastures.

The show will air nonstop for 20 days, following the moose via remote cameras and drones as they journey through forests and swim across the Ångerman River, The Associated Press reported.

Locals keep the show playing on their TVs as hours can go by without any action, and when moose appear, they explode in joy.

link to original post

For some reason I keep thinking the plural of “moose” should be “meese”…!