Congrats.

Please try not to kill anyone, unless they are #Floridaman. In that case, it was unavoidable due to severity of their injuries. (Honestly, the attending physician stated that it's hard to imagine how a pewter figurine of the satanic lord Baʿal came to be lodged so far up the rectum. You just don't see that sort of thing every day.)

Nice!
If your department ever sends you to FDIC, let me know.

Boot update:

A little under four years into ownership, I have had to replace the laces. This is the first (and only) issue I have had with them. I have no complaint against a set of laces that lasted this long.

The boots themselves are still in perfectly serviceable condition.

I am just utterly astonished by the quality of these. I don't kick concrete forms into place for a living, but I do wear them every single day. I used to get about a year out of a set of Timberland "pro-series" Titans. The insoles would typically disintegrate at about the same time that the glue holding the rubber soles separated from the uppers.

No such bullshit here. These boots seem to be made of indestructium. The stitching is still intact and waterproof, and the insoles are still in one piece.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...40e0d7df91.png

They're big. They're heavy. I had to adapt my car a tad to accommodate them (by removing the rubber pad from the clutch pedal, so that the left foot can fit into the dead-pedal space to the left of it. Mind you, size 14. Smaller sizes would likely not have this issue), and I just utterly love them.

I just cannot rant enough about how much I love Red Wing's "Irish Setter" brand. I'm going to order another pair of them just as insurance in case they decide to discontinue the model before these wear out.

I wish I worked in an environment that allowed me to keep expensive boots for longer than 6 months.

$100 a year boot allowance doesn't cover me. Red wings are nice.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5db618d758.jpg
A new set of thermal boots I just got for the winter months. Dang chemicals will have these things leaking in 3 months with the projects coming up.

I can't imagine having to wear 5 lbs of leather and steel on both feet every day. Give me light, flexible, and breathable.

Is Joe the only one wearing lumberjack boots in the high-rise office building tv control room?

Working on steel decks, I learned long ago the value of proper safety boots. I have been wearing Red Wing for a long time. When my normal boots went way up in price I tried a set of their Worx brand (another Chinese product) boots that look like tactical footwear. Combination leather/nylon uppers with a cushiony non-skid sole and composite toecap. Another plus, there is a zipper on the inside so once you lace them up, all you have to do to get in and out is use the zipper (saves time in the middle of the night when alarms are going off). Red Wing Safety Boots - Men's 6-inch Boot Black

I have had both the 6" and 8" models, prefer the 6". I usually only get a couple of years' use out of boots due to the non-skid on the decks chewing up the soles.

Run a pallet jack carrying 900 lbs of electrical cable into your foot and let me know how that works out for you. Bahurd and Chiefmg know what I'm talking about.

I have two pair of Reebok running shoes for when the weather is decent and I jog to work. When I am at work, however, I prefer something more substantial.


My job is weird. It's 90% "upper management in a nice office with an executive assistant" and 10% "excuse me, but I have to go climb a 250 foot pole atop one of the tallest buildings in the world during a blizzard."

You can easily differentiate between the studio crews and the field shooters based solely on their footwear.

Our remote crews could invade Russia in winter.

This is what I wear to work on my feet in the winter.

--Ian

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...954933b37.jpeg

My footwear of choice at the office:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f88ac419b2.jpg

Can confirm, 900lb skid of wire will not hurt if run it into your toe with steel toe boots.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d5b1a2f9b7.jpg

These do when they get rolling...

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...337a6dab7d.jpg
not my pic

And these pretty much make the boot moot. Only to keep your foot inside.

80,000lb tool steel roll forging coming out of the annealing oven
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d12248846e.jpg
My pic

These boots probably would not help if you were to accidentally drop that on your foot.


https://media1.tenor.com/images/45b6...83e8/tenor.gif

They do the big steel spools at national galvanizing across the street. To hell with that, that's some heavy work. I'll stick with my lightweight aluminum.

Is there just one stud cavity on that wall? (i.e. no intermediate stud, just the ones at the ends) If so, I would say you are safe to assume it's non-load bearing. BTW, what is it you plan to do there?
Be aware that if you remove the wall, the newly exposed ends on the cabinets will be raw. Also, check to see that there is not a fastener in the end of that upper cabinet that's tapped into the little wall.

Pretty similar here. I'm in a Gojira Tshirt, shorts, and ADIDAS I bought at Ross today. Summer will be the same except the sneakers will be traded out for sandals.

There is an intermediate metal stud in the middle of that wall. These pics are looking downward. I plan to remove the cabinet and wall to make room for an xray.

Here is a pic with the boroscope of the intermediate stud and stud closest to the outside wall.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ad433005df.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c644ea2423.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...774ac650c3.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ae7fcf2534.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a2b06de37f.jpg

Are you able to get a peak inside the second stud cavity then? I really do think that wall is just there for esthetics (to provide and end for the base and upper cabinets on the left and a transition to the shallower cabinets on the right), but since you do have a bore-scope, and if you want to cover your butt 100%, it would still be good to just drill a small hole into the second cavity and take a peek.

Yes you're right, I'm just being lazy haha. I'll drill a hole and see. Thanks man.

Ok hopefully last few questions about this fawking wall. What's the best way to remove the cabinet and wall? BFH?

The cabinets are fastened to the walls with screws which were most likely installed before all the shelves and drawers (and lastly countertop) were added to them. You can probably still spot the fastening screws if you look carefully around inside the boxes, but emptying them will likely make access easier for their removal (as well as the countertop). After the cabinets are removed, I would recommend scoring the tape joints in the sheetrock with a new (sharp) rock knife blade along all inside corner edges (i.e. at ceiling and walls) before you take a shot at the rock and studs underneath. This will prevent tears in the paint as well as paper skin on the surrounding rock surfaces. Ideally, you want to dissect it piecemeal more than just mongo-ing it with a BFH, as the patchwork efforts later are often directly proportional to the collateral damage you may cause.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the surrounding flooring may or may not also be impeding the toe-boards of those cabinets (if there are any), so care should be taken there so not as not to damage the remaining flooring unnecessarily.

Thanks for the response. I'll report back.

I've been seeing a lot of articles / blog entries bemoaning the plight of Federal workers who aren't getting paid right now due to the shutdown.

Most of them follow along the lines of "I don't know how we're going to pay the rent," or "we're going to have to decide between buying groceries and making the car payment" or some variant thereof.

Serious question: is "not having enough money saved up to easily cover a few months' worth of living expenses" something that normal people with jobs typically do?

Yes.

And no, I don't know why.

--Ian

Gotta keep up with the Jones's. That means maxed credit, no savings and lots of useless gadgets/car payments. I feel no sympathy for any of them.

This^^^^^

What did you expect from a good percentage of government employees? Conservatives?

I remember when my wife and I bought this house we're living in and sought qualification for the loan they told us we qualified for some ridiculously high amount of money. We bought a house that was less than a third of what we qualified for and paid it off in 15 years. Now if I become injured and unable to work the house is paid for. And we have savings and 401k. We choose to buy our vehicles used and pay cash for them. I like flashy shit just as much as the next guy but really like the feeling of security of owning my stuff outright.

When I was younger I lost my job, went broke and in debt and refuse to go back. I learned my lesson. I also have short term and long term disability insurance in case I'm unable to work, and term life insurance for my wife to be cared for if I pass early.

But everybody should have at a very minimum 3 months income saved as an emergency fund. A lot more than that if you are being responsible.

Happy new year!

(almost midnight over here..)

Happy new year, and may you not be dragged from your home in the night by the military.


As to the above, I just cannot fathom not having cash on hand sufficient to cover a significant period of unemployment, or a major unforeseen expense. Heck, within a year of getting my first "real" job in my early 20s, I'd saved enough to cover at least a few months' rent should something happen. And no, I wasn't pulling down the big bucks. I was a grunt engineer working an entry-level job for entry-level pay. I was also driving a 10 year old Pontiac, living in a tiny apartment, and basically not spending a dime that I didn't absolutely have to.

That is self control, and it is not talked about in school anymore. Don't think, Feel. It is much easier to control a person's emotions than to change the way they think. So, don't teach anyone to think, teach them to want.

I'm not a prepper but during Hurricane Season I've generally got food, water, and fuel ready. If I lived in a place that was prone to blizzards, earthquakes, or riots I would be likely to prep for those things as well. Maybe it's a Boy Scout thing or that I was raised by people who prepared for adversity.

http://bsatroop485.com/wp-content/up.../prepared1.png

The family in FL do the same thing. At the beginning of each season, they stock up on bottled water, batteries, canned & boxed food, toilet paper, and all the other stuff you'd want during either an evacuation or a shelter-in-place scenario. It goes onto a couple of dedicated shelving units in the garage. A few large gasoline cans also sit on the shelves, though they cycle through those throughout the year as lawnmower fuel. At no time is more than one can not 100% full.

If, by the end of November it's still there, then they consume it (rather than buying new) during the off-season.

That's not prepperish, that's just good common-sense in an area where lethal weather does, in fact, occur on a regular basis. I'll never forget after Charley butt-raped Charlotte Harbor in '04, talking my stepfather through constructing a cable to plug the generator into the dryer socket*. I can only imagine what that must have looked like, one house with the lights on and the ceiling fans operating, drinking cold drinks with ice, while everyone else was in blackness and stifling heat. They've since added a portable room air-conditioner to the stockpile.

* = note that this is hilariously dangerous, not just to you, but also potentially to linemen working to restore power if you forget to open the main breaker first.

I'm making a resolution. My new year's resolution for 2019 is to not make a new year's resolution. It's such a great resolution because it's a self fulfilling paradox; by making it, I'm simultaneously breaking it. Way easier than making a resolution about dieting or exercise or something else that requires self discipline that I know I'm going to have to put a lot of work into before breaking it.

New year, same me; still AWESOME!

You must have a different definition of the word, or you find the electric chair to be a favorite party activity.

I guess my definitions here cover three points on the spectrum:

1: This is dangerous in a way which is non-intuitive, and therefore this special guidance is warranted.

2: This is dangerous in a way which should be obvious to any skilled worker, but OSHA requirements dictate that I post this sign.

3: This is so obviously dangerous that, if you do not recognize it, you deserve to be removed from the gene pool. However, your own incompetence does not justify the deaths of those who are unaware of how stupid you are and yet find themselves in harm's way due to your idiocy.


My stepfather is a real estate broker and my brother-in-law is a very talented finish carpenter. You would be justified in assuming that they both have some basic familiarity with residential electrical wiring and the safety standards surrounding it.

And you would be wrong.

I have to say that any lineman worth his salt would know full well not to trust the lines to be free of backfeed in this day and age of solar power generation. That's just SOP anymore. Not saying it would be dangerous, just somewhat more expected than not. Also, I'm not sure how much power you would actually even net from a generator if you left your main breaker closed, assuming the surrounding grid was down, what with all the likely shorts and/or current 'requests' in the neighborhood. It would be like running the furnace at full tilt with the windows and doors wide open.

Totally understood. Just that in my line of work, we plan for the worst-case scenario. In this instance, that would be all loads open. Is that likely to happen? No. But when people's lives are on the line (no pun intended), you assume the worst.

I'd like to hope that any lineman worth his boots would know to ground a "down" line prior to touching it. But in disaster scenarios, people don't always follow the book.

I back feed from my generator through my 220v welder plug on the garage wall into the breaker box, so I know what you mean. For fuel, I have several outboard boat motor 6 gallon cans and two 5 gallon scribner jugs for the race car that get filled ahead of weather events. And several vehicles' tanks. Needs to last a week of intermittent use. And yes, a window unit to make life tolerable.

Kickoff weekend for FIRST (robotics) just ended. Almost 30 hours of robots, design, brainstorming and math. My brain is cooked, and it's just the first weekend. I have a minimum of 6 more weeks of this, until the start of competition. Then it's revise, improve, compete, and do it all over again.

There are some scary smart kids in these robotics teams. If you like robots, search out youtube videos of the competitions and the neat things they can do.

Just spent three hours of my life completing the government application form for a security clearance. Last time I did one it was by hand and much simpler, as I was single, no kids, little work history etc. I want to sleep for the rest of the day.

Snow day.
Can't go to the garage,
I am not happy.

I took part in those competitions as a kid in 2000-2001 (Team 296 still exists), back when the finals took place in Orlando. Great memories, and I still appreciate the work that the teachers and volunteer engineers put in.

We just got our hotel at our local event for March. I have a judge meeting coming up. This years game looks very interesting and I am looking forward to it.

Apparently, being an elevator enthusiast is a real thing.

See what being an elevator fan is all about!

This guy is serious.

https://www.youtube.com/user/dieselducy/videos

Unless it's a Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Happy Vertical People Transporter, I'm not interested.

--Ian

(gratified sigh)

Also, Go Stick Your Head in a Pig.

Apparently, "You guys are so strong and brave to just treat your daughter like any other child" is something you should not say on Facebook to an old high-school acquaintance when they proudly post photos of their two year old daughter who, despite looking like a mutant, does not actually have downs syndrome or any other clinically-diagnosed developmental disability.

Correct. Posting on Facebook should be avoided if at all possible.

This. Why must people tell everyone they ever met what they are thinking and doing?

Miata did over 40mpg on the way home today. 200 miles and 5 gallons of gas used. That's with 200lbs worth of tools in the trunk too. Cruising 70mph, no stops. I'm perplexed.

Enjoy your inconsistently-filling NB gas tank.

Filled till it came out the overflow both times.

I've owned miatas long enough mane.

You must have installed one of your injectors backwards.
It is common knowledge; a reversed injector will pull excess fuel from the engine.

You know how modern locomotives have that feature whereby, when the ECU detects wheel slippage, a mechanism automatically dispenses sand onto the rail right at the point of contact of the driven wheels?

I could use that in my car right now. I'd even settle for a manually-operated version. (And don't think I'm not contemplating how to build this.)

Haven't actually gotten properly stuck yet, but it turns out that even Michelin X-Ice Xi3's do not actually transform the Miata into a Bradley fighting vehicle. Mind you, still the best non-studded snow tires I've ever owned.

I don't recall having ever gotten stuck in my NB. I also have Xi3s, which are pretty warn.

This was after bombing around last night a bit. As long as the momentum and wheel speed stay up, it's pretty tough to get stuck. Even in with no ground clearance.
You can see the engine was pretty hot, snow on the windshield was sticking but not to the hood. OOPS.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2369a26860.jpg

Honestly, the only major problem I have is the ramp going up from the alley into my parking garage at home. I'm just guessing, but I'd say it's at about a 25° upwards incline. (Yes, I know how steep 25° is. This ramp is insane.) When it's icy, getting up into the garage can be interesting, especially with an open differential.

Annoyingly, FWD cars seem to have no problem at all with this.

Even more annoyingly, this garage is two levels. One is a half-story above ground, the other a half-story below ground. I really feel that they ought to assign parking spaces on the basis of your vehicle rather than your condo number. FWD cars go on the top level, RWD cars on the bottom level. That would work best for everyone in winter. (The FWD cars on the bottom level have an equal level of difficulty climbing out.)

I am now working on a ship built in 1980 as a container ship, that was immediately converted into a prepositioning ship that was loaded with military equipment and stationed around the world. Those days are pretty much over and she now sits tied to a pier. Lots of personnel turnover so I have no notes of any kind to tell me what has been done before. Today I decided we should test bilge alarms. A couple were not working when they should have been. After checking for blown indicator bulbs I started looking at other alarms to see if anything was different. Yes, something was. The card holding the indicator bulbs was in upside down, and one of the two cards (I'm guessing for the actual alarm circuits) was not in the correct slot. Fixed both those and the alarms functioned. No way of telling how long it was like that, or what genius managed to screw it up.