• 10 Posts
  • 549 Comments
Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 20th, 2023

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  • Who is actually creating a legitimate Facebook account at this point?

    I moderate a few groups on Facebook, and every account I see for new members that was created within the last few years is a spammer. The people who wanted Facebook accounts already have them. Very very few actual human beings are signing up for new legitimate accounts at this point.

    Facebook should just close the new account option. They’re working toward AIs talking to each other and won’t need human interaction any more anyway.





  • I have to admit I did find one nice thing about our electronically driven washer. We bought a new washer and dryer when we moved to this house, and the washer was fine for a few weeks, then errored out on a load of delicates. Tried restarting it, same issue. Unplugged it, plugged it back in, same issue. I was starting to get upset when I realized that the “cold” water hose was hot. The handles on our valves are reversed. The washer realized it was filling with hot water and gave an error instead of ruining the clothes. Swap the hoses, and it has worked perfectly since.

    Other than having to replace the tensioner on the dryer’s belt, they’ve been totally reliable.

    Our dishwasher died a year or two ago. I realized it wasn’t circulating the water, so I replaced the pump. Unfortunately that didn’t fix the issue, so I wasted over $100 on the pump. Likely it was the transformer or controller for that pump, but I was tired of not having a dishwasher and replaced it. I still have the new pump, I should ebay it…




  • Yeah I’ve saved a few things that way - nothing to lose, so let’s try it. Often it doesn’t work…but other than some time, I’ve lost nothing.

    The previous owners built a koi pond on the property (though there aren’t any actual koi in it…I’m not sure what breed of fish are in it). After we moved in we had a local shop come and clean it, and they suggested replacing the filter, so we did that. The new one uses a UV light to help kill some types of algae and keep it clear. Unfortunately the ballasts for those UV lights are, frankly, garbage, and I’ve replaced it a few times. I was able to figure out that the switch that detects whether the ballast is installed properly doesn’t trigger, so I’ve used tape to deal with that…then an animal chewed the wires right where they come out of the ballast.

    I’ve been trying to pry it apart to get to the wires to fix it, but I just can’t get it to open up. It’s just chewing up the casing. But I guess the same thing applies, nothing to lose.

    I really should just look for a better filter.




  • Working on my basement project again!

    We tore out the walls a few years ago for a few reasons, but the project stalled after that as we were getting water in the basement. I think we have that issue solved now, and I have more time, so I’ve restarted work to build it into a usable room.

    I think I’ve previously ranted about how the previous owner of the house apparently hated ground wires. I found another outlet that had a ground wire run to it, but the ground wasn’t connected to the outlet (and it was a plastic box). Why?!?

    Some other screwy wiring decisions meant that the first half day was just getting working temporary light in the rooms so I could see better. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve installed studs that will serve as support for outlets and drywall.

    I may have to remove some of the remaining original drywall - he had installed an outlet up high (for a workbench he had in that room), but I want it at the normal height, and I want two more, so how much work I have ahead depends on how he ran the wire. I’m hoping for “sanely,” but I would not be surprised to find it’s run at the higher level across the studs.

    I do have a corner that has no studs (it’s a concrete wall, again difficult to explain) so I might need to build some kind of support for the drywall in that corner.

    I have to figure out the plan for what circuits I want the outlets on. Unfortunately my breaker box is full, and I believe it already has the max number of double breakers allowed by code (not double breakers… two breakers in one slot setups), so just adding a new circuit is out.

    I also need to build a frame around the hvac ductwork to attach drywall to. I’ll need a 12’ long 2x4 for that job, plus supports, but those can be smaller.