Out of the Blue

Today was another adventure in home ownership, as we had the plumber in to look at our heating system. We have one zone in the house with the heating shut off because of a previous problem, but this is the basement, so it's not a real problem for us. At least it wasn't until the pump intended for that zone started making horrible noises, even though it's supposed to be off, and the heat wasn't running. I had a pretty good idea that our recent demolition in the basement shorted out the thermostat, but I didn't have the nerve to open the box to cut the juice to it. As it turns out, that was exactly right, so I got charged a one-hour minimum for a job that literally took one minute to accomplish. This was $187 after tax, so I told the guy to tell his boss that while I understood the minimum charge policy, the fact that they didn't give us a break would probably cause me to call a different plumber next time.

Chilly Links: Thanks Ant.
Play: Power the Grid 2020.
Stories: Man pays for $10K worth of layaway orders at NJ Toys 'R Us.
MST3K returning. Thanks [H]ardOCP via RedEye9.
Chip Kelly returning to college football as head coach of UCLA Bruins.
Science: Flies more germ-laden than suspected.
Dog Owners Live Longer. Thanks j.c.f.
Lightning strikes leave behind a radioactive cloud.
Media: OVERWATCH: Soldier 76 Sucks.
WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS (Honest Game Trailers).
Flies more germ-laden than suspected.
Follow-up: Argentina missing submarine: President pledges inquiry to 'know the truth.'
A flat-Earther’s plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket just hit a speed bump.
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15.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 26, 2017, 14:38
15.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 26, 2017, 14:38
Nov 26, 2017, 14:38
 
RedEye9 wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 11:12:
Mr. Tact wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 08:41:
jdreyer wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 03:26:
Dog Owners Live Longer.

More love, more exercise, and less stress. You'll live longer by checking all three boxes.
I like dogs, but this story is so much bologna. It isn't having a dog which lets "dog owners live longer" it is the fact they walk the dog. Walking gives them exercise, which simultaneously reduces stress, which leads to better health and longer life, statistically. If you get a dog and your kid always walks it, you never do -- then you'll get little to no benefit.
Depends on how the study was framed and if it takes into account whether the owner has a fenced yard and never walks his dog, or the owner is like blues neighbors and blue walks their dog. Or the owner pays a dog walking service but also regularly goes to the gym.
Not to mention health care. Do the majority of dog owners take their pups to the vet and in turn get regular checkups themselves?
There are lots of variables.

After accounting for those I bet dog owners live longer lives.

Now there's no helping cat owners.

Yeah, it's more than just walking the dog, although walking is a huge part of it.

they experienced the lowest stress response and the quickest recovery in the situation where they were only with their pet

Some people experienced increased output of endorphins and dopamines after just five minutes with an animal
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
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14.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 26, 2017, 11:12
14.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 26, 2017, 11:12
Nov 26, 2017, 11:12
 
Mr. Tact wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 08:41:
jdreyer wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 03:26:
Dog Owners Live Longer.

More love, more exercise, and less stress. You'll live longer by checking all three boxes.
I like dogs, but this story is so much bologna. It isn't having a dog which lets "dog owners live longer" it is the fact they walk the dog. Walking gives them exercise, which simultaneously reduces stress, which leads to better health and longer life, statistically. If you get a dog and your kid always walks it, you never do -- then you'll get little to no benefit.
Depends on how the study was framed and if it takes into account whether the owner has a fenced yard and never walks his dog, or the owner is like blues neighbors and blue walks their dog. Or the owner pays a dog walking service but also regularly goes to the gym.
Not to mention health care. Do the majority of dog owners take their pups to the vet and in turn get regular checkups themselves?
There are lots of variables.

After accounting for those I bet dog owners live longer lives.

Now there's no helping cat owners.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
Avatar 58135
13.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 26, 2017, 08:41
13.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 26, 2017, 08:41
Nov 26, 2017, 08:41
 
jdreyer wrote on Nov 26, 2017, 03:26:
Dog Owners Live Longer.

More love, more exercise, and less stress. You'll live longer by checking all three boxes.
I like dogs, but this story is so much bologna. It isn't having a dog which lets "dog owners live longer" it is the fact they walk the dog. Walking gives them exercise, which simultaneously reduces stress, which leads to better health and longer life, statistically. If you get a dog and your kid always walks it, you never do -- then you'll get little to no benefit.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
12.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 26, 2017, 03:26
12.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 26, 2017, 03:26
Nov 26, 2017, 03:26
 
Dog Owners Live Longer.

More love, more exercise, and less stress. You'll live longer by checking all three boxes.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
11.
 
Sims 4
Nov 25, 2017, 23:13
Kxmode
 
11.
Sims 4 Nov 25, 2017, 23:13
Nov 25, 2017, 23:13
 Kxmode
 
Pick up Sims 4 and most of the extras during their on-going BFCM sale. The last Sims game I played was Sims 1 from 2000. 17-years-later and four versions later they have made a ton of improvements. The graphics look very much like today's WOW. The AI appears to be much smarter. The UI is HUGELY improved. The Get To Work expansion adds three fully playable career tracks (meaning you go to work with your Sim and do the job): Law Enforcement, Medicine, and Science. Each of those branch off into specialties like you can go into Detective from Law Enforcement.

If you have wanted to play The Sims but remained on the fence, I can say it is fun. Of course, you have to be in the mood for it.

$12.49 Sims 4 Deluxe Edition

Expansions
$15.99 Get To Work
$39.99 Cats & Dogs (worth it)
$15.99 Get Together
$15.99 City Living

Game Packs
$14.99 Outdoor Retreat
$14.99 Dine Out
$14.99 Spa Day

Stuff Packs
$9.99 Luxury Party Stuff
$9.99 Bowling Night

Regular price: $289.90
I paid: $165.40 (-43%)

In case you are wondering I have the funds. I start saving up for BFCM deals months in advance.
"...and in stonks, Fizzy Squeezy Stocklebocks leaped over Droopy Whoopy Bondfluffs, hitting 300-gigglebits to their 150-snorebucks. Meanwhile, in Whimsyland's market, the pancakes reached parity with pogo sticks."
Avatar 18786
10.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 22:16
Kxmode
 
10.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 22:16
Nov 25, 2017, 22:16
 Kxmode
 
Cutter wrote on Nov 25, 2017, 21:55:
"There is One who dwells above the circle of the earth."

Yeah, that would be Cthulhu. Cthulhu And circle is not the same as sphere. Flat-earthers belive the world is a circle too. The Church taught geocentrism for centuries. Just ask Galileo how he made out when he put forth the theory of heliocentrism.

What I've never understood about the flat earthers is just how thick the earth is? Can't be paper thin otherwise we couldn't mine anything right? So just how flat is it exactly? How with modern technology has no one ever filmed the edge of the earth? Where does all the water go? Where does it come from? I actually looked at a couple of these FE websites and they are just painful to behold. Apparently no one has ever been to space, there are no satellites, etc. That's because, get this, space agencies only exist to embezzle tax dollars. Yes, every space agency of every nation on earth is apparently in cahoots on this. There are 10's of 1000s of people in on this and nary a one of them has ever blown cover and revealed the hoax because they're all getting insanely rich of the billions they're embezzling.

Wow. Just wow. Rolleyes

If my math is correct, God inspired that passage in the mind of Isaiah some 3,600 years ago. The thought of a person living 3,600 years ago would be radically different from today's views. God did not need to identify the earth as a "sphere" or even explain what a sphere is. To use a math analogy, he simply said "Pi=3.14." That is it. Simple. Nothing too complicated. Of course, today people know the value of Pi goes WAY beyond 3.14. How would you describe the shape of the earth to a 2-year-old in simple words? You would use "circle." Don't over-complicate this.

BTW Cthulhu dwells UNDER the circle of the earth.

"He's not lying." - Cthulhu
"...and in stonks, Fizzy Squeezy Stocklebocks leaped over Droopy Whoopy Bondfluffs, hitting 300-gigglebits to their 150-snorebucks. Meanwhile, in Whimsyland's market, the pancakes reached parity with pogo sticks."
Avatar 18786
9.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 21:55
9.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 21:55
Nov 25, 2017, 21:55
 
"There is One who dwells above the circle of the earth."

Yeah, that would be Cthulhu. Cthulhu And circle is not the same as sphere. Flat-earthers belive the world is a circle too. The Church taught geocentrism for centuries. Just ask Galileo how he made out when he put forth the theory of heliocentrism.

What I've never understood about the flat earthers is just how thick the earth is? Can't be paper thin otherwise we couldn't mine anything right? So just how flat is it exactly? How with modern technology has no one ever filmed the edge of the earth? Where does all the water go? Where does it come from? I actually looked at a couple of these FE websites and they are just painful to behold. Apparently no one has ever been to space, there are no satellites, etc. That's because, get this, space agencies only exist to embezzle tax dollars. Yes, every space agency of every nation on earth is apparently in cahoots on this. There are 10's of 1000s of people in on this and nary a one of them has ever blown cover and revealed the hoax because they're all getting insanely rich of the billions they're embezzling.

Wow. Just wow. Rolleyes
"The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip." - Henny Youngman
8.
 
Re: A flat-Earther’s plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket just hit a speed bump
Nov 25, 2017, 21:23
Kxmode
 
8.
Re: A flat-Earther’s plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket just hit a speed bump Nov 25, 2017, 21:23
Nov 25, 2017, 21:23
 Kxmode
 
Once NASA launched astronauts into space and they looked back at the earth they saw that it was a sphere. By shape alone, a three-dimensional object cannot be a two-dimensional shape. Besides several thousand years before that happened a simple passage in the Bible tells us the shape of Earth: "There is One who dwells above the circle of the earth." (Isaiah 40:22) You have religion and science agreeing with each other here.

Is this guy mental?
"...and in stonks, Fizzy Squeezy Stocklebocks leaped over Droopy Whoopy Bondfluffs, hitting 300-gigglebits to their 150-snorebucks. Meanwhile, in Whimsyland's market, the pancakes reached parity with pogo sticks."
Avatar 18786
7.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 17:38
7.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 17:38
Nov 25, 2017, 17:38
 
Pigeon wrote on Nov 25, 2017, 17:01:
jdreyer wrote on Nov 25, 2017, 16:02:
I do wonder though: does he actually believe this stuff, or is he just soaking the flat earthers to fund his vanity project?

I wonder if any flat-earther truly believes. Like it's just one big LARP for people who's lives are boring and insignificant and they're just trying to feel good about themselves and pass the time before they die(I mean who isn't). While it may not be the most maladaptive way of dealing with life it still spreads dangerous levels of stupid and the increasingly unfortunate view that fact is only a matter of conviction.
moon landing denier's, flat earthers, birthers and 9/11 truthers are all pinched from the same moldy loaf.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
Avatar 58135
6.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 17:19
6.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 17:19
Nov 25, 2017, 17:19
 
While I do most of my electrical there's some stuff I won't mess with - the panel, 240v wiring, etc. Not just because I'm afraid I may kill myself and burn the house down, but at least with a licensed electrician I'm covered in that event. So there are times when you definitely should be using a licensed - bonded & insured - tradesman. However the same thing happened to me about 2 years back. Had a flaky circuit and my guy sent a new guy by that he had hired who didn't manage to fix the problem , was only there for 15 minutes to boot, and still charged me $200 bucks and he - the owner of the company - wouldn't budge on the charge. Needless to say he's no longer my electrician and has a pile of bad reviews online for his company now.

Last guy I hired was more than happy to negotiate and will be my goto guy in future as well as a reference to anyone look for a local electrician. It's amazing that some tradesmen don't understand how that works and the importance of good customer service.
"The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip." - Henny Youngman
5.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 17:01
5.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 17:01
Nov 25, 2017, 17:01
 
jdreyer wrote on Nov 25, 2017, 16:02:
I do wonder though: does he actually believe this stuff, or is he just soaking the flat earthers to fund his vanity project?

I wonder if any flat-earther truly believes. Like it's just one big LARP for people who's lives are boring and insignificant and they're just trying to feel good about themselves and pass the time before they die(I mean who isn't). While it may not be the most maladaptive way of dealing with life it still spreads dangerous levels of stupid and the increasingly unfortunate view that fact is only a matter of conviction.
4.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 16:02
4.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 16:02
Nov 25, 2017, 16:02
 
Tipsy McStagger wrote on Nov 25, 2017, 14:24:
That flat earther article first line is "1,800 feet high"

uhm.. that's barely off the ground... planes fly at 30,000 feet.. Even 1800 meters is paltry amount. 18,000 feet isn't high.. So what is the typo? is this for real that he expects 1,800 feet to be a good thing?

In his defense, this is phase 1 of a multi phase project.

That being said, his last flight of a quarter mile almost killed him. This one, a mile long, might finish the job:

He built his first manned rocket in 2014, the Associated Press reported, and managed to fly a quarter-mile over Winkelman, Ariz.

As seen in a YouTube video, the flight ended with Hughes being dragged, moaning, from the remains of the rocket. The injuries he suffered put him in a walker for two weeks, he said.

I do wonder though: does he actually believe this stuff, or is he just soaking the flat earthers to fund his vanity project?
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
3.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 15:03
3.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 15:03
Nov 25, 2017, 15:03
 
A lawyer calls a plumber to fix a leak.
After about 25 minutes the plumber hands him a bill for $200.00.
The enraged lawyer says:
“I’m a lawyer and even I don’t make that kind of money for 25 minutes work!”
“Neither did I when I was a lawyer”, said the plumber.

This comment was edited on Nov 25, 2017, 21:38.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
Avatar 58135
2.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
2.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
 
You won't truly find all the issues with the home until you do a deep cleaning pass.

the closer you look the worse it gets.
Avatar 6174
1.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
1.
Re: Out of the Blue Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
Nov 25, 2017, 14:24
 
That flat earther article first line is "1,800 feet high"

uhm.. that's barely off the ground... planes fly at 30,000 feet.. Even 1800 meters is paltry amount. 18,000 feet isn't high.. So what is the typo? is this for real that he expects 1,800 feet to be a good thing?
Avatar 57660
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