What did you do today?

[Spicoli43]

Decided not to use Sharkbite Pex fittings, Ron?

 

[zannej]

Sharkbites are nice but not recommended to be sealed up inside walls where you can't monitor them. They also have plastic sleeves on the inside that restrict flow more.
The expansion tools for the PexA can be expensive.
I spy Holdrite brackets. Those are pretty nice. I got some for the tub spouts in my house.

Went to Samsclub to get more water & groceries. Popped in to our favorite restaurant which has changed its name from Panda to Flying Wok. I think its because a Panda Express opened up and people were confusing the two of them. Panda was there first, but Panda Express opened up and sucked. People were leaving negative reviews for it on the Panda yelp. I forgot to ask the guy the reason for the change. I was tired. My brother had 3 plates of food plus a plate for dessert and a bowl of ice cream. It took me the whole time to eat one plate because I was having to chew very carefully to make sure I didn't have trouble swallowing. Last few days I've been having a harder time swallowing things. Allergies caused mucus buildup which gummed things up so food was getting stuck and I choked, couldn't breathe, and had to hack everything back up. Last time it happened Itsy was hollering at me and when I was able to breathe again and sat down she jumped on me and licked my forehead and kept cooing at me the way a mother cat coos at kittens.

Read some troubleshooting tips about AC and was thinking it might be the solenoid valve for the reversing valve but decided to change filters and pour bleach down the condensate line just in case. That seems to have worked. The intake vent in my brother's room was almost completely covered in plastic bags so that didn't help. I'm thinking of removing that intake and moving it to the hallway.

 

[Spicoli43]

Sharkbites are nice but not recommended to be sealed up inside walls where you can't monitor them. They also have plastic sleeves on the inside that restrict flow more.

Huh. I have never seen one leak, but I also haven't sealed any inside walls.

 

[zannej]

I've never seen one leak but plumbers usually advise not to seal any behind walls just in case of failure. Although, some take issue with the plastic sleeve that reduces flow more than they do with potential leaks/failures.

I used sharkbites on some of the PEX that is accessible- like the toilet supply lines, sink supply lines, etc.

 

[zannej]

Woke up before noon for the first time this week. Went to pick up mail and then to grab bread for Mom from Walmart. Stopped by TSC to get small hay bales with molasses for the cows. I was able to lift them by myself this time.

Put out one of the bales for the cows & my red cow was excited until she saw it wasn't sweet feed. She hollered at me and chased my truck. Ran up to me when I was grabbing stuff out of the truck and wanted to know where her sweet feed was. I petted her and told her to go eat. The black cow started hollering so I called her over and she went to the hay to eat it. Red cow finally went back over to the hay and started eating it. She's so spoiled. LOL.

Sat here stewing about all the trash in my brother's room and how every single time his door gets opened more trash spills out. I grabbed a broom and dustpan and started clearing the alcove in front of the AC vent in his room. Swept it all out into the hallway and then filled a 55gallon bag. There were clothes and pillows on the floor further in so I decided to leave that stuff. Plus I worked up a sweat and needed to cool off.

Swept up a good portion of the kitchen too. I now have about 4 trash bags I need to haul out but I've lost daylight and can't see going through the front room. Will have to do that in the morning.

 

[Eddie_T]

How Amazon keeps a delivery from competing with Prime for a WNC destination;

12:57 AM
Package left an Amazon facility.
Charlotte, NC US

Friday, April 14
9:09 PM
Package arrived at an Amazon facility.
Charlotte, NC US

12:46 PM
Package left an Amazon facility.
Union City, Georgia US

10:06 AM
Package left the carrier facility.
Charlotte, NC US

8:56 AM
Package arrived at an Amazon facility.
Union City, Georgia US

Thursday, April 13
12:12 PM
Package left an Amazon facility.
Liberty, Missouri US

10:30 AM
Package left the carrier facility.
Charlotte, NC US

6:20 AM
Package arrived at an Amazon facility.
Liberty, Missouri US

Wednesday, April 12
1:51 PM
Package left the carrier facility.
Charlotte, NC US

Carrier picked up the package.

 

[zannej]

I ordered a package via Prime and it started out in Louisiana and was sent to Kentucky, then back to Louisiana. No idea why.

I cooked for Mom using the air fryer. Now that I've got the hang of it I really like this new air fryer. But, there are roaches all over the microwave and inside the cabinets. I put diatomaceous earth in a salt shaker with one of those little cylinders that absorb moisture (they come in medicine bottles). It helps the powder to come out more forcefully. I splatted it all over the counter, inside the microwave, on top of it, all over the doors and all over the shelves like I was splashing holy water on something evil. I directly hit several of the little bastards. I need to get inside the air fryer lower down but it was too hot from having been used recently. I need to refill the shaker and dust the whole kitchen. It worked on the pantry after I dusted the shelves and the entire inside of the door and every edge of the door. Once I get all of the trash hauled out and do more cleaning I will hopefully get rid of the little bastards.

 

[Ron Van]

Decided not to use Sharkbite Pex fittings, Ron?

I agree with everyone else, I have some “push to connect” Sharkbites but they are all exposed and easy to inspect/replace. One thing the Sharkbites excel at is transitioning from one type pipe to another.



I finished the water supply to the new vanity. It is done! Because of the hold-tite bend brackets, there are NO fittings inside this wall to worry about.



@Z I have a Milwaukee cordless expander. It was a little pricey but it sure is handy. I have since bought other Milwaukee cordless things like a multi-tool, impact wrench, power ratchet and dremel like tool that use the same battery and charger.



Now on to finishing the closet interior and getting our closet back.

 

[Spicoli43]

there are roaches all over the microwave and inside the cabinets. I put diatomaceous earth in a salt shaker with one of those little cylinders that absorb moisture (they come in medicine bottles). It helps the powder to come out more forcefully. I splatted it all over the counter, inside the microwave, on top of it, all over the doors and all over the shelves like I was splashing holy water on something evil. I directly hit several of the little bastards. I need to get inside the air fryer lower down but it was too hot from having been used recently. I need to refill the shaker and dust the whole kitchen. It worked on the pantry after I dusted the shelves and the entire inside of the door and every edge of the door. Once I get all of the trash hauled out and do more cleaning I will hopefully get rid of the little bastards.

If you grab one Roach and go Ozzy on it and bite it's head off in front of all the other roaches, they will probably all run and hide / die. You will probably get rid of them that way.

 

[Spicoli43]

I have had shipping issues for years with Fedex / UPS. I just set a delivery alert for them and forget it because 10% of the time the package will be in MT, and then it will be in Los Angeles or something like that. I have seen that enough to not even track them anymore.

Now, Ebay is using Aqualine to ship some stuff. I have no idea what that is, but one "Aqualine" shipment got here and it was shipped USPS.

 

[Eddie_T]

My Rolling Knee Creeper arrived today. It's pretty rugged the package was all scuffed and beat up from its extra travels from NC to MO, MO to NC, NC to GA and back to NC. The last leg was local USPS to home. I heard the delivery and it wasn't gentle either. I dreaded opening the box but all was well and I am pleased with it.

I think a pet skunk would take care of roaches. We had a pet skunk for about five years. It was a fun pet it liked to ride a dust mop and loved popcorn.

 

[Rusty]

I still remember when we talked my best friend out of one of those "too good to be true" deals. A truck worth over $20k that allegedly had $8k worth of paint done on it and the "seller" was claiming that bc the owner didn't pay for the paint job he wasn't returning it and was selling it. I did not buy that this guy had clear title to it or if he did that there wasn't something terribly wrong if he said my friend could have it for $8k. Friend kept going on about this guy being trustworthy (but he has a terrible sense of who to trust). Ultimately, he couldn't buy it without our help and we flat out refused. Told him it was fishy and not to fall for it. He was a bit sad about it, but later on was glad he didn't get it.

@Krich We had a dealership in TX try to add on something like $600 extra to the listed price of a vehicle we were trying to buy claiming it had some sort of extra security features-- some sort of etching. We told them to take it off & they said they couldn't. I had to pull up the laws in TX on my phone to point out that it is illegal to charge extra for addons that are already on the vehicle-- especially ones that can't be removed and they HAVE to honor the lowest price listed. I also pointed out that the advert on the window said it was only $399 to have those features-- but if it was already on the vehicle it had to be included. So, we went through the transaction and they had a contract on computer. No extra $ tacked on. Then when it came time to pay and they printed it out (after the guy did more typing), they had added back in the $399 and claimed it was under doc fees on the computer one. So, what Mom signed digitally did not match the paper. Didn't realize until we left though. I left a negative review of the dealership on cars dot com (which is where we found it) but they took it down because that dealership (Planet Ford) was one of their sponsors.

I took my brother to get his toe surgery & visited with my friend instead of going in to the doctor's office because that place reeks of mold and mildew. It used to be my late gp's office back in the 80s and I don't think they've thoroughly cleaned it in over a decade. The carpet needs to be replaced and I think their vent system needs to be cleaned. The doctor said it was the most solid granuloma she'd ever removed and she also got a big chunk of ingrown toenail out.

Our female friend that hooked up with our best friend is pregnant but she has a hard time carrying to term so we'll see if this one makes it. I don't think they can really afford it, but she's really been wanting to have a baby for a long time. My friend's daughter is hoping for a sister. She was disappointed when the ex's baby turned out to not be related so she didn't get to have a baby sister.

No sign of Sir Hammington and Senator Snugglebum is still being a jerk. He jumped on Gravy Jones and they tumbled around on my bed. Biscuits decided to defend Gravy so he jumped into the fray. Ball of 3 cats claws flying all around tumbling and bumping into things. Slammed into the new printer (which is going to be returned to the store bc it's junk). HP won't let it print wirelessly without logging in every single time. And the alleged "6 months of free ink" is a lie. There is no free ink. You have to sign up for a spy program where they monitor your every use of the printer and then you have to pay for ink and depending on the plan, they actually prevent you from printing more than a certain amount per month. If I put ink in that thing I damn well better get to print as many things as I want. I wish the old printer would work. I'm going to have to take it apart, clean it, and see if I can get it working.

Stupid new one won't print the tax forms even though I logged in on the computer with the tax software. Mom can't figure out how to save as pdf from H&R block stuff to print it out. I might have to get a USB cable for printers (which the crappy thing did not come with) and hook it up just long enough to print the taxes and then take it back and say it is not what was advertised and won't function the way I want. They have a 30 day return policy. I'll return the protection plan too.

That car dealer reminds me of "Angi's List". They sent me an e mail one time offering to add a bunch of good reviews if I would give them $100. Told them where to stick it,

 

[Rusty]

I had ordered a package through Amazon. It bounced back and forth between USPS facilities in KCMO and KCKN for 5 days before it was sent here. There is a truck every night from KCMO to here.
Had UPS deliver a package to the wrong house number on the wrong street. I had a business here for many years so the person who got it recognized my name and called me.

 

[Spicoli43]

That car dealer reminds me of "Angi's List". They sent me an e mail one time offering to add a bunch of good reviews if I would give them $100. Told them where to stick it,

I would have exposed them.

 

[Flyover]

We had a pet skunk for about five years. It was a fun pet it liked to ride a dust mop and loved popcorn.

I always thought that would be a cool pet too. They're legal as pets in Ohio, and there's an annual "Skunk Fest" where people who own pet skunks get together and have races and beauty pageants and such, also sell merch and probably have some for adoption. I went one year but we got there late and missed most of the fun.

I figure a skunk would be a lot like a ferret since they are relatives, only maybe a bit more laid back since skunks are bigger and evolved with a powerful natural defense. What was your skunk like, Eddie?

Today I'm doing a bit of routing on my guitar project.

 

[Eddie_T]

The skunk wasn't as active as a ferret. It liked to lay in laps and be stroked. It liked to play and would take aim as if it were loaded. It would use the cat's litter box. The cat and the skunk didn't play together but tolerated each other. We could go away for the weekend and leave them in a cat condo (the cat mostly stayed on the top shelf). Our cat was a feral Maine Coon and was used to coons and possums before we made a house cat of her.

 

[Eddie_T]

I've concluded my research for the best knot for scrubs, gym shorts, sweat pants and PJs that have cords or straps with two ends for tying (prolly good for shoestrings as well, mom's have prolly been doing this for years). Basically it is the beginning of a surgeon's knot. The fix is just to add an extra turn when tying the first half of the knot. This adds enough friction to hold the straps or cord in place while tying the normal bunny ear slip knot for the second half. I may just cut the continuous loop on my sweatpants so it will work on them as well. I wonder the why of the continuous loop unless it's just to avoid loosing an end.

Someone on reddit or quora asked what to do with loose ends of drawstrings and was it rude to leave them dangling. I guess he wanted to be uniform and feared that he might not be correct. My thought was who gives a RA what people think?

 

[Ron Van]

I hooked the vent up for the toilet.



I almost forgot to install some support for a towel rack and TP holder.




Then I put some Sheetrock on


I have to help my Son in Law fix his lawnmower tomorrow but maybe Monday I can start mudding.

I also installed the rest of the Sheetrock inside the closet.





Good night!

 

[Flyover]

Too bad about the inside of the closet, Ron. The exposed studs, pipes, and wire were way cooler,especially with how neatly you laid them out.

 

[Ron Van]

Too bad about the inside of the closet, Ron. The exposed studs, pipes, and wire were way cooler,especially with how neatly you laid them out.

Yeah, I know what you mean but the administrator (Ruby) wouldn't authorize that design. I actually like the sheetrock but with access doors at critical points but by using the pex bend supports, there's really no fittings in that wall. You probably can't see it in the pictures, but I put critical measurements on the studs and pipes so that if I ever want to cut an access hole, I have the measurements.



That outlet in the photo above was actually an idea my neighbor had to put an outlet under the vanity for Ruby's hair dryer. That way, the hairdryer can live under the vanity rather than on top.

When I flew for the state of California, the pilots often helped with the maintenance. The maintenance includes removing all the interior seats, floor boards and wall panels to inspect various system, cables, pulleys and wiring. It's a royal pain. I often wished we didn't have the interior but it's there, not only for looks, but to protect the components from damage. The military doesn't have the fancy interior panels making it easier to get to stuff. Some private owners opt for the "Bush" look and leave the panels off too.

You can kinda see in this photo what the airplane looks like without the interior.