dirthawker0

joined 2 years ago
[–] dirthawker0 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Chinese manufacturers build according to budget. They are perfectly capable of making high quality products, and do. The problem is a lot of companies (looking at you, Walmart) demand their Chinese manufacturers build products for a pittance -- the manufacturers won't say no, but they'll find a profit for themselves by using lower cost materials. (ETA: also less quality control and cheaper labor)

Ask yourself -- if you were a woodworker and someone offered you $250 to build a small stand out of wenge, you'll probably do a good job of it. If someone offered you $30 to build the same stand, and you really needed that $30, you'd make it with pine and just paint or stain it to look like wenge. Chinese manufacturers are no different.

[–] dirthawker0 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

What goes up....

[–] dirthawker0 23 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They want to knock CA down because it's a wealthy, successful state with mostly Democrats, but they don't think far enough to realize if they succeed in damaging CA's economy then CA can't contribute as much to their red welfare state.

[–] dirthawker0 2 points 1 week ago

Think about the technology we have now - a lot of it was inspired by Star Trek technology. Communicators -> smartphones/watches, shuttle -> Rovers, non invasive medical diagnosis, large screens, video calls. And that's just from TOS. And I'm pretty sure people are still working on creating Transporters.

[–] dirthawker0 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He's fun reading, though being a woman I also find his stuff kinda sexist. It's basically cowboys in space.

[–] dirthawker0 5 points 1 week ago

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

[–] dirthawker0 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Man, you and I are kitchen twins. Love my toaster oven (roasting broccoli is probably my main use for it), silicon spoonulae & spatulae. I use the enamel dutch oven for stews (and winter is when I love making stews), soups, and no-knead bread. Use silicone mats for a lot of stuff (though increasingly using parchment paper) and have a heavy duty blender (not a Vitamix but a Cleanblend).

[–] dirthawker0 3 points 2 weeks ago

I like that. "This is the Madison sheriff's department. Your grandson Chris has been arrested and needs bail. We'll accept payment in the form of a gift card."

[–] dirthawker0 9 points 2 weeks ago

Also 1M to the inauguration. It's a shakedown IMO, though FWIW 1M is pennies to these guys.

[–] dirthawker0 2 points 2 weeks ago

They've had almost 3 years now practicing those skills. Videos from early in the war have a lot less accuracy. I have no idea what the weather was like that day but I'm sure that less wind, and targets that aren't moving around so much because of darkness, are going to make for better accuracy.

[–] dirthawker0 7 points 2 weeks ago

During the pandemic I can see why these services blossomed, but I have only used them once or twice - and only in NYC where I didn't have a car, and even if I did, getting around by car and parking is more challenging anyway. (Delivery drivers in NYC get around by scooter which they drive anywhere they want (street, sidewalk, wrong way on the street, they do not care. They'd probably get on the elevator if they could).

To me the service charges and tips are higher than I want to pay and I'll just pick up the stuff myself. It'll probably be hotter anyway since there aren't other deliveries that need to be made before mine. The one exception is pizza where they already have their own delivery people.

[–] dirthawker0 2 points 2 weeks ago

And hypocrisy.

124
submitted 5 months ago by dirthawker0 to c/gardening
 

This stephanotis was given to my parents for their wedding in 1961. It bloomed every year for my mom. After she passed in 2019 I took it home and did my best with it. But apparently these plants are notorious for being a bit fussy and resisted all my efforts to get it to flower. Two years ago I read something about how they don't like being rotated, so I stopped doing that and bought a grow light to keep the non-sun side from going bald. That seems to have done the trick. There are about 5 or 6 clusters and this is the first to open up. And yes they smell fantastic!

14
submitted 9 months ago by dirthawker0 to c/bayarea
 

Used a Canon Powershot and solar optical film. Image is normally just shades of blue-gray, but I colorized them in post.

167
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by dirthawker0 to c/politics
 

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) announced she will not seek reelection this year, avoiding an unpredictable three-way race in the swing state that had many national Democrats worried about holding onto the seat.

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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by dirthawker0 to c/cooking
 

Salmon was vacuum sealed a couple months ago but smelled a little burnt and a small amount (1/8" deep x 2" long by 1/4" wide) discolored. I generously cut off the discolored bit but wondering if the rest will taste bad.

Edit: It turned out great! indistinguishable from un freezer burnt.

 

I started to polish my nails about 6 weeks ago. When changing polish I've noticed my nails getting yellower at the tips. I've read that the offending ingredient is nitrocellulose, which my base coat has (OPI natural nail) and probably the other coats as well (Essie, Seche Vite). My color polish is typically a light/natural pink.

So my question is, what if anything un-yellows the nails? Should I leave off the polish for N days? Filing (which I don't really want to do as my nails are pretty thin already)?

Thanks and happy new year

21
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by dirthawker0 to c/googlepixel
 

I know it's silly but I really like that frog.

This morning he got replaced by a screen that you don't have to swipe up to view, and includes both hourly and 10 day forecasts.

I followed some instructions I found elsewhere to clear google search data (settings: apps: google app: storage & cache: Manage space) and that brought the frog back for about 10 minutes. Then the weather line disappeared entirely from At A Glance. I rebooted the phone and got the weather back in the widget, but the frog was gone again.

Would really like him back... is there something else I can try.

ETA 5 days later my froggy friend is back... I hadn't tried changing anything else, it seems just random

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by dirthawker0 to c/castiron
 

It actually did end up with a breath of sourdough to it and a nice chewiness. This was some starter that I had built up and maintained, dried and stored over a year ago, then rehydrated a week ago.

 

I think some electronics in the motor have gone kaput. The wall mounted button works, but I have 2 remotes and neither works. (I did change the battery on one as well as try to re-pair it with the motor, to no avail.)

My options are to replace the circuit board ($125) or buy a new motor unit ($199). The original motor is a Liftmaster and the lift is a belt; it's probably about 20 years old. The cost of a new motor unit is not hugely more than the circuit board and I would get additional features like a battery backup.

If I go for a new unit will it work with the existing belt? I'm looking at a basic 1/2hp Chamberlain. Thanks!

11
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by dirthawker0 to c/google
 

I'm a Google Fi customer and have location turned on, so Maps asks me to review places I've been. Yesterday I was asked to review a hair salon in a city about 35 miles away, Maps claiming I had called it 2 weeks ago. But I haven't called it -- the number isn't in my call history so even if I managed to randomly butt dial, that hasn't happened. What gives? Is it possible my number was spoofed and somehow Fi thinks the call was made by me?

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