What Irked You Today?

[Old Buckaroo]

Bad parenting - Single mother dropping off child barely 1 yr old this morning at "Step Grand dads" place.  Negative nine this morning without the wind, child was in pj's, no coat , hat or blanket.  Meanwhile my mustache is a frozen lump while cleaning the snow off the wife's vehicle.

[johnyrotten]

I came home to this. The pictures are "panoramic" try to show the length of my driveway,  and the incline. One continous sheet of ice. The sand is where my wife was stuck, as she got home before me. 

[John M.]

The modem for my computer gave up the ghost after nearly 10 years while I was reading the Boston Herald online yesterday morning. However, 24 hours, a new modem and tech support later, I was back into cyberspace one again. I'm lost without the computer. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 minutes ago, John M. said:

...I'm lost without the computer. 

It does tend to become our window on the world...either the computer or the phone.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I failed to take the excellent advice against attempting to have an argument with an idiot, especially if it involves facts, logic, and basic reading comprehension.

Most irksome indeed.  

[Big John]

That's Senator Irksome, R:SC

[A modeler named mike]

R:SC can get you in deep dodo as I did recently, so that being said, how do you like the price of groceries?

[stavanzer]

4 hours ago, A modeler named mike said:

so that being said, how do you like the price of groceries?

Highest I've ever seen. We are cutting back on more & more "treats" from the weekly shopping.

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 hours ago, A modeler named mike said:

R:SC can get you in deep dodo as I did recently, so that being said, how do you like the price of groceries?

Hard to believe?

There was a time when food prices in America were such a small part of my expenses, I didn't bother trying to save a little bit here and there.

Now, frankly, I'm wondering how some people are able to get by at all.

[A modeler named mike]

On 2/2/2025 at 10:02 PM, johnyrotten said:

Some deer musk will stink to high heaven. Or bait some skunks into the area. All natural and can't really point the finger at a human if nature is doing nature things. You'll just be "helping out".

I got to thinking about the situation with the encampment and decided the best avenue was to not get physically involved but rather use the system to fight the problem since the city wont. First I thought about PETA but when I tried to make contact via their website all I saw was, You can help by volunteering, adoption or send money. Then the light bulb went off and I contacted the EPA hotline via email explaining the situation of the free flowing stream running through the area and the trash that's strewn about form the encampment. Man it wasn't but a matter of minutes I received an email asking for the location. I screenshot a detailed map marking the location and sent it back. Once again, in a matter of minutes another email with the contact info for the Maryland EPA office and how to proceed. That will take place tomorrow. I have no doubt this will cure the problem...🤞

[stitchdup]

On 2/3/2025 at 2:39 AM, A modeler named mike said:

We've been residents of our single dwelling home for 30 years, it's a HOA community with an increasing number of Hud homes over the past 10 years. Our police dept is great, but unfortunately their hands are tied for reasons that I shall refrain from mentioning..🤫  I've been thinking hard as how we the community can rid of the encampment legally. One thought is to contact the environment protection dept since there is a natural flowing stream running through the encampment. The last time I went back to take a look see I was horrified at the amount of trash thrown about the area. Maybe even contacting PETA, I'm sure the encampment is hindering the animal population from using the area and driving them from their natural habitat. At this point whatever it takes, I'm game.

🤔°°continual night time raids with loud banging on pots and pans?

vintage air raid sirens make great collectibles and still work

[johnyrotten]

2 hours ago, A modeler named mike said:

I got to thinking about the situation with the encampment and decided the best avenue was to not get physically involved but rather use the system to fight the problem since the city wont. First I thought about PETA but when I tried to make contact via their website all I saw was, You can help by volunteering, adoption or send money. Then the light bulb went off and I contacted the EPA hotline via email explaining the situation of the free flowing stream running through the area and the trash that's strewn about form the encampment. Man it wasn't but a matter of minutes I received an email asking for the location. I screenshot a detailed map marking the location and sent it back. Once again, in a matter of minutes another email with the contact info for the Maryland EPA office and how to proceed. That will take place tomorrow. I have no doubt this will cure the problem...🤞

I'm surprised you got a response, let alone a prompt one. Maryland seems to me like they're actually on the "ball". At least the EPA is. I've never had a situation such as yourself, or your neighbor. I'm just very aware of the "goings on" around my home, I worked too hard for what I have to see it become a smash and grab good will store. Cameras on both the garage and house, and my land is posted. Not that either of those will prevent anything,  just add evidence. Hopefully they follow through. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

6 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

I'm surprised you got a response, let alone a prompt one. Maryland seems to me like they're actually on the "ball". At least the EPA is. 

Many years ago, a composite parts fabricator I was working with went from hand-layups of relatively small polyester bits to "chopper gun" layup of large fiberglass sailplane-trailer top shells. The smell from the styrene monomer was massively increased, and as the shop had no air handling/filtration capability, and was in a light industrial area close to a neighborhood, I thought we'd better do something preemptively.

We called the local EPA office for guidance, and explained the situation in depth. The response was "has anyone complained?" 

"No" we said, which was true.

"Then don't worry about it" was EPA's answer, and we never heard another peep.

 

[johnyrotten]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Many years ago, a composite parts fabricator I was working with went from hand-layups of relatively small polyester bits to "chopper gun" layup of large fiberglass sailplane-trailer top shells. The smell from the styrene monomer was massively increased, and as the shop had no air handling/filtration capability, and was in a light industrial area close to a neighborhood, I thought we'd better do something preemptively.

We called the local EPA office for guidance, and explained the situation in depth. The response was "has anyone complained?" 

"No" we said, which was true.

"Then don't worry about it" was EPA's answer, and we never heard another peep.

 

That's usually the typical response. Fiberglass can be some nasty stuff, with the limited experience I have with it. I've seen the chopper guns, they were building car bodies on a channel I follow. One thing I noticed  they were fully suited and had respirators on. To me, Fiberglass would cause problems similar to silicosis from grinding wheels. Or asbestos. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

28 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

That's usually the typical response. Fiberglass can be some nasty stuff, with the limited experience I have with it. I've seen the chopper guns, they were building car bodies on a channel I follow. One thing I noticed  they were fully suited and had respirators on. To me, Fiberglass would cause problems similar to silicosis from grinding wheels. Or asbestos. 

Everyone who worked there, including me, took every appropriate precaution and used state-of-the-art PPE.

The building was closed...not sealed, just closed during production, so airborne particulates didn't escape. They're too sticky to get through seams, small gaps, etc. There is some floaty fiber that comes off the glass feed to the gun, but it's not much.

The stink emitted by styrene monomer during chopper-gun or other kinds of spray-based fabrication is really really bad though, and you could smell the shop for at least a block during sprayup operations.

I'd used appropriate PPE for decades doing other things, from simple dust masks to respirator masks and full suits. But I'd never had the need to use an air-supplied full-face mask and a hood, as well as the suit, previously.

A regular paint respirator is quickly overwhelmed by the styrene monomer stink from a single chopper-gun operation, even inside a 3000 sq. ft. building.

As an aside, when we were making short-run small fiberglass parts, doing hand-layups, we worked with the rollup doors open and a powerful exhaust fan to suck stink out of the dead-air and of the building...always with personnel using particulate filters over respirator masks, gloves, and paper suits. But the release of the styrene monomer stink was so minor, and so fully dispersed, you could barely smell it even if you stuck your face in the fan outflow. Inside the building it was about the same as the bondo smell coming from a bodyshop...easily handled by organic vapor "paint" respirators with dust prefilters.

There are many potential hazards working with any kind of composite materials, but as with most "dangerous" things, health problems and injuries can be completely avoided if correct precautions are in place.

That said, I still see welders using nothing but sunglasses. I'll never understand why someone would risk almost certain permanent eye damage. Just to look cool, I guess.

 

Edited February 6 by Ace-Garageguy

[Wickersham Humble]

Looks like AI is plaguing us:  Hewlett/Packard duns us for printer ink that they don't send, yet won't allow us to pay our bill!  AI, the very stable genius in the room?  Their website won't accept any of our valid charge cards, so they don't send ink (which can't be sourced elsewhere) so we don't print, though we're in a contract with H/P.  And no, live phone conversations don't help, take forever (elevator Muzak!), and leave on feeling "I'm as mad as hell, and am not going to take it anymore!"  But, you all know the feeling!

My first experience with PayPal: I got an acceptance of a product I had for sale, boxed it up and sent it, and then P/P notified me that the order had been cancelled insofar as my payment was concerned -- and 'talk to the hand' nothing could be done!  Luckily, when the buyer received the stuff (car parts) he was nice enough to send me a personal check -- that cleared!  But, failing that; I was out of luck.  It's worked okay since then...  fingers X-ed!  No personal contact, though.  Wick

[Ace-Garageguy]

45 minutes ago, Wickersham Humble said:

...My first experience with PayPal: I got an acceptance of a product I had for sale, boxed it up and sent it, and then P/P notified me that the order had been cancelled insofar as my payment was concerned -- and 'talk to the hand' nothing could be done!  Luckily, when the buyer received the stuff (car parts) he was nice enough to send me a personal check -- that cleared!  But, failing that; I was out of luck.  It's worked okay since then...  fingers X-ed!  No personal contact, though.  Wick

I started using PP around 2001 when I was getting back into car modeling and selling off some of my full-scale car stuff I figured I'd never use (sold the Lambo Espada crankshaft to a fella in Spain...but anybody need a head or a flywheel?).

Anyway, that's a long time. There have been a few hiccups, very few, but to date I've never lost a dime.

But I'm sure some well-meaning ------- will "fix" it shortly.  

[johnyrotten]

4 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Everyone who worked there, including me, took every appropriate precaution and used state-of-the-art PPE.

The building was closed...not sealed, just closed during production, so airborne particulates didn't escape. They're too sticky to get through seams, small gaps, etc. There is some floaty fiber that comes off the glass feed to the gun, but it's not much.

The stink emitted by styrene monomer during chopper-gun or other kinds of spray-based fabrication is really really bad though, and you could smell the shop for at least a block during sprayup operations.

I'd used appropriate PPE for decades doing other things, from simple dust masks to respirator masks and full suits. But I'd never had the need to use an air-supplied full-face mask and a hood, as well as the suit, previously.

A regular paint respirator is quickly overwhelmed by the styrene monomer stink from a single chopper-gun operation, even inside a 3000 sq. ft. building.

As an aside, when we were making short-run small fiberglass parts, doing hand-layups, we worked with the rollup doors open and a powerful exhaust fan to suck stink out of the dead-air and of the building...always with personnel using particulate filters over respirator masks, gloves, and paper suits. But the release of the styrene monomer stink was so minor, and so fully dispersed, you could barely smell it even if you stuck your face in the fan outflow. Inside the building it was about the same as the bondo smell coming from a bodyshop...easily handled by organic vapor "paint" respirators with dust prefilters.

There are many potential hazards working with any kind of composite materials, but as with most "dangerous" things, health problems and injuries can be completely avoided if correct precautions are in place.

That said, I still see welders using nothing but sunglasses. I'll never understand why someone would risk almost certain permanent eye damage. Just to look cool, I guess.

 

No welding by "braille" is permitted in the shop I work in, my boss considers that a fire-able offense. My work varies, one week it's schedule 120 12 inch pipe, the next it's railings for apartment buildings. I've done high pressure titanium valves and couplings,(that last thing that had me up at 2am)steam ect.ect. Aircraft and nuclear is about the only things I haven't worked on or with. Even the shielding gasses can cause problems,  most of the green horns aren't aware of, or don't care. Argon displaces oxygen, and pools in lungs. C02 the same. Uv burns suck, skin cancers worse. The list goes on. I'm not captain safety, but I'd rather have some quality of life after I'm done working for a living,  if I get to retire. 

[JollySipper]

Well, guys........ My building is gonna be a bit curbed for the next six weeks or so, at least until I get this cast on my right wrist taken off. Gravity is a beeyotch, and pavement unforgiving......... 

[Ace-Garageguy]

9 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

Well, guys........ My building is gonna be a bit curbed for the next six weeks or so, at least until I get this cast on my right wrist taken off. Gravity is a beeyotch, and pavement unforgiving......... 

OK...story please.

[JollySipper]

17 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

OK...story please.

This kid, one of the newer neighbors, was harassing me with a darn RC toy from his second story window......... I kinda tripped and caught myself with my hand. It's just one of the smaller bones in my wrist, but it's one that will be tricky to get to heal properly........

[A modeler named mike]

31 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

This kid, one of the newer neighbors, was harassing me with a darn RC toy from his second story window......... I kinda tripped and caught myself with my hand. It's just one of the smaller bones in my wrist, but it's one that will be tricky to get to heal properly........

What a bummer TJ. Your lucky it wasn't worse. Hopefully you were able to teach the little p/r/i/c/k a  lesson by destroying his RC car. Back on 10/31/2019 I fell at work while walking backwards pulling our Dewalt 12" compound Miter box saw which is mounted to it's rolling hand dolly, up the box truck's ribbed loading ramp. It was wet and the next thing I knew my feet came out from under me and down I went catching myself with one hand while the other was trying to hold on to the dolly. The saw was okay but I instantly developed a knot on my hand, it hurt like Hell. I ended up with only a fractured middle finger. Both hands still ache 5 years later, especially when unscrewing things and even hand washing dishes.  I hope yours heels well and you have no complications. Good luck and let me know if you Guido to pay the punk a visit... 😉

[ranma]

Bunch of spam email about energy saving devices invented by Musk. One supposed to cut the electric bill by 90% The other supposed to be a tiny but mighty heater system The other spam e-mails cannot be listed here. As they could get me a time Out!!

[Ace-Garageguy]

29 minutes ago, ranma said:

Bunch of spam email about energy saving devices invented by Musk. One supposed to cut the electric bill by 90% The other supposed to be a tiny but mighty heater system The other spam e-mails cannot be listed here. As they could get me a time Out!!

I seriously doubt they have anything whatsoever to do with Musk.

Scammer spammers will use anything to try to get their fingers in your pockets.

Musk isn't needing to do email marketing of bogus idiot-trap green baloney.

[HomerS]

The local Fox network channel had several hours of pre SuperBowl programs on today.  

1) the local NFL team didn't even make post season (again)

2) the game is more than 48 hours away!

Edited February 8 by HomerS